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Many have great hopes for the Apple and IBM partnership in the enterprise space, though to date there has not been any earth shattering announcements. 9to5Mac are now reporting that Apple is looking to hire people to fill the role IBM Business Development Executive. According to Apple the team will “play a pivotal role in the U.S. success of the recently announced Apple partnership with IBM.” The role “will be accountable for all aspects of the Apple and IBM Partnership for a defined geographical and account set territory” ...

In the recent quarterly report the slowing iPads sales were one of the few down notes, along with the non-reporting of iPod sales. Whilst not great these is some good news for Apple on the tablet front, with the latest data from IDC suggesting it is still number and the overall market is also falling. The overall table market shrank for the first time year on year with a 3.2% decline, ...

We may not know the price of the high end Apple Watch but we might be able to read something into reports that Apple will outfit its official stores with safes to store them. 9to5Mac also that report that it will also have a special sale process.

Ahead of the launch it seems Apple are leaning on some developers to have their Apple Watch apps ready by mid-February. Macrumors ...

With it being back to school time here in Australia and New Zealand, Apple has once again rolled out a back to school promotion. This year qualifying purchases will receive an Apple Store gift card, rather than the iTunes card used last year.

Also on the Australian news front, Goodbye pointed out in yesterdays Morning News post that the latest Apple TV update added Ten Play to the ...

Apple reported its record financial results for Q1 2015 and it is fair to say they were an impressive set of numbers. Sales of US$74.6 billion and net profit was US$18 billion. The breakdown in sales was also some impressive numbers lead by the iPhones, which saw 74.5 million units sold during the quarter. iPad sales were 21.4 million units while Mac sales were 5.5 million units. ...

Looking down at the logo by Shaun Garrity, on Flickr

Macrumors have picked up the fact that iCloud.com Photos app was updated over the weekend. The app picked up a new zoom option in the toolbar. In addition you can now send a photo via e-mail directly from the website.

Also getting an update and actually being rolled out in Australia is Apple Maps for small business. 9to5Mac ...

Let's face it, Apple is a pretty secretive company. We might get a major leak from time to time, but even most ‘analysts’ and Apple experts have no more of an idea what Apple is going to do than you or I. With that in mind, I thought I would put together a bit of a timeline and prediction of what I think Apple will be doing over the next year.

Timeline:

February - Apple Watch is released, iOS 8.2 comes out. iOS 8.3 seeded.

April - iPad Centric event: iPad mini 4 released, 12 inch iPad Pro released, iPad Nano released and new smart covers and iOS 8.3 released.

WWDC - New Apple TV and Software released, iOS 9 and OSX 10.11 announced. 12 Inch Retina MacBook introduced, slightly redesigned MacBook Pro non retina renamed MacBook.

September - iOS 9 and OS 10.10 released. iPhone 6S + 6S Mini and upgraded 5C. iPod Nano and Shuffle refresh.

October - New MacBook Pro Retinas released, New iMac released, iPad Air 3 released, ...

Walking on air by Dale Gillard, on Flickr

I hope you all had a great Australia Day long weekend MacTalkers?

With the Monday off it is a bumper news morning this Tuesday.

We kick off with what are purported to be the first pictures of the 12-inch MacBook Air lid and display. We picked them up at 9to5Mac but they originated at iFanr. An area that caught 9to5Mac’s eye was the logo and the fact that ...

Logo, Apple Store Sydney by Dale Gillard, on Flickr

One big mystery about the Apple Watch is the expected battery life. Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac is reporting that sources are now indicating the target battery life levels Apple is seeking. One of the issues they face is that the sources indicate the processer and high quality screen are both heavy power users. As a result it seems they are looking for around 2.5 to 4 hours for active application use and around 3-4 days for standby and sleep mode. Active and passive ...