Apple's Macs and iPads continue to have the highest customer satisfaction score among PC and tablet makers, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index's new 2018 Household Appliance and Electronics Report.
Apple earned an ACSI score of 83 in 2018, the same score that it had last year, remaining in the lead over Amazon, Samsung, ASUS, HP, Lenovo, and more.
According to the ACSI, Apple's machines earned best-in-class ratings across "nearly every aspect of the customer experience" from device design to features and available apps.
Apple earned the highest score despite the fact that much of its Mac and iPad lineup has yet to be refreshed in 2018. We are awaiting refreshed iPad Pro models with major upgrades like an edge-to-edge design with slimmer bezels and Face ID, along with updates to the MacBook, Mac mini, and other machines.
Based on ASCI's numbers, Amazon is closing in on Apple with an ASCI score of 82, with customers satisfied with design, ease of operation, and sound/graphics quality on the company's line of tablets.
Samsung tied with Amazon, also earning a score of 82. Samsung also scores well across the customer experience, but can't match Apple on features that include operating system, preloaded apps, and data storage.
According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, overall customer satisfaction with personal computers (a category that includes laptops, desktop machines, and tablets) continues to earn a score of 77 on the ACSI scale.
Smartphones outpaced personal computers in customer satisfaction back in 2014, and customers continue to be more satisfied with their handheld devices, using them for more tasks that had previously been limited to computers.
Among PC owners, desktop machines earned the highest overall satisfaction score, followed by tablets and then laptops. Just 17 percent of respondents to the ACSI survey purchased a desktop computer in the last year, but customer satisfaction grew 4 percent. Satisfaction with tablets also grew 4 percent, while laptop satisfaction declined.
To create its scoring system and compile device scores, the ACSI uses data from interviews with approximately 250,000 customers each year, analyzing customer satisfaction with more than 380 companies across 46 industries.
Tom's Guide has published the results of a battery comparison test pitting Apple's new iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max against a variety of smartphones, with some surprising results.
Both of Apple's latest flagship models failed to reach the heights of last year's first-generation iPhone X using the same battery endurance test, which involved surfing the web continuously over a 4G data connection. Displays were set to 150 nits of brightness, with both auto-brightness and TrueTone disabled.
The iPhone XS Max lasted 10 hours and 38 minutes, while the iPhone XS managed 9 hours and 41 minutes. Those figures compare unfavorably to the results of the original iPhone X, which lasted 10 hours and 49 minutes in the same test last year.
As far as rival phones go, the iPhone XS and XS Max outperformed the HTC U12+ (9 hours, 13 minutes) and the LG G7 ThinQ (8 hours, 35 minutes), however both Apple models were beaten by flagship devices in the Android category. Google's Pixel 2, for example, lasted 12 hours and 9 minutes, while Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 lasted 11 hours and 26 minutes. However, the overall winner was Huawei's P20 Pro, clocking in 14 hours and 13 minutes.
Apple advertises that the iPhone XS can last up to 12 hours during internet use (the same figure given for last year's iPhone X) while the iPhone XS Max can last up to 13 hours on a single charge. However, battery performance can be affected by various factors, including OS version, hardware optimization, and even cellular reception, which is why Apple only offers approximate numbers.
Earlier this week, iFixit teardowns confirmed the existence of a new single-cell L-shaped battery in the iPhone XS, while the iPhone XS Max remains two cells. Chinese regulatory filings also earlier revealed the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max have battery capacities of 2,658 mAh at 3.81V and 3,174 mAh at 3.80V respectively.
Last year's iPhone X has a battery capacity of 2,716mAh at 3.81 V, yet Apple claims iPhone XS customers can expect a 30-minute increase in operating time over that device, while XS Max users can expect an hour and a half. If you're an iPhone XS or XS Max owner, let us know what kind of battery life you're seeing by using the comments below.
Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have left Facebook, explaining in a statement this week that they are taking some time off to "explore our curiosity and creativity again." According to people familiar with the matter speaking to Bloomberg, Systrom and Krieger are leaving due to growing tensions with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom at Instagram
In recent months, Zuckerberg is said to have become more involved in the day-to-day work going on at Instagram, and "more reliant on Instagram in planning for Facebook's future." Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, and up until now Systrom and Krieger had been able to keep the photo-sharing app's brand independent from Facebook while using the larger social network's resources to expand.
With this year's Cambridge Analytica scandal, it's believed that Zuckerberg and Facebook are now leaning into Instagram's success as Facebook faces ongoing struggles. Facebook has even started talking about Instagram more often in its earning calls, with Zuckerberg recently stating that Instagram grew twice as fast being in the Facebook family as it could have on its own. Internally, Instagram employees said this was "unnecessary and unprovable."
Adam Mosseri, who came from Facebook's news feed team to be head of product for Instagram in early 2018, is the most likely successor for Systrom and Krieger. Through all of this, Facebook is predicted to "more tightly integrate" Instagram into the larger company, making Instagram less independent than it is now.
Without the founders around, Instagram is likely to become more tightly integrated with Facebook, making it more of a product division within the larger company than an independent operation, the people said.
For years, Systrom and Krieger were able to amicably resist certain Facebook product initiatives that they felt went against their vision, while leaning on Facebook for resources, infrastructure and engineering talent. A new leader may not be able to keep the same balance, or may be more willing to make changes that help the overall company at the expense of some of Instagram’s unique qualities.
As it stands now, Instagram has largely been able to avoid negative association with the Facebook brand after the data privacy scandal earlier this year. A few other apps under the Facebook umbrella have also faced departing executives in the wake of the scandal, with WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum leaving Facebook in April, reportedly clashing with Facebook executives over the messaging app's strategy and Facebook's attempts to use WhatsApp personal data in ways to monetize the service.
Apple Watch apps rarely misbehave, but if one becomes non-responsive or fails to refresh data, sometimes force-quitting the app and relaunching it can solve the issue.
Fortunately, it's a simple procedure. The following steps show you how it's done on Apple Watch models running watchOS 4 or later.
Open the misbehaving app on your Apple Watch, either by tapping its complication or selecting it from the honeycomb-style app menu/list view, so that it takes over the display.
Now, press and hold the Side button.
Release the Side button once the power down menu appears.
Next, press and hold the Digital Crown. You can release it once the app is whisked away from view and you're returned to the watch face.
And that's all there is to it. The next time you launch the app in question, it will load up as if for the first time, and hopefully play nice again.
If the problem you're having still persists, try restarting your Apple Watch from the power down screen, or consider re-installing the related app on your iPhone.
Apple is reportedly shifting around iPhone XR orders amongst its manufacturing partners to ensure production issues don't cause supply constraints when the smartphone officially launches late next month.
According to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report, Pegatron has lost up to half of its original iPhone XR orders to Foxconn, following delayed shipments of some key components and a shortage of workers at its plants in China.
Apple had originally divvied up between 50 and 60 percent of total orders for the lower-cost LCD iPhone to Foxconn, with Pegatron taking about 30 percent of orders. However, Apple has recently lowered the portion of iPhone XR orders allocated to Pegatron to below 30 percent, while ramping up those to Foxconn substantially.
On top of that, the supply of LCD panels from Japan Display (JDI) for the production of the iPhone XR has not been steady, according to the report. Pegatron and Foxconn declined to comment.
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty cautioned in July that Apple's 6.1-inch LCD iPhone would not launch until October because of issues with backlight leakage, although it's not clear whether the latest LCD supply constraints are down to the same problem.
The iPhone XR starts at $749 in the United States. The October launch means Apple will likely lose a few sales to customers this month who are interested in a new iPhone but don't want to pay several hundred dollars more for the iPhone XS and XS Max, which start at $999 and $1,099, respectively. Because of this, Huberty saw Apple delivering a "slightly weaker-than-consensus September quarter."
Global shipments of Apple's new iPhone lineup are expected to exceed 85 million units in the second half of the year, with the more budget-friendly iPhone XR expected to account for over half of all sales.
Apple's lower-spec iPhone XR features an edge-to-edge "Liquid Retina" LCD display with wide color and True Tone support, and the same all-screen design as the OLED-based iPhone Xs and Xs Max, but with an aluminum frame instead of stainless steel.
Other downgrades from the iPhone XS that make the XR cheaper include a single-lens rear facing camera instead of the dual lens on the XS, and a lack of 3D Touch support.
The lower-priced iPhone XR becomes available to order on Friday, October 19, with orders shipping the following Friday, October 26.
Apple in macOS Mojave introduced Dynamic Desktops, which are wallpapers that shift with the time of day, changing the lighting and look of the wallpaper with the progress of the sun across the sky.
For example, in the afternoon, the lighting in the wallpaper is at its peak brightness and the image of the Mojave desert is depicted as it would be if you visited it in the daytime with well-lit sand dunes and a bright blue sky.
At night, the sky in the wallpaper shifts to darker blue to reflect that it's now evening. The shift between daytime and nighttime happens gradually over the course of the day, so you'll see subtle changes each time you look at your Mac's display.
Dynamic Desktop is simple to enable. Here's how:
Open up System Preferences.
Choose Desktop & Screensaver.
Select one of the options from the "Dynamic Desktop" section under "Desktop."
Using the dropdown menu underneath the wallpaper's name, make sure "Dynamic" is enabled.
There are two Dynamic Desktop options in macOS Mojave, which work with both Light and Dark Mode.
You can choose between the wallpaper that depicts the Mojave desert and a Solar Gradients wallpaper that shifts from a lighter sky blue in the daytime to a darker twilight blue. Apple is likely to add additional Dynamic Desktop options in the future.
Apple's Dynamic Desktop feature relies on your location to be able to match the lighting of the wallpaper with the lighting outside, so to use it, you will need to have Location Services enabled.
In macOS Mojave, Apple has introduced a range of new Finder Quick Actions that make it easier for you to perform quick edits to files without having to open the apps associated with them.
To view available Quick Actions, you need to enable the Preview panel in Finder. To do this, open a Finder window and select the menu bar option View -> Show Preview, or press the keys Shift-Command-P.
Quick Actions for Images, Video, and Audio
Quick Actions are located in the bottom right of the Finder window, just under the preview of the selected file. These actions will change depending on the file: For images, clicking Rotate Left turns the image counterclockwise, while clicking Markup invokes an enhanced Quick Look window containing a set of markup tools.
If two or more images are selected in Finder, the Markup button will change to Create PDF, allowing you to turn the images into a single portable document. If a QuickTime compatible video or audio file is selected, Markup will be replaced by Trim. Clicking this brings up a Quick Look window with an editing ribbon to trim the file.
How to Customize Quick Actions
You've probably noticed the More... button beside the default Quick Actions. Click this and then select Customize..., and you'll be taken to the Extensions pane in System Preferences, where you'll be able to select other actions to add to Finder's Preview pane.
The actions available to you will depend on which applications you have installed and any pre-existing Apple scripts on your Mac. Apple is encouraging third-party developers to add support for more Quick Actions in their apps, but you can also create your own custom ones using the Automator app. For a useful example, check out our tutorial on how to quickly resize images using your very own Automator service.
In previous versions of macOS, the Quick Look feature lets you view photos and files without having to open them in an app. In macOS Mojave, Apple has also introduced some convenient new editing tools to Quick Look, allowing you to perform actions specific to the kind of file you're viewing. Let's take a look at how it all fits together.
How Quick Look Works
For those unfamiliar with Quick Look, the feature can be used for items on the Desktop, in Finder windows, in emails, in messages, and other places. It supports numerous file types, including HTML, PDF, Plain text, RTF, iWork, MS Office, RAW, JPEGs, and QuickTime formats. To activate it, simply select one or more items, then press the Spacebar or force-click using your Mac's trackpad.
In the top left of the Quick Look window you'll find the Maximize button next to the Close button. (You can also manually enlarge the window by dragging the corners.) Open with [App] and Share buttons are located in the top-right corner of the Quick Look window, along with a Rotate Left button if you're working with images or video.
As before, if you select multiple items, you'll see arrow buttons to navigate through them, as well as a Sheet View button to see the items in an index sheet view. If you opened a document such as a PDF, you'll see a column of thumbnails along the side of the window for quickly navigating through the pages.
What's New in Quick Look
New to Quick Look in Mojave is the ability to access Markup tools. Simply click the Markup button to reveal the toolset.
Quick Look lets you draw on and annotate images or PDF documents using arrows, shapes, and text. You can also use Markup to quickly sign a document with your digital signature. Click Done, and your changes are automatically saved.
If you're viewing a video file in Quick Look, you'll see a new Trim button that allows you to trim the clip without having to open QuickTime.
Clicking the Trim button reveals the scrubbing and edit ribbon along the bottom of the clip. You can click anywhere in the ribbon to jump to another point in the video, and drag the edges of the yellow frame to trim the clip to the desired length.
Again, simply click Done when you're finished and your changes are automatically saved.
In macOS Mojave, Apple has extended its Continuity features so that now you can use your iPhone or iPad's camera to take a photo or scan a document, and it will be immediately available on your Mac.
Continuity Camera works in several native Mac apps, including Pages, Keynote, and TextEdit. The following steps explain how to use it. Bear in mind that both your iOS device and your Mac need to be logged into the same Apple ID for this feature to work.
How to Add a Photo Using Continuity Camera
Launch the app that you want to import a photo into.
Open an existing project or document, or create a new one.
Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the location where you want to insert the photo.
In the contextual menu, click Take Photo under the name of the iOS device that you want to use.
Take the photo on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap Use Photo on your iOS device, and the image will appear in the open project or document on your Mac.
How to Scan a Document Using Continuity Camera
Launch the app you want to use and open a project or document, or create a new one.
Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the space where you want to insert the captured document.
In the contextual menu, click Scan Document under the name of the iOS device that you want to use.
Using your iPhone or iPad's camera, frame the document in the onscreen viewfinder. The document should turn yellow and scan automatically. You can repeat this step to scan several documents if desired.
Tap Save on your iOS device, and your scanned documents will be inserted into the open project or document on your Mac.
Apple's new macOS Mojave update is not compatible with mid-2010 and mid-2012 Mac Pros with stock GPUs, but it is supported on 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro models that have been upgraded with graphics cards that support Metal.
Apple today shared a new support document that provides a list of graphics cards that are Metal-capable, which will be useful for 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro owners who want to purchase a new graphics card to upgrade to macOS Mojave.
According to Apple, the following graphics cards are known to be Metal-capable and compatible with macOS Mojave on the mid-2010 and mid-2012 Mac Pro models:
MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDDR5
SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition
NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition
Apple also lists other AMD graphics cards that "might" be compatible with macOS Mojave:
AMD Radeon RX 560
AMD Radeon RX 570
AMD Radeon RX 580
AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100
AMD Radeon Frontier Edition
You can check to see if your graphics card is compatible by holding down option while selecting Apple logo to access System Information. Under Graphics/Displays, if "Supported" is listed next to the Metal entry, the graphics card will work with macOS Mojave.
According to Apple, once a Metal-capable graphics card has been installed in a 2010 or 2012 Mac Pro, macOS Mojave can be downloaded and installed after turning off FileVault.
Apple's iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max launched last Friday, and shortly after, some customers who purchased one of the new devices started noticing an issue with LTE and Wi-Fi speeds and connectivity.
According to multiple threads on the MacRumors forums, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max users are experiencing connectivity problems with Wi-Fi and LTE on the two new iPhones when compared to other, older Apple devices.
Multiple users have said that there are noticeable differences in cellular reception between the iPhone XS models and the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, with a 15-page thread suggesting this is a widespread problem that quite a few people are noticing. As described by MacRumors reader onepoint:
I'm in South Carolina on VZW. My iPhone X consistently holds 3 or 4 bars of LTE in my home with solid speeds.
I activated XS Max yesterday and upon first activating/connecting LTE (reboot, airplane mode, etc.) I get nearly identical performance. Within a minute or two, the signal degrades and data stops working. Disabling LTE results in a full 3G signal with 3G data - no issues, rock solid. Re-enabling LTE works for a minute or two. Lather rinse repeat.
Users are noticing fewer bars and poorer signal on iPhone XS and XS Max compared to devices like the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, especially in areas where signal is weak. Many of the complaints come from Verizon users, suggesting the issue could potentially be carrier specific. Multiple AT&T users, for example, have said the signal is the same or better, while Verizon users are seeing signal issues.
Some iPhone XS owners have theorized that the issue is related to Qualcomm vs. Intel modems. The new iPhone XS and XS Max are using Intel modems, while older devices used a mix of Qualcomm and Intel modems. AT&T iPhone 8 and iPhone X models used Intel modems previously, while Verizon iPhones had Qualcomm modems. As explained by MacRumors reader radiologyman:
That seems to be the thinking in the other forum thread linked below. People who went from Qualcomm to Intel may see worsening in fringe areas while those who went from Intel to Intel may see an improvement. Both groups can see faster LTE signal due to carrier aggregation and 4 MIMO implemented in XS and XS Max.
Some AT&T and T-Mobile users are, however, complaining of connectivity problems too, while others have noticed better signal, leading to a confusing mix of user reports.
It's not clear if modem differences are causing the perceived connectivity issues that iPhone XS and XS Max owners are noticing or if there is a genuine bug with the new devices, but in the days following a new iPhone release, there are often carrier updates that can solve connectivity problems.
Given the confusing mix of information coming from users on the forums, the LTE connectivity problems may be related to software and could be fixed through the aforementioned carrier update or a software update from Apple, but we'll have to wait for more information to figure out exactly what's going on.
In addition to the LTE problems, there appears to be a separate issue with Wi-Fi. On the MacRumors forums, users began noticing slower Wi-Fi speeds on iPhone XS models compared to other Apple devices, which readers quickly deduced was a 2.4GHz vs. 5GHz Wi-Fi issue.
It appears that the iPhone XS and XS Max are preferring 2.4GHz networks over 5GHz networks when connecting to routers that use the same SSID for both the 2.4 and 5GHz bands. From MacRumors reader playtillyadrop:
I'm having the same problems. On my x it will hold the 5ghz connection compared to the XS max which likes to hold on to the 2.4ghz connection. I'm using google WIFI. All my nodes are connected wired. I know it's not my wifi and it's related to the xs max. It seems as if it prefers the stronger signal over throughput. My x performs better. I can check through the google wifi app and it takes forever for the xs max to pick the 5ghz connection.
The majority of people experiencing slower speeds found that their iPhone XS models were indeed connected to the 2.4GHz network rather than the 5GHz network. In our own testing, we found that when comparing an iPhone XS Max and an iPhone X, the iPhone XS Max connected to the 2.4GHz network while the iPhone X connected to the 5GHz network.
With routers that do not have separate SSIDs for the two bands, it can be difficult to tell which you're connected to, leading to perceived slower connection speeds.
This is clearly a bug that needs to be addressed by Apple through an update to make the iPhone XS models prefer the faster 5GHz network to the 2.4GHz network, but in the meantime, providing separate SSIDs for the 2.4 and 5GHz bands can allow you to make sure your iPhone is connected to the 5GHz band at all times.
Some users have also had luck with resetting their network settings and/or forgetting their Wi-Fi network and reconnecting, but the iPhone XS models appear to default back to 2.4GHz often if not made to connect to the 5GHz network.
This connection issue appears to be at the root of most of the slow Wi-Fi complaints, but there have been a few other complaints of poor connection speeds when connected to a 5GHz network, so it's possible there's also something else going on.
We've contacted Apple to ask about both the Wi-Fi and LTE issues that customers are experiencing with the iPhone XS models and will let MacRumors readers know if we hear back.
If you're someone that has a lot of files on your desktop, you're going to love the new Stacks feature in macOS Mojave, which is designed to organize all of your files into neat little piles on your desktop, getting rid of clutter.
Unfortunately, Stacks is an option that's limited to the desktop and not available within individual file folders.
Toggling Stacks on and off is done with just a couple of clicks on the desktop. When at the desktop, right click to bring up the desktop options menu, and then choose the "Stacks" option.
You can also use the Finder to enable Stacks.
Open a Finder window.
In the menu bar at the top of the Mac, go to View.
Check the "Use Stacks" option.
Turning on Stacks will automatically organize your files by file type. Some of the available Stacks include documents, images, PDF documents, spreadsheets, other, and screenshots.
Files on the desktop before enabling Stacks.
If you want to turn Stacks off and go back to a full view of all the files on the desktop, right click again and uncheck the Stacks option. Alternatively, reverse the Finder steps.
Files on the desktop after enabling Stacks.
Viewing Files in a Stack
If you want to view all of the files that are contained within a Stack, just click, and it will expand the Stack and put a little arrow on the Stack's name so that you know which Stack you're viewing.
With the Stack expanded, if you click on a file, it will open up in whatever app is set to be the default app for that file type.
Click on a stack to expand it to see the files inside.
When done, click the Stack again to collapse it back down into an organized pile.
To open up all of your Stacks at once, option click on the any Stack, which will expand all of the desktop Stacks at once. Option click again on any of the open Stacks to close them all.
Option click on any Stack to expand all Stacks.
Tip: If for some reason you want to open up or close all of your Stacks with a slower expanding/collapsing animation, shift click instead of just clicking regularly.
Customizing Stacks
Stacks are organized by file type by default, but you can change the Stack organizational system, grouping your files by Date Last Opened, Date Added, Date Modified, Date Created, and Tags.
Open Finder.
In the menu bar, click on the View option.
Select the "Group Stacks By" option.
Choose one of the available options to change the way your Stacks are sorted.
The most powerful sorting option in Stacks is of course Tags, which are user set and can be used to identify certain types of files, such as all documents relating to a specific topic.
When grouped by one of the date options, Stacks will be listed in increments of Today, Yesterday, Previous 7 Days, Previous 30 Days, and then after that, by year.
Stacks when sorted by creation date.
Further Stacks Options
If you want to stick one of your Stacks into a folder, you can do so by right clicking on one of the Stacks and selecting the "New Folder With Selection" option.
Using the same right click options that are available when a Stack is selected, you can open the files, open them in a specified app, rename files, share files, compress files, send files to trash, and more. You basically have all of the same organizational options that you would have selecting any group of files on your desktop, but without the need to select them manually.
Apple today shared a support document that will be of interest to customers who own a late 2012 27-inch iMac with a 3TB hard drive and are attempting to upgrade to the macOS Mojave update.
There is an issue on this iMac model that results in the following alert when attempting to install macOS Mojave: "Installation cannot proceed with Boot Camp configured."
To fix this problem, Apple says that customers with the 2012 27-inch iMac with 3TB hard drive will need to completely remove the Boot Camp partition using Boot Camp Assistant before macOS Mojave can be installed.
After upgrading to macOS Mojave, Boot Camp will not be able to be used to install Windows on these machines. No other iMac models appear to be affected by this issue.
MacOS includes a Dark Mode option that works across the entire system, from the dock and menu bar to all of your apps.
Here's how to turn on Dark Mode:
Choose System Preferences on the menu bar.
Select General.
In the "Appearance" section at the top of the window, click the "Dark" option.
Those are the only steps required to enable Dark Mode. If you want to turn it off again, follow the same steps but this time choose the "Light" option.
While in Dark mode, the dock, menu bar, and all of your Apple apps, including Safari, Mail, Calendar, Notes, the Mac App Store, Messages, and more will feature darker colors and themes. Dark Mode will need to be built into third-party Mac apps that don't already offer a dark option when macOS Mojave is released.
With the release of macOS Mojave today, third-party Mac app developers are releasing updates to take advantage of features like Dark Mode and other new Mojave additions.
Dark Mode options in third-party apps will let them blend right in to Mojave's new Dark Mode, which is a systemwide dark theme that can be used in lieu of the traditional light mode theme. We've rounded up a list of prominent apps that are embracing macOS Mojave's new features.
1Password - Popular password management app 1Password is introducing support for Dark Mode with a new darker theme that blends right into the macOS Mojave operating system.
1Password's new update also includes a Safari App Extension to make it easier to input 1Password info into Safari webpages, it features a hardened runtime to make it so other processes on your computer can't access it, and it's been notarized with the new notary service in macOS Mojave that Apple introduced to make apps more secure.
Banktivity - Personal finance management app Banktivity, priced at $70 for new customers and $34.99 for those upgrading, is getting an update that adds support for macOS Mojave's Dark Mode. Version 7 of the app also includes expanded search features, summary view customization options, lot selection, improved envelope budgeting, calendar support, and more.
Things 3 - Popular todo app Things 3 for Mac is gaining Dark Mode support for macOS Mojave, and it will automatically change between light and dark based on a user's system setting in the Mojave operating system, but there are custom controls as well. The new dark theme is also available for Things customers running older versions of macOS.
OmniFocus 3 - Task management app OmniFocus, priced at $39.99 or $79.99 for the Pro version, is getting a major update today, which introduces version 3. The updated app has a redesigned, modernized interface that will feel familiar but fresh to OmniFocus 2 users. It includes tags for better organization, a forecast view to see tasks and calendar events in order, and enhanced repeating tasks. OmniFocus implemented a dark mode a few years back and it works great with macOS Mojave.
Agenda - Note taking app Agenda has added a new dark theme for macOS Mojave, and it's been designed to activate when you have your Mac set to Mojave's Dark Mode. The updated Agenda app has been designed to use the look and feel of the Mojave Dark Mode interface while retaining the clean, modern style of the Agenda app. The new darker theme is also available in Agenda for older versions of macOS.
Transmit - Panic's Transmit 5 app for file transfers has been updated with a new dark theme that matches the Dark Mode in macOS Mojave.
🏴 Yes! Transmit 5.2 now supports DARK MODE for macOS Mojave. And, I'll be honest, it looks pretty danged nice. It's a free update now available for direct customers — just auto-update and enjoy! https://t.co/ladeSM399lpic.twitter.com/D7Dx6mys1c
— Panic Inc (@panic) September 24, 2018
Fantastical for Mac - Popular calendar app Fantastical for Mac has been updated with support for macOS Mojave's Dark Mode. There's no new look to the app, but the built-in dark theme is activated whenever Dark Mode is turned on in Mojave.
Do you have favorite Mac apps that were updated with support for Dark Mode? Let us know in the comments.
There are a few flash sales happening today, beginning with notable discounts on Apple's first-party iPad cases, which are one of the featured items in Best Buy's Daily Deals today only. Best Buy has the Smart Covers discounted by $10 to $15, starting at $39.99 for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and rising to $64.99 for the leather Smart Cover that fits the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
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.
If you're looking to protect the Apple Pencil as well, Best Buy has three colors of the Leather Sleeve for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, each priced at $104.99, down from $129.99. Amazon beats Best Buy's price for the Black Leather Sleeve, dropping this accessory to just $79.99. Stock is limited at the time of writing, so be sure to place your orders soon.
Elsewhere on Amazon, Anker has a new crop of discount codes that should interest anyone on the hunt for a new pair of wireless earphones, headphones, or a Bluetooth speaker. All three sales will expire in around 12 hours, and you don't need a code to see the savings:
Target's usual buy one get one 20 percent off iTunes gift card sale also reappeared today. With the discount, if you buy two $50 iTunes gift cards, you'll pay $90 at checkout. Although not as good as 15 percent sales, the best savings in Target's sale is for two $100 gift cards, netting you a $20 discount and marking the price of the set down to $180. This sale ends September 29 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to catch up on all the latest sales and discounts this week.
Researcher Patrick Wardle, who has uncovered many security flaws in Apple's macOS operating system, today shared some details on a new vulnerability that he's found in the newly released macOS Mojave update.
As outlined by BleepingComputer, Wardle discovered that he was able to access Contacts data from the address book using an unprivileged app, as demonstrated in the video below.
According to Wardle, the vulnerability is a result of the way that Apple implemented new macOS privacy protections in the Mojave update.
"I found a trivial, albeit 100% reliable flaw in their implementation," he told us, adding that it allows a malicious or untrusted app to bypass the new security mechanism and access the sensitive details without authorization.
The bypass does not work with all of the new privacy protection features in macOS Mojave, and hardware-based components, such as the webcam, are not affected. Full details on the vulnerability are not available yet, as Wardle plans to share technical details in November.
In the macOS Mojave update, Apple made a change that requires explicit user consent for apps to access location data, camera, contacts, calendars, reminders, messages history, Safari data, mail databases, and other sensitive data, which should prevent the vulnerability that Wardle demonstrates.
Apple will undoubtedly address the security flaw discovered by Wardle in an upcoming update to macOS Mojave.
Popular Google-owned mapping app Waze was today updated with support for CarPlay on devices running iOS 12. The iOS 12 update allows third-party mapping apps to be used with CarPlay for the first time, providing an alternative to the built-in Apple Maps app.
With CarPlay support, iPhone users who prefer to use Waze for mapping purposes can do so through the CarPlay interface, something that was not possible with iOS 11.
Waze is a popular app because it provides detailed information on traffic, ongoing construction, crashes, and other issues that can result in travel delays.
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.
