iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Shipping Estimates Improve to 1 Business Day for 16 and 64GB Models

As the Christmas holiday approaches, Apple Store shipping estimates for both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus from all carriers in all colors and in 16 and 64GB capacities have now improved to just 1 business day in the United States, bringing the company close to reaching a supply/demand balance on those devices.



The larger-capacity 128GB devices remain somewhat more constrained than the lower-capacity models, and ship in 3 to 5 business days.



Shipping estimates are similarly improved in many other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Thailand, Philippines, and more.



Throughout the month of December, shipping estimates have been slowly improving as Apple has catches up with demand, and in early December, estimates had improved to 3 to 5 days for 16/64GB models and 7 to 10 days for 128GB models. Last week, estimates for the 16and 64GB models improved further, reaching 1 to 3 day estimates before jumping up again this week to just 1 day.





The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have been severely constrained since their September debut, but Apple has worked hard to improve available supply, going so far as to reportedly delay mass production on the rumored iPad Pro to focus on producing more iPhone 6 Plus units.



In store supply of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has also seen major improvement over the course of the last few weeks, and in many stores around the country, it's now possible to walk in and purchase an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. According to tracking tool iStockNow, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units from all carriers and in all colors and capacities are widely available at most stores.



Back in October, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus was "far outstripping" supply, but based on the continually improving shipping times, Apple appears to be on track to meet its supply goals before the end of the year.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:39PM, December 18

BBC Documentary Claims Apple Fails to Protect Chinese Factory Workers

Earlier this week, BBC One announced plans to air a documentary called Apple's Broken Promises, detailing the factory conditions of the overseas workers who are creating components and assembling the company's iPhones.



Apple's Broken Promises is set to air tonight, but ahead of the documentary's launch, BBC News has published a story outlining what they discovered when they visited Pegatron factories in China and mines in Indonesia.



During the visit, the BBC found that workers at Pegatron factories were forced to put in long hours assembling Apple devices, and that there were violations with ID cards, dormitories, work meetings, and juvenile workers.





Multiple reporters went undercover at the factory as part of the documentary, and one did not receive a day off after working 18 days in a row while another was exhausted by the long hours. There were also workers who were filmed falling asleep during 12-hour shifts.

One undercover reporter, working in a factory making parts for Apple computers, had to work 18 days in a row despite repeated requests for a day off.



Another reporter, whose longest shift was 16 hours, said: "Every time I got back to the dormitories, I wouldn't want to move.



"Even if I was hungry I wouldn't want to get up to eat. I just wanted to lie down and rest. I was unable to sleep at night because of the stress."

Undercover reporters were forced to do overtime, which is supposed to be voluntary, and the housing conditions were less than desirable, with one reporter subjected to a dormitory where 12 workers shared a single room. Another reporter had to attend after work meetings off the clock, receiving no compensation.



In response to the BBC's allegations, Apple released a statement suggesting that it's doing more than any other company to improve working conditions for factory employees. The company also said it monitors working hours at Pegatron, with employees at the factory averaging 55 hours per week.

"We are aware of no other company doing as much as Apple to ensure fair and safe working conditions.



"We work with suppliers to address shortfalls, and we see continuous and significant improvement, but we know our work is never done."

Apple also told the BBC that the overcrowding in the dormitory has been resolved, and that suppliers are required to retroactively pay workers if they have not received compensation for meetings.



The BBC's trip to Indonesia led the documentarians to allege that tin from illegal mines could be entering Apple's supply chain without its knowledge. Children were found digging tin ore in dangerous conditions, with the tin eventually being sold to a smelter that's on Apple's list of suppliers. Apple told the BBC that the situation in Indonesia is "complex" as thousands of miners sell tin through middle men.



Apple often finds itself in the spotlight over the conditions at the factories where its product components are produced, but over the last few years, the company has established a strict code of conduct for suppliers that prevents underage labor and provides safe, comfortable working and living conditions for workers.



Apple also maintains a Supplier Responsibility Team that performs regular audits to ensure compliance, but factory conditions continue to be an ongoing issue for Apple due to both the sheer number of suppliers the company works with and the fact that factories benefit from producing large quantities of product at a low cost.



The full documentary will be shown on BBC One on December 18 at 9:00 PM U.K. time, and it will be replayed later on BBC iPlayer.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:32PM, December 18

Use these 2 apps to shoot gorgeous 4K videos with your iPhone 6

We've known for a while that the A8 chip inside Apple's iPhone 6 includes support for 4K video, although the device's actual camera doesn't have the ability to film in 4K like Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 does. Just because your vanilla iPhone 6 doesn't shoot 4K videos, however, doesn't mean that you can't get it to do so with the help of some apps.

Continue reading...

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Posted in 2014 at 07:40PM, December 18

DEAL ALERT: This is your last chance to get a great deal on an Xbox One or PS4 in 2014

Let's say you missed all the Black Friday deals last month and you didn't pay attention during all the subsequent sales events, but you still want to pick up a new console before the end of the year.

Best Buy has you covered.

Continue reading...

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Posted in 2014 at 07:15PM, December 18

Bank of America Promoting Apple Pay in New Shopping-Focused TV Commercial [iOS Blog]

Bank of America this week released a new advertisement promoting Apple Pay, joining a growing number of financial institutions including Chase and Wells Fargo that are advertising Apple's recently launched mobile payments service.



The thirty-second video follows a businesswoman as she shops for her family and herself, buying a shirt, a dog bone, and some lipstick all with her iPhone. She then is seen leaving the store via an elevator, winking as the camera fades away.






Similar to previous commercials, the Bank of America ad focuses on the convenience of using Apple Pay to make payments with a Bank of America credit card. The narrator ends the ad by promoting Apple Pay as "the new, easy, secure, smart way to pay with a simple touch."



Interest in Apple Pay is increasing as additional banks and retailers start adopting the payment option. One of the newest retailers is the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, which is the the home of the Orlando Magic basketball team, with Apple Pay support launching at concession stands and other retail locations within the arena tomorrow. Apple recently confirmed that its mobile payments service now supports cards representing about 90 percent of the credit card purchase volume in the United States.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:00PM, December 18

Apple Researching Enhanced Touch ID Security Using Finger Motion Tracking [iOS Blog]

In a newly published Apple patent application credited to Dale Setlak, co-founder of AuthenTec, the company reveals its interest in enhanced security capabilities for the iPhone home button and Touch ID. The patent application describes how the Touch ID sensor could be paired with an on-screen combination lock or other secondary security feature, requiring the user to move his or her finger in certain directions to fully unlock a device.



As noted by Patently Apple , the June 2013 application shows off a few possibilities for the new technology, including a traditional combination lock-style system that has the user rotating his or her finger on the Touch ID sensor to input a security code.





Another potential implementation would require the user to swipe through a collection of circles by subtly shifting his or her finger in a specific pattern to unlock the phone. Both rely on the same technology created by AuthenTec that uses simultaneous security of a user's unique fingerprint and secure combinations to gain access to a device. AuthenTec has of course played an important role since its acquisition by Apple back in 2012, with the company's "Smart Sensor" technology serving as the basis for Touch ID.



While Touch ID was implemented for security reasons, the addition of a simple-to-enter secondary security code would increase security even further as a form of two-factor authentication combining physical authentication (fingerprint) with knowledge-based authentication (lock combination or swipe pattern). Implementation of such a system would address concerns over court rulings indicating that users could be compelled by police to unlock fingerprint-protected devices, unlike with passcode-protected devices.



The evolution of Touch ID from solely a fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5s to the expanded "Reachability" features of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus provides a hint at the possibilities of Touch ID in the future. And while inventions disclosed in Apple patent applications frequently do not ever appear in products, they can still offer some insight into Apple's areas of interest.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:32PM, December 18

Apple Seeds Third iOS 8.2 Beta to Developers

Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 8.2 to developers, just over a week after seeding the second beta and one month after releasing the first iOS 8.2 beta.



The beta, Build 12D5452a, is available immediately to registered developers as an over-the-air update and it can also be downloaded from the iOS Developer Center. Today's update also includes Xcode 6.2 beta 3 with WatchKit.



iOS 8.2 includes the WatchKit SDK, allowing developers to create apps, Glances, and notifications for Apple's upcoming wearable device ahead of its 2015 launch. The first iOS 8.2 beta, with WatchKit SDK and developer documentation, revealed several new details about the Apple Watch, including its heavy reliance on the iPhone and the different types of content developers can create for the device.

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Posted in 2014 at 05:51PM, December 18