What you need to know

Apple News+ is launching in the UK and Australia.
They are the latest countries to get support for the news subscription service by Apple.
UK users will have to pay £9.99 while Australia users will pay $14.99 for the subscription.
More people can access Apple News+.

Apple News+ is expanding its rollout as it reaches two additional countries: the UK and Australia. Apple announced the additional countries today as it continues to expand the reach of its online magazine subscription.

Apple News+ will cost £9.99 for UK subscribers and $14.99 for users in Australia. They’ll have access to more than 150 publications. In case they want to test it out first before they commit, Apple is offering its one month free trial just like in the U.S.

Among the available publications subscribers have access in the UK will be The Times, The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan UK, Elle Uk, Esquire UK, FourFourTwo and Hello!

Subscribers in Australia will have access toThe Aus…

Having a HomePod around the house is awesome (no one can deny that), but what about if it gets dusty? Or accidentally slides off your counter? What if you need to take it somewhere to bring the joy of the HomePod to one and all? Never fear, here are the best cases and covers for your HomePod!

2 covers are better than 1

WAWAHA HomePod Cover

Staff Pick

Keep your HomePod looking sleek and stylish while still protecting it from the outside world with the WAWAHA HomePod Cover. These anti-dust covers are made from a highly elastic mesh material that’ll save your speaker from scratches and scrapes. The WAWAHA HomePod Cover has no effect on sound quality. You can pick up this particular speaker set (yup! You get 2! In Dacron Light, Dacron Spot, Nylon black and white and Nylon Black.

$14 at Amazon

Elastic + dustproof

TXEsign Elastic Anti Dust HomePod Cover

Add a pop of color — or don’t, there are black, white, and gray options, too — to your HomePod speaker with some h…

New Surfaces are coming. Are they better than Mac laptops? How do they compare to iPads? Let’s watch and find out!

What you need to know

Microsoft’s next Surface reveal event takes place on October 2 in New York City.
The event will kick off at 10 a.m. ET and it will be live-streamed this year.
Microsoft has confirmed you’ll be able to tune in either at Microsoft’s dedicated event page or on Twitter.
As October begins and Apple fans are waiting for a new 16-inch MacBook Pro or iPad Pro with a triple-camera lens, Microsoft is already poised to launch its next big thing. The Surface event takes place on October 2 in New York City. And this year, you’ll be able to stream the whole thing from the comfort of your PC, TV, phone, or tablet.

The event is set to start at 10 a.m. ET (find your local time here) on October 2. So far, Microsoft has confirmed that you’ll be able to watch the announcements play out at its dedicated event website and on Twitter. We’d also expect that a stream wil…

If this isn’t a reason to buy an iPhone, then I don’t know what is.

What you need to know

Animoji have gone viral thanks to a series of videos on Twitter.
The videos show adorable children voicing the cartoon emoji.
Each video showcases the power of Apple’s feature.
Apple’s Animoji have been a staple of the iPhone experience since breaking onto the scene with the iPhone X. While Apple did well to market Animoji back then, these new videos are making the feature more popular than ever.

Over the weekend, Twitter user Sophia Tripodi shared a video of her 2-year-old niece as an octopus Animoji, and the results are straight out of a Pixar movie.

The Tweet has garnered millions of views, prompting other users to follow in Tripodi’s lead. Not that we’re complaining, because each video is more adorable than the last.

This T-Rex is too cute for words

Let me add to the heartwarming pic.twitter.com/rgZcyu1mgE— J𓅔SH (@joshie_versace) September 28, 2019

This adorable kid want…

What you need to know

Cowen analysts have raised their iPhone forecast for the third quarter.
It now believes iPhone shipments for the third quarter will come in at 47 million, not 44 million.
The raise comes as the iPhone XR has proven to be ultra popular after its significant price cut.
iPhone 11 along with the reduced price of the iPhone XR are boosting iPhone shipments.

The iPhone shipments are tracking better than Cowen analysts initially thought they would. Which is why it is raising the near-term build forecasts for the third quarter at 47 million iPhone shipments.

Cowen revealed the change in the forecast in an investor note seen by AppleInsider. The 47 million mark will still see iPhone shipments decline for year-to-year by 2%, but it’s a solid improvement over the initial 44 million forecast.

The new forecast accounts for an additional 3 million iPhone shipments due to a spike in demand for the iPhone XR due to its price reduction.

Looking forward, Cowen’s forecast for…

The iPhone 11 is one of the sleekest, most minimal iPhone designs yet, so who wants to weigh it down with a bulky, heavy case? Not us! This treasured device must be protected, however, so the next best thing to a naked iPhone is a slim, lightweight case that protects without adding bulk. If a thin, slim case is what you need for your phone, we’ve researched for you. Check out our top picks.

Slim 360° protection

Spigen Liquid Air Armor Case

Staff Favorite

There are many choices for thin iPhone 11 cases, but few can boast military-grade protection. Spigen’s Liquid Air Armor provides 360° drop protection.

$12 at Amazon

Barely there

PEEL Ultra Thin Case

For those who love that naked iPhone feel, the PEEL Ultra Thin case measures only 0.02in. It comes in several transparent colors, from clear to pink.

$29 at Amazon

Thin + supple

Apple Silicone Case

The original iPhone Silicone Case has a silky, supple feel in your hand. The silicone material also acts a…

Now you can turn off the lights while you write your thesis.

What you need to know

Apple has released updates for iWork on iOS to take advantage of iOS 13.
The new features include support for Dark Mode.
iPadOS can take advantage of Split View to edit two documents side by side.
Apple on Monday released a slew of updates for its iWork suite of applications to take advantage of iOS 13, including support for Dark Mode.

In Pages, iPadOS users can now use the writing software in multiple spaces and edit two documents side by side. Similar support is available for Numbers and Keynote.

Many of the updates are similar across the board, so it would be easier to share release notes for each application:

Pages 5.2 release notes:

Enable Dark Mode to emphasize your content.*
On iPadOS, use Pages in multiple spaces or edit two documents side by side in Split View.
Support for new iOS 13 and iPadOS text editing and navigation gestures.*
Set the default font and font size used for all new doc…