In this week’s top stories: Everything Apple announced at its October event, iOS 12.1 is here, we spend some time with the iPhone XR, and more. Read on for all of this week’s top Apple stories below.
After a full month of speculation, Apple officially held its October event this week in Brooklyn. The event brought the introduction of a new Retina MacBook Air, a new Mac mini, and a pair of new iPad Pros.
The Retina MacBook Air starts at $1,199 in price and is available in three colors for the first time: silver, space gray, and gold. Under the hood, it’s powered by an 8th-gen Intel Core i5 process with 8GB of RAM. You get Touch ID, Apple’s T2 security chip, USB-C, and a Butterfly keyboard, as well.
Meanwhile, the new Mac mini is available solely in space gray and by default is powered by a quad-core processor. There’s also the option to upgrade to a six-core processor if you need more power. Much like the MacBook Air, you get Apple’s T2 security chip. The Mac mini starts at $799.
Rounding out the hardware announcements of this week is the new iPad Pro lineup. As expected, the new iPad Pro is available in 11-inch and 12.9-inch form factors with no Home button and Face ID support. The display stretches further to the edges this time around, and Apple has released a new Smart Keyboard Folio and Apple Pencil to accompany the new iPad Pro.
The new 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799, while the 12.9-inch starts at $999.
This week also marked the release of iOS 12.1, as well as the beginning of the iOS 12.1.1 beta testing period. iOS 12.1 includes new features such as dual-SIM support, Group FaceTime, new Emoji, and more.
Last but not least, Apple reported its Q4 earnings this week. The company generated $62.9b in revenue and $14.12b profit from 46.89m iPhones, 9.69m iPads, and 5.3m Macs sold. Read our full coverage here.
These and the rest of this week’s top Apple stories below…
iOS | macOS | tvOS | watchOS |
- iOS 12.1, tvOS 12.1, watchOS 5.1, macOS 10.14.1, and HomePod 12.1 updates now available
- How to use Group FaceTime on iPhone and iPad
- Some Apple Watch users experiencing bricked devices after updating to watchOS 5.1
- How to enable eSIM and Dual SIM on iPhone XS or iPhone XR
- FaceTime Live Photos returns in iOS 12.1.1, flip camera UI improved
- Apple releases Shortcuts 2.1 with new Weather & Clock features, more
iPhone |
- Upgraded Face ID coming to 2019 iPhone, new iPads to arrive by early 2020, says Kuo
- iFixit teardown says iPhone XR is the ‘lost iPhone 9,’ combines best of iPhone 8 & iPhone X
- Analysts disagree on iPhone XR sales: half of iPhone sales, or less than iPhone XS/Max
- Apple adds iPhone 5 to list of ‘vintage and obsolete’ products
iPad Pro |
- Apple unveils all-new 2018 iPad Pro with full-screen design, new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio
- Geekbench scores for new iPad Pro surface, rivals 2018 MacBook Pro performance
- Download the colorful new iPad Pro wallpapers for your device right here [Gallery]
- The 2018 iPad Pro models are a downgrade in one respect …
- Which iPad should you buy? Here’s how Apple’s lineup compares in price
- iPad Pro Diary: The folio case just arrived, and my decision is already almost made
Mac |
- After 1475 days of waiting, Apple unveils new Mac mini: quad-core, >32 GB RAM, all SSDs
- Apple unveils new MacBook Air with Retina display, Touch ID, USB-C, more
- Which MacBook should you buy? Here’s how the Retina MacBook Air compares to the rest of the lineup
- Opinion: The 2018 MacBook Air is the iPhone X’s ASP strategy all over again
- New MacBook Pros with Radeon Pro Vega Graphics coming next month
- First Retina MacBook Air unboxing videos show color-matched Apple stickers, 30W charger, more
- Retina MacBook Air Geekbench tests show modest improvements over 2017 model & 12-inch MacBook
Apple Watch |
- Apple Watch ECG will be limited by system region settings, can be changed to enable use outside US
- Stanford says over 400k people joined Apple Watch Heart Study, full completion expected early 2019
- Next Apple Watch Activity Challenge set for Veterans Day on November 11th
Top Apple stories, retail |
- How ‘Today at Apple’ is becoming an unsung hero that can’t be cloned
- Apple promotes creativity at upcoming Champs-Élysées store: ‘Open to your wildest ideas’
- Gallery: Apple fans gather at stores around the world to watch today’s special event
- Today at Apple adding 60 new sessions including Photo Walks, Design Labs, more
- Report cites fraud, bureaucracy, increased competition as key factors in slowed Chinese Apple retail expansion
- Remembering Apple Carrousel du Louvre, France’s first Apple store
Top Apple stories, company |
- Apple Event News Hub: iPad Pro, Macs, much more
- Apple launches vintage repair pilot program to fix aging iPhones, MacBooks and more
- New maxed out iPad Pro hits $1900, Mac mini up to $4200, MacBook Air to $2600
- Apple announces Q4 2018 revenue of $62.9b: 46.89m iPhones, 9.69m iPads, 5.3m Macs, next quarter guidance $89-93b
- Apple will stop reporting unit sales for iPhone, iPad and Mac from next quarter
- Live blog: Apple’s fiscal Q4 2018 earnings call
Subscribe to 9to5Mac’s YouTube channel for more videos.
This week’s top videos |
- 10 ways the iPhone XR is worse than the iPhone XS [Video]
- Top iPhone XR features – best bang for the buck? [Video]
9to5Mac Daily |
Listen to a recap of the top Apple news 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: October 29, 2018
- 9to5Mac Daily: October 30, 2018 – Apple Mac and iPad Pro event recap
- 9to5Mac Daily: October 31, 2018
- 9to5Mac Daily: November 2, 2018
Happy Hour Podcast #197 |
This week Benjamin and Zac discuss Apple’s October 30th event and the new MacBook Air, Mac mini, iPad Pro, and much 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.
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: Thoughts on iPad apps, web apps, and the move to subscriptions
- Making The Grade: The laptop I hope Apple announces at its upcoming event
- Making The Grade: How I recovered a stolen iPad thanks to Jamf Pro and Apple’s Device Enrollment Program
- Making The Grade: What do you do with old laptops and iPads?
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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.
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