Fortnite has topped the iPhone download charts in more than 40 countries since it was released, despite the fact that it continues to be invite only. As of now, it is the number one free app in the Games section of the App Store.
According to Sensor Tower, Fortnite earned $1 million during the first 72 hours after in-app purchases first became live in the game for beta testers.
In Fortnite, players can buy outfits, tools, weapons, emotes, gliders, and more using the in-game currency, V-Bucks. Players can purchase 1,000 V-Bucks for $9.99, which is the minimum in-app purchase. Higher quantities of V-Bucks are available for more money.
Fortnite earned far more than other survival-style games that were released at the same time. Knives Out, a competing game, earned $57k, while Rules of Survival earned $39k. Fortnite could have some competition now, however, as Tencent today released the official version of PUBG Mobile, which offers the same kind of gameplay available in Fortnite.
Compared to other popular games, Fortnite hasn't brought in quite as much money, but it is still in a beta testing phase. Pokémon GO brought in $4.9 million just four days after release, and Clash Royale earned $4.6 million four days after it was released.
The goal in Fortnite is to be the last person standing, with players tasked with killing opponents using a variety of weapons while also avoiding death from other players. The game is also available on PCs and consoles, with cross-platform gameplay available if enabled.
Fortnite can be downloaded from the App Store for free, but a beta invite is required to play. Epic Games plans to expand the beta in the weeks to come, but it's not yet clear when it will see an official launch. [Direct Link]
The Amazon Kindle app for iOS devices, which is designed to allow Amazon-purchased ebooks to be read on the iPhone and iPad, was today updated with several new features.
On compatible iPad models, there's now support for Split View, so you can use the Amazon Kindle app side-by-side with other apps for multitasking while reading.
In addition to Split View support, today's update adds continuous scrolling, a feature that lets you scroll through books like you would an iPad. You can activate the option by going to Settings and turning on continuous scrolling. Once enabled, the feature can be turned on and off using the Aa menu in your book.
Amazon has also added a feature to pull down in your book library to refresh the list of available books, and there are new Kindle dictionaries for Arabic.
What's New
- Split view on iPad is here! Resize the app to multi-task while reading without ever switching context. - Try scrolling through your book - just like a web page. Turn continuous scrolling on via Settings, then easily turn it on and off from the Aa menu in your book. Tell us what you think. - Pull down in the library to refresh your list of books. - We've added Kindle dictionaries for Arabic.
Samsung's Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are using 20 percent thicker glass and a stronger aluminum frame, both of which are designed to cut down on damage from drops. Samsung says the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are more durable than previous devices thanks to the new materials.
SquareTrade today conducted its traditional breakability tests on the Galaxy S9 devices to test Samsung's claims. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ did indeed manage to beat out the iPhone X and older Galaxy devices, but they still didn't fare well when dropped.
In every drop test, conducted from a height of six feet, the Galaxy S9 and the S9+ shattered. The two devices bent at 230 and 210 pounds, respectively, and both were cracked in a 60 second tumble test. The Galaxy S9 earned an overall breakability score of 71, while the larger Galaxy S9+ earned a score of 76.
Back in November, SquareTrade conducted the same tests on the iPhone X and deemed it the "most breakable iPhone ever" as it too shattered at the front and back when dropped from a height of six feet.
The iPhone X actually fared worse in SquareTrade's tests and showed more extensive damage and breakage in every durability test. It earned an overall breakability score of 90, much higher than the S9 and S9+.
PhoneBuff also recently did some side-by-side drop tests to compare the Galaxy S9+ and the iPhone X. In a back drop test, the iPhone X held up while the Galaxy S9+'s glass back shattered. A side test comparing the iPhone X's stainless steel frame to the S9+'s aluminum frame also saw the iPhone X come out on top.
A third facedown drop on the display side of each smartphone saw the Galaxy S9+ win out over the iPhone X, which cracked. Overall, PhoneBuff used a numbered rating system to compare the drop results, giving the edge to the Samsung Galaxy S9+ because it held up better to a repeated drop test.
While the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ appear to have fared slightly better than the iPhone X in drop tests, the two devices are still made of glass and still shattered. They shattered to a somewhat a lesser degree, sure, but broken is broken. All glass smartphones, regardless of manufacturer, need to be used with caution and protected with a case as necessary.
Unsurprisingly, neither the iPhone X's "most durable" front and back glass nor the Galaxy S9's 20 percent thicker glass with "enhanced durability" can hold up to concrete and similar hard materials when dropped.
SquareTrade and PhoneBuff may have conducted these tests using specialized equipment for consistent results, but drop tests are never scientific and are not a reliable measure of durability because there are so many variables to take into account when a device is dropped in the real world.
Samsung, like Apple, offers an extended warranty that covers accidental damage. Priced at $11.99 per month, Samsung Premium Care allows Samsung device owners to submit three accidental damage claims in a 12-month period with a $99 deductible required.
Apple's AppleCare+ for iPhone X costs $199 up front and provides coverage for two incidents of accidental damage. Screen replacements require a $29 deductible, while all other damage is subject to a $99 fee. Sans AppleCare+, it costs $279 to repair a damaged iPhone X display and $549 for all other repairs.
Safari for iOS has a nifty built-in "Reader" feature that's designed to allow Safari users to read online articles with a distraction-free design that tucks away ads and other visual clutter on supported sites.
You can tap the Reader icon whenever you're reading through an article to activate this mode, but there's also a way to turn it on for all articles on a specific website or all supported articles on the web.
Open up Safari.
Navigate to a favorite website like MacRumors.com.
Click on an article.
In the navigation bar at the top, where it says "Reader View Available," tap and hold on the icon that looks like three lines.
From here, you'll see a pop that says "Automatic Reader View," with options to either enable Automatic Reader View on the website you're currently visiting or on all websites.
With this feature enabled, all articles that you click on for a specific website (or all websites if you chose that option) will be displayed in Reader View by default.
You can also use Reader View on the Mac too, and your Automatic Reader preferences for Mac can be accessed by going to Preferences in the Safari Mac app and choosing "Reader" under general. You can also turn Reader on for all articles on a particular webpage by right clicking or clicking and holding on the Reader icon while visiting a website.
Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 update to developers, one week after seeding the fifth beta and one month after the release of a macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Supplemental Update to address a bug that could cause apps to crash when receiving a character from the Indian language Telugu.
The new macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 beta can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store with the proper profile installed.
macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 includes bug fixes and performance improvements for issues that weren't addressed in macOS High Sierra 10.13.3.
The update offers support for some features that are available in iOS 11.3, like Messages on iCloud, which uploads all of your iMessages to the cloud. It will also support Business Chat, a feature coming when iOS 11.3 and macOS 10.13.4 are released to the public, and it includes improved support for eGPUs.
The macOS 10.13.4 update also brings the smoke cloud wallpaper that was previously only available on the iMac Pro and it introduces a warning when opening up a 32-bit app as part of an effort to phase them out.
In the future, Apple plans to phase out 32-bit Mac apps, just like it did with 32-bit iOS apps. Apple says macOS High Sierra is the last version of macOS that will support 32-bit apps without compromises.
In addition to our standalone articles covering the latest Apple news and rumors at MacRumors, this Quick Takes column provides a bite-sized recap of other headlines about Apple and its competitors on weekdays.
Monday, March 19
Highlights
1. AirPods: the audiophile review: The Verge's Vlad Savov finally got around to testing a pair of AirPods, over a year after they launched, and now understands why so many people are fans of Apple's wireless earphones. Once dismissive of them, he now thinks AirPods are the best truly wireless earbuds he's heard.
I say the AirPods aren't technically amazing, but that's only when comparing against existing standards for sound quality. In the category of truly wireless earbuds, the AirPods are the best I've yet heard. Bragi's The Headphone and Dash Pro left me underwhelmed, with the latter being especially bloated and disfigured by an overabundance of bass.
Commentary: AirPods are easily one of Apple's best new products in the past few years. They're easy to set up, easy to use, easy to carry around, and more than likely sound "good enough" for the majority of customers.
2. The case for an ePad: Drawing inspiration from the education-only eMac, released in 2002, 512 Pixels' Stephen Hackett envisions what an education-only iPad or so-called "ePad" could be. His suggestions include a more rugged design, Apple Pencil and external keyboard support, and more competitive pricing.
3. HQ Trivia had a weird night: The smartphone-based live trivia show offered a winner-takes-all $25,000 prize on Sunday night, but the would-be winner was ejected from the game for violating the rules, according to HQ. The company hasn't explained what the rule-breaking behavior was.
Then, on early Monday, HQ Trivia was briefly removed from the App Store. TechCrunch confirmed that the game was briefly unavailable due to an unrelated clerical error. More specifically, someone forgot to update HQ Trivia's expired credit card info in Apple's developer portal, according to the report.
HQ moderators kick players that violate HQ’s Terms of Service and Contest Rules. For more information, please refer to our Terms of Service here: https://t.co/septsPVgOm
— HQ Trivia (@hqtrivia) March 19, 2018
Commentary: It sounds like HQ Trivia caught a cheater on its hands, but we may never know for sure. The good news is that the amount now rolls over, meaning next Sunday's winner-takes-all prize will be $50,000, its largest jackpot ever. The game is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Other Links
People are accidentally setting off Apple's Emergency SOS alert: While we don't recommend it, the auto-calling feature can be disabled in Settings > Emergency SOS. When turned off, users must swipe their finger across the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.
The officially licensed app for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, better known as PUBG, today launched in the United States and several other regions around the world.
PUBG is an extremely popular multiplayer online battle royale-style game that's been available for PC and Xbox One since early 2017 as part of a Steam early access beta, with the game officially launching back in December.
In PUBG, up to 100 players fight in a battle to the death to become the last person (or team of up to four people) standing. The goal of the game is to kill other players without being killed, while also scouting through the game world for equipment, weapons, and other gear.
Two mobile versions of PUBG were released in China in February by Tencent Games, and as of today the mobile version of the game is available in the United States, Canada, and other regions.
According to the App Store description of the game, it's an authentic port of the PC version of PUBG, with 100 players able to fight one another to survive.
An authentic port of the PC version. 100 players are dropped on an enormous 8x8 km battlefield. Players fight to survive and eliminate each other through strategy and skill. The last one standing wins! Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!
Tencent says the game is compatible with the iPhone 5s and later, the iPad Air and later, the iPad mini 2 and later and the 6th-generation iPod touch. The company recommends the iPhone 6 or above to get the most out of the PUBG Mobile game.
The release of PUBG Mobile in the United States, Canada, and other regions follows the launch of the Fortnite beta on iOS, which became available last week.
PUBG Mobile can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Two members of Apple's Swift Core Team, Doug Gregor and Ben Cohen, joined the Swift Unwrapped podcast this morning, where they discussed Swift 4.1 and all of the changes that are coming in the update.
Cohen manages Apple's Swift Standard Library Team, while Gregor works on the Swift Compiler and Library Design. The discussion of Swift 4.1 is rather technical and may not interest all readers, but it will be a worthwhile listen for those who work with Swift.
The initial beta of Swift 4.1 was released alongside the first beta of Xcode 9.3 and iOS 11.3 in January. Swift 4.1 is nearing the end of its beta testing period and it will be released when Xcode 9.3 and iOS 11.3 are released. All of Apple's new software is expected soon, and a launch could happen as soon as this week.
An autonomous test vehicle being tested by Uber struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona late Sunday night, marking what appears to be the first pedestrian killed by an autonomous vehicle, reports The New York Times.
The Uber vehicle in question was in an autonomous driving mode with a human safety driver at the wheel, and the woman who was struck was crossing the street outside of a crosswalk, according to local police. No other details on the accident are available at this time.
One of Apple's autonomous test vehicles
Uber is cooperating with Tempe police and has suspended all of its self-driving vehicle tests in Tempe, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Toronto at the current time. Uber's autonomous vehicles have previously been involved in collisions, as have vehicles from other companies like Tesla, but this is the first pedestrian-related accident that has resulted in a fatality.
This incident will likely have wide-ranging implications for all companies who are testing autonomous vehicles, including Apple, and it could potentially result in more oversight and regulation.
To date, most autonomous vehicles in California and Arizona have been using safety drivers behind the wheel who are meant to take over in the event of an emergency, but California in February lifted that rule.
Starting on April 2, companies in California that are testing self-driving vehicles will be able to deploy cars that do not have a driver behind the wheel. Arizona also allows driverless cars to be tested in the state, and Waymo has been testing autonomous driverless minivans in Arizona since November.
Update: Tempe police chief Sylvia Moir told the San Francisco Chronicle that based on a preliminary investigation, it does not appear Uber is at fault in the accident. "It's very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode (autonomous or human-driven) based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway," she said. She also clarified that the Uber vehicle did not make an attempt to brake.
Moir did say, however, that she will not rule out the potential to file charges against the back-up driver in the vehicle. Tempe police will work with investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to further investigate the accident.
Affirm is a financial startup that allows users to pay for expensive items from select retailers in monthly installment plans, after they are first approved for a loan on the company's website or in the app. Today the company announced that users will now be able to secure credit in seconds and then checkout in retail stores thanks to integration of the Affirm virtual card into Apple Pay.
To apply for Affirm financing, customers complete a "simple, five-field" application that provides them with a real-time credit decision (rates are between 10-30 percent APR based on personal credit). After approval, customers use the Affirm app to enter the amount they want to spend by selecting a payment plan on the item (3, 6, 12, 18, or 24 months), and Affirm loads up the cost of the full purchase onto the virtual card, paying the merchant for the item and taking on "all fraud risk for the purchase."
With the addition of Apple Pay, Affirm's virtual card can be used anywhere that Apple Pay is accepted.
“People’s shopping habits are evolving very quickly, beyond simply moving online-to-offline or offline-to-online when engaging with merchants,” said Rob Pfeifer, Chief Retail Officer at Affirm. “Consumers are on their phones, online, and in-store throughout a shopping experience. Affirm provides a solution for this omnichannel experience in the form of transparent and honest finance.”
For merchants, Affirm says it provides two options to support the service: integration with the Affirm InStore API with their own point-of-sale system, or support Affirm's expanded virtual card experience. The company explained that regardless of what method merchants choose, the customer's retail checkout process is "virtually identical" to Affirm online and in the iOS app.
Affirm founder and CEO Max Levchin told Bloomberg that the company hopes it will continue to expand and that more stores will "embrace" Affirm because of its ability to offer retailers "insights into customer purchasing habits."
Levchin hopes more stores will embrace Affirm’s approach by offering them insights into customer purchasing habits. With Affirm In-Store, retailers are able to track if someone applies for a loan in the shop but finishes the transaction elsewhere. This is designed to let the retailer better understand the impact of sales staff.
“I’m optimistic there will be a day when shoppers instinctively reach for their phone and the Affirm app, rather than their credit card,’’ Levchin said.
In its press release, Affirm detailed how Apple reseller Simply Mac switched from paper-based applications for loans on its private label credit card, to Affirm InStore's new process. Tiffany Polmateer, Simply Mac’s director of purchasing and operations, said that since supporting Affirm it has seen a 20 percent increase in average order values, 63 percent more customer financing applications, and 34 percent more approvals per store.
Affirm is available to download on the iOS App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Apple updated its website recently with the announcement of a new retail location's grand opening in Tokyo, Japan, along with renovation news for its store in Natick, Massachusetts.
In Japan, Apple will open its new Apple Shinjuku location on April 7, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store will be located in the Shinjuku Marui main building -- a department store in Tokyo -- and mark the eighth location for Apple in Japan. Apple previously launched one of its high-end Apple Watch shops at the Isetan Department Store in Shinjuku, allowing customers to browse the original $10,000+ Apple Watch Edition and other models.
In the United States, the company announced that it will close Apple Natick Collection for renovations starting Sunday, April 22. The store is located in Massachusetts' Natick Mall, which is the largest shopping mall in New England by number of tenants, reaching 250 as of 2018. Apple notes on its page for the store that customers can visit Apple.com/retail to find the next store closest to them while the Natick mall location is closed.
More of the latest Apple Store openings in 2018 include Apple Kärntner Straße in Austria and Apple Garosugil in South Korea. In terms of the overall tally of Apple retail locations around the world, Apple Garosugil was the company's 500th store opening on January 27, 2018, following seventeen years after Apple's first two stores opened in May 2001.
Geskin tweeted a photo of an iPhone X and an accompanying SIM card tray in the new color earlier today. He said the device is "in production," with a codename of D21A. In a follow-up tweet, he added that the "color is real" and said Apple just "saved it for later," but hedged that "stuff can be canceled."
Geskin has gained a reputation for leaking dummy models, screen protectors, and accessories related to unreleased iPhones, but he doesn't have a perfect track record. Back in July, he said the iPhone X would be available in four colors, including a "mirror-like" finish that has yet to materialize.
In the months leading up to the iPhone X, it was widely rumored that the device would be available in a trio of colors, including Blush Gold, but Silver and Space Gray ended up being and remain the only colors available.
In September, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the gold model may encounter some production issues and be available in extremely low volume during pre-orders, which didn't happen, or go on sale at a later date entirely. Since then, rumors have largely gone quiet, beyond a few false release dates.
A year ago this week, Apple unveiled a special (PRODUCT)RED edition of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, so there is some precedence for a new color to be added midway during the product cycle. The white iPhone 4 was also delayed until April 2011, over nine months after the black version launched, due to a lack of UV protection.
Apple recently announced it will be hosting an education-themed event on Tuesday, March 27 at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago. While the event will be focused on "creative new ideas for teachers and students," it's certainly possible we could learn of the new iPhone X colors then.
Apple plans to order between 250 and 270 million display panels for its iPhone lineup this year, according to sources within Taiwan's panel industry. Around half that number will consist of OLED panels, to be shared among current-model iPhone X orders, a second-generation model, and a larger 6.5-inch iPhone, according to DigiTimes.
Apple's purchases of OLED panels in 2018 will reach 110-130 million units, including 70-80 million 5.9-inch units for the current iPhone X and an upgraded version of the same size. The remaining will be 40-50 million 6.5-inch OLED panels for the production of a less expensive model, said the sources.
Given the wording in the above quote from today's DigiTimes article, the "5.9-inch" reference could be overlooked as a typo, but claiming the 6.5-inch OLED panels are for a "less expensive model" seems off the mark.
Severalreliable sourcesclaim Apple is readying a second-generation version of the iPhone X with the same 5.8-inch OLED display, along with a larger "Plus" size with a 6.5-inch display. Design wise, both the 5.8-inch iPhone and 6.5-inch iPhone coming in 2018 are expected to look similar to the current iPhone X, with an edge-to-edge display and notch for the TrueDepth camera, glass bodies for wireless charging support, and dual-lens rear cameras.
Along with these two OLED iPhones, which will likely be just as expensive as the current iPhone X, Apple is however said to be planning to introduce a new, more affordable 6.1-inch iPhone with an LCD display, according to reports.
DigiTimes claims 60 to 70 million Low-Temperature PolySilicon (LTPS) LCD panels have been earmarked for this device, and around the same number in 4-inch, 4.7-inch, and 5.5-inch sizes are destined for new iPhone 8, iPhone SE, and iPhone 7 devices this year. Other reports claim Apple could use a Full Active LCD display for an upcoming 6.1-inch device, which could match or exceed some of the benefits of OLED.
Otherwise, today's report reiterates previous OLED supplier rumors for 2018. Apple is said to be sourcing the majority of its OLED displays for the 2018 iPhone lineup from Samsung, but LG Display seeks to become the second-largest supplier in the second half of this year, perhaps providing displays for the 6.5-inch OLED iPhone. Lastly, DigiTimes' sources claim Sharp and Japan Display could become Apple's main suppliers of LCD panels, rather than shoring up extra OLED supplies, as previous report claimed.
Bluetooth is what your Mac uses to connect to wireless devices like keyboards, mice, trackpads, speakers, and other peripherals. Generally, it's a reliable technology. At some point however, the chances are you'll run into difficulty establishing a Bluetooth connection with one or more of your devices.
Most problems can be fixed by unpairing and repairing the Bluetooth device, changing its batteries, rebooting your Mac, or performing an SMC reset. But if none of these methods work, you can always try resetting your Mac's Bluetooth module. Here's how to do it in macOS using the hidden Bluetooth Debug menu.
How to Reset Your Mac's Bluetooth Module
Before proceeding, bear in mind that if your setup relies exclusively on Bluetooth for communicating with your keyboard and mouse, then you're going to temporarily lose connection to them using the following methods, so you might want to have a backup wired input device option just in case.
Holding the Shift + Option (Alt) keys on your Mac's keyboard, click the Bluetooth symbol in the top-right corner of the macOS menu bar. (If you don't see it there, you need to check Show Bluetooth in menu bar in System Preferences -> Bluetooth.)
Locate the revealed Debug submenu and hover your mouse cursor over it.
Click Reset the Bluetooth module.
Now, restart your Mac.
You'll notice a couple of other potentially useful options in the Debug submenu. Factory reset all connected Apple devices does exactly what it says – forces any Apple-branded Bluetooth accessories back to the default settings they came with out of the box. It's a reliable fallback option if you've tried everything else to fix a connection issue, including resetting the Bluetooth module.
Lastly, the Remove all devices option might prove useful if you're moving your Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to another Mac, for example. However, you can also remove devices on an individual basis from the macOS menu bar, as long as you hold down Shift + Option (Alt) before you click the Bluetooth symbol.
Removing devices in this manner means you're not also banishing a whole bunch of other established Bluetooth connections like speakers and so on that you might want to keep.
Apple has a secret manufacturing facility in Santa Clara, California, where it is designing and producing test samples of its own displays, reports Bloomberg. The company is reportedly using MicroLED technology in an effort to replace Samsung's OLED displays in future devices.
Apple's MicroLED facility in Santa Clara (Bloomberg)
The technology giant is making a significant investment in the development of next-generation MicroLED screens, say the people, who requested anonymity to discuss internal planning. MicroLED screens use different light-emitting compounds than the current OLED displays and promise to make future gadgets slimmer, brighter and less power-hungry.
Apple's desire to expand its supply chain beyond Samsung has been extensively rumored, with Apple reportedly spending billions of dollars to help LG get its own OLED production up to speed and LG displays rumored to be making their way into this year's "iPhone X Plus" device.
Looking beyond OLED, many believe MicroLED will be the next display technology to appear in mobile devices, and Apple's interest in the technology was revealed in its acquisition of MicroLED firm LuxVue back in 2014. Apple has reportedly been working to first bring MicroLED to the Apple Watch, with some rumors pointing to that happening as soon as this year.
Bloomberg's report suggests, however, that it will likely be a few years until Apple's MicroLED displays will appear in shipping products, perhaps two years for the Apple Watch and three to five years for the iPhone. Apple will likely also outsource full-scale production of the displays.
The California facility is too small for mass-production, but the company wants to keep the proprietary technology away from its partners as long as possible, one of the people says. “We put a lot of money into the facility,” this person says. “It’s big enough to get through the engineering builds [and] lets us keep everything in-house during the development stages.”
Apple had reportedly been working on MicroLED display technology at an R&D center in Taiwan, but late last year the company was reported to have scaled back its efforts at that center. In light of today's news, it's possible Apple elected to concentrate its efforts at a facility closer to its headquarters.
Over the course of this week, we've been taking a look at Samsung's new flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+, as these two devices are the iPhone X's biggest competition.
In our latest video, available on the MacRumors YouTube channel, we compared the Samsung Galaxy S9+'s dual-lens camera with variable aperture to the vertical dual-lens camera in the iPhone X.
Samsung decided to focus heavily on image quality in its latest devices, and the S9+ has a 12-megapixel f/1.5 to f/2.4 variable aperture lens as its main camera, which is paired with a 12-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto lens, similar to what's available in the iPhone X.
A variable aperture is unique to Samsung's new devices, and it offers some benefits that are going to improve image quality. With a variable aperture, it's easier to find a balance between light and image quality.
Click to enlarge
At the wider f/1.5 aperture, the Galaxy S9+ camera can let in more light in low light situations, but a wider aperture tends to compromise image sharpness at the edges of the photo. In conditions where the lighting is better, the narrower f/2.4 aperture will provide a crisper higher-quality image. The Galaxy S9+ can automatically select the proper aperture for the best image.
The iPhone X has two lenses like the Galaxy S9+, but no adjustable aperture, and that gives the S9+ a bit of an edge. As you'll see in the images below, though, both the iPhone X and the Galaxy S9+ have fantastic cameras that are capable of taking some amazing images.
In these photos, we used an automatic mode to capture the images, and no editing was done. This image of a sunset demonstrates some key differences between the two cameras. The S9+ offers a crisper image with more definition, but the colors in the iPhone X image are warmer and more true to life.
Click to enlarge
The Galaxy S9+ has a "Live Focus" mode that's similar to Portrait Mode on the iPhone X, and the photo below compares Live Focus with Portrait Mode. Both of these modes have some issues, but making adjustments to blur is easier on the Galaxy S9+, which gives it the win over the iPhone X. In general, the Galaxy S9 also has more built-in image editing tools with its Pro Mode for taking manual photos.
Click to enlarge
In addition to images, we also took a look at video modes. Samsung's Galaxy S9 can record in slow motion at 960 FPS, a unique feature because the iPhone X's slo-mo maxes out at 240 FPS. Both devices can also record in 4K video with optical image stabilization, but the Galaxy S9+'s video was less jittery. The iPhone X did win out when it came to suppressing outdoor wind sound, though.
Both of these cameras, as mentioned before, are great and can capture images that are on par with DSLRs in some situations, but there are definitely some features that make the Galaxy S9+ ever so slightly better than iPhone X when it comes to image and video quality.
Click to enlarge
Of course, Apple is going to be introducing the successor to the iPhone X in about six months, and with the camera improvements that come with every new upgrade, it's likely iPhones coming in 2018 will outshine the Galaxy S9+.
Which images do you prefer? iPhone X or Galaxy S9+? Let us know in the comments.
United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin today visited Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple Park, according to an image shared on Twitter by Mnuchin.
In his tweet, Mnuchin thanked Tim Cook for Apple's commitment to invest $350 billion in the United States, which refers to a January announcement from Apple where the company said it planned to bolster the U.S. economy through job creation, existing investments, and new investments.
Apple said it will contribute $55 billion to the economy in 2018 and $350 billion over the course of five years. At the same time, Apple also pledged to increase its Advanced Manufacturing Fund, designed to create jobs in the U.S. through investments in suppliers, to $5 billion, up from $1 billion.
Mnuchin's visit to Apple Park comes just a few days after Tim Cook was spotted at Capitol Hill meeting with senators Mark Warren (D-VA) and Richard Burr (R-NC).
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.
Elgato has been making HomeKit-enabled "Eve" Bluetooth accessories for several years now, and the company now boasts an impressive lineup that includes a range of sensors, switches and smart plugs, and motion detectors.
Eve Button, Elgato's newest product, is a simple little three-gesture switch that's designed to control all of your other HomeKit products, activating scenes, turning lights on and off, and more.
Design
The Eve Button has a simple, clean design with a silver aluminum shell and a black plastic front plate with a smooth, circular button outline that doesn't protrude at all.
It's using the same design introduced in the Eve Degree, so if you already have an Eve Degree, the Eve Button will complement it nicely.
While there is no visible button protrusion, if you press on the button outline in the middle of the accessory, it will depress and activate the Eve Button's gestures. Pressing at the sides does not cause the front plate to depress, so the pressing motion is limited to the center, which is a clever design.
The back of the Eve Button is where the battery compartment is located, which can be opened with a coin. The Eve Button uses a CR2032 replaceable watch battery that can be purchased from a local store or Amazon.com for just a couple of dollars. You can check battery level in the Home app.
Elgato included four little rubber feet for the Eve Button so you can set it flat on a surface and it won't slip around, but curiously, there's no included adhesive strip or mounting option. The Eve Button is the kind of accessory I'd like to be able to attach to the wall near my light switch, but that's not an option.
With other switches and buttons, like the Hue Tap, there's an included mounting solution so it can go on the wall or be used anywhere, so this is a bit of a disappointing oversight with the Eve Button. Portability is, of course, the preferred functionality because not everyone is going to use this as a light switch, but it would be nice if mounting was an option. It's certainly light enough that I could pick up a 3M Command Strip on my own to stick it to the wall.
In addition to the four little feet, Elgato also included a whole slew of HomeKit stickers you can place on the Eve to remind you which gesture does what, which is a nice addition. Hue Tap and other competing button-like devices don't have that option, and it can be difficult to remember what's what, especially when there are multiple family members using the device.
Functionality
There are three gestures available on the Eve Button, which can be tied to three of your HomeKit scenes: a single press, a double press, and a long press.
All of these gestures are simple to execute, and the Eve Button does a good job telling them apart. I didn't have much trouble with it mistaking one gesture for another, and it takes just a few seconds (sometimes even less) from when I press the button to when the scene assigned to the button activates. You might think Bluetooth is slow, but it's not, even when I'm in a different room.
I have noticed once or twice that the Eve Button refuses to respond to a gesture, causing me to repeat it, but it hasn't happened often in the two weeks I've been testing it. For the record, I sometimes have the same issue with other accessories of this type. It's irritating, but not a dealbreaker.
It can get a little confused if you're pressing the button to activate different scenes that control the same accessory in rapid succession, but that's not a normal use case and something I did just for testing.
Scenes are the only thing that can be associated with the Eve Button, but Scenes can incorporate as many HomeKit devices as you'd like. You can, for example, set something like a "Goodnight" scene that locks the doors, turns off the lights, turns down the thermostat, and turns on a night light, depending on which HomeKit products you own.
A "Wake Up" scene could do things like turn on the lights, start the coffee pot, warm up the house, and open the blinds. You can also use simpler scenes if you want the Eve Button to control a single device, like a light. Each gesture can also be tied to multiple scenes, which is handy if you want to keep your scenes separate for voice commands but combine them for the Eve Button.
I have the Eve Button set to turn the bedroom lights on with a single press, off with a double press, and then I have a long press set to activate a scene with my Nanoleaf Aurora for a kind of relaxing lighting scene that incorporates many of my Hue lights.
You'll note that I am using two of the three button presses for an on/off state, because devices like these don't naturally have on/off functionality. There is a way around this, though, as HomeKit scenes can be set to "Turn Off" after a set period of time in the Home app. So you could potentially set the Eve Button to turn the lights on in a room like a bathroom, and then set a timer to have them turn off again after 10 minutes without the need to use up a second button slot.
You can also add Conditions to Scenes that are tied to the Eve Button, such as allowing a Scene to be activated by the button only after 6pm or when the temperature is below a certain threshold, but I don't think these are going to be commonly used with the accessory.
You can, of course, activate scenes without the Eve Button at all through the Home app, another HomeKit app, or through Siri voice commands, but sometimes it's just easier to press a button. It's hard to transition entirely away from light switches, especially when there are multiple people in the house, and these kinds of HomeKit buttons and switches are useful replacements, I've found.
Setting up the Eve Button, is, of course, as simple as any other HomeKit product and it takes just a few seconds. Open up the box, fire up the Home app or the Eve app, add an accessory, scan the code, assign scenes, and that's it.
Bottom Line
Elgato's HomeKit products are some of my favorite. When HomeKit was new, Bluetooth HomeKit devices didn't work well, but with the myriad HomeKit improvements introduced over the years, Bluetooth HomeKit accessories like the Eve Button work flawlessly.
I am happy with all of the Elgato HomeKit devices that I use, and Elgato has one of the best product-based HomeKit apps out there. I often use the Elgato app to tweak my scenes and my non-Elgato HomeKit devices. I'm also a fan of the design of the Eve Button (and the Eve Degree), and I'm glad to see Elgato appears to be adopting it across the HomeKit lineup. It's a big improvement over previous Eve accessories that were a plain white plastic.
If you're new to HomeKit, you might think that it's silly to go to the trouble of automating your smart home devices and then adding in a physical switch, but accessories like the Eve Button are useful and eliminate annoyances that come with not having an immediately accessible physical control for your devices. I've had a Hue Tap for quite some time and it's one of my most used accessories just because it's sometimes easier to tap a button than it is to ask my phone to do something for me.
Button accessories also come in handy in multi-person households and when you have guests who might need to control devices like lights.
I do wish the Eve Button had a few more gestures available because $50 is quite a bit to pay for just three, but you can tie each one to your most used scenes to get a lot of value it. I also wish Elgato had included a mounting solution, but you can fix that with a cheap adhesive strip if you really want it on the wall.
Two members of Apple's Swift Core Team, Doug Gregor and Ben Cohen, joined 
Bluetooth is what your Mac uses to connect to wireless devices like keyboards, mice, trackpads, speakers, and other peripherals. Generally, it's a reliable technology. At some point however, the chances are you'll run into difficulty establishing a Bluetooth connection with one or more of your devices. 
