Apple CEO Tim Cook this afternoon accepted the Anti-Defamation League's inaugural Courage Against Hate Award at the Never is Now Summit on Anti-Semitism and Hate, where he gave a keynote speech that had a strong message for those seeking to spread hate on Apple's platform.
"We only have one message for those who seek to push hate, division, and violence, Cook said. "You have no place on our platform. You have no home here."
Cook went on to say that this is a longtime view of Apple's, and he pointed out the company's removal of Infowars content earlier this year. Apple, he said, is not afraid to say that its values drive its curation decisions.
From the earliest days of iTunes to Apple Music today, we have always prohibited music with a message of white supremacy. Why? Because it's the right thing to do.
And as we showed this year, we won't give a platform to violent conspiracy theorists on the App Store. Why? Because it's the right thing to do.
My friends, if we can't be clear on moral questions like these, then we've got big problems. At Apple, we are not afraid to say that our values drive our curation decisions. And why should we be? Doing what's right, creating experiences free from violence and hate, experiences that empower creativity and new ideas is what our customers want us to do.
Technology should be about human attention. It should be about optimism. And we believe the future should belong to those who use technology to build a better, more inclusive, and more hopeful world.
After all, history is full of examples of what can happen when those with power, and those who ought to have good judgement, instead look the other way. I believe the most sacred thing that each of us is given is our judgement. Our morality. Our own innate desire to separate right from wrong. Choosing to set that responsibility aside at a moment of trial is a sin. We as individuals have the power to know and feel and act and we ought to use it.
According to Cook, while Apple is a technology company, its employees "never forget" that the devices they design are imagined by human minds, built by human hands, and are meant to improve human lives.
I sometimes say that I worry less about computers that think like people and more about people that think like computers. Without values or compassion, without concern for consequences. And so we try to stay rooted and to keep our devices connected to the humanity that makes us us.
Cook's full speech at the Never is Now Summit was made available via the ADL's livestream of the event. The livestream is now offline, but we'll update should the video be uploaded to the ADL's website at a later time.
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 today launched a new online store in the U.S. that's designed to provide a 10 percent discount on select products for both activity military and veterans, along with members of their households.
With the discount, the iPhone XS is available priced starting at $899, while the iPhone XR is available priced starting at $674. These devices are priced at $999 and $749, respectively, in Apple's standard online store.
Discounted prices are available on iPhones, Macs, Apple Watch models, iPads, the Apple TV, HomePod, AirPods, and accessories like cases, Apple Watch bands, and even third-party items that include speakers, drones, and more.
Apple told TechCrunch that it is "proud" to offer the discount to active military and veterans.
We're proud to offer active military and veterans a new dedicated online store with special pricing as an expression of our gratitude for their brave service.
Apple has offered educational discounts to students, teachers, and faculty members for quite some time, along with discounted pricing for military and federal government employees.
The 10 percent discount being provided to active military and veterans exceeds the discounts that Apple offers via its educational store.
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.
As car infotainment systems go, Volvo's Sensus system is certainly an eye-catcher with its gorgeous 9-inch portrait display dominating the center stack, so I was excited to have an opportunity to go hands-on with Sensus to see how it works and how well it integrates with CarPlay, which is broadly supported in Volvo's lineup.
My test vehicle was a new 2019 S60 T6 AWD R-Design sedan, and the 2019 S60 is the first Volvo to be manufactured in the United States, coming out of the company's new plant outside of Charleston, South Carolina. My S60 came packed with technology and safety features including lane-keeping assist and oncoming lane mitigation, parking assist, blind spot monitoring, and cross traffic alerts.
A $2,500 Advanced Package adds even more features including a 360º view camera, adaptive cruise control with pilot assist, heads-up display with speed and navigation, and active bending headlights to enhance illumination in the direction you're steering. My test vehicle was equipped with a high-end $3,200 Bowers & Wilkins 15-speaker audio system that unsurprisingly sounded fantastic. All told, the MSRP on my test vehicle approached $55,000, but the Sensus system with CarPlay support is standard even on the entry-level Momentum trim starting at $35,800.
Sensus
From a hardware perspective, the Sensus system is very good. The portrait display is beautiful, bright, and sharp, although it does tend to show fingerprints on both the screen and the glossy black frame surrounding it. Still, it's quite a statement feature in the way it dominates the center stack.
The Sensus system uses a combination of a resistive screen and infrared sensors to detect touches, which lets the system work even while you're wearing gloves, a feature you might expect from a Swedish car company. In fact, due to the infrared sensing, the system can even register touches without actually quite touching the screen, which is a little unnerving at first.
It might not be quite as responsive as a capacitive screen in some cases, but it's still a very usable system for a vehicle designed to be comfortable in cold climates. A single hardware home button right below the screen quickly gets you out of whatever you're doing and back to the main screen.
On the software side, Volvo's Sensus system is based around a set of tiles appearing on the main home screen, offering quick access to navigation, audio, and phone functions, as well as another most recently used function at the bottom. The tiles make it easy to hop in and out of specific functions while generally keeping a mini view of other functions accessible.
From the main screen, you can swipe to the left to find a host of vehicle control options that you likely won't need to look at terribly frequently, and a swipe down offers access to settings and a digital owner's manual that you'll likely visit even less frequently once you're up and running.
The Sensus navigation app offers a decent-looking and usable map view, and if you've got the digital driver's side display and heads-up display you'll be able to see map and turn-by-turn details on those screens as well.
Full-screen 2D map view
The main map view supports both pinching and double tapping to zoom, while panning is easily accomplished with a finger drag. The map can be viewed as either a large tile with audio and phone tiles still accessible or in a "full-screen" view that takes up the entire display with the exception of the climate control strip at the bottom.
Heads-up display showing speed, speed limit, and turn-by-turn directions
Unfortunately, once I looked beyond interacting with the map itself, I found the built-in navigation to be rather clunky to use in practice. Voice input is by far the most convenient and safest method for interacting with navigation systems, and the voice assistant that controls Sensus falls flat here.
We're in that in-between time where vehicle voice assistants are still transitioning to the natural language experience we've become accustomed to with Siri and other assistants on our mobile devices and around our homes, and like a number of other car manufacturers, Volvo has yet to really make that transition with Sensus.
With Sensus, you'll need to use specific phrases to trigger the various functions, so that means if you want to set a destination you'll have to use a specific "go to" trigger phrase rather than other variations like "take me to." About the only deviation is a "take me home" command that will work if you've set a home location.
Examples of navigation trigger words
The "go to" destination input method is a little bit clunky, and it gets worse if you don't know the address and want to search by name. It's a multi-step process that is quite distracting and feels like it takes forever.
For example, if you want directions to your local Starbucks but don't know the address off-hand, you'll need to say "search Starbucks." After a delay while the system interprets your command and searches, the driver display will offer up a list of possibilities. In this case, it shows "Starbucks" and "Starbucks Coffee" as separate items and you must choose which line number you want without knowing any other details. (As it turns out, both options return the same list of locations in my experience.)
Initial results of a POI search for "Starbucks"
Once you choose an item, it will suggest a number of nearby Starbucks locations and you'll again have to choose by line number using either your voice or the arrow and selection buttons on the steering wheel. But you're not done yet: Once you select a location, the system will ask you whether you want to call the location or set it as a destination. Only after you make that choice can you be on your way to get a cup of coffee.
Follow-up list of Starbucks locations
Beyond the multi-step voice interface, I found the POI database overall to be rather poor, with the system having difficulty finding certain destinations I commonly visit. In fact, the entire "churches" category was empty in my area, making it difficult to obtain directions to my sons' Cub Scouts meeting, while the system was similarly unable to pull up any FedEx locations near me.
Sensus navigation failing to find any FedEx locations
The other end of the voice assistant could also use some improvements, as it doesn't always properly recognize the context of what it's speaking.
For example, when confirming a destination and reading a street address containing "Dr" back to you, it will spell out the "d-r" rather than interpreting it as "Drive." Similarly, if an address contains "Pkwy," the voice assistant attempts to pronounce it as a word rather than recognizing it as "Parkway." Or if your destination is on U.S. 70, for example, the assistant will say "us 70." Some other abbreviations like "Rd" and "St" are handled properly.
Importantly, Volvo seems to recognize the shortcomings of its current Sensus system, and the navigation system in particular, as the company announced earlier this year that its next-generation Sensus system will use Google Maps, Google Assistant, and Google Play apps. That partnership isn't expected to come to fruition until 2020, however, so we'll have to hold tight while we wait for major improvements.
Anyway, back on the main Sensus home screen, a swipe to the right takes you to an apps page that gives you access to various types of applications including the built-in audio sources, apps like Pandora, Spotify, and Yelp that can be accessed if you have an active data connection, driver performance data like fuel economy, SiriusXM Travel Link features like nearby gas prices, and more.
The S60 comes with hotspot connectivity, so you can set up an LTE hotspot to connect other devices while in the car. Alternatively, you can connect the car to your phone's data connection to provide internet access for the Sensus system.
Climate Control
Volvo has gone with an almost entirely digital set of climate controls, due in significant part to the large portrait display that leaves little room for additional hardware controls. A single row of buttons underneath the display gives you access to the front and rear defroster, but otherwise all climate controls are handled through the touchscreen.
At the bottom of the Sensus display, there's a persistent strip dedicated to climate control, which displays the temperature settings for driver and passenger, fan settings, and heated seat/steering wheel status. Tapping on either of the temperature settings brings up a scale to allow you to adjust the set point and optionally sync both zones to the same temperature.
Tapping on the fan control icon brings up an overlay that lets you control defrosters and fan speeds and zones. An AUTO Climate setting helps manage your comfort automatically based on your temperature settings, so at least you can kind of set it and forget it. Swiping to separate pages gives you options for controlling rear climate and setting schedules for climate control while the vehicle is parked for situations where you get in the car at a set time each day. For rear seat passengers, there are also touch controls on the rear of the center console.
Main climate settings with hardware defroster buttons visible below
In general, I much prefer hardware climate controls to software ones, and the Sensus system hasn't changed my opinion. You can't adjust software controls by feel, and Sensus requires multiple steps to adjust settings. Adjusting the temperature by touch requires at least two taps: one to open up the temperature settings and one to set the new desired temperature. If you want to immediately get back to what you're doing, a third tap is needed to close the temperature settings, although they do go away on their own after a few seconds.
Pop-up for adjusting heated seat and steering wheel
It's a similar story for the heated seats. On vehicles like mine that are equipped with both heated seats and heated steering wheel, you need to tap the seat icon to open the settings, and then tap one or more times on seat and/or steering wheel icons to adjust the heating level.
Examples of climate control trigger phrases
Granted, many of these adjustments can be made using the voice assistant if you know the proper trigger words, but there are plenty of cases where I'd prefer using making changes by hand rather than voice, and the Sensus system just requires more steps than it should.
Connectivity
The S60 comes with a pair of USB ports inside the center console, one of which connects to the Sensus system while the other is charge-only. A connected phone can be stored either inside the console compartment or in a cupholder, and the compartment lid is designed to accommodate routing a cord out of the compartment.
Unfortunately, there are no rear USB ports for passengers. By default, there's a single 12V port in the rear of the center console, but upgraded packages offer a 120V outlet in that location. That's great for charging items requiring higher power, but for charging iPads for the kids I found it inconvenient to have to make sure I had a power adapter in addition to a charging cable.
CarPlay
As with almost every other car manufacturer, Volvo uses a wired CarPlay implementation, requiring you to use a Lightning cable to plug the phone into a designated USB port in the center console compartment. Somewhat annoyingly, if your phone is already paired to the car via Bluetooth, you'll get a pop-up asking you if you're sure you want to disable the Bluetooth connection and switch to CarPlay every time you plug it in, and I couldn't find a way to disable that notification.
When CarPlay becomes active, it takes up roughly half of the Sensus system's display, sitting just above the climate control band and below the rest of the Sensus main screen tiles. This gives the CarPlay interface a roughly 6.5-inch diagonal size, which is a bit small compared to many other systems and so much of the Maps view is covered by the various text boxes, for example. It's also rather low on the center stack, so it's definitely out of the driver's immediate line of sight.
Volvo is striving for some seamless integration between CarPlay and Sensus by only using a portion of the display and still allowing other tiles to be visible, but it could be a lot better than it is. Beyond CarPlay, you're limited to seeing the three default tiles of navigation, audio, and phone, and several of these functions are essentially deactivated since you're using CarPlay. With CarPlay active, your phone is being handled through the CarPlay interface rather than the Sensus system, and the same is true of navigation if you've got a route going in CarPlay. It's nice having quick access to non-CarPlay audio sources like SiriusXM or radio, but even then it's just a single line of information that could be a lot more useful with some tweaks.
CarPlay is managed almost entirely via the Sensus touchscreen. The thin strip of hardware controls below the screen includes a volume knob, mute/pause button, and forward/back navigation of tracks or stations that will work with CarPlay audio sources, but these can't otherwise be used to navigate around the CarPlay interface. That's generally fine, as hardware control of CarPlay is rather cumbersome.
Wrap-up
As gorgeous as the big 9-inch portrait screen is, the overall Sensus experience comes up short for me. A lack of natural language voice recognition and a poor POI database really hamper the usability of the built-in navigation in particular, and it just feels like Volvo is trying to do too much with the touchscreen.
The large tiles on the main home screen are easy to touch, but overall they can't display a whole lot of information at one time, which means lots of tapping in and out to make adjustments. With so many different directions to swipe from the main home screen and then also scrolling sometimes needed to see those entire pages, it just feels like Sensus isn't terribly intuitive. Combining an underperforming voice assistant with a complicated touchscreen system, I find it rather hard to accomplish what should be simple tasks.
Here's hoping that the next-generation Sensus system will make some significant strides forward in the usability department, as the hardware really does have some great things going for it that contribute toward a premium, sophisticated feel for Volvos.
I do appreciate the attempt at integrating CarPlay into the Sensus system, and it's fairly easy to hop back and forth between features like Apple Maps and SiriusXM, but again, I feel the integration could be significantly improved by making changes such as moving the CarPlay display to the top of the screen for better visibility and offering more information-rich and customizable tiles to help make the most of the Sensus interface that surrounds CarPlay.
I love that CarPlay and Sensus are standard across not only the S60 trims, but the entire Volvo lineup in the U.S. as of the launches of the 2019 S60 and V60. Of course, Volvo's entry-level trims aren't exactly low-cost, but when other luxury car manufacturers are requiring higher trim levels or even separate charges for CarPlay support, it's nice to see Volvo all-in on supporting the technology.
The 2019 Volvo S60 starts at $35,800, but various trim, engine, and package options can push the total close to $65,000. Fortunately, Volvo builds in a decent number of safety and technology features, including CarPlay, even at the lowest levels.
This afternoon, Anker kicked off its latest Amazon sale, discounting a wide variety of its best portable chargers, Bluetooth audio accessories, wireless chargers, and more. Included in the sale are Anker's limited-time holiday bundles that offer its Soundcore audio devices at a discount, along with a few extras like a PowerCore 5,000 mAh portable battery or a travel case for the SoundCore Flare.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Browse the sale below and head to Anker on Amazon to place your order before these deals expire on Monday, December 17. Also note that you don't need any special promotion codes to get any of these discount prices.
Additionally, MacRumors and Nodus have partnered up this week for a new exclusive sitewide sale that will last all the way through January 5, 2019. In this sale, MacRumors readers can visit NodusCollection.com, shop for iPhone cases, iPad cases, or wallets, and enter the promo code MACRUM20 during the checkout process to get 20 percent off their order.
Nodus is a British brand that sells a wide variety of leather accessories, with free worldwide shipping on orders over £30. For iPhone, the company sells the Shell Case II and Micro Dock III, which allows you to magnetically attach your iPhone X, XS, XS Max, XR, and more on any surface. Nodus says this case is also Qi compatible. For card storage along with iPhone protection, Nodus also sells the Access Case III.
Nodus also has an Access Case for the iPad mini and numerous Hifold and Lofold style wallets, all of which can be purchased on the company's website at a 20 percent discount through the end of our exclusive sale.
Lastly, Amazon has Apple's 9.7-inch iPad (32GB, Wi-Fi) for $289.00, down from $329.00 in Silver, Gold, and Space Gray. This is the iPad that launched earlier in 2018 with support for the Apple Pencil; it also includes a Retina display, A10 Fusion chip, and Touch ID.
For more information on the latest sales, head to our full Deals Roundup.
In a new entry in its Machine Learning Journal, Apple has detailed how Siri on the HomePod is designed to work in challenging usage scenarios, such as during loud music playback, when the user is far away from the HomePod, or when there are other active sound sources in a room, such as a TV or household appliances.
An overview of the task:
The typical audio environment for HomePod has many challenges — echo, reverberation, and noise. Unlike Siri on iPhone, which operates close to the user’s mouth, Siri on HomePod must work well in a far-field setting. Users want to invoke Siri from many locations, like the couch or the kitchen, without regard to where HomePod sits. A complete online system, which addresses all of the environmental issues that HomePod can experience, requires a tight integration of various multichannel signal processing technologies.
To accomplish this, Apple says its audio software engineering and Siri speech teams developed a multichannel signal processing system for the HomePod that uses machine learning algorithms to remove echo and background noise and to separate simultaneous sound sources to eliminate interfering speech.
Apple says the system uses the HomePod's six microphones and is powered continuously by its Apple A8 chip, including when the HomePod is run in its lowest power state to save energy. The multichannel filtering constantly adapts to changing noise conditions and moving talkers, according to the journal entry.
Apple goes on to provide a very technical overview of how the HomePod mitigates echo, reverberation, and noise, which we've put into layman's terms:
Echo Cancellation: Since the speakers are close to the microphones on the HomePod, music playback can be significantly louder than a user's "Hey Siri" voice command at the microphone positions, especially when the user is far away from the HomePod. To combat the resulting echo, Siri on HomePod implements a multichannel echo cancellation algorithm.
Reverberation Removal: As the user saying "Hey Siri" moves further away from the HomePod, multiple reflections from the room create reverberation tails that decrease the quality and intelligibility of the voice command. To combat this, Siri on the HomePod continuously monitors the room characteristics and removes the late reverberation while preserving the direct and early reflection components in the microphone signals.
Noise Reduction: Far-field speech is typically contaminated by noise from home appliances, HVAC systems, outdoor sounds entering through windows, and so forth. To combat this, the HomePod uses state-of-the-art speech enhancement methods that create a fixed filter for every utterance.
Apple says it tested the HomePod's multichannel signal processing system in several acoustic conditions, including music and podcast playback at different levels, continuous background noise such as conversation and rain, noises from household appliances such as a vacuum cleaner, hairdryer, and microwave.
During its testing, Apple varied the locations of the HomePod and its test subjects to cover different use cases. For example, in living room or kitchen environments, the HomePod was placed against the wall and in the middle of the room.
Apple's article concludes with a summary of Siri performance metrics on the HomePod, with graphs showing that Apple's multichannel signal processing system led to improved accuracy and fewer errors. Those interested in learning more can read the full entry on Apple's Machine Learning Journal.
Ahead of the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards in February, Apple Music will reveal nominees in select categories on Friday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, according to Variety. Additional nominees will be announced live on CBS This Morning at the same time, followed by a full list on Grammy.com at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time.
Apple has used the GRAMMY Awards as a platform to promote Apple Music for the past few years. Last year, for example, Apple Music offered an exclusive collection of 60-plus memorable GRAMMY performances and playlists specifically curated across six genres: pop, rap, country, rock, R&B, and jazz.
Last year, CBS said its telecast of the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards brought in 19.8 million viewers, so the show provides Apple with a large audience to promote its streaming music service as it competes with Spotify for subscribers. Apple Music reportedly has 56 million subscribers as of last month.
The 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards ceremony will be held on February 10, 2019 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony will recognize the best recording artists and songs from October 2017 through September 2018.
In iOS 12, Apple has included a somewhat hidden feature that lets you see the day's weather forecast on your iPhone's Lock Screen when you check it for the first time after waking up.
The feature is part of Apple's Do Not Disturb at Bedtime mode, which prevents notifications from being displayed on your iPhone's Lock Screen when you're supposed to be sleeping.
Many users don't realize you can get the weather forecast to show on the Lock Screen because of the odd way that Apple has implemented the feature. Regardless, here's how to get it working.
Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap Do Not Disturb.
Make sure the Scheduled and Bedtime buttons are toggled on so that they're both green.
You can also set your sleep and wake schedule here by adjusting the From and To times.
Return to the main Settings screen and tap Privacy.
Tap Location Services.
Tap Weather in the list of apps.
Under Allow Location Access, tap Always.
Exit the Settings app.
With that done, next time it's time to wake up and Bedtime Mode is scheduled to go off, your iPhone will display the usual "Good morning!" message along with the day's weather, including the current temperature, weather conditions, and forecast.
To make the forecast vanish from your Lock Screen, simply tap Dismiss. To switch the temperature scale between Celsius and Fahrenheit, launch the Weather app and scroll to the bottom of the weather locations list, where you'll find the option to do so.
It's worth noting that once you unlock your iPhone, the weather forecast will disappear for the rest of the day, and it won't return until the next day when you wake up and access the device after Bedtime mode has turned itself off.
As it stands, the Lock Screen weather feature offers no other flexibility, and it won't work unless you allow the Weather app to always access your location data. Hopefully Apple will eventually change this to make it a more useful Lock Screen "widget" in a future update to iOS.
Nanoleaf's Canvas, launching today, is the company's second HomeKit-enabled mood lighting product that follows its popular triangle-shaped Light Panels. Rather than using triangle lights this time around, Nanoleaf designed the Canvas to have a square shape with multiple connector ports for more design versatility.
What's more, the Canvas is touch enabled and puts thousands of lighting scenes at your fingertips without the need to use an app. The app and HomeKit availability are still available though, offering up multiple ways to control the lighting panels.
Design
Unlike the iconic triangle design of the Light Panels, Nanoleaf has designed the Canvas with a new square shape. Each Canvas square measures in at just about six inches on all sides.
When conceptualizing the Canvas, Nanoleaf originally planned to offer plain squares with uniform lighting across, but this wasn't possible. Each square instead has a noticeable cross shape in it, dividing it into four. The individual squares still light up in one single color, but you will see the crosshairs within each one.
I don't mind the crosshairs and in some ways they make the Canvas more visually interesting, but it could be a turn off for customers who were hoping for flat, uniform lighting across the entire square.
There are eight Canvas Light Squares and one Control Square, which needs to be centrally situated and accessible to touch because it's the square that features specific touch-based controls for the entire Canvas system, though all squares respond to touch.
The Canvas squares are more versatile than the previous-generation Light Panels, with multiple connection points on each square to allow for a wider range of designs that are offset rather than fully connected at each side.
Small rectangular connectors are used to connect two squares together, allowing for hundreds of designs. You get nine squares with the standard Canvas kit, and you can purchase an additional four with expansion kits that Nanoleaf is offering. Most of the photos in this review feature a total of 13 squares.
As with the Nanoleaf Light Panels, you can add on additional Canvas squares, up to 500 in fact, so you could theoretically cover an entire wall, though it would cost an absolute fortune.
Canvas compared to Light Panels
Canvas squares are attached to a wall with 3M adhesive like the previous-generation Light Panels. 3M adhesive is meant to be wall safe, but on certain walls, it definitely has the potential to cause damage, so that's something to be aware of. Because of the adhesive, it's best to decide on a design well ahead of time and a design that you can stick with for a long time because it is not convenient to re-arrange these squares.
Apple won't release an iPhone that can connect to 5G data networks until at least 2020, claims a new report out today.
According to Bloomberg's sources, Apple is planning to delay its support for the next generation of high-speed mobile services coming in 2019, just as it did for previous generations.
As with 3G and 4G, the two previous generations of mobile technology, Apple will wait as long as a year after the initial deployment of the new networks before its main product gets the capability to access them, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the company's plans.
According to Bloomberg, Apple delayed support for previous mobile network upgrades because it accurately predicted that the first versions of rival smartphones would suffer from problems like poor coverage.
However, 5G advocates argue that delaying support for the upcoming network upgrade is a bigger risk for Apple, since it represents a much bigger speed boost over previous generations, making the leap from 4G to 5G significant enough to become a major selling point for new devices.
5G advocates believe the danger for Apple is that it will be left behind by rivals like Samsung, who could exploit the delay and attract more consumers to its Galaxy smartphones, which are expected to support 5G networks next year. Likewise, Chinese mobile makers Oppo and Huawei have also signaled that they plan to offer 5G phones.
Rumors late last year suggested Intel and Apple were already working on 5G chip technology for future iPhone devices. Intel is said to have thousands of people working on 5G tech to catch up with Qualcomm and win Apple's 5G modem contract.
Huawei and Samsung have the manufacturing infrastructure to build 5G modems, but Apple is said to be unlikely to use chips from its smartphone rivals, who could struggle to produce adequate supplies for the iPhone's huge volumes anyway.
Whatever the reason behind the delay, some analysts believe Apple's decision could have an impact on its iPhone customer base.
"Apple has always been a laggard in cellular technology," said Mark Hung, an analyst at Gartner who spoke to Bloomberg. "They weren't impacted in the past, but 5G is going to be much easier to market. But if they wait beyond 2020, then I think they'll be impacted."
Apple is now beta testing a version of the Apple Music app for Android smartphones that works with larger-screen Android tablets (via Pixel Spot). Found in the 2.7.0 update of Apple Music on Android, when opened on an Android tablet the app now adapts to the increased display area. With the added room, it shows additional playlists, albums, featured artists, songs, and more of what is presented in the selected tab, similar to Apple Music on iPad.
Image via Pixel Spot
In regards to the tabs, Apple Music on Android also now features a bottom bar navigation menu that's close to the one found on the iOS app, with Library, For You, Browse, and Radio all listed at the bottom of the app. On Android, search is still located in the top right corner. Previously, the Android app used a left-hand collapsable hamburger menu for navigation. The full 2.7.0 beta changelog is below:
- Tablet Support: Enjoy Apple Music with an experience designed for a wider range of Android devices. - Performance improvements for images and audio playback. - Various bug fixes.
In August, Apple Music updated on Android with support for Android Auto, letting Android smartphone owners control playback of Apple Music songs directly from the infotainment center in their vehicle. Android Auto support was part of Apple Music's 2.6.0 beta on Android, which also included numerous other features already found on Apple Music on iOS: lyric searches, updated artist pages, and the new weekly playlist called "Friends Mix."
In a brief research note highlighting Apple's suppliers for its popular AirPods wireless earphones, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that new AirPods with a wireless charging case will debut in the first quarter of 2019, with an "all-new design model" following in the first quarter of 2020. The updates are predicted to drive strong sales growth for the product.
We attribute AirPods' dramatic growth (14–16mn, 26–28mn, 50–55mn, 70–80mn and 100–110mn units in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively) to 1) the upgraded model with wireless charging support to benefit shipments to launch in 1Q19, 2) the all-new design model to boost replacement demand to launch in 1Q20, 3) an innovative user experience, and 4) high integration with iOS and Mac products. In summary, AirPods is Apple's most popular accessory ever, and it currently has the best growth momentum among Apple products.
Kuo notes that fewer than 5 percent of iPhone users currently own AirPods, and with over 1 billion iPhone users worldwide, there are "great potential growth opportunities" for the accessory.
Nearly a year ago, Kuo predicted Apple would launch upgraded AirPods in the second half of 2018, but Apple's difficulties in bringing its AirPower charging mat to market have undoubtedly impacted its AirPods plans to some degree. Just ahead of Apple's October media event, Kuo noted he was uncertain about the timing for an AirPods update, indicating it could come late in the fourth quarter or early in the first quarter of 2019.
Former Apple intern Christian Selig has released version 1.4 of Apollo, the popular Reddit client developed with Apple's iOS design guidelines in mind. The latest update introduces a raft of highly requested features, including quick switching accounts and new subreddit preferences to add to its existing plethora of options.
For those who like to access multiple Reddit accounts through the Apollo app, the new quick switching feature can be activated by long-pressing the Accounts tab in the bottom tab bar.
Over on the subreddit option front, it's now possible to use specific sorting, where Apollo can remember preferred sorting preferences on a per subreddit basis.
In Selig's example, if users want one subreddit to always be sorted by "New", but another to always be sorted by "Best", now they can. There are also separate options for both subreddit posts and subreddit comments.
In a similar fashion, it's now possible to have Apollo remember post size preferences on a per subreddit basis, so users could have some subreddits in compact mode and others in large mode.
Elsewhere in 1.4, there's support for Reddit Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiered gifting system (Reddit's replacement for the previous Reddit Gold system) for gifting posts and comments.
In addition, support has been added for more browsers including Firefox Focus, Brave, DuckDuckGo, and iCab Mobile, while users can now opt to have all tweets open in Tweetbot, Twitterrific, or the official Twitter app.
Also of note, Apollo now shows if a comment has been edited, there's a new icon designed by David Lanham, and a bug that was preventing some GIFs from playing has been fixed. Lastly, the Ultra $0.99 monthly in-app purchase now includes all the features of the one-time Pro $2.99 IAP automatically, so Ultra subscribers don't ever have to pay out for more features.
Apollo is available for iPhone and iPad on the App Store [Direct Link] as a free download without ads, with optional in-app purchases available to unlock enhanced features such as submitting posts, multiple accounts, a customizable app icon and gestures, Touch ID or Face ID authentication, and GIF scrubbing.
In honor of World AIDS Day, which takes place on December 1, Apple has started turning the Apple Store logos at many of its retail locations around the world red.
Apple CEO Tim Cook shared some photos of the red logos on Twitter this afternoon.
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak earlier this week said that Apple plans to turn the logos at 125 stores red, with another 400 stores set to feature red decals over their Apple logos. The red coloring is meant to raise awareness for the global fight against AIDS.
Apple plans to promote World AIDS Day in its retail locations over the course of the next week. From Saturday, December 1 to Friday, December 7, $1 of every Apple Pay purchase made at an Apple Store, through the Apple Store app, or on the Apple website will be donated to (RED), the charity Apple has worked with for years.
(RED) focuses on putting an end to AIDS in Africa through money given to The Global Fund. Yesterday, Apple said it has raised $200 million for (RED) through the exclusive (PRODUCT)RED merchandise that it sells.
When Apple customers purchase a (PRODUCT)RED device or accessory, a portion of the proceeds is donated to (RED).
Apple today shared a new video in its long running "Shot on iPhone" ad campaign, this time festuring "decotora," aka extravagantly decorated trucks that are popular in Japan.
The video features a truck driver named Kazuya Sekino who has crated a decotora named "Lady Misaki" that's outfitted with hundreds of LED lights, perfectly showcasing the low light photographic capabilities of the iPhone XS.
Apple has released multiple "Shot on iPhone" videos in the past, and it has used Shot on iPhone for photography campaigns on billboards, social media networks, and more.
To promote the iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple previously shared a Shot on iPhone video that showcasing slo-mo, 4K, and time-lapse video modes.
The iPhone XS and XS Max have upgraded two-lens camera setups with improved low light picture and video taking capabilities thanks to larger sensors and better stabilization techniques.
If you have an iPhone that needs a battery replacement, it's a good idea to get it fixed soon as Apple's $29 battery replacement program is set to end on December 31, 2018.
Apple is still offering $29 battery replacements for the iPhone SE, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and X. All of these devices are eligible for a discounted $29 battery following the processor slowdown scandal that Apple faced earlier this year.
After December 31, 2018, replacement iPhone batteries will return to regular price. For most iPhones, replacement batteries will be priced at $49, with the exception of the iPhone X. Apple will charge $69 for an iPhone X battery replacement.
The iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR are not eligible for $29 replacement batteries as these devices were released well after the battery issue first came to light and are still under warranty.
How to Initiate a Battery Replacement
To initiate a battery replacement, use Apple's battery support site. You can take your iPhone to an Apple retail store, an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or send it in for replacement at an Apple Repair Center.
With both replacement methods, Apple warns that it could take up to five business days, but in-store battery replacements are often completed more quickly. Some mail-in repairs can take as long as nine days.
Any damage that impairs the replacement of the battery, such as a cracked screen, will need to be repaired first before the battery can be swapped out for a new one.
Checking the Health of Your iPhone Battery
You can check on the health of your battery by opening up the Settings app, choosing the Battery section, and selecting "Battery Health."
The Battery Health option will let you know the exact maximum capacity of the battery in your iOS device and whether your iPhone is able to operate at Peak Performance Capability.
If the battery is not operating at Peak Performance Capability, you will see a recommendation for a battery replacement in order to restore the full functionality of the device.
Performance Management and Minimizing Shutdowns
iPhones that are not operating at peak performance can see random shutdowns due to a degrading battery's inability to keep up with processor demands at times of peak usage.
To prevent processor shutdowns, Apple introduced a performance management feature that throttles the processor of the iPhone when the battery cannot provide the power the processor needs.
Performance management does result in slower performance, and while the feature can be disabled by following these steps in an iPhone with a degraded battery, the only permanent fix is a new battery.
Apple initially implemented performance management quietly in the iOS 10.2.1 update in January 2017 and did not let customers know what was going on. The feature was discovered in late 2017, leading to customers who were outraged that Apple did not tell them their devices were being throttled.
There was a huge public upset, leading Apple to issue an apology and to provide the $29 battery replacement program. Apple has been offering no-questions-asked $29 battery replacements since December of 2017.
The Future of Performance Management
All iPhones will eventually face battery degradation issues due to the nature of lithium ion batteries. While performance management software was initially limited to the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and SE, Apple in iOS 12.1 added it to the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X to prevent future shutdowns should these devices suffer from failing batteries.
In the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X, performance management features introduced due to degraded batteries "may be less noticeable" because of their "more advanced hardware and software design."
Future iPhones, such as the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, will also eventually receive performance management software until battery technology improves.
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Pad & Quill to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company's high-quality carefully crafted iPad cases made from materials like leather, linen, and wood.
Pad & Quill has multiple iPad case options available, including several cases for the new 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models.
The Oxford Leather iPad Pro case, priced starting at $114.95, is made from full grain bridle leather in chestnut, whiskey, or black. Designed specifically for the latest iPad models, the Oxford case is a folio-style case that can protect both sides of the iPad when closed. One side of the case attaches to the iPad using a strong 3M adhesive material.
When open, the Oxford case has a built-in horizontal viewing stand and it is able to work with the Smart Keyboard Folio that comes with the iPad Pro, so you don't need to sacrifice your keyboard to use this case. There's a spot for the Apple Pencil 2, an interior pocket for documents, and an elastic strap to keep everything safe when it's closed.
Pad & Quill also has a second folio case for the new iPad Pro models, the Contega Thin. Priced starting at $89.95, the Contega, which is one of the thinnest iPad Pro cases from Pad & Quill, is made from an archival linen in a charcoal or gray color. The Contega, like the Oxford, features a built-in horizontal viewing stand when open and attaches to the back of the iPad with 3M adhesive.
It too is compatible with the Apple Smart Keyboard Folio, so you can use the keyboard with the iPad Pro while still having the protection and benefit of the Contega case, and it features space for the Apple Pencil 2 along with a magnetic sleep/wake feature.
If you're in the market for an iPad case, this weekend is a good time to buy from Pad & Quill. The site is having a special sale and event, with 15 percent off every order available with the promo code "Family15."
Pad & Quill is also giving away a free small journal to every customer who is able to find the Pad & Quill mascot, Philbert the Chow, on the P&Q website when placing an order. Mention where Philbert was found on the site and you'll get a small journal with your order at no cost.
For our giveaway, Pad & Quill is providing five iPad cases that MacRumors readers can win. Each winner will be able to choose their favorite iPad case from the site. 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, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook 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 (November 30) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on December 7. The winners will be chosen randomly on December 7 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
Although HomePod is available in Apple's Home app, the company's smart home speaker as of yet can't be integrated into HomeKit scenes and automations. With such a feature, users would be able to activate their favorite HomeKit scenes, alongside a specific Apple Music playlist, album, or song from their HomePod.
Reddit user Running_In_Space on r/HomeKit explained recently that this is actually possible today, thanks to a helpful (and super simple to create) Siri Shortcut. With the Shortcut, you can tie any Home scene together with any Apple Music playlist. While the Shortcut is limited to playlists, you can choose from your own playlists or those created by Apple Music.
In the example below, we created a holiday themed Siri Shortcut that turns on Christmas tree lights (connected to an iDevices Switch) and shuffles a holiday playlist any time we say, "Hey Siri, Merry Christmas." Also remember that you'll need an Apple Music subscription, HomeKit-enabled lights or other devices of some kind, and the updated Siri Shortcuts iOS app.
How to Create the Siri Shortcut
Open the iOS "Shortcuts" app
Tap "Create Shortcut"
In the search bar, type "Get Playlist" and add it into your Shortcut
Next to Playlist, tap "Choose" and pick your desired playlist
Search for "Play Music" and add it (here you can also edit settings for shuffling and/or repeating the playlist)
Search for "Run Home Scene" and add it
Next to Home, tap "Choose" and select your home
Next to Scene, tap "Choose" and select your desired scene
Before you tap "Done," select the toggle icon under the Done button at the top right corner of the screen
Name the Shortcut, and tap "Add to Siri" to record your preferred trigger phrase
Tap "Done" until you're back on the Library screen of the app
Now you will be able to say, "Hey Siri, [Trigger Phrase]" to your HomePod and have the selected Home scene activate along with the chosen Apple Music playlist, connected via AirPlay on your iPhone. Siri typically responds with, "Okay, running your shortcut," and it can take a bit longer than a normal scene activation in HomeKit due to the multiple actions.
There are numerous versions of this Siri Shortcut that could be created, like having a nighttime scene in HomeKit tied to a mellow Apple Music playlist that's triggered when you say, "Hey Siri, goodnight." We tried testing out Home scenes that are activated via geofences, but in the few times we tried we could not get HomePod to turn on and play the specified Apple Music playlist when the arriving home scene in HomeKit was activated.
It's also worth noting that the desired Apple Music playlist will play on whatever device you are talking to Siri with, so in our example if we said, "Hey Siri, Merry Christmas" and HomePod picked it up, then the holiday playlist played on HomePod. If we said the same phrase to our iPhone, the playlist would play there instead. In both scenarios, the Christmas tree lights were still activated regardless of the Apple device used.
Apple introduced Siri Shortcuts as an update to its Workflow iOS app back in September, and although creating Shortcuts can be an arduous task in some cases, there are a few super useful actions that have been shared over the past few months. Do you use Siri Shortcuts and have a favorite one to share? Give us the details in the comments below or Tweet us @MacRumors to let us know your most-used Shortcuts.
While the Apple Watch typically has a 14-day return policy, Apple will honor refund requests related to upcoming heart health features for up to 45 days after purchase, according to an internal document distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers in the United States.
The document, obtained by MacRumors, states that Apple Stores will refer these requests to Apple Support, so customers will need to contact Apple by phone, email, or online chat to initiate a refund beyond the usual two-week period.
Heart health features include the upcoming ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 models and irregular heart rhythm notifications on Apple Watch Series 1 through Series 4 models. A separate Apple document obtained by MacRumors indicates that the ECG app, and likely the notifications, will be enabled in watchOS 5.1.2.
Apple Stores are not required to inspect the Apple Watch if a customer has a heart health-related refund request greater than 14 days after purchase, so it sounds like as long as a customer mentions the ECG app or irregular heart rhythm notifications as the reason for the return, Apple will honor it up to 45 days.
Apple's document does not provide any further details, so it's unclear why this policy exists. While the ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notifications are regulated features, the extended refund policy is not mandated by the FDA, according to a spokesperson for the agency. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Perhaps this is simply more time for customers to try out the heart-related features. Apple cautions 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.
ECG and other heart data will be collected in the Health app on a paired iPhone 5s or newer running iOS 12.1.1 or later.
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