For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with iMobie to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a 64GB 11-inch iPad Pro and a copy of the company's AnyTrans software, designed to let you easily manage the content on your iPhone or iPad.
The 11-inch iPad Pro is Apple's newest iPad, released in October. It's the first iPad with an edge-to-edge display, no Home button, and support for Face ID. It has a super fast A12X chip, the thinnest body ever in an iPad, and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil.
Like all iPads and iPhones, the new iPad Pro is compatible with the AnyTrans software from iMobie. AnyTrans is designed to be an alternative to iTunes, letting you transfer content to and from your iOS devices, swapping music, photos, contacts, messages and more from device to device with a simple click.
AnyTrans includes features for managing music and creating custom ringtones, backing up photos, cleaning up contacts and messages, and managing your apps from your Mac or PC. There's also an option to create a complete backup using a wireless Air Backup feature, and there's a built-in iCloud Manager for handling iCloud files.
The software offers many of the features that Apple eliminated in iTunes 12.7, allowing users to do things like save apps for local backup, install app updates with a click, categorize and arrange apps on the home screen of an iOS device, and backup home screen layouts. If you want to swap from Android to iOS, AnyTrans will help you do it.
You can get the AnyTrans software from the iMobie website for $39.99, with a free trial available. AnyTrans is offering a holiday special at the current time, offering PhoneClean software for free along with a free gift like VIP plans for apps, Amazon gift cards, and more.
One lucky MacRumors reader will win an 11-inch iPad Pro with 64GB of storage and a free copy of AnyTrans. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (December 28) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on January 4. The winner will be chosen randomly on January 4 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.
The latest episode of popular horror series "Black Mirror" is available on Netflix today, but you're not going to want to watch it on the Apple TV.
"Bandersnatch," the new episode, is an interactive choose-your-own adventure style show where you make the decisions on how the story progresses. As it turns out, the interactive feature does not work on the Apple TV, Chromecast, the Windows App, or browsers using Silverlight.
According to a Netflix support document, its interactive content is limited to smart TVs, streaming media players, game consoles, iOS devices, and Android devices running the latest version of the Netflix app.
Those with Apple devices are going to want to use an iPhone, iPad, or web browser to watch "Bandersnatch" to get the full experience. If you try to watch on the Apple TV, you will see a message that the interactive content can't be displayed, with Netflix recommending that you watch on another device. From Netflix's website:
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is only available on devices that support interactive content. No linear version is available.
If you attempt to watch Black Mirror: Bandersnatch on a device that does not support interactive content, you will be instructed to switch to a supported device.
"Black Mirror: Bandersnatch" is available as of this morning on Netflix. You can make sure you're watching a the episode on a compatible device if you see a red badge in the corner of the display.
Apple today shared a new iPhone XR ad entitled 'Color Flood' on its YouTube channel. With Cosmo Sheldrake's "Come Along" as the soundtrack, the ad features a cast of hundreds dressed in colorful jumpsuits running through an otherwise empty town.
In one easily missed touch, there's a quick glimpse of purple-suited cast members pouring out of the back of a van that sports the license plate number "I-XR0941," a reference to the iPhone XR and the 9:41 AM time Apple uses in all of its stock iPhone imagery.
The ad ends with the tagline "Make room for color" and highlights the iPhone XR's Liquid Retina display.
Apple has been heavily promoting the iPhone XR as its flagship phone for most users, and has been featuring trade-in offers that can bring the cost of an iPhone XR down from its $749 starting price.
2018 was a big year for Apple, and while there were some misses like the AirPower, we saw a redesigned Apple Watch Series 4, a new lower-cost iPhone XR with an edge-to-edge display and Face ID, overhauled iPad Pro models, and more.
Below, we've created a quick overview of every major product Apple announced or debuted in 2018.
Apple's first smart speaker, the HomePod, launched in February 2018. The HomePod, which supports Siri and Apple Music, is designed to be Apple's competitor to devices like the Amazon Echo or the Google Home.
HomePod can be used for listening to music, but it's also a smart home device with built-in Siri functionality for controlling HomeKit products. Siri can also answer queries, set timers, place phone calls, and so much more, allowing the HomePod to serve as a music hub and an in-home personal assistant.
To differentiate the HomePod from the competition, Apple focused heavily on music quality. Due to its internals, HomePod is more expensive than a lot of competing products at $349, but you can sometimes find it on sale.
Apple in March introduced a new sixth-generation iPad, which is packing a lot of features for its $329 price point.
It features a super fast A10 processor and Touch ID, and while it looks the same as the fifth-generation iPad, there's one important distinction -- the sixth-generation iPad supports the Apple Pencil.
2018 is the year that we got an iPad that works with the Apple Pencil at a super low price point, making Apple's tablet and pencil accessory available to more people than ever.
In July, Apple introduced revamped 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with faster "Coffee Lake" chips with up to 6 cores.
The new 2018 MacBook Pro doesn't feature any visual changes, but with new Intel chips and Radeon Pro and Pro Vega graphics cards for the 15-inch model, Apple's biggest notebook is more powerful than ever.
Apple's 2018 MacBook Pro models support up to 32GB of RAM, continue to offer a Touch Bar, and have a new third-generation butterfly keyboard that's meant to better hold up to dust and debris to prevent key failure.
There's a new T2 chip that offers enhanced security with secure boot and on-the-fly encrypted storage, and the new models support SSDs up to 4TB in size.
New Software (September)
New versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS were previewed in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference and released in the fall alongside new hardware.
iOS 12 brought features like improved performance, Group FaceTime with up to 32 people, customizable Memoji, and Siri improvements in the form of a new Siri Shortcuts feature designed to let you create multi-app multi-step shortcuts for automating tasks on your iPhone and iPad.
The update introduced a comprehensive set of time management and focus tools, such as a new Screen Time feature that's designed to let you know how much time you're spending on your iPhone, how long you're spending in apps, how often you pick up your phone, and which apps are sending the most notifications.
App limits were also included to help you cut down on usage, and Apple added more robust parental controls.
watchOS 5 brought Walkie-Talkie for communication, new Workout competitions for motivation, better notifications, and apps like Podcasts, while tvOS 12 introduced support for Dobly Atmos, new screensavers created in partnership with the International Space Station, and a zero sign-on feature designed to make it easier to sign into apps that require cable authentication.
macOS Mojave introduced a long-awaited Dark Mode, Stacks for cleaning up a messy desktop, and a Dynamic Desktop feature with wallpapers that change subtly throughout the day.
Finder gained customizable Quick Actions and a revamped Quick Look view for making file edits more quickly, while a new Continuity Camera feature added an option to import photos from an iPhone or iPad right into a document.
As part of an upcoming initiative to port iOS apps to Mac, Apple introduced multiple new apps, including Apple Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos, and as always, the update includes important security enhancements.
Apple stuck with a three iPhone lineup in 2018, but expanded features like Face ID and an edge-to-edge display to all iPhones.
The iPhone XS and XS Max are natural successors to the original iPhone X, adopting an edge-to-edge OLED display, an improved dual-lens camera, Face ID, and a new super fast A12 Bionic chip.
The iPhone XS and XS Max don't come cheap with prices starting at $999 and $1099, respectively, so Apple also introduced the iPhone XR, which has many similarities to the iPhone XS and XS Max but cuts some corners to keep prices lower.
Rather than using an OLED display, the iPhone XR features an edge-to-edge LCD, but it has the same Face ID system and A12 chip as the iPhone XS models. It doesn't have a dual-lens camera, instead adopting a single-lens camera, and it has slower LTE, no 3D Touch, and an aluminum frame instead of a stainless steel frame.
Despite these differences, many customers have been drawn to the iPhone XR because it's just as speedy as the XS, has a longer battery life, and has a lower starting price -- $749.
Apple released the iPhone XS and XS Max in September, but manufacturing on the XR was a bit delayed so it didn't come out until October.
Alongside the new iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, Apple introduced a revamped and redesigned Apple Watch, the Series 4. The Apple Watch Series 4 features the first ever Apple Watch redesign with a slimmer body and a display that's up to 30 percent larger.
Apple Watch models now measure in at 40 and 44mm, up from 38 and 42mm. A whole set of new watch faces came with the new larger display, and Apple introduced a black ceramic and sapphire crystal backing across the entire lineup.
Apple continues to sell both GPS only and LTE models of the Apple Watch Series 4, and this version has a faster, more efficient S4 processor that offers 2x the speed, a new W3 wireless chip, and a 50 percent louder speaker.
There's a new set of electrodes in the Digital Crown which, when combined with the sensors in the back of the watch, can be used to capture a single-lead electrocardiogram right on the wrist, checking for atrial fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation can be a sign of a serious health problem, letting Apple Watch users get early warnings about potential health issues. ECG readings are limited to the United States at this time because of the need for regulatory approval, but Apple is working on expanding availability.
In October, Apple introduced overhauled 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with iPhone X-style features. The new iPad Pro models have no Home button, with Apple instead introducing a larger edge-to-edge display and slimmed down bezels for more screen real estate.
With no Home button, the 2018 iPad Pro models unlock through the Face ID facial recognition system, which has been improved to accommodate either horizontal or vertical unlocking.
There's a fast A12X processor inside, and these are the thinnest iPads ever thanks to a redesigned body that's reminiscent of the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 5. This new redesigned body necessitated the removal of the headphone jack, another controversial move.
Both of these models support an all new Apple Pencil 2 that connects and charges magnetically, doing away with the Lightning connector on the original accessory. Speaking of Lightning, the new iPad Pro models feature a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, allowing them to connect to more accessories than ever before.
The Mac mini got its first refresh in more than four years in October, with Apple introducing a new Space Gray machine that features quad to 6-core processors, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Thunderbolt 3 ports, and support for up to 64GB RAM and 2TB of storage.
No design changes were made to the Mac mini, but the internal layout was tweaked to support the new thermal needs of the faster processors.
Apple's smallest desktop machine also includes a T2 chip for on-the-fly data encryption and HEVC video transcoding up to 30 times faster, along with a Secure Enclave to make sure the software you're loading during the boot process hasn't been tampered with.
The Mac mini's revamped, updated hardware hasn't come cheap, and the machine is now priced starting at $799.
October brought a surprise refresh of the MacBook Air, Apple's most affordable notebook. The new 13-inch machine features a Retina display for the first time with slimmer bezels for more available screen real estate.
It features two Thunderbolt 3 chips, Intel's 8th-generation chips, 16GB RAM, and support for up to 1.5TB of storage space. It too is equipped with the T2 chip designed to make Macs more secure, and it adopted a third-generation butterfly keyboard, a larger trackpad, and louder speakers.
The new MacBook Air features the same tapered design as the previous model, but it is 10 percent thinner and takes up 17 percent less volume. It has the longest battery life of any Apple notebook.
Prior to this update, the MacBook Air had not been refreshed for years and it was believed Apple would phase it out in favor of the 12-inch MacBook, but that didn't happen.
The new MacBook Air is more powerful than the 12-inch MacBook, and now that the two machines have the same display, there's not much setting them apart except for the 12-inch MacBook's slightly smaller body. The 12-inch MacBook did not get a 2018 update and it's not clear what will happen to it in the future.
What's Next?
Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors, because tomorrow, we'll be highlighting all of the products that we expect to see from Apple during 2019. 2019 is shaping up to be an even bigger year than 2018, with a TV service on the horizon, a modular Mac Pro in the works, and new iPhones and iPads in development.
Instagram recently tested a new way for users to browse their feeds, with a feed that scrolled horizontally instead of one that scrolled vertically. This test hit enough users around the world to get "Instagram Update" and "#NewInstagram" trending on Twitter (via The Independent), but Matt Navarra has confirmed that it was just a test that was meant for a "very small" group of individuals.
Anyone who saw the update should see their feeds reverted back to vertical scrolling soon. With the update, users had to scroll through traditional Instagram posts in the same way that they browse through Instagram Stories: by tapping the right or left edges of the screen. This completely replaced Instagram's typical vertical list of posts that users would scroll through, which led to many frustrated responses to the update on Twitter.
Although not meant for a wide-scale rollout, the update was apparently an attempt to mimic the stories format for normal Instagram posts, since stories have quickly grown to become one of the most popular additions to Instagram following the feature's debut in 2016. Instagram Stories are now bigger than Snapchat, which is the app that originally created the idea of 24-hour disappearing stories.
Those who got the update saw a brief message: "Introducing a new way to move through posts. Tap through posts, just like you tap through stories." The Independent reported that a massive number of users in the United Kingdom received the update on Thursday afternoon.
Following the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s, Apple will begin assembling its high-end iPhones in India sometime in 2019, according to a new report today by Reuters. Instead of Wistron, Foxconn will build the high-end iPhones, and these models are said to be the most expensive flagship devices offered by Apple, including the iPhone X family.
Local sources state that the work will occur in Foxconn's plant in Sriperumbudur town in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Foxconn will reportedly invest 25 billion Indian rupees ($356 million) to expand the plant, part of which will be focused on the production of the flagship iPhones in India. The investment is estimated to create as many as 25,000 jobs. The report doesn't say whether these high-end iPhones will be sold in the Indian market or elsewhere in the world.
Earlier this year, Apple revamped its India strategy in order to stay afloat in the country's smartphone market. This revamped strategy includes better and longer-lasting retail deals with higher sales targets, the debut of official Apple retail stores in India, an overhaul of the company's relationship with independent retailers, and improving apps and services for local users. This is said to include a new version of Apple Maps aimed at Indian users to launch by 2020.
The expansion of high-end iPhone assembly outside of China could also be an attempt by Apple to "limit the impact" of a trade war between the United States and China:
For Apple, widening assembly beyond China is critical to mitigate the risks of the Sino-U.S. trade war. Foxconn, the world’s biggest electronics contract manufacturer, is considering setting up a factory in Vietnam, Vietnamese state media reported this month. If that goes ahead, it will be one of the biggest recent steps by a major company to secure an additional production base outside of China.
Foxconn has previously admitted the China-U.S. trade spat was its biggest challenge and that its senior executives were making plans to counter the impact. “Widening iPhone manufacturing in India through Foxconn will allow Apple to hedge the risk of any new U.S. trade policies,” said Navkendar Singh, an associate research director at International Data Corporation.
Still, the company has struggled in the country due to the high price of its iPhones. Just last week, The Wall Street Journal published a report about Apple's iPhone sales in India. According to the paper, Apple has had "little success so far" in terms of growth in India, due to the price-sensitive market that has more than 75 percent of smartphones priced below $250.
An alleged case for the next-generation iPad mini surfaced on Slashleaks over the holidays, providing a look at what we can perhaps expect from the next-generation iPad mini.
There's a vertical camera cutout, suggesting the iPad mini 5 might have a camera arrangement similar to the iPad Pro with a rear flash, and a center microphone cutout.
Speaker cutouts at the top and the bottom hint at a possible four-speaker arrangement, and there appears to be a cutout for a headphone jack at the top.
There is also a cutout at the side, which could mean the iPad mini will get a Smart Connector to support a Smart Keyboard, much like the iPad Pro.
Aside from these details, not much can be gleaned from the case, and we have no way to verify if it's actually a case designed for a fifth-generation iPad mini.
While we have heard rumors suggesting Apple is indeed working on an iPad mini 5, none of these rumors have included much detail on what new features might be added to the 7.9-inch tablet.
It makes sense that Apple would add a feature set that would bring its smallest tablet in line with the sixth-generation iPad at the very least, however, and it could also adopt a few features from the iPad Pro. We can expect an upgraded processor and a lower-cost display panel, according to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
We don't know when the new iPad mini will debut, but recent rumors have suggested Apple will release it in the first half of 2019 to revitalize flagging iPad sales.
For those of you who are planning a purchase of a new Mac, iPad, or other Apple accessory, both Expercom and B&H Photo are offering year-end sales that are worth checking out.
Expercom has deals on the 15-inch MacBook Pro, the iMac, the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the iPad Pro, the iMac Pro, and the Mac mini, with a list available below.
Expercom's discounts will be available through 12/31/18 or while supplies last.
B&H Photo is also offering discounts on a huge range of products, including Apple's Macs and 2017 iPad Pro models. Some of the best discounts are listed below.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
During the month of November, its first month of availability, the iPhone XR accounted for an estimated 32 percent of U.S. iPhone sales, according to new sales data shared today by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
Comparatively, the iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple's more expensive iPhones, were responsible for 35 percent of sales combined.
The iPhone XR sold similarly to the iPhone X during its first month of availability in November 2017, but it did not match sales of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which were at 39 percent in November even after two months of availability.
Based on the initial sales, iPhone XR took the same share of iPhone sales as earlier models in their first month on the market," said Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and CoFounder. "Of course, comparisons are difficult, because of how Apple sequenced new model launches in the past two years. Last year, Apple launched the evolutionary iPhone 8 and 8 Plus first."
"This year, Apple launched the more expensive models earlier, presumably trying to catch early demand from the most loyal customers. The 32% share of iPhone sales for the XR model compares favorably to the 30% share for iPhone X in the similar timeframe last year, but lags the combined share of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus during that period last year. Then, the similarly-priced models accounted for 39% of units, and after they had been available for a month before the iPhone X was released."
According to CIRP, 82 percent of new iPhone buyers in November upgraded from an iPhone, while 16 percent upgraded from an Android phone. In November 2017, when the iPhone X launched, 86 percent upgraded from an iPhone while 11 percent upgraded from an Android device, suggesting the XR drew more switchers than the X did in the prior year.
CIRP's data was gathered from a survey of 165 Apple customers in the United States, which is not a large sample size, but it gives some insight into iPhone XR sales compared to sales of past devices because of the historical data CIRP has available from similar past surveys.
App Store & iTunes gift cards have been a popular tech-themed stocking stuffer for years. If you unwrapped one today, we have eight ideas for what to buy across the App Store, iTunes, Apple Books, and beyond in 2018.
App Store & iTunes gift cards can be used to fund an Apple Music subscription, which costs $9.99 per month for individuals, $4.99 per month for students, and $14.99 per month for families of up to six people in the United States. Apple Music offers a free three-month trial in most countries.
Apple Music provides unlimited streaming of over 50 million songs with an active subscription and is available on an iPhone or Android smartphone, iPad, Mac or PC, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod, Sonos, and Amazon Echo speakers.
To pay for Apple Music with an App Store & iTunes gift card, simply redeem the card and the monthly or annual subscription cost will be drawn from any store credit tied to your Apple ID. If the balance is zero, then Apple Music will be billed to another valid payment method on file, such as a credit card.
App Store & iTunes gift cards can be used towards a variety of other subscription-based services available on the App Store, such as Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, ESPN+, Tidal, and Dropbox. These subscriptions are available within the apps.
Note that Netflix has experimented with removing the option to pay for a subscription via iTunes for new customers in certain countries.
3. iCloud storage
When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage for photos, videos, and other files. If you need more space, you can upgrade to a larger storage plan, including 50GB for 99 cents per month, 200GB for $2.99 per month, or 2TB for $9.99 per month in the United States. Prices vary in other regions.
To pay for iCloud storage with an App Store & iTunes gift card, simply redeem the card and the monthly cost will be drawn from any store credit tied to your Apple ID. If the balance is zero, then the iCloud storage plan will be billed to another valid payment method on file, such as a credit card.
Prices are based in U.S. dollars and vary in other regions.
5. In-app purchases and game currencies
Spend your App Store & iTunes gift card balance on in-app purchases and game currencies, be it V-Bucks in Fortnite, PokéCoins in Pokémon GO, extra moves in Candy Crush Saga, gems in Clash of Clans, or something else.
6. Holiday movies on sale in iTunes
Many holiday movies are on sale in iTunes for a limited time, including classics such as Home Alone and A Christmas Story.
$7.99:
Arthur Christmas
Gremlins
The Night Before
A Christmas Carol
Edward Scissorhands
Happy Christmas
$9.99:
Home Alone
Elf
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Die Hard
A Christmas Story
The Polar Express
How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Ultimate Edition
The Santa Clause
It's a Wonderful Life
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
Jack Frost
The Nativity Story
Miracle on 34th Street
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Scrooged
Prices are based in U.S. dollars and vary in other regions.
7. Disney audiobooks
Disney has a variety of audiobooks available on the Apple Book Store, with some free and others priced under $20 in the United States.
8. iMessage sticker packs
If you still have a dollar or two left in store credit after working through this lift, elevate your iMessage game with some sticker packs.
For MacRumors readers who continue to believe in Santa Claus or for those who have young children, Google today launched its annual Santa tracking feature, allowing Santa to be tracked in real time on his journey from the North Pole as he prepares to deliver presents around the world.
Google has offered its fun Santa tracking feature for fifteen years now, providing a little digital magic for children across the globe.
You can track Santa using a web browser on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac by visiting Google's official Santa tracking website. The site is designed to show a live map of Santa's current location, his next stop, a live video feed of his journey, and the estimated time that he will arrive in your location.
The website provides pictures of locations Santa has already visited, a live count of gifts that have been delivered, and his current distance from your location. There are also a selection of games to play and videos to watch on the site.
There are also other Santa tracking services, such as the NORAD Tracks Santa Claus app and website, but Google's is the most detailed and the best option to check out if you want to enjoy a bit of holiday fun.
At the time this article was posted, Santa was spotted in Nigata, Japan, after having just visited Tokyo.
It's the end of the year, and 2018 is coming to a close. Over the course of the last several months, we've highlighted several useful Mac and iOS apps in our YouTube series, and for December, we've picked our favorites.
In the video and the article below, you'll find a selection of some of the best apps that we've used over the course of the year.
Paste ($14.99) - Paste is a copy paste manager that keeps track of and organizes all the files, photos, URLs, and text snippets that you've copied and pasted on your Mac. Paste is described as a sort of Time Machine for your clipboard, because it saves everything and offers robust search capabilities so you can always find what you're looking for. Pinboards also give you access to things you copy and paste often, while custom shortcuts make it easier to copy and paste. Paste is a Mac App Store app, but a free trial is also available on the Paste website.
Station (Free) - Station is an app that's designed to house and aggregate all of your web applications in one easy to access location. Instead of having dozens of tabs open with things like Gmail, Twitter, Instagram, and Slack, you can relocate them all to Station for quicker, more streamlined access. Station is essentially a web browser that has a better layout for accessing web apps.
Sip ($9.99) - Sip is a niche app, but it's useful for artists, designers, interior decorators, app developers, and other content creators who like to create and maintain color palettes. Sip lets you create and organize color palettes that can be accessed right in the menu bar of your Mac and shared to all of your favorite design apps like Photoshop, Xcode, Illustrator, Sketch, and more. Choosing colors from any source is as simple as a key press, and a color dock makes all of your palettes readily available.
Bartender 3 ($15) - Bartender 3 is a popular Mac app that lets you rearrange and hide icons on the menu bar of your Mac. With Bartender, you can put the menu bar items you use most often front and center, while minimizing all of the rest behind the Bartender icon for a more streamlined menu bar.
NightOwl (Free) - [Update: While we originally featured this app for its ability to add a quick Dark Mode toggle to your Mac's menu bar, as of 2023 a number of users are reporting suspicious network activity related to it, so we've removed our link to it out of caution and users who have installed it may want to consider removing it.]
iOS
Procreate ($9.99) - Procreate is a popular and well-known sketching, drawing, and painting app. Because it's been available on the iPad for years, the Procreate team has had a lot of time to make improvements and refinements to the app, making it the go-to for many artists who work on the iPad. It has been optimized for Apple Pencil, so you can create works of art with Apple's stylus. It features customizable brushes, support for layers, and a 64-bit painting engine that supports high-resolution artwork.
LumaFusion ($19.99) - If you want to edit video on an iPad but want something more than iMovie, LumaFusion is a powerful video editing option that you'll want to take a look at. Using LumaFusion, you can do everything you might do with a desktop app, like trimming clips, adding transitions, correcting color, adding effects and titles, audio, and using slow-motion, fast forward, and reverse.
Bear (Free) - Bear is a writing, coding, and note taking app that has a simple interface and a rich feature set. It's available on iOS and Mac devices, and it offers Apple Pencil support, to-dos, multiple export options, an advanced markup editor with support for more than 20 programming languages, SmartData Recognition, in-line images and photos, hashtags for organization, and more. Bear is free to download, but if you want to sync your notes between your devices, unlock themes, and use advanced exporting options, you'll need to pay $1.49 per month or $14.99 per year for a subscription.
Alto's Odyssey ($4.99) - Alto's Odyssey is the highly-anticipated sequel to popular 2015 game Alto's Adventure. Like the original, Alto's Odyssey is an endless runner with gorgeous graphics, but this time it takes place in the sand instead of the snow.
Grimvalor ($5.99) - Grimvalor, from the team that developed popular game Swordigo, is a traditional hack n' slash platformer with solid virtual controls, great graphics, and plenty of content to get through. As with most games of this type, the idea is to fight monsters, explore dungeons, and gather loot to progress through the story. Grimvalor costs $5.99, and there are no additional in-app purchases.
What were your favorite Mac and iOS apps in 2018? Let us know in the comments.
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Choetech to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company's new PowerDual 5-coil Qi wireless chargers, capable of charging two devices at one time.
The PowerDual is a flat, oblong-shaped pad that is equipped with five overlapping wireless coils inside. It is big enough to accommodate two smartphones at once, and because of the overlapping coils, the two devices should charge regardless of placement on the charger.
With flat chargers, placement can be an issue because the iPhone needs to be placed right over a coil to properly charge. That's a problem that's addressed with the PowerDual. It can accommodate two devices placed vertically or one device placed horizontally.
For iPhones, 7.5W charging is supported, and if you put two iPhones on the charger at one time, both will charge at the faster 7.5W charging speed. For Samsung devices that support faster charging speeds, 10W charging is available.
An anti-slip surface prevents your iPhone from sliding or slipping off of the charger, and anti-slip pads at the bottom keep the charger itself in place. Heat dissipation holes at the bottom of the device keep your phone cool while it's charging to speed up the process.
Choetech is offering the charger, priced at $35.99, in either a smooth black finish or a faux wood grain finish.
Powering the charger is done through an included USB-C port, but a power adapter is not included. You will need to supply a 5V Quick Charge 3.0 power adapter.
Choetech has also provided a discount code for the five coil wireless charging, discounting the price from $39.99 to $30.99. Just enter the code MACRU535 when checking out on Choetech's website.
We have 10 of Choetech's PowerDual Wireless Charging Pads to give away. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (December 21) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on December 28. The winners will be chosen randomly on December 28 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
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Earlier this week, Apple told The Verge that some 2018 iPad Pro models are shipping with a slight bend in the aluminum chassis, which is a side effect of the manufacturing process that is not expected to worsen over time or negatively impact the iPad's performance.
Many MacRumors readers were concerned about Apple's position that a noticeable bend is not a manufacturing issue, prompting MacRumors reader Craig to send an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook to express his concerns.
While Cook didn't respond, Craig did get a reply from Apple's VP of hardware engineering, Dan Riccio, which he shared with MacRumors and which we have confirmed to be from Apple's corporate mail servers in Cupertino, California.
In the email, Riccio says that the iPad Pro's design "meets or exceeds" all of Apple's quality and precision standards.
Apple's specification for iPad Pro flatness is up to 400 microns, which is "even tighter than previous generations." Riccio reiterates that this level of flatness won't change during normal use, nor does it affect function. From the email:
Relative to the issue you referenced regarding the new iPad Pro, its unibody design meets or exceeds all of Apple's high quality standards of design and precision manufacturing. We've carefully engineered it and every part of the manufacturing process is precisely measured and controlled.
Our current specification for iPad Pro flatness is up to 400 microns which is even tighter than previous generations. This 400 micron variance is less than half a millimeter (or the width of fewer than four sheets of paper at most) and this level of flatness won't change during normal use over the lifetime of the product. Note, these slight variations do not affect the function of the device in any way.
Again, thanks for reaching out and I hope the above explanation addresses your concerns.
Riccio's email also says that a company statement was not included in the original information disseminated by The Verge, and that Apple will be reaching out to media outlets to comment officially.
The original email was sent late on December 20 and suggested a comment would come "later today," but that didn't happen, so it's not quite clear when Apple will provide more info to the media. We may be hearing an official, more reassuring statement on the 2018 iPad Pro before the end of the day.
Minor bending of the new iPad Pro models first came to light shortly after the devices launched, and new iPad Pro owners who noticed bends shared their concerns on the MacRumors forums.
Apple was quiet on the issue until this week, when the company told The Verge that the bending is a side effect of the manufacturing process and not a defect that impacts iPad performance.
The bend is said to be the result of a cooling process involving the iPad Pro's metal and plastic components during manufacturing. iPad Pro models experiencing this issue are exhibiting the problem right out of the box, according to Apple, so it's not an issue that shows up or worsens over time.
Apple told The Verge that concerns over the structural rigidity of the iPad Pro are unfounded and that it stands by the product.
Apple has extended and expanded its 10 to 15 percent bonus offer when adding funds directly to an Apple ID account.
The offer was initially available in the U.S. only and set to expire December 20, but the bonus is now available through December 24 in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, according to Thrifter.
The bonus can be applied once on up to $200 in Apple ID funds, which can be used towards purchases on the iTunes Store, Apple Books Store, App Store, a recurring iCloud storage subscription, and so forth.
To add funds directly to an Apple ID, go to Settings > Your Name > iTunes & App Store and tap your Apple ID > View Apple ID. Sign in if necessary, tap "Add Funds to Apple ID," tap the amount that you want to add, and confirm your selection. There's also a shortcut available at the bottom of the App Store.
Or, in iTunes on a Mac or PC, click on Account > View My Account… in the menu bar and then click on the Add Funds to Apple ID link. Adding funds requires a valid payment method on file and is particularly useful for prepaid credit cards.
Google Lens can now recognize over a billion items in the world around us, the search engine giant announced this week.
That's four times as many things that the AI-powered feature could identify when it was first launched last year, thanks partly to a huge number of Google Shopping products which have been added to its knowledge base.
While its optical character recognition engine has been optimized to read more product labels, Google has also honed its machine learning and AI to recognize more animals, including common pet breeds.
In addition, you can use Lens to get more information about places as well as word definitions and translations of words. Google Lens can now also recognize people, Wi-Fi network names for auto-connecting, and geometric shapes. And if it isn't sure what an object is, it will offer up similar photos that match.
Google Lens originally appeared on iOS as part of Google Photos and could only be used on pictures you'd taken. However, last week Google added the feature to its flagship search app, and this implementation is better since it allows you to aim your phone's camera at things in your environment in real time. Follow the steps below if you'd like to give it a whirl.
How to Use Google Lens on iPhone
If you don't have it already, download the Google app [Direct Link] from the App Store and launch it.
Sign in with your Google credentials or create an account.
Tap the Lens icon to the left of the microphone in the Search bar.
Tap the blue button that says Turn on camera to use Lens.
Tap OK in the permissions alert to allow Google to access your camera.
Aim your device's camera at an object that you'd like more information about and tap on the circle that appears. If light is poor, you can activate your phone's flash using the lightning bolt button to illuminate whatever is in frame.
If you want to use Google Lens on photos you've taken, tap the picture icon at the top right of the camera view, tap OK in the permissions alert to allow Google to access your photo library, then select a photo.
If you want to withdraw Google's access to your camera and photos you can do so anytime by following these steps.
How to Disable Google Search App Permissions
Launch the Settings app.
Select Google from the list of third-party apps.
Turn off Google's access to your device's camera by toggling off the Camera switch.
We're in the final stretch to Christmas, with just four more days until December 25. To help out with any last-minute holiday shopping, PayPal on eBay today has a new offer on App Store and iTunes gift cards (e-delivery), and it's one of the best discounts on the cards we've seen in a while: you can get the $100 iTunes gift card for just $80 while supplies last.
PayPal's Digital Gifts eBay storefront will email the card to your friend or family member, or you can send it to yourself to print out and give to them on Christmas. As usual, the gift cards are valid only on purchases made on the App Store or iTunes Store in the United States, and the recipient of the card will need a valid Apple ID to redeem the credit.
Once you place the order, PayPal will email a redemption code within a few hours of the purchase. iTunes cards are great gifts for any Apple fan because they provide credit for so many different services, including the iOS App Store, Mac App Store, tvOS App Store, iTunes Movies and TV Store, iBooks Store, iCloud, Apple Music, and they can even pay for third-party monthly subscriptions to apps like Hulu.
If you're looking for a smaller iTunes gift card, Walmart has the $50 tier down to $40 for a limited time. Similar to PayPal on eBay, this is sale is available online only and the iTunes gift card will be emailed to you or someone you choose within a few hours after purchase. Buy one, get one 20 percent off is still available as Target as well, and Amazon currently has the weakest iTunes gift card sale, offering $7.50 off all tiers.
We're keeping track of iTunes gift card sales and more as Christmas nears, so be sure to head to our full Deals Roundup for information on all of the latest sales and discounts running this weekend.
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Update: Apple continues to expand the promotion, with more European countries just added, including Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
As in the United States, Apple is offering higher trade-in values for select older iPhone models towards the purchase of a new iPhone XR or iPhone XS. In Australia, for example, the iPhone XR starts at $1,229, but customers can purchase the device for as low as $849 when trading in an iPhone 7 Plus for a limited time.
In certain countries, the promotion is only available at Apple Stores, but it is also available on Apple.com in some regions. Apple says the offer ends January 31, 2019 in China and Japan, but it has yet to specify a deadline in other countries.
Many analysts have expressed concerns about weakening iPhone sales, and Apple's aggressive marketing of the iPhone XR in particular and its decision to stop disclosing iPhone unit sales starting next quarter fit that narrative. Apple's stock price is down nearly 30 percent since the day of its last earnings report.
App Store & iTunes gift cards have been a popular tech-themed stocking stuffer for years. If you unwrapped one today, we have eight ideas for what to buy across the App Store, iTunes, Apple Books, and beyond in 2018.
