MacRumors

Apple today announced the iPad mini 4 at its "Hey Siri" media event in San Francisco. The tablet is virtually a 7.9-inch version of the iPad Air 2 and is 6.1mm in thickness, which is 18% thinner than the previous generation. The tablet also weighs just 0.65 pounds with a 30% faster CPU and 60% faster graphics than the iPad Mini 3.

The new tablet also has all of the expected improvements in its camera, with advanced optics, an improved sensor, and an Apple‑designed image signal processor. The iPad Mini 4 includes Touch ID and uses new iOS 9 features like Slide Over, Split View, and Picture in Picture to provide users with a more robust and economical mobile experience.

iPad Mini 4 is available in Space Gray, Gold, and Silver for $399 (16GB), $499 (64GB), and $599 (128GB), including cellular options. Apple has dropped the iPad mini 3 from its lineup, while the iPad mini 2 is available for $269.

Apple's highly anticipated "Hey Siri" event today will see the introduction of a number of new products including the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, a new Apple TV set-top box, a larger iPad Pro, and more. The event is being held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, with the festivities beginning at 10:00 AM Pacific Time / 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

Apple is providing a live video stream on its website and via Apple TV.

In addition to Apple's video stream, we will be updating this article with live blog coverage and issuing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account as the keynote unfolds. Highlights from the event and separate news stories regarding today's announcements will go out through our @MacRumors account.

Apple's online stores around the world are currently down in advance of the event, and we've already seen the first signs of today's product releases with (PRODUCT)RED Apple Watch Sport Bands arriving at Apple retail stores overnight.

➜ Click here to read rest of article...

An overnight report from 9to5Mac claims the new operating system for the revamped Apple TV will be called "tvOS", and it appears Apple may indeed have moved to trademark that term as long ago as November 2014.

A series of trademark filings for the name were made in mid-to-late May in a number of countries by a company called Television OnStream LLC, which appears to be a shell corporation created just days earlier and based out the Corporation Trust Center in Delaware. Apple commonly uses this tactic to hide its trademark filings, although many other companies employ similar strategies.

The mid-May timing is also interesting given it occurred just a few weeks ahead of WWDC where Apple was rumored to be introducing the new Apple TV until what appeared to be a last-minute decision to push back the announcement to this month.

All of the May trademark applications cite a priority date of November 2014 for a filing made in Jamaica, yet another of Apple's typical strategies for hiding trademarks. Jamaica is a frequent location for Apple's initial filings as the country does not publish an online database of trademark filings, making it difficult to track them down.

In another similarity to Apple's previous trademark patterns, Television OnStream LLC conveniently shortens to an acronym of "tvOS", much as Apple previously hid its "iPad" trademark behind a company named IP Application Development.

One final similarity between the "tvOS" filing and known Apple trademarks is the use of specific law firms to handle the filings. For example, Television OnStream used London-based firm Locke Lord to handle its Italian filing, and Apple used the same firm to protect its "watch OS" trademark in Italy earlier this year. In Turkey, the same trademark lawyer handled both Apple's "watch OS" filing and Television OnStream's "tvOS" application, and in Mexico both companies used the law firm of Arochi & Lindner to handle their filings.

As is common with these filings, there is no concrete link between Apple and the new "tvOS" trademark, but given recent rumors and a number of similarities to Apple's past behavior in hiding trademark filings, it appears likely Apple is indeed behind the "tvOS" applications.

Update 8:02 AM: iGeneration points out that references to tvOS are also currently hidden within Apple's iTunes Connect interface for developers.

(Thanks, Rodney "ArmCortexA8" and Lennart!)

Apple will release a (PRODUCT)RED Sport Band for the Apple Watch, and likely other new Sport Band colors, according to a retail source. At least one Apple Store has received inventory of the new bright red band ahead of Apple's "Hey Siri" media event in San Francisco today. Apple donates a portion of the proceeds from (PRODUCT)RED-branded items to the Global Fund to help the fight against HIV and AIDS in Africa.

Tech blogger Larry Greenberg shared a picture of the (PRODUCT)RED Sport Band box on Twitter a few hours ago. The band could look similar to the custom red Sport Band that Apple design chief Jonathan Ive gifted to former British professional rugby player Will Carling in April.

Last week, we corroborated a report that Apple will unveil new Sport Bands for Apple Watch at its September 9 media event. The additional colors beyond (PRODUCT)RED could include other shades of red, orange, yellow, blue and beige, as shown off at the Milan Design Week in April.

Apple is also expected to introduce new metal finishes for the Apple Watch Sport, possibly including lower-cost anodized rose and yellow gold versions. The new color will likely resemble the rose gold Apple Watch Edition and to-be-announced rose gold iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

Other Last-Minute Rumors

- iPhone 6s could have always-on Hey Siri per AppleInsider
- iPad Pro could cost $799/$899/$999 for 32GB/64GB/128GB per 9to5Mac
- Apple TV software platform will be called tvOS per 9to5Mac

The Apple Online Store has been taken offline this morning, less than six hours prior to Apple's highly-anticipated "Hey Siri" media event in San Francisco, where the company is expected to announce the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, iPad Pro, iPad mini 4, fourth-generation Apple TV and new Apple Watch bands and finishes, alongside further details about iOS 9 and watchOS 2.

Apple's media event starts at 10 AM Pacific with a live stream (spoiler free) available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV and PC. MacRumors will also have full coverage of the event, with a live blog on our front page and updates on our @MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

We'll also have specific coverage of today's announcements in separate news stories, and our forums are a great place for readers to discuss the announcements before, during and after the event.

Apple will be on stage tomorrow at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco to announce several new products, including the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, iPad Pro, iPad mini 4, fourth-generation Apple TV and new Apple Watch bands and finishes. The keynote should also provide updates about iOS 9 and watchOS 2.

MacRumors will be providing live blog and Twitter coverage of the "Hey Siri" media event, which commences at 10 AM Pacific on Wednesday. Below is a roundup that previews what to expect at the keynote based on previous reports from MacRumors, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, Re/code, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other sources.

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

The ninth-generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will look virtually the same as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, retaining 4.7" and 5.5" ion-strengthened glass displays respectively with similar exterior designs.

It has been rumored for a few years that iPhones will eventually switch to sapphire crystal displays, but well-informed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently claimed the material has yet to pass Apple's internal drop tests.

Apple has addressed bending issues by designing the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus with Series 7000 aluminum, which is stronger and marginally thicker compared to Series 6000 aluminum used on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

The rear shell will still have a layer of anodization to protect against corrosion and allow for different color options, including space gray, silver, gold and a new rose gold color. The new color should look similar to the rose gold Apple Watch Edition.

➜ Click here to read rest of article...

Apple's upcoming revamped Apple TV will support a full App Store, and TechCrunch has shared some details on one of the first third-party apps that will be available for the device. According to the site, live video streaming service Periscope is building an app for the Apple TV, which will likely allow users to watch content streamed from the Periscope iOS app.

We don't have a specific unveiling or launch date for Periscope on Apple TV. Twitter and Periscope did not respond to our inquiry before press time. The app might be previewed in tomorrow's Apple keynote to show off the potential of the Apple TV software development kit. Apple wants to get developers' minds swirling with ideas for what they could build.

Periscope, owned by Twitter, is an app that allows users to capture and broadcast live video streams. Currently, Periscope videos can be watched solely on the web and through smartphones using iOS and Android apps, but with an expansion to the Apple TV, video streams will be available natively on larger screens for the first time.

Apple's revamped Apple TV will debut tomorrow, at the company's iPhone-centric September 9 event to be held at the Bill Graham Civic Center. Along with a full App Store that will include both apps and games, the new set top box will include deep Siri and search integration, a touch-based motion-enabled remote control, an A8 processor, and additional storage space.

Apple's event will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time tomorrow morning. MacRumors will have live coverage both on MacRumors.com and through our MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

A new image of the packaging for the "iPhone 6s" has turned up online (via MacX), appearing similar to images of a box for the "iPhone 6s Plus" that were shared in late August. Both boxes showcase a koi pond-like fish against a white surface, suggesting the rumored packaging could be what Apple will use to box the next-generation iPhones, which are expected to be the centerpiece of the company's September 9 event tomorrow.

The fish image has also begun rumors surrounding the "iPhone 6s" and "iPhone 6s Plus," suggesting the new smartphones will include a motion wallpaper feature. Similar in spirit to the dynamic wallpapers Apple introduced in iOS 7, the supposed update would bring something more akin to the in-depth motion backgrounds of the Apple Watch and will feature images from fish in a koi pond to different color smoke clouds.

Apple has announced that pop star Ellie Goulding will open the 2015 Apple Music Festival in London on September 19, while country singer Carrie Underwood and rock band Mumford and Sons are also set to perform at the Roundhouse on September 21 and September 27 respectively.

The full lineup for the 2015 Apple Music Festival is now set:

- September 19: Ellie Goulding
- September 20: Take That
- September 21: Carrie Underwood
- September 22: One Direction
- September 23: The Weeknd
- September 24: The Chemical Brothers
- September 25: Disclosure
- September 26: Pharrell Williams
- September 27: Mumford & Sons
- September 28: Florence + The Machine

Little Mix, NAO, Lion Babe, Leon Bridges, Jack Garrett and James Bay have been confirmed as special guests at the 2015 Apple Music Festival, with the remaining special guests to be announced soon.

Apple Music Festival, a renamed version of the iTunes Festival, is a free 10-day music festival at London's Roundhouse, featuring performances each night broadcast live and on-demand through Apple Music.

U.K. residents can apply to win tickets to the Apple Music Festival on Apple Music and through various media partners.

Apple is stepping up its efforts to recruit employees focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning, reports Reuters. The report suggests Apple is looking to challenge Google's lead in features such as Google Now that learn to anticipate smartphone users' needs, something Apple is starting to address in iOS 9 with its new "Proactive" feature.

As part of its push, the company is currently trying to hire at least 86 more employees with expertise in the branch of artificial intelligence known as machine learning, according to a recent analysis of Apple job postings. The company has also stepped up its courtship of machine-learning PhD's, joining Google, Amazon, Facebook and others in a fierce contest, leading academics say.

Apple's machine learning efforts are in large part built with Siri in mind, and Siri should play an important role in this Wednesday's media event, as indicated by the event invitation's tagline.

Many of the currently posted positions are slated for software efforts, from building on Siri’s smarts to the burgeoning search features in iOS. The company is also hiring machine learning experts for divisions such as product marketing and retail, suggesting a broad-based effort to capitalize on data.

Reuters notes that Apple faces a challenge with machine learning due to its focus on privacy and reluctance to tap into all possible data sources. For example, with the Proactive features of iOS 9, Apple is primarily keeping all of the data and analysis on the user's phone, enhancing privacy but limiting some of what can be learned from data passed to the cloud.

Apple's strict policies not only limit what can be learned from user data but also discourage some machine learning experts from pursuing positions with Apple due to that lack of access. Still, Apple is said to be opening up about machine learning, engaging with academic programs in its efforts to lure talent and already having tripled or quadrupled the size of its machine learning team over the last few years.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new report that suggests next year's "iPhone 7" could be Apple's thinnest smartphone yet, with a thickness of somewhere between 6.0mm and 6.5mm, which Kuo mentions is a near similar measurement of the current iPod touch's 6.1mm. As a comparison, the current model of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are 6.9mm and 7.1mm thick, respectively.

The report also states that the company will stick to a similar Force Touch technology in next year's version of the iPhone, due to the heavy amount of time and investment Apple and its suppliers have put into adapting it for this year's "iPhone 6s" and "iPhone 6s Plus."

Due to this, Kuo believes that Apple is unlikely to switch from in-cell over to glass-on-glass touch panels next year, which a rumor out of Apple's supply chain in Asia suggested last week. The KGI report says that in-cell panels won't encounter any harsh production bottleneck issues, and that Apple won't be looking to create an iPhone display with a resolution of 4k or higher, so it's more likely for the company to stick with in-cell panels for the time being.

The continued use of in-cell panels would also grant Apple the ability to produce an iPhone as thin as Kuo's suggested 6.0mm-6.5mm size. Although glass-on-glass panels allow for the possibility of a bezel-free iPhone, it also limits the ability for the company to create smaller and thinner smartphones, so if KGI's claim of an iPod Touch-size iPhone is true, it would make most sense for the company to keep using in-cell panels.

The Danny Boyle-directed and Aaron Sorkin-penned Steve Jobs film premiered last night at the 42nd Annual Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, and the first impressions of the biopic are surfacing on the internet this morning. Although not a full review of the movie, Deadline has posted a short opinion piece about the film, noting impressive directing, well-paced editing, and a script by Sorkin that is "even more effective" than his Oscar-winning work on The Social Network.

It’s a companion piece to Sorkin’s Oscar-winning The Social Network screenplay — but even more effective. Boyle said the script is 200 pages and it is densely filled with the kind of dialogue only Sorkin seems to specialize in these days. It’s actually thrilling to listen to, an action movie driven almost exclusively by words, a rare thing for sure in today’s visually driven cinema.

[Boyle's] direction is flawless and really keeps this thing moving, avoiding the static pace it might have been in lesser hands. The result is well worth it, and those magical words provided lots of opportunity for great acting performances led by Michael Fassbender’s spot-on and relentless portrayal of the not-very-likable computer genius.

Notably, Deadline also caught up with Steve Wozniak at Telluride to get his opinion on the film, which partially portrays Wozniak's own life as well with Seth Rogen in the role of the Apple co-founder. Wozniak was enthusiastic about the movie, calling it "authentic" and particularly praising Kate Winslet's performance as Macintosh marketing chief Joanna Hoffman.

When I caught up with him Wozniak told me that, unlike the Jobs biopic with Ashton Kutcher, this one is totally authentic. “I saw a rough cut and I felt like I was actually watching Steve Jobs and the others (including Rogen’s dead-on portrayal of Wozniak), not actors playing them, I give full credit to Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin for getting it so right,” he enthusiastically told me, He adding that of all the actors in the film he thinks Winslet might be the most likely to garner awards attention.

The movie was portrayed as a "work in progress" to the attendees at Telluride, due to the fact that Boyle and his workers are still tweaking and editing parts of the movie. With just about a month to go until the film's wide release, it's likely small details like sound cues and other small edits that will make the Telluride screening largely similar to the final movie.

Other sites have begun posting full-length reviews, including Variety, who compares Sorkin's three-act, multiple time period structure to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Also of note is a neat detail that Boyle shot each time period on era-relevant formats, a fact along with Boyle's uncharacteristically restrained direction that Variety particularly liked.

Working with d.p. Alwin Kutchler, Boyle sometimes sends the camera hurtling after the characters in lengthy, down-the-corridor tracking shots; elsewhere, the brief transitional snippets between acts feature some fairly aggressive stylization, in line with his usual m.o. But for the most part, this is the filmmaker’s most reined-in picture in some time, as if a too-kinetic approach would interfere with the verbal energy of Sorkin’s script.

Besides Guy Hendrix Dyas’ unobtrusively excellent production design, the picture’s major visual coup is the decision to shoot the three acts on three different formats: grainy 16mm film for 1984, lustrous 35mm for 1988, and sleek, high-definition digital for 1998. The distinctions may well be lost on the vast majority of viewers, but it’s just the sort of nicely understated aesthetic flourish that Steve Jobs himself would have surely appreciated.

Indiewire gave the film a B+, pointing out good performances from the cast and the movie's decision to focus on three highly stressful points in Jobs' life to showcase his true personality, ultimately calling it "a kind of "Birdman" for the tech sector," thanks to its real-time accounts of some highly dramatic backstage moments prior to a big show. The website also noted, however, that Sorkin's dialogue can suffer from "constant overstatement" and some foreshadowing to Apple's future feels "unnecessary."

The movie currently sits at a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, but still has just five reviews collected at the time of writing. Although it's still just a handful positive opinions, it's a bit more encouraging as we enter the final stretch before the October 9 theatrical debut, especially for a film that's been a large source of speculation and rumors for so many years now.

Update: Oscar buzz is also surrounding the film coming out of Telluride, with Michael Fassbender's performance getting thrown into the Best Actor category along with other frontrunners like Johnny Depp in Black Mass and Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl.