MacRumors

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming iOS 12.2 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the fourth beta of iOS 12.2 and more than a month after the release of iOS 12.1.4.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 12.2 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

iOS 12.2 expands Apple News to Canada for the first time, with Canadian iPhone and iPad users able to read news stories in English, French, or both. Apple says that during the beta, content will be more limited than it will be when the update is released.

There are four new Animoji included the iOS 12.2 beta, including a boar, a shark, a giraffe, and an owl. Animoji can be used within the Messages and FaceTime apps.

The software introduces support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit on third-party TVs in light of recent AirPlay 2 announcements, with a new option for limiting TV access joining the speaker access option in the Home app. There's also a redesigned TV remote in Control Center, and when paired with tvOS 12.2, you can ask Siri to play specific TV shows, movies, and music on your ‌HomeKit‌ devices like the Apple TV.

For some AT&T users, there's a new "5G E" icon for the cellular signal, replacing the standard LTE icon. This is a bit misleading of AT&T, because the ‌iPhone‌ does not support 5G, nor is the network AT&T calls 5G E actual 5G. Instead, it's an upgraded version of LTE, with more info available here.

The Wallet app's interface has been streamlined and tweaked, there's a new interface for Apple Pay Cash, and the Downtime feature in Screen Time now allows you to customize by day. Apple has also made minor changes to some icons (including Apple News, ‌AirPlay‌, and Remote in Control Center) and has introduced new Safari features, with a full list of changes introduced throughout the beta testing period available in our iOS 12.2 tidbits post.

Apple is improving Safari's privacy in iOS 12.2 through a new Motion & Orientation toggle located under Settings > Safari > Privacy >Security, which is disabled by default. The setting needs to be enabled on to allow websites to display content that relies on motion data from the accelerometer and gyroscope in the ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌.

iOS 12.2 confirms that Apple is planning to release second-generation AirPods with "Hey ‌Siri‌" support, thanks to a hidden "Hey ‌Siri‌" AirPods setup screen in the beta. The inclusion of the AirPods setup option in the beta indicates that Apple could perhaps be planning to release new AirPods when iOS 12.2 is released.

The update also features hints of an upcoming Apple News subscription service, which could see a Texture-like magazine service added to ‌Apple News‌. The ‌Apple News‌ subscription service is expected to be introduced at an upcoming March 25 event, and we could see iOS 12.2 released shortly afterwards.

What's new in iOS 12.2 beta 5: In iOS 12.2, when setting up a new Apple Watch, Apple is using location to make sure the ECG feature is available in a particular region, suggesting the company may be planning to geofence ECG functionality and limit it to the United States.

This would potentially prevent customers who purchased a U.S. Apple Watch but live in another country from using the ECG feature. Location is verified via SIM card and can't be bypassed during Apple Watch setup. 9to5Mac says there are also hints of upcoming changes to Wallet to support the integration of a new Goldman Sachs credit card and indications that work on AirPower is continuing.

MacRumors last month reported that Roku was in talks with Apple about supporting AirPlay 2, and we've since learned that the negotiations are nearly finalized, according to a source familiar with the matter.

AirPlay 2 integration is expected to arrive in the form of a Roku OS software update for Roku media players, but it's unclear if all models will be supported. AirPlay 2 will also be supported by Roku-based smart TVs, available from brands such as TCL, Sharp, Hisense, Hitachi, Sanyo, and RCA.

Back in January, Apple announced that select ‌AirPlay‌ 2-enabled smart TVs are coming from leading brands such as Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Sony. ‌AirPlay‌ 2 support on Roku will greatly expand Apple's wireless streaming protocol to virtually any smart TV with a Roku player plugged into the HDMI port.

‌AirPlay‌ 2 will enable Roku users to stream video, audio, photos, and other content directly from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to their smart TVs.

Apple and Roku are negotiating a launch date and marketing surrounding ‌AirPlay‌ 2. Roku has yet to publicly confirm the plans, with a spokesperson earlier indicating that "we don't have anything to share regarding this now."

Apple today sent out emails letting App Store and iTunes users know about a new promotion that offers a 10 percent bonus when adding funds to an Apple ID account.

When you add money directly to your ‌Apple ID‌ from a credit or debit card for making ‌App Store‌, iTunes, and iCloud purchases, Apple is adding bonus credit.

Apple says the offer is valid on amounts ranging from $1.00 to $200, so customers who add the maximum $200 in funds to their Apple IDs will receive a total of $220 with the bonus ($20 free).

Funds can be added to your ‌Apple ID‌ account by opening up the Settings app, tapping on your account name, selecting the iTunes and ‌App Store‌ option, choosing your ‌Apple ID‌, and then selecting "Add Funds to ‌Apple ID‌."

From there, you can see the promotional bonuses available and choose the amount of money you want to add to your account. You can also get to these options in the iTunes Store by tapping on your ‌Apple ID‌ or in the ‌App Store‌ by scrolling to the bottom (or tapping your profile picture) and selecting the Add Funds option. To use this feature, you will need to have a valid payment method added to your ‌Apple ID‌ account.

The promotion will be available from March 10 through March 14 in the United States, and it is also available in other countries as well, such as Germany, where Apple is offering a 15 percent bonus. No bonus funds are available in the UK, Australia, or Canada, however.

Apple this afternoon shared several new videos that are part of its ongoing iPhone tips series called "iPhone Can Do What?" that was launched earlier this week.

The new videos cover getting help on Apple products using the Apple Support app, unlocking the ‌iPhone‌ with Face ID, accessing boarding passes in the Wallet app, and choosing a new key frame in a Live Photo. There's also a video highlighting the fact that Apple's iPhones are water resistant, which pertains to the ‌iPhone‌ 7 and later.

Each video's description links to Apple's full iPhone tips website, which includes additional short tutorial videos and tips on available ‌iPhone‌ features.

The seventh-generation iPad that Apple is planning to release alongside an updated iPad mini 5 will continue to use the same housing as the sixth-generation ‌iPad‌, according to Japanese site Mac Otakara.

Prior rumors have suggested the device will feature a 10.2-inch display rather than a 9.7-inch display, but Mac Otakara says that it is hearing mixed rumors from suppliers. One supplier said that the display is "10 inches" but another said that the display size has not been changed.

Regardless of display size, the tablet is expected to continue to use a Touch ID fingerprint sensor rather than transitioning to Face ID like the iPad Pro models, and it will also still have a headphone jack.

Apple is expected to introduce both the updated seventh-generation ‌iPad‌ and a refreshed ‌iPad mini‌ at some point in the spring, perhaps right around the time of its March 25 event. Rumors have said the event will focus on software rather than hardware, but updates could be announced via press release shortly afterwards.

‌Mac Otakara‌ says that it's likely both new iPads will debut at the same time, but the site did not provide any prospective launch timelines beyond mentioning that suppliers are preparing for a launch. Apple's current sixth-generation ‌iPad‌ sells for $329, and the new model is expected to be available at the same price point.

Earlier this week, we asked our readers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to look at some photos taken with the iPhone XS Max and the Samsung Galaxy S10+, Samsung's new flagship device, and tell us which photos they liked best.

There was a catch, though. We didn't tell them which smartphone took which photo, allowing us to aggregate some unbiased opinions on the quality of the images from each device. Today, we're revealing which photos came from which phone and sharing the results we gathered.

All of the photos that we shared came straight from the camera and were not edited or otherwise manipulated. We'll go through each image and give a brief overview of what people thought before unveiling which camera was used for these images.

The first photo, of a cup, shows off the ‌iPhone‌'s Portrait Mode and Samsung's Live Focus mode, which is basically the same thing. Photo A has more natural colors because Photo B is too warm, but B wins when it comes to depth. Photo A cut off part of the cup, while Photo B did not, though Photo A offered better blurring of background images. Most people actually preferred Photo A, but we think Photo B is the winner because it didn't cut off any of the cup.

The second photo, featuring a person, was also captured with portrait mode. Compared to Photo B, Photo A seems a bit washed out, but A did a better job isolating the subject from the background. MacRumors readers preferred Photo A, and so do we.

The third photo, of a street sign, is a portrait mode photo taken in lower lighting conditions. It was gray and snowy outside, and Camera A took an image that was too cool. Photo A doesn't have any of the sign cut off, but the blueness of the image skewed this heavily in favor of Photo B.

In our fourth image set, of a skyline, Photo B is brighter, but a bit overexposed and washed out. Photo A is darker, but the dynamic range and contrast are more accurate, especially when looking at the clouds. Most people liked Photo B better, but we prefer A because it's not washed out.

Our last images, shared solely on Instagram due to Twitter limitations, demonstrate how well Camera A is able to handle shots of the sky. Photo B's highlights are blown out and Camera B didn't do a great job of capturing the sun. We didn't get a lot of feedback on this image, but we preferred Photo A.

If you guessed that all of the Photo A images came from the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max, you guessed right. Photo A is the ‌iPhone‌ and the Photo B images came from the Galaxy S10+.

Results we received from readers on preference were ultimately mixed, with some of the photos captured by the Galaxy S10+ coming out on top, and some photos captured by the ‌iPhone‌ winning out. That's no surprise, though, as both of these smartphones have great camera systems that can capture some fantastic images.

Apple's ‌iPhone‌ XS Max uses a dual-lens camera system with a 12-megapixel f/1.8 wide-angle lens paired with a 12-megapixel f/2.4 lens, while Samsung uses a more advanced triple-lens camera system (which is, incidentally, rumored to be coming to 2019 iPhones). The Galaxy S10+ has a 12-megapixel f/1.5 wide-angle lens, a 12-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto lens, and an additional 16-megapixel f/2.2 ultra wide-angle lens that can capture more of a scene at once, great for landscapes and group shots.

Both are also great at video and can record in 4K with optical image stabilization offered, though we thought the Galaxy S10+ outperformed the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max because its stabilization was just a bit better.

Overall, we preferred the images from the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max over the images from the Galaxy S10 because the ‌iPhone‌ offered more true-to-life colors, better dynamic range, and superior contrast, but the Galaxy S10+ still took fantastic shots.

Which photos did you prefer? ‌iPhone‌ XS Max or Galaxy S10+? Let us know in the comments.

Qualcomm today told a San Diego jury that it wants Apple to pay $31 million in damages for patent infringement violations, which is allegedly equivalent to $1.40 per infringing iPhone.

The new information comes from CNET, which has been covering the Qualcomm vs. Apple patent trial that's in court this week.

$1.40 per ‌iPhone‌ and a total of $31 million in damages suggests that Qualcomm believes only 22 million iPhones are infringing on its technology. Qualcomm came up with that total with the help of economist Patrick Kennedy, who took the stand as an expert witness for Qualcomm today. Kennedy calculated the figure based on iPhones sold from July 2017 on that used chips by Intel. Apple started using a mix of chips from both Intel and Qualcomm in the ‌iPhone‌ 7, and later transitioned to all Intel chips due to the legal troubles with Qualcomm.

Qualcomm and Apple are fighting over three patents that Qualcomm says Apple infringed on with its iPhones. As CNET describes, one of the patents covers a method for allowing a smartphone to quickly connect to the internet once turned on, while another covers graphics processing and battery life. The third patent Apple is accused of violating allows apps to download data more easily by directing traffic between the apps processor and modem.

Apple just last quarter earned more than $20 billion in profit, so $31 million in damages wouldn't be a hit to the company's bottom line. If Qualcomm wins the trial, though, its claim that its technology is at the "heart of every ‌iPhone‌" would be more credible.

Apple and Qualcomm have been fighting since January 2017, when Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion in unpaid royalty fees. Qualcomm countersued, and since then, the two companies have levied multiple lawsuits against one another. Two of Qualcomm's lawsuits have resulted in import bans in Germany and China, both of which Apple was able to skirt with hardware and software updates.

The current patent trial between Apple and Qualcomm will last through next week.

For the last few weeks, Apple has been updating the artwork on playlists within Apple Music, and today, The Verge has shed some light on the reason why with input from Apple's global director of editorial, Rachel Newman.

Apple is using original artwork from well-known artists like the creator of the AC/DC logo for playlists in an effort to bring instant recognition to its content and to better connect with different communities.

According to Newman, the custom art for playlists is meant to be a "visual representation of the music that you will find inside the playlist."

That rootedness in specific cultures was something that Apple wanted to emphasize when it was commissioning art. "Suddenly there is really no strong definition of a genre anymore like there used to [be], you know, in the olden days," said Newman, the editorial director. Genre is now, in her words, a melting pot.

For each genre, Apple is choosing "huge name" artists that fit well and have worked within the genre before. Stole "Moab" Stojmenov, who designed the cover for Migos' album "Culture," created the art for Apple's "Hip Hop Hits" playlist, for example.

Carlos Perez, who directed the video for hit song "Despacito," created artwork for several playlists, including "Dale Reggaetón." Perez said that with Apple's freedom, he aimed for authenticity when creating the artwork, which seems to be Apple's goal with the project.

Apple plans to redesign "many thousands" of ‌Apple Music‌ playlists, with new artwork rolling out over the course of the next few months.