MacRumors

A growing number of iPhone and iPad users have complained about poor RAM management on iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, leading to apps like Safari, YouTube, and Overcast reloading more frequently upon being reopened. We've lightly edited some of the comments to correct things like capitalization.

MacRumors forum member Rogifan:

I was watching a video in YouTube on my iPhone 11 Pro. I pause the video to respond to a text message. I was in iMessage for less than one minute. When I returned to YouTube it reloaded the app and I lost the video I was watching. I noticed this a lot on my iPad Pro too. Apps and Safari tabs reloading a lot more frequently than they did in iOS 12. Very annoying.

MacRumors forum member Radon87000, using an iPad Pro on iPadOS 13.2:

I was working on a spreadsheet in Excel and I switched to a YouTube video for like 10 mins or so and when I switched back, the app was no longer in memory. Not just that, it also flushed all Safari tabs out of memory too. None of the games are staying in memory after 20 mins.

MacRumors forum member HappyDude20:

iOS 12 was perfect and [I] miss it for the main reason that any time I use the app switcher to go back to my previous app such as Safari or Instagram or Facebook or anything really, the app refreshes. Back in iOS 12 I could go back [to] multiple app(s) and it wouldn't refresh. It was perfect. I'm running on an iPhone 7 Plus if it makes any difference but feel it shouldn't.

Based on anecdotal comments from affected users, the issue appears to have become worse as of iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2. Artist, designer, and developer Nick Heer wrote this on his blog yesterday:

I'm used to the camera purging all open apps from memory on my iPhone X, but iOS 13.2 goes above and beyond in killing background tasks. Earlier today, I was switching between a thread in Messages and a recipe in Safari and each app entirely refreshed every time I foregrounded it. This happens all the time throughout the system in iOS 13: Safari can't keep even a single tab open in the background, every app boots from scratch, and using iOS feels like it has regressed to the pre-multitasking days.

On his blog, developer Michael Tsai has rounded up similar complaints on Twitter.

Marco Arment:

I've noticed this since the first 13.2 betas, and Overcast users keep reporting it as well: background apps seem to be getting killed MUCH more aggressively than before.

(Especially on the iPhone 11 if you use the camera, presumably because it needs so much RAM for processing.)

Christopher Stephens:

Every single app on my iPhone 7 iOS 13.2 gets killed every time I close. No backgrounding. And each tab on Safari when I move to a new one. So frustrating

Cabel Sasser:

This really affected Prompt. Extremely annoying to lose SSH connections when switch apps.

In yesterday's update we rolled out a semi-cheesy but effective fix: "Connection Keeper" keeps a running GPS-based log of where you connect to servers. Side effect: connections stay alive.

More complaints are found in this Twitter thread, in this Reddit thread, in the Apple Support Communities, and elsewhere on the web.

Affected users are hoping this issue can be resolved in a future software update. We've reached out to Apple for comment.

While it is unclear if the widely rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro will launch in 2019 or 2020, the latest report from DigiTimes claims that Apple will begin receiving volume shipments of the notebook in the fourth quarter of this year. Taiwan-based manufacturer Quanta Computer is said to be the key supplier.

The report reiterates that the 16-inch MacBook Pro will have an ultra-thin-bezel design, suggesting the overall size of the notebook might be similar to the existing 15-inch MacBook Pro despite having a larger display.

Apple receiving volume shipments of the 16-inch MacBook Pro in the fourth quarter does not necessarily mean the notebook will launch in the fourth quarter. Apple may simply be planning to stockpile the 16-inch MacBook Pro ahead of the U.S. government's proposed 15 percent import tariff on an additional round of Chinese goods, including notebooks, slated to take effect December 15.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo originally said the 16-inch MacBook Pro would launch in the fourth quarter of 2019 with an all-new design, including a scissor switch keyboard. As of late, however, Kuo has more vaguely stated that a "new MacBook model" with a scissor keyboard will launch in mid 2020. It's unclear if the "new MacBook model" that Kuo has referred to more recently is the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Multiple images corresponding to a 16-inch MacBook Pro have been found in macOS Catalina in recent weeks, including one that reveals that Touch ID will likely be separated from the Touch Bar on the notebook.

The leaked Touch Bar design lends credence to the Esc key also being a separate, physical key again, as can be seen when zooming in to the previously leaked 16-inch MacBook Pro icon.

MacRumors has confirmed the location of the Touch Bar image in macOS Catalina. The filename includes "Device16."

DigiTimes previously said the 16-inch MacBook Pro would launch by the end of October, and today is the final day of the month. The site does not have the best track record when it comes to the timing of new Apple products, but its connections within Apple's supply chain are occasionally accurate.

Apple has bought the "AirTag" trademark for its rumored item tracking device from a Russian group of companies that specializes in RFID technology, according to a Russian media outlet.

RBC reports that a group called ISBC, which describes itself as "The leading smart card and RFID tag manufacturer in Russia," recently sold Apple the "‌AirTag‌" trademark as part of an agreement that would see the group develop its products under a single brand, according to a source familiar with the details of the transaction.

In a statement posted on the ISBC website today, the group confirmed that it had completed a transaction to transfer the rights to the "‌AirTag‌" trademark, but said that details about buyer would not be disclosed under the terms of confidentiality.

ISBC® group of companies have decided to bet on enhancing development of its own products under a single namesake trademark ISBC®. This rebranding decision is very much conditioned by international deal on assignment of the trademark AIRTAG®.

[...]

Transfer of RFID keyfobs from AIRTAG® brand to our flagship one - ISBC® - evidences our confidence in future of the product and solutions related. Confidentiality agreed does not allow us to disclose the deal in detail. But we may express our confidence the the future of AIRTAG® trademark we have envisaged and registered internationally will be bright, the whole world will learn and love the new product so named.

On Monday, the public release of iOS 13.2 revealed information suggesting Apple may be planning to call its rumored Tile-like item tracking accessory "AirTags."

Looking into the status of trademark activity surrounding the term, MacRumors came across some curious recent developments that could be signs of Apple acquiring the trademark rights, although a smoking gun concretely linking Apple to the activity was unavailable at the time.

Apple is rumored to be working on Tile-like Bluetooth trackers that can be used to keep track of items that are often lost, such as keys, wallets, and more.

Multiple rumors have confirmed Apple's work on ‌AirTags‌, which are expected, based on leaked assets, to be little round circles that can be attached to your items to make them locatable through the Find My app right alongside your Apple devices.

‌AirTags‌ will connect to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more via Bluetooth, and will leverage the ultra-wideband U1 chip in the newest iPhones for more precise indoor tracking that's unmatched by competitors.

As we found earlier this year, there will also be an augmented reality component that will let you use your device's camera to pinpoint exactly where a lost item might be. Longer-range tracking will also be available, and ‌AirTags‌ will likely take advantage of the offline crowd-sourced tracking feature that was added in ‌iOS 13‌.

There is no word on when ‌AirTags‌ will be released, but given that Apple has been adding new details to each beta, there's a possibility that the accessories are coming this year, perhaps even quite soon.

(Thanks, Sergey!)

iFixit today shared a teardown of the new $249 AirPods Pro, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the organization awarded Apple's latest wireless earphones the same zero repairability score as both versions of original AirPods.

Apart from the replaceable $4-a-pair proprietary silicone tips that provide noise isolation and enhanced fit on the ‌AirPods Pro‌, it's the same story as Apple's previous generation AirPods as far as repairs go. But there were a couple of new tidbits of information that the disassembly did reveal.

In terms of weight, each AirPod Pro bud comes in at 0.19 oz (5.4 g), which is fully a third heavier than the prior version AirPod earbuds. The new charging case is also notably chunkier, weighing 1.61 oz (45.6 g), compared to the original case's 1.34 oz (38 g).

iFixit also discovered a 1.98 Wh watch-style button cell battery inside each AirPod, replacing the pin-type battery found in the original AirPods. iFixit notes that this could be the same battery found in Samsung's Galaxy Buds, and those are replaceable, but Apple has tethered the battery to a soldered cable, so AirPods customers will have no such luck.

As noted by iFixit, Apple apparently confirmed on Wednesday that the new ‌AirPods Pro‌ are no more repairable than previous versions of the wireless earbuds because of their size and build process.

For its part, however, iFixit believes Apple could theoretically replace the in-ear portion of the earbuds and re-use the original stems – which include the System on Package (SiP), antennas, microphones, and Force sensor – but the company has chosen not to do so, for whatever reason. iFixit's teardown concludes:

While theoretically semi-serviceable, the non-modular, glued-together design and lack of replacement parts makes repair both impractical and uneconomical.

From a customer perspective, this means that once the battery dies in the ‌AirPods Pro‌, it will need to be completely replaced. The left and right AirPod cost $89 each to replace in the United States, totaling $178 for a pair.

However, the fees are lower if a customer has purchased AppleCare+ for Headphones. The plan costs $29 upfront, plus charges a $29 fee to replace a pair of damaged ‌AirPods Pro‌ or their case. This coverage applies for up to two years from the date ‌AppleCare‌+ is purchased and is limited to two incidents.

This article explains how to delete your Siri audio interaction history and opt out of sharing audio recordings with Apple on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

• How to Opt Out of Siri Audio Sharing on HomePod
• How to Delete Your Siri Audio History on HomePod

In 2019, it was discovered that Apple hired contractors to listen to a small percentage of anonymized ‌Siri‌ recordings to evaluate the virtual assistant's responses with the purpose of improving accuracy and reliability.

The Guardian revealed that Apple employees working on ‌Siri‌ often heard confidential details while listening to the audio recordings. Apple was subsequently criticized for not making it clear to customers that some of their ‌Siri‌ recordings were being used to improve the service.

Soon after the report, Apple suspended its ‌Siri‌ grading practices and promised users that it would introduce tools in a forthcoming update that would allow them to opt out of sharing their audio recordings.

With the release of iOS 13.2 in October 2019, those new tools arrived on ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌, allowing users to delete their ‌Siri‌ and Dictation history and opt out of sharing audio recordings. Apple also subsequently made the same tools available on its HomePod smart speakers.

It's important to note that ‌HomePod‌'s ‌Siri‌ settings are independent from your iOS device's ‌Siri‌ settings, so if you want to opt out of ‌Siri‌ Audio Sharing and delete your ‌Siri‌ audio history completely, you'll have to disable them separately.

The following steps show you how to access these settings on ‌HomePod‌. Or learn how to disable them on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

How to Opt Out of Siri Audio Sharing on HomePod

1. Launch the Home app on your ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, or iPod touch.
2. Tap the HomePod card on the main Home screen.
   
   

3. Tap the cog icon in the bottom-right corner of the ‌HomePod‌ card to take you to the device's settings.
4. Tap Analytics & Improvements.
5. If you don't want to let Apple review your recordings, toggle off the switch next to Improve Siri & Dictation.
   

Note that you can tap the link under the toggle for more information relating to Apple's ‌Siri‌ analytics policy.

How to Delete Your Siri Audio History on HomePod

1. Launch the Home app on your ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, or iPod touch.
2. Tap the HomePod card on the main Home screen.
   
   

3. Tap the cog icon in the bottom-right corner of the ‌HomePod‌ card to take you to the device's settings.
4. Tap Siri History.
   
   

5. Tap Delete Siri History.

Apple will inform you that your request was received and that your ‌Siri‌ and dictation history will be deleted. That's all there is to it.

In addition to these new ‌Siri‌ and Dictation-related privacy features, Apple also says it is making further changes to its human grading process that will minimize the amount of data that reviewers have access to.

Apple today released a new 13.2.1 software update for the HomePod, which comes a few days after the 13.2 update. Shortly after Apple's 13.2 ‌HomePod‌ software was released, complaints of bricked devices surfaced.

Multiple users complained that the update rendered their HomePods nonfunctional, locking it into a boot loop, especially after resetting the device or removing it from the Home setup after installing the update.

Apple pulled the 13.2 software after a few hours, and warned customers against resetting their HomePods or removing them from the Home app.

The new 13.2.1 version of the software presumably does not feature the same bricking issue, and its release notes are the same as the 13.2 update:

iOS 13.2.1 provides support for new ‌HomePod‌ features:

- The ability for ‌HomePod‌ to recognize the voices of different family members to provide a personalized experience
- Handoff music, podcasts, or phone calls by bringing your iPhone close to ‌HomePod‌
- Add music to your ‌HomeKit‌ scenes
- Play relaxing high-quality soundtracks with Ambient Sounds
- Set sleep timers to fall asleep to music or Ambient Sounds

The new ‌‌HomePod‌‌ software will be installed automatically on the ‌‌HomePod‌‌, but you can also manually update and check your software version by following the instructions in our HomePod software how to.

Customers who did install the 13.2 update and ended up with a bricked ‌HomePod‌ will need to contact Apple for a replacement unit.

During today's earnings call for the fourth quarter of 2019, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a new feature that's coming to Apple Card later this year -- fee free iPhone payments.

Customers will be able to purchase a new ‌iPhone‌ using ‌Apple Card‌ and pay for it over 24 months with no interest. Customers will continue to get three percent cash back for the purchase as well.

There's no specific word on when the ‌iPhone‌ payment plan will be available, but Cook did say that it's coming this year, so it could perhaps be introduced ahead of the holiday season.

Cook said that Apple has been "thrilled" with the reception to ‌Apple Card‌ since its August launch. He said that Apple believes it was the "most successful launch of a credit card in the United States ever."

Apple today announced financial results for the third calendar quarter and fourth fiscal quarter of 2019.

For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $64.0 billion and net quarterly profit of $13.7 billion, or $3.03 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $62.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $14.1 billion, or $2.91 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share set a new fourth quarter record, while services revenue set an all-time quarterly record.

Gross margin for the quarter was 38.0 percent, compared to 38.3 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 60 percent of revenue. Apple also declared an upcoming dividend payment of $0.77 per share, payable November 14 to shareholders of record as of November 11.

This quarter marks a full year since Apple changed the way it reports its results, with the company no longer providing unit sales data for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. As a result, Apple is only providing revenue figures for its various segments, leaving analysts to estimate unit sales based on their own calculations

For the full fiscal year, Apple generated $260.2 billion in sales with $55.3 billion in net income, compared to $265.5 billion in sales and $59.5 billion in net income for fiscal 2018.

“We concluded a groundbreaking fiscal 2019 with our highest Q4 revenue ever, fueled by accelerating growth from Services, Wearables and iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “With customers and reviewers raving about the new generation of iPhones, today’s debut of new, noise-cancelling AirPods Pro, the hotly-anticipated arrival of Apple TV+ just two days away, and our best lineup of products and services ever, we’re very optimistic about what the holiday quarter has in store.”

Apple's guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 includes expected revenue of $85.5-89.5 billion and gross margin between 37.5 and 38.5 percent.

Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q4 2019 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.

Apple's earnings call recap follows...

➜ Click here to read rest of article...

Today's the official launch date for the AirPods Pro that Apple surprised us with on Monday, so of course we went to pick some up at an Apple retail store this morning to give MacRumors readers a rundown of the new features and our first impressions.

In this video, we'll go over the new design, the ‌AirPods Pro‌ capabilities, and determine whether Apple's newest earbuds are worth the $249 price.

Design wise, the ‌AirPods Pro‌ are recognizable as AirPods, but there are some distinct differences compared to earlier AirPods. The stem, for example, is much shorter, and it now has a new Force sensor feature that supports gestures.

Squeeze the stem to play or pause your music, squeeze it two times to skip forward a track, and squeeze it three times to skip back. Pressing and holding will also switch between different listening modes, which we'll get to in a second.

The other major ‌AirPods Pro‌ design change is the inclusion of new silicone tips that are designed to fit inside of the ears. The ‌AirPods Pro‌ ship with silicone tips in three sizes, and the tips just snap right on and off. Apple has even designed a fit test that makes sure you're using the right size tip for your ear size.

We found the ‌AirPods Pro‌ to be comfortable and secure in the ears, though they definitely have a different feel from the original AirPods. Those silicone tips enable a key ‌AirPods Pro‌ feature -- Active Noise Cancellation. Apple has included Active Noise Cancellation in some Beats headphones in the past, but this is the first time the company has released earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation functionality.

Active Noise Cancellation worked well in our testing, drowning out the sound of a loud furnace fan and people in nearby offices. There's also a Transparency mode that Apple added, which tunes down Active Noise Cancellation so you can hear the environment around you.

Swapping between Active Noise Cancellation and the Transparency mode that lets you hear traffic, announcements, and more, can be done with a press and hold on the stem of the ‌AirPods Pro‌. You can also turn it off and on using the Control Center on the iPhone.

Apple touts audio quality as a major improvement in the ‌AirPods Pro‌, and they do indeed sound good. There is a noticeable difference in quality between the AirPods and the ‌AirPods Pro‌, so if you were satisfied with the AirPods, you'll be even more impressed with the ‌AirPods Pro‌.

There's an Adaptive EQ feature in the ‌AirPods Pro‌, which Apple says automatically tunes the low and mid frequencies of the music to the shape of an individual's ear for a "rich, immersive listening experience." In practice, we were better able to distinguish between each instrument, and everything was crisp and clear.

It's worth noting that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ are IPX4 water resistant, which means they're going to hold up to sweat and perhaps some light splashing from the rain, but you shouldn't submerge them and should make an effort to keep them dry when possible.

There's an H1 chip in the ‌AirPods Pro‌, which was also included in the AirPods 2, so all of the quick setup and device swapping features are present, plus hands-free "Hey Siri" commands are supported.

When it comes to the Wireless Charging Case for the ‌AirPods Pro‌, it looks a lot like the standard AirPods case but it's fatter than the previous version because it needs to accommodate those silicone tips.

It has the same capabilities as the original case, offering up somewhere around 24 hours of battery life for the ‌AirPods Pro‌, with a 5 minute fast charge feature that provides an hour of listening time. It can be charged using the included Lightning to USB-C cable or via a Qi-based wireless charger because it does support wireless charging.

As for the ‌AirPods Pro‌ themselves, the battery lasts for up to 4.5 hours with Active Noise Cancellation turned on, or up to five hours if it's disabled. If you're talking on the phone, expect 3.5 hours of talk time with ANC on.

‌AirPods Pro‌ are $50 more than the AirPods 2 with Wireless Charging Case, and with the Active Noise Cancellation, comfortable fit, and superior sound, choosing ‌AirPods Pro‌ over AirPods 2 makes a lot of sense.

Whether or not they're worth the upgrade for those that already have AirPods is something everyone will need to decide for themselves. They sound great and have ANC, but the AirPods and AirPods 2 are also fantastic little headphones and some people may not need to upgrade if they're happy with what they have now.

Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors because we'll also be doing an in-depth comparison between the ‌AirPods Pro‌, the standard AirPods, and the Powerbeats Pro in the coming days.

Apple is rumored to be working on a Tile-like Bluetooth tracking device called AirTags, which we've been seeing signs of in various versions of iOS for the last couple of months.

We have additional AirTags screenshots to share today, sent in by a MacRumors reader. The updated images are similar to images that we found in an early version of iOS 13 back in September, but with some updates that are more in line with the current look of the Find My app.

Both screenshots depict an updated ‌Find My‌ app with a bar at the bottom for "People," "Devices," "Items," and "Me." The earlier screenshots that we saw didn't have the "Me" option in the bottom bar, suggesting Apple was still in the process of refining the look of the app.

The placeholder suitcase emoji that was used in the original screenshot has also now been updated with a backpack emoji.

The screenshots are otherwise the same, referring to the AirTags by their codename, "B389." The AirTags setup process, as we discovered earlier this week in a separate screenshot, will consist of pulling the tab on the AirTag and then bringing it close to the iPhone to begin the setup process.

From there, the AirTags will presumably connect to the ‌iPhone‌ and that's when users will see the "Add" option with Apple's wording: "Tag your everyday items with [AirTags] and never lose them again."

The AirTags name was first unveiled earlier this week in assets found in the iOS 13.2 update. We've also previously seen placeholder images that suggest the AirTags could perhaps be small, circular white tags that can be attached to items to make them locatable through the ‌Find My‌ app.

‌AirTags‌ will connect to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more via Bluetooth, and will leverage the ultra-wideband U1 chip in the newest iPhones for more precise indoor tracking that's unmatched by competitors like Tile.

We're also expecting an augmented reality component that will take advantage of a device's camera to pinpoint exactly where an item might be. Longer-range tracking will also be available, and ‌AirTags‌ will likely take advantage of the offline crowd-sourced tracking feature that was added in ‌iOS 13‌.

We don't yet know when AirTags might be released, but Apple has been adding new AirTags info to each beta, so there's a possibility that we could potentially see AirTags launch before the end of the year.

For more on what to expect from the AirTags, make sure to check out our AirTags guide.

We've been hearing rumors about the 16-inch MacBook Pro for months now, and saw possible reference images of the device in the macOS Catalina 10.15.1 beta.

Now macOS Catalina 10.15.1 is out, and it appears the update was hiding even more 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ secrets -- including an image of the machine's updated Touch Bar and Touch ID layout.

The new 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ will feature a ‌Touch ID‌ power button that's separate from the Touch Bar, as first found by 9to5Mac. That's a design change that's distinct from the 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, which has its ‌Touch ID‌ button positioned as an extension of the Touch Bar.

There have also been hints based on the previously leaked images that the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ will feature a separate ESC key that is an actual physical key that's no longer a part of the Touch Bar. That's not confirmed in the image found today, but given that the ‌Touch ID‌ button is separate, it would make sense for the escape key to be separate as well.

The original 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ icon that was discovered earlier in October has now been removed from macOS Catalina 10.15.1, which suggests that the images being found in the update are not signs of an imminent release as previously thought.

We were expecting the 16-inch machine to see a launch in October, but the month is close to over and Apple made no announcements beyond the AirPods Pro this week, so it's not entirely clear when the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ is going to launch.

It could, of course, still come in November or December, but historically, Apple hasn't done many late fall updates. Chances of a fall event also seem highly unlikely because October is almost over and Apple hasn't held a non-October fall event.

A recent investor's note from reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested a new MacBook with a scissor keyboard is going to launch in the late second quarter or early third quarter, and given that he previously said the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ would use such a keyboard, it's possible (but not confirmed) he's referring to the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌.

In that case, we would be waiting until 2020 for the new higher-end 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌.