Along with his recent research note addressing Apple's notebook launch plans , KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also published a note examining Apple's iPad prospects. In particular, Kuo looks to the iPad mini as the future of the company's iPad portfolio, but with Apple's efforts to bring a Retina display to the device said to be pushing a launch back to the fourth quarter of this year, he suggests that Apple may be looking at a lower-priced iPad mini. Prior to iPad mini 2 launch, Apple might roll out a more affordable iPad mini to compete with Android products

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new report forecasting that the product highlight of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which kicks off on June 10, will be the introduction of new models of the company's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines based on Intel's latest Haswell processors. The projection is in line with previous reports from Kuo and other sources, as well as recent claims that Apple will begin ramping up production of the new models in mid-May. On the MacBook Pro side, Kuo is reversing his earlier predictions suggesting that 2013 would see Apple discontinue the non-Retina MacBook Pro lineup and shift consumers to the slimmer and more expensive Retina line introduced at last year's WWDC

Apple today announced on its developer news website that it will be "hitting the road" with individual Tech Talk sessions for developers this fall ( via The Next Web ). The news comes a day after tickets for the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) sold out in two minutes . Enthusiasm for WWDC 2013 has been incredible, with tickets selling out in record time.

Earlier this week, Apple filed another revised plan for its "Campus 2" project in Cupertino, a new headquarters for the company focused on a massive ring-shaped building and designed to house 13,000 employees.

Former Xerox CFO Luca Maestri officially joined Apple as Corporate Controller in late February and a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published earlier today reveals that he received 38,091 restricted stock units (RSUs) in March of this year. As with most RSUs handed out by Apple, these carry staggered vesting dates with 1/8 of the total number of units converting to actual shares every six months over a four year period.

As noted by The Verge , a strange iMessage bug is causing the final word of certain phrases sent via Messages to an iPhone to be invisible to both the message sender and the recipient. When the following two phrases are sent using iMessage, the last word is not displayed on the iPhone: - I could be the next Obama (with a space after Obama) - The best prize is a surprise Both messages look complete when they are being composed, and the full text shows up in notifications, but within the Messages app itself, the words Obama and surprise are both invisible

Apple's market share of the worldwide smartphone market may have slipped , but a new Yankee Group survey ( via AllThingsD ) shows some promising data points for the company. In a survey of 16,000 U.S

Apple started running a new iPhone ad this evening entitled "Camera".

Tickets for Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference sold out this morning in less than two minutes , leaving a number of developers with error messages stating that their purchase requests were unable to be processed. According to a tweet from Red Sweater Software founder Daniel Jalkut , Apple contacted some registered members of its developer program to offer them a second chance to purchase a WWDC ticket.

In line with its launch previously announced launch plans, T-Mobile USA today officially launched the iPhone, offering the iPhone 5 nationwide and the iPhone 4S and 4 in markets where the devices are supported on its network. The T-Mobile iPhone is also available through Apple's online store at full price with interest-free financing offered through Barclaycard