Apple rumours: iWatch woes, new Mac Mini, and yet another iPhone 6 chassis

Both Tim Cook and Eddie Cure have claimed that this year will feature the most exciting Apple product line-up so far, which sounds incredibly exciting. Can you not wait for the official announcement to take place? Well why not have a skim through our daily round-up of the latest rumours and leaks related to all things Apple.

1. Study claims Apple might “slow down” it’s old phones to boost new sales

According to a study at Harvard University, Apple might be deliberately slowing down its devices in an attempt to boost sales of new models. The study shows that every time a new device is released, the number of Google searches for “iPhone Slow” spike whenever a new, faster, device is released. For contrast, the same trend does not occur every time Samsung released a new device.

Professor Sendhil Mullainathan, one of the researchers involved, stated that the results were “striking”, but warned that it could be psychological. Apple, on the other hand, ha refused to comment on the claims. [Metro]

2. Some say that Apple has bought an e-book recommendation service 

Rumour has it that Apple has bought BookLamp, an e-book recommendation service that has been referred to as “the Pandora for books”. The deal reportedly cost Apple between $10 (£5.8) million and $15 (£8.3) million, and is presumably to help Apple’s iBooks compete with Amazon’s Kindle store, since Amazon has been using a system-wide recommendation service for many years. When queried about the legitimacy of the rumours, Apple said, “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” Which is of course really helpfuland enlightening. Thanks Apple, you’re the best. 

Whatever the case, the BookLamp website has now been replaced by a farewell page that notes the service will be unavailable as it “evolves its mission.” [TechCrunch]

3. Another potential iPhone 6 chassis has popped up online

Pictures and videos of what is apparently the iPhone 6’s chassis on the internet are becoming more and more common, making it impossible to determine which ones are fake (assuming that any of them are legitimate). Then again, this video does corroborate much of what has been leaked so far, including the rumour that the rear Apple logo would be lit up in some way.

That doesn’t mean we should put out unwavering faith into the video, it is a leak and it could well prove to be false. But until we get the official announcement from the folks at Apple, this is the best we’ve got. [UberGizmo]

4. The iWatch might be delayed until December

It’s sad news for Apple fans, not only might the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 be delayed until later this year, so might the much anticipated iWatch. Why is this? Well reports are varied. Some say that there is a problem obtaining enough silver nano-ink for the wires in the watch, while other claims it’s down to complications ensuring the device matches waterproofing standards and inherent issues with shrinking iOS for a much smaller screen.

It’s disappointing sure, but wouldn’t you rather wait a couple of months so that the iWatch works the way its supposed to? Remember, this is just a rumour. Until we have an official announcement don’t believe everything you hear. [Network World]

5. A new Mac Mini might be on the way

Unlike most of Apple’s hardware the Mac Mini has been ignored somewhat, since it hasn’t had any sort of upgrade since late 2012. But speculation has be stirred up once again thanks to an entry on Apple’s Boot Camp page, on a table that shows Mac Mini dual booting capability, that mentioned a 2014 version of the Mac Mini. The entry has since been removed, and since it categorically mentioned mid-2014 the fact that we haven’t heard anything else about it likely means that it was a clerical error.

Whether that’s true or not, it’s enough to cause rampant speculation and ask the question, “Why haven’t we had a new Mac Mini yet?” [SlashGear]