MacRumors

While many had expected Apple to follow last year's pattern and release a developer preview of OS X 10.9 early this year ahead of a summer public launch, the company has so far remained essentially silent about its plans for its next-generation Mac operating system. That silence does not, however, mean that Apple has not been working hard on the project since it first started showing up in web logs last fall.

As spotted by an AppleInsider reader, circumstantial evidence of Apple's work showed up in a WebKit bug report early last month revealing that version of OS X 10.9 in testing was Build 13A451. According to Apple's build number scheme, "13" refers to OS X 10.9, "A" refers to the 10.9.0 version, and "451" is part of a sequential numbering of compiled builds.

AppleInsider speculates that the relatively advanced "451" build number as of early May could indicate that Apple would be able to deliver a fairly mature version of OS X 10.9 to developers at its Worldwide Developers Conference next week, although there is no formal evidence for such a claim.

OS X Mountain Lion's initial developer preview arrived as Build 12A128p in February 2012, with Apple releasing several additional builds to developers before releasing it to the public as Build 12A269 in July of that year. OS X Lion apparently spent a longer time in overall development but a similar amount of time in developer testing, beginning developer seeding with Build 11A390 in February 2011 before being launched to the public as Build 11A511 roughly five months later.

Apple had indicated when it launched its first developer preview of OS X Mountain Lion last year that it was shifting to a more rapid yearly development cycle for OS X in order to bring more features to consumers more quickly. But with Apple yet to have begun seeding developers with versions of OS X 10.9 and the company reportedly having pulled engineers from OS X to work on iOS 7, there have been some questions about how closely Apple will be able to stick to its yearly release plan.

Bloomberg reports that Apple will for the first time begin accepting trade-ins on iPhones in its retail stores, encouraging users to upgrade to the latest models and seeking to boost sales. Apple will be partnering with recycling firm Brightstar to offer the program.

Used iPhones collected in the U.S. will only be resold in emerging markets, where Apple’s share is lower and demand for cheap devices is greater, said one of the people. That way, the resale of Apple’s older models won’t cannibalize iPhone 5 sales in the U.S., the person said.

Since 2011, Apple has partnered with third-party firm PowerON in the United States to offer Apple gift cards to users seeking to recycle their used iOS devices through the company's website, moving last year to expand the program to other countries where it has offered cash back. With the new program, the trade-in program will expand to Apple's popular retail stores.

The new trade-in program with BrightStar will only be available at Apple’s retail outlets, letting consumers receive payments instantly and avoiding the hassle of shipping their older gadgets, the people said.

Apple's web-based recycling and trade-in programs have so far been relatively hidden away on the company's site, resulting in low consumer awareness. The new retail store effort is, however, likely to make a significant difference in trade-in usage, appealing to consumers looking for hassle-free credit toward new devices.

Last month, BlackBerry announced that it would be bringing its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service to iOS and Android this summer, seeking to strengthen its existing network of 60 million monthly active users with a broader cross-platform messaging solution.

SlashGear now points to a Tweet from T-Mobile UK claiming that BBM will be launching on iOS and Android on June 27.

Great news - BlackBerry Messenger will be available to download on iOS and Android from June 27th! :) #BBM

In an interview with CNET yesterday, BlackBerry Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear also revealed that the company is in talks with other handset makers to offer BBM preloaded on their devices. Apple obviously would not agree to such a deal, but it seems that certain Android handsets may soon come with built-in support for the service.

BlackBerry is working with other handset manufacturers to get its BlackBerry Messenger service preloaded on to their phones, according to a top executive.

"There is interest from other handset makers," BlackBerry Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear told CNET in an interview on Wednesday.

BBM's expansion comes as Apple has gained traction with its Apple-centric iMessage service and other cross-platform services such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have accumulated significant user bases of their own. BlackBerry has clearly decided that the potential benefits of opening up BBM to more users outweigh the risks of BlackBerry device customers defecting to other platforms, but it remains to be seen whether the smartphone pioneer can help stabilize itself with such a move alongside its new BlackBerry 10 operating system.

Update 8:46 AM: Business Insider reports that the June 27 date is incorrect, with a source calling the claim "bogus".

Update 11:25 AM: BlackBerry has confirmed to Mashable that the June 27 date tweeted by T-Mobile UK is incorrect.

While quite a few low-cost cases based on the alleged design of the fifth-generation iPad have been circulating for a number of months, bigger names are now getting into the act. The news comes from CNET, which reports that Gumdrop Cases has developed its own $35-$65 cases and is in fact betting that the new iPad will make an appearance at next week's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

[Gumdrop Cases founder and CEO Tim] Hickman wouldn't say who his sources are, but he's confident enough in them to start producing new cases for the iPad 5 and put them up for pre-order. In fact, a press sample of the $59.99 Gumdrop Drop Tech is due to arrive later today, and we'll update the post with new pictures once we get it. Gumdrop is also manufacturing the Gumdrop Bounce ($34.95) and Gumdrop Drop Tech Designer Series ($59.99). They're scheduled to ship on June 10.

The fifth-generation iPad is widely rumored to be taking design cues from the iPad mini, adopting narrower side bezels while coming in roughly 15% thinner and up to 33% lighter that the current full-size iPad.

The vast majority of reports have, however, indicated that the new iPad will not be appearing at WWDC, with Apple instead said to be launching updated iOS hardware later in the year. Relatively reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has claimed that Apple will begin ramping up production of the new full-size iPad in the August-September timeframe, with an updated iPad mini with Retina display perhaps coming several months later. Digitimes has offered similar estimates of launch timing for the new iPads.

Case makers have traditionally had a fair amount of success basing their designs on leaked measurements for new and redesigned Apple devices, although many were fooled by rampant rumors of a tapered iPhone design that failed to appear when Apple launched the iPhone 4S in 2011.

9to5Mac has received information from a source that suggests the MacBook Air updates that are expected at WWDC will ship soon after the keynote, perhaps with updated AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule wireless base stations that support a new, faster wireless standard.

These leaks line up with a report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who said in April that the MacBook Air update expected at WWDC would ship very soon after the event, while the Retina MacBook Pro would ship later due to production bottlenecks on the advanced displays.

Today, we have received specific pricing for the aforementioned SKUs, and the price-points correspond to Apple’s current pricing for the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models. We have yet to receive pricing information that points to the imminent availability of new MacBook Pros (as some had hoped), but perhaps the next refresh to Apple’s Pro portables will arrive in the coming months. Supply constraints to the Retina MacBook Pro line seems to infer that…

The site also says it received pricing for three new accessories that could be new AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule models. If accurate, these would likely support the new 802.11ac-wireless standard.

As we wrote in our WWDC rumor roundup earlier today, the notebook updates are likely to be the hardware highlight of WWDC, with new MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro models announced.

Expected upgrades include a shift to Haswell processors, a possible slimmer design for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, a new full HD (2.0-megapixel) FaceTime camera on the Retina models, and a dual-microphone system on the MacBook Air.

According to Joseph Brown, one of the developers behind the iTweakiOS site that provides hacked carrier updates for iOS users, Apple is purposely throttling iPhone data speeds to "even out" the network as Apple's phones consume more data than other smartphones.

Brown states that AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint limit the iPhone's data speeds and provides evidence in the form of snapshots of network settings. For example, AT&T limits the iPhone 5 to Category 10 (14.4Mbps) HSDPA despite the fact that the network is able to support up to Category 14 (21.1Mbps) HSDPA+ and the iPhone supports Category 24 (42.2Mbps) DC-HSDPA+.

Brown goes on to point out similar throttling code present in the LTE and 3G network settings of both Verizon and Sprint, for the iPhone and the iPad. His theory is that Apple (or the carriers themselves) are throttling data speeds in order to cut down on the iPhone's data usage.

- AT&T limits HSPA+ and permanently throttles LTE (unless hack is applied)
- Verizon permanently throttles LTE (unless hack is applied)
- Verizon and Sprint throttle down 3G (unless hack is applied)
- Apple has band preferences set for T-Mobile and AT&T causing signal issues (very much fixable by Apple and the carrier and is currently being looked into, from I've been told)

T-Mobile, the last network to receive the iPhone, is the only carrier that does not appear to throttle iPhone data usage. Though Brown places the blame for the network settings on Apple, it is unclear whether it is Apple or the carriers themselves at fault, and the reasoning behind the alleged throttling is equally unclear. Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon have all historically throttled the data speeds of high volume users.

To thwart the apparent throttling, iTweakiOS offers a number of carrier hacks that are designed to increase data speeds.

Update: AnandTech has debunked this claim and says that neither Apple nor the carriers are throttling data speeds.

The new Mac Pro model, expected later this year, is "something really different" according to a video professional who says he spoke with the Mac Pro product manager.

Writing on the RedUser.net forum, Andrew Baird says he spoke to Mac Pro project manager Douglas Brooks on the phone after emailing CEO Tim Cook with his concerns about the lack of a new professional tower from Apple over the past few years.

Baird told MacRumors that the call didn't include any specific details about when the new machine would be released, nor its specifications -- however, he was assured several times that the new Mac Pro would be worth the wait. Brooks told him that the machine would be released later this year.

For what it's worth - a couple of months ago I received a call from Douglas Brooks, Apples project manager for the new Mac Pro to address my concerns about the new machine. Obviously he didn't tell me anything about the new MP, but asked me what I wanted to see. I told him expandability for extra graphics cards support, and memory expansion were at the top of my list amongst other things. His reply was simple:

"You are going to be really glad that you waited [to buy a new tower]. We are doing something really different here and I think you're going to be very excited when you see what we've been up to. I can't wait to show this off".

That conversation gave me enough confidence to wait for the new machine. I'm looking forward to the announcement. Hopefully the wait will be worth it.

Somewhat corroborating Baird's phone call, Lou Borella -- administrator of the 'We Want a New Macpro' Facebook group -- wrote on the page that he heard the new professional Mac would be "heavily reliant on Thunderbolt" with "no internal expandability", and would have support for dual-GPU's and no FireWire or optical drive.

In mid-2012, after a minor update to the Mac Pro was announced at WWDC, Tim Cook confirmed to a fan that new Mac Pros were coming in 2013, which was later reiterated by an Apple spokesman. It has also been rumored that the new Mac Pro would be the first Apple computer in years to be 'Made in the USA'.

Following a report earlier this week that suggested Apple's iAd staff would be responsible for securing advertising deals to support Apple's upcoming streaming music service, AdAge has confirmed the rumor and released new details on how the upcoming service, dubbed "iRadio," will function.

AdAge claims that iRadio, which Apple plans to offer to users for free, will incorporate both audio ads and standard mobile ads, all of which are highly targeted. Numerous reports on iRadio have suggested that Apple has tried to negotiate lower rates and more flexibility than has been offered to competitors like Pandora, leveraging its advertising reach and its iTunes store.

Selling interstitial audio ads – ones that play between songs – will allow Apple to offer the service free to users as is typical with most streaming music services. One music industry executive familiar with the negotiations between Apple and the major record labels said the terms of iRadio are more favorable for record labels than other streaming services because iRadio is expected to drive more song downloads.

iRadio users will be able to purchase the song they are listening to through iTunes. Syncing with iTunes Match ($24.99 per year) will allow users to own those songs forever, keep them in Apple's cloud-based storage service and access them on any iOS device. However, the service will not allow users to search for and play a specific song on-demand, like with Spotify.

While 70% of current iAd revenue is given to developers who utilize the service, Apple will be able to keep 90% of revenue from audio ads, sharing just 10% with music companies. Presumably, audio iRadio ads will function similarly to those offered by Pandora, playing in between songs.

Apple will also be able to charge higher advertising rates than competitors like Pandora, as Pandora's ads can only be targeted to users based on sex, area code, and listening habits, while Apple can target users based on several other factors, including entertainment tastes that include movie, television, and app preferences.

Last week, it was reported that Apple is considering launching an ad exchange, possibly within iAd, which is in line with the advertising information provided by AdAge. With an ad exchange, Apple could allow advertisers to target Apple users based on a number of data factors that Apple has collected about its customers. Companies like Google and Yahoo currently operate ad exchanges and an Apple exchange could greatly increase the popularity of its iAd program.

According to the latest iRadio rumors, Apple is pushing to complete deals with record labels in order to launch the streaming music service at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which is scheduled to begin on June 10.