A fresh report suggests that Apple is in final talks in the process of acquiring Beats Electronics, maker of speakers, headphones and other music-related products and services, for a whopping $3.2 billion. The story is currently developing, but if true, it would represent Apple’s largest ever acquisition.
If you're an avid follower of mobile tech coverage, you'll have found that Apple's elusive iPhone 6 continues to command a fairly decent proportion of the blogosphere's column inches, which isn't bad going given that we're still over four months from the purported release. Based on a bunch of info an accompanying leaks, we've painted what we believe to be a fairly vivid picture of what Apple is preparing to release in Q3, and a new comparison of an iPhone 6 mock-up against pre-existing iOS devices offers an even better perspective.
Following on from earlier reports that Apple, among a string of other companies, was planning on opening up a store on location at New York's upcoming World Trade Center Mall, it has now been all-but confirmed by independent reports that this will indeed be the case.
In the very latest Apple vs. Samsung court battle, the latter was ordered to pay its rival damages to the sum of almost $120 million, but as one might perhaps have anticipated, the Korean company is having none of it. John Quinn, Samsung's lawyer in this particular case, has noted that the Galaxy maker will request that the award of damages be reduced to zero, which is a rather brazen step given the size of the initial award.
Apple's Developer site is often found to have left security holes within its infrastructure, and while the Cupertino outfit tries its utmost to ensure these flaws are few and far between, it's the nature of the beast that every now and again, problems must be dealt with. Over the weekend, the Dev Center went offline for maintenance works, but while this is a frequent occurrence - particularly given that new iOS releases are almost always dished out on a Monday - the purpose this time around was to fix an issue that leaked private info of accounts all the way up to CEO Tim Cook.
At the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple is expected to take the wraps off iOS 8, and in the last couple of months, we've been hearing all sorts of rumors with regards to what features and improvements will be added. A new concept, as well as a rather dubious leak, have almost simultaneously emerged in the wild, and with just over a month left until the grand unveiling, these new developments may offer even more of an insight into what the Cupertino has up its sleeve.
Over the weekend, it emerged that Nike was essentially closing off its FuelBand endeavors, laying off a large quantity of the project's workforce in the process. Given the close relationship between Nike and Apple, and with the so-called iWatch on the horizon, there was always going to be a conflict of interests, but with Nike having calmed its project down to a virtual halt, the stage looks set for the iWatch to launch. However, a new report suggests that Nike and Apple are to collaborate in the creation of an apparently separate "smart band," which will feature gesture controls and supposedly launch in the fall.
Apple and Samsung are currently contesting a patent battle in a California court, with the Cupertino company convinced that its Korean counterpart has lifted certain copyrighted iOS features. Given that Samsung already lost in court versus Apple and was forced to pay over a billion dollars in compensation in a previous judgment - a decision that was later reduced on appeal - it's fair to say that the Galaxy maker has developed a bit of a reputation, and in its latest ad campaign, Apple seems to be reveling in it.
Apple released iOS 7.1 back in March, and with it, introduced CarPlay, iTunes Radio enhancements, and several other minor tweaks and alterations. Today, reports suggest that iOS 7.1.1 release is on its way, although it appears that said update will focus on house-keeping, with the usual spate of bug fixes and general performance enhancements.
Historically, Samsung has been all too willing to slander Apple and its products with ads, but for a while a few years back, the Korean outfit took a back seat, preferring to let Google take control of the Apple-bashing. But while, as has been revealed during the unfolding of events in the current Apple vs. Samsung court case in California, the Galaxy maker did cease to attack Apple for a while, the company's marketing team saw the death former CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs as "the best opportunity" to re-ignite its smear campaign.
