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Today, Office 365 is available for the first time on the Mac App Store, making it easier than ever for Mac users to download Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and the whole suite of Microsoft’s popular apps. Users can also purchase a subscription for Office 365 from within the apps, so they can get up and running instantly.Office 365 for Mac has been designed specifically to support features that are unique to the Mac experience — features like Dark Mode and Continuity Camera in macOS, as well as the MacBook Pro Touch Bar and the Mac’s industry-leading Trackpad.“We are excited to welcome Microsoft Office 365 to the all new Mac App Store in macOS Mojave,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Apple and Microsoft have worked together to bring great Office productivity to Mac users from the very beginning. Now, with Office 365 on the Mac App Store, it’s easier than ever to get the latest and best version of Office 365 for Mac, iPad and iPhone.”

“We are excited to announce that today Office 365 is arriving in the Mac App Store,” said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president at Microsoft. “We have worked closely with Apple to provide Mac users with the very best productivity experience — one that offers everything they know and love about Office through an experience uniquely designed for the Mac.”In business, as at home, employees want access to the best devices and apps to do their work. With Office 365 on the Mac App Store, these apps can now be easily distributed to employees using Apple Business Manager, a central dashboard where IT can deploy devices, apps and licenses. Now IT can quickly enable employees to get to work with their favorite Office tools across Mac, iPad and iPhone, with great new features designed specifically for Apple devices.

About the Mac App Store

The Mac App Store is the single largest catalog of Mac apps in the world. Newly redesigned this past year, the Mac App Store features a new look and rich editorial content for a more enjoyable experience when finding great, new apps for the Mac. Like the iOS App Store, the new Mac App Store celebrates apps, games, businesses and developers with an all-new Discover tab featuring compelling stories, in-depth interviews, helpful tips, collections of must-have apps and more. Users can also explore new Create, Work, Play and Develop tabs to find the perfect app for a specific project or purpose — from music, video and photography apps to business utilities and games.

Climate change is a disaster, but at least it might make people value their iPhones more.

That’s the key prediction in Apple’s environmental impact report, filed last year to the British nonprofit Carbon Disclosure Project and surfaced by Bloomberg’s Christopher Flavelle this week. CDP collected these impact reports — which include “risks and opportunities” posed by climate change — from about 7,000 companies, including 1,800 in the US, in an attempt to paint a picture of how President Trump’s environmental policies could ripple into all corners of the economy. Broad strokes: It will be bad.

But Apple saw one bright side, writing, “As people begin to experience severe weather events with greater frequency, we expect an increasing need for confidence and preparedness in the arena of personal safety and the well-being of loved ones.” More specifically, the company believes that the iPhone will become extra-useful when people realize they can use it as a flashlight, siren, or radio, or when they start asking Siri for first-aid instructions.IPHONES “CAN BE CHARGED FOR MANY DAYS VIA CAR BATTERIES OR EVEN HAND CRANKS”

This comment comes just a few weeks afterApple lowered its revenue expectation for the first quarter of 2019 by $9 billion, citing low iPhone sales — partly because of slowed growth in China and other developing markets, and partly because more people in the US are buying new batteries for old phones instead of shelling out for a $1,000 upgrade.

Anyway, iPhones “can be charged for many days via car batteries or even hand cranks,’’ the report states. Sure, there are YouTube videos that will show you how to do the former, and the latter is technically true but physically a little improbable. Most hand cranks require around two minutes of cranking to get enough charge to place a quick emergency call, so if you’re planning to rely on one for days at a time post-climate disaster, you should probably start working on your triceps right now. (A solar charger is a better idea!)

Apple, Google, and California are rebuffing Trump and trying to stay in the Paris climate deal

Apple is not the only major company that stands to benefit from impending disaster. The report filed by Home Depot predicts a rise in demand for air conditioners and ceiling fans. Google is a little worried that “fluctuating socio-economic conditions” will negatively affect its advertising business but suspects that Google Earth will become a more interesting product once the real Earth is on its last legs. “If customers value Google Earth Engine as a tool to examine the physical changes to the Earth’s natural resources and climate, this could result in increased customer loyalty or brand value,” its report states.

To be fair, an iPhone is useful in emergency situations, and not at all a luxury item at this point. Most people don’t have landline phones anymore, and smartphones have also made it increasingly unnecessary for some people to own home computers … or maps. (Though they hopefully do all own flashlights.) Both Apple and Google have used renewable energy for almost all of their global operations since April 2018, offsetting the rest by purchasing additional green energy, and they’ve openly sparred with Trump over the Paris climate deal.

A hand-crank iPhone future is not exactly what anyone at the company is dreaming of, and it’s more likely just a morbid thought that flitted through someone’s head while they were writing a report they didn’t think very many people would know or care about. Nevertheless, now it will be stuck in yours.

Apple is speculated to launch its entry-level MacBook with Intel’s 14nm Kaby Lake processor in September. As per a Digitimes report, which quotes industry sources, the MacBook variant could be priced at $1,200 (or approx Rs 83,700). The laptop is expected to be unveiled alongside three new 2018 iPhone models at the September conference. The report adds that the Cupertino technology giant could also announce the schedule for its new AirPower wireless charger for the upcoming iPhone models at the event. The charger will be priced between $161 to $193.

Apple is said to ship eight million units of its 13-inch affordable MacBook model in 2018. According to the report, the laptop was scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2017, but it was delayed due to “Intel’s issues with its 10nm manufacturing process.” Intel will start manufacturing its 10nm CPUs in the second half of 2019, the reason why Apple has switched to the company’s 14nm Kaby Lake processor on the new MacBook.

Interestingly, Apple is expected to launch a new low-cost MacBook Air before the year ends and a separate report in DigiTimes suggests that Taiwan-based contract manufacturer Quanta will be manufacturing this entry-level device. According to the report, the laptop could launch in either September or October of this year. The device is said to be powered by Intel’s eight-generation Kaby Lake processors. TF International Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo claims that Apple’s low-cost MacBook Air will be priced below $1,000 (or approx Rs 69,000).

Also Read: Apple’s ‘inexpensive’ MacBook Air could launch later this year: Report

Apple could also launch two new iPad Pro models, one with 12.9-inch screen and another with 11-inch display. The tablets will support fast charging thanks to new 18W power adapter and a USB Type-C port. The upcoming 11-inch iPad Pro will replace the existing 10.5-inch iPad Pro variant. Alongside three new iPhone models, new MacBook Air, and iPad Pros, Apple is also expected to unveil AirPods 2, Apple Watch 4, iMacs, and a Mac Mini in September.

Pakistan’s Independence Day, which is annually held on August 14, celebrates the country’s independence from the British rule on that date in 1947. This day is an occasion to promote patriotism and national unity.

Pakistan Independence Day
Many people dress in or use the colors green and white, which are Pakistan’s official colors, during Pakistan’s Independence Day.
©iStockphoto.com/duncan1890
What Do People Do?
People all over Pakistan celebrate Independence Day with patriotic zest. Many people who attend the Independence Day parades dress up in green and white, which are the Pakistani flag’s colors. People visit national monuments and places of national significance to celebrate Independence Day. This is also a time to meet relatives, exchange gifts and visit recreational spots.

Pakistan’s national flag is hoisted on public, private buildings, residences and monuments at dawn. Official buildings, including Parliament House, are decorated and colorfully lit. The prime minister and president address and congratulate the nation and talk about the day’s significance. Streets and houses are decorated with candles, oil lamps and pennants. Firework shows are put together on the eve of Independence Day.

Pakistan’s Independence Day also pays homage to people who devoted their lives for Pakistan’s freedom movement and made sacrifices to attain Pakistan’s independence. A change of guard takes place at national monuments, including the mausoleums of Muhammad Iqbal, who was a poet, philosopher, and politician, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who is considered by many as Pakistan’s founder and Quaid-i-Azam (supreme leader).

Events held during the day include special theatre shows, national song competitions, concerts, and Independence Day pageants. Radio and television stations broadcast national songs and specially prepared Independence Day programs.

Public Life
Independence Day is an official holiday in Pakistan on August 14. All governmental, non-governmental offices, organizations, educational institutions, post offices, and major markets are closed.

Public transport remains unavailable on all major routes. Traffic congestion is common due to Independence Day parades.

Background
The Indo-Pak subcontinent remained a British colony from 1849–1947. The subcontinent’s inhabitants did not approve of the British rule in united India. An uprising that occurred in 1857 eventually formed the shape of a freedom movement, which exemplifies the efforts of the people of British India in gaining their independence.

Muslims ruled the subcontinent before the British incursion and suffered due to the 1857 uprising against the British East India Company. Leaders such as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Syed Ameer Ali worked diligently for the Muslim people’s political advancement.

The Indian National Congress was formed in 1885, which later on became British India’s largest political party. Major Muslim political leaders, including Muhammad Ali Jinnah, were members of the Indian National Congress and worked towards Hindu-Muslim unity and India’s independence.

The All India Muslim League was founded on December 30, 1906. There was growing demand for an independent Muslim state in India. In 1930 Muhammad Iqbal presented the idea of a separate Muslim state that would geographically consist of the Muslim majority areas in the subcontinent. The word Pakistan is a conjunction of two words Pak meaning Pure and Stan meaning Land, a name coined by Choudhary Rahmat Ali.

Strong Hindu nationalism gave birth to the Two Nation Theory, an ideology that is accredited as being the basis for Pakistan’s creation. In 1940 the Pakistan Resolution was passed in Lahore demanding greater Muslim autonomy in British India.

After World War II, it was expected that the British colonies would soon disintegrate. The Pakistan Movement, spearheaded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, resulted in creating a Muslim state. Pakistan gained independence from the British rule on August 14, 1947. At its birth, Pakistan had two parts commonly referred to as East and West Pakistan. In 1971 East Pakistan parted from West Pakistan and became Bangladesh.

Symbols
Green and white are Pakistan’s official colors. White represents peace while green symbolizes prosperity and good fortune.

Teardown drills into new design
By Andrew Orlowski 16 Jul 2018 at 12:30 18 Reg comments SHARE ▼
Apple has applied a prophylactic to its butterfly MacBook Pro keyboard, teardown specialist iFixit discovered after taking apart a model from the refreshed line.

Apple said that the new range, announced last week, would get “an improved third-generation keyboard for quieter typing”.

The teardown of the new Macbook Pro models, performed by the do-it-yourself repair gurus, showed what appeared to be a “thin, rubberised” layer between the keycap and the underlying butterfly switch mechanism.

As for the previous keyboard, some users – including at The Reg – found that Macbook keyboards were error-prone. Initially, Apple insisted some of the problems could be resolved by cleaning them with compressed air. But in June, Apple finally acknowledged problems with the design, offering a free replacement to users with problems.

“Apple has determined that a small percentage of the keyboards in certain MacBook and MacBook Pro models may exhibit one or more of the following behaviors: letters or characters repeat unexpectedly, letters or characters do not appear… [and] key(s) feel ‘sticky’ or do not respond in a consistent manner,” it said at the time.

iFixit’s Sam Lionheart opined that the “flexible enclosure” found in the refreshed keyboard could serve to “ingress-proof” the mechanism from the “daily onslaught of microscopic dust”.

The DIY guru site also noted that a patent for a design involving a “guard structure extending from the key cap… [which] forms and maintains a seal between the key cap and the substrate base, foundation, or the like, blocking contaminant ingress” has been filed, although we cannot confirm that this is the structure observed in the teardown.

We’ve asked Apple for a comment.

It seems likely to El Reg that the rubber sheath might not only make typing a bit quieter but perhaps also make it less likely that crumbs work their way into the keyboard.

New emoji characters including redhead and bald options make it even easier to personalize every message.
More than 70 new emoji characters are coming to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac later this year in a free software update. The new emoji designs, created based on approved characters in Unicode 11.0, include even more hair options to better represent people with red hair, gray hair and curly hair, a new emoji for bald people, and new smiley faces that bring more expression to Messages with a cold face, party face, pleading face and a face with hearts.
Joining the growing list of animals represented on the emoji keyboard are beautifully designed characters for the kangaroo, peacock, parrot and lobster, with the addition of new food emoji for mango, lettuce, cupcake, moon cake and other popular items.
Many additional characters across sports, symbols and more, will launch later this year, including a new superhero emoji, a softball, nazar amulet and infinity symbol.
Thousands of emoji are currently available on iOS, watchOS and macOS, including emotive smiley faces, gender-neutral characters, various clothing options, food types, animals, mythical creatures and more.

The race to become America’s first trillion-dollar company is likely to be settled sooner rather than later, with Apple in pole position to finally cross the 13-digit threshold.

Recently valued at $950 billion, the iPhone maker is within touching distance, and might well attain trillionaire status when it announces its second-quarter earnings later this month. However, a number of other technology mega-caps are not far behind. Amazon is worth some $830 billion, Google parent Alphabet is hovering around the $800 billion mark and Microsoft is valued at $775 billion.

The race towards the trillion mark follows a huge surge in the value of tech shares over the last year. Amazon has the most momentum, having gained 75 per cent over the last 12 months, but Microsoft and Apple are also defying the law of large numbers, having gained by roughly 50 and 35 per cent respectively. Google is the relative laggard, although a 20 per cent gain is hardly to be sniffed at.

Dotcom days
The last time there was widespread talk of trillion-dollar companies was at the height of the dotcom bubble back in the late 1990s. Not long after the AOL-Time Warner merger was announced in 2000, AOL chief executive Steve Case said he wanted to make the new firm “the world’s first trillion-dollar company”.

For a time, network equipment maker Cisco was the most valuable company on the planet and many excited observers thought it might be the first to cross the trillion-dollar level. The biggest market capitalisation seen during the dotcom era belonged to Microsoft, which was worth $619 billion at the end of the century.

Of course, the trillion-dollar talk died down once the dotcom bubble burst in March 2000. Microsoft didn’t reclaim its dotcom-era peak until last year; Cisco went on to lose almost 90 per cent of its value during the crash and is worth around $200 billion today; the AOL-Time Warner merger is widely regarded as the worst of all time.

While some say sentiment towards the technology sector is once again euphoric, the current race towards the trillion-dollar level looks much more sustainable than the last.

At its dotcom peak, Microsoft traded on over 70 times earnings – four times greater than today’s valuation of Apple. The iPhone maker may be worth a fortune but it’s far from expensive. The stock trades at a discount to the wider market and is lauded by value investing icon Warren Buffett. The Berkshire Hathaway chief has stocked up on Apple shares over the last year, so much so that Apple is now the company’s second-largest shareholding.

The second-most valuable company in the world, Amazon, trades on what appears to be an eye-watering valuation multiple, but tech valuations are largely undemanding, according to a recent Goldman Sachs research note. It found that over the last decade, 87 per cent of the share price gains enjoyed by today’s tech megacaps (Apple, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook) came from profits and only 13 per cent from increases in valuation multiples.

“Unlike the technology mania of the 1990s, most of this success can be explained by strong fundamentals, revenues and earnings rather than speculation about the future,” Goldman concluded.

Not unprecedented
Similarly, while Apple may be the most valuable company in history, worth more than $300 billion more than Microsoft at its dotcom era peak, things are not quite as unprecedented as they seem. Adjusted for inflation, Microsoft’s $619 billion peak in late 1999 equates to about $900 billion today.

According to data from the University of Chicago’s Centre for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), General Electric’s peak valuation of $594 billion in August 2000 translates to an inflation-adjusted figure of some $850 billion, while Cisco and Intel’s dotcom-era peaks also equate to more than $700 billion today. Similarly, while Apple has been the top dog for some time now – it has been the most valuable company on the US market for almost all of the last six years – CRSP data shows other companies have been far more dominant than Apple is today.

Apple accounts for 3.2 per cent of the entire US stock market. Contrast that with telecom giant AT&T, which comprised 13 per cent of the entire market in 1932; General Motors, which constituted almost 8 per cent of the market in 1928; and IBM, which had a 6.8 per cent weighting in 1970. Overall, Apple ranks only ninth in terms of historic index weightings. Of course, the US stock market was much smaller in the old days, so too much attention should not be paid to 1930s data. Even if one sticks to relatively modern times, however, Apple’s current weighting appears unremarkable. Since 1980, five companies – IBM, AT&T, Microsoft, Exxon Mobil and General Electric – have at one stage or another constituted a greater share of the US stock market than Apple in 2018. In particular, Apple’s current dominance pales in comparison to that enjoyed by IBM in the mid-1980s. Between 1983 and 1985, IBM accounted for more than 6 per cent of the S&P 500 index – well ahead of Apple, which constitutes 4.1 per cent of the same index today. While Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft are not far behind Apple in terms of market value, IBM was worth more than twice as much as its nearest competitors in each of those years.

If IBM had appreciated at the same rate as the overall market over the last three decades – a big if, given its troubles in recent years – it would be worth approximately $1.5 trillion today. In spite of the rapid appreciation in Apple shares over the last year, the company actually accounted for a larger share of the stock market in 2012. This was also the case in 2015, when Apple was briefly worth twice as much as the next biggest S&P 500 company.

Inevitable
The point is, today’s record-breaking market capitalisations aren’t quite as record-breaking as they appear. Stocks typically rise over time, so it’s inevitable that hitherto untouched levels – $1 trillion, $2 trillion, $5 trillion, and so on – will eventually be breached. The US stock market has quadrupled since March 2009, gaining some $20 trillion over that time, so it’s hardly surprising that a number of companies are now nearing the mythic $1 trillion milestone. Apple’s current lead means it remains the most likely to wins the race, although unexpectedly strong earnings from Amazon, Alphabet or Microsoft later this month might well narrow Apple’s advantage.

Earnings aside, the continued strength in the technology sector in what has been a lacklustre year for the overall market suggests the iPhone maker may well have company in the trillion-dollar club later this year.

I know what you’re thinking: Innovation has slowed in Cupertino. I agreed until I heard this news.

For years we’ve lamented that some of Apple’s biggest big ideas haven’t been big at all. Perhaps the most sterling example is the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar, which I exclusively use for the purpose of accidentally activating Siri. But Face ID on the iPhone X is maybe the most transformative technology the company has introduced of late. Sure, Microsoft had installed similar and very good facial-unlock tech in Windows already, but putting it in the device you unlock 100 times every day, and implementing it so seamlessly that it never fails, has completely changed how people who’ve bought in use their phones. It’s kind of hard to imagine life without it. No more entering pesky codes—look at your phone, and you’re in.

That’s why my mouth is literally agape. The biggest tech news of the summer so far seems to be that Apple will bring this magical technology to another of its products. The latest comes to us from developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who discovered iOS 12 code indicating that the iPad will get AvatarKit, which won’t work properly without Face ID’s TrueDepth camera—WHICH MEANS FACE ID ON THE IPAD!!!

It’s not the first we’ve heard of this either. Shortly after the first beta of iOS 12 landed in the hands of developers in early June, hints of the new Face ID-friendly iPad were immediately dredged up. And, in fact, rumors of the new tablet were cropping up even before WWDC, although, it didn’t quite launch on schedule.

At this point, we’ve seen enough hints to know that this iPad is probably coming, and I’m prepared to eat my Apple Pencil if it doesn’t. And friends, I just can’t believe it. First, Apple puts legitimately useful technology into the iPhone, flaunting people’s potential squeamishness with the idea of Apple making a recording of their face. Then, after the critical success of the iPhone X and its widespread adoption, the company turns around and figures out a way to squeeze the facial recognition technology into a much larger device. Like, uhhh, how are they even going to get a TrueDepth camera into an iPad, if it was so hard to put it in the iPhone? It takes a brave and audacious company to make bold moves of this kind.

This would almost certainly be the first time that Apple debuted a technology in the iPhone only to have it show up in a future product. Next, you’ll tell me that the MacBook will get Face ID one day, too.

We already know a lot about Apple AAPL +0.45%’s new iPhone plans and there’s a lot to like, especially their reduced prices. But there’s always a ‘but’, and now insider information has revealed a nasty surprise which has the potential to derail Apple’s biggest ever iPhone…

‘Great Secret Features’ and ‘Nasty Surprises’ are my regular columns investigating the best features / biggest problems hidden behind the headlines.

Mac Otakara
3D prints of Apple’s 2018 budget iPhone X (left), second generation iPhone X (middle), iPhone X Plus (right)

Bloomberg reports Apple will source OLED panels for its flagship 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus from LG rather than Samsung. The driver behind this is said to be cost, with Apple looking to “gain leverage in price negotiations with Samsung, the sole supplier of OLED displays for the iPhone X”. But the cost could ultimately be felt most by buyers of Apple’s massive iPhone.

Why? Because to date, LG has yet to make a single smartphone OLED display which is not subpar.

LG’s most recent efforts can be seen in Google’s Pixel 2 XL, a brilliant phone that was almost sunk due to controversy about its poor quality display, and LG’s current V30 flagship which has a screen so bad it has been singled out as a dealbreaker. As The Verge noted in its review of the V30:

“It’s painfully apparent that LG’s so-called plastic OLED screens are multiple generations behind Samsung’s alternative”.

What has forced Apple’s hand, however, is Samsung has the company over a barrel. At launch, the iPhone X was rightly lauded for having the best smartphone display on the market and Bloomberg notes Samsung’s asking price for the component “is a key reason iPhone X pricing starts at $1,000 and sales haven’t met initial expectations.”

Ghostek, Gordon Kelly
6.5-inch iPhone X Plus schematics

With Apple determined to correct this by substantially cutting new iPhone prices, LG is its way of achieving that. Can Apple bring this underperformer up to its famously exacting standards, or will customers not mind a drop-off in quality if the asking price is lower?

Bloomberg states LG is likely to make only a portion of Apple’s new iPhone displays which could result in ‘good and bad’ models and no-way for a customer to know which one they are getting prior to purchase.

Interestingly, one crumb of comfort for Apple fans could be Google. Recent leaks revealed Google will again go back to LG for its Pixel 3 XL displays. Having been so badly burned by the Pixel 2 XL controversy, it stands to reason that LG must have impressed Google with its next-generation panels for the company to risk going back.

Apple kickstarted its annual WWDC event today with a keynote led by CEO Tim Cook, where he introduced all the latest updates for iOS 12 and the new macOS. The keynote this year comes off of a quieter season for Apple. The company just had a press event back in March for its educational iPad launch in the midst of strong iPhone sales but unfavorable news cycles around HomePods leaving ring marks on wooden tables, defective MacBook Pro keyboards, and the fallout since confirming that it throttled iPhone speeds for depreciating batteries.

Starting today, the company hopes to set a new tone for the year. Here are some of the highlights.

IOS 12 GETS IN ON TIME WELL SPENT
As Craig Federighi puts it, the next unsurprising update to your Apple devices’ mobile OS, “you guessed it” — iOS 12. The breakout highlight is the digital health dashboard that leaked last week and was confirmed today, which Apple says is designed to help curb smartphone overuse. Now, you can set Do Not Disturb for when you’re heading to bed, group notifications so you aren’t overwhelmed by too many lock screen bubbles, and set a timer for how long you want to use apps daily.

Image: The Verge
Unlike Android’s rendition of the feature, Apple will allow users to ignore and snooze the screen time limit they’ve put on themselves. iOS 12 users can also set allowances for managed devices for kids.

MORE VISUAL FUN ON IOS 12
Apple is following up Samsung’s AR Emoji with Memoji, which let users customize the faces to whatever they’d like to look like. There’s also a “Tongue Detection” mode now, so you can make Animoji… stick their tongues out.

There’s a whole lot of stuff coming in the form of suggestions. In Photos, Apple is drawing a lot of inspiration from Google Photos by offering search suggestions for specific people, places, or events. There’s even a Facebook-like On This Day reminder of a picture you took years ago. You can also use multiple search terms to search for images. Again, this is all stuff Google Photos has had for a while.

In Messages, there are new Animoji, stickers, text, and a drawing tool built into the app camera, and iOS 12 will now support Group FaceTime that lets you chat with up to 32 people. You can FaceTime in your Animoji or Memoji overlay as well.

SIRI GETS AN UPDATE… BUT NOT QUITE THE ONE YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
Siri is getting suggestions, too, with some app actions that it thinks you may want to do based on your smartphone usage behavior. A new Shortcut app lets you add your own action as well if you want to customize an action, such as an order at the coffee shop with all your specific dietary preferences. You can combine multiple actions as well, such as what radio station to play, a thermostat setting, or a text message to your kids letting them know you’re on the way — all set to the Siri command that you’re headed home.

You can also combine the shortcuts with third-party devices, such as a Tile, so you can ask it to locate lost items with your own personalized trigger phrase.

MACOS MOJAVE ANNOUNCED
Apple is continuing with its macOS naming structure after beautiful landscapes, with macOS Mojave. The new operating system brings Dark Mode, which not only turns Finder windows black, but it comes with an inverted look to XCode, too.

Coming off the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, there’s an obvious emphasis on privacy, with a new Safari feature that preemptively blocks tracking sites like Facebook’s Like and Comment feature and asks you to allow it to appear when you’re browsing a website. Apple will also only give sites a “simplified system configuration” to help prevent them from being able to identify and fingerprint your device for advertisements.

The Mac App store is getting a redesign that features new sections that better highlight video previews, ratings, and editor’s choice picks. Some new apps coming include Office 365, Lightroom CC, and BBEdit.

In productivity, Mojave will add a bunch of quick actions, such as organizing your desktop by Stacks to clean up all the files sitting around or choose to watermark multiple files or sign a PDF document just by selecting a menu option from the sidebar. Even screencapping videos will not be quicker from the keyboard shortcut, rather than going through QuickTime to screen record. In Keynote, a neat new tool lets you sync up with your phone so you can snap photos and automatically add them to the document.

Home is coming to Mojave as well, so you can adjust all your smart home gadgets from a Mac dashboard or ask Siri on the desktop to make changes.

WATCHOS 5 TAKES ON FITBIT
The Apple Watch’s fitness features are about to become more social with the new watchOS 5. Soon, you can challenge friends to fitness competitions, get digital awards, and record workouts retroactively in case you forget to press start or if workout tracking doesn’t start automatically.

Apple’s adding WebKit for watchOS so users can browse some website on the Watch, such as a restaurant menu optimized for the tiniest screen Apple sells. Podcast support will also come to the latest Apple Watch OS, as well as interactive notifications such as Siri Suggestions and Shortcuts.

There’s a new Walkie-Talkie feature coming as an Apple Watch app. Once you grant permission for a contact to send you a message, they can drop in and send you a voice memo. It won’t work like an Amazon Echo Show, per se; you still have to click to play the recording (sent over cellular or Wi-Fi connection) instead of the sound just immediately playing when a message is received.

DOLBY ATMOS ARRIVES ON APPLE TV 4K
At last, Dolby Atmos support is coming to Apple TV 4K. In the fall, Apple says it will update its iTunes library to include Dolby Atmos on supported movies, TV shows, and music videos for free. The Apple TV will also support cable service with Charter Spectrum, as well as Live News and Sports channels on the app.

Charter Spectrum support is expected to arrive late this year, where Apple TV will also provide “Zero Sign-On” to let you automatically log into streaming account without requiring secondary authentication.

Want more Apple news? For a comprehensive look at everything coming to iOS 12, macOS Mojave, and more, check out our storystream.