MacRumors

One week ahead of the start of its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple today launched a new WWDC iOS app to help attendees stay on top of the latest news and events going on at the conference.

New this year is video integration, with all Registered Apple Developers able to watch session videos from the conference as they are posted daily. Apple has been posting session videos increasingly quickly after WWDC, and for the first time the company will this year be making videos available during the conference.

Make the most of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference with the WWDC app. Even if you can’t join us in San Francisco, you can still follow along each day — session videos are just a tap away for all Registered Apple Developers.

- Browse times, locations, and descriptions for sessions, labs, and special events
- Mark schedule items as favorites with a simple double-tap
- Watch session videos, available daily
- Start watching on one iOS device, and pick up where you left off on another
- Keep up with the latest news, get important notifications, and see daily snapshots
- View maps to find your way around Moscone West
- Provide feedback on session content and speakers within the session details view
- Add your attendee information to Passbook for speedier on-site registration

WWDC 2013 kicks off with Apple's traditional keynote at 10:00 AM Pacific Time next Monday, June 10. Apple's WWDC app is available free of charge from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Yesterday, Apple.pro shared a pair of photos that had appeared on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo, purportedly showing the rear of Apple's rumored plastic low-cost iPhone with a Lightning cable plugged into the bottom. The two pictures show a glossy curved shell and have been picked up by numerous sites today.

Our first thought upon seeing the photos was that it is likely simply an iPhone 5 in a plastic case. A lack of an Apple logo or discernible text on the back of the device is unlike many Apple prototypes, and the Lightning cable looked to us to be plugging into a recessed case rather than a flush port on a device.

French site NowhereElse.fr apparently had similar thoughts [Google translation] and performed some analysis of one of the images. Adjusting exposure and contrast on the photo better reveals the bottom of the device, and it certainly does appear that the Lightning cable is plugged into a hole in a case rather directly into a device. Other features along the bottom of the device are also consistent with the iPhone 5: speaker, microphone, and headphone jack.

As a result, we believe these photos are almost certainly an iPhone 5 in a nondescript plastic case rather than an actual low-cost plastic iPhone or a rear shell from such a device.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple is internally testing versions of iOS 7 that include AirDrop drag-and-drop file sharing capabilities.

First introduced with OS X Lion, AirDrop is a Finder function that allows Mac users to share files with other Mac users without the need for a Wi-Fi network or storage device. AirDrop for iOS is said to work in the same way, allowing files to be quickly shared between two different users.

Sources say that the AirDrop functionality is currently integrated into the standard iOS share menu. AirDrop will work between two iOS devices and potentially between an iOS device and a Mac. The feature will make it easier than ever to transfer, for example, a photograph or document from one person's iPhone to another person's iPad.

While iCloud synchronization works well for sharing photos and documents between two iOS devices owned by the same person, the AirDrop feature will allow seamless individual file exchanges between iOS devices belonging to different people.

Along with AirDrop file sharing, iOS 7 is also expected to feature a major redesign and enhanced social network integration, which includes support for both Flickr and Vimeo. As noted by 9to5Mac, beta features that are in testing, like AirDrop, may or may not make it into the final version of the operating system.

iOS 7 will debut at the keynote of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which is scheduled to take place on June 10.

The New York Times reports that Apple is still hoping to launch its much-rumored streaming music service at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next week, pressing to complete deals with record labels that would allow the company to announce the service.

Apple’s service, a Pandora-like feature that would tailor streams of music to each user’s taste, has been planned since at least last summer. But Apple has made little progress with record labels and music publishers, which have been seeking higher royalty rates and guaranteed minimum payments, according to these people, who spoke anonymously about the private talks.

While it is still at odds with some music companies over deal terms, Apple is said to be eager to get the licenses in time to unveil the service — nicknamed iRadio by the technology press — at its annual developers conference, which begins June 10 in San Francisco.

Two weeks ago, The Verge reported that Apple might be unable to launch the service at WWDC due to continued difficulties with the negotiations, but it seems that Apple may be making a strong last-minute effort to meet that goal.

Apple had previously signed a deal with Universal Music, the world's largest record label, and the Times indicates that Apple signed a deal with Warner Music Group this weekend. Negotiations with other labels and publishers are continuing.

Apple's streaming music service is said to be a free, ad-supported offering, with the labels reportedly seeking similar revenue rates to that seen from Pandora, although Apple is seeking more extensive licenses to provide more flexibility for users.

Update 7:08 PM: The Wall Street Journal has more on Apple's deal with Warner:

Under the deal, Apple will give Warner Music Group’s publishing arm 10% of ad revenue — more than twice what Internet radio giant Pandora Media Inc. pays major music publishers. Warner’s terms with Apple could pave the way for other major publishing deals to follow.

Apple has indicated to people involved in the negotiations that the service could be announced at its annual developers conference, which begins June 10 in San Francisco.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has proven to have relatively reliable information over the past several years, released a new research note last week highlighting his expectations for changes to Apple's notebook lineup at next week's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). With Intel preparing to launch its latest Haswell processors this week, Apple will be able to make significant upgrades to at least part of its notebook lineup, but additional changes appear to be in store as well.

Among the most interesting predictions from Kuo is word that the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro will see a slightly slimmer design, as well as an improved camera. Kuo had indicated as long ago as January that Apple would be tweaking the design of the Retina MacBook Pro this year, despite having just introduced the form factor last year.

We expect the 13” Retina MacBook Pro will have a slightly slimmer form factor for increasing its portability. Also, we think the camera spec will be upgraded from HD to full HD. This will improve Facetime and video conference quality in the high resolution Retina display.

Kuo also now believes that Apple will not be upgrading the non-Retina MacBook Pro, instead simply continuing to sell the current Ivy Bridge-based models as it seeks to phase out the non-Retina line. Kuo had originally believed that Apple would discontinue the non-Retina line at this year's WWDC, but adjusted his predictions earlier this year based on the belief that continued strong sales of the machines would drive Apple to continue selling them.

On the MacBook Air, Kuo believes that the line will see a shift to dual built-in microphones, as was introduced on the Retina MacBook Pro last year.

We forecast that this year’s new MacBook Air model will also have dual built-in microphones as a result of positive feedback on this feature in Retina MacBook Pro, which delivers clear voice quality on Facetime and VoIP service.

Overall, Kuo expects that improvements to the Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, along with stagnation of the non-Retina MacBook Pro line, will continue Apple's shift toward solid-state storage in its notebooks. Kuo's predictions see Apple putting solid-state storage in 64% of its notebook shipments this year, up from 45% last year when the company began transitioning the MacBook Pro line.

Despite Apple's updates, Kuo believes that the company will see a 10-20% decline in notebook shipments for 2013, with a slow overall PC market and cannibalization by the iPad contributing to lower sales. The company's predicted strategic move to lower the appeal of the non-Retina MacBook Pro would likely also contribute to declining sales unless pricing on Retina models can be lowered.

With Apple's new 16 GB iPod touch becoming available today, the teardown experts at iFixit have taken the device apart in an effort to determine how it differs internally from its larger-capacity siblings. The 16 GB model lacks the rear camera and support for Apple's Loop wrist strap, so iFixit wanted to see how those changes affected the layout of the device's components.

In the area of where the rear camera would be, the new iPod touch has a small void, while some of the flex cables have also been rerouted slightly. In addition, with the microphone no longer needing to be on the back of the device near a camera, it has been moved to the top edge of the device. Otherwise, the layout of components is the same as in other fifth-generation iPod touch models.

The logic board also appears nearly identical to the ones in the larger-capacity iPod touch models, housing all of the same chips with the exception of 16 GB of flash memory rather than 32 GB or 64 GB. The logic board also has a blank spot where the connector for the rear camera cable would have been.

With the exception of the flash memory, it appears that the ICs on the 16 GB model’s logic board are the same as those found on the 32 and 64 GB models:

- Apple A5 dual-core processor, with 4 Gb (512 MB) of Mobile DDR2 RAM.
- Toshiba THGBX2G7B2JLA01 128 Gb (16 GB) NAND flash
- Apple 3381064 dialog power management IC (similar to the Apple 338S1131)
- Murata 339S0171 Wi-Fi module
- Broadcom BCM5976 touchscreen controller
- STMicroelectronics low-power, three-axis gyroscope (AGD3/2229/E5GEK)
- Apple 338S1116 and 338S1077 Cirrus Audio Codec

Finally, at the bottom of the device, the new iPod touch similarly contains a void where the post for attaching the Loop wrist strap would be. Apple has used the same speaker design as in the larger-capacity models, carrying a curved edge that wraps around the Loop post in those models.

Apple's new 16 GB iPod touch is priced at $229, with the addition allowing Apple to discontinue the fourth-generation iPod touch models it had continued selling at $199 (16 GB) and $249 (32 GB) alongside the more expensive fifth-generation models introduced late last year.

Earlier this month, we reported that Apple resellers were seeing dwindling numbers of MacBook Airs, and it appears that many outlets are also experiencing low supplies of Apple's Mac Pro.

According to MacTrast, the entry level quad-core 3.2GHz Mac Pro is backordered or out of stock at a number of online stores, including MacMall, B&H Photo, CDW, PowerMax, Adorama, and J&R Electronics.

Popular Apple reseller Amazon.com has just nine of the low end Mac Pros in stock, and other retailers like MicroCenter, Frys, and Best Buy also have limited supplies.

Dwindling product supplies at third-party Apple retailers is often an indication that a refresh is imminent and the Mac Pro may be a prime candidate for an update announcement at WWDC in June, as it has been more than 1,000 days since the product last saw a significant release.

The Mac Pro received a slight update at WWDC last year, which included a small processor bump. Many Apple customers were dissatisfied with the update, but an Apple spokesman later confirmed that a new Mac Pro would be introduced in 2013.

One issue for Apple is likely to be processor availability, as the company has traditionally used high-end Xeon chips from Intel in the Mac Pro. The next-generation Xeon chips, Ivy Bridge-E, are not expected until around September of this year, a date far enough off that it would be difficult for Apple to announce a new Ivy Bridge-E Mac Pro at WWDC but close enough that Apple would have a difficult time justifying use of the current Sandy Bridge-E chips that have already been on the market for quite some time.

We've learned more details about Apple's new 'GPU Design Center' in Orlando, Florida, following our reporting from earlier this week.

Sources told MacRumors that the engineers Apple hired recently were not laid off from AMD, but were instead actively recruited -- largely via their LinkedIn profiles. Apple is said to have learned that many of AMD's 3D graphics patents were issued from its Orlando offices and targeted this area specifically. AMD has job listings for its Orlando offices to fill several of these recently vacated positions.

The temporary office space that Apple has leased for the new team in Orlando is located very close to AMD's campus in the city, though Apple is reportedly building permanent offices as well. Apple hired more than twenty employees from AMD and recruited more than that, with Apple reportedly looking to build the GPU team up to roughly forty engineers.

The newly hired employees are said to be reporting to the Austin-based former Intrinsity team that Apple acquired two years ago. Intrinsity technology was used in the A4 processor, and their expertise has contributed to Apple's more recent chips as well.

With its hiring of these 3D graphics specialists, Apple is likely working to redevelop its 3D graphics capabilities in its iOS devices. The company has made a number of acquisitions in recent years to revamp its chip design capabilities, and this new team would seem to supplement those efforts.

Apple is planning to launch an ad exchange, according to an anonymous advertising executive who spoke to Business Insider. The site says it heard from "one of the biggest players in online advertising", but could not confirm it -- BI said it talked to other sources who said they had heard nothing about it.

An ad exchange is an online sales platform that allows advertisers to target users through a variety of mechanisms. An Apple exchange could theoretically target particular Apple users based on their location, type of device, buying habits, what apps they own and more. Apple holds a ton of data about the buying habits of its customers, making an Apple ad exchange a potential gold mine for advertisers.

We can't confirm it. And, of course, the ad business is awash with rumors. (And, to give the full context, a couple of other sources we talked to said they'd heard nothing of the kind.)

But ... it's interesting that a bunch of people in the mobile ad business expect, even want, Apple to launch one, perhaps inside iAd, its existing mobile ad network.

Facebook and Twitter have recently announced plans to develop ad exchanges, and companies like Google and Yahoo already have their own.

Bloomberg reported last October that advertising was to be part of a broader push by Apple, in particular with its new iRadio service which is said to be partially funded by advertising:

The advertising initiative is part of broader flexibility Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is giving the company’s mobile advertising group to lure new business and integrate ads with other Apple services, according to people familiar with the matter.

Earlier this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said at D11 that advertising was not a central business for the company, but Apple wanted to help iOS developers make as much money as possible.

At the beginning of last year, Apple hired former Adobe executive Todd Teresi to head its iAd mobile advertising unit and he now reports directly to Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president for internet software and services.