This week’s top stories: AAPL shareholders meeting, Apple Watch sleep tracking, AirPods 2, more

In this week’s top stories: Sketchy AirPods 2 rumors, everything to expect from Apple in March, the 2019 AAPL shareholders meeting, Shot on iPhone content winners, and more. Read on for all of this week’s biggest news.

This week marked AAPL’s annual shareholders meeting at Steve Jobs Theater. This year, discussion ranged from whether or not Apple should have more conservatives on its board to new iPad Pro features. Further, there was disagreement among shareholders about Apple’s $1 million donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Read our full coverage here.

A pair of sketchy reports regarding AirPods 2 emerged this week. One report suggested that Apple will release AirPods 2 on March 29th, which aligns with a similar rumor from last month. Further, a separate rumor claims that AirPods wireless charging will be able to charge to full in 15 minutes, but the case will be slightly thicker and heavier.

Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Apple will launch native sleep tracking features on Apple Watch by 2020. Apple acquired sleep tracking company Beddit in 2017, but the Apple Watch still lacks native sleep tracking functionality.

Apple this week officially announced the 10 winners of its Shot on iPhone contest. These winners were chosen by a panel of judges including photographer Austin Mann and Apple’s own Phil Schiller. Winning images were captured on the iPhone 7 through iPhone XS Max. View the images here.

These and the rest of this week’s top Apple stories below…

iOS | macOS | tvOS | watchOS |

• iOS 13 concept imagines new volume UI, Control Center multitasking, iPad mouse support, more
• Before CarPlay, Apple previewed ‘iOS in the Car’ with a very different design

iPhone |

• Comment: Latest Samsung and Huawei folding phones make iPhones look cheap – but there’s a catch
• Apple announces the 10 winners of its Shot on iPhone contest
• Woz alert: Apple co-founder predictably concerned iPhone falling behind on foldable displays
• iPhone and Android hacking tool used by FBI and DHS on sale on eBay for as little as $100
• Analyst: The ‘worst’ is over for iPhone sales as price cuts help Apple in China
• Folding iPhone patent application shows how the company might solve one problem

Mac + iPad |

• iPad Pro Diary: I finally found a reason to have an Apple Pencil
• USB 3.2 standard will be twice as fast, but the naming mess will get worse
• Review: Saddleback Leather iPad Pro sleeve is chunky but protective and beautiful
• Behind the workflow: Designer Neil Vilppu combines iPad artistry with Mac familiarity
• Apple plans new store for Galleria Dallas; Plano and Frisco, Texas locations may close

Top Apple stories, retail |

• Store upgrades begin at Australia’s Apple Bondi on March 24th
• Today at Apple supports International Women’s Day with sessions highlighting creative achievements

Apple Watch |

• Report: Apple aims to release native sleep tracking features for Apple Watch by next year
• FlickType gesture keyboard for Apple Watch launches SDK for third-party app integration

AirPods |

• Sketchy report suggests AirPods 2 will be available to purchase starting March 29
• Rumors: AirPods wireless charging will charge to full in 15 minutes, thicker and heavier case
• Review: RHA’s CL2 Planar are the $900 in-ear headphones I wish I’d never tried

Apps |

• Halide creators launch Spectre, an AI-powered long exposure camera app for iPhone
• Soor is a beautiful Apple Music player with gesture-based navigation
• BBEdit 12.6 now sandboxed on macOS ahead of Mac App Store return

Apple News + Video |

• Survey suggests healthy iPhone upgrade intent, lukewarm interest in an Apple streaming service
• Apple News monetization ‘abysmal’ and ‘atrocious,’ say publishers, thanks to three problems

Top Apple stories, company |

• March Apple expectations: News and TV event, iOS 12.2 release, AirPods 2 rumors
• 2019 AAPL shareholders meeting: New iPad Pro features, philanthropy controversy, Apple health push
• Apple confirms Project Titan layoffs in new filing, engineering positions most affected
• Report: Phil Schiller has a friendly ‘NFW’ shorthand for killing bad ideas
• Apple Goldman Sachs partnership surprised Wall Street, but it makes sense – WSJ

Subscribe to 9to5Mac’s YouTube channel for more videos.

This week’s top videos |

• Final Cut Friday: How to create reusable, customizable title cards using Motion 5 [Video]
• OWC ThunderBlade review: a silent, rugged, and super-fast external Thunderbolt 3 SSD [Video]

Happy Hour Podcast #214 |

This week Benjamin and Zac discuss Apple’s Shot on iPhone contest winners, Halide’s new long exposure app Spectre, Apple’s latest iPhone marketing refinements, foldable phones and iPhone competition, the rumored Apple Pay credit card and new Wallet app features, Apple Stores closing in Texas due to patent trolls, rumored sleep tracking features for Apple Watch, and more.

9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Stacktrace Podcast #025 |

Continuing on the topic of iOS 13 — will the iPad use a new home screen UI, rather than good old SpringBoard, and what could that look like? How could improved keyboard APIs for 3rd party apps make the iPad even more capable, and will the future of computing involve devices with foldable screens?

Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Making The Grade |

Making The Grade is a weekly series from Bradley Chambers covering Apple in education. Bradley has been managing Apple devices in an education environment since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing 100s of Macs and 100s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple’s products work at scale, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for students.

• Making the Grade: Apple and Microsoft are the unlikeliest of friends in education
• How Wi-Fi 6 addresses key networking problems for the enterprise
• Makeblock Neuron Explorer Kit is a useful addition to a STEM lab
• iTunes U and iBooks Author are suffering from software rot

Subscribe to get all 9to5Mac’s stories delivered to your inbox daily. And to 9to5Toys for the best deals from around the web.

Featured in top image: Dell 38-inch UltraSharp Curved Monitors, Grovemade’s Desk Shelf System, Nixie Tube Clock, Apogee Quartet, KRK VXT6 Studio Monitor speakers, Classicbot Classic Vintage Mac Toy. Read about the setup over on 9to5Toys as part of the ‘Behind the Screens’ series.