Items tagged with (NASDAQ:APPL)
Apple drew a lot of scrutiny and backlash when it was discovered that the company was secretly throttling performance of select iPhones models in order to preserve battery life. While the practice was understandable given that lithium-ion batteries degrade over time, the fact that Apple was so secretive about the practice -- and did not notify customers at all about the performance throttling -- is what caused many customers to become upset, Apple faced a number of class-action lawsuits -- 66 to be exact -- for its CPU throttling, and it now looks as though a settlement has been reached. According to the proposed settlement, Apple will pay up at a minimum $310 million, and up to...
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Do you have any fitness-related New Year resolutions? Apple’s latest series of partnerships may be what you need to get moving. Apple recently introduced its “Apple Watch Connected” program which will help users earn rewards for working out at select gyms. The Apple Watch Connected program is an expansion of its GymKit technology. GymKit technology was originally introduced in 2017 and allowed Apple Watch wearers to sync their devices with gym equipment. Apple hoped that this technology would allow users to better track their gym workouts. Fitness trackers tend to do well when the user is moving across distances, but struggle when the user is working out on a stationary...
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Have you ever wondered what Windows 10 would look like if Apple had designed it? One concept artist has reimagined Windows 10 as an Apple product. The concept includes a few interesting features, but overall we find ourselves personally favoring the existing Windows 10. Kamer Kaan Avdan published a video that asked “How would it look like, if Apple created Windows 10?” His version of Windows 10 features Apple’s iconic playful and colorful aesthetic. Several Windows 10 features also have naturally been replaced with Apple items. For example, users would browse with Safari instead of Edge and Cortana has been replaced with Siri. There are also a handful of characteristics that...
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Many argue that Apple has their finger on the pulse of technology trends. This claim may be more literal than originally anticipated. A cardiologist is currently suing Apple for stealing his Atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection technology and using it in Apple Watches. Dr. Joseph Wiesel is a cardiologist and clinical assistant professor at New York University’s School of Medicine. In 2006, Dr. Wiesel filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a method and apparatus for detecting atrial fibrillation or irregular heartbeats. The patent states that the heartbeat is detected either through an inflatable cuff or “light transmitted through a body appendage, such...
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As we approach the new decade, it feels as if every major tech company is working on their own satellites. Everyone from SpaceX to Amazon is interested in broadband satellites. It was recently revealed that Apple has also thrown its hat into the ring. Apple has been secretly working on its own satellites over the last few years. According to a Bloomberg article, Apple has been hiring hardware and software engineers for the satellite project over the last few months. There are currently about a dozen engineers working on the satellites. The team is led by aerospace engineers Michael Trela and John Fenwick, who worked for the company Skybox Imaging until 2015. Apple hopes to finish the satellites...
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iPhone 11 Apple was under fire this past week for tracking iPhone 11 users’ locations even when that setting was disabled. They have now promised that an update is on its way. iOS 13.3 will likely be released next week and contain a fix for unwanted location tracking. Security researcher Brian Krebs or “KrebsOnSecurity” recently discovered that Apple’s range of iPhone 11 devices will occasionally report a user’s location. These intermittent pings occur even if a user has diabled location tracking. A video captured the odd behavior. Apple originally responded that this was “expected behavior” and refused to offer any further details. Apple then “came...
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The right to repair movement is about to get a much needed boost. The Massachusetts state legislature plans to host a public hearing regarding their “Digital Right to Repair” bills. Many anticipate that this will be the largest hearing in support of this kind of legislation. Many have argued that the policies of large tech companies have hurt consumers and small businesses. The proposed legislation would “establish fair and reasonable terms for providing diagnostic, service or repair information and services for digital electronic products.” Manufacturers would also be prohibited from installing software on a device that would prevent it from being repaired by a third-party....
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Many companies are working hard to improve their artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. AI could impact everything from medicine to silly Instagram overlays and everything in between. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are all toiling to gain an edge in the AI field by leveraging their massive treasure troves of data, but what are their existing privacy policies and user data security track records? Which of these companies cares the most about protecting your privacy? Should you even trust Amazon, Apple, Facebook, or Google with your data? We examined the kind of data that is collected by the above companies and how it is shared, their virtual assistants, and privacy controls. We also reviewed...
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What do Hollywood, Apple users, and Google Chrome share in common? A wave of unbootable MacBooks and Mac Pros. A Google Keystone update was able to damage certain Mac files and shut the affected devices down unexpectedly. This past week, several Hollywood film editors reported that their Mac devices were unable to reboot. Affected Apple users included the video editing team of ABC’s Modern Family. Many of these film editors use Avid Media Composer software and initially believed that a software bug or virus was to blame. Google later confessed that a Chrome update was the real culprit. Google Keystone Bug Most Mac devices include “SIP” or “system integrity protection”....
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Many people have been talking about the upcoming iPhone 11’s trypophobia-triggering cameras, but the device’s insides are the real attention grabber. The iPhone 11 will ship with Apple’s new U1 chip. Although the U1 chip’s Ultra Wideband technology will initially be used in a limited capacity, it could potentially power new augmented reality experiences and security features. First, what is Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology? UWB is a radio technology that is used for short-range, high-bandwidth communications. It is particularly useful for precision location and tracking and time-of-arrival-based localization. Apple’s UWB technology will be primarily used for spatial...
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The current United States-China trade war has had a major effect on several technology and telecommunication companies. Apple is one of the corporations that as borne the brunt of the trade war. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently met with President Trump and warned that the new tariffs made it difficult to compete with companies like Samsung. President Trump and Tim Cook met for dinner this past Friday at the president’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Apple manufactures many of its products in China and contend that it would be difficult to entirely move manufacturing to other countries. Cook reportedly argued that the new tariffs would make it hard for Apple to go toe-to-toe with companies...
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Voice assistants can be great for looking up the weather, playing music, and answering inquiries. However, consumers should use caution before asking their voice assistant to call a business or customer service line. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently reported that voice assistants are accidentally dialing scammer phone numbers. According to the BBB, several consumers have recently used voice search to dial the numbers of customer service lines, but were taken instead to scammers. For example, one consumer asked their voice assistant to dial an airline’s customer service phone number. The scammer attempted to convince the consumer to purchase $400 in prepaid gift cards. Why are consumers...
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Are Apple employees listening to your conversations? There is a chance that whatever you say is not just between you and Siri. An Apple whistleblower recently revealed that contractors listen to Siri recordings and frequently hear private information. According to an interview in The Guardian, Apple hires contractors to listen to and “grade” roughly 1% of daily Siri recordings. These contractors are tasked with deciding whether Siri responded appropriately to a question and whether or not Siri activations are accidental or deliberate. Unfortunately, these Apple contractors will often hear private information and recordings. Siri can accidentally be activated if it believes that...
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Firefox users have spoken up and Mozilla has listened. Firefox 68 is available today for iOS and desktop, with the new update including a number of features like dark mode for Firefox Reader View, new extensions and bookmark editing, and more options for IT professionals. Firefox or “Firefox Quantum” desktop and iOS users can now enjoy “blackout shades” in Firefox Reader View. Reader View strips away extras like advertisements and allows users to alter the size and color of a page’s text. Before this update, “dark mode” only affected the text. Now dark mode will apply to all sections of a page, including sidebars and images. Mozilla has also created a...
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There are few things more inconvenient in the modern world than a bricked smartphone. A security researcher recently disclosed an iMessage bug that could brick a user’s iPhone. The bug was severe enough to require users to wipe and restore their device. What caused the bothersome issue? Google Project Zero security researcher Natalie Silvanovich noted that a “malformed message” contained a text key, but not a string. She noted that another method would try to use the key as if it was a string without confirmation. This created “an exception as the selector does not exist in that class”. This exception caused Springboard, an application launcher for iPhones, to crash...
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Video chats are awkward. The video can be of poor quality, the audio can be unreliable, and it can be odd to speak to someone when they staring at the screen instead of the camera. Apple plans to fix the last dilemma with its next major mobile device update. iOS 13 will use ARKit to fix the eye contact issues in FaceTime. This new feature was discovered by Mike Rundle and quickly posted to Twitter. He noted that the third developer beta for iOS 13 includes a feature called “FaceTime Attention Correction”. This feature will use augmented reality to make it seem like you are looking into the camera while you FaceTime. How is the feat being achieved? With ARKit, Apple is able to map...
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Owners of previous-generation 15-inch MacBook Pros may have cause for concern. Apple has recalled some older models of the machine due to potential battery fire risks. Consumers will be able to get their battery replaced for free, however. The batteries in the affected Macbook Pros may overheat and create a fire hazard. The machines were sold between September 2015 and November 2017 and users will need to check their device's serial number to determine whether or not their machine is eligible for a battery replacement. The affected model is the “MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)”. If the device is eligible, Apple suggests that users stop using the device immediately....
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Foldable devices have been touted as the next big development in the smart device market. The Samsung Galaxy Fold will hopefully be eventually released in the coming months, while Huawei claims that half of its flagship devices will be foldable by 2021. Apple, one of the largest technology companies in the world, is expected to also get in on this action. Apple was just granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for a foldable device. The patent describes a device with a cover and display layer that connect to a bendable region. The flexible cover layer is meant to protect the display layer and provide structural support. The device is also able to fold not once, but twice. It is...
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Are Apple’s app practices anti-competitive? Phillip Shoemaker, the former head of App Store approvals, is concerned about the current competition between Apple and other developers. He argued that Apple should update its guidelines to give users a better experience, but noted that the app review process is rather complicated. Shoemaker was the head of App Store approvals between 2009 and 2016, and he helped to craft Apple’s in-app purchase system. In 2009, his team decided that Apple would receive a 30% cut of every digital good or service sold within an iOS app. Furthermore, apps were not allowed to include buttons or links that would direct customers to other places where...
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It has been several years since Apple has released an updated iPod touch. The former workout companion and 2000’s teen hangout mainstay has been supplanted by newer products like iPhones and iPads. Thankfully, the classic iPod touch is getting a refresh and an attractive price tag of $199. The new iPod touch incorporates Apple’s 10 Fusion chip (first seen the elderly iPhone 7), which is a dramatic upgrade on the processing front. The device is the first iPod touch to feature AR gaming, education, web-browsing experiences and Group FaceTime. Its image detection can even bring 3D toys and sculptures to life. Users can downloaded a variety of games from the App Store right now and will...
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Digital wellness apps and products have become increasingly popular in recent years. Parents in particular have started to use “screen time apps” to monitor the amount of time their children are playing games or watching shows on their devices. Unfortunately, according to Apple, not all screen time apps are created equal and the company recently banned several of them due to privacy violations. Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, reported that Apple has banned apps that have misused mobile device management (MDM) systems. The offending MDM apps tracked information about children’s devices and then shared that information with parents who downloaded...
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Apple's AirPods wireless earbuds have proven popular with the company's fans. However, some very active people find that the AirPods might not be ideal for strenuous activity. A new report claims that Apple is planning to launch new wireless, and AirPods-like, Beats-branded headphones next month. The product is reportedly called the Powerbeats Pro and is said to be "truly wireless." The first glimpse at the headphones came in the form of images and animations that were found tucked away inside iOS 12.2. The headphones are said to be nearly identical to the Powerbeats3 headphones but truly wireless like the AirPods. The headphones will come in black or white colors. Also found stashed away inside...
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