MacRumors

Apple may be choosing TPK as a touch panel supplier for its rumored iWatch, says a report in China Times (Via Digitimes). The Taiwan-based company will supposedly begin mass production of flexible AMOLED panels for the iWatch in the second half of 2014.

The report said the iWatch will come equipped with a flexible AMOLED display and 3D protective glass. The rumors also speculated that the iWatch will use silver nanowire touch screen technology developed by TPK in conjunction with Japan-based Nissha Printing.

The rumor suggests Apple will use silver nanowire touch screen technology in the iWatch display. Current flat touch panels use indium tin oxide (ITO), which is brittle and not suitable for a flexible display. Silver nanowires, however, are nanometers thin and can be applied to a 3D curved glass surface, like a watch band in a solution-based, roll-to- printing technique. The silver wire matrix is transparent to the eye and conductive, making silver nanowires perfect for a flexible touchsreen display.

Last year, TPK signed a deal with Japanese firm Nissha Printing to start producing silver nanowire touchscreen displays. Production will ramp up in Q2 2014, with a manufacturing output of two million 6-inch touch panels per month.

TPK is among the world's top touch panel manufacturers by volume and has been supplying Apple with panels for several years. The Taiwanese company was one of the primary suppliers of the touchscreen for the original iPad and provided up to 80% of the panels for the iPhone 4S models.

Apple is preparing an update to fix an issue that causes 11 and 13-inch 2013 MacBook Airs to crash when they are wakened from sleep, according to information from an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

According to multiple lengthy threads on the Apple Support Communities, 2013 MacBook Air users have been experiencing sleep/wake issues for several months. Crashes, freezes, and blank black screens are common after waking a MacBook Air from sleep, and fixing the problem requires a hard restart.

It appears that the problem is related to OS X Mavericks and requires a combination of the computer going to sleep and a press on the keyboard or touchpad to initiate. One user has been able to successfully re-create the problem by pressing the power button to put the MacBook Air to sleep and then immediately clicking on the touchpad, which causes the machine to freeze.

The service provider that notified MacRumors about the update has said that it appears to be a bug in the sensor that detects when the lid is being opened, which has led to multiple machine returns and replacements as it was previously unclear whether it was a hardware issue or a software issue.

An Apple Support representative has also confirmed that a fix is in the works and should be bundled with the next OS X Mavericks update, which likely points to 10.9.2. A user on Apple's support forums has noted that 10.9.2 beta 4 appears to fix part of the problem by altering the function of the power button, preventing the machine from going to sleep when the power button is mis-tapped.

Ahead of the update, customers who are experiencing sleep/wake crashes with their MacBook Airs appear to be able to repair the problem with a restart.

Apple's unwillingness to share large amounts of consumer data is hurting its iAd business, according to Madison Avenue media buyers that spoke with AdAge. The company is said to be "downright stingy" with the information it shares, too slow at developing ad products, and "too reticent to foster relationships."

According to one executive, Apple doesn't have official sales targets for its iAd business, nor does the company operate a large sales team as advertising is viewed as more of an "afterthought."

Perhaps the biggest issue hindering their ad growth is that advertising is an afterthought, a blip on the balance sheet. It's still viewed by some as immaterial and potentially detrimental to the cash cows -- an ad is an impediment if it distracts a consumer from the "buy" button or mucks up a beautiful mobile app.

First introduced in 2010, Apple's iAd has never enjoyed much success. The service was initially designed to help developers earn money on the iOS platform, but it failed to attract developer interest and thus never garnered a significant amount of revenue.

With the launch of iTunes Radio, Apple revamped its iAd program, refocusing on the new music service. Apple's iAd team is now in charge of securing deals with major advertisers to support iTunes Radio, which is a much better money-earning opportunity for the company.

Still, advertising firms that work with Apple find it highly frustrating the company won't share information on consumer preference with advertising partners, preventing more targeted ad campaigns. Apple has a huge amount of customer data, including addresses, geographic preferences and app and music purchases, but because Apple does not use cookie-based tracking and ad targeting, advertisers must rely on Apple to deliver ads to a desired audience.

The lack of data both companies deliver is frustrating for marketers because these notoriously opaque giants sit atop incredible troves of information about what consumers actually buy and like, as well as who they are and where they live. One person familiar with the situation exec said Apple's refusal to share data makes it the best-looking girl at the party, forced to wear a bag over her head.

Though companies would like for Apple to share additional information, the company has still managed to score major advertising partners that are willing to take whatever they can get. When iTunes Radio debuted, it included advertisements from Macy's, McDonald's, Nissan, and Procter & Gamble.

Apple earned $258 million in U.S. mobile-ad revenue in 2013, an amount dwarfed by the advertising revenue taken in by companies like Google and Facebook. In 2013, Google generated $3.98 billion in mobile ad revenue, while Facebook garnered $1.53 billion, but the company will likely see growth in ad revenue as iTunes Radio gains popularity despite its unwillingness to cooperate fully with advertisers.

Samsung's upcoming flagship device, the Galaxy S5, will indeed ship with a fingerprint sensor, reports Samsung-focused blog SamMobile. Contrary to earlier reports which hinted at a fingerprint sensor embedded into the display, however, this latest report claims the Galaxy S5 will adopt Apple's model by integrating the sensor into the home button.

The sensor itself works in a swipe manner, which means that you would need to swipe the entire pad of your finger, from base to tip, across the home key to register your fingerprint properly. Also, you would need to keep your finger flat against the home key and swipe at a moderate speed or else it won’t recognise your fingerprint. The fingerprint sensor is sensitive to moisture, as well.

Samsung supposedly has added support for the scanning technology to various parts of the operating system, enabling users to secure files, widgets and apps using the scanning technology. Similar to iOS 7, Samsung will allow users to store multiple fingerprint scans on a phone or tablet and use them to unlock the device.

The Galaxy S5 is rumored to include a 5.2-inch display with a higher resolution screen than the current Galaxy S4, which is equipped with a 5-inch, 1080 x 1920 pixel display. The S5 also will feature an improved camera, better battery life and a lower price point. It likely will be unveiled alongside a new Galaxy Gear smart watch at Samsung's Unpacked 2014 event, which will be held during Mobile World Congress 2014 later this month.

Apple has begun rejecting games attempting to take advantage of the popularity of the now-defunct Flappy Bird, a hit game that developer Dong Nguyen removed from the App Store earlier in February.

Shortly after Flappy Bird was pulled from the App Store, several clones of the original game soared up through the App Store charts, including a game called Flappy Bee, which stole artwork from a different app.

22.2: Apps that contain false, fraudulent or misleading representations will be rejected.

We found that your app, and/or its metadata, contains content that could be misleading to users, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.

We found your app name attempts to leverage a popular app.

Several additional Twitter comments revealed that other developers were facing the same rejections on games attempting to use the Flappy moniker, though multiple "Flappy" apps remain in the App Store, including Flappy Fish, Flappy Plane, Flappy Pig, and Flappy Puppy, having presumably made it though the review process before Apple began cracking down on Flappy apps.

Flappy Bee, the aforementioned app that used stolen artwork and managed to make its way to the top of the App Store charts, has, however, had its name changed to Jumpy Bee, suggesting that Apple may also be asking some existing clone apps to change their names to put an end to the Flappy frenzy. At the height of its popularity, Flappy Bird was reportedly earning $50,000 per day from advertising, so it is unsurprising that developers have rushed to fill the Flappy Bird void.

Though Apple has begun cracking down on the Flappy phenomenon, two popular Flappy Bird clones, Splashy Fish and City Bird - Flappy Flyer remain the number one and number two free iPhone apps some eight days after the original Flappy Bird game was pulled from the App Store.

Apple may rely on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) for the entirety of its A8 processor production in 2014, claims a report from TechNews Taiwan [Google Translate] (via G 4 Games). Samsung allegedly was dropped as a manufacturer because of low yields in its 20 nm manufacturing process for the A-series processor, while TSMC was able to meet Apple's demands.

The Wall Street Journal reported back in June 2013 that TSMC may provide some A-series chips for the Apple's iOS devices in a manufacturing agreement starting in 2014. TSMC was expected to handle up to 70 percent of the manufacturing load, while Samsung would pick up the rest. Production problems may, however, have resulted in Samsung being removed completely from the A8 supply chain.

According to the report, this shift away from Samsung for the A8 processor is not expected to affect production of the A9 processor in 2015. An earlier report suggested Samsung and TSMC may share the production of the A9, with Samsung supplying approximately 40% of Apple's 14-nm A9 chip family in 2015. This latest report claims Apple may start A9 production with TSMC and its 16 nm process and then shift to Samsung and its 14 nm process when the Korean company can meet demand.

Apple's A8 chip is expected to make its public appearance later this year in new iPhone and iPad models.

Apple Senior Vice President of Design Jonathan Ive has been removed from Apple's Leadership webpage in the past few hours with no explanation. However, his profile still remains at its original URL and can also be viewed on Apple's last updated Leadership page through Google's cache.

Ive currently oversees Apple's Industrial Design Group and is the leader of the company's Human Interface division, a position he took in October 2012 after then-Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott Forstall was forced out of the company. Ive spearheaded the effort behind iOS 7, which was released last September and featured a completely new design in addition to various other tweaks.

Last year, Apple Senior Vice President Bob Mansfield was removed from Apple's website entirely, although it was revealed soon after that Mansfield would be stepping down from Apple's executive team to work on special products and report directly to CEO Tim Cook.

Ive has been very instrumental in Apple's success since assuming his role after the return of Steve Jobs in 1997, designing some of Apple's most successful products including the iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

Update: Apple has reinserted Ive's profile back onto its Leadership webpage, with no apparent changes to his bio.

Update 2: An Apple spokesperson told Re/code that Ive's disappearance was a "technical glitch" and "no big deal."

Basis, the company behind the Basis Health fitness tracker, has put itself up for purchase and has discussed the possibility of a buyout with tech companies including Apple, Google, Samsung, and Microsoft, reports TechCrunch.

The price we’ve heard for any possible activity is “sub-hundred million” which could mean a small return for investors like Norwest Venture Partners, Mayfield Fund and Intel Capital, who have poured over $30 million into the company.

While it is unknown as to how much interest Apple has in purchasing the San Francisco-based company, an acquisition would make sense. Recent reports have suggested that the iWatch will include optical sensors to measure physical functions, and Basis' experience in developing advanced fitness tracking products would make them a natural fit as Apple looks to integrate more health-centric technology into its smart watch product.

Furthermore, Basis' most recent tracker includes the ability to monitor health-related metrics such such as heart rate, sleep activity, movement, perspiration levels, and skin temperature, which is similar to what past reports have indicated as tracking features for the iWatch. Apple is also said to be developing a "Healthbook" app for iOS 8 which could also be bolstered by the technologies currently found in Basis' products.

Over the past few months, Apple has also hired a number of health experts in fields related to heart rate monitoring and fitness tracking. Two executives from pulse-oximetry company Masimo joined Apple, which includes its former Chief Medical Officer. Other health-related hires have also been from C8 MediSensors, a company that develops non-invasive blood monitoring sensors.

Overall, details on the iWatch have been mostly limited, but more information is likely to be revealed as the product's release grows closer. It is unknown when Apple plans to launch the iWatch, but a fall release date alongside iOS 8 and a next-generation iPhone is likely.