MacRumors

Apple this afternoon joined several other tech companies to support a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Xavier Bercerra aiming to block the withdrawal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which United States President Donald Trump said would be phased out over the course of the next six months.

Apple employs more than 250 DACA holders or "Dreamers" across 28 states, Apple VP of People Deirdre O'Brien said in the company's filing, shared by Axios.

These talented and entrepreneurial people fill important and varied roles across the company, including in operations, research and development, administration, sales and marketing, and retail. Apple and its customers have benefitted greatly from their intelligence, ambition, creativity, resilience, and hard work. These employees are important contributors to Apple's unique culture. That unique culture enables employees throughout Apple to do the best work of their lives and excel at creating the most innovative products and providing the very best customer service.

Along with Apple, many other tech companies filed briefs in support of the legal challenge to prevent the end of DACA, including Microsoft, Google, IBM, Twitter, Salesforce, Dropbox, eBay, HP, LinkedIn, Reddit, PayPal, and more.

Following Trump's decision to phase out DACA, Cook sent an email to Apple employees pledging the company's support. Cook promised Apple would work with members of Congress to advocate for a legislative solution that will continue to protect the children of immigrants, and he said Apple is working with impacted Apple employees to provide support, including access to immigration experts.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple doesn't often introduce new default ringtones for the iPhone, but with the launch of the iPhone X, the company has added a new "Reflection" ringtone that's exclusive to its new flagship device.

Reflection, with its soft, mellow twinkling sound, is the new default ringtone on the device according to Forbes' David Phelan, who has an iPhone X review unit.

It's called Reflection and it sounds great. Because it's new, I missed two or three calls before I realized I'd been listening to my own phone ring. I mention this because it's the default ringtone and so you might miss it, too.

Developer Guilherme Rambo shared the audio for Reflection on Twitter, and a reddit user dug into the iOS 11.1 code and made a downloadable copy that can be installed on non-iPhone X devices.

A growing number of iOS 11 users have been encountering a strange predictive text bug over the course of the last few days, with the problem outlined on the MacRumors forums.

It seems some users are seeing "A[?]" as the first recommended predictive text word when using the iOS keyboard, and whenever "I" is typed, it autocorrects to A[?].

It's not clear what's causing the bug, but a fair number of MacRumors readers and Twitter users seem to be experiencing the problem. Not everyone is affected, though, and we have been unable to replicate the issue on our own devices.

It may potentially be linked to emoji, as a strange "I" character also appears under the frequently used emoji for some customers who are affected.

The problem seems to be affecting devices running both iOS 11.0.3 and iOS 11.1, and some users are also seeing the odd predictive text show up on Macs, too, as predictive text is available on all devices via iCloud.

Turning off predictive text is a reliable way of putting an end to the issue, as is using a third-party keyboard, but neither of these options are long term solutions for customers who want to use the full-featured built-in keyboard.

Resetting the keyboard dictionary does not appear to fix the issue, nor does a device restart or reset. One MacRumors reader who got in touch with Apple Support about the issue was told that Apple is aware of the problem and working on a fix.

Update: Apple's support staff is recommending customers affected by this bug use text replacement as a temporary workaround.

To do this, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Type in an uppercase "I" for the phrase, and a lowercase "i" as the replacement.

"Live at the Majestic," a new concert documentary starring indie rap artist Danny Brown, is Apple's latest exclusive film, set to debut on Apple Music on Tuesday, November 7. Apple shared a trailer for the new documentary on its YouTube channel today.

Danny Brown "Live at the Majestic" is Andrew Cohn's new concert documentary featuring the uniquely indie, Detroit rap star. The documentary takes you behind the scenes as the famed rapper prepares to take the stage at the Majestic Theatre in his very own hometown. Like any return to the place you grew up, the journey is filled with hilarious stories of youthful misdeeds, wrestling with a new and more honest assessment of home and a deeper understanding of yourself. What Cohn delivers is both an intimate and poignant conversation with Brown and a wholly entertaining rock doc featuring explosive concert footage.

In addition to featuring a behind-the-scenes look at Brown's concert at the Majestic, the documentary, which was filmed over the course of two years, will feature footage from his early days, the creation of his 2011 album, "XXX," and commentary from fans.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.2 update to its public beta testing group, one day after seeding the tvOS 11.2 update to developers. tvOS 11.2 comes just after the release of tvOS 11.1, the first update to tvOS 11.

The tvOS 11.2 public beta can be obtained by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.

According to Apple's release notes, the tvOS 11.2 update enables a new AVDisplayManager feature for developers, designed to allow the device to automatically switch video display modes to match the native frame rate and dynamic range of video content.

The update includes support for switching the Apple TV 4K display output to SDR for apps that are GPU-bound when running in HDR and it re-introduces the Unwatched category in Home Sharing for Movies, TV Shows, and Home Videos.

Apple says it also adds new features, bug fixes, and security improvements to the tvOS operating system.

Apple today updated its GarageBand for iOS app to version 2.3, bringing support for the Super Retina OLED display of the iPhone X and introducing a new Sound Library designed to let users download additional free instruments, loops, and sound packs.

Apple highlighted the new update in a Newsroom press release that goes over all of the new features.

With the GarageBand Sound Library users can now preview and download new Apple-designed sounds and instruments right within the app. These free, downloadable sound packs contain a variety of Touch Instruments, Apple loops, Live Loops templates, guitar and instrument presets and more. Users can access the Sound Library from multiple places within GarageBand and will receive alerts when new sound packs are available. Initial sound packs include Future Bass, Reggaeton, Beat Sequencer kits, guitar amp tones and more. New sound packs will be released periodically by Apple.

There are three new Drummers in Pop, Songwriter, and Latin styles, along with support for new traditional instruments from China and Japan like the Guzheng, Koto, and Taiko drums. GarageBand users can also use the Beat Sequencer to create music inspired by classic drum machines, and there is an iMessage sticker pack with GarageBand instrument icons.

Along with support for the iPhone's display, the update allows GarageBand to work with the Files app in iOS 11 for expanded sharing and storage, plus there's a new larger Audio Unit Extensions view for use with compatible third-party instruments. Full release notes for the update are below:

- Updated for Super Retina display on iPhone X
- Use the new Sound Library to download additional free instruments, loops and sound packs
- Adds 3 Drummers who play percussion in the styles of Pop, Songwriter, and Latin*
- Play and record using traditional instruments from China and Japan, including the Guzheng, Koto and Taiko drums*
- Build grooves inspired by classic electronic drum machines with the Beat Sequencer
- Support for expanded sharing and storage options with the Files app in iOS 11
- Enables a larger Audio Unit Extensions view for compatible third-party instruments and effects
- Recording, mixing and exporting a song can be done at 24-bit audio resolution
- Includes iMessage sticker pack that adds GarageBand instrument icons
- Provides stability improvements and bug fixes

Apple has also updated its Logic Remote app for iOS devices with support for the iPhone X's display and touch instrument controls like guitar, bass, drums, and chord strips.

GarageBand can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Logic Remote, which works with Logic Pro X, MainStage, and GarageBand on Mac can also be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

As we get closer to the holidays, iTunes gift card discounts are beginning to get more frequent, and today the latest sale comes from Amazon. The online retailer has marked down the $50 App Store and iTunes gift card by 15 percent in its U.S. store, so you can get the $50 credit added to your account for just $42.50 while supplies last. The gift cards are physical versions and are limited to 1 per order.

No other price tiers for the gift card are on sale as of now, so the $25, $100, and $200 options are all priced as expected. Like with any App Store and iTunes gift card, you can spend the money on an Apple Music subscription, app downloads or in-app purchases, iBooks, iTunes movies and tv shows, and more.

If you're looking for any more sales going on this week, make sure to check out our Deals Roundup.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon.

Amazon is preparing its customers for the busy holiday shopping season, posting a detailed plan today on how it aims to help you get the items you want through Alexa voice shopping, curated gift guides, and a new "AR View" in the official Amazon iOS app. AR View was built using Apple's augmented reality developer framework called ARKit, and the company said it's meant to help customers "make better shopping decisions."

Similar to IKEA Place, Amazon's AR View lets you place virtual versions of real-world products sold on Amazon right into your home, helping you decide whether or not you like the item in a specific living space before you buy it. AR View can be found on the camera icon in the Amazon iOS app, which now has a new "AR View" option. Then you can select from "thousands of items" sold on Amazon, which includes home furniture, toys, Echo products, kitchen electronics, decor, and more.

Amazon’s latest augmented reality offering within the Amazon App launched today for customers with iOS 11 installed on their iPhone 6S or later. Using Apple’s ARKit, AR view helps customers make better shopping decisions by allowing them to visualize the aesthetic and fit of products in their own living space. Customers simply open the Amazon App, click on the camera icon and choose AR view.

They can then select from thousands of items – from living room, bedroom, kitchen and home office products to electronics, toys and games, home décor and more. Whether customers are buying a sofa or a kitchen appliance, they can overlay it onto their existing living space, move it and rotate it to get a full 360-degree peek in a live camera view to make sure it fits their style and aesthetic.

ARKit debuted in iOS 11 in September, and you'll need an iPhone 6s or later running iOS 11 to use the new AR View feature in Amazon's iOS app. Target also launched an augmented reality shopping feature last week, but it wasn't in its iOS app and instead debuted in the Target mobile website. Additionally, Target's new "See It In Your Space" option doesn't use ARKit.

When Apple announced the iPhone X on September 12, the company also unveiled a new type of iPhone case called the "Leather Folio case," which has been specifically designed for iPhone X. Similar to existing wallet-style cases, the $99 Leather Folio accessory features a front cover that protects the iPhone X's screen when you aren't using it, and a few slots for cards or money.

Now that customers are beginning to get their iPhone X accessories in the mail ahead of the smartphone's launch on Friday, November 3, a few unboxing and hands-on videos have been posted on YouTube this week. The first video was posted by Walking Talking Tech, and focused on the iPhone X Leather Folio case in Taupe.

You can purchase the iPhone X Leather Folio case on Apple.com for $99. As of writing, shipping estimates for Taupe and Black sit at around one week, while Cosmos Blue and Berry are a bit longer at 2-3 weeks. If you're interested in a more traditional case, Apple also sells the iPhone X Silicone Case ($39) and iPhone X Leather Case ($49).