MacRumors

With last month's iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 event in the rearview mirror, we can now turn our attention to Apple's roadmap for the remainder of the 2018 calendar year. If rumors are any indication, we'll likely be headed back to Cupertino this month for an October event.

Apple has yet to announce any October event, to be clear, but it's always fun to speculate about possible dates based on years prior. Apple has hosted an October event in six of the past eight years, with 2015 and 2017 the exceptions.

All but one of the October events have focused on the Mac, iPad, or both. The sole exception is the October 4, 2011 event, when Apple introduced the iPhone 4S with Siri. Apple didn't host a September event in 2011, however, so the October 4 keynote can be viewed as a bit-late iPhone event that year.

2011 aside, October events have always fallen in the second half of the month, between October 16 and October 27. This year, there's a good chance that any potential event would take place in the latter half of the month as well.

A big reason is that Google is hosting an event next Tuesday, October 9 in New York City, where it is expected to unveil its Pixel 3 smartphones. Apple typically hosts events on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, but all of those days next week would be in close proximity to Google's event.

Apple certainly doesn't need to play friendly with Google's event, but it probably wouldn't want to wreak travel havoc on the media, who would be forced to fly from New York to Cupertino, some 3,000 miles away, on a tight schedule.

So, in all likelihood, we're looking at an event in the second or third full week of October, making the following dates possible:

• Tuesday, October 16 or Tuesday, October 23
  

• Wednesday, October 17 or Wednesday, October 24
  

• Thursday, October 18 or Thursday, October 25

Apple typically invites the media to its October events seven or eight days beforehand, so invites could go out as early as next Tuesday.

It'll be interesting to see how the iPhone XR plays into the event. Apple already unveiled the colorful smartphone at its September event, but pre-orders don't begin until Friday, October 19, followed by in-store availability on Friday, October 26.

One possibility is that Apple will host its event on Tuesday, October 16, and recap some of the iPhone XR's features to rejuvenate hype ahead of pre-orders on Friday, October 19. Other new iPad Pro and Mac products announced could also be made available to pre-order and/or launch in stores that Friday.

But with many other products expected to be announced — more on that below — it's uncertain if Apple would do that or have time to fit in the iPhone XR whatsoever. In that case, Apple could hold its event on Tuesday, October 23, but either way, new iPads and Macs could steal some of the iPhone XR's thunder.

In any case, the October event is expected to mark the introduction of redesigned iPad Pro models with Face ID and slimmer display bezels. A range of new Macs are also expected, including an entry-level MacBook or MacBook Air of some kind, and refreshed iMac and Mac mini models.

Of course, Apple could choose to announce many of these products with press releases, but redesigned iPad Pro models, a long-awaited Mac mini refresh, and updates to other product lines seem like announcements worthy of some stage time.

There are a number of wild cards for the October event as well. For instance, Apple said its AirPower charging mat would be released in 2018, before removing all but one reference to it on its website last month. Apple hasn't commented on the AirPower since, but perhaps it's still coming, and maybe in October if so.

If the AirPower finally launches, there's a good chance it would be accompanied by a new pair of AirPods with an optional wireless charging case, as Apple showed off last year. And while less likely, we can't rule out a lower-priced HomePod or an updated Apple Pencil sharing some stage time later this month.

MacRumors will have more details on what to expect closer to the event, should one take place, along with our usual live coverage of any announcements.

Update: Apple CEO Tim Cook will be in Brussels on Wednesday, October 24, likely ruling out an event that week. As noted by VentureBeat's Jeremy Horwitz, another option is Tuesday, October 30, which would avoid interfering with the iPhone XR launch and fall two days before Apple's Q4 earnings.

DxOMark today published the results of its in-depth analysis of the iPhone XS Max's rear camera. Apple's flagship smartphone achieved an overall score of 105 points, trailing only the Huawei P20 Pro at 109 in the site's all-time rankings.

Note that the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max have identical camera specs, so this review applies equally to the iPhone XS.

In its testing, DxOMark found the iPhone XS Max to have "excellent" photo and video quality in bright light, with a "very wide dynamic range and good detail." In terms of photo quality, they found exposure in outdoor images "tends to be spot on," with high levels of detail and pleasant colors.

The review adds that Apple's new Smart HDR feature generates images with "very good target exposure and a wide dynamic range in all conditions."

Achieving a video score of 96, DxOMark said the iPhone XS Max shows "outstanding video quality in bright light."

DxOMark concludes that the iPhone XS Max has "one of the best mobile cameras" it has ever tested, with noticeable improvements in many areas over last year's iPhone X. Their review praises the iPhone XS Max camera as being "very reliable overall" and "consistently delivering good results."

In lower light, however, DxOMark found that noise becomes "a little more intrusive than with other high-end phones," adding that the iPhone XS Max's zoom capabilities lag somewhat behind the competition — specifically, the Huawei P20 Pro. Beyond that, they say the device is a "surefire option for any mobile photographer."

For scoring and analysis in its smartphone camera reviews, DxOMark says its engineers capture and evaluate over 1,500 test images and more than two hours of video both in controlled lab environments and in natural indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera's default settings. More on their methodology here.

DxO is a well-known French image lab that has been reviewing smartphone cameras for many years, but they've attracted some criticism. At the end of the day, camera quality is subjective, at least to some extent.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently sat down for an interview with VICE News Tonight on HBO's Elle Reeve, and the footage from the interview aired tonight on HBO.

Cook covered topics that include the importance of privacy, Apple's relationship with China, and why Apple blocked conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars app and podcast. The full VICE News Tonight on HBO interview can be watched below.

On privacy and its impact on Siri, Cook said that Apple doesn't believe that personal data is needed to make services better. "Whoever's telling you that -- it's a bunch of bonk," he said.

Cook also said Apple has not made it easier for the Chinese government to get data from Chinese customers because the company uses the same encryption everywhere.

It's not easy for anybody to get it. I mean it's it's encrypted like it is everywhere. And so no, I wouldn't I wouldn't get caught up in the, 'Where's the location of it?' I mean, we have servers located in many different countries in the world. They are not easier to get data from being in one country versus the next.

On the topic of Alex Jones, Cook said that the removal of the Infowars show from Apple podcasts is an example of the importance of human curation. Cook also said that Apple does not lean one way or the other politically, and it wasn't taking a political stance removing Jones' offensive content.

What users want from us and what we've always provided them is a curated platform. We think the what the user wants is someone that does review these apps, someone that does review the podcasts, someone that on like Apple news, where a human is selecting the top stories. And that's what we do. We don't take a political stand. We're not leaning one way or the other. You can tell that from the stuff on the App Store and in podcasts etc. You'll see everything from very conservative to very liberal. And that's the way I think it should be.

Cook went on to explain that there was no coordination between tech companies after Facebook and Twitter both removed Infowars content after Apple did. "I've never even had a conversation about [Alex Jones] with other tech companies," he said. "We make our decisions independently and I think that's important."

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.

The iOS 12 update brought a major new feature, Siri Shortcuts, which is designed to let you create voice and tap-activated automations that can complete multiple complex tasks in just a few seconds.

In our latest YouTube video, we've rounded up five Siri Shortcut options that we think most people will find interesting. These are a great place to start if you're new to Shortcuts.

Siri Shortcuts are available in the Shortcuts section of the Settings app (Settings > Siri & Search) and through the dedicated Shortcuts app, but you can also find great options on Reddit and other websites. The Shortcuts below have been sourced from multiple places.

- Calculate Tip - Perhaps one of the simplest Shortcuts available, Calculate Tip is available in the Shortcuts Gallery. When you activate this Shortcut, it will ask you the total bill and the amount that you want to tip (12%, 15%, 18%, or 20%) before providing you with the tip amount and the total bill with tip included.

- Convert Burst to GIF - With Convert Burst to GIF, sourced from Reddit, you can take a series of burst photos with the iPhone camera by holding down on the capture button and then convert them into a GIF. There are also shortcuts for doing the same thing with a Live Photo in the Shortcuts Gallery.

- Watch Music Video - The Watch Music Video Shortcut, also from Reddit, lets you detect the currently playing Apple Music song and then search for the accompanying music video on Apple Music. If a music video is found, it will open it up in the Apple Music app so you can watch it.

- What's Happening on Twitter - If you have the Twitter app installed, you can create a "See What's Happening" Shortcut that will allow you to view Twitter's Moments section with a Siri voice command. You can access this option by going to Settings > Siri & Search > Twitter > See All.

- Dark Sky Weather - With Dark Sky installed, you can see a weather forecast with information pulled from Dark Sky through a Siri voice command. As with Twitter, you can get to this option through the Siri & Search section of the Settings app. Assigning a command like "What's the weather today" to this third-party Shortcut will let you get weather data from Dark Sky rather than the built-in weather app when you ask Siri about the weather.

Many of the Shortcuts listed above can be tweaked and customized after you have downloaded them if desired, and you can assign Siri voice commands to activate them. For app-based Shortcuts, you can do this in the Settings app, and for longer Shortcuts that have multiple steps, you can add a Siri command in the Shortcuts app.

Do you have favorite Shortcuts that you've been using in iOS 12? Let us know in the comments and we may feature them in a future video.

The second beta of iOS 12.1, which was released this morning, includes a fix for a charging issue affecting the iPhone XS, XS Max, and other iOS devices.

Discovered following the launch of the two new iPhones and highlighted over the weekend, the charging bug causes some iPhone and iPad devices to refuse to charge over a Lightning connection when the screen is not activated.

According to iMore's Rene Ritchie, the new iOS 12.1 beta fixes the issue so iOS users will no longer need to double check to make sure their devices are charging after being plugged in.

The bug does not affect all iPhones and iPads, but those who are impacted have seen their devices fail to charge over Lightning when plugged in while the iPhone is asleep.

Tapping the iPhone to wake it up in this situation resumes charging, but an iPhone that is affected and plugged in with the screen deactivated can refuse to charge, resulting in uncertainty over whether or not a device is actually charging.

While this issue originally came to light because of complaints from iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max owners, it appears it was widespread and affected many devices running iOS 12.

Apple today announced that the iOS 12.1 update, which is currently being beta tested by developers and public beta testers, will include the new Unicode 11 emoji.

Apple first promised new emoji were coming on World Emoji Day back in July, but the new characters were not included in the original iOS 12 update.

Apple plans to introduce more than 70 new emoji characters, with options for red hair, gray hair, curly hair, and no hair, along with smiley faces that include cold face, party face, pleading face, and face with hearts.

Super heroes, an eye-shaped nazar amulet, and an infinity symbol will be added, along with new animals such as kangaroo, peacock, parrot, and lobster. New food items include mango, lettuce, cupcake, and moon cake, with a full list of new Unicode 11 emoji available from Emojipedia.

Apple says that it is working with the Unicode Consortium to add additional disability-themed emoji to Unicode 12, which is set to be released in 2019.

Developers can get the new emoji right now by downloading the iOS 12.1 update, and Apple says the software will also be available for public beta testers later in the day.

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 12.1 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the first beta and a little over two weeks after releasing iOS 12, a major new version of the iOS software.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 12.1 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

iOS 12.1 introduces several new features that Apple promised would come to the new iPhone XS and XS Max devices. The beta introduces support for the eSIM, which is a digital SIM that lets you activate a cellular plan from a carrier without the need to use a physical SIM card.

Carriers will need to implement support for eSIM, which is likely to happen after iOS 12.1 launches. In the U.S., AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile will support eSIM.

The iOS 12.1 update brings a new real-time Depth Control feature, which lets you adjust the depth of field of your Portrait Mode photos before you capture them. Right now, in iOS 12, Depth Control is only available for post-capture editing.

If you tap on the "F" icon at the top of the screen while capturing a photo you use Depth Control to adjust the amount of background blur in an image.

In addition to these iPhone XS and XS Max features, iOS 12.1 reintroduces the Group FaceTime feature that was removed from iOS 12 during the beta testing period. Group FaceTime was present in many early betas but was ultimately removed because Apple needed more time to test it.

Group FaceTime is designed to let iPhone and Mac users conduct video and audio chats with up to 32 participants at one time, with new camera effects features included.

Apple today announced that new emoji are coming in the iOS 12.1 beta, with options to include red hair, gray hair, curly hair, and no hair, along with smiley faces that include cold face, party face, pleading face, face with hearts, and tons more.

If any additional new features are found in the second iOS 12.1 beta, we'll update this post with details. Apple today also released a second beta version of Xcode 10.1.

Update: Apple has also seeded the second beta of iOS 12.1 to public beta testers.

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave 10.14.1 update to developers, one week after seeding the first beta and a little over a week after releasing the macOS Mojave update.

macOS Mojave introduces a new method of installing software updates, so after the initial beta has been installed using the appropriate profile from the Developer Center, additional betas can be downloaded through opening up System Preferences and choosing the "Software Update" option.

The 10.14.1 update includes support for Group FaceTime, a feature that was removed during the beta testing period. Group FaceTime, which lets you chat with up to 32 people at once, is also present in the iOS 12.1 beta.

No other significant features were found in the first developer beta of macOS Mojave, so it's not clear if there are any additional changes. The update likely includes performance improvements and bug fixes for issues that have been discovered since the release of the Mojave update.

Should new features be found in the second beta, we'll update this post.

macOS Mojave is a major update that brings features like a systemwide Dark Mode, stacks for organizing messy desktops, new Finder capabilities, new tools for taking screenshots, a Continuity Camera option for easily transferring photo scans and documents from iPhone to Mac, and more.

For more on macOS Mojave, make sure to check out our roundup.

Apple is donating $1 million to aid in relief efforts in Indonesia after Indonesian island Sulawesi was devastated by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami on September 28.

Following the disaster, more than 1,000 people have died in Sulawesi and several other Indonesian islands have been hit with aftershocks and similar quakes.

Apple CEO Tim Cook this morning tweeted about Apple's $1 million donation.

Apple often accepts donations from iTunes customers for relief efforts on its website, in the App Store, and in the iTunes Store, but right now, Apple is continuing to collect customer donations for hurricane Florence relief efforts.

Apple last month also donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts in North and South Carolina.