The Morning After: iPhone XS leak

August 31, 2018

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Just as we were updating our travel plans for Apple's big iPhone reveal, a timely leak showed off a few of its new devices. Also, we have even more news from IFA 2018 to pore over, and notable developments from California's lawmakers on the environment and net neutrality.

Shot.Apple will reveal its new iPhones on September 12th

Reports have long suggested that Apple has been working on a trio of new iPhones for 2018, and now we know when we'll actually get to see them. The company just sent out invites for an event on September 12 at its massive spaceship of a campus in Cupertino -- one year to the day from last year's event, no less -- and one thing is already clear. It's going to be a very busy morning.

Chaser.iPhone XS, Apple Watch Series 4 images leak out

Shortly after the invites rolled out, 9to5Mac posted images purporting to show a new 'iPhone XS' with an OLED screen that will be available in 5.8- and 6.5-inch sizes and offer the option of a gold finish. Another image showed off what appears to be the Apple Watch Series 4 with an edge-to-edge display and redesigned watch face with space for up to eight complications.

IFA 2018Lenovo's new Yoga Book replaces the keyboard with an e-ink screen

This new Yoga Book C930 replaces last year's touch-sensitive panel with an e-ink display. While it can pretend to be a keyboard, it can also serve as a sketch pad or even a low-power e-reader. As far as more traditional laptops, Lenovo also has a compelling MacBook Pro alternative in its ThinkPad X1 Extreme, while a refocused Yoga line of laptops includes more than just convertible notebooks.

A playground for nerds and forward-thinking curators.The weird, wild and expensive world of blockchain art

You'd be forgiven for thinking that this crypto madness ended when the bitcoin price plummeted more than 70 percent this year, but it's not that simple. The Hyperion card and the Elon Musk "Crypto Celebrity" are both examples of a type of product we'll call digital assets. Popular assets run the gamut from cards to memes to artwork, but far more complex things are possible with smart contracts, such as music and movie files hosted on blockchain and even full-on operating systems -- the latter being mostly theoretical right now or in early test stages.

So many pixels, so little native 8K content.Samsung's 8K QLED TV looks great, but who needs it?

On the other hand, who doesn't?

And they said Xbox doesn't have exclusives.Dolby Vision HDR is ready for testing on Xbox One

Microsoft promised Dolby Vision HDR support for the Xbox One, and now, Alpha testers with an Xbox One S or Xbox One X (and a compatible 4K TV) can try it out with Netflix streaming.

Anything you can do, I can do better.LG shows off an 8K OLED and a huge MicroLED TV

Oh, Samsung has an 85-inch 8K TV? Well LG has an 88-inch, and it's OLED. 146-inch MicroLED Wall TV? Boom, LG has one too, and it's 173-inches. The competition never takes a day off at IFA.