New iPad Mini in 2019?, Favorite Apps of 2018, Siri on HomePod Improving - MacRumors

Brought to you by: Apple Will Reportedly Launch iPad Mini 5 and Entry-Level 10-inch iPad Next Year Apple hasn't updated the iPad mini in over three years, but next year might finally be the year we see a new model if a new report and a leak are to be believed. According to China Times, Apple is preparing to launch a fifth-generation iPad mini in the first half of 2019, bringing the price down to help boost overall iPad sales. Notable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared similar thoughts a couple of months ago, so perhaps there's something to this rumor. A new photo leak even claims to show a third-party case for this updated iPad mini, with cutouts potentially pointing to a four-speaker array, a vertical rear camera/microphone layout, and the inclusion of a headphone jack. Beyond the iPad mini, China Times also claims Apple is planning to update its 9.7-inch iPad in the second half of next year, bumping the display to 10 inches with slightly slimmer bezels.   Read Full Article Sponsored Stories Xmas Freebie - Best iTunes Alternative to Back Up iPhone Data (Get Licensed MacX MediaTrans) Don’t forget to tidy up your iPhone and back up valuable iPhone contents at the end of the year. If you want a tool more convenient than iTunes, then MacX MediaTrans is the best choice to finish the tasks seamlessly. As the best iTunes alternative, this Mac app is able to transfer iPhone videos, photos, music, ebooks and other files with ease. During this time-limited Xmas promotion, all MacRumors subscribers can get the $59.95 valued MacX MediaTrans for free! What makes MacX MediaTrans the Best iTunes Alternative: 1. Supports two-way sync photos, videos, music, ebooks, podcasts, etc between iPhone/iPad and Mac. 2. Supports selective backup of iPhone photos, music, and videos on Mac. 3. Blazing fast file transfer speed. Transfer 100 4K photos in only 8 seconds. 4. The only iPhone manager to encrypt private iPhone/Mac files with the highest level of security. 5. Convert video/photo formats, remove iTunes DRM, make iPhone ringtones, turn iPhone into USB drive. 6. Intuitive interface, user-friendly operations, no annoying iTunes errors. In addition to the MacX MediaTrans giveaway, you are also invited to get involved in the MacXDVD Christmas contest to win an iPhone XR, Apple Watch and power bank. Enter to unlock your luck!   Visit Sponsor Popular Stories Dec 27, 2018 10 of the Best macOS and iOS Apps of 2018 Over on our YouTube channel, we occasionally featured some of our favorite iOS and Mac apps throughout 2018, and with the year drawing to a close, we decided to put together a highlight video showing off some of our absolute favorites from this year. We've featured five Mac and five iOS apps, ranging from utilities to drawing apps to games, so be sure to check out our video and let us know what your favorites are!   Read Full Article Useful Tips, Tricks, and Walkthroughs for New Apple Watch Series 4 Owners Did you get a new Apple product for the holidays? If so, you'll want to check out our guides offering links to tips, tricks, and walkthroughs that will help you get the most out of your new devices. We've got guides for the Apple Watch Series 4, iPad and iPad Pro, iPhone, and Mac. And if you got an iTunes/App Store gift card in your stocking and don't know what to spend it on, take a look at our suggestions.   Read Full Article Apple's Dan Riccio Says 2018 iPad Pro 'Meets or Exceeds' Quality Standards of Design and Precision, More Info to Come Following last week's controversy over Apple claiming that it was normal for some 2018 iPad Pro devices to ship with slight bends in the chassis, Apple executive Dan Riccio responded to a customer email, noting that the original report on Apple's stance did not include an official company statement. According to Riccio, the new iPad Pro "meets or exceeds" all of Apple's quality and precision standards, including an even tighter flatness standard than used on previous generations. Riccio said the company would be releasing additional information to the media later in the day, but we've yet to see any such release so far.   Read Full Article Siri on HomePod Asked 800 Questions and Answered 74% Correctly vs. Just 52% Earlier This Year Siri on HomePod has been criticized for its limited capabilities compared to Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant, but a new study suggests Siri on Apple's smart speaker is rapidly improving. Analyst Gene Munster tested the accuracy of Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana on four smart speakers, asking each assistant 800 questions and tracking whether the assistants were able to understand and provide proper responses to each query. Siri correctly responded to 74.6 percent of the queries, up from 52.3 percent a year ago. That still lagged behind Google Assistant's 87.9 percent accuracy rate but topped Alexa's 72.5 percent and Cortana's 63.4 percent rates.   Read Full Article B&H Photo and Expercom Offering Year-End Sales on Macs and iPads If you got some cash for the holidays or are perhaps trying to squeeze in some last-minute business purchases before the end of the year, B&H Photo and Expercom are both offering excellent year-end sales on Macs and iPads. B&H's sale ends this Friday, while Expercom's ends on December 31, so act quickly if you want to take advantage of the discounted prices! Also be sure to check out our Deals Roundup, which is regularly updated to help you find the best prices on a variety of Apple and general tech products.   Read Full Article

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Bent iPad Pros 'Not a Defect,' HomePod Box 'Glitter Bomb' Trap, 3D-Printed Head Fools Android Phones - MacRumors

Brought to you by: Apple Says Some 2018 iPad Pros Ship Bent, But It's Normal and Not a Defect Well, this is a new one: Apple has acknowledged that some 2018 iPad Pro units may arrive out of the box with a slight bend in the chassis, but the company says that the bend is normal and does not compromise function. As a result, it appears Apple will not be replacing affected units unless customers elect to return them during their 14-day return windows. We really aren't sure what to make of Apple's acknowledgment on this. It seems rather unbelievable that consumers should be expected to consider a bent brand-new device acceptable, especially when you think about the possibility of Apple denying warranty repairs down the road due to "damage." Issues aren't limited to this year's iPad Pro models either, as we're seeing increasing reports of 2017 iPad Pro models developing bright spots on their displays above the home button. The issue doesn't seem to appear until after a number of months of use, so most users won't experience it until their devices are out of warranty and Apple repair staff have so far generally not been willing to offer free replacements or repairs for this issue.   Read Full Article Sponsored Stories [Unlimited Giveaways] Get Your Free iPhone Cleaner & iPhone Data Exporter and Win an 8-in-1 Bundle Suite The countdown for Christmas gifts is on! Now you can get a free license for iMyFone Umate, an effective iPhone cleaner for Mac and Windows, to delete junk files, cache and memory hogs, and boost your iPhone (or iPad) speed and get it performing like new again. Another great desktop app you can get for free is iMyFone iTransor Lite, an iPhone exporter that removes iTunes restrictions and allows you to selectively transfer any data you want like photos, videos, contacts, messages, notes, and more from iOS devices, iTunes backups and iCloud backups onto a PC or Mac for further use. In addition to the giveaways, you can get an 8-app bundle suite, which contains awesome tools for iPhone data recovery, iPhone eraser for privacy protection, iPhone music transfer, iPhone backup & restore, SD card and hard drive recovery, iPhone WhatsApp Recovery, and more. Visit Sponsor Popular Stories Dec 20, 2018 Engineer Builds Glitter Bomb Trap for Package Thieves Out of HomePod Box Former NASA engineer, apparent Apple designer, and prominent YouTuber Mark Rober this week broke the internet by playing a trick on porch pirates trying to steal packages. Rober and a friend spent six months turning a HomePod box into a "glitter bomb" designed to shower a package thief with glitter upon opening the box. Taking things to the next level, Rober equipped the package with four camera phones to catch the thieves' reactions and GPS capabilities to track and recover the package after the thefts. The thieves' reactions are priceless, and Rober's video has racked up over 36 million views in just three days.   Read Full Article 3D Printed Head Fools Android Face Recognition, iPhone X 'Impenetrable' In order to put smartphone facial recognition technology to the test, Forbes commissioned a £300 3D-printed head and used it to try to unlock a number of different phones. All four Android phones tested (LG G7 ThinQ, Samsung S9, Samsung Note 8, and OnePlus 6) were successfully unlocked using the dummy head, while Apple's iPhone X was judged "impenetrable" in the test. Apple's Face ID feature is notable for its security, which leverages the TrueDepth camera system to create a 3D map of the user's face based on thousands of infrared dots while also requiring attention awareness in order to unlock. Facial recognition on most Android phones is considerably less secure, and most of these phones also include fingerprint sensors for more sensitive applications like payment authorization.   Read Full Article Apple's Newest Mac Pro Turns Five Years Old At WWDC 2013, Apple offered a sneak peek at an all-new Mac Pro, with Phil Schiller famously using the line "Can't innovate, my ass" on stage. The new Mac Pro was promised to launch later in the year, and Apple began taking orders on December 19, 2013, which means the machine is now five years old. In early 2017, Apple's Craig Federighi acknowledged the company had "designed ourselves into a bit of a thermal corner" with the Mac Pro as technology shifted toward using larger single graphics processors that the Mac Pro was unable to accommodate. Apple promised that a new, modular Mac Pro was in the works but that it wouldn't be launching anytime soon, and earlier this year Apple confirmed that the new Mac Pro "is a 2019 product." In the meantime, Apple's innovative 2013 Mac Pro is heading off to kindergarten.   Read Full Article Apple Confirms iOS 12.1.2 Addresses Qualcomm Patents, Introduces New Force Closing App Animation in China Last week, Qualcomm won an import ban in China on the iPhone 6s through iPhone X after a court ruled Apple had infringed on a pair of Qualcomm software patents. Apple is appealing the ban and has continued selling the affected devices in the country, but the company rushed out an iOS 12.1.2 release early this week that not only fixes a few eSIM-related bugs but also addresses the Qualcomm patent issues. For users in China, the update changes the force closing animation in iOS, with apps now shrinking into themselves rather than being flicked off the top of the screen when being closed. The Qualcomm patent battle also extended to Germany this week, where a court has issued a sales ban on iPhones ruled to be infringing entirely different Qualcomm patents related to preservation of battery life when sending and receiving wireless signals. Apple says it will halt sales of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 in its German retail stores while it appeals the ban. Apple's latest iPhones are not included in the ban.   Read Full Article Apple Music Now Playable on Amazon Echo Speakers via Alexa in United States Apple and Amazon have rolled out an interesting new partnership that lets Amazon Echo owners in the United States stream from Apple Music and even set it as the default music service on their devices. Currently, only Amazon Echo devices are supported, but Amazon says Apple Music will be expanded in the future to include non-Amazon speakers that have Alexa support. In other Apple Music news, Apple late last week announced it is shutting down the "Connect" feature of the service that let artists share updates and photos with followers on the service. Apple has immediately discontinued the ability to post new Connect content and removed existing content from artist pages and users' "For You" tabs, although existing Connect content will remain available via search until May 24, 2019. With Connect meeting a similar fate as the previous Ping social network that was discontinued in 2012, it's clear that Apple Music and iTunes just can't generate momentum with proprietary social features.   Read Full Article

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MacRumors Newsletter

Brought to you by: Hands-On With the iPhone XR Clear Case From Apple Apple last week finally launched its clear case for the iPhone XR, so we quickly got our hands on one to see how it stacks up. The case is crystal clear all around, so it does a great job showing off your colorful iPhone XR, and it's surprisingly firm, which means it holds its shape well and offers some good protection. As with other iPhone cases from Apple, the bottom is open to allow full access to the Lightning port, speaker, and microphone, and a lip around the front helps keep your iPhone's display from contacting surfaces when placed face down or dropped. The side button covers are a little stiff and the ring/silent switch opening could be a bit bigger to allow easier access, but overall this is a quality case. It's $39 though, so you'll have to decide whether the price premium is worth it compared to other much cheaper third-party options.   Read Full Article Sponsored Stories Exclusive Offer for MacRumors Readers! Get 20% Off Banktivity 7 for Mac! Get a jump start on your 2019 financial goals with Banktivity!  What our customers are saying: "Banktivity is like taking the best of YNAB, Quicken, and MoneyDance and mixing them together beautifully." "...imported 17 years of financial data and tested all the features important to me. PERFECT and SEAMLESS! Where have you been all my life!" Our mission: To create the best personal finance software for Mac. Goodbye Financial Stress. Hello Banktivity! Our customers save on average $500 a year and a week's worth of time (fact check: this is from a customer survey). Easily import your data from other finance software, connect to over 10,000 different banks. Track every account from your checking and savings account, to your loans, investments, even your real estate. Powerful reports and budgets help inform you to make smarter financial decisions. Use coupon code MACRUMORS20 for an instant 20% off at checkout. And no worries, Banktivity has one of the best guarantees in the business! Use it 90 days and if you don’t find it meets your needs, receive a full refund. Visit Sponsor Popular Stories Dec 13, 2018 Microsoft Office Apps Now Support Dark Mode on macOS Mojave macOS Mojave's dark mode is starting to get a little more love from third-party developers, with Microsoft this week updating its Office for Mac apps to support the feature. The update, available for both Office 365 subscribers and those who purchased Office for Mac, also enables support for Apple's Continuity Camera feature in PowerPoint, which makes it simple to snap a photo from an iPhone or iPad and quickly insert it into a PowerPoint slide. Looking a bit further down the road, it appears that we'll have to wait until early next year to see official dark mode support on Google Chrome. It's just now being built into the open-source Chromium browser that serves as the basis for Chrome, so as the feature is refined and finalized it should make its way through the various Chrome testing channels and eventually be included in the public version.   Read Full Article Apple Expected to Release iPhone XS Battery Case Soon, Possibly iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR Versions Too Last week saw some evidence that Apple has been planning a Smart Battery Case for at least some of its latest iPhones, and now a small image of the case has surfaced, offering a look at its new design that shifts the battery down further to accommodate the vertical rear camera while also doing away with the chin seen on previous models. Three separate model numbers for the case have been discovered, meaning we might see versions for all three of Apple's latest phones: the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Identifiers found in the iOS code also suggest the cases could launch before the end of the year.   Read Full Article Samsung Kills Headphone Jack in Latest Smartphone After Years of Mocking Apple It's been two years since Apple removed the headphone jack in the iPhone 7, and every iPhone released since then has also lacked the long-standing 3.5mm port, requiring iPhone owners to use Lightning headphones, a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter, or wireless headphones. Samsung rarely missed an opportunity to mock Apple for removing the headphone jack, boasting with each new release that its phones continued to include it. Well, times appear to be changing, as Samsung's just-announced Galaxy A8s does away with the headphone jack. The Galaxy A8s isn't a flagship phone for Samsung, but don't be surprised if the change spreads to more devices in the company's lineup going forward.   Read Full Article Apple Offering Discounts on HomePod to Some Apple Music Subscribers We know it's the time of year for holiday discounts, but this is a pretty rare one: Apple itself has sent out emails to some Apple Music subscribers in the UK offering £50 off the purchase of a HomePod. That's a solid 15 percent discount, but it's unclear whether Apple plans to expand the promotion beyond the UK. HomePod sales have lagged well behind those of Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers, but Apple is positioning HomePod as a premium speaker, so its pricing has limited the market for Apple. There have been rumors of Apple considering a lower-cost version of the HomePod, but we've yet to see any concrete signs of an imminent launch.   Read Full Article Epic Games Removes 'Infinity Blade' Trilogy From App Store The Infinity Blade series of role-playing games from Epic Games was one of the relatively early hits on the App Store, with Apple showing off the impressive visuals and performance in several keynotes and media events. The final installment in the trilogy was released five years ago, and this week Epic Games removed all three Inifinty Blade games from the App Store, saying "it has become increasingly difficult for our team to support the Infinity Blade series at a level that meets our standards." Epic is of course riding the wave of its smash hit Fortnite across a variety of platforms, but it's sad to see one of the most iconic premium iOS gaming titles be put out to pasture.   Read Full Article Apple Announces Plans to Build $1 Billion Campus in Austin, Texas Apple earlier this year announced that it was looking to build a major new corporate campus, and this week the company announced that it will be located in Austin, Texas. The campus is located just a short distance away from an existing campus with 6,200 employees that ranks as Apple's largest outside of its Cupertino headquarters. The new $1 billion Austin campus will include a mix of engineering, research and development, operations, finance, sales, and customer support, and it will initially include 5,000 employees with the potential to grow to 15,000 over time. Apple is also increasing hiring at a number of its other locations around the United States, including Seattle, San Diego, Culver City, Pittsburgh, New York, and Boulder.   Read Full Article

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Apple Watch ECG Launches, Last Call for $29 iPhone Batteries, iPhone XR Clear Case - MacRumors

Brought to you by: Apple Releases watchOS 5.1.2 With ECG, New Infograph Complications and Walkie-Talkie Control Center Toggle Apple this morning announced that it would be releasing watchOS 5.1.2 with the much-anticipated ECG functionality for Apple Watch Series 4 users later in the day, and a short time ago the company did just that, pushing the release out to all Apple Watch owners. The ECG functionality offers a view of heart health, and we went hands-on with the new feature to see how it works. Unfortunately, the feature is currently only available in the United States, as it requires oversight from health regulators in each country. You'll have a hard time working around the country restrictions, but hopefully it will expand to other countries around the world shortly as it receives necessary approvals. In addition to the ECG feature, watchOS 5.1.2 also includes irregular heart rhythm alerts for Apple Watch Series 1 and later (also U.S. only for now), direct access to non-payment Wallet cards like movie tickets and rewards cards, new Infograph watch face complications, and the ability to manage Walkie-Talkie availability in Control Center.   Read Full Article Sponsored Stories Tech + Insurance = Coverage Made Easy Life insurance is a deeply un-fun topic. Most people don't like trying to figure out how it works, and they definitely don't like thinking about what it could cost. But actually having life insurance feels great. And getting that peace of mind doesn’t need to be complicated. Policygenius is the easy way to get life insurance. In minutes you can compare quotes from top insurers side by side to find the coverage you need, at a price you can afford. From there, you can apply online and let the unbiased advisors at Policygenius handle all the paperwork and red tape - leaving you free to do the things you actually enjoy. Policygenius doesn’t just make life insurance easy. Whether you're shopping for disability insurance to protect your income, homeowners insurance, or auto insurance, their mix of real human help and straightforward digital tools can help you get covered fast. If you’ve been intimidated or frustrated by insurance in the past, give Policygenius a try. Just go to Policygenius.com to get your quotes and apply in minutes. You can do the whole thing on your phone right now!   Visit Sponsor Popular Stories Dec 10, 2018 Apple Releases iOS 12.1.1 With Expanded eSIM Support, Redesigned FaceTime With Live Photos, Haptic Touch for Notifications on iPhone XR, and More A day ahead of the watchOS 5.1.2 release, Apple pushed out the rest of its operating system updates, led by iOS 12.1.1 with several new features and improvements including an expansion of eSIM support for Apple's latest iPhones, FaceTime improvements such as the return of the camera flip button and new Live Photos support, and more. On the eSIM front, AT&T and a number of other new carriers around the world now support the feature, which lets you leverage one physical SIM and one built-in electronic one to allow you to have two separate lines operating at once on your phone. Verizon is reportedly launching its support for the feature tomorrow. Beyond iOS 12.1.1, Apple also released macOS 10.14.2 with a few tweaks and bug fixes, tvOS 12.1.1, HomePod software 12.1.1, and Shortcuts 2.1.2.   Read Full Article Make Sure to Get Your $29 iPhone Battery Replacements Soon as Apple's Discount Program is Set to End on December 31 Nearly a year ago, Apple launched a discounted $29 battery replacement program for recent iPhone models, addressing public outcry after it was discovered that Apple was throttling the performance of devices with degraded batteries in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns. That program will be expiring on December 31, so make sure to get an appointment with your local Genius Bar or service center in the next few weeks if you want to take advantage of the pricing. As of January 1, battery replacements for iPhone 6 and newer will rise to $49 with the exception of iPhone X, which will rise to $69. In other battery-related news, a newly discovered icon in watchOS suggests Apple may be planning to release one or more Smart Battery Case models for its latest iPhones. Apple released battery cases for the iPhone 6, 6s, and 7, but did not for the iPhone X or XS. The new icon, however, shows a vertically oriented camera cutout and no chin as had been present on the earlier models.   Read Full Article Apple Begins Selling iPhone XR Clear Case, Costs $39 in United States Apple has finally begun selling its iPhone XR clear case for $39, letting users show off the colorful backsides of their devices. The clear case has been shrouded in mystery since it was first announced buried in the footnotes of the iPhone XR press release in only some countries back in September. The clear case (and any other Apple iPhone XR cases) failed to launch alongside the iPhone XR itself in October. The case also failed to appear at several other opportunities, including alongside new iPhone XS case colors just last week, leaving many wondering when the case might finally show up. Apple this week also began selling on a standalone basis the 18-watt USB-C power adapter that ships with the new iPad Pro models. The $29 adapter can be used to fast charge all of Apple's latest iPhone and iPad models.   Read Full Article AirPods With Wireless Charging Case Expected in Early 2019, All-New Model in Early 2020 It's been over a year since Apple announced plans to launch a wireless charging case for its AirPods, but the new case and the related AirPower charging mat have yet to make it to market. Often-reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims, however, that Apple should be launching the new AirPods with wireless charging case early next year, hopefully alongside AirPower. All-new AirPods are expected to follow in early 2020, although details on what to expect in that update are still uncertain. With AirPods proving extremely successful for Apple, Kuo also says that's sparking major competitors to emphasize their own efforts in the market with Google and Amazon likely to launch similar products next year.   Read Full Article Tips and Tricks for the New 11 and 12.9-Inch iPad Pro Models The new iPad Pro models released last month are generating a lot of interest from upgraders and those new to iPad, so in a recent video, we took a look at some tips and tricks for the new tablets. Topics include the flick keyboard, easy text selection, Animoji and Memoji, Apple Pencil 2 tips, and USB-C capabilities. There's a lot that's new with the latest iPad Pro models, including Face ID, USB-C, Apple Pencil 2, and a new Smart Keyboard Folio accessory design, so make sure you get up to speed on all of it!   Read Full Article Apple Music to Launch on Amazon's Echo Devices the Week of December 17 It's a bit of surprise considering Amazon's Echo devices and Apple's HomePod compete in similar markets, but the two companies have struck an agreement that will see direct Apple Music support come to Echo devices later this month. Apple Music subscribers will be able to ask Alexa to play their favorites songs, artists, and playlists, as well as Beats 1. The integration will arrive as an Alexa skill that needs to be enabled on the Echo speaker, with the user able to log into his or her Apple Music account to get things up and running.   Read Full Article

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