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's Share of Tablet Market Sees Slight Holiday Quarter Boost
Following its mobile phone report earlier this week, research firm IDC has published its estimates of tablet shipments for the fourth quarter of 2013, showing that Apple continues to lead the market with roughly one-third of all shipments.
Worldwide tablet shipments in 4Q13 in millions of units (Source: IDC)
Apple's share of the market has generally declined over the past two years amid the...
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Apple Continues to Lose Smartphone Share, Gain Mobile Phone Share in 4Q 2013
Even as Apple's share of the smartphone market declined in the fourth quarter of 2013, the rise of smartphones to replace more basic feature phones has allowed the company to continue increasing its share of the overall mobile phone market, according to new numbers from research firm IDC.
According to IDC, yearly smartphone shipments topped one billion for the first time in 2013 and now...
Apple Adds 'Red Bull TV' Action Sports Channel to Apple TV
Apple today expanded the lineup for its Apple TV set-top box, adding a new Red Bull TV channel with free action sports content carrying branding from the energy drink company. As noted by Variety, the channel includes coverage of live events, as well as curated playlists and on-demand content.
Red Bull TV live programming, films, shows and clips are now available to Apple TV users worldwide...
New Video Shows 'iOS in the Car' Functionality from iOS 7.0.3 in Action
Last week, app developer Steven Troughton-Smith shared a series of screenshots of what seemed to be Apple's "iOS in the Car" feature announced by Apple as "coming soon" to iOS 7 devices. The feature is intended to allow an iOS device to take over the in-dash display of a car, providing access to navigation, phone functions, messages, and music.
Troughton-Smith has now posted a video showing...
OS X 10.10 to Feature 'Flatter' Look, but Not as Stark as iOS 7
OS X 10.10, the next version of OS X which carries the code name of "Syrah", will take a few cues from iOS 7 with a somewhat flatter look compared to OS X Mavericks, but the changes will not result in as stark a look as seen on iOS 7, according to a new report from 9to5Mac. The report comes on the heels of comments from Apple executives reiterating that convergence of iOS and OS X is a "non-goal" ...
iPhone with Sapphire Display Glass Reportedly in Trial Production
Earlier this week, an Apple patent application highlighted Apple's interest in potentially using sapphire as a display glass cover on future iPhones, and according to a new report [Google Translate] from Taiwan's Apple Daily, the company's assembly partner Foxconn has begun trial production on just such a device with an initial run of 100 units.
Furnaces for sapphire glass production
The...
HondaLink Offers Partial Car-iPhone Integration Ahead of Apple's 'iOS in the Car' Initiative
While Apple's upcoming iOS in the Car functionality has been gaining significant attention, some automakers have been developing their own systems to allow for greater integration between iPhones and vehicles.
Back in December, Honda announced new HondaLink apps and functionality to allow iOS devices to integrate with the new 2014 Civic and upcoming 2015 Fit, and MacRumors recently sat down...
Carl Icahn's Stake in Apple Passes $3 Billion Amid Continued Stock Buyback Pressure
Activist investor Carl Icahn has just tweeted that his investment firm has acquired an additional $500 million in Apple stock over the past two weeks, pushing his stake to over $3 billion. Calling continued investment in Apple a "no brainer" at current prices, Icahn also continues to believe that Apple needs to significantly increase its stock buyback program. A more in-depth letter from Icahn on ...
New Mac Mini Coming by End of February According to Belgian Retailer
While nearly all of Apple's Mac lines have transitioned to Intel's latest Haswell chip platform, one notable exception is the Mac mini, which has not been updated since October 2012 and is ripe for an update.
As noted in our forums, major Belgian retailer Computerstore.be has now posted placeholder listings for new Haswell Mac minis in Core i5 and Core i7 variations.
Retailer placeholders ...
Apple Wins Brief Stay of External Monitoring in E-Books Antitrust Case
The ongoing dispute over external compliance monitoring of Apple in the e-books antitrust case has taken another turn today, with a federal appeals court granting Apple a brief reprieve from monitoring as it considers the possibility of a longer stay as Apple appeals the original decision, reports Reuters.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York granted Apple an "administrative stay" of...
Apple's Mac Pro Shipping Estimates Move to March in Many Countries
Shipping estimates for new orders of stock configurations of the redesigned Mac Pro have now moved to March in many of Apple's online stores around the world.
The change in shipping estimates does not necessarily reflect a worsening supply situation given that estimates have been listed at "February" essentially since launch last month, but they do indicate that Apple is not making up...
Adobe Creative Cloud Adds 3D Printing in Photoshop, Enhancements for Other Apps
Adobe today announced several updates to its Creative Cloud suite of apps, including a significant upgrade to Photoshop with the addition of support for 3D printing.
With today’s release of Photoshop CC, designs can be printed to a locally connected 3D printer or via built-in access to popular online 3D print services. Photoshop CC supports the most popular desktop 3D printers, such as the...
Apple Widens Lead Over Samsung in U.S. Smartphone Race in 2013
Research firm NPD today announced the results of its latest Connected Home Report, showing that Apple increased its share of the U.S. smartphone installed user base by seven percentage points, from 35 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 42 percent in the same quarter of 2013. Second-place Samsung increased its share of the market by a smaller margin from 22 percent to 26 percent, while other ...
Refurbished Late 2013 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Debuts in Apple's Online Store
Following the appearance of 15-inch models of the latest Retina MacBook Pro in Apple's online store for refurbished items over the weekend, 13-inch models have now debuted in the store, again offering discounts of roughly 15% compared to brand-new units. While a number of different configurations were available when the 13-inch machines first appeared late yesterday, Apple is currently listing...
Chrome for iOS Adds Data Compression and Translation Tools [Updated]
Google today announced an update to its Chrome web browser for iOS, bringing data compression functionality that can reduce data usage by up to 50%.To start saving data and turn on an even more secure browsing experience, visit “Settings” > “Bandwidth management” > “Reduce data usage.” Then simply turn the toggle to “On.” From this menu, you’ll also be able to track how much...
Apple Begins Hiring for Arizona Sapphire Plant with Focus on iPhone and iPod
Apple yesterday posted a trio of job listings (via 9to5Mac) for positions located in Mesa, Arizona where the company is building a sapphire manufacturing plant. The facility is to be owned by Apple and run by sapphire producer GT Advanced Technologies, although the new job listings confirm that Apple will have some of its own staff on hand as well.
Furnaces for sapphire production
Sapphire is ...
iPhone 6 Fingerprint Sensor Production Set to Gear Up in Q2 with Increased Efficiency
Apple's iPhone fingerprint sensor supplier TSMC is preparing to begin production on sensors for the iPhone 6 in the second quarter of this year, according to a report from Digitimes. The report claims that TSMC will be shifting to a larger 12-inch fab from the current 8-inch fab, a move that should increase production efficiency. TSMC will also handle the packaging process for the sensors itself...
Apple's Back to School Promo Kicks Off in Australia and New Zealand
Apple has launched its annual back to school promotion in Australia and New Zealand, offering education customers free gift cards for the company's digital content stores with the purchase of a new Mac, iPad, or iPhone. Gift cards can be used in the App Store, Mac App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore, and are available in the following amounts:
- Purchase a new Mac except Mac mini or Mac...
China Mobile Stocks 1.4 Million iPhone 5s Units Ahead of Friday's Launch
Apple's iPhone 5s assembler Foxconn has shipped roughly 1.4 million iPhone 5s units to China Mobile in advance of Friday's launch for the carrier, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. After several years of negotiations, Apple finally announced last month that the iPhone would be coming to the world's largest carrier on January 17.While the initial shipment volume doesn’t...
Apple Interested in Liquidmetal Alloys for Home Buttons, Touch Sensors, and Tamper-Resistant Screws
Back in 2010, Apple signed an exclusive agreement with Caltech spinoff Liquidmetal Technologies, providing Apple with the rights to use Liquidmetal's advanced metal alloys for consumer electronics purposes. Liquidmetal's amorphous metal alloys or bulk metallic glasses posses a number of characteristic properties such as high strength and corrosion resistance while remaining relatively light and...
