MacRumors

Apple today announced the launch of a new screen replacement program for Series 2 and Series 3 Apple Watch models, due to cracking issues.

Apple says that "under very rare circumstances" a crack can form along the rounded edge of the screen in aluminum Series 2 and Series 3 Apple Watch models, starting on one side of the screen and then continuing around it.

Customers with an eligible Apple Watch model can have their Apple Watch screen replaced free of charge from Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider if it is exhibiting this kind of crack. Affected customers can contact Apple support for a mail-in repair, visit an AASP, or visit an Apple retail store.

All Apple Watch Series 2 and Series 3 models in aluminum are included in the repair program, with a list available in Apple's support document.

Apple says that the new program covers eligible aluminum ‌Apple Watch Series 2‌ and Series 3 models for three years after the first retail sale of the unit or one year from the start date of the program, whichever is longer.

Starting this Sunday, Apple's AirPods, Apple Watch, headphones, some iMacs, HomePod, and other products will be impacted by a 15 percent tariff as part of the United States' ongoing trade dispute with China, reports Bloomberg.

The tariffs were entered into the Federal Register today and will go into effect on 12:01 a.m. local time on Sunday in Washington, D.C. for products entering the U.S. or being pulled from warehouses for use in the United States.

Apple devices set to be impacted include the Apple Watch and Apple Watch bands, AirPods, ‌HomePod‌, some Beats headphones, and some iMacs. Bloomberg says that repair parts for iPhones could also be affected, as could the NAND flash storage used in iPhones.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said earlier in August that he believes Apple will absorb most of the U.S. tariff costs on its devices "in the mid-short term" rather than raising prices for consumers. Apple has been expanding its production facilities in countries like India and Vietnam, which, in the long term, will diversify manufacturing beyond China and alleviate tariff concerns.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently met with U.S. president Donald Trump at Trump's Bedminster golf club, where Cook reportedly made a "good case" that tariffs would put Apple at a disadvantage with rivals like Samsung. "I thought he made a very compelling argument, so I'm thinking about it," Trump told reporters.

Apple in June also sent a letter to the Trump Administration urging against the tariffs because it would reduce Apple's contributions to the United States economy and weigh on its global competitiveness. Trump could still elect to delay the tariffs or exempt Apple products ahead of when they are set to go into effect, but recent tweets suggest that may be unlikely to happen.

Apple accessories like power adapters, cables, and cases are already subjected to an import tax at the current time, separate from the tariff set to hit new Apple products on Sunday.

This tariff won't immediately affect the iPhone, one of Apple's most popular devices that's responsible for a large portion of its revenue, until December 15 as tariffs on electronics like smartphones and laptop computers have been delayed so as to not impact the holiday shopping season.

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.

Apple is developing a Tile-like accessory that will help users keep track of their personal belongings, such as their keys, wallets, and backpacks, according to an internal build of iOS 13 seen by MacRumors.

The internal build contains an image of the accessory that suggests it will be a small, circular tag with an Apple logo in the center, similar to many other Bluetooth trackers. The image could be a mockup or placeholder, however, so the final design of the tag may vary at least slightly.

This image looks similar to one shared by 9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo, who was first to reveal Apple's plans for this product in April.

MacRumors can confirm the tags are codenamed "B389" within Apple, and there are many strings that are a dead giveaway as to what this product's purpose will be, such as "tag your everyday items with B389 and never lose them again."

The tags will be closely integrated with the new Find My app in iOS 13, which merged Apple's previous Find My iPhone and Find My Friends apps into one. While not available in public betas of iOS 13, the internal build contains a new "Items" tab in the Find My app for tracking the location of personal belongings.

Users will receive a notification when they are separated from a tagged item, according to strings in the internal Find My app bundle. If necessary, users can then tap a button in the Find My app that will cause Apple's tag to start emitting an audible chime to help locate the lost item.

"Safe Locations" can be set where the user will not be notified if this item is left in those locations, and users will also be able to share the location of items with friends and family members, based on iOS 13 strings.

If users are unable to find an item, they can place the attached tag into a "Lost Mode." Then, if another iPhone user comes across the lost item, they will be able to view contact info for the item's owner and contact them by phone or text message. Perhaps the stranger will be alerted with a Find My notification on their iPhone when they have found a lost item. The item's owner will also be notified.

After digging further into the code, we remain confident that augmented reality will play a role in Apple's item tracking feature.

Like the Pixie Tracker, the Find My app will likely incorporate functionality from Apple's ARKit platform. The internal build of iOS 13 includes an asset for a 3D red balloon that could help a user pinpoint a lost item after scanning a room with their iPhone. There's also an image of a 2D orange balloon.

"Walk around several feet and move your iPhone up and down until a balloon comes into view," a string in the internal Find My app bundle reads.

There are also strings that suggest Apple's tags will be equipped with a removable battery, which would likely be a button cell, aka the small, circular batteries found in many watches and the latest Tile trackers. A low battery warning appears to prompt the tag to send a final location of the item it is attached to.

"Unscrew the back of the item and remove the battery," another string in the internal Find My app bundle reads.

While we were not able to proceed any further with the "Items" tab, it should be similar to the "Devices" tab in the Find My app, with a map at the top and a list of items at the bottom. It is possible the "Me" tab will be relocated to an avatar hovering over the map, although there could simply end up being four tabs.

Here's the image that should appear in the "Items" tab prior to any items being added, in line with the "People" and "Devices" tabs when empty:

This internal build of iOS 13 is from June, so we cannot guarantee that the "Items" tab or all of the details presented above will be exactly as described. The icon for the "People" tab has already been tweaked slightly in subsequent iOS 13 betas, for example, so there will be at least some minor changes.

Apple is hosting a September 10 event at Steve Jobs Theater, where it is widely expected to unveil new iPhone and Apple Watch models, but it is unclear if its item tracker tags will be unveiled at that time or later.

Apple yesterday invited the media to a special event on Tuesday, September 10 at the Steve Jobs Theater, where it is widely expected to unveil three new iPhones alongside an Apple Watch refresh and other announcements.

A tipster who claims to work at a major carrier has since provided MacRumors with internal communication that suggests the rumored iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models will be available to pre-order Friday, September 13 ahead of deliveries to customers and in-store availability starting Friday, September 20.

MacRumors has received similar tips echoing these dates in recent weeks, so there is a good chance they are accurate.

iPhone pre-orders have begun two to three days after Apple's event for years now, followed by availability a week later, so these dates are hardly a surprise but good to know nevertheless. Unlike the iPhone X in November 2017 and the iPhone XR in October 2018, however, all three 2019 iPhones are expected to launch simultaneously.

The tipster requested anonymity and asked us not to share the screenshots of the internal communication.

Google's Project Zero published a blog post this week about a previous security threat wherein malicious websites quietly hacked into the victim's iPhone. This small collection of hacked websites were used in what was described as "indiscriminate" attacks against unsuspecting visitors for years, but the threat has been addressed by Apple.

If the attacks were successful, a monitoring implant would be installed on the targeted ‌iPhone‌, able to steal private data including messages, photos, and GPS location in real time. Google estimated that thousands of visitors headed to these websites per week over the course of two years, and that iOS versions ranging from iOS 10 to iOS 12 were exploited.

There was no target discrimination; simply visiting the hacked site was enough for the exploit server to attack your device, and if it was successful, install a monitoring implant. We estimate that these sites receive thousands of visitors per week.

TAG was able to collect five separate, complete and unique iPhone exploit chains, covering almost every version from iOS 10 through to the latest version of iOS 12. This indicated a group making a sustained effort to hack the users of iPhones in certain communities over a period of at least two years.

Project Zero discovered exploits for a total of 14 vulnerabilities in iOS, seven for Safari, five for the kernel, and two separate sandbox escapes. The team reported these findings to Apple in February, and Apple's release of iOS 12.1.4 that same month addressed the issues.

Google's deep dive into the iOS exploit can be read on the company's Project Zero blog.

Following Apple's recall of some 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro models with faulty batteries, airlines around the world are starting to implement bans, some of which affect other non-impacted MacBook Pro models.

Qantas Airways, for example, told Bloomberg that all 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models are banned from checked luggage and must remain switched off for the duration of the flight. That ban applies not only to machines with faulty batteries, but also perfectly fine ‌MacBook Pro‌ models not subject to recall.

Virgin Australia, meanwhile, has banned "all Apple MacBooks" from checked luggage, requiring customers to put their MacBooks in their carry-on luggage.

Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways have both posted warnings on their website letting customers know that affected 2015 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models cannot be brought on board at all unless those models have received a replacement battery.

At the beginning of August, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued warnings to aircraft operators reminding them that affected 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models with faulty batteries should be kept switched off during flight.

The United States Federal Aviation Administration gave similar warnings to U.S. airlines, reminding them of recall rules that prevent affected ‌MacBook Pro‌ models that have not received replacement batteries from being placed in checked luggage. United Airlines, one of the major operators in the U.S., asks passengers not to use affected models during flight.

Apple launched a voluntary recall and replacement program for 2015 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models sold between September 2015 and February 2017 as the models contain batteries that can overheat and pose a fire safety risk.

Apple has been offering free replacement batteries since June and a 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ that has had a battery repair is no longer in danger of overheating and can be safely used on airplanes and other locations.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way for an airline to determine what year a ‌MacBook Pro‌ is from (though there is an online serial number check) and further, whether it's had a battery replacement, which is leading to confusing rules on ‌MacBook Pro‌ usage that vary from airline to airline. Difficulty checking model numbers also makes it hard to enforce bans, and it's not clear how strict each airline is with the rules, which could lead to some non-banned models being flagged.

Customers who have a 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ from 2015 who have not replaced the battery should contact Apple immediately for a free replacement. Apple sold approximately 432,000 potentially affected units in the United States, along with 26,000 in Canada.

Apple today sent out media invites for its annual iPhone-centric event that will be held on Tuesday, September 10 at 10:00 a.m. at the Steve Jobs Theater at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California.

The media invites offer up a first look at the theme of the event and feature the tagline "By innovation only."

The two OLED models are said to have triple-lens camera setups arranged within in a square bump, with the setup including a telephoto lens, a wide-angle lens, and a new super-wide angle lens.

Users will be able to zoom out further to capture a wider field of view, and the new setup will bring improvements to low-light images. As for the 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌, it's getting a dual-camera setup for the first time.

Apple is going to use a new matte finish for the iPhones, and they're said to feature better shatter and water resistance for improved durability. Face ID is being improved and will work from more angles, but there won't be other changes to the notch.

3D Touch is also being eliminated in favor of the haptic feedback system first introduced with the ‌iPhone‌ XR. Bilateral wireless charging, bigger batteries, a new AMX co-processor and A13 chip are some of the other features that we're expecting to see.

Apple's fall event also often includes the Apple Watch, and while it's looking like we're not going to see many updates to the watch this year, there are hints of new ceramic and titanium models.

New iPad Pro models, a new 10.2-inch iPad, and a new high-end 16-inch MacBook Pro are also on the horizon and are expected to launch in the fall, but it's not clear if Apple will introduce these at its September event or hold a second fall event as it often does.

Two new services, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+, are going to launch this fall, so we may hear additional details including pricing information and release timelines at the September event.

As with past events, Apple will stream the event live on its website and on the Apple TV when it kicks off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, but for those who are unable to watch, MacRumors will be providing full event coverage both on MacRumors.com and through the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

Apple today shared a new AirPods ad in Korea that showcases a variety of cute ways in which customers have customized their AirPods charging cases, including adding heart stickers, teddy bear ornaments, salt and pepper decals, and more. Many of the AirPods cases have also been transformed into keychains.

This follows Apple's creative "Bounce" ad that highlighted the newer wireless charging case available for AirPods.

Nike today announced the Nike Adapt Huarache shoe, which features the company's "FitAdapt" technology that lets you adjust the fit of the shoe through Siri or your Apple Watch.

Similar to the Nike Adapt BB shoes from earlier this year, the new Huarache shoe includes a FitAdapt lacing system. Run from a midfoot motor, the system is controlled by the connected Nike app and tightens or loosens the shoe based on user control.

For the first time, these controls include speaking to ‌Siri‌ on your iPhone, or using the Apple Watch app. The shoe also offers preset modes for custom fits, and support for ‌Siri‌ Shortcuts for even easier control over the laces.

In a PR image of the Nike app, the company gives an example of a ‌Siri‌ Shortcut like "Hey ‌Siri‌, release my shoes" as a way to loosen the fit of the Nike Adapt Huarache.

The new Huarache shoes are a continuation of the original line that debuted in 1991. The new sneakers will go on sale on September 13 at select retailers.

Apple today announced it is launching a new Independent Repair Provider Program that will provide independent repair businesses with the same Apple genuine parts, tools, training, repair manuals, and diagnostics as Apple Authorized Service Providers, starting in the United States.

The program will only allow independent repair shops to offer out-of-warranty service for iPhones, such as display and battery replacements, with no mention of in-warranty repairs or other devices at this time. Apple has set up a new page on its website where businesses can learn more and apply.

To qualify, repair shops must be an established business with verification documents available for review by Apple, must be in a commercially zoned area, and must have an Apple-certified technician on staff to perform the out-of-warranty iPhone repairs when using genuine parts. There is no cost to join the program.

Apple also says that meeting the requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the program, and it reserves the right to reject any application without comment, so we'll have to see how flexible the company chooses to be.

Apple COO Jeff Williams:

To better meet our customers' needs, we're making it easier for independent providers across the US to tap into the same resources as our Apple Authorized Service Provider network. When a repair is needed, a customer should have confidence the repair is done right. We believe the safest and most reliable repair is one handled by a trained technician using genuine parts that have been properly engineered and rigorously tested.

Over the past year, Apple says it launched a pilot with 20 independent repair businesses in North America, Europe, and Asia who are currently offering genuine parts for repairs. Apple plans to expand the program to other countries over time.

While limited to out-of-warranty ‌iPhone‌ repairs for now, this can certainly be viewed as a step in the right direction for Right to Repair advocates.

At WWDC 2019, Apple announced Offline Finding, codenamed Blue Avengers, as one of the new features of iOS 13 and macOS Catalina. It allows users to find their devices even when their lost devices are not connected to the internet.

A background process called Search Party intermittently broadcasts and receives Bluetooth beacon signals so that every nearby online device running iOS 13 or macOS Catalina can relay the location of lost offline devices to their owners. Offline Finding even works if the device is asleep, in which case the device enters a "dark wake" state to broadcast a Bluetooth beacon signal. Apple uses public key encryption and rotates the public key to keep everyone's location information secure and private.

Beyond the ability to find devices themselves, Apple is rumored to be planning to compete with Tile and announce a small Bluetooth beacon device that uses the same Offline Finding technology as iOS 13 and Catalina devices. This small beacon device could be attached to personal items such as keys, purses or wallets so that the owner could find them even when out of range of the items. An ARKit "star" image discovered in the Find My app bundle hints at the possibility of using augmented reality to find lost devices or items, similar to Pixie Tracker.

Also according to code strings found in iOS 13, Apple may apparently allow these beacon devices to be "leashed" to an iOS or watchOS device so that the user would be notified when a beacon device is out of range of an iOS or watchOS device. Tile offers similar functionality, which it calls smart alerts and is only included with Tile's premium monthly service.

After upgrading to iOS 13 when it is released this Fall the Offline Finding feature is enabled by default if you have ‌Find My‌ iPhone and Bluetooth enabled.  You can check that Offline Finding is enabled by going to Settings > Apple ID, iCloud, iTunes & App Store > ‌Find My‌ > ‌Find My‌ ‌iPhone‌ > Offline Finding.