Apple plans to release a software update later this year that will make Siri more flexible with third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp, Skype, and Facebook Messenger, the company told Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.

Specifically, the update will enable Siri to default to the messaging app that a person uses most frequently to communicate with a given contact. For example, if an iPhone user almost always messages a friend via WhatsApp, Siri will automatically use WhatsApp rather than Apple’s own iMessage.

It will still not be possible to straight-up set third-party apps as default on an iPhone. Instead, the report claims Siri will decide which messaging app to use based on interactions with specific contacts. App Store developers will need to enable the new Siri functionality in their apps when available.

Currently, users must specify the third-party app they wish to use to message someone, such as “message John with WhatsApp.” Following the software update, a user could simply say “message John” and Siri would automatically know to do so via WhatsApp if it is the most frequently used app in that case.

This functionality will later be expanded to third-party phone apps for calls as well, but no timeframe was specified.

In a statement, Apple also defended the competitive landscape of the App Store in response to another Bloomberg story claiming that Apple’s default apps have a growing edge over third-party options in the App Store:

Apple offers our users an experience that is only possible from the integration of hardware, software, and services. From the very first iPhone, we have included apps to provide customers with a great experience right out of the box for making phone calls, playing music, surfing the web, and more. With every generation of iPhone we have advanced the built in capabilities for our customers with a few default apps designed for great performance, long battery life, seamless integration, and industry-leading protections for security and privacy. We have also created the App Store, the safest place to get apps, so customers can choose from millions of apps to find the ones that further enhance their iPhone. In the few categories where Apple also has an app, we have many successful competitors and we’re proud that their success is responsible for almost 2 million U.S. jobs in a thriving multibillion dollar market for developers. Our North Star is always to create the best products for our customers and that is why iPhone has the highest customer satisfaction in the industry.

Apple added that the Stories tab in the App Store has exclusively promoted Apple’s own software only one percent of the time.

This article, “Apple Plans to Allow Siri to Default to Frequently-Used Third-Party Messaging Apps Later This Year” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Atlanta-based company Social Technologies LLC today filed a lawsuit against Apple that accuses the iPhone maker of falsely indicating that it holds the federal registration for the trademark Memoji in the United States.

Apple has included MEMOJI® in its U.S. trademark list on its website since June 2019, with the ® symbol signifying a federally registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, despite the federal registration for the trademark belonging to Social Technologies LLC and not Apple.

Of note, Apple has successfully registered the Memoji trademark in some countries outside the United States, and several foreign countries also use ® to indicate that a mark is registered in that country, but fine print on Apple’s website says its list is for trademarks and service marks in the United States.

Memoji is the name of Apple’s personalized emoji feature for iPhone and iPad, introduced as part of iOS 12 at WWDC 2018. Apple has applied for two trademarks for the feature with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but both are currently suspended due to ongoing litigation with Social Technologies LLC.

Social Technologies LLC offers an Android app named Memoji on the Google Play store, which it describes as “the world’s best messaging app that will capture the facial expression of the end user with full-motion capabilities, and transpose the image into a custom, personalized emoji of the users actual face.”

Social Technologies LLC already sued Apple for trademark infringement in September 2018, and alleges that Apple even unsuccessfully tried to purchase the rights to its then intent-to-use application in April 2016, yet Apple proceeded to add MEMOJI® to its trademark list in June 2019.

An excerpt from the complaint filed with a U.S. federal court in New York:

Social Tech visited Apple’s Trademark List1 on June 17, 2019, a day before the deposition of Mr. Thomas La Perle, Apple’s Senior Director of Copyright and Trademark in connection with Plaintiff’s trademark infringement action against Apple in the Northern District of California. As of that date—June 17, 2019—MEMOJI was not listed on Apple’s Trademark List.

However, immediately following Mr. La Perle’s deposition, the Trademark List was updated to include the falsely designated MEMOJI® mark. On information and belief, Mr. La Perle orchestrated a scheme to undermine Social Tech’s registered trademark rights and mislead the public by causing Apple to add the falsely designated mark to Apple’s Trademark List.

Social Technologies LLC is seeking an injunction to prohibit Apple from using the ® symbol in connection with Memoji, as well as an award of monetary damages and legal fees. The small company also wants a declaration that it owns the only federally registered Memoji trademark.

Update – Oct 1: Apple has replaced MEMOJI® with Memoji™ in its trademark list.

The full complaint, sent to us by law firm Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP, is embedded below. Continue reading “Apple Sued Over Listing Memoji as One of Its Registered Trademarks Despite Ongoing Legal Battle [Updated]” →

With the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, Apple did away with 3D Touch across its entire iPhone lineup, replacing the former 3D Touch feature with Haptic Touch.

In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know about Haptic Touch and how it differs from the 3D Touch feature that’s been available since the iPhone 6s.

What is Haptic Touch?

Haptic Touch is a 3D Touch-like feature that Apple first introduced in the 2018 iPhone XR and later expanded to its entire iPhone lineup.

Haptic Touch uses the Taptic Engine and provides haptic feedback when the screen is pressed on one of Apple’s new iPhones. A Haptic Touch is a touch and hold gesture, and it can be used across the iOS 13 operating system.

Haptic Touch can be used by pressing in a relevant location until a little haptic pop is felt against the finger and a secondary menu pops up, with content varying based on where you’re using the feature. A simple tap will activate one of the options on the secondary menu that pops up.

How is Haptic Touch different from 3D Touch?

3D Touch supports multiple levels of pressure, so you could have a softer press do one thing and a harder press do another thing. As an example, Apple used the multiple pressure levels for “Peek and Pop” gestures.

On a 3D Touch device, you were able “Peek” into a web link to see a preview, and then press harder to pop into it and open it up in Safari, for example. Those secondary “pop” gestures are not available with Haptic Touch because it’s a single level of pressure (essentially a long press) rather than multiple pressure levels.

You can still sort of get the same functionality as Peek and Pop, but now it’s more of a Peek and Tap. Just press and hold to activate a Peek with Haptic Touch and then tap the relevant section of the menu or preview that pops up.

Where does Haptic Touch work?

Haptic Touch works everywhere that 3D Touch works. You can use it on Home screen app icons to bring up Quick Actions, you can use it on links, phone numbers, addresses, and more to preview content or to activate different gestures on the iPhone or to bring up various contextual menus.

There are some notable differences in how Haptic Touch and 3D Touch behave. As an example, with 3D Touch, you could press anywhere on the keyboard to turn the iOS keyboard into a cursor. With Haptic Touch, you have to use that gesture on the space bar, which is an adjustment.

Deleting apps has also changed somewhat. Rather than pressing and holding briefly to make the apps “jiggle,” a press and hold now brings up an option to “Rearrange” apps, which lets them be rearranged or deleted. You can still use the old method, but the press and hold needs to be a lot longer.

Below are some of the main things that Haptic Touch can do:

• Activating Live Photos
• Trackpad activation (with space bar)
• Expand notification options
• Activate Quick Actions on the Home screen
• Bring up quick reply options in Messages
• Preview links in Safari and access menu options
• Open new tabs in Safari
• Preview Photos and bring up menu options
• Preview Mail messages and bring up quick actions
• Activate the flash light on the Lock screen
• Activate the camera on the Lock screen
• Activate extra features in Control Center
• Deleting apps (the new Rearrange option)

Haptic Touch essentially works across the iOS 13 operating system and in most of the Apple designed apps, along with some third-party apps. Almost all apps have extra elements that can be activated with a Haptic Touch gesture, so it’s worth experimenting to figure out what’s what.

Does Haptic Touch feel different?

Haptic Touch does feel different, mostly because it works a bit slower than 3D Touch gestures. Haptic Touch is a press and hold sensation, while 3D Touch is a faster press with force kind of gesture that activates quicker.

The actual haptic feedback component of Haptic Touch feels similar to the feedback received from a 3D Touch, so in that respect, it’s close to indistinguishable. As mentioned, though, there’s no secondary level of feedback when using Haptic Touch like there was with 3D Touch.

Why did Apple get rid of 3D Touch?

3D Touch was never available on the iPad, so Apple may have nixed it to make sure the iPhone and the iPad offer a similar experience.

With Haptic Touch and a long press on the iPad, the gestures used to get to additional contextual information like Quick Actions are the same. That was never the case with 3D Touch — the iPad simply didn’t have the extra gestures available.

3D Touch was also something of a fringe feature that was never mainstream, which could also be a reason why Apple decided to go with something that’s simpler and ultimately more intuitive. One single press gesture is easier to use than a press gesture that supports multiple levels of pressure for different actions.

Where are the Haptic Touch controls?

Haptic Touch can be somewhat customized with an adjustable time that it takes to trigger Haptic Touch. You can choose between fast or slow activation, with the default setting being fast.

This feature is located in the Accessibility section of the Settings app:

• Open up the Settings app.
• Choose the Accessibility section.
• Tap on “Touch.”
• Tap on “Haptic Touch.”

There’s an option to preview the Haptic Touch feedback options right in the Settings app. Most people are likely going to want to keep the Haptic Touch feedback set to Fast because even Fast is on the slow side compared to 3D Touch.

The Future of Haptic Touch

Now that 3D Touch has been eliminated in the 2019 iPhone lineup and many 3D Touch gestures have been tweaked to be more Haptic Touch friendly even on older iPhones, Haptic Touch seems to be the new standard.

We can expect Haptic Touch to be the new feedback feature in iPhones going forward, and it’s not likely 3D Touch will be making a return.

Guide Feedback

Have questions about Haptic Touch, know of a feature we left out, or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

This article, “Haptic Touch vs 3D Touch: What’s the Difference?” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Twitter today announced that its Direct Message (DM) search feature is now available to all users, allowing anyone to search through the DMs they’ve received.

The new search bar is located above the the DM interface in the Twitter app or on the web and it can be used to locate specific conversations and key words.

DM search first debuted in August, when Twitter said that it was testing out the feature. Some users have had the search bar since then as part of the test, but as of today, it’s available for everyone.

Get your search on. DM search is rolling out to everyone on iOS today.

— Twitter (@Twitter) October 1, 2019

Twitter can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

This article, “Twitter Expands Direct Message Search to All Users” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple CEO Tim Cook is in Europe this week, visiting local Apple employees and App Store developers and even attending an Oktoberfest celebration.

Cook was in Munich on Sunday before traveling to Berlin, where he visited the offices of Blinkist, an app that distills non-fiction books into bitesize text and audio snippets, similar to CliffsNotes.

Cook also sat down for an interview with German news site Stern, and his comments were published today in German.

On the topic of the App Store and an anticompetitive lawsuit the U.S. Supreme Court allowed to move forward, Cook said (based on Google translation from German) that “no reasonable person would ever call Apple a monopolist.” He said that offering apps through the App Store isn’t a limitation, but at an advantage because of Apple’s rigorous App Store policies that keep customers safe from malicious apps and illicit content.

[Translated From German] “Customers buy an experience from us, and this experience includes a trustworthy place to buy apps in which we curate and check all applications. ” As a result, many apps would not come to the iPhone, such as pornographic offers, explains Cook. “But anyone can take their iPhone and access that content in the browser, but we do not offer it ourselves.”

Cook went on to address complaints about Apple offering its own App Store apps and competing with developers.

We have 30 to 40 apps – versus more than two million others.” Cook compares the App Store to a supermarket: “The likelihood that it has its own brand is very high, and who benefits from having another product on the shelf? The customer, and that’s a good thing.”

On the topic of Apple pricing, Cook said that Apple always tries to keep prices “as low as possible.” “Fortunately, we were able to lower the price of the iPhone this year,” he said, referencing the $699 price point of the iPhone 11.

Cook also answered questions about Apple TV+. When asked about whether Netflix sees the Apple TV+ pricing ($4.99 per month in the U.S.) as a challenge, Cook said that he doesn’t think competitors are afraid of Apple. “It’s not whether Netflix wins and we lose, or we win and they win. Many people use multiple service and we’re trying to become one of them.”

Following his meeting with Blinkest, Cook moved on to France and met with Ubisoft and Pastagames and then visited students and professors at Polytech Montpellier. Cook also visited several Apple Stores, including Apple Kurfürstendamm, Apple Odysseum, and Apple Champs-Élysées.

It’s been a busy and exciting few weeks for our retail team around the world! Wonderful to meet our customers and teams at Apple Kurfürstendamm 🇩🇪 and Apple Odysseum 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/dt284UDfnD

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 1, 2019

What a visit to Apple Champs-Élysées — such a magnificent store! Loved getting to join in on a #TodayAtApple photography session. pic.twitter.com/PnSm7EQDCo

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 1, 2019

Cook’s full interview with German site Stern can be read in its original German (or through a translation) on the Stern website.

This article, “Apple CEO Tim Cook Continues European Tour, Talks iPhone Pricing, App Store, Apple TV+ and More in Interview” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Winston Duke, known for his role M’Baku in “Black Panther,” is set to star in Apple’s upcoming TV series “Swagger,” reports Variety.

Duke will play Ike, a youth basketball coach who used to be a star player. Production on the show is set to begin in October, more than a year after Apple first picked up the series.

Image via Winston Duke

“Swagger,” which is based on NBA star Kevin Durant’s youth basketball experiences, is said to explore the world of youth basketball, the players, their families, and their coaches.

“Swagger” is one of the TV shows that Apple is developing for its Apple TV+ streaming service, which is set to launch in November. As production is first starting, “Swagger” won’t be available at launch and will instead be a show premiering at a later date.

Apple TV+ will cost $4.99 per month for up to six family members, and Apple is offering a free one-year subscription to customers who purchase an Apple TV, Mac, iPad, or iPhone.

This article, “‘Black Panther’ Star Winston Duke to Star in Apple’s ‘Swagger’ TV Series” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple will today release the first beta of an upcoming iOS 13 update, presumably iOS 13.2, which will introduce a feature that Apple promised at its iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro event: Deep Fusion.

According to The Verge, today’s update is aimed at adding Deep Fusion to Apple’s newest iPhones.

Deep Fusion is a new image processing system that uses the A13 Bionic and the Neural Engine. Deep Fusion takes advantage of machine learning techniques to do pixel-by-pixel processing of photos, optimizing for texture, details, and noise in each part of the image.

The feature is aimed at improving indoor photos and photos taken in medium lighting, and it’s a feature that will automatically activate based on the lens being used and the light level in the room. The wide-angle lens will use Smart HDR by default for bright scenes, with Deep Fusion activating in medium or low light and Night mode activating for darker scenes.

The telephoto lens will use Deep Fusion primarily, but Smart HDR will activate instead when the lighting is very bright. Dark Mode activates when the lighting is dark. The ultra wide-angle lens uses Smart HDR only and does not support Deep Fusion (or Night mode).

The Verge has a rundown on how Deep Fusion works, with info sourced from Apple. Deep Fusion runs entirely in the background, and unlike Night mode, there’s no option to toggle it on or off.

Deep Fusion is a complex process, with the hardware in the iPhone performing several actions when a photo is taken. Prior to when the shutter button is pressed, the camera captures three frames at a fast shutter speed to freeze motion. When the shutter press happens, an additional three photos are captured, and then one longer photo is taken to preserve detail.

The three regular photos and the long-exposure shot are merged into what Apple is calling a “synthetic long,” which is different from Smart HDR. Deep Fusion chooses the short exposure image that has the most detail, and then merges it with the synthetic long exposure (it’s just two frames that are merged).

The images are then run through a four-step processing procedure, pixel by pixel, aimed at increasing detail and providing instructions to the A13 chip on how the two images (detail, tone, color, luminance and more) should be blended together.

Taking a Deep Fusion shot takes just a bit longer than taking a normal Smart HDR image, right around a second, so Apple will initially show a proxy image if you tap over into Photos right after taking a Deep Fusion shot, though it will quickly be replaced with the full Deep Fusion image.

Update: According to TechCrunch‘s Matthew Panzarino, the developer beta that features the Deep Fusion update has been delayed and it will not be available today. There is no official word on when it will launch, but John Gruber of Daring Fireball says that it’s set to come tomorrow.

Developer beta containing Deep Fusion will not ship today after all. No date just ‘coming’. https://t.co/dNsEcqTcVv

— Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) October 1, 2019

This article, “Apple Releasing New iOS 13 Developer Beta Today With Deep Fusion for New iPhones [Update: Delayed]” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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With last month’s iPhone 11 and Apple Watch Series 5 event in the rearview mirror, and several more products in the rumor mill, it is fun to look ahead and speculate about if and when Apple might host an October event this year.

Apple has several rumored products in its pipeline, including a 16-inch MacBook Pro with a scissor keyboard and an all-new design, refreshed iPad Pro models that will possibly sport triple-lens rear camera systems, a refreshed Apple TV, and just maybe the so-called Apple Tags items trackers if they are ready.

Apple has also yet to reveal a release date for its redesigned Mac Pro, having only teased that it is “coming this fall.”

To be clear, there is no guarantee that Apple will host another event this month, but there is certainly a chance given that Apple has done so in five of the past seven years. All of those October events focused on the Mac, iPad, or both, and all took place within the second half of the month.

Last year, for example, Apple hosted an event on Tuesday, October 30 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and it wouldn’t be a stretch of imagination to think that an October event this year could take place around the same time.

Apple analyst Neil Cybart shared an interesting observation on Twitter today, noting that Apple has reported its quarterly earnings results on a Tuesday for five out of the past six quarters. For the quarter just ended, however, Apple will report its earnings on Wednesday, October 30.

Apple is going to report FY4Q19 earnings on October 30th. That’s a Wednesday.

Since early 2018, the only other time that Apple earnings didn’t fall on a Tuesday, Apple held a product event earlier in the week.

Could be nothing OR could indicate something occurring on Oct 28th.

— Neil Cybart (@neilcybart) October 1, 2019

On the same day of Apple’s earnings reports, CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri join analysts on a conference call to discuss the results.

The above might seem insignificant, but the last time Apple’s earnings did not fall on a Tuesday was nearly a year ago, when it shared results on Thursday, November 1. This is likely because on the Tuesday prior, Apple was busy hosting its Brooklyn event, unveiling new iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini models.

Naturally, this leads to the idea that Apple could be planning to host an event in the final week of October.

Cybart speculates that Monday, October 28 could be the date of the event, presumably given the two-day gap between Apple’s event and earnings call last October, but Apple typically holds events on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Tuesday, October 29 is probably a better guess for a potential Apple event this month.

If so, the final week of October could include Apple’s event on Tuesday, Apple’s earnings on Wednesday, and Apple TV+ launching on Friday.

Of course, Apple could surprise us with invites to an event on a different day of this month and render all of this moot. This is merely speculation for the sake of discussion, and nothing is official until it is official.

This article, “When to Expect Apple’s Next Event: 16-Inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro Refresh, and More?” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today refreshed iTunes with a slew of new deals and offers, mainly focusing on horror and thriller movies now that we’re in October. Below we’ve also collected all of the latest discounts on Anker products, with new sales that have kicked off in October.

iTunes Horror Movie Sale

The sale is headlined by a large collection of $1 horror rentals, including a wide range of movies from different sub-genres and decades. These include You’re Next, Christine, V/H/S, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, and many more.

You’ll also find horror bundles priced at or under $20, with franchises like Saw, Paranormal Activity, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Conjuring receiving notable discounts. There are also some more recent horror movies on sale, including a bundle of Ari Aster’s films Hereditary and Midsommar priced at $19.99, down from $29.99.

We’ve highlighted many of the movies in the lists below, but be sure to head to iTunes this week to browse the full sale.

$1 Rentals

Under $20 Bundles

Anker Sale

Anker’s discounts include an ongoing sale on its new Midnight Green portable charger and USB-C to Lightning cable, both of which have a shipping estimate of November. Otherwise, below you’ll find markdowns on Bluetooth speakers, Lightning and USB-C cables, hubs, and more portable battery packs.

October Codes

• 10W Wireless Charging Pad – $9.99 with code QA2512DM, down from $29.99 (exp. 10/30)

• PowerLine II USB-C to Lightning Cable Midnight Green – $15.99 with code MIDGREEN, down from $19.99 (exp. 10/11)

• PowerCore Slim 10,000 mAh Midnight Green – $31.99 with code MIDGREEN, down from $39.99 (exp. 10/11)

• Soundcore Icon Bluetooth Speaker – $37.49 with code SPKICON88, down from $49.99 (exp. 10/6)

• Soundcore Icon+ Bluetooth Speaker – $59.99 with code SPKICON88, down from $79.99 (exp. 10/6)

No Codes Needed

• PowerLine+ USB-C to USB-A 2.0 (2-Pack 6ft) – $9.99, down from $13.99 (exp. 10/7)

• Premium Nylon Lightning Cable (2-Pack 6ft) – $17.99, down from $21.99 (exp. 10/7)

• PowerCore 10,000 Battery Pack – $26.99, down from $33.99 (exp. 10/6)

• PowerExpand USB-C Hub – $34.49, down from $45.99 (exp. 10/6)

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

This article, “Deals: Apple Updates iTunes With New Horror Movie Sale, Offering $1 Rentals and Under $20 Bundles” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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