Category: Apple Insider

Review

By Andrew O’Hara
Saturday, July 14, 2018, 09:18 am PT (12:18 pm ET)

Apple’s leather sleeves must be solid performers, even with their questionable price. Apple has continued to add leather accessories to their growing lineup of cases and covers after starting out with those for the iPhone, and AppleInsider has the latest addition.

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Their first leather sleeve launched for the iPad before coming to the 12-inch Retina MacBook, and now sliding onto the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros. Just in time for the brand new Pros Apple also just announced. Available in three different colors —Saddle Brown, Midnight Blue, and Black —these genuine leather sleeves carry a high price tag for those looking for cursory protection for their pricey portable Macs.

Each sleeve is pretty simple in design, as is the Apple way. Crafted from European leather to precisely fit over either size of the current MacBook Pros, they have subtle convex dimples on the bottom to align with each of the laptop’s feet. An embossed Apple logo on the top completes the look.

The top of the sleeve —that is, where the laptop is inserted —is open a fair amount, making it easy to remove the laptop from its tight fit. Different than on the USB-C MacBook, the one for the Pros does not allow the MacBook to be charged while it is inserted.

On the interior is a soft microfiber lining that starts just below the opening. Instead of making the entire interior, the opening on top is leather, since it will susceptible to more wear and tear over the rest of the interior. Everytime the laptop is inserted, it will rub against the top of the sleeve, so having leather right at the opening will help prolong the life of the sleeve.

Outside the leather feels very soft, though it is clear there is some sort of protection on it to help prevent the drastic marring un-finished leather is known for. If a drop or two of water hits this, it beads right off, whereas others would soak in and leave a blemish, for better or for worse.

One of the charms of using leather is how it develops a great patina over time. This sleeve will do that, it just might take a bit longer to achieve.

Conclusion

These simple sleeves don’t have a lot of fancy features like other cases, but they are just minimalistic enough to get the job done. They are quite well made, even if the price tag is a bit high. If you can get over the three-figure price tag, these are great sleeves for taking your Mac with you on the go.

If price is no object, you can’t go wrong and the case is a solid 5 out of 5. But, like most of us, if it is, Apple’s latest leather sleeve for the MacBook is a

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Where to buy

These newly launched MacBook Pro sleeves are available to fit either the 13-inch or 15-inch MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3. The 13-inch will run $179 and the 15-inch will run $199 and are available directly from Apple. If you like the sleeves but have a 12-inch MacBook or iPad, Apple still has you covered. The 12-inch MacBook sleeve runs $149 and the iPad sleeve is $129 and $149 for the 10-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros respectively.

By Roger Fingas
Friday, July 13, 2018, 01:02 pm PT (04:02 pm ET)

Apple on Friday announced a partnership between its Brazilian Developer Academies and the Malala Fund, which will launch projects intended to “empower girls, teachers and policymakers through skills development, school enrollment efforts and education advocacy.”

Students and alumni of the Developer Academies are being challenged to work with the Malala Fund, named after Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, to create apps that “enhance education opportunities for girls,” Apple said. Yousafzai was invited to the company’s academy in Rio de Janeiro on Friday to meet students and explain the new initiative.

“Whether she wants to be a developer, a pilot, a dancer or a politician, education is the best path to a brighter future,” she said in a prepared statement. “By tapping into Apple’s network of student developers, Malala Fund will gain access to new tools to support our mission of free, safe, quality education. The students in Apple’s Developer Academy program share my passion for improving the world around us, and I am eager to see their innovative ideas to help girls in Brazil and across the globe.”

The company notes that it became the Malala Fund’s first Laureate partner in January, allowing the Fund to double the number of grants handed out by its Gulmakai Network, while also sponsoring new programs in India and Latin America. The goal was to extend secondary education to over 100,000 girls.

Under current CEO Tim Cook, Apple has become increasingly involved in both education initiatives and social causes. The former are often fairly self-serving, such as its Swift initiatives in schools. While the language does have other uses, and is relatively easy to learn, Swift is almost exclusively intended for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

Cook has championed causes in which the company has no direct financial incentive, such as gender and racial diversity in the workplace, and LGBT rights.

By Roger Fingas
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 02:01 pm PT (05:01 pm ET)

Apple CEO Tim Cook and senior VP Eddy Cue have once again made an appearance at the annual Sun Valley conference in Idaho, attended by the elite of the media and technology worlds.

Cook and Cue at Sun Valley 2018. Cook has a bodyguard with him for the event. Image Credit: Alex Heath on Twitter

This year marks Cook’s seventh consecutive appearance, and Cue’s fifth. Both were in attendance in 2017.

The conference is hosted by investment firm Allen & Co., and plays host to top-level executives who sometimes use the event to broker deals behind the scenes. This year some of the people present are said to include media baron Rupert Murdoch, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

NBC notes that some high-profile deals have been begun at Sun Valley in the past, such as Disney’s $19 billion ABC/Capital Cities buyout, and Bezos’ takeover of the Washington Post.

This year could be particularly interesting, since Disney and Comcast are currently fighting to buy out key assets of 21st Century Fox. The Murdoch family has voting control of 21st Century Fox, so Sun Valley could be used to sway them towards supporting one bid or another.

Any agreements Apple has struck at Sun Valley have largely been kept in the shadows, but the company has a growing footprint in media. On top of owning key hardware platforms, Apple Music, and iTunes, the company is venturing into high-budget original TV shows which could premiere as soon as March 2019. Cook and Cue might want to lure networks into producing more content, or even secure distribution deals outside of Apple platforms.

Apple is still examining the possibility of creating a mobile device with a large screen that can be compacted into a smaller size, using a flexible section in the middle of the device to allow the screen to bend enough for it to fold without breaking.

Granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, the patent for “Electronic devices with flexible displays” details how a folding mobile device could be created. While foldable, the device could feasibly have a screen taking up an entire side of the device, similar to a smartphone or tablet, but with one cohesive display rather than using two or more with a noticeable line in the middle.

According to the patent, the concept relies on using multiple flexible elements in the middle of the device. In the process of flexing the device for the fold, the patent notes there will be a compression of material on the inside of the fold, and a thinning of material on the outside, with the former likely to cause an issue for the display layer.

To counter this problem the patent suggests the use of recesses in the material protecting the display layer in the middle section of the device, reducing the congregating mass and the amount of stress on layers closer to the inside of the fold.

It is said that there could be solid inflexible glass covers for sections of the display that are not affected by the fold, with a flexible cover spanning the gap between the two solid sections. In one implementation, the glass layer can even be bent, supported by a polymer layer for the bend itself, with grooves added to the glass in parallel to the bent section.

Aside from the display, the rest of the hypothetical device would also require flexible materials to cover the outside of the fold, and can possibly even include a hinge in the middle to help keep the bend occurring at one point in the flexible section.

Apple initially filed the application on June 8, 2016, and credits Jiang Ai, Erik A. Uttermann, and Soyoung Kim as inventors.

The latest patent is one in a string of similar applications Apple has submitted to the USPTO over the years.

One filing discovered in October 2017 surfaced at the same time as a rumor claiming Apple is working with LG to produce an OLED iPhone by 2020. Merrill Lynch analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote a note to investors in March suggesting a similar launch timeframe for the device, adding that the device could also “double up as a tablet,” giving the utility of a larger screen but with the portability of a smartphone.

Another patent granted in November 2016 suggested the use of a hinge and a metal-backed flexible OLED panel to create a foldable smartphone, one that could clip onto clothing for storage when not in use.

Apple has also invested heavily in a new display technology that could help bring such hardware to fruition. MicroLED is effectively a display panel made up of tiny LEDs on a sheet, which aside from potentially offering power savings and a reduced screen thickness, could be used to produce a flexible screen required for a foldable device.

While Apple regularly files patent applications with the USPTO, the publication of an application or the granting of a patent is not necessarily a sign that Apple is actively working on using the technology with its products, nor is it a guarantee it will be usable by consumers in a future release. Though it is plausible to be used in a foldable smartphone, a concept also being examined by Apple’s competitors, it is equally likely elements of this patent could be used in other hardware and not a mobile device.

A personal account of a job interview held at Apple Park appears to paint a picture of the new headquarters’ inner workings, from staff docents to iPad-powered coffee dispensers, in intriguing detail.

Briefly published to Reddit before being deleted from view, the recent post from a throwaway account talks about a prospective hire being interviewed for a position on the Mac team. While the author does not discuss what happened during the interview itself, they do cover the experience of visiting the campus for the entire day.

On arrival at the Tantau Avenue reception center, the writer was checked in and provided with a green visitor’s lanyard, which also identified their host for the day. They were then instructed to follow a path to the main building, one that is obstructed by hills and the path itself before offering a “spectacular view of the side.”

Two sets of employees welcomed the individual, with blue-shirted Apple Security personnel accompanied by green-shirted “greeters,” who acted as guides in a similar way to front-of-store Apple retail employees directing customers to other store staff. Informed the building was quite confusing, “especially for guests,” the poster notes they received assistance from a number of the green-clad employees to the appropriate area.

Checked in by another greeter at Apple Park Section 1 and asked to wait in the lobby, the writer remarks the area “looked custom made and very new,” complete with comfy couches and beanbag chairs. Guests also had access to a pastry bar and coffee at the location.

The coffee stations are noted as having a “Moen faucet” style spigot that contains four smaller hoses, used to dispense hot, chilled, and ambient temperature water along with freshly brewed coffee. The station was controlled by an iPad, which offered to dispense coffee in a user-specified quantity, selected by a slider. Nearby was a “small but well-staffed cafe” that provided espresso drinks and pastries.

According to the writer, each of the nine sections has its own coffee station and cafe, separate from the main dining area.

The interview room is described as being made from wood, but one with small 1 to 2 millimeter holes across the surface used for ventilation. As the world’s largest naturally ventilated building, the writer noted they did not see any air vent grates, while the ceiling of the room was made from granite.

The room also had a circular table, chairs, a glass whiteboard, and a soft LED light strip that ran along the middle of the wall along the sides. The glass walls facing the hallway had motorized blinds for privacy, rather than the author’s expected use of frosted glass.

Two hours into the interview process, the writer was walked to another section of the ring for lunch, ordering from the app-based Caffe Macs menu. The low-cost food is reportedly similar in quality to that offered at Caffe Macs at Infinite Loop, but the experience of eating has apparently benefited from Apple “building the place to accommodate thousands upon thousands of people per day.”

The main dining area is described as sizable, both in terms of floor space and with a ceiling taking advantage of the size of the building, complete with ample natural light and trees within the dining space. Sitting on a third-floor balcony to eat, the author was able to look out onto the campus’ inner ring, calling it “honestly breathtaking.”

Following lunch, interviews continued for another four hours. Potential employees are warned that a 6 to 7-hour interview process is “the norm,” so to expect spending an entire day going through the process.

While the original post about the visit was posted on Thursday, the entire post was removed and the associated account deleted hours later. It is possible that the author removed it due to the risk associated with publishing details about Apple’s headquarters affecting their chances of getting the job they interviewed for, a probable conclusion considering the comments below the now-wiped post.

Numerous commenters advised to take down the post, suggesting it would be against any signed non-disclosure agreements, and that it was highly probable someone at Apple would have read the post and identified the author.

Despite the anonymous nature of the post, numerous elements of the article match up with the experience of one AppleInsider contributor’s own visit to the campus. Descriptions of the food, coffee stations, and the iPad-based menus correlate with what was seen on that occasion, as well as the heightened security and the attention to detail in building and decorating the working environment.