MacRumors

Apple has been working to expand its iAd team over the past month, posting job listings for dozens of positions just as the company prepares to launch its iTunes Radio streaming music service, notes Ad Age. Apple's iAd team is handling advertising for the new service and has reportedly already signed up a number of high-profile brands to advertise on the service from its launch.

Apple had posted five iAd-related jobs to its own job board and another 35 to LinkedIn just in the month of August as of Friday. The openings are for a variety of jobs including account coordinators, ad design managers, project managers and engineers who will create new rich media ads for iAd.

In addition, Apple appears to be hiring ad execs with creative experience to help brands and agencies create better ads for its expanding iAd advertising network.

The report specifically highlights a creative design manager position intended to bridge account management and user experience functions, and while it says that the mid-August job posting was taken down last week, it appears to have been reposted by Apple last Friday.

As a head of the design and creative technology team, the Creative Manager supervises Designers and Creative Technologist and participates in the user experience and design execution of advertising campaigns on the iAd Network. [...]

Working with cross functional teams of engineers and producers, you will be working with our agency partners, defining the best experiences in advertising for the iAd Network while pushing the limits of creative and technical platform. Your ability to be creative and resourceful in problem solving while working effectively with a range of technical backgrounds is extremely important in this position.

According to previous reports, iTunes Radio listeners will be served an audio ad roughly every 15 minutes, with a video ad coming once per hour at times when the user is likely to be looking at his or her device. Subscribers to Apple's $25/year iTunes Match service will be able to listen to iTunes Radio without ads. iTunes Radio will be available only in the United States at its launch alongside iOS 7 later this month, with expansion to other countries coming over time.

Following last week's introduction of Parallels Desktop 9, VMware has announced the launch its new VMware Fusion 6 virtualization software, adding support for OS X Mavericks and Windows 8.1, as well as a number of other new features.

- Designed for Mac OS X Mavericks - Extend the unique features of Mavericks to a Windows environment, such as taking full advantage of every display connected to a Mac with multiple display support and enhanced dictation support in Windows applications.

- Ready for Windows 8.1 - Get the most out of Windows 8.1 by running Windows Store applications side-by-side with Mac applications. With VMware Fusion 6, users can access Windows Store applications in Launchpad or the Applications folder and put them in the Dock in Unity mode.

- Optimized for the Latest Macs - VMware Fusion 6 is optimized for the latest Macs taking advantage of Intel's latest Haswell processors for even better battery life and even faster performance when running Windows applications.

- Create the Most Powerful Virtual Machines - Create virtual machines with support for up to 16 vCPUs, 8 TB virtual disks, and up to 64 GB of memory to run the most demanding Windows applications on a Mac.

- Enhanced User Interface - From its streamlined user experience and improved PC migration assistant, to easier installation of Windows and more granular selection of computer resources, everything has been enhanced to give users an even better way to run Windows on a Mac.

A more advanced VMware Fusion 6 Professional version is also available, adding greater flexibility for restricting and expiring virtual machines, linked clones for easily creating multiple copies of virtual machines, and more.

Available through the VMware Store, VMware Fusion 6 is priced at $59.99 while VMware Fusion 6 Professional is priced at $129.99. Users upgrading from version 4 or 5 can receive discounted pricing of $49.99/$69.99, while any customers who purchased VMware Fusion 5 on or after August 1 can receive a free upgrade to version 6.

YouTube channel Unbox Therapy has posted a new video showing what appears to be the rear shell and front panel of the next-generation iPad, with size comparisons to the current full-size iPad. The enclosure in the video is consistent with previous leaks including a set of photos last week also claiming to be of the front panel and digitizer of the next generation iPad.

The new video, which offers a good overview of the parts, also highlights the separate up and down volume buttons on the side of the upcoming device, refined speakers, and an overall narrower design measuring two-thirds of an inch less than the current model.

Apple will reportedly release the thinner full-size iPad and the next-generation iPad mini in the final three months of the year. The company is holding an iPhone media event on September 10, but it will not include the introduction of the refreshed iPad line.

Following its distribution of media invitations for its September 10 iPhone event yesterday, Apple sent out a second batch of invitations to members of the Chinese media for a separate event in Beijing, according to Sina [Google Translate]. The design of the invitation matches that of the one sent out for Apple's Cupertino event, although it is unclear whether the Beijing event will cover separate China-specific announcements such as a rumored China Mobile deal or if it will simply be a recap of Cupertino event. The Beijing event takes place at 10:00 AM local time, nine hours after Apple's Cupertino event begins.

Apple's Cupertino event is expected to see that launch of a new flagship iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone 5C that will have internal components similar to the iPhone 5 encased in new colored plastic shells. In a report last month, the iPhone 5C was projected to give Apple a "huge boost" in China, with its lower cost making it an attractive choice for the market.

A potential deal between Apple and China Mobile has reportedly been in the works for some time, with Apple CEO Tim Cook and China Mobile CEO Xi Guohua reportedly meeting in July to discuss the matter. Last month, Mr. Xi told Reuters that "both sides sounded keen" during recent talks, adding that he was optimistic about a potential deal.

Additionally, a report from late last month claimed that the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C will launch in China on November 28, more than two months later than the expected launch of the phones in the first wave of markets. The delay would be due to the verification process by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology that all new devices must go through.

Update: AllThingsD reports that the Beijing event is simply one of three satellite gatherings related to the main event in Cupertino, with other gatherings taking place in Berlin and Tokyo. The Beijing event will presumably occur nine hours after the Cupertino event to offer a more reasonably timed alternative to the live event, which will take place at 1:00 AM Beijing time.

These satellite launches will be held in Berlin, Tokyo and Beijing, and will feature a video stream or replay of the Cupertino event along with some other content. They’re not an entirely new occurrence; Apple has done them before in London and Tokyo. That said, this is the first time the company has ever held a satellite launch event in China, one of its most important markets.

Apple might be planning to unveil an upgraded Apple TV or similar television-related product at its upcoming September 10 iPhone event, according to global trade intelligence platform Panjiva (via GigaOM).

The company has shared three bills of lading from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that show Apple accepted three shipments labeled as "Set Top Boxes" during the month of August from one of its suppliers, BYD Precision Manufacture in Shenzhen, China.

On August 25th, Apple received a shipment described as "Set Top Box with Communication Function" from BYD Precision Manufacture in Shenzhen, China.

On August 18th, Apple received another shipment, again from BYD, described as "Set Top Boxes."

And on August 11th, Apple received its first shipment from BYD of "Set Top Box with Communication Function."

The shipments, received on August 11, 18, and 25, ranged in size from seven to 18 tons. Though the weight of the shipments were recorded, no information about the size or the dimension of the contents were noted, nor was a model number offered, so it is unclear what the boxes contain. An existing Apple TV weighs approximately one pound, which means the three shipments could contain approximately 90,000 Apple TVs.

According to Panjiva, Apple last received a "set top box" shipment in December of 2012 from Foxconn, which turned out to be a shipment of the third-generation Apple TVs with a model number of A1427. It seems, however, that there may be missing records as Apple reported selling more than two million Apple TVs during the holiday quarter of 2012, likely necessitating regular shipments of the product.

Based on the historical lack of shipment records and the total size of the received shipments, it is unclear whether the records shared by Panjiva hint at a new product or if they simply reference a standard shipment of the existing Apple TV. Apple often shifts its supplies and suppliers, and BYD Precision Manufacture is a relatively new partner for the company. Apple has received just four shipments in total from BYD, the three "set top box" shipments and one shipment labeled "PC Portable" on August 18.

While it could be a standard product shipment, the Apple TV is due for an update. It was last refreshed in March of 2012, though the current Apple TV did receive a smaller A5 chip earlier this year. It is also possible that Apple is planning to introduce an entirely new product, though it is unlikely to be the much rumored Apple-branded television set.

Over the past several months, Apple has been working to fortify its Apple TV content offerings by introducing a number of new channels. In June, WatchESPN, HBO GO, Sky News, Crunchyroll, and Quello were added, and in August, Apple debuted channels for Vevo, the Smithsonian, and Disney. Deals with TWC and The CW are also said to be in the works.

Apple has seeded the seventh Developer Preview of OS X Mavericks to developers, nearly three weeks after the release of the sixth Developer Preview. Registered developers can receive the update via the Software Update tool in the Mac App Store.

OS X Mavericks, which is expected to be released this fall, includes multiple new features like a tabbed Finder, full screen dual monitor capabilities, Safari improvements, and a new Maps app.

With Apple having issued invitations for its September 10 media event where it is expected to introduce its next-generation iPhone 5S and 5C models, MacRumors has learned from a reliable source that the company has already begun shipments of at least some of the new hardware into the United States.

As is not unheard of for the company, Apple is already beginning to stockpile units in the United States for quick distribution to carrier partners, other third-party retail partners, and its own channels. With the new iPhone hardware expected to be introduced at next Tuesday's media event, Apple's pattern with previous releases suggests that the new models would launch in the U.S. and other first wave countries about a week and a half later, with Friday, September 20 being the most likely date.

With the packaged iPhone 5C units showing up in a number of photographs over the past few days, it seems reasonable to believe that the device may indeed be ready for shipment ahead of next week's media event. Little to no specific evidence of iPhone 5S units being ready for shipment has been seen, and it is unclear whether that device is included in the U.S. shipments we are hearing about.

Apple has just sent out media invitations for its September 10 media event where the company is expected to introduce its next-generation iPhone hardware, reports The Loop. The event will begin at 10:00 AM Pacific Time and will be held at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California. The tagline on the invitation reads "This should brighten everyone's day."

The September 10 date was first reported by AllThingsD last month, and was quickly confirmed by a number of other sources. Official invitations for the event were expected today given Apple's usual one-week lead time before such events.

The event is expected to include the introduction of two new iPhone models: an iPhone 5S successor to the current iPhone 5 and a lower-cost iPhone 5C that will reportedly have internal components very similar to the iPhone 5 but wrapped in colorful new plastic shells. The event will undoubtedly also see a final preview of iOS 7 before it released to the public.

Apple has also been reported to be launching new iPad and iPad mini models later this year, but they will not be making an appearance at this event. A number of Mac updates are also expected in the coming months, but they too are likely to held for a later date in order to give full focus for this event to the iPhone.

Over the past few months, a number of parts alleged to be for the iPhone 5S have leaked out of Asian parts and repair firms, but leaked home button parts had failed to provide evidence for the inclusion of a fingerprint sensor as has been widely rumored for the device.

But as noted by Nowhereelse.fr [Google Translate], a new home button flex cable part has surfaced that may show support for the fingerprint sensor. The part contains an identifier of 821-2092-01 in line with Apple's usual part number scheme, and appears to carry a manufacturing date code corresponding to the 29th week of 2013, or mid-July.

The flex cable part is far more complex than that seen in the iPhone 5 or even the alleged iPhone 5S part leaked last month, containing a new square surface as well as several other components that may be related to fingerprint sensor functionality.

Apple routinely alters its combinations of components included on flex cable parts to suit its evolving internal and external designs, but it is not immediately apparent what existing component could account for the features seen on this part, suggesting that they may indeed be for a new feature such as the rumored fingerprint sensor.

Also potentially contributing to differences in part leaks is word that Apple initially did not build the fingerprint sensor into iPhone 5S prototype, instead connecting an external sensor for testing purposes. As a result, the home button flex cable design may have changed over time as Apple worked to move it from an external assembly into the home button.

Finally, early part leaks may have seen some confusion over which parts were destined for the iPhone 5S and which were intended for the lower-cost iPhone 5C, which is not expected to include a fingerprint sensor.

Apple is expected to introduce the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C at a media event on September 10.

Update: MobilesPie shared photos of a similar part last week, but the retailer selling the part lists it as for the iPhone 5C.