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 Says Government Trying to 'Rewrite History' by Using All Writs Act as 'All-Powerful Magic Wand'
Following the U.S. government's filing last week once again urging the court to compel Apple to assist the FBI in unlocking the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, a document Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell called a "cheap shot," Apple today filed its response arguing that the government's reliance on the All Writs Act dating back to 1789 as justification for the request is an...
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Apple News Format Expands to All Publishers for Richer Media Experiences
Apple today opened up its Apple News Format to all publishers, giving independent publishers and individuals tools to offer rich media content within the Apple News app for iOS 9, as noted by Vanity Fair.
Apple News launched as part of iOS 9, offering a one-stop location for users to keep up on news on various topics from a number of different sources. Any publication with an RSS feed could...
First iPhone SE Cases Start Appearing With Conflicting Designs
Last week, we saw some conflicting designs for what the upcoming 4-inch iPhone 5se or SE might look like, based on information obtained from case manufacturers. With less than three weeks to go before the device's introduction, we're now seeing the first actual "iPhone SE" cases surface online, although it's clear these companies have yet to nail down just what the phone will look like.
iPhone ...
DisplayPort 1.4 to Use 'Lossless' Compression for Higher-Quality 8K Video Over USB-C
The Video Electronics Standards Association yesterday formally announced its new DisplayPort 1.4 standard, setting the stage for improved video quality and color for external display connections over both DisplayPort and USB-C connectors.
Rather than an increase in actual bandwidth, the improvements in DisplayPort 1.4 come due to improved compression, taking advantage of VESA's new Display...
Apple's 'iPad Air 3' to Be Branded as an iPad Pro With Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil Support
Apple's next-generation 9.7-inch iPad has been presumed to be dubbed "iPad Air 3," in line with the last several generations of the device, but according to a new report from 9to5Mac, Apple will instead be branding the new device as part of the iPad Pro family when it is introduced at the company's rumored March 15 media event.
The smaller iPad Pro will have nearly identical features and...
Review: Mophie's Latest Powerstation Batteries Pack Power and App Integration Into a Slim Design
Late last year, Mophie unveiled its latest lineup of Powerstation external batteries, offering a number of slim new options for recharging mobile devices on the go. The lineup includes five models: 1X (2,000 mAh), 2X (4,000 mAh), 3X (6,000 mAh), 5X (10,000 mAh), and 8X (15,000 mAh), with prices ranging from $40 to $150. Mophie's Powerstation batteries are available from a number of outlets,...
First Details on iPhone 7 Design: Flush Rear Camera, No Antenna Bands Across the Back
Apple's iPhone 7 isn't expected to launch until the usual September timeframe, but we're starting to get our first hints of what we might be able to expect for the new device. According to a source who has provided reliable information in the past, the iPhone 7 body will appear very similar to the design used for the iPhone 6 and 6s, with two significant exceptions.
The first involves the rear ...
iPad Air 3 Cases to Fit Four Speakers, Rear Flash, and Smart Connector Appear
Last week, a design drawing surfaced claiming to show an iPad Air 3 with a few differences compared to the current iPad Air 2, most notably a stereo four-speaker design similar to the iPad Pro and an apparent LED flash located below the rear camera.
The design drawing likely came from a third-party manufacturer, and these companies apparently now feel comfortable enough to begin producing cases...
Intel Launches New Skylake Chips Appropriate for 15-Inch Retina MacBook Pro
As noted by AnandTech, Intel this week quietly released an updated processor price list which includes several new Skylake chips that could be used in an updated 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro.
The direct upgrade path for the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro would use the following quad-core chip options: a 2.6 GHz Core i7-6770HQ, a 2.7 GHz Core i7-6870HQ, and a 2.8 GHz Core i7-6970HQ, all coming in...
Apple Reports Record Results: $18.4B Profit on $75.9B in Revenue for Q1 2016 on 74.8M iPhones
Apple today announced financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2016, which corresponds to the fourth calendar quarter of 2015. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $75.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $18.4 billion, or $3.28 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $74.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Both...
Apple Studying Issue With iPhone 6s & 6s Plus Not Updating Battery Percentage
Apple this week posted a new support document addressing an issue some iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users have been experiencing with the battery percentage displayed in the status bar on their displays not updating as the battery drains.
The company notes it is investigating the issue and working on a solution, although it appears to be related to time zone or clock settings. In the meantime,...
Apple Once Again Rumored to Be Developing High-Resolution Audio Formats
Apple is reportedly preparing to launch new higher-quality audio streaming in 2016, according to industry sources who spoke to Mac Otakara at this weekend's Portable Audio Festival in Tokyo.According to several insiders familiar with Apple, whose products are exhibited at PORTABLE AUDIO FESTIVAL 2015, the company has been developing Hi-Res Audio streaming up to 96kHz/24bit in 2016.
The...
BBC iPlayer Goes Live on New Apple TV in the UK
The BBC today launched its BBC iPlayer app for the new Apple TV in the United Kingdom, bringing the popular streaming service from the UK's public broadcaster to Apple's set-top box for the first time. iPlayer had been a notable omission on earlier boxes, but with the new Apple TV supporting a full App Store for third-party apps, there has been increasing demand for the BBC to bring its service...
MacRumors Gift Guide by Eric: SteelSeries Nimbus Controller, Apple Watch Dock, BB-8, and More
Following in the footsteps of Juli, Joe, Mitchel, Marianne, and even MacRumors readers, I'm now adding my suggestions to the parade of holiday gift guides we've been publishing over the past week. Below you'll find a varied list of accessories that I, Eric Slivka, use on a daily basis. and hopefully there's something here for just about everyone with accessories for Macs, iOS devices, the Apple...
Apple Raises iTunes Match and Apple Music Library Matching Limits to 100,000 Tracks
Over the past couple of days, MacRumors has received several reports from users who have been able to upload music libraries of greater than 25,000 tracks to iTunes Match or Apple Music's similar scan-and-match feature, and Macworld's iTunes expert Kirk McElhearn has also noted a number of reports on his personal blog.
Just ahead of the launch of Apple Music in late June, Eddy Cue revealed...
Verizon's Wi-Fi Calling Coming to Galaxy S6 on Monday, iPhone 'Early Next Year'
Verizon yesterday announced that it will begin rolling out support for Wi-Fi Calling next week, starting on Monday with Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. iPhone users will need to wait a bit longer, with an update enabling the feature expected "early next year."
Wi-Fi Calling will initially be available on the Samsung Galaxy S 6 and Samsung Galaxy S 6 Edge and will be rolled out as a software...
Apple's Swift Programming Language Now Open Source
As promised, Apple has officially made its Swift programming language open source, making the project available through Swift.org.
We are excited by this new chapter in the story of Swift. After Apple unveiled the Swift programming language, it quickly became one of the fastest growing languages in history. Swift makes it easy to write software that is incredibly fast and safe by design. Now...
Ford Brings Siri Eyes Free Support to 5 Million Vehicles Dating Back to 2011
While many carmakers are starting to roll out support for Apple's CarPlay in-vehicle functionality, an older Siri Eyes Free feature is also designed to help minimize driver distraction by using Siri voice recognition and spoken responses to allow drivers to interact with an iPhone without needing to look at the screen.
Siri Eyes Free is generally activated through a hardware button on the...
Withings Home Review: New Apple TV App and Baby Monitor Features Make a Solid Camera Even Better
Roughly a year ago, popular accessory company Withings introduced its Home security camera and air quality monitor, giving users an easy way to keep tabs on their homes with video streaming, push alerts for activity, and cloud storage of footage. Withings has continued to improve the Home with software updates since the launch, and several recent additions such as an app for the new Apple TV and...
Thinner MacBook Air in 13" and 15" Sizes Coming at WWDC 2016?
Apple may be preparing to introduce a revamped MacBook Air at next year's Worldwide Developers Conference, according to Taiwan's Economic Daily News [Google Translate]. If Apple holds true to recent history, WWDC 2016 would be held in June, and the today's report claims the new MacBook Air will launch in the third quarter, which corresponds to the July–September timeframe.
The new MacBook...
