MacRumors

Apple today announced that its Health Records feature on iPhone will be available soon to military veterans across the United States.

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, American veterans receiving care through the Veterans Health Administration will be able to view their aggregated health records directly in the Health app on their ‌iPhone‌.

Apple CEO Tim Cook:

We have great admiration for veterans, and we're proud to bring a solution like Health Records on iPhone to the veteran community. It's truly an honor to contribute to the improved healthcare of America's heroes.

Apple introduced the Health Records feature in iOS 11.3 in March 2018, allowing patients to view their medical records from multiple participating hospitals and clinics directly in the Health app on the ‌iPhone‌, including allergies, vital signs, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, and procedures.

More than 100 institutions in the U.S. support Apple Health Records, including Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

UC San Diego Health recently conducted a survey about Apple Health Records and found that 78 percent of patients were "satisfied with using the feature", according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and others have signed a new letter urging Congress to pass bipartisan legislation that would enable more than 700,000 immigrants to legally work and live in the United States (via CNBC).

The coalition's letter to help "Dreamers" will be featured in a full-page ad in The New York Times today. The term Dreamers refers to individuals who were brought to the United States at a young age when their parents or guardians illegally immigrated into the country. Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, these people are protected and can gain legal work status in the United States.

"With the re-opening of the federal government and the presumptive restart of immigration and border security negotiations, now is the time for Congress to pass a law to provide Dreamers the certainty they need. These are our friends, neighbors, and coworkers, and they should not have to wait for court cases to be decided to determine their fate when Congress can act now," they wrote in the letter.

"We have seen time and again that the overwhelming majority of Americans of all political backgrounds agree that we should protect Dreamers from deportation," the letter said. "American employers and hundreds of thousands of Dreamers are counting on you to pass bipartisan, permanent legislative protection for Dreamers without further delay."

Apple and ‌Tim Cook‌ have been supporting DACA for years, and Cook began writing letters in support of the Dreamers in 2017, after President Donald Trump announced his original plan to phase out DACA over the course of six months. At the time, Cook said that 250 Apple employees are Dreamers: "I stand with them. They deserve our respect as equals and a solution rooted in American values."

Apple has spent increasing amounts of money lobbying the Trump Administration, in 2018 alone spending $6.6 million and in 2017 spending $7.1 million. Apple's lobbying increased significantly after Trump took office, with the company spending more than ever before to influence the current government on issues such as privacy, education, climate change, trade, immigration, tax reform, and patent reform.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues 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.

Last year, the Italian Competition Authority hit Apple with a 10 million euro fine over "dishonest commercial practices" related to an iPhone performance management system it introduced in iOS 10.2.1 without informing customers. The antitrust watchdog said the update was a form of planned obsolescence.

As a result of the investigation, Apple has been forced to add a consumer protection notice about these "incorrect" practices on its Italian homepage. The notice, loosely translated below, was spotted by setteBIT on Twitter.

Apple, Apple Distribution International, Apple Italia, and Apple Retail Italia have led consumers in possession of an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus, or iPhone 6s Plus to install iOS 10 and subsequent updates without providing adequate information about the impact of that choice on the performance of the smartphones and without offering (in a timely manner) any means of restoring the original functionality of the devices in the event of a proven decrease in performance following the update (such as downgrading or a battery replacement at reasonable costs).

This practice was assessed incorrect, pursuant to Articles 20, 21, 22, and 24 of Legislative Decree No. 206 of the Italian Consumer Code by the Italian Competition Authority.

For those who need a refresher about the ‌iPhone‌ slowdown saga, read our lengthy FAQ. Here's a key excerpt:

Why is Apple slowing down some older iPhone models?

iPhones, like many other consumer electronics, are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which have a limited lifespan. As the battery in your iPhone ages, its ability to hold a charge slowly diminishes.

A chemically aging battery can also have increased impedance, reducing its ability to provide a sudden burst of power when demanded by other components in an iPhone, such as the CPU and GPU. A battery's impedance will also temporarily increase when it has a low charge and/or in cold temperatures.

A battery with a high enough impedance may be unable to provide power quickly enough to the iPhone when needed, and Apple safeguards components against the drop in voltage by shutting down the device.

Apple recognized that iPhones unexpectedly shutting down on users is not a good experience, and starting with iOS 10.2.1, it quietly implemented a power management feature to prevent these shutdowns.

Last year, Apple denied any kind of planned obsolescence by flat out stating that it never has and never would do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience, to drive customer upgrades.

We have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.

Apple eventually eased concerns by introducing a Battery Health feature in iOS 11.3, with an option to disable the performance management system, and discounting the price of iPhone battery replacements throughout 2018.

A new report out today by Bloomberg offers a look inside one of Apple's so-called "black sites," this one a satellite office near Apple Park in California where the company hires contractors to work on Apple Maps. These contract workers were hired by Apex Systems, which staffs and manages a few Apple mapping offices, and creates a "culture of fear" according to former employees.

One former worker at the black site near ‌Apple Park‌, on Hammerwood Avenue in Sunnyvale, said that "it was made pretty plain to us that we were at-will employees and they would fire us at any time." Most workers at the office signed up for 12-15 month work contracts, but many didn't make it that long.

Former workers described a poor work environment with understocked vending machines, long lines for men's bathrooms due to a predominantly male workforce, and restrictions on using the bathrooms designated for full-time Apple employees. To protect Apple's secrets, management instructed employees to enter the building through the back door every day, and to walk several blocks away from the building before calling for a ride home at the end of the day.

The working environment was uncomfortable in other ways, according to current and former contractors. Apex managers sometimes broke up unauthorized water-cooler socializing. Several workers say their managers would get notifications if their workstations were idle for too long. “Being monitored like that is super dehumanizing and terrifying,” says one former Apex mapping technician.

Many workers who took the contract jobs did so because Apex played up the possibility of landing full-time work with Apple down the line, but chances for this turned out to be small. At the same time, many other workers agreed to the contract work to have Apple on their resume, but even that wasn't a possibility.

At first, they could put "Apple, via Apex Systems" as their employer on sites like LinkedIn, but then in the summer of 2018 Apex instructed all workers to remove the word "Apple" and to describe their employer as "A Major Tech Company Via Apex Systems."

These differences between contract workers and full-time employees have led to what some sources called a caste system within Apple.

The restrictions were just one of many reminders of the contractors’ inferior status, right down to the apple design on their ID badges. For direct employees, the apples were multi-colored; contractors got what one described as “sad grey.” It’s common for companies to distribute different badges to contractors, a practice that discontented workers across the industry have seized on as evidence of a caste system.

Amber Lutsko, who worked for Apple through Apex in 2017 and 2018, described an opening-day pep talk that aimed to make her feel both honored and excluded. “‘You work at Apple now! You have made it!’” she recalls being told. “‘You’re not allowed to use the gym.’”

The Hammerwood office is managed by Apex, not Apple, and in a surprise audit on the staffing company, Apple said it found a work environment consistent with other Apple locations. According to an Apple spokesperson, "Like we do with other suppliers, we will work with Apex to review their management systems, including recruiting and termination protocols, to ensure the terms and conditions of employment are transparent and clearly communicated to workers in advance."

In November 2018, Apex changed the maximum amount of paid annual sick time from 48 to 24 hours, leading to a protest as over a dozen contractors said they had suddenly fallen ill and left work. Around the same time, Apex suddenly fired about two dozen people. Eventually, many remaining employees left Apex permanently and moved onto contract work at other companies that had better benefits for these workers, including Facebook and Google.

One former Apple contractor who worked under Apex, Amber Lutsko, was one of the workers who quit before her contract was up because of the company's questionable practices. Even now, a few months after she stopped working for Apex, the company's recruiters still find her through LinkedIn and send her messages about potential employment with a can't-be-named silicon valley company.

Other former contractors report the same, even ones who were fired by Apex: "You got rid of me because of my quote-unquote performance, and every three months I get these emails," says one of them. "It's insulting, honestly."

Head to Bloomberg to read the full report: What It's Like To Work Inside Apple's 'Black Site'

While it was recently reported that Apple has at least considered switching to USB-C on the iPhone, Japanese blog Mac Otakara believes that 2019 models will stick with the Lightning connector as a cost-saving measure.

Based on its conversations with various accessory manufacturers, the blog also predicts that 2019 iPhones will continue to be bundled with the same old 5W power adapter, forcing customers to spend extra if they want a faster charger like the 18W USB-C version that ships with the latest iPad Pro models.

Likewise, the blog predicts that 2019 iPhones will continue to ship with a Lightning to USB-A cable and Lightning-based EarPods.

Apple is set to launch new iPad models in the first half of 2019, according to Taiwanese supply chain website DigiTimes.

One of those new models is expected to be the so-called iPad mini 5, but anyone hoping for a major redesign should lower their expectations, as Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports that the tablet will have a similar design as the ‌iPad mini‌ 4. The information comes from the blog's discussions with accessory makers.

Mac Otakara claims the ‌iPad mini‌ 5 will have identical dimensions as the ‌iPad mini‌ 4, including a thickness of 6.1mm, suggesting that the tablet will have the same 7.9-inch display if bezel size remains unchanged. The blog also expects the tablet to retain a Lightning connector, Touch ID, and 3.5mm headphone jack.

One design change expected is the repositioning of the rear microphone to a top-center position in line with the sixth-generation ‌iPad‌.

The report claims it is unclear whether the ‌iPad mini‌ 5 will have an A10 Fusion chip akin to the iPhone 7, ‌iPhone‌ 7 Plus, and sixth-generation ‌iPad‌, or an A10X Fusion chip in line with 2017 iPad Pro models and the Apple TV 4K.

It's also unclear if the ‌iPad mini‌ 5 will support the original Apple Pencil, but second-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌ support seems to be ruled out.

Apple's forthcoming second-generation AirPods will feature a new design and improved audio performance, while its AirPower wireless charging pad will launch in the Spring, a new report claims today.

Rumor site MySmartPrice said one of its "trusted sources" claims the AirPods 2, tipped for release this year, will offer better bass response thanks to improved internals, and both the earbuds and case will include a special matte coating to enhance grip, similar to a coating used on the glass back of Google's Pixel 3 phone.

The report also repeats previous rumors suggesting Apple's second-generation AirPods will feature health monitoring features, including heart-rate monitoring, and claims that battery life is likely to be more or less similar to the current model.

In addition, the site believes the new AirPods 2 earphones will be available in black and white colors and cost around $200, a 40 dollar increase on the current price, although whether this detail comes from the same source or just speculation is unclear.

Previous concept

Meanwhile, MySmartPrice claims Apple's ‌AirPower‌ wireless charging pad will be thicker than originally planned due to an internal 8-7-7 coil configuration, and will finally be released in Spring this year, "alongside the wireless charging case for the first-generation AirPods." Apple is expected to release a standalone AirPods case that can be purchased as an upgrade for existing AirPods to enable wireless charging.

Back in November, MySmartPrice was first to spot new AirPods listings in the Bluetooth Special Interest Group's regulatory database, suggesting a refreshed version of the accessory could be coming in the near future. Otherwise, the site doesn't have much of a track record for corroborated Apple rumors, so the above details should be taken with a grain of salt.

New York resident Jay Brodsky has filed a frivolous class action lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company's so-called "coercive" policy of not letting customers disable two-factor authentication beyond a two-week grace period is both inconvenient and violates a variety of California laws.

The complaint alleges that Brodsky "and millions of similarly situated consumers across the nation have been and continue to suffer harm" and "economic losses" as a result of Apple's "interference with the use of their personal devices and waste of their personal time in using additional time for simple logging in."

In a support document, Apple says it prevents customers from turning off two-factor authentication after two weeks because "certain features in the latest versions of iOS and macOS require this extra level of security":

If you already use two-factor authentication, you can no longer turn it off. Certain features in the latest versions of iOS and macOS require this extra level of security, which is designed to protect your information. If you recently updated your account, you can unenroll for two weeks. Just open your enrollment confirmation email and click the link to return to your previous security settings. Keep in mind, this makes your account less secure and means that you can't use features that require higher security.

The complaint is riddled with questionable allegations, however, including that Apple released a software update around September 2015 that enabled two-factor authentication on Brodsky's Apple ID without his knowledge or consent. Apple in fact offers two-factor authentication on an opt-in basis.

Brodsky also claims that two-factor authentication is required each time you turn on an Apple device, which is false, and claims the security layer adds an additional two to five minutes or longer to the login process when it in fact only takes seconds to enter a verification code from a trusted device.

The complaint goes on to allege that Apple's confirmation email for two-factor authentication enrollment containing a "single last line" alerting customers that they have a two-week period to disable the security layer is "insufficient."

Brodsky accuses Apple of violating the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, California's Invasion of Privacy Act, and other laws. He, on behalf of others similarly situated, is seeking monetary damages as well as a ruling that prevents Apple from "not allowing a user to choose its own logging and security procedure." Read the full document.

Apple has begun selling certified refurbished 2018 MacBook Air and Mac mini models in the United States and Canada for the first time, following availability in several European countries starting Friday.

In the United States, refurbished pricing starts at $1,019 for the base model MacBook Air, down from $1,199 brand new, and $679 for the base model Mac mini, down from $799 brand new. Various other custom configurations are available for each Mac with discounts up to 15 percent versus brand new prices.

While the refurbished higher-end ‌MacBook Air‌ models may be worth considering, the base model is worth passing over, as authorized resellers such as Amazon and B&H are offering it brand new in box for $999 in the United States.

Orders placed today are estimated for delivery by early next week. We recommend using Refurb Tracker to monitor inventory.

Apple says certified refurbished ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌Mac mini‌ models are thoroughly inspected, tested, cleaned, and repackaged, with all manuals and cables included in the box. In our view, a refurbished Mac is virtually indistinguishable from a brand new one. They're also backed by Apple's standard one-year warranty.

A refurbished Mac's warranty can be extended to three years from the refurbished purchase date with AppleCare+.

(Thanks, Jason A!)

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and B&H. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Last month, Apple lowered its revenue guidance for the first quarter of its 2019 fiscal year by up to $9 billion due to fewer iPhone upgrades than it anticipated, primarily due to economic weakness in the Greater China region.

A few months prior to the announcement, Apple began heavily promoting ‌iPhone‌ XR and ‌iPhone‌ XS trade-ins with a limited time promotion, prominent banner on its website, emails to older iPhone users, store signage, App Store editorials, and other uncharacteristically aggressive tactics aimed at boosting sales.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that Apple reassigned some of its marketing staff to focus on bolstering sales of its latest ‌iPhone‌ lineup in late October, around the time the ‌iPhone‌ XR launched. The report cited an unnamed source who described the efforts as a "fire drill."

In a report this week about Deirdre O'Brien succeeding Angela Ahrendts as Apple's retail chief, Gurman elaborated a bit more on Apple's tactics to promote its latest iPhones, claiming that the company advised its technicians to "push ‌iPhone‌ upgrades to consumers with out-of-warranty devices."

Senior retail staff were also tasked with making sure other employees were suggesting upgrades, according to Gurman:

In December, as Apple executives worried about demand, the company asked retail employees to promote the new iPhones using methods not seen before. Technicians were told to push iPhone upgrades to consumers with out-of-warranty devices. Senior sales staff had to make sure other retail workers were suggesting upgrades, and easels offering generous trade-in deals for the iPhone XR were erected in stores. Apple's online homepage was also replaced with reduced iPhone pricing that required a trade-in of older models.

We presume this refers to Genius Bar technicians at Apple Stores, but there is also a network of Apple Authorized Service Providers, some of which double as authorized resellers that offer the latest Apple products for sale.

It's unclear if the tactics had any influence on Ahrendts stepping down from her position. Unlike her short-lived predecessor John Browett, who reportedly pushed Apple retail employees to aggressively upsell products, Ahrendts focused on the experience with free Today at Apple creativity sessions and more.

Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that "customers are holding on to their older iPhones a bit longer than in the past." In a letter to shareholders, Cook said Apple is undertaking and accelerating initiatives to improve its results, such as making it simple to trade in a phone at its stores.

Apple's reported efforts to push ‌iPhone‌ upgrades creates an interesting juxtaposition. On one hand, the company's environmental chief Lisa Jackson recently said customers using its devices longer "is the best thing for the planet," and on the other hand it is more aggressively encouraging customers to buy a new ‌iPhone‌.

Apple today began selling refurbished 2018 models of the MacBook Air and Mac mini for the first time, although availability is currently limited to Europe. Listings for refurbished 2018 MacBook Air models have also gone live in the United States, but the purchase button does not work yet.

In the UK, the base model ‌MacBook Air‌ is priced at £1,019, which is £180 off Apple's regular price of £1,199 brand new. The base model Mac mini is priced at £679, reflecting savings of £120 off £799 brand new.

The refurbished ‌MacBook Air‌ models will start at $1,019 in the United States when they become available to order. That is a discount worth passing over, as authorized resellers such as Amazon and B&H are currently offering the 2018 ‌MacBook Air‌ brand new in box for $999, a savings of $200:

• Amazon: 1.6GHz Core i5 / 128GB SSD / 8GB RAM / Space Gray
  

• Amazon: 1.6GHz Core i5 / 128GB SSD / 8GB RAM / Silver
  

• B&H: 1.6GHz Core i5 / 128GB SSD / 8GB RAM / Space Gray
  

• B&H: 1.6GHz Core i5 / 128GB SSD / 8GB RAM / Silver

‌Mac mini‌ deals are less common, so refurbished models could be worth considering. Orders placed today are estimated for delivery by early next week in the United Kingdom. We recommend using Refurb Tracker to monitor inventory.

Apple says certified refurbished ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌Mac mini‌ models are thoroughly inspected, tested, cleaned, and repackaged, with all manuals and cables included in the box. In our view, a refurbished Mac is virtually indistinguishable from a brand new one, and is also backed by Apple's standard one-year warranty.

A refurbished Mac's warranty can be extended to three years from the refurbished purchase date with AppleCare+.

Update: Refurbished 2018 ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌Mac mini‌ models are also available in other European countries such as Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, and Italy. Thanks to Jean-Baptiste from iPhoneAddict.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and B&H. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple today shared a trio of new Memoji ads on its YouTube channel featuring Ariana Grande, Khalid, and Florida Georgia Line.

Grande and Florida Georgia Line are nominees for the 61st GRAMMY Awards, airing this Sunday on CBS at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Grande and fellow nominees Shawn Mendes and Kacey Musgraves are featured on Memoji billboards in Los Angeles.

In a support document outlining the security content of iOS 12.1.4, Apple credited both 14-year-old Grant Thompson of Catalina Foothills High School in Tucson, Arizona and Daven Morris of Arlington, Texas with reporting a major Group FaceTime bug to the company that allowed users to eavesdrop on others.

Thompson and his mother are widely known for being the first people to discover and report the bug to Apple, over a week before it made headlines on January 28, but nothing was known about Morris until now.

The Wall Street Journal today shared a few details about Morris, noting he is a 27-year-old software engineer who reported the bug to Apple on January 27, several days after the Thompsons but one day before it made headlines. He apparently discovered the bug a week earlier while planning a group trip with friends.

Apple on Thursday said it will compensate the Thompson family for finding and reporting the bug and make an additional gift toward Grant Thompson's education. Apple hasn't disclosed the exact sums of the donations. It's unclear if Morris will also be compensated by the company for reporting the bug.

In a statement issued to MacRumors, Apple apologized for the bug a second time and assured customers that it has been fixed in iOS 12.1.4, as has a previously unreported vulnerability in the Live Photos feature of FaceTime:

Today's software update fixes the security bug in Group FaceTime. We again apologize to our customers and we thank them for their patience. In addition to addressing the bug that was reported, our team conducted a thorough security audit of the FaceTime service and made additional updates to both the FaceTime app and server to improve security. This includes a previously unidentified vulnerability in the Live Photos feature of FaceTime. To protect customers who have not yet upgraded to the latest software, we have updated our servers to block the Live Photos feature of FaceTime for older versions of iOS and macOS.

Apple has reenabled its Group FaceTime servers, but the feature will remain permanently disabled on iOS 12.1 through iOS 12.1.3.

Widely publicized last month, the ‌FaceTime‌ bug allowed one person to call another person via ‌FaceTime‌, slide up on the interface and enter their own phone number, and automatically gain access to audio from the other person's device without that person accepting the call. In some cases, even video was accessible.

We demonstrated the bug in a video at the time:

Sprint has filed a lawsuit in federal court against AT&T for its false "5G Evolution" claims that appeared on some iPhones in iOS 12.2 beta 2 earlier this week, and on Android phones in January (via Engadget). AT&T says that this "5GE" label indicates to customers when they are in an area where 5G Evolution "may be available," but it's really just an upgraded version of 4G LTE, because any form of 5G on an iPhone is impossible at this point.

Apple will have to release new hardware to support 5G services, a launch that isn't expected until 2020. Because of this, Sprint has filed an injunction to prevent AT&T from using ‌5GE‌ tags on its devices or in advertising, claiming that AT&T is damaging the consumer reputation and understanding of true 5G, and potentially hurting Sprint's upcoming launch of 5G in the process.

In the claim, Sprint explains that it commissioned a survey and found that 54 percent of consumers believed that the "‌5GE‌" networks were the same as, or even better, than true 5G. Forty-three percent thought that if they purchased an AT&T smartphone today it will be 5G capable, both of which are not true.

Now, Sprint wants to stop AT&T from damaging the 5G brand while it builds a "legitimate early entry into the 5G network space." Like every other network carrier, Sprint has been working on a wide-scale 5G network that has previously been said to launch in late 2019. True 5G networks will grant users faster data speeds and lower latency on compatible smartphones and other cellular devices.

For Apple, the company won't release an ‌iPhone‌ that can connect to 5G data networks until at least 2020. While other companies will begin supporting 5G in smartphones in 2019, Apple is delaying support due to expected issues with early 5G launches, like poor coverage. Apple took the same strategy during the launch of 3G and 4G, the two previous generations of high-speed mobile services.

Update: AT&T has provided the following statement to MacRumors:

“We understand why our competitors don’t like what we are doing, but our customers love it. We introduced 5G Evolution more than two years ago, clearly defining it as an evolutionary step to standards-based 5G. 5G Evolution and the 5GE indicator simply let customers know when their device is in an area where speeds up to twice as fast as standard LTE are available. That’s what 5G Evolution is, and we are delighted to deliver it to our customers.

We will fight this lawsuit while continuing to deploy 5G Evolution in addition to standards-based mobile 5G. Customers want and deserve to know when they are getting better speeds. Sprint will have to reconcile its arguments to the FCC that it cannot deploy a widespread 5G network without T-Mobile while simultaneously claiming in this suit to be launching ‘legitimate 5G technology imminently.’”