Apple’s next keynote confirmed

It’ll take place, as expected, on September 12th at the Steve Jobs Theater on at Apple Park.

The invites for the “Gather round” event went out to reporters and tech pundits

Show a gold, or rose goldish ring of the Apple Park spaceship.

Apple will stream the event which will begin at 10:00AM PT on September 12, 2108

Three new iPhone Models, with at least two being dubbed the iPhone Xs

9to5Mac claimed to get leaked images of the new iPhone Xs models in a new “gold” color.

They don’t mention the source of the leaked images

Theory that it was a marketing video stream they were testing when they thought no one was watching?

I was wondering if they are internal marketing images for the website that were leaked by a designer?

Also, the 6.1-inch “low cost” LCD model.

All expected to take design cues from the iPhone X

New A12 processor

More storage, up to 512GB

New iPad models

Reduced bezels, no home button, True Depth cameras and FaceID

New processors

Updated Apple Watch

9to5Mac also claimed to have leaked images of the new watch design.

Smaller bezels, larger display (~15%) in same sizes, 38mm and 42mm

Thinner profile, but longer battery life.

Two fewer models.

Crown and side button seem tweaked

Don’t protrude as much, maybe confirming the rumors they would be touch sensitive?

Extra mic on the Digital Crown side.

Red ring, instead of red dot on crown

Leak shows a new “complication” dense watch face

Analog with 4 round complications in the center and others in a curve. Looks like at least 8 on one face.

Latest numbers from Counterpoint Research show Apple with a 41 percent share of the global SmartWatch market.

Actually down slightly from 48 percent last year

The Series 1 is the top model with the Series 3 coming in the 4th spot in the top 5

contributing to almost nine out of ten Apple Watches sold in Q2 2018

Means there could be a lot of customers looking to upgrade their aging series ones

One expected announcement is updates to the MacBook or MacBook Air lines

Intel announced updates to it’s “U” (Whiskey Lake) and “Y” (Amber Lake) series processors that could be good fits for the new machines

The Y-series processors are the updates to the ones Apple currently in the MacBook line.

The “U”-series may find there way into an updated MacBook Air?

They said the chips would start showing up in new models this Fall, so timing seems right as well.

Possible Mac mini update

Something targeted at the “Pro” user.

Signs point to increase iPhone sales

There have been a few indicators that this years batch of iPhones might finally have a chance to give a boost to Apple relatively flat iPhone sales.

Ventures surveyed 530 iPhone customers and says almost half of them, 48 percent, are looking to upgrade their devices this year.

Digging in on the numbers, while “upgrading” not all plan to buy the latest tech.

42 percent said they plan to buy a new model and 18 percent said they’d get the iPhone X

A survey done the same time last year only resulted in 23 percent saying they planned to upgrade.

Also positive was 19 percent who said they’d be switching from Android.

AirPort Express gets an update.

Apple released an update for the discontinued Airport Express

That would be big news itself, but even more surprising it added AirPlay 2 Support to the tiny router.

The firmware is version 7.8 and it supports the 2012 802.11n AirPort Express models (that’s the gen 2 edition that looks like a mini AirPort Extreme)

That means the AirPort can be added to the Home App and is a recognized destination for multi-room audio.

Apple will continue to offer service and support for AirPort Base stations for the next five years

Apple acquires AR ‘lens’ startup

Reuters reported that Apple acquired a Colorado based company call Akonia Holgraphics

The company began in 2012 and was focused originally on holographic storage

They claim to have an image that is “ultra-clear” and offers “full-color performance” and come from the “thinnest, lightest head worn displays in the world.”

Focused on high field of view and technology that can be integrated into small form factors like “common” glasses.

Now they are focused on creating displays for augmented reality glass and have over 200 patents related to the technology.

None of the pricing or details of the deal have been confirmed and Apple gave their standard “Apple buys smaller companies from time to time, and we generally don’t discuss our purpose or plans” statement

There have been rumors for a while that Apple is planning some augmented reality or VR glasses and this certainly adds fuel to that.

8K display, built in processor, custom “rOS” (reality operating system)

Release sometime in 2019 or 2020

This seems to be Apple’s second AR/VR headset related acquisition. Back in 2017 they bought Totem, a company developing a mixed reality headset.

Still there are lots of possible applications for this kind of technology.

Apple has been posting job looking for engineers with AR experience to work on it’s Maps team for example.3

iPhone 8 Logic Board Repair Program

Apple is offering free repairs to a “very small percentage” of iPhone 8 owners who have defective logic boards.

The issue impact the iPhone 8 models only, not the 8 Plus.

Apple says some customers iPhone 8’s are experiencing issues that can cause restarts, freezing, and unresponsive devices.

The issue seems to be related to a manufacturing defect and Apple will fix it if you’re impacted.

They have [a website](https://www.apple.com/support/iphone-8-logic-board-replacement-program/) where you can check if your model is eligible.

Apple says the units for sold between September 2017 and March 2018

You can make an appointment at an Apple Retail Store, at an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or through Apple Support.

You must have the device serviced in the region you purchased it in and any issues that could inhibit the logic board replacement, like a cracked display, need to be fixed first.

The new program will cover iPhone 8 devices for up to three years after the first date of sale.

Molekule

Molekule is a complete reinvention of the air purifier, not just an improvement on existing, outdated technology

Molekule introduces a breakthrough science that is finally capable of destroying air pollutants at a molecular level.

Molekule’s PECO technology goes beyond HEPA filtration to not just capture but completely destroy the full spectrum of indoor air pollutants, including those 1000x smaller than a HEPA filter can trap.

In a study of 49 allergy sufferers, presented at the American College of Asthma Allergy and Immunology, Molekule’s technology provided dramatic, statistically significant, sustained symptom reduction within a week of use. The results have transformed lifelong allergy and asthma sufferers’ lives. **One customer even said that she was “able to breathe through her nose for the first time in 15 years!”

We've been able to try out the Molekule in our house for about a week now and I have been impressed with the results.

I set it up in my office and almost immediately my wife and kids said the air in here smelled better and felt fresher

I also suffer from allergies, mostly from dust and pollen. This time of year it can get bad and I've noticed a dramatic reduction in my symptoms like a runny nose and itchy watery eyes.

The other thing I'm enjoying is the design and portability. The solid aluminum shell looks like something Apple might have designed and the leather handle means we can move it easily from room to room so we can have it where we need it.

For $75 off your first order, visit M-O-L-E-K-U-L-E.com and at checkout enter MACCAST

A little 2FA Follow-up

Apple Watch is not a “trusted” device as far as 2FA is concerned and won’t get a push notification code.

Joe wrote in to let us know you can get to Find My iPhone from iCloud on a computer without entering the 2FA code.

On the bottom of the screen that asks for the code to be entered there are links to access Find My iPhone, ApplePay, and Apple Watch Settings.

You can access these sections without needing to enter the 2FA code.

Stephen points out that the Apple Watch, could be a possible source for data leakage

More and more apps and info is on our wrists

Many only use a simple 4-digit passcode, so might be a target for brute force attacks.

I use a longer more complex 10-digit code on mine.

Apple Watch usage redux

A while back we talked about how we're using our Apple Watches and I thought it might be a good time to revisit.

One because the new version is coming and also many of you have the cellular Series 3 version.

Also because I have increased my usage of the fitness features

I'm using both the Activity and Workouts features more consistently.

I've updated the complications on my main Face which is Modular.

During my walking I'll also use my Apple Watch to respond to text messages or sometime use Siri to "skip forward or back" in a podcast (somehow raise and Siri on the Watch seems easier then tapping the AirPod)

For Messages I typically will use Voice Dictation, but Scribble still always impresses me and I think some people forget about it or underestimate how good it is.

Other useful apps for me:

Fantastical for my calendar

Carrot Weather fro my weather complication

Timers

Starbuck

Apple Pay

I'm curious to hear from those of you with Series 3 watches on cellular. Has it changed significantly your Apple Watch usage and if so or if not how?

Thing of the Moment: Donut County

[Donut County](http://www.donutcounty.com) - $4.99

A story driven puzzle game with a really perfect game mechanic for mobile.

You play a hole that you drag around the screen and try to swallow up stuff.

As you successfully do so the hole gets bigger and you can swallow bigger and bigger objects

There are also point at which certain things you do increase the powers of your hole or change what it can do so you can solve puzzles.

The game is made by [Ben Esposito](http://torahhorse.com) and published by Annapurna Interactive who published Gorogoa and Florence

The art is a cool cartoonish low poly count style and there are fun elements like the Trashopedia that lists all the items you swallowed in the game with funny flavor text.

The story is a bit quirky and I found it dragging at times, but still fun.

The only complaint I would possibly have is the playtime is a bit short. I finished the game in a few hours, but at $4.99 it's a fair value I think (you'd pay the same for a movie rental on iTunes)

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