Eric Slivka
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2008.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
Eric Slivka's Articles
Apple Targeting March for Apple Watch Launch, Retail Training Begins Next Month
While Apple has yet to publicly announce a specific launch date for the Apple Watch beyond "Early 2015", sources speaking to 9to5Mac say the company is currently planning for a March debut in the initial wave of countries. Sources in the retail segment indicate that select store employees will undergo centralized Apple Watch training the week of February 9, with those employees in turn training...
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Apple's 12-Inch Retina MacBook Air Shown in Artist's Renditions
In a set of artist renditions, 9to5Mac offers a look at Apple's long-rumored 12-inch Retina MacBook Air. The renditions and details shared in the report are consistent with previous reports on the machine, although plans do sometimes change during the development process.
As previously described in rumors, the next MacBook Air will have roughly the same footprint as the current 11-inch...
CES 2015: iDevices Announces HomeKit-Enabled 'Switch' Smart Plug
iDevices today announced its upcoming Switch smart plug, a HomeKit-enabled device that allows users to remotely control a variety of devices around the home. The system takes advantage of the existing iDevices Connected app to give users control over the plug, which plugs into a standard electrical outlet and connects to the home's Wi-Fi network to provide control over a device plugged into...
Intel Launches New Broadwell Chips Appropriate for MacBook Air and 13-Inch MacBook Pro
Intel today announced the launch of a full set of "Broadwell-U" processors, opening the door for updated versions of Apple's MacBook Air and 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. The chip launch is essentially in line with a leaked timeline from last July that also pegs the release of more powerful Broadwell chips appropriate for the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro as late as July or August of this year.
As o...
Hands-On With Alpine's iLX-007 In-Dash CarPlay Entertainment System
While car manufacturers have been slower than anticipated to roll out support for Apple's in-vehicle CarPlay system, Pioneer and Alpine have delivered aftermarket options in the form of in-dash systems with CarPlay compatibility and large touch screens.
MacRumors has had a chance to spend some time with Alpine's iLX-007, which carries a suggested retail price of $800 but commonly sells for...
Djay for Mac Goes Pro With Spotify Integration, Revamped Interface, and More Powerful Features
Algoriddim has long been known for its popular DJ app djay, which began life on the Mac before moving to the iPad, iPhone and most recently Android, with the various versions winning a number of awards and contributing to making djay the world's best-selling DJ app with over 15 million downloads.
With djay having proven popular among both amateur and professional DJs, users have been asking...
Apple Seeds Safari 8.0.3, 7.1.3, and 6.2.3 to Developers
Apple today seeded a new Safari 8.0.3 beta for developers running OS X Yosemite, along with a Safari 7.1.3 beta for Mavericks and a Safari 6.2.3 beta for Mountain Lion.
Registered Mac developers can download the new Safari builds through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store or through the Mac Dev Center. In the release notes for the new betas, Apple asks developers to focus on...
Apple Releases New Holiday Ad 'The Song'
Apple today released a new 90-second holiday ad entitled "The Song", following in the footsteps of last year's "Misunderstood" ad."The Song" centers around a girl who stumbles upon an old record, apparently a gift from her grandmother to her grandfather from 1952. The record includes a message about not being able to be together for the holidays and then a rendition of "Love Is Here to Stay"...
Classic Apple Watches From 1995 Once Again Available for Sale
While customers are looking forward to the launch of the Apple Watch early next year, there have been several other Apple-branded watches over the years typically offered as promotional items, and one of those items from nearly 20 years ago is making a comeback.
A limited number of these Apple watches from 1995 were kept by a distributor and have now been made available for sale, priced from...
Apple Releases Safari 8.0.2 for OS X Yosemite to Replace Previously Pulled Safari 8.0.1
Eight days after releasing and then quickly pulling Safari 8.0.1 for OS X Yosemite, Apple today released Safari 8.0.2 to the public.
The release notes for Safari 8.0.2 are identical to those for Safari 8.0.1 except for the addition of a line noting the problems with the 8.0.1 release.- Fixes a rare issue in which some users were unable to access Safari after installing the 8.0.1 update.Other...
'Workflow' Brings Powerful Automated Actions to iOS
DeskConnect today launched Workflow, a universal iOS app billed as a "personal automation tool" that allows users to easily create workflows to accomplish various tasks such as creating animated GIFs from a series of photos, grabbing images from a web page, automatically cross-posting photos to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram in one step, and more.
Workflow contains over 100 different...
Apple Adds New Apple TV Channels for UFC, The Scene, Fusion, and Dailymotion
Apple today added four new channels to its Apple TV set-top box, further expanding the variety of content available on the device. The new additions include ultimate fighting channel UFC.TV, digital video shorts channel The Scene, news and pop culture channel Fusion, and video sharing site Dailymotion.
UFC.TV offers access to a variety of Ultimate Fighting Championship content, including...
MasterCard Teams Up With Gwen Stefani to Promote Apple Pay and 'Priceless Surprises'
In the latest phase of its Priceless Surprises promotion that rewards cardholders for simply using their credit and debit cards, MasterCard is partnering with Gwen Stefani to offer private performances, unique experiences, and other surprises for customers. The campaign comes with a new ad featuring Apple Pay and Stefani's new single, "Spark the Fire."
To kick things off, MasterCard will debut ...
Apple Releases Final Cut Pro 10.1.4 and Xcode 6.1.1
Apple today released a minor update to Final Cut Pro, bringing native support for Material eXchange Format (MXF) container files and several other enhancements and bug fixes.What's New in Version 10.1.4
- Native MXF import, edit, and export with Pro Video Formats 2.0 software update
- Option to export AVC-Intra MXF files
- Support for import and editing with Panasonic AVC-LongG media
- Fixes...
Hands-On With Elgato Smart Power and Mophie Powerstation Plus External Batteries
While there are an endless variety of external batteries on the market capable of charging iOS devices while on the go, two recent entrants at the higher end of the market are giving consumers more options as they consider holiday gifts.
Elgato Smart Power (left) and Mophie Powerstation Plus 2X (right)
The first is Elgato's Smart Power, a 6,000 mAh external battery priced at $99.95. Housed in ...
Apple's Market Capitalization Hits Record $700 Billion
Apple's stock continues its strong recent performance, hitting another milestone today with a market capitalization of $700 billion and once again setting a new standard as the highest market cap in history before pulling back slightly. The mark comes less than two weeks after Apple's market cap passed $660 billion to set its first new high in two years.
The company's market capitalization...
Chase Launches Apple Pay Ad Campaign Featuring Jack Antonoff's Bleachers and Small Businesses
Following this past weekend's promotion that saw Chase customers being offered free early downloads of David Guetta's upcoming album just for adding their cards to Apple Pay, the bank has launched a new national campaign touting Apple Pay. The new campaign begins today with a 30-second ad featuring Fun front man Jack Antonoff's side project Bleachers using Apple Pay at several locations around...
Beats Music to Be Bundled Into iOS Early Next Year, Will Remain Paid Subscription Service
As part of Apple's revamp of its recently acquired Beats Music streaming service, the company plans to bundle Beats directly into iOS, reports Financial Times.
Apple will bundle the subscription music service it acquired from Beats into its iOS operating system early next year, instantly making it available on hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads – and ramping up pressure on Spotify, the...
Fleksy for iOS Used to Set New World Record for Fastest Touch-Screen Text Message Typing
Back in May, Brazilian teenager Marcel Fernandes Filho used Fleksy's predictive keyboard for Android on a Samsung Galaxy S4 to set a new world record of 18.19 seconds for the fastest typing of a text message on a touch-screen mobile phone. Filho's record was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records and required him to type Guinness' standard test message:The razor-toothed piranhas of the...
Apple to Begin Allowing Accessory Manufacturers to Include Lightning Ports Early Next Year
While Apple's Lightning connector has become ubiquitous across the company's iOS device lineup over the past several years, third-party accessory manufacturers have so far been unable to include ports for the connector on their products. That appears set to change in the relatively near future, however, as Apple has informed members of the company's MFi program that it will begin shipping a...
