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Apple Developing TV Show Starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston

Apple is developing a new TV show that will star Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Described as a "morning show drama," the series will star Witherspoon and Aniston as morning talk show hosts, taking a look into the "cutthroat world" of morning TV.

The show is described as an inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the women (and men) who carry out this daily televised ritual. Brian Stelter's book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV -- which was previously in development at Lifetime as a TV movie -- will provide additional background for the show, which is based on an original concept by Ellenberg.
Reports suggested Apple was in a bidding war for the Aniston/Witherspoon show back in September, and it appears the company won out over competitors like Netflix and Showtime. While there's no script available for the show at this time, Apple has inked a deal for two seasons, each with 10 episodes.

Aniston and Witherspoon will star, executive produce, and co-own the upcoming show alongside Media Res, the company that will produce it for Apple. The series is written by Jay Carson, known for his work on House of Cards.

The new morning show drama is Apple's second series that's currently in development. Apple in October inked a deal with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Comcast's NBC Universal to create new episodes of sci-fi series "Amazing Stories." "Amazing Stories," created by Spielberg, originally ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987.

Apple so far has released two original television shows, "Planet of the Apps" and "Carpool Karaoke: The Series." Both of those shows aired exclusively on Apple Music, but it's not yet clear if Apple will also make its higher-profile content available solely on Apple Music or if it will also be accessible on iTunes.

Apple's push into original content is being led by former Sony executives Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, who joined Apple back in June. Van Amburg and Erlicht, who helped produce shows like "Breaking Bad," "The Crown," and "Better Call Saul," are running Apple's video programming efforts on a worldwide scale under iTunes chief Eddy Cue. Apple has also made several other video hires in recent months as it aims to better compete with companies like Netflix and Amazon.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)

Apple Developing Redesigned 2018 iPad With Face ID, Slimmer Bezels and No Home Button

Apple is working on a new high-end 2018 iPad that will adopt many of the design elements from the revamped iPhone X, reports Bloomberg. The new tablet device, which is likely to be a "Pro" model, will reportedly do away with the Home button.


It will feature slimmer edges, a faster processor, a custom Apple-built GPU, and built-in support for Face ID, allowing it to be unlocked with a facial scan much like the iPhone X. With Face ID, there's no need for a Touch ID Home button.
By removing the home button, Apple plans to noticeably reduce the size of the edges on the top and bottom of the device for the first time since its introduction in 2010, bringing the design closer to that of the recently released flagship iPhone X. The new version will mark the first revamped look for the iPad since the first iPad Pro debuted in 2015.
While the new 2018 iPad is said to be adopting many iPhone X features, Bloomberg's sources do not believe it will feature an OLED display. Instead, it will continue to use an LCD, likely because Apple suppliers are still working on ramping up OLED production. Samsung continues to be the only display maker capable of producing OLED displays suitable for an iPad, but technical and financial constraints will prevent Apple from adopting OLED at this time.

A new version of its Apple Pencil and new "software tools" for using the stylus are also said to be in development alongside the new iPad model.

According to Bloomberg, the revamped iPad is expected to be released "a little more than a year" after the prior iPad Pro update, suggesting it could see a launch sometime around September. Apple refreshed its iPad Pro lineup in June of 2017 at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Today's rumor is in line with prior reports from reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who previously said he believes iPad Pro models set to be released in 2018 will come equipped with a TrueDepth Camera and support for Face ID.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro

Apple Has Given Drake Permission to Produce 'Whatever He Chooses' Amid His Push Into TV and Film

In an in-depth article about Drake's push into the TV and film industry, The Hollywood Reporter claims that Apple has given the Toronto-born rapper permission to produce "whatever he chooses."


Here's what the report says, with emphasis ours:
But the biggest indicator of Drake's big Hollywood push is whom he is partnering with next: Steve Golin, who runs Anonymous Content (one of Hollywood's hottest production houses and home of Spotlight and Mr. Robot), for an untitled TV series; film studio A24; and, perhaps most significantly, Apple, which has given him the go-ahead to produce whatever he chooses — at least, according to Jimmy Iovine — just as the cash-flush titan is poised to shake up the content space.
Drake's exact strategy remains to be seen, but Apple says it will simply support whatever he wants to do, according to the report. After all, the artist has been an extremely valuable partner for Apple over the past few years.

Drake and Apple's Eddy Cue introduced Apple Music at WWDC 2015 via Associated Press

Not only did Drake help unveil and promote Apple Music on stage when it launched in 2015, but he became the first artist to top one billion streams on the service with his hit album "Views" last year. His show OVO Sound Radio on Apple's Beats 1 station also holds the record for the most listened-to episode to date.

"Drake almost single-handedly helped us become culturally relevant from the day we launched," said Robert Kondrk, a vice president of Apple Music.

The report claims American rapper Future, who is friends with Drake, may also have the green light from Apple to produce content.

"If I had a company today, I would give it to Drake and Future to run in a minute," said Jimmy Iovine, the record mogul who has worked at Apple since its $3 billion acquisition of Beats in 2014. "They're incredibly talented guys. Very, very gifted."

Full Article: Drake's Hotline to Hollywood: Inside an Ambitious Push Into Film and TV

Apple May Launch Augmented Reality Headset With Custom 'rOS' Operating System by 2020

Apple is ramping up development of an augmented reality headset that will have its own display and run on a new chip and operating system, according to well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.

A fanciful mockup of digital glasses via TechAcute

Apple aims to have technology ready for the headset by 2019, and could ship a product as early as 2020, the report claims. But the development timeline is said to be "very aggressive" and could still change.

The headset's custom operating system, based on iOS, is reportedly dubbed "rOS" for "reality operating system."
Just as tvOS powers the Apple TV, macOS runs on Macs and watchOS runs on Apple Watches, "rOS" will power Apple’s AR headset. Geoff Stahl, formerly a software manager for games and graphics at Apple, is one of the directors of the "rOS" software group.
Apple hasn't finalized how users will control the headset and launch apps, but it is investigating touchscreens, Siri voice activation, and head gestures as it creates prototypes, according to the report.
Engineers are prototyping a range of applications, from mapping and texting to more advanced features including virtual meeting rooms and 360-degree video playback. The company has discussed pairing the headset with its own version of the App Store, where users would be able to download content, just as they do with the iPhone, Watch, Apple TV and Mac.
Apple software engineers are said to be using HTC Vive headsets, while working on a device similar to an Oculus Gear VR headset that uses an iPhone's display and other hardware, both for internal testing purposes only.

An augmented reality headset is one of several hardware and software projects that a team of Apple software engineers are supposedly working on under the umbrella code name of "T288" in Cupertino and Sunnyvale.

The same team was behind ARKit, which provides developers with tools to create augmented reality apps for iPhones and iPads.

Gurman previously reported that Apple was considering a pair of smart glasses that would connect wirelessly to an iPhone, much like the Apple Watch, and display "images and other information" to the wearer.

The Financial Times has also reported about Apple experimenting with "several different kinds" of wearable augmented reality prototypes, as it tries to figure out the "most compelling application" for a headset.

Apple CEO Tim Cook alluded to any headset being at least a few years away during a recent interview about augmented reality.

"Today I can tell you that the technology itself doesn't exist to do that in a quality way," Cook said. "We don't give a rats about being first, we want to be best in creating people's experiences. Something that you would see out in the market any time soon would not be something that any of us would be satisfied with."

Related Roundup: Apple VR Project

iPhone X Camera Overview: Portrait Lighting, Video Improvements, Front-Facing Portraits and More

With each new iPhone, Apple introduces significant camera improvements, a practice that has established the iPhone as one of the most popular cameras for photography on sites like Flickr.

The iPhone X, as Apple's new flagship device, is no exception. It features new hardware and new features that have established it as the best iPhone camera to date, on par with dedicated point and shoot devices and even DSLRs in some modes. With the iPhone X now widely available, we spent some time with the iPhone X's rear and front-facing cameras to see just what they can do.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

There's an all new rear camera in the iPhone X, with two lenses arranged in a vertical orientation, a first for an iPhone. Apple chose a vertical orientation because of space constraints and design changes that required more available surface area for the front-facing TrueDepth camera.

The rear camera has a standard f/1.8 12-megapixel wide-angle lens that's paired with an f/2.4 12-megapixel telephoto lens. Sensors in both lenses have been improved, and the lower aperture of the telephoto lens means it's able to let in a lot more light for sharper images in poor lighting conditions.


In addition to sensor improvements, Apple has introduced a new color filter for more vibrant photos, and there's a new Apple-designed image signal processor that can detect elements in a scene for faster autofocusing and optimization of scene elements before an image is even captured.

Both rear lenses support optical image stabilization for the first time, for better photo quality in all lighting conditions, and better than ever portraits when using Portrait Mode.


There's also a new front-facing camera system, the TrueDepth camera, which is what powers Face ID with its dot projector and infrared camera and sensors. There's also a high-quality f/2.2 7-megapixel camera built into the TrueDepth system for taking selfies.

With the TrueDepth camera, the front-facing camera in the iPhone X now supports Portrait Mode right alongside the rear camera, so you can create Portrait Mode selfies with an artfully blurred background. Both the front and rear-facing cameras also work with the new Portrait Lighting feature for dynamically adjusting the lighting in a photo.

Photo taking isn't the only improvement in the iPhone X. The rear-facing camera supports 4K video capture at 60 frames per second and 1080p slo-mo video at up to 240 frames per second, both significant improvements over previous-generation devices. New video stabilization techniques, the aforementioned larger sensor, and the new image signal processor all go a long way towards improving video quality.

Along with this detailed look at the iPhone X's camera, we're going to be sharing a lot more iPhone X content over the course of the coming week, so make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel if you haven't done so already.

Related Roundup: iPhone X
Buyer's Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)

Apple Says iOS 11 is Installed on 52% of Devices

iOS 11 is now installed on 52 percent of iOS devices, according to new statistics that Apple shared today on its App Store support page for developers.

This is the first time that Apple has updated its App Store support page since the release of iOS 11, and the first look we've had at official installation numbers.


We've previously only seen installation estimates from analytics company Mixpanel, which appear to be quite a bit different. Mixpanel currently lists iOS 11 installation at just about 66 percent.

With iOS 11 installed on 52 percent of devices, 38 percent continue to run iOS 10. 10 percent are still on an earlier version of iOS.

iOS 11 adoption has been slower than iOS 10 adoption was last year, but the number of devices with the update installed has grown steadily since the new update was released.

Apple has thus far released several updates for iOS 11, including iOS 11.1, the first major iOS 11 update. iOS 11.1 introduced new emoji, brought back the 3D Touch App Switcher, and included some critical security fixes.

iOS 11.2, an update currently in testing, will be the first major update to bring a new feature -- Apple Pay Cash -- which could encourage additional users to upgrade to the new operating system.

Related Roundup: iOS 11

iOS 11.2 Public Beta Update Introduces Apple Pay Cash

Apple plans to introduce Apple Pay Cash in iOS 11.2 and watchOS 4.2, and starting today, the feature is available for beta testers in the United States. Apple Pay Cash is included in the new iOS 11.2 public beta that is being provided to public beta testers this morning. Some developers running iOS 11.2 are also seeing Apple Pay Cash appear as an option in the Messages app this morning.

Since the beginning of October, Apple employees have been testing Apple Pay Cash in a special version of iOS 11.1 that allowed the feature to be enabled through an internal device certificate. The test was initially limited to corporate employees, but later expanded to retail employees. Apple Pay Cash did not end up shipping in iOS 11.1, but it is apparently ready for iOS 11.2.


Apple Pay Cash works through the Messages app and is designed to allow for quick person-to-person money transfers, much like Square Cash or Venmo. It's available as a dedicated iMessage app in the built-in Messages app, with cash transferred through iMessage transactions. Though most Apple Pay Cash coverage has focused on the iPhone, money can also be sent using an Apple Watch.

Cash can be sent from a linked debit or credit card, while received cash is stored in an Apple Pay Cash card in Wallet that can be used for purchases or sent to a bank account. Sending cash through a credit card incurs a 3% fee, while sending cash from a debit card is free.


The Apple Pay Cash card available in Wallet is being made available through a partnership with Green Dot, a company that offers prepaid Discover cards. For Apple Pay Cash to work, both parties need to have the feature enabled and activated. Money can only be sent in a one-on-one message, with Apple Pay Cash not available in group messages.

Apple Pay Cash will also be available on the Apple Watch with watchOS 4.2, and users can send cash directly from the Messages app on the wrist-worn device.

To use Apple Pay Cash in today's beta, both people will need to be running the iOS 11.2 public beta. $10 minimum must be loaded onto the Apple Pay Cash card in Wallet, two-factor authentication must be turned on, and an iPhone 6 or later is required. Apple Pay Cash is limited to the U.S. at this time.

Apple first announced person-to-person Apple Pay as an iOS 11 feature at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, but it was not implemented in any of the iOS 11 betas and towards the end of the beta testing period, Apple confirmed it would be coming in a future iOS 11 update.

Related Roundup: iOS 11

Apple Releases Second Public Beta of iOS 11.2 for Public Beta Testers

Apple today released the second public beta of iOS 11.2 to its public beta testing group, one week after releasing the first public beta and a little over a week after the release of iOS 11.1, the first major update to the iOS 11 operating system.

Beta testers who are members of Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 11.2 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on an iOS device.


Those who want to join the beta testing program can sign up on Apple's beta testing website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas. iOS betas are not always stable and should not be installed on a primary device.

Apple is allowing public beta testers to test Apple Pay cash starting with today's iOS 11.2 beta. iOS 11.2 beta 2 also fixes an autocorrect bug plaguing many people. The bug autocorrects the letter "i" to "A[?]." Apple has recommended a temporary workaround in the form of a Text Replacement, but the problem will be fixed for good once iOS 11.2 is released.

iOS 11.2 fixes an animation bug in the Calculator app that caused some numbers and symbols to be ignored when entered in rapid succession. The update removes the animations from the calculator app so calculations can be done quickly with no need to pause between entering numbers to obtain the correct result.

In addition to the Calculator bug, iOS 11.2 introduces a new Now Playing option for controlling content on the Apple TV in Control Center, redesigned camera emoji, and a new loading animation for Live Photos effects.

Related Roundup: iOS 11

Corephotonics Sues Apple Over Dual-Lens Cameras in iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus

Corephotonics, an Israeli maker of dual-lens camera technologies for smartphones, has filed a lawsuit against Apple this week alleging that the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus infringe upon four of its patents.


The patents, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office between November 2013 and June 2016, relate to dual-lens camera technologies appropriate for smartphones, including optical zoom and a mini telephoto lens assembly.

U.S. Patent No. 9,402,032
U.S. Patent No. 9,568,712
U.S. Patent No. 9,185,291
U.S. Patent No. 9,538,152

Corephotonics alleges that the two iPhone models copy its patented telephoto lens design, optical zoom method, and a method for intelligently fusing images from the wide-angle and telephoto lenses to improve image quality.

iPhone X isn't listed as an infringing product, despite having a dual-lens camera, perhaps because the device launched just four days ago.

Corephotonics showed off some of its technologies at Mobile World Congress last year. In particular, it demonstrated software capable of combining the images of two separate camera lenses to create a more detailed picture, including the ability to optically zoom up to 5x with no moving parts.


Corephotonics, founded in 2012, describes itself as a pioneer in the development of dual camera technologies for mobile devices. The company's founders, led by Tel Aviv University professor Dr. David Mendlovic, have decades of experience in the fields of optics and miniature digital cameras.

In its complaint, a copy of which was reviewed by MacRumors, Corephotonics said one of its first acts as a company was to contact Apple. Despite receiving "many encouraging reports" and "positive feedback" from the iPhone maker, the companies never reached a license of any kind.
As one of its first acts as a company, Corephotonics reached out to Apple in the hopes of establishing a strategic partnership. Corephotonics received many encouraging reports and positive feedback from Apple about its technology, but the parties never concluded a license to the Corephotonics technology.
Corephotonics said Apple proceeded to release the iPhone 7 Plus with a dual-lens camera in September 2016, and has been willfully infringing upon its patents since that time. Corephotonics says Apple has knowledge of its patents, one of which the iPhone maker allegedly submitted as prior art in a patent application.

Corephotonics even claims Apple's "lead negotiator" said it "would take years and millions of dollars in litigation" before Apple might owe anything.
In fact, after one failed effort to negotiate a license, Apple's lead negotiator expressed contempt for Corephotonics’ patents, telling Dr. Mendlovic and others that even if Apple infringed, it would take years and millions of dollars in litigation before Apple might have to pay something.
It's worth noting that Apple acquired another Israeli camera company, LinX Imaging, back in 2015. LinX also specialized in creating multi-aperture camera equipment for mobile devices, and Apple presumably incorporated some of its technologies into the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus cameras.

Corephotonics is seeking damages of an amount to be proven in a jury trial, plus permanent injunctive relief. The complaint was filed with a U.S. District Court in Northern California, where Apple is headquartered.

Related Roundups: iPhone 7, iPhone 8

Fix for iOS Autocorrect Bug Reportedly Arrived in Latest Developer Beta, Coming to Public Beta This Week

For well over a week, many iOS 11 users have been noting a strange autocorrect bug plaguing their devices, which autocorrects the letter "i" to the uppercase letter "A" and a question mark symbol. Apple has issued a support document to help anyone facing the problem figure out a temporary workaround, but The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the bug has been fixed in the second iOS 11.2 developer beta released yesterday.

A few MacRumors forum members also mentioned a fix appearing in the second developer beta of iOS 11.2, although none seem to have yet confirmed the fix is implemented, likely because they never faced the bug in the first place. In The Wall Street Journal's report, an Apple spokesperson confirmed that an update fixing the problem "will be included in this week's public and developer beta releases."


A window for the non-beta fix wasn't given by Apple, but the company said the wide release rollout will follow, which was expected. At this point, it's unclear whether Apple will introduce the autocorrect bug fix in a quick update, or wait and launch it in iOS 11.2. It's been one week since iOS 11.1 launched, so 11.2 will probably not drop until later in November.
Nevertheless, Apple said it would patch the problem in an iOS update. “A fix will be released very soon,” an Apple spokeswoman said. It will be included in this week’s public and developer beta releases, with wide rollout to follow.
Although Apple originally stated that the bug was related to iOS 11.1, Apple confirmed that it "could also appear in earlier versions of iOS 11." Both The Wall Street Journal and multiple MacRumors forum members mentioned seeing the issue surface on devices running iOS 11.0.3.

If you are having trouble with the bug, Apple's temporary solution is to set up a Text Replacement for the letter "i" by visiting the Settings app > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. After tapping the plus button to add a new replacement, in the Phrase field type an uppercase "I", and in Shortcut type a lowercase "i".

You can also toggle "Predictive" off completely in the Keyboard section of Settings, although that would greatly hinder the keyboard usability for many users. Third-party keyboard apps like Gboard are also available to type on without having to worry about the autocorrect bug.

Related Roundup: iOS 11

Apple Glasses Rumors Resurface as iPhone Supplier Tapped to Make Parts for Augmented Reality Product

Catcher Technology, a Taiwanese company that manufacturers metal casings for Apple products like iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, will make parts for an augmented reality product, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

Apple Glasses concept via Gadgets Arena

Catcher chairman Allen Horng reportedly said augmented reality products "need to look good" and "be light enough to wear."
"Based on what we have learned, [new AR products] need to look good and be light enough to wear ... that makes the casings for such device very complicated to manufacture and there are still a lot of challenges to overcome currently," Catcher Chairman Allen Horng told analysts and reporters in an earnings conference on Tuesday.
Horng would not disclose which company was behind the augmented reality product, but given the comments and Catcher's relationship with Apple, the report has reignited speculation about so-called Apple Glasses.

Apple is reportedly exploring digital glasses that would connect wirelessly to iPhones and "show images and other information in the wearer's field of vision." The company supposedly has prototyped "several different kinds" of wearable augmented reality products, but a launch is still far away.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has repeatedly expressed a "profound interest" in augmented reality, recently said "the technology itself doesn't exist" to make the glasses "in a quality way." He said there are "huge challenges" with "the display technology required, as well as putting enough stuff around your face."

Jeff Pu, an analyst at Taipei-based Yuanta Investment Consulting, believes Apple's glasses will go on sale as soon as the end of 2019. Earlier reports mentioned 2018 as a possible timeframe, but that sounds increasingly unlikely.

Today's report marks the second time Catcher Technology has surfaced in the Apple rumor mill this week. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on Monday said the company will supply Apple with "more complex" metal frames for iPhones launching in 2018 for the purpose of improving cellular signal and data transmission.

Related Roundup: Apple VR Project

AT&T; Confirms iPhone X Demand 'Has Been Strong' Following 'Highly-Anticipated' Launch

AT&T; chief John Donovan has confirmed that demand for the iPhone X has been "strong" following the device's "highly-anticipated" launch in the United States and over 50 other countries just four days ago.


"All the signs are that customers love it. It's probably the most highly-anticipated version… and demand has been strong. So we're pleased," Donovan said at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Portugal, per CNBC.

Apple no longer provides first weekend sales numbers for iPhone launches, and it doesn't reveal iPhone sales on a model-by-model basis in its quarterly earnings results, but it did say pre-order demand was "off the charts."
We are thrilled to be taking orders for iPhone X, the future of the smartphone. We can see from the initial response, customer demand is off the charts. We're working hard to get this revolutionary new product into the hands of every customer who wants one, as quickly as possible.
Apple's guidance for the current quarter is between $84 billion and $87 billion, which would easily be an all-time record even at the lower end of that range, suggesting that iPhone X sales are and will remain very strong.

Localytics, a mobile engagement platform used by more than 37,000 apps, said iPhone X adoption outpaced iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus adoption over the first three days of availability following each device's respective launches.

iPhone X online orders placed today are estimated to ship in 3-4 weeks around the world. The device is also available to purchase in stores, but inventory is extremely limited right now, especially outside of the United States.

Related Roundup: iPhone X
Tag: AT&T
Buyer's Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)