MacRumors

In the iOS 13.1 update released this morning, Apple tweaked the designs of several emojis, updating inaccuracies in some cases and changing colors and designs for other emoji.

According to Emojipedia, Apple updated a total of 24 emoji designs in iOS 13.1, and several of the most important updates relate to tweaks to animals.

The octopus, for example, now has suckers on its tentacles, which were missing before, and the squid emoji no longer has a siphon in the middle of its face, which was anatomically incorrect.

The mosquito now has six legs instead of five legs as in the prior emoji, and the abacus now has its beads oriented vertically instead of horizontally, which is more historically accurate.

Apple changed the jigsaw puzzle piece from blue to green, and changed the hearts used for emojis like face with heart eyes. The mermaid emojis now feature the mermaid holding a trident, the cow is a slightly different color, shading on the mouse has been updated, and a few other emoji have also received smaller design tweaks.

Later this year, Apple plans to bring a total of 59 new emojis to the iOS operating system, introducing characters like sloth, flamingo, waffle, falafel, skunk, orangutan, and more.

New faces, gestures, and poses coming include yawning face, pinching hand, person kneeling, person standing, and new people holding hands options that are both gender and skin tone inclusive, plus there are a wide selection of other miscellaneous emoji.

Apple earlier this year previewed all of the upcoming emoji characters, and they'll be added to iOS in an update to iOS 13 set to be released later this year. It's not entirely clear when we might see the new characters, but last year Apple released updated emoji in early October.

Apple today released a support document warning users about a security issue affecting third-party keyboards in iOS 13 and iPadOS.

Third-party keyboards can be set to run standalone without access to external services or can request "full access" to provide additional features. A bug in iOS 13 and iPadOS can cause keyboard extensions to be granted full access even if full access hasn't been approved.

According to Apple, the bug does not affect Apple's built-in keyboards, nor does it impact keyboards that don't make use of full access.

Third-party keyboard extensions in iOS can be designed to run entirely standalone, without access to external services, or they can request "full access" to provide additional features through network access. Apple has discovered a bug in iOS 13 and iPadOS that can result in keyboard extensions being granted full access even if you haven't approved this access.

Apple says that the bug will be fixed in an upcoming software update. Third-party keyboards that you might have installed can be viewed by opening up the Settings app, and then going to General > Keyboard > Keyboards.

iOS users concerned about their data and the access granted to third-party keyboards can mitigate the issue by temporarily uninstalling third-party keyboards.

Alongside new iPhones, Apple at its September event also unveiled a new 10.2-inch iPad, which became available for pre-order on September 10 and is set to start shipping out tomorrow.

The updated ‌iPad‌, which continues to be Apple's most affordable at $329, is similar to the sixth-generation ‌iPad‌ but comes equipped with a larger 10.2-inch screen, an upgrade over the previous model.

It features the same A10 Fusion chip that was used in the sixth-generation, along with Apple Pencil support, but new this year is a Smart Connector that allows it to work with a Smart Keyboard, which is sold separately for $159.

The new ‌iPad‌ continues to feature a 7-megapixel rear camera, a one-pound body, Touch ID, and thicker bezels than some of Apple's other more expensive iPads, but it's price can't be beat.

Apple today released iPadOS, which is the version of iOS 13 that runs on the ‌iPad‌. New ‌iPad‌ models will come equipped with iPadOS, which includes improved multitasking features, a redesigned Home screen, ‌Apple Pencil‌ improvements, Apple Arcade, Dark Mode, and tons more.

The new ‌iPad‌ begins shipping out to customers on Wednesday, September 25, and Apple says it will be in stores later this week with launch dates in retail locations varying by country and region.

Apple originally said the new ‌iPad‌ would be in stores on September 30, so it appears to be rolling out a bit earlier now that iPadOS has had an early release.

Pricing on the seventh-generation ‌iPad‌ starts at $329 for 32GB of storage, with 128GB of storage available as well as LTE options. Pricing for schools and educational customers is even lower, starting at $299.

Customers who purchase an ‌iPad‌ will get a free year of Apple TV+ when ‌Apple TV‌+ comes out this November.

Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 13.1, marking the first update to the iOS 13 operating system that launched in mid-September. The new iOS 13.1 update comes just days after the release of iOS 13 and coincides with the launch of new iPhones.

The iOS 13.1 update is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

Apple started beta testing iOS 13.1 prior to when iOS 13 even launched, which was a surprise move as the company has never before released a point update for new software before when the software has come out.

Given Apple's early testing, it's no surprise that iOS 13.1 is coming not too long after iOS 13 became available for download. It's worth noting that iOS 13.1 is the first version of iOS 13 that's available for the 7th-generation iPod touch.

iOS 13.1 is an update that brings back several of the features that were removed during the iOS 13 beta testing. Shortcuts Automations, for example, are back.

With Automations in the Shortcuts app, you can create personal and home automations using the Shortcuts app to have certain actions performed when specific conditions occur. It's a powerful tool that adds a lot of utility to the Shortcuts app.

Share ETA, a feature removed during beta testing, lets users share their estimated time of arrival to a location with a friend or family member, allowing the friend or family member to follow along with the trip.

The volume indicator has been tweaked in iOS 13.1. If you have certain headphones or audio devices connected (AirPods, Powerbeats Pro, HomePod, and Beats headphones) there are special indicators that feature a unique icon that matches your listening device. There's also a special icon for when two headphones are connected to an iPhone or iPad.

The update brings the audio sharing feature introduced in iOS 13 to all Beats headphones with an H1 and W1 chip, expanding the feature from just the AirPods and ‌Powerbeats Pro‌. Audio sharing, as the name suggests, allows multiple sets of headphones to be connected to a single ‌iPhone‌.

HomeKit icons have been overhauled in iOS 13.1, with much more detailed, realistic designs. There are new Reading Goals options for PDF, a change to the Nike branding (it's no longer Nike+), and several other smaller tweaks outlined in our tidbits article.

Full release notes for the update are available below:

iOS 13.1 includes bug fixes and improvements, including AirDrop with Ultra Wideband technology on iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, suggested automations in the Shortcuts app, and the ability to share ETA in Maps.

AirDrop
- Ability to select who you want to AirDrop to by pointing from one iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max to another using the new U1 chip with Ultra Wideband technology for spatial awareness

Shortcuts
- Suggested automations in the Gallery personalized to your daily routine
- Personal and home automations for automatically running shortcuts based on triggers
- Home app support for shortcuts as advanced actions in the Automation tab

Maps
- Share ETA to send your estimated time of arrival while your route is in progress

Battery Health
- Optimized battery charging to slow the rate of battery aging by reducing the time your iPhone spends fully charged
- Performance management feature for iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down, including the option to disable this feature if an unexpected shutdown occurs
- Notifications for when Battery Health is unable to verify if a new, genuine Apple battery is in iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and later

This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements. This update:
- Adds a link to the Me tab in Find My to allow a guest to sign in and locate a missing device
- Includes notifications for when the display on your iPhone is unable to be verified as a new, genuine Apple display in iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max
- Addresses issues in Mail that could cause incorrect download counts, missing senders and subjects, difficulty selecting or flagging threads, duplicate notifications or overlapping fields
- Fixes an issue in Mail that may prevent background downloading of email messages
- Addresses an issue that could prevent Memoji from correctly tracking facial expressions in Messages
- Fixes an issue where photos might not display in the Messages details view
- Fixes an issue in Reminders that prevented some users from sharing iCloud lists
- Resolves an issue in Notes where Exchange notes may not show up in search results
- Addresses an issue in Calendar where birthday events could appear multiple times
- Addresses an issue that could prevent third-party sign in screens from appearing in the Files app
- Fixes an issue that could cause Camera orientation to appear rotated when swiping to it from the Lock screen
- Addresses an issue that could cause the display to sleep while interacting with the Lock screen
- Resolves issues where app icons could appear as blank or as a different app on the Home screen
- Resolves an issue that could prevent supported wallpapers from switching appearances when - changing between Light and Dark modes
- Addresses stability issues when signing out of iCloud from Passwords & Accounts in Settings
- Fixes an issue where signing in to update Apple ID settings could fail repeatedly
- Fixes an issue that could prevent the device from vibrating when connecting to a charger
- Addresses an issue that could cause people and groups in the Share Sheet to appear blurred
- Fixes an issue that could prevent alternate words from displaying when tapping on a misspelled word
- Resolves an issue where multilingual typing could stop working
- Addresses an issue that could prevent switching back to the QuickType keyboard after using a third-party keyboard
- Fixes an issue that could prevent the edit menu from appearing when selecting text
- Fixes an issue where Siri may not read Messages in CarPlay
- Addresses an issue that could prevent sending a message using third party messaging apps in CarPlay
For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

Apple today released iPadOS, which is the version of iOS that runs on the iPad. The first version of iPadOS is iPadOS 13.1, with Apple opting not to release a version of iOS 13 for the ‌iPad‌.

The iPadOS update is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

With iOS 13, Apple split iOS and iPadOS into two different software updates, but iPadOS includes almost all of the features available in iOS 13 (and iOS 13.1) along with some capabilities built specifically for the larger display of the ‌iPad‌.

That means that all of the features in our iOS 13 roundup are available in iPadOS, along with the iOS 13.1 updates like Shortcut Automations, Share ETA, audio sharing improvements, and more. Apple alongside the release of iPadOS debuted a new video showing off some of the features:

Split View and Slide Over, the ‌iPad‌'s multitasking features, now support multiple windows from the same app so you can do things like open two Safari windows side by side.

When using the Slide Over view, there's also a new option to view and switch between multiple apps with a card-style interface, plus a new App Exposé feature lets you view all of the open windows from a particular app and then swap between them with a tap.

Tapping on the ‌iPad‌'s display with Apple Pencil opens up Markup, which can be used for anything from webpages and documents to screenshots and emails. There's a redesigned tool palette for Markup that has quicker access to tools plus a new ruler option, an object eraser, and a pixel eraser.

‌Apple Pencil‌ latency has been reduced, dropping it from 20ms on the iPad Pro to 9ms, and as on the iPhone, iPadOS now supports connecting external drives to the Files app for the first time.

There are more than 30 new keyboard shortcuts in iPadOS, and when using Safari on ‌iPad‌, you'll always get the desktop version of a website instead of the mobile version.

Safari has a new download manager, and the ‌iPad‌ supports all of the new text editing gestures available on the ‌iPhone‌. A new swipe gesture lets you select text and there are new gestures for cut, copy, paste, and undo.

A floating keyboard that supports the new QuickPath swipe feature allows you to type one handed, and there's support for installing fonts across the system. Apple's full release notes for the update are below:

iPadOS, the powerful operating system with a new name to recognize the distinctive experience of iPad. iPadOS builds on the same foundation as iOS, adding powerful new capabilities and intuitive features specific to the large display and versatility of iPad. This update features new ways to work with multiple apps, presents more information at a glance on a redesigned Home screen, makes using Apple Pencil feel even more responsive along with a new way to instantly mark up anything, provides a dramatic new Dark Mode, allows a simple way to sign in to websites that protects your privacy, and gives new tools to edit and view your photos. iPadOS is faster and more responsive with optimizations across the system.

Home Screen
- Today Widgets on the Home screen for at-a-glance information
- A new layout to put even more apps on each page

Multitasking
- Slide Over with support for multiple apps to access your favorite apps from anywhere in iPadOS and quickly switch between them
- Multiple windows from a single app in Split View to work with two documents, notes, or emails, side-by-side
- Enhanced Spaces to open the same app across multiple spaces
- App Exposé to quickly see all of the open windows for an app

Apple Pencil
- Lower latency with Apple Pencil, making it feel more responsive than ever
- Redesigned tool palette, with a fresh new look, new tools, and the ability to drag to any side of the screen
- A new gesture to mark up anything with a swipe from the bottom right or left corner of the screen with Apple Pencil
- A new full page option to mark up entire web pages, Mail messages, iWork documents, and Maps

Text Editing
- Scrollbar scrubbing to directly drag the scrollbar for quickly navigating long documents, web pages, and email conversations
- Faster and more precise cursor navigation—just pick it up and move it to where you want
- Text selection improvements for easier selection by just tapping and swiping on the text
- New gestures for cut, copy, paste—pinch in once with three fingers to copy, twice to cut, and pinch out with three fingers to paste
- Undo across iPadOS by just double tapping with three fingers

QuickType
- New floating keyboard leaving more room for your content—drag it anywhere you like
- QuickPath on the floating keyboard lets you slide to type for easy one-handed typing

Fonts
- Custom fonts are available from the App Store for use in your favorite apps
- Font management in Settings

Files
- External drives supported in Files to access and manage files on a USB drive, SD card, or hard drive
- SMB support to connect to a server at work or a home PC
- Local storage for creating folders on the local drive and adding your favorite files
- Column to drill down into nested folders
- Preview pane with high resolution file previews, rich metadata, and Quick Actions
- Zip and Unzip support for creating and expanding Zip files
- New keyboard shortcuts to manage your files even faster with an external keyboard

Safari
- Desktop-class browsing in Safari with websites automatically optimized for the large Multi-Touch display iPad display
- Web platforms like Squarespace, WordPress, and Google Docs now supported
- Download manager to access downloads quickly and check the status of a file you’re downloading
- Over 30 new keyboard shortcuts to navigate the web even faster with an external keyboard
- Updated start page with favorites, frequently visited, most recently visited websites, and Siri suggestions
- View options in the Smart Search field for quick access to text size controls, Reader view, and per‑site settings
- Per‑site settings to choose Reader view, and enable content blockers, camera, microphone, and location access for individual websites
- Option to resize when uploading photos

Dark Mode
- A beautiful new dark color scheme that delivers a great viewing experience especially in low-light environments
- Can be scheduled to turn on automatically at sunset, at a certain time, or turned on from Control Center
- Four new system wallpapers that automatically switch appearances with Light and Dark Mode

Photos
- An all-new Photos tab with a curated view of your library making it easy to find, relive, and share your photos and videos
- Powerful new photo editing tools that make it easier to edit, adjust, and review photos at a glance
- Video editing with over 30 new tools, including Rotate, Crop, and Enhance

Sign in with Apple
- A private way to sign in to participating apps and websites with the Apple ID you already have
- Simple account setup with only your name and email address
- Hide My Email to share a unique email address that is automatically forwarded to you
- Built-in two-factor authentication to protect your account
- No tracking or profiling by Apple as you use your favorite apps

App Store with Arcade
- Unlimited access to groundbreaking new games with one subscription, no ads or additional purchases
- An all-new Arcade tab in the App Store to browse the latest games, personalized recommendations, and exclusive editorial content
- Available to play across iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV
- Option to download large apps over your cellular connection
- Ability to view available app updates or delete apps from the Account page
- Support for Arabic and Hebrew

Maps
- An all-new map rolling out in the US featuring broader road coverage, improved address precision, better support for pedestrians, and more detailed land cover
- Look Around to explore cities in a high-resolution, interactive 3D experience
- Collections for the lists of places you love and can easily share with friends and family
- Favorites for quick and easy navigation to the places you visit daily

Reminders
- All-new design with more powerful and intelligent ways to create and organize reminders
- Quick toolbar to add dates, locations, flags, attachments and more to reminders
- New smart lists—Today, Scheduled, Flagged and All—to easily keep track of upcoming reminders
- Subtasks and grouped lists to organize your reminders

Siri
- More natural Siri voice, particularly while speaking longer phrases
- Personalized Siri Suggestions in Apple Podcasts, Safari, and Maps
- Over 100,000 live radio stations from around the world available with Siri

Shortcuts
- Shortcuts app now built-in
- Suggested automations in the Gallery personalized to your daily routine
- Personal and home automations for automatically running shortcuts based on triggers
- Home app support for shortcuts as advanced actions in the Automation tab

Memoji and Messages
- New Memoji customization options including new hairstyles, headwear, makeup, and piercings
- Memoji sticker packs in Messages, Mail, and third‑party apps and available on iPad mini 5, iPad (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation), and all iPad Pro models
- Your name and photo, or even Memoji, now optionally shared with your friends
- Search enhancements to easily find messages with intelligent suggestions and categorization of results

Augmented Reality
- People Occlusion for apps to place virtual objects naturally in front or behind people using iPad Pro (2018), iPad Air (2018), iPad mini 5
- Motion Capture for apps to understand the body position and movement of a person so you can animate a character or interact with virtual objects using iPad Pro (2018), iPad Air (2018), iPad mini 5
- Multiple face tracking for AR content on up to 3 faces at a time so you can have fun with your friends using iPad Pro (2018)
- AR Quick Look to view and interact with multiple AR objects at the same time

Mail
- Block sender to move all email messages from a blocked sender directly to the trash
- Mute thread to stop notifications from an overly active email thread
- Format bar with easy access to rich text formatting tools and attachments of all kinds
- Font support for all system fonts, as well as new fonts you download from the App Store

Notes
- Gallery view with your notes as visual thumbnails helping you find the note you need
- Shared folders to collaborate with others giving them access to entire folders of notes
- More powerful search for visual recognition of images inside your notes and text in items you’ve scanned
- New checklist options to easily reorder checklist items, indent them, or move checked items to the bottom of the list automatically

Apple Music
- Time-synced lyrics make listening more fun with perfectly timed lyrics
- Over 100,000 live radio stations from around the world

Screen Time
- 30-day usage data to compare Screen Time numbers over the previous weeks
- Combined limits to include multiple app categories, specific apps, or websites in one limit
- “One more minute” option to quickly save your work or log out of a game when a Screen Time limit is met

Privacy and Security
- Allow Once location permission with the option to share your locations with apps only once
- Background tracking alerts now notify you when an app is using your location in the background
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enhancements help prevent apps from accessing your location without your consent
- Location sharing controls give you the option to easily omit location data when sharing photos

System Experience
- Wi‑Fi networks and Bluetooth accessories selection in Control Center
- A redesigned, unobtrusive volume control in the top middle
- Full-page screenshots for web pages, Mail messages, iWork documents, and Maps
- Redesigned share sheet with intelligent suggestions to share content with just a few taps
- Audio Sharing for two sets of AirPods, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Solo3, BeatsX and Powerbeats3 to share a single stream of audio
- Dolby Atmos playback for a thrilling surround sound experience from content with Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, or Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks on iPad Pro (2018)

Language support
- Support for 38 new keyboard languages
- Predictive input in Cantonese, Dutch, Hindi (Devanagari), Hindi (Latin), Najdi Arabic, Swedish, and Vietnamese keyboards
- Separate emoji and globe keys make it easier to quickly switch between languages and select emoji
- Automatic language detection for dictation
- Bilingual dictionary support in Thai and English and Vietnamese and English

China
- A dedicated QR code mode in Camera, accessible from the Control Center, for improved QR code performance, a flashlight option, and enhanced privacy
- Junction View in Maps for drivers in China to more easily navigate complex roadways
- Adjustable handwriting area on the Chinese keyboard
- Cantonese predictions on the Cangjie, Sucheng, Stroke, and Handwriting keyboards

India
- All‑new Indian English male and female Siri voices
- Support for all 22 official Indian languages with the addition of 15 new keyboard languages
- Bilingual keyboard for Hindi (Latin) and English keyboard, including typing predictions
- Typing predictions on the Hindi (Devanagari) keyboard
- New Indian language system fonts for Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, and Odia for greater clarity and ease when reading in apps
- 30 new document fonts for Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu
- Contacts with hundreds of new relationship labels to help more accurately label your contacts

Voice Control
- A new way to control your iOS devices, entirely with your voice
- Comprehensive navigation with just your voice to open apps, search the web, tap, swipe, pinch, zoom, press the Home button and more
- Accurate dictation using the Siri speech recognition engine
- Rich text editing to make corrections using just your voice, or select from word and emoji suggestions
- Custom words, such as legal or medical terms, to ensure Voice Control recognizes words you commonly use
- Seamless transitions from text dictation to voice commands
- Attention Awareness to keep Voice Control off when you turn your head away from True Depth camera on supported iPhone models
- On‑device processing so your personal data is kept private

Performance
- Up to 2x faster app launch-
- Up to 30 percent faster Face ID unlocking on iPad Pro 11-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)--
- 60 percent smaller app updates on average-
- Up to 50 percent smaller apps from the App Store-

Other features and improvements
- Low Data Mode to reduce your data usage over your cellular network or specific Wi-Fi networks you select
- PlayStation 4 and Xbox Wireless Controller support
- Find My iPhone and Find My Friends combined into a single app with the ability to locate a missing device even if it can't connect to a Wi-Fi or cellular network
- Apple Books reading goals help make reading a daily habit
- Apple News+ options to remove downloaded issues, follow a title, or browse the back catalog from the More button in the My Magazines section
- Stocks app with business stories from Apple News+
- Calendar supports adding attachments to events
- Home app redesigned controls for HomeKit accessories with a combined view for ones with multiple services
- Pinch-to-zoom for more precision when editing recordings in Voice Memos

Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices, for more information visit:
https://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability and https://www.apple.com/ipados

For more on all of the new features that are available in iPadOS, make sure to check out our iPadOS roundup.

Apple today released tvOS 13, the latest operating system designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. tvOS 13 comes after several months of beta testing.

tvOS 13 can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌ by going to System -> Software Update. ‌Apple TV‌ owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to tvOS 13 automatically. Apple has also released an ‌Apple TV‌ Software 7.4 update (actually version 8.4.3) for the third-generation ‌Apple TV‌.

The tvOS 13 update brings an updated Home screen aimed at making it easier to discover new content. Apps are now able to play full-screen video previews on the Home screen, similar to Netflix, once developers have implemented support.

Multiple users are supported for the first time, letting more than one profile exist on the ‌Apple TV‌ so each family member can have their own customized ‌Apple TV‌ interface with separate recommendations, music playlists, and Watch Now lists.

Switching between profiles can be done with the new Control Center, which offers up profiles, the time and date, search, a Now Playing widget, AirPlay controls, and a sleep option.

tvOS 13 brings Apple Arcade, Apple's new gaming service that's already available for the iPhone. ‌Apple Arcade‌ will offer unlimited access to more than 60 new and exclusive games, for one $4.99 per month subscription fee.

For ‌Apple Arcade‌, Apple has implemented support for the Xbox Wireless Bluetooth Controller and the PlayStation DualShock 4 Controller, both of which can be connected to an ‌Apple TV‌ over Bluetooth.

Sign in with Apple, a feature also available on the ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and coming to Macs, is included in tvOS 13. With tvOS 13, apps that support Sign in with Apple will let you sign in with your Apple ID rather than requiring you to create a user name and password.

Apple can even obscure your real email address and provide a fake one, which keeps your data and information safer than ever.

There are new under the sea themed screensavers created in partnership with the BBC Natural History Unit, which also created "Blue Planet."

With a new Picture-in-Picture feature, you can continue to watch TV shows or movies while using a different app, adjusting settings, or otherwise navigating through the tvOS 13 operating system.

For more on what's new in the tvOS 13 update, make sure to check out our tvOS 13 roundup.

Last year, Apple announced the launch of a $300 million Clean Energy Fund in China to connect suppliers with renewable energy sources.

Apple and 10 of its suppliers in China will invest nearly $300 million by 2022 to develop projects totaling one gigawatt of renewable energy. In a press release today, Apple said that includes three wind firms in Hunan and Hubei that will generate approximately one-tenth of that anticipated total.

Each farm is said to generate 48 megawatts of clean energy, supplying a combined 134 megawatts to China's national power grid.

Apple's environmental chief Lisa Jackson:

To see these projects completed and already supplying clean energy to the grid is really exciting. We are proud that suppliers participating in the fund share our commitment to supporting innovative energy solutions, cutting emissions and fighting climate change.

In its press release, Apple also reiterated that 44 of its suppliers in 16 countries have committed to using 100 percent clean energy to power their Apple-specific production. Apple and its suppliers remain on track to generate more than four gigawatts of clean energy worldwide by 2020, the company said.

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's Macs and iPads had the highest customer satisfaction score among PC and tablet makers in 2019, according to new data released today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

In the 2019 Household Appliance and Electronics Report, Apple earned an ACSI score of 83, the same score that it had in 2018. Apple's overall satisfaction score was higher than scores from Samsung (81), Amazon (79), HP (78), Acer (77), and others.

In the overall industry rankings, Apple stays on top for a second year with a stable and high ACSI score of 83, and its customers have by far the highest expectations. Despite a 1% downturn, Samsung keeps second place at 81 and no longer ties with Amazon, which falls much further. Amazon tumbles 4% to 79, just a point above the industry average. Among the three leaders, Apple demonstrates an advantage across all aspects of the customer experience, but it still lags both Samsung and Amazon for value.

The ACSI says that Samsung is the "industry leader" when it comes to the desktop segment with Apple in second place, but Apple devices win out when it comes to laptops and tablets, earning it the top overall score.

As with last year, Apple earned best-in-class ratings for everything from device design to features and available apps. Apple, says ACSI, demonstrates an advantage "across all aspects of the customer experience."

When it comes to overall customer satisfaction, desktop PCs, notebooks, and tablets still lag behind overall smartphone satisfaction, but amid larger machines, desktop computers have higher levels of customer satisfaction.

To create its scoring system and compile device scores, the ACSI uses data from interviews with approximately 300,000 customers to analyze customer satisfaction with hundreds of companies across dozens of industries.

Apple Arcade on Tuesday began appearing on Apple TVs running the latest tvOS 13 beta GM build, following the official launch of the gaming subscription service last week in tandem with the release of iOS 13.

Beta testers and developers took to Twitter to share the news in the early hours of this morning, although it's still unclear whether the gaming service is rolling out to all Apple set-top boxes running the Golden Master candidate, or just those in certain locations.

As the image below demonstrates, ‌Apple Arcade‌ on Apple TV features a native interface optimized for television screens, and currently sports a 'Try it Free' button promoting the service's one-month free trial available to everyone.

Games on ‌Apple Arcade‌ are supported by Made for iPhone game controllers along with PS4 and Xbox controllers, and Apple has built controller support into tvOS 13, so users won't need to rely on the Apple Remote to get playing.

The service's launch on tvOS is also hotly anticipated because ‌Apple Arcade‌ supports multiple platforms, so you'll be able to start a game on, say, your ‌iPhone‌, and then swap over to ‌Apple TV‌ without losing your place.

‌Apple Arcade‌ is priced at $4.99 per month, and allows up to six family members to access games through Apple's Family Sharing feature. It's currently only available on ‌iPhone‌, but will officially roll out to iPad and ‌Apple TV‌ when the public releases of iPadOS and tvOS 13 arrive on Tuesday, September 24. A Mac launch is likely to arrive in October. For more information, check out our dedicated Apple Arcade guide.

Apple last Friday released the Apple Watch Series 5, the newest iteration of the Apple Watch that first debuted in 2015. The Apple Watch Series 5 isn't much different from the Series 4, but there are some notable changes.

In our latest YouTube video, we went hands-on with the Apple Watch Series 5 to check out what's new.

Titanium, a never before used material, is lighter and more durable than stainless steel, and $100 more expensive, starting at $799 (stainless steel models start at $699). Also new this year is ceramic ($1299), which we had in 2016 and 2017 but wasn't an option in 2018. Ceramic and titanium Apple Watch models are considered higher-end "Edition" models.

Apple is still offering the standard stainless steel and aluminum, which starts at $399. As with last year, there are GPS only models and GPS + LTE models.

Aside from new case materials, the other major change to the Series 5 lineup is an Always-On display feature. As the name suggests, the display of the Series 5 Apple Watch is always lit up so you can glance down at your wrist to see the time, your complications, your notifications, or, with the Workout app running, your exercise metrics.

The display does dim when not in use, of course, but the watch face is clearly visible without the need to raise your wrist up.

There were no processor changes in the Series 5, so though Apple says it uses an S5 chip, the processor is identical to the Series 4. Display improvements, a low power display driver, and an efficient power management integrated circuit enable the Always-On display.

Apple says that battery life on the Series 5 should last for up to 18 hours just like the Series 4 despite the Always-On display, but we've seen some mixed results.

Some of us here at MacRumors haven't seen battery life changes, but others feel that the battery is draining quicker than before. Apple may have some optimizations coming in future software updates to solve any battery issues.

Other new changes include 32GB of internal storage, likely for the new standalone App Store in watchOS 6, and a new compass feature. The compass feature is available in a Compass app that tells you your heading, incline, latitude, and longitude, plus the feature is used in the Maps app so you can finally see which direction you're facing.

For LTE Apple Watch owners, there's an updated Emergency SOS feature that will contact emergency services in whatever country you're in when activated, something that's nice for peace of mind when traveling. In prior models, this feature was limited to the emergency services in the country of purchase.

All in all, while there are some useful features in the Series 5, there's not a compelling reason to update if you already have a Series 4. If you have a Series 1, 2, 3, or original Apple Watch, there's a lot more to gain in the Series 5 and it's potentially a worthwhile upgrade.

Apple recently added the second-generation Apple Pencil to its online store for refurbished products in the United States, offering the accessory at a discounted price for the first time.

Apple is selling the second-generation Apple Pencil for $109, which is a $20 discount off of the original $129 price. $109 is the lowest price that we've seen on the ‌Apple Pencil‌ 2, so Apple's deal is solid for anyone looking to pick up a new ‌Apple Pencil‌.

The ‌Apple Pencil‌ 2 is compatible with the 2018 11-inch iPad Pro and the 2018 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ only. All other iPad models that support the ‌Apple Pencil‌ work with the original ‌Apple Pencil‌, not the second-generation version.

Next-generation ‌iPad Pro‌ models that are in development will also likely be compatible with ‌Apple Pencil‌ 2.

Compared to the original ‌Apple Pencil‌, the ‌Apple Pencil‌ 2 does away with the Lightning port at the top of the device, instead charging wirelessly via the ‌iPad Pro‌ itself through a magnetic connection.

The second-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌ also supports gestures, so with a tap, you can change brushes or quickly switch from a brush to an eraser without having to pick up the pencil and select a new tool.