MacRumors

Revised plans for Apple's proposed flagship retail store in San Francisco's Union Square include new renderings of the location, reports SocketSite. The prospective store is now pictured to feature two full-height sliding glass panels standing 44 feet tall and 23 feet wide, allowing the building to be opened up to the street. The store will also include regular glass doors that would act as a primary point of entry when the larger doors are closed.

Apple originally filed plans last May to move its existing Stockton Street flagship store three blocks north, giving the store a larger footprint and prime location in the Union Square shopping district. However, the plans quickly ran into opposition as critics panned multiple aspects of the proposal, such as the idea to remove a sculptural fountain created by late sculpture artist Ruth Asawa and the installation of a 80-foot-long windowless wall along a key pedestrian and transit corridor. Soon after, city officials made clear that significant changes would be needed for the project if it was to receive approval.

Apple then filed revised plans in August to address some of the proposal's biggest criticisms, stating that it would keep the fountain, add an eight-foot wide window along the Stockton Street frontage, and move to pull the proposed glass wall of the store back by four feet to add a greater sense of depth and more shadows for visual interest.

City officials were reportedly pleased by Apple's proposed changes, although the project must still pass through full review before it can be approved. A part of that review will take place on Wednesday, February 5, as the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission will meet to discuss Apple's request for a permit to construct the store. Apple has not announced when it plans to open the new store, and any internal targets may yet be affected by San Francisco's review and permitting processes.

Thanks, Cody!

Apple is developing a new app expected to be released alongside iOS 8 that collects and organizes information and data points related to the users health, including fitness statistics from the new M7 processor in the iPhone 5s, and possibly other data collected from a new wearable product, reports 9to5Mac.

The app, reportedly called Healthbook, will be a preinstalled app that can track data points including a user's blood pressure, hydration, heart rate and potentially other statistics like glucose levels. It could also remind users to take medications at certain times during the day.

The "Healthbook" application is said to take multiple user interface cues from Apple’s own Passbook app, which is software for storing loyalty cards, coupons, and other materials normally stored in physical wallets.

The new health and fitness application’s interface is a stack of cards that can be easily swiped between. Each card represents a different fitness or health data point. The prototype logo for "Healthbook" is similar to Passbook’s icon, but it is adorned with graphics representing vital signs.

9to5Mac also reports that Apple is designing iOS 8 with the iWatch in mind, saying that sources suggest the iWatch and iPhone will be "heavily reliant" on each other for health tracking. The iWatch will also include some mapping abilities as well.

The site suggests that the iWatch will include the ability to measure statistics that the Healthbook app can measure -- including glucose levels and heart rate -- though nothing concrete is known. It does say that sources suggest Apple has been able to combine several different health sensors into one chipset in order to make them all smaller.

Apple is also working on significant new features for its Maps app, including transit directions, though that feature still has significant amounts of work to be done and is not a "lock" to be included in iOS 8, claims the site.

The New York Times reported earlier today that several Apple executives met with the FDA last month to discuss mobile medical applications. One expert said the meeting could be "to get the lay of the land for regulatory pathways with medical devices and apps" or "that Apple has been trying to push something through the F.D.A. for a while and they’ve had hangups."

Apple has made a number of health-related hires in the past year, including employees with expertise in health sensors and other mobile health devices.

iOS 8 is expected to be previewed at WWDC in June, while the iWatch -- which 9to5Mac says is "well into development" -- and new models of the iPhone are expected in the second half of the year.

Earlier this month, Walter Isaacson, the man who wrote the best-selling biography of Steve Jobs, garnered some attention when he told a CNBC interviewer that the "greatest innovation today" was coming from Google, not Apple.

Yesterday, Isaacson did an interview with Bloomberg TV, where he clarified his original statement and noted that while he believes Google is the more innovative company, with a clearer integrated strategy, Apple is better than Google at bringing products to fruition.

I will say one thing about the comment I made about Google being the most innovative. Innovation is great, but it ain't everything. It's not the whole equation. Execution is what really matters. Apple is the best at execution.

During the interview, Isaacson also commented on the iPhone 5c and Apple's ability to make lower cost products, noting that he believes Apple’s unwavering focus on quality will not allow it to produce subpar products to compete in the low end device market.

I don't think Apple will ever be great at doing low end. It really makes insanely great products to use the phrase Steve used 30 years ago, when he launched the Mac. What I think is going to have to happen is that they're going to have to figure out a whole new set of disruptive products.

You've heard Tim Cook hint about that; whether it's television or a wearable watch, I don't think Apple's going to do well trying to be in the commodity low end race with Samsung and others.

Apple made one of its first attempts into the mid-range market with the 2013 debut of the iPhone 5c, which it sold for $100 less than its flagship iPhone 5s. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently revealed that the launch of the iPhone 5c resulted in some inventory problems for the company, as it had underestimated people's desire for the iPhone 5s.

The company expected a more balanced demand for both phones, which led to iPhone 5s inventory shortages. Due to the lack of demand for the iPhone 5c, it remains unclear if Apple will continue on with both a higher-end and a mid-tier phone for future releases. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal suggested that while Apple will release two phones in the future, it will abandon plastic casings.

As Isaacson suggested, Apple is rumored to be working on several products that have the potential to be "disruptive." The company is said to be close to the launch of a revamped Apple TV product that will incorporate games, which could severely impact the existing console market, and the much-rumored Apple smart watch is also on the horizon.

King, the developer behind mega-hit Candy Crush Saga, was recently awarded a UK trademark on the term "candy" for use in video games and is awaiting approval on a similar trademark in the United States. With Apple in some cases assisting King in targeting apps with "candy" in their names, developers unhappy with King's IP strategy have responded with a protest that is seeking to flood the iOS App Store with candy-themed games, according to reports from Pocket-lint and Slate.

Organized by the Candy Jam website, the group exhorts game developers to "fight trademark trolling" by making a candy-themed game between now and February 3. The game-making jam is meant to protest the trademark system and King's aggressive business tactics, and developers have already submitted more than 100 apps with different combinations of the words "candy," "saga," "scroll," "apple" and more.

King CEO and co-founder Riccardo Zacconi says the company is "not trying to control the world’s use of the word candy," clarifying that King will only use the trademark "to prevent others from creating games that unfairly capitalise on our success." Zacconi also defends his company against allegations that it released a game, Pac-Avoid, that cloned an existing game from developer Stolen Goose. Zacconi explains the company "should never have published Pac-Avoid" and has apologetically pulled it from its website.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is currently in Ireland visiting the company's facilities in Cork and preparing to meet with government officials this afternoon, according to a report from TheJournal.ie. The specific reason for Cook's visit is unknown, but Apple has maintained a significant presence in the country for several decades.

The CEO of Apple will be meeting with Taoiseach Enda Kenny later today after addressing staff in the company’s Cork office this morning.

Tim Cook spoke to employees in Apple’s Hollyhill premises about the firm’s future plans. The Taoiseach will take a tour of the facility later today and meet with Cook.

Apple, which has 4,000 employees at its Hollyhill facility, has used its Irish base for decades as its home for operations in Europe and elsewhere, with the company coming under scrutiny last year for its corporate structure funneling revenue through subsidiaries located in the country in order to minimize its tax burden.

Apple has steadily increased its workforce in Cork as the company has grown in recent years, and Cook and Kenny are likely meeting to at least help maintain the long-standing relationship between Apple and Irish officials, perhaps with an eye on the company's future plans.

Earlier this month, Cook traveled to China to help launch sales of the iPhone on China Mobile, the world's largest carrier.

Update: TheJournal.ie has updated its article, quoting Kenny as saying that he and Cook discussed Ireland's participation in EU-wide conversations about clarifying tax issues.

Kenny didn’t say if it was himself or Cook who brought the subject up, but said that the Apple CEO was “exceptionally happy” with the work the Cork office has done.

When asked whether this would mean further investment from the company, Kenny said that it was a matter for Apple to decide, but said that for now, the company is “very happy with the results from Cork and they want that to continue.”

A rumored 12.9-inch iPad may still have significant development time left, according to an analyst at IHS, a supply chain research firm. According to CNET, IHS analyst Rhoda Alexander said there were a number of different larger panels, that could be potentially for a larger iPad, floating around display manufacturers -- but not in volumes necessary for an imminent launch.

"Some manufacturers over the last six months have received sample quantities of a larger panel. They're playing around with a product that could possibly be an iPad-related product," she told CNET in a phone interview.

"Various sizes are being reported with 12.85 inches being one of the sizes," she said.

Alexander went on to say that IHS did not see significant shipments of any of the larger panels, and suggested that there may not be a market for iPads larger than the current 9.7-inch model. "We have to get a lot further down the line in terms of seeing really strong indicators from Apple that such a product exists, and we're just not at that point."

Samsung launched a 12.2-inch Galaxy tablet earlier this year with some reviewers saying the device was not very portable and awkward to hold for long periods of time.

According to a research report from Evercore analyst Patrick Wang, Apple's larger iPad may be aimed at the enterprise market. Recent rumors have indicated that the 12.9-inch iPad will launch no earlier than the third quarter of 2014.

Next week, Major League Baseball will begin rolling out thousands of iBeacons in ballparks around the country according to a source familiar with the plans who shared them with MacRumors.

The league is looking to have twenty parks outfitted with roughly 100 iBeacons each by Opening Day at the end of March. Boston, Milwaukee, San Diego, LA Dodgers, and San Francisco are among the teams that will have iBeacons installed.

The iBeacon deployment is one of the largest rollouts in the world, aside from Apple Retail's 254-store effort. MLB will be using iBeacons sourced from Qualcomm.

The iBeacons will work with primarily with MLB's At The Ballpark app, demonstrated at Citi Field last fall. The app should be updated by Opening Day with iBeacon support.

Functionality will vary by ballpark, with individual teams having significant input and control over what users will see. There are a number of potential use cases including point of interest information, concessions, loyalty and rewards programs, shopping, and more. Specific scenarios have yet to be determined for each ballpark and teams will share more information as it gets closer to Opening Day.

Separately, the NFL is rolling out a limited number of iBeacons at MetLife Stadium, the Super Bowl venue for this year, and in Times Square. The beacons will mostly be used to help users get to entry gates and to find Super Bowl-related tourist attractions in the area.

At The Ballpark already includes extensive ticketing functions introduced last year. Ticketing is fully integrated in the app and users can see all tickets they own, a significant perk for season ticket holders. Tickets can also be transferred from user to user, allowing ticket holders to send unused tickets to friends and family. With iBeacon, the app will be able to offer ticket holders precise directions to the appropriate gate and to their seats. Users can work end-to-end within the app: buying tickets, showing them at the gate, and then using the app to find their seats.

The main purpose of the iBeacons, according to our source, is to improve the fan experience -- not make money. The league is taking a "longer range view" and iBeacon isn't designed to drive revenue in a direct sense. "Time is more valuable than money", so MLB wants to make the fan experience "as efficient as possible". It is looking to eliminate time wasters like waiting in line at the will call window, and it doesn't want fans wandering the ballpark looking for their seats.

However, there is a significant revenue opportunity to be found. iBeacons allow fans to signal their intent, whether it's browsing for merchandise, looking for food or something else. It allows ball clubs to be more proactive at fulfilling fan needs and "it's better for you as a fan". At The Ballpark already includes a loyalty and rewards component, but with iBeacons, clubs could proactively send a push notification to fans thanking them for their tenth visit to the ballpark and directing them to a nearby concession stand for a free hot dog.

The precision of the iBeacon's location determining ability varies depending on both use case and subsequent placement of the iBeacon hardware. Determining installation locations for iBeacons within a major league ballpark is a major undertaking. If installed properly, the app will be able to determine things like whether users are physically in a store versus looking in the window, or if they need to move to a different row in a particular section.

MLB is also working to bring reliable Wi-Fi to all thirty ballparks, as well as working with all major carriers to improve cellular reception inside the facilities. Currently, many fans have difficulties using data or making calls, particularly during particularly exciting moments in the game. iBeacons can currently trigger any content -- videos, photos, text -- that are preloaded in the app, but for optional items like video clips triggered by plaques at Monument Park in Yankee Stadium, having reliable Wi-Fi would be a significant improvement to the fan experience.

The Bluetooth LE protocol used by the iBeacons is not subject to connectivity conditions, so users should be able to get directions to their seats or other content already stored within the app regardless of the status of their cellular connection.

Fans looking to get started with MLB iBeacons should download free At The Ballpark app to their iPhone and then sign up for a free MLB.com account to get started. Users need to install At The Ballpark and specifically opt-in to receive messages from iBeacons, preventing unwanted notifications. [Direct Link]

Over the course of the last year, Apple has made several hires from the medical and sensor field, presumably to bolster the team of experts working on its much-rumored smart watch project, and MacRumors today learned of another high-profile sensor expert that has joined the company.

Michael O'Reilly, M.D., formerly the Chief Medical Officer and EVP of Medical Affairs at Masimo Corporation, left his position in July of 2013 to take on a role at Apple, possibly on the iWatch team. News of O'Reilly's employment at Apple was first leaked to MobiHealthNews last week and when contacted for comment earlier today, Masimo told MacRumors it "could not dispute" what had been reported.

While O'Reilly was at Masimo, the company developed several cutting edge pulse oximetry devices, including the iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter that connects to the iPhone and gives readings via an accompanying app. The iSpO2, which takes its readings from a finger, is designed to measure both oxygen saturation in the blood and pulse rate, with technology that allows it to take readings during movement and with low blood flow.

While it is not clear what position O'Reilly holds with Apple or how his pulse oximetry expertise will be used by the company, he does join a number of other hires in the medical field that have reportedly been recruited for the iWatch team. In 2013, Apple hired several scientists and executives from notable sensor companies like AccuVein, C8 MediSensors, and Senseonics, and two weeks ago, another report pointed to two additional hires in the sensor field.

Reports have suggested that Apple's smart watch project, the iWatch, could focus heavily on health sensors and biometrics, possibly including features like a pedometer and a heart rate monitor. Apple's multitude of hires in the health field does suggest, however, that the company could include even more advanced sensor technology in the iWatch or in a future product.

With the addition of O'Reilly, Apple has now hired employees with expertise in pulse oximetry, vasculature visualization (vein finding), non-invasive glucose monitoring, blood chemistry monitoring via microneedle, heart/breath rate monitoring, and fitness. Notably, several hires have also had experience with low-profile, non-invasive biosensor devices.

On his LinkedIn page, O'Reilly is also listed as both an Adjunct Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan and a Professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care at the University of California, Irvine.

The first of hundreds of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) began rolling out this week, and it should be no surprise that Apple is looking to protect names related to its products and brands. Among this initial batch of gTLDs being released, Apple has already secured several domains in the ".guru" family, presumably due to its similarity to Apple's "Genius" naming for the company's in-store support staff and recommendation features in its digital stores.

Domains in the .guru family that have already been registered by Apple and pointed to the company's name servers include:

- apple.guru
- iphone.guru
- ipad.guru
- mac.guru

Several others including appletv.guru, macbook.guru, and ipod.guru are currently blocked from registration, presumably at Apple's request.

The new domains registered by Apple are not yet active, although at some point the company may choose to redirect them to either its general home and product family pages or support pages. Some browsers with unified search and URL bars, including Apple's own Safari, have also yet to be updated to recognize the new domains as URLs. Safari currently directs such entries to searches rather than attempting to access the addresses themselves unless the HTTP protocol is specifically included in the text entry.

Apple routinely moves to protect domain names associated with its business, and the rapidly increasing number of gTLDs is only complicating that effort. Among the most notable expansions, Apple in 2012 applied for control of a new ".apple" top-level domain through a program that appears to still be in progress with Apple having passed initial review last June.

PayPal wants to be a part of Apple's mobile payment system and is willing to work closely with the Cupertino company to bring the initiative to fruition, claims a report from Re/code.

Three payments industry executives tell Re/code that eBay-owned PayPal has been pitching Apple on helping the consumer electronics maker bring its long-rumored payments initiative to fruition. These people, who have spoken to contacts at both Apple and PayPal, say that PayPal is essentially willing to white label parts of its payment service to be used in an Apple mobile payments system — anything from fraud detection to back-end infrastructure, even possibly down to the processing of payments.

Re/code's sources claim Apple is capable of rolling out a mobile payment system without PayPal's help, but they could not rule out the possibility of some type of partnership between the two companies.

Apple is allegedly focusing on the iPhone for its mobile payment system, though details on how the phone will process payments is not known. A recent patent application hints at the use of NFC and Bluetooth, the latter of which is compatible with the company's iBeacon technology. Apple recently deployed iBeacons throughout its retail chain of stores, while retailers like American Eagle and Safeway are experimenting with the technology in limited trials.

Today's report echoes an earlier report from the Wall Street Journal that said Eddie Cue was meeting with industry executives to "to discuss Apple's interest in handling payments for physical goods and services on its devices." Tim Cook also confirmed during Apple's recent earnings conference call that the mobile payment area was "one of the thoughts behind Touch ID" in the iPhone 5s.

Last week, an image was posted on Twitter by noted leaker @evleaks appearing to show a "SwiftKey Note" app for iOS from the company behind the popular alternative Android keyboard that ranked as the top-selling paid app on Google Play last year.

SwiftKey Note is indeed real and it launches today as a note-taking app that optionally integrates with Evernote's popular suite of apps. The app offers several features to allow for faster and easier note-taking, including automatic word suggestions based on context and personalized auto-correction. SwiftKey's suggestion and autocorrect features learn over time based on context from previous text entries, and can tap directly into a user's Evernote archive to assist with predictions.

SwiftKey's Chief Marketing Officer Joe Braidwood told MacRumors that his firm was approached by Evernote early last year about the possibility of developing a SwiftKey app to integrate with Evernote, and the two companies have worked closely together and with Apple to bring that vision to reality.

The new SwiftKey Note app supports seamless backup and two-way syncing, both with other instances of SwiftKey Note and with Evernote, allowing for easy note entry and editing in the app while notes propagate to other instances of Evernote. While SwiftKey Note does support some text formatting through easy swipe access to a toolbar, it does not support syncing of more sophisticated Evernote features such as advanced text formatting and embedded images.

With Apple so far refusing to allow developers to create systemwide alternative keyboards for iOS, SwiftKey is limited to bringing its keyboard functionality to its own apps and releasing tools to allow other developers to offer it in their own apps on a case-by-case basis. As such, SwiftKey Note also serves as an example and marketing tool as the company looks to partner with select third-party developers going forward before opening up broader access through an open SDK.

Apple's prohibition of alternative systemwide keyboards has also contributed to SwiftKey's decision to not include support for the gesture-based typing found in its Android keyboard. For the time being, SwiftKey Note includes only the standard iOS keyboard to ensure familiarity for users, augmented with word suggestions appearing by default in a narrow bar above the keyboard, although the "tap to dismiss" interface familiar to iOS autocorrect users is also an option. Gesture input may, however, also be added in the future depending on user feedback.

One final key feature of SwiftKey Note is multilingual support, with the app able to offer contextual word suggestions in up to three languages simultaneously. Initial language support includes English (US and UK), German, Spanish (Spain and US), French (France and Canada), and Italian.

Unlike the SwiftKey Keyboard app for Android, SwiftKey Note for iOS arrives as a free app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, giving the company the opportunity to test the waters of iOS with a useful but still lightweight app accessible to all users. The app requires a minimum of iOS 6, although text formatting is currently only supported on iOS 7. [Direct Link]