Apple Rolling Out Revamped iTunes Store to iTunes 12 Users Ahead of OS X Yosemite Launch

Apple has started rolling out a new iTunes Store design for OS X Yosemite testers that have iTunes 12 installed. The revamped storefront takes several design elements from the iTunes Store and App Store on iOS, adopting a cleaner, flatter look that does away with a lot of shadowing and texture that was previously seen in the design. The revamped look fits in with the design of iTunes 12, which takes on the flatter, more iOS-like look seen across OS X Yosemite.



For example, the top bar of the iTunes Store that currently displays cards in a rotating carousel for featured music, movies, apps, and TV shows in their respective categories has been flattened out into a scrollable banner with the new iTunes Store design, doing away with the previous card-style layout.





The slight bit of shadowing that used to highlight app icons, music icons, and categories, has been eliminated and as can be seen in the screenshot below, Apple is using a slightly lighter and larger font for menu options. The light gray background of the existing store has now been replaced with a white background.





Prominent rounded menu buttons have been eliminated in favor of flat, unobtrusive buttons as can be seen with the “Download” option in the individual App Store view shown below. Individual content pages have also lost all highlight shadowing, with screenshots and app icons flat against the background of the page. Movie, TV Show, and Music pages all have the same flattened design.



While main content pages now have a white background, some individual movie, app, TV show, and music pages continue to have a colored background, that also adopts all of the flat interface elements.





As noted by 9to5Mac , the new design has not yet been implemented on all pages, with some, like the gift card redemption page, continuing to use older interface elements.



iTunes 12 will launch alongside OS X Yosemite, which is expected to be released to the public in late October. The operating system may be shown off one last time at Apple’s October 16 iPad event ahead of its official launch.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:45PM, October 10

Leak may reveal Samsung’s bold new Android interface

There are two things you can bring up that will almost instantly annoy certain diehard Android fans: The first is mentioning what a drag it is to wait so long for the latest software updates thanks to carrier and OEM constraints. The other is Samsung's TouchWiz UI, which is to many Android fans what Jar Jar Binks is to Star Wars fans or what Nikki and Paulo were for Lost fans — that is, something that's capable of single-handedly wrecking something they otherwise love.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:30PM, October 10

How the iPhone 6 may have forced Apple to bankrupt its own sapphire supplier

By far the strangest story to pop up this week has been the surprise bankruptcy filing of GT Advanced Technologies, which had been Apple's top supplier of sapphire for displays of the Apple Watch and other devices. The Wall Street Journal now reports that GT Advanced is looking to get out of the sapphire business all together "after a failed effort to produce material for Apple’s smartphone screens."

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Posted in 2014 at 08:45PM, October 10

Many Retailers Hesitant About Offering Support for Apple Pay

Though Apple is launching Apple Pay with a number of high-profile retail partners including Macy's, Disney, Whole Foods, Sephora, Walgreens, and Staples, among others, there's a long list of retailers who have decided not to offer Apple Pay in their stores.



Walmart and Best Buy, for example, have been two high-profile companies that have vocally opted out, and The Daily Dot has compiled a list of several other retail outlets that have current no plans to support Apple Pay. Clothing store H&M said that it has no plans to accept Apple Pay at this time, as did high-end retailer Coach.





A Bed, Bath & Beyond spokesperson said the company was "unable to participate," while a spokesperson for retailer Belk also said "we don't have the capability to accept Apple Pay right now," suggesting the store has not adopted payment systems with NFC capabilities.



Sears, Kmart, and Publix have also said they won't be accepting Apple Pay, as has gas company BP, though BP stations may be able to accept Apple Pay in 2016.

BP spokesperson Scott Dean said the company "won't be in a position to do this in 2014, but we're working with our marketers (BP gas stations are independently owned and operated) to upgrade our retail site technology progressively over the next two years and as part of those upgrades we will be setting ourselves up to be ready for mobile payments."

Some fast food restaurants aren't on board yet either, including Pizza Hut and Chipotle, while others, like KFC, are "looking into the prospect of accepting Apple Pay" but have no timetable for support.



It's important to note that even if a retailer does not explicitly state that it offers support for Apple Pay, the Apple Pay payments system will work in any retail store that allows contactless payments via NFC. Many modern point-of-sale (PoS) systems come with NFC capabilities, and Apple is counting on regulatory changes that will require merchants to update their payment hardware over the course of the next year.



As of October 2015, merchants that do not offer support for EMV credit cards (cards that contain integrated circuits to prevent fraud) will assume responsibility for any fraudulent transactions that take place. Normally, banks assume liability, so it is in the best interest of retailers to deploy these new payment processing systems. EMV cards, or chip cards, are already used in many other countries around the world.



Though many merchants will be upgrading to new payment systems, many of which offer NFC, these upgrades take time and it may be several months before retailers decide whether or not to adopt NFC to allow them to process payments through Apple Pay.



The list of merchants not on board with Apple Pay is considerable, but contactless payments are growing in popularity and with the help of Apple Pay, the adoption of NFC systems may accelerate even faster. According to Apple, more than 220,000 retail stores across the United States will be able to accept Apple Pay.



Apple Pay is expected to roll out in October as an update to iOS 8. iOS 8.1, with hidden Apple Pay settings, has already been seeded to developers for testing.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:19PM, October 10

Buyer's Guide: Deals on the iPad Air, MacBooks, Apple Accessories, and More [Mac Blog]

There are several deals on various Apple products this week, including the iPad Air and several MacBooks. Target, for example, is offering a $100 gift card with the purchase of any iPad Air model, which is perfect for users who are looking for a good deal on an iPad Air and don't need to wait for an upgraded model with Touch ID.



Best Buy is also offering $50 to $125 off several Apple MacBooks, including multiple 2014 MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro models. This can be combined with Best Buy's EDU deals, which offer $50 off all MacBooks and $50 off iMacs.



Retina MacBook Pro



There are several other deals on the Retina MacBook Pro, letting prospective customers get $100 to $150 off from select sites. The 2.6Ghz/8GB/128GB 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is available for $1,119.99 from Amazon B&H Photo, and Adorama. The 2.6Ghz/8GB/256GB 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is available for $1,399 from Adorama, B&H Photo, and MacMall. The 2.8Ghz/8GB/512GB 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is available for $1,699.99 from Amazon, Adorama, B&H Photo, and MacMall.





The 15-inch 2.2Ghz/16GB/256GB Retina MacBook Pro is available for $1,899 from Adorama and the standard non-retina MacBook Pro is available for $999 from Adorama and B&H Photo.



There are also some deals on remaining stock of the 2013 Retina MacBook Pros. The 2.4Ghz/4GB/128GB 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is available for $1,099 from Adorama and B&H Photo. The 2.6Ghz/8GB/512GB 13-inch model is available for $1,549 from Adorama and B&H Photo. The 2.0Ghz/8GB/256GB 15-inch model is available for $1,599 from Adorama, and B&H Photo. The 2.0Ghz/16GB/512GB 15-inch model is available for $2,199 from Amazon, and Adorama.



MacBook Air



B&H Photo is still offering low prices on some of its remaining 2013 MacBook Air inventory. The 1.3Ghz/4GB/128GB 11-inch MacBook Air is available for $819 , while the 1.3Ghz/4GB/256GB 11-inch MacBook Air is available for $889 .





B&H and Adorama, as always, are a good choice for buyers who live outside of New York and New Jersey, as the sites only charge sales tax in those states.



Mac Pro



Stock configurations of Apple's Mac Pro desktop computer are available at slightly discounted prices from several retailers this week. The 6-core 3.5Ghz/16GB/256GB machine can be purchased for $3,739.99 from Best Buy, Adorama, and B&H Photo, while the 4-core 3.7Ghz/12GB/256GB machine for $2,839.99 from Best Buy, Adorama, and B&H Photo.



Apple Accessories



Sabrent's stylish aluminum 4-port USB Hub for the Mac is available for $17.99, a discount of $7 off the regular price from Groupon. Sony's Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Lightning Dock is available for $169.99 from Groupon, a 32% discount.





Any customers purchasing products via Groupon this week can get an additional 10% off one purchase with the coupon code GOODS10, which will work through 10/13.



The popular Automatic Smart Driving Assistant can be purchased for $79.99 from Amazon, a discount of $19. Stacksocial is offering the Rain Design iRest iPad Stand for $35.99, down from its regular price of $50.





The myCharge Portable Power Bank 6000 with built-in Lightning and Micro USB is available for $49.99 from Best Buy, down from $99.99.



MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:39PM, October 10

In-depth review aims to see just how good the iPhone 6 Plus is for gaming

Apple’s recently released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been thoroughly reviewed so far, with various publications closely looking at their design lines, hardware performance, camera improvements and other software tricks. But Ars Technica decided to put the iPhone 6 Plus through a special gaming-only review.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:30PM, October 10

GT Seeks to Void 'Oppressive and Burdensome' Agreements With Apple, Outlines Sapphire Wind Down Process

Yesterday, lawyers for Apple's bankrupt sapphire production partner GT Advanced Technologies notified the court that court that the company would be seeking to "wind down" operations at its sapphire production facilities in Arizona and Massachusetts, while also pursuing efforts to escape from contracts related to those operations.



In a pair of filings today, GT has followed through on those plans, with one filing asking for court approval to void its contracts related to the operation, calling the terms of its contracts with Apple "oppressive and burdensome."

As discussed in detail in the Supplemental First Day Declaration, the agreements imposed oppressive and burdensome terms and obligations on GTAT. The contracts and leases...provide no benefit to GTAT's estates, and GTAT's continued performance under the Agreements is no longer a viable business option. [...]



GTAT has determined that the Agreements are no longer necessary for GTAT's business operations. The Agreements also are not a source of potential value for GTAT's future operations, creditors, or interest holders and constitute an unnecessary drain on GTAT's resources.

GT believes it will be able to pursue further claims against Apple, but is unable to do so at this stage of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and so has asked that the agreements be voided while maintaining its right to pursue future claims against Apple related to the agreements.



GT's second filing addresses the wind down procedure for its sapphire production facilities, noting that sapphire boules currently being grown in furnaces are valued at roughly $20,000 each and take up to 30 days to grow, and thus it is in the interest of the company and its creditors to allow boules already being grown to be completed.

[M]erely "pulling the plug" is not a viable option given the significant value of GTAT's equipment at these facilities (most notably, the sapphire growing furnaces) as well as the significant value of the sapphire boules that are currently being grown in the furnaces (a process that can take up to 30 days). For these reasons, GTAT has developed the Wind Down Process, which will allow GTAT to wind down its sapphire manufacturing operations in as orderly a manner as possible while preserving the value of its assets.

The first stage of GT's Wind Down Process involves maintaining a crew of 75 employees to monitor ongoing sapphire growth and then remove the boules and prepare them for sale, a process expected to be completed by mid-November. The second stage, requiring 15 employees, involves the cleaning and decommissioning of the furnaces themselves to preserve their value. Finally, roughly 35 employees will be needed to "shut down and clean up" the Arizona facility, with final closure coming by December 31.



Overall, GT projects that 890 employees will lose their jobs with the shutdown, with the company seeking approval to spend approximately $65,000 in incentives to ensure certain qualified employees remain with the company during the wind down process.



Apple has not commented publicly on the matter beyond its initial statement expressing surprise at GT's bankruptcy filing and pledging to work to preserve jobs in the area.



(Image: GT sapphire furnace)

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Posted in 2014 at 06:03PM, October 10