Code in the iOS 12.1 beta released this morning suggests Face ID has built-in support for landscape orientation, according to information shared by developer Steven Troughton-Smith.

A rendering of the upcoming iPad Pro said to be based on leaked CAD drawings
According to Troughton-Smith, landscape support for Face ID has likely been built into the update for upcoming iPad Pro models that are expected to offer Face ID.

Face ID has support for landscape orientation (presumably for iPad only), and iOS 12.1 seems to care a lot more about whether an external display is connected (perhaps due to iPad USB-C rumors; it won't have the Lighting HDMI adapter as an intermediary for video-out)

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) September 18, 2018

Troughton-Smith says that landscape Face ID requires a different alignment for the front-facing sensors of the TrueDepth camera system, which is why it won't be available for iPhone models that have Face ID.

From what I gather, landscape Face ID would require a realignment of the front-facing sensors, so you won't see it on existing hardware https://t.co/gVyB4Hz3pW

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) September 18, 2018

Previous iPad rumors have also suggested Apple would introduce Face ID support for landscape orientation specifically for the new iPad Pro models, because being able to unlock only in portrait mode would be inconvenient with a larger tablet form factor that's most often used in a horizontal orientation.

Right now, Face ID on the iPhone X and the new iPhone XS and XS Max devices works only in portrait mode, with the devices unable to recognize a face when held in landscape mode.

There has been some confusion over how Apple will implement Face ID in the iPad Pro models, though, as some rumors have pointed towards the inclusion of a new mystery port that's supposedly a Smart Connector located at the back of the device in leaked cases and CAD drawings.

A rendering of the upcoming iPad Pro said to be based on leaked CAD drawings
According to Japanese site Mac Otakara, which has somewhat of a mixed track record when it comes to rumors, the Smart Connector allegedly works with a new vertically oriented Smart Keyboard. Mac Otakara believes Face ID in the iPad Pro will work only in vertical orientation, but both today's information and prior hints of horizontal Face ID support suggest that's inaccurate.

Troughton-Smith shared a few other tidbits he found in the beta. There appears to be code to support an upcoming change to MFi game controllers that will offer up compatibility with clickable thumb sticks, and iOS 12.1 "seems to care a lot more about whether an external display is connected," which could be related to rumors of a switch from Lightning to USB-C.

Apple's iPad Pro models are rumored to feature edge-to-edge displays with no Home button, no headphone jack, and a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port. We're expecting Apple to introduce the new iPad Pros before the end of the year, perhaps at an upcoming event in October.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 12.1 update to developers, just one day after releasing iOS 12, a major new version of the iOS software.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 12.1 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.


It's not clear what features might be included in the iOS 12.1 beta, but Apple removed the Group FaceTime feature from iOS 12 ahead of its launch and promised to introduce it in a future update, which could be iOS 12.1.

The update may also feature new emoji that are said to be in the works and coming in an iOS 12 update later this year.

We'll update this post with details on the new features that are included in iOS 12.1 once we've downloaded the software and have had time to check it out. Apple today also released a new beta version of Xcode, Xcode 10.1.

Update: The iOS 12.1 beta reintroduces support for Group FaceTime, a feature that was removed from iOS 12 ahead of its release. Apple needed more time to test Group FaceTime and said that it would be coming in a software update later this fall. Group FaceTime is designed to let you audio or video chat with up to 32 people at one time.

In an interview with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts this morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed the new iPhone XS, XS Max, Apple Watch, and the recent exemption of some Apple's products from President Trump's proposed tariff on Chinese goods.


Roberts asked Cook about the cost of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max line, the latter of which is Apple's most expensive iPhone to date at $1,449 for the 512GB model. Cook explained that monthly payment plans provided by carriers help make the cost of the iPhones easier to digest.

He pointed out that all of the technology included in the iPhone, replacing previous separate gadgets like MP3 players and digital cameras, requires each smartphone to be priced at a premium. Cook also mentioned Apple's aim to "serve everyone," which he mentioned in an interview last week.

Roberts: "One model starts at almost $1,100, are you afraid that a group of people are being priced out?"

Cook: "Well we want to make an iPhone for everyone, that's always been our objective and we've got several iPhones in the line and they go down to materially lower. But if you look at this phone, it's the most advanced iPhone we've ever done.

The way most people pay for these...they do a deal with a carrier and they pay so much per month, so if you look at even the phone that's priced over $1,000, most people pay $30 a month for it, so that's about $1 a day. And so if you look at it, the phone has replaced your digital camera...it's replaced your video camera, it's replaced your music player, it's replaced all of these different devices. And so arguably the product is really important and we found people want to have the most innovative product available, and...it's not cheap to do that."

Cook then discussed the tariff situation, explaining that while the iPhone is assembled in China, parts of the device come from all over the world, including the United States.

The iPhone is assembled in China, but the parts come from everywhere. Including the United States, you know, the glass comes from Kentucky, there are chips that come from the U.S., and of course the research and development is all done in the United States.

So, I don't want to speak for them, but I think they looked at this and said that it's not really great for the United States to put a tariff on those type of products.

In regards to potential blowback from the Chinese government on this tariff exemption, and how this could impact consumers, Cook says he's optimistic that the U.S. and China will sort the situation out.

FULL INTERVIEW: @RobinRoberts is with @tim_cook to talk about the brand new iPhone and Apple Watch--plus they love the new Memoji feature. https://t.co/0wZJnpowI9 pic.twitter.com/BpDyoANSES

— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 18, 2018

The topic then moved onto the company's record trillion dollar valuation, which it hit in early August, making it the world's only trillion dollar publicly traded company in terms of market capitalization. Cook says that, from his point of view, Apple "could only have been created in America," and as such he and his executives feel a responsibility to help the country thrive, including creating jobs and encouraging coding in public schools.

"And so we do that in terms of creating jobs, we've created 2 million jobs in America. We want to create even more, we're investing $350 billion in the country over the next five years and we're starting up facilities in a number of different places. We're really proud of that contribution, but we want to do more.

You can visit Good Morning America's Twitter account to watch the full interview, which also includes a discussion of the iPhone XS camera, Memoji, the Apple Watch Series 4's ECG monitor, fall detection, and more.

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.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max reviews have hit the web, three days before the smartphones are released in stores.


2018 is what is known as a "S" year—hence the XS branding—in which Apple retains the same physical design of the iPhone, for the most part, and instead focuses on internal improvements to the display, camera, performance, and so forth. Previous examples include the iPhone 4s, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 6s series.

Not only that, but Apple said last year's iPhone X set the standard for the next decade of the smartphone, with its premium design and nearly edge-to-edge display, leaving the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max with big shoes to fill.

All that considered, let's dive in and see how they stack up.

After nearly six days of trying out the devices, many media outlets agree that the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are "evolutionary, not revolutionary," as Wired's Lauren Goode put it. TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino went as far as labeling the smaller-sized iPhone XS as "one of Apple's most 'S' models ever."

That's not necessarily a bad thing. As in many "S" years, if you already own the previous-year's device—in this case the iPhone X—Panzarino said there are only "about a half-dozen definitive improvements" in the iPhone XS. But, for customers upgrading from an older iPhone, he said they'll be in for "a huge win."

As an upgrade over an iPhone X, I'd say you're going to have to love what they've done with the camera to want to make the jump. As a move from any other device, it's a huge win and you're going head-first into sculpted OLED screens, face recognition and super durable gesture-first interfaces and a bunch of other genre-defining moves that Apple made in 2017, thinking about 2030, while you were sitting back there in 2016.

In terms of specific features, The Verge's Nilay Patel has good impressions about Face ID, the rear camera, performance, battery life, and more. As he reminds readers, the only differences with the iPhone XS Max versus the smaller iPhone XS are its larger 6.5-inch display and longer battery life.

Patel on Face ID:

Other than the minor speed increase and secondary appearance support, Face ID is still Face ID: it doesn't work in landscape or upside down or anything like that. If you wear glasses like me, you'll still have to enter your passcode every morning when you wake up because you're holding the phone too close to your face for it to work. And sunglasses that block IR light will still prevent it from working — Apple says it's working with sunglass makers to ship new kinds of sunglasses that support Face ID.

On the rear camera:

The camera upgrades on the XS over the X are significant — the XS makes the X camera look terrible most of the time. But we've been saying the best smartphone camera on the market is Google's Pixel 2 for a year now, so that's the standard to beat. And… I think the Pixel 2 still has a better camera than the iPhone XS. Don’t get me wrong — most people are going to like the photos they get out of the iPhone XS. It has a solid camera, and I prefer it to the Galaxy S9. But compared to the Pixel 2, the XS doesn't really do it for me.

Performance:

Last year's iPhone X had an A11 Bionic chip, and this year’s iPhone XS has an A12 Bionic. In terms of CPU performance, the A12 really isn't that much faster: Apple only quotes a 15 percent performance improvement, and I didn't really see a noticeable speedup over my iPhone X.

Battery life:

I mostly tested the XS Max, and it did great — better than even Apple's claim of 90 minutes more than the X. In fact, I got a full 12 hours of battery life out of the XS Max without low power mode, and that's even under my heavy daily use of constant Slack and email usage, video watching, photo taking, and browsing. The smaller XS is rated to get 30 minutes more than the X, which has run for about 8 hours for me this past year. It's solid.

If you are a diehard Apple fan who can't wait to get your hands on the latest and greatest iPhone, you're probably going to choose the iPhone XS, or specifically the iPhone XS Max, regardless. For others, it may be best to wait until Friday, October 19, when the lower-priced iPhone XR becomes available to order.

iPhone XR is often described as the iPhone X for the rest of us. While reviews of the device are not out today, we know it has a nearly edge-to-edge display, Face ID, glass casing, wireless charging, and many other advantages of the iPhone XS, including new camera features such as Depth Control and Smart HDR.

CNET's Scott Stein:

Both the iPhone XS and XS Max are great phones, fantastic refinements and incredibly promising hubs for your super-connected universe. As you'd expect, they're the best iPhones at the moment. But here's the twist: That third new iPhone, the iPhone XR, may be the best pick for anyone upgrading from any iPhone other than the 2017 iPhone X.

It has many of the same features as the XS, but with a larger yet lower-resolution 6.1-inch LCD screen compared to the XS, and -- according to Apple -- better battery life. And it's $250 cheaper to start -- only $50 more than the iPhone 8's starting price this time last year.

The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern:

The new iPhone XS and XS Max are great phones but the XR, due out in October, sounds more like a great deal…

Imagine Goldilocks only tested the cold and hot porridges and never found the one that was "just right." Her life might have been entirely different. That's how I feel about testing the iPhone XS and XS Max—without the iPhone XR—for the past week…

Many other publications have shared iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max reviews that are worth a read. We've rounded up links below.

• The New York Times
• Mashable
• USA Today
• CNBC
• TechRadar
• Tom's Guide
• The Telegraph
• iNews
• Pocket-lint

iPhone and iPhone XS will go on sale, and begin arriving to customers, this Friday. For those who decide to wait for the iPhone XR, reviews of that device will likely hit the web a few days before its October 26 release date.

Apple started preparing the first iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 orders for shipment over the weekend, and now those orders have started shipping out to customers.

Apple has not yet updated order statuses from "Preparing to Ship" and likely will not do so until later this week when packages begin hitting their destination locations, but customers who pre-ordered a new device in the United States may be able to track their order using UPS tracking features.


iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 orders that are shipping via UPS in the United States are in transit and can be tracked using a UPS My Choice account or a reference number on the UPS website.

Customers with UPS My Choice accounts can visit the scheduled deliveries section of the website to see a list of Apple orders that are set to be delivered on Friday, which can be clicked to reveal full tracking details.


Tracking by reference requires a phone number and a zip code, or an order number minus the last two digits of the number. Many customers are already seeing their orders on the UPS website, but not every order has been transitioned to UPS as of yet.


Most orders right now are still in various parts of China, but should be departing for the United States and other countries in the near future.

Apple began accepting pre-orders for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 on Friday, September 14 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time. By the time a half hour had passed, many iPhone XS Max models had sold out and were no longer available for launch day delivery.

iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 orders placed today will not ship out until October, but some models are still available for in-store pickup on September 21 in select stores. Retail stores are also expected to have supplies available for walk-in purchases on launch day.

Apple Stores, carrier locations like Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T, and big box retailers like Best Buy and Target are likely to have the new products available for purchase on launch day in the United States.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will appear on Good Morning America tomorrow morning, where he will be interviewed by Robin Roberts live in Times Square in New York City.

Good Morning America announced Cook's appearance on the show on Twitter this afternoon and asked its Twitter followers to reply to the tweet if they have questions for Cook.

TOMORROW ON @GMA: Apple's @tim_cook one-on-one with @RobinRoberts LIVE in Times Square!

Have questions for Tim? TWEET US by replying to this tweet! pic.twitter.com/s1umyOBWJM

— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 17, 2018

Cook is likely to discuss the newly announced iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and Apple Watch Series 4, and other topics like tariffs and new iOS 12 features could potentially come up.

Cook last appeared on Good Morning America in 2016, where he spoke about the launch of the AirPods, the iPhone 7, and the iPhone 7 Plus.

Ahead of his Good Morning America interview, Cook spent today in New York City, where he visited Apple employees at the Apple SoHo store.

Thanks Apple Soho and to our team around the world for the hard work you’re doing this week and all year round! Can’t wait for Friday. pic.twitter.com/E7Eisyyu1j

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 17, 2018

Good Morning America's interview with Tim Cook will air on Wednesday, September 18, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Photographer Austin Mann, who often goes hands-on with new iPhone models in exotic locations to test their capabilities in real world situations, has taken a first look at the iPhone XS and shared some images captured with the new device.

Mann took the iPhone XS to Zanzibar to test it out, and shared the images with PetaPixel.


The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are using the same 12-megapixel dual-camera system that was in the iPhone X, with an f/1.8 wide-angle lens and an f/2.4 telephoto lens, both of which feature optical image stabilization, but Apple has made some serious improvements that result in better-than-ever iPhone photos.

Apple has introduced a new image signal processor that integrates with the Neural Engine to introduce Smart HDR, a feature that offers up more detail in the highlights and shadows of images. The image signal processor also offers up more sophisticated bokeh (aka background blurring) to better match the results you can get from high-end DSLRs, and there's a new Depth Control feature.


Depth Control is a new Portrait Mode option that lets you adjust the depth of field after you shoot, an impressive function that allows you to choose just the right amount of blur to bring out the subject of your photo. The Depth Control feature is available for both the front and rear-facing iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max cameras.

A bigger sensor with deeper, larger pixels lets in more light, which leads to better low-light photos, and sensor improvements paired with Smart HDR and no shutter lag result in sharper action shots.


We'll get a better look at what the new cameras are capable of when iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max reviews hit later this week, and customers who pre-ordered the device will also be able to try it out when shipments start arriving this Friday.

The full range of images captured by Mann can be seen in high resolution via a Flickr album, which can be accessed here.

Multiple popular password management apps for iOS devices have been updated with support for a convenient new iOS 12 feature, Password AutoFill.

With Password AutoFill, logins and passwords stored in third-party password management apps will be available throughout the iOS 12 operating system right alongside iCloud Keychain, letting you log into websites, apps, and more much more quickly.

1Password, LastPass, Dashlane, Keeper, and Remembear all now support Password AutoFill features.

Setting Up Password AutoFill

Setting up a password management app to work with Password AutoFill will require you to go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > AutoFill Passwords to toggle on the AutoFill Password option while also making sure your password management app of choice, such as 1Password, is selected.

How it Works

The Password AutoFill feature lets a third-party app function just like iCloud Keychain, with your sensitive data protected but easily accessible within apps when you need your login information.

When you encounter a login field in an app or on the web, tapping in the entry field will display the stored username and password from your password management app if you've saved one right above the keyboard.

From there, you can tap the information to enter it into the app or website's login window, such as in the Spotify example below.


There are instances where your password management app does not have saved information entirely right or where you have multiple logins, like if you have multiple Twitter or Instagram accounts.

With Instagram, for example, when logging into the Instagram app, I see my two Instagram accounts listed in 1Password (my password app of choice) and I can tap either one to enter my login information.


For apps that your password management app cannot automatically identify, you will be able to access your entire password vault to find the login information that you need.

Where it Works

What's great about the Password AutoFill API is that it does not require developers to implement any kind of integration with your password management app to function, as was required in previous versions of iOS for this kind of functionality.

It works automatically in most apps and websites, with your password archive available no matter where you're logging in.

One-Time Passwords

When logging into apps and websites that require two-factor authentication, using a one-time password is also simplified.

If your two-factor authentication setup is linked to a password management app like 1Password, when you log into an app or website that requires two-factor authentication, your password is entered in the field and your one-time authentication password is automatically copied to the clipboard for easy pasting.


For apps that use your phone number for authentication purposes, iOS 12 introduces a feature that takes a code from an incoming iMessage and copies it to the clipboard, so two-factor authentication is simplified no matter the method.

Password AutoFill on Apple TV

Password AutoFill extends to the Apple TV using the continuity keyboard that permits the iPhone to be used to enter passwords and login information on the Apple TV.

For this to work, both the Apple TV and the iOS device need to be signed into the same iCloud account, and from there, the process is identical to using Password AutoFill on the iPhone.


In a text entry field, when prompted to use the iPhone to enter login information, passwords stored in a password management app and linked to Password AutoFill will be able to be entered on the Apple TV.

Note: tvOS 12 and iOS 12 are required for Password AutoFill to work on the Apple TV.

The Password AutoFill feature in 1Password, Dashlane, LastPass, and Keeper is available starting today so long as you've downloaded and installed iOS 12 and updated your apps.

Have you tried Password AutoFill? What do you think of the new feature? Let us know in the comments.

Apple this morning released iOS 12, and following the update, hundreds of apps are introducing support for the new features, including Siri Shortcuts. Siri Shortcuts let you create multi-step automations using first and third-party apps that can be activated through Siri voice command.

Below, we've rounded up some of the more notable apps that have been introducing support for Siri Shortcuts. Siri Shortcuts can be created in the Shortcuts app in iOS 12, but are available for use in iOS 12, in watchOS 5 and on the Siri watch face, on HomePod, and with CarPlay.

ETA - ETA is a navigation app that offers up directions, traffic conditions, and travel time. With the new update, ETA introduces shortcuts for adding a location, calculating and displaying travel time, and getting turn-by-turn directions.


TripIt - TripIt, a travel organization app, is introducing Siri Shortcuts that let users access flight information and upcoming travel plans that are stored within the app.


Bear - Note taking app Bear includes Siri Shortcuts designed to let you create new notes on iOS and use Siri to search through your notes without opening the Bear app. There are also new navigation options, enhanced header linking, new iMessage stickers, and more transparency surrounding syncing. Bear for macOS has also been updated with features like Dark Mode support.

Halide - Photography app Halide is introducing Siri Shortcuts support that's designed to let you trigger a shot using a Siri voice command. With the Shortcuts integration, Halide can also show up as a contextual suggestion if you take photos at specific times or places. Halide's latest update also includes support for iPhone XS Max, wide color, and a new feature called "Technical Readout" that creates a report with system-level details about the iPhone's camera. There are performance improvements.


Sky Guide - Sky Guide has introduced Siri Shortcuts for identifying objects in the sky with commands like "Hey Siri, what star is that?" with the iPhone pointed at a specific star or planet. Sky Guide's shortcut will let Siri tap into Sky Guide's info to provide the answer, with no need to open up the Sky Guide app.

Things 3 - To-do app Things is gaining full support for Siri Shortcuts, which will also enable Siri suggestions for Things tasks. There's are Shortcuts integrations for adding new items to a Things to-do list, opening up a list you refer to often, and creating repeat lists for tasks you do more than once, such as packing for a trip. Password AutoFill, Landscape Mode, and Dynamic Snooze Notifications are also included. Things will now appear on the Apple Watch on the Siri watch face thanks to Shortcuts integration.


Pandora - Pandora includes support for Siri Shortcuts, with a new option that lets you ask Siri to play a favorite station. Siri is also able to keep track of your favorite Pandora stations and present them as suggestions on the Lock screen.

PCalc - Popular calculator app PCalc introduces support for Siri Shortcuts with options like rounding to a certain number of decimal places when making a calculation or converting currencies or measurements. All of PCalc's app features can be turned into shortcuts that are designed to run in the background or open up PCalc to perform an action. PCalc users should read MacStories' complete overview of the PCalc shortcut update for details.

WaterMinder - With WaterMinder's new Siri Shortcuts, you can create shortcuts for logging a drink, showing the last logged drink, showing your remaining hydration goal for the day, or showing your current daily hydration level.

Carrot Weather - With Siri Shortcuts support, you can get weather reports and forecasts without needing to open the Carrot Weather app. There are options for current weather, weather forecast, rain reports, and more. Today's Carrot Weather update also supports Apple's new iPhones and complications on Apple Watch Series 4, and it shows as a data source on the Siri watch face.


Day One - Day One's iOS 12 update brings Siri Shortcuts that can do things like create a new entry, camera, or audio recording specific to an individual journal, so you can create new content for each of your journals via voice command. The update also introduces a new filter for checklist entries and it includes support for typing Markdown links.

Focus 5 - Pomodoro-based time management app Focus 5 includes Siri shortcuts for doing things like adding new tasks or accessing the app through Siri predictions. The app also includes a new task lit feature for better organizing tasks and it offers a Dark Mode.

Monster Job Search - The app for job search site Monster now supports Siri Shortcuts for your favorite search queries, preventing you from needing to repeatedly type in the same search terms.

For those who are just getting started with Shortcuts, Apple has shared a detailed Shortcuts User Guide, which is a great way to get acquainted with all of the things that the Shortcuts feature is able to do.

The user guide is organized into sections that include Shortcuts basics, creating and using Shortcuts, managing Shortcuts, using advanced Shortcuts, and frequently asked questions.

Know of other apps that have introduced support for Siri Shortcuts and other iOS 12 features? Let us know in the comments. We'd also love to hear the most useful Siri Shortcuts features you've found so far in iOS 12.

The Apple Watch, AirPods, and some other Apple products will be exempted from a proposed $200 billion tariff on Chinese goods, reports Bloomberg.

An updated list of products affected by the tariffs is expected to be released today, and it will not include a product category that covers Apple Watch, AirPods, and other smart watches and fitness trackers. Five separate sources have confirmed to Bloomberg that the Trump administration will exempt many of Apple's products.

The product code covers wireless devices, and it was included on a preliminary list the administration released in July. Other Apple products under the code include the HomePod speaker, BeatsWL headphones, and AirPort and Time Capsule internet routers. The value of such imports from China is about $12 billion, according to one of the people.

A preliminary tariff list released earlier this year did include wireless devices like the AirPods and the Apple Watch, and Apple in early September said that several of its products would be affected.

Apple sent a letter to the Trump administration urging it not to apply the tariffs that would affect Apple products, asking the government to instead find "other, more effective" solutions. Apple said implementing the tariffs would lead to lower U.S. growth and competitiveness, along with higher prices for U.S. consumers.

Back in July, Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on the tariffs, saying that Apple was "optimistic" the issue would be sorted out, with the company hoping "calm heads prevail."

This fourth round of tariffs will cover $200 billion in Chinese goods and it joins several other tariffs that have already been put in place on products like steel, aluminum, and billions of dollars worth of goods.

Update: The new list of tariffs has been released and Apple's devices are indeed excluded.

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.

Apple today officially released iOS 12, the latest operating system designed for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. iOS 12 is available on all devices able to run iOS 11, which includes the iPhone 5s and later, the iPad mini 2 and later, the iPad Air and later, and the 6th-generation iPod touch.

The update is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings --> General --> Software Update. It could potentially take a few minutes for the update to propagate to all users due to high demand. As with all iOS updates, iOS 12 is free to download.

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iOS 12 is a major update that brings several new features and upgrades to Apple's iOS devices, along with some significant performance improvements. Apple has revamped the operating system from top to bottom to make iPhones and iPads, especially the older models, faster and more responsive.

Apps open more speedily than before, the keyboard pops up faster, and the Camera launches much quicker. Apple has also introduced optimizations for when the system is under load, making iOS devices faster when you need performance most.

On the iPhone X (and upcoming XS and XS Max models), there are new Animoji characters (Ghost, Koala, Tiger, and T-Rex) along with "Memoji," which are customizable, personalized, humanoid Animoji that can be used both in Messages and in FaceTime, plus there are fun new camera effects in both of those apps.


Apple originally planned to introduce Group FaceTime support in iOS 12, but the feature was removed during the beta testing period. It will be reintroduced later this fall in a future iOS 12 update.

Siri is smarter than ever in iOS 12 with a new Shortcuts feature designed to let you create multi-step customized automations using first and third-party apps that can be activated with Siri voice commands. Shortcuts can be created through the Shortcuts app, which Apple is releasing alongside iOS 12.


Apple built comprehensive time management and monitoring tools into iOS 12 with Screen Time, allowing you to keep track of how much time you're spending in apps on your iPhone and iPad. App limits can help you cut back on iOS device usage, and robust parental controls are included for families.


Updated Do Not Disturb options make activating Do Not Disturb more intuitive and simple, and a new Do Not Disturb at Bedtime feature cuts down on nighttime distractions and sleep interruptions by hiding notifications at night.


Grouped Notifications make incoming notifications easier to view and manage, while a new Instant Tuning feature lets you tweak your notification settings right on the Lock screen on a notification-by-notification basis to cut down on the number of notifications you receive.

Apple News has a new Browse feature, the Stocks app has been redesigned and brought to the iPad, iBooks has been overhauled with a new look and a new name -- Apple Books -- and Voice Memos has been revamped with iCloud support and an iPad app.

ARKit 2.0 introduces new capabilities like shared experiences that let two people see the same AR environment on separate devices, and persistence, which allows AR experiences to be saved across multiple sessions. There's also a new Apple-built Measure app for measuring objects using AR functionality.


iOS 12 includes a revamped and rebuilt Maps app that uses a new Apple-designed Maps engine that displays foliage, pools, buildings, pedestrian pathways, and other map elements more accurately. The new Maps also includes significant improvements to traffic, real-time road conditions, construction, and more, plus it lets Apple push out changes and fixes more quickly.


The updated Maps app is available in the Northern California area during beta testing and at launch. Following iOS 12's public release, Apple plans to continue rolling out the new Maps app to additional U.S. locations.

For a complete rundown on all of the features that are included in iOS 12, make sure to check out our iOS 12 roundup. Apple's full iOS 12 release notes are also listed below.

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Apple today released watchOS 5, the newest version of the operating system designed to run on the Apple Watch. Today's software update follows several months of beta testing, with Apple having seeded 10 betas and a GM.

watchOS 5 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the iPhone.

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watchOS 5 is a significant update to the watchOS operating system, introducing Activity Competitions so you can compete with friends to earn points, reach fitness goals, and win awards. There's a new Walkie-Talkie app with push-to-talk functionality for quickly communicating with the people you talk to most, and auto workout detection has been included to make it easier to start and stop workouts if you forget to do it yourself.

Siri Shortcuts, the new iOS 12 feature that allows you to create Siri-activated automations and shortcuts with both first and third-party apps, is available on Apple Watch through an improved Siri watch face that shows more information than ever.

The Siri watch face offers up predictive and proactive Shortcut suggestions based on your personal routines and the time of day, while Maps integration lets you see turn-by-turn directions and estimated travel times. Heart rate measurements like resting rate, walking average, and recovery rate are now displayed on the Siri watch face, as are live sports scores and info on upcoming games.


On newer Apple Watch models, you no longer need to hold down the Digital Crown to activate Siri thanks to a new built-in "Raise to Speak" feature that lets you speak right into your wrist, and there's a dedicated Podcasts app for listening to Podcasts on Apple Watch.

There are several new watch faces available in watchOS 5, including a Breathe face for walking you through stress-relieving breathing exercises, new motion faces that animate when your wrist is raised (Fire & Water, Vapor, and Liquid Metal), and options to display curated moments from your photo library on the Photos watch face. There are also new complications for Podcasts and Walkie-Talkie.


iOS 12 features that include grouped notifications, Deliver Quietly, Instant Tuning, and Do Not Disturb have been expanded to the Apple Watch, and there are options for getting a notification if your heart rate falls below a specified threshold during a 10-minute period of inactivity.

Other new features include new Workout types that include Yoga and Hiking, new features for runners, WebKit support for viewing some web content on Apple Watch, metrics like UV index, wind speed, and air quality in the Weather app, an option to answer a FaceTime video call as audio on Apple Watch, and an updated interface for choosing emoji in Mail and Messages.


The watchOS 5 update runs on all Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models, but it is not available for the first-generation "Series 0" Apple Watch models.

For more information on all of the new features coming in watchOS 5, make sure to check out our watchOS 5 roundup.