MacRumors

Apple's iPhone sales in China were down 30 percent during the first quarter of 2019, according to new shipment estimates shared today by Canalys.

Apple shipped an estimated 6.5 million iPhones during the quarter, marking its worst decline in two years. It shipped fewer smartphones in the country than Chinese vendors Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Huawei, coming in as the number five brand in China.

Huawei, the top vendor in China during Q1 2019, shipped 29.9 million smartphones for 34 percent market share. Huawei saw impressive growth during the quarter, with smartphone sales up 41 percent. Other smartphone vendors in China also saw drops in smartphone sales, though not as dramatic as Apple's decline.

Apple held just 7.4 percent market share in China during Q1 2019, down from 10.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. According to Canalys analyst Mo Jia, introducing features like 5G is "vital" to prevent ‌iPhone‌ demand in China from shrinking even further.

Apple's performance in China is concerning, given that the worst quarter for iPhone shipments is usually Q2 or Q3, not Q1 when new devices are still fresh. Apple has acted to cut iPhone retail prices, which has largely relieved the pressure from its channel partners. Despite the iPhone's installed base in China being well over 300 million, it is vital that Apple prevents users deserting it for Android vendors. Apple faces a challenge in China to localize its software and services offerings as quickly as in Western markets. Its hardware is therefore more exposed to competition in China than elsewhere. Bringing up-to-date features, such as 5G, next year, as well as localized software is vital to prevent demand shrinking further.

Overall smartphone shipments in China fell to 88 million units, the market's worst performance since 2013 and a three percent drop from the year-ago quarter. Huawei managed significant growth in China through increased investments in brick and mortar stores, a wider offering of consumer IoT devices, and penetration of rural markets with low cost smartphones.

Apple is set to announce its earnings results for the second fiscal quarter of 2019 (first calendar quarter) this afternoon. Apple is expecting revenue between $55 billion and $59 billion, a decline from the $61.1 billion reported in 2018.

Apple is no longer disclosing ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and Mac sales, which means there is no longer access to specific sales data to confirm analyst estimates.

Facebook will launch a new desktop app for Messenger on both macOS and Windows later this year, according to a since-deleted blog post spotted by French blog iGeneration ahead of Facebook's annual F8 developer conference.

A screenshot of the Windows version of the app reveals that it will look rather similar to both Skype and Apple's own Messages app on Mac. Facebook said Messenger Desktop will have many of the same features as the mobile version of the app, including support for group video calls and collaboration.

Facebook is expected to unveil the desktop app alongside several other new Messenger features at its F8 keynote today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

Update: Facebook's blog post has been republished after Messenger Desktop was unveiled at F8 as expected.

CNET has a video of the announcement:

In a new support document, Apple has indicated that its legacy photo editing suite Aperture will not run in future versions of macOS after macOS Mojave. The support document provides users with steps to migrate Aperture libraries to Apple's newer Photos app for Mac or Adobe Lightroom Classic.

Apple ceased development of Aperture in June 2014 and removed the software from the Mac App Store in April 2015 after the launch of the Photos app for Mac. However, the application continues to function on macOS Mojave for users who still have it installed, albeit with some performance limitations.

As part of the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit, certain media files created using older formats or codecs will also be incompatible with future versions of macOS after macOS Mojave. Apple has shared instructions on how to convert incompatible media in iMovie libraries and Final Cut Pro X and Motion projects.

Foxconn is broadening investment in MicroLED display technology in a bid to win orders from Apple for future iPhones, according to a report from the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (via DigiTimes).

MicroLED is widely considered to be Apple's next step after OLED, which it currently uses for the Apple Watch and iPhone XS. MicroLED displays have many of the same advantages that OLED displays have over LCDs, including improved color accuracy, improved contrast ratio, faster response times, and true blacks – given both have self-lit pixels.

However MicroLED displays are thinner, brighter, and more energy efficient than OLED panels. MicroLED displays also have inorganic gallium nitride-based LEDs, which have a longer lifespan than the organic compound used in OLED displays and should make them more resistant to burn-in issues.

Apple's interest in MicroLED was first reported in 2014, when it acquired MicroLED display maker LuxVue. The following year it was discovered that the ‌iPhone‌ maker had also opened a secretive laboratory in Taoyuan, Taiwan to research display technologies like OLED and MicroLED for future devices.

In 2017, the company reportedly scaled back its efforts at that center, possibly switching to a facility closer to home: Apple is believed to have a secretive manufacturing plant in Santa Clara, California, where it is designing and producing display test samples using MicroLED technology.

It will likely be a few years before MicroLED displays appear in Apple products – perhaps one year for the Apple Watch and two to four years for the ‌iPhone‌ – once MicroLED displays can be mass produced both reliably and affordably.

When that time comes, Apple will likely outsource full-scale production of the displays, and Foxconn is clearly planning to pick up at least some of the business, if today's report is anything to go on.

Sprint and T-Mobile have announced an agreement to extend the deadline for their proposed $26 billion merger deal to July 29 (via Reuters).

The extension was revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and means that the two carriers now have more time to get the proposed merger approved by both the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Justice Department's antitrust division has been exploring whether the deal would result in a major threat to competition. Earlier this month, Justice Department staff members reportedly told Sprint and T-Mobile that their planned merger is unlikely to be approved as it is currently structured.

However, in an interview on CNBC, Justice Department Antitrust Division chief Makan Delrahim said he had not made a decision regarding the T-Mobile and Sprint merger and is waiting for more information from the two companies.

"I have not made up my mind," he told CNBC. "The investigation continues. We've requested some data from the companies that will be forthcoming. We don't have a set number of meetings or a time line."

"If the case is there for us to challenge a transaction or suggest changes, we will do that," he said. The division is reviewing the argument that the deal would allow the combined company to produce a better, faster 5G, the next generation of wireless, he added.

T-Mobile and Sprint first announced plans for a merger in April 2018. If approved, the merger will combine two of the four major wireless carriers in the United States, giving the new company nearly 100 million customers.

With discussions ongoing, Sprint and T-Mobile may be willing to offer concessions that include assets sales to get the government to approve the merger plans.

However, other challenges await the two carriers, with multiple state attorneys prepared to launch lawsuits if the Justice Department doesn't end up challenging the merger, according to sources that spoke to The Wall Street Journal.

Rubén Caballero, a hardware engineering executive at Apple who worked with suppliers on modem hardware, recently left the company, reports The Information.

Caballero's departure comes just after Apple settled its lawsuit with Qualcomm and inked a deal that will see Qualcomm supplying chips for future Apple devices, including the 5G chips Apple will need for its 2020 iPhones.

Caballero joined Apple back in 2005, and his name has been included on hundreds of Apple patents related to wireless technologies. Caballero is a well-known part of Apple's antenna engineering group, gaining public recognition following the "Antennagate" situation that impacted the iPhone 4.

A person familiar with Caballero's work at Apple told The Information that he had been responsible for "leading Apple's charge into 5G." Caballero's email address is no longer valid, his phone number is no longer active, and he does not appear in Apple's internal directory.

There is no word on why Caballero left the company, but Apple has been restructuring some of its chip teams. Apple's modem engineering efforts were put under chipmaking chief Johny Srouji back in February. Caballero and Apple both declined to comment on his departure.

Apple is planning to release its first 5G iPhone in 2020 and while the launch of the device is still more than a year away, Apple is already working on the future ‌iPhone‌ and ironing out technical details.

Apple will use Qualcomm chips for its first 5G iPhones, and may also be planning to source some chips from Samsung. In the future, Apple is planning to use its own custom-designed modem chips, but Apple-designed modems won't be ready for "another few years."

Toyota recently announced plans to bring CarPlay to 2018 Toyota Camry sedans and 2018 Toyota Sienna minivans through a new retrofitting program that will be available through Toyota dealers.

According to CNET, 2018 Toyota Sienna minivans and Camry sedans will soon be able to visit a dealership to add ‌CarPlay‌ support to their vehicles. Amazon Alexa compatibility is also included.

Visiting a Toyota dealership will be required to install the ‌CarPlay‌ update, which will be made available through new software. Toyota has not yet confirmed if the ‌CarPlay‌ update will be free or if there will be a fee.

Toyota has introduced ‌CarPlay‌ in quite a few of its 2019 and 2020 models, but to date, ‌CarPlay‌ has been limited to newer vehicles, so this is the first time Toyota is making it available in a 2018 vehicle.

Other Toyota vehicles equipped with ‌CarPlay‌ include the 2019 Avalon, 2019 Corolla Hatchback, 2019 Sienna, 2019 Camry, 2020 Tacoma, 2020 Tundra, 2020 Sequoia, 2020 Corolla, 2020 Yaris Hatchback, and 2020 Highlander.

It's not known if Toyota will, in the future, provide similar ‌CarPlay‌ retrofitting options for other Toyota vehicles.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming iOS 12.3 update to developers, one week after releasing the third beta and a month after the launch of iOS 12.2, an update that introduced Apple News+, new Animoji, and more.

Registered developers will be able to download the new iOS 12.3 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3 introduce a new version of Apple's TV app, which has been updated with a new look and fresh functionality.

In the new TV app, "Watch Now" and "Up Next" are still front and center for keeping track of what you're watching, but there's a new machine learning-based recommendation engine that will suggest content based on your viewing preferences and history.

The app's interface has been streamlined with sections for movies, TV shows, sports, and kids content, and on iOS, there's a separate bottom bar for the library, search, and Watch Now options.

There's a new "Channels" feature in the TV app, which is one of the major new components of Apple's services push. Channels are subscription services that you can sign up for and watch within the TV app without having to open up another app.

So, for example, if you come across a show you want to watch on your iPhone or Apple TV that's on Showtime or Starz, you can tap to subscribe right in the TV app, and then you can watch that show without having to open another app.

Some of the new Channels that will be supported include CBS All Access, Starz, Showtime, HBO, Nickelodeon, Mubi, The History Channel Vault, and Comedy Central Now. During the beta, though, users can subscribe to Showtime, Starz, Smithsonian, EPIX, and Tastemade.

You'll still get recommendations for content from services that aren't a part of the Channels feature, but non-channel content will need to be watched in a third-party app. The TV app also houses iTunes TV shows and movies.

When Apple debuts its ‌Apple TV‌+ service this fall, all of the company's original TV shows and movies will also be accessible in the TV app. iOS 12.3 will be in beta testing for the next few weeks ahead of a May launch, the month when Apple said the new TV app will be released.

Apple is widely expected to release three new iPhone models later this year, and each device will "likely" include a faster 18W USB-C power adapter and a Lightning to USB-C cable in the box, according to Japanese blog Mac Otakara.

For now, to take advantage of fast charging, customers have to spend a total of $48 to purchase a standalone 18W USB-C power adapter and Lightning to USB-C cable from Apple, although cheaper options are available on Amazon.

A bundled Lightning to USB-C cable would also mean that customers who paid at least $749 for a new ‌iPhone‌ would finally have a cable that connects with the latest MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models out of the box.

Last year, we heard a similar rumor about Apple bundling a faster 18W USB-C power adapter with 2018 iPhones, but it ended up being for 2018 ‌iPad Pro‌ models. This is the second time Mac Otakara has shared this rumor in as many months, so hopefully there is truth to it this time around.

Mac Otakara also rehashes several other rumors we've heard before, including the next ‌iPhone‌ XS and ‌iPhone‌ XS Max having triple-lens rear cameras, and the next ‌iPhone‌ XR having a dual-lens rear camera. All three iPhones are also expected to feature two-way wireless charging like the Galaxy S10.