North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has renewed his commitment to denuclearisation but warned that he may have no option but to seek an alternative course if the United States does not take corresponding measures and maintains sanctions.

Kim made the comments on Tuesday during his annual New Year’s Day address laying out Pyongyang’s top priorities for the 12 months ahead.

In a 30-minute speech broadcast by the North’s state television, he said there would be faster progress on denuclearisation if Washington took corresponding action. 

North Korea would have “no option but to explore a new path in order to protect our sovereignty” if the US “miscalculates our people’s patience, forces something upon us and pursues sanctions and pressure without keeping a promise it made in front of the world”, Kim said.

He was referring to his landmark summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June, when he said he had “fruitful talks” and “exchanged constructive ideas”.

At the time, the two leaders signed a vaguely-worded pledge on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, but progress has since stalled with Pyongyang and Washington arguing over their agreement’s interpretation.

“I am ready to sit with the US president again at any time in the future and will make efforts by all means to produce a result that will be welcomed by the international community,” Kim said.

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from the South Korean capital, Seoul, said Kim’s address was markedly different compared to previous ones in both content and style.

“Gone was the imposing podium of previous years, it was more like a fireside chat from a warm study overlooked by portraits of his father and grandfather,” said McBride.

“A year ago, he spoke about nuclear weapons almost in terms of bragging – that North Korea had now achieved the possession of a nuclear arsenal. This time, he made a very different pledge about nuclear weapons, saying that North Korea is committed to peace and denuclearisation, making a pledge that
that weapons would not be used, they are not being tested and the nuclear technology is not being spread or proliferated.”

Pyongyang has demanded Washington lift sanctions and declare an official end to the 1950-1953 Korean War in response to its initial, unilateral steps towards denuclearisation, including dismantling its only known nuclear testing site and a key missile engine facility. The North is also subject to multiple sets of United Nations Security Council sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programmes.

 

Kim spent more than 20 minutes of his speech talking about North Korea’s economy, saying that improving people’s lives was his top priority and tackling energy shortages was an urgent task.

He also called for South Korea to stop joint military exercises with “outside forces” involving strategic assets, calling such drills a “source of tension”.

“War-related equipment – including strategic assets of outside powers – should no longer be allowed to be brought in,” he added.

Seoul and Washington are in a security alliance and the US stations 28,500 troops in the South.

But relations between North and South Koreas saw a major thaw in 2018.

With three leaders’ summits in 2018 and dozens of other meetings, the Koreas have opened a liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, created border buffers and no-fly zones to reduce military tensions, and jointly surveyed North Korea’s outdated railways and roads with the goal of connecting them with the South.

Calling for stronger inter-Korean cooperation, Kim said the North is ready to resume operations at a jointly run factory park in Kaesong and restart South Korean tours to the North’s Diamond Mountain resort. Neither of those is possible for South Korea unless sanctions are removed.

“Kim spoke about 2018 being a momentous year and he said he wants to carry forward this momentum into 2019,” said McBride, adding that the focus now is on whether the North Korean leader will make a long-awaited and historic visit to the South in the new year.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Earlier this year, Netflix was seen testing a bypass of iTunes billing across dozens of markets worldwide. As 2018 draws to a close, Netflix – the App Store’s top grossing app – has ditched the ability for new users to sign up and subscribe to the streaming service within its iOS app across all global markets. The change means Apple will miss out on hundreds of millions in App Store revenue per year – money it would have otherwise received by way of its standard cut of in-app transactions.

According to new data compiled by Sensor Tower, Netflix grossed $853 million in 2018 on the iOS App Store. Based on that figure, Apple’s take would have been around $256 million, the firm said.

To date, the Netflix iOS app has generated over $1.5 billion through its in-app subscriptions, with Apple’s cut coming in around $450 million-plus, Sensor Tower estimated.

Before the change, Netflix on iOS was grossing an average of $2.4 million per day in 2018 – meaning Apple was making around $700,000 by doing nothing other than allowing Netflix to offer subscriptions in its app.

(Note, however, that Sensor Tower’s figures are based on the App Store’s 30 percent cut of transactions. After the first year, Apple’s cut on subscription renewals is lowered to 15 percent. That’s not being factored in. But it gives you a rough idea of Apple’s losses here.)

Netflix’s iOS revenue has been climbing steadily over the years.

In 2017 its gross subscriber revenue was $510 million – up from $215 million users spent in the app in 2016 – which earned it the No. 1 spot on the Top Grossing Chart for non-game apps. It snagged that position again this year, trailed by Tinder and Tencent Video.

In fact, Netflix has earned the bragging rights for being the top grossing iOS App of all time, App Annie reported this summer.

The streaming service’s decision to bypass the App Store isn’t a first. Many companies today direct their users to the web or other platforms, in order to avoid marketplace fees.

For example, Amazon has historically restricted movie and TV rentals and purchases to its own website or other “compatible” apps, instead of allowing them to take place through its Prime Video app. The same goes for Kindle e-books, which also aren’t offered in the Kindle mobile app. Spotify also discontinued the option to pay for its Premium service using Apple’s in-app payment system.

And Epic Games this year bypassed Google’s Play Store altogether – as well as its 30 percent cut – when it launched Fortnite for Android as a sideloaded app. That decision resulted in Google’s loss of $50 million+ in marketplaces fees.

Netflix earlier this year had dropped in-app subscription sign-ups in its Android app on Google Play. That signaled its intentions to later take back the so-called “Apple tax” for itself, too.

However, Netflix still earns money on Google Play through existing subscribers. That totalled around $105 million in 2018, with Google earning close to $32 million of that. But the number has been declining consistently, Sensor Tower said. Apple could soon be in the same boat.

VentureBeat was the first to notice the change to the Netflix iOS app. It would be surprising if Apple took action against Netflix, given it has not done so with other major tech companies that made similar moves.

 

 

 

Four billion miles from Earth, the New Horizons probe that recently sent such lovely pictures of Pluto is drawing near to the most distant object mankind has ever come close to: Ultima Thule, a mysterious rock deep in the Kuiper belt. The historic rendezvous takes place early tomorrow morning.

This is an encounter nearly 30 years in the making, if you count back to the mission’s beginnings in 1989, but it’s also been some 13 years since launch — the timing and nature of which was calculated to give the probe this opportunity after it had completed its primary mission.

New Horizons arrived at Pluto in the summer of 2015, and in its fleeting passage took thousands of photos and readings that scientists are still poring over. It taught us many things about the distant dwarf planet, but by the time it took its extraordinary parting shots of Pluto’s atmosphere, the team was already thinking about its next destination.

Given the craft’s extreme speed and the incredibly distant setting for its first mission, the options for what to investigate were limited — if you can call the billions of objects floating in the Kuiper Belt “limited.”

In fact the next destination had been chosen during a search undertaken in concert with the Hubble Space Telescope team back in 2014. Ground-based reconnaissance wasn’t exact enough, and the New Horizons had to convince Hubble’s operators basically to dedicate to their cause two weeks of the satellite’s time on short notice. After an initial rejection and “some high-stakes backroom maneuvering,” as Principal Investigator Alan Stern describes it in his book about the mission, the team made it happen, and Hubble data identified several potential targets.

2014 MU69 is a rock of unknown (but probably weird) shape about 20 miles across, floating in the belt about a billion miles from Pluto. But soon it would be known by another name.

“Ultima Thule,” Stern told me in an interview onstage at Disrupt SF in September. “This is an ancient building block of planets like Pluto, formed 4 billion years ago; it’s been out there in this deep freeze, almost in absolute zero the whole time. It’s a time capsule.”

At the time, he and the team had just gotten visual confirmation of the target, though nothing more than a twinkle in the distance. He was leaving immediately after our talk to go run flyby simulations with the team.

“I’m super excited,” he told me. “That will be the most distant exploration of any world in the history of not just spaceflight, but in the history of human exploration. I don’t think anybody will top that for a long time.”

The Voyagers are the farthest human-made objects, sure, but they’ve been flying through empty space for decades. New Horizons is out here meeting strange objects in an asteroid belt. Good luck putting together another mission like that in less than a few decades.

In the time I’ve taken to write this post, New Horizons has gone from almost exactly 600,000 kilometers away from Ultima Thule to less than 538,000 (and by this you shall know my velocity) — so it’ll be there quite soon. Just about 10 hours out, making it very early morning Eastern time on New Year’s Day.

Even then, however, that’s just when New Horizons will actually encounter the object — we won’t know until the signal it sends at the speed of light arrives here on Earth 12 hours later. Pluto is far!

The first data back will confirm the telemetry and basic success of the flyby. It will also begin sending images back as soon as possible, and while it’s possible that we’ll have fabulous pictures of the object by the afternoon, it depends a great deal on how things go during the encounter. At the latest we’ll see some by the next day; media briefings are planned for January 2 and 3 for this purpose.

Once those images start flowing in, though, they may be even better in a way than those we got of Pluto. If all goes well, they’ll be capturing photos at a resolution of 35 meters per pixel, more than twice as good as the 70-80 m/px we got of Pluto. Note that these will only come later, after some basic shots confirming the flyby went as planned and allowing the team to better sort through the raw data coming in.

“You should know that that these stretch-goal observations are risky,” wrote Stern in a post on the mission’s page, “requiring us to know exactly where both Ultima and New Horizons are as they pass one another at over 32,000 mph in the darkness of the Kuiper Belt… But with risk comes reward, and we would rather try than not try to get these, and that is what we will do.”

NASA public relations and other staff are still affected by the federal shutdown, but the New Horizons team will be covering the signal acquisition and first data live anyway; follow the mission on Twitter or check in to the NASA Live stream tomorrow morning at 7 AM Pacific time for the whole program. The schedule and lots of links can be found here.

One of the tallest buildings in the world, Taipei 101’s New Year’s Eve fireworks have become an iconic celebration since the first show at the end of 2004. But despite being a major tourism draw, the fireworks haven’t been immune to criticism.

Over the past couple of years, as poor air quality becomes an increasingly serious issue throughout the country, the show has been targeted by Taiwanese environmental groups. The mayor of Taipei City, Ko Wen-je, said at the beginning of this year that the fireworks show should continue and other, more permanent measures against air pollution should be taken. “There are 365 days in a year,” he told reporters. “But the firework display was only 300 seconds, so we need a long-term plan to solve this problem.”

As one of the tallest LEED-certified buildings, however, Taipei 101 often serves as a case study for how landmark skyscrapers can reduce their carbon footprint, and it has been taking steps to reduce pollution from the show while keeping it a spectacle. A couple of weeks ago, a group of bloggers and reporters was invited to take a look at this year’s preparations. (All photos in this story, with the exception of the one at the bottom featuring last year’s show, are by Garret Clarke.)

Over the past couple of years, the organizers of Taipei 101’s fireworks show have taken several measures to reduce pollution. Starting with last year’s show, the number of fireworks was reduced from 30,000 to 16,000. To add oomph to the reduced pyrotechnics, a 55-story-tall mesh screen made up of 140,000 LEDs, called a T-Pad, was installed by Taipei 101 fireworks contractor Giant Show on the north side of the skyscraper. The LED screen overlooks the plaza outside of Taipei City Hall, where a New Year’s Eve concert is held every year and showcases animations that coordinate with the music and fireworks.

Andy Yang, head of corporate branding and communications for the Taipei Financial Center Corp., Taipei 101’s owner, told TechCrunch that this year’s show cost a total of about NTD $60 million (about USD $1.96 million). It will also include 16,000 fireworks, installed from the 34th to 91st floors of Taipei 101, and animations on the T-Pad. The team that plans the show includes 10 to 15 designers and about 50 pyrotechnicians who install the fireworks on the exterior of the building. Preparations are typically completed by December 28.

Yang says Taipei 101 has been decreasing the number of fireworks used year by year. The LED screen is currently only on one side of Taipei 101, but Taipei 101’s management is exploring the possibility of extending it to other sides of the building.

Taipei 101 also has an “all lights off” policy, turning off all exterior lights before and after the show in order to reduce carbon emissions. The LED screen not only enables Taipei 101 to reduce the number of fireworks used, but also enables the integration of pyrotechnics, animations, music and lights into one show, “which brings more design and content opportunities and possibilities for Taipei 101 and Taiwan,” Yang says.

The daughter of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has posted on her Twitter account what she said were the last words her father had for the Iraqi people, four days before his execution on December 30, 2006.

Raghad Hussein, who has been living in Jordan ever since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, posted the message on the 12th anniversary of her father’s death.

“Oh honourable people, I entrust you and my soul to the merciful Lord, who does not disappoint the honest believer … God is great,” the message read.

It bore the signature of “Saddam Hussein, the President of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.”

The late president was sentenced to death by hanging on the first day of Eid al-Adha, on the order of then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who had insisted the execution be carried out on that particular day.

Earlier this week, Raghad Hussein had broadcast a voice recording where she called on Iraqis to overcome the psychological barriers they had suffered after the 2003 US invasion of the country.

“I hope, dear Iraqis, that our vision for a safer and more stable Iraq will expand,” she said.

She also mentioned that her father’s leadership of Iraq manifested in him being the Arab world’s protector against “Iranian expansionist ambitions”.

2019 promises to be a major year for Apple, with a number of exciting products on the horizon. Apple’s promised modular Mac Pro for its professional user base is expected to come out in 2019, and there’s a new TV service under development that’s going to come out during the first half of the year.

Apple is working on a new iPad mini, a new lower-cost HomePod, over-the-ear headphones to go along with revamped AirPods, and, as always, there are new iPhones coming in 2019.

Below, we’ve rounded up all of the products we’re expecting to see from Apple in 2019 based on both current rumors that we’ve heard so far and past release information.

AirPower

Apple announced the AirPower, designed to charge the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at once, in September 2017. At the time the AirPower debuted, Apple said it would launch sometime in 2018. Since then, we’ve heard little about the device, and no sign of it has materialized.

In fact, Apple has scrubbed most of the mentions of the AirPower from its website, but because the device was mentioned in the user guides for the latest iPhones, it appears it hasn’t been scrapped and is still in development, with Apple perhaps aiming to launch it in 2019.

So what’s the reason for the delay? Rumors suggest Apple was overly ambitious with the AirPower and has been having trouble with overheating, multi-device charging circuitry, and software bugs, all of which has led to a pushed back launch date.

We don’t know when the AirPower might be coming, but it doesn’t look like the product has been abandoned just yet, and it’s possible we’ll be hearing an update in the near future.

New iPhones

Apple is going to continue with its three iPhone lineup in 2019, offering three iPhones that will be similar in size and design to the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.

It sounds like Apple will continue to use an LCD/OLED split for the displays, and all of the iPhones are likely to feature A13 chips from Apple supplier TSMC. Chip upgrades typically bring improved performance and efficiency, and the A13 will be no different.

At least some of the iPhones expected in 2019 could use a triple-lens rear-facing camera setup for improved images, and a revamped TrueDepth camera system with a smaller notch is a possibility.

Apple Pencil support could finally come to the iPhone in 2019, and we’ve heard some mixed rumors suggesting the entire 2019 iPhone lineup will do away with 3D Touch, with all iPhones instead adopting the Haptic Touch feature of the XR.

We’ll hear a lot more about the 2019 iPhones as the year progresses, but it’s sounding like the upcoming devices will have some exciting improvements to look forward to.

For more on the 2019 iPhone lineup, make sure to check out our 2019 iPhone roundup.

Apple TV

There’s no new set-top box coming in 2019 that we know of, but Apple is said to be “considering” a smaller Apple TV device that would be an Apple TV dongle similar to the Amazon Fire Stick or the Google Chromecast.

Such a device would make the Apple TV interface and any Apple content available at a lower price point. Right now, Apple charges $179 for the Apple TV 4K and $149 for the non-4K version.

Amazon’s Fire Stick

Competing dongle-style devices from Amazon and Google are priced at $25 to $35, so an entry-level Apple TV dongle could allow Apple to significantly expand its audience and it could provide more people with access to Apple’s rumored streaming TV service.

For more info on the Apple TV, make sure to check out our Apple TV roundup.

Streaming TV Service

Apple has more than a dozen original television shows and movies in development after starting to work on creating original TV content in earnest in 2017 and 2018.

Many of the TV shows Apple is working on feature high-profile directors, producers, and actors, with rumors suggesting the first TV shows will debut in 2019 as part of an upcoming TV streaming service.

Apple could bundle its service with an Apple Music subscription and an upcoming digital magazine and news subscription, offering all-in-one access to paid news, magazines, original TV shows, movies, and Apple Music content, but standalone subscriptions are also likely to be available.

Apple is said to be planning to launch the TV service in more than 100 countries in 2019, starting with the United States in early 2019 and then expanding to additional locations.

At least some of Apple’s original television content could be made available for free through the TV app, and Apple’s own original offerings may be offered alongside subscription channels from companies like HBO and Starz.

For more info on Apple’s streaming TV plans, including a list of all of the TV shows Apple is working on, make sure to check out the original content section of our Apple TV roundup.

Audio Products

AirPods

We expected to get an AirPods update with “Hey Siri” hands-free Siri support and a new wireless charging case, but that case was meant to come out alongside the AirPower, and with no AirPower, we saw no AirPods update in 2018.

For that reason, if the AirPower comes out in 2019, we could get the aforementioned wireless charging case and the “Hey Siri” update for the AirPods at some point during the year.

With a “Hey Siri” feature, AirPods users will be able to activate Siri without needing to double tap on the AirPods with a finger.

While second-generation AirPods with these minor updates could come in 2019, Apple is also said to be working on a set of third-generation AirPods with a new design, improved water resistance, better Bluetooth signal, and noise cancellation features.

There’s been some disagreement on when these higher-end AirPods might come out. Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says not to expect redesigned, upgraded AirPods until 2020, while Bloomberg has said some of these features could come in 2019.

Given the delay of the AirPower, it’s not quite clear what Apple’s plans are, and whether we’re still getting distinct second-generation and third-generation AirPods with different features. We can count on seeing some kind of AirPods upgrade in 2019, but whether it’s a minor update or a more significant redesign remains to be seen.

For more on the AirPods, check out our AirPods roundup.

HomePod

Rumors have suggested the HomePod isn’t selling well due to its high price tag, which has prompted Apple to start development on a lower-cost version that would be more affordable.

Little has been said about a second-generation HomePod, but Bloomberg has said a new model being developed and could come as early as 2019.

For more on the HomePod, check out our HomePod roundup.

Over-the-Ear Headphones

To accompany the AirPods and the HomePod, Apple is rumored to be developing a set of high-end over-ear headphones that will be Apple branded rather than Beats branded.

Apple’s Beats Studio over-ear headphones

The headphones are said to be “as convenient as AirPods” but with superior sound quality, and active noise cancellation features could be included. Apple’s new headphones are rumored to be coming in 2019, so we could see them alongside a HomePod or AirPods refresh at some point during the year.

Macs

Mac Pro

Though the Mac Pro hasn’t been updated since 2013, Apple is working on an entirely revamped high-end high-throughput modular version that will facilitate regular upgrades to meet the needs of Apple’s pro user base.

Apple announced the revamp in 2017, but said that it wouldn’t be finished until 2019. Apple is committed to making the upcoming Mac Pro the highest-end Apple desktop system available, allowing it to accommodate VR and high-end cinema production.

Modular Mac Pro concept from Curved.de

A “Pro Workflow Team” has been established to tailor the new Mac Pro and other Apple products to the professional user base.

Apple plans to design the new Mac Pro to allow for future upgrades and higher-end hardware. According to Apple execs, the current Mac Pro restricted the company’s ability to upgrade it because it was designed for dual GPUs rather than larger single GPUs.

The Mac Pro will be accompanied by an Apple-branded pro display, which is likely to be at least 27 inches with a 5K resolution. We don’t know much about the display or specific details on the new Mac Pro, but we will hear more in 2019.

For more on the Mac Pro, make sure to check out our Mac Pro roundup.

iMac and iMac Pro

Neither the iMac nor the iMac Pro got updated in 2018, which means 2019 updates could happen. We’ve heard few rumors on what to expect in updated iMac and iMac Pro machines, but faster processors are always a guarantee and there’s been some vague detail on display improvements.

Check out our iMac and iMac Pro roundups for more details on Apple’s desktop machines and upcoming rumors.

MacBook

The MacBook didn’t get a 2018 update, and now that it’s so similar in design and specs to the MacBook Air, which now has a Retina Display and a slimmer body, it’s not clear what Apple has planned for the MacBook.

It could get a 2019 update with new processors and there has been some speculation that the MacBook will be the first of Apple’s Macs to get an Apple-designed ARM processor in the future, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Right now, the MacBook is slower and more expensive than the MacBook Air, but it still has the benefit of being Apple’s most compact machine.

Check out our MacBook roundup for more details on the MacBook.

Other Macs

There are no rumors, but we could see refreshed and upgraded MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models in 2019, and perhaps a new Mac mini if Apple is going to adopt a more regular upgrade cycle for that machine.

iPads

iPad Pro models were just updated in October so there are no real rumors on features that might come to a refreshed version in 2019 if a refresh is planned, but rumors have suggested Apple’s next-generation version of iOS, iOS 13, will include some iPad-centric features that could improve the overall iPad experience not just on the iPad Pro, but on all iPads.

As for other iPads, Apple is said to be working on a refreshed version of the 7.9-inch iPad mini, which has gone so long without a refresh that before a few recent rumors, we were sure it had been abandoned.

An alleged iPad mini 5 case leak suggests the upcoming tablet could perhaps feature some iPad Pro-style elements, like four speakers, a Smart Connector, Apple Pencil support, and more, while rumors have said we can expect an improved processor and a lower-cost display, which indicates a lower overall price tag.

Apple is supposedly planning to boost flagging iPad sales with the smaller model, and the company is also rumored to be working on an upgraded version of the low-cost 9.7-inch iPad. The new affordable replacement could be somewhat bigger in size — 10 inches instead of 9.7-inches — and a redesign with slimmer bezels and perhaps Face ID is a possibility.

For more on the iPads, make sure to check out our iPad, iPad Pro, and iPad mini roundups.

Apple Watch

There are no rumors about a refreshed Apple Watch just yet, but because the Apple Watch is updated on a yearly basis right alongside the iPhone, we can expect an Apple Watch Series 5 in 2019.

What might be included in the update is anyone’s guess at this point, but there have been rumors of additional health sensors for years, and Apple has proven its willingness to get involved with the FDA with the launch of the ECG feature in the Apple Watch Series 4.

For that reason, more advanced health tracking features could be coming, but we’ll need to wait until later in the year to get an idea of what’s coming.

To keep up with Apple Watch rumors in 2019, check out our Apple Watch roundup.

Software

Each year in June, Apple debuts new versions of iOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS, so we’re expected to see new software again this year. We’ve already heard a bit of detail on what we can expect from iOS 13 and macOS 10.15.

iOS 13

Apple last year pushed several features planned for iOS 12 to iOS 13 in order to focus on under-the-hood performance improvements and bug fixes, so we can expect features rumored for iOS 12 to show up in iOS 13.

The iOS 13 update is said to include several new features aimed at iPad owners, such as a revamped Files app, in-app tabs for opening multiple windows of the same app, support for using the same app side-by-side in Split View multitasking mode, Apple Pencil improvements, and new features for business users.

Features pushed back from iOS 12 include a revamped Home screen app grid for the iPhone and iPad, expanded photo management features, and more.

macOS 10.15

We don’t know a lot about what to expect in the next-generation version of macOS, but we do know that it will feature an extension of Apple’s project to bring iOS apps to the Mac.

With macOS Mojave, Apple ported several iOS apps like Home, Stocks, Apple News, and Voice Memos over to the Mac, and in macOS 10.15, this functionality will be extended to third-party developers, making it easier for developers to create apps that are functional on both macOS and iOS.

This is an initiative that will include tweaks to both macOS 10.15 and iOS 13 to further introduce common frameworks between the two operating systems. Expect to see more iOS-style apps made available for the Mac following the launch of macOS 10.15.

What’s Not Likely in 2019

iPhone SE

iPhone users who prefer smaller devices have been hoping for an updated version of the 4-inch iPhone SE, but it doesn’t look like Apple is working on a new 4-inch iPhone.

In 2018, there were some leaks and hints of a 4-inch iPhone under development, but a lot of this information was a combination of wishful thinking and leaked iPhone XR details.

We’ve heard no further word of a 4-inch iPhone, and with Apple’s iPhone lineup now featuring devices ranging in starting price from $449 (iPhone 7) to $1099 (iPhone XS Max), there’s not a lot of room for a smaller iPhone.

The 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 are currently the smallest iPhones that Apple offers for sale, and the original iPhone SE has been discontinued altogether.

AR Smart Glasses

We’ve heard multiple rumors suggesting Apple is prototyping augmented reality smart glasses and virtual reality headsets, but while these products are in development, a release is not expected just yet.

According to rumors, Apple is working on an augmented reality headset with a dedicated display, built-in processor, and a new “rOS” operating system based on iOS, with the “r” standing for reality. Apple is said to be aiming to finish work on an augmented reality headset by 2019 ahead of a launch it hopes will come in 2020.

For more on Apple’s AR/VR work, check out our AR/VR roundup.

Wrap Up

There are some exciting products in the works from Apple in 2019, and we’ll certainly see some unexpected surprises as well, as we do every year. Make sure to follow MacRumors.com and the MacRumors roundups over the course of 2019 to keep up with all of the rumors about the upcoming products that Apple has in development.

While the thought of a machine that can squirt out endless ropes of molten glass is a bit frightening, the folks at MIT have just about perfected the process. In a paper published in 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, researchers Chikara Inamura, Michael Stern, Daniel Lizardo, Peter Houk, and Neri Oxman describe a system for 3D printing glass that offers far more control over the hot material and the final product.

Their system, called G3DP2, “is a new AM platform for molten glass that combines digitally integrated three-zone thermal control system with four-axis motion control system, introducing industrial-scale production capabilities with enhanced production rate and reliability while ensuring product accuracy and repeatability, all previously unattainable for glass.”

The system uses a closed, heated box that holds the melted glass and another thermally controlled box where it prints the object. A moveable plate drops the object lower and lower as it is being printed and the print head moves above it. The system is interesting because it actually produces clear glass structures that can be used for decoration or building. The researchers take special care to control the glass extrusion system to ensure that it cools down and crystallizes without injecting impurities or structural problems.

“In the future, combining the advantages of this AM technology with the multitude of unique material properties of glass such as transparency, strength, and chemical stability, we may start to see new archetypes of multifunctional building blocks,” wrote the creators.

The death toll from flash floods and landslides caused by torrential rains due to a tropical depression in the eastern Philippines has jumped to at least 61, with 18 still missing, according to officials.

Fifty of the victims were reported in the eastern region of Bicol, located south of the main island of Luzon, the national disaster risk reduction office was quoted as saying on Monday by dpa news agency. Eleven others died in the nearby region of Eastern Visayas.

Twelve people were also injured in various accidents in the two regions most affected by the rains even days before the tropical depression – known locally as Usman – made landfall in Eastern Samar province on Saturday.

More than 22,000 people were displaced by the bad weather, which also knocked out electricity in many of the affected areas, regional civil defence officials said.

Search and rescue operations were ongoing for the missing, while emergency teams were also clearing some roads and bridges made impassable by landslides and floods.

Meanwhile, thousands of passengers were stranded at seaports, airports and bus terminals as dozens of inter-island trips were cancelled.

The tropical depression weakened into a low pressure area, but was continuing to bring heavy rains over the eastern provinces, enhanced by a cold front and the north-east monsoon, the weather bureau said.

The bad weather would also affect the capital, Manila, and other parts of the country, which could dampen usually rowdy New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Each year, the Philippines is struck by an average of 20 cyclones causing floods, landslides and other accidents.

One of the strongest in recent memory, Typhoon Haiyan, hit the country in November 2013, killing more than 6,300 people and displacing more four 4 million others.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Athens, Greece – When two children from the small, remote Greek island of Leros were taken to one of the largest paediatric hospitals in Athens for a psychological evaluation, one of the country’s rarely-talked-about problems was about to come to a head.

After the siblings were examined by doctors, the youngest of the two, a six-year-old boy was released back to his parents while the 11-year-old girl was admitted to hospital.

Spending two months at the hospital, she was then transferred to a girls home.

A few months later, in the fall of 2017, she was sent back to her parents in Leros, given directions by judicial authorities that she regularly attend a psychologist at the municipal community centre.

But then in May this year, her parents admitted her again to Leros Hospital – malnourished and faint.

Family members gradually started talking to the police. In the end, an officer got a confession from the parents. Her father was accused of sexually abusing her and physically abusing his other children. His trial is pending.

These children were not unknown cases to the authorities. They had been through the child protection system. They had been examined in a hospital. Abuse was confirmed. And yet, a prosecutor decided to remove the girl at first, but leave the boy with his parents. They later reversed their decision and returned the girl, while her family had not even been visited by a social worker.

Greece has always lacked a coherent system to efficiently protect minors who are victims of abuse. And in the story of the two children, these problems became painfully obvious.

I have seen cases where four-year-old kids were treated for sexually transmitted rectal HPV for over a year, and no investigation had been undertaken to determine how they got it.

Giorgos Nikolaidis, child psychiatrist

‘Underfunded before the crisis’

Nowadays, the Greek financial crisis is often blamed for the inadequacies of social services. However, Giorgos Nikolaidis, a child psychiatrist who is also Head of the Mental Health Department of the Institute of Child Health, is suspicious of such a generalisation, despite his own institution having endured a 50 percent reduction in personnel.

“The cuts are real enough,” he says. “But child protection was underfunded even before the crisis. And our state still maintains the luxury of four or five parallel networks of services, that are disjointed and inadequate. There is an issue of lack of funds, but there is also an issue of what we do with the funds we have”.

Another such case took place a few years earlier in Crete. A coach with the local basketball team in the town of Rethymno was arrested and convicted for molesting 36 young boys. The abuse had been going on for years and the total number of his victims is believed to be well over 100.

But no parent, neighbour, teacher, social worker, or police officer ever came forward with a suspicion. After the police and the local prosecutor were eventually alerted by one family, they purposefully, according to their own admission, left him to his devices, in order to organise a sting operation that would ensure his conviction.

This took a full year, throughout which the coach continued to abuse children.

It took another year before the Institute of Child Health, a semi-independent institution overseen by the Greek Ministry of Health, managed to convince authorities that something should be done for the families. EU funds were redirected and a unit for psychological support was set up in Rethymno.

It did not last more than two years; as the EU funds ran out, the Ministry of Health decided to shut it down. Nothing has taken its place.

Ignored by successive governments

Such cases, of which there are many, seem indicative of a structural inability to organise a coherent system of child protection in Greece, child care experts said.

There are hundreds of services spread across the country that have some measure of participation in child protection; but most operate in isolation from the others, with no protocols for coordinated action.

“This kind of anarchy where every professional does whatever comes to their mind is destructive,” Nikolaidis said.

“I have seen cases where four-year-old kids were treated for sexually transmitted rectal HPV for over a year, and no investigation had been undertaken to determine how they got it. Because in this type of anarchy, every professional can shut themselves in their own task, however they define it. The dermatologist can just treat the infection and not be concerned with anything else”.

The Institute of Child Health has developed, with independent funding, a protocol for networking the disparate services and unifying their procedures. It also developed a digital records system for incidents of abuse. Βut despite presenting these to successive Greek governments, they have been ignored.

To date, all efforts towards coordinating child protection services have similarly failed. One more attempt to streamline the system is in the works by the current government, starting with improving the conditions for child abuse survivors that choose to legally challenge their abusers.

Olga Themeli, an associate professor of forensic psychology in the University of Crete, tells us that according to her research, abused children in Greece are forced to repeat their story to the police “up to 14 times”.

Despite many cultural similarities when it comes to the treatment of children, Cyprus has already taken the steps that Greece is contemplating only now. The case of a 29-year-old who committed suicide after years of sexual abuse by her foster father, a priest, seems to have been the last straw.

‘This is Greece’

Last April, an inter-disciplinary council inaugurated the ‘House of the Child’, a facility in Nicosia, where children’s testimonies are recorded in a meticulously efficient procedure.

Modeled on similar facilities internationally, where they are known as ‘Child Houses’ or ‘Child Advocacy Centres’, the ‘House of the Child’ allows for an examination of children by expertly trained professionals, which takes place only once, and is as non-invasive as possible.

Themeli is enthusiastic about the prospect of having a ‘House of the Child’ in Greece.

“Our prospects are very good,” she says. A new law stipulates five such houses to be created throughout Greece. But no actual work on them has yet begun, and the Greek police seem reluctant to submit to the new procedure.

“This is Greece,” Konstantina Kostakou, a police officer and psychologist at the Athens Division for Minors, says, implying that things are being done differently. She disputes Themeli’s research and believes that children should be brought to police headquarters, so they know “things are serious”.

Even if the ‘House of the Child’ programme is implemented, problems with child protection in Greece seem endless. There is no foster-care system to speak of, and children who are removed from their families are institutionalised for the long-term.

Conditions in institutions are poor, child care experts say. One institution for disabled children, in the town of Lechaina in Southern Greece, keeps children in wooden cages or tied to their beds, without releasing them even for brief periods in the day, Nikolaidis says.

“No court of law has the right to impose such a sentence,” Nikolaidis said. “So, who is responsible for doing this to these children?” As head of a team that is trying to help the children in the Lechaina facility, with some having remained tied up literally for years, Nikolaidis is furious that no one is being held accountable.

Most children, child care experts agree, are abused by those they trust. Such abuse is an assault to the most basic ability to trust another person and to form relationships. So after the state becomes itself another agent of abuse, where does that leave victims? Themeli’s assessment is that “there is no culture of child protection in Greece”.

Unfortunately, abused children are often inclined to agree with her.

The Manifold, a team of investigative journalists, are Mariniki Alevizopoulou, Yiannis Baboulias, Yannis-Orestis Papadimitriou, Achilleas Zavallis and Augustine Zenakos.

This article is based on an investigation financially supported with a grant from the IJ4EU fund.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Millions of Bangladeshis head to polling stations to vote in Sunday’s parliamentary elections amid concerns expressed by rights bodies over “restrictive electoral environment”.

Voting started at 8 am local time (0200 GMT) and is expected to conclude at 4 pm (1000 GMT) across more than 40,000 polling stations. Counting will begin soon after the voting ends.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is seeking a third straight term in power, cast her vote in the capital, Dhaka.

“We believe in democracy and we will accept the people’s mandate,” Hasina said.

More than 104 million registered voters will exercise their franchise to elect 299 representatives to parliament, known as Jatiya Sangshad. Voting in one constituency was suspended due to the death of a candidate.

A total of 1,841 candidates from the Grande Alliance, led by the ruling Awami League (AL) party, and the opposition alliance, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), are competing in the elections that have been marred by violence and accusations of intimidation.

Around 600,000 security personnel, including the army, have been deployed across the country in a bid to contain violence during the 11th general elections.

Internet has been completely shut down until midnight of Sunday to prevent “rumours”, the English language newspaper, the Daily Star, reported.

Electronic Voting Machines will be used for the first time in select constituencies.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda on Saturday asked the law enforcing agencies to act with an iron fist to check violence.

“If we find any negligence or insincerity during poll-time duty, we will take legal action against them after investigation,” the CEC said during a press conference at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital, Dhaka.

Rights groups slam government

Rights organisations have criticised the government for “cracking down on civil society, the opposition and the media”.

A statement issued by 16 human rights organisations, including Asian Human Rights Commission and Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), said on Saturday that at least five persons have been killed and 2,682 others injured in election-related violence since December 10.

“These attacks are meant to instill fear in the minds of Bangladeshi voters, and thus undermining the prospects of a level electoral playing field,” the rights bodies said.

Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland also urged Bangladesh to conduct “free, fair, inclusive and participatory” elections.

Golam Mawla Rony, a BNP candidate in the polls, said he was confined in his house because ruling party members would not let him go out.

Rony, who is running from Patuakhali 3 constituency in the country’s south, said he was attacked on Friday by AL members when he ventured out for prayers.

“One hundred of my supporters have been arrested. Police and Awami League people are going from house to house and threatening BNP supporters to not come out on Sunday to vote,” Rony told Al Jazeera over phone.

“The situation is terrifying. I could never imagine that such a situation can exist during an election,” Rony said.

Al Jazeera reached out to police to seek their response, but could not receive a reply until the time of publication.

Allegations ‘exaggerated’

Gowher Rizvi, the International Affairs adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the opposition’s claims of police harassment and restrictions on their movement are “exaggerated”.

“A lot of these things are exaggerated. It’s despicable; it’s really worrying that there is violence. But if you look at the last seven days, seven people have been killed – all from Awami League. This is real violence, people have lost their lives,” he told Al Jazeera.

He asked the media to investigate the veracity of these claims.

“Yes there are some isolated incidents, I have no doubt. It has happened in the past, it’s happening now. But do not accept it without corroboration,” he said.

Afsan Chowdhury, a political analyst and a journalist, said we “haven’t had such a conflict ridden election before”.

“This election has the highest stake ever. I have not seen an election, which is so intense,” he said.

“The political parties don’t see each other as political rivals. They look upon each other as enemies,” he added.

“Interestingly, this is the first election under a civilian government in 18 years, since the 2008 election was under martial law and the 2014 election was boycotted by the opposition.”

Hasina’s contentious rule

Prime Minister Hasina, who has become the South Asian nation’s longest ruling leader, is seeking re-election on the back of high economic growth during her 10-year rule.

“I request the voters to cast their votes… All the people will have to watch out so that no one can make the elections questionable in any way,” Hasina was quoted as saying by the Daily Star.

Hasina has led the ruling AL party, founded by her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founding leader, since 1981.

She has been globally hailed for her handling of the Rohingya crisis last year, when about one million Muslim minority sought refuge in Bangladesh fleeing a military offensive in Myanmar.

Her tenure also saw the beginning of the controversial War Crimes Tribunal trial against those involved in atrocities committed during the country’s liberation war against Pakistan in 1971.

AL’s Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif highlighted the record economic growth the South Asian nation of 160 million witnessed in the past 10 years.

“Economic growth increased from 5.57 percent to 7.28 percent. Per capita income increased from $500 dollars to nearly $1,800 now. Export income increased from $16bn to $35bn,” Hanif said.

Professor Chowdhury, who teaches at Brac university, said “Hasina’s achievements are quite extensive”.

“Nobody has achieved as much as she has done. She has carried out socio-economic development,” he said. “The lower class has benefited most under her. This is her great power base and that has not changed.”

“BNP’s support base is those that are unhappy with the Awami League. It is the anti-incumbency party. It does not have its own support base. Not a significant one,” he said.

The opposition fight was no match to the high-decibel campaign led by the ruling AL party in the absence of the BNP leader and former Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, who is serving a 17-year jail term for corruption.

Her BNP party forged an alliance, Jatiya Oikya Front (National Unity Front), with a former Hasina ally and a well-respected jurist, Kamal Hossain, to mount a challenge to the prime minister.

On the eve of the elections, Hossain called on his supporters not to be intimidated by threats.

“Vote tomorrow. Don’t let them intimidate you. Evil forces will flee before you. They can’t fight people’s strength,” said Hossain, convenor of the Jatiya Oikya Front.

Jobs a major agenda for youth

Employment will be a big agenda on the minds of the young voters, who form nearly one fifth of the registered voters.

The youth joblessness stands at 11 percent as compared to the overall unemployment rate of 4 percent.

Earlier this year, thousands of students hit the streets against government quota in jobs. The government was forced to agree to their demands.

“There has been abuse of power by the police and Awami League leaders at the grassroots level,” said Ismail Zaman, a BNP supporter whose name has been changed on his request.

But Mohammad Yusuf, a student of Jahangir University and an AL supporter, disagrees.

“The big achievements of Sheikh Hasina have been poverty reduction, no corruption in appointments in government jobs and most notably, humane treatment of the Rohingya refugees.”

Additional reporting by Saqib Sarker from Dhaka

Citi Research has joined a growing list of analysts to lower first-quarter production estimates for Apple’s iPhones amid weakening demand for the smartphones.

Citi Research analyst William Yang cut the overall iPhone shipment forecast by 5 million to 45 million for the quarter, reported Reuters. That’s a sting that falls in line with others such as influential TF International Securities Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who delivered a less than stellar iPhone forecast earlier this month.

It’s Yang’s outlook for the 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max that is particularly gloomy. In a research note to clients, Yang slashed the shipment forecast for the iPhone XS Max by 48 percent for the first quarter of 2019.

The cut in Citi’s forecasts is driven by the firm’s view that ” 2018 iPhone is entering a destocking phase, which does not bode well for the supply chain,” Yang wrote.

Two weeks ago, Kuo predicted that 2019 iPhone shipments will likely between 5 to 10 percent lower than 2018. He also lowered first quarter shipment forecasts by 20 percent.

The two-year-old son of a Yemeni woman who sued the Trump administration to let her into the country to be with the ailing boy has died, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has announced.

Abdullah Hassan died on Friday in UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland in the United States, where his father Ali Hassan brought him to get treatment for a genetic brain disorder.

Ali Hassan is a US citizen who lives in Stockton, California. He and his wife Shaima Swileh moved to Egypt after marrying in war-torn Yemen in 2016.

Swileh is not an American citizen and remained in Egypt while fighting for a visa.

‘The light of our lives’

“We are heartbroken. We had to say goodbye to our baby, the light of our lives,” Ali Hassan was quoted as saying in the statement published by the council.

A funeral is scheduled for Saturday.

Swileh had been trying to get a visa since 2017, so the family could move to the US.

Citizens from Yemen and four other mostly Muslim countries, along with North Korea and Venezuela, are restricted from coming to the US under President Donald Trump’ s travel ban.

Rights groups sought to overturn the ban in the US Supreme Court, claiming it was biased against Muslims. But the top court rejected the petition in June.

Muslim body demanded waiver

When the boy’s health worsened, the father went to California in October to get their son help, while Swileh remained in Egypt hoping for a visa.

As the couple fought for a waiver, doctors put Abdullah on life support.

“My wife is calling me every day wanting to kiss and hold her son for the one last time,” said Ali Hassan, choking up at a news conference earlier this month.

He started losing hope and was considering pulling his son off life support to end his suffering.

But a hospital social worker reached out to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which sued on December 16, said Basim Elkarra, executive director of the group in Sacramento.

The State Department granted Swileh a waiver the next day.

“With their courage, this family has inspired our nation to confront the realities of Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban,” said Saad Sweilem, a lawyer with the council who represents the family.

“In his short life, Abdullah has been a guiding light for all of us in the fight against xenophobia and family separation.”

The latest episode of popular horror series “Black Mirror” is available on Netflix today, but you’re not going to want to watch it on the Apple TV.

“Bandersnatch,” the new episode, is an interactive choose-your-own adventure style show where you make the decisions on how the story progresses. As it turns out, the interactive feature does not work on the Apple TV, Chromecast, the Windows App, or browsers using Silverlight.

According to a Netflix support document, its interactive content is limited to smart TVs, streaming media players, game consoles, iOS devices, and Android devices running the latest version of the Netflix app.

Those with Apple devices are going to want to use an iPhone, iPad, or web browser to watch “Bandersnatch” to get the full experience. If you try to watch on the Apple TV, you will see a message that the interactive content can’t be displayed, with Netflix recommending that you watch on another device. From Netflix’s website:

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is only available on devices that support interactive content. No linear version is available.

If you attempt to watch Black Mirror: Bandersnatch on a device that does not support interactive content, you will be instructed to switch to a supported device.

“Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” is available as of this morning on Netflix. You can make sure you’re watching a the episode on a compatible device if you see a red badge in the corner of the display.

The Indian government has announced it is allocating 100 billion rupees ($1.43 billion) for its first manned space mission, set to be launched by 2022.

“Today the Cabinet has given the go-ahead to the Indian Human Space Flight Initiative,” Information Technology Minister of India Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters in New Delhi on Friday. 

“We will send a 3-member crew for 7 days into space. We are aiming to complete the pilot initiative within 40 months from now,” he added.

New Delhi is aiming to expand the country’s influence in the competitive $300bn global space industry.

An unmanned test launch of the project is likely slated for December 2020.

The Ganganyaan project – Hindi for “Spacecraft” – is part of the government’s ambition to make India a global low-cost provider of services in space. 

In 2014, India put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming the fourth nation to do so. India’s Mars Mission cost less than the budget of the Hollywood space blockbuster “Gravity”. In November this year, India fired a rocket carrying 31 satellites into space, many on behalf of foreign governments. 

The Indian manned mission, announced in August this year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will aim to send a three-member crew to space for seven days. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said it hopes to deploy its biggest rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III to transport the three Indians into space.

Deterrence measure

For the manned mission, ISRO has already inked collaboration agreements with Russia’s Roscosmos and France’s CNES space agencies.

“A manned space mission is a natural progression in a country’s space journey. Commercial market space conservation is an important factor for India to develop its space capabilities. But over the last decade or so India has attempted to make changes to its space policy,” Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation told Al Jazeera.

“India has its own interests in space, beyond economics and development. Increasingly there are military and security related aspects driving India’s space program. For instance, China’s anti-satellite test in 2007 had given rise to new debate within India as to how India should develop it’s own deterrence measures,” she added.

India’s neighbour China first sent humans to space in 2003.

New Delhi’s space programme was launched in the early 1960s but it remains a small player in the global space industry.

Both China and India have dedicated billions of dollars to their space programs, but their budgets are still far below the US budget, which is estimated at $40bn.

With their ambitious space exploration and Mars missions, China and India have become members of a select club of space-faring nations along with US, Russia, France and Japan.

Despite its success, many have questioned the project’s steep price tag, which they say is too high for a country that still has to deal with widespread hunger and poverty. 

Netflix is no longer allowing new or resubscribing members to sign up for a Netflix subscription using an in-app purchase via the App Store, Netflix today told VentureBeat. The change appears to have been implemented late last month.

Earlier this year Netflix experimented with disabling in-app subscription options for Netflix subscribers in a number of countries, and as of today, Netflix says the experiment has concluded and the change has been rolled out to the entire Netflix platform.

As described on a Netflix support page, iTunes billing options are no longer available to new or rejoining Netflix customers. Those who currently pay for their subscriptions via iTunes can continue to use iTunes billing until their accounts are cancelled.

When opening up the Netflix app on an iOS device, there are no longer fields for signing up for a Netflix account within the app nor are there instructions on how to obtain a subscription, likely to avoid violating Apple’s App Store rules. The app simply offers a sign-in window and says that members who subscribe to Netflix can watch within the app.

Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines prohibit developers from asking iOS users to use a purchase method other than in-app purchase, which Netflix is skirting by offering no sign up options at all.

iPad and iPhone users who want to sign up for Netflix will now need to do so through the Netflix website rather than through the Netflix app.

Netflix undoubtedly made this change to avoid paying subscription fees to Apple. Apple collects a 30 percent commission on all subscription fees during the first year after a subscriber signs up for a service using an iOS app, and 15 percent every year thereafter.

Netflix does not need to pay the subscription fee for customers who sign up for the service outside of the App Store, and this change means that Apple will not be able to collect a portion of the $7.99+ subscription fee from future Netflix subscribers.

Update: A Netflix spokesperson provided the following statement to MacRumors, calling Apple a “valued partner”:

We no longer support iTunes as a method of payment for new members. Existing members who currently use iTunes as a method of payment can continue to do so.

Apple is a valued partner with whom we work closely to deliver great entertainment to members around the world across a range of devices including the iPhone and Apple TV.

As 2018 comes to a close, it’s a great opportunity to take a look back at the year that was. Yesterday we shared our review of everything Apple announced during the year, and today we’re taking a look at the rumors and leaks that gave us details on Apple’s plans ahead of those announcements.

This year saw the typical iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch updates, although there were a few wrinkles thrown in with the new iPhone XR size, a redesigned iPad Pro without a Home button, and some changes to the Apple Watch with larger displays and thinner bodies.

The Mac side also saw some interesting rumors and product releases, with major improvements to the MacBook Air and the Mac mini coming alongside minor enhancements for the MacBook Pro, but unfortunately a few of Apple’s Mac lines like the iMac and MacBook didn’t see any updates.

Below we’ve rounded up some of the most interesting and notable leaks and rumors for 2018, organized by product.

2018 in Rumors

iPhone

Following the September 2017 launch of the iPhone X, attention quickly turned to Apple’s 2018 iPhone lineup, and usual suspect Ming-Chi Kuo was quick to outline Apple’s plans for a larger 6.5-inch model and a lower-cost 6.1-inch LCD model, correctly predicting a number of details about the devices including a full-screen design with notch, rough pixel density, and general pricing range for what would become the iPhone XR.

In January, Kuo weighed in with a few more details about the iPhone XR, including its single-lens rear camera, aluminum frame, 3GB of RAM, lack of 3D Touch, and pricing. The claim of no 3D Touch was met with considerable skepticism, but it did in fact turn out to be true, with the iPhone XR offering a scaled-back Haptic Touch feature.

A month later, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman revealed that the iPhone XS Max would have a resolution of 1242×2688 and that it would be available with dual-SIM capabilities and a new gold color option. Apple itself revealed an unreleased gold version of the iPhone X that was submitted to the FCC in September 2017 and which became public in April 2018.

In early April, we also got word that a launch of (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 8 and 8 Plus models was imminent, and this indeed turned out to be true, with Apple offering a new mid-cycle color option to benefit a worthy cause.

Later in the month, Kuo returned to reiterate his claim that the iPhone XR would not support 3D Touch, outlining changes to the display and touch-sensing technology that led to Apple removing the feature.

By early June, we were getting a good idea of what the new iPhones would look like, with increasingly accurate design drawings and renderings surfacing, likely from third-party case manufacturers sourcing leaked information from Apple’s supply chain. And in late June we learned more details about the dual-SIM functionality of the upcoming iPhones, based on one physical SIM and one eSIM.

Early July was the first time we heard the 2018 iPhone lineup could see some vibrant new colors, with Kuo claiming that the iPhone XR would come in colors such as red, blue, orange, gray, and white. And a few weeks later we got our first really good look at the front glass panels for all three 2018 iPhones, clearing showing the slightly thicker bezels on the iPhone XR compared to the iPhone XS and XS Max.

Late July was also when we started hearing more substantial rumors that the iPhone XR might launch a bit later than the rest of the 2018 lineup, and this did turn out to be the case. The iPhone XR reportedly faced some technical challenges such as LED backlight leakage, but the staggered release also gave Apple an opportunity to spread out promotion of its new phones a bit.

Physical dummy units of the new phones also started showing up by late July, giving people an opportunity to see how the new models felt in the hand. We also learned that iOS 12 had optimized apps for landscape mode on the iPhone XS Max.

A major iPhone leak came straight from Apple just a couple weeks ahead of the company’s iPhone media event, when the company uploaded an image of the iPhone XS and XS Max in gold to its live streaming page for the event. The leak confirmed several rumors regarding the device, including its “iPhone XS” name. A week later, multiple sites learned that Apple was likely to use the “iPhone XS Max” name for its largest phone, while Mark Gurman indicated the LCD phone could be named “iPhone XR.”

Apple wasn’t done leaking its own announcements, as just ahead of its September 12 media event, the company prematurely updated the product sitemap on its website to list the new phones. The listings confirmed the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR names and also revealed the color and storage capacity options for each model.

iPad Pro

As with the iPhone, rumors about Apple’s redesigned iPad Pro kicked off in the final quarter of 2017, with Ming-Chi Kuo predicting that the device would include a TrueDepth camera system supporting Face ID. Just a month later, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman accurately described a number of other details about the iPad Pro, including slimmer bezels, a custom Apple-built GPU, Face ID, and no Home button. Gurman also correctly predicted that the iPad Pro would continue to use an LCD rather than an OLED display and that a new version of the Apple Pencil was in the works.

Following the release of iOS 12 betas starting in June, we began to see more evidence of Face ID support on iPad, with developer Steven Troughton-Smith noting that the AvatarKit framework used to drive the Animoji feature had been adapted to work on iPad.

In late July, we heard from Japanese site Mac Otakara that the updated iPad Pro would not include a headphone jack, following in the footsteps of recent iPhone models. The report also claimed the redesigned iPad Pro would include “diamond cut” edges on the front and back, and while the iPad Pro did indeed sport flatter sides and less rounded edges than on previous iPads, we didn’t quite get the beveled edges of the iPhone SE, for example. The report also claimed the Smart Connector would be moving from the edge of the iPad Pro to the bottom rear, which didn’t make a whole lot of sense at the time.

As the calendar flipped over to August, we saw our first sign of redesigned iPad Pro models direct from Apple, with a new low-resolution battery usage icon in the fifth iOS 12 beta depicting a device with slim bezels and no Home button. Similarly, UI masks found in the same beta indicated the iPad Pro display would likely include rounded corners similar to those found on the iPhone X.

Late August saw our first third-party case leaks for the iPad Pro showing a mysterious cutout on the rear of the device just above the Lightning port, which corresponded with rumors of a relocated Smart Connector. Speculation centered around a portrait orientation Smart Keyboard attachment, but that didn’t seem to make much sense and it really wasn’t until we saw the Smart Keyboard Folio unveiled at Apple’s October event that we really understood how Apple intended for the new Smart Connector location to work.

In early September, Kuo issued a new report claiming the new iPad Pro would come with a USB-C port rather than a Lightning port, and that an 18-watt USB-C power adapter would be included in the box.

Early in October, 9to5Mac reported that the new Apple Pencil would feature AirPods-like proximity pairing, rather than requiring the Apple Pencil be plugged into an iPad for pairing purposes. A few days later, we saw our first claim that the new iPad Pro would be just 5.9mm thick, Apple’s thinnest iPad ever. There was some uncertainty about whether this would be true of both iPad Pro sizes, but they did indeed both end up having the same thickness.

Just ahead of Apple’s October 30 event, Benjamin Geskin shared details on the second-generation Apple Pencil that would ship alongside the new iPad Pro, including aspects such as the simpler design, tap and swipe gestures, and magnetic attachment and charging along the side of the iPad Pro. On the same day, a higher-resolution icon was also discovered in iOS 12 revealing the design of the iPad Pro.

iPad

Shortly before the calendar rolled over to 2018, DigiTimes claimed Apple was working on an updated 9.7-inch iPad that could come in late 2018 at a cheaper price point. The timing and pricing claims were off, but Apple was indeed working on a new iPad. The website followed up in early February with a claim that a refreshed iPad could appear as soon as the following month, and a few weeks later new iPad models received certification with the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Once Apple announced its education-focused event in Chicago for March 27, Mark Gurman confirmed that Apple would be introducing a new iPad and education-focused software at the event. That same day, Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that the new low-cost iPad would also include Apple Pencil support, which turned out to be correct.

Macs

Rumors about a new 13-inch notebook surfaced all the way back in January, with DigiTimes claiming Apple was working on a likely replacement for the MacBook Air that hadn’t been updated since 2015. No other details on the machine were shared at the time, and confusion persisted all the way up until release about whether the machine would be a new MacBook Air, a MacBook, or something else, but it eventually made its debut carrying the MacBook Air name.

In January 2018, Gurman offered a vague rumor claiming that Apple was working on a trio of new Mac models that would include a custom coprocessor like the T1/T2 chips found in the MacBook Pro and iMac Pro. He didn’t specify which models these would be, but the claim did end up being true with the MacBook Air, updated MacBook Pro, and Mac mini all gaining the T2 chip in 2018.

Kuo popped up again in March to claim that Apple was preparing a cheaper MacBook Air for launch in the second quarter of the year. It was the first time we’d heard about the new notebook being an updated MacBook Air, and while the timing was a bit off and it certainly wasn’t cheaper than the previous model, the new machine was definitely in the works. DigiTimes followed up a few days later with its claim that the new MacBook Air would include a Retina display, which was welcome but expected news.

By late April, we started hearing better information on the timing of the new MacBook Air, with DigiTimes claiming it was pushed back to the second half of the year, tempering hopes that it might appear at WWDC in June. Reports in mid-August said we should expect a launch around the end of the third quarter, which would put it at the end of September, and we ended up getting it almost exactly a month later than that.

It wasn’t until the latter part of August that we got our first word of a redesigned Mac mini from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. He didn’t have much detail to offer at the time, although he said it would be focused on pro users with storage and processor options that would likely push the price higher.

By early September, we heard from Ming-Chi Kuo that the new MacBook Air would include Touch ID support, although it would not have the full Touch Bar seen on the MacBook Pro.

Apple Watch

Late March was the first time we heard anything substantial about the Apple Watch Series 4, with Ming-Chi Kuo revealing that the new models would include 15 percent larger displays, although at the time it wasn’t clear whether that would come from smaller bezels or a larger body, and it eventually turned out to be a bit of both.

The same late August leak straight from Apple that gave us a look at the iPhone XS and XS Max also revealed the new Apple Watch Series 4, showing off a gold stainless steel body, a new red ring for the Digital Crown, a larger edge-to-edge display, and a new Infograph watch face. Subsequently, it was discovered in the watchOS beta that the larger Series 4 model would carry a 384×480 display, a significant increase from the previous 312×390 resolution.

Apple’s premature update of its website sitemap just ahead of its September 12 event revealed that the casing sizes for the Apple Watch would be increasing by 2mm each, as well as various finish and band options.

Software

Following a number of performance and quality issues with iOS 11, Apple took a step back in 2018, with Axios‘ Ina Fried reporting in January that Apple would be delaying some changes originally intended for iOS 12, including a Home screen refresh, CarPlay enhancements, Mail app improvements, and various photo-related updates. By pushing those features back to iOS 13 in 2019, Apple hoped to put more emphasis on stability and bug fixes for iOS 12 while also improving responsiveness and speed. Mark Gurman quickly followed up on Fried’s report to claim that the feature delay also extended to macOS, although to a lesser degree.

In February, Gurman revealed that iOS 12 would bring Animoji to FaceTime and that the update would bring deeper Siri integration, improved Do Not Disturb options, and a redesigned Stocks app. And just a few days before WWDC, Gurman shared his expectations that the conference would focus on software news like digital health tools in iOS 12, ARKit 2, and more, with hardware news coming separately later in the year.

In late May, we found evidence of recent trademark activity from Apple surrounding several potential macOS names, with the greatest amount of activity surrounding the name “Mojave.” Apple itself was responsible for a major macOS leak just a week later, prematurely publishing a brief Xcode 10 video on its Mac App Store servers. The video revealed dark mode, an Apple News app for Mac, and a desert desktop background supporting the possibility of macOS 10.14 being named Mojave.

Miscellaneous

In what was undoubtedly the most ironic and amusing leak of 2018, an internal Apple memo cautioning employees against leaking information to the media was itself leaked in full. The memo specifically mentioned several previous leaks including the iOS 11 gold master, with Apple noting that the employee responsible for the leak was identified and fired. Apple also highlighted the fact that employee leakers can not only lose their jobs but also be subjected to criminal prosecution. The company said it caught 29 leakers in 2017 among its employees, contractors, and supply chain partners, with 12 of those individuals being arrested.

In early May, we saw our first leak regarding an Apple-designed 18-watt USB-C power adapter to support faster charging of iOS devices. There was confusion as to whether it would ship in the box with this year’s iPhones, and while that did not turn out to be the case, it did ship with the new iPad Pro models with Apple starting to sell it on a standalone basis a few weeks later. We got our first look at an actual prototype version of the adapter in early July.

What’s Next?

2019 should once again be a busy year for Apple and we’ll have more to say on that next week, but at a minimum there are still a number of rumors from 2018 that are carrying over into the new year – everything from the ongoing AirPower and AirPods saga to rumored over-ear headphones, Apple’s promised revamped Mac Pro, and much more.