MacRumors

Apple's supply chain is currently aiming to produce components for up to 75 million iPhones in the second half of this year, roughly the same as in the same time period last year, according to Bloomberg. The production targets suggest Apple expects iPhone demand to stabilize this year after recent dips in unit sales largely offset by increases in average prices.

Jeff Pu at GF Securities estimates that shipments of newly released iPhones will rise to 74 million in the second half, up about 7% from his estimate of 69 million last year, while TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecast that Apple would sell 75 million to 80 million new iPhones in the second half of 2018. This year’s volumes may signal stabilization after a year of uncertainty, though that’s a far cry from the double-digit growth numbers of years past.

As Bloomberg notes, the fact that suppliers are planning for production of 75 million units doesn't mean Apple will sell that many, but suppliers are also reportedly capable of pushing output to 80 million units if demand calls for it. As always, Apple will assess demand following the launch of the new iPhones and adjust production accordingly.

Apple has also stopped publicly reporting unit sales of iPhones and other products in its quarterly earnings releases, making it more difficult for analysts and others to track those numbers over time and requiring them to calculate unit sales based on reported revenue numbers and estimated average prices.

We're expecting this year's new iPhones to look very similar to the current lineup, with three new models serving as successors to the ‌iPhone‌ XS, XS Max and XR at the same display sizes. The most obvious external difference will be the rear camera, which will be housed in a square bump and see the ‌iPhone‌ XS and XS Max successors bump up to three lenses from the current two while the ‌iPhone‌ XR successor moves from one lens to two.

For more details on what we expect with the next iPhones in terms of design and capabilities, check out our recent hands-on video with dummy units and our dedicated 2019 iPhone roundup.

Samsung's foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, is now set to launch in September after being delayed in order for Samsung to make some design changes, Samsung announced today.

The new version of the Galaxy Fold features several design and construction improvements. The top layer, which was mistakenly peeled off by some reviewers, has been tweaked to make it clear that it's part of the display, while additional reinforcements have been added to better protect the display from external particles.

The full changes Samsung made to the Galaxy Fold are listed below:

The top protective layer of the Infinity Flex Display has been extended beyond the bezel, making it apparent that it is an integral part of the display structure and not meant to be removed.

Galaxy Fold features additional reinforcements to better protect the device from external particles while maintaining its signature foldable experience:

The top and bottom of the hinge area have been strengthened with newly added protection caps.
- Additional metal layers underneath the Infinity Flex Display have been included to reinforce the protection of the display.
- The space between the hinge and body of Galaxy Fold has been reduced.

The company says it has also been working to improve the overall Galaxy Fold user experience, optimizing more apps and services for the foldable interface.

Samsung initially planned to launch the Galaxy Fold this spring, but ended up delaying the launch after several reviewers experienced broken Galaxy Fold devices after just a few days.

Some of the reviewers mistakenly pulled off the top layer of the display as it looked like a plastic screen protector, which led to display damage. Other reviewers had screen failures, while still others saw display damage due to small particles of dust getting in between the layers of the display.

Based on the changes Samsung made to the Galaxy Fold, it sounds like each of the individual issues has been addressed, and hopefully launch versions of the Galaxy Fold will hold up better than the initial review units.

Samsung says that the Galaxy Fold will be made available to consumers starting in September in select markets, with specific launch details to be shared as a launch approaches.

Samsung's Galaxy Fold, which will be one of the first foldable smartphones on the market, will cost $1,980 when it becomes available for purchase.

Update: An LG spokesperson now says that the information shared by its UK PR team is inaccurate and there are no current plans to bring AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support to LG TVs that were released earlier than 2019. From LG:

"LG cannot guarantee that TV models prior to 2019 will be able to deliver a seamless user experience. Therefore, while this may be a possibility in the future, at the moment, LG has no plans to update its pre-2019 TVs with Airplay 2 or ‌HomeKit‌."

LG still plans to bring ‌AirPlay‌ 2 to its 2019 TVs this week, and did not rule out the possibility of support for older TVs in the future.

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Original article: LG today announced that ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ compatibility are rolling out to 2019 AI ThinQ TVs starting on Thursday, July 25.

While the 2019 LG AI ThinQ TVs will be the first to get the firmware update that will enable ‌HomeKit‌ and ‌AirPlay‌ 2, new information shared today by Screen Times suggests ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ will eventually be coming to all LG TV models with AI ThinQ in the future.

The information comes from Piers Le Moignan from LG's UK press team, who told Screen Times that "All LG TV models with AI ThinQ from past to present" will support ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ eventually.

It's not clear when older LG TV models will receive a firmware update to add ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ compatibility, but starting this week, all 2019 LG OLED TVs, NanoCell TVs, and UHD TVs with ThinQ AI capabilities will get the update.

With ‌AirPlay‌ 2, LG TV users can stream TV shows and movies from an iOS or macOS device directly to the television, with no Apple TV set-top box required. A movie can be started on an iPhone and AirPlayed right to a TV, as an example.

Mirroring a Mac or iOS device's screen to the TV is also possible, letting photos, spreadsheets, webpages, documents, games, and more be displayed on the larger screen of a TV set.

‌AirPlay‌ 2 allows multiple audio sources to play the same content, so a song can be played on a single television set, multiple television sets, or a TV and other ‌AirPlay‌ 2 devices such as speakers for whole home audio.

The ‌AirPlay‌ 2 functionality in LG TVs is linked to ‌HomeKit‌, so LG TV sets with the new firmware will show up in the Home app on ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and Mac. In the Home app, LG TV users can do things like switch inputs, turn the television on and off, and adjust the volume. Siri can also be used for these commands, so a simple "Hey ‌Siri‌" voice request on an iOS or macOS device can adjust the volume or turn the TV on or off, much like other ‌HomeKit‌ products.

‌Siri‌ is also able to ‌AirPlay‌ content from an iOS device or Mac to the TV, which means a command like "Hey ‌Siri‌, play Big Little Lies on the living room TV" will work as a quick way to play a TV show or movie without having to search for it directly.

LG says ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ will roll out to 2019 TVs in more than 140 countries this week, with the update "continuing over the weeks to follow."

LG will be the third TV manufacturer to begin offering ‌HomeKit‌ and/or ‌AirPlay‌ 2 support. Samsung rolled out ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and an ‌Apple TV‌ app back in May (Samsung TVs don't support ‌HomeKit‌) and Vizio has been beta testing its implementation of ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ since April.

Along with LG, Vizio, and Samsung, Sony also has plans to introduce ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ support later this year.

The United States Justice Department is launching a broad antitrust review into whether major technology companies are unlawfully stifling competition, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The DoJ will reportedly be examining the practices of online platforms that "dominate internet search, social media and retail services," which will involve Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple.

The Justice Department will examine issues including how the most dominant tech firms have grown in size and might--and expanded their reach into additional businesses. The Justice Department also is interested in how Big Tech has leveraged the powers that come with having very large networks of users, the officials said.

The antitrust review will seek "extensive input and information" from industry participants and, eventually, the tech firms themselves.

There is no defined goal for the investigation other than to determine whether there are antitrust problems that need addressing, but DoJ officials said that a "broad range of options are on the table." Other company practices that ultimately raise concern about compliance with laws also won't be ignored.

This investigation is separate from a rumored Google probe that will look at whether Google has engaged in unlawful monopolization practices.

The FTC and a House antitrust subcommittee have also been investigating anticompetitive conduct among major tech companies, and last week, executives from Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon testified before Congress.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple this week released iOS 12.4, the newest version of iOS 12 available for iPhones and iPads. One of the new features in iOS 12.4 is an updated data migration option that uses device to device transfers rather than relying on iCloud.

Apple didn't provide much information on the new data migration feature, so we thought we'd check it out in our latest YouTube video.

Setting up an iPhone using the new options uses the same Quick Start process that's been in place since iOS 11. When you get a new ‌iPhone‌, you simply need to hold your existing ‌iPhone‌ nearby to initiate the setup process on the new device.

Quick Start confirms your Apple ID and then uses the camera to pair the two devices to one another by scanning an animation. After the pairing process completes (which includes the setup of Touch ID and Face ID), you'll see the new "Transfer from ‌iPhone‌" option.

Transferring from ‌iPhone‌, as the name suggests, bypasses ‌iCloud‌ and migrates data from one ‌iPhone‌ to another in a device to device capacity, which means it's done offline.

Prior to Apple's introduction of this feature, Quick Start only offered a "Download from ‌iCloud‌" option which required an ‌iCloud‌ backup.

The new ‌iPhone‌ to ‌iPhone‌ option is a useful way to transfer data for those who only have 5GB of free Apple storage, as there's not always enough room to create an ‌iCloud‌ backup. It's also useful when Wi-Fi connection speeds are limited, and it will ultimately make it quicker to get a new ‌iPhone‌ up and running.

It works similarly to an ‌iCloud‌ backup or an iTunes backup, transferring over information like photos, app information, device preferences and settings, and more. App data is transferred over, but as with an ‌iCloud‌ backup, apps are downloaded directly from the App Store rather than from your existing ‌iPhone‌.

The amount of time that it takes to transfer data from one ‌iPhone‌ to another will vary based on what's on the existing ‌iPhone‌, but Apple provides a data transfer estimate on the main data transfer screen.

Using this method, it's faster to get photos, music, and other media from one ‌iPhone‌ to another because there's no longer a need to wait for that content to download from ‌iCloud‌.

The new ‌iPhone‌ to ‌iPhone‌ data transfer process requires both devices to be running the release version of iOS 12.4 or later, and it won't work on devices running earlier versions of iOS 12.

‌iPhone‌ to ‌iPhone‌ data transfers can be done over Wi-Fi, but there's also an option to transfer data using a wired connection by utilizing a USB3 Camera Adapter and a Lightning cable.

Apple's mobile apps are often first in App Store search results ahead of competitors, according to a new analysis done by The Wall Street Journal.

For basic searches like "maps," Apple's apps ranked first more than 60 percent of the time in the WSJ's testing. Apps that generate revenue like Music or Books showed up first in 95 percent of related searches.

Apple, in response to questioning from the Wall Street Journal, did its own testing and said that it had different results where its apps didn't rank first.

Apple says that it uses an algorithm that uses machine learning and past consumer preferences, leading to app rankings that often fluctuate. Apple suggested that its apps ranked first in the WSJ's testing because those apps are popular with consumers. Apple says that all apps are subjected to the same search algorithm, including its own.

"Apple customers have a very strong connection to our products and many of them use search as a way to find and open their apps," Apple said in a statement. "This customer usage is the reason Apple has strong rankings in search, and it's the same reason Uber, Microsoft and so many others often have high rankings as well."

Many of the Apple apps in the ‌App Store‌ are installed by default on iPhones and iPads, though they can now be deleted if desired. Having them available in the ‌App Store‌ lets customers who have deleted them restore them when needed.

In one example, the WSJ highlights the audiobooks search category. The top spot was held by AudioBooks.com for two years before it was unseated by the Apple Books app last September, which led to a 25 percent decline in AudioBooks.com's daily app downloads. Apple Books ranks first for audiobooks, books, and reader searches, leading the audiobooks category because of "user behavior data" and the "audiobooks" keyword, says Apple.

Similarly, Apple Maps ranks first in a search for "maps," while the TV app and the iTunes Store come up first in searches for keywords like "tv," "movies," and "videos."

The ‌Wall Street Journal‌ suggests that Apple's ‌App Store‌ dominance gives Apple an upper hand, especially as many default apps are not held to the same standards that third party apps are required to adhere to. Many Apple apps, for example, do not feature reviews or ratings, which is one of the factors that influence search results along with downloads.

There are a total of 42 factors used to determine where apps rank in search, but the factors with the most influence are downloads, ratings, relevance, and user behavior. User behavior includes the number of times that users select an app after a search and then go on to download it, according to Apple.

Apple is facing legal battles over its ‌App Store‌ policies. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in May that a lawsuit accusing Apple of anticompetitive behavior for requiring apps to be sold through the ‌App Store‌ could continue, and the European Commission has asked Apple for answers after Spotify accused it of anticompetitive ‌App Store‌ business practices related to the fee that Apple collects from app developers.

The ‌Wall Street Journal‌'s full report on Apple's ‌App Store‌ search rankings can be read over on the WSJ website.