Apple Still Searching for Engineers with Plastics Expertise

Apple continues to expand and improve its current plastics division, today posting a new job listing for a Senior Materials Engineer with a specialty in plastics (via 9to5Mac). The position asks for someone experienced with plastics materials to join the iPhone/iPad Materials team. 

According to the job notes, Apple is seeking an engineer with 10 or more years in the mold making industry to develop new plastic materials and processes to "meet the structural and aesthetic requirements of a wide range of part designs..."

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Implementing Changes to App Store Rankings to Promote Better App Discovery

Apple may be implementing some changes to the way that it ranks apps for its Top Charts in the App Store, reports TechCrunch, citing studies from a number of app analysis services. It appears that new factors, such as app ratings and user engagement, could be influencing app position and preventing developers from artificially inflating the rankings. 

According to app marketing service Fiksu, app rankings began fluctuating in late July, favoring apps with ratings of four or more stars in the App Store. While those apps jumped to higher positions without a corresponding increase in downloads, apps with poor ratings saw their rankings fall...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

Apple in Negotiations With Content Providers for Internet-Based Subscription Television Service

Apple is involved in high-level negotiations with television content providers, including ESPN, HBO, and Viacom, to provide programming through 'apps' instead of channels, reports Quartz -- a relatively new business publication with a number of former Wall Street Journal reporters on staff...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

Find My iPhone Updated for iOS 7, Breaks App for Non-Developers [Update: Fixed]

Apple today released an update for Find My iPhone, adding a newly redesigned iOS 7-style icon. The new icon was first introduced on the iCloud.com beta page, which was updated in mid-August with a new set of iOS 7 icons. 

It appears that the newest version of Find My iPhone may have been released prematurely, however, as the update gives an error message to anyone who attempts to use it without a registered developer account (paid or free)...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

More photos of the gold iPhone emerge

At this point it's looking more and more like Apple's got a gold-colored version of the iPhone on the way, nor is what it will look like a mystery given a handful of leaks in recent days.

But if you're the type of person who wants more proof, App Advice has posted a slew of new shots of the gold variant, which is expected to join the silver and black models of Apple's next iPhone when it debuts next month...

Read the full story here... Source: CNET

First Seven iPad-Only 'Steve Jobs Schools' Open in the Netherland

The first seven exclusive "Steve Jobs schools" have opened their doors across a number of cities in the Netherlands. Starting from today, schools in the Dutch cities of Sneek, Breda, Almere, Emmen, Heenvliet and Amsterdam will start teaching students according to the principles of the O4NT, or Onderwijs voor een nieuwe tijd (Education for a new era), which emphasizes the role of the iPad in an elementary school environment. The program, which was first proposed by Dutch officials back in March 2012, gives every child access to a "virtual school" through an iPad and helps them develop information and communication technology (ICT) and information processing skills, collaboration techniques and a critical, problem-solving and creative mind...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

iPhone 5S Fingerprint Scanning Home Button to Look Nearly Identical, iOS 7 for iPad to Debut Later with New Hardware?

As we get closer to the September 10th announcement of the new iPhone and the public launch of the next version of iOS, more details are leaking out regarding the new 5S and the rollout of iOS 7.

Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac, who has reported accurately in the past, published a lengthy post todaysharing a number of tidbits that he has heard from his sources.

Gurman says there will be a fingerprint scanner built into the home button of the iPhone 5S, but it will not look significantly different from the current home button. He also says that Apple did not build the fingerprint scanner into early prototypes of the 5S, but instead tested the scanners in an external housing...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Asks Foxconn to Ship High and Low-End iPhones in Early September

Apple has asked Foxconn to begin shipping new high-end and low-end iPhones in early September, claims The Wall Street Journal. The report echoes previous rumors that Apple will release a new iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone 5C that comes with a plastic back available in numerous colors...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Could Still Be Planning Television-Related Announcement for Late This Year

Back in February, former TechCrunch writer and Google Ventures partner MG Siegler reported that he was hearing "chatter" about Apple making a significant push into television in the fall of this year. While Siegler was unable to say whether the push would include an actual television set from the outset, he believed that something was indeed happening, whether it be opening up the existing Apple TV up to third-party developers or launching a new Apple TV set-top box with expanded capabilities...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

Apple revamps beta version of iCloud.com with iOS 7 style

Apple's design overhaul for iOS has spilled over to the beta version of its iCloud service.

A new version of the site (beta.iCloud.com), which has Web versions of some of Apple's iOS apps, now sports a similar look and feel to iOS 7, which Apple is expected to release next month.

So far, the changeover has affected e-mail, contacts, calendar, reminders, notes, and find my iPhone. The beta versions of Apple's trio of iWork apps, which Apple is still testing to users, remains unchanged.

The redesign is likely to roll out when iOS 7 is released, but could come sooner.

Source: CNET

Analyst Predicts No Siri on iPhone 5C, Fingerprint Scanner Solely for Device Unlocking on iPhone 5S

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster late yesterday released a new research note to investors centered around Apple’s upcoming product launches for the rest of the year, including key predictions on the anticipated low-cost iPhone, potentially named the iPhone 5C. 

In his note, Munster predicts that the iPhone 5C will not come with Siri, the intelligent personal assistant within iOS, and that the device will replace the iPhone 4S at the bottom of the iPhone lineup. Munster also believes that the lower-cost iPhone will sell for an estimated $300 off-contract...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

DOJ Says Publishers Are Again Colluding in Objecting to Proposed Apple Penalty in E-Book Case

With Apple and the U.S. Department of Justice headed back to court today for a hearing on the government's proposed penalties for Apple, GigaOM highlights several developments in the case. Of particular interest is a letter from DOJ attorney Lawrence Buterman arguing that an objection to the proposed penalties by the publishers that were part of the case is direct evidence of why the penalties are needed to protect consumers...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours