Apple has confirmed it’s fixing the controversial “beauty mode” process when taking selfies on the 2018 iPhones. The Verge has learned the feature, which smooths a subject’s skin automatically in selfies, will be no more in the upcoming iOS 12.1 update.
iPhone XS Max
WhatsApp gains iPhone XS Max support, consecutive voice messages & more
The Facebook-owned WhatsApp for iPhone app has been refreshed on App Store with several new features, including an overhauled interface for the quick bubble actions, support for the iPhone XS Max display resolution and a consecutive voice messaging feature.
iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max launching in more countries and territories starting Oct. 26
Apple has announced that more countries are getting the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max in the coming weeks. The news comes as the company prepares to launch the iPhone XR on Friday, Oct. 26.
Orange pumpkin wallpapers for iPhone
As fall creeps into the northern hemisphere, the leaves begin to change into oranges, reds, and browns. Pumpkins begin to ripen. The landscape begins to take a much more colorful hue. As we prepare for Halloween and Thanksgiving in the US, decorate your iPhone with these orange pumpkin wallpapers.
The best ultra-thin cases for the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
In the market for a thin, minimal case for your new iPhone XS or XS Max? iDB has you covered. We've put together a roundup of what we believe are the best ultra-thin cases available for Apple's new handsets with options that are inexpensive, feature very little branding, and are so thin you'll forget they're there.
DxOMark on iPhone XS camera: “very reliable overall” & “consistently delivering good results”
DxOMark last week published their full-on review of the iPhone XS camera. We originally skipped it because DxOMark scores can be very misleading or just meaningless, but have decided to pull some choice quotes that best describe why, in many areas, Apple's new flagship phone offers noticeable improvements over last year’s iPhone X.
Filmmaker “shocked” at how good iPhone XS video capture is vs. a $10K cinema camera
Having pitted his iPhone XS versus Canon's C200 cinema camera that sells for $10,000, filmmaker Ed Gregory came away impressed by the quality of video capture on Apple's smartphone and was “quite shocked” at how good the new Apple phone is at shooting video.
Can you spot the difference?Writing on his blog yesterday, Ed explained he basically took a bunch of videos with both cameras over the course of a few days. He shot everything in the stock Camera app on the XS.
On the Canon side, he used the Canon RAW lite codec and set a similar focal length to the wide lens on his iPhone XS (f1.8). He then attached the phone to the top of the Canon camera and placed them both on the DJI Ronin-S stabilizer.
You can see the results for yourself on the comparison images and the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2CJoR3F2t0
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Follow along for a few notable observations.
The best smartphone camera there isEd was “actually shocked” at how good the iPhone footage looked on the phone itself—he'd also watch videos shot on his Canon and questioned which one he liked more. No surprises there because any piece of content displayed on that OLED panel with wide color (the P3 cinema profile), one to million contrast ratio and native HDR support looks great.
PRIMER: How Smart HDR takes iPhone photography to the next level
The iPhone footage took almost no work to color-grade in the Color Studios app, but Canon's required a lot of heavy lifting because the C200 camera was shooting in RAW. The iPhone footage “fell apart” when viewed in fullscreen on a 27-inch iMac due to too much sharpening.
“The details just got lost and all the leaves with details just got smushed together,” he observed, while the Canon footage “still looked great.” He could have gotten rid of sharpening by shooting on his iPhone in RAW using a third-party app, like the excellent FiLMiC Pro.
The dynamic range is “super impressive” on the iPhone XS camera.
Smart HDR steps into the limelightThanks to the new A12 Bionic chip powering computational photography advancements such as Smart HDR and real-time processing, Apple's smartphone keeps the highlights on the bright sun while keeping details in the shadows.
TUTORIAL: How to reenable manual HDR on iPhone 8/X/XS/XS Max/XR
“This is some crazy multiple exposure processing thats been done,” he notes. “Considering this is all being done in real time in the palm of your hand. It’s super impressive.”
From the conclusion:
The iPhone camera is a smartphone camera and always will be. It is incredibly small but to be honest give completely mind-blowing results. If you are shooting to video that is intended to be viewed on a smartphone and you don’t want to do any post processing then the files strait from the app are impressive. Apple has done a great job of optimizing the output to make the files look great instantly.
“Is it as good as a cinema camera, not at all,” he summed it up nicely. “Is it the best camera I have ever seen on a smartphone? Hundred percent!”
Thoughts?
Luca Todesco has jailbroken the iPhone XS Max
Renowned security researcher Luca Todesco (@qwertyoruiop) is best known for his iOS 10-centric Yalu jailbreak tool. But Todesco flexed his hacking muscles once again over the weekend upon confirming how he successfully jailbroke Apple’s flagship iPhone XS Max.
The confirmation comes by way of a set of Tweets shared on the Twitter social media platform, which indicate that while Todesco has finished “hacking the XS Max,” he’s since returned to a stock installation of iOS.
LTE connectivity issues are affecting some iPhone XS handsets
Apple's investigating reports that some customers are experiencing LTE connectivity issues with the newly released iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. The issue has forced Apple to implement an outreach program, according to MacRumors.
Consumer Reports celebrates iPhone XS battery life, incremental tweaks
Consumer Reports is out with its final report card on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. The publication focuses on the improved battery life on both devices, versus the iPhone X. It also looks at performance, camera quality, and durability.
iOS 12.1 squashes a bug causing charging issues with some iPhone XS and XS Max units
iOS 12.1 has apparently fixed an issue that prevented some iPhone XS and XS Max units from charging when a Lightning cable was plugged in and the screen was turned off.
Early adopters share their iPhone XS images using the hashtag #shotoniPhone
Apple is offering a running list of images taken with the 12MP dual camera system found on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. In doing so, it's promoting new features found on the devices like Smart HDR, advanced bokeh in Portrait mode, and the ability to change the depth of field with Depth Control. The photos come from amateurs and pros alike who are using the hashtag #ShotoniPhone (or #shotoniPhoneXS) across social media, including Twitter and Instagram.