Apple today announced that its new Apple Marunouchi store in Toyko is set to open on Saturday, September 7. Marunouchi is Apple's third store in Japan to open since last April, and it is the largest Apple Store in Japan.

Apple Marunouchi is located near the Imperial Palace and across from the historic Tokyo Station. Apple's senior vice president of Retail and People, Deirdre O'Brien, said that the Marunouchi store marks a significant moment in Apple's relationship with Japan.

"Marunouchi has amazing energy and our teams can't wait to welcome customers to our largest store in Japan for the first time on Saturday," O'Brien said.

According to Apple, the split-level Marunouchi store was built with a unique facade, featuring two-story vitrine windows that were constructed from "specially cast aluminum" to allow them to feature three-dimensional rounded corners.

The windows are a first in an Apple retail location and are designed to allow the "vibrant street life" of the surrounding area to connect with the interior of the store. Bamboo lines the interior of the windows.

Marunouchi will feature "world-class creators" leading Today at Apple sessions, kicking off with The Tokyo Creative Guild, which is a special 12-part series that Apple is introducing to celebrate the store's opening.

Customers can begin signing up for Today at Apple sessions at Marunouchi starting now. Apple says that later this month, its Fukuoka store will also be expanding to a new location, and the remodel of Apple Omotesandō will be completed.

Apps designed for the Mac don't often receive as much attention as apps made for iPhones and iPads, so we have a series here at MacRumors designed to highlight useful and interesting Mac apps worth checking out.

This month's picks include apps for revamping your dock, discovering new music, making GIFs, annotating and managing screenshots, and more.

• Plug (Free) - Plug is a macOS player for The Hype Machine, a website that's designed to help you discover interesting new music. The Hype Machine curates content from up and coming artists highlighted by various websites on the internet, which can result in a nice mix of fresh music. You can choose to see what's popular, view remixes, see what friends are listening to, and more.
• Active Dock ($19.99) - Active Dock is a dock replacement app for the Mac that offers features you don't get with the standard dock. You can group documents and apps together for quicker switching between what's open, and you can hover over an app on the dock to see all of the open windows. You can get to options like system preferences and frequently accessed documents, plus there are tons of customization options to work with for changing the look of the dock, icons, and more. Active Dock costs $19.99, but there's a free trial.
• GIFSKI (Free) - GIFSKI is a fun little app that's designed to allow you to create custom GIFs from video clips. Just drag and drop a video file into the app, adjust the start and end points, and you have a GIF. The app supports multiple video formats, it has a clean interface, and it's simple to use.
• In Your Face ($1.99) - In Your Face is a notification app that takes over the entire screen, so if there's something that you really need to remember to do, this is the app to use. The app is located in the menu bar and it interrupts whatever you're doing when it's time for something like an important meeting. It's a good idea if you typically dismiss reminders and calendar events without paying attention, because it's impossible to miss the In Your Face popups.
• Xnip (Free) - Xnip is a screenshot and annotation app that adds a few capabilities not possible with Apple's built-in screenshotting tools. You can capture a full-page screenshot in an app like Safari where all of the content might not be visible, and you can capture multiple windows together. A color picker tool lets you pick a color of a pixel to make a capture, there's an option to measure objects on the screen, and there are other tools like pixelation for hiding details and numbered annotation options. Removing watermarks from screenshots requires a $4.99 per year subscription.

If you have a favorite must-have Mac app that we haven't highlighted yet, let us know in the comments, and we might feature it in a future video. For more of our Mac app picks, make sure to check out our Mac app archives.

An exposed server with more than 419 million records from Facebook users has been discovered online, reports TechCrunch.

The server was not protected with a password and was accessible to anyone. It featured 133 million records from U.S.-based Facebook users, 18 million records from users in the UK, and 50 million records on users in Vietnam.

The records contained each person's unique Facebook ID along with the phone number listed on the account. Facebook IDs are unique numbers that can be associated with an account to discover a person's username.

Facebook restricted access to phone numbers more than a year ago, so the database that was found is older than that. A Facebook spokesperson said that the data had been scraped prior to when Facebook cut off access to phone numbers, calling the dataset "old."

"This dataset is old and appears to have information obtained before we made changes last year to remove people's ability to find others using their phone numbers," the spokesperson said. "The dataset has been taken down and we have seen no evidence that Facebook accounts were compromised."

TechCrunch was able to verify multiple records in the database by matching a known Facebook user's phone number against a listed Facebook ID. Other records were verified by matching phone numbers with Facebook's password reset feature, which can be used to partially reveal a phone number linked to an account. Records primarily had phone numbers, but in some cases, also had usernames, genders, and country location.

Phone number security has become increasingly important over the course of the last few years due to SIM-hacking, which involves calling a phone carrier and asking for a SIM transfer for a specific number, thereby giving access to anything linked to that phone number, such as two-factor verification, password reset info, and more.

SIM-hacking requires little more than a phone number and social engineering skills, and it has been devastating for people who have been impacted. Leaked phone numbers also expose Facebook users to spam calls, which have also become more and more prevalent over the last several years.

The database was originally found by security researcher Sanyam Jain, who said that he was able to locate phone numbers associated with several celebrities. It's not clear who owned the database nor where it originated from, but it was taken offline after TechCrunch contacted the web host. There is no word on why the data was scraped from Facebook or what it was used for.

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