Month: November 2018

Apple’s freshly launched iPhone XR and iPhone XS lines have hardware support for dual SIM configurations, but the rollout of the feature has been a bit delayed (or in the case of AT&T, rolled back) due to issues with carriers that have not been totally sorted out yet. Verizon, however, is reportedly planning on supporting the feature by next month.
In an internal Verizon memo obtained by 9to5Mac, the company told employees it intends to have dual SIM activations for eSIM and physical SIMs ready to go by early December:

Currently, the iPhone does not support high-speed Verizon service when used in a Dual SIM configuration, dropping down to the 2G CDMA network rather than LTE. This was especially problematic in certain geographies where Verizon has switched to offering LTE-only coverage.
As a result of these limitations, Verizon said it would not be activating service on any eSIM nor officially support Dual SIM activations.
At the launch last month, Verizon said they believed the software limitations would be resolved quickly with Apple’s cooperation. This latest memo indicates that it will stick to its promise and deliver eSIM and Dual SIM to iPhone XS and iPhone XR customers before the end of the year.

Note that the phones only support one eSIM and one physical SIM card slot outside of China, meaning that at least one of the lines will need to run through the eSIM slot.
9to5Mac noted that the projected early December date is likely to refer to the release of iOS 12.1.1, when a software update to make the dual SIM feature play more nicely with U.S. mobile networks may be rolled out alongside other features. However, the feature could also trickle out bit by bit via carrier-specific updates; per the Verge, AT&T and T-Mobile are still sorting out bugs with an unclear timeframe for a resolution.
If you find the idea of using two SIM cards for anything but traveling to a foreign country somewhat unfamiliar, survey data shows you’re probably not alone. As VentureBeat noted, few U.S. customers use dual SIM configurations, though it is more common in Asia and Europe, where many people use two SIM cards to toggle between work and phone lines and national or international carriers. Lack of support for dual SIMs was considered a barrier to expanding market shares in some regions, and VentureBeat reported earlier this year that dual SIM support had been under consideration as a China-exclusive feature.

Apple Support has responded to a report of an exploding iPhone X – occurring immediately after being upgraded to iOS 12.1 – by stating that this is ‘definitely not expected behavior’ …
Apple offered its response on Twitter.

That’s definitely not expected behavior. DM us, so we can look into this with you.

Gadgets360 reached out to Rahel Mohamad, who filed the report.

An iPhone X has apparently exploded in the US after being updated to iOS 12.1 on Wednesday. This development comes in from the city of Federal Way, Washington in the US where a user claims that his 10-month old iPhone X started emitting smoke and eventually exploded after it was successfully updated to iOS 12.1 […]
“This year early January I bought the iPhone and have been using it normally.” he said. The iPhone X was in process of getting updated to iOS 12.1 when Mohamad, as is standard practice, put it on charging. “Dark grey smoke started coming from the phone. The update was completed and as soon as the phone turned on it started to smoke and caught fire.”

The upgrade is almost certainly just coincidental. Mohamad says he was using the bundled Apple charger and cable to charge the phone, though the explosion took place after it was removed from charge.

When I held the phone it was very hot and I drop the phone immediately. Then it started to smoke.

Apple has asked him to ship the phone so that the company can investigate the cause.
It’s not the first time we’ve heard of an exploding iPhone. There have been a number of iPhone firesover the years, and the nature of lithium battery fires is that they can be both very sudden and extremely fierce, meaning that the ‘exploding’ terminology is understandable. Such fires are extremely rare, but will happen to any device selling in the tens of millions.
I’m sure we’ll all be relieved to know that it’s not expected behavior.

Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 test build, No. 18282, adds a new fully light theme, more updating, printing and snipping options and more tweaks.
Not everyone is a Windows dark-theme fan. (Hard to believe, I know.) For those who prefer to go to the light, Microsoft is introducing a new Windows Light theme — plus a number of additional settings tweaks in its latest Windows 10 19H1 test build.
That Windows 10 test build, No. 18282, which Microsoft is rolling out to Fast Ring Insiders on November 14, adds a new light theme which turns all system UI elements light. This includes the taskbar, Start menu, Action Center, tough keyboard and more. As part of this new light theme, Microsoft is adding a new default wallpaper highlighting Windows Light.
Today’s test build includes a fix for an issue which resulted in some users not being able to set Win32 program defaults for certain app and file type combinations using the Open with… command or via Settings > Apps > Default apps.
Microsoft is making the Pause Updates feature easier to find by making that option more visible directly on the Settings > Update and Security > Windows Update page. Pause can be enabled for a pre-defined number of days or until the specific day. Microsoft also is allowing users with shifting schedules to have their Active Hours setting — which dictates when a device should not be rebooted — to automatically adjust based on a device’s activity. (Users need to turn this setting on manually.)
Microsoft is adding some new printing options with Build 18282 and is adding icons to help users find the ones they need. Today’s test build also adds the requested window snip option to its Snip & Sketch feature.
For a full list of other changes and fixes, plus known issues, check out Microsoft’s blog post about 18282.
Windows 10 19H1 is the feature update for Windows 10 which should begin rolling out to mainstream users around April 2019.
Speaking of feature updates, Microsoft is starting to roll out the Windows 10 October 2018 Update for HoloLens today, November 14, which is the day after it began rolling out the revised October 2018 Update for PCs and IoT devices.

The new iPad Pro is deceptively nuanced. Its all-screen design communicates obvious simplicity and clearly defined function. But beyond the display is a story that’s still being written. Is an iPad Pro for me? How far can its software be pushed? Is this really supposed to replace my Mac? These are some of the questions I set out to answer when I picked one up last week.
When I arrived at the Apple store on iPad launch day, I told myselfthat I was just there to browse. Something about these new iPads captured my attention in a way previous ones haven’t. I left with the 64GB 11-inch model and an Apple Pencil.
My last iPad was the first to feature a Retina display. After purchasing the original model in 2010, my usage slowly declined. The iPad was fun, but I simply couldn’t justify one in my life between the iPhone and Mac. Over the past few years, I’ve watched from the sidelines as creative professional colleagues I look up to have embraced iPads in their work, especially since the release of the Apple Pencil. I decided to give it another try.
From the outset, I knew that I didn’t want to try to replicate my iPhone or 12-inch MacBook’s experience on an iPad. That meant passing on the Smart Keyboard Folio and installing a different set of apps. Both the iPhone and Mac serve important and unique roles in my work, and for the iPad Pro to earn its keep, it needed to be similarly distinct.
In addition to writing, my day-to-day workflow involves graphic design, layout, photo editing, and motion graphics. To evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of iOS, I installed apps like Procreate, Vectornator 2, CoreAnimator, Adobe Lightroom CC and Illustrator Draw.
Immediately, working on iOS just felt more fun. Illustration is a completely different experience when you can hold your canvas rather than look at it on a desk. In fact, it was so easy to get lost in projects drawing with the Apple Pencil that I felt like I needed to “get back to work” — even though I was working.
Working on iOS requires a change of pace, though. I’ve used Macs daily since 2008, and my workflow has become highly refined. Even though I’m completely familiar with the iPhone’s interface, using iOS 12 on the iPad Pro was a little like using a computer for the first time.
This is a bottleneck many creative professionals will encounter when first trying to use an iPad for “real work.” Pro iOS apps have completely different workflows than similar tools on the Mac. In many cases, iOS is much more elegant than macOS, but it still takes time to break old muscle memory. Is it better to work slower if the experience is more enjoyable?
Some pros will give up on the iPad as soon as they discover this stinging reality. Time is money, so why spend time relearning skills you’ve already mastered? I was puzzled by the same question for a long time. The iPad Pro was an enigma to me. What did other people see in it that I was missing? Why couldn’t I extract the same value? I felt like I was on the cusp of letting the entire future of computing pass me by.
Motion graphics software isn’t anywhere near as robust on iOS. File management is tedious. Working with vector shapes seemed more precise with a mouse and keyboard. The iPad Pro wasn’t ticking any of my boxes. Was I looking at the wrong boxes? My breakthrough came when I picked up Adobe Lightroom CC to complete some time-sensitive photo edits for a post. The precision of the Apple Pencil combined with the liveliness of the display created an experience unmatched on the Mac. I finished my edits in a fraction of the time it would’ve taken on a laptop.
It’s these moments where the iPad Pro shines. If you’re attempting to replicate your desktop experience on iOS, you’ll come away disappointed. Look to what an iPad Pro can offer that a Mac simply cannot. Just like my Apple Watch hasn’t replaced my iPhone, I don’t expect that my iPad Pro will replace my Mac. I typically use both devices side-by-side.
Pro workflows have always been about using the right mix of tools best suited to express your creativity. There doesn’t have to be one device to rule them all. For me, the Mac + iPad Pro feels like a natural extension of the same philosophy.
Miscellaneous observations:

• Don’t underestimate the 11-inch model. The display feels every bit as usable as a 12-inch MacBook. It’s brighter and more saturated, too.
• For graphics work, the iPad Pro is great for physically zooming in on your canvas by bringing the display right up to your eyes for a close inspection. You don’t lose clarity like when zooming onscreen.
• I have trouble remembering to use the double tap gesture on the Apple Pencil to switch tools. It will take some practice to form a habit.
• The Pencil’s battery life is excellent. It probably doesn’t need to be displayed when you attach it to the iPad. I’ve never come close to running low with extended use, and seeing the percentage causes “range anxiety” more than anything.
• My Pencil had some precision and responsiveness issues that turned out to be caused by a loose tip out of the box. Try tightening up your tip first if you experience similar issues.

Apple in October gave us a major surprise with the launch of an entirely revamped, updated version of the MacBook Air, its most popular and affordable notebook option.
We went hands-on with the MacBook Air last week, and this week, we picked up an older MacBook Air to compare the new model to see just what’s different and whether it’s still worth buying the old version, which sells for $200 less than the current model.
The previous-generation MacBook Air is a 2015 design, but in 2017, Apple introduced 1.8GHz Broadwell-generation chips that were a slight upgrade from the 1.6GHz chips the machine had previously used. No other changes were made, so technically, Apple’s old MacBook Air is outdated by several years.
Design wise, the new MacBook Air features a smaller, slimmer body that weighs a bit less, and the slimmer design is noticeable. It continues to feature the same tapered design as the previous models, and we didn’t think the weight difference of a quarter of a pound stood out.
Along with a slimmed down body, the new MacBook Air comes in three color options: Space Gray, Gold, and the traditional Silver. Space Gray and Gold are colors that are new to the MacBook Air lineup.
The biggest change to the 2018 MacBook Air models is the display, which is now Retina and a huge improvement over the low resolution display in the previous MacBook Air. The MacBook Air used to be the sole Apple device sans Retina display, but now Apple uses higher-resolution displays across its entire product lineup.
We thought the MacBook Air’s new display offered a significant improvement over the previous MacBook Air’s display, but it doesn’t quite measure up to the display of the MacBook Pro because it’s just not that bright. Brightness can be an issue outdoors in sunlight, so that’s something to be aware of.
Design wise, the front of the MacBook Air has been overhauled. Those thick silver bezels from the previous version have been replaced with sleek, slim MacBook Pro-style black bezels that look much, much nicer.
Several other MacBook Pro features have been brought to the new MacBook Air and are upgrades over the previous model. There’s a larger Force Touch trackpad, a third-generation butterfly keyboard, better speakers, a Touch ID button for authentication purposes, and a T2 chip for improved security.
Inside, the new MacBook Air is sporting a 7W 8th-generation 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor, and unsurprisingly, it’s much speedier than the three-year-old processors used in the prior MacBook Air. Apple used to use 15W chips in the MacBook Air models, but this new, lower power 7W chip is both fast and efficient, allowing for longer battery life than ever.
The last super notable change is to the port setup. The new MacBook Air has two Thunderbolt 3 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack, with Apple eliminating the USB-A ports and the SD card slot from the older model. The addition of Thunderbolt 3 brings the MacBook Air in line with the rest of the Mac lineup and allows it to connect to 4K and 5K displays, faster Thunderbolt 3 storage, eGPUs, and more.
All of these changes have raised the base price of the MacBook Air. Prior to the October update, the MacBook Air sold for $999, but now the base model sells for $1,199, a $200 premium. Given the scope of the revamp, the $200 upgrade fee is well worth paying for anyone thinking of purchasing a MacBook Air.
Apple is still selling the older model at the same $999 price point, but it’s just not worth purchasing because the components are so outdated at this point.
What do you think of Apple’s new MacBook Air? Let us know in the comments.

Taking low-light pictures on the Pixel 3 just got a whole lot better.
The camera on the Pixel 3 and 3 XL is already fantastic, but with Google’s latest over-the-air update available Wednesday, it gets even better. Known as Night Sight, Google first touted the feature during the Pixel 3’s original launch in October. The update lets you take better low-light pictures without a harsh, unnatural flash, meaning you can capture a clear photo of your dinnerplate the next time you whip out your phone in a dim restaurant.
Both the Pixel 3’s front- and rear-facing cameras will have Night Sight and the update will roll out to all Pixels, including the Pixel 2/2 XL and original Pixel/XL in the next few days. (The feature works best, however, on the Pixel 3 and its updated hardware.)
Night Sight works by taking up to 15 frames in a third of a second, so you’ll need to hold the phone steady for a second or two after firing the shutter as it renders the image. The camera uses machine learning to judge the right color, white balance and lighting conditions based on the content of the image, and if the camera’s gyroscope senses a notable amount of motion blur, it’ll shorten its shutter speed to reduce blur.
“Night Sight is HDR+ on steroids,” said Google engineer Marc Levoy in a previous CNET interview.
Night Sight is available in the camera’s menu option More, but if the camera senses a low-light scenario, a small dialog box will automatically pop up in the camera’s viewfinder to suggest turning it on.
The feature works impressively well. With dusk and night settings, Night Sight brightened up scenes with accurate colors and lighting sources that were true-to-life. But where it really shone (no pun intended) was in environments that had very, very little lighting. Cameras will always need some light to take a picture, but when I took photos in a dark room with very little light, the Pixel 3 managed to capture whole objects pretty clearly.
To see how well Night Sight works, take a look at these images below. Pictures taken with Night Sight enabled are on the right.
CNET editor Patrick Holland, who reviewed the Huawei P20 Pro, noted that phone has a similar feature. However, the Pixel 3’s photos ended up appearing more “realistic-looking.” In addition, while the Galaxy S9’s dual-aperture camera is a solid low-light performer, it blows out highlights and softens corners too much. The Pixel 3 with Night Sight captures images that are sharper and more detailed, and has a wider dynamic range overall.
Another CNET editor, Stephen Shankland, said he preferred the white balance on the Pixel 3’s Night Sight to that of the iPhone XS Max. In a photo of a park, for example, the Pixel 3’s image had warmer tones and colors were more true to life.
To see how these two phones fare against one another, check out the pictures below. Pictures taken with the iPhone XS Max are on the left and the Pixel 3’s Night Sight images are on the right.
In general, Night Sight works so well that it might end up spoiling you and giving you what you think is a “bad” low-light photo. There were a few incidents when I snapped a photo with the Pixel 3 and thought to myself that the image looked “terrible” because it looked grainy and I could see digital artifacts and noise. But soon after, I quickly realized I’d taken the picture in a near pitch-black setting and that it was noteworthy that the camera managed to capture anything at all.
For even more Night Sight pictures, click through the gallery below.