Apple on Thursday released macOS High Sierra 10.13.4, the fourth major update to the macOS High Sierra operating system available on Apple’s Macs. macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 comes more than two months after the release of macOS High Sierra 10.13.3, which brought fixes for the Spectre vulnerability.

The update, a 2.85 gigabyte download through the Mac App Store, adds the following fixes and changes:

– Adds support for Business Chat conversations in Messages in the US

– Adds support for external graphics processors (eGPUs)

– Fixes graphics corruption issues affecting certain apps on iMac Pro

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You’ve been hankering for it and it’s here.

On Thursday, Apple released its long-awaited iOS 11.3 update.

The update, a 783 megabyte download, offers the following fixes and changes:

Augmented Reality
– ARKit 1.5 allows developers to place virtual objects on vertical surfaces like walls and doors in addition to horizontal surfaces

– Adds support for detecting and incorporating images like movie posters or artwork into AR experiences

– Supports a higher resolution real-world camera view when using AR experiences

iPhone Battery Health (Beta)
– Displays information on iPhone maximum battery capacity and peak performance capability

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The rumor mill has begun to release some interesting specs about the fourth-gen Apple Watch.

Per a recently-released research not by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities, the Apple Watch Series 4 will launch in the third quarter of the year. The Series 4, he claims, will have a 15 percent larger display, longer battery life, and better health tracking.

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Sometimes it’s the newest devices that get the coolest software updates first.

On Wednesday, Apple released iOS 11.3, though only for the new iPad announced during Tuesday’s “Let’s Take a Field Trip” education event in Chicago. There’s no indication as to when the update will be available for other devices, but we don’t expect it to be much longer.

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The new iPad has been announced and it’s got a lot going for it.

Apple’s new 9.7-inch tablet, will retail for $329 in the regular market and retail for $299 in the education market.
The marquee feature of the new iPad is support for Apple Pencil, the company’s stylus previously reserved for the iPad Pro. With the $99 Pencil, users can input text, write notes, or draw directly on the iPad’s screen. The new tablet doesn’t include a connector to support Apple’s Smart Keyboard, however.

The new iPad offers the following features and specifications:

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This qualifies as both nifty and helpful.

Over at Apple’s education event, the company has announced that teachers and students will receive 200GB of free iCloud storage, a forty-fold increase over the 5GB typically offered for the free tier of iCloud.

“iCloud safely stores students’ documents and creative projects, keeping them up to date, secure and accessible from any device,” the company said in a statement after the event. “And starting today, any teacher or student with a Managed Apple ID has access to 200GB of free iCloud storage.”

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If you’re a student looking to learn to code and don’t have the requisite $1,599 for a ticket to the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, you may be eligible for a scholarship.

Apple began accepting WWDC scholarship applications for 2018 on Monday, as was first announced on March 13 when Apple shared WWDC 2018 event dates. Apple plans to award up to 350 scholarships, which will include a free WWDC ticket, free lodging, and a free one year Apple Developer membership.

Scholarship applicants must be at least 13 years old and can submit an application via Apple’s WWDC scholarship web site. The applicants are asked to create an interactive scene in Swift playground that’s able to be experienced within three minutes but also combine creativity and use Swift Playgrounds’ templates as well. Apple will judge requirements based on technical accomplishment, creativity of ideas, and content of written responses on the accompanying application.

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The second-gen version of the iPhone X, or at least a 5.8-inch version of it, could be priced at $899, $100 cheaper than the current 5.8-inch iPhone X unit. It’s also thought that the $999 price tag could accompany a new 6.5-inch version of the device.

The company has had “limited success” trying to pitch the iPhone X at $999, RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani argued in recently released investor memo. Making its follow-up cheaper would lower Apple’s average selling price but might compensate by increasing units sold, he said.

The memo states that Apple could release three new iPhones this year and agrees with the rumors that the first two models – the 5.8-inch and the 6.5-inch – will use OLED displays while the third version is expected to adopt a 6.1-inch LCD format.

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The application/lottery window has closed for developers looking to score Worldwide Developer Conference 2018 passes and at this moment, notifications are heading out. Developers who scored tickets are getting email notifications and their credit cards are being charged $1,599 for their pass.

The WWDC functions as Apple’s annual conference for macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS developers. The week-long event gives third party developers access to both Apple’s operating system road maps for the next year as well as a chance to meet face to face with Apple’s engineering teams.

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It looks like Apple won’t be offering a live stream of its March 27th education-focused event set to take place at Lane Tech High School in Chicago.

On Friday, the company updated the Events app on the Apple TV to add an image of the invitation for the upcoming event and to note that a video will be uploaded later in the day following the conclusion of the event.

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