Each week, there are dozens of rumors, reports, and patent filings that hint at what’s coming out of Cupertino next. Some are legit, but many are totally bogus. As always, we’ve parsed the rumors, ranking them in order from “utterly ridiculous” to “duh, of course.” First up…
DON'T COUNT ON IT: Apple to Use NFC for the Backbone of Its Payment System
After years of ignoring the NFC, Morgan Stanley analyst Craig Hettenbach thinks Apple is finally going to include the tech in the iPhone 6. His reason? Supposed evidence in patent filings, financial disclosures, and possible licensing deals. While there was a NFC-related patent this week, I think Apple's investments in iBeacon is far too great for it to suddenly switch to NFC. iBeacons are low-power position devices that your iPhone can transmit to or receive data from over Bluetooth LE. It's basically Apple's solution to NFC, and it's already starting to see broad adoption at retailers. Why on earth would the company ditch its own creation for something its competitors are using?
ASK AGAIN LATER: Jobs' Biographer Thinks the Rumored Beats Purchase Is About Video
This isn't quite a report or a rumor, but it's speculation worth noting because of the source. Walter Isaacson, the man who penned Steve Jobs' biography and spent a good deal of time interviewing many of his peers and employees, thinks Apple's potential Beats acquisition has more to do with video than music. According to Billboard, CEO Tim Cook wants Beats' Jimmy Iovine to head Apple’s content business and eventually help Apple launch its long-rumored TV. With Iovine's experience in the entertainment industry, and a potential executive position at Apple if the deal goes through, this certainly sounds like a possibility.
ASK AGAIN LATER: Mechanical Shutters Could Protect the iPhone's Audio Components
Using data from motion sensors and other internal measurements, Apple describes in a patent filing ("Active protection for acoustic device") how a valve or mechanical setup could block off a mobile device's sensitive acoustic hardware from potential damage. The patent says this would protect the device's mics and speakers from things like bursts of air, changes in pressure, and acoustic shock, which could damage the delicate hardware components. Although it's not mentioned in the filing, I wonder if this technology could also be used to make the iPhone more water resistant, blocking off those audio channels just prior to an accidental plunge into the tub, for example.
ASK AGAIN LATER: Beats Deal Happening as a 'Dre Acquihire'
Techcrunch says that a source of theirs is 70 percent sure the Beats deal will go through. The reason? Apple wants Dre because he's got "fashion and culture completely locked up." I'm more inclined to think Apple would acquihire Dre and Jimmy Iovine, and other Beats' execs, for their music and entertainment industry knowledge and connections, rather than purely their cool factor. But Apple works in mysterious ways, and has hired a handful of names from big companies of late (Angela Ahrendts formerly of Burberry, Paul Deneve from Yves St Laurent, and Ben Shaffer from Nike, for example).
SIGNS POINT TO YES: Apple Investigating How to Make Curved Displays a Reality
Over the past few months, we've seen a handful of patents that show how Apple is looking at different ways to make a curved display happen (and not suck). The latest involves flexible metal traces that wouldn't crack or break as a display is bent. These traces, which allow for the flow of electrical currents, can be arranged in a squiggly serpentine line rather than a straight one, so when the display is curved, there's a bit of stretch built into the trace's path to prevent cracking. According to the patent, this technique could also make a folding display possible. Interesting. Very interesting.
SIGNS POINT TO YES: iOS 7.1.2 On the Way, With iMessage and Other Bug Fixes
Macrumors has been tracking visits to its site on yet-to-be-released iOS versions, and it looks like numbers are ramping up for the next version, 7.1.2. It's likely to include a fix to the highly publicized iMessage bug, which Apple admitted this week is due to a server glitch. The update could arrive around WWDC, and would also likely fix other small bugs in the system. The big feature updates will likely be saved for iOS 8, however, which Apple is expected to preview at WWDC's opening keynote June 2nd.
