Given how Apple is so notably obsessed with security around new products, it certainly seems plausible that if they wanted to hide it, they would figure out how and make it happen. So I wonder what the probability is of a controlled leak.
And this info would be the perfect thing to leak, because it doesn't tip their hand to show anything we don't already know. It's already known that a new iPad will be announced on Wednesday. 2x resolution LCD panels have surfaced in China, so we already know that. And of course Apple is working on iOS 6, because they make iOS.
I think you might be ascribing too much to the marketing types. Regardless of the company, a "controlled leak" would probably be someone from PR (credible) talking to a single (or few) outlets. They almost certainly have no idea of (a) what a user-agent string is, (b) that it is logged to servers, and (c) that high-credibility news outlets are monitoring user-agent strings.
Basically what's happened here and elsewhere is Apple's profile is so big now and there is so much money to be made writing and breaking scoops about them that everything is under much more intense scrutiny then before.
Apple is like the country drifter who's been able to avoid the Barney Fifes at the local sheriffs offices but get's caught once the FBI forensic team is brought in.
The expectation I guess is more secrecy. When they're internally testing iOS 7 they sure as hell won't call it iOS 7 before the announcement. They may approach a number of these sites and offer payments for NDA, (this information is presumably more valuable to Apple then it is to Ars so they can just pay Ars). More intentional misdirection.
in both cases, the products didn't start showing up in logs until after the announcement of the announcement. the cat is out of the bag. there's no doubt at this point that there's going to be a new high-res iPad announced on march 7. it's not so much a controlled leak as it is apple just doesn't care anymore.
Hm. Don't Retina iPhones actually report their resolution as the same as non-Retina ones? When you're designing web sites etc. you can use the exact same pixel values in CSS, and the iPhone does the rest.
Maybe Google Analytics handles this by multiplying screen dimensions by window.devicePixelRatio. Or maybe someone is playing with Ars.
I was curious how publishing articles naming companies and user agents was allowed within their privacy policy. Relevant section:
We reserve the right to use the information we collect about your computer, mobile or other device (including its geographic location), which may at times be able to identify you, for any lawful business purpose
To be honest, I'm comfortable with websites publishing User Agent data. If I changed my UA to IE 5.5 for Mac and some sysadmin did a double-take and published it on her site, I wouldn't care as long as she didn't give away any personally-identifiable information like an IP address.
Given the fact that this has happened repeatedly with the launches of past Apple products, I find it difficult to believe that Apple would have made this "mistake" again unless:
a) They want news about the iPad 3 to leak out
or:
b) It's faked, something which, as several posters here have demonstrated, is trivial to accomplish.
If I remember well, last year we stumbled upon a similar case. We'll know after the announcement. As far as I know there have not been any iOS 6.0 rumors, so this is a high bet.
If 6.0 is unvelied next week, then Apple is doing that on purpose, as they know Ars checks their logs for that kind of content. However, if they stick to 5.1, then we'll know it's some kind of prank, and Ars will probably think twice before publishing the same article next year
Why is this even news? Don't we already have multiple corroborated sources verifying the existence of the Retina display iPad3? And what's the other takeaway - that iOS6 will eventually be released?
Wouldn't the opposite of this information be what's newsworthy?
None of the sources is what I would consider reliable. Multiple unreliable sources doesn't improve the reliability that much unless they are reporting independently.
This is news because no one really knows what Apple will release and not release.The rumors and chatter before the iPhone 4S indicated an iPhone 5 with a new design but that didn't pan out. That is the reason this is newsworthy and this is the reason for Apple's secrecy, to increase the speculation in the media.
The iOS situation is certainly weird enough to make this seem plausible. 5.0.1 was hastily pushed out, but did not fix some folks' battery problems; then 5.1 was announced with Photo Stream deletions and an option to disable 3G on the iPhone 4S, yet nothing was released, not even the SDK has been updated lately. 5.0.1 is also by no means bug-free on my devices. What's going on there?
Doesn't this sound a bit like the situation just before Apple announced Mountain Lion out of nowhere?
But then, why would Apple let it leak via the user agent - because this is not considered big news? But why not merge it into the March 7th event?
I hope this is a hoax and we can all enjoy a super-mature iOS 5.1 next week.
They're probably adding a few new features to iOS 5.x to launch with the iPad 3. In years past they showed off the next major version in the March/April time-frame but this was when the iPhone was launching in June/July. With an iPhone release later in the year they don't really have to show off iOS6 until WWDC.
I don't think there's anything plausible about inferring anything from a UA string, but you make a good point here. 5.1 should come on Wednesday, hopefully for all current iOS devices and not just iPad 3.
I can't wait to hear from the PC laptop manufacturers after the iPad 3 is released. How can Apple release a 2048x1536 (10 inch!) iPad when laptop OEMs have been claiming for years that 4:3 screens are DEAD? And that 768 vertical pixels is about the max we'll ever get on smaller screens?
ThinkPad: "Since these manufacturers make more selling TV displays than laptop displays, the PC vendors have almost zero say in this change. We simply have to adapt. As much as I would like it to be so, 4:3 is not coming back."http://blog.lenovo.com/perspectives/display-ratio-change-aga...
They probably do have zero say if they don’t commit to buying ten million or so per quarter.
I don’t think you quite understand how big that difference is. Lenovo sells half as many laptops as Apple sells iPads per quarter. That’s not laptops with one screen size and resolution, that’s six million laptops with wildly varying screen sizes and resolutions.
Apple has one iPad with one model of screen†. They sell millions per quarter and consequently need millions of identical screens per quarter. They have billions of Dollars with which they can pay upfront. Apple can pay LG one billion Dollars per quarter (that’s about as much as ten million iPad screens cost) upfront and wouldn’t even notice it all that much. Lenovo has less revenue, a lot less profit, a lot less cash reserves than Apple.
Lenovo sells many different laptops with many different screen sizes and resolutions. Many people probably do want 16:10 or 16:9 screens. They could probably sell substantially less than one million laptops with a 4:3 screen to a few weird nerds – and they would probably need 4:3 screens in different sizes and resolutions. That is certainly harder than what Apple has to do.
Apple can because Apple is unique. Their position allows them to do stuff like that.
I totally agree that it's awful losing 4:3 - and flat panel monitors have actually gone down in resolution since 1998.
Well, but there's the rub: you definitely can get high resolution flat panel monitors today. You just have to buy a huge monitor to get that resolution.
Because Apple has a billion or so dollars to throw away for getting a factory started that will build the said screens for them. And that all PC Manufacturers are fighting a dog fight for the razor thin margins at end of sale spectrum.
It could be Apple is testing the new shipment of iPad 3 with iOS 6. iOS 6 is scheduled at WWDC in June, my guess is iOS 6 will be a refinement of iOS 5 just like Mountain Lion is a refinement of Lion. And there will be a few new things in iOS 6/Mountain Lion not reveal to public yet. Question is will Apple surprise all by giving us a preview of iOS 6 next week?
My conspiracy theory: Apple is pushing yearly iOS update to put further pressure on Android. Apple will be glad that Android 5 will launch later this year, at a time when Android partners are just starting to roll out Android 4 hardware.
I just checked my Google Analytics. I have (in my personal blog) 1 visit with this screen resolution, browser Internet Explorer. Then I checked one of my job's biggest sites (Apple related), 6 visits, Opera and IE. Checked a smaller site... Added Chrome to the mix.
TL;DR: The screen resolution argument is quite crapish.
There are a few 2048x1536 monitors. But that's not the only line of evidence the article's conclusions hinge on. There's also the OS, the version, and the source of the connections from apple's corporate IP block. Given all that, and given what we already know about the iPad 3 (it will have a higher resolution display) Occam's razor leads to the conclusion that these are pre-release iPad 3 devices. The 2nd most likely conclusion is that this is an intentional hoax on the part of someone within Apple, which is hardly a more credible idea.
If the visits are from Apple's block of IPs, the argument is not really crapish. It can be that Apple employees are trolling Ars, but there's a better chance they are testing pre-release devices.
>346 visits from a device with a screen resolution of 2048x1536
That's pretty weak, was that same device one that was providing a iOS 6 user agent? They don't appear to link those two together, so eh. I can see one Ars user who has an old CRT (like I had 10 years ago) running 2048x1536.
If this is next week's iPad, wouldn't we expect both landscape and portrait resolutions? If I were in the rumor-making business, in combination with that iOS 6 version, I would call this a new apple TV running firmware claiming to be an iPad.
[+] [-] ben1040|14 years ago|reply
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2008/01/macworld-ars-macbo...
Given how Apple is so notably obsessed with security around new products, it certainly seems plausible that if they wanted to hide it, they would figure out how and make it happen. So I wonder what the probability is of a controlled leak.
And this info would be the perfect thing to leak, because it doesn't tip their hand to show anything we don't already know. It's already known that a new iPad will be announced on Wednesday. 2x resolution LCD panels have surfaced in China, so we already know that. And of course Apple is working on iOS 6, because they make iOS.
[+] [-] pork|14 years ago|reply
I'm putting my money on gaffe.
[+] [-] Steko|14 years ago|reply
Apple is like the country drifter who's been able to avoid the Barney Fifes at the local sheriffs offices but get's caught once the FBI forensic team is brought in.
The expectation I guess is more secrecy. When they're internally testing iOS 7 they sure as hell won't call it iOS 7 before the announcement. They may approach a number of these sites and offer payments for NDA, (this information is presumably more valuable to Apple then it is to Ars so they can just pay Ars). More intentional misdirection.
[+] [-] notatoad|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] napierzaza|14 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] zbowling|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] matthavener|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] untog|14 years ago|reply
Maybe Google Analytics handles this by multiplying screen dimensions by window.devicePixelRatio. Or maybe someone is playing with Ars.
[+] [-] kevinchen|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zokier|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tlb|14 years ago|reply
We reserve the right to use the information we collect about your computer, mobile or other device (including its geographic location), which may at times be able to identify you, for any lawful business purpose
[+] [-] ceol|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] elemeno|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] w1ntermute|14 years ago|reply
a) They want news about the iPad 3 to leak out
or:
b) It's faked, something which, as several posters here have demonstrated, is trivial to accomplish.
I think b) is the most likely answer.
[+] [-] youlost_thegame|14 years ago|reply
If 6.0 is unvelied next week, then Apple is doing that on purpose, as they know Ars checks their logs for that kind of content. However, if they stick to 5.1, then we'll know it's some kind of prank, and Ars will probably think twice before publishing the same article next year
[+] [-] djtriptych|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ja27|14 years ago|reply
c) Of the few hundred employees with access to iPad 3s, at least one slipped up and visited public websites with it.
[+] [-] djtriptych|14 years ago|reply
Wouldn't the opposite of this information be what's newsworthy?
[+] [-] smackfu|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] recoiledsnake|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] micahflee|14 years ago|reply
Now Ars has iPad with iOS 7 user-agents in their logs too :)
[+] [-] shawndumas|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mrpollo|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gurkendoktor|14 years ago|reply
Doesn't this sound a bit like the situation just before Apple announced Mountain Lion out of nowhere?
But then, why would Apple let it leak via the user agent - because this is not considered big news? But why not merge it into the March 7th event?
I hope this is a hoax and we can all enjoy a super-mature iOS 5.1 next week.
[+] [-] jsz0|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] funkah|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pkamb|14 years ago|reply
ThinkPad: "Since these manufacturers make more selling TV displays than laptop displays, the PC vendors have almost zero say in this change. We simply have to adapt. As much as I would like it to be so, 4:3 is not coming back." http://blog.lenovo.com/perspectives/display-ratio-change-aga...
[+] [-] ugh|14 years ago|reply
I don’t think you quite understand how big that difference is. Lenovo sells half as many laptops as Apple sells iPads per quarter. That’s not laptops with one screen size and resolution, that’s six million laptops with wildly varying screen sizes and resolutions.
Apple has one iPad with one model of screen†. They sell millions per quarter and consequently need millions of identical screens per quarter. They have billions of Dollars with which they can pay upfront. Apple can pay LG one billion Dollars per quarter (that’s about as much as ten million iPad screens cost) upfront and wouldn’t even notice it all that much. Lenovo has less revenue, a lot less profit, a lot less cash reserves than Apple.
Lenovo sells many different laptops with many different screen sizes and resolutions. Many people probably do want 16:10 or 16:9 screens. They could probably sell substantially less than one million laptops with a 4:3 screen to a few weird nerds – and they would probably need 4:3 screens in different sizes and resolutions. That is certainly harder than what Apple has to do.
Apple can because Apple is unique. Their position allows them to do stuff like that.
—
† After next Wednesday they might have two.
[+] [-] sounds|14 years ago|reply
Well, but there's the rub: you definitely can get high resolution flat panel monitors today. You just have to buy a huge monitor to get that resolution.
So it seems obvious to me that Apple's not going to increase the size of the iPad. ( http://www.tomsguide.com/us/iPad-iMat-iBoard-Joke,news-5968.... )
The rest of us can fight over the scraps. Apple is big enough to dictate the design specs on their displays.
[+] [-] galadriel|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] th0ma5|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aaronpk|14 years ago|reply
The screen resolution was not tied to the IP addresses because it showed up in Google Analytics.
[+] [-] ck2|14 years ago|reply
Select/Insert user-agent and use cloud farms to hit a website randomly with it.
[+] [-] ryanpetrich|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] funkah|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jemeshsu|14 years ago|reply
My conspiracy theory: Apple is pushing yearly iOS update to put further pressure on Android. Apple will be glad that Android 5 will launch later this year, at a time when Android partners are just starting to roll out Android 4 hardware.
[+] [-] danso|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] RBerenguel|14 years ago|reply
TL;DR: The screen resolution argument is quite crapish.
[+] [-] InclinedPlane|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] woobar|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] RBerenguel|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kprobst|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] recoiledsnake|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tylerritchie|14 years ago|reply
That's pretty weak, was that same device one that was providing a iOS 6 user agent? They don't appear to link those two together, so eh. I can see one Ars user who has an old CRT (like I had 10 years ago) running 2048x1536.
[+] [-] Someone|14 years ago|reply