Apple Rolling Out New iBeacon Transmitters, NFC Readers to Apple Stores and Disney Stores

Apple is rolling out near field communication (NFC) readers and updated versions of its iBeacon transmitters to its own stores and Disney Stores ahead of the launch of its mobile payments service and the iPhone 6, reports 9to5Mac .



The company will begin integrating new proximity beacons made by Gimbal that will provide more accurate iBeacon location tracking in its own stores, and roll out new payment systems to support the NFC capabilities on the iPhone 6 and its highly-anticipated wearable device.



The report also notes that Apple may be planning to roll out its own first-party iBeacon sensors in its retail locations, and could also provide or sell the transmitters to other retailers as an incentive to sign up for its new mobile payments service. An FCC filing earlier this year revealed that Apple was developing its own first-party iBeacon hardware, which may end up being the new hardware discussed in this latest report.



Disney's retail stores are also said to be receiving new credit card machines that support NFC, which will also likely integrate with Apple's new mobile payment service. Reports from this past week have also indicated that Apple will be partnering with a number of other retailers for the service, including Walgreens, CVS, Nordstrom and more.



Apple has also established deals with major credit companies such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and credit card issuers to support its mobile payments service.



Apple will likely unveil its mobile payments service on Tuesday, along with the new iPhone 6 and its highly-rumored wearable device. Apple's media event kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, and MacRumors will have full coverage as the event unfolds.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:23PM, September 07

Apple Filling Out Flyover City Tours Ahead of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite Launches [iOS Blog]

One of the new mapping features included in iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite is Flyover city tours, which leverages the existing Flyover imagery to provide users with an automated aerial tour of landmarks in a given city. When the feature first appeared early in the iOS 8 beta testing process, only a handful of cities were supported, and while the number of available tours remains small, Apple has added several dozen more cities over time.





Apple currently documents 90 cities, parks, and landmarks where the standard Flyover feature is available. Of these 90 locations where users can view interactive 3D maps, 40 currently have the automated Flyover tours enabled under iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite.




Apple's list of Flyover locations with current Flyover tour cities boxed in green


As with the Flyover feature itself, the list of cities with Flyover tour support is an eclectic one, ranging from major cities such as London, Paris, and New York to smaller areas such as Cheyenne, Wyoming and Linköping, Sweden, home of the C3 Technologies, the company whose technology was leveraged for Flyover after Apple acquired it several years ago.





During the beta testing period for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, Apple has also tweaked the means of identifying locations with Flyover tours enabled, making them easier to find. Initially, cities with the feature available were identifiable only by the text of the city name being in yellow rather than the standard white in Hybrid view. Apple has since tweaked the display to instead identify Flyover tour cities with a small "3D" icon instead of the standard dot used to mark location.



iOS 8 had been expected to see a number of significant mapping improvements, but the service was all but ignored during Apple's overview of the upcoming operating system at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Apple's maps team has reportedly been suffering from issues related to internal politics and the departure of a number of key members. The issues appear to have slowed the team's progress, and thus larger mapping improvements originally slated for iOS 8 may instead be pushed back to a later update such as a future iOS 8.1.



(Thanks, Alec!)

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Posted in 2014 at 03:28PM, September 07

Former GT Employee Appears to Confirm Apple's Plans for Sapphire Display Covers

While it is commonly taken as a foregone conclusion that the sapphire partnership between Apple and GT Advanced Technologies is focused on iPhone display covers, it bears noting that the two companies have never publicly confirmed what the sapphire will be used for.



Sapphire is already used to protect the camera and Touch ID sensor on recent iPhone models, and the material is also said to be planned for Apple's rumored iWatch, but the sheer amount of sapphire production apparently involved points to much bigger plans such as iPhone display covers.



Given the lack of confirmation from the two companies, it is interesting that Paul Matthews, a former GT product manager, outright claims on his LinkedIn profile (via TechViking ) that he played a key role in convincing Apple to use sapphire for display covers on "mobile devices."

Worked with GT Advanced Technology to help market and sell the idear [sic] of sapphire as a cover screen for mobile devices to Apple. [...]



After marketing and selling the ASF [advanced sapphire furnace] into the LED market targeted mobile screen covers as a market for growth, conducted a focused marketing campaign and developed a cost model across the supply chain that has brought sapphire to Apple’s mobile display

Matthews, who spent three years at GT before leaving in January to join Applied Materials, does not identify the mobile devices in question, but given circulating rumors, the iPhone is the obvious candidate. The iWatch could also be considered in the category of mobile devices, but in general it seems clear from Matthews' wording that Apple indeed has plans to use sapphire to protect device displays, a much broader use for the material than seen to date.



Alongside GT's apparently aggressive ramp-up of sapphire production at its new Arizona plant, rumors have indicated Apple had indeed been targeting the iPhone 6 for the launch of sapphire display covers. Analysts have, however, been debating how extensively the material will be used in the lineup's displays, with most claims ranging from only high-end models to not at all as Apple and GT work to boost production and overcome other hurdles.



(Image: GT sapphire furnace)

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Posted in 2014 at 01:12PM, September 07

More Photos and Videos of Claimed Working iPhone 6 Devices Surface

Following yesterday's leak of what appeared to be a working 4.7-inch iPhone 6, passions have run high between those who believe the device to be genuine and those who believe it to be a fake or a clone. Commenters in our forums naturally scrutinized the images and videos looking for inconsistencies and have found a few, including longer hands on the Clock app icon, an "upside down" color gradient on the Music app icon, while others argue the complete package of features shown would almost certainly not be able to faked to the degree seen.





Since the original leak, several other claimed iPhone 6 devices have been appearing on Chinese sites, giving the opportunity for even more examination of the possible authenticity. One user on video sharing site MiaoPai who had posted a few brief videos of the device in action that we added in an update to our previous post has continued posting clips, with well over a dozen now available on his page.



In addition, a seven-minute Youku video review of the device has been posted walking through a number of features and giving overall impressions of the device.






Debate about the authenticity of these devices will obviously continue until Tuesday's official unveiling of the iPhone 6, and readers are welcome to share their thoughts in our discussion forums.

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Posted in 2014 at 12:41PM, September 07

iWatch to Run Third-Party Apps, Key Developer Partners Already at Work

Apple's upcoming wearable device, popularly known as the iWatch, is expected to be unveiled at Tuesday's media event, although a launch will reportedly come perhaps as late as early 2015. Part of the reason for the early unveiling may be to give third-party developers time to build apps for the new device, and 9to5Mac reports that will indeed be the case. Moreover, key third-party developers are said to have already been seeded with software development kit (SDK) tools to facilitate their work.

A small handful of high-profile social network and services companies with apps on the iPhone and iPad App Store have already been seeded with a pre-release version of the Apple SDK (Software Development Kit) for wearables under strict non-disclosure agreements.



The SDK was seeded “very recently” to these developers, and Apple likely wants to demonstrate some third-party wearable apps at Tuesday’s event, according to one source.

iWatch concept by Todd Hamilton, based on the Nike Fuelband


The iWatch is expected to work closely with the iPhone, but contain its own array of health and fitness sensors as well as near field communications (NFC) technology for a new mobile payments initiative. A host of new iOS 8 features such as HealthKit, HomeKit, and extensions are also expected to be key to the iWatch's functionality.



Apple's media event kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time on Tuesday, and MacRumors will have full coverage as the event unfolds.

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Posted in 2014 at 12:22AM, September 07