MacRumors

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iPadOS and iOS 13.1 update to developers, one week after seeding the first beta and ahead of the actual launch of iOS 13 and iPadOS.

iOS 13.1 and iPadOS 13.1 can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air after the proper profiles have been installed.

Apple in late August released the first iOS 13.1 beta, which came as a surprise because Apple has never released a point update for software that's not out yet. Apple is likely aiming to make iOS 13.1 ready for download shortly after iOS 13 becomes available and new iPhones launch, as the iOS 13 update may have already been finalized for installation on new devices.

The iOS 13.1 update includes several features that were announced at WWDC but were ultimately removed from iOS 13 over the beta testing period. Shortcuts Automations, for example, is back in iOS 13.1. Shortcuts Automations allows Shortcuts users to create personal and home automations from the Shortcuts app to have actions performed automatically when specific conditions occur.

Share ETA, a major maps feature, is also available in iOS 13.1. With Share ETA, you can share your estimated time of arrival to a location with a friend or family member.

Other new features include new icons on the volume indicator when headphones or speakers are connected (with icons for AirPods, Beats headphones, and HomePod), more detailed HomeKit icons in the Home app, and updates to Dynamic Wallpapers.

Mouse support, an accessibility option in iOS 13, has been improved in iOS 13.1 allowing a long press or 3D Touch to be mapped to the right click function of the mouse. Reading goals now include PDFs, Nike+ is now just Nike, and iOS 13.1 supports HEVC video encoding with alpha channels.

There are some other smaller changes in iOS 13.1, which are outlined in our first iOS 13.1 article. If we find new features in iOS 13.1 beta 2, we'll update this post.

We're just six days away from Apple's annual September event at Steve Jobs Theater, where the company is widely expected to unveil new iPhone and Apple Watch models. And now, there are hints of a new Apple TV and possibly more.

Today, the Twitter account @never_released aka Longhorn, which has a history of sharing codenames and info about upcoming Apple hardware, claimed that an ‌Apple TV‌ refresh is incoming. No timeframe was provided, but the tweet says the new model has an Apple TV11,1 identifier and a codename of J305.

MacRumors can confirm that both the AppleTV11,1 model identifier and the J305 codename appear within strings and plist files in an internal build of iOS 13 that was provided to us, but this does not guarantee an imminent release.

The tweet added that the new ‌Apple TV‌ will be powered by a faster A12 chip, which would certainly benefit the upcoming Apple Arcade gaming service. It is not entirely clear if this means an A12 or A12X chip, as the current ‌Apple TV‌ 4K has the same A10X Fusion chip as 2017 iPad Pro models.

Update: Longhorn has doubled down on the new ‌Apple TV‌ having an A12 chip, not A12X.

Rumors aside, it would be reasonable to expect a new ‌Apple TV‌ next week, as the device has been updated once every two years for the past three generations: a revised third-generation ‌Apple TV‌ in March 2013, the fourth-generation ‌Apple TV‌ in September 2015, and the ‌Apple TV‌ 4K in September 2017.

As for other potential announcements, the Twitter account CoinX today teased followers with a "one more thing" tweet, the iconic phrase used by the late Steve Jobs when unveiling one last product or surprise at Apple events.

CoinX has accurately leaked several details about upcoming Apple products, including the names of the ‌iPhone‌ XS, ‌iPhone‌ XS Max, and ‌iPhone‌ XR before anyone else, the removal of the headphone jack on 2018 ‌iPad Pro‌ models, and much more. CoinX is also the source of the rumored "Pro" moniker for this year's iPhones.

What could the "one more thing" be? Possibilities include Apple's rumored Tile competitor that MacRumors shared exclusive details about last week, or perhaps just maybe an early preview of the so-called Apple Glasses. We'll soon find out.

Apple's keynote kicks off Tuesday, September 10 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time.

Steve Moser contributed to this report.

Apple plans to launch a new-generation "iPhone SE" in the form of a low-cost 4.7-inch iPhone this coming spring, sources in Asia have claimed.

Nikkei reports that the new model will be Apple's first low-cost smartphone since the 2016 launch of the popular ‌iPhone SE‌, which started at $399, and while the name and price of the new model hasn't been decided, "it is viewed as the latest generation of the ‌iPhone SE‌," according to the paper's sources.

The size of the new model will be similar to the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 that was introduced in 2017, three sources said. The model will share most of the same components with the flagship iPhones this year, and it will feature the lower-cost liquid crystal display that will help Apple achieve the lower starting price-tag, although the final pricing for the model is not yet settled, the people said.

Rumors of a new low-cost 4.7-inch ‌iPhone‌ modeled on the ‌iPhone‌ 8 first appeared in April via Economic Daily News. EDN's sources also claimed the device coming in early 2020 will include an LCD display. In addition, they also claimed it will feature a new PCB design to house Apple's A13 processor, a single-lens rear camera, and 128GB of base storage.

It's not clear if the rumored 4.7-inch ‌iPhone‌ would inherit the notched design and Face ID features of Apple's flagship smartphones, but Nikkei's references to 2017's ‌iPhone‌ 8 suggest it could retain the bordered screen and Touch ID-equipped Home button of that device to keep costs down.

Apple's ‌iPhone‌ XS, XS Max, and XR devices dominate its marketing, but the company continues to offer the ‌iPhone‌ 8 and ‌iPhone‌ 8 Plus (starting at $599) as lower cost options alongside the even cheaper ‌iPhone‌ 7 series (starting at $449).

Apple could end sales of the ‌iPhone‌ 7 when its new flagship models launch later this month, which would leave a space in its line-up for a new device that could boost its share of the mid-tier smartphone market. But apart from being new and coming in at a lower price, we'll have to wait and see if comparisons can be legitimately drawn with the much-loved 4-inch ‌iPhone SE‌ of yesteryear.

An iOS App Store weather app called "UVLens" this morning sent out highly inappropriate pornographic notifications to all of its users, suggesting the app may have been hacked or otherwise compromised in some way.

There are dozens of complaints from users on Twitter who received the notification, which was in no way weather related and was explicit enough to shock users who received it.

UVLens is a simple app designed to provide hourly UV forecasts for those who are concerned about their sun exposure. It is a general use app and it's quite possible that it could have been downloaded by children given its 4+ age rating.

UVLens appears to have sent out the notification to all of its users given the volume of tweets, and one person said that when she tapped the incoming notification, it tried to open a secondary window.

MacRumors was alerted to the issue by editor Mitchel Broussard, who has been using the app for more than a year. Prior to today, the app worked well and sent out no inappropriate content to users. We've never before seen reports of an app sending out notifications like this, so it's rather unusual.

Apple does not appear to have a solid reporting system in place for instances like this, as we discovered after the notifications went out. UVLens has not yet commented on the situation.

There's a "Report a Problem" website for reporting issues with recently purchased iOS apps, but it does not work with older purchased apps that suddenly go rogue. There's no report button in the ‌App Store‌ for individual apps, no option when 3D Touching an app on the Home screen, and no clear support path for alerting Apple about problematic apps.

We have contacted the UVLens developer, and multiple people have been sending complaints on Twitter, so the app may be removed from the ‌App Store‌ or fixed in the near future.

For now, customers who have installed UVLens will likely want to delete the app because it's not clear what's going on and if there has been a breach of some sort.

Update: UVLens sent out another notification, apologizing for the explicit push notification. The company says that it was not from the UVLens team and is being investigated.

Update 2: UVLens tells MacRumors that a third-party push notification service that it uses was compromised, allowing a spammer to send out inappropriate notifications through the network, including to UVLens users. UVLens says that steps were taken to prevent it from happening again and no app software was compromised.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple several patents for smart Apple Watch bands with features such as biometric authentication, self-tightening, and an LED progress indicator, as noted by Patently Apple.

The first patent describes an Apple Watch band with a sensor that can authenticate the wearer based on patterns in their wrist's skin texture:

More particularly, skin texture cracks are generally warmer than the surrounding skin, and hair is cooler than the surrounding skin. By using an IR thermal image sensor as the wrist biometric sensor, hair can be distinguished, thermally, from skin texture cracks by temperature.

This feature would eliminate the need to enter a passcode on the Apple Watch or a paired iPhone to unlock the watch.

The second patent describes a self-tightening Apple Watch band. If the wearer is running or working out, for example, the band could automatically tighten in order to ensure it has a snug fit on the wrist while exercising. Upon completion of the physical activity, the band would then automatically loosen.

Apple Watch users would be able to set locations where the band automatically tightens upon arrival, such as a gym.

In other examples, the band could automatically tighten to notify a user of an upcoming turn while walking, driving, or swimming; to help the wearer count repetitions while weight lifting; or to notify the wearer that they have reached certain distance intervals while running, such as every mile.

The self-tightening band could also be part of a two-factor authentication system on the Apple Watch, as described in the patent:

For example, if a user wishes to access financial details hosted on a banking website, the banking website may require both the user's credentials and a verification of a number of tightening-loosening patterns sent to a wearable electronic device previously authenticated by the banking website…

In one example, a tactile pattern may be a series of five squeezes of the user's wrist (e.g., tighten and loosen in sequence). The user may thereafter enter "5" to gain access to the banking website.

The third patent describes an Apple Watch band with an LED indicator that would visualize the progress of an activity or task, such as completion of Walk, Stand, and Exercise rings. The indicator could also serve as an easy way to check an Apple Watch's remaining battery life at a glance.

Apple is hosting a special event at Steve Jobs Theater next Tuesday, where it is widely expected to unveil new ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch models. While a seasonal band refresh is expected, there have been no rumors or leaks about smart bands.

Keep in mind that Apple is granted dozens of patents every week, and many of the inventions do not see the light of day. Patents are also very detailed, encompassing many possible ideas, even ones that Apple might not have any plans to advance. So, whether any of these bands come to fruition remains to be seen.

The USB4 specification for a new version of USB was today published by the USB Implementers Forum [PDF] giving us details on what to expect from the next-generation USB architecture following a preview back in March.

USB4 is a major update that "complements and builds upon" the current USB 3.2 2x2 (USB-C) and USB 2.0 architectures. According to the USB-IF, the USB4 architecture is based on Thunderbolt, doubling the maximum bandwidth of USB and allowing for multiple simultaneous data and display protocols.

The USB-IF outlined key specifications of the USB4 architecture, such as 40Gb/s speeds (twice the current 20Gb/s maximum) and backwards compatibility with USB 3.2 and Thunderbolt 3.

• Two-lane operation using existing USB Type-C cables and up to 40Gbps operation over 40Gbps certified cables
• Multiple data and display protocols that efficiently share the maximum aggregate bandwidth
• Backward compatibility with USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3

USB4 will use the same USB-C connector design as USB 3, which means manufacturers will not need to introduce new USB4 ports into their devices.

Apple's newest Macs offer support for USB-C and Thunderbolt 3, which means most Mac users are already experiencing USB4 speeds when using Thunderbolt 3 cables and devices, but USB4 will make Thunderbolt-style speeds the new default and it will lower the cost of devices that use these faster transfer speeds.

USB Power Delivery will be required in devices built for USB4, which also means we can expect to see higher-powered chargers with multiple USB4 ports.

Though the USB4 specification is complete, it will still be some time before we can expect to see devices that take advantage of USB4. It typically takes at least a year for new products to come out following the finalization of a new specification, so it will be late 2020 or beyond before we begin seeing USB4 devices.

So many AirPods have been lost in New York City subway tracks in recent months that the MTA is considering initiating a public service announcement urging commuters to refrain from taking AirPods on or off while entering or exiting trains, a spokesperson for the transit agency told The Wall Street Journal.

The PSA would hopefully alleviate the delays caused by the numerous AirPods that fall between the cracks each day:

"They're tiny. They're hard to find," said Steven Dluginski, an MTA maintenance supervisor. Given the darkened tracks where they drop, he said, "the only saving grace is that they're white."

AirPod rescues from New York City subway tracks ramped up in March, when Apple released a new version, Mr. Dluginski said. This summer has been the worst, possibly because the heat and humidity on subway platforms makes the ears and hands of New Yorkers pretty sweaty, he guessed.

Transit workers use a pole that extends to about 8 feet and has two rubber cups on the end that can be squeezed together to grab small objects. The "picker-upper thing," Mr. Dluginski called it.

Around noon on a recent Thursday, Mr. Dluginski's team had received 18 requests to fetch lost items. Six were for AirPods. "It's job security, as far as we're concerned," the maintenance boss said.

While the location of AirPods can be tracked using the Find My iPhone app, the earphones often become trapped in hard-to-reach places due to their small size. This led The Wall Street Journal to highlight the extravagant measures that some customers have taken to recover their lost AirPods:

Passenger Ashley Mayer recently live-tweeted a track rescue in a lull between passing trains. One photo, featuring the caption "game on," showed her purchasing a broom and duct tape. She used the contraption to nab the AirPod from the tracks, which can be dotted with rats.

In an extreme case, well-known Apple analyst Gene Munster admitted that he has apparently lost 10 pairs of AirPods.

Apple charges $69 for a replacement AirPod in the United States, totaling $138 for a pair. Replacement charging cases are also available for $59, while the wireless AirPods charging case is sold separately for $79.

Paywalled article: America's Stormy Affair with Apple AirPods: Love 'Em and Lose 'Em

Primate Labs today announced the release of Geekbench 5, the latest major version of its popular benchmark software.

For CPUs, Geekbench 5 features new benchmark tests and it also increases the memory footprint of existing workloads to more accurately account for the effect memory performance has on CPU performance:

The Geekbench 5 CPU Benchmark includes new benchmark tests that model the challenges your system faces when running the latest applications. These tests use cutting-edge technologies, including machine learning, augmented reality, and computational photography.

Geekbench 5 also increases the memory footprint of existing workloads to more accurately account for the effect memory performance has on CPU performance.

Finally, the Geekbench 5 CPU Benchmark includes new modes of multi-threaded benchmarks, allowing threads to work co-operatively on one problem rather than separately on different problems. With the addition of different threading models, Geekbench 5 better captures the performance of different multi-threaded applications on personal computing devices.

As for GPUs, the Compute benchmark now supports Vulkan in addition to Metal, CUDA, and OpenCL.

Geekbench 5 also has a refreshed user interface with full support for Dark Mode on macOS Mojave and later. Support for ‌Dark Mode‌ on iOS 13 will be available later this year, according to Primate Labs.

Geekbench 5 is available now for macOS, iOS, Windows, and Linux, with an Android version coming later this week. The software is 64-bit only, dropping support for 32-bit processors and operating systems.

Through September 10, Geekbench 5 and Geekbench 5 Pro for Mac are on sale for $7.49 and $49.99 respectively, down from $14.99 and $99.99. Geekbench 5 for iOS is also free until that time, while Geekbench 5 Pro for iOS has introductory pricing of $4.99, which will rise to $9.99 after the sale ends.

Bloomberg Businessweek sent an Apple Card to University of California, Berkeley professor and mineralogist Hans-Rudolf Wenk to determine the card's atomic makeup. The answer: 90% titanium and 10% aluminum.

From the report:

But how much titanium? To find out, a Bloomberg Businessweek reporter sent his card to a mineralogist, University of California, Berkeley professor Hans-Rudolf Wenk. Professor Wenk used what's known as a scanning electron microscope, or SEM device, to determine the card's atomic makeup. He found that the answer is about 90%. The rest of the card is aluminum, according to the analysis.

Apple previously said the card's white finish is achieved through a "multi-layer coating process" that is added to the titanium base material. In a recent support document, Apple said if the card comes into contact with hard surfaces or materials, it is possible that the coating can be damaged.

Apple also said some fabrics, like leather and denim, might cause permanent discoloration on the card that will not wash off.

Undeterred by its recent Galaxy Fold un-launch, Samsung is apparently set to unveil a luxury smartphone early next year that can be folded down into a compact-sized square, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

The South Korean smartphone giant is working on a device with a 6.7-inch inner display that shrinks to a pocketable square when it's folded inward like a clamshell, according to people familiar with the product's development.

The smartphone giant is said to be collaborating with American designer Thom Browne on the upcoming phone, with the aim of "appealing to a broader range of consumers that includes those more interested in fashion, status and luxury than a device's tech specs." At the same time, the device will reportedly feature cutting-edge display technology and offer the nostalgic appeal of rejuvenating the flip-phone form factor.

The foldable phone is said to include a hole-punch selfie camera at the top of the inner display, while on the outside it will have two cameras that face rearwards when the phone is open and become front-facing when the device is flipped closed.

According to the paper's sources, Samsung aims to make its second bendable smartphone more affordable and thinner than this year's Galaxy Fold, although the launch of the successor device "may... hinge on how well the Fold performs after its imminent launch."

On that note, Samsung is said to have completed its redesign of the Galaxy Fold to resolve the multiple display failures that led to its delay. The South Korean company originally planned to roll out its $1,980 foldable phone on April 26, but was forced to delay the launch after several units sent out to reviewers broke during testing.

All of the issues were related to the device's screen, which was vulnerable to debris ingress. The new version of the Galaxy Fold, featuring several design and construction improvements, is now set to launch in September in select markets, with specific launch details to be shared as a launch approaches.

There have been some suggestions that Apple is exploring folding screen technology, but right now there are no rumors indicating Apple plans to actually release a foldable smartphone in the near future.

A new Geekbench result posted this evening purportedly reveals performance data for the next-generation iPhone XR set to debut at next week's media event.

The result, spotted by forum member EugW, lists a model number of "iPhone12,1" running iOS 13.1 with a motherboard identifier of N104AP. Back in May, Bloomberg reported that the next-generation ‌iPhone‌ XR was internally codenamed N104, while 9to5Mac reported in July that the device would carry the model number iPhone12,1.

If legitimate, the result reveals a few details about the ‌iPhone‌ XR successor and its A13 chip. First, the result shows approximately 4 GB of RAM for the device, which would be an increase over the 3 GB found in the current ‌iPhone‌ XR and in line with predictions from noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The ‌iPhone‌ XS and XS Max already include 4 GB of RAM, and there have not been any solid rumors suggesting their successors will see an increase.

Moving on to the A13 itself, the result indicates it continues to include six cores, presumably in an identical setup compared to the A12 with two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores.

The A13's high-performance cores are shown running at 2.66 GHz in today's result, compared to 2.49 GHz in the A12, leading to an approximately 12–13 percent gain in single-core performance for the A13 with a score of 5415, compared to an average 4796 for the A12 in the iPhone XR.

Interestingly, the A13's multi-core score of 11294 is nearly identical to the A12's average score of 11192, although Geekbench's developer John Poole tells us there could be some throttling due to thermal limits as similar situations have been seen with the A12 in the ‌iPhone‌ XS and XR, so we may have to wait for more data to see where the A13 truly tops out.

Careful observers will note oddly low figures for the L1 and L2 caches on this A13, but Poole tells us Geekbench has difficulty telling whether the cache values it reads are for the high-performance or high-efficiency cores, particularly on unreleased hardware for which the software hasn't been optimized.

While we can't confirm whether the Geekbench result is legitimate, as results certainly can be faked, all of the data appears reasonable or explainable and Poole tells us "there's nothing obviously wrong with the result."

We'll know more with the unveiling of all three of the new iPhones at Apple's media event on September 10, although Apple is unlikely to share specifics on chip speeds and RAM amounts. It won't take long, however, for additional data to surface confirming specs for the new devices.