Today at its media event in Cupertino, Apple announced a brand-new Mac mini, a popular Mac computer that hadn't been updated since October 2012. The new Mac mini starts at $499, $100 less than the previous $599 starting price.
“People love Mac mini. It’s a great first Mac or addition to your home network, and the new Mac mini is a nice upgrade packed into an incredibly compact design,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With the latest CPU and graphics, faster Wi-Fi, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, OS X Yosemite, and starting at just $499, the new Mac mini is the best value ever.”
The new Mac mini comes with 4th-generation Intel Core processors, Intel Iris and HD Graphics 5000 with up to 90 percent faster graphics than the previous generation, PCIe-based flash storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and two Thunderbolt 2 ports. Apple also claims it's the "world's most efficient desktop".
Today at its media event in Cupertino, Apple announced the iPad mini 3 with Touch ID Home button and a new gold color option. These updates appear to be the only significant changes over the previous generation, with the new model continuing to use the A7 chip from the original Retina iPad mini.
In addition to gold, the iPad mini 3 also comes in the previous space gray and silver color options. The pricing will start at $399 for 16 GB Wi-Fi version, with 64 GB and 128 GB variations priced at $499 and $599 respectively. As usual, Wi-Fi + Cellular models of the iPad mini 3 will be priced at a $130 premium over the Wi-Fi only models.
iPad mini 3 will be available for pre-order tomorrow, October 17, and will begin shipping next week.
Alongside the iPad mini 3, Apple is continuing to sell the iPad mini 2 in 16 GB ($299/$429) and 32 GB ($349/$479) variants. The original 16 GB non-Retina iPad mini is also still available for ($249/$379).
Today at its media event in Cupertino, Apple SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi announced that Camera Roll would be returning to the Photos app in iOS 8.1. Apple had removed Camera Roll with iOS 8.
The Photos app in iOS 8 splits a users' photos between three sections: Photos, which organizes photos into years, collections and moments, iCloud Photo Sharing and Albums, which contains an alternative to Camera Roll in a "Recently Added" album that organizes photos by date.
Camera Roll allowed users to have easy access to their recently added photos without having to go into a photo within a section of the Photos app, which caused many users to be upset by the loss of the feature. iOS 8.1 will be released on Monday, October 20.
At today's media event that saw the debut of new iPads and a new Retina iMac, Apple announced that its Apple Pay mobile payments solution will launch on Monday, October 20 alongside iOS 8.1, which will enable the service. According to Apple, more than 500 additional banks have signed on to support Apple Pay, as have dozens of additional retailers.
In store payments with Apple Pay will require the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, as they both include NFC chips, and the Apple Watch will also be able to be used to make in-store payments when it launches.
The iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus, the iPhone 5s, and the newly released iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 can make online purchases with Apple Pay in apps that support it.
"Our team has worked incredibly hard to make Apple Pay private and secure, with the simplicity of a single touch of your finger," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "The reaction to Apple Pay has been amazing. We continue to add more Apple Pay ready banks, credit card companies and merchants, and think our users will love paying with Apple Pay."
Apple places a heavy emphasis on security with Apple Pay, and the company's Apple Pay press release once again points out that Apple Pay does not store actual card numbers, replacing them instead with a Device Account Number in the Secure Element, pairing them with a one-time use code that verifies each payment along with Touch ID.
Apple Pay protects personal information by preventing stores from seeing a user's credit card number, name, and more. It also does not collect transaction information, keeping transactions between the user, the merchant, and the user's bank.
Credit cards and debit cards from the three major payment networks, American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, are supported by Apple Pay, and several banks, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Capital One, and more have signed up to partner with Apple on the payments initiative.
Apple Pay will be accepted at any retail location that can take contactless payments, and in addition, Apple has signed up with specific retailers like Whole Foods, Macy's, Sephora, Staples, and more, to ensure Apple Pay will be accepted in those stores. A number of retailers have also signed up to accept Apple Pay payments within their apps, including Target, Uber, Panera Bread, Lyft, and more.
Apple Pay will be available in the United States beginning on Monday, October 20, following the release of iOS 8.1. Apple suggests that prospective Apple Pay users contact their banks to determine their card's Apple Pay eligibility, as some banks may not support all card types.
Today at its media event in Cupertino, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that WatchKit would release for developers in November alongside the Apple Watch SDK. Previously, WatchKit had still been in development and was available to a select few third-party developers like Starwood Hotels.
In November, all developers will be available to get WatchKit and the Apple Watch SDK to create their own apps for Apple Watch. Cook once again reiterated that the Apple Watch will be available in early 2015.
Just over a month after it introduced the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, Apple is back with another media event where it is expected to show off new iPads, new iMacs including high-resolution Retina displays on some models, and likely a final look at OS X Yosemite before its imminent public launch.
Today's event is being held at the Town Hall auditorium on Apple's Cupertino headquarters campus and begins at 10:00 AM Pacific Time / 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Apple will be providing a live video stream on its website for Mac and iOS users and via Apple TV.
In addition, we will be updating this article with summary coverage and issuing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account as the event unfolds. Highlights and separate news stories regarding the event announcements will go out through our @MacRumors account.
Apple's online stores around the world are currently down in advance of the event.
Archive of Live Updates in Reverse Chronological Order
With Apple's October 2014 media event kicking off in just a short while, some users are interested in avoiding all of the announcements and waiting until Apple posts the recorded video of the event so as to experience it without already knowing the outcome.
For those individuals, we've posted this news story, which will be updated with the link to the presentation once it becomes available from Apple. No other news stories or announcements will be displayed alongside this story.
Users waiting for the video to be posted are welcome to gather in the thread associated with this news story, and we ask that those who follow the events refrain from making any posts in the thread about today's announcements.
Apple sapphire supplier GT Advanced Technologies' woes continue today with the announcement that it will not appeal the suspension of its stock on the NASDAQ stock exchange. As part of this decision, the company's stock is no longer being traded on the NASDAQ stock market effective today, October 16. This removal was expected and is the result of the company's recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
GT Advanced Technologies Inc. today announced that it will not pursue an appeal of the determination by The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC ("NASDAQ") to suspend trading in the Company's common stock based on the Company's voluntary petition for reorganization relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The Company has been informed that NASDAQ will suspend trading in the Company's common stock effective at the opening of the market on October 16, 2014.
GT's stock plummeted 90 percent following its bankruptcy announcement earlier this month, and has continued to fall since then, closing at just 44 cents per share yesterday. The stock will continue to trade under the symbol GTATQ on the OTC Pink marketplace.
As part of the original deal, Apple made three loan payments to GT totaling $440 million and said it was working with GT to help overcome technical challenges to qualify for the fourth and final prepayment loan of $139 million. Apple also appeared set to delay scheduled repayments on the debt. But under the weight of difficulties that began at least as early as February, GT found itself unable to carry on its business operations and filed for bankruptcy with plans to shut down its sapphire production facilities.
Apple will remove the ability to enter and monitor blood glucose data in its Health app because of reported issues with measurement from users in the UK and Australia, reportsCNET.
Currently, the app allows users to manually enter view blood glucose values in mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) or mmol/L (millimoles per liter). However, Apple notes that the Health app has an issue with devices that display mmol/L, as those values cannot be entered or displayed in the Heath app.
An Apple support page published on the matter states that the company will soon release a software updated that will temporarily remove the ability and states that data will not be deleted:
If you have previously entered values manually in the Health app, you'll no longer see this data in the Health app after the update. However, your data won't be deleted, and other apps with permission to read health data will still have access to blood glucose values that you previously entered.
Third-party apps will continue to be able to support both units of measurement and can continue to use HealthKit APIs to store blood glucose data.
It is unknown if a fix will come Apple's forthcoming iOS 8.1 software update or through a potential iOS 8.0.3 update. Before the public launch of iOS 8, Apple confirmed that it had discovered a "bug" in HealthKit and pulled HealthKit-related apps from the App Store. Apple eventually released iOS 8.0.1 with fixes for HealthKit, and once again allowed HealthKit-enabled apps to be on the App Store.
Facebook has launched a new feature called Safety Check that allows users to inform their friends and family about their safety in the event of a disaster or crisis using a check-in system.
For Facebook on iOS, Safety Check automatically sends users a Facebook push notification if they are in the area of a disaster and prompts them to answer if they're safe. From there, users can select an "I'm Safe" option which will automatically generate a notification and a story in the News Feed. Friends that are marked safe will also show up in the News Feed with a list of their most recent updates.
To determine your location, Facebook looks at the city listed on your profile and recognizes the city where internet services are being used. The company will also use data from the Nearby Friends feature if a user has turned it on. Safety Check's sign-in feature is similar in nature to the Safe and Well website created by the American Red Cross which also allows individuals to register themselves as safe and inform their loved ones of their current conditions.
Facebook's new Safety Check feature comes after the company launched an update to its iOS app yesterday that added support for the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. Facebook for iOS is a free app and can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]
In addition to live streaming on the Apple TV, Apple will also be streaming the event live on its website. In order to watch the stream, users will need to be running Safari on Mac or iOS.
Apple is expected to introduce a number of new products at the event, including the iPad Air 2, the next-generation Retina iPad mini, and new iMacs with at least the 27-inch model sporting a high-resolution Retina display. An update published in error to the company's iPad User Guide for iOS 8 revealed some details about the new iPads which will feature a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Apple is also expected to preview OS X Yosemite one final time before its official launch, and some rumors have even claimed that the company may announce updated Mac Minis.
Apple's keynote kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, and MacRumors will also be providing a live blog and live tweets via the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.
Just a day ahead of Apple's own iPad event that will see it introducing a range of new products including new iPads and a Retina iMac, Google has unveiled its next version of Android and three new Nexus devices, including the 5.9-inch Nexus 6 smartphone, the 8.9-inch Nexus 9 tablet, and the Nexus Player, an Apple TV-style set-top box that comes equipped with a gamepad (sold separately).
Google's new Nexus 6 will be one of the biggest "phablets" on the market, and at 5.96-inches, it's even larger than Apple's recently introduced iPhone 6 Plus, which measures in at 5.5-inches. The phone features a 493 ppi AMOLED Quad HD display and a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization, a feature Apple offers with its larger iPhone 6 Plus.
It also includes a Quad-Core 2.7Ghz Snapdragon 805 processor, a 2-megapixel front facing camera, dual front facing speakers, and a 3220 mAh battery. The Nexus 6's battery can be recharged using Motorola's Turbo Charge technology, which provides up to six hours of battery life from a 15 minute charge. Available in midnight blue or cloud white for $649 unlocked, the phone comes equipped with 32 or 64GB of internal storage.
The Nexus 9 tablet, designed in collaboration with HTC, is Google's answer to the iPad Air and the Retina iPad mini. Coming in at 8.9-inches, it is sized between Apple's two tablets and features a thin bezel, brushed aluminum sides, and a nine hour battery life. Like Apple's iPhones, it comes in black, gold, and white, and it features a 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 2.3Ghz processor.
It comes equipped with front-facing HTC speakers, an 8-megapixel rear camera with a 1.6-megapixel front facing camera, and an optional magnetic keyboard. It has a 6700 mAh battery and front facing HTC speakers.
Both the Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet will ship with Android 5.0, aka Lollipop. Lollipop includes 5,000 new APIs and features "Material Design," to provide a consistent experience across a range of different devices. Lollipop lets users mute incoming calls and notifications with a new feature similar to Apple's built-in "Do Not Disturb" function, and there's a battery saver feature that can extend battery life by up to 90 minutes. Lollipop also supports multiple user accounts, a popular feature iOS users have hoped that Apple would implement.
Along with the Nexus 6 and the Nexus 9, Google has unveiled a new set-top box, the Nexus Player, which is the first device that runs Android TV. Designed in collaboration with ASUS, the round hockey puck-style Nexus Player is designed to compete with the Apple TV, serving as a streaming media player for movies, music, and videos.
It's also a gaming device, letting users play Android games on their TVs with a game controller, and it includes both Chromecast support and voice control. Apple too is said to be aiming to introduce an updated Apple TV with gaming capabilities and Siri integration, but it remains unclear when that device might debut.
Google's Nexus 6 smartphone will be available for preorder beginning on October 29, while the Nexus 9 tablet and the Nexus Player will be available for preorder beginning on October 17. Android 5.0 Lollipop will be available on all three devices and on the Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10, and Google Play edition devices "in the coming weeks."
Reddit today acquiredAlien Blue, the popular iPhone and iPad app that many iOS users use to browse Reddit on their mobile devices, reports TechCrunch. According to Ellen Pao, Reddit's head of strategic partnerships, the company will keep the "Alien Blue" name and the app's developer, Jase Morrissey, will be joining the Reddit team.
"Our whole philosphy has been to give our users choice. We've got the reddit AMA app, and alienblue coming out... but we really want users to use whatever they want." says Ellen Pao, reddit's head of Strategic Partnerships. "We think Alienblue is great, and it's the most popular reddit app on iOS. We wanted to be able to offer it as a reddit app, and we wanted to help Jase with additional resources to do everything he wanted to do with it."
The app will, however, be gaining a new icon, and while Reddit focuses on merging the iPhone and iPad versions of the app into a single universal app, both versions are free. The iPad app normally costs $4 while the iPhone app is free with a $2 "Pro" in-app purchase.
Reddit has plans to get rid of the iPad app, so it is permanently free while work continues on a universal version, but the iPhone's "Pro" features will also be made available for free for the next week, as all Alien Blue users need to re-download the apps.
To celebrate and ease the move to reddit, everyone can get the Alien Blue Pro upgrade free for one week. The iPad app will also be free until we integrate it with the iPhone app and the two become one universal app.
The "Pro" features in the iPhone version of the app will extend to the iPad when it is transformed into a universal app, so all Alien Blue users should download the new version immediately while the upgraded features are available at no cost.
Reddit's new official Alien Blue app for the iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
The Alien Blue app for the iPad can also be downloaded from the App Store for free until a universal version is available. [Direct Link]
Jimmy Iovine, Beats' co-founder who joined Apple after the company acquired Beats in May, today spoke at the University of Southern California's Global Conversation (via Business Insider) where he commented on the NFL's recent decision to ban players from wearing Beats headphones in order to promote Bose headphones.
According to Iovine, the ban on Beats has been great for the brand. "I can't believe I'm this lucky," said Iovine, in reference to players who have begun wearing Beats headphones with tape over the logo to avoid fines. Iovine went on to say that Bose is "culturally inept."
Colin Kaepernick wearing Beats headphones with logo covered. Image via Matt Maiocco
"What happened there, you have a tech company that's culturally inept," Iovine said. "There's no one at the company that said, 'If you ban these guys, you're going to look bad to the young people, and they're going to look like superheroes even though they're just pure capitalists -- well they're not pure capitalists, but they're real capitalists and [they] sold that company to Apple -- but you're going to make them look like the underdog."
While Bose and the NFL signed a sponsorship agreement before the season began, the NFL decided earlier this month to ban players from wearing Beats headphones in front of television cameras to support its sponsor. Players are banned from wearing Beats headphones when conducting interviews during training camp, during practice sessions, and on game day, from before the event until 90 minutes after play has ended.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has an endorsement deal with Beats, defied the NFL's ban and wore bright pink Beats headphones during a press conference, earning himself a $10,000 fine. Since then, Kaepernick has been seen again wearing the same bright pink Beats headphones, but he has placed tape over the Beats logo to avoid further fines.
In addition to being banned by the NFL, Beats headphones have also been banned from other major sporting events, including the World Cup and the 2012 London Olympics.
Apple's new mobile payments service, Apple Pay, may be enabled shortly after its Thursday iPad-centric media event, according to internal information leaked from various retailers and credit card companies.
Employees that work for one of Apple's major Apple Pay credit card partners have already finished their Apple Pay training and have been told that the payments service will be released on Monday, October 20, according to an employee who shared the information with MacRumors.
Similarly, a lengthy internal memo from Panera Bread obtained by 9to5Mac also suggests that Apple will launch Apple Pay on Monday, October 20.
As you are aware, Panera is a featured partner with Apple in their announcement of the iPhone 6 and the new Apple Pay platform. Now, we are excited to share that Apple is very close to releasing Apple Pay and actually planning to launch on October 20th.
Panera, like many other Apple retail partners, is currently training its employees on how to accept Apple Pay payments through the company's Verifone point-of-sale-systems. Panera has provided a short training video for managers and cashiers, along with an FAQ and talking points.
Last week, an internal memo addressed to Walgreens employees suggested that Apple was planning to launch Apple Pay on October 18, so it is a bit unclear when Apple Pay will actually go live for consumers. A weekend debut is an odd choice for Apple, lending credence to the Monday, October 20 date.
USAA, one of Apple's bank partners, has said that it plans to begin supporting Apple Pay on November 7, suggesting that retailers and banks will begin rolling out support for the service at different times.
Whether planned for October 18 or October 20, the launch of Apple Pay appears to be imminent, and as Apple Pay will be enabled via an update to iOS 8, the launch of iOS 8.1 is also coming in the next few days. First seeded to developers in late September, iOS 8.1 contains hidden references to Apple Pay.
Apple Pay's exact debut date will likely be revealed during Apple's October 16 media event, which will see the company introducing a new iPad Air, a new Retina iPad mini and a Retina iMac. Both of Apple's new iPads include support for Touch ID and will allow users to make purchases within apps using Apple Pay.
Popular premium cable channel HBO has announced plans to introduce a web-only subscription service designed for cable cutters in the coming months. According to HBO CEO Richard Plepler, who spoke at an investor presentation (via Re/code), the company will begin offering standalone HBO service that does not require a cable subscription in 2015.
"That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped. It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO.
"So, in 2015, we will launch a stand-alone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States. We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners. All in, there are 80 million homes that do not have HBO and we will use all means at our disposal to go after them."
HBO's decision to offer a standalone subscription is a major victory for cord cutters and the first major shift away from cable-only access to premium content. Cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast have been highly resistant to piecemeal pricing and companies like HBO have been reluctant to shift away from traditional cable delivery models in order to avoid upsetting existing revenue streams.
The television industry's reluctance to shift to a new content delivery model that strays away from cable has long been rumored to be the major reason why Apple has been unable to deliver the revolutionary television experience that it originally envisioned.
Early rumors suggested Apple was aiming for an a la carte subscription television service that would replace existing cable packages, but the company eventually scaled back on its TV ambitions and is now said to be working with cable companies on a deal that would see it providing cable content overlaid with an Apple TV-style interface.
According to Plepler, HBO will work with "current partners" on its upcoming standalone service, which possibly suggests that the web-only version may allow Apple TV users to access HBO content on their set-top boxes without a cable subscription, but details on the product are scarce at this time.
It is not clear if the standalone service will be the same as the service provided to cable subscribers who opt for HBO, but presumably, the deal will give those who purchase the web-only subscription access to the company's most popular shows like "Game of Thrones" and "True Detective."
AT&T is no longer offering Beats Music subscriptions to its subscribers as an add-on service, according to an AT&T employee who spoke to MacRumors. The cellular company has ceased giving customers the option to sign up for Beats Music when purchasing a new phone plan and the Beats Music website has been updated to remove its "Subscribe with AT&T" options.
AT&T employees have also been instructed to stop selling Beats Music subscriptions to customers, suggesting the partnership between Beats Music and AT&T has come to an end following Apple's Beats acquisition.
AT&T subscription options formerly offered on the Beats Music Pricing page
Beats Music and AT&T first struck an exclusive deal shortly before the service's initial debut, with AT&T offering multiple Beats Music subscription options, including a family pack that allowed users to share Beats Music with up to five family members. AT&T also offered extended trial periods of up to 90 days and promoted the music service to customers both online and in-store.
It's likely the deal between Beats Music and AT&T has ended due to Apple's $3 billion purchase of both Beats Music and Beats Electronics in May, but it is unclear why AT&T has been able to continue to offer Beats Music subscriptions up until October.
Rumors have suggested that Apple has plans to rebrand Beats Music, and its upcoming retooling may also be the reason behind the dissolution of the AT&T partnership. Along with changing the Beats Music name, Apple is said to be planning to introduce new features and it is also hoping to offer the service at a lower cost, asking music labels to cut their rates.
It is unknown when Apple plans to reveal its revamped music service, but rumors have hinted that its debut could come alongside the 2015 Grammy Awards in February, which means that Apple engineers and designers are likely already hard at work on the rebranding.
Update: Reached for comment, an AT&T spokesman gave the following statement:
There haven’t been any changes for AT&T customers who currently have the Beats Music family plan or who are within their free trial period. New subscribers can still get Beats Music through their app store or at beatsmusic.com.
Ahead of tomorrow's media event that will likely see Apple previewing OS X Yosemite one last time ahead of the software's public release, apps that contain support for Yosemite-only features have begun hitting the Mac App Store.
PCalc, a popular calculator app for Mac, for example, has been updated with full support for OS X Yosemite, offering a Notification Center Widget and Handoff capabilities.
The arrival of Mac apps with Yosemite support suggests that the new operating system will be debuting shortly after the upcoming media event, possibly arriving as soon as tomorrow. Apple has seeded three separate Yosemite GM candidates, suggesting the software is nearing completion.
OS X Yosemite introduces a system-wide redesign that brings a flatter, more modern look to OS X, with a heavy emphasis on translucency. The update includes a redesigned dock, a new look for windows, and a new "Dark Mode" option.
Along with a redesign, Yosemite also offers a range of new features, such as improved integration with iOS 8 through Continuity, a new "Today" view in the Notification Center that offers integration with third-party apps, a retooled Spotlight search with new data sources, and several new features for key apps like Mail, Safari, and Messages.
Like OS X Mavericks, OS X Yosemite will be available to all Mac users as a free download.
Just over a month after it introduced the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, Apple is back with 
Reddit 
