This week’s top stories: iPhone X vs Note 9, excerpt from ex-Apple engineer’s new book, more

In this week’s top stories: The iPhone X bests Samsung’s shiny new Galaxy Note 9 flagship, iOS 12 beta 6 is released, Logitech unveils a sleek new wireless charger for iPhone, and much more. Read on as we round up all of this week’s top stories…

Samsung this week took the wraps off of its latest Galaxy Note 9 flagship device. While the device boasts some powerful internal specs, early benchmarks show that the iPhone X is still able to come out ahead. What the means for real-world usage remains to be seen, but the tests certainly show the power of Apple’s A-series chips, and just how well iOS is optimized for them.

Meanwhile, Apple made changes to its checkout process online and in its Apple Store app. Now, when checking out, customers can use the Apple GiveBack program to instantly offset the cost of buying a new device:

Apple has updated its website with a new GiveBack interface to make upgrading devices easier than ever. Located on the “Buy” pages for all of its products, customer will now see a prompt and a link asking if they have a device to trade in.

A report out of China this week suggests that the dual-SIM model of the 6.1-inch LCD ‘iPhone 9’ will be exclusive to China. If it turns out to come to fruition, this would mean there would be two models of the 6.1-inch LCD device: a dual-SIM model for China and one with a single SIM card slot  for the rest of the world.

Last but not least, we shared an exclusive excerpt from an upcoming book called “Creative Selection” from ex-Apple engineer Ken Kocienda. In the excerpt, Kocienda describes what went into designing the iPhone software keyboard. Be sure to read it right here.

These and the rest of this week’s top stories below…

iOS | macOS | tvOS | watchOS |

• iOS 12 developer beta 6 for iPhone and iPad coming today (U: Out now)
• Facebook plots rollout of ‘Dating’ feature to its main app, but it plans to be cautious
• Four features I’d love to see come to Mail on iOS

iPhone | 

• iPhone X outperforms Samsung’s brand new 6.4-inch Galaxy Note 9
• Samsung awkwardly pits Note 9 against iPhone X performance in new ‘Ingenius’ ads
• Logitech unveils ‘Powered’ iPhone 8 & iPhone X wireless charging stand designed w/ Apple
• Report: 6.1-inch LCD ‘iPhone 9’ model with dual-SIM to be exclusive to China
• Exclusive excerpt from upcoming book by ex-Apple engineer explores first iPhone software keyboard design process
• Apple chipmaker TSMC hit by virus attack, taking down production at multiple factories

Apple Watch | iPad | 

• Apple Watch detected blood clots, says writer, and now helping him beat diabetes
• Coach refreshes summer Apple Watch band, 50% off previous releases
• PSA: First jailbreak for Apple Watch released, but it doesn’t mean much for users yet
• iOS 12 beta 5 hints at rounded corners for this year’s iPad Pro

Tech Industry |

• Sonos exec explains why the Play:1 and other older speakers won’t get AirPlay 2 support
• Samsung unveils 6.4-inch Galaxy Note 9, new Apple Watch and HomePod competitors
• Dept of Homeland Security discovers security flaws in millions of US smartphones
• T-Mobile tops customer satisfaction survey, Sprint comes in last ahead of merger
• MoviePass drops price hike … and its unlimited plan

AAPL Company |

• After stint at Tesla, Doug Field returns to Apple to work on Project Titan w/ Bob Mansfield
• Apple pushes GiveBack program with trade-ins now worth instant credit toward new iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac
• Apple asks Indian regulator not to ban iPhones in spam row, gets hostile response
• Tim Cook thanks employees in memo following record-setting $1 trillion market cap
• European Union threatens to get tough on Apple and others for non-standard ports

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This week’s top video |

• Review: SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD – fast enough for 4K workflows [Video]
• Hands-on: iOS 12 beta 6 changes and features [Video]

Happy Hour Podcast #184 |

This week Benjamin and Zac discuss using the Keyboard Service Program for MacBook, experience with the 2018 MacBook Pro including True Tone and “Hey Siri” features, Apple Music’s new Friends Mix playlist, 9to5Mac’s exclusive excerpt from the upcoming ‘Creative Selection’ book, Competitions and Pace Alerts on watchOS 5, features Apple’s Activity needs to borrow from Nike Run Club, and more.

9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

9to5Mac Daily |

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

• 9to5Mac Daily: August 10, 2018
• 9to5Mac Daily: August 9, 2018
• 9to5Mac Daily: August 7, 2018
• 9to5Mac Daily: August 6, 2018

Making The Grade |

Making The Grade is a weekly series from Bradley Chambers covering Apple in education. Bradley has been managing Apple devices in an education environment since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing 100s of Macs and 100s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple’s products work at scale, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for students.

• Making The Grade: USB-C is the standard IT departments need
• Making The Grade: How I use iPad and Kinderlime to manage after-school care
• Making The Grade: iPad accessories for the classroom
• Making The Grade: Could Apple own IoT in the enterprise with HomeKit for Work?
• Making the Grade: Could HomePod and Siri have a place in the classroom?
• Making The Grade: Apple’s biggest mistake in K-12 happened in 2006

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Featured in top image: Dell 38-inch UltraSharp Curved Monitors, Grovemade’s Desk Shelf System, Nixie Tube Clock, Apogee Quartet, KRK VXT6 Studio Monitor speakers, Classicbot Classic Vintage Mac Toy. Read about the setup over on 9to5Toys as part of the ‘Behind the Screens’ series.