Richard Padilla

Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) are still competing for the rights to produce Apple's next-generation A9 chip as a primary supplier is expected to be named by the end of this year, reports Digitimes. According to the report, Samsung has offered Apple lower pricing quotes in an attempt to secure the rights to produce the A9. The company is also willing to...

Apple is planning to hold an investor call today ahead of a potential bond sale, reports The Wall Street Journal. A banker working on the deal says that Apple may begin issuing bonds in Euros, as Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group are said to be arranging the call.Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs Inc. are arranging a call for the firm with investors Monday, and a deal, possibly at least...

Microsoft today launched a new ad targeting the MacBook Air and comparing the notebook to Lenovo's Yoga 3 Pro convertible laptop. The latest spot, which is titled "Let's Dance", features both laptops side-by-side and highlights the differences between the form and functionality of both. Microsoft first highlights the thickness of both devices, showing that the MacBook Air is 17mm thick...

In a video message sent out to retail employees, Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts revealed that the Apple Watch will be launching in the Spring of next year, reports 9To5Mac. The timeframe given is slightly more specific than Apple's own launch projection of "early next year", which was shared during its initial unveil of the Apple Watch back in September. ...

Warehouse club chain Sam's Club will be selling the 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB iPhone 6 at $99, $199, and $299 with a two-year contract beginning November 15th, according to a leaked flyer posted by GottaDeal.com (via BestBlackFriday.com). The flyer notes that each Sam's Club location will have between 40 and 50 units per club, as the promotion will run through December 31. Sam's Club is also...

Apple today unveiled its traditional black barriers around its forthcoming store in Lille, France, indicating that is construction is winding down as a grand opening is imminent, reports MacGeneration (Google Translate). The store will contain two levels and span 1400 square meters (roughly 15000 square feet). MacGeneration notes that the store will likely be opened by the end of November,...

In a letter written for Bloomberg Businessweek, Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly come out as gay while declaring his support for equality. Cook, who has typically kept a low profile on his personal life, says that his decision to publicly acknowledge his sexuality was done to "bring comfort to anyone who feels alone" and to "inspire people to insist on their equality." I’ll admit that this...

Flipboard today updated its iOS app to version 3.0, bringing a refreshed design along with a number of new features for gathering and consuming content. The app now allows users to choose from over 30,000 topics to follow, with each topic containing stories from publishers, websites, and magazines curated on Flipboard. The service is also launching an in-app section called The Daily Edition,...

Apple's AirDrop file-sharing feature debuted with the release of OS X Lion and allowed users to transfer files from one Mac to another without using email or an external storage device. The feature made its way to iOS devices with the release of iOS 7, and offered a simple way for users to share files like photos between iOS devices. Now, with the release OS X Yosemite, users can use AirDrop to...

Research firm Kantar WorldPanel has released a new report (via TechCrunch) highlighting global smartphone sales over the July-September period which saw the debut of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The report found that Apple's market share in major European markets is now higher when compared to the prior-year-period that saw the debut of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. However, Apple's share in...

Apple today filed its 2014 10-K annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, offering a look at how the company has grown over the past year. Among the interesting details included in the report: - The iTunes Store generated a total of $10.2 billion in net sales during 2014, up from $9.3 billion in 2013. Apple credits the growth to an increase in revenue from app sales,...

Pre-order estimates for Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in South Korea have topped 100,000 in South Korea and have outpaced pre-orders made for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 last month, reports The Wall Street Journal. Pre-orders for both devices began last Friday for the country's three biggest mobile carriers including SK Telecom, KT Corp and LG UPlus. KT Corp said that it received a...

Last week, multiple reports indicated that pharmacy chains CVS and Rite Aid were disabling near field communications (NFC) payment terminals at some of their locations in order to stop the use of Apple Pay. Now, The New York Times reports that both drug chains have officially disabled Apple Pay from working at their stores nationwide. A spokeswoman for Rite Aid said that the company "does...

Apple is heavily pushing its new "Continuity" features in OS X Yosemite that improve cross-platform integration between iOS and the Mac. The most significant of the Continuity features is Handoff, which allows OS X and iOS users to start a task on one device and swap to another one nearby to continue work. Handoff can be used for a number of different activities, including email, web...

Radio streaming service iHeartRadio has updated its official iOS app to include support for Apple's CarPlay iOS vehicle integration feature. Users can now search and play any live or favorited radio station through their CarPlay-compatible in-dash car system, and can also listen to archived on-demand episodes from multiple categories like News, Sports, and Comedy. This newest update also...

Apple will open 25 new Apple Stores in China over the next two years, according to CEO Tim Cook who spoke to Chinese news outlet Sina (via Reuters). The news comes as Cook was reported yesterday to be meeting with China's Vice Minister Ma Kai to discuss the security of user data. The CEO also tweeted a picture of himself in Zhengzhou, where he visited a Foxconn assembly factory. The Apple ...

With OS X Yosemite, Apple has included a number of Continuity features that improve the integration between iOS and Mac devices. OS X Yosemite includes a feature called Instant Hotspot which allows users to more easily use their iPhone's wireless cellular data connection from their Mac or iPad. With Instant Hotspot, there is no longer a need to enter a password to connect as security is...

Apple CEO Tim Cook met with a top Chinese government official in Beijing Wednesday to discuss the security of user data, reports Reuters. The meeting comes after web censorship blog Great Fire claimed earlier this week that hackers worked with Chinese authorities to harvest Apple ID information from Chinese users visiting iCloud.com. Yesterday, Apple issued a statement acknowledging the...

Apple today confirmed on its website that it will be opening its second retail store in Turkey this Saturday, October 25. The store will be located in Istanbul's Akasya Shopping Mall, and follows the opening of the Zorlu Center Apple Store earlier this year which saw an appearance by Apple's manager of retail stores Steve Cano. Photos of the new location shared by Apple Toolbox earlier this ...

Apple may consider shifting even more of its iPhone production balance towards the iPhone 6 Plus due to higher than expected demand for the larger phone in China, reports Digitimes. The iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus launched in China last Friday following a successful week of pre-orders, as the report notes that consumers have shown a strong preference for the larger device. As a result, Apple...