Friday Apple Rumors: Apple Has ‘Best Product Pipeline in 25 Years’

by Christopher Freeburn | May 30, 2014 12:31 pm

Here are your Apple rumors[1] and AAPL news items for today:

[2]Promises: Speaking at Re/Code’s CodeCon event this week, a senior Apple (AAPL[3]) executive signaled that the iPhone-maker would have a busy fall launch schedule[4], Forbes notes. Senior Vice President Eddy Cue told attendees: “Later this year, we’ve got the best product pipeline that I’ve seen in my 25 years at Apple.” Cue’s remark comes as Apple is under growing pressure to release new products. Apple is widely expected to launch its next generation iPhone in September. The iPhone 6 is expected to come in two sizes: a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and a 5.5-inch iPhone, which is expected to launch toward the end of the year. The company is also reportedly working on a smartwatch — the iWatch — that is expected to debut this fall. A number of analysts have also predicted a new iMac, updated Apple TV and, of course, refreshes to its iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini. Apple CEO Tim Cook has also previously hinted at new products set to debut in 2014. Critics have questioned Apple’s ability to introduce innovative new products without the leadership of its late co-founder Steve Jobs.

iWallet: Apple is reportedly talking with a number of retail chains about a mobile payment service[5], 9to5Mac notes. According to sources, Apple has been discussing the mobile payment service with upscale apparel and “premium goods” retailers over the past several months. An Apple mobile payment service would permit iPhone owners to may payments through their devices at participating retailers’ stores. The talks with retailers suggest that Apple is still in the research and development phase of building a mobile payment system. Recent reports indicate that Apple has also discussed a mobile payment system with payment processing companies and was looking at building a payment service around its iTunes business, which has more than 800 million accounts with credit card data. The introduction of the TouchID fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5s was also seen as a early move toward a secure mobile payment system. The TouchID scanner is expected to appear in all new iOS devices launched this year, according to recent reports.

Not Yet: iPad users hoping to get a preview of split-screen multitasking for Apple tablets may have to wait a little longer[6], MacRumors notes. Recent reports had indicated that split-screen multitasking for the iPad would appear in iOS 8, which is expected to launch with the iPhone 6 later this year, and would be shown off at next week’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. However, Brian Chen of the New York Times has tweeted that his sources say the feature isn’t ready yet and won’t be spotlighted at the WWDC. Chen says that split-screen multitasking for the iPad is “still a work in process.” Tablets from rival manufacturers have offered a similar feature for some time.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[7] stories.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2014/05/friday-apple-rumors-apple-best-product-pipeline-25-years/

---