MacRumors

Earlier this month, we noted that Apple's primary manufacturing partner Foxconn/Hon Hai has been seeking to diversify its business, an effort in large part intended to offset slowing growth for Apple's products. One aspect of that effort has been a focus on televisions, with some suggesting that the work could bring benefits for Apple's rumored television set.

The Wall Street Journal now follows up with more on Foxconn's expansion plans, reporting that the company is looking at a software push into mobile applications and cloud services to complement its existing expertise in hardware. Foxconn is reportedly also moving to enter the accessory business, recognizing the relatively high profit margins available for such products. That accessory business will reportedly include officially licensed Apple accessories sold under Foxconn's own brand.

Hon Hai is also reviewing plans to make accessories such as data transmission cables, headphones and keyboards under the Foxconn brand, said executives who have direct knowledge of the plan.

"Chairman (Terry Gou) has ordered all business units to produce peripheral accessories of electronics products as it is more profitable than assembly services. We also plan to license Apple's technology to make some own-brand accessories that are compatible with iPhones and iPads," said one of the executives.

The market for third-party Apple accessories is of course already well established and offers a wide array of products, but some may hope that Foxconn's existing partnership with Apple for manufacturing of the company's flagship products could lead to innovative new accessories that could come to market more quickly than those from competitors.

The New York Times reports that a working Apple 1 computer has sold at auction in Germany for a record $671,400, breaking the previous mark of $640,000 set last November at the same auction house. That November record has eclipsed an earlier record of $375,000 set less than six months earlier.

The high prices paid for the machines seem to be explained by the combination of scarcity, a fascination with the early history of the computer age, and the mystique of Apple and its founders, Steven P. Jobs and Stephen G. Wozniak. And some irrational exuberance in the prices, for a machine that can do very little and originally sold for $666 (about $2,700 in current dollars).

“This really confirms the value of Apple-1’s,” Uwe Breker, the German auctioneer, said in an interview on Saturday.

The buyer, Mr. Breker said, was a wealthy entrepreneur from the Far East, who wishes to remain anonymous.

The Apple 1, one of only a handful working units remaining in existence, carries the signature of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and was originally owned by Major League Baseball player Fred Hatfield. The auction included a letter from Steve Jobs to Hatfield offering a trade-in deal on an Apple II board, an offer Hatfield declined for unknown reasons. The identity of the owner who put the item up for auction has not been disclosed.

Update: The New York Times now notes that the Fred Hatfield who was the original owner of the machine was not the former Major League Baseball player and instead was a New Orleans resident who sold the machine in non-working condition to a private buyer for $40,000 earlier this year. The buyer repaired the machine and flew to California to have it signed by Wozniak before placing it up for auction.

It appears that Apple has begun quietly phasing out its trailer download options from the trailers.apple.com website, effectively eliminating 1080p trailer availability.

Previously, the site gave users the ability to stream trailers in 480p or 720p, along with providing download options for 480p, 720p, and 1080p. Trailers uploaded to the site after an approximate date of May 22 no longer have any download options and can only be streamed in-browser at 480p or 720p.

While trailers uploaded before May 22 can still be downloaded, Apple appears to be removing the option from movies with multiple trailers that have a trailer uploaded after that date. For example, Disney Pixar's Monsters University has trailers that were uploaded on the following dates: 6/20/12, 3/08/13, 5/20/13, and 5/22/13. None of these trailers have download options.

Disney’s Planes, on the other hand, has trailers that were uploaded on the following dates: 3/15/13, 04/04/13, and 5/17/13. Each of these trailers can still be downloaded at all resolutions, including 1080p.

So, while older trailers can still be downloaded from the site, Apple appears to be removing downloads from older trailers as newer trailers are added, slowly phasing out the availability of trailer downloads altogether.

It is not clear at this point why Apple has begun phasing out movie trailer downloads, but we have contacted the company for more information.

(Thanks Eduardo and Theo!)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent a letter to BioSense Technologies over its iPhone uChek urinalysis system, asking why its medical app hasn't been cleared by the agency. The app is one of the first that turns the iPhone into a medical device, designed to read urinalysis test strips that are normally examined by users and compared to a color-coded chart.

With the uChek system, patients can take a picture of the strip with the iPhone's camera and then receive an automated readout of parameters like glucose, urobilinogen, pH, ketone and more. The app also stores results which then can be analyzed over time.

Though medical device makers have adopted the iPhone for some measurements like blood glucose monitoring for diabetics, large scale use of smartphones and tablets as a replacement for existing medical devices has yet to take off -- likely due in large part to government regulation of medical devices.

From Bloomberg:

Biosense Technologies Private Ltd.’s uChek system isn’t cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and the agency said it wants to know why not, in a first-of-its-kind letter to a maker of a mobile-device application. The app relies on users, such as diabetics checking their glucose, to dip test strips in urine and use the smartphone’s camera to allow the system to processes and generate automated results.

UChek works with test strips made by Siemens AG (SIE) and Bayer AG (BAYN), which are only approved for visual reading and require new clearance for automated analysis, the FDA said in the letter. The agency has said it wants stricter rules for apps that directly diagnose or treat conditions, proposing in 2011 to apply similar quality standards as for heart stents, ultrasound machines and other medical devices.

The uChek kit can be purchased in the US and India for $40, while the uCheck iPhone app is a free download [Direct Link] from the App Store -- though the app can also manually read urine strips from other companies.

Apple today significantly reduced prices on refurbished models of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad, with all models now carrying approximately 15% discounts relative to brand-new units.

iPad mini

- 16 GB Wi-Fi: $279, down from $299 previously and $329 brand-new
- 32 GB Wi-Fi: $359, down from $389 previously and $429 brand-new
- 64 GB Wi-Fi: $439, down from $489 previously and $529 brand-new

- 16 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $389, down from $429 previously and $459 brand-new
- 32 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $469, down from $519 previously and $559 brand-new
- 64 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $549, down from $619 previously and $659 brand-new

Fourth-generation iPad

- 16 GB Wi-Fi: $419, down from $449 previously and $499 brand-new
- 32 GB Wi-Fi: $499, down from $549 previously and $599 brand-new
- 64 GB Wi-Fi: $579, down from $649 previously and $699 brand-new

- 16 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $529, down from $579 previously and $629 brand-new
- 32 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $609, down from $679 previously and $729 brand-new
- 64 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $689, down from $779 previously and $829 brand-new

Introduced last October, the iPad mini and fourth-generation arrived in Apple's online store for refurbished products in mid-March at modest discounts. The company's 128 GB fourth-generation iPad models introduced in early February have yet to appear in the refurbished store.

Rumors have indicated that Apple is unlikely to launch its next versions of the iPad and iPad mini until late this year, but the company has apparently still decided to reduce pricing on refurbished units of the current generation in order to attract more buyers as its supply of refurbished units has undoubtedly grown over the past several months.

Update: Apple has also knocked $30 off of the price of its refurbished Thunderbolt and LED Cinema Displays, bringing the prices down to $799 compared to $999 brand-new.

9to5Mac shares more details on Jony Ive's redesign for iOS 7, noting that not only will it bring a flatter look to the operating system but also more emphasis on black and white design elements.

Sources have described iOS 7 as “black, white, and flat all over.” This refers to the dropping of heavy textures and the addition of several new black and white user interface elements. [...]

For the upcoming operating system, which Apple says will be unveiled at its June Worldwide Developers Conference, Ive has not simply picked areas of the software design to tweak. He has essentially made his mark on every corner of the operating system, according to descriptions from sources, all while mostly keeping the essence of what has made iOS so ubiquitous.

The report walks through a number of specific changes appearing in the current development version of iOS 7, including changes to the lock screen, notifications, and the home screen. The report also describes how the look of some of the default iOS apps has changed:

[T]he iPhone’s Notes app has replaced the yellow notepad design for a flat white look. Apps such as Mail, Calendar, and Maps have also gained a more uniformed look with flat white textures. While the core elements of those apps are mostly white, each app has been given a unique button color. Essentially, each app has a white base with a respective color theme.

For example, the Calendar app could potentially have red buttons, while Messages could have green controls.

Other changes include the addition of panorama home screen wallpapers that pan as the user swipes between screens, subtle animations in the Weather app, and the possibility of FaceTime being moved out of the Phone app into a standalone app for greater visibility.

Apple is expected to show off at least some of iOS 7's changes at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) where the keynote is scheduled for June 10. Today's report indicates that Apple has tested several different design themes for iOS 7 over the past several months and that things may still change before the public release, but it seems reasonable to expect that aspects shown at WWDC will be close to the final shipping version.

MacRumors has learned that AT&T's GoPhone prepaid wireless brand will be undertaking a significant expansion of its services starting tomorrow, offering support for AT&T's fastest LTE and HSPA+ data networks for the first time and also adding official support for the iPhone.

Until now, GoPhone has allowed iPhone users to sign up for service, but without cellular data access. With the changes coming tomorrow, the iPhone will have access to the full range of AT&T services through GoPhone, including LTE data and Visual Voicemail.

GoPhone will support three service plans for the iPhone, including the high-end $65/month plan that offers unlimited calls and texts and 1 GB of data. Users can also opt for cheaper $25 and $50 plans, but they must purchase separate data packages on top of those plans if they wish to use cellular data.

For iPhone purchases, GoPhone customers can either bring their own off-contract iPhone or purchase one in-store at the full no-committment price. Existing GoPhone iPhone customers will be automatically updated with support for cellular data access on June 21, but support representatives will be able to manually upgrade customers before that time upon request.

The iPhone has been making significant inroads into the U.S. prepaid carrier market, led by Cricket nearly a year ago. Since that time, Sprint's Virgin Mobile brand and AT&T's prepaid brands Straight Talk and Aio have also begun offering the iPhone. Sprint prepaid brand Boost Mobile has also been rumored several times to be launching iPhone support, but has yet to do so.

Apple started running a new iPhone ad this evening called 'Music Every Day', the second in a series that launched last month with a spot entitled 'Photos Every Day'. Both ads in the campaign focus on people actually using the phone, rather than just the phone itself.

Every day, more people enjoy their music on the iPhone than any other phone

In a series of colorful clips, the iPhone is used by owners to listen to music at school, in the shower, at the gym, at a club, at a swim meet and more.

To go along with two previously released anti-iPad Windows 8 tablet ads, Microsoft has released a side-by-side comparison of the iPad and various Windows 8 tablets, such as the ASUS VivoTab Smart, the same tablet that was used in the aforementioned ad.

In the comparison, Microsoft points out the many reasons why the VivoTab is superior, noting its thinner size and lighter weight. Microsoft also includes a diagram of the 9.7-inch iPad next to a 10.1-inch widescreen tablet that looks visibly larger. That image is not to scale, however, as Elliot Temple of Curi.us (via Daring Fireball) details in a blog post.

Microsoft has drawn a 10.1 inch tablet 36% larger than a 9.7 inch tablet (140x78 pixels vs 102x79). This is so far off you can visually see it's wrong.

The iPad has a screen area of 45.16 square inches, which I double checked with a calculator. The ASUS VivoTab Smart has a screen area of 43.56 square inches. That's right, the ASUS screen is smaller than the iPad's.

The iPad screen is 7.76 by 5.82 inches. The ASUS screen is 8.8 by 4.95 inches. ASUS is larger in one direction but smaller in the other direction, and has 3.55% less area than the iPad, not 36% more as Microsoft depicts.

At the end of the comparison, Microsoft clearly states that the ASUS VivoTab Smart has a "bigger touchscreen" than the iPad:

The ASUS VivoTab Smart is lighter than the iPad, has a bigger touchscreen and more ports, works with more printers, lets you see two apps at once, and runs Microsoft Office and other desktop programs.

As noted by Temple, while the ASUS VivoTab Smart has a larger diagonal screen, its display is smaller overall than the display of the iPad, making Microsoft's above statement clearly false. In previous ads, the first of which was released yesterday, Microsoft also touted the lower cost of the VivoTab along with its ability to run Microsoft Office apps.

Mac Otakara has released a report with new details on a number of upcoming products, including the rumored low cost iPhone, the iPhone 5S, and the iPad 5. Citing information from several different sources, the site suggests that the low cost iPhone may ship in a number of different colors and that it will begin trial production soon.

Color choices for the low cost iPhone remain murky, as the site has heard rumors from two different sources. The first source said that the low cost iPhone will come in colors that include navy, gold orange, white, and gray, while a second source named white, pink, green, blue, and yellow orange as the available colors. A common theme, however, is that the low cost iPhone will not include a black option.

Apple's rumored low cost iPhone is said to be targeted at emerging markets, carrying a price tag of approximately $350-$400 without subsidies. To facilitate a lower price tag, the phone is rumored to have a polycarbonate shell.

According to Makotakara, the low cost iPhone will begin a field test production in June, which will be followed up by wide ranging production in July to accommodate a September launch. This launch date is a bit confusing, as Mac Otakara previously said that the low cost iPhone would ship in 2014.

As for the iPhone 5S, Mac Otakara believes that it too will come in multiple colors. Previously, the site suggested that it would ship in three different colors, including the original black and white, but now says that additional colors might be offered, namely gold and green.

The design of the iPhone 5S is rumored to be largely the same as the iPhone 5, but Mac Otakara’s sources say that it will sport a dual-LED flash and that the rear microphone hole will become circular instead of pill shaped, placed between the camera and the flash. Before the launch of the iPhone 4S rumors suggested that it too might ship with a dual flash, but that did not happen.

Finally the site gives a small bit of information on the 5th generation iPad, suggesting that the extra hole that was seen in some iPad mini prototype cases and even an alleged iPad mini prototype will be added to the iPad 5. The hole did not make it into the final iPad mini design, but it has appeared in prototype iPad 5 cases as well, and Mac Otakara suggests that it is an additional microphone.

While the site does not give an expected release date for the iPhone 5S, it does note that the fifth generation iPad will ship after the new iPhone. Previous rumors have suggested that the iPhone 5S will be released in September or later.