Apple Daily Report: Jony Ive helps design a diamond ring made completely of diamond (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 Chief Design Officer Jony Ive and renowned industrial designer Marc Newson have designed a unique ring made exclusively for (RED) by Diamond Foundry. It’s completely made of diamond and is designed for the auction house Sotheby’s Dec. 5 (RED) Auction, raising funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries.

This week’s MUG Event Calendar features a number of notable speakers, including two appearances by Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus at New Jersey and Pennsylvania groups, Adam Engst‘s visit to a New York group, and Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet talking tech at a Texas group. Cord Cutting is on the agenda at a Florida group, and Siri Shortcuts will be discussed at a Colorado group.

In a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new research note today, cutting his shipment estimates for the iPhone Xr due to several factors. He believes that some of the decline will be offset by higher demand for iPhone Xs and older “legacy” models, but he is still reducing his overall iPhone shipment forecasts by 15–20% for the first quarter of 2019. 

In another note to other clients — as noted by AppleInsider — J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee has cut the target price for Apple stock to $266 from $270 because of the overall economic climate and what he perceives as “tepid” response to the iPhone Xr.

After closing on Feb. 25, Apple’s Lynnwood, Washington store at Alderwood Mall will reopen this Saturday, Nov. 17, at 10 a.m. (local time).

According to The Verge, Volkswagen is deepening its relationship with Apple on its VW Car-Net app. iOS users can now use Siri to lock and unlock their car, check estimate mileage with the fuel or charge left in their vehicle, and enable alarms.

Intel today announced the Intel XMM 8160 5G modem, a multimode modem optimized to provide 5G connectivity to devices like phones, PCs and broadband access gateways. Intel has accelerated the timing of this modem by pulling in the launch by more than a half-year, so it could show up in 2019 iPhones. 

According to Cult of Mac, Broadway producers are ditching the heavy, 10-pound production books they currently use for shows in favor of iPads. These books contain details — swapped out for each new production — about script and choreography changes in Broadway musicals.