Samsung will be the beneficiary of last week's announcement that PortalPlayer's media chip will not be used in upcoming flash-based iPods.
PortalPlayer's media chip has been used in Apple's iPod from the beginning, but PortalPlayer's stock dropped on the news that Apple had decided to pass on their upcoming PP5021 media processor chip.
While PortalPlayer's current chip will continue to be used in current iPods, eeTimes reports that Samsung has been working with Apple on a "PortalPlayer killer" 32-bit chip based on ARM technology. This new chip has been chosen for use in future flash-based iPods.
I knew PortalPlayer would take a dive, said Jon Kang, senior vice president for the technical marketing group at Samsung Semiconductor Inc. (San Jose, Calif.), the U.S. chip arm of South Koreas Samsung (Seoul). I knew that we would win this design."
Few details are provided on the benefits of the switch. Samsung, however, is also the supplier of much of the NAND flash memory provided in the recent Flash-based iPods.
Based on these component reports, there has been speculation that the flash iPods will see a revision later this year.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
