MacRumors

While deliveries of the first 8 and 10-core iMac Pro orders are set to begin as soon as next week, customers who opted for upgraded 14 or 18-core options were given shipping estimates ranging from 6 to 8 weeks for the machine when ordering.

It appears the 6 to 8 week estimate may not be quite accurate for all orders, as MacRumors reader Adam, who ordered a top-of-the-line machine with an 18-core processor, has received an updated delivery estimate of January 8 to January 9, which will be just a little over three weeks after the iMac Pro was first was ordered.

MacRumors forum member gobluejd has also received a sooner-than-expected shipping estimate for his 14-core iMac Pro, which will arrive on January 9 to 10 instead of the end of January.

Other customers who purchased 14 and 18-core machines may also be seeing updated delivery estimates from Apple, though on Apple's site, iMac Pro orders placed today still list the same 6 to 8 week shipping estimate for high-end iMac Pro configurations.

It's likely that once initial orders go out, Apple will be able to improve those shipping estimates for new orders.

Customers who ordered 8 and 10-core machines will begin receiving their orders in the near future, as some iMac Pro orders started shipping just this morning in the United States and Canada.

The iMac Pro is still listed as unavailable in retail stores. Apple said the new machine would be available in stores by the middle of this week, a deadline that's been missed, but we could still see them in pop up in stores on Friday or Saturday.

Apple's iMac Pro is a workstation-class machine aimed at professional users who have demanding workflows. The iMac Pro supports up to an 18-core Xeon W processor, 128GB ECC RAM, an AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics card with 16GB of HBM2 memory, and up to 4TB of SSD storage.

Pricing on the iMac Pro starts at $4,999 and goes up to $13,199 for a fully maxed out model.

Update: Some customers who received emails letting them know their orders will arrive early have received second emails informing them that the original emails were sent accidentally, so it is not clear if 14 and 18-core iMac Pro orders are indeed going to be arriving early.

Future Apple Watch models could include a sensor that allows for continuous electrocardiograph monitoring to better detect serious heart conditions, reports Bloomberg.

Apple is said to be testing a version of the Apple Watch that records the electrical activity of the heart using two fingers on either side of the device, a test that is known as an electrocardiogram or EKG/ECG. With an EKG, sensors detect electrical changes in the skin caused by the rhythm of your heart beat.

A version being tested requires users to squeeze the frame of the Apple Watch with two fingers from the hand that's not wearing the device, one of the people said. It then passes an imperceptible current across the person's chest to track electrical signals in the heart and detect any abnormalities like irregular heart rates.

EKGs today are most often done in medical offices and hospitals, but there are some continuous-wear EKG monitors on the market for those who need more frequent monitoring. With the ability to detect irregular heart beats and other oddities, the Apple Watch would be able to better predict and monitor serious heart conditions. Such functionality has the potential to allow people to catch and treat heart problems early.

Bloomberg says development is ongoing on the EKG functionality for the Apple Watch, and Apple could still decide to scrap it. With the first Apple Watch, Apple reportedly dropped several sensors because they weren't accurate enough.

Apple has taken a deep interest in heart health in recent months, and in November launched a ResearchKit-based Apple Heart Study app in partnership with Stanford University's School of Medicine. The aim of the study is to determine whether the existing heart rate monitoring functionality of the Apple Watch can accurately detect irregular heart rhythms.

It's not clear if adding EKG functionality to the Apple Watch would require Apple to get FDA approval. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said in the past that he doesn't want to get the FDA involved with the Apple Watch, but Apple is participating in a pilot program for faster approval of digital health tools.

Just this past November, the FDA approved the EKG Kardia Band from AliveCor, the first official medical-grade accessory designed for the Apple Watch.

iPhone models released in 2019 and later will likely feature an upgraded TrueDepth camera system that will consume more power, resulting in a need for larger-capacity batteries, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a research note obtained by MacRumors, Kuo said Apple has technologies at its disposal to develop larger-capacity batteries.

Apple capable of designing new system for large-capacity batteries: We believe the adoption of TrueDepth camera for 3D sensing in 2017-18 will create demand for larger-capacity batteries. From 2019, we predict iPhone may adopt upgraded 3D-sensing and AR-related functions, and it will consume more power, further increasing demand for large-capacity batteries. We believe Apple's key technologies, including semiconductor manufacturing processes, system-in-package (SIP), and substrate-like PCB (SLP), will create the required space for larger batteries.

Kuo unsurprisingly expects Apple will use these technologies to continue increasing iPhone battery capacities in 2019 and 2020, as it routinely does, which should result in even longer battery life for future models.

Kuo reiterated that TrueDepth will be expanded to a trio of iPhone models next year, including a new 5.8-inch iPhone X, a larger 6.5-inch model we're calling iPhone X Plus, and a new 6.1-inch mid-range model with an LCD display, but it sounds like the facial system will remain unchanged in 2018.

As far as next year is concerned, Kuo previously said the second-generation iPhone X could have a one-cell L-shaped battery that would provide up to 10 percent additional capacity compared to the two-cell battery in the current iPhone X, which of course could result in slightly longer battery life.

He added that next year's so-called "iPhone X Plus" is likely to retain a two-cell battery design, but the larger size of the 6.5-inch device will still allow it to have a higher capacity in the range of 3,300 to 3,400 mAh.

Apple is expected to release the new iPhone X and iPhone X Plus in its usual timeframe of September to October next year.

Following previous Mac-supported displays that boasted USB-C and some Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, LG today announced a new set of monitors that all include full Thunderbolt 3 support. The news comes ahead of CES 2018, where LG will officially introduce the three new upgraded models of its popular monitor lineup. Apple and LG originally teamed up to create 4K and 5K UltraFine Displays aimed at the late 2016 MacBook Pro models.

The first monitor is a 32-inch UHD 4K model (named LG 32UK950) and offers LG's advanced Nano IPS technology, which the company said will enhance the "intensity and purity" of on-screen colors so that viewing experiences are more life-like. This monitor can display 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color spectrum and supports HDR 600, all making it comparable to monitors used to master Hollywood films, according to LG.

LG 32UK950 also features a Thunderbolt 3 docking display so that it can be daisy chained and be part of a dual 4K monitor setup. It can connect to Apple computers like MacBook Pro through a Thunderbolt 3 cable, transmitting 4K content, sound, and fueling up the connected MacBook (with enough charge to power a 60W notebook).

The second monitor is the LG 34WK95U, a 34-inch UltraWide monitor with wider viewing angles than the previous device, increased 5K resolution of 5120 x 2160 pixels, and a 21:9 aspect ratio. LG is aiming this monitor at customers who "extensively" multitask during their workflow, including video editors, photographers, and software and app developers.

Just like the first monitor, the 34WK95U supports Nano IPS technology, HDR 600, and a Thunderbolt 3 port that can transmit 5K resolution images at 60Hz, along with data and power, through a TB3 cable connected to a compatible MacBook Pro.

The third and final monitor (LG 34GK950G) is given the least amount of detail in LG's announcement, being described as the company's latest QHD gaming monitor. This one offers the same Nano IPS technology for premium picture quality when running games, as well as high-speed G-Sync technology. No other details about the 32GK950G monitor were given.

CES will officially begin on January 7, 2018, so more information on the prices and launch dates of LG's monitors will be coming soon in the new year, along with many other new technology and product announcements. For more on LG's current monitors, check out MacRumors' reviews of the 27UD88, UltraFine 5K, and 38UC99 curved "UltraWide" displays.

Over the course of the last week, there's been speculation that Apple is throttling the performance of older iPhones with degraded batteries, leading to resurgence of accusations that Apple is deliberately slowing down older iPhones that aren't operating at peak battery performance.

In a statement to TechCrunch on the results people are seeing when testing iPhones with older batteries, Apple says it is aiming to smooth out the high power draw peaks that can result in shutdowns and other problems in older devices to "deliver the best experience for customers."

Lithium-ion batteries degrade over time by nature, and there's nothing Apple can do to halt the process, so it uses power management techniques to attempt to prolong the life of the iPhone and its battery. Apple isn't denying that iPhones with older batteries can sometimes see slower performance, but power management is not a feature that's been implemented to force users to upgrade by deliberately slowing devices.

"Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.

Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We've now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future."

The throttling accusations first surfaced last week, after a Redditor shared Geekbench results taken before and after the battery in his iPhone 6s was replaced. He claimed that performance on his iPhone 6s sped up drastically after replacing a battery with a wear level "around 20%."

Then, earlier this week, Primate Labs founder John Poole showed some aggregate Geekbench data that visualized a link between lower processor performance and degraded battery health. He compared iPhone 6s scores between iOS 10.2 and iOS 10.2.1, which showed variations in benchmarking scores following the update.

Apple in iOS 10.2.1 introduced an update designed to fix a bug that was causing iPhone 6s models to shut down unexpectedly, a problem attributed to uneven power delivery from older batteries. Apple says this feature has been implemented for iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, and, as of iOS 11.2, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. It will be implemented in future iPhones going forward, too.

It's this power management feature causing the benchmark variations John Poole found in Geekbench scores between iOS 10 updates last year. As explained by TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino:

Basically, iPhones were hitting peaks of processor power that the battery was unable to power and the phones were shutting off. Apple then added power management to all iPhones at the time that would 'smooth out' those peaks by either capping the power available from the battery or by spreading power requests over several cycles.

When an iPhone's battery ages, there may come a point when it can't provide the processor with enough power to reach a peak of power, and thus it spreads the requests out "over a few cycles," resulting in the peaks and perceived lower scores on benchmarking tests. As Panzarino points out, benchmarking tests are not reflective of real world usage and will artificially trigger the power management features in the iPhone.

"In other words, you're always going to be triggering this when you run a benchmark, but you definitely will not always trigger this effect when you're using your iPhone like normal," writes Panzarino.

Apple has clear battery replacement guidelines in place. The iPhone battery is designed to retain 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles. A defective battery that does not meet those parameters can be replaced for free for customers who have AppleCare+ or who have devices still under warranty.

For out of warranty customers, Apple offers a battery replacement service, with the company charging $79 for a battery replacement plus $6.95 in shipping.

Apple's iPhones do send out a notification when a battery has degraded enough that it's going to impact performance, but it is "pretty conservative" according to Panzarino, and he recommends Apple make this notice more aggressive, in addition to providing customers with clearer information on the link between battery life and performance.

Apple today released the second public beta of iOS 11.2.5 to its public beta testing group, one week after seeding the first public beta and one week after releasing iOS 11.2.1, an update that addressed a HomeKit vulnerability. Today's beta is identical to the beta that was provided to developers yesterday.

Beta testers who are members of Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 11.2.5 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on an iOS device.

Those who want to join the beta testing program can sign up on Apple's beta testing website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas. iOS betas are not always stable and should not be installed on a primary device.

No new features were discovered in the first two developer betas of iOS 11.2.5, so it's not entirely clear what new features this beta introduces.

It's possible it focuses primarily on security improvements and bug fixes, and if that's the case, we may not know the extent of what's in the update until it sees a public release complete with detailed release notes.