MacRumors

Just five months after its release, OS X Mavericks is seeing adoption rates in the range of 40 percent to almost 50 percent depending on the tracking source. The significant growth in Mavericks users demonstrates the benefits of Apple's move to drop the price of its latest OS X update to zero in an effort to encourage users to upgrade.

Analytics firm Chitika is out with a new report today showing Mavericks usage at 40 percent of page impressions in the United States and Canada over the week of March 17-23. Apple's three previous operating system versions split almost all of the remaining 60 percent of the Mac user base nearly evenly.

Almost exactly five months following Mavericks’ release, the operating system’s users are generating 40% of U.S and Canadian Mac OS X-based Web traffic, a figure that dramatically outpaces Mavericks’ predecessor, OS X Mountain Lion. At 40%, the share of OS X Web traffic generated by Mavericks users is approximately six percentage points higher than what OS X Mountain Lion achieved nearly 14 months following its public debut, and 13 percentage points higher [than] what was recorded at the seven-month mark.

The report notes that while Mavericks is seeing strong upgrade rates relatively to previous versions of OS X, Mac adoption rates are much slower than seen for iOS, where 85 percent of devices are now running iOS 7. This disparity is likely due to a number of factors, including longer lifespans for Macs that may leave a higher percentage of machines ineligible for the latest OS version, as well as a more varied user base than may not be as tech savvy as mobile users and thus less likely to upgrade.

Chitika is not the only analytics company tracking OS X usage, as GoSquared continues to maintain its tracker offering a real-time look at the distribution of OS X versions appearing on its network of sites. GoSquared is seeing an even higher rate of adoption for Mavericks of around 48 percent, with a similar even split of the three previous versions all around 15-16 percent.

Net Applications is yet another analytics firm with a significant user base to measure data from, and that firm saw Mavericks with a 45 percent share of the OS X base in its February data.

Tim Cook confirmed in a recent interview with ABC News' David Muir that Apple was manufacturing sapphire in its Arizona plant, but deflected any questions about how the company planned to use the material. Recent reports suggest the sapphire could land in the iPhone 6 or the iWatch as a display substrate, and a recent patent application lends some credibility to these rumors.

As noted by AppleInsider, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published an Apple patent application titled "Oleophobic coating on sapphire" that describes a method of applying an oil-repelling coating to a sapphire display for use in a mobile or portable electronic device.

The patent details a multi-layer display material with a base sapphire layer, a transition layer that serves to bond the surface layer to the base layer and finally a surface layer with an oleophobic coating.

Various embodiments described herein encompass a component with a substrate having an alumina base layer, a transition layer comprising alumina and silica, and a surface coating that preferentially bonds to the silica. The base layer may comprise a single-crystal sapphire. The transition layer may transition substantially continuously from about 100% alumina at the base layer to include substantial silica content at the surface coating, or to about 100% silica or silica glass at the surface coating.

A surface layer may be formed on the transition layer, with a substantially silica content, for example substantially 100% silica or silica glass, and the surface coating may be oleophobic. A portable electronic device may comprise the coated component, the portable device may include a window, the oleophobic coating may be provided on an exterior surface of the window, and the window may also include a touch screen.

Apple first used an oleophobic coating when it introduced the fingerprint-resistant material with the iPhone 3GS. The material has been used in subsequent products, including the current iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPod touch, iPad Air and Retina iPad mini.

Apple last year signed a $578 million deal with materials manufacturer GT Advanced to produce sapphire in a new Mesa, Arizona plant currently under construction. Recent photos of the facility reveal significant building progress as the company moves closer to the plant's target full operational date of June 2014.

Sonnet has announced a 4U rackmount enclosure and expansion chassis for the new Mac Pro, allowing users to horizontally mount their Mac Pro in a standard data center rack with PCIe expansion capabilities.

The xMac Pro Server includes three PCIe single-width expansion slots, with room for one double-width and one single-width card, Thunderbolt 2 compatibility, and a mounting kit for additional storage or optical drives. On the back, the rack includes three USB 3.0 ports, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and an HDMI port, with a single USB 3.0 port on the front. It includes a 300W power supply and a 75W PCIe power connector for supplemental power to certain power-hungry PCIe cards.

The new Mac Pro has become the object of desire, but a lustrous finish hides its true beauty—the massive power within. If you're a pro user in the video or audio industries, the Mac Pro offers the power you need, but lacks the built-in expandability you count on. In order to achieve this engineering feat, Apple® designers stripped away components and space to a minimum, taking out PCIe slots and drive bays, and packed the remaining components into a small cylinder. Its compact size makes the new Mac Pro more transportable and rackable, but prevents onboard installation of PCIe expansion cards. In addition, the computer still requires an enclosure to make it road- or rack-ready and provide convenient cable management. Sonnet's xMac Pro Server PCIe expansion system/4U rackmount enclosure addresses these issues and increases a Mac Pro's potential in a big way.

Sonnet claims the xMac Pro Server will ship in early June, offering a sign-up sheet for interested customers on its website. It has a suggested price of $1,499.

The company announced Thunderbolt docking stations nearly a year ago but has delayed shipment several times.

Update 12:35PM 3/27/2014: Pricing information added.

The annual Macworld conference, which will see hundreds of companies showing off Apple-related apps and products, officially kicked off today with the innovation showcase for media and workshop attendees.

While Apple stopped attending Macworld in 2009, causing the conference to shrink considerably, there are still a number of innovative products being demoed at the show, including the Petcube, the motion-controlled Ring, unique wearables from Lumo, and more.

Many of the products at Macworld originated on crowd-funding sites like Kickstarter, including the Petcube, which reached full funding back in November of 2013. The Petcube is a small iPhone-connected cube equipped with a camera, motion detection, and a laser toy, allowing users to keep an eye on and play with their pets while they’re away from home.

The first Petcube devices will launch in May of 2014, but the company is debuting its Petcube app [Direct Link] at Macworld, which is a sort of social network for pets at the current time. App functionality will be expanded in the future, first allowing users to interact with Petcubes placed in shelters and then letting them interface with their own cubes after the product ships. Petcubes can be preordered for $199.

The Ring, another product being demoed at Macworld, also made its debut on Kickstarter. While wearing the somewhat bulky Ring on an index finger, users can make small gestures to interface via Bluetooth with an iPhone or iPad app, completing tasks like spelling out letters, opening apps like the camera, or making mobile payments.

In a demonstration, the Ring's creators used it to write letters that were then transmitted to an iPad app and also demonstrated it opening the camera app. The current functionality of the Ring seems to be a bit limited, but the creators are planning to release an SDK for developers to incorporate its technology into their own apps. The Ring is expected to ship in July of 2014 and can still be preordered via Kickstarter for $185.

Lumo is showing off its new Lumo Lift product, which is a small wearable device that is designed to track daily activity and improve posture as well. It comes in an array of colors and designs and can measure steps and calories burned like many other fitness devices.

Lumo Lift is unique in its ability to keep an eye on posture, letting users know with a slight vibration when they slouch too often. The Lumo Lift can be preordered for $79 and will ship in the Summer of 2014.

There are also several other products available that have been demoed at conferences like CES, including the Flir One thermal camera and the Livescribe 3 Smartpen that transfers traditional writing to iOS devices. A slew of up and coming apps are also available today, including video/photo hybrid Flashback and CrazyTalk, an app for Mac and iOS that takes photos and transforms them into interactive 2D animations.

Macworld will continue through March 29, with the Expo Hall opening tomorrow morning.

Analytics firm App Annie has released its February data (via AppleInsider) on top-performing apps on iOS and Android for the month of February, highlighting how large developers have increasingly been able to leverage television commercials to help boost their rankings. Such tactics are obviously not within financial reach of most developers, but established players such as King and Big Fish Games have the resources to make an impact on television.

In looking at the top App Store games by revenue in February, App Annie notes that King's Farm Heroes Saga leapt sixteen places from the previous month to land in seventh place, while Big Fish Casino moved up six places to just break into the top ten. Both games have benefited from television advertising in recent months, driving their visibility and user interest.

Farm Heroes Saga made major gains in iOS revenue in February, giving publisher King three of the Top 10 positions. [...] Farm Heroes Saga received extensive TV and print campaigns in the United Kingdom and United States, and performed strongly in both markets.

Another app receiving extensive TV commercials in the United States in February was Big Fish Casino, which made significant gains to join the Top 10 games by iOS revenue. It was interesting to note that the commercials for Big Fish Casino targeted female players, a marketing stance that has been adopted by several big game publishers in 2014.

Long-standing top performers Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga have also seen significant television advertising in recent months.

The Flappy Bird phenomenon was obviously strong in the month of February, with developer Dong Nguyen's .Gears Studio ranking number one in total App Store game downloads in February, despite having only three titles in the store and Flappy Bird itself having been taken down on the 9th of the month. Even so, Flappy Bird ranked as the most downloaded game for the month, while another title, Super Ball Juggling, placed seventh.

And of course the rush of copycats also saw an impact, with a number of Flappy Bird clones seeing substantial success during the month, particularly in the wake of Flappy Bird's removal. At one point late last month, one-third of all new App Store games were either clones of Flappy Bird or inspired by the title. Only a small fraction of those titles seeking to ride on the popularity of Flappy Bird experienced success, but those that did saw very high numbers of downloads.

Apple is gearing up to release new MacBook models in 2014 including a MacBook Air with Retina Display, according to a new report from DigiTimes citing supply chain sources. The story notes that while some Taiwan-based supply chain makers are expecting MacBook shipments in 2014 to fall to 10 million units, others are projecting higher numbers with the belief that Apple's will refresh of its notebook line later this year and release a Retina MacBook Air.

However, other Taiwan-based supply chain makers hold the opinion that 2014 MacBook shipments estimates may not be accurate because Apple will launch new models in the second half of 2014. Apple will reportedly launch a MacBook Air with Retina display, the makers said.

Last week, a forum post from a previously accurate source on Weiphone.com claimed that the MacBook Air would be updated soon, with new MacBook Pros to be released in September. Most notably, the report claimed that both will be accompanied by the release of a new slim 12-inch MacBook, which will come without a fan assembly and feature a redesigned trackpad.

It is also possible that the new MacBook Air mentioned in the report and the slim 12-inch MacBook mentioned in the forum post could be the same laptop, which would fall in line with a report from NPD DisplaySearch last year claiming that Apple is planning to introduce a 12-inch MacBook Air in 2014. That report added that the 12-inch MacBook Air would come with an ultra-high resolution 2304 x 1440 display, and was corroborated by the reliable Ming-Chi Kuo.

The post also comments on Apple launching a larger iPad with a near 12-inch screen, however a report earlier this month claims that the project has since been put on hold due to development hurdles and incompatibilities with the existing iOS ecosystem.

A few new insider details on the development of the original iPhone have come to light thanks to Apple senior software engineer Greg Christie, who gave an interview with The Wall Street Journal with permission from Apple, ahead of a new patent infringement trial against Samsung that is set to begin soon.

According to Christie, who joined the secret "purple" iPhone project after an invitation from Scott Forstall, his team was responsible for many key iPhone elements, such as sliding to unlock, placing calls from the address book, and more. He and his team spent countless hours perfecting details like the speed of scrolling, and the feel of bouncing back at the end of a list.

He said his team "banged their head against the wall" over how to change text messages from a chronological list of individual messages to a series of separate ongoing conversations similar to instant messaging on a computer.

He also said the team was "shockingly small." Apple declined to specify the number of members.

Christie gave two progress reports to Jobs each month, in a small, windowless meeting room at the company's Cupertino headquarters. Few people had access to the room and even cleaning people were not allowed to enter. The secrecy surrounding the original iPhone's design was incredible, with Jobs even requiring employees to encrypt images of the device.

Jobs was initially unhappy with Christie's progress on the device, and gave his team two weeks to improve.

"Steve had pretty much had it," said Mr. Christie, who still heads Apple's user-interface team. "He wanted bigger ideas and bigger concepts."

Christie's team was able to impress Jobs within the deadline, later giving presentations to Apple's design chief Jony Ive and Apple director Bill Cambell, who said the iPhone "would be better than the original Mac." All three approved the 2005 design, kicking off a "2 and a half year marathon" where the iPhone was designed from the ground up with Jobs clearing every minor detail, as has been noted in several previous reports of the iPhone's development.

Christie's details on the creation of the original iPhone come just ahead of a second major patent infringement lawsuit with Samsung, set to begin later in March. Apple initially accused Samsung of grossly infringing on both its patents and its designs in 2011, a lawsuit that resulted in a $890 million penalty for the South Korean company in the United States.

While the first lawsuit covered older devices, the second U.S. patent lawsuit between the two companies covers more recent products like the Galaxy Note II, the Galaxy S III, the iPhone 5, and the iPad 4.

The full interview on The Wall Street Journal, which is well worth reading, also includes additional tidbits on the secrecy behind the development of the iPhone, major last minute changes, and details on the original iPhone's unveiling.

Apple has plans to expand its emoji set to include emojis that are non-caucasian, according to Apple’s vice president of worldwide corporate communications, Katie Cotton, who spoke to MTV Act (via The Verge). The company says it is working with the Unicode Consortium to add more characters to its emoji offerings.

"Tim forwarded your email to me. We agree with you. Our emoji characters are based on the Unicode standard, which is necessary for them to be displayed properly across many platforms. There needs to be more diversity in the emoji character set, and we have been working closely with the Unicode Consortium in an effort to update the standard."

After originating in Japan, emoji were incorporated into Unicode, which allowed them to be used on multiple platforms. The character set has largely featured caucasian icons, however, which Apple aims to change.

Apple's last change to emojis came with iOS 6, when the company added additional characters and made emoji accessible to all users. Previously, special apps were required to access emoji on iOS. iOS 7, released in late 2013, did not include any new emoji, but it is possible Apple could make some changes to the characters with iOS 8 later this year.

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 is beefing up its online retail team with the addition of former Delta Air Lines Vice President of Marketing Bob Kupbens, reports AdAge. According to his LinkedIn profile, Kupbens is now serving as Apple's Vice President of Online Retail after leaving Delta earlier this month.

Kupbens originally jointed Delta in 2010 and before that, he spent eight years transitioning through several roles at Target, last serving as a vice president. During a 2013 AdAge conference, Kupbens spoke on the importance of "love brands" noting that every consumer has five brands “they really love.”

"I used to work at Target and when you went to a cocktail party and you told people that you worked at Target, you know what they'd say?" he asked. "'I love Target! I'll give you a big hug!' You know what people say when you tell them at a cocktail party that you work at Delta? 'I hate you! You lost my bag! You had me on the tarmac for seven hours. I'm going to kill you!' It's different when you work for a love brand.”

Like Target, Apple is undoubtedly a "love brand" for millions of people, inspiring its fans to wait in line for hours and even days for new products. Many companies even parody consumer dedication to the brand, with Samsung, for example, mocking Apple fans in an array of anti-iPhone commercials.

Bob Kupbens will presumably work under Angela Ahrendts, who will begin her role a Senior Vice President at Apple in the coming months, leading both the company's retail and online teams. Ahrendts, who is currently transitioning out of her role as Burberry's CEO, will report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

With the addition of Kupbens and Ahrendts, Apple will finally have strong leadership for its retail division. The company has been without a leader since John Browett was fired in October of 2012 during a significant management restructuring.