MacRumors

According to a new report [Google Translate] from Taiwan's Economic Daily News (via G for Games), Apple is planning to launch three versions of the iWatch in the third quarter of this year. The lineup is said to include a model with a 1.6-inch display and two models with 1.8-inch displays, with the high-end version of the larger size coming with a sapphire display cover for durability.

The display range of 1.6-1.8 inches has been the focus of most rumors dating back many months, but last month Reuters claimed the device's display will be as large as 2.5 inches.

The launch timeframe for the iWatch has also been the subject of much discussion, with the reliable Re/code claiming last month that Apple has been aiming for an October introduction of its "first wearable device", presumed to be the iWatch. That report did, however, note that Apple's plans could change over time.

A fresh report from relatively reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has claimed that the complexity of the iWatch makes it likely that mass production on the device will not begin until November of this year. The two claims are not necessarily in conflict, as with the iWatch being a new product category Apple could make an announcement in October and not launch the device until several months later without impacting sales of its current products. Apple used a similar tactic with the iPhone and iPad, waiting several months between announcement and launch.

Today's report is set in the context of Apple adopting new touch technologies from TPK, with sources also claiming Apple's rumored "iPad Pro" with a display of 12.9 inches will finally be made official later this year. The subject of a number of rumors over the past year, Apple's 12.9-inch iPad was most recently reported to be looking at a 2015 launch or perhaps on hold entirely.

(Image: 2.5-inch iWatch concept by SET Solutions)

Apple today debuted its new iTunes Pass service in its Japanese retail stores, allowing customers to purchase iTunes Store credit directly without the need for physical gift cards, reports 9to5Mac.

It is not known when the new service will be rolled out to Apple Retail Stores worldwide, however it is likely that the company is testing the program in Japan ahead of a larger rollout. In 2012, Apple enabled users to store Apple Store gift cards in Passbook, and also allowed users to email Passbook enabled gift card to friends through the app.

Earlier this year, it was also reported that Apple was working on its own mobile payments service, which could be similar to iTunes Pass. According to that report, the company's mobile payment solution would be integrated directly into iOS, allowing people to use their devices to purchase physical goods on the web and in physical retail stores.

Update 1:52 AM: As spotted by iGeneration, the bottom of Apple's Japanese iTunes Gifts page (Google Translate) says that iTunes Pass is not available in Brazil, China, and Turkey. This may indicate that the service may be set up to launch worldwide shortly.

Apple is actively looking for retail employees that are "passionate photography enthusiasts" to test the upcoming Photos app for OS X, reports 9to5Mac.

We are seeking a technical and passionate photography enthusiast to join our Quality Assurance team working on Photos for OS X. You will be part of a fast moving team of specialists tasked with delivering the next generation of photography tools for Apple.

Photos for OS X was briefly introduced at WWDC 2014, as Apple will launch the software early next year. It was also reported last month that the new Photos app will be replacing Apple's existing iPhoto and Aperture programs. Apple revealed that Photos would feature a number of professional-grade features, including image search, editing, effects, and support for third-party extensions.

Apple has invited retail employees to try pre-release software for the past few years. Last year, the company offered beta access to OS X Mavericks and iWork for iCloud last year, which followed access to OS X Mountain Lion in 2012.

Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is one of the candidates being considered to replace Katie Cotton as Apple's new PR head, reports Re/code. In a piece on Uber, Re/code's Kara Swisher suggests that Carney's name is "being bandied about" for the position.

Carney served as White House Press Secretary from 2011 until June of 2014, when he officially resigned. Prior to that, Carney served as director of communications for Vice President Joe Biden and before that, he was the Washington bureau chief for Time magazine.

Katie Cotton, who was Apple's VP of worldwide corporate communications before retiring back in May, served for more than 20 years under both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. Cotton was known for being fiercely protective of Apple executives, serving as the gatekeeper for media access and keeping a tight rein on the company's PR operations.

Since Cotton's retirement, Apple has been actively searching for her replacement. Tim Cook is reportedly overseeing the search and hoping to find an external candidate with a "friendly, more approachable face" to replace Cotton as the company strives for greater openness under its new leadership.

Update July 15, 8:35 AM: According to The Loop's Jim Dalrymple, Carney is not under consideration for Apple's PR chief role, and has never even met Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Update July 19, 1:43 PM: : Bloomberg is now reporting that Carney is discussing the PR job with Apple, citing a friend of the former White House press secretary. The source also notes that Carney "hasn't made up his mind."

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 may be planning to part ways with longtime ad agency TBWA/Media Arts Lab, according to a new report from The New York Post. Citing industry buzz, the report suggests that Apple is ready to put its entire advertising account "up for grabs."

The Cupertino company is also said to be planning to leverage Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine to bolster its marketing efforts. Beats is well-known for its aggressive marketing tactics and clever advertising campaigns that have skyrocketed its headphones to popularity. Most recently, Beats launched a "The Game Before The Game" advertisement for the World Cup, featuring key players wearing Beats headphones.

What's more, the industry is buzzing that Apple will look to music maestro Jimmy Iovine, the boss of newly acquired Beats headphones and its sister music-streaming service, to help it regain its marketing mojo.

"Apple bought Beats for a lot of reasons," said one new business executive at a top agency. "They think they're marketing geniuses. It is safe to assume Beats would be part of an assessment of all [Apple] partners."

Apple's troubles with advertising agency TBWA began back in 2013, after Apple's Phil Schiller sent a tense email to the agency following a line of highly popular Samsung commercials with the tagline "The next big thing is already here."

Apple reportedly considered parting ways with TBWA at that time, but instead began working on building out its own in-house advertising solution while continuing to allow TBWA to produce some of its recent popular advertisements like "Powerful."

Despite continuing a relationship with TBWA, Apple has pitted its in-house team against its longtime partner and it has also invited outside agencies to offer pitches on major projects, suggesting tension between the two companies has been ongoing.

Apple has plans to hire 1,000 employees for its in-house team, which may end up replacing outside agencies altogether when complete. Most recently, Apple's in-house team created "Strength," the company's newest advertisement that takes advantage of the "Chicken Fat" song and focuses on fitness.

Following in Tim Cook's footsteps, Apple's SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue is auctioning his time to benefit the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation. Cue is widely known as a huge basketball fan, and has been seen at many basketball games, including those of his favorite team from Duke University, his alma mater.

In an auction on CharityBuzz, Cue is offering a one hour lunch meeting at Apple's Cupertino headquarters and a 13-inch 1.4Ghz MacBook Air with 256 GB of storage, a $1,199 value. The meeting is valid for two people, with lunch included, at a mutually agreed upon date.

Have lunch with Apple, Inc., Senior Vice-President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue at the Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, California, and bring home a 13-inch MacBook Air!

Eddy Cue is Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Eddy oversees Apple's industry-leading content stores including the iTunes Store, the revolutionary App Store and the iBookstore, as well as Siri, Maps, iAd and Apple's innovative iCloud services. Eddy's team has an excellent track record of building and strengthening online services to meet and exceed the high expectations of Apple's customers. He is a 25-year Apple veteran and leads a large organization of amazing people.

Cue's auction ends on Wednesday, July 16 and is currently priced at $9,500 with an estimated value of $10,000. The auction was first listed in June, but was noticed earlier today by 9to5Mac.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation is an organization that supports the charitable and education purposes of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The NABC has been responsible for founding national literacy program Ticket To Reading Rewards and it operates the College Basketball Experience, a facility in Kansas City that includes the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tim Cook has previously teamed up with CharityBuzz twice, offering a coffee meeting in 2013 and a lunch meeting in 2014 for a collective $940,000. Tim Cook's proceeds benefitted the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights.

Fuel cell firm Intelligent Energy may be partnering with Apple to introduce fuel cell technology into future MacBooks and other mobile devices claims a report in The Daily Mail. While the tabloid does not have a strong rumor track record, fuel cells have long been discussed as a possible energy source for portable electronics and there are a few interesting pieces of information linked to the report.

Intelligent Energy recently revealed it purchased patents for mobile fuel cell technology from Eveready in association with a major international electronics company. Though the partner company is not revealed in any public filings, the Daily Mail's sources claim the mystery company is Apple.

Intelligent Energy revealed upon floating that it bought a bundle of patents in tandem with a major ‘international electronics company’.

It has kept the identity of its partner a closely-guarded secret. But a source, who has knowledge of the partnership, confirmed that Apple is the big name working with the Loughborough-based firm.

Intelligent Energy already has ties to Apple, hiring former Apple executive Joe O’Sullivan to serve as its Chief Operating Officer in late 2011. O'Sullivan spent 15 years in operations at Apple, and managed the introduction of the original iMac.

Apple is no stranger to fuel cell technology, filing a pair of patents in 2010 and 2011 that describe the use of the technology in portable computing devices. The Cupertino company also uses fuel cells on a large scale to help power its corporate headquarters and its Maiden, North Carolina data center.

Apple's iPad may be the cause of unexplained allergic rashes in children, reports The Washington Post, which cites a case study of an 11-year-old boy that was published in Pediatrics medical journal.

The Pediatrics article focuses on an 11-year-old boy who may be allergic to the nickel used in the casing of the tablet device. Following the increasing use of an iPad, the patient developed a rash that would not respond to conventional treatment.

His skin tested positive for nickel, one of the most common allergy-inducing metals, and doctors traced it back to an iPad he had used with increasing frequency the past six months. The iPad tested positive for nickel as well, according to the report.

Doctors advised the boy to use a Smart Case that covers the entire outer surface of the tablet. Similar to other reports of electronic device-induced rashes, the boy's skin condition improved significantly when he started using a case that prevented direct contact with the device.

As noted by the Associated Press, nickel allergies in children appear to be on the rise, with 25 percent of those receiving skin tests testing positive for nickel allergies, up from 17 percent a decade ago.

This iPad isn't the only device implicated in skin rashes. Earlier this year, Fitbit voluntarily recalled its Force fitness tracker after a growing number of users developed contact dermatitis from wearing the band. The rash was originally attributed to nickel in the charging port of the band, but that metal may not be involved as many users covered the nickel-containing port with tape and continued to experience a rash.

Update 3:00 PM PT: Apple has provided a statement to The Wall Street Journal noting that its products meet strict standards set for jewelry by the U.S. Consumer Safety Product Commission.

"Apple's products are made from the highest quality materials and meet the same strict standards set for jewelry by both the U.S. Consumer Safety Product Commission and their counterparts in Europe," Apple said.

The launch of Apple's 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may be delayed into 2015 as Apple's production issues with the smaller 4.7-inch version will likely carry over into the larger model, according to a new report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Production bottlenecks on 4.7-inch iPhone 6 center on the yield rate of in-cell touch panel and metal casing. As in-cell touch panel becomes larger in size, the edge of the panel may become insensitive to touch. Meanwhile, under new manufacturing process for the iPhone 6 metal casing, color unevenness is an issue.

Kuo adds that these problems become more complicated with the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6. As these new concerns are coupled with earlier concerns about the production of sapphire displays for the larger device, the analyst believes that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may not launch by the end of 2014, or may launch after October in very limited quantities. In the event that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 is delayed to next year, Kuo believes that Apple will cut the prices of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c alongside the launch of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6.

Early rumors about the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 pointed towards production issues with the device's display and battery life. However, a report from Bloomberg last month noted that both models would enter production and launch at the same time. Concerns over the metal casings used for the iPhone 6 were also reported late last month, as Apple rejected casings from partner Catcher Technology. However, those issues were said to be over parts found within the casings as opposed to color disfiguration mentioned in this latest report.

Apple is expected to announce and launch the iPhone 6 in September. In addition to a larger screen, both models of the device are expected to include a thinner profile and a faster A8 processor. Both sizes of the iPhone 6 are also expected to feature improved cameras, with the bigger model featuring an optical image stabilization system, while the smaller one will include an enhanced camera module.

FCC filings discovered by electronics company Securifi (via TUAW) have revealed Apple's plans for first-party iBeacon hardware to go along with the microlocation technology found in iOS. The transmitter is registered as the "Apple iBeacon" and carries a model number of A1573, which is in line with the company's other products.

According to the documents filed by Apple, the iBeacon was tested in collaboration with China-based Audix Technology from April 30 to May 13, 2014. The beacon tested has a diameter of 5.46'' and has a highest working frequency of 2.4GHz, which is in line with modern Bluetooth standards.

Originally introduced at WWDC 2013, iBeacon technology enables iOS devices to communicate with transmitters through Bluetooth in order to deliver relevant information to apps and services when a user is nearby. Apple introduced a "Made for iPhone" iBeacon specification in February, signaling a more primary role for the technology in its devices and services.

So far, however, companies have used third-party transmitters, like the Estimote Beacon to work with the technology and iOS devices. Shopping app Shopkick and Macy's partnered during the holiday season last year to integrate the technology into stores, while Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association have used iBeacons to enhance live events.

Apple has also integrated iBeacons into its own retail stores to notify customers about picking up online orders and special upcoming events. Internationally, Virgin Atlantic integrated iBeacons into London's Heathrow Airport to notify users of promotional deals and areas of interest.

While it is unknown as to whether Apple will actually launch iBeacon hardware or not, the product could integrate with the company's other platforms and services. Apple's iBeacon could be the company's first product to integrate with its HomeKit initiative, which allows home automation devices and their apps to work with iOS.

It is likely that HomeKit integrated hardware would come further down the roadmap in Apple's future product lineup, as that lineup is expected to include the iWatch, perhaps a 12-inch Retina MacBook Air and a next-generation Apple TV.