Apple's upcoming video streaming service and its work on original TV content could spell trouble for Apple board member and Disney CEO Bob Iger, reports Bloomberg, citing the potential for competition between the two companies.
Iger is potentially at risk of losing his seat on Apple's board as Apple prepares to launch its streaming TV service. Apple already has more than two dozen original TV shows in the works and has purchased rights to several movies, with all of that content set to be offered via the upcoming service.
Disney, like Apple, is working on its own streaming service, Disney+, and is potentially set to be one of Apple's competitors. Disney+ will offer Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel content (including content made just for Disney+), and like Apple's TV service, it will launch in 2019. Disney also recently acquired Fox's assets, giving it majority control over Hulu and other channels and film franchises.
Apple proxy filings that have detailed "arms-length commercial dealings" with Disney have specified that Iger does not have a "material direct or indirect interest" in the deals, but Bloomberg suggests that could change when both companies have launched their streaming services.
John Coffee, director of the Center on Corporate Governance at Columbia Law School told Bloomberg that Disney and Apple "might have to recognize that they will become active competitors in the near future." Both companies likely have legal advisers exploring whether Iger should continue to be on Apple's board, according to Coffee.
Iger, who was a good friend of Steve Jobs, has been on Apple's board since 2011, but there is precedent for a board member leaving due to increasing competition. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was previously on Apple's board, but resigned in 2009 after Google entered the smartphone market.
Encryption should not provide an "unfettered space" for criminals to hide behind, FBI Director Christopher Wray said today in an interview at the RSA conference, a cybersecurity event in San Francisco.
As noted by CNET, Wray said that while the FBI is not seeking backdoors in electronics, encryption needs to have limitations.
"It can't be a sustainable end state for there to be an entirely unfettered space that's utterly beyond law enforcement for criminals to hide," Wray said, echoing a position that law enforcement officials have taken on encryption time and time again.
Apple and other technology companies have been clashing with law enforcement agencies like the FBI and fighting anti-encryption legislation for years now. Apple's most public battle with the U.S. government was in 2016, when the Cupertino company was ordered to help the FBI unlock the iPhone used by Syed Farook, a shooter in the 2015 attacks in San Bernardino.
Apple opposed the order and said that it would set a "dangerous precedent" with serious implications for the future of smartphone encryption. Apple held its ground and the U.S. government backed off after finding an alternate way to access the data on the device, but Apple is continually dealing with additional law enforcement attempts to weaken encryption.
Multiple tech companies, Apple included, have formed the Reform Government Surveillance coalition to promote strong device encryption and fight against legislation calling for backdoor access into electronic devices.
Apple has argued that strong encryption is essential for keeping its customers safe from hackers and other malicious entities. A backdoor created for government access would not necessarily remain in government hands and could put the company's entire customer base at risk.
During the interview, Wray said that encryption is a "provocative subject" and he provided no additional insight into how tech companies might provide strong encryption for customers while also acquiescing to law enforcement demands for device access.
Wray did say that the U.S. is seeing an uptick in threats from "various foreign adversaries" that are using criminal hackers, which suggests the need for strong encryption is greater than ever.
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.
Over the weekend, it was discovered that Facebook had hidden a "Dark Mode" toggle in the latest version of FaceBook Messenger.
On Monday Facebook confirmed the release of the hidden feature but also promised a full roll out in the "coming weeks."
Dark mode in Facebook Messenger can be enabled by sending a crescent moon emoji in Messenger. Facebook describes the process as "Simply send a crescent moon emoji – 🌙 – in any Messenger chat to unlock the setting and prompt to turn on dark mode." That said, many have found they may need to force quit Messenger or even reinstall it for the Dark mode to activate. There's been no word on a dark mode coming to Facebook proper.
Facebook also demonstrates that you can improve the look of your chats by tapping on the name, and selecting a custom color or gradient.
LaCie, Seagate's premium brand, recently launched a new external SSD, the LaCie Mobile SSD, which offers up to 2TB of storage space along with USB-C transfer speeds up to 540MB/s.
The LaCie Mobile SSD follows the LaCie Portable SSD, offering a thin, light enclosure that's easily pocketable but still eye catching. LaCie first introduced the Mobile SSD at CES 2019, and it's now available for purchase from Apple.
LaCie designed the Mobile SSD with unique "diamond-cut" edges, which look quite nice in person. The Mobile SSD is futuristic but simple, which is appropriate because this is an Apple exclusive product. I'm not sure how important SSD attractiveness is to the average person, but this is certainly the best looking external SSD I've used.
It's made from a brushed aluminum material that matches well with Apple's MacBooks (especially the Space Gray model), and since it's aluminum, it's light but durable. LaCie says it can withstand drops up to 3 meters, though it's never a good idea to be rough with a data storage device if you can help it.
The LaCie Mobile is available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities, and LaCie sent me the 1TB version to test. It comes with both a USB-C to USB-C cable for use with Apple's most recent Macs and a USB-C to USB-A cable in case you need to use it with older machines that only have USB-A ports. When using a USB-A to USB-C cable, you won't get maximum transfer speeds from the SSD because USB-A doesn't support USB 3.1 Gen 2.
There's a single USB-C port at one end where one of the cables can plug in, and with the exception of an LED light so you know when the SSD is in use and a small LaCie logo in one corner, there are no other distinguishing features.
It offers transfer speeds of up to 540MB/s, which is similar to what other brands like Samsung, G-Technology, and Western Digital are offering with their USB-C SSDs.
Using a 2016 MacBook Pro, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, I saw read speeds of about 525MB/s and write speeds of about 485MB/s.
It wasn't quite hitting target speeds, but it was close, and still quite speedy. I transferred 45GB of photos from the MacBook Pro to the LaCie drive and it took right around four and a half minutes.
Transfer speeds will vary based on what other peripherals you have plugged into your Mac and your Mac's overall workload. During testing, the Mobile SSD stayed cool even when transferring a large number of files, but I do want to point out that I heard a slight noise at times when data was transferring.
It wasn't loud enough to be annoying and probably isn't audible over most ambient room noises, but I just happened to be testing in a quiet room at a time when nothing was going on.
The drive comes formatted in exFAT, making it compatible with both Mac and Windows, but it can be reformatted through the Disk Utility feature in macOS. It comes with links for registration and tools to install the LaCie Toolkit software for Mac and Windows.
LaCie Toolkit is used for managing the SSD and it can sync files between mirrored folders on your computer and on the Mobile SSD, for automatic file backup purposes. This is not required software to use the SSD.
All of LaCie's products come with a three-year warranty and a three-year Seagate Rescue Data Recovery plan that offers data recovery should the SSD end up failing. There's also a free one-month subscription to Adobe's Creative Cloud All Apps plan included,
Bottom Line
At $270 for the middle tier 1TB model, LaCie's Mobile SSD is more expensive than 1TB SSDs you can get from other brands, so it's probably not going to be the first choice for someone looking for a bargain.
That said, LaCie is a well-known and trusted brand, and the design of this particular model was slick enough that Apple opted to offer it as an exclusive. It also ships with a three-year warranty, which is worth taking into account when it comes to keeping your data safe.
Aside from the high price tag, I have no complaints about the LaCie Mobile SSD. It's small, it's portable, it looks great, it's speedy, and it performed well in all of my tests. I'm not sure if looks alone make it worth a premium over SSDs that perform similarly, but it's a good product that's worth considering if you need an SSD.
How to Buy
The 500GB LaCie Mobile SSD is priced at $139.95, while the 1TB model is available for $269.95. LaCie also offers a 2TB Mobile SSD, priced at $499.95. All three models are available from the Apple online store and in Apple retail locations.
Note: LaCie provided MacRumors with a 1TB Mobile SSD for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
TestFlight users who have signed up to beta test Apple's Swift Playgrounds coding app can now download the Swift Playgrounds 3.0 Beta, which is available as of this morning. Swift Playgrounds uses Swift 5.0, the beta version of Apple's coding language.
The full extent of what's new in Swift Playgrounds 3.0 isn't clear as of yet, but Apple's release notes for the beta update provide a bit of detail. The new version of the app allows Playground Books to contain directories of Swift code and resources that can be imported for use by any page in the book.
Modules in a book's Modules directory can also be imported to any page in the book. Apple's release notes for the update are below:
New in Swift Playgrounds 3.0 Beta: Playground Books can now contain directories of Swift code and resources that can be imported for use by any page in that book.
The ./Contents/UserModules/UserCode.playgroundmodule/Sources/UserSource.swift file is editable by users using the new source editor tab.
In addition, the modules in a book's Modules directory (.playgroundbook/Contents/Modules) can be imported by any page in the book, but can't be viewed or edited in the app.
Note: Swift Playgrounds 3.0 beta uses Swift 5 (swiftlang-1001.0.63.8). Code written using other versions of Swift may not work in UserModuleExample.playgroundbook.
Known Issues in Swift Playgrounds 3.0 Beta:
- A playground may get stuck executing when live issues are present. (47896251)
Workaround: Resolve the live issue, return to the document browser and open the playground again.
- A playground may get stuck after recording a movie. (42903135)
Workaround: Force close Swift Playgrounds from the App Switcher, then relaunch the app and open the playground again.
TestFlight users who previously signed up to beta test Swift Playgrounds have access to the beta, but it does not appear that Apple is allowing new testers to sign up at this time.
This is the first beta of Swift Playgrounds 3.0 that Apple has released. The current version of the app available to the public is version 2.2, released back in November.
iPhones with aftermarket batteries installed by third-party repair shops are now eligible for service at Genius Bars and Apple Authorized Service Providers, according to an internal Apple document obtained by MacRumors from three reliable sources. The change was first reported by French blog iGeneration.
iPhone X battery with pull tabs via iFixit
This is significant news for iPhone repairs, as the Genius Bar and AASPs were previously instructed to deny service of any kind for an iPhone with a third-party battery, regardless of the circumstances.
If the repair is unrelated to the battery, the Genius Bar and AASPs are now instructed to ignore the third-party battery and proceed with service as normal, according to Apple's internal document. This could include repairs to the display, logic board, microphones, and so forth, with normal fees applying.
If the repair is related to the battery itself, the Genius Bar and AASPs are now permitted to replace the third-party battery with an official Apple battery for the standard fee. Before starting the repair, the Genius Bar must drain the third-party battery to less than 60 percent of a charge.
In the event Apple cannot safely remove a third-party battery due to broken or missing battery tabs or excessive adhesive, the customer is entitled to an iPhone replacement at the standard whole-unit out-of-warranty price.
The updated guidelines went into effect Thursday and should apply worldwide. Apple will still decline service for iPhones with third-party logic boards, enclosures, microphones, Lightning connectors, headphone jacks, volume and sleep/wake buttons, TrueDepth sensor arrays, and certain other components.
iFixit's director of communications Kay-Kay Clapp:
This decision proves that now, more than ever, the third-party repair ecosystem is an integral part of maintaining Apple's high-quality customer experience. If Apple is getting enough third-party repaired phones for a policy change, they clearly don't have the reach or capacity to maintain all the iPhones that they've sold. All of us, including Apple, benefit from the service provided by the repair community.
In July 2017, reports surfaced that Spotify had set its sights on Apple Podcasts and was planning a strong push into the space with a vastly reimagined podcasts segment that would become the default podcast listening app for many users. Today, The Verge has detailed Spotify's ongoing plans to make the service a premium podcast destination.
To start, Spotify intends to fix podcast discovery and prioritize the user experience by tweaking the algorithm that it uses for its streaming music Discover Weekly playlist. According to Spotify head of studio and video Courntey Holt, the team that built the discovery engine for music "is now working on podcasts."
Spotify also plans to create new and exclusive podcasts for the service, so that users have to subscribe to watch all of the latest and most popular shows. Outside of exclusives, Spotify is also planning timed exclusives that will go to other platforms after a set window and other release schedules with "a lot of experimentation," according to Gimlet Media co-founder Alex Blumberg.
Gimlet Media is a content creation company that Spotify acquired for $300 million last month, and is the home to notable big-name podcasts like Homecoming and Reply All. At the same time, Spotify also purchased Anchor, a company that offers a podcasting solution on the opposite end of the spectrum: letting users record and create their own shows that can be easily shared online.
According to Spotify CFO Barry McCarthy, "We're going to place a bet on both ends of the spectrum," because at this time the company isn't sure if user-generated shows or high-end original podcasts will be more popular. For both aspects, McCarthy said that he plans to use his time as Netflix's CFO to help bolster Spotify podcasts.
That means building “super good, predictive algorithms, like we developed at Netflix” so Spotify knows what people like, he said, then using those algorithms to figure out what kind of shows to make next. McCarthy calls this scenario “my nirvana.”
McCarthy said that Spotify won’t be an “arbiter of taste,” like HBO, but instead, it will make its name optimizing content creation and greenlighting shows that are sure to succeed. “Over time, we have lots of exclusive content because we get super successful at predicting how much to spend and what to invest in because we’re able to extract insights and data we’ve accumulated about our users’ taste.”
At this point, it's unclear how Spotify plans to monetize each podcast, and how this will factor into listener privacy. Back in 2016, monetization and user data privacy was one of the big complaints lobbed at Apple during a meeting between Apple executives and podcast creators.
The podcasters voiced frustration at their lack of ability to make money through subscription downloads, mainly due to insufficient access to data about their listeners. Although being more lenient about data privacy has the chance to improve the service, Apple has yet to make such a move in sacrificing user privacy for performance improvements that might benefit both podcast creators and listeners, similar to the methodology behind Siri and all other Apple services.
iTunes Podcasts was rebranded to Apple Podcasts nearly two years ago, the same year that Apple announced an overhauled Podcasts app with a richer user experience and listener analytics for creators. Toward the end of 2017, Apple acquired the podcast search startup Pop Up Archive to help improve searching and discovery in Apple Podcasts.
As of June 2018 Apple Podcasts hosts more than 18.5 million episodes of podcasts across 555,000 different shows.
SoundCloud today announced the launch of discounted student memberships, offering students the chance to subscribe to SoundCloud Go+ for $4.99/month instead of the traditional price of $9.99/month. SoundCloud Go+ for Students is available to all students enrolled at a Title IV degree-granting college or university, and they'll be eligible for up to four consecutive years.
Students will gain all of the same perks of SoundCloud Go+ as regular subscribers, including offline listening, ad-free playback, full catalog access with no previews, high-quality audio, and more. Students who already subscribe to SoundCloud Go+ can still subscribe to the student plan after verifying their identity and student status with SoundCloud through the third-party SheerID service.
SoundCloud is following in the footsteps of most other music streaming services with today's announcement, since rivals like Apple Music and Spotify have been offering a 50 percent discount for students for a few years now. With these discounts, each service typically offers students the chance to subscribe for as low as $4.99/month, and when they graduate the discount ends.
Last month, SoundCloud revealed a new tool that lets creators distribute their music directly to Apple Music and Spotify, allowing artists to easily share their work among the major streaming services. Although SoundCloud has its Go+ consumer streaming service, the company is also known for its SoundCloud Pro and Pro Unlimited services that are aimed at artists, with features like release scheduling, streaming numbers, full embed controls, unlimited uploads, and the new Apple Music distribution feature.
Students interested in signing up for the discounted Go+ subscription can visit SoundCloud's website to sign up for a 30-day free trial.
Smart home company August today revealed the August View, a new wire-free doorbell camera that streams video of your doorstep directly to an iPhone or Android smartphone. The August View is the next in line of the company's smart video doorbells, following the Doorbell Cam Pro, but like its predecessor, the new device does not support HomeKit.
August View streams 1440p resolution video to a smartphone and supports two-way audio so you can have real-time conversations with guests who arrive at your door. The device has a rectangular shape with a camera on the top and doorbell button on the bottom, and there are eight different interchangeable faceplate designs to choose from. These include $29.99 metal faceplates (satin nickel, oil-rubbed bronze, satin brass, midnight gray) and $14.99 plastic faceplates (black, red, blue, and white)
The new doorbell camera can connect to August smart locks -- and any smart lock under the Connected by August umbrella -- so that you can also unlock your door when people arrive. August View supports motion alerts, minimal fisheye distortion for a more realistic view, zoomable video, and access to video for up to 15 or 30 days with Gold or Platinum subscription plans.
Despite the lack of HomeKit, August confirmed the August View does support Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. According to August, the company is "continuing to explore opportunities with Apple," but when the August View launches later in March you won't be able to connect the camera with Apple's Home app or interact with it through Siri. August does sell other products that support HomeKit, including the August Smart Lock Pro.
Apple has registered the domain name PrivacyIsImportant.com, according to a WHOIS record discovered by MacRumors. The records indicate that Apple took possession of the domain name on Monday.
The record's contact information now lists Apple Inc. as the organization, complete with its address, phone number, and domains-related email. The registrar is CSC, a firm that protects domain names for large corporations.
The domain name does not yet point to an active website, so it's unclear if or how Apple will use it, but it is certainly possible the company could be planning a privacy-focused marketing campaign along the lines of its "what happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone" billboard at CES 2019 in Las Vegas.
Apple has always been committed to privacy, which it believes is "a fundamental human right," but a marketing campaign could help reassure customers of that position after a major FaceTime privacy vulnerability surfaced in late January.
Anker is well known for providing reliable and low-cost charging accessories for Apple device owners, and today the company has a huge Deal of the Day sale on Amazon that's discounting over a dozen items by as much as 40 percent off. Shoppers should note that no codes are needed for today's flash sale, as each discount has been automatically applied.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
The charging accessories Deal of the Day sale includes PowerCore portable batteries, Roav car chargers, PowerWave wireless chargers, PowerPort USB chargers, and PowerLine USB and Lightning cables. We've broken down each item on sale in the lists below, so be sure to check them out and head to Amazon before the end of the day to place an order if you're interested.
Remember that all of these sales will last for today only, March 5, and expire later tonight. For more information on the latest sales, head to our full Deals Roundup.
With foldable smartphones from the likes of Samsung and Huawei now out in the open, speculation has been piqued over whether Apple will follow suit. We know the company has explored ideas related to foldable phones in patent applications, but Apple is unlikely to release a foldable iPhone unless it can meet strict quality standards, and judging by the bulky designs and expensive price tags of early foldable devices, that could still be some ways off.
Huawei Mate X
One innovation in particular that Apple could be holding out for is foldable glass. Early folding phone manufacturers have been relying on plastic polymers to make their flexible displays, but unlike glass, plastic creases and crinkles over time. The material is also less robust and easier to scratch, which is why the deviation from traditional glass smartphone panels is all the more noticeable.
Corning, the makers of Gorilla Glass, is known to be actively developing a foldable glass solution that could one day find its way into a future foldable iPhone. Corning is a long-time Apple supplier, and its Gorilla Glass products have been used in the iPhone and the iPad for several years, which makes its current work on glass that's 0.1mm thick and can bend to a 5mm radius all the more interesting.
"In a glass solution, you're really challenging the laws of physics, in that to get a very tight bend radius you want to go thinner and thinner, but you also have to be able to survive a drop event and resist damage," Corning general manager John Bayne recently told Wired.
"The back of the problem we're trying to break, the technical challenge, is, can you keep those tight 3- to 5-millimeter bend radii and also increase the damage resistance of the glass. That's the trajectory we're on."
According to Wired, Corning is combining its experience with Willow Glass, which can roll up like a sheet of paper, and Gorilla Glass, which gets its strength from an ion-exchange process. Unfortunately, that process involves dipping glass into a molten salt solution, and salt corrodes the transistors found in display applications, which makes Willow Glass unsuitable for phones. Corning's work is currently focused on overcoming this challenge.
"We have glasses we've sampled to customers, and they're functional, but they're not quite meeting all the requirements," Bayne says. "People either want better performance against a drop event or a tighter bend radius. We can give them one or the other; the key is to give them both."
Bayne thinks the company's foldable glass will be ready for the mainstream in a couple of years. With a bit of luck, the $200 million that Apple granted Corning out of its $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund will help the U.S. company achieve that goal.
iFixit reports that Apple may have already taken steps to reduce the likelihood of 2018 MacBook Pro users experiencing display lighting issues dubbed Flexgate. Affected machines could see uneven lighting that looks like a "stage light" effect with the display potentially failing completely over time.
iFixit was tipped off by MacRumors forum user Olivia88 posting in our Flexgate megathread that their 2018 13" MacBook Pro appeared to have a longer cable than previous models. iFixit confirmed this finding:
Since we were just wrapping up writing the repair manual for the 2018 model anyway, we checked inside our 2018 15” MacBook Pro again to measure its cable against its 2016 predecessor—and found the 2018 cable was, in fact, a full 2mm longer. Since this change appears in both our 15” model and Olivia88’s 13” model, it’s plausible this change is present in multiple, if not all, 2018 MacBook Pros.
iFixit speculates that this could prevent some of the wear and tear that had previously caused the failure though they weren't able to say for certain.
Apple has yet to publicly acknowledge the issue, and our Flexgate guide covers what your options are if you are affected by this issue.
Apple recently acquired the patent portfolio of Lighthouse AI, a home security company that went out of business at the end of last year, reports London-based site IAM.
Lighthouse AI created in-home security cameras with people, pet, and facial recognition that used advanced AI techniques to distinguish adults from kids and to customize alerts. It also supported voice-based natural commands like "let me know if the kids aren't home by 4pm on weekdays" and "what did the kids do while I was out yesterday?"
Lighthouse had several patents that have been snapped up by Apple. Most include standard security camera features, but there are a couple that are related to the depth sensing technology that Lighthouse used. A list of granted and pending patents that Apple purchased (via AppleInsider) are below:
9,396,400: Computer-vision based security system using a depth camera
9,965,612: Method and system for visual authentication
10,009,554: Method and system for using light emission by a depth-sensing camera to capture video images under low-light conditions
20170032192: Computer-Vision Based Security System Using a Depth Camera
20180367962: Two-Way Communication Interface for Vision-Based Monitoring System
20180246964: Speech Interface for Vision-Based Monitoring System
20180374325: Method and System for Incident Sharing in a Monitoring System
Lighthouse ultimately went out of business because it was unable to compete in a crowded home security camera market where it was pitted against higher-profile companies like Ring, Nest, Logitech, and Arlo.
There have never been rumors suggesting Apple has an interest in creating a home security camera product, but some of the technology used by Lighthouse could be applied to other hardware. Apple already uses facial recognition technology in iPhones and iPads with the launch of Face ID, and it is rumored to be including 3D camera tech in 2020 iPhones and iPads.
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming iOS 12.2 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the third beta of iOS 12.2 and 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 the AirPlay icon, and introduced new Safari features, with a full list 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 iOS 12.2 update is likely to see several rounds of beta testing before it launches to the public.
Everything new in iOS 12.2 beta 4
- Apple News - Apple has introduced a new icon for Apple News with a simpler design featuring a stylized red N on a field of white.
- Control Center Remote icon - The Remote icon in Control Center now resembles a remote instead of using an Apple TV logo.
Update: Apple has also made the fourth beta of iOS 12.2 available to public beta testers.
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave 10.14.4 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the third macOS Mojave 10.14.4 beta and more than a month after releasing macOS Mojave 10.14.3.
The new macOS Mojave 10.14.4 beta can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after the proper profile has been installed from Apple's Developer Center.
macOS Mojave 10.14.4 brings Apple News to Canada for the first time, allowing Canadian Mac users to access news stories in French, English, or both.
The update also includes support for Safari AutoFill using Touch ID and automatic dark mode themes in Safari. That means if you have Dark Mode enabled, when you visit a website that has an option for a dark theme, it will be activated automatically. You can see a demo of the feature here.
macOS Mojave 10.14.4 will likely be in beta testing for the next several weeks as Apple refines features and works out bugs. After that, it will see a release alongside iOS 12.2, watchOS 5.2, and tvOS 12.2.
Update: Apple has also released a new 10.14.4 public beta for its public beta testers.
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 5.2 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the third watchOS 5.2 beta and over a month after releasing watchOS 5.1.3.
Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software update.
To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.
The watchOS 5.2 update introduces a set of new Hermès watch faces, as discovered by French site WatchGeneration. The watch faces are available in pink and blue, and feature a gradient-style design that changes much like other Hermès watch faces. There are customizable numbers and an option for a single complication.
There were no other major changes discovered in watchOS with the release of the first three betas, but we'll update this post should we find new features or major tweaks worth noting in the fourth.
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 12.2 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the third beta and more than a month after releasing the tvOS 12.1.2 update.
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 12.2 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode. Once the initial beta has been downloaded, subsequent betas can be installed over the air.
tvOS 12.2, paired with iOS 12.2, lets users ask Siri to play specific media on an Apple TV from an iOS device. You can, for example, ask Siri to play Modern Family on the TV in the living room, or Pitch Perfect on the TV in the bedroom. This works for music and TV shows, and movies.
No other new features were discovered in the tvOS 12.2 beta as of yet, and it can be difficult to determine what's new because Apple does not provide release notes for tvOS betas or releases. If additional features are discovered in tvOS 12.2, we'll update this post.
Update: Apple has also made the new beta of tvOS 12.2 available to its public beta testing group.
Encryption should not provide an "unfettered space" for criminals to hide behind, FBI Director Christopher Wray said today in an interview at the 
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