Година 2013

Following up on his report from earlier today about Apple's plans for the full-size iPad and iPhone, iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz has a new article sharing additional information on Apple's mobile device plans. The information comes from a "trusted source" and discloses product code names for the various devices as well as plans for an upgrade to the rear camera system for the iPhone 5S.

The iPhone 5S is still months away from mass production, but our source suspects that the star feature will be an upgraded rear camera—perhaps featuring Sony’s 13-Megapixel sensor, plus the aforementioned flash upgrade—along with a processor bump. Current prototypes are codenamed N51 and N53, with July mentioned as the target date.

The source indicates that the code name for the fifth-generation iPad is J72, while the second-generation iPad mini has a code name of J85.


The report indicates that the second-generation iPad mini is unlikely to appear until October of this year, roughly the same timeframe as for the next full-size iPad. Sources have scant information on the actual device, but suggest that it is likely to retain essentially the same form factor as the current model and add a Retina display. A move to a Retina display without increasing the physical size of the device would almost certainly necessitate a change in the display technology such as the adoption of new IGZO panels.

Some previous reports had indicated that the iPad and iPad mini could see updates as soon as March as part of an effort to accelerate the product development cycle, but iLounge's claims of an October launch are more in line with a recent report from frequently accurate KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Half-Life, the first person shooter originally released in 1998, skyrocketed developer Valve to fame and influenced an entire generation of first person shooters. Despite its popularity, the game has never been available through Steam for Mac, until today.


As discovered by Cult of Mac, Valve released Half-Life for Mac on Steam this morning, though the company has yet to make an official announcement about the product.

Other Valve games like Half-Life 2 and its episodes have been previously available on the Mac version of Steam, but users can now add the original Half-Life to their collections for $9.99. It has also been bundled into several different value packs.

Half-Life was originally developed for the Mac back when the Windows version was released, but due to disagreements with Apple, the Mac version was scrapped at the time.

The Half-Life page in Steam still indicates that the game is Windows only, but Cult of Mac bought and installed the game on a Mac to confirm that it functions. The game can be purchased via Steam for Mac for $9.99.

Back in August 2011, Apple first passed Exxon Mobil as the most valuable publicly traded company in the world. Both companies have risen in value since, but Apple's recent slide has allowed Exxon Mobil to again regain its position at the top of the corporate world.


In the 17 months since Apple passed Exxon Mobil, XOM's stock is up some 27%, while AAPL has risen roughly 18%. Today, however, Apple has set a new 52-week low, while Exxon is matching its 52-week high set last September.

Currently, Apple's stock price is at $441.11 with a market capitalization of $414.28 billion. Exxon Mobil is at $91.43 with a market cap of $416.86 billion.

In Apple's most recent quarter, the company generated $13.08 billion in profit on $54.51 billion in sales, with 72,800 employees. Exxon Mobil generated $9.93 billion in profit on $115.71 billion in revenue with 82,100 employees.

iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz has filed a new report offering a few new details on the fifth-generation iPad, as well as on Apple's work toward future iPhone models.

Most notably, Horwitz says that he has inspected what is said to be a shell designed for the fifth-generation iPad, and that the device will adopt many of the features seen in the iPad mini's design.

What does it look like? Well, it’s a lot smaller than one would guess was possible: in portrait orientation, picture a 9.7” screen with virtually no left or right bezels, and only enough space above and below the screen to accommodate the mandatory camera and Home Button elements. Beyond that, it’s noticeably thinner, as well, which is to say the the fifth-generation iPad will be smaller in every dimension than its predecessors. As it will have the same chamfered edges and curves, calling it a “stretched iPad mini” is very close to entirely accurate.

The report notes that the upcoming iPad is so much smaller and thinner than the current design that it seems to require a complete redesign of the interior, likely including a shift in display technology to IGZO panels and smaller chip components.

Horwitz says that while Apple had originally hoped to push the fifth-generation iPad out in March, it now appears that an October launch is more likely, perhaps due to issues with component yields.


On the topic of the iPhone, Horwitz says that the iPhone 5S will unsurprisingly appear nearly identical to the iPhone 5, although it will have a slightly larger rear flash. The rumored lower-cost iPhone with a plastic shell is indeed said to be in Apple's plans for 2013, with a focus on China Mobile as Apple seeks to lower the cost of entry for the world's largest carrier.

Finally, Horwitz says that the rumored "iPhone Math" is indeed in development, but that it will not be appearing this year, if ever.

Addressing the so-called “iPhone Math”—hinted by one source as a mistranslation of “iPhone +”—we’ve been told that this is another new model and in early prototyping stages, certainly not expected in 2013. It supposedly has a 4.7” screen, at least for the time being. It might never make it to market, and plenty could change before it does. Consider it Apple’s “just in case / Plan B” hedge against ever-growing Android phone screen sizes.

Horwitz has shared fairly accurate information on Apple's product plans several times in the past, suggesting that he does indeed have reliable sources with access to Apple's supply chain.

Apple is to move its Tokyo HQ from the Shinjuku district to a $2.2 billion development in the more central area of Roppongi Hills, reports Bloomberg.


Apple is said to be planning to take one or two floors of the 54-story building, which is home to Goldman Sachs and Barclays. Roppongi Hills is one of Japan's largest integrated property developments, the complex including a Grand Hyatt hotel, art museum, movie theatre, private club and apartments.

“Rents of large office buildings in central Tokyo peaked in the second quarter of 2008 and have fallen 40 percent from the peak,” Kayoko Hirao, the head of Japan research at DTZ Research in Tokyo, said in a phone interview today. “It is a good time to consider an office relocation to the central business area and it should be a good chance for Apple. The office rental market will recover this year.”

Apple is terminating the lease of its current Tokyo Opera City Tower offices as of June, and is said to be moving into its new HQ as early as April.

Google yesterday overhauled its news aggregation app Currents for iOS, revamping the design and adding features to make navigation more sleek and simple.

What's New in Version 2.0
- Edition sidebar - quickly access your editions within categories such as business, sports, etc.
- Fast scan - Vertical swipe to scan an edition, horizontal swipe advances to next edition
- Breaking stories - ranked by Google News. Links to full length content.
- Saved stories - star for future reference
- New catalog design

The new design for the Flipboard-like app is just one of many redesigns that Google has done with its iOS apps, including Google Maps, Gmail 2.0 and YouTube. The update and app are free and available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

The 10% drop in Apple's share value following the company's earnings release earlier this week was not entirely the fault of Apple, Fortune suggests, but rather that of overheated analyst predictions.


Fortune assessed the accuracy of the predictions made by 68 analysts, and found that revenue figures ranged from $51.7 billion to $65.69 billion against Apple's actual performance of $54.51 billion. It produced a ranking of the analysts by the percentage errors in their predictions for both revenue and earnings per share, as well as overall performance metrics.

The analysts responsible for the sometimes wildly optimistic forecasts were not, said Fortune, doing Apple any favors.

The company didn't have a bad quarter. In fact, it posted its best quarter ever … But the stock market is an expectations game and Apple is expected to blow past analysts' estimates, not miss them.

The Fortune piece wryly observed that 'another way of looking at it is that Apple's analysts did worse than the company this quarter.'

Going forward, Apple has altered the way in which it provides guidance for upcoming quarterly performances. While the company had previously issued single "conservative" guidance estimates for both revenue and earnings that led to the expectation that Apple would always handily beat that number, it is now providing a range of guidance numbers for revenue and other factors.

Apple believes that the range will provide a more realistic idea of where the company expects performance to fall, although it is no longer providing any specific earnings per share guidance and instead allowing analysts to develop their own numbers based on the ranges of revenue, margin, expenses, and tax rate the company expects.

The interaction between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak shown in the first scene to be released from the biopic JOBS, due to appear in theaters April 19, is 'totally wrong' according to an email Wozniak sent to Gizmodo.

Totally wrong. Personalities and where the ideas of computers affecting society did not come from Jobs. They inspired me and were widely spoken at the Homebrew Computer Club. Steve came back from Oregon and came to a club meeting and didn’t start talking about this great social impact. His idea was to make a $20 PC board and sell it for $40 to help people at the club build the computer I’d given away … Our relationship was so different than what was portrayed. I’m embarrassed but if the movie is fun and entertaining, all the better. Anyone who reads my book iWoz can get a clearer picture.

Wozniak says that 'the lofty talk came much further down the line' after Jobs started to see more about the likely social impact of personal computers.

Forbes reports that analysts at Detwiler Fenton believe Apple is working on a low-cost iPhone that uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor rather than the Apple-created processors that the company is currently using for the iPhone.

“It is likely that the work with QCOM is being driven by AAPL’s concern regarding maintaining gross margins as well as the need to differentiate the product by performance,” the research firm (which shuns putting the spotlight on particular analysts) said in a research note. “AAPL would not want a value priced iPhone to offer the same kind of graphics and video support, processing power etc. that its premium priced device would, therefore a less powerful lower-end Snapdragon integrated solution would help segment the product.”

Detwiler adds that using a Snapdragon processor would allow Apple to integrate Bluetooth and Wi-Fi into the processor, which would allow for a lower-cost single chip rather than three separate chips. Apple has been rumored for years to be looking at creating a low-cost iPhone for emerging markets, but the rumors have accelerated in recent weeks amid suggestions that such a device could launch later this year.

Apple has invested significant amounts of money and people into its own chip design efforts, and the company has typically been willing to user older-generation chips in its lower-priced products as a way to cut costs. Consequently, Apple would seem to be more likely to pursue that route for a low-cost device rather than tapping an all-new partnership for the main chip with Qualcomm.

Apple yesterday released its 2013 Supplier Responsibility Report (PDF), disclosing the results of its audit program for 2012 and revealing that it had fired one of its suppliers after finding evidence of 74 underage workers at one facility.

In January 2012, for example, we audited a supplier, Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics Co., Ltd. (PZ) that produces a standard circuit board component used by many other companies
in many industries. Our auditors were dismayed to discover 74 cases of workers under age 16—a core violation of our Code of Conduct. As a result, we terminated our business relationship with PZ.

Apple's investigation determined that many of PZ's underage workers had been provided by a local labor agency that had conspired with families to forge age verification documents. As a result, Apple reported the agency to authorities, who fined suspended the business license of the agency while requiring PZ to pay the expenses to return the children to their families.

Apple's report touts a number of other achievements for 2012, including a 72% increase in the number of audits performed compared to 2011, worker empowerment training for 1.3 million employees, and increased compliance with working-hour limitations.


We've previously covered Apple's regular updates on working-hour compliance, noting that the rate had fallen in the September-November period as part of Apple's allowance for voluntary overtime during periods of high demand. Apple's new report reveals that compliance with the standard returned to near its highs in December, with Apple's audits showing 92% compliance for the entire year across more than one million tracked workers.