MacRumors

ESPN president John Skipper spoke with The Wall Street Journal in an interview this morning, revealing some insider details on Apple's struggle to establish deals with content providers for a streaming television service.

According to Skipper, Apple is "frustrated" by its ongoing inability to find a mutually advantageous way to work with programmers. Though no deals have been established, ESPN "continues" trying to work with Apple on some kind of partnership.

They are creating a significantly advantageous operating system and a great television experience and that television experience is fabulous for sports. We are big proponents of believing it would be a fabulous place to sell some subscriptions. We have ongoing conversations. They have been frustrated by their ability to construct something which works for them with programmers. We continue to try to work with them.

Skipper's comments are in line with recent rumors made by CBS CEO Les Moonves, who said Apple "pressed the hold button" on its streaming television plans after it was unable to establish the necessary deals. Rumors throughout 2015 suggested Apple was aiming to create a web-based television product that would offer a small bundle of channels for $30 to $40 per month.

Apple has been attempting to create some kind of television service since 2009, but the company has run into resistance from cable and content providers time and time again because of a reluctance to interrupt existing revenue streams and fundamentally shift the way cable is provided.

ESPN's deal with Sling TV, a service that offers streaming access to major cable channels, offers some insight into where Apple may be running into trouble establishing deals. There is an option in ESPN's contract with Sling TV that lets the deal be terminated should it cannibalize ESPN's core pay TV business, something Apple likely wouldn't have agreed to. Apple is also said to have run into trouble getting content providers to unbundle their channels.

While Skipper believes 2016 will see "further announcements" of different streaming packages from new companies, it is not likely Apple will be among them. The company's content struggles have caused it to put its streaming service on hold, with plans to instead focus on the tvOS App Store and its position as a platform that gives media companies tools to sell content directly to customers.

Each June, Apple holds its Worldwide Developers Conference at the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco, California, giving thousands of developers from around the world a chance to meet up with Apple engineers and sit in on valuable workshops and software sessions.

Apple has not yet announced the dates for its 2016 conference, but based on scheduling information available from the Moscone Center, it appears there's only one narrow window that's potentially available -- June 13 to June 17.

During the first, second, fourth, and fifth weeks of June, Moscone West is booked for a Travel Association Luncheon, a Biotechnology Industry Organization conference, an International Society for Stem Cell Research convention, and the Red Hat Summit. There's nothing on the calendar for the third week of June, suggesting that's when Apple will use the facility.

Since 2007, Apple has held WWDC during the first few weeks of June, and the conference has always taken place at Moscone West due to the large number of attendees, so while there's no concrete information pointing towards Apple's WWDC plans, June 13 to 17 is a very solid guess based on past events.

At WWDC, Apple holds a keynote event on the first day to introduce new software and new products. In 2016, we could potentially see new Macs or other hardware, and we will get our first look at OS X 10.12 and iOS 10. Apple's 2015 event was software and service centric, focusing on iOS 9, OS X El Capitan, watchOS 2, and Apple Music.

Apple today released iOS 9.2.1 to the public, marking the first update to iOS 9 since iOS 9.2 launched in December of 2015. iOS 9.2.1 has been in testing since December 16, with developers and public beta testers receiving a total of three betas before its public launch.

Today's iOS 9.2.1 release is available as an over-the-air update to all iOS 9 users. A minor update, iOS 9.2.1 is the fifth update to iOS 9 in total, following the launches of iOS 9.0.1, iOS 9.0.2, iOS 9.1, and iOS 9.2.

iOS 9.2.1, as a 9.x.x update, is minor in scale, focusing mainly on under-the-hood performance improvements and bug fixes rather than outward-facing changes. According to Apple's release notes, the update includes security improvements and bug fixes, including a fix for a significant Mobile Device Management issue that affected enterprise customers.

This update contains security updates and bug fixes including a fix for an issue that could prevent the completion of app installation when using an MDM server.

iOS 9.2.1 will be followed by iOS 9.3, which has also been seeded to developers for testing purposes. Set to be released in the spring, iOS 9.3 is a major update that introduces a new Night Shift feature to cut down on blue light exposure during the evening for better sleep and brings new educational features.

iOS 9.3 also includes new Quick Actions for iPhone 6s users and it introduces updates for apps and features like Apple News, Notes, Health, Siri, CarPlay, and More.

Apple today released OS X 10.11.3 to the public, marking the launch of the third update to the El Capitan operating system that was first released on September 30. In testing since December 16, OS X 10.11.3 follows the December launch of OS X 10.11.2. Prior to release, Apple seeded three betas of OS X 10.11.3 to developers and public beta testers.

The OS X 10.11.3 update can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store. It is available to all OS X El Capitan users.

During the beta testing period, no significant outward-facing changes were discovered in OS X 10.11.3, with the update instead aiming to improve performance and fix bugs discovered since the launch of OS X 10.11.2. According to Apple's release notes, OS X 10.11.3 includes unspecified bug fixes and security updates.

The OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 update improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.

This update contains bug fixes and security updates.

OS X 10.11.3 will be followed by OS X 10.11.4, which is already in testing and has been provided to developers. Like OS X 10.11.3, OS X 10.11.4 appears to be focused on fixing bugs and improving performance rather than introducing new features. OS X 10.11.4 will likely see a spring debut alongside iOS 9.3.

Apple has shared its most recently filed Federal Employer Information Report EEO-1, providing a breakdown of the company's U.S. workforce as of August 2015. AppleInsider first spotted the document over the weekend.

The employment data reveals that Apple is slightly more diverse compared to its previous July 2014 report, hiring 1,475 African-American or Black employees, 1,633 Hispanics or Latinos and 1,662 Asians over a 13-month period.

The latest EEO-1 data contradicts Apple's public-facing diversity page, which said the company hired 2,200 Black employees, a 65% increase over the previous year, and 2,700 Hispanic employees, a 50% year-over-year increase, based on August 2015 data.

It is unclear what is causing the discrepancy between the data, but Apple claims its own diversity numbers are "far more accurate" than EEO-1 data.

We make the document publicly available, but it’s not how we measure our progress. The EEO-1 has not kept pace with changes in industry or the American workforce over the past half century. We believe the information we report elsewhere on this site is a far more accurate reflection of our progress toward diversity.

Apple's U.S. workforce continues to be overwhelmingly white and male, especially at the executive and senior official level. EEO-1 data shows Apple had 31,135 white male employees as of August 2015, representing about 43% of its U.S. workforce.

At WWDC 2015, CEO Tim Cook said Apple is a "better company" by being more diverse.

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

A pair of benchmark results uploaded to Geekbench 3 on January 14 purportedly belong to a next-generation Skylake-based 13" Retina MacBook Pro, but they more likely represent a Hackintosh.

The benchmarks report the machine as running an announced but unreleased 3.3GHz Intel Core i7-6567U processor, which would be appropriate for the high-end 13-inch model, and includes integrated Intel Iris Graphics 550 graphics. As a result, the results have generated some excitement among those eagerly awaiting Skylake notebooks from Apple.

Nevertheless, there are some unusual aspects of the benchmarks that suggest the results could belong to a Hackintosh instead.

First, the 15W4314 build number of OS X 10.11.3 shown in the results is an anomaly. Unreleased machines typically have unique build numbers due to customizations needed to support the new machines, but the "15W" prefix on the build number doesn't fit Apple's naming pattern even for custom builds. The build number for any machine running OS X 10.11.3 should begin with "15D", following Apple's naming pattern of "15A" for OS X 10.11.0, "15B" for OS X 10.11.1, "15C" for OS X 10.11.2 and "15D" for OS X 10.11.3.

The model identifier SKLCRB1,1 also does not line up with any of Apple's other pre-release identifiers. The reported 6GB of 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM is also suspect in both the amount and speed of the memory.

Moreover, the single-score and multi-score scores of around 2,500 and 4,500 respectively are lower than the current high-end 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, which has a Broadwell Core i7-5557U chip. The Early 2015 model has single-core and multi-core scores of around 3,099 and 6,477 respectively.

Another sign that may point towards a Hackintosh is a motherboard ID of 50619A408DB004DA, which matches several benchmarks that have MacBookPro8,1 model identifiers but use desktop-class processors. That corresponds to a 13-inch MacBook Pro released in 2011.

Intel has slowly released Skylake processors since late 2015, and Apple will likely update at least part of its Mac notebook lineup with the new chips in the first half of 2016.

Apple today has commemorated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a full homepage tribute on the company's website. The image on the site is accompanied by a famous quote from the African-American civil rights leader, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"

Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly expressed his admiration for Martin Luther King, Jr. in the past, telling journalist Charlie Rose that he keeps photos of Dr. King and politician Robert F. Kennedy in his office at Apple.

"I had the — just tremendous respect for both of them, and so I do," he said. "I look at them every day because I think for people — there’s still too many cases in the world and in the United States where there’s a class kind of structure or where voting or people are trying to convince each other that this other group of people don’t deserve the same rights. And I think it’s crazy, I think it’s un-American."

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Dr. King, and many employees in the country are given the day off. Last year, in lieu of a paid day off, Apple pledged to donate an additional $50 for each voluntary hour worked by employees on MLK Day.

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

Apple this week posted a new support document addressing an issue some iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users have been experiencing with the battery percentage displayed in the status bar on their displays not updating as the battery drains.

The company notes it is investigating the issue and working on a solution, although it appears to be related to time zone or clock settings. In the meantime, users experiencing the problem are advised to restart their devices and make sure the time is being automatically set in Settings.

If you change the time on your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus manually or change time zones when traveling, you might notice that the battery percentage doesn't update. Learn what to do.

A fairly lengthy discussion thread in Apple's discussion forums reveals a number of users running into the problem, dating back nearly to the new models' launch last September. Many of the users experiencing the issue had been manually adjusting their phones' clock settings in order to bypass timer-based barriers in certain games, and Apple's suggestion about ensuring the time is being set automatically indicates the battery issue is indeed likely related to clock settings.

A December rumor pointed towards a possible March 2016 event to unveil a next-generation Apple Watch, but information shared today by TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino suggests a redesigned second-generation Apple Watch will not be coming so early in the year. That conflicts with some recent rumors suggesting trial production on the Apple Watch 2 is set to begin soon.

Citing several sources with knowledge of Apple's plans, Panzarino says that while new design partnerships and accessories are a possibility for March, a second-generation Apple Watch is not expected. There is, however, a potential March event in the works, but it is not clear what would be launched at that time. New Macs and the rumored 4-inch iPhone 6c are possibilities.

Several things that I've heard (from several sources) indicate to me that we won't see a new hardware model of the Apple Watch in March. Design partnerships, accessories, that kind of thing maybe but not a "Watch 2.0" with a bunch of new hardware features like a camera. I could be wrong, of course, but I've heard enough to put it out there.

To further back up his claims, Panzarino says supply chain checks have not indicated that production on a second-generation Apple Watch has begun and there's been no "major action" on the software development side that would point towards the possibility of a newly redesigned Apple Watch debuting in the next few months.

As with anything related to Apple hardware announcements, the tea leaves are hard to read and the companies plans can change (the advantage of never publicly announcing hardware). But as of now, March seems like it's a bit too early to count on Watch 2.0.

The Apple Watch, introduced in April of 2015, is a new product category for Apple so its upgrade cycle is difficult to determine. With the iPhone, Apple introduces updates on a yearly basis, but if no second-generation Apple Watch comes out in March, it is not clear when a new version will debut. As Panzarino says, an update alongside the iPhone 7 in September is a possibility, putting the Apple Watch on an 18-month upgrade cycle.

As further evidence that an Apple Watch 2 might not come until later in 2016, we have not seen any concrete rumors about features that might included in a second-generation device and there have been no schematics or part leaks that we might expect to see just a few months ahead of the launch of an updated device.

Update: Panzarino has updated his report to indicate he has heard new information suggesting an interim Apple Watch update could come at the March event but only include "a FaceTime camera and not much else." It would not be a full "Apple Watch 2.0."

As part of the winding down of its iAd platform, Apple today sent out a notice to customers who listen to its radio service letting them know the radio feature is being discontinued at the end of January.

In the email, Apple says that Beats 1 radio will be the only free listening option available to those who do not subscribe to the Apple Music service. Customers who listen to radio stations sans ads with an iTunes Match subscription are also receiving the emails and will no longer be able to listen to radio stations as an iTunes Match perk.

Apple has quietly continued to offer ad-supported iTunes Radio stations in the United States and Australia even after the launch of Apple Music, but with the end of its current iAd platform on the horizon, the feature will be limited to those who pay for Apple Music going forward. Customers in Australia are receiving emails stating the radio service will end on January 29, while U.S. customers are receiving emails that suggest it will no longer be available as of January 28.

Earlier this week, BuzzFeed reporter John Paczkowski said that Apple was working towards dismantling its in-house iAd sales team in favor of a more automated platform. This afternoon, Apple announced the end of its iAd App Network, and it's likely there will be additional changes to products and services as the iAd platform is revamped.

It is approaching five years since Apple began shipping the Thunderbolt Display in September 2011, leading many to wonder when the monitor will receive a long-anticipated update, if ever.

Apple could have refreshed the Thunderbolt Display with USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 2 and a tapered iMac-style design as early as 2013, but it has chosen not to do that. The company continues to sell the 2011 27" model with USB 2.0 and first-generation Thunderbolt ports for $999.

So, what has been the holdup? The answer likely lies in supply chain considerations and connectivity.

4K Thunderbolt Display

Many have been long hoping that Apple would release a 4K Thunderbolt Display, considering that the latest Macs, and most models refreshed since late 2013, can be used with at least one 4K display.

But, typically, standalone Apple displays have shared the same screens as iMacs. Since Apple skipped over a 4K 27" iMac, Apple would have to source a separate screen to release a 4K Thunderbolt Display, and the product may be too niche for that to be worthwhile.

Meanwhile, with Thunderbolt 3 rolling out this year, it seems unlikely that Apple will bother with a refreshed non-4K Thunderbolt Display in the interim. So, as time goes on, the more likely possibility is that Apple will eventually release a much improved 5K Thunderbolt Display.

5K Thunderbolt Display

5K displays have an incredible 14.7 million pixels, resulting in sharper and crisper images, but they remain expensive. 5K models from Dell and HP retail for between $1,649 and $1,999, while Apple's all-in-one 5K iMac starts at $1,799, but cannot be used in target display mode.

Apple already sells a 27" Retina 5K iMac, and its screen could be the basis for a corresponding 5K Thunderbolt Display. The display could share the same 5,120×2,880 resolution, USB Type-C ports for connecting Thunderbolt 3 peripherals and possibly an ultra-thin design like the newest iMacs. But no current Macs could drive such a 5K display over a single cable.

Apple won't release the first Macs with Intel's new Skylake chips and Thunderbolt 3 support until later in 2016, and only those models will be able to drive a 5K display at 60Hz over one cable. While that makes a 5K Thunderbolt Display a possibility in 2016, Apple has good reason to wait until at least 2017.

Intel's Skylake processors for Mac notebooks, launching in early 2016, and Kaby Lake processors, expected to launch in the first half of 2017, will not be able to drive a 5K Thunderbolt Display over Single-Stream Transport (SST). The underlying issue is that both processor lineups lack support for DisplayPort 1.3.

Instead, the display would sync two channels over Multi-Stream Transport (MST), which can cause some performance issues. That means Apple may wait until at least Cannon Lake chipset (which promise SST 5K support) in the second half of 2017, before releasing a 5K Thunderbolt Display.

Because external displays are a relatively small market for Apple, it's possible Apple never plans to introduce an updated Thunderbolt Display. If a new model is in the company's plans, Apple will likely wait to introduce a 5K display until 2017 when most Macs can easily support it in order to maximize supply chain efficiency.

If you are interested in exploring third-party 4K displays, read our 4K and 5K Display Buyer's Guide for Macs.