• Kaby Lake will also grace the rest of the MacBook Pro lineup — and the 12-inch MacBook, too, Kuo claims

• Tim Cook’s kinder, gentler management style is the biggest reason why 2016 was one of the most boring years for Apple in recent memory, according to a former employee of the company.
• Steve Jobs was notorious for inciting conflict and competition between top employees
• After Cook took over, he worked to eliminate conflict within Cupertino’s walls and made employees less passionate, claims ex-Apple employee Bob Burrough.
• "Tim Cook fired Scott Forstall and aligned the executive staff so as to have peace. ...which is to say there is no conflict”

• According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple is building a "significant" business centered around creating original, including scripted television shows and possibly even movies.
• The content would reportedly be made available on Apple Music, like the already-announced projects Carpool Karaoke and Vital Signs.
• Apple executives have told Hollywood that the new original content will launch by the end of 2017, according to the new report.
• The move is looked at as a way for Apple to gain an edge against Spotify, and not a move to compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

• Apple’s next iPhone may come with new facial recognition technology and actual friggin’ laser beams, according to an analyst.
• By adding lasers near the front-facing camera, Apple will be able to depth-map objects, according to analysts at Cowen and Company. The camera could also be used for image recognition, enhancing security and fueling augmented reality.

• Apple may be planning to make its next iPhone even more waterproof, according to the newest rumor
• “Apple’s iPhone 8 will feature the IP68 rating protection as part of drastic upgrades marking the 10th anniversary of the iPhone this year,” reports South Korean news site, The Investor, citing an industry source.

• iPads are getting stale… The only model introduced in 2016 was the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the iPad mini haven’t seen a refresh since 2015. The iPad Air 2 has been the same since October 2014.
• According to one Ming Chi Quo, Apple is focusing its efforts on updating the 9.7-inch iPad and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and on introducing a new model with a 10- to 10.5-inch display.
• It’s unclear whether the cheaper device will support Apple Pencil or the Smart Connector, but Kuo says it won’t have the new A10X chip, which will be exclusive to the larger models. Instead, it will be powered by the same A9 chip found in the iPhone 6s series
• Ming-Chi Kuo, widely regarded as one of the world’s best Apple analysts, doesn’t expect Cupertino to launch an AR product until at least 2018

• Apple is teaming up with Zeiss to create augmented-reality glasses that will be unveiled later this year, according to long-time tech blogger Robert Scoble.
• “A Zeiss employee confirmed the rumors that Apple and Carl Zeiss AG are working on a light pair of augmented reality/mixed reality glasses that may be announced this year,” Scoble wrote in a Facebook post. “I thought it was next year but now that I saw this I believe it will happe this year.”

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