Graham Spencer

917 posts on MacStories since January 2011

Former MacStories contributor.

graham@macstories.net

Rumor: New iPhone And iPod Touch Models Appear In Apple’s Inventory

Next week’s iPhone event on October 4th is still somewhat of a mystery, with rumors going round and round in circles as to whether Apple will launch a brand new iPhone 5, a slightly upgraded iPhone “4S” or perhaps both. 9to5 Mac claims to have some information on new products that have turned up inside Apple’s internal inventory system. According to their source, there are now three new iPod touch models under the codename N81A, which 9to5 Mac speculates could represent a white variation of the device.

Since there are only new three iPod touch models - at this time – it’s likely that the black models won’t be updated. This also likely means the storage capacities will stay at their current 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities.

What has also appeared is two new iPhone SKUs that are marked as tweaked iPhone 4s. Codenamed N90A (the current iPhone 4 is N90), this could represent a new 8GB version. In previous iOS SDK releases there has been reference to an iPhone with the codename of N94, this has not yet appeared in the inventory. As noted below such a codename would be given to a device with vastly different features and large improvements - rather than just a new white version or a new storage capacity model.

It is very possible that the two SKUs mean black and white models, but that is unconfirmed. We don’t think Apple’s next-generation iPhone – coming next week- would be labeled as an N90A – as it includes major internal hardware upgrades that would typically constitute a new codename.

If you’d like a recap of all the iPhone 5 rumor shenanigans that have occurred over this past year, be sure to have a read of our recap of the more reputable rumors that have been shared around.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

Report: iTunes Music Store Coming To 10 More European Union Countries

The Rzeczpospolita newspaper of Poland is reporting that Apple is preparing to launch the iTunes Music Store in 10 more European Union countries. The newspaper does not specify an exact date for when Apple might launch the new region-specific Music Stores but their sources note it could be “at any time”, possibly as soon as this October.

The newspaper names Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic as definite countries where the iTunes Music Store will soon be launching, but the other 7 are not known. As MacRumors points out, only 12 of the 27 European Union member countries do not yet have the iTunes Music Store. This list includes: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

The iTunes Music Store is currently available in roughly two dozen countries unlike the App Store which is available in many more dozen countries (including all 27 EU nations) — mostly due to more complicated licensing issues that arise when dealing with music.

[Rzeczpospolita via MacRumors]

Apple Could Be About To Discontinue The iPod Shuffle and Classic

Apple could be about retire the iPod classic and iPod shuffle as part of a “product transition” that was hinted at by Apple in their last earnings call. The news comes from TUAW who seem reasonably confident that at some point this year Apple will axe the two devices — likely keeping the iPod nano and iPod touch, for now.

To back up their source’s information they cite a recent report from CNet in which it was noted that the iPods now only make up for 8% of Apple’s total revenue. As the above graph shows, iPod sales have also been stagnant or falling over the last few quarters and although Apple doesn’t break these figures down model by model, its believed the iPod touch is what has held iPod sales up. Interestingly the iPod’s 10 year anniversary is coming up soon on October 24th and as CNet said it would be a nice for Apple to say “It had a great run, now go buy an iPhone”.

The shuffle is basically the same form factor as the nano, minus a screen. The classic uses a platter-based hard drive, while Apple is largely transitioning to flash-based memory solutions. The shuffle’s lack of a screen has been an issue since it first appeared as a memory stick with music playback functions. If Apple killed these off, all of its iPods would have touchscreens, and something tells me it wants it that way.

Concluding their report, TUAW notes that their source is “NOT an analyst” and that Apple’s plans are to consolidate the iPod line into just the nano (which would become Apple’s lowest-end iPod) and the touch. The iPod touch would become the premium iPod, with few changes except the availability of a white version.

[Via TUAW]

Apple Continues Opening New Stores This Weekend

Apple has been very active the last few months in opening numerous new Apple Stores across the world and this weekend is no exception, with a total of six new stores opening. It starts with the Nanjing East store in China opening tomorrow (Friday, September 23) and then the IFC (Hong Kong), Hornsby (Australia), Centro Sicilia (Italy), New Haven (Connecticut) and Metrotownn (Canada) Apple Stores will open on Saturday.

The Nanjing East store (shown above) is the third Apple has opened in Shanghai, but this one is a little more interesting because in addition to spanning two floors, ifoAppleStore notes that three additional levels will be used as training rooms, meeting rooms and administrative offices. Jump the break for some picture of the store.

Over in Hong Kong, Apple will this Saturday open a store in the IFC Mall (shown below), the first to be located in Hong Kong. ifoApple Store notes that the store will occupy two levels and feature a unique design:

The rear wall of both levels are glass windows looking out towards the city. On the inside, the lower level has two wide stainless steel walls, with a visitor entrance in the middle. The walls include back-lit display cases promoting Apple’s products. The upper level has an all-glass front window visible from the mall hallway.

[Via ifoApple Store [1] [2], Shanghaiist]

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Epic Games Brings Unreal Engine 3 To The Mac

Epic Games yesterday announced that the Unreal Engine 3 can now run on Macs with the arrival of the free Unreal Development Kit to OS X. Joystiq does note, however, that it arrives four years after Epic announced Gears of War and Unreal Tournament for OS X, but failed to deliver.

Every UDK game’s potential user base has increased dramatically yet again.

Unreal Engine 3 now supporting Macs comes after Epic introduced the Unreal Development Kit for iOS last year. Since then a number of iOS games build on the UDK have been released, including Epic Citadel (the beautiful tech demo of the UDK), Infinity Blade and Rage HD. LucasArts and Gameloft have also signed multi-year deals with Epic to produce games using the UDK.

[Epic Games via Joystiq]

Apple Introduces Their Online Store For Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and UAE

Apple customers in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates can today finally purchase Apple products and accessories directly from the online Apple store. The introduction of the online stores in these respective countries is the first avenue in which Apple can directly sell products to consumers located in those countries. Apple has no physical Apple retail stores in these countries and did not previously operate an online store. Consequently, until today the only way to purchase an Apple product from within these countries has been from authorised Apple resellers or importing.

The introduction of the new Apple Stores is displayed prominently on the front of the respective Apple websites in the four countries. The United Arab Emirates banner is shown above, it features a welcome slogan and confetti streaming down in the nations colours. You can see the Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary versions below the break.

[Via MacRumors]

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Report: Apple Enters Into An Agreement With TSMC For A6 And A7 Chip Production

DigiTimes is today reporting on claims from industry sources who say that Apple has signed a partnership agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The agreement will see TSMC produce the A6 chip as previously reported but also the A6’s successor, presumably dubbed the A7.

It now means that Samsung is no longer the exclusive manufacturer of chips for Apple’s iOS devices, which could be related to the current legal battles between the two companies. Sources have also told DigiTimes that TSMC has secured a favourable price, with little impact on TSMC’s profitability.

Apple and TSMC, however, have not yet talked about backend manufacturing, the sources said. It is likely that Apple will have TSMC and the other dedicated packaging and testing house split the orders due to TSMC’s limited available capacity for backend services, the sources speculated.

[Via DigiTimes]

Apple Preparing The Ability To Merge Multiple Apple IDs

According to MacRumors, Apple is currently working on the ability to merge multiple Apple IDs into a single ID. Currently those who have (for whatever reason) multiple Apple IDs are unable to merge them, even when contacting Apple support directly.

In an article posted yesterday however, it is revealed that a MacRumors reader had emailed Apple CEO Tim Cook and promptly received a phone call from an Apple executive relations employee regarding the issue. According to their account, the employee contacted the team responsible who said that they were aware of the issue and were concerned with iCloud exacerbating the problem. It was noted by the executive relations employee that they are working on it and in the meantime to pick a single account to use for all future purchases.

In an update to their article, MacRumors notes that a second reader has come forward, noting that they received a similar response over the issue. This prompt reaction by Tim Cook in responding to email from a customer is not his first and is consistent with his dedication to work.

[Via MacRumors]

Further Reports Of Two New iPhone Models, Supply Issues For The iPhone 5?

As the official announcement of the iPhone 5 inevitably creeps closer there has also been a flurry of activity in the past 24 hours with more rumors, supposed leaks and speculation from a wide variety of sources. Most recently, Nick Bilton of the New York Times wrote that a “fairly different” iPhone 5 with 8 MP camera is just weeks away.

Bilton’s suggestions are by-and-large consistent with most frequent of past rumors regarding the iPhone 5. Noting this, 9to5 Mac last night reported that they have heard that there will be two different iPhone models coming next month - a low-end, iPhone 4 look-alike and the new iPhone 5.

The iPhone 5 itself is a sight to behold, we’ve been told.  It is impossibly light, yet much firmer than Samsung Galaxy phones which are backed in plastic.  The camera rivals point and shoot cameras and will be a major marketing point for this device.

There isn’t anything inherently unique in their report either, claiming that Apple’s lower-end iPhone will be similar to the current iPhone 4 whilst the iPhone 5 will be tear-drop shaped, which has been claimed before. However they do say that this lower-end iPhone (the iPhone 4S if you will), is already being produced in high quantities, with 10 million expected on launch day. The iPhone 5 though, is apparently seeing “continued design and production delays, at least on one assembly line” with 9to5 Mac speculating there could be slight delays and shortages until 2012.

[Via 9to5 Mac]