Items tagged with ios 14
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is not a fan of Apple's upcoming privacy changes headed to iOS 14, which will give users more granular control over what personally identifiable information apps can collect and use. Er, correction—he was not a fan of them, but now apparently thinks they could put the largest social network on the planet in an even "stronger position." What changed? Nothing, really, other than his outlook, or at least what he is portraying as his outlook on the situation. If we back up several weeks, Zuckerberg tried to get out in front of Apple's privacy change by pinging Facebook users with pop-up messages saying the ability to track their activity will "provide a better...
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In December, details about Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) rules came out, threatening app developers with removal if they did not comply with the rules. Now, the largest ad provider, Google, is helping other developers and advertisers prepare for the oncoming privacy and data changes from Apple. The death of user tracking on the Apple platform with iOS 14, as Google states, will “reduce visibility into key metrics that show how ads drive conversions (like app installs and sales) and will affect how advertisers value and bid on ad impressions.” Thus, to help combat the reduction, Google Mobile Ads SDK adds a feature called SKAdNetwork from Apple. This new feature is...
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When Apple launches new point releases for iOS and iPadOS, we usually ignore them as they typically have just a few minor improvements or feature additions. This time around, however, there's really a very good reason to shine a light on iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4. Apple announced that the new software updates address three zero-day security flaws that were discovered in its mobile operating systems. One exploit is a kernel level vulnerability (CVE-2021-1782) that would allow a malicious app to gain elevated privileges on a device. Two additional vulnerabilities (CVE-2021-1871 and CVE-2021-1870) are related to Apple's WebKit browser engine, and allow remote attackers to remotely execute code on...
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The battle over privacy online rages between key platform holders who strive to protect their users from monopolistic megacorps that earn their money turning personal data into cash. In this particular case, the platform owner is Apple, a megacorp of its own whose recent App Store policy changes on iOS and macOS force app developers to disclose how user data is utilized. The opposition here is Facebook, which has made its fortunes on the backs of the users who willingly post all the intimate details of their lives on the free service. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has taken its stance, and unsurprisingly, it's backing Facebook's user base, and by extension, Apple's position on...
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After first announcing its intentions last month, Google has made good on its promise to bring Stadia game streaming to iOS platforms (i.e. iPhone and iPad). However, because of restrictions that Apple has in placewith regards to game streaming apps in the App Store, Google's solution is more of a workaround. Apple insists that every single game available through streaming services like Stadia or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate be downloaded directly to a device (which defeats the purpose of streaming), and that each game be reviewed by its App Store steam. Considering that this is an onerous task for gamers (and Microsoft, Google, NVIDIA, etc.), Google has decided instead to offer...
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It’s hard to believe that we’re nearing the launch of the 14th iteration of iOS, and users are just now gaining the ability to set third-party apps to launch by default (for certain actions). Android has had this feature since its inception, but we digress. Apple first announced this change at its virtual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) earlier this year. The first app to take advantage of this new feature right now in the iOS 14 beta (and by extension, the iPadOS 14 beta) is Google Chrome. The change came with the most recent version of Google Chrome which landed in the App Store yesterday, version 85.0.4183.109. Now, when you click a link in...
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App makers are going to have to rethink things when iOS 14 arrives, because the next version of Apple's mobile operating system has a privacy feature that likes to tattle on certain behaviors. We have seen this a few times already, with the iOS 14 beta—notably, the beta revealed TikTok and a few other apps were sneakily accessing clipboard data on iPhone devices. Now Instagram is finding itself under the spotlight for a supposed bug that is causing the camera to stay on even when users are simply scrolling through their feeds. Instagram (owned by Facebook) obviously needs to access to the camera at certain times, because it's a photo and video sharing service. But some users of the iOS...
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It looks as though Apple is preparing to launch a smaller iPhone when its iPhone 12 series arrives. While nothing has been confirmed, the latest iOS 14 beta provides evidence that an iPhone 12 model with a 5.4-inch display could be imminent, which is still bigger than the second generation iPhone SE (4.7-inch), but smaller than the smallest iPhone 11 (iPhone 11 Pro, at 5.8 inches). The new and smaller display size is not outright mentioned in the iOS 14 beta, but according to folks at 9To5Mac, is certainly intimated through an extension of Apple's nifty Display Zoom feature. To understand why, we need to talk about Display Zoom. This is a feature that has been around since the iPhone 6. What...
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Roughly two weeks ago, Apple gave us our first look at iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, which are the latest versions of the company's mobile operating systems. After iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 were announced, Apple immediately made beta 1 versions available to developers. On Tuesday, the company followed up with beta 2 for developers. When it initially announced iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple said that the first public beta would be available in July, and true to its word, that time has come. Devices Eligible For The iOS 14/iPadOS 14 Public Beta These are the current devices that are eligible for the public beta (and the final release this fall). iOS 14 iPhone 11 iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro Max iPhone XS iPhone...
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In this episode of HotHardware's Two And A Half Geeks, Marco, Dave, and Chris are on the scene to discuss Apple's big switch to its own custom Arm-based processors, Intel's 10th generation NUCs and the Nubia RedMagic 5 Android smartphone (among other topics). It's a jam-packed episode that you'll definitely want to check out in the YouTube embed below. Show Notes: 06:00 - Apple Announces Its Own Processors For Macs With Systems Shipping This Year 13:30 - Here’s What Intel Has To Say About Apple’s Seismic Shift To Its Own Chips For Macs 28:00 - Intel NUC10i7FNH: Powerful, Palm-Sized 6-Core Mini PC 34:30 - Nubia RedMagic 5G: An Unruly Android Gaming Beast...
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TikTok has taken the world by storm as people of all ages uses the social networking platform to share videos. People use the platform to lip-sync to their favorite songs, perform short skits, or any number of humorous hijinks that the platform has been recognized for over the past year. It’s become a blockbuster app that is especially popular with the young adults. However, users have raised privacy concerns about the app ever since it launched in the United States, with many questioning whether the Chinese government was somehow using the app to spy on Americans. Today, TikTok isn’t doing itself any favors in assuaging those fears after it was found that the app has been accessing...
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Apple yesterday announced iOS 14, which is now available to download for developers that want to get their apps ready for the operating system's fall launch. One of the new features that's getting a bit of attention today is what Apple calls Back Tap. The feature can be enabled on newer iPhones, and can be accessed by navigating to Settings --> Accessibility --> Touch --> Back Tap. One enabled, you can tap the back of your phone to perform a variety of actions. You will be presented with options to set an action that is performed when you double tap or triple tap. These actions include opening a specific app, muting your device, going back to the Home screen, opening Control Center and...
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Apple today is kicking off its 31st Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), in which the company will give a state of union on its various software platforms (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS), host over 100 engineering sessions, and presumably will make some exciting announcements. Ahead of the event, a string of leaks has given us idea of what to expect. New Features For iOS 14 The platform news that is probably of the most interest out of the bunch pertains to iOS 14. According to leaks, iOS 14 will not be getting a name change to iPhoneOS 14. However, iOS 14 is expected to sport a redesigned homepage, and support for widgets. in my dream no rename for IOS, homepage redesigned。widgets...
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A surprising number of leaks concerning iOS 14 and the coming iPhone models have been turning up over the last few months. Leaks concerning Apple hardware and software are certainly not new, but they seem to be occurring more frequently recently. A new report claims that a leaked version of iOS 14 that has been circulating among security researchers and hackers since at least February. While it's unclear how the leaked version of iOS 14 made it into the wild, Vice reports that five sources in the jailbreaking community who are familiar with the leaked version of iOS have said that they believe someone obtained a development iPhone 11 running a version of iOS 14 dated December 2019. That device...
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Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is still a few months away – and it will be in an online-only format for the first time ever – but that isn’t stopping a steady drip of information from coming out early on iOS 14. iOS 14 is the next iteration of the operating system that powers iPhones and iPads (iPadOS 14). Leading the charge on these leaks has been 9to5Mac, which somehow received an internal build of iOS 14 and has been digging through its code to pick out new features. The latest nugget that the publication has unearthed is called Clips, and it reportedly “allows developers to offer interactive and dynamic content from their apps even if...
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Yesterday, we brought you news of a rear camera pod redesign for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 12 Pro family. In addition to the triple cameras that were introduced with the iPhone 11 Pro family, there's also a new LiDAR sensor and a centrally-mounted LED flash for a more balanced appearance. Today, we're getting a glimpse at the front of the smartphone for the first time. The first thing that stands out is that the display notch surrounding the earpiece speaker and Face ID hardware is much smaller this time around. The notch was one of the defining features of the iPhone X when it debuted in 2017, and was quickly copied by Android manufacturers. However, Android OEMs then swiftly pivoted...
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Apple's upcoming iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro might separate themselves from the regular iPhone 12 by incorporating a 3D time of flight (ToF) sensor into the mix. There will likely be other differences between the Pro models and regular model, but if a breakdown of Apple's iOS 14 code is any indication, the ToF sensor will be one of the major distinctions. An increasingly number of flagship phones have been adopting 3D ToF cameras. They are not used for taking pictures in the traditional sense, but to map out a 3D space. Using a light signal, a ToF camera can provide more accurate depth mapping compared to an ordinary camera lens, with distance and volume measurements. The folks at 9To5Mac...
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Apple is looking to make lemonade out of the lemons that it has been dealt due to the coronavirus. Like many other tech conferences past (and future), Apple is not willing to take any chances when it comes so the spreading the coronavirus with a mass grouping of people from all over the world huddled together in close quarters. Also, California regulations regarding the coronavirus would have nixed the conference anyway. As a result, the company's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) will be online-only this year. Apple made the announcement via its website this morning. Rather than lament the loss of the on-stage keynote with thousands in attendance, or the individual breakout sessions,...
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Each time a new version of watchOS for the Apple Watch turns up, people get excited about the upcoming new features. Further details have surfaced for the Apple wearable that come from hints in leaked iOS 14 code. The leaked code gives information on new watch faces, sleep tracking, and parental control features for the Apple Watch that are expected to land later this fall. One of the fundamental changes for the wearable comes in watch faces. WatchOS 7 has three key differences in the watch face arena, with the most interesting being shareable watch faces. This will allow users to share their custom watch faces with other users. Each watch face is treated like an individual file in watchOS 7....
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Apple released iOS 13 back in late September alongside its new iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro smartphones. Roughly a week later, the company launched iOS 13.1, which was rather unprecedented for the company, and ever since it has been on what seems like a weekly schedule with new updates to fix bugs and various aliments for the operating system (there have been 8 patches within two months). Now, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is going into overhaul mode when it comes to its software development process for future iOS 13 updates and iOS 14. The move is being spearheaded by Apple's software chief, Craig "Hair Force One" Federighi, with a new system called "flags" according...
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Earlier this year, Dropbox added a new beta feature called Dropbox Transfer. The idea was to make the delivering of files simpler for users, and the feature is now offered for all Dropbox users. Dropbox says that Dropbox Transfer is for times when a user needs to turn over an extensive collection of files to clients and others outside their company. The goal of the Transfer feature is to help users get over the issue with emails that are often limited to attachments no larger than 25MB. Dropbox Transfer supports sending up to 100GB of files with a few clicks. Users only need to select their files on a local hard drive or Dropbox account to create the transfer. The file transfer can also be password...
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