MacRumors

Apple is reportedly in negotiations to purchase the rights to Israeli drama series "Nevelot" (or, "Bastards"), which is described as a violent and mature drama series (via CNBC). Richard Gere could star in the adaptation, which is being written and created by "Homeland" creator Howard Gordon and "Law and Order: SVU" showrunner Warren Leight.

Right now, all sides are said to still be in talks, and nothing is finalized. If certain agreements can't be reached -- like the budget -- then it has a risk of falling through.

Apple's interest in such a mature-themed series comes in stark opposition to previous reports we've heard about its upcoming string of TV shows. Most notably, in a September report The Wall Street Journal claimed that Apple would be unlikely to produce original content that contains gratiuitous sex, violence, profanity, or risqué storylines in an effort to avoid tainting its wider brand image.

Unless the entire concept of "Bastards" is changed, it appears like the show would include most, if not all, of those adult pieces of content. CNBC's report today suggests that Apple is on the hunt for its own "Breaking Bad", a show with a Mature Audiences rating that aired on AMC from 2008 through 2013.

Additionally, Apple is said to be looking for "different" content, as long as it has substance and isn't gratuitous. The search is said to be emphasizing unusual formats that won't fit in the traditional 30-minute and 60-minute time slots. The company is also experimenting with more advanced interactive and immersive content of some kind, but these plans are painted as a "long-term vision" for Apple's original content efforts, and not indicative of the more straightforward shows we'll see when everything first launches next year.

In one final tidbit from today's report, the long-in-production morning show drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston is said to be called "Top of the Morning," the same as the book it's based on. For a list of every show coming from Apple, check out our full Apple TV Roundup.

Apple today shared a pair of heartfelt videos titled Real Stories and Real Stories: Michael on its YouTube channel.

The first video focuses on the Apple Watch's potential to save lives, including a man who crashed while kitesurfing and used his Apple Watch to call his son, a 13-year-old boy whose Apple Watch alerted him to an elevated heart rate, a mother in a car crash who called 911 from her Apple Watch, and a man with blood clots.

"People reach out to Apple all the time to share how Apple Watch has become an indispensable part of their lives," said Apple in the Real Stories video description. "Here are some of their stories."

"Many people reach out to Apple to share how receiving heart rate notifications on Apple Watch has helped them recognize and react to serious conditions," the second video description reads. "Here is Michael's story."

Apple today released watchOS 5.1.2, the third update to the watchOS 5 operating system that runs on modern Apple Watch models. watchOS 5.1.2 comes one month after the release of watchOS 5.1.1, an update that introduced new emoji and color watch faces and addressed a bricking bug that had been introduced with watchOS 5.1.

watchOS 5.1.2 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the iPhone.

watchOS 5.1.2 introduces the long-awaited ECG feature for Apple Watch Series 4 models in the United States. The ECG functionality works through electrodes built into the back of the Apple Watch Series 4 and the Digital Crown, allowing users to take a single-lead electrocardiogram with the wrist-worn device. An ECG measures the electrical activity of the heart and is often used to diagnose heart conditions.

Alongside ECG functionality, watchOS 5.1.2 introduces a new feature that will let you know if the Apple Watch is detecting an abnormal heart rhythm that's indicative of atrial fibrillation, which can be a sign of a serious health problem. The ECG feature is limited to the Series 4, but the irregular heart rhythm notifications will be available on all Apple Watch models able to run watchOS 5 - that's Series 1 or newer.

The watchOS 5.1.2 update also brings new complications for the Infograph watch faces on the Apple Watch Series 4. Complications that have been added include Mail, Messages, Home, Maps, Apple News, Find My Friends, Phone, and Remote, all of which can now be assigned to the available complication slots on the Infograph watch face.

With most of these complications, the icon is designed to provide quick access to opening up an app rather than relaying information like unread messages or emails.

watchOS 5.1.2 also includes a new toggle in Control Center for turning the Walkie-Talkie feature on and off, which makes it a lot easier to disable Walkie-Talkie when it's not in use and turn it back on when it's needed.

Apple's release notes:

This update includes new features, improvements and bug fixes:

- New ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 (US and US territories only)
* Allows you to take an electrocardiogram similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram
* Can indicate whether your heart rhythm shows signs of atrial fibrillation—a serious form of irregular heart rhythm—or sinus rhythm, which means your heart is beating in a normal pattern
* Saves ECG waveform, classification and any noted symptoms in a PDF on the Health app on iPhone to share with your doctor

- Adds the ability to receive an alert if an irregular heart rhythm that appears to be atrial fibrillation is detected (US and US territories only)

- Enables direct access to supported movie tickets, coupons, and rewards cards in Wallet when tapped to a contactless reader

- Receive notifications and animated celebrations when you achieve daily maximum points in a day during an Activity competition

- New Infograph complications for Mail, Maps, Messages, Find My Friends, Home, News, Phone, Remote

- Manage your availability for Walkie-Talkie from Control Center

More details on the features introduced with the watchOS 5 update that came out in September can be found in our watchOS 5 roundup.

It's been three years since Apple first debuted the $99 Smart Battery Case for iPhone 6, 6s, and eventually 7, which included a rear-facing protrusion that held a 1,877 mAh battery. Apple may be working on a similar accessory for newer iPhone models, according to a discovery made by 9to5Mac in the second beta of watchOS 5.1.2.

In previous versions of watchOS, Apple Watch had an icon that displayed a battery case with a bottom chin and horizontal camera, indicating this as the Smart Battery Case for iPhone 6, 6s, and 7. In the latest beta of watchOS 5.1.2, things have been changed and this icon now displays a battery case with no bottom chin and a vertical camera.

Unless Apple changes tune, this means we'd likely see a Smart Battery Case for iPhone X/XS. Still, the launch window for such an accessory -- if there even is one -- remains unclear.

Microsoft today announced that it expects to bring its Edge web browser to the Mac, possibly as early as next year.

"Microsoft Edge will now be delivered and updated for all supported versions of Windows and on a more frequent cadence. We also expect this work to enable us to bring Microsoft Edge to other platforms like macOS," said Microsoft.

The news was revealed as part of Microsoft's larger announcement that Edge will be rebuilt based on the open source Chromium rendering engine, the same engine used by Google Chrome. Microsoft said it expects to have a preview build of the Chromium-based Edge browser ready in early 2019 for users to try.

However, it's unclear if the preview will initially be limited to Windows or extend to the Mac simultaneously.

Edge succeeded Internet Explorer as Microsoft's default web browser on Windows in 2015, with a mobile version later released for iOS and Android. It will be Microsoft's first web browser on Mac since Internet Explorer for Mac received its last feature update over 15 years ago, in June 2003.

Internet Explorer was the default web browser on Mac between 1998 and 2003, when Apple released Safari on Mac OS X Panther.

Apple today announced that its ECG app will be available on the Apple Watch Series 4 today as part of watchOS 5.1.2. Alongside that news, TIME has published a new interview with Apple's CEO Tim Cook and COO Jeff Williams.

The article begins with a story about 46-year-old Texas resident Kevin Foley, who was having trouble breathing normally during a movie. Fortunately, since he was wearing an Apple Watch and participating in the recent Apple Heart Study, he was alerted to signs of an irregular heartbeat and went to the emergency room.

At the hospital, doctors hooked Foley up to an ECG machine and found signs of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and other potentially fatal complications. Foley spent the next few days in the hospital while doctors worked to return him to a normal sinus heart rhythm and is doing fine now.

"Apple's largest contribution to mankind will be in improving people's health and well-being," Cook boldly proclaimed.

"We have tens of millions of watches on people's wrists, and we have hundreds of millions of phones in people's pockets," said Williams. "There's a huge opportunity to empower people with more information about their health. So this is something we view as not only an opportunity, but a responsibility of ours."

Williams also appeared on CBS This Morning today to talk about the ECG app. The YouTube video can only be streamed in the United States.

In a press release, Apple said the accuracy of its ECG app was validated in a clinical trial with around 600 participants. The study found the ECG app on Apple Watch demonstrated 98.3 percent sensitivity in classifying atrial fibrillation:

Rhythm classification from a gold standard 12-lead ECG by a cardiologist was compared to the rhythm classification of a simultaneously collected ECG from the ECG app. The study found the ECG app on Apple Watch demonstrated 98.3 percent sensitivity in classifying AFib and 99.6 percent specificity in classifying sinus rhythm in classifiable recordings. In the study, 87.8 percent of recordings could be classified by the ECG app.

"The FDA has been very rigorous, and they should be," said Williams, referring to the Apple Watch's heart health features.

The article goes on to claim that some cardiologists and other experts have raised concerns that the Apple Watch's ECG feature is "unnecessary for the general population" and "could cause problems," including false positives.

"If everybody with an Apple Watch and an alert from an Apple Watch went to a heart-rhythm doctor that was super comfortable with this, then I think it would be O.K.," said Dr. John Mandrola, a cardiac electrophysiologist. "But there are going to be millions of people going to the doctor that in many cases will be just fine."

Apple responded that no medical test is 100 percent accurate, so some false positives are inevitable, according to the report. Moreover, the Apple Watch will only alert users to a potential heart-related problem if it detects five instances of what it considers a cardiovascular episode, including arrhythmia.

Importantly, in an internal document obtained by MacRumors, Apple cautioned that the ECG app is "not intended to be a diagnostic device or to replace traditional methods of diagnosis," and "should not be used to monitor or track disease state or change medication without first talking to a doctor."

To take an ECG reading from the Apple Watch, users will need to place a finger on the Digital Crown while wearing the watch. The reading is completed in 30 seconds, allowing users to determine whether their hearts are beating in a regular pattern or if there are signs of atrial fibrillation.

Irregular heart rhythm notifications will also be available on Apple Watch Series 1 through Series 4 models in watchOS 5.1.2.

Apple says the setup process for these heart health features will include details about who can use the features, what the features can and cannot do, what results users may get and how to interpret them, and instructions for what to do if users are feeling symptoms that require immediate medical attention.

watchOS 5.1.2 should be available through the Apple Watch app on a paired iPhone around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time as usual. At launch, the ECG app will be limited to the U.S., but Apple is likely working to get regulatory clearance elsewhere.

Apple has announced that watchOS 5.1.2 will be publicly released today and will enable the long-awaited ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 models in the United States. The update will also enable irregular heart rhythm notifications on Apple Watch Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, and Series 4 models.

watchOS 5.1.2 should be available through the Apple Watch app on a paired iPhone around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time as usual.

Apple's COO and Apple Watch team head Jeff Williams:

Apple Watch has helped so many people around the world and we are humbled that it has become such an important part of our customers' lives. With the release of these heart features, Apple Watch takes the next step in empowering people with more information about their health.

Last week, MacRumors was first to report that watchOS 5.1.2 will enable the ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 models, based on an internal Apple Store training document. ECG data will be available in the Health app and exportable via PDF on an iPhone 5s or newer, after updating to iOS 12.1.1 released yesterday.

watchOS 5.1.2 will feature an Apple-designed ECG app that can indicate whether your heart rhythm shows signs of atrial fibrillation, a serious form of irregular heart rhythm, or a normal sinus rhythm. This is possible thanks to new electrodes built into the back crystal and Digital Crown on Series 4 models.

Apple Watch Series 4 is capable of generating an ECG similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram, according to the FDA. Both the ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notifications are regulated features that have received De Novo classification from the FDA, making them available over the counter.

The ECG app will check heart rhythm every few hours or so, and if there are five consecutive readings that appear to be abnormal, the Apple Watch will alert the user to see a doctor. As for notifications, users will be alerted if an irregular heart rhythm is detected on five checks over a minimum of 65 minutes.

Importantly, in an internal document obtained by MacRumors, Apple cautioned that the ECG app is "not intended to be a diagnostic device or to replace traditional methods of diagnosis," and "should not be used to monitor or track disease state or change medication without first talking to a doctor."

To take an ECG reading from the Apple Watch, users will need to place a finger on the Digital Crown while wearing the watch. The reading is completed in 30 seconds, allowing users to determine whether their hearts are beating in a regular pattern or if there are signs of atrial fibrillation.

Apple says the ECG app's accuracy was validated in a clinical trial of around 600 participants in the United States:

Rhythm classification from a gold standard 12-lead ECG by a cardiologist was compared to the rhythm classification of a simultaneously collected ECG from the ECG app. The study found the ECG app on Apple Watch demonstrated 98.3 percent sensitivity in classifying AFib and 99.6 percent specificity in classifying sinus rhythm in classifiable recordings. In the study, 87.8 percent of recordings could be classified by the ECG app.

Apple is making good on its promise of making the ECG app available by year's end. watchOS 5.1.2 has been in beta testing since November 7, but the ECG app was nowhere to be found during the pre-release period.

Apple says the setup process for these heart health features will include details about who can use the features, what the features can and cannot do, what results users may get and how to interpret them, and instructions for what to do if users are feeling symptoms that require immediate medical attention.

Verizon is expected to implement support for the eSIM in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR on December 7, according to an internal employee memo that was shared with MacRumors.

Apple's newest iPhones have supported eSIM functionality since the October release of iOS 12.1, but to use the feature, carriers also needed to add support. At the time iOS 12.1 was released, U.S. carriers that include Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T said that support would not be implemented until later in the year.

AT&T at the time said that there were issues with visual voicemail, while Verizon had to work out some issues that would cause performance problems when its customers activated eSIMs from other carriers.

According to the document seen by MacRumors, Verizon will be implementing dual-SIM support and it will start activating eSIMs on Friday, December 7.

"Verizon will support Dual SIM activations on physical SIMs and eSIMs on select iPhones. Please visit the training portal to learn how to activate," reads the document.

Following today's release of iOS 12.1.1, several additional carriers around the world began rolling out eSIM support, including AT&T in the United States, so it's no surprise that Verizon would will shortly after.

The eSIM, or digital SIM, is a non-physical SIM card slot that pairs with the physical SIM in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR to enable dual-SIM dual-standby, a feature that lets iPhone users have two phone numbers available at once.

With dual-SIM support, iPhone users are supposed to be able to swap between the two phone numbers readily, alleviating the need for a second phone or SIM swapping for work and travel.

It's not just you: it appears that Siri Shortcuts have not been working properly for some iPhone users since as early as Tuesday.

A small but increasing numbers of users on Twitter and the MacRumors forums claim that they are unable to invoke shortcuts using Siri, including Federico Viticci of MacStories and Rene Ritchie of iMore. The shortcuts still work if executed directly from the Shortcuts app, but not with a Siri voice command.

The issue is not affecting all users, nor is it affecting all apps. Third-party apps appear to be affected more than Apple's apps. It also doesn't appear to be related to today's release of iOS 12.1.1 or Shortcuts version 2.1.2. Your mileage may vary, so leave us a comment in our forums if you are affected.

In the meantime, some users have been able to re-record their Siri Shortcuts phrases to get them working again. To do so, open the Shortcuts app, tap on the three dots on a shortcut, tap on the settings toggle icon below Done in the top-right corner, tap on Siri Phrase, and tap Re-Record Phrase.

Update: Apple has implemented a fix, according to Rene Ritchie.