Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
Debut: When Apple (AAPL) unveils its latest smartphones next month, it may also release its latest operating system, TheVerge notes. According to an email from Nuance Communications (NUAN), a speech recognition developer, iOS 7 will be released on September 10. Apple pre-viewed its much-anticipated overhaul of iOS back in June at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Apple’s head designer Jony Ive oversaw the update. In place of the previous use of skeuomorphic graphics, iOS 7 is said to be flatter and more layered than iOS 6. It is also thought to incorporate new features, including full scale multitasking and a file-sharing service. Apple has been releasing beta versions of iOS 7 to developers since the WWDC, but has not announced when the OS will be made available to Apple device users. Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone 5C at a media event on September 10. Both devices will presumably run on iOS 7. Apple has not previously released an OS update on the same day it unveils new mobile devices.
Challenge: Apple is criticizing the remedies proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in its e-book price-fixing case, CNET notes. Earlier this month, a federal judge found Apple guilty of conspiring with five publishers to raise the prices of e-books sold through the iBookstore. The government has proposed a number of corrective measures it wants to court to impose on Apple, including more than five years of e-book oversight, restrictions on Apple’s e-book contracts with publishers and forcing the iPad maker to include links to other e-book retailers in the iBookstore so customer can compare prices. In its latest filing, Apple’s attorney called the proposals a “broadside masquerading as a brief.” He accused the government of trying to browbeat the company rather than negotiate a compromise. He also noted that the government’s recommendations would provide Amazon (AMZN) — its primary e-book competitor — with a “significant competitive advantage over Apple.” Apple is asking the government to withdraw its current set of remedies and compile a new set of proposals. On Tuesday, both sides will argue their points in front of Judge Denise Cote in US District Court in the Southern District of New York.
Compromise: Apple has altered the plans for its new San Francisco flagship store to preserve a popular local fountain, the San Francisco Chronicle notes. When the iPad-maker submitted its plans for the new Union Square shop earlier this year, city leaders expressed concern that they did not include a fountain created by Ruth Asawa, a local artist, that has been on the site since the 1970’s. Apple’s initial plans did not require the fountain to be removed, but its absence caused an uproar from architectural critics and the city’s artistic community. The new plans feature the fountain positioned on the store’s rear steps. The rear of the building, originally windowless, has now been altered to include large windows. Asawa died earlier this month at the age of 87.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
