MacRumors

WwdcFollowing Tim Cook's appearance at D11 last night, respected Apple journalist Jim Dalrymple has posted his expectations for Apple's WWDC Keynote next month.

It's not clear if Dalrymple, who is known to have excellent contacts at Apple, is passing on something in particular from the company or it's just a summary of what he expects ahead of WWDC.

Dalrymple writes that he doesn't expect a new iPhone or iPad model, largely because the devices are flagship products and would have their own, separate media events. Instead, he believes that the Mac wouldn't warrant its own event -- but an announcement of Mac updates would fit well at WWDC.

The Mac is still an important part of what Apple does, but I don’t know that Apple would hold a special event specifically for a Mac product anymore. If they did, it would have to be quite a spectacular product.

For me, the Mac products fit well with a Tim Cook keynote at WWDC. That’s all I really expect from Apple in the way of hardware at the conference.

Finally, Dalrymple expects Apple to show off new versions of both the Mac and iOS operating systems, which Tim Cook confirmed last night at D11. A number of previous reports have claimed that much of the iOS user interface would receive a Jony Ive-led revamping, with a "flatter" design and fewer skeuomorphic elements.

Last month, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple's notebook line would receive updates at WWDC, with non-Retina models shipping soon after WWDC and Retina machines shipping later due to production bottlenecks on the displays.

A number of reports have suggested that Apple will introduce new iPhone and iPad models this fall, including a Retina-display equipped iPad mini, as well as a new iPhone model perhaps equipped with a fingerprint sensor.

gmailiconGoogle today announced a brand new inbox on desktop and mobile that offers improved filtering in the form of a tabbed layout, which supports up to five different organizational tabs.

We get a lot of different types of email: messages from friends, social notifications, deals and offers, confirmations and receipts, and more. All of these emails can compete for our attention and make it harder to focus on the things we need to get done. Sometimes it feels like our inboxes are controlling us, rather than the other way around.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Today, Gmail is getting a brand new inbox on desktop and mobile that puts you back in control using simple, easy organization.

The new design, which lets users organize bulk mail into specific categories, will be used both on the web and in Google’s mobile apps. Categories include Main, Social, Offers, Notifications, and Forums, and users can customize the inbox by selecting which tabs to use.


Messages can be dragged and dropped between tabs and Google allows users to set email from a particular sender to always appear in a specified tab. Tabs will need to be configured via the desktop, but will be displayed on mobile via a tray that slides out from the left side of the Gmail app.

The redesign will be deployed to both mobile and desktop users on a rolling basis over the next few weeks, and enabling the tabs will require Gmail users to implement the new inbox feature by selecting “Configure Inbox” when the option appears in the Settings menu.

Gmail for iOS is a free app that can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

NewImageAmazon has introduced a new 'Login With Amazon' API for web, Android and iOS apps, competing with other OAuth services from Google, Facebook, Twitter and others.

The Login With Amazon platform allows iOS developers to integrate Amazon login to their apps, though developers on other platforms can use other Amazon services to facilitate in-app purchasing over Amazon's platform.

Today, Amazon launched Login with Amazon, a new service that will enable the over 200 million active Amazon customers to securely and simply login to apps, games, and websites. Login with Amazon allows developers to easily reduce sign-in friction for their customers, leading to higher engagement and order conversion.

[…]

Login with Amazon is available at no charge to developers of apps, games, and websites. The service is easy to integrate, as developers can typically go from registration to launch in a matter of hours. It is based on the OAuth 2.0 authorization framework, allowing developers to leverage a widely-adopted open protocol. For additional details about Login with Amazon, including code samples and the SDKs for Android and iOS, please visit login.amazon.com.

Analog Camera iconRealmac Software, part of the team behind the intuitive gesture-based to-do app Clear, today released Analog Camera -- an iOS version of 'Analog', a slick filter and border app for the Mac.

Like Clear, Analog Camera uses a gesture-based interface to navigate through a variety of filters and camera modes. Users can manually select combined exposure and focus by using a single tap on the camera, and can even select exposure and focus separately by using a two-finger tap.

The app takes only square shots, much like Instagram, and it supports saving images to the camera roll, email, Twitter, Facebook and Sina Weibo, as well as Instagram, Path and other photography apps.

Analog Camera is all about enabling you to do the most important things with your photos, as quickly as possible. Guided by the principles that we developed whilst building the revolutionary to-do list app Clear, Analog Camera features incredible filters and is unbelievably fun and easy to use. Analog Camera has been built with a strict focus on offering a fast, fun and simple experience that allows you to focus on creating beautiful photos.


Analog Camera is available for iPhone for $0.99 on the App Store [Direct Link] and a review is available at our sister site, AppShopper.

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Hours after Apple CEO Tim Cook's talk with AllThingsD's Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, AllThingsD has posted the full video of the interview online. The 81-minute video contains the full interview in addition to the Q&A session that followed. MacRumors provided live updates of the event. Last year it took several weeks for the full video to find its way online.


Steve Jobs was a regular participant of the D conference, having been interviewed on the stage and even appearing alongside Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Cook has carried on that tradition by serving as the opening session interview for the past two years.

Among the topics discussed by Cook yesterday:

- Apple Television - There Is a Grand Vision
- Wearables Are Incredibly Interesting, Nothing Great on the Market
- Executive Change Up Has Been "Great", Revamped iOS/OS X to Be Unveiled at WWDC
- Apple to Open Up APIs in the Future, but No Chat Heads
- Apple Hires Former EPA Chief Lisa Jackson to Oversee Environmental Efforts

At this year's annual All Things Digital conference hosted by AllThingsD, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher interviewed Apple CEO Tim Cook, where he revealed that Apple is planning to open up additional APIs in the future, giving third party developers more control over iOS.

According to Cook, while Apple will open up more APIs, it will continue to protect customers from the "risk of bad experiences."

Always a fine line, or maybe not so fine. The customer pays us to make choices on their behalf. But you'll see us open up more.

When Facebook released its Home software for Android phones in April, Facebook director of product Adam Mosseri mentioned that the company was in ongoing talks with Apple about bringing Home (and its Chat Heads functionality) to iOS.

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According to Cook, while Chat Heads were not the ideal choice, Apple will allow third party apps to take over some iOS features in the future, allowing developers to build better and more versatile experiences.


During the question and answer session, Cook also mentioned that Apple had no issue with porting Apple apps to Android or other platforms should the need arise in the future, though such functionality doesn't make sense at the current point in time. Full coverage of Tim Cook's comments can be found here.

While talking with AllThingD's Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg at D11: All Things Digital, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple has hired former Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson to lead the company's environmental responsibility efforts.

Lisa Jackson is joining Apple. Lisa was running the EPA for the last four years. She's going to be coordinating a lot of this activity across the company.

Although Cook said he forgot what her official title is, he said that she would report directly to him. Cook announced the hire after talking about how Apple has gotten more attention from governments as it has grown larger and while he was talking about how environmentally friendly Apple is.

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As a part of its commitment to being environmentally friendly, Apple revealed in March that it had achieved 100% renewable energy use at its data centers, with its corporate facilities using 75% renewable energy. Cook's full commentary can be found in our coverage, available here.

jonathan_iveWhile sitting down with AllThingsD's Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg at D11: All Things Digital, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about the new iOS and whether it was what Jony Ive was working on. Cook confirmed, noting that the change was part of Apple's executive shakeup last fall.

Yes. What we did last fall was change things up — to really ramp up our innovation. The key in the post-PC era for having a great product is incredible hardware, incredible software, and incredible services, and to combine them so you can't tell what's what. The magic is at the intersection.

Cook went on to explain how Apple recognized that Ive had contributed significantly to the look and feel of Apple products over the years and that he could do the same for Apple's software as well. Swisher followed up by asking Cook about collaboration within Apple and whether that was why former Apple senior vice president Scott Forstall was ousted. Cook responded that the goal was simply to tighten the groups within Apple, which echoes his comments to Bloomberg in December.

I don't want to talk about people who aren't there. The whole concept is to tighten the groups even more, so we could spend more time finding magic at the intersection. Now it's seven months later, and I think it's been an incredible change. Craig is running iOS and OS X, which has been fantastic. Eddy is focused on services. It's been great.

Cook also confirmed that Apple is set to talk about the futures of both iOS and OS X at WWDC on June 10, which includes Ive's "more than skin deep" rumored redesign of iOS 7. Cook's full commentary can be found in our coverage, available here.

At this year's annual All Things Digital conference hosted by AllThingsD, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher asked Apple CEO Tim Cook about wearable devices, such as Apple's much rumored smart watch, which has been dubbed the "iWatch."

Tim Cook mentioned that he found wearables to be "incredibly interesting" and went on to say that it could be a "profound area." Cook himself is equipped with a Nike Fuelband, but believes that there's nothing "great" on the market, and that wearables are an area "ripe for exploration."

pebblesmartwatch

The Pebble smart watch

Of course, when pressed on whether Apple will be developing a wearable device, Cook declined to answer, though he did hint that it was an important area of potential development, and that while both glasses and watches had drawbacks, the wrist was "natural."

There's nothing that's going to convince a kid who has never worn glasses or a band or a watch or whatever to wear one. Or at least I haven't seen it. So I think there's lots of things to solve in this space, but it's an area where it's ripe for exploration, it's ripe for us all getting excited about. I think there will be tons of companies playing in this.

I see it as another very key branch of the tree.

I think from a mainstream point of view [glasses] are difficult to see. I think the wrist is interesting. I'm wearing this (Nike Fuelband) on my wrist, it's somewhat natural. But as I said before, I think for something to work here, you first have to convince people it's so incredible that they want to wear it.

With the growing popularity of smart watches like the Pebble, the Jawbone UP, and the Nike Fuelband, rumors about Apple’s own smart watch have ramped up in recent months. Most recently, reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple's rumored iWatch will debut in the second half of 2014.


The watch, which will integrate with Apple's existing mobile lineup, is expected to feature a 1.5–2.0 inch display. The New York Times has suggested that Apple is experimenting with curved glass, and according to a February report from Bloomberg, Apple has a team of 100 product designers working on the smart watch.

MacRumors has full coverage of the interview with more of Tim Cook’s comments on the iWatch.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

apple_tv_interface_2012 At the D11: All Things Digital conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher sat down with Apple CEO Tim Cook to ask him questions on a number of topics. The discussion unsurprisingly included the much rumored Apple branded television set and the overall TV experience, which Cook said "could be better."

When questioned about whether or not content deals were holding up the possibility of an Apple television, Cook declined to comment, but he did reiterate that television is an area of intense interest for Apple.

I don't want to go into detail, but it continues to be an area of great interest for us. The product and relationships we've built provide a lot more knowledge than we would have otherwise. And popularity has been larger than we thought, and we aren't marketing it.

Cook again declined to comment when pressed once more about Apple's future television plans, but he did confirm that there is a "grand vision" in place.

After Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs was published with a passage on Jobs' desire to revolutionize the television industry, speculation about a possible Apple "iTV" ramped up.

Rumors flew about the iTV throughout 2012, but slowed down towards the end of the year as no solid hints about the product materialized, and few additional details have emerged. Most recently, an April rumor suggested that a 60-inch iTV might launch in late 2013.

During the interview Cook also revealed that interest in the current Apple TV remains strong, with 13 million total set top boxes sold all together. Cook's full commentary can be found in our coverage, available here.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

MacRumors will be providing live coverage of Apple CEO Tim Cook's interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at D11: All Things Digital this evening in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The interview begins at 6:00 PM Pacific Time / 9:00 PM Eastern Time. Tonight's session marks Cook's second consecutive appearance at D and should offer some insight into Apple's business, although Cook is extremely unlikely to make any major announcements.

mossberg_d11_cnbc
Cook's interview will not be streamed live, but we will be updating this post live with full coverage of the session and videos of conference interviews have traditionally been available for viewing soon after the sessions.

The Verge and Engadget will be providing their usual text and high-quality photos live from the event.

Mossberg and Swisher appeared on CNBC's Squawk on the Street earlier today to provide a preview of the session.

➜ Click here to read rest of article...

iphone_5_displayDespite an ongoing lawsuit with Samsung that has led to ever increasing animosity between the two companies, Apple is said to be considering new contracts with Samsung to provide displays for its product lineup. According to Korean site ETNews.com (via AppleInsider), Apple is planning to resume purchasing LCDs from Samsung Display as the company is better equipped to keep up with high demand.

As the thin glass process was adopted to the production of touch screen panels, the related industry is expected to show stiff growth every year - there are very few Japanese or Taiwanese competitors in the thin glass market.

The industry is guessing that one of the reasons Apple decided to come back to Samsung Display is because of the thin glass. Samsung Display’s thin glass vendors have made a very visible growth in the industry, because Samsung Display, unlike LG Display, relies on its vendors for most of the thin glass processes.

Late last year, it was reported that Apple and Samsung would cut display ties in 2013, with Apple instead relying on other suppliers like LG Display and AU Optronics. Apple also cut back on memory orders from Samsung and in April, news hit that Apple would exclude Samsung from the development of its A7 system-on-a-chip, shifting production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company instead.

If Apple is indeed willing to begin mending ties with Samsung, the shift back to Samsung Display comes just as the company begins preparations for both the fifth generation iPad and the iPhone 5S. Reports have suggested that Apple will begin production of the next iPhone in June, with iPad production following shortly after in July.

googleplusGoogle has updated its Google+ for iOS app to version 4.4.0, most notably adding new photo editing and organizational features. The app has gained a an Auto Enhance mode for improving photos with a single tap, along with Auto Backup, Auto Awesome, and Auto Highlight features. With Auto Highlight, Google+ users can view an array of photos that are automatically selected as the best of a particular batch of uploaded photos.

As announced during the Google I/O conference two weeks ago, Google’s video chat feature Hangouts has been moved to a standalone app. The Google+ update adds a one-touch access button for Hangouts.

A number of other small improvements to the mobile Google+ experience have been added, including additional profile fields and cover photo uploads, the ability to find content via hashtags, and interactive Google Offer posts.

- New Google+ Photos features keep photos organized and looking their best
*Make your photos look even better with Auto Enhance
*Browse highlights from all your photos
*Share short animations, panoramas, and more
- Hangouts has moved to its own app for messaging and video calls
- Discover interesting content via related hashtags
- Ability to edit more profile fields and upload a cover photo
- New interactive Google Offer posts in the stream
- Control how often What’s Hot posts appear in your stream
- Support for displaying strikethrough text
- Ability to edit comments
- Ability to copy the post’s permalink

Google+ for iOS can be downloaded for free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Earlier this month, Apple filed plans for a relocated flagship retail store in San Francisco, proposing to close its existing store at 1 Stockton Street in favor of the new store three blocks north directly on Union Square. The filing was accompanied by a press release from city officials touting the project:

“Apple’s new store is quite simply incredible,” said Mayor Lee. “San Francisco is the Innovation Capital of the World, and I can think of no better location for the world’s most stunning Apple Store than right here in Union Square. I want to thank Apple for their investment in this City and continued commitment to growing jobs in San Francisco.”

“I’m excited that the company that revolutionized consumer technologies is moving to the heart of Union Square,” said President Chiu. “The new Apple store will highlight technology and design innovation as well as build community at the center of our City’s retail district.”

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The proposed store's typical clean lines and heavy use of metal and glass immediately drew some criticism from observers, and San Francisco Chronicle urban design critic John King has now published a critique of Apple's plans highlighting some of the design considerations and the impact the construction will apparently have on an adjacent public plaza and sculptural fountain.

What's baffling is that a company renowned for design innovation has hired one of the world's most acclaimed architecture firms, only to unload a box that would look at home in Anymall, U.S.A.

Worse, it's a box that would displace one of downtown's friendliest works of public art, a bronze fountain by Ruth Asawa that - unlike the proposed polished Apple - could exist nowhere else but here.

King confirms that the architect on the proposed project is Foster + Partners, which has reportedly been taking on a greater role in Apple's retail projects since its involvement with Apple's upcoming new headquarters campus in Cupertino.

In his critique, King takes issue with the all-glass storefront on Post Street that will see direct sun exposure for much of the day, as well as the Stockton Street frontage that will simply be an 80 foot-long windowless wall. Apple's plans also call for a narrow stairway leading up to public plaza behind the store, a plaza that will be reduced from its current size and apparently see the removal of the popular fountain sculpture that has been in place for 40 years.

The fountain was also designed as the centerpiece of the existing triangular plaza along Stockton Street, wrapped in the upward ripple of brick steps. Passersby stop, look, take photographs and smile.

Apple, apparently, has different ideas. A study of the plans shows no sign of the fountain. The broad, inviting steps are gone.

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Ruth Asawa's "Hyatt on Union Square Fountain" (Source: Wikimedia)

King is not optimistic that the San Francisco Planning Department will require a significant redesign of the proposed project, considering the praise already heaped upon Apple's plans by city officials, but he does hope that some tweaks can be made that at the very least would improve the pedestrian experience along Stockton Street and the public plaza.

NewImageOlloclip has released an official iPhone app to go with its popular 3-in-1 lens adapter.

It includes a number of shooting modes that can enhance or fix the distortions the Olloclip's lenses cause, as well as make it easier to shoot photos and video by manually controlling both exposure and focus.

FEATURES

Mesh Editor Tool – Conversion lenses can add an interesting curvature to your photos. Once the photo has been taken, use the Mesh Editor tool to adjust this effect.

Video Mode – This mode allows you to shoot comfortably and easily while using your olloclip to transform your field of view.

Normal Mode – Maximize on your olloclip lens system by using Normal Mode to capture your favorite images.

Macro Mode – Use Macro Mode to help set your focus when using the olloclip macro 10X lens.

Reticles – Use the reticles to adjust focus and exposure independently or together. Tap the icon to lock the two on any point on your viewfinder screen.

Olloclip
Olloclip is a free download for the iPhone. [Direct Link]

realracing3EA today announced that an upcoming Real Racing 3 update will take the game to Dubai, adding twilight races at the Dubai Autodrome in the city. Currently, the game offers races around the world at real tracks in places like California, the U.K., Belgium, and Germany.

The update will also include additional events and cars, adding to the game's current selection of over 900 events and 45 cars. EA has released a teaser trailer that contains a sneak peek at some of the content:


Despite being the first freemium offering in the Real Racing series, Real Racing 3 has managed to maintain a 4.5 star rating in the App Store and it is still ranked as one of the top five racing games in the App Store.

While EA did not give an exact date for the Dubai update, the company did say that it is "coming soon" to both iOS and Android.

Real Racing 3 is currently available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

d11_iconAs announced late last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook will sit down today for an opening session interview at the D11: All Things Digital conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The session will kick off at 6:00 PM Pacific Time / 9:00 PM Eastern Time tonight, and MacRumors will be covering his interview as it happens.

Cook participated in the event for the first time last year with a 100-minute interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. Cook's predecessor, Steve Jobs, also participated in the D conferences on a number of occasions.

Cook is not expected to make any major announcements during his interview, but he is likely to provide some insight into Apple's business and the markets in which the company participates. Tidbits from his appearance last year included discussion of how Apple was going to "double down" on product secrecy in order to fight leaks, a brief mention of Apple's interest in TV, and hints at the Facebook integration that arrived in iOS 6 and improvements to Siri.

Research firm IDC today released new projections showing that the firm expects tablet shipments to surpass shipments of notebook computers in 2013, marking a significant shift in how consumers approach portable devices. IDC projects that the strong growth of tablets will continue into the future, allowing tablets to overtake the entire PC market in 2015.

"What started as a sign of tough economic times has quickly shifted to a change in the global computing paradigm with mobile being the primary benefactor," said Ryan Reith, Program Manager for IDC's Mobility Trackers. "Tablets surpassing portables in 2013, and total PCs in 2015, marks a significant change in consumer attitudes about compute devices and the applications and ecosystems that power them. IDC continues to believe that PCs will have an important role in this new era of computing, especially among business users. But for many consumers, a tablet is a simple and elegant solution for core use cases that were previously addressed by the PC."

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While Apple has remade the tablet market with the iPad, IDC notes that a proliferation of low-cost Android tablets is driving overall growth at this point. Apple's efforts have also shown that tablets are viable tools for the education market, opening up significant possibilities for sales growth.

"Apple's success in the education market has proven that tablets can be used as more than just a content consumption or gaming device," said Jitesh Ubrani, Research Analyst for the Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. "These devices are learning companions, and as tablet prices continue to drop, the dream of having a PC for every child gets replaced with the reality that we can actually provide a tablet for every child."

The success of tablets is undoubtedly coming as no surprise to Apple, as its executives have said a number of times over the past several years that they expect the tablet market to exceed that of PCs.