AWT News Update: June 12, 2017

It’s the start of another week, and although we don’t have quite the stories we did last Monday thanks to the WWDC 2017 keynote, we do have some news for you:

• Apple is aggressively discounting older iPhone models in India in order to start making a dent in the smartphone market in the country
• The first Apple retail store in Taiwan will open soon in the Taipei 101 skyscraper
• Photos of what look like genuine iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, and iPhone 7s Plus parts have been leaked by a case manufacturer
• iOS 11 will not run on at least three “recent” iOS devices this fall — the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and iPad 4

AWT is sponsored this week by Letter Opener, powerful macOS and iOS software for opening those winmail.dat, MSG, and XPS files from Windows PC users. Check it out online at winmail.help. 

The text version of the podcast can be viewed below. To listen to the podcast here, click the play button on the player below. Apple News readers need to visit Apple World Today in order to listen to the podcast.

Text Version

This is Steve Sande for Apple World Today, and you’re listening to the AWT News Update for June 12th, 2017.

Apple’s doing something a bit different in India to try to build a market in the huge country. The company has decided to allow authorized iPhone vendors to cut prices on older models reaching back as far as the iPhone 5. Older iPhones make up over half of the shipments of Apple devices to India, and the company is selling the iPhone 5 for the equivalent of $200 up to $800 for the iPhone 7. To help in getting the brand situated in India, Apple’s hiring what are called “affordability managers” who will make deals with banks and lenders on behalf of buyers. The company is now building the iPhone SE in a plant in Bangaluru, and the Indian government is hopeful that Apple will sell the locally made SE for as little as $220 or so. That will still be seen as an expensive phone in the country, where average smartphone prices hover around $150.

Apple today announced its first store in Taiwan, which will be located in the iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper. The store will take up space on the ground floor and basement level of Taipei 101, and it’s thought that it could open by the end of June. As with other international stores that have opened lately, Apple asked a local artist — in this case paper cut art master Yang Shiyi — to design the art masking the exterior of the store from view until it opens. Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted about the store yesterday, and the company says that it will be open Sunday through Thursday from 11 AM to 9:30 PM and on Friday and Saturday from 11 AM to 10 PM.

What appear to be genuine parts for the iPhone 8 have been leaked from a case manufacturer who received the pieces from a glass supplier in China. The front panel shows a completely glass front with the exception of a very thin bezel around all sides, along with a top bar that could be located in front of the front-facing camera, microphone and speaker. The rear panel shows a vertical dual-lens camera and separate protruding lens component. There is no rear Touch ID panel on the back, which seems to suggest that Apple is successfully integrating Touch ID into the iPhone display. A second photo shows the iPhone 8 components next to parts for the expected iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus. All three have rear shells that are made of glass, which will support wireless charging.

Have you seen a message when starting up an iOS app under iOS 10.3 that basically tells you that the app may not run on future versions of iOS? That’s a warning that appears when 32-bit apps are launched, and it’s trying to tell you that it might be a good idea not only to find replacements for those 32-bit apps, but to get a newer iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. When iOS 11 ships this fall, the iPhone 5, 5c and iPad 4 will not be able to run the new operating system as it requires 64-bit processors.

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That’s all for today and for this week; I’ll be back Monday afternoon with another edition of the AWT News Update.