Month: September 2018

Enlarge / National Security Advisor Ambassador John Bolton took lead on announcing President Trump's latest executive order. (credit: Getty Images)

WASHINGTON—In a call with journalists today, National Security Advisor John Bolton and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates outlined an executive order just signed by President Donald Trump that would result in automatic sanctions against any foreign entities found to have attempted to interfere in US elections. The order, not yet released, is meant as a deterrent against interference in the 2018 midterm elections.

The White House imposed a number of new sanctions against Russia in March for election interference, and the Justice Department filed indictments against 12 Russian intelligence officers in July. But these sanctions have apparently not deterred the Russian government and other countries with an adversarial relationship with the US from maneuvering to affect the outcome of some 2018 congressional races, according to Coates. While Coates said that "we have not seen the intensity of activity from 2016," the intelligence community has seen signs that there are efforts underway by a number of actors to manipulate the political process this year. "We have several that we are tracking," he explained, "and have seen signs, from not just Russia, but China, Iran, and North Korea."

Bolton had previously warned that there were signs of election meddling from China, North Korea, and Iran, though he offered no specific evidence. And evidence would not be forthcoming in the event that the White House considers sanctions under this order—the first word of any assessment would come with the sanctions themselves, Bolton told reporters. "These are sensitive, sometimes very dangerous operations, and we have to operate with respect to sources and methods," he said.

(credit: Valentina Palladino)

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple executives took the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater today to announce the company's new iPhone lineup. Its newest phones look a lot like last year's iPhone X.

Apple has said that the iPhone X was the top-selling smartphone after its launch, and the new phones adopt its same basic design. That means edge-to-edge displays and TrueDepth, a 3D sensor array that allows for gesture-based controls, advanced facial recognition, and new augmented reality applications.

iPhone Xs

Apple's flagship phone, which Tim Cook calls "the most advanced iPhone we've ever created," is the iPhone Xs ("ten-ess"), a direct follow-up to the iPhone X. It has a similar design to that of its predecessor, with rounded edges, a 5.8-inch display, a notch at the top (which Apple simply calls the sensor housing) for the front-facing camera and the TrueDepth array, and a glass back to enable wireless charging.

Enlarge / Tim Cook, feeling good about the new products and updates Apple announced today. (credit: Valentina Palladino)

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Devices may make most of the headlines coming out of Apple’s September event, but software makes news as well. All of Apple’s operating systems, including iOS and macOS, will be ready to receive an upgrade soon, and now we know exactly when some of those updates will arrive.

Apple

watchOS 5

The fifth iteration of the Apple Watch’s wearable OS will be available on Monday, September 17 as a free download for Watch users. During its demo this summer at WWDC, watchOS 5’s new Walkie Talkie feature stole the show. It allows Watch users to send short messages to other Watch users over Wi-Fi or LTE—just press the orange circle on the watch face, record a message, and send it within seconds.

The Apple Watch Series 4 sports a more than 30% larger display than the Series 3. (credit: Apple)

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple executives took to the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater today to announce the new Apple Watch Series 4 alongside other new devices.

The follow-up to last year's Series 3 Watch eschews a complete overhaul for subtle changes that increase its screen size while adding other improvements to the Watch's hardware.

The device will be available in silver, gold, and space gray colorways and ship to consumers on September 21, with pre-orders starting on September 14. It will start at $399 for a GPS option and $499 for a model with cellular connectivity. Apple says all prior Apple Watch bands will continue to work on the Series 4.