MacRumors

In addition to his disclosure that the updated iPhone and iPod touch are likely to support a panorama photo mode, developer Will Strafach has also posted several Tweets sharing hardware details on the updated iPod touch.

According to Strafach, the updated iPod touch will carry a taller 1136x640 display, the same dimensions said to be coming to the iPhone 5 and in line with leaked photos from May said to show the iPod touch's taller front panel. Strafach also says that the new iPod touch carries an internal code name of N78AP.

In a separate Tweet, Strafach says that the new iPod touch will use the S5L8942X application processor, which corresponds to the die-shrunk 32-nanometer A5 system-on-a-chip introduced in the revised iPad 2 and third-generation Apple TV earlier this year. The iPhone 5 is expected to carry a more powerful chip.

Apple has been rumored to be splitting its iPod touch line, perhaps keeping a current A4-based model with 960x640 display at the low end in order to achieve the lowest entry-level pricing possible while bringing the upgraded hardware to higher-end models.

9to5Mac has also posted a few additional details on Apple's iPod plans, noting that the new iPod nano carries a code name of N31 while the updated iPod shuffle appears to be a very minor revision with tweaked code name of N12B.

iOS developer Will Strafach posted a Tweet a few minutes ago stating that the iPhone 5 and the updated iPod touch reportedly due for introduction at tomorrow's media event will support a new panorama photo mode that will enable users to capture multiple photos that can be automatically stitched together into a single panoramic image.

[iPod touch] also has that Panoramic photo feature enabled as far as I know. I think the new iPhone does as well.

Strafach has since deleted his Tweet, but says that he deleted it because the information was already known, not because it was inaccurate. iMore's Rene Ritchie says that he heard similar information earlier this year but was unable to confirm it at the time.

The panorama mode is not entirely new, as it is already hidden in iOS 5 and can be activated on jailbroken devices. Performance was said to be relatively poor at the time of its discovery last year, so it seems that Apple has made significant improvements if it intends to release it as a public feature on its new hardware.

A number of third-party apps such as 360 Panorama and Microsoft's Photosynth already offer similar capabilities, but Apple including packaged within the default camera app on the new iPhone and iPod touch would be a significant boost for panoramic photography.

Over the past several weeks, a number of renderings and even physical mockups of Apple's rumored "iPad mini" have surfaced, offering a good idea of the device's size and appearance should the leaked specs being used by case makers prove accurate. While a number of the renderings and mockups have shown the iPad mini next to existing devices like the full-size iPad or iPhone, a new set of photos [Google translation] reposted by Nowhereelse.fr shows the best view yet of how the device will look in the user's hand.

The device shown in the photos is clearly a physical mockup along the lines of those seen previously, but the photos demonstrate how the device would fit easily into most users' hands, cradled in just one hand with the fingers and thumb able to wrap around and grip the edges of the tablet.

As shown in the photos and previous images, the iPad mini is expected to retain the iPad's 4:3 aspect ratio for the display, but relatively narrower bezels on the sides of the device will make it more comfortable for users to hold than if it contained bezels of uniform width around all four edges.

Apple is expected to hold a media event in October to introduce the iPad mini, holding off on the debut in order to give the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini their own time in the spotlight.

As promised, Google has introduced a native YouTube app for iPhone. We had previously reported that Apple will be removing the dedicated YouTube app from iOS 6 which is due to be released in the near future. At the time, Google promised that a native iOS app was in the works. YouTube had previously been one of the built-in iOS apps since the original iPhone launch.

The app just appeared in the App Store as a free download:

The YouTube blog outlines some of the new features:

- Tens of thousands more videos: Watch official music videos like Taylor’s latest hit.
- New YouTube channel guide: Swipe your finger from the left edge of the screen to reveal a guide with your subscribed channels on YouTube, giving you instant access to everything from Alli Sports to YOMYOMF.
- Find awesome videos faster: Get to videos like “Gangnam Style” faster with new search tools that give suggestions while you type, and let you sort through videos or channels. Flip through related videos, comments and more info, all while watching a video.
- More ways to share with the people you love: Share that incredible video you found on YouTube on Google+, Facebook or text message in the app, as well as from Twitter and email.

The app does not yet natively support the iPad, but the NY Times reports that a native iPad app is in the works.

In order to provide mobile users with the "tens of thousands" of new videos, the app now supports display of ads with videos. Previously, these videos were unavailable on iOS due to the previous lack of support for ads.

For the first time in a native iOS experience, YouTube will show pre-roll adds ahead of its mobile videos. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that with more monetization comes more content. Thanks to mobile ad capabilities baked into its own app, YouTube will unlock tens of thousands of music videos from VEVO and others that were not viewable on the old app.

YouTube is now available as a free download. [App Store]

MacRumors reader Michael Rou has managed to get his hands on both a pre-production iPhone 5 case and a pre-production iPad mini case and posted comparison photos on Flickr. The cases were created by case manufacturers in anticipation of the upcoming models. Designs are based on leaked specs coming out of Foxconn factories.

The photo does a great job showing the relative sizes of the various devices. The largest case in the back shows the size of the current 3rd Generation iPad. That iPad houses a 9.7" diagonal display. The next smaller size case is for the rumored "iPad mini". The smaller iPad is believed to have a 7.85" screen with a smaller surrounding bezel while retaining the same aspect ratio and resolution (1024x768) of the iPad 2. Rou notes that the iPad mini headphone jack is positioned at the top of the case.

Finally, there is the rumored iPhone 5 case. The iPhone 5 is believed to have 4" diagonal screen. The iPhone 5 is expected to be taller but not wider than the current iPhone 4S which is also pictured above.

Apple is expected to launch the new iPhone on September 12th at a media event. The iPad mini is rumored to come at a later date, possibly in October.

Just over a month ago, Ars Technica reported that many users had noticed a significant decrease in battery life on their notebooks after upgrading from OS X Lion to OS X Mountain Lion. In its own testing, Ars Technica saw a 38% decrease in battery life following the upgrade.

The Mac Observer followed up with more extensive testing showing a similar 33% drop in battery life on a test machine following the upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion, and also finding that OS X 10.8.1 improved battery life over the original Mountain Lion release. The improvements did not, however, bring battery life back up to the levels seen under OS X Lion.

With OS X 10.8.2 now well into testing, The Mac Observer has performed its most complete set of tests yet, not only testing the effect of moving from OS X 10.8.1 to Build 12C35 of OS X 10.8.2 on battery life, but also looking at upgrades from OS X Snow Leopard to OS X Lion.

Of most immediate impact, The Mac Observer's study shows that the testing build of OS X 10.8.2 completely restores battery life to OS X Lion levels, yielding approximately 380 minutes of power under the testing protocol, compared to 260-275 minutes under OS 10.8.0 and 280-300 minutes under OS X 10.8.1.

Just as we saw in our previous tests, the upgrade to 10.8 Mountain Lion decreased battery life significantly, by about 1 hour and 45 minutes, or 30 percent. The upgrade to 10.8.1 restored about 30 minutes of battery life for our MacBook Pro, an improvement for sure, but not nearly enough to regain lost ground.

The big change came with 10.8.2, which is still undergoing developer testing. Using the latest build, 12C35, we saw a tremendous increase in battery life, to the point where running time was a few minutes longer than even that of 10.6.8.

In addition, the study shows that users experienced a similar but smaller effect on battery life with the introduction of OS X Lion, an issue that was not fully resolved until the release of OS X 10.7.3 over six months after the public debut of OS X Lion.

Not all notebook users have experienced significant battery life reductions under OS X Mountain Lion, and thus it is unclear exactly what the root cause of the issue is. But for those who have been suffering from the problem, it seems that OS X 10.8.2 may deliver a resolution that will restore full battery life to their machines.

While T-Mobile USA is preparing to refresh its employee training on "selling against the iPhone" later this month as Apple rolls out the iPhone 5, the carrier is also seeking to embrace those who already own an unlocked iPhone. T-Mobile today announced a new "Bring Your Own iPhone" initiative including demo iPhone units in its stores, new apps, and enhanced staff training to help iPhone owners get up and running on the only one of the four major U.S. carriers to not officially offer the iPhone for sale.

We see a big opportunity to make the experience of bringing an unlocked iPhone to T-Mobile even better for customers.

That’s why, beginning September 12th, we’re stepping up our efforts to attract customers with unlocked iPhones to T-Mobile. Each of our branded retail stores will receive an iPhone 4s demo unit and our sales staff will start training to help customers set up their compatible iPhone. We’re also developing iOS versions of helpful T-Mobile applications like T-Mobile myAccount, T-Mobile Visual Voicemail and T-Mobile TV (we already offer an iOS version of our popular Bobsled application).

iPhone users on T-Mobile USA have long been limited to the carrier's slower 2G network due to incompatibilities between the iPhone and T-Mobile's 3G network, but the carrier has been working hard to refarm its spectrum to bring advanced 4G HSPA+ speeds to the iPhone and other devices. With that refarmed spectrum showing up in more and more markets, T-Mobile is touting the increased speed iPhone users will see on this network compared to AT&T.

In fact, we’re already starting to turn up 4G HSPA+ service in our 1900 MHz spectrum. With sites already live in cities like Seattle, Las Vegas, Washington DC and the New York metro area, don’t be surprised to hear reports of iPhone “speed sightings.” We expect to have these improvements deployed in a large number of markets later this year.

Our internal tests of unlocked iPhone 4S devices running over 4G (HSPA+) on our 1900 network recorded on average 70% faster download speeds than iPhone 4S devices on AT&T’s network.

T-Mobile is also touting significant savings for customers bringing their devices over from AT&T, noting that its $69.99/month Unlimited Talk, Text and Data plan is $50 cheaper than a plan from AT&T offering unlimited talk and text and 5 GB of data.

A week ago, a hacker group released a dump of 1 million unique identifiers (UDIDs) from Apple iOS devices. The group claimed they acquired the list from the FBI, but the law enforcement organization denied it a day later.

Now, a small App Store publishing company in Florida called Blue Toad says the IDs were stolen from its servers, reports NBC News.

A small Florida publishing company says the million-record database of Apple gadget identifiers released last week by the hacker group Anonymous was stolen from its servers two weeks ago. The admission, delivered by the company’s CEO exclusively to NBC News, contradicts Anonymous' claim that the hacker group stole the data from an FBI agent's laptop in March.

[...]

Paul DeHart, CEO of the Blue Toad publishing company, told NBC News that technicians at his firm downloaded the data released by Anonymous and compared it to the company's own database. The analysis found a 98 percent correlation between the two datasets.

The CEO noted that as they analyzed the leaked data, the company found a 98 percent correlation between the stolen data and their own, DeHart told NBC."As soon as we found out we were involved and victimized, we approached the appropriate law enforcement officials, and we began to take steps to come forward, clear the record and take responsibility for this."

NBC spoke to an Apple spokesperson about the revelation, as well: "As an app developer, BlueToad would have access to a user's device information such as UDID, device name and type. Developers do not have access to users' account information, passwords or credit card information, unless a user specifically elects to provide that information to the developer."

Apple has moved away from using the unique device identifier, or UDID, as a means for identifying a particular user for privacy reasons. Earlier this year, Apple began rejecting iOS apps that utilized the UDID, in favor of alternate identification schemes.

Bloomberg Businessweek publishes a profile of Noreen Krall, Apple's chief patent litigator handling the growing number of lawsuits and other disputes involving Apple, including the high-profile U.S. case that saw Apple win a $1 billion verdict against Samsung late last month. The article offers an interesting look at how Krall has managed to become one of the "masters of the chessboard" in understanding patent and court rules around the world and herding teams of lawyers both inside and outside of the company.

“There is no historical precedent for what Noreen Krall is doing,” said John Thorne, who ran Verizon Communications Inc.’s intellectual-property team before joining Kellogg Huber in Washington this year. “Good generalship produces results like Noreen has gotten. She’s mastering big decisions, like which law firms to hire, how to manage resources, how much of Tim Cook’s time to take.”

The report notes that the 2009 hiring of Bruce Sewell from Intel to become Apple's general counsel and the subsequent 2010 recruitment of Krall from Sun was part of a strategy to ramp up the company's patent protection efforts as the looming threat from Android grew. Krall, an electrical engineer by training who spent time at both IBM and Sun before joining Apple, appears to be highly-regarded by her peers and former coworkers, and while Apple refused to comment for the report it appears that Krall is certainly making a name for herself at her latest company.

Krall's profile comes as Apple may be facing even more lawsuits in the coming months, as The Korea Times reports that anonymous Samsung officials have acknowledged plans to sue Apple over the iPhone 5, focusing on LTE-related patents held by the Korean company.

"It's true that Samsung Electronics has decided to take immediate legal action against the Cupertino-based Apple. Countries in Europe and even the United States ― Apple's home-turf ― are our primary targets," said a senior Samsung who is directly involved with the matter, in a telephone interview with The Korea Times. [...]

"Apple claimed the existing 3G-related patents are standard essential patents (SEPs) according to our earlier commitment to the FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms. But the story is totally different when you talk about LTE patents. These are new and highly-valued," said another Samsung executive.

The report also mentions word from an anonymous executive at Korean carrier SK Telecom claiming that Apple has agreed to launch an LTE-enabled iPhone 5 on the carrier. Word of negotiations between Apple and SK Telecom surfaced last month, and late last week The Wall Street Journal confirmed that the iPhone 5 will have "global LTE support".

Update 9:20 PM: SK Telecom has contacted us to let us know that it has not confirmed anything to The Korea Times with respect to the iPhone. The Korea Times has also updated its report to cite "industry sources" rather than SK Telecom directly.

Late last month, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim reported that suppliers had begun production on 2560x1600 display panels destined for a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. The machine has been rumored to be launching in October.

Digitimes now reports that full production on the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is underway with shipments from Apple's supply chain beginning to ramp up ahead of a claimed September or October launch. The report also claims that production on updated iMac models is ramping up, although the company has been experiencing difficulties with its high-end models.

As for the iMac, Apple originally planned to release three new models with upgraded panels and CPUs, but due to poor yields of the panels, the mass production of the high-end model, has been postponed, without any launch schedule. The other two models – targeting the mid-range and entry-level segments – saw shipment volumes from the supply chain increase in September.

Digitimes' track record has been unreliable, but it does sometimes offer correct information and considering its claims in the context of other reports can frequently offer guidance on the reliability of any specific rumor. Many of its new claims do line up with a previous report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pointing to mid-September readiness for updated 21.5-inch iMacs while updated 27-inch iMacs remain on hold until late October due to issues with display production.

If Apple is indeed experiencing difficulties with a new display assembly on the larger 27-inch iMac models, it is unclear how the company will handle a launch. It appears unlikely that Apple would debut updated versions of the 21.5-inch models without new 27-inch models also appearing, so it seems that Apple will announce both models at the same time. Given that assumption, Apple could either introduce the new models at an earlier timeframe with availability of the 27-inch models delayed somewhat, or simply hold the 21.5-inch models until the 27-inch models are ready and the company can announce immediate availability of an entirely-updated iMac lineup.

Apple has finished decorating the front facade of the Yerba Buena center in preparation for their September 12th media event. Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 5 at that event. At initial glance, the front decoration seems to show no obvious clues as to their announcements.

However, one eagle eyed MacRumors forum visitor believes the facade show stretched iOS icons. Zaym points out that you can see stretched versions of iOS icons including Game Center, iTunes, Music and App Store in the image and provides an example image.

After taking the above image and skewing it and shrinking it, we've verified his findings. Several icons are clearly recognizable in their un-stretched form:

Game Center (upside down above), iTunes and Music icons:

Of course, speculation on the reason for the stretched icons points to the long-running rumors that Apple will be introducing a taller iPhone with a 4" diagonal screen. Our complete iPhone 5 roundup details everything we expect in the new iPhone.

Update: Another take on the icons from roosternugget:

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the next iPhone -- to be announced next week -- will support 4G LTE networks around the world, though it won't be available on every carrier.

Apple Inc.'s next iPhone will work on the fastest wireless networks around the world—including in the U.S., Europe and Asia—though it is unlikely to be available on every carrier, people familiar with the matter said.

[…]

It isn't likely to work with all carriers' LTE networks in all countries, the people said, though it wasn't clear which would be left out.

The first Apple device to support the higher-speed 4G LTE networks was the third-generation iPad, which supported AT&T and Verizon's networks -- but notably didn't work internationally. This resulted in complaints in numerous countries including Australia and across Europe.

Based on a roadmap of Qualcomm's mobile chips, it was predicted a year ago that the iPhone would not gain LTE until this quarter. The chipset that promises LTE speeds with much improved power consumption is the Qualcomm MDM9615. Conveniently, that chip is set to arrive in time for late 2012 delivery -- just in time for the new iPhone.

Battery life has been a sticking point for Apple, with the company's engineers refusing to compromise on run-time to support higher data speeds. The new iPhone battery runs at 3.8 volts and 5.45 watt hours versus 3.7 volts and 5.3 watt hours in the iPhone 4S.

While Apple's media event where it will reportedly introduce the iPhone 5 is still five days away, the company has already begun making preparations at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco where the event will be held. Last night, 9to5Mac shared a photos of some internal preparations in the lobby of the theater, and now MacStories posts photos taken by Steve Streza showing that the exterior graphics have begun going up on the theater. Apple typically posts large, colorful graphics signifying its events at the site.

Apple's media event begins at 10:00 AM Pacific Time / 1:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 12.

Update: BusinessInsider has photos at a later stage.

Update 2: MacStories has more photos:

9to5Mac shares some details on Apple's apparent plans for updated iPods reportedly set to be introduced alongside the iPhone 5 at next Wednesday's media event. Based on the information that appears to come from part numbers in inventory systems, Apple will reportedly be making at least minor changes to three of the current iPod lines.

- iPod shuffle: Apple is said be making minor changes at the most to the entry-level music player, with the biggest change perhaps being the availability of eight different colors compared to the five color options on the current model. The current $49 pricing is likely to remain in effect, but it is unclear if the current 2 GB capacity will carry over to the new models.

- iPod nano: Cases for a larger, redesigned iPod nano have begun surfacing, and 9to5Mac's report indicates that a new code name for the device is indeed suggesting more than a minor refresh. The new iPod nano is also said to come in eight different colors, up from the current seven color options. Interestingly, the report indicates that Apple may streamline the iPod nano lineup by offering only a single storage capacity, compared to the current 8 GB and 16 GB options. The report says that pricing is likely to be similar to the current high-end iPod nano price, but it incorrectly states that price as $169 when it is actually $149 after last year's price drop.

- iPod touch: Apple is also expected to update the iPod touch, with several rumors and part leaks pointing to the device gaining a similar 4-inch display to that apparently coming to the iPhone 5. But today's report indicates that Apple may take a hybrid approach to its lineup, releasing a tweaked version of the current design at the low-end while bringing the significant redesign to the higher-end models.

This new entry level configuration is said to be tweaked. We’re not sure what this tweak refers to, but we speculate that it has to do with a either (or a combination of) a smaller dock connector, new packaging/iOS 6 pre-installed, or a bump in the base storage capacity configuration.

We’ve also received information that points to new iPods at $299 and $399 price points. We believe these to be redesigned versions of the two top iPod touch models.

The report says that these new $299/$399 iPod models presumed to be the iPod touch will come in "multiple variations" beyond the capacity differences implied by the two different price points. The report speculates that these variations could be related to multiple color options, but it is unclear how many of these options there are for each model and Apple of course already offers the iPod touch in both black and white.

In mid-July, Japanese blog Mac Otakara claimed that Apple has been undertaking a significant redesign of the iPod nano, moving to an oblong form factor with a larger, rectangular screen and a home button. As shown in a rough rendering accompanying the post, the changes would make the iPod nano appear more like a smaller version of the iPod touch, although it would presumably not run a full version of iOS.

Reports of a revamped iPod nano have continued to surface since that time, with Mac Otakara also adding fresh claims that the new iPod nano will include Wi-Fi capabilities in order to support iTunes in the Cloud.

[Image removed upon request]

Case manufacturers are now getting into the act, and if their designs are based on legitimate leaked design information, it does appear that Apple is planning for an iPod nano redesign in line with recent rumors. The case designs come from an Italian accessory manufacturer and include both silicone and crystal cases. The new cases are not yet available on the vendor's site, but the company is advertising them to third-party retailers.

[Image removed upon request]

The new iPod nano form factor appears reminiscent of the iPod mini, although rumors indicate the front will carry a large screen and home button rather than the smaller screen and click wheel of the iPod mini. Openings along the left edge of the case suggest that the new iPod nano will have some external controls such as volume buttons in the same location as seen on Apple's iOS devices. A pair of small holes are also present at the bottom center of each of the cases, and it is unclear whether these are for a speaker or some other feature of the device.

[Image removed upon request]

The vendor is also offering silicone and crystal cases for the new iPod touch, and the designs are in line with previously-seen cases. Like previous cases and in line with rumors, these new iPod touch cases contain a round hole in the lower left corner of the back, and it is unclear exactly what this feature is intended to accommodate.

Update 12:18 PM: Images removed.

9to5Mac reports that it has received information indicating that Apple will be launching six models of the iPhone 5, code named "N42", at next week's media event. The information indicates that Apple will be releasing black and white versions at the same three prices carried by the iPhone 4S: $199/$299/$399.

Here is the part codes matrix for the new iPhone launch from a source at a well-known U.S. retail chain: N42A-USA -$199, N42B-USA-$199, N42A-USA-$299, N42B-USA-$299, N42A-USA-$399, N42B-USA-$399. A + B signify black and white.

We also understand that this new iPhone N42 will come in the same prices as the iPhone 4S. With this, we speculate that the configurations will remain at the iPhone 4S’s 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities.

A number of accessories are naturally expected to accompany the iPhone launch, and pre-orders for the new device will reportedly begin "soon after" the introduction, if not on the day of.