MacRumors

Starting today, Logitech's HomeKit-compatible programmable POP Smart Button can be purchased exclusively from Apple retail locations in the United States.

The Logitech POP Smart Button is designed to allow any smart device in the home to be controlled through the push of a button, allowing things like lights to be activated without the need for a smartphone.

Connected to a user's HomeKit setup via a bridge, the POP Smart Button supports three customizable gestures, with each bridge able to support multiple buttons. Buttons can be used to activate full HomeKit scenes or simply turn a smart accessory on and off. Each button supports three preset commands, activated with a press, a double press, or a press and hold gesture.

While the POP Smart Button works with HomeKit, it can also be used with other non-HomeKit devices like Sonos wireless speakers or Logitech Harmony hub-based remote controls.

The Logitech POP Smart Button Kit, which includes one bridge and one pre-paired smart button in White or Alloy, is priced at $59.95 and will be available from Apple.com and Apple retail stores today. Additional Add-on Smart Buttons can be purchased for $39.95.

Google today announced that there are now more than two billion monthly active Android devices in use around the world.

By comparison, Apple announced it had surpassed 1 billion active iOS devices in January 2016, but it hasn't provided an updated count since then.

Apple sells tens of millions of iOS devices each quarter, so it's reasonable to assume the total is above 1 billion, but likely well below 2 billion.

Android's milestone was revealed by Google CEO Sundar Pichai during today's Google I/O keynote in Mountain View, California.

Apple today seeded the first beta of iOS 10.3.3 to its public beta testing group, one day after providing the beta to developers and two days after releasing iOS 10.3.2, a minor bug fix update.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple’s beta testing program will receive the iOS 10.3.3 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper configuration profile on their iOS device.

iOS users who want to be a part of the beta testing program can sign up to participate through Apple’s beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and macOS Sierra betas. Because betas are not always stable and can introduce bugs, they should be installed on a secondary device.

No significant changes were found in the first developer beta, suggesting iOS 10.3.3 is another minor update that focuses primarily on bug fixes and security improvements.

Comcast and Philips Lighting today announced a partnership that will introduce integration of Philips Hue directly into Comcast's home security system, Xfinity Home. With the update, Xfinity Home users will be able to control Hue bulbs directly within Comcast's Xfinity Home app [Direct Link], as well as create "rules" that synchronize Hue bulbs with the security system.

For example, users will be able to set Hue to turn off when they activate the security system and leave the house, or turn on when the alarm is deactivated. Additionally, subscribers to Xfinity's X1 TV service who use Xfinity Home will soon be able to use the voice control-enabled remote to interact with their Philips Hue lights.

“Our partnership with Philips Lighting advances our commitment to bring our customers best-in-class devices they can trust and easily manage on one, integrated platform – the Xfinity Home platform,” said Daniel Herscovici, senior vice president and general manager of Xfinity Home.

“With the Philips Hue family of products, our customers can customize their lighting according to their own needs and daily routines. They can also set up simple automated commands, such as turning on the hallway lights when they enter the home and disarm the system.”

The Xfinity Home Security package comes with three door/window sensors, one motion sensor, one touchscreen controller, and one wireless keypad. Users can add on indoor and outdoor cameras, thermostats, outlet controllers, smoke detectors, and more, at additional costs. Plans and pricing for Xfinity Home vary due to local availability, professional installation, and the inclusion of TV and internet services, but the base plans start around $29/month for the first 12 months on a 2-year agreement.

Earlier this week, Philips Hue launched a new line of lighting fixtures and table lamps in its White Ambience category of bulbs. The new lighting accessories cost between $99 and $199, and the company's full range of new products is expected to begin shipping in the middle of June.

In the ongoing feud between Apple and Qualcomm, the latter company today has brought four of Apple's main iPhone and iPad suppliers into the legal battle by filing a breach of contract complaint against Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, and Compal.

Qualcomm has sued the four manufacturers for "breaching their license agreements" by failing to pay royalties on the use of Qualcomm's technology in the assembly of Apple's devices. For its part in the production of iPhones, Qualcomm supplies the LTE modem in Apple's smartphone.

The cessation of royalty payments by the iPhone manufacturers isn't too surprising, as it follows a report from April in which Apple itself stopped paying its suppliers for royalties related to Qualcomm. According to Qualcomm, "the manufacturers say they must follow Apple’s instructions not to pay," so in retaliation Qualcomm is suing the four companies, asking them to comply with long-standing contractual obligations as well as pay any withheld royalties.

Qualcomm said that Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, and Compal are still paying royalties for Qualcomm technology related to non-Apple products "under the very same agreements that apply to the Apple products." Qualcomm further mentioned that its license agreements with the manufacturers began before Apple even sold its first iPhone, meaning that "Apple is not a party to the agreements" and shouldn't be able to interfere so heavily in its business.

“It is unfortunate that we must take this action against these long-time licensees to enforce our agreements, but we cannot allow these manufacturers and Apple to use our valuable intellectual property without paying the fair and reasonable royalties to which they have agreed,” said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm.

“As Apple continues to collect billions of dollars from consumer sales of its Qualcomm-enabled products, it is using its market power as the wealthiest company in the world to try to coerce unfair and unreasonable license terms from Qualcomm in its global attack on the company. Our license agreements with Apple’s manufacturers remain valid and enforceable. The manufacturers must continue to live up to their obligations under these agreements and Apple should immediately cease its tortious interference.”

In the original report relating Apple's suspension of royalty payments, the move was suggested to hurt Qualcomm to the tune of $500 million, causing the company to adjust its third quarter guidance from $5.3 billion - $6.1 billion in revenue down to $4.8 billion - $5.6 billion. The argument between the two companies originates back to an FTC complaint regarding Qualcomm's anticompetitive patent licensing practices, for which Apple sued Qualcomm, accusing the company of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with."

The feud reached a boiling point in April due to Apple's decision to stop royalty payments to its manufacturers in relation to Qualcomm technology, and would continue doing so until the conflict was resolved. The move particularly hurt Qualcomm because the company's licensing deals are directly with iPhone suppliers, like the four it is now suing, and not Apple itself.

In a statement given last month, Apple said, "We've been trying to reach a licensing agreement with Qualcomm for more than five years but they have refused to negotiate fair terms." The company called Qualcomm's demands "unreasonable," arguing that Qualcomm has been "charging higher rates" based on Apple's own innovation in its devices, "not their own."

The U.S. Senate has approved popular encrypted messaging app Signal for official use by staffers in the chamber, it was revealed yesterday (via ZDNet).

The news came in a letter sent on Tuesday by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), known to be a staunch privacy advocate, in which he underlined his belief that "backdoor-free" encryption should be embraced by the state at all levels rather than something the government should fear.

I have long argued that strong, backdoor-free encryption is an important cybersecurity technology that the government should be embracing, not seeking to regulate or outlaw. My own Senate website, which has used HTTPS by default since 2015, was the first Senate website to do so. With the transition to default HTTPS for all of the other Senate websites and the recent announcement by your office that the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal is approved for Senate staff use, I am happy to see that you too recognize the important defensive cybersecurity role that encryption can play.

Signal by Open Whisper Systems is widely considered by security experts to be the most secure mobile messaging platform on iOS and Android, due to features like end-to-end encryption of text, picture, and video messages, support for private calling, and a lack of separate logins.

Members of Congress are for the most part exempt from record-keeping laws, so long as encrypted communications are not "historically valuable", or do not include committee documents. However, workers of the federal government and those who work directly with the president are governed by federal and presidential record-keeping laws. Indeed, communications over encrypted apps may fall foul of the Presidential Records Act, which requires staff to keep records of those conversations.

In January, The Wall Street Journal reported that political aides close to the president had been using Signal, but the White House declined to comment on whether the Trump administration has set up data retention policies for its encrypted messaging use.

Last year, Apple was embroiled in a public dispute with the FBI over a request to create a backdoor into iPhone software so that it could unlock the phone of the San Bernardino shooter. Apple refused to comply with the request, claiming that the code would lead to weaker smartphone encryption and inevitably get into the wrong hands.

Eventually the FBI backed down in its request and resorted to third-party hacking tools, but throughout the case, Apple CEO Tim Cook remained adamant on the company's continuing stance for user privacy, calling the FBI's request for entering an iPhone "the software equivalent of cancer".

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.

After months of reports that suggested Apple was gearing up to begin iPhone production within India as a way to boost its presence in the country, a report by The Wall Street Journal today has confirmed the first ever iPhone assembly trial run completed in India earlier this month. As it was previously reported, assembler Wistron handled the iPhone production trial run, specifically focusing on the assembling of iPhone SE devices.

Apple further confirmed that it has begun the initial production of an unspecified "small number" of iPhone SE devices in its Bangalore plant, and plans to begin the first official shipment of Indian-created iPhones to local customers as soon as this month. Retail stores are expected to get their first shipment of iPhone SE handsets "as early as this week or next," according to people familiar with the manufacturing plans.

The manufacturing of Apple’s cheapest iPhone model, the SE, was handled earlier this month by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron Corp., which has an assembling unit in the southern state of Karnataka, a state official with direct knowledge of the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

Apple said in a statement that it has begun initial production of a small number of iPhone SE handsets in Bangalore and will begin shipping the Indian-made devices to domestic customers this month. The first devices could hit stores as early as this week or next, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The cost of the device remains unclear, with some Indian government officials hoping that the iPhone SE could be up to $100 cheaper than $320, the current average going rate for iPhone SE devices in the country. In most markets, including the United States, the iPhone SE starts at $399, but some analysts watching Apple's move in India argued for the need of an "aggressive" pricing on the smartphone in order for Apple to compete with the wide variety of cheap devices available.

Bringing its price down below $250 would help make it more affordable, analysts say, though it would still be well above the average smartphone price in India which research firm IDC says is around $150.

“Apple is likely to sell a good number of iPhones if it prices them so aggressively,” said Faisal Kawoosa, principal analyst at research firm CMR. “In three to five years, these users will be able to graduate to a standard-priced iPhone.”

Looking forward, some of the government officials said that Apple "could seek more production" within India down the line, potentially opening up manufacturing on other iPhones. Additionally, India is open to granting Apple more land and resources for its contract manufacturers to expand their operations throughout the country.

Last year, Apple began discussing its expansion in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was trying to boost his "Make in India" initiative, at the same time as it looked to set up a local distribution center that could help consolidate its logistics and supply chain in the country. Apple's struggles in the country have been reported to center around the iPhone's expensive price tag -- a fact that CEO Tim Cook has admitted himself -- with a Strategy Analytics report last summer outlining a total 35 percent fewer iPhone devices sold in 2016 than in 2015.