According to a report out of Thailand, two of Apple's main iPhone manufacturers have been hiring new staff en masse in preparation for the launch of the new iPhone 6. Foxconn has apparently beefed up personnel to the tune of over 100,000 workers, while Pegatron - a more recent addition to Apple's list of manufacturing partners - has also upped its numbers by almost one-third.
If you thought sticking to the OEM products for any of your gadgets wasn’t really important and that the cheaper knockoffs worked the same, think again - a recent report suggests that third-party (read: cheap and uncertified) USB cables and wall chargers are the biggest reason for dead iPhone 5 smartphones.
The old saying of 'there's no smoke without fire' has never been more apt than Apple's fabled iWatch. With absolutely no news coming out of Apple in official channels, there have been enough leaks, and enough hiring of medical and fashion-oriented people that, at this point, we'd be flabbergasted if a smartwatch wasn't on Apple's roadmap. Quite when that will turn into a shipping product however, is anybody's guess.
With September drawing ever nearer, the iPhone 6 bandwagon is rolling on nicely. The expected announcement of the next-generation iPhone may be just three months away, but there is still quite a lot of information to be leaked before we know for sure what we will be lining up for. The smart money is on at least one new iPhone being released at that time, with another coming weeks later. The two new phones are expected to feature larger screens than Apple's past offerings, which makes this particular launch even more interesting than usual.
In spite of the continual wave of information pertaining to the iPhone 6, Apple is said to have a further trick up its sleeve in the form of the elusive iWatch, which is also slated for release at some point this year.
When Apple announced iOS 8 at WWDC, it covered some of the software's most impressive features when showing people why it's the perfect companion for the Mac's upcoming OS X 10.10 Yosemite release. One feature that didn't get a mention is actually more of a tool for developers than a customer-facing addition, but that doesn't mean they won't get the benefit of it.
Apple's iOS 8 was announced a couple of weeks ago at the WWDC keynote event at the Moscone Center, but while, we were taken aback by how many features the company had packed into what was initially touted as a rudimentary update, we've been continually surprised by further clues on features as discovered through the subsequent iOS 8 betas. Earlier on this week, Apple rolled out iOS 8 beta 2 to developers, and having done some digging, one developer has manage to find and partially unlock the "City Tours" feature that Apple quietly alluded to before.
Smartphones, tablets and mobile gadgets in general are regularly targeted by unwanted individuals, and devices bearing the famous Apple logo tend at higher risk than those created by other manufacturers. The iPhone, in particular, has been a hot item given its strong resale value, and as such, Apple has felt compelled - obliged even - to take action. The Activation Lock system introduced alongside iOS 7 has, according to a new report, notably reduced iPhone theft across three of the world's major cities, with London, New York and San Francisco all having noticed less activity involving theft of Apple's most prized of assets.
According to reports, Apple's elusive "iWatch" device will be packed to the gills with sensors as the company goes for the jugular of competitors like Sony, Samsung and Pebble. But now we're hearing that the wearable won't be the only Apple device abundant with sensors, with the iPhone 6 apparently set to contain a barometer / air pressure sensors for accurate readings of weather conditions and altitude.
Apple today launched a new, entry-level iMac to the fold, and as is often the case with hardware upgrades and refreshes from the fruit company, we've also got a spate of price drops to report on. Across much of Europe, the standalone Mac mini desktop computer and Apple TV set-top are both now cheaper than previously priced, while the iMac has also been treated to a health price-drop in the United Kingdom.
