MacRumors

Apple may be planning to use electronic image stabilization instead of optical image stabilization in the iPhone 6, according to new details shared on Weibo [Google Translate] by ESM China analyst Sun Chang Xu (via GforGames). Xu suggests that the iPhone 6's camera will also boast a larger pixel size of 1.75 um compared to the 1.5 um pixel size of the iPhone 5s' camera, which would result in a higher picture quality as more light can be taken in.

While previous reports have indicated that Apple is looking to integrate optical image stabilization into the iPhone 6, adding an electronic image stabilization system would allow for the device to have a slimmer camera that does not protrude out of its body. To this point, a number of alleged iPhone 6 images, including renders posted by Japanese magazine MacFan last month, have depicted the iPhone 6 with a protruding camera.

Xu also previously reported on her Weibo account that the iPhone 6 will add pressure, temperature, and humidity sensors, and that the iWatch will utilize optical sensors to measure heart rate and oxygen levels.

Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 6 this fall in two different sizes of 4.7-inches and 5.5-inches. The smaller 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 will likely ship first, while the larger 5.5-inch version is estimated to ship later due to challenges with the device's display technology and battery life.

In addition to a larger display and an improved camera, both models of the iPhone 6 are expected to include a thinner, bezel-free design, faster A8 processor, and Touch ID fingerprint sensor. The device will also likely debut with Apple's iOS 8 mobile operating system, which will feature improvements to Maps, Siri, and iCloud in addition to a new "Healthbook" app. Apple is also said to be negotiating with carriers to increase the price of the iPhone 6 by $100.

As indicated last week and yesterday, Apple today launched updated MacBook Airs, which feature faster versions of Intel's Haswell processors at $100 less for each model.

All standard models of the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air now come with a faster 1.4 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor along with the same 4GB of RAM. Both entry-level configurations of the 11-inch and 13-inch models now sell for $899 and $999 with 128GB of flash storage, while the higher-end 11-inch and 13-inch models now come in at $1099 and $1199 with 256GB of flash storage, respectively.

Build-to-order options include a 1.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor with up to 8GB of RAM on both the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs.

Apple is also rumored to be working on a 12-inch MacBook with a new ultra-slim design and a high resolution Retina display for later this year.

The updated 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs are available today through Apple's various retail locations and online store, with all standard configurations showing availability of "within 24 hours."

Update 1:28 AM: Apple's updated MacBook Airs are now available in its U.S. Online Store with each model now costing $100 less compared to the previous model.

Update 1:36 AM: Notably, the battery specs for both new models list slightly longer iTunes Movie playback times, with the 11-inch model jumping from 8 to 9 hours of playback and the 13-inch model jumping from 10 to 12 hours.

Update 6:08 AM: Apple has issued a press release announcing the minor update.

“With MacBook Air starting at $899, there’s no reason to settle for anything less than a Mac,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Macs have never been more popular, and today we’ve boosted the performance and lowered the price of MacBook Air so even more people can experience the perfect everyday notebook.”

The press release also highlights the significant increase in battery life for movie playback through iTunes.

Update 9:00 AM: Refurbished MacBook Air computers have dropped to all time low prices, with an 11-inch 2012 model available starting at $599. 2013 models are available starting at $719.

Last week, a case designed for the iPhone 6 was compared to an iPhone 5s, a Nexus 5, and a Galaxy Note 3 in order to explore how the upcoming device might look compared to other large-screened devices.

Today that same case has been compared to a current generation iPod touch by Unbox Therapy, suggesting the future iPhone 6 could be as thin as the existing iPod touch. In the video, a fifth-generation iPod touch is placed inside of the alleged 4.7-inch iPhone 6 case, demonstrating a perfect fit when it comes to depth.

Released in 2012, Apple's current generation iPod touch measures in at just 6.1mm thick, while the iPhone 5s 7.6mm thick. iPhone 6 rumors have already suggested the device could be much thinner than the iPhone 5s, and reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted a thickness of 6.5mm to 7.0mm.

The way the iPod touch fits in the case also suggests that the iPhone 6 could have the elongated, rectangular buttons of the iPod touch rather than the circular buttons of the iPhone 5s. This is in line with previous rumors and with a possible volume button part leak posted in our forums earlier today.

While it's impossible to tell whether the iPhone 6 case in the video is a legitimate representation of what Apple's next-generation device might look like, the case design does resemble previously leaked schematics, case maker's renderings, and manufacturing molds.

Along with a thinner design and a larger, the iPhone 6 is also expected to incorporate slimmer bezels, an upgraded A8 processor, and an improved camera via optical image stabilization. While a 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 is expected to ship in the fall, a 5.5-inch version may also come somewhat later in the year due to production issues that have delayed its release.

Earlier this morning, news of an imminent MacBook Air refresh surfaced, and now there are additional details on what we can expect from the update. As initially reported, the new MacBook Airs will include updated Haswell processors with no other specification changes.

As can be seen in an image of the new entry-level 13-inch MacBook Air specs provided to 9to5Mac, the notebook will offer a 1.4GHz Intel Core i5 processor, a very minor boost from the current entry level 1.3Ghz processor in the 13-inch version. Build to order models in both 11 and 13-inch varieties are expected to see the same minor processor improvements.

The MacBook Airs continue to offer the same amount of storage space, RAM, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and there has been no upgrade to Thunderbolt 2, which was included in the latest Retina MacBook Pro. The Airs continue to use Intel's HD Graphics 5000 and it is unclear whether updated Haswell processors will bring any boosts to battery life.

It is unknown when Apple plans to introduce the new MacBook Air computers, but it is possible Apple will take its online store down tonight in order to update inventory ahead of an in-store release tomorrow.

Apple executives Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi will speak at the first annual Code Conference hosted by Re/code, the site reported today. The duo will headline the second night of the event in late May.

We are very excited to have both Cue and Federighi at the event to talk about a range of things about the company that remains at the center of the action, especially in the important mobile sector. From the shifting entertainment and communications landscape to the fast-moving wearables space to, well, everything digital, these two play a very important role.

Eddy Cue serves as Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services handling the iTunes Store, App Store, iCloud, and more, while Federighi serves as the senior vice president of Software Engineering, overseeing both iOS and OS X.

Both Cue and Federighi report directly to Tim Cook and are responsible for overseeing many essential elements of Apple's ecosystem.

Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher of Re/code have done multiple yearly conferences, formerly under All Things D. Past events have included interviews with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and last year’s event featured current Apple CEO Tim Cook, who spoke about wearables and television.

The 2014 Code Conference will also feature speakers like General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. While the event is sold out, the site does have plans to post news and videos on Re/code throughout the conference.

During last week's earnings conference call, CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Angela Ahrendts will be transitioning from Burberry and officially joining Apple this week as its head of retail. Her achievements and personality as the CEO of Burberry have been well-publicized, but her Midwestern roots, early career influences, and resulting business and life philosophies are less well-known. These characteristics were recently detailed in a lengthy profile by CNET.

Ahrendts was born in 1960 in the small town of New Palestine, Indiana, where she was one of six children. As a young girl, she "lived vicariously through fashion magazines" and moved to New York after graduating from Ball State University to pursue her dream job in the fashion industry. She got her start at bra maker Warnaco and then landed a position at Donna Karan in 1989. She rose through the ranks at DK to eventually become President of the New York-based fashion house.

When Donna Karan changed its focus, Ahrendts transitioned to Liz Clairborne as the executive vice president and finally landed at Burberry, where she rejuvenated Burberry's image and sales as CEO of the London fashion house. When she started in 2006, Burberry was a well-known rainwear company and upon her leaving a short eight years later, the company is now an internationally acclaimed fashion label.

Ahrendts has a personal management style that keeps her in touch with her employees, traveling to stores to meet them and "communicating constantly" with them via email to thank them for their work. She credits her Midwestern values that taught her compassion towards others, humility, and hard work were the keys to success. It is this human touch that Ahrendts will be bringing to Apple's all-male executive team and will be a balance to the company's technology and engineering focus.

"Technology has given us access to the world and its sea of content, allowing us to never speak to another person if we don't want to," she said. "Computers and smart devices are among the greatest intellectual gifts ever created for man, but if not balanced with human contact, may offer little to develop ones heart. Don't get me wrong, I am mesmerized by this Digital Tsunami, but Google doesn't have all the answers, and are all those people on Facebook truly your friends?"

Ahrendts will be joining Apple at a time when its retail sales are flat, despite an increase in the number of retail stores opening worldwide. As noted by Bloomberg's European correspondent Caroline Hyde, analysts are watching Ahrendts closely with the expectation that she will bring her luxury flair to Apple's retail operations and repeat with Apple what she did with Burberry.

Ahrendts will head up Apple's retail push in 2014 and beyond after several years of instability in the division. The company confirmed during its recent Q2 2014 earnings conference call that it will continue to invest in retail stores in 2014. It recently opened its first retail stores in Brazil and Turkey, expanding Apple's retail presence to a total of 15 countries. Apple also will continue its focus on China with a plan to triple the number of Apple retail stores in the Asian country over the next two years.

As was initially reported last week, Apple's updated MacBook Air may launch this week, possibly as soon as tomorrow.

Shipments of new 11 and 13-inch MacBook Airs are currently arriving in Apple Stores across the country, according to 9to5Mac, with plans to put the computers on display beginning tomorrow morning.

The MacBook Air refresh is expected to be minor and could arrive with little fanfare. Updated MacBook Air computers may include a slightly improved Haswell processor with a small speed boost and few other changes.

Tomorrow’s 11-inch and 13-inch Airs are codenamed J41A and J43A, respectively, and their SKUs are simply a variation to the current MacBook Air SKU labels. For example, the entry 13-inch MacBook Air of today is known as "MD760LL/A", while this week’s refreshed version is known as "MD760LL/B." It's unclear if Apple will even promote the updated Airs.

Though Apple is planning just a minor MacBook Air refresh for this week, the company is also said to have a second 12-inch MacBook Air in the works that will be released later in the year.

The 12-inch MacBook Air is expected to feature some major design changes in the form of a slimmer chassis without fans, a Retina display, and a buttonless trackpad.

It is unclear when tomorrow's updated MacBook Airs might make their first appearance, but it is possible Apple will take its online store down tonight in order to update inventory ahead of an in-store release tomorrow.

Research firm Kantar Worldpanel has released a new report (via TechCrunch) highlighting worldwide smartphone sales over the January-March period, finding that Apple has regained share in markets such as Europe, Japan and Australia due in part to the strong sales performance of the iPhone 5s.

Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, comments: "Apple regained ground in the first quarter of 2014, primarily due to the strong performance of the iPhone 5S, growing its sales share in Europe, Japan and Australia. By contrast, Windows had a tough start to the year as a result of its entry-level Nokia models facing fierce competition from low-end Motorola, LG and Samsung Android smartphones."

Apple's total market share in Japan, Australia, and Europe hit 57.6%, 33.1%, and 19.2%, which are increases of 8.6%, 2.0%, and 0.1% compared to the same timeframe last year, respectively. In the United States, Apple's market share was at 35.9%, which was down 7.8% compared to the 43.7% market share it held a year ago.

However, Sunnebo noted in a prior Kantar report highlighting smartphone sales over the August-October 2013 period that customers in the U.S. generally react better to "full releases" like the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 than "incremental" updates such as the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c. Apple is expected to release a larger-screen iPhone 6 this year with new features including a thinner profile, faster A8 processor, Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and an improved camera with optical image stabilization.

Meanwhile, the iPhone's surging popularity in Japan has continued in the months following its debut on the country's largest carrier, NTT DoCoMo:

Sunnebo continues: "Japan’s love affair with Apple shows no sign of fading. Even though the iPhone has now been available on Japan’s largest carrier, NTT DoCoMo, for a number of months Apple still accounts for more than 40% of sales on the network. The success of the iPhone is also filtering through to the iPad, with almost a quarter of Japanese iPhone owners also owning an iPad. With smartphone penetration in Japan lagging well behind Europe and the US, Japan will remain a key growth market for Apple."

Despite its solid market share in numerous countries however, the iPhone continues to face challenges from Google's Android platform, which had its market share continue hover above 70% in many markets. Microsoft's Windows Phone also increased its market share, with the platform even holding a 4.3% advantage over iOS in Italy.

Apple has initiated a recall of some iPhone 5 models because the Sleep/Wake button may "stop working or work intermittently", according to an Apple statement given to The Loop.

The company has created a special support website for the recall where customers can enter their iPhone serial number and see if their phone is one of the "small percentage" of iPhone 5 models that are affected.

Affected phones can be brought to an Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider, though the phone will need to be sent to an Apple Repair Center for servicing. Stores will have some iPhone 5 16GB models available as loaners. Another option is mailing the iPhone to Apple, with details available on the recall program's website.

Replacement of the sleep/wake button mechanism is done at an Apple Repair Center. There are two ways to send your iPhone to the repair center—carry-in or mail-in. See below for details. The replacement process takes approximately 4-6 days from the time your iPhone is received at the repair center until it is returned to you. Your iPhone will be examined prior to any service to verify that it is eligible for this program and is otherwise in working order. Before sending your iPhone to Apple for service, you will need to back up all your data and erase all your content and settings.

Users who believe they have paid for an out-of-warranty replacement to rectify this issue should contact Apple regarding a refund and the company notes that this does not extend warranty coverage for any other issues. Additionally, the program is only effective for two years after the initial retail purchase of the iPhone 5 unit in question, meaning buyers who purchased the iPhone 5 when it first was released have at least five months to have their machines repaired.

Apple requires that any phone that receives a sleep/wake button replacement under the program be upgraded to iOS 7.

Update: In addition to repairs, U.S. Apple store employees have been offering iPhone 5 users with a faulty sleep/wake button a $350 trade-in credit towards a new device, according to multiple tipsters.

Apple is only giving the credit to users who specifically ask about an upgrade, but the credit amount is above what the store typically gives for an iPhone 5 trade-in. The phone must be in full working order aside from exhibiting sleep/wake issues.

Late last week, it was revealed that Nike is scaling back its FuelBand hardware effort to focus on the software side of its fitness tracking ecosystem, sparking speculation of a potential partnership with Apple focused around the iWatch or other Apple hardware.

Nike CEO Mark Parker appeared on CNBC earlier today, and while he would not directly address specific plans with respect to Apple, he did note that Apple is a longtime partner and that he is "excited about where that relationship will go forward."

Parker: [Y]ou're going to continue to see us commit to this area, to focus on expanding the reach. Today, we have about 30 million FuelBand users. We're hoping to push that to over 100 million. We have partners that we work with...obviously the most visible partner we have is Apple. We've been working with them for a long time. And we're excited about where that relationship will go forward.

CNBC's Sara Eisen: Well, can you give us a hint? Are we going to expect some sort of collaborative device coming out? Nike and Apple?

Parker: I can't really say that. There's been a lot of speculation, which I understand. I will just say the relationship between Nike and Apple will continue. And I am personally, as we all are at Nike, very excited about what's to come.

Parker went on to discuss how Nike is going to focus on the software side of the wearable fitness device market going forward, integrating it into some of of Nike's products as well as those of partners. With those partnerships, Nike is seeking to further its primary goal of expanding the overall Fuel ecosystem to as many people as possible.

Speculation of a Nike-Apple partnership is natural given the long history between the two companies, highlighted by the Nike+iPod initiative to bring pedometer and other fitness tracking to Apple devices. Apple CEO Tim Cook has served on Nike's board of directors for nearly a decade, and he is frequently seen wearing a Nike FuelBand.

Transcend has introduced new JetDrive SSD upgrade kits designed for the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro with Retina display. The upgrade kits offer up to 960GB of internal storage capacity and come with both installation tools and instructions.

JetDrive kits also ship with an aluminum USB 3.0 enclosure, which allows upgraders to reuse their original SSD, and all kits include a five year warranty.

Stop shuffling around your files and fretting about storage space. Transcend's JetDrive SSD upgrade kits offer up to 960GB of storage capacity. Upgrading your Mac to a JetDrive SSD ensures you'll have plenty of space for all your favorite music, videos, and photos.

The JetDrive SSDs are able to take advantage of JetDrive Toolbox monitoring software, which keeps track of the health of the drive and enables TRIM support for optimum write speeds and SSD life. JetDrive SSDs also have maximum read speeds of 495MB/s and maximum write speeds of 495MB/s.

The company has three separate products for early MacBook Airs, mid–2012 MacBook Airs, and mid-2012 Retina Macbook Pros, in multiple capacities. While mid–2012 MacBook Airs and Retina MacBook Pros can be upgraded with 240, 480, or 960 GB of storage space, earlier MacBook Airs (late 2010 and mid–2011) are limited to 240 or 480 GB. Transcend's JetDrive kits are not PCIe and are not compatible with the most recently released 2013 MacBook Airs and Retina MacBook Pros.

Transcend's JetDrives can be found on Amazon.com, with prices ranging from $190 for the lower end upgrade to $600 for the higher end upgrade. Ordering information and specific links can be accessed on Transcend's website, but the 960 GB SSDs have yet to make their way to Amazon.

iPhone 6 design renderings aimed at helping case manufacturers create early iPhone 6 cases ahead of the device's release have surfaced on Ukrainian website UkrainianiPhone [Google Translate] (via Nowhereelse.fr), from what the site calls a "reliable source of information."

The renderings are seemingly based on the same general design principles found in schematics leaked back in early March, but they provide more detail on what we might possibly expect from the iPhone 6. As with most of the current design leaks, the authenticity of the renderings cannot be confirmed.

While the majority of renderings, cases, and iPhone 6 details leaked up until this point have failed to explain how Apple will incorporate antennas into the iPhone 6, the new Ukrainian renderings suggest that the back shell of the iPhone will not be all one piece, potentially leaving room in the aluminum casing for possible antenna inserts, similar to the design of the existing iPhone 5s. There are separate top and bottom pieces depicted in the renderings as well, which also point towards an antenna.

According to the renderings, the device will have a thickness of 6mm, which is somewhat in line with predictions from reliable KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who pointed towards a thickness of 6.5 to 7mm. At 6mm, the iPhone 6 would be significantly thinner than the iPhone 5s, which is 7.6mm thick. The renderings also suggest the iPhone 6 will have a length of 138mm and a width of 67mm.

As with the original design schematics, the renderings incorporate a rounded flash, which is a departure from the existing pill-shaped True Tone flash introduced with the iPhone 5s. There's also a sleep/wake button located on the right side of the device, and rumors have thus far suggested Apple could move the button to make it easier to access sleep/wake on a larger device with one hand.

Overall, the renderings are more or less in line with previous iPhone 6 rumors, which have indeed pointed to a thinner design with smaller bezels. Apple's iPhone 6 is also expected to include an upgraded A8 processor, Touch ID, and an improved camera.