Send us a text!

This week: with iPhone XR finally here, we’ll tell you 10 reasons why it’s the best iPhone you can get.  Plus: how iOS 12.1 solves beautygate; new Macs leak ahead of Apple’s big October hardware event; Ming Chi Kuo says new iPad Minis, AirPods, and the AirPower mat are on the way; and we wrap up with our favorite new gadgets in an all-new Under Review 💪🏼   This episode supported by   The National Security Agency plays a big part in protecting our country from cyber-attacks, and if you work in computer science, networking, programming or electrical engineering, YOU can help keep our country safe.  Learn more about careers at the National Security Agency today at IntelligenceCareers.gov/NSA   CultCloth will keep your iPhone X, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time use code CULTCAST at checkout to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   Thanks to Kevin McLeodfor the music you hear on today’s episode.   On the show this week @erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace   iOS 12.1 will improve selfies on iPhone XS and XR https://www.cultofmac.com/584796/ios-12-1-improve-selfies-iphone-xs-xr/

• You may remember that people were complaining that the iPhone XS/MAX cam were making them look too good.  Ugly people everywhere were very offended and prefer to remain ugly in their photos.
• Issue was causing people to have “unnaturally” smooth skin times and reduces blemishes.  Sometimes it did look unatural, but that’s always what HDR has done.
• Nilay Patel spoke to Apple about the problem and here’s what they told him the issue was actually a bug
• • “iOS 12.1 will fix a bug in its Smart HDR camera system that resulted in smoother-looking photos taken by the front camera on the iPhone XS and XR,”
  • What causes the Beautygate issue, Patel explains, is the Smart HDR system choosing the wrong base frame for HDR processing when a selfie is snapped. Rather than choosing a frame with a short shutter speed to preserve detail, it is choosing a frame with a longer shutter speed.  “This should all be fixed in iOS 12.1, which will pick the sharpest base frame for the HDR merge when taking selfies,”

  New Macs spill in online database https://www.cultofmac.com/585172/online-database-suggests-new-macs-are-on-the-way/

• The Eurasian Economic Competition database may have just confirmed more than one Mac will be unveiled at Apple’s upcoming more in the making hardware event
• The online database has been updated with three new filings for desktop computers running macOS 10.14. These most likely refer to rumored upgrades of the iMac, Mac mini, and the new lower cost MacBook Air replacement Ming Chi Kuo has been talking about for the last 6 months.

  The iPad mini might not be dead after all https://www.cultofmac.com/584918/the-ipad-mini-might-not-be-dead-after-all/

• The