MacRumors

The rumors about the new "plastic" iPhone (may be called the iPhone 5C, according to a recent leak) have been ramping up over the past couple of days, and now an enterprising case manufacturer has released a set of "iPhone 5C" cases on Amazon.com (via Nowhereelse.fr).

The three cases, which are available in black, navy, and white, appear to be in line with low-cost iPhone dimensions that were leaked by another case maker in June.

The low-cost iPhone is expected to be similar in size to the current iPhone 5, though with a rounded polycarbonate shell that comes in an array of colors. MacRumors commissioned renderings in July showing what the phone could potentially look like based on current schematics.

It is not unusual for case manufacturers to use rumored case specs ahead of product releases to get a jump on manufacturing. Creating a case based on unconfirmed measurements is always a gamble, however, and there is no guarantee that elago's "5C" case will fit the finalized product that Apple produces.

Yesterday, a report emerged from the China Labor Watch claiming poor working conditions inside Pegatron, one of Apple's assembly partners, in which a "plastic iPhone" was confirmed. The quote was provided by a worker whose role was to apply protective film onto the rear shell of the device before the part enters the assembly process:

Today’s work is to paste protective film on the iPhone's plastic back cover to prevent it from being scratched on assembly lines. This iPhone model with a plastic cover will soon be released on the market by Apple. The task is pretty easy, and I was able to work independently after a five-minute instruction from a veteran employee. It took around a minute to paste protective film on one rear cover. The new cell phone has not yet been put into mass production, so quantity is not as important. This makes our job more slow paced than in departments that have begun mass production schedules.

According to recent reports, Apple's low-cost plastic iPhone is expected to be launched sometime in the fall, potentially as early as September.

Google-owned Motorola Mobility and Apple have agreed to drop a combined total of 14 patents from litigation that were part of a Florida lawsuit scheduled to go to trial in 2014. Apple dropped 6 patents in the pending case, while Motorola dropped 8, leaving 8 total patents to be tried in court, reports FOSS Patents.

Yesterday (Monday, July 29 2013) Apple and Motorola filed a stipulation to dismiss a total of 14 patents from the Miami case. Apple had previously dropped two patents (though it reserved some rights subject to what happens on appeal), so the case was down from 24 to 22 patents. Under yesterday's stipulation, Motorola drops eight patents and Apple withdraws six, restoring parity. Subject to the court's (very likely) approval of this stipulation, either party will be asserting four patents going forward.

The lawsuit history between the two companies started in October 2010 after Motorola filed a complaint with the ITC accusing Apple of patent infringement, with Motorola seeking to bar Apple from importing, promoting, and distributing its products.

The lawsuit ramped up after Google acquired Motorola, with the company further expanding its charges against Apple. As the scope of the lawsuit grew out of control, the U.S. District Judge in the case, Robert Scola, chastised Apple and Motorola for the dispute, calling it a "business strategy that appears to have no end."

The two companies were given four months to streamline the case, under the threat of a hold. At this point in time, the two companies will each assert four patents in the Florida dispute, which is set to begin in August of next year.

According to a Chinese media report [Google translation] pointed out by 9to5Mac, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited China recently, possibly to discuss mobile growth after Apple announced a decline in growth within the market during its recent quarterly conference call. The article also claims that Cook may have met with the Chinese carriers to discuss the impending launch of the heavily rumored low-cost iPhone in the region, potentially named the iPhone 5C.

It is speculated that with the previous high-level meetings with China Telecom Cook similar, the two sides level will mainly focus on the issues discussed at the strategic level, may also be involved in co-generation iPhone and sales.

Insiders pointed out that China and the Cook high-level talks with China Telecom, may mean that the new generation iPhone will likely be listed in China through China Telecom first sale.

It is understood that since Apple CEO Cook served as third visit to China since it is unclear the specific time of Cook's visit and travel arrangements, Cook is expected to be in the next few days, respectively, in China Unicom and China Mobile executives meeting. Early January 2013 and mid-March 2012, Apple CEO Cook to the identity of the first visit to China, one after another with the Ministry of Industry executives and China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom's top leaders met.

Since Cook served as Apple CEO, Apple's emphasis on the Chinese market gradually improved. At present, through China Unicom and China Telecom, Apple covers China's 350 million users.

The news of the visit comes after a Chinese labor group alleged poor working conditions at Pegatron, a main Apple supplier in China earlier this week. Earlier this year, Cook visited China to discuss "cooperation" with China Mobile, and also met with various government officials during his prior trip.

A pair of former Apple Retail employees have filed a class action lawsuit against Apple for lost wages. The lawsuit stems from an Apple retail policy that requires employees have their personal bags and purses inspected by managers before leaving the store for breaks, lunches and at the end of a shift.

The lawsuit alleges that employees are made to wait -- off the clock -- for as long as 5 to 15 minutes per shift while waiting for a manager to inspect their belongings for stolen property. The policy is in effect at all Apple Retail stores and could potentially affect thousands of employees going back more than 10 years.

Apple has engaged and continues to engage in illegal and improper wage practices that have deprived Apple Hourly Employees throughout the United States of millions of dollars in wages and overtime compensation. These practices include requiring Apple Hourly Employees to wait in line and undergo two off-the-clock security bags searches and clearance checks when they leave for their meal breaks and after they have clocked out at the end of their shifts.

These "personal package and bag searches" are done for the sole benefit of Apple; are a uniform practice and policy in all Apple retail stores nationwide; and are not imposed on Apple's customers. This illegal practice and policy has been known to the Defendant for years and Apple continues to require Apple Hourly Employees to endure these required but uncompensated security checks. For this reason, Plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of themselves and other Apple Hourly Employees to recover unpaid wages, overtime compensation, penalties, interest, injunctive relief, damages and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

The suit seeks an unspecified amount of damages and accuses Apple of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act as well as other state labor laws. The initial filing, for the US District Court for the Northern District of California, is embedded below.

Following its 2012 acquisition of mobile security firm AuthenTec, which specialized in fingerprint sensors, Apple has been rumored to be looking to incorporate its technology into its future products. Rumors have indicated that such a sensor could be a differentiating feature for Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S, although there has so far been little in the way of solid evidence that such a feature is in the works.

But as noted by Hamza Sood, Apple's developer release of iOS 7 beta 4 today has brought a significant clue that Apple is indeed planning to bring the technology to the iPhone later this year.

The evidence arrives in the form of a new code bundle in the Accessibility portion of iOS 7. The bundle, named BiometricKitUI, contains text strings related to a tutorial on how to use a fingerprint sensor on an iPhone. The relevant strings include:

- Photo of a person holding an iPhone with their left hand while touching the Home button with their thumb
- Photo of a person holding an iPhone with their right hand while touching the Home button with their thumb
- A fingerprint that changes colour during the setup process.
- Recognition is %@ complete

Several reports have indicated that incorporating a fingerprint sensor into the iPhone 5S has proven difficult for Apple, potentially limiting launch supplies of the device as production bottlenecks are worked out.

Apple today released the fourth beta of iOS 7, which begins a number of improvements, changes, and bug fixes to the operating system, including a designed lockscreen, Notification Center improvements, an updated look for Safari’s bookmark menu, and more.

iOS 7 beta 4 also brings a slew of minor interface tweaks and improvements that make the fourth version of the beta feel both faster and more polished. Our forum members have noted multiple enhancements that have been bundled into the release:

Lockscreen - Slide to Unlock has been updated with a shifting highlight color and an arrow that draw attention to the area on the lockscreen. The arrow that denoted the Notification Center is now a line shape.

Mail - Swiping to delete inbox messages from the Mail app is quicker thanks to a smoother delete animation that eliminates slight lag.

Notification Center - The different sections of the Notification Center can now be switched between by swiping left and right. There is also a new notification for completed uploads.

AirPlay - There are new AirPlay icons.

Siri - Siri’s help menu now includes suggestions for question and answer queries.

Apps - The camera includes a relocated HDR button and the Reminders app now offers Search functionality.

Icons - Safari and Mail appear to have slightly tweaked gradient designs.

Folders - The fade animation for folders located in the dock has been updated to function properly.

Phone - The Call button has been slightly altered to take up less of the phone’s screen and the Answer/Decline buttons have also been updated.

Messages - Messages app now uses the first name and last initial of a contact in a chat conversation rather than the full name.

Search - The iPhone’s search functionality (initiated with a downward swipe on the screen) now includes a "Cancel" option.

Safari - Buttons for Bookmarks, Shared Links, and Reading List have been redesigned with icons rather than labels.

Screenshot API - As noted by 9to5Mac, iOS 7 Beta 4 includes a new screenshot detection API that solves an issue preventing Snapchat from detecting screenshots.

Apple TV - iOS 7 includes a feature that allows an Apple TV to be automatically set up using an iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth. (Thanks, Ethan!)

Additional features in iOS 7 beta 4 will be added here as they are discovered. Apple is likely to continue pushing regular updates for iOS 7, bringing minor performance boosts and changes ahead of the operating system’s public release, which is expected to come in the fall.

In line with hints and rumors from earlier today, Apple has just pushed out a fourth beta version of iOS 7 to developers for testing purposes. The update is arriving as both an over-the-air update to existing beta testers and through the iOS Dev Center.

As expected, the new beta arrives as build 11A4435d. Apple has also released Xcode 5 Developer Preview 4 and a third beta of the Apple TV software under development.

The three-week interval between the third and fourth betas is longer than the two-week intervals seen for earlier for betas of iOS 7, although Apple typically stretches out seeding intervals somewhat as it proceeds through development.

Apple's Developer Center was also taken offline for eight days following a security breach, an issue that may also have contributed to Apple extending the interval between beta releases.

iOS 7 is scheduled for release in the fall of this year, with updates to Apple's iPhone and iPad lineups expected around the same time. If past history is any indication, iOS 7 should be made available to the public just a few days before the launch of the next-generation iPhone.

Direct links for paid members of Apple's iOS developer program:

- 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 5 (Model A1428)
- iPhone 5 (Model A1429)
- iPhone 4S
- iPhone 4 (GSM Rev A)
- iPhone 4 (GSM)
- iPhone 4 (CDMA)
- iPod touch (5th generation)

MacRumors Forum poster aibnr noticed earlier today that the iOS 7 Beta 4 download appeared to be posted on Apple's developer servers early this morning, ahead of an expected release today. If released today, Beta 4, with a rumored build number of 11a4435d, would come three weeks after Beta 3 was released at the beginning of July.

Clicking the purported download link, available here, returns a 'Your session has expired' error page. Other URLs with similar build numbers, on the other hand, return an 'Access Denied' error message.

Apple is expected to release Beta 4 later today.

BGR has some additional iOS 7 beta-related claims as well:

Additionally, one source has informed us that the company plans to release just two more betas for developers before the gold master (GM) version is released in early September.

9to5Mac somewhat corroborates this, claiming that Apple is nearing "zero-priority-1 bug status", meaning there are no critical bugs left in the OS and the company is getting close to releasing a "GM1" candidate internally. Apple typically releases several internal GM candidates before releasing a final GM seed to developers for testing.

Earlier today, labor rights group China Labor Watch issued a report making claims of poor working conditions at Apple's assembly partner Pegatron. As pointed out by Computerworld, the 60-page report (PDF) confirms that Apple is working on production of a plastic iPhone, a device that has been rumored for some time and seen in a number of recent part leaks.

Today’s work is to paste protective film on the iPhone’s plastic back cover to prevent it from being scratched on assembly lines. This iPhone model with a plastic cover will soon be released on the market by Apple. The task is pretty easy, and I was able to work independently after a five-minute instruction from a veteran employee. It took around a minute to paste protective film on one rear cover. The new cell phone has not yet been put into mass production, so quantity is not as important. This makes our job more slow paced than in departments that have begun mass production schedules.

Pegatron had previously been reported as Apple's manufacturing partner for the lower-cost plastic iPhone, which is rumored to be launching later this year alongside the iPhone 5S. The firm has long been an assembly partner for Apple, although it has been overshadowed by the much larger Foxconn. Pegatron has, however, been growing rapidly as Apple has been seeking to balance and expand its supply chain to provide more stability and flexibility.

Following last week's opinion piece from Verizon attorney Randall Milch outlining why the carrier objects to the impending U.S. ban on imports of older iPhone and 3G-capable iPad models, The Wall Street Journal notes that a number of other companies and regulators are lining up in support of Apple in the case.

Rather than taking a position on the details of the case, which revolve around a Samsung patent categorized as essential for 3G wireless functionality and thus subject to licensing under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory) terms, the companies are primarily objecting to the precedent of allowing products to be banned based on rulings of infringement of such patents.

AT&T said the ITC [International Trade Commission] ruling would eliminate a popular low-cost iPhone for AT&T customers and was "inconsistent with the president's goal of ubiquitous broadband deployment."” [...]

BSA, a trade group representing software makers including Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. and chip maker Intel Corp., said the use of essential industry patents to ban products shouldn't be allowed except under unusual circumstances.

Intel is scheduled to testify at the Senate hearing and previously filed its concerns with the ITC.

The report indicates that antitrust officials from the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have also been weighing in on the matter with their fears that companies may be unfairly wielding their standards-essential patents to hamper competition in the marketplace. For their parts, Apple and Samsung have disagreed over whether fair licensing offers have been made in the on-and-off negotiations over the relevant intellectual property.

The import ban is set to take effect on August 4, barring a veto by the executive branch of the government, which would come through U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. An executive branch veto of an ITC order would be a significant move, as such a veto has not been issued since 1987.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, a Chinese worker’s rights group has brought forth allegations of poor working conditions at Pegatron, a primary supplier to Apple and longtime electronics manufacturing company. Specifically, the worker group accuses that the company has made numerous safety and workplace violations, including the unethical holding of worker pay and identification cards, as well as poor living conditions within the factory including tight living quarters and packed cafeterias.

Apple has replied to the allegations, stating the following:

Apple is committed to providing safe and fair working conditions throughout our supply chain. We lead the industry with far-reaching and specialized audits, the most transparent reporting and educational programs that enrich the lives of workers who make our products. Apple is the first and only technology company to be admitted to the Fair Labor Association, and we are dedicated to protecting every worker in our supply chain.

As a part of our extensive Supplier Responsibility program, Apple has conducted 15 comprehensive audits at Pegatron facilities since 2007, covering more than 130,000 workers making Apple products including annual audits of Pegatron’s final assembly locations and surprise audits at both RiTeng and AVY within the past 18 months.

Additionally, we have closely tracked working hours at all of these facilities. Our most recent survey in June found that Pegatron employees making Apple products worked 46 hours per week on average. Excessive overtime is not in anyone’s best interest, and we work closely with our suppliers to prevent it. Apple surveys working hours for more than 1 million employees across our supply chain each month and we report the findings on our website.

Apple also confirmed that various labor brokers affiliated with Pegatron were withholding ID cards, and further committed to investigating claims against the company. Analysts estimate that Pegatron’s Pudong district factory now produces one-third of the world’s iPhone and iPads, with the company as a whole expanding its overall workforce from 50,000 workers in March to 70,000 presently.

The news comes after Apple announced last week that it was forming an academic advisory board for its Supplier Responsibility program, saying that it wanted to ensure “safe and ethical working conditions wherever its products are made.” Apple has also published Supplier Responsibility Progress Reports every year since 2007, tracking the ethical progress of its suppliers in order to bring transparency to its product manufacturing process.

Apple Senior Vice President Bob Mansfield has been removed from Apple's Leadership website in the past 24 hours with no explanation.

Update: According to AllThingsD:

“Bob is no longer going to be on Apple’s executive team, but will remain at Apple working on special projects reporting to Tim,” company spokesman Steve Dowling told AllThingsD.

He declined any further explanation, refusing to comment on the reasons behind Mansfield’s abrupt demotion or whether Apple plans to appoint a new SVP of technologies.

Mansfield is currently Senior Vice President of Technologies reporting directly to Tim Cook, a position he took last October, overseeing a group focused on innovation in wireless technology and semiconductors.

His page has been completely removed from Apple's website, though it is still visible on Google's cache.

Last year, Apple announced that Mansfield would be retiring, but several months later announced he would instead be staying at the company. Later, it leaked that Tim Cook had faced an "insurrection" after Mansfield announced his retirement, and Cook gave him an extremely generous benefits package.

At the time, it was reported that Mansfield had committed to stay at Apple through at least 2014, influenced in no small part by the departure of former iOS chief Scott Forstall.

Mansfield has been instrumental in Apple's success in recent years, overseeing the development of the very successful MacBook Air notebooks, as well as recent iPhone and iPad designs.