Five nations including the U.S. and the U.K. have urged tech companies to comply with requests to build backdoors into their encrypted services, or potentially face legislation requiring them to do so by law.
The statement is a result of a meeting last week between the "Five Eyes" intelligence sharing countries, which include the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
In a published memo, the governments claim that the use of such backdoors for accessing encrypted data would respect personal rights and privacy, and be limited only to criminal investigations by law enforcement.
Privacy laws must prevent arbitrary or unlawful interference, but privacy is not absolute. It is an established principle that appropriate government authorities should be able to seek access to otherwise private information when a court or independent authority has authorized such access based on established legal standards. The same principles have long permitted government authorities to search homes, vehicles, and personal effects with valid legal authority.
The memo goes on to note that each of the Five Eyes jurisdictions will consider how to implement the statement principles, including "with the voluntary cooperation of industry partners", while adhering to lawful requirements for proper authorization and oversight.
The statement of principles underlines the fractious relationship between some governments and tech companies regarding encryption over the last few years, in which the popularity of digital messaging services has exploded.
The U.K. government has long argued that encrypted online channels such as WhatsApp and Telegram provide a "safe haven" for terrorists because governments and even the companies that host the services cannot read them.
Apple refused to comply with the request, saying that the software the FBI asked for could serve as a "master key" able to be used to get information from any iPhone or iPad - including its most recent devices - while the FBI claimed it only wanted access to a single iPhone.
In another potential test case, Facebook is currently contesting a demand from the U.S. government that it break the encryption of its popular Messenger app so that law enforcement can listen in to a suspect's conversations as part of an ongoing investigation into a criminal gang.
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.
WhatsApp now supports media previews in new message notifications, according to the latest update for iPhone users running iOS 10 or later.
For as long as WhatsApp has been on iPhone, any images included in messages have been replaced by a camera emoji in notifications, so you had to open the app to see the attached media.
Similarly, GIF messages sent over the chat platform are traditionally represented in notifications by the space invader emoji, requiring users to open WhatsApp to view the content.
That behavior is set to change in version 2.18.90, released today, with support included for full media previews. On devices with 3D Touch, a hard press on notifications should reveal the media without having to open the app. Alternatively, users can swipe left on the notifications and tap View in the revealed menu.
It's also worth noting that the media preview feature allows users to download images and GIFs directly from the notification if they have disabled WhatsApp's media auto-download option.
According to WABetaInfo, the media preview feature isn't working for everyone who has updated just yet, but WhatsApp is apparently aware of the issue and is aiming to fix it server-side within the next few days.
Also in version 2.18.90, WhatsApp is introducing a feature that flags suspicious links sent over the chat platform. When a message is received that contains a link, WhatsApp analyzes the URL characters locally in order to detect if the link is suspicious and alerts the user in the chat thread.
WhatsApp is a free download for iPhone available from the App Store. [Direct Link]
Former Apple software engineer Ken Kocienda is releasing a new book entitled Creative Selection today, presenting a look inside Apple's design process through his involvement with a few key features across a variety of platforms and devices. I've had an opportunity to read through the book ahead of its debut, and it offers an interesting perspective on how Apple develops and refines features through an iterative process Kocienda terms "creative selection."
Kocienda, who joined Apple in 2001 and spent 15 years with the company, identifies seven "elements" he deems essential to Apple's success in software development, including inspiration, collaboration, craft, diligence, decisiveness, taste, and empathy. He delves a bit into how each of these elements contributes toward Apple's relentless pursuit of innovative ideas and solutions that end up being intuitive and useful to Apple's customers.
The process of creative selection is the overarching strategy for Apple's engineers, with small teams highly focused on rapid-fire demos of their work that allow the engineers to quickly iterate on their ideas and designs, saving the best elements of each iteration to rapidly reach levels of refinement required for Apple's final product releases.
Back in 2001, Kocienda was part of a team from former Apple engineer Andy Hertzfeld's software company Eazel that went defunct. Following Eazel's shutdown, Kocienda and Don Melton were hired on at Apple to develop Safari for Mac, and a number of other Eazel engineers ultimately joined them on the project. But in the first days of Apple's web browser project, it was Kocienda and Melton who got the ball rolling by trying to figure out how to port Mozilla to Mac OS X.
In Creative Selection, Kocienda spends several chapters walking through those difficult first steps, the inspiration of Richard Williamson to build Safari based on the lean and nimble Konqueror browser rather than Mozilla, and the Safari team's relentless effort toward building out a working web browser with an obsessive focus on speed.
As we introduced new features like clicking the back button to return you to your previously viewed web page, we found we couldn't perform the bookkeeping to manage the previous page at quick readiness without impeding the load of all pages. The PLT [Page Load Test] showed the slowdown. When we deemed such features too important to skip but couldn't figure out how to add them without causing such slowdowns, we instituted a trading scheme, where we found speedups in unrelated parts of our existing source code to "pay for" the performance cost of the new features.
[...]
None of this optimization was easy, and it wasn't always fun, but Don [Melton] always held the line. And in the year following the Black Slab Encounter [the first time the browser was able to load a real "web page" from Yahoo.com], we succeeded in making our code faster and faster.
Once Safari launched, Kocienda shifted to a project to bring WebKit-based rich email editing to Apple's Mail app, and he details the lengths he went to in order to make insertion point cursor placement behave properly, a feature that's more complicated than one might think.
Following a brief stint as a manager of Apple's Sync Services team for cloud data synchronization in which he found the job wasn't for him, Kocienda in mid-2005 boldly threatened to quit and perhaps move to Google if he couldn't be switched to a new role on the "new super-secret project" that was rumored within the company. He soon found himself interviewing with Scott Forstall, who invited him to join Project Purple, the effort to build the iPhone.
Kocienda's key contribution to Project Purple was the development of the autocorrect keyboard, and he walks through Apple's early efforts to figure out how a keyboard could work on the small screen of the iPhone. As the keyboard quickly became a roadblock for the iPhone's software design, the entire fifteen-person team was tasked with developing concepts. In demos for Forstall, Kocienda's early idea of large keys preserving the QWERTY layout but with multiple letters per key and a dictionary used to predict which word the user was trying to type won out and he was placed in charge of keyboard development.
That was of course just the start of the keyboard project for Kocienda, and he walks through the evolution of the design, the trials and tribulations of building a comprehensive dictionary to drive the autocorrect functionality, and the decision to ultimately go back to single-letter keys with algorithms for key prediction and autocorrect.
Through all of this, Kocienda had never seen the design of the actual iPhone, as hardware design was completely separate from software and his team had been using "Wallaby" prototype devices tethered to Macs as their software development and testing platforms. It wasn't until late 2006 that Kocienda got his first look at the actual iPhone Steve Jobs would show off just a few weeks later at Macworld Expo.
When Kim [Vorrath] passed the prototype to me, she asked me to handle it gingerly. I took it from her. The glass display was striking—far brighter and sharper than the Wallaby screen we'd been staring at for more than a year. I turned the device over in my hand. It felt solid, like it was filled to the brim with the latest technology, and it was. In fact, at that moment, it was overflowing a bit.
I paced back and forth a few times to feel the freedom of movement that came with untethering from a Mac. The Wallaby experience had been about feeling tied down to a computer on a desk with cabling spidering out everywhere. Now, for the first time, as I put the phone in my pocket, I got an idea of what it would be like to use a Purple phone.
Naturally, I was most interested in the keyboard. I typed out a few words in the Notes app. The keyboard worked without a hitch. My autocorrection code stepped in to fix all the mistakes I made. I could have spent all day with the device, trying out everything I could think of, but other people were waiting for their turn. As I handed the device over, I had no question in mind.
I wanted one.
Kocienda never had the opportunity to demo any of his iPhone work directly to Steve Jobs, but he did get that chance several times during his subsequent work on the iPad's software keyboard. Kocienda shares the experience of that demo in the very first chapter of his book, describing how he was initially planning to offer users the ability to choose between a Mac-like keyboard layout with smaller keys and a scaled-up iPhone-like keyboard with larger keys more similar in size to physical keys.
He turned to look straight at me.
"We only need one of these, right?"
Not what I was expecting. I think I may have swallowed hard. Steve was still looking at me, and so, with a half shrug, I said, "Yeah . . . uh . . . I guess so."
Steve sized me up a little and then asked, "Which one do you think we should use?"
A simple question, clearly directed at me and only me. Steve didn't shift in his chair or motion toward anyone else in the room. It was my demo, and he wanted me to answer.
And then something happened. Standing there, with Steve Jobs staring at me, waiting for me to respond to his question, I realized that I knew what to say, that I had an opinion.
"Well, I've been using these demos for the past few days, and I've started to like the keyboard layout with the bigger keys. I think I could learn to touch type on it, and I think other people could too. Autocorrection has been a big help."
Steve continued looking at me as he thought about my answer. He never moved his eyes to anyone or anything else. He was completely present. There he was, seriously considering my idea about the next big Apple product. It was thrilling. He thought for a few seconds about what I had just said and what he had seen on the iPad. Then he announced the demo verdict.
"OK. We'll go with the bigger keys."
Overall, Creative Selection is a worthy read, focusing on a few detailed anecdotes that provide a terrific inside look at Apple's design process. Given Apple's size and the way the company compartmentalizes its projects, Kocienda doesn't necessarily have a high-level view of things, but he does a good job drawing on his experiences to discuss his individual philosophy and that of the teams he worked with, extrapolating that to the unspoken criteria used across the company to drive the creative selection process that has yielded the products and features we've all come to know.
Creative Selection is available now from Amazon, the iBooks Store, and other retailers.
Serial mobile leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer shared high-resolution renders today, courtesy of tech blog MySmartPrice, that are based on supposed leaked CAD images of Apple's upcoming redesigned iPad Pro.
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said Apple is working on two new iPad Pro models that take design cues from the iPhone X, measuring in at 11 and 12.9-inches.
In addition to the thinner bezels, no Home button, and edge-to-edge display of the expected iPad Pro design, the mocked-up renders depict a device with an angular chassis boasting iPhone 4-style chamfered edges, rather than the rounded chassis of the current-generation tablet.
In another seeming nod to Apple's evolving iPhone handset design, the device is shown with separate antenna strips along the top and bottom edges of the chassis, instead of the single continuous antenna lines on either side of the existing cellular models.
Elsewhere, a closer look reveals a distinct lack of headphone jack, two rows of speaker vents on either side of the Lightning port – similar to the alleged CAD images leaked last month – and two microphone ports located above the TrueDepth camera embedded in the bezel.
Also like the CAD image before it, a Smart Connector is positioned on the back of the device directly above the Lightning port, instead of the landscape orientation on current iPad Pro models.
MySmartPrice claims the positioning is related to the limitations of Face ID in landscape orientation, however well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has said horizontal Face ID support is a feature in the upcoming iPad Pro models, which are expected to be announced this month.
The legitimacy of the additional details in the renders – and the alleged leaked CAD images they are supposedly based on – have yet to be confirmed, but Apple's scheduled media event on September 12 should reveal all.
Over the weekend, Apple informed some users who signed up to its Apple Watch Heart Study that their contributions were complete.
An app notification thanked them for their participation and asked them to complete an exit-survey about the study, which first launched in November 2017.
The study in collaboration with Stanford Medicine was offered to anyone in the United States who was 22 years older with an iPhone 5s or later and an Apple Watch Series 1 or later. Atrial fibrillation, a common form of heart arrhythmia that is covered in the study, can indicate serious medical conditions like heart failure and stroke.
Participants were instructed to download and install the Apple Heart Study app and wear their Apple Watch. When an irregular heart beat is detected, a consultation with a Study Telehealth provider from American Well is offered, with some people asked to wear an ePatch monitor for up to seven days for further investigation.
Apple closed the study to new participants at the beginning of last month. In a prior announcement, Apple said the study would not end until January 1, 2019, but it looks as though the participants who received the notifications over the weekend all enrolled early, suggesting that data collection is winding down over stages as the end date approaches.
Rumors have suggested that 2018 Apple Watch Series 4 models will include enhanced heart rate detection features that could improve the smartwatch's ability to detect diseases linked to higher heart rates and abnormal heart rhythms, but what form the enhanced heart rate features will take remains unclear.
Design wise, the Apple Watch Series 4 looks similar to the Series 3 models, but the display will be bigger, allowing more space for watch faces and complications, as confirmed last week in an image leaked by Apple.
Microsoft is to simplify the user experience of its Skype mobile and desktop apps, with the aim of returning the platform's focus to core services like calling and messaging.
In announcing the decision in a blog post, Microsoft acknowledged that the Snapchat-style redesign it introduced last year "didn't resonate with a majority of users" and had "overcomplicated" the platform, and said it hoped the new changes would make the service faster to learn and easier to use.
As a result, the Highlights and Capture features are being removed from the mobile app, leaving options for Chats, Calls, and Contacts at the bottom of the interface. Microsoft says users can download any Highlights they have posted in Skype until September 30, 2018.
Meanwhile over on desktop, buttons for Chats, Calls, Contacts, and Notifications are being moved to the top left of the application window, which should make more sense for veteran Skype users. In addition, contacts are being "updated for simplicity" to make them easier to discover.
Visually, Microsoft says it has "toned down" the range of the gradients available in the light and dark themes, and it's also reintroducing the simplified Skype "Classic" blue theme, with subtle adjustments for contrast and readability.
Lastly, some decorative elements have been removed from the Skype interface to provide users with "a more elegant experience" that brings the focus back to content.
"This is only the beginning and you can expect many more updates over the next several months as we continue to simplify and improve the core experiences around calling, chat, and contacts," said Skype design director Peter Skillman. "While we have plenty of work left to do, we hope you find these changes simplify your experience and bring you closer to those who matter."
Apple is testing its self-driving vehicles in a number of Lexus SUVs out on the roads of Cupertino, and on August 24, one of those vehicles was involved in an accident.
Apple is required to disclose autonomous vehicle collisions to the California DMV, and the information on the accident was published on the DMV’s website.
According to the accident details, the vehicle in question was in autonomous mode at the time, and sustained moderate damage in the crash, but it does not appear that Apple was at fault for the collision. From the accident report:
On August 24th at 2:58 p.m., an Apple vehicle in autonomous mode was rear-ended while preparing to merge onto Lawrence Expressway South from Kifer Road. The Apple test vehicle was traveling less than 1 mph waiting for a safe gap to complete the merge when a 2016 Nissan Leaf contacted the Apple test vehicle at approximately 15 mph. Both vehicles sustained damage and no injuries were reported by either party.
Apple has been testing its self-driving software in Lexus RX450h SUVs in Cupertino, California and surrounding areas since early 2017, but this is the first time an Apple vehicle has been involved in a crash.
Apple’s test vehicles are outfitted with a host of sensors and cameras, and while they are autonomous, each one has a pair of drivers inside. At the current time, Apple is testing its software in more than 60 vehicles.
It’s not yet clear what Apple plans to do with its self-driving software, but it could be added to existing cars and there are still rumors suggesting Apple is working on its own Apple-branded vehicle that could come out by 2025.
Apple is also working on a self-driving shuttle service called “PAIL,” an acronym for “Palo Alto to Infinite Loop.” The shuttle program will transport employees between Apple’s offices in Silicon Valley.
Apple today announced the launch of a new logic board repair program, which will see the company offering free repairs for iPhone 8 models that are affected by an issue that can cause restarts, freezing, and unresponsive devices.
According to Apple, a "very small percentage" of iPhone 8 devices have logic boards with a manufacturing defect that are eligible for a free repair.
To check if you have an iPhone 8 that can be repaired under this new repair program, Apple has created a website where your serial number can be entered.
Apple says that affected units were sold between September 2017 and March 2018 in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, and the U.S.
The problem does not affect the iPhone 8 Plus or other iPhone models, so it's just select iPhone 8 models that are eligible for a free fix.
Apple says that repairs may be restricted to the original country or region of purchase, and customers who are affected are recommended to back up their iPhone to iTunes or iCloud before seeking a repair.
An iPhone 8 that has damage that impairs the ability to complete the logic board repair, such as a cracked screen, will need to be fixed prior to Apple providing service.
The new iPhone 8 Logic Board Repair Program covers affected iPhone 8 devices for three years after the first retail sale of the unit.
Nanoleaf, the company known for its HomeKit-enabled triangular Light Panels, is expanding into new shapes with the Nanoleaf Canvas.
Nanoleaf Canvas features square-shaped touch-enabled panels that can be set to hundreds of different colors. With just a touch, you can activate the light panels, increase or decrease brightness, or change them to another color.
Nanoleaf's Canvas panels were initially shown off at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in January, but they also made an appearance at the IFA trade show in Berlin this week, where the company offered up new details on the product.
Both CNET and Digital Trends were able to get some hands-on time with the upcoming light panels and have shared some thoughts.
According to Digital Trends, the Canvas is "more versatile" than the current triangular light panels, with touch "[elevating] the product to a whole new level."
Like the existing Nanoleaf Light Panels, the upcoming Canvas panels are HomeKit enabled and can be controlled using the Nanoleaf app or various Siri voice commands. They can also be incorporated into scenes with other HomeKit products.
The Canvas attaches to walls, the ceiling, or furniture using adhesive pads, much like the current Light Panels, and users can arrange them in any desired pattern. Connectors join the squares together.
Up to 500 panels can be connected to a single base station with the Canvas, allowing for entire wall setups outfitted with the lights.
CNET was told that while the original plan was to get rid of the cross-shaped divider in the middle of the panels, the feature is now going to remain in place in the launch version of the device.
Caught up with @Nanoleaf CEO Gimmy Chu at #IFA2018 last night. The new, touch-sensitive Canvas panels are set to arrive December 1st. Here’s a peek at the latest design, with new base station controls like a shuffle button built right into one of the panels itself. pic.twitter.com/cmw5HtPIMw
— Ry Crist (@rycrist) August 31, 2018
There will be no more dedicated control accessory, with one of the panels in the starter kit instead offering touch button icons along the bottom edge. An on/off button will be included, as will a new shuffle button that will change the colors of the device.
Nanoleaf has also added a button for selecting favorite presets and turning on an included microphone so the panels can connect to the music you're listening to.
Canvas will launch on December 1, with Nanoleaf planning to sell a 9-panel starter kit for $199. Interested customers can sign up for a pre-order invitation list on the Nanoleaf website.
Satechi's keyboard, priced at $74.99, is a simple wire-free keyboard that connects to your Mac or iOS device via Bluetooth.
It's available in silver with white keys or space gray with black keys to match Apple's silver and space gray devices. It's also been designed with diamond cut chamfered edges for a design that rivals Apple's own Bluetooth keyboard.
The Aluminum Slim Wireless Keyboard was created specifically with the Mac in mind with function hot keys, a full numeric keyboard, and a USB-C port for recharging. It connects via Bluetooth 3.0 and has a range of 33 feet.
You can connect up to four devices at once to the keyboard, and switch between them with a button press on one of the four Bluetooth keys. Compatible devices include iMac Pro, iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and iPhone.
We have seven of Saetchi's Aluminum Slim Wireless Keyboards to give away. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (August 31) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on September 7. The winners will be chosen randomly on September 7 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
Apple today seeded the tenth beta of a new tvOS 12 operating system to developers for testing purposes, four days after releasing the ninth beta and more than two months after introducing the new software at the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference.
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV, the tvOS 12 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV using a profile that's installed through Xcode. Subsequent betas can be downloaded via the software update mechanism on the Apple TV.
tvOS 12 introduces support for Dolby Atmos sound, which was activated in the second beta. Apple says that when tvOS 12 launches this fall, iTunes will be home to the largest collection of Dolby Atmos-supported movies.
Customers that have previously purchased movies that gain Dolby Atmos support will see free upgrades to their titles, much like the rollout of 4K support.
Building on single sign-on, a new zero sign-on feature will further simplify the cable authentication process. With zero sign-on, the Apple TV can detect a user's broadband network and automatically sign them into supported apps they receive through their accompanying cable subscription.
Zero sign-on will be available for Charter Communications customers this fall and will expand to additional cable providers in the future.
Aerial screensavers now include location information and there are new screensavers captured in collaboration with the International Space Station.
Other improvements tvOS-related improvements include AutoFill passwords from iPhone, an Apple TV Remote automatically added to Control Center on the iPhone or iPad, and Apple TV support on Home control systems like Control4, Crestron, and Savant.
tvOS 12 is available for developers and public beta testers to work out bugs and other issues ahead of a fall public launch.
Apple today seeded the tenth beta of an upcoming watchOS 5 update to developers, one week after releasing the ninth beta and more than two months after introducing the software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
To get the beta, you'll need the proper configuration profile, which can be obtained through the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 5 beta can be downloaded using the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update.
To install the update, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 5 is a major update to the watchOS operating system, introducing Activity Competitions so you can compete on workouts with friends, Walkie-Talkie with push-to-talk functionality for quickly communicating with the people you talk to most, and auto workout detection to make it easier to start and stop workouts if you forget.
Other new features include an improved Siri watch face with support for third-party apps through Siri Shortcuts, a dedicated Apple Podcasts app, new Workout types that include Yoga and Hiking, new features for runners, WebKit support for viewing some web content on Apple Watch, and enhanced notifications, which will make notifications on the Apple Watch interactive.
watchOS 5 is only available to developers and will not be provided to public beta testers (because there's no way to downgrade Apple Watch software), so non-developers will need to wait until the software is officially released in the fall to try it out.
The watchOS 5 update runs on all Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models, but it is not available for the first-generation "Series 0" Apple Watch models.
Last month, CalDigit debuted a pair of Thunderbolt 3 mini Docks, offering the ability to connect dual 4K 60Hz displays, Ethernet, and USB all from one travel-sized accessory that doesn't require its own external power source. Available in dual DisplayPort and dual HDMI versions, CalDigit's Thunderbolt 3 mini Docks are a convenient way to make sure you can easily connect to multiple high-resolution displays wherever you go.
I've had an opportunity to test out both versions of the dock, and I came away impressed with their performance, compactness, and usefulness in making sure you have the connectivity you need available away from your usual workplace.
Design
Both versions of the Thunderbolt 3 mini Dock have the same primarily aluminum design with plastic on the two long edges where the ports line one side and the short built-in Thunderbolt 3 cable exits the other side. The aluminum is an attractive gray that's significantly darker than Apple's Space Gray shades, and there is a CalDigit logo on the top of the dock. The bottom includes a pair of non-skid strips to help keep the dock stable.
Both docks measure just under 5 inches long by about 2.5 inches deep and 0.75 inches thick. That makes them just a bit smaller but considerably thicker than an iPhone 8, and at a little over 5 ounces they're just about the same weight as an iPhone 8 as well. Overall that makes them much smaller and lighter than a desktop Thunderbolt 3 dock, and they don't require a massive power brick (or any external power beyond the Thunderbolt cable), so they're very transportable.
The two versions each include a Gigabit Ethernet port, a 5 Gbps Type-A USB 3.0 port, and a pair of either DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 2.0 ports. The HDMI model also includes a second Type-A USB port, although it is limited to 480 Mb/s USB 2.0.
Performance
I tested the performance of both docks using an array of accessories and found solid performance. Both the DisplayPort and HDMI versions offered smooth video performance while connected to dual 4K displays running at 60 Hz with no lag or visual artifacts. You'll want to choose the version that best fits your display needs, but keep in mind that the DisplayPort model can also drive non-DisplayPort monitors such as DVI, Mini DisplayPort, or VGA, as long as you don't mind dongles for your dongle.
USB 3.0 speeds were fast, with a CaDigit Tuff external SSD registering speeds of 360 MB/s read and 340 MB/s write when connected to a MacBook Pro through the docks. That's a little slower than a direct connection to a 5 Gbps USB port on a Mac, but in line with performance seen when connecting through other docks and hubs. You'll be lucky to get much more than one-tenth of those speeds when connecting over the USB 2.0 port on the HDMI version of the mini dock, so you'll want to limit that port to mice, keyboards, and other peripherals where you're not trying to move a lot of data quickly.
While there are a number of bus-powered USB-C hubs and docks on the market that offer an array of ports and other options, CalDigit has opted to use Thunderbolt 3's capabilities to focus on the external display connectivity and include only a bare minimum of additional ports.
CalDigit says this is in part an effort to remain within the Thunderbolt 3 power specifications, which limit bus-powered devices to a total of 15 watts of draw. USB-C adapters can in some cases be limited to 7.5 watts total, but with so many available ports on many of these docks, it's easy to hit that figure and cause potential power issues. The USB 3.0 port on CalDigit's mini docks can provide up to 4.5 watts, while the USB 2.0 port on the HDMI model can deliver up to 2.5 watts.
Wrap-up
These Thunderbolt 3 mini Docks meet a specialized need, catering to those who need to connect to multiple high-resolution external displays on the go, but they do their job well. If you're primarily looking to expand the available ports on your MacBook Pro, you'll likely want to look at other options that offer a greater number and variety of ports and can perhaps run over USB-C. These port-focused USB-C hubs also tend to come in at cheaper price points, with $60 being a common figure.
But CalDigit's solution is great for users who need solid display connectivity that cheaper USB-C hubs can't match, while also offering a couple of handy extras in the form of Ethernet and USB ports. Compared to traditional desktop Thunderbolt 3 docks, CalDigit's mini docks are cheaper, easily portable, and don't require external power, so they're handy for on-the-go use.
CalDigit is currently offering the DisplayPort version of the Thunderbolt 3 mini Dock for $99.99, while the HDMI model is priced at $109.99, both a $30 discount over their eventual regular prices although CalDigit tells me it plans to offer the promotional pricing for an extended period of time. Both models are also available through Amazon, although they're priced $10 higher than buying directly from CalDigit, coming in at $109.99 for DisplayPort and $119.99 for HDMI.
Note: CalDigit provided the Thunderbolt 3 mini Docks to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.
Apple today seeded the twelfth beta of an upcoming iOS 12 update to developers for testing purposes, just four days after seeding the eleventh beta and more than two months after introducing the new software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
Registered developers can download the new iOS 12 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air after installing the proper certificate, while public beta members should also be seeing the update as their tenth beta version of iOS 12.
Based on the short interval and the odd time of day of the release, the update is almost certainly an emergency bug fix for the update alert bug that began popping up in earnest yesterday. Users were being prompted to update to a "new iOS update" every time they unlocked their phone or dismissed Notification Center.
iOS 12 brings several major new features, with Apple revamping the operating system from top to bottom to make iPhones and iPads, especially the older models, faster and more responsive.
On the iPhone X, there are new Animoji characters along with "Memoji," which are customizable, personalized, humanoid Animoji that can be used both in Messages and in FaceTime, and there are new camera effects in both of those apps.
Apple originally planned to introduce Group FaceTime support in iOS 12, but the feature was removed in iOS 12 beta 7 and will not be reintroduced until later this fall in a future update to iOS 12.
Siri is smarter in iOS 12 with a new Shortcuts feature that lets you create multi-step customized automations using first and third-party apps that can be activated with Siri voice commands. Shortcuts can be created through the Shortcuts app, available as a beta from Apple's Developer Center.
Apple built comprehensive time management and monitoring tools into iOS 12 with Screen Time, allowing you to keep track of how much time you're spending in apps on your iPhone and iPad. App limits can help you cut back on iOS device usage, and robust parental controls are included for families.
Grouped Notifications make incoming notifications easier to view and manage, while a new Instant Tuning feature lets you tweak your notification settings right on the Lock screen on a notification-by-notification basis.
Apple News has a new Browse feature, the Stocks app has been redesigned and brought to the iPad, iBooks has been overhauled with a new look and a new name -- Apple Books -- and Voice Memos has been revamped with iCloud support and an iPad app.
ARKit 2.0 introduces new capabilities like shared experiences that let two people see the same AR environment on separate devices, and persistence, which allows AR experiences to be saved across multiple sessions. There's also a new Apple-built Measure app for measuring objects using AR capabilities.
iOS 12 includes a revamped and rebuilt Maps app that uses a new Apple-designed Maps engine that will display foliage, pools, buildings, pedestrian pathways, and other map elements more accurately. The new Maps also includes significant improvements to traffic, real-time road conditions, construction, and more, plus it will enable Apple to push out changes and fixes more quickly.
The updated Maps app is available in the Northern California area during beta testing. After iOS 12 launches, Apple will continue rolling out the new maps to additional U.S. locations
New betas of upcoming operating system updates always introduce tweaked features and new functionality, and we'll be outlining what's new in the seventh beta below. We also rounded up all of the changes that were introduced in the previous betas: beta 2 and beta 3, beta 4, beta 5, beta 6, and beta 7.
Later betas have had fewer changes because we're approaching the end of the beta testing period, with a public launch for iOS 12 planned for September alongside new iPhones.
As we head into the three-day Labor Day weekend -- and the unofficial end of Summer in the United States -- numerous online retailers have kicked off sales for anyone shopping around during the long weekend. Although Labor Day is on Monday, September 3, many sales have already begun and last through Monday evening. We've collected many of the best bargains and discounts in this article, so be sure to check out each and if you're interested place your order before Labor Day ends.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Of course, one of the major Labor Day sales is over at Best Buy, which kicked off an event full of Apple devices early this morning. This includes savings on HomePod, Apple Watch Series 3, iPad mini, iPad Pro, MacBook, and more. We've listed the sales below:
iPhone - Save up to $200 on iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus when bought and activated with a monthly installment plan
Although there are a few MacBook Pro sales at Best Buy this weekend (centered upon the Mid 2017 refresh), B&H Photo is beating many of them by around $50. For example, while Best Buy has the 2.3GHz/8GB RAM/128GB SSD 13-inch MacBook Pro for $1,149.99, B&H Photo has the same model for $1,099.00, down from $1,299.00. Most of the other Mid 2017 refresh MacBook Pro models are on sale as well.
For B&H Photo, many of the 2018 MacBook Pro sales end later tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, so be sure to browse these models right here before the deals expire.
Over on eBay, the retailer has a new coupon code offering 20 percent off select categories including tech and home electronics with code JUSTRELAX. This one expires on September 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT, and you'll have to purchase items worth $25 or more to take advantage of the discount (which will be capped at a max value of $50).
While not a sitewide sale, the coupon does include notable products in the discount, like iPhone X, Nintendo Switch, Dyson vacuums and fans, DJI drones, and much more. Head to the event's landing page to browse the full sale and place your order before the code expires on Monday.
There are numerous other sales online this weekend, so we'll give a quick rundown of them below:
BJ's - Club members can get $15 off orders of $200 or more with code LABORDAY (expires 9/1)
SENA - Save up to 75 percent off iPhone cases (no code needed, expires 9/3)
OWC - Save on MagSafe adapters, Magic Keyboards, and other accessories (expires 9/10)
Casetify - Get 15 percent off orders of $30 or more with code LABORDAY18
Griffin - Save 25 percent off sitewide with code GRIFFIN25 (expires 11:59 p.m. PT 9/3)
JBL - Save up to 30 percent, and get free 2-day shipping on portable speakers and headphones over $19.95
Apple has announced that, starting October 3, 2018, all new apps and app updates will require a privacy policy in order to be submitted for distribution on the App Store or through TestFlight for beta testing purposes.
Apple already requires a privacy policy for apps that access personal information, including apps that offer subscriptions, accept Apple Pay, or use Apple frameworks such as HomeKit, HealthKit, or CareKit. Now, the requirement will extend to all apps, including basic ones that do not share data in any way.
It does not appear that existing apps on the App Store will be affected by this move until they are updated on October 3 or later, so long-outdated apps may remain without a privacy policy if they are no longer maintained.
Apple detailed the upcoming changes in the News section of its App Store Connect portal for developers on Thursday:
Starting October 3, 2018, App Store Connect will require a privacy policy for all new apps and app updates in order to be submitted for distribution on the App Store or through TestFlight external testing. In addition, your app's privacy policy link or text will only be editable when you submit a new version of your app.
To add or edit your privacy policy for the App Store:
1. Go to My Apps in App Store Connect, and click on your app. 2. Under App Store, click on App Information. 3. In the top right corner, add your privacy policy link for iOS apps or macOS apps, or enter text directly for tvOS apps. 4. Click Save.
To add your privacy policy link to your app for external TestFlight distribution:
1. Go to My Apps in App Store Connect, and click on your app. 2. Under TestFlight, click Test Information. 3. Add your privacy policy link for iOS apps, or enter text directly for tvOS apps. 4. Click Save.
Apple elaborates on its privacy policy requirements in its App Store Review Guidelines, under Section 5.1.1:
Privacy Policies: All apps must include a link to their privacy policy in the App Store Connect metadata field and within the app in an easily accessible manner. The privacy policy must clearly and explicitly:
- Identify what data, if any, the app/service collects, how it collects that data, and all uses of that data.
- Confirm that any third party with whom an app shares user data (in compliance with these Guidelines) — such as analytics tools, advertising networks and third party SDKs, as well as any parent, subsidiary or other related entities that will have access to user data — will provide the same or equal protection of user data as stated in the app's privacy policy and required by these Guidelines.
- Explain its data retention/deletion policies and describe how a user can revoke consent and/or request deletion of the user's data.
App Store Connect has long provided a privacy policy metadata field for developers to submit a link to their privacy policy webpage for iOS apps. On the Apple TV, there is no web browser, so App Store Connect has a text box for developers to past the full text of their privacy policy displayed in app.
iPhone and iPad users who have installed the current iOS 12 beta are being plagued with a continual popup that suggests a new iOS update is available when it's not.
Affected users are seeing the following message: "A new iOS update is now available. Please update from the iOS 12 beta." The problem is users receiving this message are running the most recent version of iOS and there is no additional software to update to.
Beta testers have been seeing this popup since the latest beta was released on August 27, but over the course of the last day, the popups have become much more frequent.
Many users are now seeing the popup every time an iPhone or iPad running the beta is unlocked or Notification Center is dismissed, and it is a popup that must be manually dismissed each and every time before an iOS device can be accessed.
Developer Guilherme Rambo has suggested that an error in the latest update causes the iOS beta to think that its expiration date is imminent, leading to the popup problem.
It looks like this method in Springboard does some date/time calculations to determine if the current build is about to expire, every time the cover sheet gets dismissed. For some reason, the latest builds of iOS 12 think they're about to expire. (@davedelong :P) pic.twitter.com/HWe7C0NnIT
— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) August 31, 2018
Complaints on Twitter and the MacRumors forums are picking up from users who are frustrated with having to continually dismiss the popup, and it's not clear when a fix will be available.
Customers who use Apple's CarPlay feature report a higher satisfaction rate than those who are using Android Auto, according to data gathered by a new J.D. Power survey.
On a 1,000 point scale, Apple's CarPlay earned a satisfaction score of 777, compared to Android Auto's score of 748.
Though drivers appear to be more satisfied with CarPlay, Google still has an edge over Apple on navigation. Among owners who use their own navigation system, 56 percent choose Google Maps most often, while 16 percent use Waze most often.
Just 23 of respondents percent said that they prefer to use Apple Maps, and even iPhone owners were more likely to use Google Maps. These numbers could shift further in Google's favor with the release of iOS 12, which will give CarPlay users the ability to use third-party mapping apps in lieu of Apple Maps.
Overall, according to J.D. Power, most consumers consider phone systems like CarPlay and Android Audio better than native systems installed in cars.
"Most consumers consider phone systems better for navigation and voice recognition--and they're free. 'Better and free' are hard to compete with, so automakers will inevitably have to cede this territory and will be much better served by focusing on areas where they are the exclusive provider--like driver assistance and collision avoidance--and continue to hone those systems."
In fact, 19 percent of new vehicle owners who have factory-installed navigation options don't use it, and of those people, 70 percent use another device, which is "almost always" a smartphone.
While CarPlay was slow to roll out following its 2015 launch, it is now installed in hundreds of vehicles from nearly all prominent automobile manufacturers. Apple maintains a list of vehicles that include CarPlay support on its website.
CarPlay is also available as an aftermarket option in systems available from companies like Pioneer, Sony, Alpine, and Kenwood.
J.D. Power's data was gathered from a survey of nearly 20,000 vehicle owners and lessees, and the full report contains additional detail about the highest-ranking vehicles from 2018.
Five nations including the U.S. and the U.K. have urged tech companies to comply with requests to build backdoors into their encrypted services, or potentially face legislation requiring them to do so by law.
WhatsApp now supports media previews in new message notifications, according to the latest update for iPhone users running iOS 10 or later. 
Former Apple software engineer Ken Kocienda is releasing a new book entitled 
Over the weekend, Apple informed some users who signed up to its Apple Watch 
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
