Eric Slivka
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2008.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
Eric Slivka's Articles
iPhone 5 Costs Roughly $0.41 Per Year to Charge
Energy efficiency company Opower today released a study calculating the annual energy cost for charging the iPhone 5 at just $0.41. While any user's actual cost would vary based on use and electricity rates in their areas, Opower's estimate assumes a full charge once per day at a U.S. average of 11.8 cents per kWh.
But while an individual iPhone 5 uses a minuscule amount of energy, the...
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Apple Researching Flexible iPhone Displays with Under-Surface Speakers, Tactile Feedback, Laser Microphones
Unwired View takes a look at a newly-published Apple patent application addressing the company's interest in flexible displays and related inventions enabled by that technology.
In the patent application, Apple details various iPhone form factors with concave and convex displays, and while such concepts have seen relatively significant work by a host of companies, Apple takes things a step...
Apple's Split with Google Over iOS Maps Driven by Turn-by-Turn Navigation Dispute
Reports about the high-profile split between Apple and Google that saw Apple replace its Google-powered Maps app for iOS with its own solution have continued to trickle out, with AllThingsD now reporting that the lack of turn-by-turn directions on Google's Maps app for iOS was the key motivator for Apple.[M]ultiple sources familiar with Apple’s thinking say the company felt it had no choice but ...
Apple Reportedly Sourcing Thinner Components for 2013 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro
While Apple's MacBook Air is already extremely thin and the new Retina MacBook Pro has reduced the thickness of the company's flagship notebook by 25%, work naturally continues on new ways to shave even more thickness from future versions of Apple's notebooks.
Digitimes reports that Apple is working with suppliers on a new process that will enable the company to shave 0.15 mm from the...
Google's Work Toward Standalone iOS Maps App Complicated by Integration with Google Earth
Amid varied reports claiming that Google has been working on a replacement standalone Maps app for iOS to replace the bundled app included with every version of iOS until last week's release of iOS 6, The New York Times weighs in with its own sources claiming that Google is indeed working on a standalone app for iPhone and iPad and is hoping to have it available in "another couple months or so".
...
Apple Sourcing Carbon Fiber Components for Upcoming Product?
Mac Otakara reports that it has received information from a source indicating that representatives of Apple and Foxconn have been working to source unknown parts from a company with expertise in carbon fiber materials.According to my source, some engineer of Apple and Foxconn Technology came on Japanese company, which has carbon production in mid-March, and they requested to develop some sample.
...
Apple Reportedly Had Over a Year Left on Maps Contract with Google
Amid widespread complaints over Apple's new iOS 6 Maps app, which replaced the Google-powered application that had shipped on iOS devices since the iPhone debuted in 2007, some observers have wondered how much of the shift was due to Apple's desire to reduce its reliance upon on Google and how much might be due to other factors.
In particular, there has been some speculation that demands by...
Apple's Lightning Connector Uses Adaptive Technology to Dynamically Assign Pin Functions
With Apple's new Lightning connector on the iPhone 5 dropping to just eight contact pins from the 30 pins seen in the original dock connector and gaining the ability to be inserted in either orientation, many have wondered just how Apple has been able to maintain most of the functions of the original dock connector. Others have wondered why Apple simply didn't shift to micro-USB, an existing...
Teardown of Apple's A6 Chip Reveals Manual Layout of Custom Dual-Core CPU
iFixit and Chipworks have partnered on a teardown of the A6 system-on-a-chip, Apple's custom design that powers the iPhone 5. While several of the high-level details such as 1 GB of RAM and a dual-core CPU paired with triple-core graphics have already been shared, the teardown confirms all of these details with high-resolution images showing the various components of the chip.
Perhaps most...
Phil Schiller Says iPhone 5 Scratching 'Normal' for Any Aluminum Product
9to5Mac reports that one of its readers emailed Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller regarding scratching of the iPhone 5, an issue that we documented on launch day. The issue is most visible on the black models due to the anodized slate color scratching off to reveal the silver color underneath. According to Schiller, such scratching is "normal" with use.Q: I love my Black & Slate iPhone 5,...
Tight iPhone 5 Supplies Linked to In-Cell Display Technology
While Apple set a company record by selling over five million units of the iPhone 5 during the device's launch weekend, it clearly could have sold even more if supplies had been available. Pre-orders for the iPhone 5 sold through the company's launch day stocks in just about an hour, and shipping estimates for new orders have been sitting at 3-4 weeks since soon after pre-orders began.
Bloombe...
Apple Flooded with iCloud Password Reset Requests Amid Tightened Account Security Controls
In a high-profile case last month, a hacker was able to gain access to Wired reporter Mat Honan's iCloud, Gmail, Twitter, and Amazon accounts, taking control of much of Honan's digital life and remote wiping his iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air. Honan later detailed how the hack was accomplished through social engineering by entering the system through weaknesses in Amazon's account security and...
AuthenTec Said to Cut Off Non-Apple Fingerprint Sensor Customers in 2013
According to Korea's etnews.com [Google translation], fingerprint sensor firm AuthenTec has notified a number of its customers, including Samsung, HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Fujitsu, that it will cease offering its technology to those companies as of next year. Apple agreed to acquire AuthenTec in July, and AuthenTec's board is expected to approve the acquisition next month.
AuthenTec's current...
Apple to Launch Personal Pickup for iPhone 5 Tonight
9to5Mac reports that Apple is planning to launch Personal Pickup for new iPhone 5 orders starting tonight at 10:00 PM Eastern. The program allows users to place and pay for orders online in advance and then pick up their items at an Apple retail store.Customers can use the Apple Store App or website between 10PM-4AM nightly to pre-purchase available iPhone 5 inventory for the next day.
AppleInsi...
Riot Shuts Down Foxconn Plant, Impact on iPhone 5 Production Unclear
Reuters reports on a riot that broke out earlier today at Foxconn's facilities in Taiyuan, China, forcing the company to temporarily shutter the plant as it cleans up the damage and investigates the situation. The cause of the riot, which reportedly involved about 2,000 workers, remains unclear, with the company claiming that it began as a personal dispute between workers while other sources...
Analyst Says Perhaps Millions of iPhone 5 Pre-Orders Still in Transit, Not Included in Announced Sales
Earlier today, Apple officially announced sales of over five million iPhone 5 units during its launch weekend, easily topping the iPhone 4S debut from last year but falling short of many analysts' expectations.
ISI Group analyst Brian Marshall theorizes that the apparent shortfall compared to expectations may stem from Apple's rapid sellout of its own launch day pre-orders, which occurred in ju...
Apple Notifies Former MobileMe Customers of Impending iCloud Storage Downgrade
Apple today began sending out notices to former MobileMe customers reminding them that their free 25 GB iCloud accounts will be reduced to 5 GB as of September 30. iCloud offers 5 GB of storage for free, but MobileMe customers received an additional 20 GB for free during the first year of iCloud's existence. The offer was initially good through through June 30, 2012, but Apple later extended...
iPhone 5 Sales Top Five Million in Launch Weekend
Apple today announced opening weekend sales of the iPhone 5 topped five million units, exceeding the four million iPhone 4S units sold during that device's debut weekend last year. The number follows the company's earlier announcement that it had taken over two million pre-orders for the device in the first 24 hours of availability. Apple also announced today that over 100 million devices have...
Apple's A6 Chip Confirmed to Carry Triple-Core Graphics
As part of its report on Apple's custom ARM chip design for the A6 found in the iPhone 5, AnandTech speculated that the improved graphics performance in the iPhone 5 was achieved through the use of a triple-core PowerVR SGX 543MP3 graphics processing unit (GPU) rather than doubling the clock speed of the dual-core SGX 543MP2 found in the A5 or using the quad-core SGX 543MP4 found in the A5X for...
Verizon iPhone 5 Confirmed to Be Unlocked on GSM 3G Networks
iDownloadBlog has confirmed that the Verizon iPhone 5 being sold on contract does arrive unlocked for use on GSM networks, allowing users with a nano-SIM or a trimmed micro-SIM from a GSM carrier such as AT&T to use the device on their networks.I can confirm that the Verizon iPhone 5 is indeed GSM unlocked. Even though I bought an iPhone 5 from Verizon under contract, I was able to cut down my...
