iPhone 5S Set for August Launch, in Three Different Colors?

Following an unlikely report earlier today that Apple’s next-gen iPhone may comein a variety of sizes, Japanese site Macotakara reports that the device will come in a new color in addition to black and white. It’s unclear from the report what that new color might be – perhaps a mix between black and white parts? That would be pretty cool.

AppleInsider reports:

Citing a “trusted source,” Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports that when the “iPhone 5S” hits store shelves, it will come in three colorways, adding one color to Apple’s usual black and white variants. The source failed to reveal the mystery color. 

It should be noted that the Google translation on the blog’s webpage incorrectly states “3 colors added to 2 colors of iPhone 5,” suggesting there will be five color options for the iPhone 5S. The actual translation is, “One new color will be added to the iPhone 5′s existing two color options for a total of three colors.”

Previous reports have suggested that the next iPhone might come in up to 8 different colors, just like the current iPod nano and iPod touch lineup. Apple’s rumored “budget” iPhone will reportedly come in the same color options as the 5S. Well-informed (and highly accurate) analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states that Apple will use a new blended fiberglass and plastic material in order to reduce the overall cost.

The new iPhone are reportedly set to be announced sometime in July, for a public release in August – which meshes well with what iMore (another extremely well-informed source) has heard about the release date. It’s worth noting that Macotakara does have a very mixed track record when it comes to Apple predictions - but at least this report is less absurd than today’s previous iPhone rumor!

Apple and Yahoo Reportedly Talking About Deeper Service Integration for iOS, Siri ::

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is in talks with Yahoo to bring more of the search company’s information to their iOS devices. Yahoo has long been a provider of data for the devices, the iOS Stocks and Weather apps use data from Yahoo, and Siri uses the service for sports information.

The Verge:

It’s not a huge surprise to see Yahoo attempt to forge a deeper partnership with Apple — CEO Marissa Mayer has made it clear that mobile is a major part of her strategy for improving the company’s fortunes, and the iPhone is a logical place to start. Given Google’s own vast array of data, Yahoo likely holds little interest for the other dominant mobile OS. But last year, Apple finally severed all its ties with Google by removing the default Google Maps and YouTube apps that lived on iOS since its introduction in 2007.

While sources say no deal is imminent, they say talks are taking place.

Apple has been moving away from Google, dropping its Maps and YouTube apps from the most recent version of iOS. The two companies are fierce competitors in the mobile marketplace, with iOS and Google’s Android continuing to fight for marketshare.

Mayer showed her hand earlier this year, indicating that Yahoo was focused on pursuing “strong partnerships” as it doesn’t make mobile hardware, an OS, a browser or a social network.

“So the nice thing at Yahoo is that we have all of the content that people want on their phone, we have these daily habits,” Mayer said during the World Economic Forum in January. “And I think that whenever you’re dealing with a daily habit and providing a lot of value around it there is an opportunity not only to provide a lot of value to the end user but to also create a great business.”

Apple and Yahoo do share a common enemy in Google, and that may be enough to fuel talks between the two, but only time will tell if the two can work something out.

iPhone and iPad Remain The Most Desired Gadgets Among U.S. Teens – By a Huge Margin!

According to the latest market research (PDF link) from analysis firm Piper Jaffray, Apple’s popularity is continuing to increase significantly among teenagers – a key segment of the mobile market. The figures reflect the results of a survey of over 5,000 teens from various income levels, and reveal that 48% of U.S. teenagers already own an iPhone. Further, 62% of respondents said they planned to buy one as their next phone.

The good news for Apple doesn’t stop at the iPhone, either. The survey also revealed that 51% of teens currently own a tablet, with the iPad accounting for 62% of those. Teens who said they were planning to purchase an iPad also dominantly favored the iPad, with 68% reporting that they plan to purchase an iPad or iPad mini over an Android tablet.

While the numbers look great for Apple, things don’t appear so rosy for Android – while 59% of teenagers are planning to buy an iOS device (either a smartphone or a tablet), only 21% said they were likely to purchase an Android based device. The smartphone figures fare slightly better for Android – but the number is still only 23%, compared to 62% for the iPhone.

Needless to say, teenagers represent an extremely important segment of the consumer electronics market – after all, they are the next generation of consumers. If any game-changing shifts in power are likely to occur in the mobile sector, it will be directly due to their influence. Fortune has rounded up a few other key findings from the report:

• 91% of teens say they plan to buy a smartphone for their next high-tech device, up from 86% last spring and 90% last fall
• 59% of teens say they are likely to buy an iOS device (unchanged from fall) and 21% are likely to buy an Android device (was 20%)
• Among high-income families, the iOS preference rises to 70%
• 48% of teens already own an iPhone, compared with 40% last fall
• 62% of teens plan on making an iPhone their next mobile device (flat vs. fall 2012)
• 23% expect to buy an Android phone, up from 22% last fall
• 51% already own a tablet, up from 44% last fall
• Among teens who own tablets, 68% own iPads, down from 72%
• 17% of teens plan on buying a tablet in the next 6 months (vs. 20% Fall 2012)
• 68% plan to buy an iPad (54% full size/14% Mini)

Congrats, Apple! It looks like the market is ripe for the iPhone and iPad, at least in the U.S. As for Google and Android: Good luck out there!

Adobe CTO Jumps Ship to Become Apple’s New VP of Technology::

Apple and Adobe haven’t always gotten along well in the past, especially when it comes to Flash Player (Steve Jobs was publicly vocal about his disdain for Flash Player, especially on iOS devices) – but according to CNBC, Adobe’s Chief Technology Office will be abandoning his position at Adobe in favor of a new role on Apple’s executive team.

The move was initially confirmed by an SEC filing from Adobe, and the company has since released a statement toAllThingsD confirming the news as well:

Kevin Lynch, Adobe CTO, is leaving the company effective March 22 to take a position at Apple. We will not be replacing the CTO position; responsibility for technology development lies with our business unit heads under the leadership of Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. Bryan Lamkin, who has recently returned to Adobe, will assume responsibilities for cross company research and technology initiatives as well as Corporate Development. We wish Kevin well in this new chapter of his career.

Lynch has been am Adobe employee since 2005, and is responsible for helping to drive the company’s push into web publishing, and the new Creative Cloud subscription service for Adobe Creative Suite apps, as well as expanding Creative Suite to mobile devices. According to a statement provided by Apple to CNBC, Lynch will serve as Apple’s new Vice President of Technology.

$AAPL confirms: Kevin Lynch has joined as VP of Technology, reporting to SVP Bob Mansfield

— Jon Fortt (@jonfortt) March 19, 2013

It’s unclear exactly why Apple acquired Lynch – but his promising history with Adobe’s cloud services could make him a prime candidate for bringing new features and improvements to Apple’s own iCloud platform. There have been a lot of executive changes at Apple in the past several months – it will be interesting to see what Apple has up their sleeves for the future!

BlackBerry CEO: The iPhone is an ‘Outdated’ Relic of the Past::

In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins took aim at the iPhone, stating that Apple is falling behind in terms of innovation in the smartphone market. He claims that the iPhone user interface is now 5 years old, and has seen no innovation in that time.

The Australian Financial Review (via AllThingsD):

“Apple did a fantastic job in bringing touch devices to market … They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon. There is a reason why they were so successful, and we actually have to admit this and respect that,” Mr Heins said.

“History repeats itself again I guess … the rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don’t innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly. The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about is now five years old.”

Mr Heins said one area that the new BlackBerry phones had surpassed the iPhone was in the ability to multi-task – running multiple apps at once – meaning that users could work in the same fashion on their smartphone as they liked to on a laptop.

Heins also stated that he feels that the new BlackBerry 10 platform has out-innovated Apple in a number of areas, including multitasking, noting that BlackBerry 10 devices can run up to eight apps in the background simultaneously. Apple is famously strict about background tasks, and does not allow most types of tasks to run in the background due to battery life concerns.

Is it just me, or is it downright laughable for BlackBerry’s CEO to ding Apple for a lack of innovation just because they haven’t majorly redesigned iOS, when BlackBerry 10 devices have yet to prove themselves in the industry (and coming from BlackBerry’s currently nearly non-existent presence in today’s smartphone market)?

While it’s true that Apple could perhaps bring more innovation to their mobile platform, Heins’ comments are a bit too ballsy, and his own platform far too unproven for him to be making such radical claims. BlackBerry nearly drove themselves to extinction due to a profound lack of innovation. The same cannot be said of Apple.

Nice try, Mr. Heins.

Android Founder Andy Rubin Steps Down as Head of Android at Google::

In a surprising memo posted on Google’s blog, Google EO Larry Page has just announced that Andy Rubin has officially stepped down as head of Android operations. Rubin was a co-founder of the Android platform, and is widely considered to be the “father” of Android. He will be replaced by the current Senior VP of Chrome and Apps, Sundar Pichai.

Page also notes that Android now accounts for over 750 million device activations, and that 25 billion apps have been downloaded from the Google Play store.

From the Google blog:

Sergey and I first heard about Android back in 2004, when Andy Rubin came to visit us at Google. He believed that aligning standards around an open-source operating system would drive innovation across the mobile industry. Most people thought he was nuts. But his insight immediately struck a chord because at the time it was extremely painful developing services for mobile devices. We had a closet full of more than 100 phones and were building our software pretty much device by device. It was nearly impossible for us to make truly great mobile experiences.

Fast forward to today. The pace of innovation has never been greater, and Android is the most used mobile operating system in the world: we have a global partnership of over 60 manufacturers; more than 750 million devices have been activated globally; and 25 billion apps have now been downloaded from Google Play. Pretty extraordinary progress for a decade’s work. Having exceeded even the crazy ambitious goals we dreamed of for Android—and with a really strong leadership team in place—Andy’s decided it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google. Andy, more moonshots please!

That’s huge news – easily as significant (and perhaps more so) as Scott Forstall stepping away from Apple’s iOS platform. It’s unclear exactly why Rubin has decided to step down as the head of Android, especially considering the platform’s massive success so far – although all current indications suggest that he stepped down of his own accord, and was likely not forced out of the position. It also sounds like Rubin will remain at Google – and it will be interesting to see what role he takes in the company moving forward.

We’ve reached out to Google for additional information, and we’ll update this post with more information as soon as we hear it. But for the moment, all I can say is: Wow!

Fingerprint Sensor and NFC Chip Rumored for Next-Gen iPhone::

A new report from the Far East claims that Apple has contracted with Taiwan’s Chipbond Science and Technology to build fingerprint sensors into its next-generation iPhone. The NFC chip rumor also pops up in the report.

AppleInsider:

The details were reported on Monday by China Times, which claimed that the so-called “iPhone 5S” will include both a fingerprint sensor and a near-field communications chip for mobile payments. The two items are expected to work in concert with one another, allowing users to easily authorize a transaction with their fingerprint.

Apple has reportedly begun stocking components for the iPhone 5S, and the device is expected to launch in mid-to-late 2013.

The details in the report appear to back up the previous claim by revered analyst Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities. Kuo, who has an excellent track record in predicting Apple’s product pipeline, believes the new iPhone 5S will launch sometime in June or July, looking much like the iPhone 5, but with an improved camera and more powerful processor. Kuo also believes the fingerprint sensor will be included in the iPhone 5S.

Kuo believes the fingerprint sensor will reside under the home button, and users will simply place their thumb over the button when prompted. The identity of the user can then be verified for entering passwords, or purchase authorizations.

The first rumors of a fingerprint sensor in future Apple devices popped up when Apple paid $356 million for security firm AuthenTec. The acquisition was reportedly made in order for Apple to obtain the company’s “Smart Sensor” technology.

NFC rumors continue to persist, even as Apple debuted its Passbook feature in iOS 6. The feature omitted NFC capabilities, due in part to the reluctance of store owners to spend the money necessary for equipping their checkout terminals with the equipment needed to make such a system work.