This week’s top stories: Apple’s education event & iOS 11.3, new Apple Watch design this year, a gold iPhone X, more

In this week’s top stories: Apple unveils a new iPad and new software at its education event, the public release of iOS 11.3, rumors of a new iPhone X color and a new Apple Watch design, and more. Read below for all of this week’s top stories…

The big news of the week was, of course, Apple’s education event. Tim Cook graced the stage in Chicago to announces a slew of new software programs for educators, as well as a new iPad. The new iPad features Apple Pencil support, a first for a non-Pro iPad. Recap everything the company announced at the event in our full roundup right here.

In addition to the new iPad, Apple this week also made its spring Apple Watch bands available for order, as well as new cases for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Pencil. Furthermore, the company is now selling the space gray iMac Pro accessories separately.

Elsewhere this week, Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities shared a new report in which he says Apple will overhaul the Apple Watch form factor this year with a 15 percent bigger display. The report was overhaul rather vague, but we should expect to hear more about Apple Watch Series 4 later this year.

Reports of a new iPhone X color option continued this week, with Japanese news outlet Macotakara indicating that Apple has a new gold color shade planned to give the device a mid-year sales bump. Renders this week also imagined a PRODUCT(RED) iPhone X color.

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

iOS | macOS | tvOS | watchOS

• iOS 11.3 with new Animoji, iPhone throttling controls, much more coming today (U: Now available)
• watchOS 4.3 for Apple Watch coming today with iPhone Music control, smarter Siri watch face, more (U: Now available)
• Apple releases macOS 10.13.4 update for High Sierra with iMac Pro wallpaper, enhanced eGPU support
• tvOS 11.3 for Apple TV 4 and Apple TV 4K now available, adds frame rate matching to fourth-gen
• Apple releasing first HomePod software update alongside iOS 11.3 today (U: Now available)
• How to check battery health and disable iPhone battery performance throttling in iOS 11.3
• iOS 11.3 suggests new Pride face coming to Apple Watch
• New ‘Music Videos’ section appears in Apple Music ahead of iOS 11.3 release
• State of eGPU: Apple introduces official eGPU support in macOS 10.13.4, internal display acceleration opt-in
• Hands-on with Business Chat for iMessage in iOS 11.3 and macOS 10.13.4

iPad edu event |

• Here’s everything Apple announced at its education event today
• New 2018 iPad now available for in-store pickup at Apple and Best Buy
• Live Blog: 9to5Mac coverage from inside Apple’s education event
• Apple unveils new 9.7-inch iPad with Apple Pencil support + A10 Fusion chip at education event
• Report: Apple planning new iPhone X color option to ‘restore sales’
• Apple announces students to get 200GB of iCloud storage for free
• Apple bringing Classroom to Mac, reveals new ClassKit framework coming in iOS 11.4 & Schoolwork app
• Logitech announces $49 Crayon stylus, cheaper alternative to Apple Pencil
• Apple announces new versions of iWork with Apple Pencil integration, built in book authoring

iPhone | 

• Analyst: iPhone X Plus to start at $999 as refreshed iPhone X drops to $899
• Here’s what a PRODUCT(RED) iPhone X could look like [Video]
• iPhone LCD supplier Japan Display scrambling as future high-end iPhones adopt OLED displays
• Chinese authorities catch suspects who used drones to smuggle $80M worth of iPhones from Hong Kong

Apple Watch |

• KGI: New Apple Watch models later this year with new design, ~15% bigger display
• Apple begins accepting certain Apple Watch trade-ins at retail locations
• New spring 2018 Apple Watch bands and configurations now available

Accessories |

• Space gray Mac accessories now sold separately from iMac Pro
• Huawei’s FreeBuds are a pretty blatant copy of Apple’s AirPods; claim twice the battery life
• The best USB-C power packs for iPhone, iPad, and MacBook
• Griffin announces new PowerBlock Wireless Charging Pad for iPhone with 15% off launch price

CarPlay |

• Mazda announces CarPlay for 2018 & 2019 cars, teases retrofit accessory for earlier models
• Toyota expands its standard CarPlay offerings with 2019 RAV4 and Corolla Hatchback
• Lexus and Honda announce new CarPlay-equipped models, Lexus available on subscription

AAPL Company |

• Interview: Apple logo creator Rob Janoff on making timeless work, fielding criticism, and what makes a good designer
• Apple shares new developer tools that will help users delete, restrict, and export iCloud data
• Tim Cook schools Facebook on privacy, talks upcoming campus and education strategy in new interview

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This week’s top video |

• How to use the new drawing & Smart Annotation features in Pages on iPad [Video]
• FCP X Tips 001: How to create custom zoom area effects for 4K content [Video]
• How to update your HomePod to the latest software version [Video]

Happy Hour Podcast #165 |

This week Benjamin and Zac share thoughts on Apple’s March education event where the new 9.7-inch iPad with Apple Pencil support was unveiled, new Apple Watch Series 4 rumors that claim a new design is coming with more screen, and the launch of iOS 11.3, watchOS 4.3, and other software updates.

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 052 | Apple Education Event Takeaways
• 9to5Mac Daily 053 | March 29, 2018
• 9to5Mac Daily 054 | March 30, 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: What’s lacking in Apple’s Deployment Model for iPads?
• Making The Grade: Making sense of Apple’s current MacBook line for education
• Making The Grade: Apple needs an Identity Management Solution to take over schools
• Making The Grade: Why Apple’s education strategy is not based on reality

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