Apple Daily Report: a ‘skin smoothing’ controversy involving the iPhone XS/XS Max (and more news)

Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, at the end of each week day, we’ll offer this wrap-up of news items you should check out.

Apple is reportedly working  to solve complaints about excessive smoothing in photos shot with the iPhone XS front-facing camera, which can make images seem fake or even out of focus.

Authorities have issued arrest warrants for 17 people who were running an Apple Store theft ring across California, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced on Thursday.

Nomura Instinet analyst Jeffrey Kvaal has upped his price target on shares of Apple Inc. to $215 from $210 due to the “stabilizing” shipment times for the iPhone XS and XS Max. 

Apple is expanding the cast for its Dickinson series, a comedic look at the world of 19th century poet Emily Dickinson. Joining current cast members Hailee Steinfeld and Jane Krakowski will be Toby Huss from Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Anna Baryshnikov from Manchester by the Sea, Ella Hunt from Anna and the Apocalypse, and Adrian Blake Enscoe from Seeds.

iPhone camera lens supplier Largan Precision is developing a special black coating for front-facing smartphone camera lenses, according to Jeff Pu, an analyst at Chinese investment firm GF Securities. 

According to analyst Rod Hall (via Business Insider), Google may be paying Apple upwards of $9 billion this year to remain the default search engine for Apple’s Safari browser on iOS. Hall believes that this number will only continue to grow, potentially leading to a payment of $12 billion in 2019