MacRumors

Apple CEO Tim Cook this afternoon announced on Twitter that Apple plans to donate $1 million to recovery efforts in Mexico. "While there is life, there is hope," Cook wrote in the tweet announcing the donation.

On Tuesday, a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Central Mexico, causing widespread devastation in Mexico City and surrounding states. Hundreds of people died in the disaster as buildings and structures collapsed. The earthquake followed a magnitude 8.1-earthquake that hit the southern coast of the country earlier this month.

As of August, Apple had raised more than $3 million both through its own donations, donations from employees, and donations from customers, and on September 8, Apple donated another $5 million to Hand in Hand, a benefit held for hurricane relief. Apple is still accepting Hand in Hand donations through iTunes.

If you have an iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3, or Apple TV 4K scheduled for delivery tomorrow, be aware that Apple requires its courier partners like UPS and FedEx to collect a signature upon delivery since they are valuable items.

Fortunately, if you won't be home during the day, Apple offers the option of printing, filling out, and affixing a pre-signed notice to your door, allowing the courier to leave the package without someone being there to sign for it.

How to Pre-Sign for Delivery

1. Open your shipment notification email from Apple.
   
   

2. Click on the blue Pre-Sign for Delivery button.
   

3. Click on the gray Pre-Sign for Delivery button on Apple's order status page.
   
   

4. Check the "I accept the above terms and conditions" box and click the blue "Continue" button.
   
   

5. Click the blue "Print this page" button on the Release Authorization page.
   
   

6. Fill out the form with your complete address information and phone number.
   

7. Indicate whether you would like the delivery at the front door, back door, or somewhere else.
   

8. Print your first and last name, sign, and date the form.
   

9. Affix the form somewhere near the designated place of delivery.

There is also the option to authorize delivery to a neighbor or building manager, but the person must be present to sign for the package. If you prefer this option, make sure to include the person's address on the form.

To ensure that packages are not stolen once the courier leaves, all deliveries are subject to the discretion of the driver. If a delivery is not completed, the driver will leave a door tag detailing the steps you can take to receive your package.

As a point of emphasis, be aware that your shiny new products could be stolen before you get home, and Apple would not be responsible. For this reason, delivery to a back door or other obscure location, or to a neighbor, is the best option.

If you opt not to pre-sign at all, and the package arrives while you are away from home, the driver may attempt delivery again later or, as mentioned, leave a door tag detailing the steps you can take to receive your package.

When you take a screenshot in iOS 11 or later, there's a new feature that's designed to let you open it right up and edit it with Apple's Markup tools.

Using the screenshot editing feature, you can capture what's on the screen of your iPad or iPhone and then add text, crop, highlight specific areas, and more.

Using Instant Markup

1. Press the Home button and the sleep/wake button simultaneously to capture a screenshot.
2. A preview of the screenshot will pop up in the lower left of the display. Tap it to open up the Instant Markup interface. You'll have about five seconds before it disappears.
3. Use a finger to adjust the blue outline if you want to crop your image.
4. Choose a pen/marker/pencil and a color and then draw with a finger or the Apple Pencil (on iPad Pro) to edit your screenshot.

If you take multiple screenshots at once, they'll all be displayed in Instant Markup and you can swipe between them.

There are all kinds of tools in Instant Markup, including a pen, pencil, highlighter, eraser, drop shadow tool, crop, multiple pen colors, and undo/redo.

To access even more tools, tap on the "+" button. This gives you access to a text entry field, a signature tool to add a signature to a screenshot, a magnifier tool, and various shapes.

Saving, Sharing, or Deleting an Edited Screenshot

When you're done editing your screenshot, you can save it to photos, delete it, or share it.

1. To save a photo or delete it, tap the "Done" button in the upper left of the iPad's display and then choose the appropriate option.
2. To share, tap on the Share Sheet icon at the upper right of the display, which will pop up icons to share the screenshot in an iMessage, email, or social network.
3. The Share Sheet also includes options to save the screenshot to the Files app, add it to the Photos app, and more.

Instant Markup is a feature that's present on the iPhone and the iPad in iOS 11. There is no way to turn it off at the current time, so if you dislike those little screenshot popups, the only option is to wait the few seconds for them to disappear or swipe them away to the left of the display.

With the launch of iOS 11 and watchOS 4, Apple made it easier than ever to turn your own personal photography into an Apple Watch face. As long as you're running iOS 11 or later and watchOS 4 or later on your iPhone and Apple Watch, follow these steps to quickly add one of your Camera Roll pictures onto the face of your Apple Watch, where you can even turn it into a kaleidoscope faces.

Turning a Camera Roll Photo Into a Photos Watch Face

1. Open Photos in iOS.
2. If you only want one image on your Photos Watch face, simply navigate to it now and jump to step 5.
3. If you want to make an album of images, tap "Select" in the top right corner of the Photos app.
4. Scroll through your library and pick up to ten photos to include in your new Photos Watch Face.
5. Tap the share sheet extension in the bottom left corner of the screen.
6. At the very bottom of the screen, scroll until you find "Create Watch Face" and tap it.
7. Choose "Photos Watch Face".
8. Edit the Time Position and add up to two Complications.
9. Tap "Add".

Turning a Camera Roll Photo Into a Kaleidoscope Watch Face

1. Open Photos in iOS.
2. Navigate to the image you want to turn into a Kaleidoscope Watch Face.
3. Tap the share sheet extension in the bottom left corner of the screen.
4. Tap "Create Watch Face."
5. Choose "Kaleidoscope Watch Face."
6. Pick between "Facet," "Radial," and "Rosette" designs for your Watch Face.
7. Decide on adding up to three Complications.
8. Tap "Add".

After following either of these guides, your all-new Apple Watch face will be waiting in "My Faces" within the Watch app on iOS. Once you find it in that list, you can tap on it, scroll down, and tap "Set as current Watch Face." If you have a Kaleidoscope Watch Face or decided on just one image for the Photos Watch Face, then that's what you'll see each time your wrist is raised. Anyone who has decided to add in multiple photos to their Photos Watch Face, however, will get a shuffled image with each wrist raise.

If you're waiting for the new Apple TV 4K to arrive tomorrow, Apple has already opened up the ability for you to purchase 4K HDR movies on iTunes as of last week. Although any movie you own in HD will be automatically upgraded to the enhanced 4K HDR format, Amazon is offering customers the chance to increase their iTunes film collections this week with a discount on the $100 iTunes gift card tier, being sold at $85 right now with free shipping (limited to one per customer).

That'll let you purchase five full-priced movies on iTunes for nearly the price of just four, and you can of course still use the gift card to buy any app, game, song, album, TV show, or book sold by Apple. There isn't currently a discount on the other price tiers of iTunes gift cards, so $50 and $25 cards on Amazon are priced at their respective levels.

Studios currently supporting 4K movies on iTunes at $20 include 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures. New releases available to purchase today include Wonder Woman, Baby Driver, Alien: Covenant, The LEGO Batman Movie, Logan, and many more. Currently, Disney is the only studio holding out from releasing its films in 4K on iTunes.

Head over to our Deals Roundup to discover more recent and ongoing discounts, including sales on Jaybird and Jabra headphones at Best Buy, over 50 percent off a Thule Stravan Deluxe Attache for 13" MacBooks at B&H Photo, and an updated roundup of Qi inductive wireless chargers.

Starting with iOS 11, Apple began offering a new feature that provides suggestions on how you can save space on your iOS device. These built-in space-saving suggestions, which can be found in the Settings app, can help you free up space on your iPhone when storage space is running low.

Toggling on Space Saving Suggestions

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on "General."
3. Choose "iPhone Storage."
4. Tap "Enable" on any of the suggestions Apple provides to turn them on.

Offload Unused Apps

One of Apple's suggestions is to automatically delete unused apps when the storage space on your device is low. If you enable this feature, Apple will delete apps you don't use often, while saving the documents and data so you can download them again and pick right back up where you were if necessary.

You can also offload individual apps by selecting them from the list of apps located just below all of Apple's suggestions.

Auto Delete Old Conversations

With "Auto Delete Old Conversations" enabled, Apple will automatically delete all messages and attachments that were sent over a year ago. This can save significant space, but be aware that once gone, there's no getting those messages back.

Review Large Attachments

The "Review Large Attachments" feature lets you see a list of the largest files on your device, located in Photos, Mail, and Messages. A tap will let you view a file up close, and a swipe to the left on an item in the file list will bring up an option to delete it. You can mass delete files by tapping on the "Edit" button in the upper right corner of the device.

Along with these three options for storing space, the Storage section of the Settings app also displays all of the apps you have installed, with the app using the most storage space at the top. It also lets you know how long ago the app was last used, making it easy to cull items that aren't used often.

Depending on what's installed on your device, you may or may not see all of these storage options, but if you're getting low on space, they should appear.

Popular smart light bulb manufacturer LIFX has been promising to add HomeKit support to its bulbs for quite some time now, and with an app update released this morning, some LIFX bulbs are now HomeKit compatible.

The 3.8.1 LIFX app update adds HomeKit support for LIFX, LIFX GU10, LIFX Downlight, and LIFX+ bulbs. It's only the third-generation bulbs that work with HomeKit -- original bulbs and LIFX White 800/Color 1000 won't work, nor will the company's LED strips.

A firmware update is required to enable support, with the app able to provide a HomeKit code for lights that did not ship with one. From there, the bulbs can be added to a HomeKit setup like any other product.

LIFX bulbs are similar to the Philips Hue line of bulbs, offering a range of color and white selections that can be controlled with a smartphone. LIFX bulbs do not require a hub and are controlled over Wi-Fi.

Pricing on LIFX bulbs starts at $59.99, but multiple bulbs can be purchased for a discount. LIFX bulbs can be bought from the LIFX website.

Instagram today expanded its selection of face filters to live video, allowing users to swap between filters when filming live content.

To use face filters during a live video, Instagram users can tap on the bottom right corner to browse through the filters and then apply them.

Starting today, you can play with face filters while sharing live video. Whether you're channeling a kitten or want to add some stars or rainbow light to your face, you can easily try on face filters while connecting with friends and followers in the moment.

All existing face filters are now available in live video, along with a brand-new sunglasses filter that will be available exclusively in live video for the next week. The sunglasses filter allows users to tap to change the scenery reflected in the lenses of the filter.

Instagram says face filters for live video are rolling out globally over the course of the next few weeks.

watchOS 4 brought several new features to the Apple Watch, including a new flashlight function that lights up the face of the Apple Watch so you can have an extra light when you're digging around in a bag, trying to open a door in the dark, or wherever else you might require a little bit of light.

It doesn't put off as much light as an iPhone screen, but it's handy in a pinch, especially since it's a hands-free light source.

Apple has also designed the flashlight to be a safety feature for runners and bicycle riders. At night, you can turn it on and have it flash, making other people out on the road aware of your presence.

Accessing the Flashlight

1. While wearing the Apple Watch, raise your wrist up to illuminate the screen.
2. Swipe up from the bottom to bring up the Control Center.
3. Tap on the icon that looks like a miniature flashlight.
4. Your Apple Watch display will now light up at maximum brightness.
5. Close the flashlight by swiping down to dismiss it or by pressing the Digital Crown.

Changing Flashlight Modes

There are three flashlight modes in total - pure white, flashing white, and red. Changing between them is simple:

1. With the flashlight active on the initial bright white display, swipe to the left.
2. This switches the flashlight to the second display mode, which is a flashing black and white.
3. Swipe to the left a second time to access the red light.
4. Swipe right again to cycle through modes.
5. Close the flashlight by swiping down to dismiss it or by pressing the Digital Crown.

Saudi Arabia today lifted a ban on services that provide access to calling someone over the internet, part of government efforts attempting to attract more business to the country. This means that "all online voice and video call services," including Apple's FaceTime and Microsoft's Skype, opened up for user access last night at midnight (via Reuters).

These apps and services previously faced harsh regulations in Saudi Arabia with a ban that began in 2013, due to the government's wariness over secure internet communication. Now, users in the country will be able to FaceTime friends and family members, with the Saudi information ministry stating this should help "kick-start" the country's economy after recently being hit by low oil prices.

Saudi Arabia will lift a ban on internet phone calls, a government spokesman said, part of efforts to attract more business to the country. All online voice and video call services such as Skype, Snapchat, and Line that satisfy regulatory requirements will become accessible at midnight (2100 GMT), Adel Abu Hameed, spokesman for the telecoms regulator CITC said on Twitter on Wednesday.

“Digital transformation is one of the key kick-starters for the Saudi economy, as it will incentivise the growth of internet-based businesses, especially in the media and entertainment industries,” a statement from the information ministry said. “Access to VoIP (voice over internet protocol) will reduce operational costs and spur digital entrepreneurship – that’s why it is such an important step in the Kingdom’s internet regulation,” it said.

The Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission also published a press release [Google Translate] on the ban's lifting.

According to a tipster's email this morning, because iPhones sold in Saudi Arabia have had FaceTime completely blocked in the past, these devices will need some kind of carrier update in order to enable the feature. In response, local carriers are reportedly saying that this update is Apple's responsibility, so it's unclear when such an update will occur.

ALDI today announced it will now accept all forms of contactless payments, including Apple Pay, at all of its nearly 1,700 stores in the United States.

Shoppers can pay for their groceries by tapping their contactless-enabled bank card, smartphone or other wearable device on a payment terminal. Contactless payments are safe and secure, and have the same protection as making a payment with your PIN.

Some other grocery stores that accept Apple Pay in the United States include select Giant Food, Wegmans, BI-LO, Food Lion, Save Mart, Shop 'n Save, Trader Joe's, Winn-Dixie, Whole Foods, and United Supermarkets locations.

Apple's financial chief Luca Maestri recently said Apple Pay is by far the number one NFC-based payment service on mobile devices, with nearly 90 percent of all transactions globally—three out of four happen outside the United States.

Bose today announced its first-ever pair of wireless in-ear headphones called "SoundSport Free," which will go on sale in October for $250. Similar to Apple's AirPods and other wireless headphones, the SoundSport Free are small buds that you place in your ears without any connecting wires, and which charge through an included case while you're on-the-go (via CNET).

Bose's wireless headphones are more sport- and activity-focused, with silicone StayHear+ sport tips to ensure a comfortable fit during intense activities, as well as an IPX4 water resistance rating (Apple's AirPods are not rated for water resistance, although many users have noted their resilience through activities that coat them in sweat or water). The Bose Connect iOS app will also include a new "Find My Buds" feature, displaying the last known location and time of use in order to help you rediscover the lost headphones.

In terms of battery life, Bose said that the SoundSport Free will last for up to five hours on one charge, and the charging/carrying case can fuel up the headphones with an additional ten hours of battery. The five-hour battery life aligns with the AirPods in terms of battery on the buds themselves, but when comparing the charging cases Apple's case provides an additional 24 hours of life to the AirPods.

Controls are located on the top of the buds, giving you access to play, pause, skip track, take and end phone call controls, and even activate Siri or Google Assistant. Bose also explained that the SoundSport Free headphones include a Bluetooth antenna that is designed to provide a strong and reliable connection to your iPhone, which connects to the smartphone up to 30 feet away as long as there are no physical obstructions between the two devices.

When it came to the tech inside these earbuds, we focused on every little detail—from tuning the circuits for improved sound to tweaking the antenna position for maximum Bluetooth® signal strength. The result? Headphones that play consistently and clearly whether your phone is in your hand, in your pocket, strapped to your arm or sitting on top of the treadmill … and there’s never a wire in sight.

The SoundSport Free headphones are available to pre-order for $249.95 today on Bose's website with early orders expected for an October delivery date, and a "Midnight Blue" color option is said to be coming later this year. The company today also announced a new version of its QC35 over-ear headphones - called QC35 II -- incorporating Google Assistant directly into the device.