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
Apple's EarPods Receive the Teardown Treatment
The teardown experts at iFixit are undoubtedly itching to get their hands on the iPhone 5 later this week, and in the meantime they've decided to bide their time by taking apart Apple's new EarPods to see how the earphones compare to their predecessors. Overall, the teardown reveals a significantly revamped design with greater durability in the form of better-sealed components and increased cord ...
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First iPhone 5 Unboxing Photos Reveal Packaging Layout and EarPods Travel Case
BGR shares a few photos of what seems to be the first publicly-revealed unboxing of the iPhone 5. It is unclear how the source was able to obtain an iPhone 5, but the photos show the box itself and the rear of the device, as well as the trio of accessories that are included in the box: EarPods, power adapter, and Lightning to USB cable.
The EarPods appear to be packaged identically to the...
Overview of Apple's A6 Chip Development and Future Plans
Semiconductor analyst Linley Gwennap has posted an interesting overview (via CNET) of the series of events that led to Apple's A6 system-on-a-chip, the company's first entirely custom ARM chip design. The report notes that Apple has likely spent in excess of $500 million on the project when including the purchase prices of chip firms P.A. Semi and Intrinsity.At this point, Apple has spent about...
'iPad Mini' Physical Mockup Surfaces Again...in Black
Nowhereelse.fr shares some new photos of an "iPad mini" that appeared on Chinese site Bolopad.
Despite reports from other sites indicating that is likely to be an actual iPad mini, it is clearly a physical mockup and is simply the black version of a white mockup that appeared last week.
The mockup is consistent with leaked case designs and other mockups, pointing to a somewhat rounded...
AT&T to Face Net Neutrality Complaint Regarding FaceTime Over Cellular Limitation
Late last month, we noted that net neutrality organization Public Knowledge had accused AT&T of violating Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules in limiting use of the forthcoming FaceTime over Cellular feature in iOS 6 to customers on the carrier's new Mobile Share plans. AT&T responded to note that it was within its rights to block FaceTime over Cellular for customers on other plans...
Five New Apple Retail Stores Opening for iPhone 5 Launch Week
In support of the initial launch of the iPhone 5 this Friday, Apple has announced five new grand openings for its retail store chain. The first opening of this week will take place on Thursday, when the new Rio Shopping store in Valladolid, Spain opens its doors. The somewhat unusual Thursday opening stems from the fact that the brand-new Rio Shopping mall itself is opening on that date....
iPhone 5 Sales Predicted to Hit 8 Million Units in Launch Weekend
Following Apple's announcement earlier today that it took two million iPhone 5 pre-orders in the first 24 hours of availability, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has published a new research note predicting that Apple will achieve sales in the range of 6-10 million units for the opening weekend, with the mid-range number of 8 million units being used for modeling purposes. Munster bases his...
Retina MacBook Pro Users Still Complaining of Image Persistence
Back in late June, we reported that some early purchasers of Apple's Retina MacBook Pro were experiencing image persistence or "ghosting" issues in which remnants of previously-displayed windows remain visible on the screen for sometime afterward.
Apple was reportedly replacing the affected machines and DisplayMate's Ray Soneira had indicated that it was likely to be an early production issue, ...
Apple Announces Over Two Million iPhone 5 Pre-Orders in First Day of Sales
Following today's announcement by AT&T sharing word that the iPhone 5 has broken pre-order sales records at the carrier, Apple has issued a press release noting that it too saw record-breaking pre-orders of over two million units in the first 24 hours of availability. The performance breaks last year's record of one million iPhone 4S units pre-ordered on the first day of availability.“iPhone 5 ...
iPhone 5 Lightning Connector to Support Direct USB Peripheral Hosting?
Mac Otakara reports that Apple's new Lightning dock connector is capable of hosting USB peripheral devices, meaning that Apple could potentially allow users to connect devices such as keyboard and other accessories directly to their Lightning-equipped mobile products.
Apple's Lightning to USB cable
Even if the report is true, however, it would require that Apple build device support for...
Panel Installation Nearly Complete at Apple's Massive North Carolina Solar Farm
We've been following Apple's work at its Maiden, North Carolina data center for quite some time, and early last month we saw some good aerial photos showing ongoing work at the site including the installation of a major solar farm to help meet Apple's renewable energy goals for the center.
GigaOM now shares some new video stills shot from the air by WCNC-TV showing that installation at the...
Confusion Over Free Lightning to 30-Pin Adapter with iPhone 5 as Apple Errs in Online Store [Updated]
As noted by iPhoneinCanada.ca soon after pre-orders for the iPhone 5 went live earlier today, Apple's online store in several countries appeared to be noting that the company's Lightning to 30-pin Adapter would be included with customers' orders free of charge. The disclosure came in the form of an option to add an "additional" adapter as an accessory.Your iPhone includes a Lightning to 30-pin...
New iPhone 5 Pre-orders Through Verizon Slip to September 26 Delivery [Update: AT&T at 14-21 Days]
While Apple's shipping estimates on iPhone 5 pre-orders quickly slipped to two weeks just an hour after the online store reopened earlier, the company's U.S. carrier partners have seen their supplies holding up a bit better with continued estimates of delivery on launch day on September 21.
That appears to be changing now, as Verizon is the first of the three major U.S. carriers to see its...
Availability of Apple's Lightning Adapters and Cables Slipping [Updated]
With shipping estimates for new pre-orders of the iPhone 5 through Apple's online store slipping to two weeks just an hour after pre-orders began earlier today, customers are also snapping up Apple's supplies of Lightning adapters and cables.
Alongside the iPhone 5 announcement on Wednesday, Apple introduced a pair of adapters to allow users to continue using older cables and accessories based ...
Apple's iPhone 5 Pre-order Shipping Estimates Slip to Two Weeks
Just an hour after pre-orders for the iPhone 5 went live, Apple Store shipping estimates for new pre-orders have already slipped to two weeks in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, and Australia. Once transit times are accounted for, users pre-ordering now may not receive their iPhones until nearly two weeks after the official launch date of September 21....
Check Upgrade Eligibility and Service Plans for iPhone 5 Through Apple's Online Store
For those customers looking to confirm whether they are eligible for fully-subsidized or early upgrade pricing for the iPhone 5 or interested in comparing service plans across carriers, Apple is offering a pair of tools through its online store to assist with finding such information.
Featured on the iPhone 5 store page, the eligibility tool allows current iPhone owners to select their...
U.S. Carriers Unlikely to Support iPhone 5's Wideband Audio, European Support More Likely
One of the iPhone 5 features highlighted by Phil Schiller during yesterday's introduction was wideband audio, which offers "crisper word clarity and more natural sounding speech" according to Apple's press release. Schiller noted that the feature requires carrier support and that it would be supported by over 20 carriers on the iPhone 5 at launch, but did not specify which carriers those would...
iPhone 5 Pre-orders Set to Begin at 12:01 AM Pacific Time Tomorrow [Update: Confirmed]
While Apple has yet to officially announce tomorrow's starting time for iPhone 5 pre-orders, it is beginning to look like the launch will follow the same pattern as last year with pre-orders starting at 12:01 AM Pacific Time / 3:01 AM Eastern Time.
Apple sales representatives have been telling customers asking about availability that pre-orders will begin at that time, and both Verizon and Spri...
Sharp Catches Up on iPhone 5 Display Production
Back in late August, Reuters reported that Sharp had been experiencing low production yields on the iPhone 5 display, putting the company behind Apple's other two suppliers, Japan Display and LG Display.
MarketWatch now reports that Sharp has apparently ironed out its issues and has now begun shipping iPhone 5 displays into Apple's supply chain.Mass production of the screens for the iPhone 5,...
Cricket and C Spire to Offer iPhone 5 Beginning September 28 [Updated]
While the three major U.S. iPhone carriers AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint will be launching the iPhone 5 on Friday, September 21, it will not take long for availability to extend to other carriers. Cricket Communications and C Spire Wireless have both announced that they will begin offering the iPhone 5 one week later on Friday, September 28.
Both of the carriers were pioneers in the U.S. iPhone ...
