Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
Timing: A report from a German website appears to throw cold water on speculation that Apple (AAPL) might move up the launch date for its next-generation iPhone, 9to5Mac notes. iFun is reporting that German Apple Stores have told employees that they cannot have any time off during the month of September. Over the last several years, Apple has typically launched new iPhones in September. Employee vacations are usually restricted during periods scheduled for iPhone launches. The website indicates that Apple Stores are not banning vacations in August. Apple is widely rumored to have developed two iPhone 6 models, one with a 4.7-inch screen and another with a 5.5-inch screen. Recent reports indicate that the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 model will launch first, likely in September. The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 will launch some time later. Some reports say that the larger iPhone 6 could be delayed until next year. Whether Apple would stick with its September iPhone launch schedule this year has been a matter of debate among analysts. Some have predicted that Apple would launch its new iPhone over the summer as it prepares for a full fall schedule of product debuts, including its much-anticipated iWatch.
Confidence: According to a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), an prominent activist investor has increased his stake in Apple, AppleInsider notes. Billionaire Carl Icahn has purchased 2.8 million more Apple shares. The additional shares are worth almost $1.65 billion. Icahn took a significant stake in Apple last year and pushed for the iPhone-maker to raise its planned share repurchase program to $100 billion, much higher than the $60 billion that Apple initially planned to spend. Icahn backed off the proposal earlier this year, but Apple has since boosted its authorized share buybacks to $90 billion. The SEC filings indicate that Icahn now holds 7.5 million Apple shares, worth about $4.4 billion at Apple’s current trading price. Earlier this month, Apple announced a 7-for-1 stock split to take place in June.
Download: On Thursday, Apple released the third major update for its OS X Mavericks operating system, Ars Technica notes. Apple had released the beta version of the update last month. OS X Mavericks 10.0.3 contains improvements meant to bolster the security and stability of Macs. Mavericks users can download the update from the Mac App Store or by running Software Update on their machines. The update includes enhanced support for 4K displays on the 2013 Mac Pro and 15-inch 2013 Retina MacBook Pro laptops and “improves the reliability of VPN connections using IPsec.” The software update also restores local USB syncing of contacts and calendars among Apple mobile devices running iOS and Macs through iTunes. The capability was ditched in the initial version of Mavericks, forcing users to rely on iCloud even though the feature was available in Mountain Lion. An upgraded version of Safari – version 7.0.3 — is also included in OS X Mavericks 10.0.3.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
