Taking a look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop covers the upcoming October 16th event and the potential new hardware, will Tim Cook kill the iPod Touch, OSX Yosemite’s public release, U2′s download numbers, Carl Icahn’s letter, iOS 8 encryption, the Apple Tax, iPhone 6 sales figures, and Jony Ive’s thoughts on those who mimic Apple’s design.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days.
Get Ready For the iPad Air 2 On October 16
Following a successful update for the iPhone in September, Apple has confirmed a launch event for October 16th. A number of products are expected to launch, but the main focus will be the iPad Air 2. Following on from the debut of the super-thin version of the Apple tablet at last year’s event, the updated 9.7 inch screen iOS device should sport the new A8 processor, M8 motion coprocessor, and TouchID for fingerprint recognition. That means Apple Pay will be viable from the iPad Air 2.
A little less certain will be any software changes. iOS 8 has already tweaked the UI for the screen on the iPhone 6 Plus phablet to allow for more details and visible scrolling lists. A split-screen display on the iPad Air has long been discussed, although if Apple do go for this as a differentiator on the new tablet, expect the RAM to be bumped up to 2 GB on the new model.
It might even be offered in gold…
And Updates For All!
The Forbes Tech team are also expecting updates to the iPad Mini with Retina Display to keep specification parity with the iPad Air 2. No doubt Apple’s two tablets will be placed in a competitive battle with the new Nexus 9 tablet (and the Nexus 6 phablet will be given some head-to-head time with the iPhone 6 Plus).
The two other major platforms that are expected to get updates are the iMac range of computers, with a potential retina display model; and the high-end Mac to keep the specifications at the top of the range. Given the more powerful Broadwell architecture chips aren’t due until next year, I’m going to be interested to see if the MacBook Prso and MacBook Airs will get a minor hardware update to keep the line fresh for christmas, or if Tim Cook has managed to work out a way to go straight to a next-generation of hardware.
Will Apple Delete The iPod Touch?
And then there’s the iPod Touch. The current (fifth) generation of portable media player is still a favourite with families looking for iOS devices for children, those looking for a lightweight connected device without the complications of a mobile phone contract, SIM card, or higher handset prices. It’s two years old, and it’s time for Apple to either deliver an update or have the confidence to remove it from the product line-up; just as Apple did with the iPod Classic in September.
While I don’t think the iPod Touch is going to die like the iPod Classic in September, the small specifications update in June to the 16 GB model accompanied by a slight price drop was probably the last hurrah for the line… Does Apple need a standalone media player alongside its smartphones, tablets, ultraportables, and desktops? Does Apple still need a price conscious piece of iOS hardware to act as an on-ramp into the ecosystem? Does Apple still want to be in the media player business when there is no apparent growth in the iPod market?
The Miracle (of Bono and The Edge)
Good news! 26 million Apple devices downloaded the free U2 album ‘Songs of Innocence’ (reports Billboard), and according to Apple VP Eddy Cue, 81 million people have ‘experienced’ part of the album. So that’s an average of 3.1 tracks per user. On an album with eleven tracks.
Did you mark this up as a success, Eddy?
Welcome To The House Of Yosemite
One thing that we can be sure of is OSX Yosemite leaving development and going public. Earlier today Apple released GM (Golden Master) Candidate 3 to developers and those testing the new OS (reports Apple Insider and others). If reports coming back from that release are good, it’s likely GMC3 will become Public Release 1 during the October 16th event.
Given Apple’s issues around iOS 8, anyone using an OSX device in a mission critical role might want to wait a few weeks before updating, just to make sure there are no show-stopping bugs that have been missed. And no matter when you install it, remember to back up your machine!
A Primer For iOS 8 Encryption
Matthew Green has taken a look at Apple’s position on the inability to decrypt an iOS 8 device. Going into some detail, he looks at the disk encryption used, the data that comes under the encryption system, and how hardware is used to secure the UID that is required to decrypt information. While some of Green’s work is based on Apple’s public position other parts are conjecture on his part, and Green makes it clear when he strays into speculation.
About That Open Letter
Carl Icahn, as one of Apple’s largest shareholders, posted an open letter this week to argue for Tim Cook and the board to “accelerate and increase the magnitude of share repurchase.” Charles Lewis Sizemore has
taken a closer look at the letter, and Icahn’s projections on Apple’s future profits and sales. Is Apple stock undervalued as Icahn says it is?
The iPhone 6 Plus (image: Ewan Spence)
You’ve Bought Over Twenty Million iPhone 6 Handsets… Probably
How many iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets has Apple sold? While the strong opening weekend has been mentioned as topping ten million, the only other indication from Apple is a goal of between 70 and 80 million by the end of 2014. Forbes’ Mark Rogowsky takes a look at the numbers from analysts and tracking firms, and is pretty confident that Apple has passed the 21 million mark:
The 6 is now up to 5.86%, a gain of 2.64%. The Plus, on the other hand, has reached just 1.28%, up 0.81%. The ratio there is about 4.5:1. If we average the two [Mixpanel and Fisku], we get an approximate sales total of more than 21 million and a breakdown that suggests a bit over 4 million of those are the Plus.
A Digital Newspaper With Your iPad?
While they can never be taken as product announcements, it’s always interesting to watch Apple’s patents via Patently Apple. They’re a good indication of an R&D section working hard, and in the case of the digital newspaper patent, a section that is still churning out smart ideas. The latest to catch my eye is a flexibly display which receives content via MMS (Patent 8,855,727). It’s marked up as a digital newspaper, but I can see it proving useful for advertising boards, in-store marketing, and remote displays. And yes, it would support iCloud.
Does The Apple Tax Exist?
Forbes’ Tony Bradley has taken a look at the ‘Apple Tax’ myth. Are we really paying a premium for technology from Apple? Bradley is not so sure, especially when he compares like with like:
I realize there are hundreds of Windows-based laptops out there that cost significantly less than a MacBook Air and get the job done just fine. But, just as with the smartphones, you’re generally trading something for the cost savings. Maybe it’s a less powerful processor, or a cheap plastic case, or an inferior display. The point is simply that you can buy laptops for less money than what the Apple laptops cost, but if you want a device that is actually comparable to a MacBook you are most likely going to spend about the same or more.
One More Thing… Jony Ive’s Strong Views On The Theft Of Apple Designs
Apple’s Senior VP of Design Jony Ive (okay, Sir Jonathan Paul Ive, KBE RDI) rarely speaks in public, but when he does, it’s with a clinical precision that matches his products. His comments at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit (reported by The Verge and others) was clear that the copying of Apple design angers him. While he refused to single out Xiaomi as his questioner did, his reply was direct and to the point.
“I don’t see it as flattery, I actually see it as theft… When you’re doing something for the first time, for example with the phone, and you don’t know it’s going to work, and you spend seven or eight years working on something, and then it’s copied — I have to be honest, the first thing I think isn’t ‘ooh, that was flattering.’”
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