MacRumors

Apple's upcoming low-cost LCD iPhone has reached the final stage of product verification at assembly lines in China, but delayed components mean it could yet be delayed to the second quarter of the year, according to DigiTimes.

In two separate reports today, the hit-and-miss Taiwanese industry publication claims that the so-called "‌iPhone‌ 9" or "‌iPhone‌ SE 2" has reached verification at Foxconn and Pegatron plants, but that Apple has deferred PCB orders for the device from the first quarter to the second due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, suggesting a possible launch delay.

Taiwan-based flexible PCB makers in the supply chain of Apple devices will see their shipments for the upcoming entry-level iPhone SE2 deferred from the first quarter to the second, and their second-quarter revenues may buck seasonal trends because of the deferral, according to industry sources.

Up until now, all the rumors have been pointing to a launch for the low-cost device as early as this month. Rumors have suggested the new ‌iPhone‌ could be announced on March 31, with a launch to follow on April 3. However, it's possible that production on the new low-cost ‌iPhone‌ could potentially see some delays due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China, according to multiple sources.

Apple's new low-cost ‌iPhone‌, which is expected to look more like an ‌iPhone‌ 8 than anything else, will feature a 4.7-inch LCD display, but will come upgraded with the same A13 chip that's in the ‌iPhone‌ 11 and 11 Pro, according to rumors. It is said to include 3GB RAM, and will continue to offer Touch ID instead of Face ID, with a Home button at the bottom of the device.

The upcoming low-cost ‌iPhone‌ is expected have a $399 price tag, so it should be a popular upgrade option for ‌iPhone‌ users who currently have an ‌iPhone‌ 6 or 6s and are looking for an affordable upgrade that offers the same feature set.

Apple recently warned technical support staff at its retail stores that replacement iPhones are in short supply, reports Bloomberg.

Replacement iPhones for heavily damaged devices are expected to face supply constraints for two to four weeks. Apple Store employees have been informed that they can mail replacement iPhones to customers and provide loaner devices to ease wait times.

Apple did not provide employees with specific details as to the cause of the shortage, but the supply constraints are likely linked to production delays caused by the coronavirus. Retail employees also told Bloomberg that some stores are noticing a shortage of individual components used for device repairs.

Apple suppliers like Foxconn and Pegatron were forced to shut down for two or more weeks in February at the height of the coronavirus outbreak in China. Factories are back up and running at this time, but production has still not ramped up to normal levels due to labor shortages, travel restrictions, and other factors.

Foxconn, Apple's main iPhone assembler, expects its plants in China to resume normal operation by the end of March. The delays are beginning to affect some product lines, with build-to-order Macs, the Mac Pro, and the iPad Pro seeing supply shortages, and it remains to be seen how new devices expected to launch early in the year will fare in terms of available supply.

Apple recently listed a new Writer/Editor job for the Maps app, which appears to suggest that Apple is planning to build an App Store-like location recommendation feature for Maps.

As noted by The Verge, the job listing, which has since been removed, says that Apple is looking for a person to "help build and grow a brand-new content category for the Apple Maps team," with that person responsible for curating content that helps people explore their communities and find places to visit.

[Apple] is looking for someone to help build exciting and engaging editorial content to help Maps users explore their world. Whether that's locally, or when they're planning an amazing vacation.

Qualifications for the job include an "insatiable curiosity for discovering new places and a passion for telling the world in an engaging manner," "knowledge of food, travel, and shopping trends," and "strong editing skills to help craft engaging digital content."

In the App Store, Apple has a "Today" feature that highlights curated app-related content, and it's possible that in the future, Maps could offer something similar.

Such a role could also focus on making the ‌Apple Maps‌ app more independent of third-party services like Yelp and Wikipedia, which Apple uses to provide reviews and information about points of interest.

Google Maps, one of Apple's main competitors in the mapping space, has a Local Guides service in select cities that's designed to help people find places to visit in new locations, plus there are recommendations provided through a For You tab and a built-in option for polling friends for suggestions on places to go.

Apple today informed developers that it has released updated App Store Review Guidelines, with changes that cover reviews, spam, push notifications, Sign in with Apple, data collection and storage, mobile device management, and more.

Apple's new guidelines can be found on its developer website, but we've highlighted a few notable changes below.

• 1.4.4 - Apps used to commit or attempt to commit crimes of any kind by helping users evade law enforcement will be rejected. (This previously was a rule limited to apps about DUI checkpoints).
• 4.3 - Apple has added new content types to its "Spam" list of app categories it considers already saturated. Fortune telling and dating apps join fart, burp, flashlight, and Kama Sutra apps as apps that will be automatically rejected unless they provide a "unique, high-quality experience."
• 4.5.4 - New language around Push Notifications says they should not be used "to send sensitive, personal, or confidential information," nor should they be used for promotions or direct marketing purposes unless customers have explicitly opted in to receive them via consent language displayed in an app's UI. Developers must also provide a method in the app to allow users to opt out of receiving such messages.
• 5.1.1 (ix) - Apps in highly regulated fields like banking and financial services, healthcare, and air travel or that require sensitive user information should be submitted by a legal entity that provides the services and not by an individual developer.
• 5.1.5 - A rule that previously prohibited the use of location-based APIs for emergency services now says that developers can use location-based APIs to provide emergency services "only if you provide notice to your users in your app's UI that such services may not work in all circumstances."
• 5.5 - There is new language related to Mobile Device Management apps that says apps offering configuration profiles cannot use third-party analytics to collect data: "In limited cases, third-party analytics may be permitted provided that the services only collect or transmit data about the performance of the developer's MDM app, and not any data about the user, the user's device, or other apps used on that device. Apps offering configuration profiles must also adhere to these requirements."
• 5.6.1 - There's a new section dedicated to ‌App Store‌ reviews that requires developers treat customers with respect when responding to comments and says custom review prompts are not allowed: "‌App Store‌ customer reviews can be an integral part of the app experience, so you should treat customers with respect when responding to their comments. Keep your responses targeted to the user's comments and do not include personal information, spam, or marketing in your response. Use the provided API to prompt users to review your app; this functionality allows customers to provide an ‌App Store‌ rating and review without the inconvenience of leaving your app, and we will disallow custom review prompts."

Apple also provided new resources and guidelines for Sign in with Apple, which is an iOS 13 feature that's designed as a privacy-focused alternative to Sign in with Facebook and Sign in with Google options.

Apple this morning shared a new video in its ongoing "Behind the Mac" series, this time highlighting women who are "changing the world" using the Mac.

The video is set to the song "Flawless" by Beyoncé, which also features Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It consists of a series of still black and white images of influential women that include Malala Yousafzai, Ava Duvernay, Marie Kondo, Greta Gerwig, Gloria Steinem, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Olivia Wilde, and others.

Apple has a full list of all the women featured in the video along with their accomplishments in the video's description.

Apple has been sharing videos in the "Behind the Mac" series since August 2018. Most recently, on its Japanese YouTube channel, Apple did a fun "Behind the Mac" video that focused on anime characters using Macs.

In March, Apple is also hosting "She Creates" Today at Apple sessions in its retail stores, and sharing apps, TV shows, books, podcasts, and more created by women.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News 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.

New models of the iMac and Mac mini could be on the horizon, according to previously-reliable leaker CoinX. The cryptic tweet simply mentions the iMac and Mac mini next to a "soon" arrow emoji, with no further details shared.

Apple last refreshed its regular iMac lineup in March 2019 with up to 8-core 9th-gen Intel Core processors and Radeon Pro Vega graphics options, while the Mac mini was last updated in October 2018 with up to 6-core 8th-gen Intel Core processors, USB-C ports, and a new Space Gray color option.

iMac and Mac mini rumors have been slim, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently said a new iMac Pro will launch in the fourth quarter of 2020 with a Mini-LED backlit display. Apple has not updated the iMac Pro since it was first released in December 2017, a span of over 800 days, as noted in the MacRumors Buyer's Guide.

March is a common month for Apple product refreshes. The updated iMac and Mac mini models could be announced in a press release at any time.

CoinX has an accurate track record, having previously leaked the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR names before anyone else, the "Pro" branding for iPhone 11 models, the 10.2-inch iPad and 10.5-inch iPad Air, and many other minor details about unreleased Apple products. It is unclear who runs the Twitter account.

Apple's rumored lower-cost iPhone model recently entered the final phase of production verification at an assembly plant in Zhengzhou, China, according to industry sources cited by Taiwanese publication DigiTimes.

A paywalled preview of the report:

New LCD iPhone enters final verification stage
Apple will soon introduce a new LCD iPhone series, dubbed tentatively SE2, which has recently entered the final phase of verification at an assembly plant in Zhengzhou, China, according to industry sources.

Apple is widely expected to announce an entry-level iPhone dubbed "iPhone SE 2" or "iPhone 9" within the next few months. The device is expected to resemble the iPhone 8, with a 4.7-inch LCD screen and a Touch ID home button, but with a faster A13 chip and an increased 3GB of RAM. Pricing is estimated to start at around $399 with 64GB of storage in the United States.

Last month, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple still plans to release the iPhone in the first half of 2020. Multiple reports have indicated that Apple aims to announce the device by the end of March, but those plans may change due to the uncertainty of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus outbreak around the world.

With major tech conferences like Google I/O and Facebook F8 having been cancelled on a physical basis due to public health considerations, it sounds increasingly unlikely that Apple will host a March event as rumored. Apple could always announce the lower-cost iPhone and other products with press releases, while offering one-on-one briefings with the media in Cupertino and New York City.

Even if the lower-cost iPhone is announced in March, initial supply may be limited until Foxconn and other Apple suppliers resume normal operations and ramp up mass production in the second quarter.

Apple will temporarily close one of its retail stores in Italy as the government grapples with the spread of COVID-19 in the country, which has experienced the worst outbreak of coronavirus in Europe so far.

Apple Oriocenter in the province of Bergamo will be closed on March 7 and 8, according to Apple's regional website, on orders from the Italian government.

The notice is the result of a decree of the President of the Council of Ministers issued last week that will see all medium and large retail stores, including commercial outlets inside shopping centers, shuttered over the coming weekend to halt the spread of the virus.

The decree covers the provinces of Bergamo, Cremona, Lodi, and Piacenza. Similar measures will also be undertaken in other Italian provinces.

Similar weekend closures occurred at Apple il Leone, Apple Fiordaliso and Apple Carosello on February 29 and March 1. Those closures were also government imposed.

The number of deaths has surged in Italy, which is now the country with the most deaths in the world outside of China, where the viral outbreak originated. In the last 24 hours, 27 people have died of the disease in Italy, bringing the total number to 79, according to the Civil Protection Agency.

Apple in early February closed all of its corporate offices, stores, and contact centers in China, but many stores have since reopened as the outbreak there appears to be slowing. There were 119 new confirmed cases in China on March 3, compared with 125 the day before.

An additional 38 people died on March 3, bringing the death toll in mainland China to 2,981. China has now had 80,270 cases since the virus first appeared in Wuhan province in December.

(Via AppleInsider.)

Samsung in February announced its most expensive non-foldable smartphone to date, the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which has a starting price of $1,400, which is $300 higher than the starting price of Apple's $1,099 iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Apple is often criticized for its high price points, but this year, Samsung went above and beyond matching Apple's expensive smartphones. We recently picked up one of Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphones to see if it's worth the $1,400 price point.

First off, the S20 Ultra has a 6.9-inch OLED display that looks fantastic. Out of the box, it's set to 1080p with a 60Hz refresh rate, but you can bump that up to a 120Hz refresh rate for super smooth scrolling. If you want to use the QHD setting with a higher resolution, you'll be limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, likely due to battery life concerns.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra includes 12 to 16GB RAM (16GB for the highest-end option priced at $1,600), 128 or 512GB of storage (again for that $1,600 model), an SD card expansion slot, a Snapdragon 865 processor (Qualcomm's latest and fastest chip), an in-display fingerprint sensor, and a 5,000mAh battery, which offers impressive battery life.

Samsung has also outfitted the Ultra with some impressive cameras, though some of what's new is a little bit gimmicky. There's a 108-megapixel wide-angle lens that can take some great photos, but 108-megapixel images are massive in size and aren't super great when you're taking a bunch of photos and using smartphone storage.

The lens uses a large sensor that lets in a lot of light to create natural depth of field effects, but we've had some trouble getting the camera to focus properly due to some bugs that Samsung has yet to address.

There's also a 100X Space Zoom feature that's impressive on the surface because it lets you zoom in super far, but a 100X zoom photo isn't actually usable because it's so grainy and unclear. The more modest 30x zoom, though, is quite good.

You can do 8K recording on the Galaxy S20 Ultra, but with the lack of focus tracking, the huge crop factor, and the large file sizes, it's not really worth it because 4K video is more than suitable and it offers better focusing tools. We're going to do a full camera comparison with the S20 Ultra and the ‌iPhone 11 Pro Max‌ later this week, so make sure to check back for that video.

The S20 Ultra, like the entire S20 lineup, comes with 5G connectivity, which is major selling point. Most people can't really take advantage of 5G networks yet because they're still in the early stages of rolling out, but people who own S20 smartphones will be ready to take advantage of 5G when it's ready.

Right now, 5G is kind of hit or miss. The fastest 5G, mmWave, is limited to some urban areas and suffers from interference from buildings and trees, while 600MHz 5G, designed for rural areas, isn't a whole lot faster than LTE at the current time. 5G is going to get better and it's going to get better quick once 5G is standard across all smartphones, but for now, it's not an entirely necessary feature.

It's not really fair to compare Samsung's February 2020 smartphones with Apple's September 2019 smartphones as Apple is working on upgraded iPhones with specs that better match those found in the S20 lineup, but until those new iPhones come out in fall, Samsung's S20 lineup, and the S20 Ultra in particular, is one of the most powerful smartphones on the market.

Many people may buy their smartphones on plans that split the payments across 24 months and also offer regular upgrades with trade-in, but $1,400 is still a lot to pay even over many months. So is the Galaxy S20 Ultra worth it? No, not for most people.

Just like the ‌iPhone 11 Pro Max‌ isn't for every user, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is aimed at those who want the best of the best in terms of specs. We wouldn't recommend the ‌iPhone 11 Pro Max‌ to the average user over the iPhone 11, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra is also not for the average user, which is why Samsung is selling it alongside the $999 S20 and the $1,200 S20+.

What do you think of Samsung's S20 Ultra? Would you shell out that amount of money for a smartphone? Let us know in the comments.

Apple is no longer allowing its employees to travel to Italy or South Korea because of the coronavirus outbreak affecting those countries, reports Bloomberg.

Apple had already restricted employee travel to China, which is an issue because Apple engineers often visit China at this time of year to prepare for the manufacturing of new iPhones.

"We have instituted specific travel restrictions in a few countries including China, South Korea, and Italy," Apple said in a memo sent out to employees. Apple recommends employees manage meetings through phone calls and video chats.

"There are many ways to continue to manage our ongoing meetings and activities through calls and video. If you do have travel planned, we suggest you work with your managers to consider delaying or canceling business travel which could be postponed or managed through virtual meetings."

At the current time, employees are only able to travel to those areas for business-critical reasons and must have approval from a company vice president.

Apple only has one supplier in Italy, STMicroelectronics, but it works with multiple suppliers in South Korea. One Apple supplier in South Korea, LG Innotek, shut down earlier this week after a factory worker tested positive for coronavirus. The factory, which is in Gumi, South Korea, is close to Daegu, where many of the COVID-19 cases in the country are centered.

Apple also operates one store in South Korea and 17 in Italy, but none of those have been shut down at this time.

Apple has also said that "deep cleaning protocols" are considered a "top priority" and are in effect across stores, offices, and employee shuttles. Apple recommends that any employee who is sick, especially with a fever or severe cough, should take sick leave "until they have fully recovered."