There are several reasons why you should consider using a passcode on your Apple Watch. Without one, you won't be able to use Apple Pay to make contactless transactions using the device, nor will you be able to use it to automatically unlock your Mac.
But apart from losing out on functionality, not using a passcode on your watch means that anyone who got hold of it could potentially gain access to your Health and other app data, and possibly more besides.
Using a passcode on your Apple Watch isn't like having one on your iPhone or iPad, because you don't have to enter it every time you use your watch. You'll only be prompted for it if you remove your Apple Watch from your wrist or if the watch is restarted. Also unlike iOS devices, if you ever forget your Apple Watch passcode, there are steps you can take to regain access.
With those benefits in mind, here's how to set up your Apple Watch passcode.
Apps designed for the Mac often don't receive as much attention as apps for iOS devices, so we've launched a monthly series that highlights useful, interesting Mac apps that are worth checking out.
This month's app selection, outlined in the video and the post below, includes apps for managing and backing up your iPhone, transferring music between services, watching Netflix, keeping track of quick notes, and more. Many of the apps we've included this month were chosen by our forum members.
Stamp (Free) - Stamp is an app that lets you transfer playlists and music tracks from one streaming service to another. So if you're an Apple Music user and want to switch to Spotify, Stamp is the app to use. Stamp is free, but if you want to make unlimited song and playlist transfers, you'll need to shell out $9.99.
iMazing ($40) - iMazing is an iTunes alternative that's designed to allow you to manage the content on your iOS device. It lets you transfer files, photos, books, apps, and music to and from your iOS device or a new device, plus you can use it to create backups of all your content, archiving data like messages, contacts, books, and more.
Power Menu ($9.99) - Power Menu is a Finder extension that's customizable and able to add various actions to the right click menu and toolbar within Finder. Using Power Menu, you can create shortcuts for moving and copying files, creating new documents, editing with specific apps, sending via email, and more.
Thought Train (Free) - Thought Train is a simple free (pay-what-you-want) app that's meant to replace sticky notes. Thought Train lives in your Mac's menu bar and lets you enter quick reminders of things that you need to get done or thoughts you want to keep track of. Your entries can be set to scroll across the menu bar.
Friendly for Netflix (Free) - Friendly for Netflix is a free app that's designed to provide you with an alternative to the web browser for watching Netflix TV shows and movies on your Mac. It features trailers so you can preview shows, picture-in-picture functionality for watching a show while using another app, and Rotten Tomatoes ratings for every movie.
Do you have favorite must-have Mac apps that we haven't highlighted yet? Let us know what they are in the comments and we might feature them in a future video. Many of this month's picks came from our forum members.
For more of our Mac app picks, make sure to check out our lists from February, March, and April.
The Belkin Boost Up Bold Wireless Charging Pad is similar to the existing Belkin Boost Up Charging Pad, but it comes in a variety of colors that include pink, navy, black, and white.
It offers up to 10W output for fast charging on all Qi-enabled devices, and it supports the 7.5W charging necessary for fast wireless charging on the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.
The Belkin Boost Up Wireless Charging Stand features the same circular design and the same colors as the Bold, but it features a frame that holds the iPhone in an upright position allowing the iPhone to be charged in landscape or portrait mode without the need for it to be flat on a table.
Like the Charging Pad, the Charging Stand supports the faster 7.5W wireless charging specification for the iPhone.
Belkin's Bold Wireless Charging Pad is priced at $60, while the Wireless Charging Stand is priced at $70. Both can be purchased today from the Belkin website or from Amazon.com (Pad) (Stand).
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Belkin and may receive a small commission when you purchase a Belkin product.
Apple today released the first beta of an upcoming macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 update to public beta testers, one day after releasing the 10.13.6 update for developers. macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 comes as macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 remains in beta testing.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will be able to download the new macOS High Sierra beta through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.
Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas.
No notable features or changes were discovered in the first beta of macOS 10.13.6 provided to developers, suggesting the new software focuses on bug fixes and other under-the-hood updates.
macOS 10.13.6 is likely to be one of the last updates to macOS High Sierra, as Apple is transitioning to macOS 10.14. macOS 10.14 will be unveiled next week at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
The tvOS 11.4.1 public beta can be obtained by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.
No notable features or changes were discovered in the first developer beta of tvOS 11.4.1, suggesting this is a minor update.
Most tvOS updates have been minor in scale, and Apple does not provide detailed notes outlining what's new, so we may not know just what's included in tvOS 11.4.1 if it's only bug fixes.
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 11.4.1 update to its public beta testing group, one day after seeding the beta to developers and just a few days after releasing iOS 11.4, which introduced AirPlay 2 and Messages in Cloud.
Beta testers who are members of Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 11.4.1 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.
There were no notable features discovered in iOS 11.4.1 in the first developer beta, suggesting it focuses on bug fixes and other minor improvements.
Apple has voiced support for a new Human Interface Device standard that will bring versatile support and overall improve the technology of future USB-connected Braille displays [PDF].
Set forth by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), a non-profit organization for the advancement and adoption of USB technology, the new standard will help make it easier for blind and low-vision users to use Braille displays "across operating systems" and with "different types of hardware." This way, users won't be locked into one ecosystem and can more easily go about reading and interacting with their devices no matter the manufacturer.
Additionally, the standard is set to simplify the development process by removing the need for Braille devices to have custom software and drivers created for a particular operating system or screen reader. According to Apple's director of global accessibility policy and initiatives, Sarah Herrlinger, the company is "proud" to help advance the new USB-IF standard.
“Technology should be accessible to everyone and Apple designs all products with that in mind,” said Sarah Herrlinger, director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives at Apple. “We’re proud to advance this new USB-IF standard because we believe in improving the experience for all people who rely on braille displays to use their Apple products or any other device.”
A few other executives from other companies chimed in on the news as well, including Microsoft accessibility program manager Jeff Petty, who said, "Developing a HID standard for braille displays is one example of how we can work together, across the industry, to advance technology in a way that benefits society and ultimately improve the unemployment rate for people with disabilities."
Helen Keller Services president and CEO Joseph Bruno applauded the USB-IF and its members like Apple, Intel, HP, Microsoft, and others, pointing out that the new standard will greatly reduce the friction that visually impaired, blind, or deaf-blind users can face when navigating between accessible devices. "It allows these individuals to more seamlessly connect to their favorite devices, which is a major step in helping them connect to the world around them."
Since the standard has just been detailed, no physical USB hardware products have yet to be shown off from any company. Currently, Apple has an entire accessibility store on Apple.com so users with disabilities can use devices crafted just for them to create music in GarageBand, navigate a Mac with a custom trackball, and more. There are no Braille-enabled devices sold by Apple yet, however, so the incoming HID standard could mark the first time that such a device is sold on Apple.com and potentially in retail locations.
Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference commences on Monday with an opening keynote, where the company previews the next major versions of its software platforms, and usually shares some other announcements.
Ahead of the keynote, Bloomberg's well-sourced Mark Gurman has outlined what he expects Apple to discuss on stage:
A series of Digital Health tools in the Settings app on iOS 12 that will help users monitor how much time they spend using their devices and individual apps, helping to address concerns about smartphone addiction.
ARKit 2, including a new mode that allows for a multiplayer mode in augmented reality games. Another mode is said to allow objects to be dropped into an area and virtually remain in place.
Apple could reveal its reported plans to allow iOS apps to run on Macs as early as this year. The wording suggests it's not entirely clear if Apple plans to discuss the project at WWDC or later.
Minor new features for snoozing notifications, tracking the stock market, making video calls, and sending Animojis via FaceTime.
Overall, Gurman expects this year's software updates across iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS to be more "muted," with "bigger changes later," as Apple has decided to focus more on the quality and stability improvements this year, according to an internal meeting the company reportedly held earlier this year.
Planned new iOS 12 features that have been shelved until 2019 are said to include a redesigned home screen with more information, an artificial intelligence upgrade to the Photos app, and new file-management tools for iPads.
Unfortunately for those hoping to see Apple refresh its product lineups at WWDC, Gurman suggests that "a suite of new gadgets is unlikely," although a surprise hardware announcement or two cannot be entirely ruled out. Hopefully, an update will also be provided about Apple's AirPower charging mat.
Gurman claims Apple is working on refreshed MacBook, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Watch models, and a new low-cost MacBook, but he doesn't expect any of those devices to be ready until "later this year."
Refreshes to the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro lines with next-generation Intel chips ready "later this year."
A pair of new Apple Watch models that keep the overall size of the current models, but include slightly larger, edge-to-edge screens. The new models are expected to support watch bands from existing models.
Gurman outlined most of these expectations in his previous reporting over the past year.
WWDC's opening keynote begins on Monday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. MacRumors will be in attendance at the keynote, with live coverage both here on MacRumors.com and through our @MacRumorsLive account on Twitter.
MacRumors will also have pre-event coverage, beginning around 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and post-event hands-on coverage if applicable.
In April, the Russian government banned secure messaging app Telegram and this month asked Apple to remove it from the iOS App Store completely in the country, citing the potential for terrorist communication via the app since Telegram refused to allow Russia to read user messages. As this unfolds, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov posted an update for users early this morning in an effort to explain why some features "don't work correctly under iOS 11.4" (via ArsTechnica).
According to Durov, Apple has been "preventing" the Telegram iOS app from updating on a global scale, dating back to when Russia banned the app in April. Durov says that his company chose to do the "only possible thing" and refused to provide Russia with decryption keys to access user messages, "preserving the right of our users privacy in a troubled country."
He continued by stating, "Unfortunately, Apple didn't side with us." The CEO says Apple's restricting of Telegram dates back to mid-April and while Russia represents a small subset of its user base (7 percent), Apple's actions affect all Telegram users around the world. Because of this, the launch of iOS 11.4 on Tuesday has broken some Telegram features like stickers, and caused the company to miss its deadline for compliance with the GDPR for users in the European Union.
Apple has been preventing Telegram from updating its iOS apps globally ever since the Russian authorities ordered Apple to remove Telegram from the App Store. Russia banned Telegram on its territory in April because we refused to provide decryption keys for all our users’ communications to Russia’s security agencies. We believe we did the only possible thing, preserving the right of our users to privacy in a troubled country.
Unfortunately, Apple didn’t side with us. While Russia makes up only 7% of Telegram’s userbase, Apple is restricting updates for all Telegram users around the world since mid-April. As a result, we’ve also been unable to fully comply with GDPR for our EU-users by the deadline of May 25, 2018. We are continuing our efforts to resolve the situation and will keep you updated.
By missing the deadline, Telegram users in Europe won't have the same level of security and privacy in comparison to compliant apps, and a lack of updates could put the platform at a higher risk of vulnerability. Apple has yet to comment on the issue or explain its stance, but Durov hopes to "resolve the situation" soon as the company continues its efforts to get the iOS app up to date for all users.
This is far from the first time Telegram has been in hot water with both Apple and Russia. Earlier in February, Apple pulled Telegram from the App Store due to reports of "inappropriate content" being hosted on the messaging service, but it made a return a few hours after disappearing, once Telegram put additional protections in place.
For Russia, the government previously threatened a ban on Telegram last summer after repeated efforts to obtain more information about the company were ignored. While seemingly innocuous, Russia's request for a "form with information" on Telegram would effectively add the company to the state regulators' registry, further requiring Telegram to retain users' chats and to share encryption keys with Russian authorities if asked. Similar requests date back to 2014.
As of writing, Telegram Messenger for iOS was last updated on March 24, 2018.
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.
Netflix appears to be testing -- or slowly rolling out -- a new user interface control scheme for its iOS app, which enables an unobtrusive volume indicator and lets users jump forwards or backwards in a video with a quick double-tap gesture.
As spotted by Redditor mm2nam, the update brings Netflix's video controls closer to those of YouTube on iOS, which lets users double tap on the right edge of the screen to fast forward 10 seconds and on the left side to rewind 10 seconds. Netflix's implementation includes the double tap gesture, as well as physical buttons on the screen that appear after you tap once on the video to bring up the playback controls.
Quick time jump controls have become increasingly popular in a variety of apps and in certain products, with Apple itself using a similar feature on its Siri Remote for Apple TV. On fourth and fifth generation devices, users can swipe to the right and click to jump forward 10 seconds and the same to go back 10 seconds, as long as the app supports Apple's native playback controls.
In regards to the volume indicator, Netflix currently has a bit of an unclear method for this piece of UI: some users lack an indicator completely, while others still see Apple's large, semi-translucent square that blocks most of the video every time the volume is toggled. It appears that along with the new 10-second playback gestures, Netflix is also planning to release a unified and unobtrusive volume indicator, which sits at the top of the screen, similar to YouTube and Instagram.
With no further information available regarding the update, it's unclear how widely available it is and if it will be launching for all users soon. Many users on the original Reddit thread commented about not having the update, and no one at MacRumors has yet seen either the double tap gestures or new volume indicator. We've reached out to Netflix for comment and will update the post if we hear back.
Back in 2016, Nokia acquired health startup Withings in a deal estimated at $192 million, hoping to re-establish its presence in the consumer electronics market. Nokia did this by rebranding Withings' iOS compatible products under its own name, with devices like the Withings Steel Watch and Withings Go fitness trackers becoming the Nokia Steel and Nokia Go.
Unfortunately for the company, the acquisition has largely been seen as a failure, with the digital health division earning just $62.4 million in 2017, part of Nokia's overall $27.9 billion in revenue for the year. Because of this, the company announced earlier in May that it would sell the division back to Withings co-founder, Eric Carreel, and today that deal has officially closed (via TechCrunch).
Financial terms were not given for the sale, but it is said to have included 200 employees rejoining Carreel under the Withings brand. Moving forward, Carreel said that the next steps for the renewed Withings brand will be a "relaunch" of its products focused on preventive health coming by the end of 2018.
“I am delighted to start working again with the brilliant teams that made the brand such a great success” said Carreel in a statement. “We have an exciting challenge ahead of us as we continue to push the boundaries of connected health.”
“We are still only just starting to discover what connected health can really bring to people,” said Carreel in a statement. “From now on we must concentrate our efforts on developing tools capable of advanced measurements and the associated services that can help prevent chronic health conditions. Today’s technologies allow us to imagine solutions that have the potential to benefit the lives of millions of people, and our ambition is to ensure that we, as Withings, lead the way with technological advances and intuitive designs.”
Withings offers connected products like scales, activity tracking smart watches, blood pressure monitors, smart thermometers, sleep trackers, and more, and according to TechCrunch it "sounds like it will keep all of these in place" after the relaunch. The news of the deal closing also brought confirmations of an executive shakeup in Nokia, with president Gregory Lee exiting Nokia and Maria Varsellona stepping up to the duty from a chief legal officer position.
In late 2016 Nokia and Apple entered a series of legal battles that began when Nokia sued Apple for patent infringement in the United States and Germany. As the dispute escalated, Apple decided to remove all Withings products from Apple.com and most Apple retail locations around the world, since the connected health devices were at the time under the Nokia umbrella. Although many of the Nokia-branded products have since returned to Apple.com, Withings should have a much easier time selling its smart scales and more when it returns to its original branding scheme later this year.
Apple appears to have opened a new engineering hub in Oregon, expanding the company's presence in the Pacific Northwest tech sector.
Apple Store at Pioneer Place in Portland
The Oregonian via Patently Apple reports that the offices are located in Washington County, near the border between Beaverton and Hillsboro, in the western suburbs of Portland. The building's exact location has not been disclosed.
Apple has already hired close to two-dozen employees to work at the hub, including a number of people who previously held senior research or engineering roles at chipmaker Intel, according to the report. The information was gathered from job postings, social media profiles, and a person familiar with the matter.
Apple poaching Intel engineers has fueled speculation about its rumored plans to release the first ARM-based MacBook as early as 2020, although it's common for major companies to recruit talent from each other.
Intel's largest concentration of facilities and talent is located in Washington County, with four campuses and approximately 20,000 employees as of the end of 2017. Notably, Intel has CPU design teams based out of Oregon that lead development of processors based on 14nm and 10nm fabrication processes.
MacRumors performed a basic job search on Apple's website and came across listings for hardware engineers with expertise in design verification and validation of Apple's system-on-a-chip designs, like the A11 Fusion chip in the latest iPhones. All of the openings have a listed location of Portland, Oregon.
Apple has existing operations in the region, including a software development team in Vancouver, Washington, a data center site in Prineville, and an advanced computation group in southeast Portland, according to the report.
A few days after updating its iOS app to version 3.0, Philips Hue today is launching the "Philips Hue Sync" app for Mac and PC computers. Using the app, users can sync their Hue lights to films, music, and games that they're interacting with for an even more "immersive experience," according to the company.
The app works by creating light scripts for nearby Hue lights, based on screen-grabbed content from the Mac and what Philips calls a "smart color algorithm." With this information gathered, the app then matches the chosen Hue lights to the on-screen action of games and films in real time.
For music, Philips Hue Sync creates light scripts based on the beat and type of song "on the fly," and matches the playing music with dynamic lighting effects. Any of these features can be further customized, including brightness levels, "immersion controls" from subtle to intense, and a mode change for easily switching out the color pallet.
To set up the app, users will need to create a new entertainment area within the updated Philips Hue app on iOS or Android devices. Entertainment areas can encompass everything from one Hue bulb to a collection of devices like Hue Light Strips and table lamps (totaling up to 10 lights), but they most be color capable. Then simply download the Philips Hue Sync app for Mac, connect to a bridge, and choose the new entertainment area in the start-up menu.
Following the 3.0 iOS app update and the new Sync app for Mac, Philips is planning a line of Hue lights for outdoors that will be coming in July. With the outdoor Hue bulbs, users can connect and control their lighting on a patio, balcony, or other environments outside. The new lights include the Philips Hue Lily, which can be used to highlight key features in a garden, and the Philips Hue Calla, which can be placed in the ground and light pathways through outdoor spaces.
Chinese technology firm Xiaomi held a product launch event in Shenzhen today and unveiled the Mi 8, a 6.21-inch OLED smartphone that most observers would agree bears more than a passing resemblance to Apple's flagship iPhone X.
Xiaomi's Mi 8 isn't the first recent smartphone to sport an iPhone X-esque notch and probably won't be the last, but there are several other similarities between the two devices that are worth highlighting.
Xiaomi's eighth-anniversary Mi 8 AMOLED smartphone
For example, the cellular signal, battery, and Wi-Fi symbols sit either side of the notch, just like in iOS 11. In addition, the higher-tier Mi 8 model features the Xiaomi equivalent of Animojis as well as facial authentication – two tentpole features of Apple's iPhone X.
Flipping over the Mi 8 reveals a rear dual-lens camera system in vertical orientation, giving the back of the device an appearance that could be easily mistaken for Apple's smartphone.
The naming convention that Xiaomi has chosen for its new phone also arguably takes a page out of Apple's playbook – the Mi 8 follows the company's previous Mi 6 model, jumping a number in order to mark Xiaomi's eighth anniversary in the smartphone business.
Apple's iPhone X, pronounced "ten", skipped the number 9 and adopted the more flashy Roman numeral to reflect its next-generation technology, while also being a nod to the iPhone's tenth anniversary.
In terms of specs, the Mi 8 packs a 20-mexapixel front-facing camera, while the rear dual-lens array features two 12-megapixel cameras. Xiaomi claims the device's onboard dual GPS enhances location accuracy. This is also the first Android smartphone to use Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 845 chipset, which features on-device AI processing and a Gigabit LTE X20 modem.
Xiaomi's eighth-anniversary Mi 8 AMOLED smartphone
The company also announced a premium Explorer version of the Mi 8, which comes with a pressure-sensitive integrated finger scanner and a semi-transparent rear chassis.
Xiaomi's devices, ranging from televisions to tablets, have been publicly criticized in the past for heavily borrowing design elements from Apple's iPhones and iPads and adopting marketing materials tactics similar to Apple's.
In the most recent case just last year, Apple won the right to prevent Xiaomi from registering its "Mi Pad" mobile tablet device as an EU trademark because the name was deemed too similar to Apple's iPad.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 will be available in China beginning June 5, starting at RMB 2699 ($420), with a smaller 5.88-inch sized "SE" model available June 8 and priced from 1799 RMB (or $280). The Mi 8 Explorer Edition is priced at RMB 3699 ($520) and will be available at a later date.
Xiaomi has recently made a push into European markets, so it stands to reason that the company's latest smartphones will make their way over there in the not-too-distant future. Xiaomi hopes to enter into the U.S. smartphone market by the end of the year.
Pixelmator Pro, a graphics and image editing app from the Pixelmator team, received its first major update today to introduce new features that include MacBook Pro Touch Bar support, new tools for exporting images, auto color adjustment options, a Tutorials page, and more.
The app now includes full support for the Touch Bar on recent 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models, providing quick access to tools for making color adjustments, choosing effect presets, selecting colors for brushes, and more. The Touch Bar has been designed to offer up the most useful options whenever you switch to a new tool.
New Export for Web features are designed to allow users to prepare and optimize images for the web with advanced compression techniques in just a few clicks. The Pixelmator team says these tools compress images to the smallest size possible without a loss of quality.
Quick Export offers up a web-friendly image optimized with your most-used settings, while a new Slice tool is meant to make it easier to create web designs by slicing images into smaller images with the option of optimizing each one separately.
There are new Auto White Balance, Auto Lightness, and Auto Hue & Saturation tools that are powered by machine learning. These tools are meant to let users make one-click adjustments to optimize photos. Pixelmator says its machine learning algorithm was trained on millions of images to identify the contents of a photo and select the best lighting, contrast, and colors.
Other new features in Pixelmator Pro include support for opening and exporting vector images using the SVG format, support for exporting HEIF images, live previews when formatting text or tweaking layer blend options, a Select Color Range tool for selecting similarly colored areas of an image, and a whole new Tutorials page designed to help new users learn the ins and outs of Pixelmator Pro.
Dozens of other tweaks and bug fixes have been added, with release notes available on the Pixelmator Pro website.
Pixelmator Pro, which requires macOS High Sierra and a Metal-compatible graphics card, can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $59.99. [Direct Link]
The 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference is set to kick off in five days, and ahead of the event, Apple has started decorating the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, which is where the conference will take place.
Apple's WWDC 2018 convention center decorations feature the same design as the rest of Apple's WWDC imagery used for the WWDC site, invitations, and app, featuring 3D buttons, toggles, and text on a white background.
Apple has taken over the entire front entrance of the convention center, as it did with last year's decorations. Additional banners and decorations will be added over the course of the weekend.
Since last year, Apple has been hosting WWDC in San Jose, a departure from the many years where the event was held at Moscone West in San Francisco.
The San Jose location is closer to Apple's campuses and office spaces in Cupertino and the rest of the South Bay, and it is also more affordable for developers due to cheaper hotel options in the area.
Apple's 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference will begin on at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on June 4 with a keynote event where Apple is expected to debut new versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, perhaps alongside a few hardware surprises that could include refreshed Macs and iPads.
We'll have live coverage of the keynote event both here on MacRumors.com and on our MacRumorsLive Twitter account. Make sure to tune in after the keynote too, as we'll have ongoing coverage of Apple's announcements and new software features throughout the week.
OnePlus announced its new flagship phone, the OnePlus 6 on May 16, taking the opportunity to poke fun at Apple for removing the headphone jack from the iPhone while also copying a key Apple design -- the notch.
The OnePlus 6 is the latest Android phone to adopt a notch, so we thought we'd check it out and compare it to the iPhone X in our latest YouTube video.
The new OnePlus 6 features a 6.28-inch AMOLED display with minimal bezels and a small notch at the top. The notch houses the front-facing camera and ambient light sensors, but it is smaller than the notch on the iPhone X because OnePlus, like other Android manufacturers, has not been able to mimic the full TrueDepth camera system from the iPhone X as of yet.
It does, however, have facial recognition capabilities, but 2D, not 3D. 2D facial recognition is less secure than the 3D facial recognition Apple has implemented and cannot replace a fingerprint sensor as a biometric option.
Like the iPhone X, the OnePlus 6 features an all-glass body, with two vertically positioned rear cameras and a fingerprint sensor for security purposes.
Inside, the OnePlus 6 does have some impressive hardware. It uses Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 processor and it includes 6 to 8GB of RAM, depending on the storage space, which is 64GB at minimum. Comparatively, Apple's latest iPhone X offers just 3GB RAM, but Apple devices tend to use hardware more efficiently due to the tight integration between hardware and software.
OnePlus continues to offer a headphone jack in the OnePlus 6, but did opt to ship the smartphone alongside the $69 OnePlus Bullets Wireless headphones, the company's answer to the AirPods.
What do you think of the OnePlus 6? How does it measure up to the iPhone X? Let us know in the comments.
Earlier in May, MacRumors and Anker launched an exclusive new sale for our readers with discount codes available for a handful of useful Anker accessories. Now that June is fast approaching, the sale is set to end tomorrow, May 31. If you've been holding off on taking advantage of any of the exclusive codes, consider this a friendly reminder to get your orders in today.
All of Anker's products on offer are sold on Amazon, so if you're interested simply add an accessory to your cart, proceed to the checkout screen, enter the relevant promo code into the Gift cards & promotional codes field, and then click "Apply." As usual, Amazon Prime customers can get free two-day shipping on all orders.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Products in the sale range from iPhone cases to Lightning cables and wall chargers, so take another look at everything discounted in the list below:
In other reminders, anyone still on the fence about the DirecTV Now/Apple TV 4K promotion should definitely consider their options before the end of the day, as we outlined in an article last week. The promotion for 3 months of DirecTV Now at $105 and a 32GB Apple TV 4K at no extra cost could expire for good tomorrow, but there's still a chance that AT&T will keep the popular sale around for a while longer. Even if it does go away, it's also likely that AT&T will re-up the deal again this fall with new terms, as it has for the past two years.
Later this week, T-Mobile is kicking off the summer with a new buy one, get one sale on smartphones from Apple, Samsung, LG, and more. For Apple, the deal starts June 1 and will let customers buy one iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, or X, and get a second device of equal or lesser value for up to $700 off. Under the offer, users can't mix and match brands, and both devices must be bought on T-Mobile's Equipment Installment Plan. The rebate will be received in the mail through a prepaid MasterCard Card in six to eight weeks.
Below we've rounded up a few other notable deals happening this week, including one of the lowest prices ever for the Beats Studio3 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones at Walmart.
Walmart - Get the Beats Studio3 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones for $214.97 in White, Red, and Blue, down from $349.99
eBay - Save $15 using code P15HOME when shopping in select categories (Home & Garden, Sporting Goods, Baby, Pet Supplies, and Crafts) in the eBay app on iOS or Android
Verizon - Get a $50 Mastercard as a rebate when spending $200 or more on accessories like AirPods, Nest products, Beats, and more (exp. 6/2)
Head over to our full Deals Roundup to catch up with every sale and offer going on as May comes to a close, including another MacRumors exclusive sale, this one with RavPower.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
