MacRumors

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a brief research note today highlighting the status of the iMac, which he says will see shipments fall to roughly 650,000 units this quarter from 1.75 million units in the first calendar quarter. The drop is due in part to seasonality and in part to a natural decline from the pent-up launch demand during the first quarter. Most importantly for potential iMac customers, Kuo believes an iMac update that will bring Intel's new Haswell processors to the line is coming in June or July.

We attribute the shipments decline to the fact that new product shipments have peaked and due to the arrival of the consumer slow season. But we believe iMac shipments troughed in 2Q13. Apple is expected to upgrade iMac processor to Intel’s (US) latest Haswell processor in June or July. Meanwhile, the consumer peak season has arrived. Thus we expect shipments to reach 1.1mn units in 3Q13, up 69% QoQ. Full-year shipments are forecast to be 4.7mn units, up 31% YoY.

Kuo has been relatively accurate with his predictions over the past several years, and thus his information is closely watched. Today's prediction does, however, mark a shift from a roadmap published by Kuo in January in which he estimated that updated iMacs would arrive around the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Despite the arrival of Kuo's note coming just before the keynote of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, there has been no evidence that the company is planning to launch the updated iMacs at the event. Given that Apple just redesigned the iMac late last year, it will very likely maintain that same design for the next generation, making it a relatively standard update that Apple could simply launch without holding a keynote or dedicated media event to announce it.

Just last month, a Wi-Fi card essentially identical in shape and connectivity to the card currently used in the iMac surfaced, with the new card supporting the faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard. Apple has been rumored to be bringing the standard to its Mac lineup this year, perhaps as soon as today with any hardware announcements it may make.

Following the release of a public beta nearly two months ago, Adobe today announced immediate availability of the official release of Photoshop Lightroom 5, the company's professional photo management and manipulation software.

Adobe highlights six major new and improved features found in Lightroom 5, as well as a number of other smaller features designed to make the software more powerful and efficient than ever.

- Advanced Healing Brush: Remove distracting elements with a single brush stroke. Adjust the size of the brush and move it in precise paths. Unwanted objects and flaws—even those with irregular shapes like threads—just disappear.

- Upright tool: Straighten tilted images with a single click. The new Upright tool analyzes images and detects skewed horizontal and vertical lines, even straightening shots where the horizon is hidden.

- Radial Gradient tool: Emphasize important parts of your image with more flexibility and control. The Radial Gradient tool lets you create off-center vignette effects, or multiple vignetted areas within a single image.

- Smart Previews: Easily work with images without bringing your entire catalog of original images with you. Just generate smaller stand-in files called Smart Previews. Make adjustments or metadata additions to the Smart Previews and apply your changes to the full-size originals later.

- Improved photo book creation: Create beautiful photo books from your images. Lightroom includes a variety of easy-to-use book templates, and now you can edit them to create a customized look. Upload your book for printing with just a few clicks.

- Video slideshows: Easily share your work in elegant video slideshows. Combine still images, video clips, and music in creative HD videos that can be viewed on almost any computer or device.

Lightroom 5 is priced at $149 as a standalone purchase, with upgrading pricing of $79 available to current Lightroom users. Subscribers to Adobe's Creative Cloud service will also receive access to Lightroom 5 with their memberships.

Lightroom competes with Apple's Aperture software, which is available on the Mac App Store for $79.99. Each successive version of Aperture has seen Apple reduce pricing, moves that drove Adobe to slash the price of Lightroom in half to $149 with the release of Lightroom 4 last year. But with no sign of a new version of Aperture and Apple continuing to price Aperture 3 at $79.99, Adobe apparently remains comfortable with its $149 standard pricing on Lightroom while it also seeks to transition users to its Creative Cloud subscription services.

Apple will announce a significant redesign of its iOS software and a streaming-music service tomorrow at WWDC according to a pair of reports from The Wall Street Journal posted this evening.

The newspaper confirms longstanding rumors that iOS will see a substantial redesign overseen by Jony Ive, Apple's chief designer. It sources "people involved in its development" as saying the iOS redesign will drop the skeumorphic design favored by the ousted Scott Forstall in favor of "plain solid backgrounds and more white space."

Ive's substantial "flat" redesign of the iOS interface has been rumored for several weeks. Several alleged leaks have appeared, though it's unclear if any of these have been legitimate.

Prior to the publication of these two articles, prominent Apple journalist John Gruber claimed on a podcast that "all the leaks are wrong" with regards to iOS 7. It's unclear if he was referring to leaked images of the user interface or more broad-based rumors of a significant UI overhaul.

In addition to details regarding the iOS redesign, the WSJ also shared some other possible tidbits about tomorrow's presentation.

The new iOS will also include new ways to share photos and videos with other iPhone users and other enhancements, these people said. The company is also expected to announce a long-expected streaming-music service, new laptops and an update to its Mac operating system.

The new ways to share photos and videos may be a reference to AirDrop, a feature that was rumored to be included in iOS 7. Unlike the UI redesign and the streaming-music service, the paper did not cite any sources with regards to new laptop models and an update to OS X.

In a separate article, the WSJ all-but confirmed that Apple will launch a streaming-music service at WWDC tomorrow. The tech press has nicknamed the initiative 'iRadio', and the ad-supported service is expected to significantly compete against Pandora, one of the most popular applications on the iPhone.

The highly anticipated new service—expected to be available only in the U.S.—will allow users to stream a radio-like channel of music based on their interests. It will be supported by text and audio ads from Apple’s iAd service, people familiar with the matter said. It will feature “Buy” buttons to drive downloads, they added.

The paper said talks between Apple and record labels and publishers have been in the works for more than a year, with Apple delaying the planned launch of the service in order to reach satisfactory agreements. Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president for Internet Software and Services, is said to be the main negotiator behind the deals.

Contract negotiations related to how much Apple will need to pay in royalties for songs, as well as how much Apple would need to pay for songs that listeners choose to skip. Pandora's contract agreements require that it pay for skipped songs as if they were listened to in full, while the WSJ reports that Apple will not be required to pay for skipped tracks under some of its deals.

Update: The New York Times echoes the above report:

On Monday, at the opening of its annual developers conference in San Francisco, the company is expected to unveil an Internet radio service that will stream songs over a data connection instead of storing them on a device, according to people briefed on the negotiations. The service is expected to be free, but supported by ads.

[…]

The overall look [of iOS 7] will be smoother and less ostentatious, according to a person briefed on the company’s plans, who asked not to be named.

The keynote for tomorrow's Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off tomorrow at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. MacRumors will have live coverage of the proceedings.

On this week's episode of his The Talk Show podcast, Daring Fireball's John Gruber shares (via The Tech Block) a few tidbits he's heard about Apple's plans for its new software being unveiled at WWDC tomorrow.

Gruber, who has a number of times in the past been able to share bits of information due to his connections within Apple, notes that he has heard very little about Apple's plans this time around but that one source has indicated "all the leaks are wrong" with respect to iOS 7.

Even Gruber is not entirely sure what that statement means, but iOS 7 has been widely rumored to be adopting a flatter look now that Jony Ive has replaced Scott Forstall in heading up the Human Interface aspects of Apple's software.

I know almost absolutely nothing. I don't think I've been this ignorant of what's coming, software-wise, for a keynote since the iPhone 1 back in 2007. Which is great...I'm super excited. [...]

The one thing I keep hearing over and over again from friends who would know is...the one word I keep hearing is that some of the stuff they're going to show is "polarizing".

And I also heard from somebody that just "all the leaks are wrong". Which is interesting. I have no idea what to make of it.

The keynote for tomorrow's Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off tomorrow at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. As noted in our rumor roundup, Apple will almost certainly be focusing the event on software with its upcoming iOS 7 and OS X 10.9, although the company may also introduce new services such as "iRadio" and new hardware such as updated notebooks and perhaps even redesigned Mac Pro models.

9to5Mac has posted a new photograph showing a wave-themed banner with an X in the middle, similar to the iOS 7 banner that was revealed earlier today. The spartan and minimalistic banners are significant change from the style used in previous years, particularly the OS X banner below.

The X appears to use the Helvetica Neue Ultra Light font, an extremely thin variant of Helvetica and the same font as the iOS 7 banner.

Apple is putting up new banners promoting iOS 7 at the Moscone Center where its Worldwide Development Conference is taking place next week, as noticed by MacStories.

The company had previously confirmed that the next version of the iOS operating system would be unveiled at WWDC. The extremely simple banner features a svelte number 7 against a minimalist background.

The banner is very different stylistically from the more traditional iOS 6 banners that Apple used last year.

Some of the banners already up at the Moscone Center include the tagline 'Where a whole new world's developing'.

WWDC begins Monday with the conference opening with Apple's annual keynote presentation. The company is expected to unveil iOS 7, OS X 10.9, the iRadio streaming music service and new Mac notebook models.

Update: The 7 appears to be from Helvetica Neue Ultra Light, an extremely thin variant of Helvetica.

AllThingsD briefly reports that Sony Music has agreed to a deal to bring its content to Apple's rumored streaming radio service, informally dubbed "iRadio". The development comes following word that Apple was pushing hard to complete deals in time for an announcement at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote next Monday.

Sony Music has signed on to Apple’s forthcoming iRadio service, according to a person familiar with negotiations between the two companies.

The deal means Apple now has agreements with all three major music labels.

Apple signed Universal Music last month and Warner followed just this past weekend, but Sony and Apple were reported to be having difficulty reaching an agreement over compensation for songs skipped by users.

Still to be negotiated are deals with publishers, but those talks are said to be less contentious than those with the labels.

Apple's iRadio service will reportedly be free to users, with revenue generated through advertising managed by Apple's iAd program. The service would most likely launch alongside iOS 7 later this year.

While we've covered work by BlueStacks to bring Android apps to Macs and PCs, the company has an even more interesting announcement to make today, revealing that its upcoming GamePop set-top box designed to offer subscription mobile gaming on TVs will also include support for iOS games. 9to5Mac has more on the developments, which include word that Fieldrunners developer Subatomic Studios will be the first major partner on the service.

As for what developers will have to do before submitting their apps, John tells us it’s as simple as changing in-app payments to use Google or Amazon like the rest of the content on GamePop. The rest of the magic is handled by BlueStacks’ API-level virtualization technology dubbed Looking Glass. It’s what will allow just about any iOS game with next to no tweaks to run on the TV through GamePop. John notes it’s similar to how BlueStacks’ “Layercake tech does a ton of heavy lifting to make Android apps work on PC and Mac.” It will also take care of mapping controls for each app to the various controllers planned for the device including iPhone and Android apps and a physical controller that will sell with the GamePop console.

GamePop's subscription service is priced at $6.99 per month, with the company offering a free set-top box and controller to customers signing up for a one-year contract before the end of the month. After that, the box and controller will cost $129.

Apple has been rumored to be looking at opening up its Apple TV platform to third-party applications, perhaps alongside a new television set product. When Apple launched the redesigned Apple TV in late 2010, Steve Jobs noted that the company could launch an Apple TV App Store when the time is right, but the company has yet to announce any efforts in that direction.

Just days after the U.S. Department of Justice presented its opening arguments against Apple in the antitrust e-book price fixing suit filed filed against Apple last April, the DoJ called Google's director of strategic partnerships Thomas Turvey to add credibility to its allegation, reports The Verge.

According to The Verge's Greg Sandoval, Apple's lead attorney Orin Snyder began "attacking" Turvey's story, eventually getting him to admit, under oath, that his lawyer helped him draft the statement he filed with the court. He also admitted that he couldn't remember whether he or his lawyer had written the important passages in his statement.

Sandoval says that Snyder was able to further weaken Turvey's testimony shortly after that, questioning the details of his statement:

Under Snyder's questioning, Turvey acknowledged that he couldn't remember a single name of any of the publishing executives who had told him Apple was the reason the publishers were switching their business model. He conceded that the publisher's move to the agency system was important to Google's own business, yet Turvey couldn't remember any details about the conversations with publishers. By the end of the interview Turvey had gone from saying the publishers had told him directly, to saying they had merely told people on his team, to finally saying the publishers had "likely" told someone on his team.

Sandoval notes that before today's witness testimony, much of the trial had been going the government's way and that the DoJ appeared to want Apple rival Google, which is not as significant a player in the e-book market as Amazon or Apple, to "pile on" Apple.

Turvey will return to the witness stand on Monday, with the trial set to last two more weeks. Apple's Eddy Cue is expected to testify on June 13.  Apple has consistently defended itself and has said the allegations are "simply not true."

The Guardian and The Washington Post newspapers are reporting on a top secret intelligence program that gives the U.S. National Security Agency direct access to user data on corporate servers across a wide spectrum of Internet companies including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, and Apple.

Apple reportedly joined the program in 2012, though Microsoft has been involved since 2007. It is unknown how or why Apple resisted joining the program for five years, nor why it decided to join in 2012. Twitter is noticeably absent from the list of companies, while Dropbox is said to be "coming soon".

Update: An Apple spokesperson gave this statement to AllThingsD:

We have never heard of PRISM. We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer data must get a court order.

Longtime Apple board member and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore tweeted earlier: "In digital era, privacy must be a priority. Is it just me, or is secret blanket surveillance obscenely outrageous?"

Data from the program, code-named PRISM, is frequently used in the President's Daily Brief -- a daily intelligence report for the U.S. President -- with PDB briefings citing PRISM data 1,477 times last year. The Post reports that data from PRISM accounts for nearly 1 in 7 intelligence reports.

From The Washington Post:

PRISM is an heir, in one sense, to a history of intelligence alliances with as many as 100 trusted U.S. companies since the 1970s. The NSA calls these Special Source Operations, and PRISM falls under that rubric.

The Silicon Valley operation works alongside a parallel program, code-named BLARNEY, that gathers up “metadata” — address packets, device signatures and the like — as it streams past choke points along the backbone of the Internet. BLARNEY’s top-secret program summary, set down alongside a cartoon insignia of a shamrock and a leprechaun hat, describes it as “an ongoing collection program that leverages IC [intelligence community] and commercial partnerships to gain access and exploit foreign intelligence obtained from global networks.”

Theoretically, the program is used to obtain data on foreign operatives, but it is possible for the NSA to scoop up untold amounts of data related to American citizens as well.

Apple's privacy policy does make allowances for this sort of disclosure to the authorities:

It may be necessary − by law, legal process, litigation, and/or requests from public and governmental authorities within or outside your country of residence − for Apple to disclose your personal information. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that for purposes of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary or appropriate.

The Washington Post and Guardian stories contain much more about PRISM, including slides from a PowerPoint presentation outlining the program that is classified TOP SECRET.

The Guardian reported earlier today that the National Security Agency is collecting call logs from Verizon Business Network Services "on an ongoing daily basis" on all calls "between the United States and abroad" or "wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls." The data includes "the numbers of both parties on a call […], as is location data, call duration, unique identifiers, and the time and duration of all calls".

Update 7:41 PM: Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has issued a press release noting that the Washington Post and Guardian reports contain "numerous inaccuracies" and indicating that any data collection is limited to non-U.S. citizens located outside of the United States.

Section 702 is a provision of FISA [the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] that is designed to facilitate the acquisition of foreign intelligence information concerning non-U.S. persons located outside the United States. It cannot be used to intentionally target any U.S. citizen, any other U.S. person, or anyone located within the United States.

Activities authorized by Section 702 are subject to oversight by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the Executive Branch, and Congress. They involve extensive procedures, specifically approved by the court, to ensure that only non-U.S. persons outside the U.S. are targeted, and that minimize the acquisition, retention and dissemination of incidentally acquired information about U.S. persons.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the comment thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All MacRumors 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.

Following yesterday's claim that three out of four major carriers in the U.S. throttle iPhone and iPad data speeds, AnandTech has investigated the issue and determined that the original assertion, which has since been deleted, is untrue.

Apple doesn't limit cellular data throughput on its devices — there's both no incentive for them to do so, and any traffic management is better off done in the packet core of the respective network operator rather than on devices. Sideloading tweaked carrier bundles isn't going to magically increase throughput, either.

According to the site, which offers a thorough technical examination and debunking of the original claim, neither Apple nor the accused carriers arbitrarily cap the User Equipment speed category or throttle device data speeds.

For example, AnandTech points out that the AT&T file that was used as evidence that the iPhone 5 was being capped at HSDPA Category 10 (14.4Mbps) was actually only applicable to the iPhone 4S, which, unlike the iPhone 5 (Category 14), is only capable of a Category 10 downlink, and then goes on to refute additional claims as well. The post ends with another reiteration that Apple is not, in any way, limiting its devices.

Again, there's no reason for Apple to want to arbitrarily limit their devices, and the reality is that they don't, at all, on any version of iPad or iPhone or in any of the carrier bundles they've distributed for network operators. If anything, Apple has long been one of the few handset vendors who initially understood the importance of limiting annoying operator customizations. The Carrier Bundles are quite literally the only place in the entire OS they have indirect access (through Apple) to toggles they can play with.

For the technically inclined, AnandTech's full explanation is well worth reading.