MacRumors

Health records firm Epic Systems and some 60 client hospitals are objecting to a proposed U.S. government policy that would make it easier for patients to share medical records data with apps, an initiative supported by Apple and other tech companies (via CNBC).

Proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2019, the modified data sharing rules would allow patients to share private clinical data from their healthcare providers and make it more accessible to health apps via APIs.

Currently, patients often have difficulty trying to obtain their information, with clinical data stored on physical media and processed through medical record software marketed to hospitals by the likes of Epic. According to one report, an Epic installation can cost upwards of $1 billion for a major health system to implement.

Yet in a letter to the HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Epic and signatories argue that the pending initiative on interoperability will be "overly burdensome on our health system and will endanger patient privacy."

Instead, Epic's letter recommends changes to the proposed rules, including extra clarity around health information related to family members and a longer timeline for the "development of new technology required by the rule," up from 1 year to 3 years.

"While we support HHS' goal of empowering patients with their health data and reducing costs through the 21st Century Cures Act, we are concerned that ONC's Proposed Rule on interoperability will be overly burdensome on our health system and will endanger patient privacy. Specifically, the scope of regulated data, the timeline for compliance, and the significant costs and penalties will make it extraordinarily difficult for us to comply."

A spokesperson for HHS told CNBC that it had received the letter. "We appreciate all stakeholder feedback as we continue to finalize the rules," they said. "Our ultimate goal is to ensure that patients are able to easily access their electronic medical records."

Some health IT experts told the news outlet that the letter has not been signed by some of the largest health systems in the Epic ecosystem, and called their absence "significant."

"Their absence represents a thundering silence," said David Brailer, the first National Health Information Technology Coordinator, appointed by George W. Bush. "Many health systems are quietly discussing how the data access and data fluidity actually benefits them in the long-run."

Apple, Microsoft and Google recently joined a call with non-profit Carin Alliance to discuss ways to get the rule finalized. As noted by CNBC, the tech firms favor the rules, partly because greater interoperability between systems that store medical records could help them move into the $3.5 trillion health care sector.

Apple has progressively worked to break into the health industry in recent years. At the beginning of 2018, the company launched a Health Records service to increase the portability of health records and make them available across participating hospitals and clinics. The idea was to allow patients to download their health records to iOS devices and then easily share them with other practitioners.

By August of the same year, Apple's Health Records feature allowed iOS users to access their medical records from more than 75 different hospitals and medical providers in the United States.

The New York City Police Department is retiring the handwritten memo books that it has used for more than a century and adopting a new iPhone app for note taking, according to a new report from The New York Times.

NYPD police officers use their memo books to capture details about arrests, 911 calls, patrol assignments, and more, but on February 17, the police department will transition to a digital app. Rather than writing out notes, officers will type their notes into the app, and the notes will then be sent to a department database.

The shift will mark a major update to the way that case-related memos are handled, making them more accessible and ensuring information is not lost. Entries will not be able to be faked, and data won't be lost to poor handwriting.

Some of the memo books from the past have historical importance, such as the book Officer Shaun McGill kept as the first officer who arrived at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and others have been used as key pieces of evidence in cases.

Officers used to keep their memo books long after retirement in case the information in them became necessary for a trial, but now the department will hold onto all of the information. Entries are also searchable by date or keyword, so there's no longer a need to look through multiple memo books for a specific passage.

Entries into the digital app include location information and time entered by officers, and the data is accessible in real time, which has raised some concerns about more oversight, but the entry process will be streamlined and the process will cut down on paper waste.

NYPD Deputy Chief Anthony Tasso told The New York Times that the digital system will allow for entries to be used as valuable crime fighting data. "It gives us the abilities we did not have before, when memo books were left in officers' lockers and we didn't have access to a vast amount of information," he said.

The NYPD has been providing officers with smartphones since 2015, and there are now 37,000 iPhones in use. More information on the NYPD's new app can be found in the full article from New York Times.

The Apple Watch outsold the entire Swiss watch industry by a wide margin in 2019, according to new data shared today by Strategy Analytics.

Apple shipped an estimated 30.7 million units worldwide in 2019, up 36 percent from the estimated 22.5 million units shipped in 2018.

Comparatively, the Swiss watch industry (which includes all Swiss watch brands) is estimated to have shipped a total of 21.1 million units worldwide in 2019, dropping 13 percent from the 24.2 million watches shipped in 2018.

According to Strategy Analytics, the Apple Watch is "wildly popular" in North America, Western Europe, and Asia due to its user-friendly tech, sticky apps, and attractive design. Analog watches, meanwhile, remain popular with older consumers, but young buyers prefer smartwatches and computerized wristwear.

Traditional Swiss watch makers, like Swatch and Tissot, are losing the smartwatch wars. Apple Watch is delivering a better product through deeper retail channels and appealing to younger consumers who increasingly want digital wristwear. The window for Swiss watch brands to make an impact in smartwatches is closing. Time may be running out for Swatch, Tissot, TAG Heuer, and others.

Apple beat Swiss watch shipments with its own Apple Watch shipments during the holiday quarter of 2017, but 2019 marks the first full year where Apple has shipped a larger number of Apple Watches.

Apple does not break out Apple Watch sales numbers so estimates on shipments are based on guesswork, but the large margin between estimated Apple Watch shipments and estimated Swiss watch shipments suggests that the conclusion the Apple Watch outsold Swiss watches in 2019 is accurate.

Apple today released the first iOS and iPadOS 13.4 betas for developers, bringing quite a few useful new features, design tweaks, and changes that are worth knowing about.

Below, we've rounded up all of the changes that we've found in iOS and iPadOS 13.4 so far.

New Mail Toolbar

The Mail app has an updated toolbar design that moves the reply icon away from the delete icon. Apple in iOS 13 moved these two buttons together, resulting in some people accidentally deleting emails instead of replying to them.

The trash icon also happened to be placed right where the reply icon had been in iOS 12, causing muscle memory issues.

The new design, which is available when viewing an email, places the reply button on the far right, the delete button on the far left, and Folder and Flag icons in between them.

iCloud Folder Sharing

When iOS 13 was first introduced, iCloud Folder Sharing was announced as one of the new features. It was apparently difficult to implement, though, as it was removed during the beta testing period.

In iOS 13.4, iCloud Folder Sharing is finally available, allowing folders within the Files app to be shared with other people.

New Memoji Stickers

Apple in iOS 13 introduced Memoji stickers, which are emoji-style stickers that feature your Memoji and Animoji characters. In iOS 13.4, there are nine new sticker poses to choose from, including shocked face, face with hearts, eyes rolling, and more.

Universal macOS/iOS/tvOS Purchases

Apple has introduced new functionality that will allow developers to bundle iOS apps, tvOS apps, and macOS apps together for a single purchase price.

This will allow developers who make iOS and macOS apps to sell them in a single bundle, which is not a feature that's been available.

The change will be convenient for both developers and customers, as iOS and macOS users will be able to make one purchase for a cross-platform app. Developers will also be able to create discounted Mac and iOS bundles for the first time.

CarPlay

There are new call controls and third-party navigation controls in CarPlay, according to iMore's Rene Ritchie.

CarKey API

There appears to be a new API in iOS 13.4 called CarKey that is designed to allow the iPhone and the Apple Watch to unlock, lock, and start a compatible car, according to 9to5Mac.

Users will be able to use CarKey in vehicles that have NFC capabilities, with the iPhone or Apple Watch unlocking the car when held nearby. Authentication via Face ID will not be required, and the initial pairing process will be done through the Wallet app.

CarKey can be shared with other people, like family members, with drivers able to invite them through the Wallet app to have access to the key on their Apple devices. Based on signs in the code, Apple is working with some car manufacturers to implement the feature in the iOS 13.4 update.

Location Services

According to Apple's release notes for the iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4 updates, when an app requests the Always location services authorization for the first time after being authorized for While Using the App, the user's iPhone or iPad will immediately show the authorization prompt.

It's not yet quite clear what this change means, but some apps that want always on access to a user's location have been upset with the location services changes that Apple introduced in iOS 13 limiting that access.

Some apps, like Tile, want always on access to provide full tracking functionality.

Keyboard Shortcuts on iPad

For the iPad, there are new keyboard shortcuts in the Photos app for navigating between tabs, search, and create albums. In full screen mode, there are also keyboard shortcuts for deleting photos, duplicating photos, and entering Edit mode.

Shazam Shortcuts Action

There's a new Shortcuts option to "Shazam It" when creating a shortcut in the Shortcuts app.

iPadOS Hardware Key Remapping

As noted by developer Steve Troughton-Smith, there appears to be a new option for remapping hardware keys on a keyboard that's connected to an iPad.

Other Features

See a feature we missed? Let us know in the comments and we'll add it to the list.

FBI officials have still not managed to unlock a passcode-protected iPhone that investigators believe was owned by Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, the perpetrator of a mass shooting at a Naval Air Station in Florida in December.

The disclosure was made by FBI director Christopher Wray at a House Judiciary Committee hearing today, according to Bloomberg. Wray told Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) that the FBI is "currently engaged with Apple hoping to see if we can get better help from them so we can get access to that phone," the report claims.

Last month, the FBI asked Apple for its assistance with unlocking the iPhone in a letter sent to the company's chief lawyer Katherine Adams.

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General William Barr have called on Apple to assist the FBI with accessing data on the iPhone, but the company previously said that it has given investigators "all of the data in our possession" and said it "will continue to support them with the data we have available."

In a follow-up statement, Apple said that while it was "devastated to learn of the tragic terrorist attack" at the Naval Air Station, creating a backdoor into iOS would threaten national security in the United States:

We have always maintained there is no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys. Backdoors can also be exploited by those who threaten our national security and the data security of our customers. Today, law enforcement has access to more data than ever before in history, so Americans do not have to choose between weakening encryption and solving investigations. We feel strongly encryption is vital to protecting our country and our users' data.

Apple faced a similar situation in 2016, when a U.S. federal judge ordered the company to help the FBI unlock an iPhone owned by Syed Farook, one of the shooters in the December 2015 attacks in San Bernardino, California. Apple opposed the order, noting that it would set a "dangerous precedent."

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple today released the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 6.2 update to developers, and the update includes support for in-app purchases through the Apple Watch App Store.

Apple is asking developers to begin getting their watchOS apps ready for in-app purchases for when watchOS 6.2 is released.

The watchOS ‌App Store‌ was added in the watchOS 6 update, and allows Apple Watch owners to purchase Apple Watch apps right on their wrists without the need for an iPhone.

With the update in watchOS 6.2, developers will be able to create watchOS apps that feature premium content, downloadable goods, subscriptions, and more.

The new Xcode 11.4 beta update, released today alongside the iOS 13.4, tvOS 13.4 and macOS Catalina 10.15.4 betas, includes support for universal purchases, allowing developers to bundle iOS apps, tvOS apps, and Mac apps together for one purchase price.

This will allow developers who make a Mac app and an iOS app to sell them in a single bundle, something that has not previously been possible.

Starting in March 2020, you’ll be able to distribute iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and tvOS versions of your app as a universal purchase, allowing customers to enjoy your app and in‑app purchases across platforms by purchasing only once. You can choose to create a new app for these platforms using a single app record in App Store Connect or add platforms to your existing app record. Get started by building and testing your apps using a single bundle ID with Xcode 11.4 beta.

The change will be convenient for both developers and customers, as iOS and macOS users will be able to make one purchase for a cross-platform app. Developers will also be able to create discounted Mac and iOS bundles for the first time.

According to Apple, universal purchase is enabled by default for Mac Catalyst apps that are created using the Xcode 11.4 software. New Mac Catalyst apps will use the same bundle identifier as an iOS app.

Apple says that App Store categories will also be unified across the ‌App Store‌ and Mac App Store to align with the new changes and to make apps more discoverable.

- You'll be able to select the following categories for iOS apps: "Developer Tools" and "Graphics & Design".
- You'll be able to select the following categories for macOS apps: "Books", "Food & Drink", "Magazines & Newspapers", "Navigation", and "Shopping".
- The "Photography" and "Video" categories on the Mac App Store will be combined into "Photo & Video". Mac apps and pending updates with the - "Photography" or "Video" category selected in App Store Connect will be moved automatically to the combined category.
- "Kids" will no longer be a subcategory within "Games" on the Mac App Store.

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV users will have access to the universal app bundle options when the new updates become public.

Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 13.4 updates to developers, one week after the release of iOS 13.3.1 with new toggle for turning off the U1 chip.

iOS and ‌iPadOS‌ 13.4 can be downloaded from the Apple Developer center or over the air once the proper developer profile has been installed. On the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, the beta must be installed using the configuration profile.

There's no word on what's included in the iOS 13.4 update, but as a major 13.x update, it could include minor design changes and feature tweaks along with bug fixes for issues not able to be addressed in iOS 13.3.1.

iOS 13.4 includes iCloud Folder Sharing, new Memoji stickers, an updated Mail toolbar, and more. For a rundown of everything that's new in iOS 13.4, make sure to check out our dedicated article listing the updated features.

Back in October, the developers behind email app BlueMail sued Apple, alleging that the "Hide My Email" feature of "Sign in with Apple" infringes on its patented technology. The complaint [PDF] also accuses Apple of anticompetitive behavior, including removing BlueMail from the Mac App Store.

"Hide My Email" hides a user's personal email address by substituting it with a unique, random email address when setting up an account in an app or on a website that supports "Sign in with Apple."

Apple explains how the feature works in a support document:

A unique, random email address is created, so your personal email address isn't shared with the app or website developer during the account setup and sign in process. This address is unique to you and the developer and follows this format: @privaterelay.appleid.com

For example, if j.appleseed@icloud.com is your Apple ID, your unique, random email address for a given app might look like dpdcnf87nu@privaterelay.appleid.com.

Any messages sent to this address by the app or website developer are automatically forwarded to your personal email address by our private email relay service. You can read and respond directly to these emails and still keep your personal address private.

After writing a public letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlueMail co-founders Ben Volach and Dan Volach said that they were contacted by Apple within a few hours, but they claim that the correspondence was merely a delay tactic.

We were overjoyed when we heard back from Apple within the day – within just a few hours in fact. It seemed to share our desire for a mutual solution and we worked quickly to meet its requests, but these too were just tactics meant to delay us.

Rerouted to teams that didn’t respond for weeks, told outright that our app doesn't run on macOS Catalina when we can prove it does, and given contradictory guidance from different teams within Apple, we found ourselves back at square one. Perhaps even worse than square one, because Apple’s legal team saw our willingness to work together as weakness and strengthened its stance against us.

Now, the Volach brothers have penned an open letter to the developer community, encouraging any developers who feel that Apple has kicked them out of the App Store or otherwise treated them unfairly to reach out to BlueMail and share their stories.

If any of that sounds familiar to you, if Apple has kicked you out of its App Store, used its developer guidelines to control your innovation, hijacked your store ranking, or (let's be honest with each other) lied to you while it steals your technology, it's time to talk. Even if you're not sure you want to go through with it (because we know how scary it can be), tell us your story. We won't share anything about you without your consent.

A lot of attention was placed on the congressional hearings in Colorado on January 17, but there are many who don't have the standing of Sonos or Tile. Together, we will have a voice.

We want to be back on the App Store, but we also want fairness. For us. For you. For all developers. Take a stand with us and email fair@bluemail.me with your experience.

BlueMail was removed from the Mac App Store in June 2019, the same month that Apple introduced "Sign in with Apple." In a nutshell, Apple found the app to be violating several App Store Review Guidelines, but the Volach brothers disagree and are now looking for other developers similarly situated to bolster their case.

BlueMail remains available on other platforms, including iOS and Android.

Update — Feb 11, 2020: BlueMail has returned to the Mac App Store. In a press release, BlueMail parent company Blix said it has no intention of dropping its legal case against Apple, which it says extends beyond the removal of BlueMail on the Mac App Store to the "suppression of its iOS app and the infringement of Blix's patented technology through 'Sign in with Apple.'"

"We're happy that users can once again get BlueMail through the Mac App Store, but we know this isn't the end. Our experience has shown that until the app review process includes effective checks and balances, Apple holds too much power over small developers." said Ben Volach, co-founder at Blix. "One solution could be to include external independent members and observers in Apple's App Review Board, just as a public company's Board of Directors represents its shareholders."

"When we wrote to Tim Cook in November, we heard back in hours. When we wrote to Apple's developer community, BlueMail was back on the App Store within a week," said Dan Volach, co-founder at Blix. "If you're out there too scared to come forward, let this be your proof that speaking out works. To Apple, we want to reiterate that all we want for developers is an opportunity to be treated fairly."