MacRumors

Accessory company Mophie has applied to the Wireless Power Consortium for an accessory it calls the "Juice Pack Air for iPhone X." Spotted by Mac Otakara [Google Translate] in the WPC's Qi Certified Product Database, Mophie was granted a certification for the accessory today, March 5, suggesting the iPhone X accessory could be announced in the near future and then be available to purchase sometime later this year.

While there are already iPhone X battery cases on the market, Mophie's accessory is the first to be Qi-certified by the WPC. This certification program encourages manufacturers to submit verification that their products comply with the latest Qi specifications, and subsequently allows customers more peace of mind when purchasing products, knowing that they will support devices like the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus.

The Juice Pack Air for iPhone X is described as a "form fitting case for the iPhone X," with a 1,720 mAh battery that provides "an additional 9 hours of talk time." Comparatively, the Juice Pack Air for iPhone 7 has a 2,525 mAh battery and the iPhone 7 Plus accessory has a 2,420 mAh battery. In the sole image posted to the Wireless Power Consortium's product details page (seen to the left in the above image), the accessory appears in black. Mophie sells similar Juice Pack Air products for other iPhones in up to five colors, like Navy and Rose Gold, so other colors could be coming as well.

Like those products, Mophie's Juice Pack Air for iPhone X would let users charge up the battery inside the case, and when their iPhone X begins to die, they could flip a switch and begin fueling up the iPhone while on the go. The Juice Pack line is compatible with Mophie's "Charge Force" ecosystem, so it can be placed on accessories like the Charge Force Desk Mount or any other Qi-enabled mat.

Mophie currently sells Juice Pack accessories for the iPhone 7/7 Plus, 6s/6s Plus, 6/6 Plus, SE, 5s, and 5, as well as a few other Android devices, typically priced at around $100. The only wireless charging accessories it has listed on the iPhone X's page are the Wireless Charging Base (also sold on Apple.com), the Charge Force Wireless Charging Base, and Charge Force Powerstation.

As reported last month, Apple is said to be developing its own brand of high-end, over-ear wireless headphones with an "all-new" design. The new headphones are expected to debut in the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and today Bloomberg weighed in to corroborate that rumor, along with an additional detail regarding Apple's plans for the cans.

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant is working on noise-canceling, over-ear headphones that rival headsets from market leaders like Bose and even the company's own Beats by Dre brand, according to people familiar with the product's development. The company plans to launch the headphones as early as the end of this year, but has faced development challenges that might push back the release, the people said.

Kuo's earlier report specified Apple's plan was to target the high-end market, but the focus on active noise-cancelation (ANC) features puts a new angle on the company's intentions. Apple acquired Beats Music and Beats Electronics in 2014, and only five months ago, Beats launched its Studio3 wireless over-ear headphones featuring Apple's W1 Bluetooth pairing chip – first used in AirPods – and Pure Adaptive Noise Canceling technology. Apart from blocking out ambient noise, Pure ANC also evaluates fit and adjusts for leakage caused by hair, glasses, different ear shapes and head movement.

Whether Apple's own-brand ANC headphones will adopt the same set of technologies as Beats Studio3 cans remains unclear, although Bloomberg's sources indicate Apple plans to include similar wireless pairing functionality to the AirPods. The paper's sources also claim work on the headphones has been "on-and-off over the past year" and that it's still possible Apple will redesign the headphones again before launch – or even scrap the project altogether.

Another detail that remains unclear is pricing. Beats, Bose, and Sony charge $350 for their high-end wireless ANC headphones, while Sennheiser prices can run all the way up to $500. Should Apple take the same pricing strategy as it did with HomePod, which is at least $100 higher than the closest rival product from Sonos, then customers can expect the rumored headphones to be a top-tier premium audio accessory with a price tag to match.

Along with over-ear headphones, Apple is also reportedly working on several upgrades to its wireless AirPods with a new version of the popular headphones set for release as soon as this year.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new research report encouraging investors to keep their eyes on three products for 2018: the rumored 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, AirPods, and a "more affordable MacBook Air." The first two in that list have been widely discussed in recent weeks and months, but this is the first we've heard about an update to the MacBook Air.

We expect Apple (US) to roll out the new MacBook Air with a lower price tag in 2Q18. We forecast total shipments of MacBook models will grow 10-15% YoY in 2018 (vs. 0-5% YoY decline for the NB industry), up from 15.5-16mn units in 2017. While Quanta, Radiant, Catcher and SZS are likely to benefit from strong shipments momentum, SZS also stands to benefit from increased market share and a higher ASP.

Kuo doesn't offer any details on what to expect in an updated MacBook Air beyond a lower price tag, but the current models are certainly outdated as they haven't had any substantial updates in three years. Since that time, Apple has cut back on available models including a complete discontinuation of the 11-inch model. The only recent upgrade to the 13-inch model has been a bump to the base processor option last June, but it's still a Broadwell chip from the 2014–15 timeframe.

Aside from obvious internal upgrades like processors and graphics, another area that could see improvement is the display, as the MacBook Air currently offers a 1440 x 900 non-Retina display. We'll likely also see some USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 upgrades and perhaps an overall redesign given the age of the current design.

Kuo's claim of a second-quarter introduction points to the April–June timeframe, which could mean an announcement at WWDC in June, and we'll likely hear more rumors as the time gets closer.

In a separate report, Kuo predicts that AirPods and the rumored high-end over-ear headphones are the future of Apple's artificial intelligence and augmented reality ambitions. Kuo believes that compared to HomePod, Apple's headphones offer more opportunities for reaching users quickly, personalization, and complementing rumored augmented reality glasses. Kuo is extremely optimistic about AirPods demand going forward, but less enthusiastic about HomePod given "mediocre" demand so far.

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.

Friday, March 2

Apple announces hiring of Sony TV's Angélica Guerra as Head of Latin American Programming: Guerra oversaw Sony Picture Television's production business across Latin America, including Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. She will report to Morgan Wandell, Apple's head of international creative development.

Commentary: Apple has poached several Sony executives, including Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, who run the company's new Worldwide Video Programming division. Apple has already placed orders for over 10 original series with well-known actors and producers such as Jennifer Aniston and Steven Spielberg.

Apple hasn't revealed how it plans to distribute its original content, but it will soon. The company could launch a streaming service like Netflix, or it could release the series through its TV app or iTunes. In the past, episodes of Apple's "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" and "Planet of the Apps" were exclusive to Apple Music.

Microsoft releases Soundscape: The app for iPhone uses 3D audio technology to enhance a person's surroundings, helping people with blindness or low vision to explore unfamiliar areas. An audio beacon can be placed on a point of interest, which users hear as they move around.

Soundscape provides information about your surroundings with synthesized binaural audio, creating the effect of 3D sound. It can run in the background in conjunction with navigation or other applications to provide you with additional context about the environment. Your phone, in hand or in pocket, tracks movement using location and activity sensors, and lets you move toward a self-set audio beacon.

Commentary: This is a great example of how technology can improve accessibility. Microsoft still encourages users with vision loss to continue to place their basic awareness of their surroundings and mobility skills as a priority.

California Highway Patrol to use decoy buses in hopes of catching Apple and Google shuttle attackers: A $10,000 reward is also being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible.

Commentary: Unmarked coach buses have been attacked by pellet guns at least 20 times recently while transporting Apple and Google employees along the Interstate 280, between San Francisco and the South Bay, where each company is headquartered. Hopefully these efforts will help catch the perpetrators.

Apple has stopped signing iOS 11.2.5: It is no longer possible to downgrade an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to software versions older than the latest iOS 11.2.6 update, which fixed a system crashing bug related to a Telugu character.

WiseWear plans to sue Apple over illegal restraint of trade: The technology startup filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday. The company blames part of its demise on Apple, which made changes that prevented the Reserve Strap charging band from working with the Apple Watch's diagnostic port.

Commentary: WiseWear acquired the original company behind the Reserve Strap last year, well after orders were suspended due to the changes in watchOS, so it's hard to see them having a strong case should they proceed.

For more Apple news and rumors coverage, visit our Front Page, Mac Blog, and iOS Blog. Also visit our forums to join in the discussion.

Apple CEO Tim Cook this morning tweeted a series of images that celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi, which began on March 1 and ended today, March 2.

Cook shared three images from the India-based festival, taken by photographers Prashanth Viswanathan, Amit Mehra, and Ashish Parmar. Cook noted that each image was shot on the iPhone X.

Each image depicts people participating in Holi's colorful festivities, which mark the end of winter and beginning of spring. The festival is largely celebrated within India, but events expand beyond India into the United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, and more.

Two of the images use Portrait Lighting on the iPhone X, a feature that provides several unique lighting effects as a way to emphasize part of an image. Both of the pictures from the Holi festivities use the "Stage Light" effect, which spotlights a subject against a dark background.

Check out Cook's tweet to see all of the pictures shared from Holi.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum to protect domestic producers. Trump is expected to sign the formal order next week, and he promised that it will remain in effect for a "long period of time."

The controversial plan would almost certainly apply to Apple products like iPhones, iPads, and Macs, which contain a significant amount of the metals. The latest 15-inch MacBook Pro contains 740 grams of aluminum, for example, while the iPhone X contains 58 grams of stainless steel for its frame.

The details of Trump's plan aren't fully clear yet, however, according to Bloomberg News. If the tariffs only apply to raw materials, for instance, then Apple would be largely unaffected since the majority of its devices are assembled in Asia and shipped to the United States as finished products.

If the duties do apply to finished products, analyst Gene Munster speculated Apple's costs to make Macs and iPhones could rise as much as 0.2 percent, assuming the tax is a percentage of the steel and aluminum used in the devices.

Apple's domestic manufacturing is limited to the Mac Pro, assembled in Austin, Texas. The high-end computer contains 3,660 grams of aluminum and steel imported from outside of the United States, making it subject to the proposed tariffs. However, the Mac Pro is only produced in limited quantities.

The biggest question is whether the impact on Apple's profit margins would lead the company to raise the prices of Macs and iPhones, but given the company's costs are only estimated see a marginal increase, it would seem unlikely.

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.

Asymco analyst Horace Dediu this week shared new research that focuses on determining the average lifespan of Apple devices. Dediu's research doesn't break down data on a specific product level, but instead encompasses Apple's entire stable of products in one general lifespan average. According to Dediu's proposal, if you use the number of active devices and cumulative devices sold, you can get to the average lifespan (via The Next Web).

Dediu's research on this topic was propelled forward when Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the total number of active Apple devices -- 1.3 billion worldwide -- during the company's most recent earnings call. Now, the analyst proposed that to determine the average lifespan, you can subtract the known active devices number from cumulative devices sold to determine "cumulative retired devices."

Dediu then said that to estimate the average lifespan, you calculate the time between "cumulative devices sold" at the beginning of a product's lifespan, and the current "cumulative retired devices." He ultimately determined that the average Apple device lifespan is about 4 years and three months, when looking at the data of Apple products sold in Q2 2013 and retired in Q4 2017, a time when the 2013 devices died or otherwise stopped working and their owners sought to purchase new versions.

Dediu gave a detailed breakdown of his calculations:

Here’s how to compute this yourself: Visually, the lifespan is the distance horizontally between the two vertical bars such that the bars are the same length. The top vertical bar measures the gap between the area (cumulative devices) and the curve (active devices) and the lower bar is the gap between the area and the x-axis, i.e. the cumulative devices. When those two bars are the same size the distance between them is the lifespan (at the time of the top bar.)

Arithmetically, the average lifespan at a given time t is the duration between t and the moment when the cumulative devices sold reached the cumulative retired devices at time t.

For example today–as the visual above represents–the lifespan is the time since cumulative devices sold reached the current total retired devices. The cumulative retired devices can be calculated as 2.05 billion cumulative sold minus 1.3 billion active or 750 million. The time when cumulative devices sold reached 750 million was the third quarter 2013. The lifespan is thus estimated at the time between now and Q3 2013 or 17 quarters or about 4 years and three months.

He noted that cumulative devices sold for Apple includes Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and the iPod touch, although of course the lifespan average number is just that -- an average -- and doesn't perfectly apply to each individual product. Just over four years is likely in the ballpark for how long Mac users keep around their computers, but if looked at on a product-by-product basis that statistic would likely be different for iPhone and Apple Watch owners.

For more details on the topic, check out Dediu's full post on Asymco.com.

Early evaluations of Samsung's new Galaxy S9 and S9+ have ranked the S9 display and the S9+ camera above the iPhone X, but when it comes to performance, the iPhone X is still the clear winner.

In benchmark testing of the Samsung Galaxy S9 equipped with an Exynos 9810 chip, the iPhone X, and the iPhone 7 conducted by AnandTech, the iPhone X's A11 chip won in every comparison test, and in most cases, the Galaxy S9 also lost out to the A10 included in the iPhone 7.

Samsung is using two separate chips in its new Galaxy devices: the Exynos 9810 and the Snapdragon 845 from Qualcomm. The Exynos 9810 chip outperforms the Snapdragon 845, but doesn't quite match Apple's A11 Bionic chip.

On a single-core GeekBench 4 test, for example, the Exynos 9810 saw integer and floating point scores of 3,724 and 3,440, respectively, well below the 4,630 and 3,958 scores earned by the A11 and under the 4,007 integer score earned by the A10.

On a WebXPRT test that measures HTML5 and JavaScript-based tasks, the iPhone X's A11 chip scored 352, beating the 178 score earned by the Exynos 9810 and the 291 score earned by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845.

Simliar results were seen in a Speedometer 2.0 test, with the iPhone X (A11), iPhone 8 (A11), and iPhone 7 (A10) winning out over both of the processors used in Samsung's new devices.

AnandTech was testing a demo version of the Exynos-based Galaxy S9 and came to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the device given its poor scores on the latter two tests compared to the Snapdragon 845, but even had the Exynos 9810 shown performance on par with the Qualcomm chip, Apple's iPhones still offer better performance.

When it came to graphics performance, the iPhone X also came out on top, beating out both Samsung chip variants.

Full benchmarks on the new Samsung devices and AnandTech's conclusions about the Exynos 8910 chip can be read over on the AnandTech site, but it's clear that Samsung is still unable to match the performance Apple can eke out of its chips by controlling both the software and the chip design.

It's also worth noting that there's one other area where Samsung can't compete with Apple as of yet - facial recognition. As CNET points out, the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ continue to use a 2D facial and iris recognition system that can't compare to the security of Apple's 3D face scanning technology.

The Galaxy S8, which used the same 2D feature, was able to be fooled by photos, and while the Galaxy S9 features iris technology that's "been enhanced" to recognize "unique iris patterns from greater distances" and to better withstand spoofing attempts, it's the same general system that was used in the previous-generation devices.

Because Samsung's facial recognition feature isn't as secure as Face ID, the South Korean company continues to pair it with fingerprint recognition, a biometric authentication method Apple is abandoning in favor of Face ID.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that Android smartphone makers are two and a half years behind Apple when it comes to facial recognition techniques, so it could be awhile before Samsung has a similar system that can replace fingerprint scanning.

Apple's Canada division and Geekbench maker John Poole today testified before a House of Commons committee on industry, science, and technology in Canada to address the power management features Apple introduced in older iPhones in iOS 10.2.1, reports iMore.

Poole was on hand because back in late December, he used his Geekbench platform to confirm the link between degraded iPhone batteries in older iPhones and processor slowdowns, which Apple had not, at the time, clearly explained.

Apple Canada was there to answer questions and share facts about why Apple implemented the feature in the first place, a topic that's been previously covered in support documents and a letter to customers.

As part of Apple's testimony, Jacqueline Famulak, Apple Canada's Manager of Legal and Government Affairs, provided a lengthy statement that largely repeats prior statements Apple has offered in the United States.

Famulak reiterated that Apple would "never intentionally" shorten the life of an Apple product to drive customer upgrades, and she explained that Apple added power management features in iOS 10.2.1 to allow customers to continue to use iPhones with aging batteries. A portion of the statement shared by iMore:

First, Apple would never intentionally do anything to shorten the life of any Apple product or degrade the user experience in order to drive customer upgrades. Apple's entire philosophy and ethic is built around the goal of delivering cutting-edge devices that our customers love. Our motivation is always the user.

Second, Apple's actions related to performance of iPhones with older batteries were designed specifically to prevent some older models from unexpectedly shutting down under certain circumstances. And we communicated this publicly. Let me explain.

In order for a phone to function properly, the electronics must be able to draw power from the battery instantaneously. But, as lithium-ion batteries age, their ability to hold a charge diminishes, and their ability to provide power to the device decreases. Very cold temperatures can also negatively affect a battery's performance. A battery with a low state of charge may also cause the device to behave differently. These things are characteristics of battery chemistry that are common to lithium-ion batteries used in all smartphones, not just Apple's.

If power demands cannot be met, the iPhone is designed to shut down automatically in order to protect the device's electronics from low voltage.

We do not want our customers to experience interruptions in the use of their iPhones, whether that is making an emergency phone call, taking a picture, sharing a post, or watching the final minutes of a movie. To address the issue of unexpected shutdowns, we developed software that dynamically manages power usage when, and only when, an iPhone is facing the risk of an unexpected shutdown. This power management software helps keep iPhones on when they otherwise might turn off - it does this by balancing the demand for power with the available supply of power.

The sole purpose of the software update in this case was to help customers to continue to use older iPhones with aging batteries without shutdowns - not to drive them to buy newer devices.

Third, Apple regularly provides software updates for iPhone and our other devices. These software updates can include everything from new features, to bug fixes, to security updates. Whenever we issue a software update, we include a ReadMe note which has a description of the contents of the update for the customer to review prior to the software installation. In the case of iOS 10.2.1, we stated that it "improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone."

Famulak went on to explain that Apple is offering $35 battery replacements in Canada, down from $99 ($29 in the U.S., down from $79) and that iOS 11.3, coming this spring, will offer customers more information about the health of their iPhone's battery and allow the power management features to be turned off.

The House of Commons is aiming to make sure Canadian consumers are being treated fairly by Apple, and it's possible that the Competition Bureau in Canada, also at today's committee meeting, will launch an investigation. Apple will also be facing government inquiries in other countries, including the United States.

The full text of the statement Apple provided to the House of Commons committee can be read over at iMore.

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.

Thursday, March 1

Apple celebrating International Women's Day and Women's Week with in-store events: Apple Orchard Road in Singapore will be hosting Today at Apple sessions over the next week in celebration of women who inspire the community. Apple Marché Saint-Germain in France will be hosting a recruiting event on March 8, billed as an evening of inspiration, participation, and celebration.

Commentary: International Women's Day is observed on March 8 to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Apple has honored the day in previous years with featured content in iTunes and Apple Music.

macOS 11 concept reimagines Apple's desktop operating system: Spanish graphic designer and University of Navarra student Álvaro Pabesion has shared a macOS 11 concept on Behance. The mockups visualize how Apple's desktop operating system could look with a simpler design.

Commentary: While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it's hard not to drool over the idea of a more systemwide dark mode and iTunes being easier to navigate. macOS last received a major redesign as part of OS X Yosemite in 2014.

"Apple Is Going to Be the First Trillion-Dollar Company": A bold headline from Bloomberg View columnist Barry Ritholtz, who believes Apple will achieve the milestone at some point this year. He considers share repurchases, continued investments from Warren Buffett, index buyers, and several new products being on the horizon as four factors key to Apple's continued upward momentum.

Commentary: Apple is certainly leading the race to a trillion dollar valuation, with a market capitalization hovering around the $900 billion mark. Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft are next closest, each with market caps approaching the $750 billion mark. AAPL is down nearly two percent today.

Apple outlines release process for Swift 4.2, introduces SwiftNIO: Apple has shared a blog post that describes the goals, release process, and estimated schedule for Swift 4.2. Apple has also introduced SwiftNIO at a conference in Tokyo, described as a low-level tool for building high-performance networking applications in Swift.

Commentary: A couple of notable items for developers who use Apple's open source programming language. Today is also the cutoff date for proposing ideas for Swift 5.0, expected to be released in late 2018.

For more Apple news and rumors coverage, visit our Front Page, Mac Blog, and iOS Blog. Also visit our forums to join in the discussion.