Apple Watch Sales Remain Steady After 15 Months Despite Lack of Next-Generation Model

 by Joe Rossignol

Nearly fifteen months after the Apple Watch launched in the U.S. and eight other countries on April 24, 2015, new data shows that sales of the device have yet to experience an overly precipitous decline so far this year.

 Swiss bank UBS has issued a research note that projects Apple Watch sales totaled 1.7 million units in the June quarter, a somewhat surprising increase of 100,000 units compared to its estimate of 1.6 million sales in the March quarter.

Apple Maps Expands Transit Data to Honolulu and Kansas City

by Joe Rossignol

Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive transit data for the U.S. cities of Honolulu, Hawaii and Kansas City, Missouri, enabling iPhone users in the areas to navigate using public transportation, including buses and commuter rails.


Transit routing options in the Kansas City metropolitan area include RideKC buses and the downtown KC Streetcar. Directions extend to most suburbs in both Kansas and Missouri, including Overland Park, Olathe, Independence, Lee's Summit, Shawnee, Blue Springs, Lenexa, and other smaller communities.

ARM chipmaker to be bought for £24bn by Japan's Softbank

Image copyright Getty Images

UK technology firm ARM Holdings is to be bought by Japan's Softbank for £24bn ($32bn) it confirmed on Monday.

The board of ARM is expected to recommend shareholders accept the offer - which is around a 43% premium on its closing market value of £16.8bn on Friday.
The Cambridge-based firm designs microchips used in most smartphones, including Apple's and Samsung's.
ARM, which was founded in 1990, employs more than 3,000 people.
Shares in the UK technology firm surged by 45% at the open of the London Stock Exchange to 1,742.85p per share, adding £7.56bn to ARM's market value.

TSMC to be Sole Supplier of A11 Chip for Apple's 'iPhone 8'

  by Tim Hardwick

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly secured exclusive orders for the A11 processor expected to power Apple's 2017 "iPhone 8".

According to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN), the Taiwan-based foundry will be the sole supplier of Apple's next-generation A11 chip, which will be built on a 10nm FinFET process.

TSMC co-CEO Mark Liu announced at the company's recent investors meeting that its first 10nm customer product has been produced with "satisfactory yield" and that three products had already been "taped out".

Taping out refers to the initial design of the chip having been completed for creation of the masks that will be used to print the actual chips, although further tweaks are likely as test production is carried out. TSMC is said to have begun taping out the design for Apple's A11 processor in May. Xilinx, MediaTek, and HiSilicon are said to be the other customers that will use the company's 10nm process technology.

Pokémon Go: how the overnight sensation was 20 years in the making

It has only taken a week for Pokémon Go’s creatures to pop up all around the planet – but their journey really began in 1996

Playing Pokémon Go in New York: augmented reality brings the creatures out of the game and into the real world. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Alex Hern

@alexhern

Returning home on Thursday afternoon, I was stopped by two 10-year-olds standing at the top of my road. “Are you playing Pokémon Go?” one asked. When I said I was, they went wild.

“Oh my days! There’s a Gengar over there, and there’s a gym over there and that woman’s playing it too. Everyone here is playing it! What level are you? How many Pokémon do you have?” At this point, the game had been out in the UK for less than 12 hours.

This is what a phenomenon looks like.

iPhone 8 is out

Apple's iPhone 8 is coming in the fall of 2017.

 At a Glance

 Apple has a major iPhone redesign planned for 2017, with a glass body and edge-to-edge OLED display that includes an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor and front-facing camera.

Expected Features

• OLED display
• Faster A11 processor
• Glass body
• Edge-to-edge display
• Camera and Touch ID integrated in display
• No home button
• Wireless charging
• This page is current as of 3 days ago 
• Highlight Recent Changes

• Yes
• No

 

Trademark Filings Seemingly Confirm Apple's Work on Upcoming 'AirPods'

With it looking more and more like Apple is going to remove the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, we've seen considerable speculation and discussion about the transition to either wired Lightning headphones or Bluetooth options. Looking at the wireless possibilities, the first iPhone 7 headphone jack rumors immediately reminded us of an "AirPods" trademark filing we discovered last October that seemed likely to be linked to Apple, although conclusive proof could not be found at the time.

Nest Cam Braves the Great Outdoors

By John P. Mello Jr.

Nest on Wednesday introduced an outdoor surveillance camera to complement its indoor Nest Cam.

The Nest Cam Outdoor will go on sale this fall for US$199. It is easy to mount on any outdoor surface, according to the company, and even has a magnetic base for attaching to gutters.
The camera, which resembles a unit of track lighting, can capture 1080p video. It has live-streaming capabilities, as well as two-way audio. It has a 130-degree field of view and includes night vision support.