MacRumors

Just days ahead of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, 9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo has shared what he says are legitimate iOS 13 screenshots, revealing the software update's rumored systemwide Dark Mode, revamped Reminders app, new merged "Find My" app, and more.

‌Dark Mode‌ can be enabled in the Settings app or in Control Center. On the home screen, the only noticeable change is the dock, which has a darker appearance. In apps, it appears that backgrounds will be true black under ‌Dark Mode‌, which should lead to battery savings on iPhones with OLED displays.

A redesigned Reminders app on iPad is shown with a large sidebar with separate categories for Today, Scheduled, All, and Flagged. This new layout was first reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The report claims the new "‌Find My‌" app has a large map, a list of the user's family and friends, and a separate tab for the user's own devices. The new icon and additional screenshots can be seen over at 9to5Mac.

WWDC 2019 kicks off with Apple's opening keynote on Monday at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, where the company is widely expected to take the wraps off iOS 13, macOS 10.15, watchOS 6, and tvOS 13. MacRumors will have full coverage of the event, including a live blog, so be sure to follow along next week.

Apple is set to launch its own credit card this summer in the United States in partnership with investment bank Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. The aptly named Apple Card will be built into the Wallet app on the iPhone, with a physical version available for use at stores that do not accept contactless payments.

Apple is aiming to shake up the credit card industry by collecting no fees whatsoever, offering one to three percent cash back paid out on a daily basis, and providing consumers with interactive features such as color-coded spending summaries in the Wallet app to assist with spending and budgeting.

Now, a report says those consumer-friendly plans led some other banks to ultimately pass over the Apple Card opportunity.

According to CNBC, Citigroup was in advanced negotiations with Apple over the card, but pulled out amid doubts that it could earn an acceptable profit on the partnership. The report claims that other banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Barclays, and Synchrony, also bid on the ‌Apple Card‌ business.

Goldman Sachs has an advantage over those other banks since it does not already offer its own consumer credit cards, so it does not have to worry about potentially cannibalizing one of its own businesses.

"Goldman Sachs seeks to disrupt consumer finance by putting the customer first. We are excited for customers to use ‌Apple Card‌, which is designed to help people take control of their financial lives," a spokesperson for the bank told CNBC.

‌Apple Card‌ support will likely be added in iOS 12.4, with some Apple employees already receiving their physical version of the card.

Apple today announced a new iPod touch with headline features being a faster A10 Fusion chip and a new 256GB storage option.

The seventh-generation iPod touch has the same design as the sixth-generation model, including a 4-inch Retina display, a home button without Touch ID, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a Lightning connector, and a single speaker and microphone. The device remains 6.1mm thick and continues to weigh 3.1 ounces.

The new iPod touch also has the same battery life of up to 40 hours for music playback and up to eight hours for video playback, and the same 8-megapixel rear camera and 1.2-megapixel front camera, as the previous iPod touch.

With the A10 Fusion chip, Apple says the new iPod touch has up to two times faster performance and up to three times faster graphics compared to the previous-generation iPod touch. The A10 Fusion chip also enables support for Group FaceTime and ARKit on the iPod touch for the first time ever.

The A10 Fusion chip is also found in the iPhone 7 and ‌iPhone‌ 7 Plus and the sixth-generation iPad.

Greg Joswiak, Apple's Vice President of Product Marketing:

We're making the most affordable iOS device even better with performance that is twice as fast as before, Group FaceTime and augmented reality starting at just $199. The ultra-thin and lightweight design of iPod touch has always made it ideal for enjoying games, music and so much more wherever you go.

The new iPod touch is available to order on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app starting today with in-store availability at Apple Stores and authorized resellers starting later this week. U.S. pricing is set at $199 for 32GB of storage, $299 for 128GB, and $399 for the new 256GB option. The previous iPod touch also started at $199.

Today's launch countries include the U.S., Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UAE, and the United Kingdom.

The same six colors are available, including space gray, silver, gold, blue, pink, and (PRODUCT)RED in support of the Global Fund.

The previous iPod touch was released in July 2015 with an A8 chip and up to 128GB of storage. With the new iPod touch with an A10 Fusion chip now available, it is possible that the sixth-generation model might not support iOS 13, which Apple is expected to introduce at WWDC 2019 on Monday.

Despite the update, the iPod touch remains a niche product, with Apple positioning it primarily as a device for Apple Music and the upcoming Apple Arcade.

Four years after 3D Touch debuted on the iPhone 6s, the pressure-sensitive feature appears to be on the chopping block.

Last week, in a research note shared with MacRumors, a team of Barclays analysts "confirmed" that 3D Touch "will be eliminated" in all 2019 iPhones, as they predicted back in August 2018. The analysts gathered this information from Apple suppliers following a trip to Asia earlier this month.

This isn't the first time we've heard this rumor. The Wall Street Journal said the same thing back in January.

Apple already replaced ‌3D Touch‌ with Haptic Touch on the iPhone XR in order to achieve a nearly edge-to-edge LCD on the device, and it is likely the feature will be expanded to all 2019 iPhones. Haptic Touch is simply a marketing name for a long press combined with haptic feedback from the Taptic Engine.

It's unclear why Apple would remove ‌3D Touch‌ from the next-generation ‌iPhone‌ XS and ‌iPhone‌ XS Max, since Apple has already proven that it can integrate the feature into edge-to-edge OLED displays without issue.

‌Haptic Touch‌ on the ‌iPhone‌ XR works in fewer places than ‌3D Touch‌, including the flashlight and camera shortcuts on the lock screen, in Control Center to view hidden toggles, and to expand notifications. ‌Haptic Touch‌ does not support Quick Actions app menus or Peek and Pop for previewing content.

Perhaps we'll see some hints that ‌3D Touch‌ is going away entirely in iOS 13, which Apple is expected to unveil at its WWDC 2019 keynote next Monday. That should be followed by new iPhones in September as usual.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration added Huawei to a trade blacklist over national security concerns, effectively forbidding U.S. companies from doing business with the Chinese smartphone and telecom giant.

As the U.S.-China trade war continues to escalate, it has been suggested that China could retaliate to the Huawei ban by enforcing a similar ban on a large American company like Apple. However, even Huawei's own founder Ren Zhengfei admitted that he would oppose such a move, offering praise for the iPhone maker.

Speaking through a translator, Ren told Bloomberg that Apple is both the "world's leading company" and his "teacher":

That will not happen, first of all. And second of all, if that happens, I'll be the first to protest. Apple is the world's leading company. If there was no Apple, there would be no mobile internet. If there was no Apple to help show us the world, we would not see the beauty of this world. Apple is my teacher — it's advancing in front of us. As a student, why should I oppose my teacher? I would never do that.

Last week, investment firm Goldman Sachs warned that Apple's per-share earnings could take a 29 percent hit if China stops importing its products.

Ren appeared confident that Huawei can prevail despite the U.S. trade ban, suggesting that the company will ramp up its in-house technologies if necessary. Huawei already designs its own Kirin processors for some smartphones, but that relies on ARM, which severed ties with Huawei after the U.S. trade ban.

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.

In a recent op-ed for The New York Times, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that "privacy cannot be a luxury good offered only to people who can afford to buy premium products and services," a comment that some viewed as a dig at Apple.

Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi has unsurprisingly disagreed with that position. In an interview with The Independent, he said that Apple aspires to offer great product experiences that "everyone should have," while cautioning that the values and business models of other companies "don't change overnight."

"I don't buy into the luxury good dig," says Federighi, giving the impression he was genuinely surprised by the public attack.

"On the one hand gratifying that other companies in space over the last few months, seemed to be making a lot of positive noises about caring about privacy. I think it's a deeper issue than then, what a couple of months and a couple of press releases would make. I think you've got to look fundamentally at company cultures and values and business model. And those don't change overnight.

"But we certainly seek to both set a great example for the world to show what's possible to raise people's expectations about what they should expect the products, whether they get them from us or from other people. And of course, we love, ultimately, to sell Apple products to everyone we possibly could certainly not just a luxury, we think a great product experience is something everyone should have. So we aspire to develop those."

Federighi emphasizes Apple's commitment to privacy throughout the interview, noting that the company aims to collect as little data as possible. When it does collect data, Apple uses technologies like Differential Privacy to ensure that the data cannot be associated with any individual user.

Federighi also refutes criticism about Apple's products and services being worse off because of its pro-privacy position:

"I think we're pretty proud that we are able to deliver the best experiences, we think in the industry without creating this false trade off that to get a good experience, you need to give up your privacy," says Federighi. "And so we challenge ourselves to do that sometimes that's extra work. But that's worth it."

As an example of Apple's privacy efforts, the article provides a look inside Apple's "top secret testing facilities" where its Secure Enclave chips for devices like the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch are said to be "stress tested" based on "extreme scenarios" like ice-cold -40ºF or blazing-hot 230ºF temperatures.

Within these testing facilities near Apple Park is said to be "a huge room" with "highly advanced machines" that heat, cool, push, shock, and abuse chips before they make their way inside Apple devices, but no further details were shared.

The lengthy interview goes on to discuss Apple's dispute with the FBI over its refusal to unlock an ‌iPhone‌ used by the shooter in the 2015 San Bernardino attack, as well as Apple's decision to store the iCloud data of Chinese accounts on servers overseen by GCBD, a company with close ties to the Chinese government.

Apple today announced that its Apple Maps vehicles are now surveying Canada for the first time over the summer months.

The vehicles will drive across all 10 provinces between May and November, including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. The vehicles have already been spotted in the Toronto area.

Absent from Apple's list are the northern territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, which are sparsely populated.

The data collected, including the likes of road details, signage, and landmarks, will be used to improve ‌Apple Maps‌ as part of Apple's efforts to rebuild the service, which began in the United States.

Apple's full statement:

Beginning in May, Apple Maps will be driving across Canada throughout the summer. We'll be capturing road details, signage and landmarks — all to make the most accurate and useful Maps experience possible. The information collected will be worked on by our teams in Cupertino, California. We plan to publish this data in a future product update.

We always have your privacy in mind, so we're working closely with local regulators to ensure we follow all laws and regulations. All of our vehicles are marked Apple Maps, so you'll always know it's us.

Privacy is a fundamental Apple principle, so we're proud to build it into everything we do.

Apple Maps vehicles have also surveyed parts of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, Portugal, Croatia, Japan, Andorra, and Puerto Rico since data collection began in 2015.

Beyond improvements to ‌Apple Maps‌, it has long been speculated that the data collected could benefit Apple's development of self-driving technologies or pave the way for Apple to launch its own Street View, but there is no concrete evidence at this point to suggest that either of those possibilities are true.

Apple's next iPhone could allow users to connect two pairs of Bluetooth headphones at the same time, claims a report this morning from Japanese tech blog Mac Otakara.

Citing an Asian supply chain source, the blog says the function will be similar to Samsung's Dual Audio Feature, which lets users play music or other audio from their Galaxy phone or tablet to two connected bluetooth devices.

In the same vein, an ‌iPhone‌ user could pair two sets of earphones – AirPods and Powerbeats Pro, for example – and share what they're listening to with a friend.

In another example, Mac Otakara suggests a usage scenario in which an ‌iPhone‌ could be connected to a car as well as wireless headphones, transmitting GPS directions to the in-car audio system and audio to the headphones.

Current iPhones can connect to multiple Bluetooth devices (and multiple speakers via AirPlay 2), but only one Bluetooth audio profile, so the ability to connect to two audio-based BT devices would certainly be a new, welcome addition to the feature set.

Samsung's dual audio feature is an implementation of Bluetooth 5.0 technology, suggesting Apple's function could be of similar origin. If that turned out to be the case, Apple could potentially bring the feature to ‌iPhone‌ 8, ‌iPhone‌ X, ‌iPhone‌ XS, and ‌iPhone‌ XS models via a software update.

When it comes to its original content, ‌Mac Otakara‌ is largely accurate, making it a widely trusted source for Apple product rumors. That said, the site doesn't have a perfect record and does share inaccurate info on occasion.

• How to Share One Pair of AirPods With a Friend

Apple is expected to debut refreshed iPhones in September 2019. Rumors suggest we'll see 5.8 and 6.5-inch OLED iPhones equipped with triple lens cameras, along with a 6.1-inch LCD ‌iPhone‌ with a dual-lens camera. We don't yet know what Apple will call the new iPhones, but ‌iPhone‌ XI or ‌iPhone‌ 11 are possibilities for the ‌iPhone‌ XS successors.

This Monday, May 27 is Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the United States that honors individuals who have died while serving in the Armed Forces. Marking the unofficial beginning of the summer, the holiday also comes with numerous shopping discounts and sales from many companies that sell Apple products and related accessories.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Twelve South

At Twelve South you can save 25 percent site-wide on any purchase of $50 or more. Twelve South sells a large variety of products designed specifically for Apple devices, including popular MacBook cases like the BookBook, the HiRise Duet stand for iPhone and Apple Watch charging, and more.

This sale will last through Monday, May 27, so be sure to visit Twelve South this weekend to place your order.

Pad & Quill

Pad & Quill is offering up to 25 percent off all iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch accessories this weekend. The sale includes markdowns on iPad leather sleeves, iPhone cases, Apple Watch stands, travel organizers, Apple Pencil accessories, and more.

To see the discount, head to Pad & Quill's website, shop through the retailer's accessories, and enter the coupon code MemorialDay at checkout.

Best Buy

Best Buy has one of the bigger sales going on this weekend, discounting everything from refrigerators to the HomePod. Other Apple device savings include the MacBook Pro (up to $400 off), MacBook Air (up to $250 off), Apple Watch Series 4 ($50 off), various iPad models, and more.

Check out some of the sales below and then head to Best Buy to see the full collection before the event ends on Monday, May 27 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Best Buy is also offering free shipping for My Best Buy members.

• HomePod - $249.99, down from $299.99
• Apple Watch Series 4 - Starting at $349.00 for 38mm aluminum
• Non-Touch Bar 13-inch MacBook Pro - Starting at $999.99 for 128GB
• iPhone XR - Save up to $150 with qualified activation
• Nanoleaf - Save 10 percent on select products
• Philips Hue - Save up to 15 percent on select products
• UE Blast Bluetooth Speaker - $79.99, down from $179.99

Mophie

Popular battery accessory company Mophie has a new Memorial Day sale that provides up to 50 percent off Juice Pack iPhone cases, wireless charging mats, Powerstation battery packs, and more.

You'll be limited to ordering three items during the sale, which will last through Tuesday, May 28. Head to Mophie's website to browse the full sale.

Miscellaneous

• Apple Pay - Get $1 tacos from the Taco Bell app through May 29
• JBL - Up to 60 percent off speakers, headphones, and more
• Newegg - Save on TVs, PCs, laptops, Nest devices, and more
• Scosche - Save on Scosche's iPhone car mounts, Bluetooth speakers, and more
• Speck - 30 percent off sitewide
• StackSocial - Up to 60 percent off Mac software like PDF Expert and Adobe apps
• Zagg - Up to 50 percent off sitewide

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and discounts as we head into the summer season.

Apple today told The Canadian Press that it is aiming to bring ECG functionality to Apple Watch Series 4 devices in Canada "as quickly as possible."

The news comes after Health Canada this month approved the ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notifications on the Apple Watch Series 4, clearing the way for the features to be released in the country.

Health Canada classified the Apple Watch Series 4 as a Class II medical device, which places it in the "low-to-medium risk" category alongside other products like contact lenses.

Apple launched the ECG app in the United States in December as part of watchOS 5.1.2. It expanded to 19 European countries and Hong Kong in March 2019, and five additional European countries last week.

The ECG app is designed to allow Apple Watch Series 4 readers to place a finger on the Digital Crown to get a single-lead ECG reading, which can detect atrial fibrillation, a condition that can be indicative of major health problems. Irregular heart rhythm notifications are a separate feature, meant to let users know if an unusual heart rhythm is detected so medical attention can be sought.

Apple did not provide specific timing on when we can expect ECG and irregular heart rate notifications to be available in Canada, but it could perhaps come in the watchOS 5.3 update, which is being beta tested right now, or it could be incorporated into watchOS 6, which will be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 3.

Former Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts today did an interview with Bloomberg, where she spoke about her time at Apple.

The opportunity to take the Apple Store experience "to the next level" and have a greater impact on surrounding communities was one of the reasons why Ahrendts joined Apple. She also cited programs like Today at Apple, designed to "help reskill the current generation," as factors in her decision to work for the Cupertino company.

Ahrendts said that looking back at her tenure, the redesign introduced at Apple retail stores around the world was one of her major successes, as were the Today at Apple classes.

Just as I was saying, I think that we were able to redesign the stores, and there are incredible flagships in the pipeline for the next four years. But they're not even stores, we call them town squares or gathering places because the entire community is welcome. [...]

I think the other thing we were just talking about - the in store experience we call Today at Apple and the fact that we were able to completely redefine and redraft some of the roles and create new positions for the teams and create a whole new zone in the store where they could now educate and come up with all the Today at Apple programs.

When asked about criticism of the changes that Apple put in place in its retail stores, Ahrendts said that she doesn't pay any attention to it. "I don't read any of it, and none of it is based on fact," she said. "It's everyone trying to find stories."

She went on to say that when she left Apple, customer retention rates were at an all-time high and loyalty scores hit historic highs. "I know the facts," said Ahrendts.

Ahrendts said that she has no regrets and there's nothing that she would have changed about her work, though she did wish she had moved faster. "We did a lot in five years, but I always challenge myself to move faster and do more," she said.

All in all, Ahrendts called her time at Apple "mission accomplished" because the company was able to reach the goals of its 5-year plan.

We had a five year plan, we executed that five year plan, and there is a tremendous amount in the pipeline that will only continue to make the impact on the communities that we wanted to make.

Ahrendts left Apple in mid-April and has since joined the board of Airbnb. Her role has been taken over by Deirdre O'Brien, now Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail and People.

Ahrendts' full interview can be watched over on Bloomberg.

OnePlus earlier this month unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 7 Pro, which offers multiple attractive and unique features along with an affordable price tag.

MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera checked out the OnePlus 7 Pro when it first launched, but has spent some more time with it for an in-depth comparison that's been shared on our YouTube channel.

The OnePlus 7 Pro is priced starting at $669, making it significantly cheaper than the iPhone XS Max, which is priced starting at $1,099. Though cheaper, the OnePlus 7 Pro doesn't sacrifice many features.

It has a 6.67-inch OLED display that's edge to edge with no bezels aside from a small chin at the bottom. Unlike the ‌iPhone‌, there's no notch and no cutout for the front-facing camera, and that's because OnePlus has designed a pop out front camera that snaps up when you need to take a selfie.

There have been questions about how durable this pop up camera is, and the short answer is that even though we've spent a bit more time with it, we still don't know how it's going to hold up over time and when exposed to the elements, though it seems to be durable.

The OnePlus offers facial recognition, but as with all Android devices, it's not on par with the ‌iPhone‌'s Face ID. It's 2D image recognition, which means it can't be used for secure operations like making payments. That's fine, because with a pop up camera, it's easier to use the in-display fingerprint sensor.

In-display fingerprint sensors are convenient, but in this case, while it works okay, it's not as fast or as easy to use as ‌Face ID‌.

The AMOLED display is high-quality and looks great, and there's no denying that no notch is superior to a notch. It does have curved edges at the side, which can make cases and screen protectors inconvenient, but there's the benefit of a 90Hz refresh rate. The ‌iPhone‌ XS Max has a flat display that's more practical, and still just as vivid, bright, and crisp.

When it comes to performance, these are modern smartphones that are equipped with high-end components and in day to day use, both are super quick and you're not going to notice much of a difference between them. The One Plus 7 Pro offers up to 12GB RAM while the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max has 4GB RAM, but Apple has always been better at memory management and thus there's not a discernible difference in performance.

There's a 4,000mAh battery in the OnePlus 7 Pro, but its battery life isn't really beating out the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max. It does win out when it comes to charging, though, because it has a fast charging feature that takes it from 0 to 100 percent in an hour.

The ‌iPhone‌, of course, has fast charging, but the difference is the OnePlus 7 Pro ships with the power adapter needed to enable the quicker charging while the ‌iPhone‌ doesn't. The OnePlus 7 Pro doesn't have wireless charging though, which is one downside.

There's no water resistance rating on the OnePlus 7 Pro, while the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max has an IP68 rating, meaning it can hold up to submersion in water. OnePlus claims that water resistance certification for the OnePlus 7 Pro would have made each device $30 more expensive and that the smartphone is capable of being soaked in water, but you're going to have to take OnePlus' word for it.

When it comes to the camera, the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max wins. Even though the ‌iPhone‌'s camera is dual lens and not triple lens like the One Plus 7 Pro, the ‌iPhone‌ produces better images. OnePlus has never been known for camera quality, and the company has acknowledged there are issues with the 7 Pro camera. An update is in the works to address some customer complaints, but as is, the ‌iPhone‌ outperforms the OnePlus.

Specifically, highlights are overblown on the OnePlus compared to the ‌iPhone‌, and the Portrait Mode just isn't as crisp. We did like the ultra wide-angle camera lens, which the ‌iPhone‌ is rumored to be getting in 2019.

The hardware may be similar in terms of ultimate performance between the two smartphones, but there's still a major difference in software, aka iOS vs. Android.

Even though there are pros and cons to both operating systems, most people who are deep into the iOS ecosystem and who prefer iOS devices aren't going to want to venture over into Android even though Android devices like the OnePlus 7 Pro can be much more affordable.

What do you think of the OnePlus 7 Pro? Is its feature set and lower price point worth leaving the Apple ecosystem? Let us know in the comments.

Apple in 2018 acquired Tueo Health, a startup working on an app to help parents monitor asthma symptoms in sleeping children, reports CNBC.

Tueo's CEO and COO, Brownwyn Harris and Anura Patil, changed their employers from Tueo to Apple in late 2018, which is perhaps when the acquisition was completed.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment to CNBC on the acquisition, and it's not known how much Apple paid for the company. It's possible, given the lack of comment from Apple and the absence of the company's standard statement related to acquisitions, that it was an acquihire rather than a traditional acquisition.

Tueo had been working on a mobile app that was designed to pair with commercial breathing sensors to manage asthma symptoms in children. The app was meant to send alerts to parents if a child's breathing changed over the night.

We use commercially available sensors to monitor asthmatic children while they sleep. Our technology leverages the data from these sensors to create a personalized baseline for each child. Alerts are automatically sent to parents when there are deviations from their child's baseline. These alerts are interactive and informative - we provide contextual information and just-in-time education and support to help them better manage their child's asthma.

It's not known if Apple plans to incorporate some sort of related feature into a future product, but there have been rumors that the Apple Watch could include sleep monitoring capabilities in the future.