Following a TechCrunch report last Friday which claims that Apple has recently acquired data-style book analytics services BookLamp (basically a “Pandora for books”) to beat Amazon at its own game, Re/code is reporting early Monday that the Cupertino firm has another acquisition target in its crosshairs - a radio/podcast app Swell ("Pandora for talk radio") which raised $7.2 million from investors including DFJ, Google Ventures and InterWest Partners...
As we reported earlier, Tim Cook is in attendance at Allen & Co.'s annual Sun Valley conference in Idaho this week. The conference is a major gathering for executives in technology and media industries, and has in the past facilitated high profile negotiations.
During a Q&A session this afternoon, Cook was asked if Apple planned to release data on its corporate diversity—something the company has been criticized over many times— at any point. Cook said it will eventually, but right now it's "more focused on actions."
Apple's senior engineering manager with the Maps team is leaving the company for Uber, the popular ride-sharing service founded in 2009.
Chris Blumenberg, who long worked on Maps for iOS and OS X and managed Apple's Maps Apps and Frameworks teams, will be taking a position at Uber, according to a report by The Information.
The departure comes as Apple appears to be ramping up hiring to overhaul the Maps backend.
More importantly, this development reaches us amid talk of internal politics, personal issues and managerial incompetencies allegedly causing significant Maps delays, as evidenced by the lack of major iOS 8 Maps announcements at WWDC...
Tim Cook's recasting of Apple is in full bloom as the CEO pushes executives to be more collaborative while broadening the firm's legendary laser focus, as per a new report by The Wall Street Journal. The story also mentions that Cook is very much looking to add new directors to Apple's eight-person board.
That's hardly a surprise given that six board members are aged 63 or older. It's also worth mentioning that Cook has inherited the board from Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs so these people may not be necessarily 100 percent loyal to Cook in the long run.
Moreover, people familiar with the Apple's plans told WSJ that the firm will introduce its rumored iWatch with "advanced sensors to track a user’s fitness and health" alongside new iPhones in the Fall, matching up with previous reports...
As promised during Apple's most recent earnings call, the Cupertino, California headquartered consumer electronics powerhouse is set to open on Monday at $92.22 a share as the company puts forth its plan to split stock, its fourth stock split to date.
All common stock owners will receive six additional shares for each share in existence. As a result, the value of each individual share will drop accordingly, but the value of their total holdings will not. Read on for the full reveal...
Should Apple's rumored $3.2 billion deal to buy Beats Electronics, LCC come through, its most visible co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre could show up on the Moscone West stage to be introduced as Apple executives, as per Billboard. An annual pilgrimage for programmers, Apple's 5-day Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, kicks off on June 2.
If history is an indication, Tim Cook will share the stage with other senior executives to tell us what's next for Apple's mobile and desktop operating systems. Given the amount of coverage WWDC typically enjoys, it would be the perfect venue to make such a high-profile announcement...
Apple is said to be on the verge of finalizing what would class as its biggest acquisition ever, a deal to buy Beats Music in a transaction valued at $3.2 billion. According to a Financial Times report on Thursday, citing people familiar with the negotiations, the deal could be announced as early as next week. Nothing is certain though as the parties have yet to agree on certain specifics so talks could still fall apart. Apple and Beats both declined to comment on the rumor...
San Francisco is many things to many people. To us, geeks, the city is synonymous with hot technology startups that challenge the status quo and strive to change the world. But if you're a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), San Francisco has a much deeper and more personal meaning as it's home to some of the most vibrant LGBT community on the planet.
Because Apple has always pushed for equality in workplace, it's really no surprise that the leadership team is encouraging its employees to march in the annual San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade...
Apple’s longtime PR boss, Katie Cotton, is set to retire after spending eighteen years with the company. As Apple's Vice President of Worldwide Corporate Communications, Cotton managed Apple's media relations and handled all public relations matters under both Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook.
Her retirement was first reported by Re/code. An Apple spokesman said Cotton was leaving because she had wanted to spend more time with her family "for some time now"...
Apple has joined SF Gives, a local San Francisco anti-poverty initiative, and has donated half a million dollars to the charity, sources revealed to Forbes Monday. SF Gives was set up by the CEO of non-profit Tipping Point, Daniel Lurie, and Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff.
It was established in March to help fight poverty and fund charitable programs in the Bay Area.
Apple is one of many companies supporting the cause. Other corporate contributors include Google, LinkedIn and Zynga, to name a few...
According to an exclusive TechCrunch report Thursday, Philip Stanger, the CEO and co-founder of indoor positioning startup Wifarer, has joined Apple's Maps team ahead of the anticipated push to improve the company's in-house mapping software in time for the assumed launch of iOS 8 this Fall.
He's now with the Apple Maps team in a “leadership role,” the publication has learned though the report cautions that Apple did not acquire the startup as some sources have speculated.
Wifarer, which is available as an iOS and Android app, features dynamic real-time indoor positioning to help people navigate malls, museums and other venues. Apple of course has its own micro-location indoor positioning system in the form of iBeacons.
Watchers have speculated that these micro-transmitters installed in shopping malls, retail stores, airports and elsewhere could also be used to collect data to improve Apple Maps and Stanger's hiring certainly seems to point in that direction...
After acquiring virtual headset maker Oculus Rift for $2 billion (the deal got a thumbs-up from feds), Facebook now seems to be moving into the fitness tracking space with news of its latest acquisition, Finnish startup ProtoGeo Oy that created the fitness-tracking app Moves, available free in the App Store.
The development comes amid some major reshuffling in the fitness and health tracking market.
For instance, Nike is currently in the process of shuttering its wearable-hardware division that produces FuelBand-branded accessories and there are rumors that the company is collaborating with Apple on a sensor-laden fitness band that would control other devices via gestures...