MacRumors

Apple shares are currently trading above the $234 mark on the intraday market, setting a new all-time high for the company. As noted by CNBC, the stock's previous all-time high was $233.47 in October 2018.

AAPL has surged nearly 10 percent over the past month, fueled in part by multiple reports indicating that iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro sales have been better than expected so far in several countries, including the United States, China, and India, something that Apple CEO Tim Cook alluded to in a recent interview.

Apple is set to report its fourth quarter earnings results on Wednesday, October 30 after the stock market closes.

Apple Arcade today gained five new games for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV:

• Decoherence by Efecto Studios: A strategy game that tasks players with building robots and planning a battle strategy for victory.
  

• INMOST by Chucklefish: An atmospheric, story-driven puzzle platformer following three playable characters within one dark, interconnecting story.
  

• Mind Symphony by Rogue Games: A classic shoot-'em-up game with both an intense, fast-pace mode and a calm mode with peaceful, rhythmic interactions focused on relaxation.
  

• ShockRods by Stainless Games: A vehicle-based arena shooter where players score points by shooting opponents, achieving objectives, scoring goals, stealing the other team's flag, or dealing the most destruction.
  

• Stela by SkyBox Labs: A cinematic, atmospheric platformer about a young woman witnessing the final days of a mysterious ancient world.

Apple Arcade also added two more games for the Mac on Thursday:

• Pilgrims by Amanita Design: A playful adventure game in which players roam the land and solve various tasks using dozens of items and unique characters, and without being obliged to follow a single designated path.
  

• Shantae and the Seven Sirens by WayForward: Traverse a vast, interconnected undersea world, make new Half-Genie friends, and battle the Seven Sirens as part of an all-new tropical adventure.

Trailers for some of the games:

Apple Arcade is Apple's new subscription-based gaming service, providing iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac users with access to dozens of games with no in-app purchases or ads for $4.99 per month. With these additions, Apple Arcade now has a total of 80 games for iOS and tvOS, while there are 61 games for the Mac.

Apple Arcade officially launched on September 19 for iPhone and iPad, although some users were able to access the service a few days early. Either way, the one-month free trial period will soon come to an end for early adopters.

Apple has reportedly set an aggressive 2022 deadline to develop in-house 5G modems as part of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) design to be used in future iPhones and iPads, claims a new report today.

According to Fast Company, Apple plans to have completed all the development, testing, and certification necessary by the new deadline to be able to include the modems in new iPhones the same year.

However, given the arduous testing and certification process required after the chip design and fabrication is complete, a two-years deadline for the modem is "really pushing it," according to the report's source, who is said to have knowledge of Apple's plans.

The main stumbling block is said to be the network optimization testing that's necessary to make sure the modem doesn't conflict with the wireless networks of other carriers. In addition, tests are needed to ensure compliance with global standards, not to mention the ability of the modem to satisfy FCC requirements.

Given those hurdles, Fast Company's source believes 2023 may be a more realistic completion date for Apple's SoC modem.

Apple agreed to acquire the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business in June, with a view to accelerating the development of its own 5G modem. A previous source claimed the iPhone maker wants to have an in-house chip ready for use in some of its products by 2021, while earlier sources reported timeframes of between 2022 and 2025.

Whatever the timeline is and regardless of whether Apple is able to stick to it, the company's transition to custom 5G modems will likely happen in phases, starting with lower-end and older models of devices. Apple has a multiyear chipset supply agreement with Qualcomm, and a six-year patent license agreement, so it doesn't exactly have to rush the process.

In the meantime, Apple is expected to use Qualcomm's chips for the first 5G-enabled iPhones in 2020.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has written to employees defending the company's controversial decision to pull an app used by Hong Kong protestors to coordinate gatherings and avoid large concentrations of police.

Apple removed HKMap Live from the App Store on Thursday following the app's approval last week, which itself only came after an internal review of the company's original decision to reject it. Apple's reversal came after the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper criticized Apple for letting the app into its store.

In a company-wide memo, a verified copy of which has been reproduced on Pastebin, Cook told staff that the decision to remove the app was not easy, but that Apple had received "credible information" from Hong Kong police that the app was being used to target individuals for violence. Here's the memo in full:

Team,

You have likely seen the news that we made the decision to remove an app from the App Store entitled HKmap.live. These decisions are never easy, and it is harder still to discuss these topics during moments of furious public debate. It’s out of my great respect for the work you do every day that I want to share the way we went about making this decision.

It is no secret that technology can be used for good or for ill. This case is no different. The app in question allowed for the crowdsourced reporting and mapping of police checkpoints, protest hotspots, and other information. On its own, this information is benign. However, over the past several days we received credible information, from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau, as well as from users in Hong Kong, that the app was being used maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimize individuals and property where no police are present. This use put the app in violation of Hong Kong law. Similarly, widespread abuse clearly violates our App Store guidelines barring personal harm.

We built the App Store to be a safe and trusted place for every user. It’s a responsibility that we take very seriously, and it’s one that we aim to preserve. National and international debates will outlive us all, and, while important, they do not govern the facts. In this case, we thoroughly reviewed them, and we believe this decision best protects our users.

Tim

Cook has since been criticized for his claim that the app is used to target individual police and members of the public. The developers say HKmap Live is designed to help protestors avoid law enforcement. As such, it doesn't show individual officers but only large concentrations of police, as reflected in the web-hosted version of the app.

In a Twitter post, Charles Mok, a developer and member of Hong Kong's legislative council, revealed that he had written to Cook saying he was "deeply disappointed with Apple's decision to ban the app, and would like to contest the claims made by Hong Kong Police Force's Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTBC)."

"There are numerous cases of innocent passers-by in the neighborhood injured by the Kong Kong Police Force's excessive force in crowd dispersal operations," he wrote.

"The user-generated information shared using HKmap.live in fact helps citizens avoid areas where pedestrians not involved in any criminal activities might be subjected to police brutality which many human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have observed."

Mok's letter went on to note that since the banned app aggregates real-time reports from Telegram, Facebook and other sources, then the same standard should also be applied to review these social media apps.

In the U.S., lawmakers have also criticized Apple for not standing up for democratic values and free speech. "An authoritarian regime is violently suppressing its own citizens who are fighting for democracy," said Democrat senator Ron Wyden in a tweet. "Apple just sided with them."

"Apple assured me last week that their initial decision to ban this app was a mistake," tweeted Republican senator Josh Hawley. "Looks like the Chinese censors have had a word with them since. Who is really running Apple? ‌Tim Cook‌ or Beijing?"

At a press conference on Thursday, Hong Kong's Secretary for Transport and Housing was asked by reporters which local laws HKmap Live had violated that led Apple to remove it from the ‌App Store‌, but the official deferred to Cupertino: "The taking down of the app from the ‌App Store‌ is the decision made by the operating company – Apple. So, if you want to know the reason for them to take down the app, maybe you can approach Apple and the Apple Store."

Apple has so far declined to comment on the matter.

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.

When Apple announced macOS Catalina at the Worldwide Developers Conference and unveiled its new Catalyst feature that would allow iPad apps to be easily ported over to the Mac, Twitter was one of the upcoming apps shown off.

macOS Catalina launched on Monday, and as of today, the Twitter for Mac app is now available. macOS Catalina is required to download and use the new app, as it is built using Catalina technologies.

Twitter discontinued its prior Twitter for Mac client more than a year ago, which wasn't a popular decision with Twitter users. At the time, Twitter said that it was ending support for the app to focus on a Twitter experience consistent across platforms, and recommended Mac users use Twitter on the web.

Because Apple's Catalyst initiative makes it easier for apps designed for iOS to be brought to the Mac, Twitter has decided to reintroduce its Mac app, which shares similarities with the Twitter for ‌iPad‌ app.

Design wise, it's in line with the iPhone and ‌iPad‌ apps, but Twitter in June said that it has all of the features that users expect from a Mac app such as multiple windows, window resizing, drag and drop, dark mode, keyboard shortcuts, notifications, and more.

Twitter for Mac can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Apple's worldwide Mac shipments were down in the third quarter of 2019, according to new preliminary Pc shipping estimates shared this afternoon by Gartner.

During the quarter, Apple shipped an estimated 5.1 million Macs, down from 5.3 million in the third quarter of 2018, marking a 3.7 percent drop in shipments. Apple's marketshare also declined slightly, dropping from 7.9 percent to 7.5 percent.

Apple continues to be the number four PC vendor in the world, ranking below Lenovo, HP, and Dell, but above Acer and Asus. Lenovo was the number one vendor during the quarter, shipping an estimated 16.8 million PCs for 24.7 percent market share.

HP came in second with 15.3 million PCs shipped for 22.4 percent market share, while Dell was third with 11.3 million PCs shipped and 16.6 percent market share. Acer shipped 4.2 million PCs for 6.2 percent market share, while ASUS shipped 3.8 million PCs for 6.5 percent market share.

Apple's decline in Mac sales follows refreshes of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines this year, but comes as the iMac, Mac Pro, and ‌iMac‌ Pro continue to go without an update. Apple is planning to release an updated ‌Mac Pro‌ at some point this year.

The drop in Mac sales comes amid slight growth for the overall worldwide PC market. A total of 68.1 million PCs were shipped during the quarter, a 1.1 percent increase from the third quarter of 2018.

Apple saw slight growth in Mac shipments in the United States in Q3 2019. Apple shipped a total of 2.186 million Macs during the quarter, up from 2.182 during the third quarter of 2018, a 0.2 percent increase.

HP was the number one PC vendor in the United States, shipping 4.4 million PCs. Dell came in at number two with 4 million PCs shipped, while Lenovo was third with 2.2 million PCs. Microsoft and Acer trailed Apple in the United States.

IDC also released its own shipment estimates this afternoon, noting an even steeper decline in sales for Apple. According to IDC, Apple shipped 5 million Macs during the quarter, down from 5.3 million, a decline of 6.1 percent.

In IDC's rankings, Apple falls below Lenovo, HP, and Dell, also coming in as the number four worldwide PC vendor, which is up from fifth place last year. IDC's data also suggests overall worldwide PC market growth of 3 percent percent rather than the 1.1 percent growth noted by Gartner.

Apple could see some growth in Mac sales next year following the release of the new ‌Mac Pro‌ and rumors suggesting a new 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ is on the horizon.

It's important to note that data from Gartner and IDC is based on estimates, and while Apple used to provide specific breakdowns of Mac sales, the company is no longer doing so and there will be no way to confirm shipment estimates going forward.

The first beta of iOS 13.2 brought a handful of changes like Deep Fusion support, Announce Messages With Siri and HomePod handoff options, but iOS 13.2 beta 2 introduces even more significant changes.

There are new emoji and new Siri privacy settings as we outlined earlier today, but there are also some other smaller changes worth highlighting.

- Rearrange Apps - The "Rearrange Apps" option that pops up when 3D Touching or using a Haptic Touch on an app icon is now "Edit Home Screen."

- Delete Apps From Home Screen - There's a new option to delete apps right from the Home screen when pressing on them with a ‌Haptic Touch‌ or 3D Touch.

- New Emoji - iOS 13.2 beta 2 includes support for the Unicode 12 emoji with characters like yawning face, sloth, waffle, falafel, otter, and tons more.

- New Emoji Picker - When using a multi-person emoji, there's a new skin tone picker that lets you select a different skin tone for each person.

- Siri Privacy Splash Screen - When you first install iOS 13.2, there's a new splash screen that lets you opt out of sharing ‌Siri‌ and Dictation audio recordings with Apple.

- Delete Siri History - In the ‌Siri‌ section of the Settings app, there's a new ‌Siri‌ and Dictation option that lets you delete all of the ‌Siri‌ and Dictation history associated with your iPhone from Apple's servers.

- Audio Recordings - In the Analytics and Improvements section of the Privacy portion of the Settings app, there is a new toggle to opt out of sharing your audio recordings with Apple for the purpose of improving ‌Siri‌.

- AirPods Animation - In the last beta, we found images that reveal the design of the third-generation AirPods. This beta includes an animation that will walk users through changing the noise cancelation options on the new AirPods. Noise cancelation is one of the features expected to be included with the new earbuds.

- Video Recording - When capturing video on the new ‌iPhone‌ 11 and 11 Pro models, you can change the resolution and the frames per seconds settings of the video directly in the Camera app. To do so, tap on the small icons that are located at the top left of the interface. Resolution and FPS can be changed independently depending on where you tap.

Know of a feature that's new in iOS 13.2 beta 2 that we left out? Make sure to let us know in the comments and we'll update this article.

Today's iOS 13.2 beta introduces a new option that allows iPhone and iPad users to delete their Siri and Dictation history and opt out of sharing audio recordings, features that Apple promised after being called out for its ‌Siri‌ quality evaluation processes.

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

A report from one of those contractors who spoke to The Guardian said that the employees working on Siri "regularly" heard "confidential details" while listening to the audio recordings. The contractor also criticized Apple for not making it clear to consumers that some of their ‌Siri‌ recordings were being used for evaluation purposes.

Following the report, Apple suspended its ‌Siri‌ grading practices and told users that it would introduce tools allowing them to opt out of sharing their audio recordings.

iOS 13.2 brings multiple Siri-related privacy features as promised. When installing iOS 13.2, there's a new splash screen to opt out of sharing audio recordings, with Apple clearly explaining how those recordings are used.

Help Improve Siri and Dictation by allowing Apple to store and review audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions on this iPhone and on any connected Apple Watch or HomePod. You can change this later in the settings for each device.

This data is not associated with your Apple ID, and will only be stored for a limited period.

In the Privacy section of the Settings app, there is indeed an option to turn off the "Improve ‌Siri‌ & Dictation" setting, plus there's a new setting in the ‌Siri‌ section of the Settings app that lets recordings be deleted entirely.

Delete Siri & Dictation interactions currently associated with this iPhone from Apple servers. Data that has been sampled to help improve Siri and Dictation is no longer associated with this iPhone and will not be deleted.

In addition to these new ‌Siri‌ and Dictation-related privacy features added in iOS 13.2, Apple also says that it is making further changes to its human grading process that will minimize the amount of data that reviewers have access to.

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 13.2 update, and the beta adds new emoji characters that are part of the Unicode 12 emoji release.

Apple previewed its new emoji earlier this year, and now the new options are set to roll out when iOS 13.2 becomes available. Unicode 12 adds 59 new emoji characters, 75 when gender variations are counted, and 230 when gender variations and skin tones are counted.

Orangutan, sloth, otter, skunk, and flamingo are the new animals included in the update, while new food items include garlic, onion, waffle, falafel, butter, oyster, beverage box, maté, and ice cube.

New faces, gestures, and poses include yawning face, pinching hand, person kneeling, person standing, and new people holding hands options that are both gender and skin tone inclusive.

Several new accessibility-related emojis are included, such as ear with hearing aid, deaf person, mechanical arm/leg, person with cane, person in wheelchair, guide dog, wheelchair (manual and motorized), and probing cane.

Other miscellaneous emoji include Hindu Temple, auto rickshaw, parachute, ringed planet, diving mask, yo-yo, kite, safety vest, sari, one-piece swimsuit, briefs, shorts, ballet shoes, banjo, diya lamp, axe, drop of blood, bandage, stethoscope, chair, razor, white heart, and circles and squares in various new colors.

A full list of emoji that are included in the update can be found on the Emojipedia site. It's not entirely clear yet when iOS 13.2 will come out because we're only at the second beta, but it could see a late October or early November release.

Apple today released the second betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 13.2 updates to developers, a week after seeding the first betas and two weeks after the release of iOS 13.1.

iOS and iPadOS 13.2 can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or over the air after the proper developer profiles have been installed.

iOS 13.2 introduces Deep Fusion for the cameras in the iPhone 11 and ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro models. Deep Fusion is a new image processing system that uses the A13 Bionic and the Neural Engine. Deep Fusion takes advantage of machine learning techniques to do pixel-by-pixel processing of photos, optimizing for texture, details, and noise in each part of the image.

The feature is aimed at improving indoor photos and photos taken in medium lighting, and it's a feature that will automatically activate based on the lens being used and the light level in the room.

In both iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2, Apple has reintroduced the Announce Messages with Siri feature, which lets ‌Siri‌ read incoming messages without having to unlock the ‌iPhone‌. The feature works with the second-generation AirPods and the Beats Pro.

The betas include new privacy settings for Apple's upcoming Research app, a new Transfer to HomePod toggle in the Settings app to turn on ‌HomePod‌ handoff, an updated volume bar in Control Center that displays AirPods and Beats icons, and an option to display multi-function HomeKit products as multiple tiles or a single tile.

Also discovered in the first beta of iOS 13.2 was an icon that divulges the design of Apple's third-generation AirPods, expected in 2020. The AirPods have a fresh look with a body that resembles the current AirPods, but with rubber tips, likely for the rumored noise cancelation feature.

Additional details on what's new in iOS 13.2 can be found in our iOS 13.2 tidbits article.

Update: Apple has also seeded the new iOS and ‌iPadOS‌ 13.2 betas to its public beta testing group.