Apple Discontinues Lightning to 30-Pin Adapter

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Apple has discontinued its $29 Lightning to 30-pin Adapter and has removed the accessory from its website as of this week.

The Lightning to 30-pin Adapter was first introduced in 2012 after Apple debuted the Lightning connector to replace to 30-pin connector that had been used in iPhones and iPads up to that point.


At the time of the transition, many people were using 30-pin cables for charging purposes for existing devices, prompting Apple to launch the adapter. The adapter was also useful for connecting existing 30-pin accessories to the new Lightning devices.

Lightning connectors are significantly thinner and more compact than 30-pin and the switch over to the more svelte Lightning connector allowed Apple to save space for other components in iPhones and iPads.

Apple's iPhone 5, fourth-generation iPad, and first-generation iPad mini were some of the first devices to use the new Lightning connector, which has been present in all mobile devices since 2012.

It's now been six years since Lightning was introduced and there is no longer a need for the Lightning to 30-pin Adapter as a limited number of those cables are still in use in 2018.
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Apple Seeds Third Beta of macOS Mojave 10.14.1 to Developers

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Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave 10.14.1 update to developers, one week after seeding the second beta and two weeks after releasing the macOS Mojave update.

macOS Mojave introduces a new method of installing software updates, so after the initial beta has been installed using the appropriate profile from the Developer Center, additional betas can be downloaded through opening up System Preferences and choosing the "Software Update" option.


The 10.14.1 update includes support for Group FaceTime, a feature that was removed during the beta testing period. Group FaceTime, which lets you chat with up to 32 people at once, is also present in the iOS 12.1 beta.

macOS Mojave 10.14.1 introduces more than 70 new emoji characters that are also available in iOS 12.1 and watchOS 5.1. There are new options for red hair, curly hair, no hair, and gray hair, along with characters to represent superheroes, cold face, party face, pleading face, and face with hearts.

There are a number of new animals and food items like kangaroo, parrot, lobster, mango, lettuce, and cupcake. Tweaks have been made to some existing emoji as well. The iPhone emoji, for example, has been updated to look like the iPhone X with no bezels or Home button.


We didn't find any other significant new features in the first two developer betas of macOS Mojave, so it's not clear if there are any additional changes. The update likely includes performance improvements and bug fixes for issues that have been discovered since the release of the Mojave update.

Should new features be found in the third beta, we'll update this post.

macOS Mojave is a major update that brings features like a systemwide Dark Mode, stacks for organizing messy desktops, new Finder capabilities, new tools for taking screenshots, a Continuity Camera option for easily transferring photo scans and documents from iPhone to Mac, and more. For more on macOS Mojave, make sure to check out our roundup.

Related Roundup: macOS Mojave

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Apple Releasing iOS 12.0.1 With Fixes for Wi-Fi 2.4GHz Bug, Lightning Charging Issue

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Apple is today releasing iOS 12.0.1, the first official update to the iOS 12 operating system. iOS 12.0.1 comes three weeks after Apple released iOS 12.

The update will be available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings --> General --> Software Update. iOS 12 users should be able to download iOS 12.0.1 when it is released at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.


Today's update fixes several high profile bugs that have been plaguing iOS 12 users. It resolves an issue that could cause some iPhone XS devices not to charge when connected to a Lightning cable, an issue that was discovered shortly after iOS 12 was released.

Reports suggested multiple iOS 12 devices were affected rather than just the iPhone XS, and it's likely that if other devices are impacted, the new update solves the problem.

iOS 12.0.1 also fixes a major Wi-Fi bug that could cause some iPhone XS devices to prefer to join a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network rather than a 5GHz Wi-Fi network, resulting in perceived slower Wi-Fi connection speeds. After this update, many users who were stuck with their phones connecting to a 2.4GHz network should see much faster Wi-Fi connection speeds as the devices once again prefer a 5GHz network.

Other bug fixes in this update include a reorientation of the "123" number key on the iPad, which was moved in the iOS 12 update and swapped with the emoji/language key, a fix for a problem that could cause subtitles not to appear in some video apps, and an issue where Bluetooth could become unavailable.

Many of these bugs have also been addressed in the upcoming iOS 12.1 update that is currently being beta tested by developers and public beta testers.

Apple's full release notes for the update are below:

iOS 12.0.1 includes bug fixes and improvements for your iPhone or iPad. This update:
- Fixes an issue where some iPhone XS devices do not immediately charge when connected to a Lightning cable
- Resolves an issue that could cause iPhone XS devices to rejoin a Wi-Fi network at 2.4 GHz instead of 5 GHz
- Restores the original position of the ".?123" key on the iPad keyboard
- Fixes an issue where subtitles may not appear in some video apps
- Addresses an issue where Bluetooth could become unavailable
- For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

The new iOS 12 update introduces a slew of new features like Siri Shortcuts for creating voice-controlled automations, Screen Time for monitoring your iOS device usage, Memoji on devices with a TrueDepth camera, improvements to Do Not Disturb and notifications, ARKit 2.0, privacy enhancements, and more.

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For additional details on everything new in iOS 12, make sure to check out our roundup.

Related Roundup: iOS 12

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Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Allegedly Gives Reading for Tissue Paper; Heart Rate Sensor Reliability Doubtful?

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iPhone XS 'BeautyGate' Test Tricks Viewers to Challenge Preconceived Notions

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Following the launch of the iPhone XS and XS Max, owners began pointing out that the selfies captured on the new devices appear to apply a sort of smooth effect on the user's skin in certain lighting scenarios. This was quickly dubbed "BeautyGate," with some users accusing Apple of building the new iPhone models with an internal "beauty filter" for better-looking selfies that aren't 100% honest.

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In an effort to combat the BeautyGate claims, YouTuber Jonathan Morrison posted a series of selfies on Instagram and Twitter over the weekend. In captions, Morrison said these were captured on the Google Pixel 2's Portrait Mode, and asked his fans their thoughts on how the images came out, particularly if they were better than the iPhone XS.

Commenters said that the images rivaled DSLR shots and that the Pixel 2 was still among the best smartphone cameras, based on the pictures. Some even commended Google for producing high-quality selfies without the need for having a so-called make-up effect, and argued that the Pixel 2 had the best Portrait Mode of any smartphone.

After all of this, Morrison on Sunday revealed that both images were not taken on a Pixel 2, but instead captured on an iPhone XS Max.

BeautyGate talk starts at around 3:00

So I just wanted it to be a little bit of a lesson out there: don't let a preconceived notion or headline skew your judgement. Because clearly, everyone who thought that it was a Pixel automatically assumed it was much better than the iPhone, when in fact that was the same iPhone XS Max that apparently had all of the BeautyGate problems.

Still, Morrison explains that there is something happening on the front-facing cameras of the iPhone XS and XS Max, but it's not a beauty filter. Apple's latest smartphones take multiple pictures at varying exposure levels, requiring noise reduction that creates a smoothing effect over the entire image, not just on skin tones.

Halide went into detail on the issue in a blog post last week:

The iPhone XS merges exposures and reduces the brightness of the bright areas and reduces the darkness of the shadows. The detail remains, but we can perceive it as less sharp because it lost local contrast. In the photo above, the skin looks smoother simply because the light isn’t as harsh.

Observant people noticed it isn’t just skin that’s affected. Coarse textures and particularly anything in the dark— from cats to wood grain— get a smoother look. This is noise reduction at work. iPhone XS has more aggressive noise reduction than previous iPhones.

It's unclear if Apple will choose to decrease the amount of noise reduction on the front-facing cameras of the iPhone XS and XS Max as a result of the user complaints.

Related Roundup: iPhone XS

Buyer's Guide: iPhone XS (Buy Now)

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Google Starts Rolling Out Invites for Project Stream’s Public Beta Testing

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HP Chromebook X360 debuts as a thin 14-inch 2-in-1 laptop, starting at $599

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