Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
Tweaks: Overnight, Apple (AAPL) announced some changes to its pre-configured MacBook Air models, CNET notes. Apple added Intel’s (INTC) Haswell 1.4GHz Core i5 chips to the MacBook Air line, a minor upgrade from the prior 1.3GHz processors. Probably more important to consumers, Apple also trimmed the prices of its MacBook Air pre-configured models by $100. Entry level 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch MacBook Air models with 4GB of RAM and 128GG solid-state hard drives saw their base prices fall to $899 and $999, respectively, down from $999 and $1,099. Rumors circulated last week that Apple would launch slightly refreshed MacBook Air models as early as this week. The MacBook Air line has not seen a major redesign since 2010. Other recent rumors suggest that Apple will launch an all-new, super-slim 12-inch MacBook Air some time later this year.
Steady: An analyst says that Apple plans to boost the size of pixels in the upcoming iPhone 6’s camera, MacRumors notes. On a Chinese-language website, ESM China analyst Sun Chang Xu predicted that Apple would raise the size of pixels on the iPhone 6’s camera to 1.75 um, up from 1.5 um on the iPhone 5s. Larger pixels would admit more light, potentially enhancing picture quality. Xu also said that Apple would opt for electronic image stabilization in the iPhone 6’s camera. That differs from other reports that indicate that the iPhone 6 camera will use optical stabilization. Electronic image stabilization would require less space, allowing Apple to keep the iPhone 6 super thin without the camera lens protruding from the case. Rumors in March suggested that the iPhone 6 would be just 7 millimeters thick with a slightly protruding camera. Apple is expected to release two iPhone 6 models: one with a 4.7-inch screen and the other with a 5.5-inch screen. The larger iPhone will reportedly launch some time after the 4.7-inch model and possibly not until next year.
Winding down: On Tuesday, attorneys for Apple and Samsung will likely make their closing arguments in the latest patent infringement lawsuit between the two tech giants, the Associated Press notes. Testimony in the suit ended on Monday. A California jury could begin deliberations in the case by the end of the day. Apple sued Samsung alleging that the South Korean electronic giant had violated five of its patents in nine smartphones and one tablet. Apple is demanding damages of $2.2 billion, a sum that Samsung has called a “gross exaggeration,” saying that any infringement would be worth $38.4 million at most. Samsung has counter with allegations that the iPhone violates two of its patents, but is demanding damages of just $6 million. Apple won a previous patent infringement lawsuit in California with two juries awarding almost $1 billion in total damages.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
