You shouldn’t go looking to iOS 12 for huge, splashy new features.

Instead, Apple will apparently be giving iOS 12 the Snow Leopard/Mac OS X 10.6 treatment and working on targeting stability, performance, and reliability as opposed to adding in loads of new features. The strategy helped fix what was becoming a growing list of issues and complaints about the Mac operating system. Now it seems that’s what’s happening with the next version of iOS for the iPhone and iPad.

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Apple may in fact be en route to designing its own processors, which could replace Intel as the supplier of Mac CPUs.

The company began in 2008 when Apple bought chip manufacturer P.A. Semi. The acquisition led to the design of the A4 processor, popularized in the original iPad released in 2010.

The same year, P.A. Semi’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies Johny Srouji also joined Apple in 2008.

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It looks like the HomePod is still set to arrive at February 9th for preorders placed on Friday, January 26th. As of last Friday, customers can still order a HomePod for home delivery or in-store pickup on February 9th, the first day of availability.

The steady release date supports the idea that it may have been the software that held up the HomePod, which was originally slated to ship in December. Apple delayed the product until early 2018, but never seemed to explicitly state the cause of the delay.

Historically, when Apple has delayed a product launch, as with AirPods or iPhone X, a component shortage or some other manufacturing issue has been to blame. When that’s been the case, Apple has quickly sold out of its initial availability, and delivery times have slipped.

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The rumor mill has changed and Apple may in fact stick with its usual strategy of selling the current model iPhone X as opposed to replacing it with a second-gen model later this year.

According to unnamed industry sources, Korean publication The Investor reported on Friday that Apple will be launching two new OLED iPhone models later this year, including a larger 6.46-inch model.

The report also claims that the two new models will be “adding to the current iPhone X.”

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When the Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular debuted back in September, due to carrier requirements, cellular connectivity was only supported in a handful of countries. Apple today announced, however, that Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular is coming to two new locations next month…

The company updated its website to announce that the Apple Watch with cellular will be available for preorder in both Hong Kong and Singapore. The device is due to arrive one week later on February 9th.

In Singapore, the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE will start at S$598, while customers in Hong Kong will pay HK$3,188. As for wireless carriers, Hong Kong customers will have their choice between 1O1O and csl3.

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The newly-released iOS 11.3 beta seems to contain hints as to Apple’s releasing a next-generation iPad Pro this year equipped with both slim bezels and Face ID.

According to iHelpBR editor Filipe Espósito and developer Guilherme Rambo, strings in the first iOS 11.3 beta refer to a “modern iPad,” which is notable since Apple’s software engineers referred to the iPhone X as the “modern iPhone” in older firmware.

While the term “modern iPad” could be a placeholder, as is commonly found in Apple’s code, the discovery hints towards an iPad Pro with Face ID, which would certainly be a logical next step in Apple’s product roadmap.

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If you’re running either macOS 10.11 El Capitan or macOS 10.12 Sierra, you’re going to want to snag the current security update now.

On Tuesday, Apple released Security Update 2018-001 Sierra and Security Update 2018-001 El Capitan, which addressed assorted security concerns as well as helped mitigate potential risks from the Meltdown and Spectre issues..

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Following Tuesday’s release of iOS 11.2.5, which brought HomePod support, Siri news, and a fix for the Messages text bomb, Apple has offered preview access to iOS 11.3, which will include assorted nifty new features, including a toggle for CPU throttling on phones old batteries.

Following the iOS 11.3 update, Apple says users will now be able to see their overall battery health, and will recommend if it needs to be serviced. You will also be told if your battery is triggering a chip slowdown, and can choose to turn that feature off. The switch will only be available for iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

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macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 just hit the streets and it could come in handy.

The update, a 2.17 download via the App Store (and its associated “Update” tab), offers the following fixes and changes:

– The macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Update improves the stability and security of your Mac and is recommended for all users.

– Addresses an issue that could cause Messages conversations to temporarily be listed out of order.

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This should come in handy.

Apple pm Tuesday released iOS 11.2.5 for its iPhones and iPads. The release “includes support for HomePod and introduces the ability for Siri to read the news (US, UK and Australia only).”

The company also announced earlier in the day that preorders for the HomePod will begin on Friday, January 26th, with shipping on February 9th.

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