Items tagged with (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Apple has found itself in trouble more times than we could count over privacy issues with its iPhones and other products. Apple recently issued an iOS 13.3.1 beta that is aimed in part at patching a flaw in location tracking on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. Apple had promised to bring a toggle switch to allow customers to turn off this tracking feature specifically. The toggle can be found in Privacy > Location Services > System Services, and it is labeled "Networking & Wireless." Apple warns that turning off location services for Networking & Wireless could affect Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ultra wideband performance. Those particularly concerned about having their location tracked...
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Apple likes to do things on its own terms, and is not afraid to veer away from standards in the technology industry in favor of proprietary designs. Enter the Lightning connector found on every modern iPhone, and most iPad tablets. This is used to charge many of Apple's mobile devices, though Apple could be forced to leaving the Lightning connector behind and adopt USB-C. The European Parliament is trying to convince the European Commission to legally compel technology companies to adopt a universal charging standard. That would likely result in USB-C being the connector of choice. Technically, micro-USB would be an option as well, though many Android devices have adopted USB-C. One of the driving...
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The new year has just begun, which means that rumors concerning the next-generation iPhone are already kicking into high gear. The latest news coming from Apple's supply chain revolves around the iPhone's Face ID software and the inclusion of additional time-of-flight sensors. On the Face ID front, a report from CNBC claims that the hardware is being "refreshed" which means that Apple is likely using an upgraded TrueDepth camera sensor with faster response times. Face ID has already gotten dramatically faster since it was first introduced on the iPhone X, so we'd be eager to see how much quicker device unlocking can get with the iPhone 12. There's also the possibility that Face ID will...
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Here we go again, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is exerting pressure on Apple to help unlock an older iPhone model as part of a crime investigation, and just like before, there's another layer to the story. On the surface, it might seem reasonable to pressure a device maker to thwart its own creations, in the name of public safety and all that jazz. But that's a bulls**t excuse. I'll tell you why. We saw this play out before. At the tail end of 2015, a pair of terrorists went on a shooting spree in San Bernardino, killing 14 people and wounding 22 others. It was awful. Both terrorists died in a shootout with police, and authorities subsequently recovered an iPhone 5C...
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iPhone users now have a new way to securely login to Google services thanks to a new update for the Google Smart Lock app. With the latest update, iPhone users are afforded the same capability that was enabled for Android users back in 2019, which allows them to use their smartphone for two-factor authentication. Once you have set everything up in the Smart Lock app for iOS, you can use either your iPhone or your iPad as a physical security key. This is a big boon for those that want to have additional security measures added to their account, while using a device that you always have by your side (in the case of an iPhone). Physical security keys can be easily lost, but most of us tend to keep...
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Apple may be ready to add a "free" performance boost to its MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops in a future software update according to references found in beta macOS Catalina code. The latest build of the macOS Catalina 10.15.3 beta makes reference to what Apple calls "Pro Mode", and it will apparently be user-configurable. According to 9to5 Mac, the new strings related to Pro Mode can be traced directly to macOS' power management system. With the new strings, Apple provides the following warning for those that attempt to enable Pro Mode: "Apps may run faster, but battery life may decrease and fan noise may increase." There are also options to keep the fans running at a higher RPM until the...
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Late in 2019, Apple released its [mostly] new flagship MacBook Pro laptop with a larger 16-inch display, 100 WHr battery, and most importantly a new scissor-style keyboard to replace the hated and trouble-prone butterfly keys. It's a given that the more robust scissor key mechanism will arrive on Apple's smaller MacBooks in the future, and we could be looking at signs of the first of these products today. Thanks to some sleuthing by MacRumors, the company found his Apple product identifier in the European Economic Commission (EEC) database: A2289. A2289 is simply described as a "portable personal computer brand Apple" that is running macOS 10.15. Given that the 16-inch MacBook...
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Apple had a huge month for iPhone sales in December 2019, with sales growth of more than 18%. That number comes from CNBC who used data published by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, which is a Chinese government think tank. News of the significant gain in iPhone sales was enough to push Apple's stock price up more than 2% this week, bringing it to an all-time intraday high of $310.43. The numbers show that Apple shipped 3.2 million iPhones in China through December. That is a gain of 2.7 million units compared to numbers from December 2018. Growth in China is vital for Apple and other smartphone makers. Sales in the country are particularly important for Apple as...
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There's some exciting news coming out of Taiwan this morning, and it involves TSMC wafer production and two of its most high-profile customers: AMD and Apple. Both AMD and Apple rely heavily on TSMC's 7nm fabs to produce their processors, with the former booking orders for its Navi GPUs and Zen 2-based processors, while the latter is under contract for the A12 Bionic and A13 Bionic SoCs. With this in mind, all eyes are on TSMC to see what the company has in store for production during 2020. According to the Taiwanese publication Apple Daily, TSMC's 7nm production capacity is completely spoken for until at least the latter half of 2020. The bulk of those orders will be coming from AMD, which...
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In a short statement posted to its website, Imagination Technologies on Thursday announced it has entered into a new multi-year license agreement with Apple, which at one time was the company's biggest customer before a high-profile breakup two years ago sent its stock spiraling downward, ultimately leading to a sale. Call it a savvy business move or just plain savage, but from the outside looking in, Apple appears to be the clear winner in this deal. We can't say for sure because terms of the agreement have not been specified. However, we do know that Apple continued to thrive after ending its relationship with Imagination Technologies in 2017, while Imagine Technologies floundered in the wake...
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Apple was one of the first mainstream smartphones to adopt a notch with the iPhone X, after which is was quickly copied by Android OEMs. However, it looks as though Apple is finally getting with the times, and is looking for ways to minimize or completely get rid of the unsightly (and display real estate-robbing) notch. Let's Go Digital has uncovered Apple patent filings from December 2019 that show that the notch has been replaced by a thin bezel at the top of the display for the 2020 iPhone. While the bezel isn't as small as we've seen on some recent Android flagships, it is definitely much smaller than we’ve seen with previous Apple smartphones like the iPhone 8 (and its predecessors)....
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Apple's iPhone 11 Pro family ushered in the era of triple-camera iOS devices, and it looks as though the company is looking to extend that functionality to its workhorse iPad Pro family. Thanks to new renders by way of OnLeaks, we're getting a look at the design of the next-generation professional tablets. From the front, not much appears to have changed compared to the current-generation 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro tablets. That means that we're looking at a minimalist design with relatively thin bezels all around. And unlike the iPhone family, there is enough bezel available to house the Face ID hardware so that there is no unsightly notch to ruin the viewing experience. Speaking of...
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Apple's iPhone XR is no longer a current-generation, near-flagship level, but it is still a very popular smartphone. Counterpoint Research's Market Pulse took a look at global sales figures for the smartphone industry, and the latest numbers for Q3 2019 are in. According to Market Pulse, the iPhone XR was the top-selling smartphone globally for the quarter. The publication notes that the iPhone XR has been the best-selling smartphone globally since Q4 2018, and over 25% of all Apple smartphone sales for Q3 2019 were the iPhone XR. One decision that helped keep the iPhone XR at the top of the sales charts for the quarter was an adjustment of the price in China and several other markets. Apple's...
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In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), popular messaging services that might be used in other parts of the world, like Skype and WhatsApp, are restricted. A homegrown alternative called ToTok was designed and released to the public. It was heavily downloaded in the Middle East and eventually by people all around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. The catch with ToTok is that while it was a messaging app, it was also a tool used by the UAE government to spy on all who used it. ToTok became one of the most downloaded social apps in the U.S. last week, according to research firm App Annie. The app was developed by a company called Breej Holding, which is most likely a front company...
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