This week on AppleInsider: Self-driving Apple Cars, Apple TV plans, corporate diversity & more
Groundwork continued to be laid this week for Apple's rumored Sept. 9 press event, but the news that stole the show was the revelation that Apple is not only working on an electric car, but a self-driving one, as some had speculated.
Even if the device does exist, details have been mostly speculative. It could potentially have a 4-inch screen but the internals of the iPhone 6, while abandoning the plastic back used for the iPhone 5c in favor of metal.
A rare conjunction on Thursday saw Apple release OS X 10.10.5, iOS 8.4.1, and iTunes 12.2.2 all on the same day. The OS X update was primarily a maintenance update, but also closed the dangerous DYLD_PRINT_TO_FILE privilege escalation exploit.
The iOS and iTunes updates were aimed directly at improving Apple Music and its associated features, including Beats 1 radio and Connect artist blogs.
Apple released its second-ever diversity report, in which it noted a 65 percent increase in women recruits, as well as a 50 percent increase in black hires, and a 66 percent jump in Hispanic ones. During the first six months of the year, half of the company's American hirings involved female, black, Hispanic, and/or Native American workers.
The company commented that it still has progress to make. Globally, 70 percent of its workforce remains male. In the U.S., the company is still 54 percent white.
Sources told Bloomberg on Thursday that while Apple is indeed planning to launch a new Apple TV set-top next month, a long-rumored streaming TV service won't arrive until 2016. The company allegedly wanted to announce both simultaneously, but is still struggling with content deals, and may not have sufficient cloud infrastructure for fast streaming.
The service will reportedly cost $40 per month, above some estimates. Past rumors have indicated that the new set-top will have an A8 processor, Siri, a touch-based remote, and its own App Store.
On Friday, British publication The Guardian said that Apple is looking to rent a 2,100-acre property near San Francisco to test a self-driving car. An official in charge of the property, known as GoMentum Station, confirmed talks with Apple, but nothing more.
Apple is generally believed to be working on an automotive product under the codename "Project Titan," but until now there was no clear evidence that it would be anything beyond an electric car. A self-driving vehicle could put the company head-to-head with the likes of Google, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz, which have all been developing similar technology.
Also this week, AppleInsider and Apple Authorized Resellers continued to launch unbeatable back-to-school deals, such as this offer that gives away AppleCare ($349) plus additional cash discounts and your choice of free accessory with the purchase of 7 different mid-2015 15" MacBook Pro configurations (total savings between $364-$449). For the lowest prices anywhere on all other MacBooks, you can check out our feature deal article: How to get the best prices on Apple's latest MacBooks this back-to-school season. Or, for iMacs, check out Killer iMac 5K Deal: Free Apple TV, Free Canon PIXMA all-in-one AirPrint Printer & $40-$229 off with each order. Of course, our Price Guides and Apple Deal Tracker are also available and updated constantly with the lowest prices in the industry.
Reports conflict on fate of 'iPhone 6c'
Although reports are unanimous that Apple will launch two flagship iPhones this fall,a more controversial matter has been whether there will be a third, budget device known as the iPhone 6c. One report from a normally trustworthy source asserted that there will be, but another indicated that only two online identifiers for new iPhones have been spotted in the wild.Even if the device does exist, details have been mostly speculative. It could potentially have a 4-inch screen but the internals of the iPhone 6, while abandoning the plastic back used for the iPhone 5c in favor of metal.
OS X, iOS & iTunes get simultaneous updates
A rare conjunction on Thursday saw Apple release OS X 10.10.5, iOS 8.4.1, and iTunes 12.2.2 all on the same day. The OS X update was primarily a maintenance update, but also closed the dangerous DYLD_PRINT_TO_FILE privilege escalation exploit.
The iOS and iTunes updates were aimed directly at improving Apple Music and its associated features, including Beats 1 radio and Connect artist blogs.
Official diversity numbers show more minority Apple recruits
Apple released its second-ever diversity report, in which it noted a 65 percent increase in women recruits, as well as a 50 percent increase in black hires, and a 66 percent jump in Hispanic ones. During the first six months of the year, half of the company's American hirings involved female, black, Hispanic, and/or Native American workers.
The company commented that it still has progress to make. Globally, 70 percent of its workforce remains male. In the U.S., the company is still 54 percent white.
New Apple TV in September, streaming TV service delayed
Sources told Bloomberg on Thursday that while Apple is indeed planning to launch a new Apple TV set-top next month, a long-rumored streaming TV service won't arrive until 2016. The company allegedly wanted to announce both simultaneously, but is still struggling with content deals, and may not have sufficient cloud infrastructure for fast streaming.
The service will reportedly cost $40 per month, above some estimates. Past rumors have indicated that the new set-top will have an A8 processor, Siri, a touch-based remote, and its own App Store.
Apple eyes test space for self-driving car
On Friday, British publication The Guardian said that Apple is looking to rent a 2,100-acre property near San Francisco to test a self-driving car. An official in charge of the property, known as GoMentum Station, confirmed talks with Apple, but nothing more.
Apple is generally believed to be working on an automotive product under the codename "Project Titan," but until now there was no clear evidence that it would be anything beyond an electric car. A self-driving vehicle could put the company head-to-head with the likes of Google, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz, which have all been developing similar technology.
AppleInsider podcast
Our editors this week gabbed about Apple's Sept. 9 event, Google and Alphabet, and Samsung's new products like the Galaxy Note 5 and the Gear S2 smartwatch.Unbeatable Back-to-School Deals
Also this week, AppleInsider and Apple Authorized Resellers continued to launch unbeatable back-to-school deals, such as this offer that gives away AppleCare ($349) plus additional cash discounts and your choice of free accessory with the purchase of 7 different mid-2015 15" MacBook Pro configurations (total savings between $364-$449). For the lowest prices anywhere on all other MacBooks, you can check out our feature deal article: How to get the best prices on Apple's latest MacBooks this back-to-school season. Or, for iMacs, check out Killer iMac 5K Deal: Free Apple TV, Free Canon PIXMA all-in-one AirPrint Printer & $40-$229 off with each order. Of course, our Price Guides and Apple Deal Tracker are also available and updated constantly with the lowest prices in the industry.
Comments
You need the best to do the best. Tim, have you forgotten this? You maybe big into diversity and the like but I am big into greatness of product. People like me have been Apple customers for years. Our expectations are high. If you are hiring just to look good with the "diversity crowd" instead of greatness, you have insulted all of your current staff and those that have gone before. Race, gender, sexual preference and the like have nothing to do with greatness of product, redefining marketplaces, and of course creating new marketplaces. I don't care if everyone is green and likes to eat cabbage. True equality is just hiring the best to be the best. I wonder if we truly believe in equality or is "political correctness" all we are striving for. Remember, it is tough to get to the top, it is even tougher to stay there. The new company theme for Apple should be simply "Stay There".
You need the best to do the best. Tim, have you forgotten this? You maybe big into diversity and the like but I am big into greatness of product. People like me have been Apple customers for years. Our expectations are high. If you are hiring just to look good with the "diversity crowd" instead of greatness, you have insulted all of your current staff and those that have gone before. Race, gender, sexual preference and the like have nothing to do with greatness of product, redefining marketplaces, and of course creating new marketplaces. I don't care if everyone is green and likes to eat cabbage. True equality is just hiring the best to be the best. I wonder if we truly believe in equality or is "political correctness" all we are striving for. Remember, it is tough to get to the top, it is even tougher to stay there. The new company theme for Apple should be simply "Stay There".
Diversity can mean just hiring to meet a quota, which seems to often work out how you're describing.
However, particularly in tech, there are a lot of people who get looked over because of their gender, age or ethnicity. You can sometimes get a lot better people by trying to be diverse just because there isn't as much competition to get people who have bad stereotypes attached to them. Also, if you focus on creating a diverse workplace, then more people feel like they belong, which also tends to improve results. I hope Apple is using its diversity focus to scoop up and nurture some great people.
Can someone explain to me why an effort to stop a hiring bias is seen only as A) pushing a hiring bias where none existed, and
This isn't a problem you can solve in the endgame, having previously ensured that
only a privileged class is likely to be "most qualified".
And, as such, it isn't even just an educational issue, but a societal one.
Fundamentally equal education can't only be available to some economic classes,
some colors, some countries, one gender (some genders?).
And once it isn't, the problem of hiring the best, AND hiring with diversity at the same time, solves itself.
It has been incredibly hard to increase diversity of engineers at my work, even though we've made a very serious effort to recruit and even favor underrepresented categories. Applicants for the job are OVERWHELMINGLY male and white or Asian. We're talking about 20 to 1 ratio.
The discrepancy starts farther back than hiring, that's definitely sure. Engineering colleges are overwhelmingly male. Applicants to engineering colleges are overwhelmingly male. Where does it begin? I don't know.
Genetics.
Now you know.
Is there any scientific proof that being classified as female or Hispanic inherently makes one a worse engineer than a male or Asian, ceteris paribus. While that might be true, I doubt there is any such evidence. I would argue that both genetics from within family, regardless of sex or ethnicity, would have more effect on aptitude. I would also argue that culture (which can include socio-economics levels) plays an even greater role than genetics in determining ones career path.
Genetics.
Now you know.
I've heard a lot of people say that, and none of them are ever geneticists.
Worse? No. Less desirous to become one? Apparently.
I disagree, but only on the surface.
There are qualified, men and women, of all races to fill these jobs. The H1B's are just a way for the corporations to avoiding hiring and training anyone, as anyone who has read any recent job qualification list would realize. That's why all the big companies try to poach the best employees from other companies rather than train anyone. We're all going to be butt-hurt in another decade or so when China and India call their "smart boys" home with better wages and the (crappy) North American companies can't poach anyone because nobody wants to work for a piss poor wage or hates to relocate. Look at Amazon, it's basically the tech equivalent of Walmart.
You can train anyone. Businesses don't want to train someone for 8 years just to start working.
I doubt that Apple is actually doing a a full fledged car.
My guess is that they see this huge opportunity for the new living-room/office that is the self driving car! They are going to make products that occupy the high end of this new area. People are going to have an additional 1-2hours a day to consume media that they have not had access to in the past... That is a huge new area that could make their current income from Mac/iPhone line look minuscule. There are ~250million cars on the road with an average age of ~11years old... So it takes about 20years to recycle the whole inventory (not including the outliers, collectors...). So for about two decades, >15 million cars per year will be replaced with moving living room/offices. And during this time the high end tends to recycle about every 5 years.
Apple would have to be suicidal to ignore this.
Wait a minute, the U.S. population is more than 54% white. So white people are underrepresented.
Can someone explain to me why an effort to stop a hiring bias is seen only as A) pushing a hiring bias where none existed, and
I believe for Apple it's a self inflicted wound. Tim Cook is outspoken about equal rights, Apple likes to tout how politically and socially correct they are so they are now held to a higher standard. They set the bar now activist groups and political groups are going to be all over them.
I believe if Jobs was still alive he would have removed Cook as CEO. Cook isn't nearly as focused as Jobs and he tries to use the power of Apple to further he activist agenda.