MacRumors


Apple this afternoon shared a new iPhone XS and XS Max ad called "Growth Spurt," which is a nod to the larger screen size of the 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max.

In the minute-long spot, everything that's photographed with the new iPhone XS Max grows to an enormous size, including a cat, an avocado toast, a corgi, a woman, a golf ball, a pot sticker, a cookie, a fish, and more.


AdWeek got the inside scoop on the ad, which was directed by John Hillcoat, who also directed Cannes Lions-winning film Corazón. The video uses the song "Catch My Breath" by Confidence Man."

Since the launch of the iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple has shared several videos showing off the two new devices, including a guided tour, a feature video, a video focused on photography, and more.

Apple's two new devices, which feature an upgraded A12 chip, better photography capabilities, Face ID, and more, launched last week and are now available for purchase online and in Apple retail stores.

Related Forum: iPhone

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Tap to give MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company's Tap Keyboard & Mouse setups.

The Tap, priced at $179, is a futuristic keyboard that you wear on your hands, using a series of finger taps to type different letters, numbers, and symbols.

tapkeyboarddesign
Tap fits over your thumb and each of your fingers, with adjustable rings that can fit a wide variety of fingers. Sensors are built into each finger ring to detect the movement of your fingers, translating gestures into words for a novel, type anywhere experience.


There are different taps for each letter. A single tap of the thumb, for example, creates an A, while a tap of the index finger makes an E. To create a K, you tap your thumb and ring finger, and to create a B, you tap your index and pinky fingers at the same time.

taponhand
Learning to use the Tap Keyboard takes just a few days thanks to a well-developed iOS app that walks you through each gesture one by one and then gamifies the learning experience by requiring you to beat tapping mini games.

We reviewed the Tap Keyboard earlier this year and were able to learn the taps in about a week with 30 minutes of practice per day.

tapkeyboardcase
Mastering the Tap keyboard will take some time, weeks to months, perhaps, but your typing will get faster as your fingers get used to the gestures. Some Tap users can type up to 60 words per minute, mimicking traditional keyboard speeds. Tap can also be used as a mouse replacement in a special mouse mode that involves using the thumb.

tapkeyboardonhand
Tap works as a keyboard replacement on all of your iOS and Mac devices, like any other Bluetooth keyboard. There are also select Tap games that have Tap support and are played using unique tap gestures. Tap is fully customizable, so you can create Tap Maps for different games and use cases.

taponhand2
We have two of the Tap Keyboards to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (September 28) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 5. The winners will be chosen randomly on October 5 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Facebook this morning announced that its engineering team on Tuesday discovered that hackers have exploited a vulnerability in its code, allowing hackers to steal Facebook access tokens for almost 50 million accounts.

According to Facebook, hackers took advantage of security flaws in its "View As" code, which is a feature designed to let people see what their profile looks like to someone else. The Facebook access tokens that were stolen are digital keys that allow people to stay logged in to Facebook.

facebooksecurity

This attack exploited the complex interaction of multiple issues in our code. It stemmed from a change we made to our video uploading feature in July 2017, which impacted "View As." The attackers not only needed to find this vulnerability and use it to get an access token, they then had to pivot from that account to others to steal more tokens.

It is not clear whether the accounts affected were misused or have had information accessed at this time, and Facebook does not know who executed the attacks.

Facebook says that the vulnerability has been patched at this time, and authorities have been informed. Facebook has reset the access tokens of the nearly 50 million accounts that were affected along with another 40 million accounts that have been subject to a "View As" lookup in the last year.

Customers who have been logged out of their apps will receive a message about what happened once they log back in.

While a security review is conducted, Facebook is turning off the "View As" feature that was used for the hack.

Facebook says that it is "sorry this happened" and that people's privacy and security "is incredibly important." No one needs to change their passwords, according to Facebook, but those concerned can visit the "Security and Login" section in settings to log out of all devices at once.

Today's Facebook hack comes just a day after Facebook was found to be using phone numbers that customers provided for 2-factor authentication for ad targeting purposes and shadow contact building.

iPhone camera lens supplier Largan Precision is developing a special black coating for front-facing smartphone camera lenses, according to Jeff Pu, an analyst at Chinese investment firm GF Securities.

iphone xs front camera
Pu's research note, shared by Taiwanese publications Economic Daily News and MoneyDJ, claims that one or two smartphone makers could adopt the technology as early as 2020. Given that Largan already has a relationship with Apple, it is speculated that the special coating could be applied to future iPhones.

A translated version of the Economic Daily News report says the special coating would allow the front camera lens to "completely disappear." A translation of the MoneyDJ report says the coating will be "pure black," eliminating the "small spots" like those visible in the notch on the iPhone X and newer.

The front camera lens already blends into the notch pretty well on iPhones, but it is visible from certain angles and lighting conditions. The special coating would presumably make the lens completely invisible to the eye.

Apple design chief Jony Ive has long dreamed of an iPhone that resembles a single sheet of glass, and hiding the front camera lens would be yet another step towards that goal, even if it sounds like an insignificant change. This is the first time we've heard this rumor, however, so treat it with some skepticism.

Tag: Jeff Pu
Related Forum: iPhone

ipad iphone ios 8Back in July 2017, U.S. District Judge William Conley ordered Apple to pay $506 million to the University of Wisconsin's Alumni Research Foundation for infringing on a patent related to computer processing technology in the company's A7, A8, and A8X chips. Conley had added $272 million on top of an existing $234 million in damages that a jury ordered Apple to pay in 2015, around when the lawsuit originated.

Today, Reuters reports that Apple has managed to persuade a federal appeals court to throw out at least part of the lawsuit, namely the $234 million in damages.

According to the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, no reasonable juror could have been able to find infringement based on the evidence that was presented in the liability phase of the trial in 2015, leading to its decision. It's unclear why the original $234 million damages award has been appealed, but without any mention of the $272 million extension being thrown out.

Apple Inc persuaded a federal appeals court on Friday to throw out a $234 million damages award in favor of the University of Wisconsin’s patent licensing arm for infringing the school’s patent on computer processing technology.

[The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals] said Apple deserved judgment as a matter of law in the case brought by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

During the trial, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation originally asked for damages worth $862 million, but lowered the request to around $400 million. The patent in question, titled "Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer," was originally granted in 1998 and covers a method for improving processor efficiency. It lists several current and former University of Wisconsin researchers as inventors.

overcastOvercast version 5.0.2 was released today, bringing additional Siri Shortcuts in iOS 12 and new Apple Watch complications to the popular third-party podcast player.

The new Apple Watch complications can be located on the central or corner positions of the Infograph watch face that features on Series 4 models, offering users another way to quickly launch the app from their wrist.

For fans of Siri Shortcuts, Overcast now supports three additional options. One lets you quickly enable or cancel the sleep timer, while the other two allow you to generate either standard or timestamped links for the podcast episode you're currently listening to, making for easier sharing.

Elsewhere in this update, the Nitpicky Details menu includes an option to reduce the haptic level related to certain functions, and users now have more control over the Auto-Sync to Watch feature, with toggles available for playlists as well as individual episodes.

Lastly, this point update fixes a handful of bugs and crashes, and adds a one-tap preset for the previous interval to the sleep timer. Overcast 5.0.2 is available as a free ad-supported app for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Authorities have issued arrest warrants for 17 people who were running an Apple Store theft ring across California, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced today.

The individuals involved robbed Apple retail stores in 19 different counties, including several in the Bay Area, where Apple's headquarters are located. More than $1 million worth of Apple goods were stolen.

applestorepaloalto
The robbers were known for wearing hoodies and storming Apple Stores in large groups to snatch up products that were on display "in a matter of seconds."

Law enforcement agencies in Oakland and San Luis Obispo handled the investigation, but multiple law enforcement agencies across the state were involved in capturing the criminals. "The successful collaborative efforts of law enforcement has resulted in dismantling a large criminal ring," said Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick.

According to Attorney General Becerra, organized theft rings like the one apprehended this week "cost California business owners millions" and ultimately lead to consumers paying the cost.

Seven of those involved were arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Alameda County Jail, while another person is in custody in Sonoma County. The remaining nine suspects have yet to be arrested, but will be when located. Charges include plotting to commit grand theft against individuals.

Apple today released a new software update for the Apple Watch, upgrading watchOS 5 to watchOS 5.0.1. The new watchOS 5.0.1 release comes 10 days after Apple released the watchOS 5 update.

watchOS 5.0.1 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software Update.

watchos5walkietalkieseries4
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.

The watchOS 5.0.1 update is minor in scale and focuses on fixing bugs that have been discovered since the watchOS 5 update. According to Apple's release notes, watchOS 5.0.1 addresses an issue that caused a "small number of users" to see increased exercise minutes, fixes a bug that caused some users not to receive stand credit in the afternoon, and solves a problem that could prevent the Apple Watch from charging.

watchOS 5, the latest major watchOS update, brought a slew of new features to the operating system. It includes Activity Competitions for challenging friends, a Walkie-Talkie mode with real-time push-to-talk communication, support for Siri shortcuts, new watch faces, and tons more.


For details on everything new in watchOS 5, make sure to check ourtour watchOS 5 roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave 10.14.1 update to its public beta testing group, two days after seeding the first beta to developers and three days after releasing the macOS Mojave update.

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

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

It's not clear what other improvements the first update to macOS Mojave will bring, but it likely includes performance improvements and bug fixes for issues that weren't addressed in the first release of macOS Mojave.

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

Related Forum: macOS Mojave

Apple today updated Logic Pro X, its software designed for professional audio editing. Version 10.4.2 of Logic Pro X introduces several useful new tweaks and updates to Logic Pro X features.

Users can now relocate the Sound Library to an external storage device if desired, and Smart Tempo is able to analyze tempo data across multi-track recordings to define a Project Tempo. Smart Tempo also now analyzes the tempo of MIDI performances recorded without a metronome, and a new mixer mode lets channels strip fader and pan controls.

logicprox
A full list of everything that's new in the Logic Pro X update is below:

- The Sound Library can be relocated to an external storage device
- Smart Tempo can analyze tempo data across multi-track recordings to define the Project Tempo
- Imported multi-track stems can follow or define Project Tempo
- Smart Tempo now analyzes the tempo of MIDI performances recorded without a metronome
- Alchemy provides drag and drop hot zones that let you select re-synthesis and sampling options while importing audio
- Alchemy allows numerical editing of parameter values
- Dragging one automation point over another now aligns them vertically
- New mixer mode allows channel strip fader and pan controls to be used to set send level and pan
- Automatic Slurs can be applied to selected notes in the Score Editor
- Add a photo to track or project notes to help remember key session details or studio hardware settings
- This update also contains numerous stability and performance improvements

Apple has also updated MainStage 3, which accompanies Logic Pro X and is designed to turn the Mac into a live rig. A long list of new features have been added to MainStage, as outlined in the release notes listed below:

General
- Channel Strip MIDI input inspector allows any MIDI CC data to be filtered, transformed or passed through
- Text notes can be added to the bottom of channel strips
- The Metronome is now fully configurable, with separate settings for Bar, Group, Beat, and Division
- This update also contains numerous stability and performance improvements

Sound Library
- The Sound Library can be relocated to an external storage device
- 2 vintage brush kits for Drum Kit Designer
- More than 800 new loops in a variety of instruments and genres
- New Visions library for Alchemy adds 150 cinematic presets

Plug-Ins
- ChromaVerb is a sophisticated new algorithmic reverb with a colorful, interactive interface for creating rich acoustic spaces
- Space Designer offers a new design and a scalable, Retina interface
- Step FX adds rhythmic multi-effect processing using 3 powerful step sequencers and an X/Y pad
- Phat FX makes your tracks bigger and bolder using 9 effects that add warmth and punch to your sounds
- The Vintage EQ Collection provides 3 accurate models of vintage analog EQs from the 1950s to the 1970s
- Studio Strings and Studio Horns are deeply sampled, realistic ensemble instruments with custom articulation controls
- Mellotron is now available as a standalone instrument plug-in
- Retro Synth now offers 18 different filter models
- The length of individual steps in the Arpeggiator plug-in are adjustable
- Loopback now applies a small crossfade at each loop cycle to reduce the likelihood of clicks or other audio artifacts

Alchemy
- Alchemy provides drag and drop hot zones that let you select re-synthesis and sampling options while importing audio
- Alchemy allows numerical editing of parameter values
- Alchemy adds 12 new synthesized formant filter shapes
- Alchemy now offers a side chain input that can be used as a source for envelope followers
- Alchemy includes an automatic time align feature for improved morphing
- New additive effects in Alchemy expand the options for filtering and modulating sound

Logic Pro X can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $199.99. [Direct Link]

MainStage 3 can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $29.99. [Direct Link]

Apple Watch app Cardiogram, which is designed to provide you with more information on the heart rate readings obtained from the Apple Watch, is teaming up with Greenhouse Life Insurance Company and Amica Life to offer up to $1,000 worth of accidental death insurance to Apple Watch owners.

Cardiogram users can get the deal starting today through the Cardiogram app for iOS. The offer is available in Wisconsin, Arizona, Indiana, and Georgia, and will be expanding to other states in the future.

cardiograminsurance
Greenhouse Life Insurance Company, launched from RGA, and Amica Life are the latest insurance companies to embrace the Apple Watch. Health and life insurance providers have been increasingly incorporating data from wearable devices into their plans to encourage preventative care.

Companies like John Hancock and Aetna, for example, provide discounted Apple Watch devices to their customers, encouraging them to be more active to improve health.

"Ultimately, life insurers save dollars by saving lives," said Brandon Ballinger, co-founder of Cardiogram. In multiple clinical studies, Cardiogram has validated the accuracy of its artificial intelligence-based algorithm, DeepHeart, to detect multiple chronic conditions - including hypertension, sleep apnea, diabetes and atrial fibrillation - using the heart rate sensor on consumer wearables. "This launch is a step toward using wearables to improve health. One of the first challenges we faced was to distill the complex world of life insurance into a simple set of screens that ordinary people can understand on their phones."

The Cardiogram accidental death insurance plan provides coverage in the case of a fatal accident. It is not as comprehensive as full coverage life insurance, but it does not require a medical examination. Customers who opt into a free $1,000 plan have the option to upgrade to $100,000 to $500,000 worth of coverage for $9 to $41 per month.

In addition to the Apple Watch, the program is also available for all devices that support Cardiogram, which includes accessories from Garmin and those that run WearOS from Google.

Cardiogram can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Apple received approval from the FCC today to sell the iPhone XR in the United States, ahead of pre-orders next month.

iphonexr
Apple can now remove the following fine print from the iPhone XR product page on its website, although it has yet to do so:

iPhone XR has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. iPhone XR is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.

iPhone XR pre-orders begin Friday, October 19, with the first deliveries to customers and in-store availability starting a week later, on Friday, October 26. The colorful device starts at $749 in the United States.

With a $250 lower price point, the iPhone XR doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of the iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max. Some of the trade-offs include an LCD rather than OLED display, an aluminum instead of stainless steel frame, and a single rather than dual rear camera. Read our full comparison.

Nevertheless, the iPhone XR has the same A12 Bionic chip as the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, and its advertised battery life is longer than both of those devices. It also has a nearly edge-to-edge display with a notch, Face ID, a glass back, wireless charging, Portrait Mode with Depth Control, and Smart HDR.

Given its many similarities to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, priced from $999 and $1,099 respectively, many tech reviewers have suggested waiting for the less-expensive iPhone XR. Orders begin in three weeks.

As far as FCC approval is concerned, it is a routine step before the launch of any new iPhone. However, Apple usually waits until the last minute to receive approval from the necessary regulatory agencies, whereas the iPhone XR has been somewhat surprisingly approved nearly a month ahead of sale.

Tag: FCC
Related Forum: iPhone

Apple has announced that five of its retail stores across the United States and Australia will reopen this Saturday, September 29. Four of the stores have moved to new locations, while one has been renovated.

apple store scottsdale fashion square

Apple Scottsdale Fashion Square via The Arizona Republic/Storeteller

  • Apple Lehigh Valley: An expanded Apple Store is opening in the outdoor section of Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, near Allentown, on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local time.

  • Apple Deer Park: An expanded Apple Store is opening in the outdoor Deer Park Town Center shopping complex in Deer Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local time.

  • Apple Scottsdale Fashion Square: A new Apple Store opens at the Scottsdale Fashion Square shopping mall in Scottsdale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local time. Apple's nearby store at Biltmore Fashion Park will be permanently closed after Friday.

  • Apple Green Hills: Apple has renovated its store at The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville, Tennessee. The store reopens in its existing location on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local time.

  • Apple Robina: A new Apple Store is opening in the Robina Town Centre shopping mall in Robina, Australia, roughly 50 miles south of Brisbane along the Gold Coast, on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. local time. Apple's existing location in the mall will be permanently closed after Friday.

Apple has been modernizing its chain of over 500 retail stores since 2015, as part of an initiative led by Apple's retail chief Angela Ahrendts and design chief Jony Ive. The remodeled stores often gain additional square footage, which many locations desperately need due to ever-increasing customer traffic.

Apple's latest retail design typically includes large glass doors, large video screens for product marketing and in-store events, and wall-mounted sequoia wood shelves called Avenues for smaller products and accessories.

These reopenings will occur eight days after the launch of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4.

eBay this morning has debuted a new 15 percent off sitewide coupon for its shoppers, which will last until 6:00 p.m. PT tonight. This means that for the next ten hours you can save 15 percent off a minimum purchase of $25 across eBay, although there are the usual exclusions of warranties and protection plans, coins and paper money, gift cards and coupons, and real estate.

ebay 927Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with eBay. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You'll have to use the coupon within a single transaction, and it will be capped at a maximum value of $100. To use the discount, head to eBay and browse, add items that total over $25 to your cart, and enter the coupon code PICKSOON in the checkout screen. eBay shoppers with an address located in the United States, Canada, Latin America, or the Caribbean are eligible for the coupon.

eBay's sitewide coupons are a great chance to save on a huge variety of products, which can include Apple MacBooks, iPads, iPhone cases, Apple TV 4K, and more. Another good idea for the sitewide coupon is looking for discounts on HomeKit items, including the Nanoleaf Aurora Rhythm Smarter Kit, the iDevices Switch and Outdoor Switch, Philips Hue's range of products, and more.

As with any eBay shopping, unless the item is being sold by an official retailer's eBay store -- like Best Buy's Nanoleaf Aurora kit -- it's important to remember that buying off of eBay does come with some risk. To be safe, remember to check the seller's item sold count and positive feedback rating. It's also typically useful to see if the images provided appear to be taken by the seller and not used from stock imagery of the product.

Head to eBay and eBay's Daily Deals pages to start shopping, and remember that the PICKSOON coupon code will expire tonight at 6:00 p.m. PT. You can also find more information on other sales happening throughout the week in our Deals Roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
Tag: eBay

Earlier this month, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 4 with a new electrocardiogram (ECG) feature that measures the electrical activity of your heartbeat, providing you with a heart rhythm classification that can be shared with your doctor. The feature isn't out yet, but it will be limited to Series 4 models in the United States later in 2018.

applewatchseries4ecgfeature
Today, 9to5Mac shared a potential time window for the launch of the ECG feature in the United Kingdom. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) explains that the process starts by examining Apple's documentation surrounding the ECG feature and performing an audit of the quality assurance system.

While this step doesn't appear to be lengthy, the proceeding steps could make the process longer. MHRA says it would require Apple to perform a new clinical investigation to judge the effectiveness of the ECG on Apple Watch, but Apple would likely not be able to use any of the data from the studies it's already completed because MHRA requires companies to notify the regulator in advance of a study.

Once the study is submitted, MHRA has 60 days to approve it (which may become longer if the regulators have further inquiries for Apple), and then Apple can begin the study. These last few steps are what the MHRA say "could potentially add years" onto the debut of the ECG in the UK.

You may need to carry out a clinical investigation as part of the process to obtain a CE marking for your medical device. You must inform MHRA if you are planning to do this at least 60 days before starting your investigation [providing] some basic details about the investigational device, the intended population, the type of study, and estimated application date.

The last factor could be the most time consuming and could potentially add years onto the CE marking process.

Despite the potential for years-long approval, Apple may find ways to expedite this process. While the United Kingdom remains part of the European Union, it’s possible that Apple could receive approval from a broader regulatory body and sidestep the MHRA's processes.

In the United States, Apple has obtained de novo FDA clearance for the ECG feature in the Apple Watch Series 4 and the feature that can send a notification if an abnormal heart rate has been detected. However, FDA clearance is not the same as FDA approval and the FDA does not recommend that the ECG feature be used by those under 22 or those who have already been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

The FDA warns that Apple's ECG app is not designed to replace traditional methods of diagnosis or treatment and is intended for informational use only.

Elsewhere, Apple has said it is working with Health Canada to bring the ECG functionality to the Canadian market, although no timeline has been specified.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

The monogram complication on Apple Watch is designed to let you choose up to four letters to appear on your watch's display. Previously it was only available on the Color watch face, but if you're a Series 4 owner, you can also use it on the new Infograph watch face.

customize monograph apple watch
The idea behind the monogram is to let you add your initials to your watch display, but there's nothing stopping you from adding other characters. Emoji aren't supported, but most unicode characters are, including of course the Apple  symbol.

You can find all manner of unicode characters on the web – try searching for "unicode faces" for some fun combinations. You could also download a unicode iPhone app like UniChar for a more complete selection. Just remember that you can only combine up to four characters in your monogram.

How to Add a Monogram to Your Apple Watch

  1. Copy the unicode character(s) you want to use in your monogram to your iPhone's clipboard. To copy from a web page, highlight the symbol(s) with a long press and then tap Copy from the popup menu.
  2. Next, launch the stock Watch app on your iPhone.
    customize monograph apple watch01

  3. Tap the My Watch tab if it's not already selected.
  4. Tap Clock.
  5. Tap Monogram.
  6. Paste the character(s) into the Monogram field.
    customize monograph apple watch02

  7. Now, return to the main menu in the My Watch tab, and a select a Color or Infograph watch face from My Faces. (If you're not yet using one, you can choose one from the Face Gallery.)
  8. If you're using an Infograph face, tap Sub-dial Top and choose Monogram. If you're using a Color face, make sure the Monograph toggle is on.

Once that's done, your monogram should show up the next time you switch to the Color or Infograph watch face on your Apple Watch.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

icloud keychainA Melbourne schoolboy who hacked into Apple's corporate servers on multiple occasions over two years has avoided conviction, reports The Age.

The 19-year-old student, who can't be named for legal reasons as his case is being heard in an Australian Children's Court, earlier pleaded guilty to hacking into Apple's internal systems several times in 2015 and 2016.

The boy's hacking is said to have begun at the age of 16, and involved downloading 90 gigabytes of secure files and accessing customer accounts. His lawyer later told police that the teen "dreamed of" working for Apple.

The magistrate dealing with the case reportedly handed down an eight-month probation order, and said that no conviction would be recorded. The court also heard how the private school boy has since been accepted into university to study criminology and cyber safety.

That international investigation began when Apple detected the unauthorized access and blocked the source of the intrusions. The company notified the FBI, which passed on the information to the Australian Federal Police, resulting in a warrant being executed at the family home last year.

Prosecutors said the raid turned up a "litany of hacking files" in a folder on the boy's computer named "hacky hack hack," as well as devices with IP addresses that matched the source of the intrusions.

Following reports of the case, Apple released a statement to assure customers that at no point during the incident was personal data compromised.

Nintendo's newest mobile game, Dragalia Lost, is now available on both Android and iOS devices in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau.

Dragalia Lost is an original action RPG that was developed by Nintendo and Japanese mobile game developer Cygames. In the swipe-based game, players are tasked with conquering their enemies using powerful attacks and special skills.


Players will control several characters who are able to transform into dragons to unleash their power on enemies. In addition to battling monsters, players will also need to develop a holy citadel for dragon training.

Limited time multiplayer raid battles are available for up to three players online, and an internet connection is required to play.

Nintendo has successfully launched several iOS games, including Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and Super Mario Run.

Like Nintendo's most successful titles, Dragalia Lost is free to play and it is supported through in-app purchases.

Dragalia Lost can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]