A new video that explores the possibility of a Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the fifth-generation iPad has been released on YouTube channel Unbox Therapy.

In the video, the purported front panel of the fifth-generation iPad is compared to a home button with a fingerprint sensor removed from the iPhone 5s and a home button removed from a standard iPhone.

The standard home button does not appear to fit inside the casing of the iPad 5, while the smaller home button equipped with a fingerprint sensor does indeed fit. While this is not concrete evidence by any means, it does suggest that the fifth-generation iPad is potentially able to support the Touch ID hardware.

A major caveat, however, is that Apple’s fifth-generation iPad is expected to take design cues from the iPad mini. The current iPad mini has a home button that is smaller than the home button found in the iPhone 5, which could also explain the home...

Apple's fifth-generation iPad and second-generation iPad mini may receive a significantly improved camera, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

The current iPad and iPad mini both come equipped with a 5-megapixel rear camera with an f/2.4 aperture, which could be upgraded to an 8-megapixel camera with a larger aperture, similar to the camera included in the iPhone 5s.

Though Apple has historically placed less emphasis on its tablet cameras compared to its iPhone cameras, the iPad camera is due for an upgrade. The fourth-generation iPad and the iPad mini both use the same 5-megapixel camera that was introduced with the third-generation iPad back in March of 2012.We predict Apple (US) will launch new iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 (so called retina iPad mini) in 4Q13. As the tablet market becomes increasingly competitive, Apple could upgrade the camera as a selling point for the new iPad in a bid to increase competitiveness. We expect the upgrade will include...

Apple has seeded bug fix releases of iTunes 11.1.1 and an OS X 10.8.5 Supplementary Update to Apple employees ahead of a likely public release, reports 9to5Mac.

The Supplemental Update was previously seeded to employees in late September with a build number of 12F42; the new seed has a build number of 12F45.

The OS X 10.8.5 update fixes issues related to the FaceTime camera on some mid-2013 MacBook Air models, as well as problems with external drives, HDMI audio, and USB Bluetooth adapters. OS X 10.8.5 was originally released in mid-September.
The OS X v10.8.5...

Apple has begun the process of training its AppleCare staff on OS X Mavericks ahead of an expected late October launch for the updated Mac operating system, reports 9to5Mac.These sources say that training has begun today, and support staff will be required to learn about the operating system’s new features, installation process, and troubleshooting options for at least six hours over the course of the next few weeks.

The training is said to be similar in secrecy and style to the iOS 7 and iTunes Radio training, and it has yet to begin for all AppleCare employees. AppleCare advisors will learn the OS X Mavericks materials in small groups in order to prevent information about the training process from becoming public knowledge.Publicly, Apple has only stated that OS X Mavericks is "coming this fall", but the company is reportedly targeting a...

Apple is definitely on a high profile hiring spree of late. They began with Ex-Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve to work on "Special Projects" and just hired Ben Shaffer from Nike's "innovation Kitchen" fame to join this group. Now enters cable industry vet and long-time CableLabs exec Jean-François Mulé who has recently joined Apple in the role of engineering director. It's interesting to note that CableLabs marketing slogan is "Revolutionizing Cable Technology." I would guess it's safe to say that Apple tapped Mulé for his expertise in revolutionizing the cable experience for an Apple TV related project - though time will tell.

Last month we took a look at various angles to future Apple gaming and there's been ongoing buzz about iOS game controllers coming to market soon. A new gaming controller from Logitech was shown on ...

In April we pointed out that the Fair Trade Commission opened an investigation into Samsung's dirty trickster tactics of paying part-time workers to use multiple propaganda accounts on the internet to promote Samsung phones and attack products from its rivals. Now some great investigative reporting by Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo shows that Samsung may have "artificially boosted the ...

Apple has reportedly begun seeding iOS 7.0.3 to some of its own employees and carrier partners, with a potential launch coming as soon as next week, according to BGR.According to our sources, Apple has seeded iOS 7.0.3 to employees and partners for final testing. We’re not sure exactly when the new software will be released to the public, but we believe it will be sometime next week. The build number of iOS 7.0.3 is 11B491.MacRumors has indeed been seeing visits from devices on Apple's networks running iOS 7.0.3, with the first visits coming on Friday, September 20 and increasing significantly last week.

Visits to macrumors.com from iOS 7.0.3 devices running on Apple's networks
Apple just released iOS 7.0.2 to the public last Thursday, bringing several fixes for issues related to...

It's being reported today that Apple and Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) are testing a new service to help sell products in China by directly shipping them ...

After notifying former MobileMe customers of an impending iCloud storage downgrade in August, the complimentary 20 GB of iCloud storage Apple has offered to those customers for the past two years has now expired.

As noted in an Apple support document, affected members will be downgraded to the 5 GB storage plan that is offered free with iCloud. Apple also offers extra storage plans for iCloud users, with an additional 10 GB of storage for $20/year, 20 GB for $40/year, or 50 GB for $100/year.

Users who are currently over the free 5 GB limit following the expiration of the complimentary 20 GB will see such features as iCloud Backup, Documents in the Cloud, and iCloud Mail cease functioning until they bring their accounts under the lower 5 GB...

Since the release of iOS 7 earlier this month, a number of users have been complaining about issues with iMessages failing to be sent or received from their iOS devices.

While Apple's iMessage service has suffered from occasional outages, including a minor one documented on the company's System Status page earlier today, some users have been complaining of multi-day outages on their devices, suggesting that something more than a simple service problem may be occurring. Anecdotal reports have indicated that the issue may have worsened with last week's release of iOS 7.0.2, but reports of problems do date further back than that.

Some users have reported that turning their iOS devices off and back on fixes the problem, while...

Last Monday, Apple began offering in-store pickup for online orders of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, despite extreme shortages of the iPhone 5s following its launch the previous Friday. Just a day later, Apple halted the in-store pickup option for the iPhone 5s, perhaps because of the lack of supply.

But in line with a report from late last week, Apple has now resumed in-store pickup for the iPhone 5s, allowing customers to check availability at their local retail stores when placing orders.

Availability remains extremely tight, with...

T-Mobile grew to 13.2% of smartphone sales in the U.S. market in the 3 month period ending August 2013, marking its highest share of sales over the past year, and realized a growth of 1.1% points, reversing an on-going trend of year-on-year decline. The sales growth comes as a result of strong iOS sales and strategic discounts, based upon analysis by the company.

Apple's first wearable computer project surfaced in 2008 in the form of a video headset that may one day surface either as an iDevice accessory or one that's related to gaming. That particular invention has since been granted a patent. Yet it's Apple's most recent wearable computer invention that seems to have ignited something big at Apple. Once the buzz surrounding a possible future Apple iWatch-like computer hit fever pitch levels we began to hear news about a new special projects team forming at Apple. In early July we learned that Apple hired Ex-Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve to work on "Special Projects." Then the news of Bob Mansfield, Senior VP of Technologies was shifting to work on "Special Projects." Yesterday, Apple reportedly hired one of Nike's top Fuel Band Designers Ben Shaffer to work on "Special Projects."

Earlier this week, Canadian firm Chipworks released some photos showing the interior of Apple's new A7 chip from the iPhone 5s, as well as the new M7 "motion coprocessor" and other components.

The firm has now had a chance to look at the A7's transistor die photo in detail and make a preliminary effort at identifying the various components of the chip. Chipworks stresses that the identifications are still tentative pending full circuit analysis, but that most of the identifications appear to make sense.We publish this with the caveat that these are best guesses – we have not done any real circuit extraction to confirm them. The dual-core CPU and cache make up ~17% of the die area, and the quad-core GPU and shared logic about 22%. The CPU itself is not packed the same way as the A6 (see below), it looks much more like a conventional automated layout;...

A German court has invalidated an Apple patent on a specific "rubber-banding" feature in iOS because it was demonstrated in Steve Jobs' iPhone introduction keynote in 2007, reports FOSS Patents.

In the United States, inventors are allowed a twelve-month grace period between any public demonstrations of a new technology and the filing of a patent. However, Europe has no such grace period and public demonstrations prior to the filing of a patent -- even by the inventor of the technology being patented -- can be used as prior art to invalidate a patent. A subtle demonstration of the rubber-banding technology is barely noticeable at 33:40 in this video.

In this case, Steve Jobs demonstrated the rubber-banding technology at the launch of the iPhone in January of 2007 and Apple applied for...

Last month, we revived our Roundups feature with new pages covering the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iOS 7, and Apple's rumored iWatch, offering a frequently updated one-page summary of the latest news and rumors about each product.

With the new iPhones and iOS 7 now launched, we're continuing to update those articles with information to help site visitors stay on top of the latest developments, but we're also launching a number of new roundups today to address Apple's upcoming iPad and Mac product launches expected over the next several months.

New roundups include:

- iPad 5
- iPad mini 2
- MacBook Pro
-...

Rumors of a narrower and thinner design for the fifth-generation iPad have been circulating for a number of months now, with Apple reportedly taking some design cues from the iPad mini in redesigning the full-size iPad with narrower side bezels, a thinner shell, and more rounded curves.

As long ago as last December, rumors indicated that the new iPad would shave off 4 mm in height, 17 mm in width, and 2 mm in thickness compared to the current design, and based on those rumors and leaked rear shell photos, we created renderings of what the device might look like fully assembled. A number of photo leaks of the rear shell and front panel of the device have continued to support the claims of the iPad mini-inspired redesign.

A case maker's...

Earlier this week, we noted that a number of regional carriers in the United States and Canada had begun announcing plans to begin selling the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on October 1, representing a coordinated expansion of availability for the device even as iPhone 5s supplies remain extremely tight.

One notable exception to the list of carriers launching the new iPhones on that date was Virgin Mobile, but in a pair of Tweets issued today the company has announced that it too will be part of that October 1 rollout.

Virgin Mobile, a prepaid brand from Sprint, first began carrying the iPhone in...

It's being reported today in Japan that the Tokyo District Court has ordered Apple to pay US$3.35 million in damages to Japanese inventor ...

Apple and Staples have agreed to a deal to sell various iPad and iPod models on the Staples online store in the U.S., reports 9to5Mac. The deal will potentially expand to Staples' retail stores as well if the company is able to sell a certain amount of iPads per week.The source says that if each Staples store refers one iPad sale per week in October, two per week in November, and five per week in December, Apple will be willing to sell iPads in physical Staples locations.If Staples is able to meet Apple's sales goals it could see its brick-and-mortar stores selling iPads and iPods by early 2014, according to 9to5Mac. It would also be the second successful Apple test for Staples, as it appears that Apple and Staples' deal to sell accessories was a "...

U2 singer Bono, who heads up the (Product) RED charity Apple has collaborated with since 2006, today announced (via TechCrunch) Apple has raised more than $65 million to fight AIDS in Africa.

Since it first debuted a special edition (Product) RED iPod nano in 2006, Apple has released a number of (RED) devices, including several iPod nanos and...

Apple has just released iOS 7.0.2, a minor new update delivering several changes including a fix for a lock screen passcode vulnerability. The new version arrives as Build 11A501 for all devices.- Fixes bugs that could allow someone to bypass the Lock screen passcode
- Reintroduces a Greek keyboard option for passcode entry
The release follows the launch of iOS 7 on Wednesday, September 18. That day also saw a special release of iOS 7.0.1 specifically for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, which launched on Friday, September 20.

Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
• L.A. School District Halting Home Use of Issued iPads After Students Bypass Content Restrictions
•...

In the first two days after iOS 7 was released, the adoption rate quickly jumped to 32% which was a historic record for Apple. After a week, the adoption rate of iOS 7 has leapt to

Continuing its expansion of content offerings on the Apple TV, Apple today rolled out two new channels for the set-top box: MLS (Major League Soccer) and Disney Junior.

The MLS channel offers scores, standings, and video content from Major League Soccer, while also offering access to the MLS Live subscription program for live video of matches. MLS Live is priced at $24.99 for the season and a subscription can be used not only on the Apple TV but also on iPhone and iPad.

The new Disney Junior channel is similar to Disney Channel and Disney XD offerings added last month. All three channels require authentication through a participating cable provider for access to live and on-demand content.

Today's additions are the latest in a long line of new channels introduced to the...

Activist investor Carl Icahn, who recently purchased around $1-2 billion in Apple stock, has a date for his meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss the company's stock buyback plans and other issues, according to CNBC. The two will reportedly meet in New York City next Monday, September 30.Activist investor Carl Icahn will meet with Apple CEO Tim Cook in New York City next week, where the billionaire may discuss the company's prospects, and the possibility of adding to his sizable stake in the technology giant.Apple announced a stock...

South China Morning Post quoted James Yan a senior analyst at IDC China as saying that Apple’s share in the world’s largest smartphone market, which has declined dramatically in the face of strong competition from Samsung Electronics and popular mainland brands, "is expected to remarkably improve with the launch of the new iPhones on China Mobile’s network."

Apple has won the right to legally use the "iPhone" name in Brazil after a judge ruled in favor of the Cupertino company in an ongoing lawsuit with IGB Electronica, reports BNAmericas (via CNET). IGB Electronica, a Brazilian cell phone company, originally filed for the iPhone trademark in 2000 but did not use the name until December of 2012 when it released a line of IPHONE Android phones.

Following the launch of the Android IPHONEs, Brazil's Institute for Industrial Property ruled that IGB had...

Back in April after tickets to its Worldwide Developers Conference sold out in just two minutes, Apple announced that it would be launching a series of Tech Talks later in the year, taking seminars and hands-on help to a number of cities around the world.

Apple has now announced the schedule for the Tech Talks, which will focus on iOS 7 with two types of programs: one for general app developers and one for developers focused on games.Get in-depth guidance about developing for iOS 7, learn practical coding tips and tricks, and obtain valuable one-on-one programming and design assistance in our lab. Choose which day is best for you — app developer day or game developer day.The tour schedule includes:

App Developer Days...

In April when the mainstream press was falling over themselves to proclaim Samsung as the next digital messiah, we boldly questioned Samsung's S4 success in our report titled "Is Samsung's Galaxy S4 Really Selling Off-the-Chart or are they Just Playing a Marketing Game?" In our follow-up report in June, we reported on the reality of the Galaxy S4's false hype with Samsung having to embarrassingly revising their Galaxy S4 sales down from their lofty expectations. Last month Samsung wound up their hype for their upcoming Galaxy Note 3 and digital wristwatch called Gear. But their hype for the Note 3 is already crashing before it ever hits the market.

With Apple expected to introduce a new line of iPads in the coming months including a thinner, lighter full-sized iPad and an iPad mini with Retina display, Amazon has refreshed its Kindle Fire line, headlined by the redesigned, 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX with a resolution of 1900x1200 at 323 pixels-per-inch (PPI) and the new 8.9 inch Kindle Fire HDX tablet with a resolution of 2560x1600 at 339 PPI.

As noted by The Verge, both of the Android-based tablets feature a new quad-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, Dolby Digital Plus audio, a 720p front-facing camera, and a new Adreno 330 GPU, with up to...

An array of new photos featuring alleged rear shells of the next-generation iPad in "Space Gray" and silver have been posted by Australian writer Sonny Dickson. The photos come two weeks after Apple debuted a new space gray color to replace the slate black used on both the iPhone 5 and iPod lines.

The new photos also emerge just under a week after a purported second-generation iPad mini shell was spotted in the same space gray color. A day before that, a somewhat sketchy report from C Technology claimed [...

Apple's Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs, Catherine Novelli, has been nominated to serve as Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, according to an announcement from The White House (via AllThingsD).

Catherine Ann Novelli is Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs at Apple, Inc., a position she has held since 2007. Previously, Ms. Novelli was a partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, LLP from 2005 to 2007. From 1991 to 2005, she served at the Office of the United States Trade Representative and from 1997 to 2005, she was the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Mediterranean.

From 1985 to 1991, Ms. Novelli served in the Office of the General Counsel at the Department...

Over the weekend, the Chaos Computer Club announced that it had bypassed Apple’s Touch ID sensor using a photograph of a fingerprint to create a fake fingerprint model.

The full fingerprint emulation process has now been detailed in a new video from CCC member Starbug and replicated by security expert Marc Rogers, who believes the average consumer has nothing to worry about.

As seen in the video, the CCC uses a fingerprint taken from the screen of the iPhone 5s and then uses a complicated multi-step process to convert it to a usable print. According to Starbug, who spoke to...

IHS Suppli has released its estimate of the component costs involved in building the iPhone 5s, performing a virtual teardown based on information revealed by Apple and industry knowledge. The estimate, which does not include numerous other costs involved in product development, manufacturing, and sales, such as research and development, software, patent licenses, marketing, and distribution expenditures, pegs the component cost of the 16 GB iPhone 5s at $199.

The full report has not yet been released but <em>AllThingsD received early access.

Apple spends at least $191 on components to build a 16 gigabyte iPhone 5s. The cost rises to $210 for a 64GB unit. The cost of assembly adds another $8 per unit,...

Last October, Apple began construction on the first phase of its Prineville, Oregon data center, a project ultimately planned to include two 338,000 square-foot data center buildings on 160 acres.

First phase of Apple's Prineville data center under construction in February 2013 (Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)
But as reported by the Central Oregonian late last week and covered in The Oregonian today, Apple appears to be looking...

In something of a surprise move, Apple today announced the launch of updated iMacs based on Intel's Haswell processors, faster PCI Express-based flash storage options, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.“iMac continues to be the example that proves how beautiful, fast and fun a desktop computer can be,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Inside its ultra-thin aluminum enclosure, the new iMac has the latest Intel processors, faster graphics, next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage.”New models include:

21.5-inch
- $1299: 2.7 GHz quad-core i5 and Intel Iris Pro graphics
- $1499: 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 1 GB video memory

27-inch
- $1799: 3.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M with 1GB video memory
- $1999: 3.4 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX...

The Apple TV 6.0 update that Apple pulled over the weekend is now once again available for download. As noted by 9to5Mac, the updated version carries a build number of 11A502, compared to the old 11A470e version, indicating Apple has made some changes to the software.

Following the software’s initial Friday release, there were multiple reports that the update caused critical errors for a number of users, necessitating a full iTunes restore. The newly updated software presumably fixes those issues.

The Apple TV's 6.0...

BlackBerry has agreed to a "letter of intent" to be acquired by Fairfax Financial, in a potential deal worth $4.7 billion or $9 per share. Fairfax currently owns 10% of BlackBerry shares.

Fairfax Financial is a conglomerate holding company, somewhat like a Canadian Berkshire Hathaway. The company's primary business is insurance. Fairfax's CEO, Prem Watsa, was on the BlackBerry board of directors until he resigned from the position last month.

The deal is far from complete, with "a number of conditions" according to Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier. The agreement includes six weeks of due diligence and, in the meantime,...

Today, Apple hails the adoption rate of their new iOS 7 as being historic. The positive news continues with Britain's CoolBrands has been chosen Apple ...

While there was one high-profile Apple fan that Wozn't happy about Apple's new iPhones, the fact is that Apple sold over 9 million iPhones over the weekend setting a new 3-day first-weekend sales record for the iPhone. On Friday