Shipping Estimates for 27-Inch Retina iMac Improve to 1 to 2 Weeks [Mac Blog]

As the holidays approach, supplies of the Retina iMac appear to be improving somewhat, and as of this week, shipping estimates for both standard and custom Retina iMac configurations have improved to 1 to 2 weeks in the United States (via MacGeneration ). Shipping estimates have also improved to 1 to 2 weeks in many other countries, but custom configurations may carry higher shipping times outside of the United States.





Retina iMac stock has been significantly constrained since the machine launched on October 16, slipping to 3 to 5 days shortly after release then moving to 7 to 10 days before dropping to 3 to 4 weeks in mid-November.



The base Retina iMac, with a 3.5GHz processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB fusion drive is in stock at many retail Apple Stores around the country and can be picked up same day, but when ordered from the online store, it ships in 1 to 2 weeks like all custom configurations. With the newly improved shipping estimates, Retina iMacs ordered today will arrive well ahead of the Christmas holiday.



Equipped with a 5120 x 2880 "5K" Retina screen, Apple's newest iMac has received largely positive reviews for its impressive display, and configured with a 4.0GHz processor and 32GB of RAM, the higher-end Retina iMac models are able to outperform the low-end Mac Pro.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:03PM, December 03

iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Shipping Times Improve to 3 to 5 Days for Many Models

Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Apple Store shipping estimates for both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus have seen significant improvement, with many models in the online Apple Store now carrying a shipping estimate of 3 to 5 days in the United States.



iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models in all colors and from all carriers in 16 and 64GB configurations now ship within 3 to 5 days, while the more constrained 128GB versions ship within 7 to 10 days.





Though the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus have been severely constrained since their September debut, Apple has been working hard to improve supplies. The company has reportedly delayed mass production on the iPad Pro to focus on producing more iPhone 6 Plus units, a move that's bolstered available supply.



iPhone 6 and 6 Plus stock first began improving in late November, with 16GB iPhone 6 Plus supplies jumping to a 7 to 10 day shipping estimate after sitting at three to four week shipping estimates for several weeks. 64GB and 128GB iPhone 6 Plus devices have seen the biggest increase in supply, because as of late November, 64GB devices carried a shipping estimate of 2 to 3 weeks while 128GB devices carried a shipping estimate of 3 to 4 weeks. iPhone 6 supply has also been steadily improving, going from 7 to 10 days in November to 3 to 5 days today.



In store supply of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus has also seen significant improvement, and many stores across the country list availability of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 16, 64, and 128GB configurations. Tracking tool iStockNow can be used to find where iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices are available.





During Apple's fourth quarter earnings call on October 20, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus was "far outstripping" supply and that the company was "not close" to having a supply/demand balance at that time, but based on the improved shipping times, the company could come close to meeting its supply goals before the end of the year.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:41PM, December 03

Apple Releases Safari 8.0.1, 7.1.1, and 6.2.1

Apple today released Safari 8.0.1 for OS X Yosemite, Safari 7.1.1 for OS X Mavericks and a Safari 6.2.1 for older versions of OS X. The release comes nearly three weeks after the Safari betas were first seeded to developers.



The new Safari builds can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store. Safari 8.0.1 for OS X Yosemite requires OS X 10.10 or 10.10.1, while Safari 7.1.1 for OS X Mavericks requires OS X 10.9.5 and Safari 6.2.1 for OS X Mountain Lion requires OS X 10.8.5.



According to the release notes, Safari 8.0.1 fixes an issue that could prevent history from syncing across devices without iCloud Drive turned on, fixes an issue preventing saved passwords from being autofilled after two devices are added to iCloud Keychain, improves WebGL graphics performance on Retina displays, and allows users to import usernames and passwords from Firefox.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:10PM, December 03

The awesome app that brings Continuity to Android is finally ready to download

AirDroid is an awesome app that has brought iOS 8-like Continuity features to Android devices since long before Continuity ever existed. We were the first site in the world to give you an early look at AirDroid 3, a massive update that has been in the works for quite some time, and now that update is finally ready for primetime.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:40PM, December 03

Google’s brilliant solution to one of the Internet’s most annoying problems

If there's one thing more annoying than overly complex password requirements, it's barely legible captcha puzzles that websites use to determine whether or not we're really human beings or are just bots trying to set up spam accounts. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google has come up with a brilliant solution to this problem that not only minimizes the use of captcha puzzles but also involves one of the Internet's favorite things: Pictures of cute animals.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:40PM, December 03

Jimmy Iovine tells the real story of how he convinced Apple to buy Beats

Apple's decision to shell out $3 billion for Beats was one of the year's most surprising deals, largely because Apple normally concentrates on smaller acquisitions that don't make a lot of headlines. In an interview with GQ , Beats cofounder Jimmy Iovine explains how he got Apple to finally take the plunge on buying Beats, although he admits it took a while to really convince the company it needed to act.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:16PM, December 03

Surprise: Sprint’s ‘killer deal’ isn’t as great as we’d hoped

Earlier this week we brought you word of a bold Sprint deal to steal you away from AT&T and Verizon, but now Re/code reports that the deal isn't nearly as good as we thought it was when it was announced.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:51PM, December 03

Video: The world of Grand Theft Auto V is even more stunning at night

The most anticipated remaster of the year, Grand Theft Auto V on PS4 and Xbox One, has finally arrived. We've already covered the single best reason to double dip on this 2013 best-seller, but even if first-person mode isn't your cup of tea, it's hard to deny that Rockstar Games has done an incredible job updating GTA V for the new generation.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:25PM, December 03

Jimmy Iovine to Apple: 'You Have a Hole in Music Right Now; Let Me Plug It'

Beats co-founder, music mogul, and Apple employee Jimmy Iovine was named as one of GQ's Men of the Year, and in an interview with the magazine, he unveiled some details on his efforts to establish a partnership with Apple, which famously led to the $3 billion acquisition that was Apple's biggest purchase ever.



According to Iovine, who had an ongoing relationship with Steve Jobs, he worked hard to persuade Apple to purchase Beats because it was the only company that he wanted to work for. He also believed he had a lot to bring to the company, telling Apple execs that he would "plug" Apple's "hole in music," referring to the company's lack of presence in the streaming music arena.




Jimmy Iovine, Tim Cook, Dr. Dre and Eddy Cue

I convinced them that they had to buy this company. I said, "I don't want to work for anybody else. I want to do this at Apple. I know I can achieve this at Apple. I don't want to shop it. I wanna come here, to Steve's company. I know you guys; I know what you're capable of; I know you get popular culture. I know you have a hole in music right now; let me plug it." I think it was two years before they said yeah.

Though he only joined Apple in 2014, Jimmy Iovine and Steve Jobs were longtime friend and had a close relationship. Iovine even collaborated with Apple on several projects, helping Steve Jobs sign deals with music labels in the early days of iTunes and working with Apple and U2 on a special edition iPod. Iovine even pitched a subscription music service to Apple way back in 2003, far before services like Pandora and Spotify exploded in popularity.



Iovine does not have a specific title at Apple, but he reportedly has a senior role at the company alongside Dr. Dre, aka Andre Young, and works under iTunes chief Eddy Cue. Given his experience in the music industry, there has been some speculation that Iovine is working to help Apple secure deals with record labels, establish relationships with artists, and create a connection with a younger audience.



When announcing the Beats acquisition, Apple CEO Tim Cook called Iovine and Dre's talent and skills "really unique" and "very hard to find." In a later interview, Cook called the duo "off the charts creative geniuses," specifically citing Iovine's knowledge of the music industry as one of the major reasons he was hired.



At the current time, Apple is said to be working on a rebranding of Beats Music that may see it incorporating the service into iTunes and cutting the subscription price. The new music streaming service is expected to be unveiled in early 2015, possibly ahead of the Grammy Awards in February.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:30PM, December 03