MacRumors

At least one new iPhone released in 2019 will sport a USB-C port, smaller notch, and the return of Touch ID under the display, according to Jean Baptiste Su, Vice-President and Principal Analyst at consulting firm Atherton Research.

Su shared his prediction in a Forbes column about Apple lowering its revenue guidance for the first quarter of its 2019 fiscal year:

Although we believe that Apple will release a re-designed iPhone X in 2019—with a smaller notch, a fingerprint reader (Touch ID) under the display, and a USB-C port—it will still lack the extensibility (memory card), the battery life, the lightning-fast charging capability, and the camera quality of Android flagship smartphones while being more expensive.

This is the first Apple rumor we've ever heard from Su, and the Forbes contributor network has published its fair share of questionable content about Apple in recent years, so treat this rumor with a healthy dose of skepticism. Many analysts not named Ming-Chi Kuo simply make guesses — and not always educated ones.

Let's imagine these features prove to be true, though, and examine what that would mean for the next iPhone:

• USB-C: For many years, critics believed Apple would never switch to USB-C on its iOS devices, and then it did exactly that with the 2018 iPad Pro. Will the iPhone follow suit this year? Notorious supply chain publication DigiTimes seems to think so, so Su is not alone in his prediction.

  With many of the latest Macs equipped with USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 ports, which share the USB-C connector design, moving from Lightning to USB-C on the iPhone would create one primary I/O standard across not only Apple devices but hundreds of other electronics.

  The switch from Lightning to USB-C would almost certainly cause an uproar among at least some Apple customers, who already had to replace their docks, cables, and other accessories when Apple switched from its 30-pin dock connector to Lightning back in 2012.

  It's also worth considering that Apple has emphasized a wireless future, so one possibility is that the Lightning connector sticks around until there is no connector whatsoever.

• Touch ID under the display: This one is hard to believe. Face ID is more secure than Touch ID and seems like Apple's authentication method of choice going forward, starting with the iPhone X and expanding to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR last year.

  Kuo agrees, noting that Apple doesn't plan to return to Touch ID in any capacity with its 2019 iPhone lineup back in September.

• Smaller notch: This one is certainly plausible. As the iPhone design continues to evolve, Apple will surely find ways to reduce the size of the notch, even if only by a fraction of a millimeter.

It's only January, so we're still early in the rumor cycle about 2019 iPhones. Over time, we should get a clearer picture about what to expect from more reputable sources like Kuo. To date, we've heard the next versions could feature a triple-lens rear camera, Face ID improvements, slightly thinner displays, and more.

New York-based law firm Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman has announced it is investigating whether Apple and certain executives violated U.S. federal securities laws after the company lowered its revenue guidance by up to $9 billion for the first quarter of its 2019 fiscal year earlier this week.

The law firm is conducting the investigation on behalf of AAPL shareholders, with potential for a class action lawsuit, and encourages affected investors to obtain additional information and assist the investigation by visiting its website.

Bernstein Liebhard LLP, another New York-based investor rights law firm, launched a nearly identical investigation of Apple earlier this week.

Apple CEO Tim Cook in a letter to shareholders this week disclosed that Apple's revenue for the quarter just ended will be approximately $84 billion, significantly lower than its original guidance of $89 billion to $93 billion, due to "lower than anticipated iPhone revenue, primarily in Greater China."

Both investigations contrast the positive language that Cook has previously used when speaking about China with the weaker language used in his letter to shareholders this week, in which he said Apple "did not foresee the magnitude of the economic deceleration, particularly in Greater China."

On January 2, 2019, Apple revealed that its revenue for the first fiscal quarter of 2019 would be more than 7% lower than it expected because of "[l]ower than anticipated iPhone revenue, primarily in Greater China, [which] accounts for all of [Apple's] revenue shortfall to [its] guidance and for much more than [its] entire year-over-year revenue decline."

Conversely, on November 1, 2018 CEO Tim Cook stated during Apple's fourth quarter 2018 conference call, that "[o]ur business in China was very strong last quarter. We grew 16%, which we're very happy with. iPhone in particular was very strong, very strong double-digit growth there."

In other words, both law firms are investigating whether Apple failed to warn investors about slowing iPhone demand, particularly in China.

AAPL closed at $142.19 on Thursday, down 36 percent from a closing price of $222.22 on November 1, immediately prior to Apple's last earnings report. As a result, Apple's market valuation has plunged from a peak of around $1.1 trillion to under $700 billion, falling behind rivals Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

Yesterday chipmaker Qualcomm announced that it posted €1.34 billion in security bonds required for the chipmaker to enforce a preliminary injunction on select iPhone models in Germany, after a court in the country found Apple to be infringing Qualcomm patents related to power savings technology in smartphones.

The injunction blocks the import and sale of infringing iPhone models in Germany while Apple appeals the verdict, and accordingly, Apple has now pulled the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus from sale in the country.

Those four iPhone models are no longer available to order via Apple.com in Germany and they have also been pulled from sale at all 15 of Apple's retail stores in the country until further notice. The latest iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR models are not impacted by the verdict and remain available.

Qualcomm's equivalent of $1.5 billion in security bonds will be put towards the cost of the lost sales if Apple successfully appeals the verdict.

Apple was also ordered to recall infringing iPhone models from third-party resellers in Germany, according to Qualcomm, but as noted by TechCrunch and Reuters, some German resellers continue to sell iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models.

In a statement, Apple said this verdict is another "desperate attempt" by Qualcomm to distract from the "real issues" between the two companies:

Qualcomm's campaign is a desperate attempt to distract from the real issues between our companies. Their tactics, in the courts and in their everyday business, are harming innovation and harming consumers. Qualcomm insists on charging exorbitant fees based on work they didn't do and they are being investigated by governments all around the world for their behavior. We are of course disappointed by this verdict and we plan to appeal. All iPhone models remain available to customers through carriers and resellers in 4,300 locations across Germany. During the appeal process, iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models will not be available at Apple's 15 retail stores in Germany. iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR will remain available in all our stores.

Apple and Qualcomm are engaged in a major legal battle spanning multiple countries. The spat began in early 2017 when Apple sued Qualcomm for an alleged $1 billion in unpaid royalty rebates, just days after an FTC complaint alleging Qualcomm engaged in anticompetitive patent licensing practices.

In defense, Qualcomm has said its "innovations are at the heart of every iPhone" and "enable the most important uses and features of those devices," adding that it "simply is untrue that Qualcomm is seeking to collect royalties for Apple innovations that have nothing to do with Qualcomm's technology."

Qualcomm has also accused Apple of making misleading statements, sharing its trade secrets with Intel, and numerous other infractions.

Qualcomm sought a similar injunction on iPhones in the United States, unsuccessfully, and in China, where a court did issue an import ban on select iPhone models over patent infringement last month. Apple made some tweaks in iOS 12.1.2 to address the patents and continues to sell all iPhone models in China.

On New Year's Day, Huawei's Twitter account wished its followers a Happy New Year, but Twitter users quickly noticed that the tweet came from an iPhone rather than a Huawei device, with Twitter denoting it as "via Twitter for iPhone."

The Huawei employees who were responsible for the tweet quickly deleted it, but a screenshot of the tweet went viral, catching the attention of Huawei executives.

According to Lifang, the tweet "caused damage to the Huawei brand," and occurred when an iPhone was used to send the message after a desktop computer malfunctioned. Huawei felt the accidental tweet "showed procedural incompliance and management oversight."

The mistake occurred when outsourced social media handler Sapient experienced "VPN problems" with a desktop computer so used an iPhone with a roaming SIM card in order to send the message on time at midnight, Huawei said in the memo.

The two employees who were responsible for the gaffe were demoted by one rank and their monthly salaries were reduced by 5,000 yuan, equivalent to approximately $728. Huawei has also frozen the pay rank of its digital marketing director for 12 months.

This is not the first time that a social media manager for an Android smartphone has tweeted from an iPhone, and it's something that always catches the attention of users on Twitter and other social networks. Samsung, for example, has had several employees tweet from an iPhone device.

Huawei has also experienced other social media gaffes, such as when Wonder Woman actress and Huawei brand ambassador Gal Gadot posted a paid tweet promoting the Huawei Mate 10 from an iPhone.

In the most recent Huawei situation, the tweet went viral after being shared by popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee, and it was also widely shared on Chinese social network Weibo.

Apple today launched its annual Back to University promotion in Australia,New Zealand, and Brazil, offering students and teachers a free pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones or Powerbeats3 Wireless Earphones with the purchase of a Mac or an iPad Pro.

With the purchase of an eligible Mac, which includes the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook, Mac Pro, and iMac Pro, students can get a free set of Beats Solo3 headphones, or Powerbeats3 headphones. Studio3 headphones are also available at a discounted price of NZ$40.00 in New Zealand, A$50.00 in Australia, and R$ 350,00 in Brazil.

With the purchase of a 2018 iPad Pro, Apple is providing a free set of Powerbeats3 earphones. Beats Solo3 headphones are available at a discounted price of A$140.00, NZ$160.00, or R$ 700,00, while Beats Studio3 headphones are available at a discounted price of A$190.00, NZ$200.00, or R$ 1.050,00.

The promotion includes Apple's newest "Pop" PowerBeats3 and "Skyline" Studio3 lines.

Both the Macs and the iPad Pro models are available at a discounted educational price when purchasing through the Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil educational stores, with discounts of up to A$290, NZ$340, or R$1.760,00 on qualifying Macs. The education stores also offer AppleCare+ protection plans at a 20 percent discount.

For further discounts, as pointed out by 9to5Mac Apple is promoting its trade-in program, which allows older devices to be traded in for credit towards new devices. Apple has been heavily promoting trade-in options as of late, especially for the most recent iPhone lineup.

To get the free or discounted Beats, students simply need to add an eligible Mac or iPad Pro to their carts, where the option to add the headphones will come up automatically.

Discounts are available for current and newly accepted university students, parents buying for students, and teachers and staff at all levels. Sign up and enrollment verification through UNiDays is required.

Educational discounts in Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil will be available for a limited amount of time, both online and at Apple retail stores in Australia and Brazil. The promotion is set to end on March 15, 2019, with terms and conditions available in PDF form here: Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil.

Apple's back to university promotion in Australia and New Zealand is the same as the Back to School promotion that Apple launched in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and several European countries back in July.

Update: The Back to University promotion is also available in South Korea.

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S10 flagship smartphone was spotted out in the wild today, with leaker Evan Blass sharing an image of the new device.

Rather than adopting a notch like many other smartphone manufacturers, Samsung is using an edge-to-edge display that features a small camera cutout at the upper right side of the device. Aside from this circular cutout, the rest of the smartphone's front side is taken up by display area.

Samsung is able to use a single camera cutout for the S10 because it is housing less equipment than Apple's latest iPhones. There's no TrueDepth camera system with multiple sensors that include an IR camera and dot projector in addition to the standard front-facing camera, so Samsung is able to introduce a smaller cutout.

In the tweet, Blass calls the S10 the "Beyond 1," which is one of three S10 smartphones Samsung has in the works. As explained by CNET, the Beyond 1 is expected to be the same size as the Galaxy S9, with a 6.1-inch screen and a single front-facing camera.

Rumors have suggested other S10 models (at least one model will be larger) will have two front-facing cameras, so the cutout on these devices, which has been seen in renderings, could be a bit bigger. At least some of the Galaxy S10 smartphones are expected to feature a four-camera rear setup.

It's not known if Apple will be able to follow in Samsung's footsteps with such a small camera cutout, but we have heard an early rumor suggesting Apple's 2019 devices could feature a slimmed-down notch, and there's even been a rumor indicating Apple is working on a smartphone with no notch at all.

For more of what to expect from Apple's 2019 iPhones, likely to be unveiled later this year in September, check out our dedicated roundup.

Charter Spectrum's long-promised app for the Apple TV launched today and can now be downloaded via the Apple TV App Store. The app is designed to give Spectrum TV users access to live channels and on demand titles right on the Apple TV.

The app works with the new Zero Sign-on feature, which means Charter Spectrum users will not need to sign in to use it when connected to accompanying Charter Spectrum internet services.

Apple first promised Zero Sign-on and a new Charter Spectrum app at the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference. At the time, Apple said the app would debut during 2018, but the feature was ultimately delayed until 2019.

The Charter Spectrum app only works when connected to a Charter Spectrum internet service, and it does not appear to allow logins when connected to a different third-party internet service.

Since the launch of the 2018 MacBook Air, we here at MacRumors have heard multiple complaints from MacRumors readers about the quality of the FaceTime HD camera housed in the device.

There have been multiple threads on the MacRumors forums and the Apple Support Communities complaining about the graininess of the camera so we decided to investigate to see if it's worse than recent MacBook Pro models or the older MacBook Air.

In a direct comparison, photos taken from Photo Booth on a 2018 MacBook Air and a modern 15-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro are almost identical, and both are pretty terrible. The MacBook Air photos are a bit darker, which can be interpreted as "worse," but all in all, both cameras are bad.

When comparing the new MacBook Air and the older 2015 MacBook Air, however, we found a more noticeable difference in quality. The FaceTime HD camera in the 2015 MacBook Air is a bit clearer and brighter, with the 2018 MacBook Air's camera letting in less light and producing an overall grainier, less clear result.

Even though we can clearly see a difference between the 2015 and the 2018 MacBook Air FaceTime HD cameras, it's not a huge gap. Both cameras are subpar, and that the FaceTime HD camera on the MacBook Air appears to have gotten worse over time rather than better is certainly disappointing.

On a modern machine with a Retina display, a 720p FaceTime HD camera just doesn't hold up, especially in comparison to devices like the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and iPad Pro, which have much higher resolution cameras. FaceTime is limited to 720p on all devices, but the FaceTime HD camera does serve other purposes as well.

2018 MacBook Air owners are disappointed, and honestly, MacBook Pro owners should be too. 720p looks awful and it is outdated technology. Apple implemented a better 1080p FaceTime HD camera in the iMac Pro, and the quality is much better.

Hopefully future Mac notebook updates will feature higher-quality webcams as video quality has become an increasingly important feature that consumers look for when making a purchase.

Many of the complaint threads that suggested the MacBook Air camera is worse than other machines did not include comparison images, so we're still working with just a few data points here. If you have a MacBook Air and another machine, please feel free to post comparison images in the thread below so we can further investigate this issue.

Following the news that iPhone sales were down during the month of December leading Apple to cut its guidance for Q1 2019, the company is aiming to soften the blow with some positive news.

Apple today announced that App Store customers set new worldwide spending records over the holidays, with App Store purchases hitting $1.22 billion between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

On New Year's Day specifically, customers spent over $322 million on App Store purchases, setting a new single-day record.

"The App Store had a record-breaking holiday week and New Year's Day. The holiday week was our biggest week ever with more than $1.22 billion spent on apps and games, and New Year's Day set a new single-day record at more than $322 million," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Thanks to the inspiring work of our talented developers and the support of our incredible customers around the world, the App Store finished off an outstanding 2018 and kicked off 2019 with a bang."

Gaming and self-care were the most popular app downloads and purchases during the holidays. Fortnite and PUBG were some of the most downloaded games over the holiday period, along with Brawl Stars, Asphalt 9, and Monster Strike.

According to Apple, the App Store drove its services category revenue to a new all-time record during the holiday quarter, with multiple Apple services that include the App Store, Apple Music, Cloud Services, Apple Pay and the App Store's search ad business setting new records.

With Apple selling fewer iPhones, the company is hoping investors will shift focus to other areas of its business. Apple in November said that it will no longer provide unit sales data for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but yesterday said other information, such as gross margin of services, will be provided.

An icon depicting what appears to be a Smart Battery Case for the iPhone XS has been spotted in action on an iPhone running iOS 12.1.2, providing yet another clue that Apple may be planning to release such an accessory.

The discovery was made by a Reddit user named Tom, who decided to significantly trim down Apple's Smart Battery Case for the iPhone 7 to fit his iPhone X. Not only did the case function, but it also revealed the iPhone X-esque Smart Battery Case icon with a slimmer design and a vertical camera cutout.

Apple discontinued the iPhone X in September, so the icon likely applies to the iPhone XS, which sports the same physical design.

Rambo also uncovered references to three model identifiers for the case in iOS code, including A2070, A2071 and A2171, suggesting that Apple could release the case in three different sizes for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Another identifier supposedly hinted at a 2018 release, which did not happen.

Images of possible iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Smart Battery Cases were also uncovered in a Fall 2018 merchandising guide for Apple resellers.

Apple has never released a Smart Battery Case for a plus-sized iPhone, however, and the larger iPhone XR and iPhone XS Max already deliver longer battery life, so it's possible the new case could be for the iPhone XS only if released.

Apple's first Smart Battery Case was for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, and was equipped with a 1,877 mAh battery that protruded out of the back of the case. Apple later released an iPhone 7 version with a similar design but larger 2,365 mAh battery. Both remain available to purchase for $99 in the United States.

By now, there has been plenty of evidence to suggest that Apple has at least considered releasing a Smart Battery Case for the iPhone XS. Whether the plan comes to fruition remains to be seen — a release could certainly be soon.