Benjamin Mayo

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple’s flagship 2019 lineup will feature three models, including 2 OLED and 1 LCD variant. The high-end ‘iPhone 11’ (iPhone 11 Max?) will feature a triple rear camera system. The successor to the iPhone XR, with LCD screen panel, will be upgraded from a single rear lens to a dual-camera system.

The triple camera system is visualised in this render from last weekend, which is meant to be based on iPhone 11 prototypes. The Journal’s story today corroborates that previous leak.

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Apple today launched support for turn-by-turn directions in Apple Maps for India, an emerging market that Apple has pinpointed for future growth potential.

Now, Indian iPhone customers or tourists can get precise routing throughout the country. Apple also launched support for ride-hailing apps Uber and Ola, so you can request rides from inside of Maps using the two biggest taxi app in India.

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The iPhone XR has firmly taken over the iPhone XS in usage, according to data from Mixpanel. Although Apple seems to be struggling to meet targets on sales across the iPhone line, the relative sales of the XR now means it has overtaken the 5.8-inch iPhone XS, which had a one month sales lead.

However, the iPhone XS Max continues to hold a sizeable lead despite being the most expensive option.

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Connected camera manufacturer Arlo has been a HomeKit partner for a while with the Arlo baby monitor. At CES, Arlo has announced that its existing 1080p home security camera system, Arlo Pro 2, will add HomeKit this quarter with a free software update.

The company also announces availability for its a new 4K indoor/outdoor Arlo Ultra security camera system, which you can order now from $399. The Ultra will also be upgraded with HomeKit integration soon.

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As reported by TechCrunch, Apple is pushing HomeKit hard at CES this year. It coordinated with manufacturers to demo key new HomeKit smart home announcements to the tech press ..,

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Following the Samsung Smart TV announcement earlier today (and now Vizio), Apple has updated its AirPlay page to give a bit more detail on the newly-unveiled AirPlay 2 integration with television sets. Apple says AirPlay 2 will be available on TVs by leading manufacturers, suggesting more manufacturers beyond Samsung will be announcing their support.

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The rumors for the 2019 iPhone haven’t really kicked into full gear yet, however reliable leaker Onleaks partnered with Digit.in to provide renders of what he believes are legitimate 2019 iPhone prototypes.

The images show that the new iPhone would feature three cameras on the back, in a particularly strange aesthetic arrangement, housed in a huge camera square bump. The middle of the three cameras is positioned out of line with the other two, and the camera is offset above …

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Apple has posted a new support article that gives some insight into how the 2018 iPad Pro is manufactured, clearly as a follow up to the reports of customers receiving bent iPad units in the runup to Christmas.

It says slight bends may be more visible to the eye due to the new straight edge design, and reiterates that Apple specifies 400 micron flatness tolerances — and anything outside of that range should qualify for warranty repair/replacement.

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Larry Kudlow, financial analyst and economic advisor to the Donald Trump administration as head of the National Economic Council, today said that ‘Apple technology may have been picked off by China’ (via CNBC).

Although he qualifies his statements with no assertions of surety, Kudlow indicates that Apple trade secrets may have been stolen to help China’s domestic smartphone manufacturers catch up.

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Apple exited 2018 with major iPad upgrades for the Pro market, with the radically redesigned iPad Pro lineup. Assuming it sticks to its normal schedule, we will see a successor to the $329 iPad in the spring. Apple’s earnings reports have shown that this model is by far the most popular iPad, the de-facto mainstream choice.

The rumor mill is starting to spin up for the forthcoming product season, and it seems to suggest that the $329 iPad is changing substantially, partly thanks to the return of the iPad mini …

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It feels like Apple is embroiled in battles from all sides at the moment. As well as managing expectations following a dramatic cut to revenue guidance earlier this week, Apple is also tied up with court battles around the world with Qualcomm.

Today, Qualcomm formally enforced the iPhone ban in Germany by posting a $1.6 billion bond. If the appeal rules in Apple’s favor, this fund will compensate Apple for lost sales. In China, Qualcomm continues to argue that Apple is flouting the court’s ruling as it continues to sell iPhones in China.

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As the new year begins in Pacific Time, where Apple’s Cupertino headquarters are based, the AirPower charging mat has officially missed its 2018 release window.

The charging mat promised to charge iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods on a single compact mat with flexibility on where devices can be placed. However, the product has been rumored to have faced internal development challenges as late as this past summer, which prevented Apple from bringing the product to market as smoothly as it expected.

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Apple’s truly wireless earbuds AirPods seemingly won Christmas this holiday season, in more ways than one. Worldwide, customers were faced with stock shortages in the run-up to the holidays with AirPods demand so strong. They are believed to be one of, if not number one, item on people’s gifting wish lists.

Despite first launching in late 2016, Apple also managed to capture the attention of social media with a flurry of AirPods memes springing up. In fact, ‘AirPods for Christmas’ ended up being a trending topic on Twitter on December 25 ….

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Apple is set to launch a new iPad mini and a revised form factor entry-level iPad, according to China Times. The iPad mini has not received an update since the fourth-generation model debuted in 2015, which Apple continues to sell in 128 GB configurations.

For the 2018 revision, Apple’s $329 iPad featured no physical appearance changes, focusing on a new processor and support for the Apple Pencil stylus. For 2019, it will apparently be receiving industrial design updates to accommodate a slightly larger 10-inch display …

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Apple has today launched a iPhone XS and iPhone XR trade-in promotion offer in China, including a prominent banner on the Chinese version of Apple.com’s homepage. The deal is similar to what we have seen Apple aggressively promote in the United States.

The boosted trade in values mean that a Chinese customer can pick up an iPhone XR for 4,399 RMB ($640), or iPhone XS for 6599 RMB ($960), when trading in an iPhone 7 Plus. Unlike the US, customers must visit a Chinese Apple retail store to take advantage of the offer.

Update: The deal is also live in the UK, Australia, Canada and other regions.

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Qualcomm has secured another court victory over Apple this week, this time in Germany. A court has ruled that some iPhone models, featuring Intel modems, violate a Qualcomm patent.

The court said that infringing iPhone models could no longer be sold in Germany, however the ban will not go into effect if Apple appeals. Apple is appealing the decision and is pulling iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 from store shelves in the meantime …

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For the first time, Apple is endorsing an add-on accessory for AirPods: a new set of protective AirPods cases from Catalyst. The cases are waterproof rated up to 1 meter and offer protection against drops. They also feature a carabiner to clip the AirPods case onto your clothing.

It’s a weird proposition for the first AirPods accessory to be stocked in Apple retail, given that the Catalyst case is only useful when you are not using the earbuds themselves.

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We exclusively revealed the existence of the iPhone XS Smart Battery Case earlier this month, with assets present in iOS builds. The website Appleosophy has spotted another occurrence in Apple’s fall merchandising guidelines for resellers. 9to5Mac has confirmed the findings as legitimate.

The photos are part of a document that tells resellers how to present Apple silicone and leather cases for the fall 2018 season. Undeniable images of a XS Smart Battery Case are present in the cells for ‘black leather XS Max’ and ‘black leather XS’.

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