What's happening?
Brian Tong here and welcome to the Apple Byte.
It's all the good and bad inside the world of Apple put together like a packed lunch and that's really what my lunches look like.
Isn't that [unk] so cute?
All right.
Let's get to the show and we start with the next-gen iPad Mini.
A report from 9to5Mac says references in the iOS 7 SDK indicate Apple is currently working on an
A6 processor-based iPad Mini without a retina display.
It's the first real details we've heard outside of supply chain rumors, but according to the report, the big A is considering three models with the code names J75, J76, and J77.
The rumored retina iPad mini has been referenced with code name J85 in the past.
Now, the references also indicate the processor will be the same A6 system-on-a-chip that's inside Apple's iPhone 5. Now, the iPhone 5 and fourth-gen iPad
both had hooks for images that were at twice the resolution supporting the retina displays, but the current findings in the iOS 7 software development kit indicate they aren't present for this new iPad Mini which even more strongly suggest the lack of a retina display this time around.
Now, again, we'll just have to wait around the September-October timeframe to find out because, honestly, right now, no one can touch the new Nexus 7. All right.
Earlier in the week, the Apple product you couldn't avoid hearing about
was the rumored low-cost iPhone 5C.
With images and hands-on videos everywhere, that's the name being thrown around after an image posted on Chinese website, WeiPhone, appears to show plastic retail packaging with the name "iPhone 5C." Now, we've seen all the rumored color options for this low-cost iPhone, so the C might logically refer to the word color because that sounds like a real catchy name, the iPhone 5 Color.
But that's no fun, so I asked you guys this week on
my Twitter, "What does the "C" in iPhone 5C stand for?" Well, Alex Jebailey says, "Costco 'cause it's cheap." And I'm okay with that if I could get free food samples because I've actually been able to have a whole lunch there.
Now, Cole Kuiper said, "iPhone 5 Coconut?" Gil Cabrera said, "iPhone 5 Cause Steve is gone and not there to stop it." That one burned.
Keith Mizuguchi said, "Gotta be Cronut." And if you don't know, a cronut is this hybrid croissant
doughnut that's all the craze right now.
And D Flowhood called it, "The iPhone 5 Catastrophe for Apple and Apple fans." That's another brutal one.
All right.
Now, you know, the phone game is extremely competitive and especially overseas.
Apple needs a cheaper solution for markets like China.
Now, Reuters confirmed that Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, travelled to China to talk to China Mobile chairman, Xi Guohua, to talk about better cooperation between the two.
China Mobile is the world's largest carrier and the only major
Chinese carrier that doesn't have a deal with Apple to distribute the iPhone.
Wait, you guys, I just realized, they're gonna call it the iPhone 5 Chinese, like me.
All right.
In other Apple news, the fourth beta for iOS 7 was released to developers with some interface tweaks like a redesigned lock screen with a changing highlight color and arrow and subtle updates across the board in other apps.
Developer, Hamza Sood, has also found an accessibility portion of iOS 7 called
BiometricKitUI that contains details for using a fingerprint sensor on an iPhone.
It's the best real cool we've seen that Apple will potentially include a fingerprint sensor in the phone after their acquisition of mobile security firm, AuthenTec, last year.
And a report from the China Times makes claims for an October launch for Apple's MacBook Pros featuring Intel's latest Haswell chip set that's already made it into the MacBook Airs.
Now, the Pros are expected to feature Intel's highest-end Iris Pro 5200 integrated graphics,
and during the recent earnings call, October was also the month CFO Peter Oppenheimer hinted that for Apple's next batch of announcements.
All right.
To the Quicky Bytes, according to the App Annie Index which measures app store activity, the Google Play Store surpassed Apple's App Store for the very first time in app downloads in the second quarter of 2013.
Now, Google had 10% more app downloads, but Apple's App Store brought in over two times the amount of revenue and is just something to keep an eye on.
And we talked about the Chromecast streaming stick last week.
It has a ton of potential, but if you still would rather have an Apple TV, now is a great time to get a refurbished one.
Apple just lowered the price to $75 compared to the normal $99 retail price.
It's still under the same warranty and it's good as new if you're in the Apple ecosystem.
So, you guys should check that out.
All right.
Let's get to our Tile giveaway winners.
I'm in love with this tracker tech, so we asked you, "What would you put it on?" Well, the congrats go out to, on
e-mail, April Funsten says, "I'd put tiles on each of my kids." Oh, I only get one.
I'll pick my favorite one then and that's love.
Rebecca Souza says, "I will put my tile on my B. Tong pillow pet." That is so cute.
Now, William Stone says, "I would attach the tile to my wife's good mood, so I can see where it goes when it suddenly disappears." William, I'd really hope she's not watching right now.
And on Twitter, Sean [unk]
says, "I'd stick a tile in my lunch 'cause someone from the office keeps eating it." That happens here a lot too.
And Dave says, "I would put the tile on my hair.
The older I get, the more I lose." Well, Dave, I'm just glad my hair color is 100% natural.
All right.
So, many of you guys also said you put the tile on your brain because you lose your mind or you'd put it on your virginity, but I didn't get that one.
All right.
Congrats go to all of you and we'll be in touch with the winners and that's gonna do it for this week's show.
Send me your e-mails
and questions to the applebyte@cnet.com or tweet me @briantong.
I'm Brian Tong.
Thanks for watching.
I will catch you guys next week for another bite of the apple.
