MacRumors

Following the release of iOS 12 on September 17, Apple has stopped signing iOS 11.41, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 12 will no longer be able to downgrade to the iOS 11 operating system.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.

iOS 12 and today's iOS 12.0.1 release are the only versions of iOS that can be installed on iPhones and iPads by the general public. Developers and public beta testers can download iOS 12.1, an iOS 12 update that's being beta tested.

Apple in iOS 11 revamped the iPad's interface and changed the way we interact with the tablet through a new Dock, a revamped App Switcher, and Drag and Drop, and with iOS 12, further iPad changes have been implemented.

There are new gestures to learn for accessing the Home screen, App Switcher, and the Control Center, along with a new status bar.

The new iPad gestures are identical to the gestures on the iPhone XS, with Apple preparing us for the elimination of the Home button in future iPad models. Rumors suggest upcoming iPad Pro models will feature a TrueDepth camera system and Face ID rather than a traditional Touch ID Home button.

If you use an iPhone X, XS, or XR, the new iPad gestures will be familiar to you, but if you don't, it could take a bit of time to get used to.

Dock Changes: Getting to the Home Screen and App Switcher

In iOS 11, when you wanted to access the Home screen from within an app, you would press the Touch ID Home button. That's still true, but you can also now get to the Home screen when you swipe up from the bottom of the display, as demoed in the video above.

When in an app, swiping up from the bottom of the screen takes you right to the Home screen rather than just bringing up the iPad Dock within an app.

To get to the Dock to open more than one app for multitasking purposes, you need to do a swipe and a slight hold hold rather than just a swipe at the bottom inch of the screen while you have an app open already.

If you swipe and hold a bit higher on the screen, you can access the App Switcher on the iPad for quickly swapping between apps or closing apps, which is done with a swipe upwards on an app card. This gesture works both within apps and at the Home screen.

Getting to Control Center

Control Center in iOS 11 was paired with the App Switcher and was accessible by swiping up on the Dock, but that gesture now opens the App Switcher alone without providing access to Control Center.

Getting to Control Center is now done by swiping downwards from the right portion of the status bar, where it displays your battery life and Wi-Fi/Cellular connection.

All other gestures on the iPad remain the same, such as a swipe downwards from the top middle of the display to bring up your notifications and a swipe to the right to get to the Today section for widget access, but there are other iPad improvements worth noting in iOS 12.

iPad Status Bar

The iPad's status bar has been redesigned in iOS 12, and it now resembles the status bar of the iPhone XS. The date and time are listed on the left hand side of the status bar, while battery life and Wi-Fi/Cellular signal and connection are displayed on the right hand side.

The middle of the display, where the date was previously shown, is left open, perhaps for a future notch. Prior to iOS 12, the iPad's status bar did not show the date, so that's also a new addition.

Spacebar Trackpad

When typing on the iPad, if you press and hold with one finger on the space bar, it turns the keyboard into a trackpad to make it easier to navigate through a document and move the cursor.

This is a feature that has been available on iPhones with 3D Touch and on the iPad with two fingers, but in iOS 12, it's simpler to use. A two finger touch also continues to work.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Apple is reportedly holding discussions with United Kingdom-based British Telecom (BT) over a partnership that would make BT's mobile brand EE a "major distributor" of Apple TV devices. Specifically, the telecommunications brand would offer Apple TVs to EE customers, coming pre-loaded with apps that deliver pay-TV content like BT Sport and channels from other broadcasters (via The Telegraph).

For Apple, the deal would get Apple TVs into the hands of more customers and increase the potential viewership for its upcoming slate of original TV programming, expected in 2019. While BT has invested in building its own set-top boxes to compete with Apple, Amazon, and Sky, BT consumer chief Marc Allera kicked off a new strategy earlier in May to begin "forging deeper partnerships with technology giants."

Apple's partnership with BT is said to be similar to the company's existing deal in Switzerland with telecoms operator and pay-TV provider Salt. Apple has also partnered with Verizon, which will offer customers an Apple TV 4K as part of its residential broadband package coming to four cities this year.

In regards to Apple's original programming, the first of Apple's television shows could debut as soon as March of 2019, potentially through a new video streaming service subscription. The company is also reportedly considering a single subscription bundle offering customers access to TV, Apple Music, and digital magazines (through its Texture acquisition).

Facebook today announced "Portal," a new communications device for the home aimed at connecting friends and family members through video chat.

There are two models of Portal: the 10-inch base model and a 15-inch "Portal+" model with a display that pivots between portrait and landscape modes. Each device includes AI technology, a Smart Camera, and Smart Sound. The Smart Camera follows where you move around a room and automatically pans and zooms to keep everyone in view, while Smart Sound minimizes background noise and enhances the voice of who is talking.

Portal connects to your friends list on Facebook Messenger, and you can call them even if they don't have a Portal. Calls made via Portal will also be sent to Messenger apps on iOS and Android smartphones, and Portal supports group calls of up to seven people at the same time.

The video calling device supports hands-free voice control, so you can start a video call by saying "Hey Portal" and following up with who you want to call. Alexa is built into the device, so you can also ask about the weather, news, traffic, control smart home products, and more on Portal.

With Portal, you can listen to music together with a friend or even watch a television show with another Portal user, through connected partnerships with Spotify Premium, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Facebook Watch, Food Network, and Newsy. Portal video calls also support AR effects, filters, and stickers.

In terms of audio, Facebook says Portal has two full-range drivers, while Portal+ has two tweeters with high-range frequency and a single 4" bass speaker.

Facebook is launching Portal in the middle of a turbulent year, following months of news coverage over its ties to data mining firm Cambridge Analytica. A Facebook-branded smart speaker with video capabilities was previously rumored, and then delayed following the scandal.

For the new device, Facebook says Portal is designed with privacy and security in mind:

- You can completely disable the camera and microphone with a single tap.
- Portal and Portal+ also come with a camera cover, so you can easily block your camera’s lens at any time and still receive incoming calls and notifications, plus use voice commands.
- To manage Portal access within your home, you can set a four- to 12-digit passcode to keep the screen locked. Changing the passcode requires your Facebook password.
- Facebook doesn’t listen to, view, or keep the contents of your Portal video calls. Your Portal conversations stay between you and the people you’re calling. In addition, video calls on Portal are encrypted, so your calls are always secure.
- For added security, Smart Camera and Smart Sound use AI technology that runs locally on Portal, not on Facebook servers. Portal’s camera doesn’t use facial recognition and doesn’t identify who you are.
- Like other voice-enabled devices, Portal only sends voice commands to Facebook servers after you say, “Hey Portal.” You can delete your Portal’s voice history in your Facebook Activity Log at any time.

Portal and Portal+ are available to pre-order in the United States on Facebook.com, Amazon, and Best Buy. Portal is $199 and Portal+ is $349, while a bundle of two regular Portal devices is $298.

Eternal Storms Software today released Yoink 2.0 for iOS and Yoink 3.5 for Mac, two major upgrades to the popular drag and drop-improving "shelf" app.

For those unfamiliar, Yoink acts like a convenient shelf for users to drag in files and other content, do something else (switch apps, tabs, and so on) and then easily access those items again by dragging them out of Yoink.

Version 2.0 of Yoink for iOS brings iCloud sync support, so items stored in Yoink are available across iOS devices logged into the same Apple account. Each device has its own "shelf" in iCloud, so all items are grouped for easy discoverability.

The different shelves are accessible through both the Yoink app and also in its extensions, users can access all items via the Today Widget, the keyboard, the file provider, and Spotlight search.

Yoink 2.0 for iOS also brings support for Handoff across iPhones, iPads and Macs, so items selected on one device can be handed off to another and those files are transferred right away.

Elsewhere, Yoink now also includes support for Siri Shortcuts. Using Siri, users can store clipboard contents or download the link to the clipboard in Yoink, without having to switch to or activate Yoink itself.

Items can also be copied from Yoink using Siri (the most recently added image, PDF, text or link, for example), while Yoink can be opened using the virtual assistant to show a specified, synced device's items.

In addition, Yoink for iOS has expanded support for keyboard commands, an optional Dark Mode interface, and optional smaller icons for showing more items stored in the Yoink "shelf" at once.

Meanwhile over on Yoink for Mac, the new version 3.5 update adds Handoff support between Macs and iOS devices, a clipboard history Today Widget that keeps track of your clipboard's contents, and full compatibility with macOS Mojave (including Dark Mode) as well as a Finder Quick Action.

Yoink for iPad and iPhone is available on the App Store for the introductory price of $3.99. After the introductory week has passed, the price will change to $5.99.

Yoink for Mac is available on the Mac App Store for the introductory price of $4.99. After the introductory week has passed, the price will change to $7.99. A free, 15-day trial is also available on the website – the app requires at least OS X Lion 10.7.3, although macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later is recommended.

Starting with iOS 11, Apple introduced a Do Not Disturb While Driving Feature that's designed to mute incoming calls, texts, and notifications while you're driving to cut down on accident-causing distractions.

Do Not Disturb While Driving is not a feature that's enabled automatically, but you will see a popup prompting you to turn it on when Apple detects the motion of a car after installing iOS 11 or later for the first time. Despite the notification, you'll still need to choose how you want to use the feature if you miss the initial setup process.

Do Not Disturb can be set to turn on manually, automatically when the iPhone detects a car's acceleration, or when an iPhone connects to a car's Bluetooth.

Enabling Do Not Disturb While Driving

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Do Not Disturb.
3. Scroll down to "Do Not Disturb While Driving."
4. Tap on "Activate" to choose how you want Do Not Disturb While Driving to be turned on. If you don't want to use Do Not Disturb While Driving, set it to manual.

Whenever Do Not Disturb While Driving is activated, you'll see a bar at the top of the screen letting you know incoming notifications are being muted.

Do Not Disturb While Driving Control Center Toggle

If you don't want to have Do Not Disturb While Driving turn on automatically but still want to use it, there's a Control Center setting for activating it.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Choose Control Center.
3. Select Customize Controls.
4. Add Do Not Disturb While Driving, which has an image of a car.

This adds the Do Not Disturb While Driving toggle to your Control Center. To turn it on or off, you just need to swipe to open the Control Center and tap it.

If You're a Passenger

When the automatic setting is enabled, Do Not Disturb While Driving will turn on whenever your iPhone detects the acceleration of a vehicle. This can be inconvenient if you're a passenger, so you'll need to turn it off through the Control Center or by tapping the persistent Do Not Disturb While Driving popup at the top of the display to let Apple know you're a passenger.

Choosing Your Auto Reply Options

When you're driving, all of your incoming text messages are muted. You can choose an automatic text message that lets people know you're in the car and will text later, and you can customize who sees the message.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Choose Do Not Disturb.
3. Scroll down to "Auto-Reply To" and tap it.
4. You can choose for automatic texts to be sent to Recents, Favorites, All Contacts, or No one, if you would rather not have your phone send automatic replies.

Customizing Your Auto Reply

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Choose Do Not Disturb.
3. Scroll down to "Auto-Reply" and tap it.

Apple sets a default message in this section, but you can change it to say whatever you want. This is the message people will receive when texting you when Do Not Disturb While Driving is enabled.

If there's an urgent issue and someone needs to get in contact with you immediately, they can break through Do Not Disturb While Driving by texting you "urgent." This will override your Do Not Disturb settings and will notify you of the text immediately.

An ideal setup is to set auto replies to your favorites, which likely translates to close friends and family. This will let them text you in an emergency situation, but will prevent other less urgent messages from being a distraction.

Phone Calls

If your iPhone is connected to your car's Bluetooth system, iOS is smart enough to know you have a hands-free calling method available. In this situation, calls will continue to come through even when Do Not Disturb While Driving is enabled. Texts and notifications from apps will continue to be muted, though.

If you're not connected to Bluetooth and have no hands-free accessory, calls will be blocked like text messages and notifications.

Parental Restrictions

For parents of teenagers, there's an option to enable a restriction that will prevent Do Not Disturb While Driving settings from being changed or toggled off, guaranteeing children are using the feature whenever they're in the car. Here's how to turn it on (iOS 12 or later):

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Choose Screen Time.
3. Tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Tap on the Content & Privacy Restrictions toggle to turn on restrictions.
5. Scroll down to Do Not Disturb While Driving and tap it.
6. Choose Don't Allow.

On devices running an earlier version of iOS, there are different steps to follow to access device restrictions. Open the Settings app, choose General, scroll down to Restrictions and then tap it. Enter your passcode and then find the "Do Not Disturb While Driving" option and choose "Don't Allow Changes."

Some Apple Watch Series 4 owners in Australia experienced crashes and reboots on Saturday due to a bug that surfaced because of the daylight saving time change (via 9to5Mac).

According to Reddit users hit by the Apple Watch bug, the root of the problem appears to be the Infograph Modular face's Activity complication, which displays a timeline graph with hourly data for the user's Move calories, Exercise minutes, and Stand hours.

When daylight saving time (DST) lops an hour off the typical 24-hour day, the Activity complication is apparently unable to compute the change and draw the timeline graph with only 23 hours, which throws the Apple Watch into an endless reboot loop until the battery runs out.

According to reports, the bug corrected itself when the date rolled over the next day and the normal 24-hour day was reinstated, but some users were able to restore normal function to their watch before then by removing the Infograph Modular watch face via the iOS Watch app.

This isn't the first time Apple has been caught out by daylight saving time changes, but the company has a few weeks yet to fix this latest DST bug before it happens again when Europe and the U.S. change their clocks on October 28 and November 4, respectively.

In the iOS operating system, there's a handy feature that's designed to let you quickly share your Wi-Fi password with a friend, and, if you're at a friend's house, to get the Wi-Fi password with just a tap.

There are two prerequisites to use this feature: you must be running iOS 11 or later and you and your friend need to have each other listed as contacts in the Contacts app. Here's how it works:

1. When a friend is at your house, have them open up the Settings app.
2. Tap on Wi-Fi, and let the iPhone look for available networks.
3. Have your friend tap on the name of your Wi-fi network.

From there, you'll get a popup on your own iPhone that asks you if you want to share your password. Tap "Share Password" and your Wi-Fi password is automatically sent to your friend's iPhone and they're able to join your Wi-Fi network.

Popular photo taking app Halide Camera was today updated to version 1.10, introducing a number of new features including Smart RAW for iPhone XS and iPhone XR, and a tweaked watch app for Apple Watch Series 4 models.

The Smart RAW feature works using a new automatic logic built for getting the best RAW shots out of the iPhone XS and XR, enabling photographers to get even more detail out of their iPhone camera.

According to developer Sebastiaan de With, the Halide auto-exposure on iPhone X already optimizes for the lowest possible ISO and the highest amount of detail, making Smart RAW unnecessary on the iPhone 8 and X. However the iPhone XS and XR benefit from Smart RAW because of the new sensors in the phones.

The Smart RAW feature is on by default and promises to bring noticeably lower noise and better highlight recovery in RAW shots taken with auto-exposure. Interested users are encouraged to search Instagram using the #SmartRAW hashtag for some early examples of the enhanced shooting mode.

This update also adds an option to compare JPEG images with RAW equivalents, while the Halide watch component has been optimized to make better use of the larger screen on Apple Watch Series 4. Lastly, the developer has done some cleaning up and managed to cut down the app size to half of what it was in the previous version.

Earlier in the week, Sebastiaan de With published an in-depth look at the front and rear-facing cameras in the iPhone XS and XS Max, providing some insight into complaints about a possible skin smoothing "beauty mode" that results in less realistic selfies than prior iPhone models.

Halide costs $5.99 and is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

Apple in 2017 changed the method to force restart or hard reset an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus.

While rebooting an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus requires pressing and holding both the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons for at least 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears, restarting an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus is a three step process that involves the Volume Up button, the Volume Down button, and the Side button on the device.

How to Force Restart (Hard Reset) iPhone 8

First, you need to press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Then, press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button (aka power) until you see the Apple logo.

Powering off regularly still requires holding down the Side button for a few seconds until the "slide to power off" prompt appears. In iOS 11 and iOS 12, there's also a "Shut Down" option in the Settings app at the bottom of the General menu.

Apple made this change because on iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, pressing and holding the Side aka Sleep/Wake button and one of the Volume buttons now activates the Emergency SOS feature.