Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has served up the first public beta of iOS 12.1.1. The public betas are available on <a href="https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple's Beta Software Program website</a>. Just remember that beta software, so proceed with care. Apple does public betas in order to increase the size of the pool of testers. The tech giant recommends keeping back-ups of your files before installing a public beta.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 29, 2018. The company posted quarterly revenue of $62.9 billion, an increase of 20% from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.91, up 41%.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.otterbox.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Otterbox</a> has announced cases for the new iPad Pros introduced this week. The Defender Series offers protection for the 11-inch and 12.9-inch Apple tablets.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Researchers at Stanford University's School of Medicine have completed enrollment of a large-scale study using the Apple Watch to determine whether a wearable technology can identify atrial fibrillation. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2018.09.002">study rationale and design</a>, published in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/american-heart-journal"><em>American Heart Journal</em></a>, describes the design of this unique clinical trial, the largest screening study on atrial fibrillation ever done.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Twelve South has released a redesigned <a href="https://www.twelvesouth.com/product/compass-pro" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Compass Pro</a> for the new iPad Pros. The new model has a wider and more stable footprint to support even the largest of iPads (12.9-inch) in either portrait or landscape mode.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The 2018 iPhones are such old news (no angry comments please, that’s sarcasm), that it’s time to start looking ahead to next years’s models. In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/11/01/upgraded-truedepth-camera-coming-to-2019-iphone-lineup-better-range-finding-in-ipad-update" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a> — Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says next year’s Apple smartphones will boast an improved Free ID system.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/10581888" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New Geekbench benchmark</a> results show that the high-end iPad Pro rivals the latest 15-inch MacBook Pros with Intel Core i7 CPUs. Which means that it’s not of “if,” but “when” Apple introduces Macs with processors the company itself makes.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">As noted by <a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/572441/pilot-repair-program-vintage-macs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Cult of Mac</em></a>, Apple is expanding its pilot repair program for vintage Macs. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.fleetsmith.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Fleetsmith</span></a>, a provider of secure, automated Apple device management, has announced two new product features designed to enhance visibility, compliance, and security of corporate Apple devices. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If  you’ve been hoping for an iPad with mouse support or a Mac with a touch interface, a new Apple patent filing (number 20180314291) is for “transitioning between modes of input” including “a mouse-based interface, and a low-resolution input mode, such as a touch-based interface.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f9e8ccc2-dd84-11e8-9f04-38d397e6661c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Financial Times</em></a><em> </em>(a subscription is required to read the article), Apple may invest in iHeartMedia to drive more users to Apple Music.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://slickdeals.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Slickdeals</span></a>, a crowdsourced shopping platform, asked 1,000 iPhone users and 1,000 Android users about their unique behaviors, lifestyle choices, personality traits, and spending habits. They found that iPhone uses spend about $101 each month on tech purchases.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The Wallet app in iOS 12 allows you to store data from rewards cards, passes, and more, along with your Apple Pay info.  Some passes automatically appear at the right time or place because they include information based on time or location. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The <a href="http://www.pixelmator.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pixelmator Team</a> is planning to release a brand new app for the iPad: a collection of nondestructive, desktop-class color adjustments, a set of machine learning-enhanced film emulation presets, a Repair tool to remove unwanted objects from photos, support for editing RAW images, and more.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The mophie charge stream desk stand is now available at <a href="http://www.mophie.com/shop/wireless/charge-stream-desk-stand" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">mophie.com</span></a> for $69.95. It’s part of the charge stream family of wireless charging products, including the vent mount, powerstation wireless, and powerstation wireless XL, pad+, pad mini, and travel kit. </p>