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.

Apple today began a new 'Get Stuff Done' promotional sale, offering discounts on several popular productivity apps.


The sale, which will take place over three weeks, features three categories: Prioritize, Organize, and Utilize. This week’s category is Prioritize, and features list making apps like Clear and Things at a deep discount. Here’s a full list along with prices:

-Clear: $6.99 down from $9.99 [Direct Link]
-Things: $24.99 down from $49.99 [Direct Link]
-2Do: $14.99 down from $29.99 [Direct Link]
-Due: $4.99 down from $9.99 [Direct Link]
-Todo: $6.99 down from $14.99 [Direct Link]
-TaskPaper: $11.99 down from $24.99 [Direct Link]
-The Hit List: $24.99 down from $49.99 [Direct Link]
-BreakTime: $2.99 down from $4.99 [Direct Link]

The sale on these apps will last from January 24 to January 31. Next week, Apple will feature a new set of apps for sale.

Origin, Electronic Art's digital distribution platform, is available for Macs as of today via an open alpha testing period. Origin for Mac was initially announced in August of last year, when EA noted that the Mac version of its upcoming SimCity game was expected to launch alongside the PC version.

SimCity will no longer be released simultaneously on the Mac and the PC, but EA will presumably release the final version of Origin for Mac before the game comes out in March.

Like Steam, EA's Origin allows users to purchase and download games, chat with friends, and continue saved games from any Origin-enabled computer.


According to EA, Origin for Mac will function like the PC version, with cloud storage, auto patching, and a friends list. For the alpha, the Origin Store tab is not active, but EA promises that the launch version will include "a great catalog of EA and partner titles."

EA is offering a free copy of PopCap’s popular "Bookworm" game with the Origin alpha download, which is limited to a few thousand customers.

The alpha version of Origin is currently able to be downloaded from the Origin website. To download the software, users will need to have a Mac running OS X 10.6.8 or newer plus an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better.

As noted by Tech News Daily, a new federal policy in the United States is set to go into effect this Saturday that will make it illegal for certain mobile phone owners to unlock their devices for use on other carriers unless specifically authorized by their carriers. The policy applies to newly purchased devices beginning on Saturday, but not to legacy devices purchased prior to that date.

In October 2012, the Librarian of Congress, who determines exemptions to a strict anti-hacking law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), decided that unlocking mobile phones would no longer be allowed. But the librarian provided a 90-day window during which people could still buy a phone and unlock it. That window closes on January 26.

Unlocking devices allows users to take their phones to other carriers such as T-Mobile or to use SIM cards from international carriers while traveling abroad without needing to purchase expensive international roaming packages from their domestic carrier.


Users can, of course, still purchase unlocked iPhones at unsubsidized prices, and, last April, AT&T began unlocking iPhones for customers whose contract terms were completed or who had paid early termination fees to end them early. The SIM card slots on the Verizon iPhone 5 are already unlocked, while Sprint announced that it would unlock the SIM card slot on its iPhones for international usage three months after purchase.

In the decision outlined in the Federal Register, these policies were cited as reasons for not allowing an unlocking exemption to the DMCA for newly purchased devices.

The Register concluded after a review of the statutory factors that an exemption to the prohibition on circumvention of mobile phone computer programs to permit users to unlock "legacy'' phones is both warranted and unlikely to harm the market for such programs. At the same time, in light of carriers' current unlocking policies and the ready availability of new unlocked phones in the marketplace, the record did not support an exemption for newly purchased phones. Looking to precedents in copyright law, the Register recommended that the class designated by the Librarian include a 90-day transitional period to allow unlocking by those who may acquire phones shortly after the new exemption goes into effect.

Carriers such as AT&T already forbid unauthorized unlocking in their customer contracts, but the clarification of DMCA policy with respect to unlocking will now make the issue a criminal one. iPhone unlocking services have enjoyed a fair amount of popularity, and while a substantial pool of eligible legacy devices will remain, it appears that these services will be unable to legally unlock any new devices for their customers.