MacRumors

Apple CEO Tim Cook is on work-related travel this week, and his trip appears to include a stop in Austin, Texas on Friday, based on both flight information and comments shared by the city's mayor Steve Adler.

There are plenty of reasons why Cook could be in Austin, which has become a major tech hub in the United States. He could be planning to visit Apple's large seven-building campus there, or the Flextronics factory that assembles the Mac Pro, as he did in 2014. There is also Austin's annual Pride Parade on Saturday.

Meanwhile, MacRumors received an anonymous tip earlier this week from a reader who claims Cook plans to announce the date of Apple's rumored September event at an undisclosed location in downtown Austin on Friday.

No sources have confirmed this information, however, so treat this rumor with a proverbial grain of salt for now. Apple typically announces its September events in late August by sending invites to members of the media via email, and Cook simultaneously announcing the event would certainly be out of the ordinary.

The tipster informed us that Apple may have selected Austin due to its growing presence of AR/VR startups, so it's possible Cook's announcement could be related to ARKit. Cook has repeatedly expressed his profound interest in augmented reality. Or, it's quite possible he might not announce anything at all.

Earlier today, Cook visited Cincinnati Test Systems in Harrison, Ohio, a small city in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area. CTS is a leading manufacturer of leak testing equipment that helped ensure the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 are as water resistant as advertised.

Cook then met with Iowa governor Kim Reynolds in Waukee, Iowa, part of the Des Moines area, shortly after Apple announced plans to build a 400,000-square-foot data center in the city at a cost of $1.3 billion. While in the area, Cook also visited Waukee High School and an Apple retail store in West Des Moines.

Apple has hosted special events in September for five consecutive years, dating back to the iPhone 5 introduction in 2012. This year's event is rumored for September 12, but September 6 would also be a suitable date.

Update: At a town hall meeting, Austin mayor Steve Adler said Cook will be announcing a training program of some kind that will be launched across the United States. Cook likely has other plans on his agenda throughout the day. Skip to the 48:15 mark in this video for Adler's comments.

Update: Apple today announced that its "App Development with Swift" curriculum will be adopted by more than 30 community college systems across the United States, including the Austin Community College District. It's possible Cook has other announcements to share later today.

(Thanks, Scott H. and Joe D.!)

Apple will introduce a fifth-generation Apple TV with 4K video support at an event planned for September, reports Bloomberg. The device is said to feature a faster processor to support 4K streaming, which has twice the resolution in each dimension of the 1080p streaming supported on the current fourth-generation Apple TV and four times as many pixels.

In addition to 4K support, which will only be available on a 4K television, the new set-top box will support High Dynamic Range (HDR) video for brighter, more accurate colors.

Apple is also said to be testing a new version of its TV app that is designed to better highlight live TV content, aggregating live shows from apps that offer live streaming, and it is establishing deals with content makers to provide 4K video.

In order to play 4K and HDR content, Apple will need deals with content makers that can provide video in those formats. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant has begun discussions with movie studios about supplying 4K versions of movies via iTunes, according to people familiar with the talks. The company has also discussed its 4K video ambitions with content companies that already have apps on Apple TV, another person said.

We've known Apple has had a new Apple TV with 4K support in the works for some time, and while there were hints that a launch was imminent, there was no confirmation that the device would be introduced in September prior to today.

The Apple TV was last updated in October of 2015, which is when the redesigned fourth-generation set-top box with Siri Remote and a full App Store was introduced.

Along with a new 4K Apple TV, we're also expecting to see a third-generation Apple Watch with LTE support and three new iPhones, including a radically redesigned 5.8-inch iPhone with an OLED display and facial recognition at Apple's September event.

Apple is putting the finishing touches on its Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, and a new video shared today by drone pilot Duncan Sinfield shows the company's recent progress on landscaping and other final construction projects.

Greenery is being added to the interior and exterior of the ring-shaped main building at a rapid pace, filling in an area that was once just mounds of dirt. Apple is using native plants and trees, and is said to be planting thousands of trees in Apple Park, including many fruit trees.

Much of the interior of the building is outfitted with furniture, and work is largely completed on the solar panels on the roof and the window shades that will protect the building from bright sunlight to moderate the inside temperature.

The Steve Jobs Theater, where Apple will host events, appears to be nearly complete, but there's still construction equipment in the area, so it's not quite clear if it will be ready in time for Apple's September iPhone event.

Along with the main drone video showing off Apple's progress, Sinfield has also published a 360-degree video. The video doesn't work in Apple's Safari browser, but if you use Chrome you can rotate the video to get a full view of the campus. On an iPhone, the YouTube app can be used with tilt gestures for a more complete picture of Apple Park.

Apple employees started moving in to Apple Park earlier this year, but it will take until the end of the year for the campus to be complete and for all of the employees to transition to the location.

Apple Park will be the home of approximately 12,000 Apple employees. Other Apple employees will work at the company's Infinite Loop campus and at other office locations in Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino, San Jose, and San Francisco.

Apple today announced plans to build a 400,000-square-foot data center in Waukee, Iowa, which will provide backend infrastructure for the App Store, Siri, Apple Music, iMessage, and other Apple services in North America.

Apple is investing $1.3 billion into the facility, which it says will create over 550 construction and operations jobs in the Des Moines area.

"Apple is responsible for 2 million jobs in all 50 states and we're proud today's investment will add to the more than 10,000 jobs we already support across Iowa, providing even more economic opportunity for the community," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO.

Apple also said it will contribute up to $100 million to a newly created Public Improvement Fund dedicated to community development and infrastructure around Waukee. The fund, to be established and managed by the City of Waukee, will support the development of community projects like parks, libraries and recreational spaces, as well as infrastructure needs.

"We're honored Apple is choosing Iowa for the site of its most technologically advanced data center to date," said Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. "Apple's commitment to innovation and renewable energy leadership mirrors our own. This investment in our state is vital as we continue to develop as a technology hub and grow our workforce."

As part of its pledge to power all of its global operations with 100 percent renewable energy, Apple said the data center will run entirely on renewable energy from day one. Apple noted it will be working with local partners to invest in renewable energy projects from wind and other sources to power the facility.

Apple said construction on the data center is expected to start early next year, with plans to bring it online in 2020.

Iowa's Economic Development Authority reportedly approved a deal on Thursday that will give Apple $208 million in state and local tax breaks to construct two data centers near Des Moines. Apple will reportedly buy 2,000 acres of land for the project, allowing for future development in the area.

Apple's plans to open the facility were first reported by The Des Moines Register on Wednesday. Apple CEO Tim Cook is in Des Moines today for a meeting related to the data center, Iowa state officials confirmed.

Apple already operates several data centers around the world. In the United States, it has facilities located in Reno, Nevada; Prineville, Oregon; Maiden, North Carolina; Newark, California; and Mesa, Arizona.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Benjamin Geskin‏ today shared a photo of what appears to be four bare logic boards that are likely for the so-called iPhone 7s Plus.

We know the logic board is likely for the iPhone 7s Plus because the placement of the screw holes is consistent with the iPhone 7 Plus logic board, while the top narrow portion is wider than the iPhone 7 logic board.

The so-called iPhone 8, meanwhile, is expected to have a stacked logic board design with a L-shaped two-cell battery pack, which effectively rules out this logic board being for the widely rumored OLED display model.

The logic board isn't populated with components, but there are pads etched on it that suggest the iPhone 7s Plus will be powered by an Apple A11 chip, while at least one model appears to have an Intel modem.

We know this because blurry images of the alleged A11 chip were shared by Chinese social media account GeekBar last week, and the rear design of the chip is consistent with the pad on the bare logic board.

Apple's A11 chip reportedly uses a new 10-nanometer FinFET manufacturing process introduced by supplier TSMC, and it will undoubtedly be faster than the A10 Fusion chip in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

As for the modem being supplied by Intel or Qualcomm, the modem pad pattern is virtually identical to the one on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus logic board, and those smartphones are equipped with Intel's XMM7360 chip.

While not pictured, Apple will likely continue to dual source modems from Qualcomm for its upcoming iPhone lineup. Qualcomm's legal dispute with Apple, however, could push more orders in Intel's direction.

The logic board is etched with a "3217" timestamp, corresponding with the 32nd week of 2017, suggesting it was manufactured in early August.

The rest of the logic board is largely the same as the bare iPhone 7 logic board that surfaced last August — and proved to be real.

In related news, photos of what could be the iPhone 7s's display assembly have surfaced on Chinese social platform Weibo. If real, the part reveals no surprises for the iPhone 7s, which is expected to look similar to the iPhone 7.

Apple is expected to announce its new iPhone lineup at a September event, potentially alongside a new 4K Apple TV and Apple Watch Series 3.

Samsung is indeed working on a smart speaker that will be introduced in the near future, Samsung mobile president DJ Koh told CNBC this morning.

"Maybe soon we will announce it. I am already working on it," he said in an interview following the Galaxy Note 8 launch.

Koh went on to say he wants to "provide a fruitful user experience at home with Samsung devices." "I want to be moving quite heavily on it," he added.

Koh declined to provide additional details about the company's upcoming smart speaker, but a previous report suggests it will be built around Samsung's Bixby virtual assistant. The speaker has been in development for more than a year, but has been hampered by problems with Bixby.

Samsung initially had to delay Bixby's introduction in the English language version of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ due to performance issues, with the functionality being added to the devices just a month ago in in July.

There's no specific launch date for the Samsung speaker, but with Apple planning to debut its own HomePod in December, Samsung's competing device is unlikely to be too far behind. In July, Samsung's speaker was said to still be in early development, with several features and specifications yet to be hammered out.

Apple's HomePod focuses heavily on speaker quality as a way to distinguish itself from competitors like the Amazon Echo. It features a 7 tweeter array, an Apple-designed 4-inch upward-facing woofer, and an A8 chip that powers robust spatial awareness functionality.

It also includes touch controls for navigation, six microphones, built-in Apple Music support, and Siri integration.