A few months ago, in an internal document obtained by MacRumors, Apple indicated the Mid 2012 model 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display would be classified as vintage or obsolete as of June 30, 2018, marking the notebook's end of hardware service eligibility at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers.
In a notice distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers this week, however, Apple says it "incorrectly classified" the notebook as vintage or obsolete on June 30, and revised the date to December 31, 2018.
The full-length internal document, obtained from multiple sources:
In a Service News article published in May 2018, the MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012) was incorrectly classified as vintage in the state of California (U.S.) and country of Turkey and obsolete worldwide (except for California and Turkey) on June 30, 2018.
Please note that the MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012) will not become vintage in California (U.S.) and Turkey and obsolete in all other countries until the end of December 2018.
Apple apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Apple considers a product to be vintage or obsolete, depending on the region, when at least five years have passed since the product was last manufactured. When this happens, Apple and Apple Authorized Service Providers stop offering hardware service, like repairs, except in California and Turkey by law.
All in all, if you're still using this particular MacBook Pro, it turns out you still have a little under six months of hardware support remaining from the Genius Bar and certified repair shops. So, if you've been looking to get that battery replaced, or otherwise, it would be best to do so sooner rather than later.
Beyond that date, you're on your own. Fortunately, the repair experts at iFixit offer many do-it-yourself guides and replacement parts.
Apple's Chinese iCloud operator has agreed a deal with state-owned China Telecom to transfer local customer data to the company's Tianyi cloud storage business, according to TechCrunch.
China Telecom reportedly announced the agreement in a WeChat post, saying that local Apple partner Guizhou-Cloud Big Data (GCBD) had migrated all Chinese iCloud customer data to Tianyi servers. Apple separately confirmed the change to TechCrunch.
Back in January, Apple controversially announced that its iCloud services in mainland China would be overseen by GCBD, which was already known to have ties to the Chinese government. GCBD was brought on board to manage Apple's new $1 billion data center, which opened in the region last year.
Customer data stored on iCloud includes emails, text messages, and the encryption keys that protect it. Customers who did not want to use iCloud operated by GCBD were given the option to terminate their account or select a country other than China for their iCloud account.
Apple made the transfer to comply with the latest laws enacted in China regarding regulations on cloud services, requiring foreign firms to store data within the country. The move means Chinese government can use its own legal system to ask Apple for its users' iCloud data, whereas before the government had to go through the U.S. legal system.
Today's development is unlikely to quell the concerns of human rights and privacy advocates, who criticized Apple's original decision to rely on GCBD and questioned whether it will be able to maintain and protect its customers' privacy under the new Chinese laws.
At the time, Apple said, "While we advocated against iCloud being subject to these laws, we were ultimately unsuccessful." Nevertheless, Apple assured customers that no backdoors had been created into any of its systems, and that it retained control of the encryption keys. Whether the new GCBD-Telecom arrangement impinges on Apple's original assurances remains to be seen.
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.
Samsung's back to a familiar advertising tactic in its latest Galaxy S9 video - making fun of Apple. The new "Ingenius: Speed" ad shared this afternoon by Samsung pokes fun at the Genius Bar while touting Samsung's faster download speeds.
In the video, a customer at the "Ingenius" bar that resembles an Apple Store asks about the iPhone X's download speeds compared to the Galaxy S9's speeds, leaving the Apple retail employee unable to respond.
Customer: So the iPhone X doesn't have the fastest download speeds.
Genius: It is faster than the iPhone 8.
Customer: But the download speeds aren't faster than the Galaxy S9. I thought it was the "smartphone of the future."
Genius: Um...
Samsung's new video, and its Galaxy S9 website, are touting its LTE performance scores on Ookla's Speedtest Intelligence Data from February to April 2018. Ookla, for those unfamiliar, uses real-world user-submitted speed test results and aggregates LTE speeds from a variety of devices.
In Ookla's spring speed tests, the Galaxy S9, which is equipped with Qualcomm's X20 LTE chip, was 37 percent faster than the iPhone X and 43 percent faster than the iPhone 8, on average.
The iPhone X is equipped with either Qualcomm's Snapdragon X16 or Intel's XMM7480 LTE chip, depending on model, which does indeed have lower theoretical maximum download speeds than the X20. While the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are faster than the current iPhones when it comes to download speeds, rumors suggest Apple is making improvements with its 2018 iPhone lineup.
Apple is planning to introduce improved antenna technology for faster connection speeds, along with dual-SIM dual standby functionality. Apple's new iPhones may use Intel's XMM 7560 and Qualcomm's X20 chips, both of which are faster than the LTE chips in the current iPhone X.
Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Pro can be upgraded to include a 6-core 2.9GHz Intel Core i9 processor that has demonstrated impressive performance, but one YouTuber is warning customers away from purchasing it with claims that the MacBook Pro chassis can't provide sufficient cooling for it to run at full speed.
Dave Lee this afternoon shared a new video on the Core i9 MacBook Pro he purchased, and according to his testing, the new machine is unable to maintain even its base clock speed after just a short time doing processor intensive work like video editing.
"This CPU is an unlocked, overclockable chip but all of that CPU potential is wasted inside this chassis -- or more so the thermal solution that's inside here," says Lee.
He goes on to share some Premiere Pro render times that suggest the new 2018 MacBook Pro with Core i9 chip underperforms compared to a 2017 model with a Core i7 chip. It took 39 minutes for the 2018 MacBook Pro to render a video that the older model was able to render in 35 minutes. Premiere Pro is not well-optimized for macOS, but the difference between the two MacBook Pro models is notable.
Lee ran the same test again with the 2018 MacBook Pro in the freezer, and in cooler temperatures, the i9 chip was able to offer outstanding performance, cutting that render time down to 27 minutes and beating out the 2017 MacBook Pro.
As Lee points out, thermal throttling is in no way unusual and it's seen in all manner of laptops and mobile devices from a range of manufacturers, but he says that "this degree" of thermal throttling is "unacceptable."
This kind of thermal throttling really affects the end user. It doesn't matter what you're using it for, like if you're a Final Cut user, or an Adobe Premiere user, or if you're using it for software development or calculations like fluid dynamics -- it doesn't matter what you're doing with your device. If you have any kind of extended computational work that uses the CPU -- that's probably why you're looking at these devices in the first place -- it's going to throttle. And that's unacceptable to me.
It's not clear if there's something wrong with the MacBook Pro with Core i9 chip that Lee received, because this kind of throttling is likely something Apple would have tested for and not something that other users have reported at this point.
Because this is just one data point, it's not enough information to reach a conclusion about the i9 chip available for the 15-inch MacBook Pro, but additional testing will certainly follow to shed more light on Lee's video. We have asked Apple for comment on Lee's findings, and will update this post if we hear back.
Update: Other reports of excessive i9 throttling have been trickling in from Reddit users who have purchased 15-inch MacBook Pros with the high-end chip. These threads are available here and here.
Following the release of iOS 11.4.1 on Monday, July 9, Apple has stopped signing iOS 11.4, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 11.4.1 will no longer be able to downgrade to earlier versions of iOS.
Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.
iOS 11.4.1 is now the only version of iOS 11 that can be installed on iOS devices by the general public, but developers and public beta testers can download iOS 12, the next-generation version of iOS that's in beta testing ahead of a fall release.
Instagram is planning to introduce a new two-factor authentication method that will not require a user's phone number and will instead work with authentication apps like Google Authenticator, reports TechCrunch.
Authentication apps are a safer two-factor option than the phone number method, which can be bypassed through SIM hacking, as outlined earlier today by VICE's Motherboard.
Image via TechCrunch
SIM hacking involves hijacking a person's phone number by manipulating cellular service support staff and claiming a SIM card has been lost.
Creating a new SIM associated with the phone number allows it to be stolen, and if that phone number is associated with a social networking account, as it would be with Instagram's current two-factor authentication method, the results can be devastating.
In Motherboard's article, for example, SIM hacking is used to steal Instagram accounts, which can be lucrative when highly desired usernames are poached.
Instagram is especially vulnerable to this kind of attack because right now, when you turn on Instagram's two-factor authentication, account codes and password reset requests are sent via your phone number.
Instagram has already been testing the new two-factor authentication method, with screenshots and details baked into the code for the Instagram Android app. This code was discovered by a TechCrunch tipster, who also shared screenshots.
An Instagram spokesperson confirmed the screenshots are legitimate and said Instagram is "continuing to improve the security of Instagram accounts, including strengthening 2-factor authentication."
It is not yet clear when Instagram plans to roll out the new two-factor authentication method, but it could come soon as it appears to be nearly finished based on the screenshots.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave update to its public beta testing group, a week and a half after seeding the second macOS Mojave public beta. Today's third public beta is the same as the fourth developer beta released yesterday, and makes macOS Mojave available for 2018 MacBook Pro models.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the macOS Mojave beta through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store. Subsequent betas are installed in a different way, using the Software Update icon in System Preferences.
Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas.
Potential beta testers should make a full Time Machine backup before installing macOS Mojave, and it should not be installed on a primary machine because betas are unstable and often have bugs.
macOS Mojave's main new feature is a systemwide Dark Mode, which gives Mac users a new way to view the operating system. A revamped Mac App Store makes it easier than ever to discover great apps, while Dynamic Desktops give you wallpapers that subtly change throughout the day.
An improved Finder window with Gallery View, Sidebar, Quick Look, and Quick Actions makes it easier to manipulate, edit, and organize your files, while Desktop Stacks organizes all of the files on your desktop.
The Apple News, Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos apps have made their way to the Mac in Mojave, and for the first time, you can use Siri on Mac to control HomeKit products. Group FaceTime, an iOS 12 feature, is also available in Mojave and lets you chat with up to 32 people at one time.
Apple is keeping your data safer than ever with new security and privacy improvements, and Safari in macOS Mojave makes it much harder to track you through share/like buttons and via your system configuration.
macOS Mojave is compatible with 2015 and newer MacBooks, 2012 and newer MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac models, the 2017 iMac Pro, and Mac Pro models from late 2013 and mid-2010 and mid-2012 models with Metal-capable GPUs.
Mojave will be available in a beta capacity for the next several months so Apple can work out bugs ahead of a fall release.
During the second quarter of 2018, spanning from April to June, Apple's iPhones accounted for 36 percent of total U.S. smartphone activations, an improvement over last year's numbers where iPhone activations accounted for just over 30 percent of total activations, according to new numbers shared today by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners [PDF].
More customers are choosing iPhone over Samsung devices this year, and Apple's higher number of activations came at Samsung's expense. During the quarter, Samsung devices were also responsible for 36 percent of new activations, but for Samsung, that's a solid decline from last year.
"Apple improved in part at Samsung's expense, whose share of activations declined relative to both last quarter and last year," said Mike Levin, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. "In a quarter without any significant phone launches, Samsung had market share only equal to Apple's. A year ago, Samsung had a considerably greater share of sales."
Apple devices and Samsung devices are the dominant brands, due to ongoing consolidation of the U.S. market. LG and Motorola, for example, have lost ground to Apple and Samsung over the course of the last year.
When it comes to operating systems, iOS and Android are, by far, the dominant operating systems in use. iOS accounted for 36 percent of activations during the quarter, while Android, which runs on an array of different smartphones from multiple manufacturers, accounted for 63 percent of U.S. activations.
Compared to last year, iOS's share of activations grew, with CIRP citing increased customer loyalty to their operating system of choice. Given the sheer number of Android devices compared to iOS devices, it's not surprising Android devices are responsible for approximately two thirds of activations.
Consumer Intelligence Research Partners regularly shares these surveys to monitor the state of the smartphone market. Findings are based on a survey of 500 subjects who activated new or used phones during the April to June 2018 period.
Apple's 12-inch MacBook lineup is expected to receive a refresh in 2018, and the new machines may use Intel's upcoming 8th-generation 14nm++ Y-Series Amber Lake chips.
Details on the new chips leaked recently from Dell's Chilean site and Romanian site NextLab501, as highlighted by MacRumors forum reader EugW.
Chips appropriate for the 12-inch MacBook include the 1.1GHz Core m3-8100Y, the 1.3GHz Core i5-8200Y, and the 1.5GHz Core i7-8500Y.
Maximum clock speeds for the new Amber Lake chips suggest significant improvement in processor speeds over the 7th-generation Kaby Lake processors. For comparison's sake, Turbo Boost topped out at 3.0GHz on the 1.2GHz entry-level processor, 3.2GHz on the mid-level 1.3GHz processor, and 3.6GHz on the 1.4GHz high-end chip option in the previous-generation machines.
All of the chips use Intel's UHD 620 integrated graphics and are expected to be released in the third quarter of 2018, with the timing perfect for a fall refresh of the 12-inch MacBook.
Dell's upcoming and as-of-yet-unannounced XPS 13 2-in-1 machine confirms the existence of the Core i5-8200Y and Core i7-8500Y processors, both of which are listed as processor options for the new device.
Intel first announced its upcoming Amber Lake chips at Computex, but thus far has not provided official info on the upcoming processors.
Rumors have not indicated when updates to the 12-inch MacBook will be available, but Apple could introduce refreshed machines alongside new iPhones in September, hold an event in October, or release them on a random date as it did with the recent MacBook Pro.
The recent launch of the MacBook Pro also hints at one new feature we could potentially be seeing in new 12-inch MacBook models aside from processor upgrades -- a third-generation butterfly keyboard.
2015 and later 12-inch MacBook models have suffered from the same issues with keyboard failures, so it would make sense for Apple to include an updated keyboard in those machines as well, if, as speculated, the "quieter" third-generation MacBook Pro butterfly keyboard's new silicone coverings do indeed prevent dust from infiltrating the keys.
Mophie today announced the launch of a new series of iPhone-exclusive Powerstation models, which are equipped with a Lightning port to allow them to be recharged using a Lightning cable rather than a traditional micro-USB cable.
With the ability to charge over Lightning, customers who purchase one of the new Lightning-equipped Mophie Powerstations will be able to charge their iPhones and their portable charger using the same cable.
Mophie is offering several new Powerstation options, with varying battery capacities and price points:
Powerstation Plus ($79.95) - 6040mAh with built-in Lightning connector and a single USB port. Available in heather gray, slate, and black.
Powerstation Plus XL ($99.95) - 10,000mAh with built-in Lightning connector and a single USB port. Available in heather gray, slate, black, and deep blue. Qi wireless charging is included, allowing the Powerstation Plus XL to be recharged via a Qi-based wireless charger.
Powerstation ($59.95) - 6,040mAh with two USB ports for charging two devices at once. Available in indigo blue and millennial pink.
Powerstation XXL ($99.95) - 20,200mAh with three USB ports for charging three devices at once. Available in black.
The Powerstation and Powerstation XXL, designed for use with iPhone, iPad, and AirPods, offer up an extra 20 and 70 hours of iPhone battery life, respectively, and come in an aluminum design.
The Powerstation Plus and Powerstation Plus XL offer built-in Lightning connectors, alleviating the need to supply your own Lightning cable for charging purposes. Both of these models offer a fabric-covered design with fabric over the top and bottom plates and can provide up to 34 hours of extra battery.
All of the Powerstation options include an LED power indicator to provide details on charging status and battery life, along with Priority Charging capabilities that send power to your device before recharging the Powerstation when it's plugged in.
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming iOS 12 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the third beta and more than a month after introducing the new software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
Registered developers can download the new iOS 12 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air after installing the proper certificate.
iOS 12 introduces major updates to the iOS operating system, with Apple revamping the system from top to bottom to make iPhones and iPads, especially older models, faster and more responsive.
On the iPhone X, there are new Animoji characters along with "Memoji," which are customizable, personalized Animoji that can be used both in Messages and in FaceTime. Messages and FaceTime have also gained fun new camera effects, and Group FaceTime support allows for calls with up to 32 people.
Siri is smarter in iOS 12 with a new Shortcuts feature that lets you create custom automations using first and third-party apps that can be activated with Siri, with Shortcuts able to be created with the beta version of the Shortcuts app that was introduced earlier in July.
Apple also built a comprehensive set of time management and monitoring tools into iOS 12 with Screen Time, allowing you to keep track of just how much time you're spending on your iPhone and iPad. App limits can help you cut back on iOS device usage, and robust parental controls are included for families.
Updated Do Not Disturb options make turning off notifications and distractions easier than ever, and a new Do Not Disturb at Bedtime feature cuts down on nighttime interruptions.
Group Notifications make incoming notifications easier to view and manage, while a new Instant Tuning feature lets you tweak your notification settings right on the Lock screeen on a notification-by-notification basis.
Apple News has a new Browse feature, the Stocks app has been redesigned, iBooks has been overhauled with a new look and a new name - Apple Books - and Voice Memos has been revamped with iCloud support and an iPad app.
ARKit 2.0 introduces new capabilities like shared experiences that let two people see the same AR environment on separate devices, and persistence, which allows AR experiences to be saved across multiple sessions. There's also a new Measure app for measuring objects using AR capabilities.
iOS 12 includes a revamped and rebuilt Maps app that uses a new Apple-designed Maps engine that will display foliage, pools, buildings, pedestrian pathways, and other map elements more accurately. The new Maps also includes significant improvements to traffic, real-time road conditions, construction, and more, plus it will enable Apple to push out changes and fixes more quickly.
The revamped Maps app is available in the Northern California area during beta testing. After iOS 12 launches, Apple will continue rolling out the new maps to additional U.S. locations across late 2018 and 2019.
Tons of other small tweaks and features have been added to iOS 12, so make sure to check out our dedicated roundup for additional detail on what's new in iOS 12.
Early betas of new operating system updates always introduce tweaked features and new functionality, and we'll be outlining what's new in the fourth beta below. We also rounded up all of the changes that were introduced in the previous betas, beta 2 and beta 3.
iOS 12 is available for developers and public beta testers, with a public launch planned for the fall alongside new iPhones.
Update: According to Apple's release notes for beta 4, there are several new issues with features like Screen Time, the App Store, and Siri Shortcuts. Apps in the App Store might fail to download properly the first time, and the cellular signal status bar on the iPhone X could be inaccurate while on the Lock Screen or Home Screen.
Screen Time usage data and settings may not sync between devices, with Apple recommending a restart to fix the issue.
Siri Shortcuts may not work while using CarPlay, could result in an error message on HomePod, may not be restored from iCloud backup, may not work if a device is locked, and SiriKit queries could be delayed or result in an error message.
Update 2: iOS 12 beta 4 expanded the revamped Apple Maps experience to all of Northern California.
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 5 update to developers, two weeks after releasing the third beta and more than a month after introducing the software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
To install the beta, you'll need the proper configuration profile, which can be obtained through the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 5 beta can be downloaded using the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update.
To update, the Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone. It would be wise to install the beta on a secondary device instead of a primary device given that this is an early version of the watchOS 5 software that still has bugs to be worked out.
watchOS 5 is a major update to watchOS, introducing Activity Competitions so you can compete on workouts with friends, Walkie-Talkie with push-to-talk functionality for quickly communicating with the people you talk to most, and auto workout detection to make it easier to start and stop workouts if you forget.
Other new features include an improved Siri watch face with support for third-party apps through Siri Shortcuts, a dedicated Apple Podcasts app, new Workout types that include Yoga and Hiking, new features for runners, WebKit support for viewing some web content on Apple Watch, and enhanced notifications, which will make notifications on the Apple Watch interactive.
Early software betas often introduce new functionality, so we'll update this post if anything new is found in the fourth beta of watchOS 5.
watchOS 5 is only available to developers and will not be provided to public beta testers (because there's no way to downgrade Apple Watch software), so non-developers will need to wait until the software is officially released in the fall to try it out.
The watchOS 5 update runs on all Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models, but it is not available for the first-generation "Series 0" Apple Watch models.
What's new in beta 4: The Walkie-Talkie icon on the Apple Watch face is no longer persistent. It will now be displayed briefly when lifting your wrist before fading away. Walkie-Talkie also appears to obey your Do Not Disturb settings, so other Walkie-Talkie users are not able to contact you when Do Not Disturb is turned on.
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of a new tvOS 12 operating system to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the third beta and more than a month after introducing the new software at the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference.
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV, the tvOS 12 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV using a profile that's installed through the Xcode software. Subsequent betas can be downloaded via the software update mechanism on the Apple TV.
tvOS 12 introduces support for Dolby Atmos sound, which was activated in the second beta. Apple says that iTunes will be home to the largest collection of Dolby Atmos-supported movies anywhere this fall. Customers that have previously purchased movies that gain Dolby Atmos support will see free upgrades to their titles, much like the rollout of 4K support.
Building on single sign-on, a new zero sign-on feature will further simplify the cable authentication process. With zero sign-on, the Apple TV can detect a user's broadband network and automatically sign them into supported apps they receive through their accompanying cable subscription.
Zero sign-on will be available for Charter Communications customers this fall and will expand to additional cable providers in the future.
Aerial screensavers now include location information and there are new screensavers captured in collaboration with the International Space Station. According to Apple's release notes, location information for aerials should be available as of beta 4.
Other improvements tvOS-related improvements include AutoFill passwords from iPhone, an Apple TV Remote automatically added to Control Center on the iPhone or iPad, and Apple TV support on Home control systems like Control4, Crestron, and Savant.
tvOS 12 is available for developers and public beta testers to work out bugs and other issues ahead of a fall public launch.
Samsung today announced it has completed functional testing and validation of the industry's first 10-nanometer class 8-gigabit LPDDR5 DRAM.
Samsung says the prototype chip boasts a data rate of up to 6.4 Gbps, which is 1.5 times as fast as the LPDDR4X DRAM used in the iPhone X and other flagship smartphones. The chip also features an all-new sleep mode and other features that reduce power consumption by up to 30 percent.
AnandTech has a good overview of the chip's technical details, but from a higher level, this development could result in future iPhones having even faster, yet even more efficient, memory. That would translate to maximized performance and extended battery life, which is good news all around.
Samsung said it plans to begin mass production of its next-generation DRAM lineups, including this LPDDR5 DRAM chip, but didn't specify when. LPDDR5 is said to be so cutting edge that the JEDEC standards group has not yet finalized the specifications for it, so it could take some time.
Apple currently sources DRAM from multiple suppliers, including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, varying by iPhone model.
A few months ago, in an internal document obtained by MacRumors, Apple acknowledged that some iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users may experience a grayed-out speaker button during phone calls, or not be heard during phone calls or FaceTime chats. Apple didn't identify a cause for the issues.
If an affected iPhone is no longer covered by warranty, Apple's document said Genius Bars or Apple Authorized Service Providers could escalate the case to Apple, and the company would grant an exception, resulting in a free repair for the customer. Of note, this was never a full-out service program.
"I just had my wife's iPhone 7 replaced this morning," said one MacRumors forum member, in a discussion thread about these issues. "Out of warranty and Apple took care of the bill. The mic on the device had failed."
As of last week, however, Apple appears to have stopped offering that exception. Reliable sources at multiple Apple Authorized Service Providers informed MacRumors that Apple has now deleted its internal document related to these issues, and they are no longer able to put through free repairs via Apple's system.
Instead, if an affected iPhone is past its warranty period, Genius Bars and Apple Authorized Service Providers must charge a standard out-of-warranty fee for the repair to be completed, according to the sources we spoke with.
While only a limited number of customers are affected, one source told us that the microphone issues are still prevalent, and do not appear to have been resolved, so it's unclear why Apple chose to stop offering exceptions. We've reached out to Apple for comment on the matter — we'll update if we hear back.
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices still within Apple's limited one-year warranty period or covered by AppleCare+ should remain eligible for a free repair.
Repairs can be initiated by booking an appointment at a Genius Bar, or at an Apple Authorized Service Provider, via the Contact Apple Support page: iPhone → Repairs & Physical Damage → Unable to Hear Through Receiver or Speakers → Built-in Speaker → Bring In For Repair and select a location and time.
Well-known leaker Ben Geskin today tweeted a photo of what he claims are front glass panels for Apple's widely rumored trio of new iPhones, all of which are expected to be announced in September as usual.
The lineup is expected to include a second-generation iPhone X, a so-called iPhone X Plus, and what will essentially be a budget iPhone X, with 5.8-inch, 6.5-inch, and 6.1-inch screen sizes respectively.
Geskin tweeted a second photo of the front glass panels with wallpapers, providing a realistic visualization of the 2018 iPhones.
As he depicted in mockups last month, Geskin says the 6.1-inch model with an LCD panel will have slightly thicker bezels compared to the iPhone X and iPhone X Plus, which are expected to have OLED displays.
A similar photo was uploaded to Slashleaks by user Dimitri12, providing a closer look at the thicker bezels on the 6.1-inch model.
All three devices are expected to feature edge-to-edge displays with a notch for the TrueDepth sensors that enable Face ID.
Global shipments of 3D sensing smartphones are expected to reach over 100 million units in 2018, according to China-based analyst Sigmaintell, as Android phone makers gradually adopt the technology that Apple introduced to market last year.
China-based Xiaomi and Oppo have already unveiled phones featuring their own versions of the 3D scanning technology that Apple launched in the iPhone X back in September, while Apple is expected to bring Face ID to three new iPhones that are set for launch in the fall.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
Announced in May, Xiaomi's 6.28-inch Mi 8 Explorer Edition, which combines 3D facial recognition technology and an in-display fingerprint sensor, is expected to hit stores in China on July 24, with a price tag in the region of $550.
In June, Oppo announced the Find X with a 6.42-inch AMOLED display. The 3D-sensing enabled phone is a direct competitor to the Mi 8, and features the same 8GB of RAM and Snapdragon 845 processor as its rival, with a higher price tag of around $750.
Also in June, Vivo unveiled new 3D sensing technology which it says has 10 times the accuracy of the Face ID authentication system in Apple's iPhone X.
Oppo Find X
Vivo's claim stems from its Time of Flight (TOF) system using 300,000 data points to map the user's face in three dimensions, compared to the 30,000 points of infrared light used in Apple's smartphone. The hardware is expected to feature in Vivo's new flagship model set for launch later this year, so whether the specs translate in practice to better security and accuracy remains to be seen.
As for Samsung, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9 models already feature facial recognition, but it is 2D, and tests have proved that the systems could be spoofed with a photo of a face. The Korea-based firm is said to be considering adding more sophisticated 3D facial recognition to the Galaxy S9 lineup later this year.
Despite growing adoption of 3D sensing across the market, Apple will remain the primary vendor of the technology throughout 2018, with combined shipments of equivalent Android smartphones likely to reach only 12 million units, according to Sigmaintell.
The latest Sonos product, the Sonos Beam, is today available for purchase from the Sonos website and from various retailers around the world.
First announced in June, the Sonos Beam has been available for pre-order, but today is its official launch date. The Sonos Beam is a $399 smart, compact sound bar that's designed for use with TV sets.
Sonos says the Beam offers five Class-D digital amplifiers, four full-range woofers for true playback of mid-range vocal frequencies, one tweeter for creating crisp and clear dialogue, three passive radiators for deep, warm bass, and a five far-field microphone array.
Available in black or white, the Sonos Beam includes features like a dialog clarity speech enhancement to make dialog in TV shows and movies easier to hear, and there's a night sound mode for watching late night TV without waking the house.
Like the Sonos One, Sonos Playbase, and second-generation Play:5, the Sonos Beam supports Apple's new AirPlay 2 feature, which allows for Siri control of Apple Music and the ability to play and control multi-room audio on compatible devices.
Along with AirPlay 2 and Siri support, Sonos Beam works with Alexa, and it pairs well with other Sonos speakers.
Sonos is offering limited time discounts on its speaker lineup to complement the beam, including $20 off two Sonos Ones, $100 off four Sonos Ones, and $50 off a Sonos Beam set that includes two Play:1 speakers.
Sonos is also today announcing that Audible can now be controlled on Sonos using voice with Amazon Alexa. Sonos devices have supported Audible since earlier this year, but voice control has been added.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Sonos. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Following the 
