MacRumors

The next generation of iPhones, expected to be released this fall, will include new phones with significantly larger screens, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. It's been widely expected that Apple will launch an iPhone with a larger screen, but this is the first solid indication that Apple could be launching phones in multiple screen sizes, including in the larger "phablet" market.

The report says that Apple will not continue the plastic-shelled body of the iPhone 5c, and will instead have two models with metal outer casings similar to the current iPhone 5s. It's possible that Apple will continue offering two "new" lines of phones with the new lineup, offering a flagship phone with the largest screen -- one more than 5-inches diagonally -- and offering a step-down model with a screen size larger than 4.5-inches diagonally.

5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note II vs. iPhone 5 (Source: phoneArena.com)

Facing competition from rivals offering smartphones with bigger screens, Apple Inc. plans larger displays on a pair of iPhones due for release this year, people familiar with the situation said.

The people said Apple plans an iPhone model with a screen larger than 4½ inches measured diagonally, and a second version with a display bigger than 5 inches. Until now, Apple's largest phone has been the 4-inch display on the iPhone 5.

Both new models are expected to feature metal casings similar to what is used on the current iPhone 5S, with Apple expected to scrap the plastic exterior used in the iPhone 5C, these people said.

The report notes that Apple will not be using a curved display in its units -- something that had been previously rumored -- and that the iPhone 5c has seen weaker-than-expected demand. Instead, it appears the iPhone 5s has seen significant demand that analysts had expected to see go to the more inexpensive iPhone 5c.

Several former Foxconn employees have been charged in Taiwan for allegedly accepting kickbacks from partner companies in Foxconn's supply chain, reports The Wall Street Journal. According to the report, a former general manager is being held on bribery charges and three former employees are released on bail. However, Apple and other Foxconn clients are not being investigated as authorities do not believe those companies were involved in the kickback scheme.

The bribery allegations were made public last year when an internal Foxconn audit revealed several employees were accepting kickbacks from supply chain companies. Foxconn then acknowledged the criminal activity and turned the employee(s) over to the Chinese police for investigation.

"We can also confirm that our internal investigation found these violations to be limited to the procurement of consumables and accessory equipment related to a small part of our business," Foxconn said in a statement. "The employees in question are no longer with our company."

The charges come as Foxconn has been under fire multiple times in recent years for labor violations. The company has also been working with Apple to improve conditions for employees in its city-like factories, but it has been a slow process. After agreeing in 2012 to examine worker pay and limit working hours, a recent Fair Labor Association report shows the company now is meeting the FLA's 60-hour work week, but still exceeds China's legal limit for weekly working hours and overtime.

An Apple patent application detailing methods of using and mounting sapphire to mobile devices was published today by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, reports AppleInsider. Entitled "Attachment Techniques", the application describes a system in which sapphire could act a display's cover glass, and also gives insight as to how the material could be used to dissipate heat generated by a device.

The patent application introduces itself by describing the difficulty in attaching sapphire to existing materials, and also notes the current implementation of sapphire as a cover for the rear camera on the iPhone. Apple suggests effective methods for using sapphire as a cover glass would involve creating an aperture within a sapphire substrate, and then using a second material with a lower melting point like metal or plastic to pour into the aperture. The joining of the substrate and the filling of the second material would then act as attachment point for other materials that can be welded, soldered, or secured.

The aperture formed in the substrate may have one or more securing features to help hold the second material within the aperture. For example, the aperture may have one or more tapered sidewalls. Alternatively, or additionally, the aperture may have a notch or step in one or more sidewalls. In still other embodiments, an interior surface of the aperture may be threaded or include a lip or protrusion that serves as a securing feature. It should be appreciated that other securing features may be implemented and, further, that multiple securing features may be used in conjunction.

Apple also describes how sapphire could be used as a heat spreader because of the similarity in the material's thermal conductivity levels to that of metals. Apple further states that sapphire could be attached mechanically and thermally to a processor to dissipate heat.

Presently, Apple uses small pieces of sapphire glass to protect the cameras on the iPhone and on the home button for the Touch ID-equipped iPhone 5s. However, the company has also shown a strong interest in perhaps expanding its use of the material in its products, announcing plans last November to build a sapphire glass manufacturing plant in Arizona. GT Advanced, Apple's manufacturing partner for the plant, also sent out postcards to local residents this week advertising for open positions at the new facility.

A report from June 2013 also stated that Apple experimented with sapphire crystal displays but found them infeasible, with Vertu COO Perry Oosting stating that Apple felt that the material was unsuitable for production in the numbers that Apple required. It was reported last March that future smartphone displays may use sapphire instead of glass, with all major mobile phone said to be considering the use of the material.

The patent application, which was originally filed on July 19, 2012 and published today, lists Dale N. Memering, Matthew D. Hill, Christopher D. Prest, David A. Pakula, Tang Yew Tan, Stephen B. Lynch, and Fletcher Rothkopf as its inventors. As with all of Apple's patents and patent applications, it is unclear when and if the exact technology described will make it into a final product.

Owners of the iPhone 5s, Apple's latest flagship smartphone, are using significantly more data than iPhone 5 owners consumed last year -- twenty percent more, according to a new research report from JDSU (via TechCrunch), in what the writer of the study called an "unprecedented increase" in uplink and downlink data demands.

The report examined data usage in both developed and developing markets, across more than a million mobile device users. iPhone 5s and fourth-generation iPad owners used the most data, with the Android-based HTC Sensation and the Sony Xperia SP coming up closely behind.

Users of the latest iPhone 5s consume more downlink data than any other smartphone users in both markets under study, consuming almost seven times and twenty times as much as the benchmark iPhone 3G users. This is consistent with the trend seen over the past three years where users of the flagship iPhone devices were the most data-hungry smartphone users. As in past years, we are not in a position to directly identify the root causes of this data consumption.

The study also found that iPhone 5c and iPad mini owners used less data than owners of Apple's more expensive devices -- though no easily-determined causal link can be drawn to those findings.

It noted that the top 1 percent of cellular users consume more than half of all downloaded data, with the top 10 percent of users consuming 90 percent of downloaded data. The company notes that this is broadly consistent with trends from the past two years. In addition, LTE data users, unsurprisingly, consume more data than users on slower data networks.

Since iOS 7 was released in September, users have complained of frequent home screen and app crashes, resulting in a soft reboot of the system. According to an Apple representative that spoke to Mashable, a fix for the issue is in the works, with a software update to be released soon.

"We have a fix in an upcoming software update for a bug that can occasionally cause a home screen crash," Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller told Mashable.

Random iOS 7 reboots have been occurring for users since September, according to a threads on both the MacRumors forums and Apple's own Support Communities. During these system reboots, the iPhone screen goes black or white (depending on the color of the phone) for a short period of time before reloading. Based on the complaints, all iPhones running iOS 7, regardless of model, appear to be exhibiting problems.

The fix may possibly come bundled as part of iOS 7.1, which is currently in its fourth beta iteration. Developers received the latest seed of the operating system on Monday, but it is unknown when Apple plans to release iOS 7.1 to the public.

According to a report from BGR, a public launch of iOS 7.1 isn't expected until March, which could mean Apple plans to release a smaller iterative iOS 7.0.5 update in the meantime.

Adding to a litany of analyst predictions pointing to a larger iPhone, Timothy Arcuri of Cowen and Company (via AppleInsider) today claimed that the iPhone 6 will ship with a 4.8-inch display, a significant increase over the 4-inch display of the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s.

Citing sources within Apple's supply chain, Arcuri also indicated that the next-generation iPhone will come with the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard that first began appearing in Apple products in 2013. 802.11ac, or "Gigabit" Wi-Fi offers speeds up to three times as fast as existing 802.11n wireless networks, reaching speeds over 1 Gigabit per second.

Because 802.11ac was included in Apple's updated Mac line throughout 2013, many expected the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c to ship with the standard. While the chips were presumably not quite ready at the time, 802.11ac support in the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One suggests that the technology is now ready for mobile devices.

Echoing several other predictions about Apple's future in mobile payments, Arcuri went on to suggest that Apple will offer "key software innovations" in 2014 with iBeacon, Touch ID, and Passbook used as a mobile payment solution.

Aside from hardware tweaks and design changes, Arcuri also said that Apple is planning "key software innovations" with the next major release of its iOS platform. He expects the company will leverage iBeacon, Touch ID and Passbook as part of a push into new services with mobile payments.

According to the analyst, Apple will launch its updated iPhone in September, which is in line with previous Apple iPhone releases. Although Arcuri does not mention dual iPhone sizes, some iPhone 6 rumors have indicated Apple could release the phone in multiple sizes ranging from 4.7 to 5.7 inches.

While nearly all of Apple's Mac lines have transitioned to Intel's latest Haswell chip platform, one notable exception is the Mac mini, which has not been updated since October 2012 and is ripe for an update.

As noted in our forums, major Belgian retailer Computerstore.be has now posted placeholder listings for new Haswell Mac minis in Core i5 and Core i7 variations.

Retailer placeholders are typically unreliable indicators of new product launches, although they have on occasion been accurate. One forum poster did, however, contact the store and was told that the information "comes from apple or reliable sources". The store representative also noted that a release date is not yet available but that they expect a launch by the end of February based on availability of the placeholder listings.

While the listings include images of the current Mac mini, they are likely placeholders for the time being and it is unknown whether there will be a change to the machine's appearance or if it will be an entirely internal upgrade. The listings do, however, come with product descriptions that differ from the current models (translated via Google).

The Apple Mac mini features a sturdy and above all very compact aluminum housing. Despite its small size, the Apple Mac mini comes with powerful hardware. The Mac mini is equipped with the latest Intel Core i7 processor from Haswell series. This processor is obviously faster than its predecessor, but also uses the powerful Intel Iris graphics. The latest Apple operating system, OS X Mavericks, works very user friendly and communicates seamlessly with other Apple products. So for example you can just get iMessages on your Mac mini. In addition, OS X Mavericks a very secure operating system, you have (almost) not suffer from nasty viruses. The Apple Mac mini with the latest WiFi standard 802.11ac. This will make use of a high speed Gigabit LAN. You are here obviously compatible 802.11ac equipment needed. If you ever want to expand the memory of the Mac Mini, this is easily done by turning the black plate on the bottom and then add additional memory. The Mac Mini has many connections. He is equipped with HDMI, USB 3.0, FireWire and high-speed Thunderbolt connection.

Beyond Haswell, the description includes several other expected updates such as Iris integrated graphics and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, although it does not specify whether the new Mac mini would adopt the new Thunderbolt 2 standard seen on the Mac Pro and Retina MacBook Pro.

Update: Computerstore.be has removed the listings.

Apple will announce its next quarterly earnings on Monday, January 27, and ahead of the announcement analysts are releasing their iPhone and iPad sales estimates for this holiday quarter. As we noted earlier this week, analysts predict record quarterly sales of 55 million iPhones, a 16% increase over the same quarter last year. A follow-up report today from Philip Elmer-Dewitt of Fortune suggests sales of the iPad will grow 10% year-over-year to also set a new record for Apple.

Elmer-Dewitt surveyed iPad sales estimates from 45 analysts, including 28 professionals and 17 amateurs. Estimates range from 21 million to 28 million units, with an average of 25 million units.

The average estimate among all the analysts is 25 million iPads, up 10% from the same quarter last year.

The indies, as usual, are a bit more bullish than the pros. As a group, they're looking for 16% growth, compared with the Street's 8%. Unless they've updated their numbers, four sell-side analysts -- Cowan's Timothy Arcuri, Credit Suisse's Kulbinder Garcha, Citi's Glen Yeung and CLSA's Avi Silver -- still expect Apple to report a drop in iPad sales.

Early metrics from the holiday season mirror these analyst expectations. By one count, the iPad lineup collectively accounted for 18% of Target's Black Friday sales, while the iPad mini was a top seller at Walmart. The App Store also experienced a spike in interest on Christmas day, with revenue increasing by 56 percent and the total number of downloads growing by 53 percent.

Apple will be reporting its quarterly earnings on January 27, 2014 after the close of trading, at approximately 4:30 PM Eastern / 1:30 PM Pacific. MacRumors will have full coverage of Apple's earnings release and the associated conference call taking place at 5:00 PM Eastern / 2:00 PM Pacific.

Last May, Apple filed a motion detailing five patents violated by the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Google's voice activated search assistant Google Now ahead of a second patent infringement lawsuit to take place on March 31, 2014. However, both Apple and Samsung agreed in September 2013 to drop one patent each from the trial, as Judge Lucy Koh ordered both companies to narrow the scope of their ongoing legal battle.

Now, FOSS Patents reports that Judge Koh yesterday invalidated a Samsung patent and ruled that Samsung infringed on an Apple patent, leaving the Korean company with only four patents to bring to the upcoming trial. In detail, Judge Koh nullified a Samsung multimedia synchronization patent and stated that Samsung's Android devices infringed on an Apple patent for a "method, system, and graphical user interface for providing word recommendations", also known as autocomplete.

As Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents suggests, the infringed autocomplete patent could also be problematic for Google and Android device manufacturers:

If Samsung infringes this autocomplete patent (which is what Judge Koh concluded), then other Android device makers also have a problem. Google, which may be (possibly in close cooperation with Samsung) involved with an anonymous reexamination request against the word recommendations patent, will clearly be unhappy about this finding by its own home court.

The ruling by Judge Koh is also likely to affect the mediation meeting between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon scheduled to take place on or before February 19. In addition to the second infringement lawsuit in March, both companies will also partake in a trial centered around Apple's new call for a U.S. ban on Samsung products set for January 30.

GT Advanced, Apple's manufacturing partner for its new sapphire glass plant in Mesa, Arizona, has sent a postcard to local residents advertising for open positions at its new facility. A MacRumors reader who lives in Mesa sent us the postcard he received. The new facility is reported to have some 700 employees between both Apple and GT.

The positions are separate from the job openings that Apple posted last week and they are likely for lower-level jobs than the more supervisory Apple roles. Jobs mentioned include Manufacturing Operators and Technicians, Process Engineering Manager, Metrology Manager and more.

Right now we're looking for people to join the team behind our new state-of-the-art sapphire material manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona. If you can bring excellent technical skills and a collaborative approach, we'll welcome you into a high-performing professional environment where talent and commitment are always well rewarded.

GT Advanced has a full listing of job openings at its Mesa facility on its website, though there is no indication when the factory will begin operation. It is unknown what Apple's plans for the sapphire glass will be, but it's possible the company could be examining the material for displays on the iPhone, iPad or perhaps its rumored smart watch product.

Apple uses small pieces of sapphire glass -- which provides superior durability and scratch resistance to other forms of glass -- to protect the cameras on the iPhone and on the home button for the new Touch ID-equipped iPhone 5s, however this would seem to be an expansion of Apple's sapphire glass efforts. A report from last year suggested that future smartphones may use sapphire, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, instead of more traditional forms of glass.