Wear OS 2.1 is now rolling out to Google-powered smartwatches

We reported back in August that Wear OS was getting a hefty update from Google, and the new code is apparently now rolling out to compatible smartwatches. You might want to check the update screen on your wearable and see if the software is ready to go.
A lot of the new changes are cosmetic ones, with an improved, cleaner interface for notifications, the Google Assistant, and the newly revamped Google Fit. Wear OS should be easier to get around with the 2.1 update as well – you can use swipes from the main watch face to get to all the features that matter.
Google says Google Assistant for Wear OS is getting more proactive and may pop up with helpful suggestions when you need them (like a reminder to take an umbrella if it's raining). It might also suggest Assistant features you haven't tried yet from your wrist.

Wear OS vs Apple Watch

"As you go about your busy day, every minute matters," Google says. "We're evolving the design of Wear OS by Google to help you get the most out of your time – providing quicker access to your information and notifications, more proactive help from the Google Assistant, and smarter health coaching."
It feels like a critical time for Wear OS at the moment, with new hardware from Qualcomm ready to go and several premium smartwatches rumored to be in the pipeline. Apple just brought out its best Apple Watch yet and Fitbit offers several decent options too.
Any watch that could run Wear OS 2.0 will also be able to run Wear OS 2.1, so unless you're using one of the earliest Google-powered smartwatches in existence, you should be eligible for the update. Google hasn't specified how quickly the roll out is going to happen, so you might have to wait a few days before it reaches your wearable.

Apple's iOS 12 update is causing sporadic issues with iPhone charging

Multiple reports are suggesting that iOS 12 may have a bug, causing periodic and random issues with devices not charging when plugged in to a power source, or placed on a wireless charging pad without user interaction.
At Apple's discussion board, there are currently 108 users commenting on a potential problem with either the iPhone XS or iOS 12. The fault occurs when the user connects a Lightning cable to the charge port using a common wall charger, or place the device on a Qi charging pad.

Most of the time, the iPhone functions as expected, and immediately begins charging the phone.

However, on occasion, users plugging the phone will neither get a charge symbol, nor the noise that the device plays when it begins charging. Some users were able to get the phone to begin to charge by plugging it in, waiting between 10 and 15 seconds, and waking the phone —but not necessarily unlocking it.

"If i haven't interacted with the phone for some time, it becomes unresponsive to a charger being plugged in," said one user. "But if I unplug then lift it and start using it, it will recognize the charger."

UnboxTherapy tested a variety of iPhone XS units in studio and found they could repeat the problem. They tested nine separate iPhone XS and XS Max phones and were able to demonstrate the issue a handful of times. However, AppleInsider has not yet gotten the issue to manifest with an iPhone XS Max, iPhone X, or iPhone 8 Plus running iOS 12 connected to USB-A to Lightning or USB-C to Lightning plugged into either a computer, a wall adapter, or any one of a variety of Qi charging pads.

However, an iPhone 7 and 12.9-inch first-generation iPad Pro have both manifested the problem once each during some testing on Saturday evening.

The issue may be related to USB restricted mode, a feature that Apple developed to help secure data on the phone against devices that try and download a phone's data for law enforcement or nefarious purposes. USB restricted mode shouldn't be interfering with a simple wall charger, but the interaction that users are noticing, lifting the phone in order to get it to charge after it's been left idle, seems related to the need to unlock a device to get it to connect to a peripheral through Lightning.

The issue may also be manifesting elsewhere. Belkin's has confirmed that its original PowerHouse and Valet charging docks are incompatible with the iPhone XS family. Users attempting to use those devices are finding that the iPhone simply will not charge when placed on the device. Belkin has noted on the product page that the devices aren't compatible with the iPhone XS family, or the forthcoming iPhone XR —but has not elaborated as to why.

Apple's iPhone XS Has A Serious Problem

I’ve said it before: what Apple AAPL +0.3%’s iPhone XS (details) and iPhone XS Max (details) get right, they get very right indeed. But it’s now clear their biggest weakness is not just about saving money (and making the iPhone XR look good), it’s connected a fundamental flaw that may require a recall…
In short: many of Apple’s new iPhones refuse to charge. The news comes following a flurry of customer complaints across Apple Support Communities, Reddit, MacRumors forums, Twitter and YouTube. And YouTube’s most popular tech channel has now shown off how widespread this is.
Speaking to me ahead of publishing, Lewis Hilsenteger - aka Unbox Therapy - told me of “hundreds” of posts detailing a phenomenon whereby the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max won’t charge if they are plugged into a wall charger when in standby. Moreover, some of the phones become frozen and have to be reset.
Curious about how widespread this is, Hilsenteger attained eight iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max models and connected them to the standard charger Apple bundles in the box. Of the eight only two (one iPhone XS, one iPhone XS Max) worked correctly and charged from standby.
Five of the other six (two iPhone XS, three iPhone XS Max) refused to charge until their screens were woken up, while one iPhone XS Max refused to charge under any circumstances and froze for several minutes when the charger was inserted.
As Hilsenteger notes, Apple sells millions of iPhones, so it is impossible to fully comprehend the scale of this problem but based on his tests and the hundreds of comments across support forums and social media, it’s significant. Especially as some users note replacement devices exhibit the same problem.
As for solutions, they’re not great.
Some users have found flipping the Lightning cable over can help (which suggests a hardware flaw in the Lightning port). While the best alternative right now is to use a wireless charger. This isn’t ideal, however, because prolonged wireless charging degrades battery health and Apple is charging higher prices for iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max replacement batteries.
Consequently, the pressure is now on Apple to respond to this issue and confirm whether the problem can be fixed with software or if there will be a wider product recall. Ominously, one poster on Apple Support Communities reports Apple’s tech support is “aware of” the issue and recommended having the phone replaced, which again suggests this is hardware.
In an attempt to clear this up, I have asked Apple for an official statement and will update this post when I know more.
Ultimately, given its superior battery life and mouthwatering price tag, these latest iPhone XS revelations make it even more of a no-brainer to wait for the colourful iPhone XR…

LG Watch W7 smartwatch will allegedly launch alongside the LG V40

LG is set to reveal the LG V40 ThinQ smartphone on October 3, but a new report claims the company will unveil something else: the W7 smartwatch, which is said to combine the mechanical hands of an analog wristwatch with a digital display powered by Google's Wear OS platform.
Previous rumors suggested that LG’s next watch would launch back in April (which didn’t happen), but we haven’t heard much about its actual release date, aside from FCC filings hinting it's still in the works – until now. Noted leaker Evan Blass clarified that the device will be called the LG Watch W7 and launch alongside the V40.
It will be the first LG smartwatch to run Wear OS at launch, AndroidHeadlines’ report stated. The display will have a pixel density of 300 ppi (which may be lower than the Apple Watch 4, which 9to5Mac estimated has a 345 ppi screen density).
Many of the details, including the dimensions (45.5 x 45.4 x 12.9mm), screen size (1.2-inch, 360 x 360), processor (Snapdragon Wear 2100) and other specs align with previous leaks. This includes one of the watch’s more interesting benefits: 100 days of battery life with all the “smart” capabilities disabled.
The report claims that the smartwatch will also come in a Plus model, coming with both silicone and metal straps as well as a bonus charging cradle, though it doesn’t sound like its specs will differ from the base watch. The wearable will likely start retailing by June, and LG is allegedly targeting global availability, but that still looks up in the air given the possibility of slightly different models with altered specs.
We still don’t know how much LG’s smartwatch will cost, either. Given the price range of the company’s previous watches the LG Watch Style (which launched at $249/£229) and the LG Watch Sport (which started at $349), we previously guessed that the new model would cost about $300/£300 (around AU$400).

Related product: LG Watch Sport

Our Verdict:

The LG Watch Sport is the brawny and brainy smartwatch that’s able to keep up with all of your gym workouts, and smart enough to make calls and use Google Assistant with or without your phone in tow. It has the best specs of any Google watch so far and runs Android Wear 2.0. We’d only like it better if it had longer battery life and more apps.
 FOR

• Doesn’t require phone tethering
• Able to track strength training
• Appealing design despite big size

AGAINST

• Battery life falls short
• Missing some major apps
• Phone calls (US only) require a SIM card

iPhone XS Max vs. Galaxy Note 9 drop test: Apple’s phone doesn’t crack under pressure

It’s a battle of two of the largest smartphones on the market as drop test expert PhoneBuff on YouTube pits the new iPhone XS Max up against Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9. At the beginning of the month, shortly after the Galaxy Note 9 launched, PhoneBuff put Samsung’s latest flagship to the test against the iPhone X in a drop test showdown which the iPhone won (though not by much). So how does Apple’s biggest phone ever stack up?
If you watched Apple’s keynote live stream earlier this month, you might remember that the company referred to the glass on the iPhone XS and XS Max as “the most durable glass ever in a smartphone.” For a phone covered in glass, the iPhone X was already surprisingly durable, but how would a much larger phone fare?
As it turns out, the iPhone XS Max passes a majority of the tests with flying colors. Once again, the first drop shatters the back of the Note 9, while the XS Max suffers far less damage. Both phones held up incredibly well after the corner drop, with the screens fully intact and little more than scuff marks on the corners in terms of damage. Finally, on the front drop, the iPhone once again topped the Galaxy by keeping the cracks on its display contained.
But in the bonus round, which consists of dropping each phone from a significant height up to ten times until they stop functioning, the XS Max failed three rounds in. The Note 9, on the other hand, lasted all ten rounds. This was enough to give the Galaxy Note 9 a one point edge in the final score, but both performed admirably.

The New iPhones Look Fine. But My Old One Is Better Than Ever.

Apple’s new offerings are so good that I’m not buying a new iPhone.
I expect to save hundreds of dollars this year and enjoy what I’ve already got, because, thanks to Apple, my old iPhone 6 is performing better than ever.
This is the result of two unusual moves by the trillion-dollar corporation. One was Apple’s release this month of a new operating system that not only makes its new iPhones run well, but can also radically improve the performance of millions of old ones.
The other action was Apple’s decision last winter to let iPhone owners replace deteriorating batteries at a sharp discount under a program that continues through the end of the year. In combination, the two measures have thoroughly rejuvenated my old phone, and have the potential to do so for many others.
I don’t attribute this to pure altruism on Apple management’s part. Making old products run well for a long time is truly “the right thing to do for our customers,” Tim Cook, the company’s chief executive, said about battery replacement program. But it is also a smart business practice that can help Apple investors prosper over the long term, even if its actions deter some consumers from buying new iPhones now.
Unless articles like this one spur millions of people to defer purchases, Apple may have found a business strategy that allows the company to have it both ways: Charge ever more money for fancy new phones, while enhancing its reputation by providing value-oriented consumers with reliable products that can last for years.
What’s the magic that has rejuvenated my iPhone and given it powers it didn’t possess when I first bought it, nearly four years ago?
The answer is mundane. My old iPhone started getting younger in February, when I took advantage of the Apple discount to replace the phone’s aging battery for $29, down from the usual $79 out-of-warranty fee.
Until last winter, I had never even thought of replacing an iPhone battery. I accepted that it would wear out every couple of years, and assumed that because of the way Apple had engineered the iPhone, the smart move was to replace the entire device with a new, improved model. My phone appeared to be on its last legs. It ran out of power in a few hours, and sometimes shut down inexplicably.
But then came Apple’s “batterygate.” A furor arose as multiple iPhone owners reported that their devices were malfunctioning. It turned out that Apple had issued a new operating system that deliberately throttled speed when decaying batteries couldn’t cope with the normal tasks involved in running the phones.
Could this have been a case of planned obsolescence of a nefarious sort, the deliberate ruination of a perfectly good product to spur sales of a new one? I am not convinced that it was, although suspicions have been rampant for years that this kind of behavior might be standard for big tech companies. Facing widespread criticism, as well as lawsuits that arepending in California, Apple apologized late last year.
In a statement at the time, the company said it had meant well and had merely been trying to keep phones working longer. Critically, Apple said it would offer expedited services at lower prices for owners of old phones who wanted to replace their batteries. In March, the company also issueda minor operating system upgrade that made it easier for iPhone users to understand what was happening to their batteries.
While my new battery made my phone serviceable again, I still assumed I would have to replace it when Apple introduced the new models, and a new operating system, in September, as it does just about every year. New operating systems typically make old phones slow to a crawl.
But Apple executives said the new system, iOS 12, would be different. Older phones, going back to the 2013 model year, would work better this time, not worse. “We’re focusing our efforts especially on the oldest devices,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, said in June. “While it’s still early days, we’re excited with the results that we’ve seen.”
Apple now reports that in test conditions, older phones are indeed running much faster after iOS 12 has been installed. For example, the company says, the camera app opens 70 percent faster, the keyboard starts 50 percent faster, and under a heavy workload, multiple apps work up to two times as fast. In a full review, Ars Technica, the Condé Nast website, found similarly impressive results.
I downloaded the new software, and my phone works spectacularly now. Some people who installed iOS 12 have reported minor glitches, but that hasn’t been my experience. My phone can’t do everything the new iPhone Xs can do, but it seems fast enough to me.
Plus, it’s doing things it never did before. When I connect it with my car, for example, and start up CarPlay, I can now choose to see Google Maps on the dashboard, not Apple’s proprietary and, in my view, inferior mapping system. Allowing me to make that choice is the mark of a confident company.
A lot of other things are possible with my iPhone now. Searching for photos of family members is now staggeringly easy. Most important, the phone’s internal capacity seems to have been enlarged: I can read a book, switch to a magazine, start an audiobook app, return to The New York Times website, check my heartbeat and see how many miles I jogged this morning, all without crashing the phone.
Moderating this kind of addictive overuse is easier, too, thanks to functions that make it simpler to turn off annoying messages for extended periods. It’s like having a new, speedy phone, without having to buy one.
What’s the upside for Apple? By supporting my aging iPhone years after what might have been its sell-by date, the company has increased the odds that — when I do actually need a new phone — I will remain in the Apple universe, expensive as it may be to live there. My old phone, which cost $649 new, seems like a much better deal now, considering all the use I’m getting out of it.
Even before the latest changes, many people had been delaying buying a new phone. In Apple-speak, the iPhone replacement cycle has lengthened, and annual sales have not yet returned to the 2015 peak of 231 million units sold. As Toni Sacconaghi, senior analyst with Bernstein, points out, “If the iPhone replacement cycle continues to elongate meaningfully, that could undermine Apple’s fundamental economics.”
But for Apple, the saving grace is a surge in the average sales price from $671 for all of 2015 to well over $700 for the first three quarters of this year. In a mature smartphone market, pushing the average price higher — and it’s rising at double-digit levels, the company says — is crucial to corporate growth.
As the most valuable company in the world, Apple can surely afford to treat its customers well. By doing so, it may be able to keep millions of people paying for increasingly expensive products. And if some of us wait a year or two because we’re happy with what we’ve got, it won’t be the end of Apple’s prosperous world.

Wear OS 2.1 now rolling out, features long-awaited redesign

Earlier this month, Google announced a complete redesign for Wear OS. The update was designed to make everything more accessible - notifications no longer take up an entire screen, swiping left on the main screen takes you to Google Assistant, and swiping right displays health data. The quick settings has also been improved, with new shortcuts to Google Pay and Find My Phone.
Wear OS 2.1 was promised to roll out sometime in September with the new design in tow, and Google has narrowly met that deadline. A few people have already received the new interface, but no one at Android Police has it yet. Google says everyone with a supported watch should get the new interface "over the next month."
It's not entirely clear how the update is being distributed, since Wear OS consists of a phone app, a launcher application updated through the watch's Play Store, and an underlying Android system. Regardless, Google says any watch that received Android Wear 2.0 should get the new interface, which only leaves out a handful of first-generation models (LG G Watch, Samsung Gear Live, original Moto 360, etc.).

Microsoft suspends development of touch-friendly Office apps for Windows

The focus is on the iOS, Android, Web, and Win32 versions of the apps.
Microsoft has stopped developing new features for the touch-friendly Office Mobile apps for Windows 10, reports the Verge.
Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile first made their debut with Windows 8.1. Their significance is twofold: they have a user interface that's designed to be touch-friendly, and they're built using Microsoft's modern UWP (Universal Windows Platform) framework. They've been regularly updated since their introduction, but no longer. The use of UWP meant that the same app core could be used on both desktop Windows and Windows 10 Mobile, but with Windows 10 Mobile no longer a going concern, this compatibility is no longer a priority.
In a statement to the Verge, Microsoft said, "We are currently prioritizing development for the iOS and Android versions of our apps; and on Windows, we are prioritizing Win32 and Web versions of our apps."
On the one hand, Microsoft's decision is unsurprising. The traditional Win32 desktop version of Office is the definitive, most capable version of the application. As a practical concern, Microsoft has no choice but to continue to develop this version, because it's this version that the business world has come to depend on. It's this desktop version that's seen the most new features as part of Office 365. In that context, developing a second version of Office that's also for desktop Windows is superfluous. The Mobile apps made sense when Microsoft was promoting the use of Windows on tablets and when Microsoft had a presence in the smartphone space, because the Win32 apps just weren't useful for these platforms. That no longer matters.
On the other hand, this move is not without its costs. Microsoft has been trying to get third-party developers to build UWP applications. UWP applications have some desirable features: they're safer (because they're run in sandboxes and have a phone-like security model governing their access to files, cameras, GPS, and similar sensitive capabilities), they play better with power management capabilities (the operating system has greater ability to suspend them or terminate them to free memory), and certain parts of the UWP APIs are meaningfully more modern. In general, UWP applications should play much better with high-resolution screens, for example.
But UWP applications have had some big drawbacks: they only run on Windows 10, and in broad terms they required rewriting applications from scratch. The former issue is becoming less significant as Windows 10's market share grows, and the latter issue has been addressed in part by Microsoft's "desktop bridge," which provides a way to piecemeal migrate a Win32 application to UWP, but nonetheless these factors have limited UWP's appeal. If Windows 10 Mobile were on several hundred million smartphones then the price might be worth paying, but it isn't right now. That leads developers to make the same choices that Microsoft has—stick with Win32. With Microsoft now implicitly endorsing this path, it's hard to imagine UWP adoption to increase any time soon.
The move is also a bit surprising because Microsoft has very recently shown new hardware that uses the UWP Office apps. The company demoed its Surface Hub 2 systems this week, and one part of that demo included the use of the UWP Office apps. Surface Hub 2 is, after all, touch-based hardware, making the touch apps a better fit. The current Surface Hub cannot run traditional Win32 apps, requiring UWPs instead, and the features that make UWPs better behaved and more tightly controlled would seem valuable on appliance-like hardware like the Surface Hub.

Massive Surface Pro 6 leak reveals everything

Microsoft will hold a special event on Tuesday, October 2. Invites started going out at the beginning of the month, and several exciting things are expected to happen. First, we’re expecting an updated Surface Laptop and Surface Studio model. Then, an improved Surface Pro and Surface Book should also be unveiled, in addition to some “new gadgets”, as earlier reports hinted.
The mother of all Surface Pro 6 leaks is coming from Vietnam. It is a massive picture gallery of the supposed upcoming model, together with its retail box and spec-list. As you can see in the pictures above and below, you shouldn’t expect a major redesign. Instead, Microsoft will most likely focus on boosting the specs. A redesign is still rumored though, but that should happen next year with the Surface Pro 7.
A USB-C port is still not visible, but the system should be powered by the eighth-generation Intel processors. These promise improved power efficiency and increased performance. Fans will still likely be present because of the powerful processor. This is confirmed by the vents visible in the images. Rumors also mention a new Surface Pen, but that accessory is yet to show itself in leaks.
The Surface Pro 6 allegedly pictured here features a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. Of course, it will run Windows 10. You can check out the pictures below or hit the source link for the complete gallery.

watchOS 5.0.1 coming today, fixes a bug with the Activity Rings

A little over a week after releasing watchOS 5 to the public, today Apple is going to be releasing its first minor update: watchOS 5.0.1. This is a small update that aims at fixing some issues with the original release, including a bug that caused an incorrect increase in exercise minutes for some users.
Another issue that was bothering some users was one which caused the Watch to not track standing minutes during the afternoon, this update also aims at fixing this issue. The update should be available later today, over the air, for all users. We’ll update this post once it’s out and if we find any other fixes or features on the new version.
Full release notes:

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Fixes an issue that caused a small number of users to see an increase in exercise minutes
• Addresses an issue that caused some users to not receive Stand credit in the afternoon
• Fixes an issue that could prevent Apple Watch from charging

Samsung debuts Note 9 in silver and brings black model to the US

The Galaxy Note 9 has been out for over a month now, so it’s time for Samsung to get it back in the spotlight with the launch of some new colors. Though weirdly enough, they’re the most standard color options possible: silver and black.
At launch, the Note 9 was only available in blue and lavender in the US. That was a nice change of pace, since phones so often are only available in black and white. But it also meant that those standard, toned-down color options weren’t available. (The black version did launch in other countries.)
Now Samsung is rectifying that. The US will be the first country to get the Note 9 in “cloud silver,” starting October 5th through Best Buy and its own website. The “midnight black” model is supposed to launch later, on October 12th, though it already appears to be available on AT&T’s website.
Samsung likes to roll out new colors of its phones a few months after launch, presumably as a way to boost interest after they’ve been in stores for a little while. It’s not a bad strategy, but it usually does things in reverse — launches with tamer colors, then adds something more interesting later on. For the Galaxy S9, for instance, Samsung later brought a gold color to the US (and a striking burgundy launched elsewhere).
It looks like specs and pricing will remain the same, with 128GB models going for $1,000 and 512GB models selling for $1,250.

Microsoft Office 2019: Everything You Need to Know

You may have noticed that Microsoft began rolling out a new version of Microsoft Office early this week. That means that there are now three versions of Microsoft Office out in the wild—Office 2016, Office 365, and the brand-new Office 2019.
If you’re curious about this new version of Microsoft Office, we’ve put together this guide to answer the biggest questions about Office 2019, such as how it differs from Office 2016 and Office 365, what features are (and aren’t) included, and when you can actually use it.

What is Office 2019?

Microsoft Office 2019 is a standalone, local (not cloud-based, like Office 365) version of the Microsoft Office software suite. It is a “perpetual” release, which is just a fancy way of saying you buy the software once and own it forever, rather than having to pay an annual subscription fee to access it. That said, you only get a license to use it on a single PC, whereas a subscription to Office 365 lets you use it on a PC, a tablet, and a smartphone.
This new release updates and replaces the 2016 versions of Word, Excel, etc. and includes many of the new features that have been rolled out to Office 365 users over the past three years. We’ll get to those in a bit.

When is Office 2019 available, and how much will it cost?

Office 2019 is on sale now, but only for commercial-level customers. Availability will be rolling out regular ol’ customers like you and me in the coming weeks. That also means we don’t yet know what the price point is for individual users, but Microsoft will likely have that info soon. Expect to potentially pay a bit more than what you’d shell out for Office 2016 (currently $150 for the “Home and Student” version), as Microsoft already boosted the price of the commercial version ten percent to account for its “significant value added to the product over time.”

What are the system requirements for Office 2019?

Here’s a big change. On PCs, you’ll need Windows 10 for Office 2019; Microsoft will not support any versions of Windows 7 or 8. As always, Microsoft will make 32 and 64-bit versions of Office 2019 available.
For Mac, Microsoft will support the three most recent versions of macOS, currently macOS Sierra (10.12), High Sierra (10.13), and Mojave (10.14). As Microsoft notes:

“When a new version of macOS is released, Office 2019 for Mac’s Operating System requirement becomes the then-current three most recent versions at that time: the new version of macOS and the previous two versions. For example, at the time macOS 10.14 is generally available from Apple, Office for Mac will support macOS 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14.” 

What new features can you expect?

Here’s a quick rundown of the important updates Office 2016 users will see if they upgrade to Office 2019.
Microsoft Word
With Office 2019, Microsoft says it’s focused on helping you, well… focusbetter when writing in Word. To do so, Word 2019 will be getting the aptly named Focus mode, which darkens the screen and reduces the displayed UI elements.
Users will also have new “Learning Tools,” including new text-to-speech, text spacing, and translator features. Mac users will also now have customizable ribbons (aka drop-down menus) in their version of the Word interface.
Outlook
Like Word, Outlook is also getting a new focus mode, called the “Focused Inbox,” to help streamline workflow and email drafting. Users can now use “@” commands for tagging people in emails, and contact cards have been overhauled.
Also, PC users will now have travel and delivery cards, while Mac users get new email templates; a Send Later function for scheduling delivery times; and read receipts. Both platforms also get Office 365 Group integration.
PowerPoint
The changes for PowerPoint are all about enhanced media and visual element support in presentations. The notable additions here are support for 3D model display/manipulation and SVG files on slides; new morph transitions; the ability to export your presentation in 4K UHD video format, and you can now write by hand and move elements with your pencil while editing.

OneNote
OneNote is arguably the biggest change included in Office 2019. This is technically a new OneNote release entirely, one that can replace OneNote 2016 (though OneNote 2016 remains available and will be supported by Microsoft through 2025). This new version, dubbed OneNote for Windows 10, includes Ink-to-Text support, meaning your handwritten words will be turned into typed text, plus better syncing between connected devices.
Excel
Finally, Excel gets a host of new functions—like new formulas and chart options, and support for 2D maps and timelines—to better present and organize your data. PC users will also receive updates to Power Pivot, Power Query, and the ability to export to Power BI.

Better pencil support and other tweaks
In addition to these program-specific updates, there are also changes that apply to all Office 2019 software. The most important of these is Microsoft’s beefed-up support for digital pencils, like expanded “roaming pencil case” support, which lets users write by hand and move parts of documents with their pencil, as well as new support for pressure sensitivity and tilt recognition. Office 2019 also comes with some behind-the-scenes changes such as monthly security updates and a reduction to network bandwidth use.

Will Office 2019 replace Office 365?

No. In a post announcing the software release, Microsoft makes sure to point out that Office 2019 is a standalone package of its software geared primarily towards private users and businesses who do not have the necessary internet access required to use the cloud-based Office 365. Because of this, many of the features present in the Office 365 versions of these apps are not included in their Office 2019 counterparts, especially cloud-based and collaborative features.
Furthermore, Microsoft makes it clear that while Office 2019 will be receiving regular security fixes, it will not be getting expanded feature updates, while Office 365 users can still look forward to new and updated features through regular monthly updates just as they always have.
The bottom line here is that Office 2019 is not going to replace Office 365, and it really isn’t meant to. That said, regardless of the particular use case, Office 2019 still fills a crucial role and services a section of Microsoft’s customer base that may have felt a bit neglected since Office 365 took the spotlight.

ECG Feature on Apple Watch Could Take Years to Be Approved in the United Kingdom

Earlier this month, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 4 with a new electrocardiogram (ECG) feature that measures the electrical activity of your heartbeat, providing you with a heart rhythm classification that can be shared with your doctor. The feature isn't out yet, but it will be limited to Series 4 models in the United States later in 2018.
Today, 9to5Mac shared a potential time window for the launch of the ECG feature in the United Kingdom. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) explains that the process starts by examining Apple's documentation surrounding the ECG feature and performing an audit of the quality assurance system.

While this step doesn't appear to be lengthy, the proceeding steps could make the process longer. MHRA says it would require Apple to perform a new clinical investigation to judge the effectiveness of the ECG on Apple Watch, but Apple would likely not be able to use any of the data from the studies it's already completed because MHRA requires companies to notify the regulator in advance of a study.

Once the study is submitted, MHRA has 60 days to approve it (which may become longer if the regulators have further inquiries for Apple), and then Apple can begin the study. These last few steps are what the MHRA say "could potentially add years" onto the debut of the ECG in the UK.

You may need to carry out a clinical investigation as part of the process to obtain a CE marking for your medical device. You must inform MHRA if you are planning to do this at least 60 days before starting your investigation [providing] some basic details about the investigational device, the intended population, the type of study, and estimated application date.

The last factor could be the most time consuming and could potentially add years onto the CE marking process.

Despite the potential for years-long approval, Apple may find ways to expedite this process. While the United Kingdom remains part of the European Union, it’s possible that Apple could receive approval from a broader regulatory body and sidestep the MHRA's processes.

In the United States, Apple has obtained de novo FDA clearance for the ECG feature in the Apple Watch Series 4 and the feature that can send a notification if an abnormal heart rate has been detected. However, FDA clearance is not the same as FDA approval and the FDA does not recommend that the ECG feature be used by those under 22 or those who have already been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

The FDA warns that Apple's ECG app is not designed to replace traditional methods of diagnosis or treatment and is intended for informational use only. The Series 4 is the first ECG product being offered over the counter directly to consumers.

Elsewhere, Apple has said it is working with Health Canada to bring the ECG functionality to the Canadian market, although no timeline has been specified.

Just Google it: The journey from search to desktop OS

From search engine to a browser to Chrome OS.
It's hard to imagine, but only 10 years has passed since Google launched the Chrome browser in September 2008. A world without Chrome feels like a distant past -- it's now the most popular browser by a wide margin. Barely a year later, Google introduced Chrome OS. "It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be," Sundar Pichai, then the VP of product management, wrote in a blog post. He described Chrome OS as an open-source desktop operating system that was a "natural extension" of the browser.
In fact, Chrome OS was basically just a shell for the browser, which itself took cues from Google's roots as a search engine. "Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go," Pichai wrote when it launched a year prior. The search engine was built right into the address bar, saving us precious seconds that would have been wasted typing out "google.com."
But Google has eyed your desktop since before Chrome OS. It developed the ill-fated (and curiously named) Desktop, which was basically the company's take on the Windows Sidebar, and worked on Linux, Mac and PCs. It allowed users to pin widgets to a panel on the desktop and featured the search bar to make finding web results -- via Google, not its competitors -- easier.
More important, it also let you look for emails, files, music, photos, chats and web pages viewed on your machine through a feature called Quick Find. It's Google Search, but for stuff on your computer -- a novel concept back when it launched in 2009. Desktop was discontinued in 2011, three years after the birth of Chrome OS. Perhaps Google realized that making a program for other operating systems just wasn't as good as creating its own OS altogether. It gave the company the ability to focus on what it really wanted to achieve.
"Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS," Pichai wrote at launch. These are still core principles for the team, according to Kan Liu, director of product management for Chrome OS. "We've always had, from day one, a vision of trying to make computing fundamentally better for everyone," he told Engadget.
Since so much of what we do on our computers ultimately boils down to a search -- whether it's for information, a file or an app, nailing that experience is a key part of a good OS. "When we built Chrome OS we wanted to make search easier and more accessible by building it into all the surfaces where it could be useful," Kan said.
Unlike Windows, which has a homepage and Start menu littered with icons, Chrome OS is plain, with just the apps launcher on the bottom left. The first thing you'll most likely do on Chrome OS is launch the browser, and all it displays is the search bar. As the search engine continued to evolve and people came to rely on it more, it began to amass a wealth of information to become even more intuitive. Google used your search history to autocomplete your next query, serve you targeted ads and basically learn everything it needed to know about what you like. If you gave the company permission, it also started to use information from your email and calendar to display your flight info or contact details in your search results, too.
This laid the foundation for features like Assistant, which is sort of a personification of the search engine. If you think about it, every question you ask Assistant is essentially a search query, like "What's the weather like today" or "Text Chris Velazco." Search is deeply embedded in so much of Google's ecosystem and continues to power more of the company's wide-ranging empire. Assistant in Chrome OS will be a more apparent example of that.
"Surfaces like the Google Assistant have become and will continue to become more and more central to the computing experience people have every day," Liu said. The AI won't simply be a convenient means to get answers for questions you ask. "It has so much more understanding of what you care about and what you're doing and how to help you get what you care about done faster," Liu explained.
The march toward an AI-powered future is very much in sync with the rest of the company's plans. "Machine-learning is a huge part of where we think the world is moving and where Google wants to go and take our users," Liu said.
Google's goal for Chrome OS at the beginning seemed less ambitious. The OS was initially targeted at netbooks (because those were all the rage back then, remember?) and wasn't intended as a competitor to Windows. People weren't convinced that such a limited OS would ever succeed, especially since it relied primarily on browser-based apps, which themselves were relatively new and scant. If you needed to edit a photo or video, you'd have to download the equivalent of a Chrome extension to do that, and those were often poor substitutes of programs people really wanted, like Adobe Photoshop.
But then app support arrived in a big way -- Google added support for Android and Linux apps, alongside other new features and cosmetic updates. Now, the OS has given Microsoft some real competition, at least for users who don't need to do multimedia editing; it says something that companies like HP and Acer started making Windows-powered Chromebook alternatives in earnest. Chrome OS also offers a better multitasking solution than iPads do, since iOS isn't a desktop system. And Chromebooks themselves have proliferated, since the first ones arrived in 2011, shipping millions of units worldwide each year.
In fact, Chromebooks have a huge part to play in Chrome OS' increasing popularity. Sure, you can get Chrome OS in all-in-ones, mini PC-like boxesand some tablets, but it's predominantly found in laptops. Chromebooks are generally low-cost, lightweight notebooks that let you connect to the web, and found their greatest success in schools. Hordes of students have now come of age using Chrome OS, and Google hopes they'll want to keep using it once they graduate.
Chromebooks aren't all cheap, of course. Google made the premium Pixelbook -- a striking aluminum and glass machine. More laptop makershave followed in Google's footsteps this year, serving up premium Chromebooks for a more mature audience that wants Chrome OS in something other than cheap plastic.
Chrome OS has grown from a niche platform with very limited app support to a serious option for those looking to buy a laptop. And Google's not done working on it. "We'll continue to improve upon our core tenets of speed, simplicity and security, but also integrate AI features to bring a smarter and more intuitive OS," Liu said.
But Google hasn't forgotten about search. At its 20th anniversary event this week, the company announced a slew of updates to its search engine to better help people find stuff, even if they don't have the right words to express their nebulous thoughts. As Search continues to evolve, it's not difficult to imagine a day when Chrome OS, powered by a highly intuitive Assistant, becomes a desktop operating system that rivals Windows or Mac.

How to Download Microsoft's Big October Update for Windows 10 Right Now

Microsoft plans to release Windows 10 version 1809 at the beginning of October, but thanks to a little trick, you can grab the update now and take it out for an early test drive.
To get started, you’ll need the following:

• Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool (version 1803)—but don’t install it yet.
• Microsoft Windows 10 Media Creation Tool Helper

As this helpful writeup from Ghacks explains, you’ll need to put the Media Creation Tool and the extracted contents of the Media Creation Tool Helper into the same folder on your Windows desktop or laptop. You’ll then run the tool via an elevated command prompt, adding the “/selfhost” flag at the end: MediaCreationTool1803.exe /Selfhost
You’ll then be given the option to update your PC or create installation media for Windows 10 (with the big October update integrated). Go for the former if you want to live on the edge—you probably don’t want to install this update on your primary machine just yet—and try the latter if you want to install the update into a virtual machine, a safe solution for testing out all the new features.
If you’re having trouble getting this method to work, you can also try downloading and running the modified x86 and x64 Windows Media Creation Tools directly from Deskmodder.de.
As for the features you’ll get to play with, if your early upgrade works, Microsoft’s big changes with this October update include:

• A dark theme for File Explorer
• A clipboard you can synchronize between devices
• Texting from your PC (if you have a connected Android device)
• A brand-new tab bar, or “Sets,” for almost every app
• A new (Mac-like) screenshot capturing tool, replacing the (faithful) Snipping tool.
• A new “power usage” tab in the Task Manager to see which apps are eating up your laptop’s battery
• An updated Game Bar, featuring an FPS counter, as well as other details about CPU, GPU, and system RAM use
• More built-in emoji. Thanks, Unicode 11.

HP ENVY X360

HP adds a Ryzen processor and cuts some corners to deliver this low-cost 13-inch touchscreen convertible.
WITH THE LATEST update to its Envy x360 laptop line, HP has done what has long seemed nearly impossible: Jettisoned Intel from the CPU slot. In preparing this writeup, I scoured my archives of hundreds of laptop reviews I’ve written over the years. The last time I encountered a laptop with a non-Intel processor was in 2011.
AMD announced a mobile platform codenamed Raven Ridge, now known as Ryzen, in October 2017. While it has solid corporate sponsorship, Ryzen laptops aren’t exactly dominating the shelves. HP was one of the first to implement Ryzen, using it across the Envy x360 line. Ryzen is called an APU instead of a CPU because it combines both a 2GHz Ryzen 3 processor with a Radeon Vega 3 graphics core, all on the same die. You can think of it as your typical integrated graphics, just kicked up a notch or two.
But AMD’s Ryzen isn’t just designed to bring much-needed graphics improvements to the ultralight category, it’s designed to do so on the cheap. The entry level version of the Envy x360—which I received for review—is currently available (after discounts) for a penny shy of $600. That kind of pricing has been completely unheard of in the touch-capable convertible space. To compare, that price is almost half that of the similarly-equipped but Intel-powered Spectre x360 I reviewed just weeks ago.
This base configuration of the Envy x360 includes the aforementioned Ryzen, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. The 13.3-inch touchscreen (1920 x 1080 pixels) wraps around to the back of the device, allowing it to be used in tablet mode, or to be propped up, tent-like, for presentation purposes. Ports include two standard-size USB 3.0 ports and a mini USB-C port. A separate, cylindrical socket is included for charging, but as I discovered, the laptop will also charge via the USB-C port with a generic power adapter.

Walk, Don't Run

Performance is solid, if not earth-shattering. On general apps, the Envy was neck and neck with the Spectre x360, which was powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5. But on most graphics tests, it outperformed the Spectre by a factor of 20 to 30 percent. (It fell a bit behind the Spectre on a small number of gaming tests.) That may sound like a lot, but on the whole the graphics experience was underwhelming. Serious, current-generation games were simply much too slow to be played with any degree of accuracy, although, of course, you’d be crazy to try to use a $600 convertible tablet as a gaming machine. Worst of all: Battery life, at under three and a half hours, is downright awful at any price.
There are more serious drawbacks to the Envy x360, the most notable of which is stability. The Envy crashed repeatedly on benchmarks—and even installing benchmarks—often requiring numerous retries, updates, and patches to get things to work. With a few exceptions, I was able to get things stabilized, though using the Envy in day to day operations never felt completely comfortable. The fan is loud and runs at the slightest provocation, and the build quality of the hardware is not overly impressive, either. The island style keyboard is good enough, but the touchpad is erratic and stiff, with left- and right-clicks (and even taps) being frequently confused for one another. Under load, the bottom of the laptop can get blisteringly hot. (Hence the fan.) While it weighs an acceptable 2.9 pounds, the whole thing feels a little janky, and its hinge system is surprisingly loose and floppy.
The Envy x360 also continues HP’s particularly unenviable legacy of attempting to push as much shovelware down its users’ throats as is humanly possible. Two Candy Crush games are preinstalled on the system, and the HP JumpStart package offers over a dozen more ways to “customize your apps and weblinks” with mostly junk if you haven’t had your fill.
But hey, for 600 bucks, maybe it’s worth it.

Google Chrome Has A Nasty Surprise

With a massive 62% market share, Google GOOGL +0.05%’s Chrome dominates the web browser market. Chrome’s seamless updates are a major factor behind its success, but now the browser is under attack after its latest upgrade dropped a nasty surprise on millions of users around the world…
‘Great Secret Features’ and ‘Nasty Surprises’ are my regular columns investigating the best features / biggest problems hidden behind the headlines.
In a damning blog post entitled ‘Why I’m done with Chrome’, noted cryptographer and Johns Hopkins University professor Matthew Green has exposed a subtle change to the Chrome sign-in experience which has the potential to not only put your data at risk but also unwittingly synchronise it with any other users of your browser.
“From now on, every time you log into a Google property (for example, Gmail), Chrome will automatically sign the browser into your Google account for you. It’ll do this without asking, or even explicitly notifying you,” warned Green.
The consequences of this are significant, as anyone who uses your browser now does so with your account. Their browsing history and cookies synchronise with your Google account across all the devices where you use Chrome.
Furthermore, if they log into any Google service it will log you out of the browser and they can import all their bookmarks, settings, etc. When you sign back in, it has the potential to wreak havoc as one wrong click can see your data merged with theirs.
“Whether intentional or not, it has the effect of making it easy for people to activate sync without knowing it,” says Green.
His words have found widespread support. Notably, Green cites one ex-Googler who tweets: “it'd only take one misclick to actually start syncing.”
And given how Chrome seamlessly updates, these changes have automatically hit everyone.
So what can you do? Right now there's a hack: in Chrome navigate to ‘chrome://flags/#account-consistency’ then disable the ‘Identity consistency between browser and cookie jar’ setting. Yes, it's not exactly intuitive for the average user.
The good news is Google has promised to make changes. Chrome Product Manager Zach Koch has today published a blog post called ‘Product updates based on your feedback’. In it, Kock says the next major version of Chrome will allow users to disable the auto sign-in feature in settings, while the user interface will make it clearer when someone is signed in.
The problem is users will have to wait until “mid-October” for these changes to be rolled out, so you should remain vigilant for the next three weeks if you aren't comfortable running the hack. In addition, it’s important to note auto sign-in will remain enabled by default so you will need to turn it off manually.
Chrome has earned its position at the top of the browser charts on merit. It’s a slick, reliable, and secure browser which has remained unflappable for almost a decade while rivals have floundered.
But Google needs to remember Chrome is not the Internet, and the Internet is not Google services…  

Xbox One’s mouse-and-keyboard era will begin in “coming weeks,” Microsoft says

Developers will be able to choose whether to support KB+M controls in their games.

Here at Ars, we're old enough to remember when Microsoft first claimed that full support for keyboard/mouse controls on Xbox One was "months away." (That was over 27 months ago, for those still keeping track.)
In any case, Microsoft has announced via a Tuesday blog post that the long-promised mouse and keyboard support will finally be rolling out for Xbox Insider members "in the coming weeks." That could mean the feature is 27 weeks away, we suppose, but Microsoft also promises more information during a November 10 presentation of its Inside Xbox video series, less than seven weeks away.
Microsoft's description of the features bears a striking resemblance to the details shared in a recent developer presentation which leaked back in June. That includes a partnership with Razer to promote the feature and the fact that mouse and keyboard support on Xbox One will remain very much optional for developers.
"Developers can now build mouse and keyboard support in their games if and how they choose," Microsoft writes. "It's important to note that mouse and keyboard support for games is added on a title-by-title basis, entirely at developers' discretion."
Microsoft explicitly mentions Warframe as "one of the first titles testing mouse and keyboard input." That's a bit surprising considering that Microsoft has already gone to pains to test matches pitting controller-bound Xbox One players against PC-based mouse-and-keyboard players in Gears of War. That early testing resulted in "closely matched" battles, according to Microsoft, leading to cross-platform play for the game to be rolled out permanently.
While some developers will no doubt welcome this new world of control options on console, Fortnite developer Epic Games has already stated that it is taking action to segregate mouse and keyboard players who currently use third-party adapters to get the control scheme working on consoles. Overwatch developer Jeff Kaplan, on the other hand, took a slightly different take on the subject. Last year he said that he wanted console makers to fight those adapters by "openly and easily support[ing] mouse and keyboard for all players."

How to Downgrade Your iPhone Back to iOS 11

For most iPhone users, updating to iOS 12 should be smooth sailing: faster speeds and fun new features for all. And while we have yet to experience any issues with iOS 12 on our devices here at Lifehacker, we have seen a number of reports from others—especially those with older devices—who feel like they’re having battery issues after updating to Apple’s latest version of iOS.
If you’ve experienced issues with iOS 12 and they’re enough to make you run back to the safety of iOS 11, you have a little bit of time to downgrade your device before Apple stops signing iOS 11. (Once that happens, you’re stuck with 12.)
To get started, visit ipsw.me and look up your device. You’ll quickly be able to see whether any IPSW files—iOS firmware—are available for iOS 11.4.1:
If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to download the iOS 11.4.1 IPSW file to a desktop or laptop. Then plug in your iPhone, select it in iTunes, and hold down Shift or Option when clicking on the Restore button. Go find the IPSW file you downloaded, prepare to kiss all of your data and apps goodbye (anything you haven’t synchronized to iCloud, that is), and run the restore.
Remember, since you upgraded to iOS 12, you won’t be able to “restore” your iPhone from a backup that was made in iOS 12. You’ll have to set up your device from scratch, which means tackling a bit of configuration to get your iPhone looking and working just the way it was pre-iOS 12. If you kept a backup of your iOS 11 device before upgrading to iOS 12, you’re golden.

The Galaxy Note 9 Has a Big Problem

If you have a Galaxy Note 9, you might want to check the virtual buttons at the bottom of the handset's screen.
Some Galaxy Note 9 owners are reporting that the recent, home, and back buttons on the bottom of the smartphone's screen have become less responsive in recent days. Those users, who took to Samsung forums and other sites, said that the keys were working just fine when they bought the phone, but started to become less responsive over time.
"They seem to work fine about half the time but randomly become unresponsive," one poster wrote, according to Piunika Web, which earlier reported on the problem. "I may have to tap on them 10 -20 times to get my recent apps to pop up. Usually if I restart the phone they work fine for awhile."
Other users complained of the same problem, saying that the issue becomes a bit better after a restart but crops up again over time.
Soon after the reports surfaced, a Samsung representative took to the forums to explain what's going on. In a post, the person, who goes by the handle SamsungLarry, said that the problem only occurs when you've not set up Samsung Pay on the Galaxy Note 9 and the mobile-payment app updates to version 3.0.00 that Samsung recently released to the Google Play Store.
The representative said that Samsung is working on a fix to the problem that it "hopes to release in the very near future." However, if you're having the problem, SamsungLarry said users should "swipe the Samsung Pay 'hint' image up from the bottom of the screen three times and dismiss it." Apparently, that will address the issue.
"Or, of course, you could also set up Samsung Pay and start enjoying the best digital wallet out there," SamsungLarry said.

Other posters have considered another option: removing Samsung Pay entirely and no longer worrying about the odd bug.
The issue is just the latest in a string of flaws in Samsung's software, including periodically slow camera responsiveness and speaker problems, according to Piunika Web. The site also said that some Galaxy Note 9 pre-orders have yet to be delivered.

Apple's Super Big (and Pricey) iPhone Is 'Significantly' Outselling the XS, Because of Course It Is

When Apple announced the iPhone XS Max, there was a lot of simulated pearl-clutching from tech sites (including us), as people feigned shock and disbelief that Apple would make a handset that big, despite the XS Max’s screen being only marginally larger than what you get on a Galaxy Note 9.
And when people started to get their hands on actual devices, reviewers continued to ham it up with videos comparing the size of Apple’s big-screen phone to former NBA players and other silly juxtapositions. But still, with as much fuss folks kicked up about the XS Max, the extra-large iPhone is already “significantly” outselling the smaller model, according to a report from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
According to Kuo, the XS Max is off to a better than expected start with sales three to four times higher than those of the iPhone XS, which is quite impressive since with a starting price of $1,100, the Max is also the most expensive iPhone ever.
Kuo says across both models, 256GB is the most popular storage option, though part of that is due to the limited quantities of 512GB models, which rely solely on Samsung to produce the NAND flash needed for drives of that size. Kuo also says space gray and gold are significant more popular than the standard silver and white paint scheme, which makes sense since those are the new colors for 2018.
Now a lot of this demand for the XS Max could be reasoned down to this being the second year of the iPhone X, with relatively minute differences between last year’s model and the iPhone XS. But what’s more surprising have been all the people who didn’t see this coming.
Phones have steadily been getting bigger for years—ever since Samsung released to original Galaxy Note, which like the XS Max, was also called awkward and unwieldy at launch. In fact, if you look at the numbers, the iPhone XS Max is actually smaller than an iPhone 8 Plus—measuring 6.2 x 3.05-inches versus 6.24 x 3.07 inches—it just uses its screen real estate more effectively due to not wasting as much space on bezels.
So while Apple didn’t make it cheap, and contrary to what popular outcry might have you believe, Apple did give people what they wanted within the confines of its own walled garden: a phone with a truly big screen. And in places where iPhones also double as status symbols, being able to get your hands on the most expensive iPhone ever made probably didn’t hurt sales either.
On top of that, releasing the XS Max a month ahead of the iPhone XR is a pretty savvy business move, as it lets price-agnostic buyers get in on the action, while drumming up excitement for budget-conscious shoppers later in the fall.

Microsoft launches Office 2019 for Windows and Mac

Microsoft is releasing Office 2019 for Windows and Mac today. The update is designed for businesses and consumers that haven’t opted into Microsoft’s Office 365 service with monthly feature updates. Office 2019 is essentially a subset of features that have been added to Office 365 over the past three years, and it includes updates to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Project, Visio, Access, and Publisher.
Office 2019 will include a roaming pencil case and ribbon customizations across all Office apps. Microsoft is also bringing focus mode to Word, alongside a new translator, and accessibility improvements. Morph transitions, SVG and 3D model support, play in-click sequence, and 4k video export are all coming to PowerPoint.
Alongside these individual feature updates, Exchange Server 2019, Skype for Business Server 2019, SharePoint Server 2019, and Project Server 2019 will also be released for businesses in the coming weeks. Office 2019 itself will be available first to commercial volume license customers today, followed by consumer and other business customers in the next few weeks.

iOS keyboard cursor now works on all devices running iOS 12

One of the iPhone’s most useful 3D Touch features is the ability to turn your keyboard into a trackpad while typing, and with iOS 12, this functionality is coming to handsets without Apple’s pressure-sensitive technology. Mashable notes that you can enable the functionality by long-pressing the keyboard’s space bar at any time, at which point you can use it to easily move your cursor without having to obscure the text with your finger.
Apple introduced 3D Touch with the iPhone 6S, but it has opted to omit it on the cheapest of its 2018 models, the iPhone XR. Shipping a brand-new phone without the technology means that people will need to find alternative ways to access its functionality, and iOS 12 is giving us exactly that.
Does this mean we’re about to witness the death of 3D Touch? Prior to the iPhone XR’s announcement, multiple analysts predicted that Apple would drop the costly feature from at least some of its upcoming phones. It’s still present in this year’s premium phones, the XS and XS Max, but there’s no telling how long that’ll last when these handsets are already equipped with a host of other tempting upgrades, including gorgeous OLED displays.

Apple details Mojave support on Mac Pro, says some iMacs won’t support Boot Camp after update

Following the release of macOS 10.14 Mojave this afternoon, Apple has published a pair of support documents with details for specific machines. These documents relate to installing Mojave on older Mac Pro machines, as well as Boot Camp support on select iMacs.
First off, Apple outlines the graphic cards that support Metal and are therefore compatible with macOS Mojave on the mid-2010 and mid-2012 Mac Pro models:

• MSI Gaming Radeon RX 560 128-bit 4GB GDRR5
• SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5
• SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition
• NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition

Apple says that “some other third-party graphics cards” based on certain AMD GPU families “might” also be compatible with Mojave on the mid-2010 and mid-2012 Mac Pro models:

• AMD Radeon RX 560
• AMD Radeon RX 570
• AMD Radeon RX 580
• AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100
• AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
• AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
• AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100
• AMD Radeon Frontier Edition

The company notes, however, “third-party graphics cards vary, so you should check with the vendor of your specific graphics card for compatibility details.”
Meanwhile, in a separate support document, Apple explains that if you have a late-2012 27-inch iMac with a 3TB hard drive, you’ll have to ditch your Boot Camp partition in order to upgrade to macOS 10.14 Mojave.
After installation, you won’t be able to use Boot Camp to install Windows. Thus, you’ll have to rely on a virtualization option such as Parallels.

If you have an iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) with a 3TB hard drive, you must remove its Boot Camp partition before you can install macOS Mojave 10.14. After you upgrade to macOS Mojave, you won’t be able to use Boot Camp to install Windows on this Mac.

The alert “Installation cannot proceed with Boot Camp configured” appears only when you try to install macOS Mojave 10.14 on iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) that has a 3TB hard drive with an existing Boot Camp partition.
To install macOS Mojave on this iMac, first back up your Windows data, then use Boot Camp Assistant to remove the Boot Camp partition. After the Boot Camp partition is gone, you can install macOS Mojave.

Your iPhone Has a Secret Texting Feature You Might Not Know About

If you’ve ever wished there was a quicker way to easily edit your texts and notes when using your Apple devices, we’ve got good news for you.
Apple recently released its latest version of software available for its mobile devices and iPads on Monday, and one of the most handy tools you can tap into through the new iOS 12 is its text editing shortcut.
With iOS 12, Apple users who have devices that don’t automatically come with 3D Touch capability will now be able to utilize the feature.
For those not familiar with the 3D Touch capability, the feature allows users to quickly turn their devices keyboard into a trackpad to easily move the input cursor to points of interest when editing text.
While it is already available on the iPhone 6S and later devices like the iPhone 7, iPhone 7S, the iPhone 8, and iPhone XS, iOS 12 will now make it available across iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices regardless of their screen capability.
The feature works when Apple’s stock keyboard is open. Tap on the text if the keyboard is not immediately visible and once the keyboard opens, simply tap on the space bar and hold for a few moments. After a few moments, the keyboard will disappear to signal trackpad mode, letting users control the cursor with their finger to whatever location in the text they want.
Releasing the finger at the preferred location will leave the cursor at that stop for edits.
For devices that already have 3D Touch, users won’t need to wait for the keyboard to switch into cursor mode. Rather, applying force directly to the screen where the keyboard is located will instantly trigger the switch to trackpad mode, with the ability to highlight entire sentences and even paragraphs without needing to release your finger.
The new iOS 12 is available on devices that run on iOS 11, bringing the new capability to older models like the iPhone 5S, and the new iPhone XR arriving in October.

How to Stop Third-Party Apps From Reading Your Email

Whenever you click that easy “Sign in With Google” button on a company’s website, you’re granting the app or service access to some of your information. While in some cases that might just be access to your name and email address, for others you’re giving that company the ability to read your email as well.
Sure, that sign-on was super simple, but you’re giving something up in return.
The Wall Street Journal did a big story on this a few months ago, which surprised a lot of people. Now, it’s warning users again that there are still third-party apps reading your email. It’s a good reminder, and if you haven’t already, now’s a good time for you to check out what apps and services you’re granting access to your email to.
I know for me, there are a few apps I have intentionally given access to my email to in the past, specifically those that will let me know about price drops or help me get some cash from airlines if my flights get screwy. For instance, App in the Air has access to my Gmail, as does Streak, a service I use to track email.
To see what’s connected to your account, click here on a desktop computer.
From there, go to “Apps with account access” under the “Sign-in & security.” It’s the third option on the left sidebar if you’re having trouble finding it.
The next page will show you all the apps that have access to your Google account as well as all the sites you have saved passwords for using Google Smart Lock.
If you click on the app section, Google will list all the apps that have access to your account, along with what they have access to. For instance, I gave Pdffiller the ability to see my basic account and profile info, and my email address. If you see one you’d like to remove access for, click on it and a blue button will appear allowing you to remove it.
Unfortunately, if you want to use an app that needs info from your email, then you’re going to have to be comfortable giving that app access to everything or choose to give it nothing and not use it at all.
That said, it’s always a good idea to set a reminder to review what apps you’ve given access to your account to on a regular basis, both to remind yourself who might be reading and to revoke access to those apps you don’t want to use anymore.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 October 2018 update can’t check storage space – here’s what to do

Uh-oh, it looks like someone forgot to include the “check to ensure there’s enough storage space before installing” feature in the October Windows 10 update.
As PC World reported yesterday, Microsoft quietly published a support documentindicating people who attempt to run the impending October update on Windows 10 machines could find themselves rather frustrated if they don’t have enough available storage.
While, by their very nature, updates require users to have space on their storage device to download the file, it’s usually not a big deal. If you don’t have room, the installer software typically tells you to clear up some space before it runs. But that won’t be the case with the October 2018 update.
Microsoft says:

On Microsoft Windows 10 systems that have limited storage space (such as thin clients or embedded systems), when you run Windows Update, the update initialization may fail.

Luckily, Microsoft has come up with a brilliant solution: Make sure you have enough space.
This would be a great plan, except for the fact that the company hasn’t released the file size or installation storage requirements. We’re not faulting Microsoft for that, as it isn’t set to finalize the update until next week, but it does make it difficult to plan ahead.
But, past updates typically land in the hundreds of megabytes to a couple gigabytes range – so you’ll want to have five or six gigs free to just be sure. However, that’s sheer speculation: It could end up being a 500 GB monster for all we know.
If you want to clear up some space ahead of time, just to be prepared, here’s a few tips:

• Access Microsoft’s built-in storage cleanup tool by clicking Start > settings > Windows Security > Device performance and health. There you’ll see the “storage capacity” category which will indicate if you’re low on space.
• Uninstall apps and programs you don’t use by clicking Start > settings > Apps > Apps & features. Once there selecting a program or app from the list will display an uninstall button.
• You can check your download, video, music, and photo folders for files you no longer need.
• Move media files to an external hard drive, or cloud storage such as One Drive or Google Drive.
• Don’t forget to empty your recycling bin.

And, ultimately, until Microsoft reveals the file size, it may just be best to play it safe and hold off on the installation until you can be certain you have enough space clear.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft for more information and will update this article as soon as we’re able to confirm the file size for the Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

OnePlus begins rollout of its customized version of Android Pie

Just over one month after the official release of Android Pie, OnePlus is rolling out its version of the update to the OnePlus 6. OxygenOS 9.0, the company’s fork of Google’s operating system, delivers many of the same improvements as stock Android, including a tweaked interface, gesture navigation, and adaptive battery functionality.
The speed at which OnePlus has rolled out this update is impressive given that many manufacturers can take months to update to the latest version of Android, if they do at all. Less than 15 percent of devices are running last year’s Android Oreo, leaving 2016’s Nougat as the most popular version of the software. Google’s most recent attempt to fix the fragmentation issue is called “Project Treble,” and it could explain OnePlus’ speed in issuing this latest update.
OnePlus is also bringing Pie’s functionality to a broad range of its phones. The company has announced that it will eventually bring the update to 2017’s OnePlus 5 and 5T as well as 2016’s OnePlus 3 and 3T. Yes, that means that the oldest phone to get an Android Pie update so far is a OnePlus device.

Here's What You Can Do With Apple's New iOS 12 Parental Controls

Parents, to curb your kid’s phone usage, you may no longer need to hold their chargers hostage, yell out nightly countdowns (“Three more minutes!”) or draft up elaborate tech contracts that you’ll look at exactly once. At least, if you’re on Apple devices. The new iOS 12 parental controls are here, and they allow you to manage your children’s screen time—set app time limits, block off chunks of “downtime” and track their daily habits—all from your own phone. Here’s what you can do, and how to do it.
How to access the Screen Time feature for your child using your own device:

• Make sure both of your devices are on iOS 12.
  
• Set up Family Sharing if you haven’t already.
• Go to Settings > Screen Time.
• Scroll down to the names of those in your Family Sharing plan. Choose the child for which you’d like to set up parental controls.
• Enter a four-digit Screen Time passcode. Choose one that you can remember and your kid can’t guess. You’ll need it to approve requests for more screen time.

Now, here’s a look at what you can do with Screen Time.

Lock Your Kid Out of Their Phone During Family Dinner or Bedtime

The feature: Downtime

How it works: Remotely schedule a block of time in which your kid’s device cannot be used, such as during family dinner or his little sister’s flute recital. During this stretch, an icon will appear on all his apps indicating that they are not allowed to be used. (Phone, Messages, FaceTime, Alarm and some other functions will still work by default, but you can shut those down, too, if you wish.) If there are apps that you do want your kid to have access to during the scheduled downtime—say, bedtime meditations or white noise—you can make them Aways Allowed.
Tip: It might help to talk about your limits with other parents in your neighborhood. If you all plan to block your kids out of their apps at the same time, perhaps they can—gasp—call each other on the phone or even hang out IRL.

Put Time Limits on Fortnite (or Any App)

The feature: App Limits
How it works: Set a specific amount of time that your kid can be on certain apps each day. You can create limits for either specific categories, such as Social Networking or Gaming, or all apps. (It’s a little frustrating, however, as you don’t get to determine which apps go in which categories.) A warning will appear five minutes before the time is up, preventing screams of shock and despair. Once the allotted limit has been reached, your child can send you a request for more time, and you can either approve it or not.

See How Your Kid Is Really Spending Her Time On Her Phone

The feature: Activity Reports
How it works: On your own device, you can check out daily and weekly activity reports showing you how much time your kid is spending in each app (or across categories of apps), along with the number of notifications he’s receiving and how often he’s picking up his phone. It’s a way to know if he’s sneaking in games during third-period math or playing Roblox when he’s supposed to be in his room reading.
The reports can also be a good place to start a conversation with your kids about screen time, especially if you’re tracking your own phone usage. (I am, and it’s slightly horrifying.) You can ask your children how much time they think they’re spending on their phones, and then compare that to the actual data. As Tommy Sobel, the founder and CEO of Brick, writes: “Most people use their phones twice as much as they think they do, so seeing your actual minutes spent can be an incredibly powerful impetus to get real with yourself and get motivated about the need to take control of your phone habits.”

Block Content and Turn Off In-App Purchases and Location Services

The feature: Content & Privacy Restrictions
How it works: We’ve long been able to limit kids’ access to music, movies and other content on Apple devices, but with iOS 12, we can now do all of this remotely. Under iTunes and App Store Purchases, you can choose whether your child may install new apps, delete apps or make in-app purchases. Under Content Restrictions, you can set content ratings for books, music, TV shows, movies and apps. (I like how specific you can get—for instance, you may want to block “explicit” TV shows while giving your kid unfiltered access to books.) If you don’t want any app to know your kid’s location, you can indicate that, too.
As your kids get older and show that they can use their phones responsibly, you’ll want adjust their Screen Time settings in a way that makes sense. Let it be an ongoing conversation. If you need some talking points, check out our age-by-age guide to setting smartphone limits for your kids. 

Hands-On With Apple's New 6.5-Inch iPhone XS Max

It's officially iPhone launch day, which means iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max models are in Apple retail stores and have been delivered to customers all around the world. The first pre-orders began arriving this morning in the United States and millions of customers now have the new devices.

We got our hands on one of the new iPhone XS Max models this morning to check out that huge new screen, the new 6.5-inch size, the camera improvements, and the faster internals.
The iPhone XS Max's display measures in at 6.5-inches, and it features the biggest screen that Apple's ever introduced. Size wise, the iPhone XS Max is a good bit larger than the iPhone X and XS, but it's smaller in size than the iPhone 8 Plus despite the bigger display. It's bigger than the iPhone X, and smaller than the latest Galaxy phone.

Though large, the iPhone XS Max feels surprisingly light in the hand, perhaps due to its thin 7.7mm body and clever weight distribution by Apple. The bigger display looks incredible, as should be no surprise, and it's amazing for watching videos, looking at photos, or playing video games.

Face ID is slightly faster in the iPhone XS Max thanks to the improved A12 Bionic chip and neural engine, and the camera, though using the same 12-megapixel dual-lens system as the iPhone X, has some internal improvements that produce noticeably better photos.

We'll be doing a much deeper dive into the camera and comparing it with the iPhone X camera so stay tuned for that, but suffice it to say the iPhone XS Max camera is a solid upgrade over the camera in the iPhone X.

The A12 processor is 15 percent faster than the A11, which isn't super noticeable, but it does result in much better battery life. iPhone XS Max lasts an hour and a half longer than the iPhone X.

Many Apple retail stores had iPhone XS and XS Max stock available for walk-in purchases this morning, and stock should be replenished regularly. Orders placed today on the website won't ship out until October, though, so the store is your best bet if you didn't pre-order.

Pricing on the iPhone XS starts at $999 and pricing on the iPhone XS Max starts at $1,099.

As new iPhones go on sale, studies reveal chips from Intel and

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc’s latest iPhones hit stores around the world on Friday, featuring components made by Intel Corp and Toshiba among others, according to two firms that cracked open the iPhone Xs and Xs Max models.
The studies by repair firm iFixit  and chip analysis firm TechInsights here, published this week, are among the first detailed teardowns of the phones, which reviews suggested were a subtle upgrade from the tenth anniversary iPhone X.
Supplying parts for Apple’s iPhones is considered a coup for chipmakers and other manufacturers. While Apple publishes a broad list of suppliers each year, it does not disclose which companies make which components and insists its suppliers keep quiet.
That makes teardowns the only way of establishing the breakdown of parts in the phones, although analysts also recommend caution in drawing conclusions because Apple sometimes uses more than one supplier for a part. What is found in one iPhone may not be found in others.
Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.
The breakdowns listed no parts from Samsung and no chips from Qualcomm Inc .
Samsung in the past has supplied memory chips for Apple’s iPhones and was believed by analysts to be the sole supplier of the costly displays for last year’s iPhone X.
Qualcomm has been a supplier of components to Apple for years, but the two have been locked in a wide-ranging legal dispute in which Apple has accused Qualcomm of unfair patent licensing practices.
U.S.-based Qualcomm, the world’s largest mobile phone chipmaker, has in turn accused Apple of patent infringement.
Qualcomm said in July that Apple intended to solely use “competitor’s modems” in its next iPhone release.
The iFixit teardown showed iPhone Xs and Xs Max used Intel’s modem and communication chips instead of Qualcomm’s hardware.
The latest iPhones also had DRAM and NAND memory chips from Micron Technology and Toshiba, according to iFixit’s study. Previous teardowns of the iPhone 7 had shown DRAM chips made by Samsung in some models.
TechInsights’ dissection of a 256-gigabyte storage capacity iPhone Xs Max, on the other hand, revealed DRAM from Micron but NAND memory from SanDisk, which is owned by Western Digital Corp and works with Toshiba for its supply of NAND chips.
Toshiba’s chip unit Toshiba Memory was purchased by a private equity-led consortium earlier this year that Apple joined.
In the past, TechInsights found Apple used different DRAM and NAND suppliers in the same generation of phones.
“For memory – Apple obviously competes with Samsung and wants to reduce their reliance as much as possible – so totally consistent that we’d see Toshiba for NAND flash storage and Micron for DRAM,” Morningstar analyst Abhinav Davuluri said.
Jim Morrison, vice president of TechInsights, said in an interview that it appeared that one of Dialog Semiconductor’s chips had been replaced in the iPhone Xs Max by one of Apple’s own chips, but it was not yet known whether that also applied to the iPhone Xs.
Dialog declined to comment. In May, the company said Apple had cut orders for its chips.
IFixit and TechInsights technicians also found components from companies including Skyworks Solutions , Broadcom , Murata , NXP Semiconductors , Cypress Semiconductor , Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics.

What to do first when you get your new iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max

The iPhone XS and XS Max will make their way into the hands of excited customers as soon as tomorrow. Before your shiny new device arrives, review these eight simple steps to ensure that you're getting the most out of your investment.

1 - Backup your old iPhone the correct way

The first step is very important. If you're upgrading from an old iPhone, you need to make sure that its data gets backed up the correct way before attempting to transfer it over to a new device.

The easiest way to conduct a backup is through iCloud. Navigate to Settings > Apple ID > iCloud and make sure everything you want backed up is toggled to the "on" position. Scroll down to iCloud Backupand tap Back Up Now.
If you need more space and haven't purchased an iCloud storage plan, now is the time to do so. Tap back to get into iCloud settings, scroll to the top and tap Manage Storage. From here, you can update your storage plan to a higher tier.

You can opt to restore your new iPhone from the saved iCloud backup during the setup process.

The next best option is iTunes, which you can download for free on Mac or PC.

Connect your iPhone to your computer and when prompted enter the displayed passcode on your iPhone to authorize the connection. Click on the iPhone icon under the music controls and select This computer in the Backups section. Make sure to check the box that says Encrypt iPhone backup and enter a password. The phone should start backing up automatically, but if it doesn't, simply click Back Up Now.
If you don't encrypt your backup, your app passwords won't be saved, meaning you'll have to log into apps like FaceBook and Instagram all over again.

When you get your iPhone XS, simply choose the option to restore from a backup, and connect it to the same computer.

2 - Learn new gestures

If you're coming from an iPhone X, or have seen Apple's barrage of promotional videos for last year's flagship, you probably already know a lot of the basic gestures used to control iPhone XS and XS Max. If not, here's a short list of the most important commands: 

• Navigate to home screen — swipe up on home bar
• Notification Center — swipe down from top of screen
• Control Center — swipe down from top right of screen
• Siri Search — swipe down from center of screen
• Switch between apps — swipe left or right on home bar
• App Switcher — swipe up from home bar and hold or perform a swooping motion towards the right edge of the screen
• Reachability — swipe down from just above the home bar.
• Siri — press and hold the side button
• Accessibility — triple tap the side button
• Screenshot — press volume up and side buttons simultaneously
• Power off and SOS — press and hold volume down and side buttons simultaneously

3 - Enable High Efficiency Formats

Take advantage of Apple's excellent image compression software by enabling High Efficiency formats for your iPhone's camera. When enabled, photos and video use about half as much storage as they normally would while maintaining high image quality.

Navigate to Settings > Camera > Formats and select High Efficiency. This is a must for anyone who takes a lot of photos or video.

4 - Set up Face ID and Safari Autofill

Head into Settings > Face ID & Passcode >Set Up Face ID, move iPhone in front of your face and tap Get Started. Looking directly at the device, position your face in the frame and rotate your head in a circle. Onscreen graphics provide confirmation that Face ID was accurately logged at all angles.

Next, select the phone features you would like Face ID to protect. Typically, we make sure each one is on, including Password Autofill.

Below app and system access choices is an option to set up an alternate appearance. This feature is designed to add flexibility to the facial recognition system — saving a profile while wearing prescription glasses, for example — but you can actually use it to set up Face ID for another person, allowing two people to have access to the same phone.

Users can elect to turn off attention awareness, which makes sure you're looking at the screen before unlocking, by switching off Require Attention for Face ID. Turning the feature off will speed up Face ID authentication at the cost of added security.
To set up Safari Autofill, go back to iCloud settings and make sure iCloud Keychain is on. Navigate to Settings > Passwords & Accounts and ensure AutoFill Passwords is enabled. Finally, head to Safari settings and tap on AutoFill. There, you can select your info, and enable contact info AutoFill. You can also enter your credit cards so they'll be available for payment pages.

Now when you surf the web and log into any account, you'll be asked to save your password to Keychain. Tap yes and your info will be saved into keychain.

In iOS 12, users can also integrate from their favorite third-party password manager, like 1Password or Dashlane.

5 - Create your own Memoji

To take full advantage of Apple's new messaging features, you might want to create your own personal Memoji. Head into Messages, tap on a message, and tap the Animoji icon in the app bar. Swipe left to start creating your new Memoji.
An interesting change in iOS 12 is that Animoji now detects your tongue.

With the Animoji display open in Messages, tap on your Memoji to send a sticker or start a video clip that will be inserted in line with the text thread.

6 - Customize display settings

Navigate to Settings > Display & Brightness to customize how your phone's display reacts in different situations. Disable Raise to Wake if you don't want the display to automatically turn on when you pick up your iPhone.

You can set the auto-lock timer to something a bit longer than the default 30 seconds, and schedule and customize Night Shift so your iPhone won't keep you awake at night. You can also disable True Tone, which makes the screen look paper-white in any lighting condition.

Auto Brightness can be enabled or disabled in Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations.

7 - Customize Control Center

When you first get your new iPhone XS, Control Center will likely look pretty bland. Head to Settings > Control Center and tap on Customize Controls. Here, you can easily add and remove controls for Apple TV Remote, Notes, Screen Recording and more.

Add features by tapping the green "+" icons to add them, remove them by tapping the red "-" icon and rearrange them by holding and dragging the handlebar icons.
In Control Center, users can conduct force-touch gestures on each control to get additional options.

8 - Protect your iPhone XS

Last but not least, consider buying AppleCare+, or at least make sure you buy a good screen protector and case.

There's a number of changes to AppleCare+ this year, and you have up to 60 days after your purchase to decide whether you want Apple's warranty protection.

You can find the best — and cheapest — case and screen protector options on Amazon. If you're looking for the best case out there, we would recommend one of Apple's first-party accessories. 

This $13 RavPower wireless charging stand will make up for your iPhone XS's lame 5W plug

The new iPhone XS and XS Max are shipping out tomorrow, but it's not all good news: They still ship with the same 5W charger that takes forever to fill up your phone. That's why you need a wireless charger, and today, RaVPower's Qi-certified wireless charger is an all-time low of $13 so go grab one before they're all gone.
The RavPower charging stand won't charge your new iPhone any faster, but you can't beat the desktop or nightstand convenience. It's equipped with protections to keep your phone safe while charging, with safeguards against short circuits, overheating, and over-voltage, in addition to an 18-month warranty in case anything does go wrong. A built-in LED indicator light will let you know charging status at a glance, while the vertical design means this charger can double as a phone stand. Plus, with wide compatibility, this charger will work with many more devices than just the new iPhone, including fast-charging Android phones.
We haven't tried this charger ourselves, but it has 3.9 stars out of 5 on Amazon over 260 user reviews, with users pointing to the wireless convenience and low price (even before the discount) as reasons to buy.

Speed test shows how much faster your old iPhone will be after the iOS 12 update

We’ve been telling you that iOS 12 is a lot faster than iOS 11 from the first days of iOS 12 beta 1. Apple promised at WWDC that iOS 12’s primary focus is performance, and that showed from the first developer release. Now that the final iOS 12 build is available for everyone to download, old iPhones users may wonder whether they should upgrade their phones or wait. The answer is definitely yes. iOS 12 is a lot better than iOS 11, and the following speed test proves it.
YouTube channel EverythingApplePro, which performs such speed tests on a regular basis, compared iOS 12 against iOS 11.4.1 on all the iPhones that support the new iOS release — that’s iPhone 5s to iPhone X.
As you’ll see in the video at the end of this post, whether its boot times, benchmarks, animations, apps loading (camera and keyboard included), or using Touch ID/Face ID, iOS 12 is noticeably faster in most cases. Even battery life is slightly better on iOS 12, the video explains, although it doesn’t provide any numbers to back up the claim.
We already saw similar speed tests from other sources, including actual users, that reached the same conclusion. iOS 12 delivers a performance boost to all iOS devices, older models included.
If you own a relatively new iOS device, the speed gains are still noticeable but don’t matter as much as they do with older iPhones and iPads. In previous years, we’ve often witnessed issues with older gadgets running Apple’s latest iOS release, and we’d often advise you to downgrade to the previous iOS version or wait until Apple patches up various bugs.
But with iOS 12 that’s no longer the case. You could have easily run the public beta version of iOS 12 on an old iPhone or iPad. And Apple will further improve it as it gets closer to the first major iOS 12 update, iOS 12.1, which is already available in beta.