Sunday, June 30, 2019

[Exclusive] Samsung Begins Manufacturing of Galaxy Fold in India, Launch Seems Imminent


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Deal Alert: Return of the $60 Nest Home Hub


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OpenID Foundation Claims 'Sign In with Apple' Exposes Users to Security and Privacy Risks

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At WWDC 2019 earlier this month, Apple announced Sign In with Apple, a new privacy-focused login feature that will allow macOS Catalina and iOS 13 users to sign into third-party apps and websites using their Apple ID.


The feature has been largely welcomed as a more secure alternative to similar sign-in services offered by Facebook, Google, and Twitter, since it authenticates the user with Face ID or Touch ID, and doesn't send personal information to app and website developers.

However the implementation of Sign In with Apple has now been questioned by the OpenID Foundation (OIDF), a non-profit organization whose members include Google, Microsoft, PayPal, and others.

In an open letter to Apple software chief Craig Federighi, the foundation praised Apple's authentication feature for having "largely adopted" OpenID Connect, a standardized protocol used by many existing sign-in platforms that lets developers authenticate users across websites and apps without them having to use separate passwords.

Yet it cautioned that several differences remain between OpenID Connect and Sign In with Apple that could potentially put users' security and privacy in jeopardy.
The current set of differences between OpenID Connect and Sign In with Apple reduces the places where users can use Sign In with Apple and exposes them to greater security and privacy risks. It also places an unnecessary burden on developers of both OpenID Connect and Sign In with Apple. By closing the current gaps, Apple would be interoperable with widely-available OpenID Connect Relying Party software.
To remedy the situation, the foundation asked Apple to address the differences between Sign In with Apple and OpenID Connect, which have been recorded in a document managed by the OIDF certification team.


It also invited the company to use OpenID's suite of certification tests to improve the interoperability of the two platforms, publicly state their compatibility, and join the OpenID Foundation.

Shortly after unveiling Sign In with Apple, the tech giant told developers that if an app lets users log in using their Facebook or Google logins, then it must also provide an alternative Sign In with Apple option.

The company then raised some eyebrows when it emerged that its updated Human Interface Guidelines asked app developers to place its authentication feature above other rival third-party sign-in options wherever they appeared.

(Thanks, Jonathan!)


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Saturday, June 29, 2019

Using 4K Monitors With Chromebooks: What You Need To Know [VIDEO]


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Apple Identifies Logic Board Issue With 'Very Small Number' of 2018 MacBook Airs, Will Fix Free of Charge

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Apple has identified an undisclosed issue with the logic board in "a very small number" of 2018 MacBook Air units, according to an internal document distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers on Friday. The document was obtained by MacRumors from a source who has proven reliable.


Apple will replace the main logic board in affected MacBook Air units, free of charge. Apple will also send an email to affected customers to let them know that their notebooks are eligible for a main logic board replacement.

2018 MacBook Air owners can visit Apple's support website to schedule an appointment with an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. When the serial number of an affected MacBook Air is entered into Apple's internal repair system, a message will direct technicians to replace the logic board.

Apple will authorize coverage within four years of the MacBook Air's original purchase date. If the notebook has accidental damage that the customer does not want repaired, technicians are instructed to proceed with the logic board replacement at no cost as long as the damage does not prevent completion of the repair.

If accidental damage does prevent the logic board replacement from being completed, Apple says the customer must pay for necessary repairs in order to get the logic board replaced at no cost.

Apple has not publicly announced this repair policy, likely due to what it believes is a very small number of affected customers. While we are confident this information is accurate, as it comes from a consistently reliable source, we cannot guarantee that all Apple employees will acknowledge the policy.

This is at least the third repair program that Apple has introduced in the past five weeks, alongside its 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro battery recall and replacement program and 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro display backlight service program.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Neutral)

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4K Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630 sale brings price to just $25 more than the 1080p model


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Top Stories: Jony Ive Leaving Apple, iOS 13 and macOS Catalina Public Betas, 16" MacBook Pro

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The big news of this week was obviously the announcement that Jony Ive will be leaving Apple to start his own design firm, but there was plenty of other news including a surprise early launch of public betas of iOS 13, macOS Catalina, and tvOS 13.

Read on below for a summary of all our top stories from this week.

Apple's Longtime Design Chief Jony Ive Leaving to Start New Design Company With Apple as a Primary Client


It feels like it's been a long time coming, but it was still a bit of a surprise this week when Apple announced that design chief Jony Ive will be departing the company to start his own design firm. It sounds like it won't be a clean break, as Apple says it will be a "primary client" of Ive's new firm, but we'll have to see how much influence he ends up having on Apple's future products.


In the wake of the announcement, Bloomberg took a look back at the last few years of Ive's tenure at Apple, noting that his involvement in Apple's product design began tapering off as long as four years ago following the introduction of the original Apple Watch. Ive turned his attention to the company's Apple Park campus, and even limited the time he spent at Apple's headquarters, preferring to work out of a location close to his home in San Francisco.

Public Betas of iOS 13 and More Released!


Apple surprised us this week with the first public betas of iOS 13 and iPadOS, macOS Catalina, and tvOS 13, which weren't expected until July. This allows anyone who signs up to Apple's free beta software program to test the updates before they are officially released in the fall.


We have put together a guide on how to install the iOS 13 public beta — we also have ones for iPadOS, macOS Catalina, and tvOS 13. As usual, Apple cautions against installing the updates on your primary, daily-use devices, as there are still bugs and issues to be sorted out.

16-Inch MacBook Pro Said to Launch in September With LCD and 3072x1920 Resolution


Rumors continue to surface about an all-new 16-inch MacBook Pro coming later this year, as first mentioned by reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.


The latest word comes from Jeff Lin, an analyst at research firm IHS Markit, who believes the 16-inch MacBook Pro will have an LCD, not an OLED display, and launch in September.

Lin also believes that Apple plans to refresh the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro — perhaps the models without the Touch Bar — with faster processors in the fall.

Apple Hires ARM's Lead CPU Architect Amid Rumors of ARM-Based Macs as Early as 2020


Rumors suggest Apple plans to transition to its own ARM-based processors in Macs starting as early as 2020, and its hiring of ARM's lead CPU architect Mike Filippo could certainly help those efforts.


Filippo led the development of several chips at ARM between 2009 and 2019, and he was also Intel's lead CPU and system architect between 2004 and 2009, so he brings a wealth of experience with him to Apple.

Apple Says Spotify Pays 15% Fee on Just <1% of Subscribers in Response to App Store Complaint


Apple has filed a response to Spotify's anticompetitive complaint about the App Store in Europe, noting that Spotify only pays Apple a 15 percent commission for less than 1% of its paying subscribers.


That equates to around 680,000 users who subscribed to Spotify through its iOS app via Apple's in-app purchase system between 2014 and 2016.

Hands-On With LG's Massive 5K 49-Inch $1,500 Display


LG recently came out with a new curved ultra-wide monitor sporting a massive 49-inch display size, 5K resolution, and a ~$1,500 price tag.


In our latest video over on our YouTube channel, we went hands-on with the display to see if it's a worthwhile purchase for a Mac user.

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2015 15" MacBook Pro Recall Applies to About 432,000 Units, Apple Received 26 Reports of Batteries Overheating


Last week, Apple launched a worldwide recall program for select 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro units due to batteries that "may overheat and pose a fire safety risk." Apple will replace affected batteries free of charge.


Now, we have learned that about 432,000 potentially affected MacBook Pros were sold in the United States, plus 26,000 in Canada. Apple has received 26 reports of batteries overheating in the United States and one in Canada.

Here is everything you need to know about the recall program, including how to identify your Mac and get the battery replaced.

Leaked Photos Show Apple Card's Design in the Wild


Apple's upcoming Apple Card credit card is now being tested by both its corporate and retail employees ahead of a planned summer launch, and some more photos of the card have now leaked.


The titanium Apple Card appears to weigh in at 14.75 grams, making it much heavier than typical plastic credit cards around 5 grams and more in line with other metal cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

It is likely the Apple Card launch will be tied to the release of iOS 12.4, which is inching towards the end of beta testing.

MacRumors Newsletter


Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!


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Friday, June 28, 2019

Huawei P30 Series Outsells P20 Series; Sales Hit 10 Million Units Globally Amid US Ban in 85 Days


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Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ Real-life Images Appear Online, Design Matches with Previously Leaked Renders


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Photos: What's New in iOS 13

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The Photos app is one of the most important apps on the iPhone and iPad, housing all of the pictures that you've taken and offering up editing tools to make those images even better.

Over the course of the last few years, Apple has been steadily improving the Photos app with machine learning and other technologies to present your pictures in new and unique ways so you can do more than just view your photos - you can relive your memories. iOS 13 is no exception and has a slew of improvements that make the Photos app more useful than ever.

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Updated Photos Tab Organization


The main Photos tab in the Photos app has been overhauled in iOS 13, with a new design that's meant to put your best photos front and center. In addition to the iOS 12-style option to view all of your photos, there are new options to view them by day, month, and year.

Each of the time-based viewing options cuts out clutter, like screenshots, photos of receipts, and duplicate images, displaying all of your best memories without the cruft. Photos are displayed in a tiled view, with your best images displayed as large squares surrounded by smaller related photos.


The Days view in the Photos app shows you the photos that you've taken organized by each day, while the Months view presents photos categorized into events so you can see the best parts of the month at a glance.


In the Years view, you can see subsections for each year. In the current year, it will flip through each month automatically so you can get an overview of each month, but Apple did something unique for past years. When you tap into an older year, like 2018 or 2017, you'll see photos taken around the same time of year.


So, for example, if it's June and you tap the 2017 tab in June, you'll see photos that were taken in June 2017. Tapping into a specific year in this view swaps over to the Month view, where you can further tap into a target month, which then swaps to the Day view. You can also swipe a finger over the photos in the Years view to see a glimpse of key images from each month.

In all of the sections, Apple highlights titles like location, concert performances, holidays, and more, so you know where your photos were taken.

The new Photos tab is separate from the "For You" section introduced in iOS 12. For You also shows you curated photos, but the Photos tab organizes them around specific dates while For You focuses on aggregating content from multiple dates like beach days, trips, specific people, pets, and more.


Both the new Photos tab and the For You view are great for surfacing your best memories, making the Photos app a great tool just for browsing through your photo library.

Autoplay Live Photos and Videos


In the new Photos tab, Live Photos and videos will autoplay silently so you can see a glimpse of action in the Day view, which brings the Photos tab to life and makes looking through your images a more dynamic, fun experience.

Extended Live Photos


When you have two or more Live Photos taken within 1.5 seconds of one another, there's a new Live Photos option that will play both at once as a short little video rather than just a quick animation in the Day view of the Photos tab.

Birthday Highlights


For your contacts you have photos of in the People album, if you have their birthdays assigned to them in the Contacts app, Apple will show you photos of the person in the "For You" section of the Photos app.

Screen Recordings Album


In iOS 13, if you capture a screen recording, it will be saved to a new Screen Recordings album automatically, much like screenshots go in the Screenshots album.

Overhauled Editing Interface


Apple in iOS 13 updated the editing interface in Photos, which you can get to whenever you tap on the "Edit" button on one of your pictures.

Rather than hiding editing tools down at the bottom of the image in a series of small icons, iOS 13 puts them front and center in a new slider that lets you scroll through each adjustment option. It kicks off with the standard Auto adjust, but if you swipe to the left on the editing tools, you can choose the specific adjustment that you need.


You can tap each edit you apply to see what the photo looks like before and after, so it's clear what each of the adjustments is doing. This new interface more closely mirrors third-party photo editing apps and puts more tools right at iPhone users' fingertips, making photo editing easier for everyone.

The editing tab in the Photos app has been updated to account for the new editing interface. When you open up edits, the adjustment tools are front and center, but if you tap the concentric circles icon on the left you can get to Live Photos adjustments where you can choose a new Key Photo.

On the right of the adjustment tool, there are filter options, and next to that, options for cropping and changing orientation.

Intensity Slider


For each editing tool, there's a slider that lets you tweak the intensity of the adjustment, which allows for more controlled edits than before. So, for example, you can select the "Exposure" adjustment tool to brighten or darken a photo and then use the slider to quickly get the desired effect. Intensity has specific numbers, so it's easy to tell how much of an effect has been applied at a glance.


New Editing Tools


In addition to overhauling the editing interface in Photos, Apple also added new tools for things like adjusting vibrance, white balance, sharpness, and more. Below, there's a list of all of the editing tools available in Photos in iOS 13:

  • Auto

  • Exposure

  • Brilliance

  • Highlights

  • Shadows

  • Contrast

  • Brightness

  • Black Point

  • Saturation

  • Vibrance

  • Warmth

  • Tint

  • Sharpness

  • Definition

  • Noise Reduction

  • Vignette


Apple has also improved the auto cropping and auto straightening features designed to make your photos look better with just a tap. When editing, you can use pinch to zoom to see the close-up details of a photo to get a better look at just what edits are doing to a particular area in an image.

Filter Intensity Adjustments


Though there are new editing tools available, the filters that Apple has long provided are there too. Filters in iOS 13 are more functional because the intensity of the filter can be adjusted using a new slider tool.


High-Key Mono Lighting Effect


iOS 13 adds a new effect to Portrait Lighting, High-Key Mono. High-Key Mono is a black and white effect that's similar to Stage Light Mono, but designed to add a white background rather than a black one.


High-Key Mono Lighting is limited to the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.

Portrait Lighting Adjustment Tools


The Portrait Lighting effects added to Portrait Mode photos can be adjusted with a new slider option in iOS 13, which allows you to further tweak the added lighting. It's designed to allow you to adjust the intensity of the lighting, which can drastically change the look of a portrait image.


Portrait Lighting adjustment tools are limited to the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.

Video Editing


There have been photo editing tools available in the Photos app for quite some time, but in iOS 13, many of the same tools are available for editing video for the first time.

Apple offers editing tools to adjust parameters like exposure, contrast, saturation, brightness, and more, plus there are built-in filters that you can apply. You can also use the same Auto adjust feature in videos that's long been available for photos to get a quick improvement.



Video editing tools, like photo editing tools, feature sliders to control the intensity of your adjustments so you can make dramatic or subtle changes to the lighting, brightness, and other elements and there continue to be available tools for adjusting video length.

There are also tools for straightening a video, adjusting the vertical alignment, adjusting the horizontal alignment, flipping the video, changing the orientation of the video, and cropping it.

None of these video editing tools were available in iOS 12, and these kinds of video edits have in the past required iMovie or another video editing app, but now video editing is as simple and straightforward as photo editing.

The Photos app isn't going to be suitable for complicated video edits where footage needs to be added or removed, but for simple tweaks, it's a useful tool that's going to be easy for even novice videographers to use.



Guide Feedback


Have questions about Photos, know of an iOS 13 Photos feature we left out, or or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Related Roundups: iOS 13, iPadOS

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Publishers Not Making Much Money From Apple News+

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Apple News+ seems to be floundering just months after its launch, according to new details from participating magazine publishers shared by Business Insider.

Multiple publishers have been unimpressed with the revenue generated from Apple News+. One told Business Insider that revenue was one twentieth of what Apple promised, while another said that it was on par with what was earned from Texture, which isn't much.

One publishing exec said Apple projected publishers would get 10 times the revenue they made from Texture at the end of Apple News Plus' first year. "It's one twentieth of what they said," the exec said. "It isn't coming true."

Other publishers said their subscription revenue from Plus was lower than or on a par with what they got on Texture, which was small as a subscription driver to begin with.
According to some of the publishing executives, Apple's News+ team has asked for input during meetings on the service since its launch. Apple reportedly acknowledged during meetings that Apple News users are confused about the difference between free articles and paid news content.

Publishers aren't pleased with the magazine-centric layout for news content, and executives want easier ways to convert magazine content to app content. "I don't think they're putting their full effort behind [Apple News+]," one publisher told Business Insider. Some of the publishers are still optimistic on the future of Apple News+, as the service is still in its infancy and it will take some time to work out the kinks.

Apple has told publishers that it is working on making the Apple News+ app more intuitive for users, so hopefully changes and refinements to the interface are in the works to make it easier to navigate through the app and manage magazines. For details on how Apple News+ works and some of the issues users have experienced, make sure to check out our guide.


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The Chrome Cast 16: Google Possibly Making a More Affordable Pixelbook


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[UPDATE]Deal Alert: Pick Up The All-New Brydge C-Type Chrome OS Keyboard For $66


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Deals Spotlight: Get the HomePod for Just $200 at Target ($100 Off)

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Target is heading into the weekend with an all-new sale on Apple's HomePod smart speaker, now priced at $199.99, down from the original price of $299.99. At $100 off, this sale is the lowest we've ever seen on a brand new HomePod, and the best deal on the speaker so far in 2019.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Target. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You can purchase the HomePod in either White or Space Gray on Target.com, and ship the speaker to your home or pick it up in-store. Additionally, Target RedCard holders have a chance to save an extra 5 percent on the HomePod.

Apple dropped the price of the HomePod from $349 to $299 back in April, hoping to boost sales for the speaker after some blowback to the steep cost of the device. You can find sales like this one and many more in our full Deals Roundup.

Related Roundups: Apple Deals, HomePod
Buyer's Guide: HomePod (Neutral)

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MacRumors Giveaway: Win a HomeKit-Compatible Dual Smart Outlet From Satechi

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For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Satechi to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company's newly launched HomeKit-Compatible Dual Smart Outlets.

Available for $60, the Dual Smart Outlet is Satechi's first HomeKit product, and it offers up two separate HomeKit-compatible outlets that let you connect any standard device or appliance to your HomeKit setup.


If you have a light that's not compatible with HomeKit, for example, you can plug it into the Smart Outlet for HomeKit controls, automations, and compatibility with other HomeKit-enabled products through HomeKit Scenes.

There are many HomeKit-compatible plug options on the market, but Satechi's new Smart Plug takes up minimal space as it won't block a secondary outlet. Both of the two outlets can be controlled independently, so you can connect two devices, and it can be placed either vertically or horizontally in an outlet.


Satechi has also included real-time energy monitoring in the Smart Outlet, so you can figure out just how much power your devices are eating up.

The Smart Outlet is controlled via WiFi and connects to an existing 2.4GHz network. It's compatible with any appliance or electronic device that plugs into a standard outlet, including fans, TVs, humidifiers, heaters, speakers, lights, and more.


You can control the Smart Outlet using the Home app, Siri voice commands, or the Satechi Home app. You can do things like turn a device on or off, set it to turn on or off at certain times, or pair it up with other HomeKit items.


We have five of the Dual Smart Outlets to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win our giveaway, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

Satechi Smart Outlet Giveaway
The contest will run from today (June 28) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on July 5. The winners will be chosen randomly on July 5 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.


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