MacRumors

Apple this morning shared a new support document explaining how OLED displays work and that it is normal to see some screen burn-in over time and shifts in color when looking at the iPhone display from an off-angle.

According to Apple, when you look at an OLED display from a side angle, you may see shifts in color and hue, something that's a "characteristic of OLED" and "normal behavior."

Apple says that with extended long-term use, OLED displays can show "slight visual changes," which is also considered normal. The iPhone X has been engineered to be the "best in industry" at reducing burn-in effects, but Apple's support document suggests burn-in is still a problem that some users could potentially see over time.

This is also expected behavior and can include "image persistence" or "burn-in," where the display shows a faint remnant of an image even after a new image appears on the screen. This can occur in more extreme cases such as when the same high contrast image is continuously displayed for prolonged periods of time. We've engineered the Super Retina display to be the best in the industry in reducing the effects of OLED "burn-in."

With Apple referring to burn-in as normal behavior, it's not clear how this issue will be treated should it occur in terms of the one-year iPhone X warranty or extended AppleCare+ coverage. Typically, issues that Apple considers normal are not covered.

Apple's wording suggests screen burn-in is going to be a rare occurrence, but Apple does suggest users avoid displaying static images at maximum brightness for long periods of time. If there's an app that keeps the display on when the iPhone X is not in active use, the brightness level should be temporarily reduced using Control Center.

Making sure the iPhone X's display is set to go to sleep after a short period of time will also help prevent any burn-in issues, as it generally happens when the same image is on the display for a long time. Apple recommends setting Auto Lock to "a shorter time."

The iPhone X is now widely available across the United States, but some new iPhone X owners aren't able to start using their new phones due to carrier activation issues and congestion.

On the MacRumors forums, a number of AT&T users are complaining about activation problems, and there are also reports of activation issues on Twitter and reddit. Some AT&T customers are seeing long wait times for the activation process before it eventually fails with an error message.

The issue appears to be due to heavy congestion with so many new devices being released into the wild at once. Several of our readers have been able to get the activation process to work after multiple attempts, while others have gotten it to work after a restart or via iTunes. From MacRumors reader anthonymoody:

I called Apple. As another person posted, they had me shut down (hold the large button right side, then swipe to shut down) and restart (hold large button right side). It still didn't work. Told me to call AT&T, which I did. They confirmed their servers are slammed but gave me the automated activation phone number. I called it, system said it was activated (!) But still no joy on the phone itself.

I swapped SIMs with my prior phone...still no joy.

Connected to iTunes and after having to restart the process several times owed to errors (guessing servers getting slammed) I was FINALLY able to get it going - in fact it update to 11.1 and restored from an iOS 11.1 back up in one shot.

While most of the reports seem to be coming from AT&T users, there are also scattered reports from Verizon customers who are seeing activation problems.

Unfortunately, there appears to be no fix at this time beyond waiting or attempting the activation process over and over again. The problem should start to clear up later today as the servers become less crowded, but Apple and/or affected carriers may also be able to implement some kind of fix.

We'll update this post should we hear reports of the congestion clearing up.

Update: Verizon says that customers who purchased a Verizon iPhone X are not experiencing activation issues, but we have heard some reports from Verizon users who are indeed having problems. Verizon activation issues do not seem to be as prevalent as AT&T activation issues, though.

Update: AT&T says the activation problem is fixed. AT&T's statement: "Some of our customers experienced a delay activating their iPhone X. The issue was not specific to our customers and is resolved."

With the iPhone X now in the hands of Apple customers worldwide, Apple today uploaded a new iPhone X Guided Tour video to its YouTube channel, which is designed to provide an overview of all the new features in the iPhone X.

The four minute video covers a wide range of topics, including Face ID, Animoji, Apple Pay, and the list of new gestures that are needed to navigate through the iOS 11 interface on the new device.

Apple has used Guided Tours to help users adjust to new devices for years. When the iPad launched in 2010, Apple debuted several iPad Guided Tours, and Guided Tours were also used to walk users through the new features available on the Apple Watch when it launched in 2015. There were even Guided Tours for the original iPhone in 2007.

Guided Tours for the iPhone haven't been used for several years now, but because the iPhone X is such a radical departure from previous iPhones, there's a lot to get used to. The interface is entirely different because there's no Home button, and Face ID is also an adjustment for those used to Touch ID.

Developers and public beta testers who installed the iOS 11.2 beta on their devices earlier this week will be disappointed to learn that there's no iOS 11.2 beta for the iPhone X as of yet, and therefore no way to restore from an existing iOS 11.2 backup on a new iPhone X.

If you're running iOS 11.2 on your existing iPhone and create an iCloud backup, that backup is not going to be compatible with the iPhone X.

New iPhone X owners who want to restore from a backup will need to wait for Apple to release a version of iOS 11.2 for the iPhone X or downgrade back down to iOS 11.1.

It's not entirely clear when Apple plans to release a beta of iOS 11.2 for the iPhone X.

It could happen today now that the iPhone X is out in the wild and there are customers who can't restore, but Apple could also choose to wait until it's time for the second beta to be released, which means public beta testers and developers will be left over the weekend without a restore option.

The other alternative to restoring is to set a device up as new, but that requires re-downloading all apps and re-entering a lot of information, which is a time consuming process.

Out of the box, iPhone X models appear to have iOS 11.0.1 installed, so the iOS 11.1 update will need to be installed over-the-air or via iTunes after opening it up. When restoring from an iOS 11.1 backup onto an iPhone X, it appears the iOS 11.1 update will be installed on the device automatically.

Update: Apple has released a new beta of iOS 11.2 for the iPhone X.

Apple has revealed that "face with tears of joy" is the most popular emoji among English speakers in the United States.

The face topped Apple's list of the top 10 emoji, ahead of a red heart, loudly crying face, heart eyes face, face throwing a kiss, face with rolling eyes, skull, smiling face with smiling eyes, weary face, and thinking face.

Apple's chart isn't labeled, much to the disappointment of anyone who was desperately seeking emoji statistics.

Apple's list of the top 10 emoji is mostly consistent with public data available from Emojipedia and EmojiTracker, with the skull being an exception, according to Unicode's Emoji Subcommittee vice-chair Jeremy Burge.

Apple shared the chart in a recently published overview of its differential privacy technology on macOS Sierra and iOS 10 and later, which allows the company to collect and aggregate anonymized data from a large number of users while preserving the privacy of individual users.

The differential privacy technology used by Apple is rooted in the idea that statistical noise that is slightly biased can mask a user's individual data before it is shared with Apple. If many people are submitting the same data, the noise that has been added can average out over large numbers of data points, and Apple can see meaningful information emerge.

Apple says it uses local differential privacy to help protect the privacy of user activity in a given time period, while still gaining insight that improves the intelligence and usability of iOS and macOS features such as:

• QuickType suggestions
• Emoji suggestions
• Lookup Hints
• Safari Energy Draining Domains
• Safari Autoplay Intent Detection (macOS High Sierra)
• Safari Crashing Domains (iOS 11)
• Health Type Usage (iOS 10.2)

Apple has specifically developed a technique known in the academic world as "local differential privacy":

Local differential privacy guarantees that it is difficult to determine whether a certain user contributed to the computation of an aggregate by adding slightly biased noise to the data that is shared with Apple. But before adding this noise, it's necessary to define a data structure that captures a sketch of user input with a small number of bits. Apple currently makes use of two specific techniques.

In iOS, information being shared with Apple for the categories of data that are protected using Differential Privacy is visible under Settings > Privacy > Analytics > Analytics Data, in entries that begin with "DifferentialPrivacy."

In macOS, users can launch the Console app and view the information under the Differential Privacy category of System Reports.

Apple's differential privacy overview provides many more technical details about the technology, including info about the Count Mean Sketch technique that allows Apple to determine the most popular emoji.

Apple today celebrated the launch of the new iPhone X by sharing some images of customers around the world buying and trying out the smartphone for the first time.

Apple Stores globally open at 8:00 a.m. local time to allow customers to pick up their reserved devices and make walk-in purchases, and Apple posted pictures of customers at Apple Stores in Dubai, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Sydney.

Years in the making, the iPhone X (pronounced "iPhone 10"), is Apple's latest and most advanced flagship device to date, featuring a 5.8-inch OLED display, Face ID facial recognition, wireless inductive charging, and a faster A11 Bionic processor.

Initial demand for the smartphone appears to be strong, with long lines forming outside Apple Stores around Europe, Asia, and Australasia, following advice from the tech giant that people get to stores early if they want to be in with a chance of purchasing the smartphone on launch day.

Large queues have been seen in Singapore, Madrid, Amsterdam, Belfast, Edinburgh, and Liverpool. Outside the Apple Store in Regent Street, London, a line of several hundred people snaked right around the corner. Stores are just now beginning to open in the U.S., where queues were sighted across the country overnight and have been growing ever since.

The only exception seems to be in Belgium and France, where due to anti-terrorism restrictions, Apple is not selling the iPhone X to customers there without a pre-order or pickup reservation.

Meanwhile, customers in New Zealand and Australia were first to receive their shipped iPhone X pre-orders today thanks to time zone differences, and now customers across Asia and Europe have been following in kind.

In the United States, the first iPhone X deliveries will take place on the east coast starting at 8:00 a.m. iPhone X pricing starts at $999 for the 64GB model, with the 256GB model priced at $1,149.

Stay tuned to MacRumors for more coverage of the iPhone X launch throughout the day.

iFixit has completed an iPhone X teardown, providing a closer look inside the device, including its new TrueDepth camera system, stacked logic board, L-shaped two-cell battery pack, and Qi-based inductive charging coil.

Like every other model since the iPhone 7 Plus, the iPhone X is a sideways-opening device. A single bracket covers every logic board connector.

iFixit said the miniaturized logic board design is incredibly space efficient, with an unprecedented density of connectors and components. It noted the iPhone X logic board is about 70 percent of the size of the iPhone 8 Plus logic board.

The extra room allows for a new L-shaped two-cell battery pack rated for 2,716 mAh, which is slightly larger than the iPhone 8 Plus battery.

iFixit's teardown includes some high-resolution photos of the iPhone X's new TrueDepth camera system that powers Face ID and Animoji.

For those unfamiliar, a flood illuminator covers your face with infrared light. Next, the front-facing camera confirms a face. Then the IR dot projector projects a grid of dots over your face to create a three-dimensional map. Last, the infrared camera reads this map and sends the data to the iPhone X for authentication.

Like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, the inside of the iPhone X's rear shell is affixed with an inductive charging coil based on the Qi standard.

Other components in this iPhone X include Apple's custom A11 Bionic chip, 3GB of LPDDR4x RAM from SK Hynix, 64GB of flash storage supplied by Toshiba, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X16 LTE modem, and a Cirrus Logic audio amplifier.

Some minor changes: Apple's Taptic Engine continues to be a linear oscillator vibration motor, the earpiece speaker has been shifted down, and the Lighting connector is said to be more greatly reinforced with a wider bracket that screws into the sidewall of the iPhone X's stainless steel frame.

iFixit gave the iPhone X a so-called repairability score of six out of a possible 10 points. It said a cracked display can be replaced without removing Face ID's biometric hardware, but it added that fussy cables tie unrelated components together into complex assemblies that are expensive and troublesome to replace.

iPhone X shipping estimates have now improved to 3 to 4 weeks in the United States and Canada, up from a previous shipping estimate of 5 to 6 weeks.

The updated 3 to 4 week shipping estimate applies to all carriers, colors, and capacities, and it means that orders placed today will arrive right around the beginning of December rather than later in the month.

Earlier today, iPhone X shipping estimates improved to 3 to 4 weeks in countries Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, while shipping estimates were still at 5 to 6 weeks in North America, but now the iPhone X lists the 3 to 4 week shipping estimate in all first wave launch countries.

With shipping estimates improving, customers who have already placed an order for the iPhone X are also seeing their prospective delivery dates bumped up in many cases, and as available supply grows, delivery estimates should continue to improve further.

Just this afternoon, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple is working to increase production week by week to get the iPhone X to as many customers as possible as fast as possible.

As it's already November 3 in many countries around the world, the first iPhone X models are in the hands of customers. Apple's U.S. launch will kick off in the United States at 8:00 a.m. local time, with those on the east coast being the first to get the new devices.

Apple today reported revenue of $52.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $10.7 billion, or $2.07 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of its 2017 fiscal year.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri discussed the results on a conference call today. MacRumors has prepared a complete transcript of the call ahead.

Tim Cook

Good afternoon and thanks to everyone for joining us. As we close the books on a very successful fiscal 2017, I have to say I couldn't be more excited about Apple's future.

This was our biggest year ever in most parts of the world, with all-time record revenue in the United States, Western Europe, Japan, Korea, the Middle East, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and Asia. We had a particularly strong finish this year, generating our highest September quarter revenue ever, as year-over-year growth accelerated for the fourth consecutive quarter.

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With Apple focusing heavily on augmented reality in iOS 11 through ARKit, Apple CEO Tim Cook received several questions about AR during today's fourth quarter earnings call. He was, of course, questioned about augmented reality hardware, a question he dodged by explaining that Apple's all about the experience.

In terms of monetization of AR/VR, we focus first and foremost on customer experience. We're all about making sure the customer experience is great. We think if we get the experience right, revenue and profits will follow. We're very much focused on the experience right now.

On augmented reality in general, Cook said there are "fantastic" people at Apple who are working on incredible things, and that Apple is in a "unique position" to lead when it comes to augmented reality.

I view AR as profound. Not today, not the app you'll see on the App Store today, but what it will be, what it can be, I think it's profound, and I think Apple is in a really unique position to lead in this area.

Augmented reality "amplifies human performance instead of isolating humans," Cook explained. "It's a help for humanity, not an isolation kind of thing for humanity." He said the "very cool thing" about augmented reality apps is that they're "all over the place." There are more than 1,000 ARKit apps in the App Store now, across a wide range of categories like shopping, gaming, entertainment, and business.

"I see apps that make me want to go to K-12 again and repeat my schooling because it changes the game in the classroom," said Cook. "The real beauty is that [AR] is mainstream and, of course, Apple is the only company that could have brought this because it requires hardware/software integration." He went on to compare ARKit to the launch of the App Store in 2008 and its subsequent growth.

This is very much like in 2008 when we fired the gun in the App Store. That's what it feels like to me and I think it will just get bigger from here.

Though Cook focused heavily on software and Apple's existing augmented reality experiences during the call, rumors have suggested that Apple is exploring augmented reality hardware solutions that go beyond the iPhone, like a set of augmented reality smart glasses. Work on the smart glasses is said to be in the early stages, with many technical hurdles still to overcome, so a launch is not expected for quite some time.

The entirety of Apple's conference call is now available from Apple's website.

During today's earnings call for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on iPhone X demand. While he was unable to predict when Apple would reach supply/demand balance for the device, he said that Apple is ramping up output week by week and aiming to get the new smartphone out to customers "as soon as possible."

The ramp for the iPhone X is going well, especially considering that the iPhone X is the most advanced iPhone we've ever created and it has lots of new technology in it. So we're really happy that we're able to increase week by week what we're outputting and we're going to get as many of them as possible to customers as soon as possible.

Cook went on to say that iPhone X orders are "very strong" for both direct customers and the company's channel partners throughout the world and Apple is excited for the device to get into the hands of its customers.

"I'm told we had several hundred people waiting in Sydney," Cook said. "We're getting similar reports across that region."

Cook also commented on iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sales. He refused to talk about mix, but he said that when the two devices launched, they instantly became Apple's top two selling products. When it comes to the iPhone 8 Plus, for the period of time Apple can measure to date, it saw the fastest start of any Plus model. "That for us was a bit of a surprise," said Cook. "A positive surprise, obviously."

Cook said that it's difficult to predict how iPhone 8 and iPhone X sales will ultimately pan out because this is the first time Apple has offered three iPhones at the same time, and with the iPhone X just launching, it's just today that customers are able to take a look at all three products. "We'll see what happens there," said Cook.

On the topic of iPhone X pricing elasticity, Cook pointed out that many people pay for the iPhone month by month. At carrier prices that start somewhere around $33 per month, that's "less than a coffee a day at one of these nice coffee places." Customers are also increasingly trading in their devices, which offsets the cost of the device.

"It's important to put it in that context," Cook said. "We price for the value we're providing. We're not trying to charge the highest price we can get or anything, we're just trying to price it for what we're delivering."