MacRumors

Apple's upcoming trio of iPhones will see an estimated 70-75 million units shipped from suppliers to Apple by the end of 2018, according to supply chain sources speaking to DigiTimes. Thanks to the expected solid performance of the iPhones this year, Apple's main supply partners TSMC and Foxconn are looking forward to new revenue highs in Q4 2018.

Specifically, if suppliers hit this range it will be the best performance for an iPhone since the launch of the iPhone 6 models in 2014. One of the main reasons for the boost is given to the "price-friendliness" of the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, which Apple is expected to introduce as a cheaper alternative to the other two models: an updated 5.8-inch iPhone X and a larger 6.5-inch "iPhone X Plus," although Apple may not go with the "Plus" branding this year.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will use an aggressive pricing strategy for its 2018 iPhone lineup: the 6.5-inch OLED device will be priced at $900 to $1,000, the 5.8-inch OLED second-generation iPhone X will be priced at $800 to $900, and the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone will be priced at $600 to $700. While the 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch will be available in September, a few reports have stated the 6.1-inch model will face a delay.

DigiTimes also references "smooth production and strong shipment momentum" picking up soon:

Most supply chain partners are expected to see revenues pick up significantly along with smooth production and strong shipment momentum before peaking in the fourth quarter of the year.

The impressive upgrades in overall designs and functions as well as the price-friendliness of the 6.1-inch model should give the new devices a shipment momentum much stronger than their two preceding generations, the sources said.

For TSMC, the supplier is expected to "fully recover" by the fourth quarter, following a "debilitating" computer virus that hit many of its fabrication tools in early August. Concern quickly spread about the company's inability to fill Apple's orders in the wake of the virus, but follow-up reports quickly suggested that TSMC would be able to "fill orders on time for Apple Inc.," ensuring no delays in chip shipments for the 2018 iPhones.

In regards to the 2018 iPhone assembly, both Foxconn and Pegatron will share duties building the models. Foxconn will build the majority of the two OLED iPhones, while it has just 30 percent of the orders for the LCD model, with Pegatron getting the majority of the duty building the cheaper iPhone this year.

Yesterday, a report from Bloomberg provided a hint at one name that Apple has brainstormed for the 2018 OLED iPhones -- "iPhone Xs" -- but it's still unclear what the final names will be. The actual reveal event is now rumored to be held on Wednesday, September 12 at Steve Jobs Theater, according to two unnamed sources speaking to French radio station Europe 1, followed by iPhone pre-orders kicking off on Friday, September 14.

Despite concern over sales figures quickly dropping after first-adopters purchased the ten-year anniversary iPhone X, the flagship device performed well in Q4 2017 and remained popular among customers throughout 2018. Addressing concerns over dwindling sales and those worried about numbers, Apple CEO Tim Cook in May said: "I think it's one of those things where a team wins a Super Bowl. Maybe you want them to win with a few more points, but it's a Super Bowl winner and that's how we feel about it."

Apps created for the Mac don't receive as much attention as apps made for iOS devices, so we have a bi-monthly series here at MacRumors that's designed to highlight useful and interesting Mac apps that are worth checking out and potentially investing in.

This week's picks include apps for streamlining your email, focusing on tasks, checking the weather, cleaning up your Mac, and managing all of your messaging services. Many of our highlighted apps this week were chosen by MacRumors forum members.

• Focus (Free with in-app purchases) - Focus is a time management app and monitoring service that's designed to help you keep track of your time so you can stay on task. It encourages users to work in focus sessions, which are 25 minute blocks of time for working accompanied by a 15 to 20 minute break. There's an included task manager so you can stay on top of tasks, along with detailed statistics so you can see how you've spent your day. Focus is free to download, but it costs $4.99 per month or $39.99 for year to use across all of your devices.
• Carrot Weather ($11.99) - Carrot Weather is a well-known weather app that delivers weather information with a little bit of attitude to make checking outdoor conditions more fun. It has different dialogue and graphics for various weather conditions, and what comes up is always a surprise. Carrot Weather uses data from Dark Sky so it's super accurate and it offers up tons of data like 7-day forecasts, rain and snow predictions, weather maps, and a time machine so you can see past weather conditions.
• Dr. Cleaner (Free) - Dr. Cleaner from TrendMicro is an app that offers a Disk Clean Map so you can see what's taking up space on your Mac, a memory cleanup feature for freeing up memory, a scanner for large files, and a junk file cleaner that's designed to get rid of temporary files, trash, and other unwanted items taking up disk space. Dr. Cleaner is free from the Mac App Store, but there is a $19.99 Pro version that finds and eliminates duplicate files, shreds deleted files, and uninstalls apps.
• Canary Mail ($19.99) - Those who previously used the now-eliminated Newton Mail might be looking for a new mail app, and Canary could fit the bill. Canary Mail offers one-click encryption, natural language search, smart filters, read notifications, snooze options, email templates, one-click unsubscribe, and more.
• All-in-One Messenger (Free) - This is technically a Chrome extension rather than a Mac app, so it's limited to Chrome users. All-in-One Messenger is designed to combine all of your chat and messenger services into one convenient web app so you can keep up with all of your chats in a single spot. It works with a wide range of messaging apps, like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Hangouts, and more.

If you have a favorite must-have Mac app that we haven't highlighted yet, let us know in the comments, and we might feature it in a future video. Many of this month's app picks came directly from recommendations from our forum members, and it's these recommendations that have helped make this series useful.

For more of our Mac app picks, make sure to check out our Mac app archives.

Apple today seeded the eleventh beta of an upcoming iOS 12 update to developers for testing purposes, just a few days after seeding the tenth beta and more than two months after introducing the new software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 12 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air after installing the proper certificate.

iOS 12 brings several major new features, with Apple revamping the operating system from top to bottom to make iPhones and iPads, especially the older models, faster and more responsive.

On the iPhone X, there are new Animoji characters along with "Memoji," which are customizable, personalized, humanoid Animoji that can be used both in Messages and in FaceTime, and there are new camera effects in both of those apps.

Apple originally planned to introduce Group FaceTime support in iOS 12, but the feature was removed in iOS 12 beta 7 and will not be reintroduced until later this fall in a future update to iOS 12.

Siri is smarter in iOS 12 with a new Shortcuts feature that lets you create multi-step customized automations using first and third-party apps that can be activated with Siri voice commands. Shortcuts can be created through the Shortcuts app, available as a beta from Apple's Developer Center.

Apple built comprehensive time management and monitoring tools into iOS 12 with Screen Time, allowing you to keep track of how much time you're spending in apps on your iPhone and iPad. App limits can help you cut back on iOS device usage, and robust parental controls are included for families.

Updated Do Not Disturb options make activating Do Not Disturb more intuitive and simple, and a new Do Not Disturb at Bedtime feature cuts down on nighttime distractions and sleep interruptions.

Grouped Notifications make incoming notifications easier to view and manage, while a new Instant Tuning feature lets you tweak your notification settings right on the Lock screen on a notification-by-notification basis.

Apple News has a new Browse feature, the Stocks app has been redesigned and brought to the iPad, iBooks has been overhauled with a new look and a new name -- Apple Books -- and Voice Memos has been revamped with iCloud support and an iPad app.

ARKit 2.0 introduces new capabilities like shared experiences that let two people see the same AR environment on separate devices, and persistence, which allows AR experiences to be saved across multiple sessions. There's also a new Apple-built Measure app for measuring objects using AR capabilities.

iOS 12 includes a revamped and rebuilt Maps app that uses a new Apple-designed Maps engine that will display foliage, pools, buildings, pedestrian pathways, and other map elements more accurately. The new Maps also includes significant improvements to traffic, real-time road conditions, construction, and more, plus it will enable Apple to push out changes and fixes more quickly.

The updated Maps app is available in the Northern California area during beta testing. After iOS 12 launches, Apple will continue rolling out the new maps to additional U.S. locations

New betas of upcoming operating system updates always introduce tweaked features and new functionality, and we'll be outlining what's new in the seventh beta below. We also rounded up all of the changes that were introduced in the previous betas: beta 2 and beta 3, beta 4, beta 5, beta 6, and beta 7.

Later betas have had fewer changes because we're approaching the end of the beta testing period, with a public launch for iOS 12 planned for September alongside new iPhones.

Update: Apple has also made a new public beta of iOS 12 available to public beta testers.

Apple today seeded the ninth beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave update to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing the eighth beta and more than two months after introducing the software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

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

Apple's macOS Mojave update introduces a systemwide Dark Mode, with Mojave users able to choose between a light theme or the new dark theme, which changes the color of the dock, menu bar, apps, and other elements. Dark Mode is accompanied by Dynamic Desktops, aka wallpapers that subtly change throughout the day. Additional wallpapers were introduced in the fourth and fifth betas.

Stacks, a new desktop organization system, keeps all of your desktop files neat and organized, while Finder has been enhanced with a Gallery View, a Sidebar, a revamped Quick Look option and Quick Actions, so you can do more in the Finder window than ever before.

Screenshots can now be edited using Markup tools and a new management options that also allow for easy screen recording, while Continuity camera, a new feature, allows you to import photos and document scans directly from an iPhone or iPad to the Mac.

The Apple News, Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos apps have been ported from iOS to macOS as part of a multiyear project Apple is working on to make it easier to bring iOS apps to Macs, and Apple has introduced several new privacy protections to keep your data safer than ever.

Apple is also making it harder for websites to track you with a range of new Safari tools, and it's also easier to make and store secure, hard-to-guess passwords for each and every website.

Apple has added an entirely revamped Mac App Store to macOS Mojave that makes it easier to discover apps with a featured section and specific categories for games, creative apps, productivity apps, apps for developers, and more.

macOS Mojave was initially supposed to include a Group FaceTime feature that includes support for chatting with up to 32 people at one time, but it was removed in macOS Mojave beta 7 and the feature won't be available until later in the year.

macOS Mojave is available to developers and public beta testers to work out bugs and other issues ahead of an upcoming fall public release.

Apple's upcoming 2018 iPhone models will not support the Apple Pencil because it does not offer a "good user experience," according to respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who shared the information in a note sent out to investors.

Kuo believes that Apple will announce the three new iPhones expected in 2018 during the week of September 9, which is in line with other rumors that have pointed towards a September 12 unveil date, a September 14 pre-order date, and a September 21 launch date.

The 5.8 and 6.5-inch OLED iPhones will be available in September, says Kuo, but the 6.1-inch model, which has reportedly been plagued by production issues, will be available "slightly later due to its production schedule."

Kuo expects both the 6.1 and 6.5-inch iPhone models to offer both single and dual-SIM versions, with the dual-SIM models to be available in specific markets like China. Kuo's information is in line with details shared by Bloomberg this morning.

The 5.8-inch iPhone will not offer dual-SIM support, but Kuo says it could include an e-SIM as well as single-SIM functionality. Kuo is not certain, however, if the e-SIM will be activated.

According to a chart shared by Kuo listing prospective specs for the three new devices, the 6.5-inch iPhone is expected to include a 2-cell 3,300 to 3,400 mAh battery, while the 5.8-inch model will offer a 2-cell 2,700 to 2,800 mAh battery, and the 6.1-inch LCD model will offer a 1-cell 2,600 to 2,700 mAh battery.

Kuo believes the 6.5-inch iPhone will have a resolution of 2688 x 1242, with the 5.8-inch model continuing to offer a resolution of 2436 x 1125. The 6.1-inch model, meanwhile, is expected to have a resolution of 1792 x 828.

As past rumors have suggested, the two higher-end iPhones will offer dual-lens cameras, while the 6.1-inch model will offer a single lens camera. Both the OLED models will also offer 4GB RAM and a maximum of 512GB of storage, while the 6.1-inch model will cap out at 256GB of storage and 3GB RAM.

The 6.1-inch model will also be limited to a 2X2 MIMO modem while the two OLED devices will get faster 4x4 MIMO modems, but it will be available in a wider array of colors. Kuo has previously said that he expects the 6.1-inch iPhone to be available in red, blue, orange, gray, and white, while the 5.8 and 6.5-inch iPhone models will be available in three colors, presumably silver, space gray, and gold.

All three models, including the lower-cost 6.1-inch iPhone, are expected to include support for the new A12 chip, as the 6.1-inch iPhone is meant to be a followup to the iPhone 8. Apple's iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X all use the A11 chip.

Kuo expects the new 6.1-inch LCD model to account for 50 to 55 percent and 65 to 70 percent of new iPhone models' total shipments in the second half of 2018 and the first half of 2019, respectively.

The new 6.1-inch iPhone will "increase replacement demands" compared to iPhone X and iPhone 8 because of its price tag, which Kuo expects to be between $600 and $699. As he has said in the past, Kuo believes Apple will price the 5.8-inch OLED iPhone at $800 to $899 and the 6.5-inch OLED iPhone at $900 to $999.

Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis and his associates traveled across Asia last week to meet with companies within Apple's supply chain. Today, they shared new predictions based on the information they gathered.

Highlights from their research note to investors, obtained by MacRumors:

• Barclays says it's "widely understood" that 3D Touch will be removed from iPhones with OLED displays in 2019—aka the third-generation iPhone X and second-generation "iPhone X Plus." However, they caution that the plans aren't finalized yet, so they could change.

Earlier this year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said 3D Touch won't be a feature on the rumored 6.1-inch iPhone with an LCD, part of the upcoming 2018 lineup. So, by the sound of it, 3D Touch won't be a feature on any 2019 iPhones, assuming Apple sticks with the same three models expected in 2018.

While the lack of 3D Touch on the 6.1-inch iPhone would make sense, given expectations that it will essentially be a budget iPhone X, it's not entirely clear why it may be removed from the more expensive OLED models next year. As a somewhat hidden feature, perhaps Apple no longer finds it essential.

• "AirPod 2" will launch in the fourth quarter of 2019. Meanwhile, an optional wireless charging case for the original AirPods, and Apple's new AirPower charging mat, will be available this September.

This prediction is rather confusing, as back in February, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple will release new AirPods with a new wireless chip and "Hey Siri" support as early as this year. Gurman also said a subsequent pair of AirPods with water resistance would be released as early as next year.

One possibility is that Apple will add "Hey Siri" support to the existing AirPods this fall by way of a software update, without a new wireless chip, but it's unclear if the current W1 chip can support the feature. In that case, Apple might elect to continue referring to them as first-generation AirPods.

In that scenario, the "AirPods 2" that Barclays is referring to could be the water-resistant pair that Gurman also believes could launch in 2019. However, this is admittedly a bit of a stretch, so it remains to be seen.

• Barclays expects the launch of a "cheaper HomePod in 2019," with "broader appeal." The analysts say HomePod sales continue to "underwhelm," with less than five million sold since it launched in January.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, along with some Chinese publications, have also claimed that Apple has considered a lower-priced HomePod. One rumor suggested that it could be a Siri-enabled Beats speaker priced around $149 to $199.

• Barclays says it "does see the potential for the new iPhones to support pen input," without naming the Apple Pencil specifically.

Taiwanese research firm TrendForce predicted that the higher-end 2018 iPhones will be compatible with the Apple Pencil.

French radio station Europe 1, citing two unnamed sources, claims that Apple's annual iPhone event will be held Wednesday, September 12 at Steve Jobs Theater, with the keynote beginning at 10:00 a.m. local time as usual.

September 12 would make a lot of sense, and has already been the most widely predicted event date, for at least six reasons:

• Apple has held an iPhone event in the first two weeks of September every year since 2012, between September 7 and September 12, so the date lines up from a historical perspective.
  

• Apple has never hosted an iPhone event on Monday, Thursday, or Friday in the month of September. Always on Tuesday or Wednesday. September 12 falls on a Wednesday this year.
  

• German carriers have reportedly indicated that pre-orders for the next iPhones will begin Friday, September 14, the usual two to three days later. Pre-orders will likely begin at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time as usual.
  

• If the event were to be held in the first week of September this year, Apple likely would have sent out invites to the media already. In previous years, invites have gone out later this week.
  

• Labor Day is Monday, September 3 this year. Apple likely wants to give the media time to travel to the event after the U.S. holiday weekend, likely ruling out September 4 and September 5.
  

• Tuesday, September 11 is presumably a less likely date for the event due to the significance of the day in history.

At the event, Apple is widely expected to introduce three new iPhones, Apple Watch Series 4 models, new AirPods, AirPower pricing and availability, and more. MacRumors will have up-to-the-minute coverage as it unfolds.