MacRumors

Apple updated its Apple Pay participating issuers list today with 75 additional banks, credit unions and financial institutions supporting the contactless payment service in the United States. Apple Pay now has over 600 participating issuers nationwide, and several more plan to support the NFC-based mobile payment service in the future.

Atrium-Buffalo-NY-HSBC

HSBC Atrium in Buffalo, New York

HSBC, one of the ten largest U.S. banks, highlights the complete list of Apple Pay participating issuers. As a disclaimer, it should be noted that some smaller banks, credit unions and financial institutions listed may have already had support for the contactless payments service and are only now being reflected on Apple's website.

The full list of new Apple Pay participating issuers is ahead.

➜ Click here to read rest of article...

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: HSBC

Guitar Hero Live BundleActivision today released Guitar Hero Live for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in the U.S., following a five-year hiatus in the iconic video game franchise. The app is accompanied by an optional $99.99 bundle including a Bluetooth LE six-button guitar controller, guitar strap, redeem code and 2 AA batteries, available through major U.S. retailers. A two-guitar bundle is also offered for $149.99.

Guitar Hero Live puts you on stage rocking reactive live-action crowds. Guitar Hero Live is all about the dream of becoming a rock star. You will play with REAL band members, playing to REAL crowds, with REAL reactions to your performance. Play well and the crowd will love you! Play poorly and your fans will turn on you!

Guitar Hero Live for iOS has single-player and multiplayer modes and includes two free trial songs, while the guitar controller bundle unlocks over 40 additional tracks, access to GHTV channels featuring over 200 songs at launch and touch-based gameplay. A digital bundle is also available for $49.99 that unlocks the same features without a Bluetooth guitar for touch-based gameplay.

Guitar Hero Live iOS
T-Mobile is also selling the Guitar Hero Live for iOS bundle and, for qualified customers, offering financing that breaks down the $99.99 price into 23 monthly payments of $4.16, with a final monthly payment of $4.31.

Supported iOS Devices:

  • iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2

  • iPad mini, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4

  • iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus

  • iPod touch (6th generation)

The game also requires iOS 8 or later and at least 3GB of device storage.


Guitar Hero Live [Direct Link] is free on the App Store, and also available for $99.99 on PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PS3 and Xbox 360. A version for the new Apple TV will also be released to play on the big screen. The game launches in Europe on October 23.

Learn more about Guitar Hero Live and other iOS games at our sister website TouchArcade.

Following the unveiling of the new Apple TV back in September, United Kingdom-based public service broadcaster BBC told fans on Twitter that there were "no plans currently" to develop an iPlayer app for the new platform. While the broadcaster has backtracked slightly since that time, more recently stating it doesn't "have any info to give" on the topic, with the launch of the Apple TV right around the corner, a couple of Dorset-based developers have taken the task into their own hands to prove that the app can be made with relative ease.

BBC iPlayer POC 1

Screenshot from the proof of concept iPlayer app

The BBC iPlayer app allows viewers of the popular British channel to catch up with current series and watch live TV on a smartphone or tablet. The company expanded support for the service to streaming devices like Chromecast and smart TVs last year, but never made the leap to Apple TV due to its limited SDK support and nonexistent functionality with other platforms like Android. Now, a pair of developers from Bournemouth, Dorset in the United Kingdom -- Matt Cheetham and Phillip Caudell -- have used a recent hack event to prove Apple TV support for BBC iPlayer could be implemented fairly easily by the broadcaster.


The pair took to GitHub to share the app they created, dubbed the "Auntie Player," which splits the iPlayer experience up into Home, Categories, Live, and Search tabs, with full episode lists, descriptions, and run times for each show. Cheetham and Caudell cite BBC's "disappointing response" from September as the main source of inspiration for the proof of concept app, pointing out BBC's failure to support Apple TV as a direct contradiction to its public purpose to "make engaging digital content and services available on a wide range of digital platforms and devices."

BBC iPlayer POC 2
Most impressively, the duo planned, coded, and completed the app in under nine hours at the "Hack to the Future" event in Bournemouth over the weekend. As they note in the GitHub post, the two won't be submitting the app to the App Store, but they wanted to showcase "what can be achieved with the tvOS platform and the BBC's amazing content."

The app we're publishing here was built in just under 9 hours at a hack event to prove it could be done. It's by no means complete or perfect, and it's very much a proof of concept. It's our hope the BBC will release an official app for Apple TV, as they've made iPlayer available on a wide range of other set-top boxes and Smart TVs.

Check out the developers' full suite of source code for Auntie Player on GitHub, along with an array of screenshots and more of the reasoning behind sharing their creation with the public.

With Apple's new tvOS developer tools for the fourth-generation Apple TV, the platform is now open to all developers, significantly broadening the potential for Apple's set-top box beyond the locked-down content provider model that has existed until now. Just yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook reiterated his thoughts that the television experience needs to be reinvented and that apps are the way to do it.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

San Francisco-based accessory manufacturer Waterfield Designs today unveiled a new line of protective cases for the newly announced Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad 2. The company promises that the custom-fit cases protect the new Apple accessories from everyday drops and dings, and are thin and light enough to slip into bigger bags.

waterfield keyboard case

The Waterfield Magic Keyboard Slip case

The Magic Keyboard has three case options for customers to choose from, the first being the full-featured $59 Magic Keyboard Travel Express, which fits the new keyboard along with power cables, a Magic Mouse and a host of other possibilities in its zippered case. A bit down in price from that is the $29 Magic Keyboard Slip, which takes the housing and look of Waterfield's MacBook case line and shrinks it down to accommodate the slim new Magic Keyboard. The bare-bones $15 Magic Keyboard Socket promises to protect the new accessory "on a student's budget."

“Many laptop and tablet owners use a separate keyboard with their mobile devices to avoid potential Repetitive Strain Injuries (like carpel tunnel syndrome) and other ergonomic problems,” explained founder Gary Waterfield, “But—as too many of us know from experience—one small spill can instantly ruin a Keyboard or TrackPad. We designed the Magic Keyboard and TrackPad 2 cases to protect these devices so that users can take them from workstation to workstation or from work to home with peace of mind.”

The Magic Trackpad 2 is seeing a similar new line of cases from Waterfield today, with a $25 Slip case that provides heavier durability and an extra accessory sleeve and the cheaper $12 Socket option for those wanting protection on the cheaper side. All of the company's new cases can be ordered from its official website beginning today, with an estimated shipping date of Friday, October 23.

apple_tv_2015_roundupWhile speaking at tonight's WSJDLive conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the new Apple TV will begin shipping next week. Apple will begin taking orders for the new set-top box on Monday, October 26 with shipments beginning at the end of the week.

The new Apple TV, which Cook also said is the "foundation" for a new type of TV experience, features an A8 processor and either 32 or 64 GB of storage. It also has support for a full App Store, which Apple says will help "modernize" the "linear TV" experience that most consumers are familiar with. The new Apple TV also comes with the brand new Siri Remote, which allows users to use Siri to easily sort and find their favorite TV shows and movies.

The new fourth-generation Apple TV will be available for $149 with 32 GB of storage and $199 with 64 GB of storage.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Apple CEO Tim Cook is on stage for the opening night of the WSJDLive conference in Palm Springs, California, with Wall Street Journal editor Gerry Baker interviewing Cook about a variety of topics. Live coverage of the interview is being offered by publications including WSJ.D and The Verge, and we'll be updating this post with highlights from the session.

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- On whether Apple wants to control every facet of our lives: Apple does very few products, and puts a lot of care into them, but Apple does want you to have a seamless experience throughout your home and work life.

- Citing competitive reasons, Cook once again declines to share Apple Watch sales numbers. "We shipped a lot the first quarter, then last quarter we shipped even more. And I can predict this quarter we will ship even more." Addressing Baker's skepticism about the device, Cook refers to customer satisfaction being "off the charts."

- Talking now about iPhone 6s and the iPhone Upgrade Program, Cook insists it's not meant to compete with carriers. It's simply a plan for people who want to get a new iPhone every year. Addressing the need to keep innovating on iPhone and whether Apple is on a two-year cycle as it appears to many people, Cook stresses all of the new features included on the iPhone 6s.

- Cook says Apple Music has 6.5 million paying customers and 8.5 million more still on free trials. Cook stresses the human curation aspect of Apple Music and notes the company feels "fantastic" about customer uptake so far.

- Regarding Apple TV, Cook sees it as a "foundation" for a new type of experience as Apple tries to fix the "broken" experience of watching television. With Apple TV, providers like HBO can sell directly to consumers. The current system of "linear TV" with channels needs to be "brought up and modernized" and apps will help do that.

- Apple TV orders will kick off on Monday, October 26 with shipments beginning by the end of that week.

- Baker asks about Apple's car project, but Cook hesitates to say much. He does admit that software becomes increasingly important, and that enables other shifts like electrification and autonomous control. But in the short term, Apple wants people to have the iPhone experience in the car. "We'll see what we do in the future."

- On the retail front, Cook notes Apple will have 40 stores in China by the end of next year, and China currently provided in the "mid-20s" percentage of Apple's revenue. Angela Ahrendts has also been focused on integrating online and in-store shopping experiences.

- Cook and Baker talking about user privacy, with Cook giving his usual comments about how privacy is a key value for Apple but that the company believes it can still provide an excellent customer experience and services while maintaining that privacy. In response to a question about Apple's relationship to national security organizations, Cook says he is "very" comfortable with it and he shares the company's views that any software backdoors are unacceptable and encryption is a necessity. A rather tense debate about the tradeoff between privacy and national security ensues.

- Final question of the interview is about Apple increasing its willingness to speak out on issues and take leadership roles, and Cook notes Apple has a "responsibility to be a great global citizen." Cook points to the environment, human rights, and education as areas where it can lead. Cook says Apple has stepped up its efforts to "leave the world better than we found it" because "government isn't working well." Cook says Apple isn't worried about alienating customers with its stances, noting the company isn't forcing its views on anyone, and he hopes people who may be upset with Apple's positions in these areas can still think Apple makes great products and respect Apple for making efforts to put its values into practice.

As part of its efforts to add transit directions in iOS 9, Apple has recently updated Apple Maps to include multiple Amtrak routes in the Northeastern United States. Available mainly in the cities where transit directions have been implemented, the longest Amtrak route available runs from Chicago to New York.

Supported routes include the Northeast Regional, Acela Express, Keystone, Lake Shore Limited, Pennsylvanian, and Maple Leaf, many of which operate between cities in the Northeastern United States.

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The Acela Express, for example, runs between Boston, New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC. Lake Shore Limited runs from New York/Boston to Albany to Chicago, while Maple Leaf runs from New York to Niagara Falls to Toronto.

Amtrak routes in the South, West, Midwest, and Northwest are not currently available in Apple Maps, but the information will likely be implemented as Apple expands transit information to additional areas across the United States. Transit directions are currently available in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and San Francisco.

Along with Amtrak support for several cities where transit directions are supported, Apple has also added transit information for the Boston area. Boston was initially added to Apple's list of supported cities earlier this month, but the page was later updated to note the feature wouldn't officially be working until a later date in October.

As of this morning, transit directions are available in Boston, allowing Boston residents to access directions by Amtrak, commuter rail, buses, and more. The next city to gain transit directions will be Sydney, which was also added to Apple's list of supported cities earlier in the month. While Boston transit information is live, it does not yet appear to be available in Sydney.

(Thanks, Alec!)

Video game developer and digital distribution company Valve began sending out emails to customers who pre-ordered its new streaming device, the Steam Link, over the weekend, apologizing to Mac users that the box won't function with Apple's ecosystem at launch. The company has begun shipping the initial wave of pre-orders to customers, but cited "temporary software issues" that prevent it from fully supporting the Mac line out of the gate.

steam link
The $49.99 Steam Link is a set-top box for the living room that connects users to Valve's Steam platform by streaming content from a PC and into a more traditional console environment. To support the thousands of games that are meant to be played on a mouse and keyboard, the company also launched the Steam Controller for $49.99 alongside the Steam Link. Unfortunately for Mac users, the controller is also incompatible with the Apple line at launch, but Valve hopes the issue to be resolved in "the next few weeks."

Unfortunately, there are some temporary software issues that prevent the hardware from functioning with Macs. We expect these problems to be resolved as we update firmware and drivers over the next few weeks. The Steam Link currently doesn't stream from Macs. An upcoming update will add full support for streaming audio, video, and controller input.

The Steam Controller doesn't currently support gamepad emulation on Macs. If you opt into the Steam Beta client, keyboard/mouse emulation will be functional. We expect gamepad emulation to become functional within a few weeks. We want to apologize for the delays in providing full functionality for the Mac platform. We're doing everything we can to resolve the issues.

Due to the snafu, Valve is providing Steam Link and Steam Controller early adopters who planned on streaming from a Mac with the compensation of a free download of the $99.99 Valve Complete Pack. The Complete Pack not only includes the entire back catalog of the company's history -- including games like Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Portal, and all their sequels -- but promises future Valve titles will be available to download free of charge. Still, those Mac users who want to send back their Steam Link and Controller will be able to keep the Complete Pack if they choose to do so.

Thanks, James!

Tag: Valve

SourceDNA, an analytics service that tracks iOS and Android code, has discovered hundreds of iOS apps that collect personally identifiable user information, including Apple ID email addresses and device identifiers, through a Chinese third-party advertising SDK called Youmi that is prohibited by App Store guidelines.

App-Store-About
The analytics firm, using its new developer tool Searchlight, found 256 affected apps, with an estimated 1 million total downloads, using one of the versions of Youmi in violation of user privacy. Its report claims most of the developers who used the SDK are located in China, and that many were likely unaware of the threat since the tool kit is delivered in binary form and obfuscated.

Ars Technica explained in more detail about the information gathered "gradually over the past year or so" by apps using Youmi:

SourceDNA researchers found four major classes of information gathered by apps that use the Youmi ad SDK. They include:

1. A list of all apps installed on the phone
2. The platform serial number of iPhones or iPads themselves when they run older versions of iOS
3. A list of hardware components on devices running newer versions of iOS and the serial numbers of these components, and
4. The e-mail address associated with the user’s Apple ID

The personal info is reportedly gathered via private APIs and then routed through Youmi's servers in China.

Apple released a statement saying it will remove apps with Youmi from the App Store, and reject future submissions using the SDK:

“We’ve identified a group of apps that are using a third-party advertising SDK, developed by Youmi, a mobile advertising provider, that uses private APIs to gather private information, such as user email addresses and device identifiers, and route data to its company server. This is a violation of our security and privacy guidelines. The apps using Youmi’s SDK have been removed from the App Store and any new apps submitted to the App Store using this SDK will be rejected. We are working closely with developers to help them get updated versions of their apps that are safe for customers and in compliance with our guidelines back in the App Store quickly.”

SourceDNA sent a full list of affected apps to Apple, including the official McDonald's app in China, but did not share it publicly. Developers can check if their apps are affected using the analytics firm's Searchlight tool.

This discovery comes weeks after iOS malware XcodeGhost was disclosed, which arose from a malicious version of Xcode, Apple's official tool for developing iOS and OS X apps. Apple also patched YiSpecter malware in iOS 8.4.

Mission-Motors-EMElectric motorcycle startup Mission Motors has ceased operations after losing some of its key talent to competitors such as Apple, and failing to develop a viable business model, according to Reuters.

"Mission had a great group of engineers, specifically electric drive expertise," [former CEO Derek] Kaufman said. "Apple knew that - they wanted it, and they went and got it."

The report claims about six engineers from the San Francisco-based startup were recruited by Apple since last autumn, and the company's assets are now controlled by its largest investor Infield Capital.

Mission Motorcycles, a related company created to sell the electric motorcycles, is reportedly in the process of filing for bankruptcy.

Apple never attempted to acquire Mission Motors outright, according to Kaufman, instead drawing from its pool of specialized engineers working on electric drive systems and battery algorithms for charging and cooling.

Mission Motors was founded in 2007 with ambitions to create a world-class electric motorcycle, and it launched an early prototype in 2013 to positive reviews. The company was reportedly often cash strapped, however, and some investors backed out as engineers left for competitors.

Mission Motors never released an electric motorcycle for sale to consumers.

Apple has been rumored to be working on an electric vehicle, codenamed "Project Titan," for several months, with its secretive automotive team reportedly including former employees from Tesla, Ford, GM, A123 Systems, Samsung and other competitors. Earlier this year, it reached a settlement with A123 in a poaching lawsuit.

Apple has announced that it will be opening its 21st retail store in China in Dalian, a major port city in southern Liaoning Province, on Saturday, October 24 at 9:30 AM local time. The new store will be located in the six-floor Parkland shopping mall at 19 Jiefang Road in the urban Zhongshan District.

Parkland

Parkland six-floor shopping mall in Dalian, China (Image: yongonthego)

In early 2012, Apple promotional signage in Dalian stated "Apple’s world's biggest flagship store will be coming soon to Parkland Mall," but it's unclear if that claim remains true over three years later. More recent rumors suggest the first Apple Store in Dubai, which opens October 29, may now be the "world's largest" store.

apple_store_dalian_ad2012 signage advertising upcoming Apple Store in Parkland mall as "world's biggest"

The new Parkland store will be open Monday-Sunday from 9:30 AM to 9:00 PM local time and offer traditional Apple Store services, including the Genius Bar, Workshops, JointVenture, events and seminars. The closest Apple Store was previously in Shenyang, China, the capital city of Liaoning Province, located nearly 250 miles northeast.

Dalian, a city of 4 million people with a total of over 6.5 million people in the region, is located on the Liaodong Peninsula separating the Bohai Sea from Korea Bay in northeastern China. It is a major seaport, financial center and tourist magnet for the region, drawing significant numbers of visitors from China, Japan and Korea.

Apple has issued an internal notice about a new Quality Program that addresses anti-reflective coating issues on MacBook and MacBook Pro models with Retina displays, as confirmed by multiple sources. These issues include the anti-reflective coating on displays wearing off or delaminating under certain circumstances.

MacBook Pro Coating
Apple will replace Retina displays on affected MacBook or MacBook Pro models for free within three years from the date of original purchase, or one year from October 16, 2015, whichever is longer. Affected customers that have already incurred out-of-warranty costs may be eligible for a refund through AppleCare support.

Affected customers can book an appointment with a Genius Bar or visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider to determine if their MacBook is eligible for coverage. Apple does not currently plan on announcing the Quality Program publicly on its support website, according to sources, but may contact some customers directly.

Retina MacBook Pro Coating
MacRumors first reported on the problem in March, and it has since grown to affect thousands of customers on the Apple Support Communities, Facebook and our own discussion forums. Nearly 6,000 affected customers have also joined an online database called Staingate, sharing pictures of their damaged displays, while thousands of others have signed a Change.org petition.

The anti-reflective coating wearing off or delaminating has resulted from various circumstances, including the pressure of the MacBook keyboard and trackpad on the display when closed, and the use of incorrect third-party cleaning solutions with microfiber cloths. The issue often affects small areas of the screen, but sometimes encompasses the entire display.

Leading up to the launch of this Quality Program, some MacBook Pro owners covered under AppleCare have been able to get their notebook repaired through the Genius Bar with no charge, while others have been told that cosmetic damage is not covered under warranty and offered to have their notebooks repaired for a service charge costing hundreds of dollars.

Apple has launched similar Quality Programs in recent years based on common problems identified by Apple engineers. Apple offers public-facing Exchange and Repair Extension Programs for larger problems, such as the iSight Camera Replacement Program for iPhone 6 Plus, Beats Pill XL Speaker Recall Program and iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake Button Replacement Program.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Neutral)
Related Forums: MacBook, MacBook Pro

Sprint today announced that they would begin throttling customers who used more than 23 GB of data during their billing cycle, regardless of whether they had unlimited data plans or not. The move, according to Sprint Chief Technology Officer Dr. John Saw, is to provide a better customer experience for the majority of their users.sprint_logo

The 23GB threshold is typical in the industry and other carriers have already implemented a similar practice. We agree this is a smart approach towards making sure a small number of customers don’t adversely impact the experience for others. Today approximately three percent of our postpaid subscribers are using overwhelmingly disproportionate network resources. Our goal with QoS is to prevent some portion of that three percent going forward from negatively impacting the other 97 percent of customers.

The carrier notes that 23 GB of data would allow a user to send 6,000 emails with attachments, view 1,500 web pages, post 600 photos to social media, stream 60 hours of music and stream 50 hours of video. Sprint also says that number is "far more" than most of its customers use in a typical billing cycle.

The change will affect those who choose an unlimited data handset plan after October 16 or to Sprint customers who choose to upgrade their devices on or after October 16. Those who go over 23 GB will see their data prioritized below other customers, which means they will encounter slower data speeds, but only in times and locations where the network is constrained.

This summer, T-Mobile also decided to update their plans to throttle customers. However, T-Mobile's soft data cap is 21 GB, slightly less than Sprint's choice. T-Mobile also announced that it would restrict customers who abused data tethering, saying some of its customers use up to 2,000 GB a month.

Tag: Sprint

Earlier today, iFixit conducted a teardown the new Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad 2 and Magic Mouse 2. They've now followed that up with a teardown of the brand new 21.5-inch 4K iMac, and while the majority of the insides are the same as last year's model, there are some notable differences.

new4kimacteardownFirst, the teardown found that the new iMac's 4K display is manufactured by LG. The new display is DCI-P3, which features a wider color gamut than the more standard sRGB. The new iMac is one of the few devices that allows consumers to experience the new display technology.

Apple has also removed the empty PCIe SSD slot that was featured in the late 2013 iMac, which means that do-it-yourself upgraders won't be able to upgrade their machine easily. In 2012, Apple featured empty solder pads where the SSD slot would go, but in 2013 added an empty SSD slot. iFixit notes that users who want to add a Fusion Drive will either have to configure it at purchase or solder it on themselves.

Overall, iFixit gave the new 21.5-inch iMac a repairability score of 1 out of 10, which means that the new desktop computer is extremely difficult to repair. Like other iMacs, the soldered-on CPU, logic board and fused-together glass and Retina Display contribute to how difficult the new desktop is to repair.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iMac

Flagship Apple Stores in San Francisco and New York have been outfitted with new "Force Touch" tables, which are designed to show off the new 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. In these retail locations, there's a special table that houses iPhone 6s models.

When a 3D Touch force press gesture is used on the screen of one of the iPhones, which all display a fish, the table reacts to the pressure with a neat rippling water visual. The touch-enabled table can be seen in the video below from Grate App. (via 9to5Mac).


These tables are only in San Francisco and New York at the current time, but it's possible Apple could install them in additional stores around the world as part of an iPhone 6s promotional effort. The fish theme of the table and iPhone duo is also used on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus boxes and in their live wallpapers.

Apple calls 3D Touch, the flagship feature of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the "next generation" of Multi-Touch. 3D Touch enables new pressure based gestures, allowing users to "Peek" at content link links in Messages or Mail with a light press and "Pop" into that content with a longer press. 3D Touch also includes Quick Actions for accessing app content directly from a press on an app icon on the Home screen.

ipad_iphone_ios_8Apple has been ordered to pay the University of Wisconsin's intellectual property management arm $234 million in damages for infringing on one of its processor patents, reports Reuters.

Earlier this week, a jury ruled Apple had infringed on a patent owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) when it used patented technology in its A7, A8, and A8X processors included in the 2013 and 2014 iPhone and iPad lineup.

WARF had originally asked for damages as high as $862 million, but later lowered that request to around $400 million. Apple will be paying a little more than half of the requested amount with the $234 million award WARF received from the jury. The presiding judge ruled Apple had not willfully infringed on WARF's patent, so the damages award will stay at $234 million.

The patent in question, titled "Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer," was originally granted in 1998 and covers a method for improving processor efficiency. It lists several current and former University of Wisconsin researchers as inventors.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has also filed a second lawsuit against Apple for the same patent, accusing the company of using the technology in the A9 and A9X chips found in the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and iPad Pro.

For the first six months of 2015, Apple averaged a daily net profit of $134.7 million, which means the judgment will account for approximately 42 hours of profit. Apple has said it will appeal the ruling.

intel-logoIntel has a thousand of its employees working on preparing the Intel 7360 LTE modem for Apple's iPhone 7 devices, reports VentureBeat. Apple is rumored to be switching to the Intel modem chip for some models of the iPhone 7, using it instead of the standard Qualcomm chips Apple has used for years.

Intel's 7360 LTE modem chip features an up to 450MB/s downlink and it supports 29 LTE bands. Intel is eager to score a contract with Apple, which is why it has poured so many resources into the development of the chip, which is supposed to begin shipping later this year.

One source said Intel needs a small army of people on the Apple account because of the importance of the project to Apple's future in the mobile market, because of the complexity of the project, and because Apple is a demanding client with an extremely popular phone.

The LTE modem chips in the next-generation iPhones could be dual-sourced from both Intel and Qualcomm, with earlier rumors suggesting devices in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America could use Intel's chip. Intel is not yet an official supplier for the modem chip, but should Intel continue to make important milestones, it could wind up inking a deal with Apple.

Should work on the modem chip go well, VentureBeat says Intel could end up supplying Apple with both that chip and the fabrication for a new Apple system-on-a-chip. Apple is said to be aiming to create a future system-on-a-chip that includes both the iPhone's Ax processor and the LTE modem chip for improved speed and power management.

To achieve that goal, Apple would design the system-on-a-chip, licensing LTE modem intellectual property from Intel, with Intel also fabricating the chip with its 14-nanometer process. VentureBeat's sources say Apple is interested in Intel's technology because of its "front to back" 14-nanometer process that results in "silicon chips with superior density and gate pitch." Intel is also developing a 10-nanometer process that has caught Apple's eye.

Apple's system-on-a-chip project would likely be for a future version of the iPhone, rather than the iPhone 7. For now, the iPhone 7 is likely to continue using chips from existing manufacturers like Samsung and TSMC, along with the separate modem chips from Intel and Qualcomm.

Related Forum: iPhone

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with MEGAMAC to offer a 128GB Angelbird SSD2go Pocket, which is a USB 3.0 ultra portable solid state drive that can, as the name suggests, fit right in a pocket. Angelbird is known for making high-quality products, and the SSD2go is no exception.

It has an aluminum casing and it's highly resistant to physical impact, vibration, force, and temperature. Of interest to Mac users, the SSD2go Pocket is one of the only mobile USB solid state drives to offer TRIM Support.

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We're giving away an SSD2go Pocket in Black, but it also comes in silver, blue, red, gold, and purple, in capacities of 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB. The 128GB version sees read speeds of up to 450MB/s and write speeds up to 150MB/s, but the higher capacity models are even faster at 450MB/s read and 390MB/s write for the 512GB model.

Pricing for the Angelbird SSD2go starts at $179 for the 128GB version and goes up to $449 for the 512GB version, with the mid-level 256GB model priced at $249.

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One lucky MacRumors reader will win a 128GB Angelbird SSD2go from MEGAMAC. 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.

You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. 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.

The contest will run from today (October 16) at 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time through 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time on October 23. The winner will be chosen randomly on October 23 and will be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen. The prize will be shipped to the winner for free.