This Week's Apple Rumors, Ranked From Dumbest to Most Plausible - Wired

Production of the iPhone 5c may be slowing, according to a report out of China. Photo: Alex Washburn/WIRED

Each week, there are dozens of Apple rumors, reports, and patent filings that hint at what’s coming out of Cupertino next. Some are legit, but most are totally bogus. We parse the week’s rumors for you, ranking them in order from “utterly ridiculous” to “duh, of course.” First up…

DON’T COUNT ON IT: Apple iWatch Will Be a Home Automation Portal

Forget about access to texts and tweets, snapping photos, and all the other wrist-based activities associated with smartwatches. Apple’s ambitions go far beyond such mundane tasks, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White says. He expects the rumored Apple iWatch will let you control things like home lighting and temperature, music and entertainment, energy use, and security. It would be a “multi-purpose gateway” into the home. White reportedly talked with Apple’s Taiwanese and mainland China suppliers to get this insight. While this is certainly a possibility (and it sounds good to us), information about Apple’s iWatch is still pretty suspect this early in the game.

ASK AGAIN LATER: iPhone 5c Production Getting Halved

Chinese site C Technology reports that Apple is slicing its iPhone 5c production from 300,000 units to 150,000 units per day. The drop could be due to wide availability, weak demand, or just a part of the iPhone 5c’s production plan. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of iPhone 5c’s at hand. The gold iPhone 5s on the other hand…

ASK AGAIN LATER: A 12-Inch Retina Display MacBook Air for 2014?

Ever since Apple debuted the Retina Display MacBook Pro in mid 2012, OS X users have been wondering: How long until we get a Retina MacBook Air? According to DisplaySearch, we’ll get one sometime in 2014. Based on DisplaySearch’s supply chain research, they think Apple is going to “revamp nearly all of the displays in its products over the next year.” A report out of Korea last week also suggested Apple would be making big changes to its display lineup in 2014. While it’s possible Apple could debut a Retina iPad next year, I question the 12-inch size in this report — why would Apple not stick with the current 13-inch size for a Retina display MacBook Air?

WITHOUT A DOUBT: Apple to Hold iPad Event October 22

Looks like Apple’s next media event will take place October 22, according to AllThingsD (and past Apple example). Previously, the rumor was October 15, but seeing as no invites went out this week, that’s definitely not happening. If Apple follows the same timing between its September and October events as it did last year, October 22 would be the date.

WITHOUT A DOUBT: Apple’s 5th-Gen iPad Gets the Space Gray Treatment

If this isn’t the next iPad decked out in space gray, then I’ll be darned. A whole mess of images come to us via Sonny Dickson, who’s been accurately leaking photos of other Apple products like the iPhone 5c this year. As we’ve seen from other leaked photos, the new iPad will be much slimmer and look more iPad mini-like. Between the number of leaked images, the proximity to Apple’s next event, and the way Apple tends to style its product lineups, I would expect the next iPad to look like the photos and signs suggest.

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