MacRumors

Reuters has added to the long list of confirmations and claims that Apple will introduce a gold variant of iPhone with its next device - the iPhone 5S. The report cites supply chain sources in Taiwan for the information.

This follows a research note last week in which KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that Apple would offer an iPhone in a gold casing in addition to the more traditional black and white. TechCrunch's MG Siegler followed up with his own claims and AllThingsD and 9to5Mac soon followed.

Gold iPhone 5S mockup. (Source: iMore)

Siegler speculated that a gold iPhone could be an effort to upsell customers in emerging markets like India and China, where gold is popular, where the low-cost iPhone 5C is expected to be a significant device. Reuters interviewed Jerry Zou, Senior VP and Partner at public relations firm FleishmanHillard in Beijing, whether a gold device would appeal to Chinese customers.

Commercially it makes sense, said Jerry Zou, Senior VP and Partner at FleishmanHillard, a public relations firm in Beijing. New colors would add "novelty and variety, both of which are key to winning over fickle Chinese consumers.

Zou went on to say that a champagne or gold color would be able to portray a luxury or high-end image that was also more restrained and subtle. Most of the customers Reuters interviewed at Apple's Xidan store, however, weren't sold on the idea of a gold iPhone, and consumers in India were "just as skeptical."

Reuters also spoke to Brandon Edwards, a Shanghai-based product designer who believes that a gold iPhone may only add cultural relevance for Apple's existing customers in the country rather than attract new ones who are using other smartphone brands.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 5S at an event on September 10, with a fingerprint sensor and perhaps a new 128 GB maximum storage capacity being other significant additions besides the new gold color option.

Apple has seeded the sixth Developer Preview of OS X Mavericks to developers, exactly two weeks after the release of the fifth Developer Preview. With the fifth preview, Apple introduced both the Mac iBooks app and a new beta version of iPhoto.

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. Developers can receive the update via the Software Update tool in the Mac App Store.

Consumers spend four times as much on games from the App Store and the Google Play Store than they do on games for gaming-optimized handhelds like the PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo 3DS, according to the newest report from App Annie.

The report points out that while Google Play game spending surpassed spending on handheld console games (both physical and digital) during the second quarter of 2013, App Store game spending continues to outpace both categories, bringing in far more revenue.

Back in July, App Annie reported that Google Play downloads had surpassed App Store downloads, but App Store revenue remains 2.3 times higher.

App Annie notes that games continue to lead app store growth, and during the second quarter of 2013, games represented approximately 40% of downloads from both Google Play and the App Store. Game sales in both app stores grew a significant amount from the Q1 2013 to Q2 2013 and represented 70% of total app revenue in both the App Store and Google Play.

The App Store and Google Play metrics that App Annie uses for its reports come from App Annie intelligence data, which is designed to offer global market data to publishers. As always, revenue estimates include paid downloads and in-app purchases, but not in-app advertising.

Apple has hired Levi Strauss’ former Senior Vice President Enrique Atienza, reports 9to5Mac. Atienza, who formerly handled Levi’s Retail Americas and Global Store Operations, is said to be working as a retail director overseeing multiple regions on the West Coast of the United States.

A source says that Atienza will be the director of all retail matters for many regions within the West Coast of the United States, and this role is one of the highest ranking retail positions inside of Apple. Several internal and external candidates were considered for the position, but the external Atienza is said to have been the best fit.

While a Levi Strauss spokeswoman confirmed that Atienza had recently left the company, she declined to comment further on the departure. At Levi Strauss, Atienza was in charge of streamlining the company’s global sales approach to create a better customer experience.

9to5Mac also notes that Steve Cano, formerly a retail manager, was promoted to Vice President of Retail Operations earlier in the year. Atienza will report to Cano, who reports directly to Tim Cook.

As Apple beefs up its retail team, the company is still searching for a new retail chief after John Browett was ousted last October as part of a major management restructuring. In August, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was only considering outside candidates for the position.

Apple's retail operations are more important than ever as the company enters into the fall months with a slew of products to reveal. Both the iPhone 5S and the low-cost iPhone 5C are expected to debut in September, with the fifth-generation iPad and the iPad mini coming slightly later in the year.

Taiwan's Apple Daily has posted a new video [Google translation, via iPhone Hacks] showing a hands-on overview of the plastic rear shell of Apple's "iPhone 5C". While the shell has been seen a number of times in photos and a few videos, Apple Daily highlights the durability of the shell while also taking measurements of the part with a digital caliper. Assuming the part is a legitimate back shell sourced from Apple's supply chain, the report offers a few additional details about what to expect from the iPhone 5C.

In the durability tests, Apple Daily placed the shell in a plastic bag with a key and some coins before shaking the bag vigorously, then removing the items and attempting to directly scratch the shell with the key. While the video is somewhat blurry at times, the accompanying article notes that there were no visible scratches on the shell. According to sources, the shell scores a high "8H" rating on the pencil hardness test.

Based on caliper measurements, the iPhone 5C measures 124.55 mm tall x 59.13 mm wide, in line with case makers' design drawings showing it slightly larger than the iPhone 5/5S due to the thicker plastic shell. Apple Daily measure the thickness of the device at 8.98 mm compared to 8.50 mm in the design drawings, but Apple Daily has paired the shell with a front panel that sticks out somewhat from the rear shell and it is unclear if that panel is seated correctly to provide accurate measurements.

The report also includes an image of an iPhone 5S rear shell showing the pill-shaped window for the rear camera's dual-LED flash. The shell is blue in color, but appears to have some sort of coating applied to it. Another blue iPhone 5S shell also appeared in photos today, although its authenticity is also very questionable.

The first seven exclusive "Steve Jobs schools" have opened their doors across a number of cities in the Netherlands. Starting from today, schools in the Dutch cities of Sneek, Breda, Almere, Emmen, Heenvliet and Amsterdam will start teaching students according to the principles of the O4NT, or Onderwijs voor een nieuwe tijd (Education for a new era), which emphasizes the role of the iPad in an elementary school environment. The program, which was first proposed by Dutch officials back in March 2012, gives every child access to a "virtual school" through an iPad and helps them develop information and communication technology (ICT) and information processing skills, collaboration techniques and a critical, problem-solving and creative mind.

The O4NT foundation is currently in talks with a number of school boards across the Netherlands and they hope that more schools will sign up the model next year. The program has a number of benefits: apart from teaching children useful skills, school hours and vacations are a lot more flexible under the new model — as the "virtual school" is accessible round the clock, 365 days a year (although the Dutch Ministry of Education is currently preventing this scenario due to legislative restrictions) — and the ICT-based approach also has a major impact on the role of the teacher. According to O4NT's press release:

In the O4NT approach, teachers will no longer simply convey knowledge to a group of children; they will be transformed into coaches that support children with their individual and group projects. Because educational apps are used for basic skills, the learning process can be completely adapted to the individual child’s learning speed and style.

O4NT is also planning an international version of the program, allowing Dutch expatriate children around the world to attend full-time education via their iPad. O4NT International, as it has been dubbed, is expected to launch in early 2014.

CNET summarizes a report [Google translation] from prominent Japanese business newspaper Nikkei claiming that both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C will launch in Japan on Friday, September 20, ten days after the devices are expected to be unveiled at an Apple media event.

SoftBank and KDDI will handle sales of the iPhone 5S and 5C, according to Japan's largest business daily. NTT Docomo is not expected to sell the new iPhones, Nikkei added. [...]

In addition to the conventional black and white models, a new "champagne gold" will be offered, the newspaper said. This reinforces widely-reported rumors about that color option for the iPhone 5S.

The 5S is expected to come with an upgraded processor and camera as well as fingerprint reader integrated into the home button, according to the report.

September 20 has been widely speculated to be the date for the first wave of launches for Apple's new iPhone models, based on past history. Apple typically launches its new iPhones in the United States and several other markets roughly a week and half after they are introduced, and with a September 10 media event all but confirmed, September 20 is viewed by many as the most likely launch date.

Last year, Apple introduced the iPhone 5 at a media event on September 12, with the first round of launches taking place on September 21 in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

The Wall Street Journal offers new details on music video website Vevo's deal to launch an Apple TV channel, noting that the new channel may launch as soon as this week. Vevo has also struck a deal to bring its content to Samsung televisions, although that launch is likely several weeks away.

Vevo, a joint venture between Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment and Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, has signed deals to deliver on-demand music videos—plus a new channel of original, 24-hour-a-day programming—via Apple TV set-top boxes and Samsung television sets. [...]

The move is part of Vevo's strategy to surmount its biggest challenge: getting fans to watch its videos and original content though the sites and apps it owns—and not through YouTube. YouTube, owned by Google Inc., GOOG -0.03% takes a significant share of the ad revenue generated by content viewed on its site. Vevo declined to specify the percentage Google takes, but industry experts say that Google can take almost as much as 50% from partners. A YouTube spokeswoman said the share it takes from partners is always less than 50%. By contrast, Vevo gets 100% of the ad revenue when fans watch its videos on Vevo.com, or Vevo apps.

The report notes that Vevo's deals with Apple and Samsung will allow it to sell ads designed specifically for television rather than attached to web videos, opening the door to advertisers with larger budgets.

Vevo is just one of a number of channels and services recently added or coming soon to the Apple TV. Back in June, Apple added several new channels to the box, including WatchESPN, HBO GO, Sky News, anime site Crunchyroll, and music concert and documentary streaming service Qello. Apple is also close to launching a Time Warner Cable app and television network The CW has said that it is working on an app for the device.

Back in late May, Apple announced that it would once again be holding its annual iTunes Festival in September, a monthlong series of free concerts at The Roundhouse in London. Just as it did last year, Apple has added a new channel to the Apple TV to offer live streaming and limited time on-demand replays of the concert series.

The concert series kicks off on September 1 with Lady Gaga and includes a number of popular artists including The Lumineers, Queens of the Stone Age, Kings of Leon, Elton John, Vampire Weekend, Jack Johnson, Robin Thicke, and Justin Timberlake before closing on September 30 with Katy Perry.

The Apple TV channels includes a complete schedule, brief bios of the performers, a video trailer, information about the concert venue and ways to watch the concerts, as well as small photo galleries from the previous three festivals.

Free tickets for the shows are available via a lottery system to UK residents, with media partners in a number of other countries also giving away tickets through promotional campaigns.

Update: Apple has also updated its iOS app for the 2013 edition of the festival. [Direct Link]

(Thanks, Kyle!)

Apple's iTunes Radio will debut in September with a number of brand partners including McDonald's, Nissan, Pepsi, and Procter & Gamble, reports AdAge. Under the terms of the deal, Apple's launch partners will get exclusive ads within their industries through the end of 2013.

The deals range from the high single-digit millions of dollars to tens of millions of dollars and include a 12 month advertising campaign to run within the streaming music service for each of the participating brands.

First introduced at WWDC, iTunes Radio is Apple’s upcoming Internet radio service that functions similarly to Pandora, offering up personalized radio stations based on artist or song selections.

iTunes Radio is free, but is supported with both interstitial audio and video ads along with standard mobile ads. iTunes Match subscribers, however, can enjoy an ad-free experience.

Advertisements on iTunes Radio will come in three forms: interstitial audio and video ads and "slate" ads; interactive display ads that will take over whatever screen the consumer is using. That includes iPhones, iPads, all desktops and laptops loaded with iTunes (including Windows PCs) and Apple TV, the Apple device that brings Internet connectivity and apps to TVs.

iTunes Radio listeners will hear one audio ad every 15 minutes and will see a video ad each hour. While initial ads will run on all devices, advertisers will later be able to target ads to specific devices. Launch partners will also have the opportunity to create sponsored stations that have fewer ads than standard radio stations.

According to reports, Apple's iAd staff is responsible for securing the advertising deals that support the streaming music service. iTunes Radio represents a new opportunity for iAd, which was originally envisioned as a way to help developers earn money on the iOS platform. iAd has been historically unsuccessful in terms of attracting both developer interest and revenue, but with the new audio ads, Apple will be able to keep 90% of the money it earns instead of shelling out a large portion to developers.

iTunes Radio is bundled into iOS 7 and will likely debut during Apple's September 10 iPhone event.