MacRumors

On the same day it launched a new entry-level iMac model, Apple also used the downtime to adjust the prices on other hardware in some European markets. The price cuts we've noticed affect European models of the Mac mini, the European Apple TV and iMac models in the UK.

Pricing on the Mac mini dropped between €30 and €60, depending on the country and model. Most European stores are now offering the entry-level Mac Mini for €619 with the quad-core and OS X server models selling for €819 and €1019, respectively, although some euro countries such as Germany are showing slightly lower pricing of €599/€799/€999. In the UK, the entry-level Mac Mini remains the same at £499, with price drops between €30 and €50 being applied to the quad-core and server models.

Apple also cut the prices on the Apple TV in Europe, reducing the cost by €10/£20. The once €109/£99 media streaming device is now available for €99/£79 throughout most of Apple's European stores. While Europe saw a reduction, the Apple TV price remains the same in the US at $99.

Along with the new entry-level 21.5-inch iMac, Apple UK also lowered the cost of existing iMac models. The existing 21.5-inch models were lowered by £100, while the 27-inch models saw similar reductions of £150. The reduction appears to limited only to the UK with most of Europe and the US still selling the iMac at its original pricing.

While rumors last week indicated that Apple would be launching minor updates to its iMac line, Apple today unveiled a new lower-cost 21.5-inch iMac starting at $1,099. Previously, the entry level iMac started at $1299.

The new entry-level 21.5-inch iMac comes with a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel i5 processor, a 500GB hard drive, 8GB of memory, and an Intel HD 5000 Graphics chip for $1,099. Customers can also choose to include a 1TB hard drive, a 1TB Fusion Drive, or 256GB of flash storage on build to order options. All of Apple's other 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs are still available as well.

KGI Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted last year and earlier this year that Apple would be launching a lower-cost iMac in 2014 to bolster sales in critical foreign markets.

Apple is also rumored to be working on Retina Display-equipped iMacs, as recent evidence in the OS X Yosemite developer preview suggested such models were in the works. While there is no specific release date for a Retina iMac, Apple could launch the new desktop computer later this year.

Apple's new entry-level iMac is available today through Apple's various retail locations and online store, and shows an availability of "within 24 hours."

Update 5:41 AM: Apple has issued a press release announcing the lower-cost iMac.

Apple and Samsung are attempting to find "common ground" in efforts to end their ongoing legal battle, reports The Korea Times (via GforGames). Citing sources "familiar with the negotiations", the paper notes that both firms are "trimming the number of disputed issues", stating that both Apple and Samsung are attempting to become "more practical" about finding a solution.

Another source also claimed that Apple would like to keep Samsung as one of its main parts suppliers, with the report referencing the long-rumored iWatch:

"As technology shifts toward wearable devices, Apple still wants to keep Samsung as its top-tier parts sourcing channel," another source said.

"The recent release of the Samsung OLED tablet is an indication that Samsung can manage OLED displays to be used in almost all wearable devices, a segment that Apple is greatly interested in."

In the past two years, Apple and Samsung have been in two trials over the issue of patent infringement. The first trial in 2012 awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages, however a damages retrial last November brought that amount down to $290 million. Meanwhile, the second trial wrapped up last month and found both companies guilty, although Samsung was ordered to pay $119.6 million while Apple was to pay just $158,400. Samsung has since filed an appeal to challenge the second verdict.

Last week, both companies also agreed to drop their cross-appeal rulings on an ITC ban for older Samsung products, which focused on patent 7,789,697, and dealt with the concept of accessories being recognized when they plug in to devices.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon also reportedly attending a mediation session earlier this year, however both parties failed to reach an agreement in their ongoing legal battle. While a new agreement would take some time to reach, a move to end the ongoing legal battle would prove to be very beneficial for both Apple and Samsung.

While there have been plenty of videos comparing the 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 to the Samsung Galaxy S5 and other smartphones, there haven't been many comparing the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 to other devices.

However, YouTube channel TechSmartt (via AppleInsider) has acquired a dummy of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 and compared it to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, offering a look at Apple's rumored "phablet" against its main competition.

If believed, these dummy models signal that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 could be taller than the Note 3's height of 151.2mm. The extra height is largely due to a carryover of design decisions from previous iPhone models, which include identically sized top and bottom bezels. These bezels contain the FaceTime camera, the Touch ID Home button and numerous sensors.

Over the weekend, we posted a story that Apple's Handoff feature was limited to Macs that support the Bluetooth 4.0/LE specification. Handoff/Continuity allows OS X and iOS device users to seamlessly transition between the two operating systems. However, there was some debate about the accuracy of that claim at the time, though now it seems almost certain to be true.

Bluetooth 4.0 was was first introduced in the MacBook Air and Mac mini in Mid 2011. The feature has since made its way into later Mac releases, finally coming to every Mac as of the 2013 Mac Pro.

Apfeleimer put together this nice graph showing which Macs support Bluetooth 4.0/LE.

The full bars represent Macs that can run OS X Yosemite, while only Mac models in the green bar timeframes support the required Bluetooth protocol for Handoff. For iOS users, the iPad 2 is the only device that is capable of running iOS 8 but doesn't come with hardware support for Bluetooth LE.

There was some uncertainty about this being an absolute requirement, though in the WWDC sessions, Apple clearly states that Handoff runs on Bluetooth LE technology. However, now with the release of Yosemite Developer Preview 2, Apple has added a new field for Continuity Support in the System Information. The new field falls under the Bluetooth category:

Owners of late generation Macs seem to be showing Continuity support in line with the chart above, while older Mac owners are seeing Continuity support set to "No". It's not yet clear if adding a 3rd party Bluetooth 4.0 dongle will enable support on older Macs.

OS X Yosemite is in developer beta right now and will be released to customers later this year. Handoff support in the early betas remain spotty, so even those with supported devices may not see the feature working. Apple, of course, could change requirements over time.

Apple is offering discounts on several popular e-books from Hachette Book Group, the publisher currently embroiled in a dispute with Amazon. As noted by Re/code, Apple is promoting a sale on several Hachette titles under a "Popular Pre-Orders: $9.99 or Less" section in the book section of the iTunes Store, which includes upcoming titles from major authors like James Patterson, Michael Connelly, and J.K. Rowling (under pen name Robert Galbraith).

While Apple does not specifically mention the books on sale are published by Hachette, every book in the 26-book section is indeed a Hachette title. An Apple PR representative confirmed the promotion to Re/code, but declined to discuss pricing or other details.

For those unfamiliar with the dispute, Amazon and Hachette have been at war for the last month, after negotiations over profit-sharing failed. Amazon has since refused to take pre-order sales of Hachette books and has also ceased discounting existing Hachette titles, leading to much higher prices, in an effort to get Hachette to agree to better terms.

An Apple PR rep confirmed the promotion, but wouldn't discuss the pricing or any other details. So we have to assume that either Hachette is lowering wholesale prices on its own titles to help Apple tweak Amazon, or Apple is lowering the retail price on its own, and losing margin in order to tweak Amazon.

Amazon released a public statement in May, noting that it was not optimistic about resolving the disagreement with Hachette in the near future. That means Amazon customers must pay more for Hachette books and must wait for books to be launched to make a purchase, a situation that benefits Apple as it is still able to offer customers pre-orders on popular titles.

Apple today released the second beta of iOS 8, which brings a number of improvements, changes, and bug fixes to the beta software that was introduced on June 2.

iOS 8 beta 2 also includes several minor interface tweaks and modifications that make the beta feel both faster and more polished. We've gathered a list of the enhancements that have been bundled into the release below.

Podcasts: Following iOS 8 beta 2, the Podcasts app is a default iOS app that comes pre-installed on iOS devices. This means it can no longer be deleted.

Safari: According to the release notes, Safari will now block ads from automatically redirecting to the App Store without user interaction. Safari also includes a new pinch to tab view.

App Store Purchases: Apps in the App Store's purchased tab are once again sorted by purchase date. In iOS 8 beta 1, they were sorted alphabetically. It's also possible to leave reviews in the App Store again, a feature unavailable in beta 1 due to a bug, and the App Store now displays Family Purchases.

QuickType Keyboard: Apple's QuickType keyboard is now available on the iPad as well as the iPhone, but does not appear to be available on the iPad 2.

Brightness: In beta 1, the Brightness toggle in the Settings menu under Wallpaper and Brightness was broken. It is now functional again.

Messages: Icons for the camera and the microphone in Messages are now gray rather than blue and there's a new setting to mark all messages read.

Settings: There's a new "Raise to Listen" setting for Messages.

Privacy: There's a new Home Data section within the Privacy menu of the Settings app.

iCloud Photos: When entering the Photos app, there's a new "iCloud Photos" popup that activates Apple's new iCloud Photos feature, replacing a user's existing Photo Stream settings.

Notifications: There's a new "Allow Notifications" setting available for each app, which works as a sort of global mute to let users to mute notifications from an app on an individual basis. Previously, there was only an option to disallow apps from showing notifications in Notification Center.

Battery Usage by App: The Battery Usage by App menu in the Settings menu now includes a setting that lets users know how much battery their phones used when no coverage was available.

Handoff: According to several of our forum members, Handoff between iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite is now far more functional.

Additional features in iOS 8 beta 2 will be added here as they are discovered. Apple is likely to continue pushing regular updates to iOS 8, bringing minor performance boosts and changes ahead of the operating system's public release, which is expected to come in the fall. For more information on iOS 8's features, big and small, make sure to check out our roundups.

Alongside iOS 8 beta 2, Apple today released a new version of OS X Yosemite, just over two weeks after initially introducing the operating system at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

The update, Developer Preview 2, has a build number of 14A261i, and can be downloaded from the Mac App Store or the Mac Dev Center.

OS X Yosemite brings a flatter, more modern look to OS X, with an emphasis on translucency, along with a slew of new features, including improved integration with iOS 8 through Continuity. It also includes a new "Today" view in Notification Center that offers integration with third-party apps, a retooled Spotlight search that offers new data sources, and several new features for apps like Mail, Safari, and Messages.

OS X Yosemite is currently only available to developers, but Apple plans to offer a beta version of the software to Mac users at some point during the summer. A public release of OS X Yosemite is expected in the fall, after several additional beta iterations.

New Features:

- Photo Booth: Photo Booth, which was missing from the first Yosemite beta, has now returned.

- Time Machine: Time Machine has a redesigned interface that removes the stars. (via 9to5Mac).

- Screen Sharing: Screen Sharing has been updated to version 6, allowing users to block incoming screen share requests.

- Settings: There's a new Settings icon.

- AirDrop: AirDrop now offers a notification directly on the screen when a file is incoming, so it is no longer necessary to open Finder to receive a file (via 9to5Mac).

Handoff: According to several of our forum members, Handoff between iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite is now far more functional.

System Information: There's a new field for Continuity support in the Bluetooth category of the System Information app, which lets users know if their machines support features like Continuity and AirDrop.

Apple today released the second beta of iOS 8 to developers, just over two weeks after unveiling the new operating system at its Worldwide Developers Conference. The update, build number 12A4297e, is available through Apple's over-the-air updating system on iOS devices and will also be available via the iOS Dev Center.

MacRumors forum users are tracking new changes and features found in Beta 2 in this thread.

Apple has also released Xcode 6 beta 2, new beta software for the Apple TV (for 3rd gen (+ rev a) only), and OS X Yosemite Update 1.0.

iOS 8 introduces a range of new features, including improved integration with OS X through Continuity, a Health app, Family Sharing features, interactive notifications, a new QuickType Keyboard and improvements to several apps like Safari, Mail, and Messages.

iOS 8 is only available to developers at the current point in time, but it is expected to be released to the public this fall after several additional beta iterations. Based on past history, iOS 8 will likely be released alongside new iPhones, and possibly the much-rumored iWatch.

The second iOS 8 beta includes several tweaks to the operating system, such as a permanent Podcasts app that now comes pre-installed and QuickType for the iPad. Safari is also able to block ads that redirect to the App Store, and there's a new iCloud Photos popup that replaces Photo Stream when the Photos app is opened for the first time. For a full list of changes to iOS 8 in beta 2, make sure to check out our beta 2 tidbits post.

Direct links
(You must be a paid registered Apple developer to access these links.)

- iPad Air (Model 1474)
- iPad Air (Model 1475)
- iPad Air (Model 1476)
- iPad mini (Model A1489)
- iPad mini (Model A1490)
- iPad mini (Model A1491)
- iPad (4th generation Model A1458)
- iPad (4th generation Model A1459)
- iPad (4th generation Model A1460)
- iPad mini (Model A1432)
- iPad mini (Model A1454)
- iPad mini (Model A1455)
- iPad Wi-Fi (3rd generation)
- iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (model for ATT)
- iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (model for Verizon)
- iPad 2 Wi-Fi (Rev A)
- iPad 2 Wi-Fi
- iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G (GSM)
- iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G (CDMA)

- iPhone 5s (Model A1453, A1533)
- iPhone 5s (Model A1457, A1518, A1528, A1530)
- iPhone 5c (Model A1456, A1532)
- iPhone 5c (Model A1507, A1516, A1526, A1529)
- iPhone 5 (Model A1428)
- iPhone 5 (Model A1429)
- iPhone 4S

- iPod touch (5th generation)

While Apple is widely expected to expand use of its Touch ID fingerprint sensor to the iPad Air and iPad mini later this year, new photos of an alleged "perfect replica" of the second-generation iPad Air shared by Nowhereelse.fr [Google Translate] hint that there may be a few additional changes in store for the device.

The replica, which is making the rounds in China and Japan, unsurprisingly depicts a Touch ID home button for the device, but also shows some tweaks to physical features around the edges of the device, including a new speaker grille with a single row of larger holes on each side of the Lightning port as opposed to the current double row of smaller holes on the iPad.

Another difference lies in the volume buttons which are shown slightly recessed into the edge of the case, compared to the current design that sees buttons protruding slightly from a flush holes machines in the device's shell. Nowhereelse.fr mentions that the mute switch is also missing, although there is a small hole where the feature is usually located. Unfinished protoype and mockup parts sometimes feature these pilot holes to guide machining of the final hole.

Updated iPads are expected to launch later this year, with October being Apple's usual timeframe for such launches over the past couple of years. The latter part of 2014 is expected to be a busy one for Apple, with rumors of launches for the iPhone 6, new iPads, the iWatch, and perhaps some Mac updates such as the company's rumored 12-inch Retina MacBook Air.