In a piece covering Twitter's successful effort to win live streaming rights for Thursday night National Football League games this season, The New York Times reports that Twitter is in discussions with Apple to launch a Twitter app for the Apple TV that would let Twitter's users watch the NFL games on Apple's set-top box.
Twitter has directed [Chief Financial Officer] Mr. [Anthony] Noto, a former Goldman Sachs banker with deep ties to the sports media industry, to lead the charge on live streaming and has assigned an engineering team to create its streaming video player. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive, considers streaming a critical component of the company’s focus on “live” experiences, along with Periscope, its app that allows smartphone users to live-stream video.
To bolster the effort, Twitter is in talks with Apple to bring the Twitter app to Apple TV, which would potentially let millions of Apple TV users watch the streaming N.F.L. games, according to the two people briefed on the discussions.
Beyond the NFL, Twitter continues to strike deals for other live streaming content, and while the company's strategy for live streaming is not yet "fully formed," Twitter is considering how to bring that content users either in the main timeline or in the Moments tab of the current app for various platforms.
The NFL had solicited a number of companies, including Apple, to gauge interest in streaming rights for Thursday Night Football, but Apple ultimately declined to submit a bid.
Twitter's first Thursday Night Football live stream will take place on September 15 when the New York Jets visit the Buffalo Bills.
The Washington Post today posted a lengthy new interview with Tim Cook, in which he discussed his first five years as Apple CEO and hinted at the company's work on augmented reality products.
When asked how he handled the scrutiny that came with the role, Cook admitted that it was something he'd had to adapt to since taking over from Steve Jobs, and that there was very little Apple could do without it being reported somewhere.
You’re both praised and criticized, and the extremes are wide — very wide. And that can happen all in a day. You build up — my skin got materially thicker after August 2011. And I don’t mean in a bad way. I don’t mean that I’m callous and don’t care. I think I’m a bit better today about compartmentalizing things and not taking everything so personally.
Asked what has changed about Apple since his tenure in the role, Cook explained that while the company's aim of making "insanely great products" remained the same, its interests had broadened in line with its tremendous growth.
The obvious things are we have more employees. The company is four times larger [by revenue since 2010]. We’ve broadened the iPhone lineup. That was a really key decision and I think a very good one. We’ve gone into the Apple Watch business, which has gotten us into wellness and in health. We keep pulling that string to see where that takes us. Lots of core technology work has been done.
Cook also explained that the company had stepped up its social responsibility and been more transparent about issues such as its environmental work, which had been "going on at Apple for decades, but we didn't talk about it." When asked how Apple could move forward when so much of its business is tied up in the iPhone and an industry that's cooling off, Cook said:
Look at the core technologies that make up the smartphone today and look at the ones that will be dominant in smartphones of the future — like AI. AI will make this product even more essential to you. It will become even a better assistant than it is today. So where you probably aren’t leaving home without it today — you’re really going to be connected to it in the future. That level of performance is going to skyrocket.
When asked about some analysts' claims that Apple's best days are behind it, Cook said the suggestion "doesn't bother him" because "he's heard it all before" and he doesn't subscribe to it "because it's traditional thinking in a lot of ways: You can't get large because you are large".
Asked about Apple's future and statements he made in the last earnings call about artificial intelligence, Cook argued that the company wasn't falling behind AI efforts by other companies and called the breadth of Siri "unbelievable":
Increasingly, Siri understands things without having to memorize certain ways to say things. The prediction of Siri is going way up. What we’ve done with AI is focus on things that will help the customer. And we announced in June that we’re opening Siri to third parties, so third-party developers can now use Siri. So a simple example with that, whatever kind of ride-sharing app you might use, Uber or Lyft in the United States, you could just — using your voice — order the car. So third-party developers are writing tons of those that will be available to the public in the fall. And that’s how we’re broadening Siri in a huge way.
Apple has had a team working on virtual and augmented reality technologies since at least early 2015, when rumors suggested there were a small number of employees investigating how Apple could incorporate the technologies into its products. Apple's interest in virtual reality dates back much further, however, and Apple has filed multiple patents over the years, for products like video goggles, motion-sensing 3D virtual interfaces for iOS devices, and 3D "hyper reality" displays. When asked if Apple had designs on the augmented or virtual reality space, Cook said:
I think AR [augmented reality] is extremely interesting and sort of a core technology. So, yes, it’s something we’re doing a lot of things on behind that curtain that we talked about. [Laughs.]
In the full interview, Cook reflects on the death of Steve Jobs, Apple's tax policies, his non-traditional view of the role of a CEO, his succession planning, and some of the mistakes he's made along the way.
Apple has implemented a series of short- and long-term defenses to its iMessage protocol after several issues were discovered by a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University, according to a report published today (via PatentlyApple).
This attack is different to the one Johns Hopkins researchers discovered in March, which allowed an attacker to decrypt photos and videos sent over iMessage.
The technical paper details how another method known as a "ciphertext attack" allowed them to retrospectively decrypt certain types of payloads and attachments when either the sender or receiver is still online.
The scenario requires that the attacker intercepts messages using stolen TLS certificates or by gaining access to Apple's servers. While the attack takes a high level of technical expertise to be successful, the researchers note that it would be well within the means of state-sponsored actors.
Overall, our determination is that while iMessage’s end-to-end encryption protocol is an improvement over systems that use encryption on network traffic only (e.g., Google Hangouts), messages sent through iMessage may not be secure against sophisticated adversaries.
The team also discovered that Apple doesn't rotate encryption keys at regular intervals, in the way that modern encryption protocols such as OTR and Signal do. This means that the same attack can be used on iMessage historical data, which is often backed up inside iCloud. In theory, law enforcement could issue a court order forcing Apple to provide access to their servers and then use the attack to decrypt the data.
The researchers believe the attack could also be used on other protocols that use the same encryption format, such as Apple's Handoff feature, which transfers data between devices via Bluetooth. OpenPGP encryption (as implemented by GnuPGP) may be vulnerable to similar attacks when used in instant messaging applications, the paper noted.
Apple was notified of the issue as early as November 2015 and patched the iMessage protocol in iOS 9.3 and OS X 10.11.4 as a result. Since that time, the company has been pushing out further mitigations recommended by the researchers through monthly updates to several of its products.
However, the team's long-term recommendation is that Apple should replace the iMessage encryption mechanism with one that eliminates weaknesses in the protocol's core distribution mechanism.
The paper detailing the security issue is called Dancing on the Lip of the Volcano: Chosen Ciphertext Attacks on Apple iMessage, and was published as part of the USENIX Security Symposium, which took place in Austin, Texas. You can read the full paper here.
Netflix has released the soundtracks for both its popular sci-fi series Stranger Things, and its new musical drama The Get Down, exclusively on iTunes and Apple Music. There are 36 total songs rounding out the "Volume 1" soundtrack for Stranger Things, and on August 19 a "Volume 2" is expected to launch on Apple's music services as well, with both volumes getting physical CD treatments on September 16 and September 23, respectively (via Consequence of Sound).
The music from the Stranger Things soundtrack was created by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, members of an Austin-based band called Survive. The two musicians helped craft the feel of the show's score by balancing "a classic tone," without going so far as to make it "'80s cheese."
“We discussed having a classic tone and feel to the music for the show but being reserved enough that it wasn’t ’80s cheese, while offering a refreshing quality so that felt modern,” Stein said in a press release. “This was one of the qualities that drew them to our music in the first place. Having a familiarity with classic synths worked, but with an overall forward thinking approach.”
Netflix has yet to say when or if the two volume soundtrack will hit other streaming platforms. Apple Music has netted plenty of exclusives over the past few months, but the TV soundtrack for Stranger Things marks an interesting new addition of content for the service's users. Earlier in the week, artist Kyle Lambert detailed his process of creating the poster art for Stranger Things, which involved the use of an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.
The Get Down's soundtrack is one "Deluxe Version," adding up to 24 total songs from the new series. Artists on the album include Christina Aguilera, Leon Bridges, and Janelle Monáe, who contribute to the "musical panorama of New York City from the '70s to the '10s." Apple Music is even curating playlists for songs from each episode of the show, and has so far debuted collections for the first two episodes, each with about a dozen tracks.
The Get Down (Original Soundtrack from the Netflix Original Series) can be streamed on Apple Music or purchased for $13.99 on the iTunes store. [Direct Link]
Stranger Things, Volume 1 (A Netflix Original Soundtrack) can also be listened to on Apple's streaming music service, in addition to being available for purchase on iTunes for $9.99. [Direct Link]
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with well-known storage and memory company Lexar to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a bundle that includes Lexar's Lightning-based MicroSD Card Reader and a high-performance 64GB MicroSD card.
Lexar's MicroSD Lightning Reader is a tiny coin-sized dongle that makes it easy to transfer content from a microSD card to an iPhone or iPad, so it's an ideal companion to products like drones and GoPro-style action cameras. Many Android phones also feature microSD slots, so it's also a good way to transfer files between Android and iOS device, and it's also useful for transferring files directly between two iOS devices.
The Lightning MicroSD Reader is small enough that it can go anywhere, from a pocket to a small camera bag, but it looks like a high quality accessory that matches well with Apple's design aesthetic. It's so compact that it's potentially easy to lose, but it comes with a little strap so it can be attached to a set of keys or a loop on a backpack. The Lightning connector of the MicroSD Reader fits well into the Lightning port of an iPhone even with a case on, including Apple's own line of cases.
With a USB microSD reader (included with the 64GB card in the giveaway) you can also offload files from a computer and transfer them directly to the iPhone through the microSD reader, or use the reader to offload files from an iPhone to the microSD card for extra storage space.
The MicroSD Lightning Reader has to be used with the Lexar app, which is decent. If you put content like videos and photos on the microSD card, you can view them directly within the app and save them to the camera roll. You can also use the app to back up your iPhone's photos and contacts and transfer files to Dropbox.
The Lexar MicroSD Lightning Reader can be purchased from Amazon for $19.99, but four MacRumors readers will win a Lightning Reader and a 64GB Lexar microSD card through our giveaway. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (August 12) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on August 19. The winners will be chosen randomly on August 19 and will be contacted by email. The winners have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
Sonos is a well-regarded brand known for creating some of the best multi-room home speaker setups, and in late 2015, the company debuted its latest product, a second-generation Play:5. The original Play:5 (once called the S5) came out in 2009, so the new Play:5 marks a long overdue update that brings a new design and better sound.
As someone new to the Sonos ecosystem, the Play:5 (paired with a set of Play:1 speakers) is the first Sonos speaker I've tested in my home. After a month breaking it in, I finally understand why Sonos is such a popular brand and is regarded as the best system for iPhone-compatible whole house audio.
Priced at $499, the new Play:5 isn't cheap, but that price point includes a hassle-free user experience and impressive audio. As covered in the review below, there are some downsides to buying into the Sonos line, but its ease of use, sound, and multi-speaker pairing capabilities make it largely a win for those ready to shell out the cash for a quality sound system.
Apple has recently added Australian streaming service Stan to the universal search function on the fourth-generation Apple TV, marking the first third-party service outside of the U.S. beyond Netflix to be supported.
For those unfamiliar with universal search, it's a feature that allows users to conduct Siri voice searches or text-based searches to find TV and movie content across a wide range of channels. At launch, universal search only supported a few channels, but Apple has been rapidly expanding the feature to encompass additional channels.
Universal search is available for a wide number of apps in the United States, but the feature is limited to iTunes and Netflix in Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Australia, universal search on the fourth-generation Apple TV supports movies and TV shows in iTunes, Netflix, and Stan.
Apple chairman Arthur D. Levinson and general counsel Bruce Sewell recently sold approximately $7.6 million and $2.5 million worth of company shares respectively, according to SEC documents filed electronically this week.
Levinson sold 70,000 shares of common stock on August 9 for an average price of $108.68, while Sewell disposed of 23,305 shares for an average price of $107.49 on August 5. The combined return was slightly over $10 million.
Levinson, CEO of biotech company Calico, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, has served as chairman of Apple's board of directors since November 2011. The former Genentech executive has served on the board since 2000, with CEO Tim Cook praising his "enormous contributions to Apple" and "incredibly valuable" insight and leadership.
Sewell has served as Apple's general counsel, or chief lawyer in layman's terms, since September 2009. He oversees all company-related legal matters, including corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation and securities compliance, global security, and privacy, including a recent high-profile court battle with the FBI related to the intersection of national security and smartphone encryption.
Apple's senior executives and directors are commonly awarded generous stock bonuses based on performance and tenure. Last August, Cook and services chief Eddy Cue received 560,000 and 350,000 restricted stock units respectively, worth a combined $93.8 million at the time. Later in the year, Apple's recently promoted hardware chief Johny Srouji was awarded nearly $10 million in restricted stock units.
Apple might be looking to further expand its presence in Seattle, Washington following its acquisition of Seattle-based machine learning and artificial intelligence startup Turi. The news comes from reports of a "large California company" looking to purchase a big piece of office space in the city, with most believing that it's Apple (via GeekWire).
Last week, Apple paid $200 million to acquire Turi, which bills itself as a "machine learning platform for developers and data scientists," helping them build apps using the capabilities of artificial intelligence. Although the company's acquisition of Turi helps justify the rumor of Apple's expansion in Seattle, nothing has yet been solidified and, according to GeekWire, the Seattle rumors "pre-date Apple’s acquisition of Turi."
Specifically, the "large California company" is looking at properties in downtown Bellevue, particularly in the Schnitzer West’s 16-story Centre 425 building. Schnitzer West is under construction, with an opening expected towards the end of 2016, so if Apple makes a move it could begin increasing its Seattle presence by the end of the year.
At this point, we’ve been unable to confirm exactly where Apple may be headed in the Seattle area, but multiple sources say the footprint could be huge, several hundred thousand square feet. The rumors we’ve heard also pre-date Apple’s acquisition of Turi.
If a deal in downtown Bellevue were to go through it would be a big shot in the arm for an area that was looking at some sizable office vacancy over the next few years. In addition to the office buildings set to open soon, Expedia is leaving downtown Bellevue for Seattle in 2019. But the Valve and Salesforce deals, combined with a possible Apple move, would show that there are plenty of companies ready to step up to fill the void.
Last summer, Apple leased 30,000 square feet of office space in the Two Union Square skyscraper in downtown Seattle, which housed 120 to 200 employees, based on standard corporate leasing ratios. The work spaces now being looked at are over ten times as big, with the Bellevue location housing 354,000 square feet of office space, with the potential for approximately 1,400 to 2,300 employees. Apple originally expanded into Seattle in 2014 with a small team of more than 30 workers stationed in the city.
While multiple sources and leaked components have pointed towards iPhone 7 models having dual speakers, which could very well be the case, a new design drawing spotted by French website NWE suggests the additional holes may be purely cosmetic to give the bottom edge a symmetrical design.
The text in the documents refers to the area that occupies the 3.5mm headphone jack on current iPhones as having simply a microphone and microphone mesh, with no mention of a speaker in that location. Most of the secondary holes would be non-functional, except for the one furthest to the right, which would double as a microphone.
The veracity of the photo cannot be confirmed, and the rumor conflicts with some previous reports, but at least one previous iPhone 7 design drawing has depicted the left speaker grille as ornamental. In the photos, the secondary holes are not cut all the way through except for what would be normally be the microphone hole.
The inclusion of dual speakers or lack thereof will be known for certain in less than a month. Apple is expected to announce the tentatively named iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus on September 7, likely followed by pre-orders on September 9 and retail availability on September 16 in first-wave launch countries.
Crashes, and subsequent fatalities, of small private planes have "fallen to the lowest levels in decades" thanks to mobile devices that give pilots "much better weather information" than a few years ago, along with other benefits. These devices mainly include Apple's iPad lineup and, in 2015, helped contribute to the lowest rate of fatal crashes ever recorded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration: 1.03 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours (via Bloomberg).
As pointed out by John Hansman, an astronautics and aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the data should be "approached with care," due to the fact that there is far less information and data available on general aviation as opposed to commercial flights. Private airplane flights per year have also decreased, which would help lessen the overall chance for accidents in the first place. Still, the new data collected "jibes with broad new efforts to improve safety in that arena," according to Hansman.
“It’s encouraging,” said Hansman, who has studied private-aircraft safety data. “There are reasons to think it might be accurate. There’s a lot of things happening in the system that are slowly making it better.”
In reaction to these accidents, the FAA and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board moved to bolster each private aircraft pilot's safety levels, leading to the official approval of "weather and other programs for mobile devices." To improve the regulation of these aircrafts, the two administrations also approved ways to make it easier to add safety equipment to planes, including devices that warn of engine failure and the impending loss of control of the plane.
Following months of being repeatedly blocked by independent planning body An Bord Pleanála, Apple has finally been granted the go-ahead to build its massive data center in Galway County, Ireland (via Business Insider). The Irish planning board reversed course on its earlier oppositions to the data center, "despite opposition from a number of individuals and local businesses," giving Apple permission to build just one data hall. Each time an extension of the property is to be made, Apple will have to reapply for permission with the local planning body.
The original objections to the facility -- which will specifically be located in Derrydonnell Forest -- cited a worry over the local wildlife and the potential for negative impact that Apple's data center could have on it, as well as flooding concerns in a neighboring golf course. In June, these issues continued anew with fresh worry that the data center's proximity to a nuclear power plant could be harmful, despite the plant having been shut down for years.
The planning body said the data centre will provide the area with a significant economic boost, adding that they took into account how hard it is to find sites that are able to accommodate huge data centres that need to be connected to the national grid.
With the new majority vote from An Bord Pleanála overpowering the last few protestors, Apple now can continue with its 10-15 year construction plan of a massive data center site for services like the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. After winning permission for this first building, Apple's ultimate goal by the end of its decade-long plan is a total of eight buildings housing servers for the company's online services.
Apple's plan was to originally have the Irish data center up and running by early 2017, but since its first proposal in September 2015 and the ensuing blockades, it's expected that goal has been pushed further back. The company is also planning the construction of a data center of similar scale (about 166,000 square meters) in Denmark.
Following in line with a slump in iPhone sales, Apple manufacturer Foxconn recently reported a 31 percent decline in profits in the second quarter of 2016. For the full quarter, ending in June, Foxconn was said to have amassed a net profit of 17.7 billion New Taiwan dollars, down from NT$25.7 billion a year earlier. Analysts watching the company had expected a revenue of around NT$23.9 billion for the quarter (via The Wall Street Journal).
A doom and gloom sentiment began surrounding Apple, and its overseas manufacturers, soon after the Cupertino-based company reported its first quarterly sales decline since 2003 in April. Despite a strong presence of the iPhone SE in the market, iPhone sales continued to contribute to an overall revenue decline for the company as the year continued.
The slump in the iPhone market now appears to be fully affecting Apple's manufacturing partners with the news out of Foxconn today, but both companies are looking forward to an uptick in sales in the future. Notably, Foxconn's acquisition of Japanese electronics maker Sharp has been officially approved by Chinese antitrust authorities, "clearing the final hurdle" in the lengthy buyout process. With the acquisition over, it should be easier for Foxconn to move forward with not only manufacturing of parts for the iPhone 7, but potentially even ramping up development of AMOLED displays and glass casings for the 2017 iPhone.
Overall, weak demand for the iPhone 7 -- due to a "lack of innovation" -- was predicted by a group of Apple suppliers in May. Multiple companies, like Japan Display and Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, reported fears of both huge net profit declines and a worrisome decrease in chip orders thanks to an overall declining iPhone market. Still, Apple CEO Tim Cook is optimistic about iPhone sales moving forward, saying that he sees "so many signs that are positive" as the company moves towards the iPhone 7 and iOS 10 in the fall.
Apple's virtual assistant Siri is known for offering up funny responses to a range of questions, and Apple's Siri team often puts time and effort into providing Siri with answers and comments on current events. This summer, augmented reality game Pokémon Go has become a worldwide phenomenon, and as discovered on Reddit and by 9to5Mac, Siri will now answer questions about the hit game.
A question like "Siri, what's your favorite Pokémon?" receives answers like "That yellow species with an electrostatic tail of variable lengths is rather cute" or "Polymaths prefer Poliwags." Asking Siri if it likes Pokémon Go also results in humorous answers like "I like pocket monsters. Pocket assistants, too."
Because Siri draws in information from sources like Wolfram Alpha, which has offered information about Pokémon since 2013, the personal assistant can also answer specific questions you ask about Pokémon. Data available includes Pokémon type, abilities, stats, evolutions, and more specific comparative questions about which Pokémon have the highest attack, fastest speed, and more.
While fervor over Pokémon Go has died down somewhat in recent days due to controversial feature changes and decisions made by Niantic Labs, Pokémon Go set an App Store record for the most ever downloads during its first week of availability.
It is considered the biggest mobile game in U.S. history and has been downloaded more than 100 million times. According to estimates, the game brings in more than $10 million in daily revenue across the iOS and Google Play app stores.
To find other questions Siri gives funny answers to, Siri.io, a new website that offers a comprehensive list of Siri commands is worth checking out.
Mobile phone repair firm GeekBar continues to share photos of iPhone 7 components on its Weibo page, with the latest set showing off the display assembly for the device. One photo in particular is interesting because it includes the display assembly paired with a front panel for the device, revealing that the display is mounted upside down compared to previous iPhone models.
iPhone 7 display and front panel photographed upside down
The iPhone's display and digitizer flex cables have traditionally come from the top edge of the display, routing toward connectors in the top portion of the iPhone's main logic board. The 3D Touch chip built into the display assembly on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is also located near the top of that display.
When the bare logic board for the iPhone 7 surfaced earlier this week, one notable change was that the main A10 chip had been shifted higher on the board than corresponding chips on other iPhones, and several of the usual display-related connectors were not in their typical locations. Instead, there were extra spots for flex cable connectors found near the bottom of the iPhone 7 logic board, and today's display assembly photo shows a corresponding change to the display part.
Several other sites reporting on these photos today have been looking at the part upside down and noting that the "bottom" portion of the display appears different with no cutout for the home button, potentially supporting rumors of a flush, Force Touch home button integrated into the front panel.
What these sites are looking at as the home button area is actually the top of the part with the earpiece and camera and sensor holes. With the reversed orientation of the display assembly on the front panel, the home button would be at the top of the photo and a portion of the home button cutout can indeed be seen under the flex cable.
The presence of a cutout does not necessarily mean the home button won't have Force Touch haptic feedback as rumored, however, as the functionality could still be included in a separate home button component attached in much the same way as on previous iPhones.
The iPhone 7 is expected to be unveiled at a media event tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September 7, with pre-orders reportedly beginning on September 9 and a launch following on September 16.
Apple Pay holdout CVS today introduced CVS Pay, a new barcode-based mobile payment solution that integrates payment, prescription pickup, and its ExtraCare loyalty program into a single scan at checkout. CVS Pay is built into the newly updated CVS Pharmacy app for iOS and Android devices.
CVS Pay works with all major U.S. credit cards, including MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express, in addition to debit, Health Savings Account, and Flexible Spending Account cards. All verifications for prescriptions and payment like a signature or PIN occur within the CVS Pharmacy app.
After adding their credit or debit cards to the app, customers can show the store associate a barcode, or pickup number at drive-thru locations, to initiate payment. The associate will scan the barcode, ring up the purchases, let the customer choose a stored payment method, and then process the payment.
CVS Pay launches today in select markets, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, and a nationwide rollout to its over 9,600 pharmacy locations in the U.S. is expected to begin later this year. CVS Pharmacy is free on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone, with a companion Apple Watch app available.
Apple has re-hired software engineer Evan Doll to help the company "develop more health-related software," according to information spotted by Bloomberg on Doll's LinkedIn account. Specifically, Doll is now a director of health software engineering at Apple, a position which he began sometime in July, but his profile information doesn't provide any further details into his role at the company.
The software engineer worked at Apple from 2003 to 2009, helping create and develop the software operating system for the iPhone. In 2009, he left Apple and co-founded magazine app Flipboard with Mike McCue. Similar to Apple News, Flipboard curates content and stories tailored to each user's personal tastes and preferences, and has even been endorsed by Apple in the past.
The launch of Apple News was reported as a steep competitive challenge for the small company, resulting in a majority of its executives leaving the company -- including Doll himself -- in September 2015. Despite his background in the news curation space, Doll's new placement at Apple has him focused on potential new health initiatives, an area that the company has slowly been building upon lately.
Apple has been beefing up its engineering team for health-care applications, hiring Sage Bionetworks founder and Merck & Co. veteran Stephen Friend and former Nest Labs technology chief Yoky Matsuoka earlier this year. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is increasingly positioning the Apple Watch as a wellness accessory as he tries to win a slice of the $4.6 trillion U.S. health and fitness industry.
A report from earlier in the week suggested that Apple is working on a new health-tracking piece of hardware to launch alongside the 10th anniversary iPhone in 2017. Although details are still lacking for a product launch over a year away, the product is said to collect heart rate, pulse, and blood sugar changes, which could be describing a next-generation Apple Watch if it's not an entirely new addition to the company's hardware lineup.
Earlier in the year, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke with Jim Cramer on "Mad Money," discussing Apple's initiatives in the health landscape. Cook described services like ResearchKit and the Health app as "significantly underestimated" sections of the technology market. Ultimately, when asked what the "next frontiers" in product development, Cook described health, and all the inroads taken by Apple to provide detailed analysis of a user's well-being, as "the biggest one of all."
T-Mobile has announced that qualifying Simple Choice postpaid customers will automatically receive free unlimited data at up to 4G LTE speeds throughout Brazil until September 18, enabling visitors to celebrate the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro without worrying about roaming charges.
The carrier is also offering free calls within Brazil and to the United States until September 18, while unlimited texting to over 140 countries remains free.
Additionally, T-Mobile continues to offer families of U.S. athletes free T-Mobile service and a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and Samsung Gear 360 camera. Those who qualify can email RoamFreeInRio@t-mobile.com to get up to two free smartphones per athlete activated for the 2016 Rio Games.
The 
Apple has implemented a series of short- and long-term defenses to its iMessage protocol after several issues were discovered by a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University, according to a 
Apple chairman Arthur D. Levinson and general counsel Bruce Sewell recently sold approximately $7.6 million and $2.5 million worth of company shares respectively, according to SEC documents filed electronically this week.
Apple might be looking to further expand its presence in Seattle, Washington following its 
