With a HomeKit-enabled Lutron Connect Bridge, part of the systems, homeowners will be able to to control their lights, window shades and blinds, motion sensors, and more using Apple's new Home app or Siri voice commands on iPhone and iPad. For example, users can ask Siri if the lights are on in the house, and if so, to turn them off.
Lutron's HomeWorks QS and GRAFIK RA 2 systems are available from authorized dealers throughout Europe.
Even though Jawbone has confirmed that it's leaving the consumer wearables market to focus on clinical health products, the company has doubled down on its legal battle with former rival Fitbit, concerning the latter company's alleged theft of trade secrets (via TechCrunch).
The U.S. International Trade Commission has already let Fitbit off the hook for the original claims, but Jawbone is now arguing that the agency only looked at a "limited number of allegations against Fitbit." To back up its argument that the issue remains unresolved, Jawbone referenced in a court filing this month that Fitbit is under investigation by a criminal grand jury concerning the trade secret theft, believing "the issue of what was stolen and by whom remains unresolved."
As of this week, the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security have been conducting a grand jury probe into Fitbit for five months. Fitbit said that it's cooperating with the investigation "to demonstrate, once again, that these allegations are without merit," with a hearing set for February 15 amid the hopes that the case will finally be dismissed.
The battle between the two companies goes back to 2015, when Jawbone claimed that Fitbit hired five Jawbone employees, who in turn brought with them more than 350,000 secret Jawbone files. According to the original lawsuit, Jawbone said "the files included information about materials, sensors and detailed breakdowns of its costs and profit margins."
Fitbit said that once the files were discovered on a cloud-based backup service of a former Jawbone employee, they were immediately turned over to Jawbone. Ultimately, Fitbit argued that Jawbone's new investigation is built on the exact same "fictional allegations" already cleared by the ITC.
The criminal investigation “is based on the almost identical fictional allegations that were fully rejected by the International Trade Commission after a nine-day trial on the merits and that Jawbone falsely asserted on the eve of Fitbit’s IPO,” Fitbit said in Monday’s statement. “Jawbone is now attempting to exert leverage against Fitbit in civil litigation pending in the California state court.”
Fitbit had a case against Jawbone of its own that it dropped last December because "there was no need to pursue the case" when Jawbone was no longer making and selling the products at issue in the lawsuit. Fitbit also cited Jawbone's financial trouble as a reason to end the lengthy court battle. Jawbone said Fitbit's decision to back out was a "misdirection" on Fitbit's part.
Reuters on Tuesday published a revealing insider report on the Steve Jobs-approved design and ongoing construction of Apple's new "spaceship" campus in Cupertino, California, which is expected to be finished this spring.
The write-up draws from interviews with nearly two dozen current and former workers involved in the $5 billion project, and focuses on the "fanatical" attention to detail demanded by Apple managers throughout the development which is said to have delayed the original 2016 completion date.
According to the report, Apple's in-house construction team enforced many strict rules. For instance, no vents or pipes could be reflected in the surrounding structures, despite the fact that the campus features the world's largest single pane of curved glass.
In another example of the stringent demands that construction workers were subject to, the guidelines for the special wood used throughout the building is said to have run to some 30 pages.
Tolerances, the distance materials may deviate from desired measurements, were a particular focus. On many projects, the standard is 1/8 of an inch at best; Apple often demanded far less, even for hidden surfaces.
The company's keen design sense enhanced the project, but its expectations sometimes clashed with construction realities, a former architect said.
"With phones, you can build to very, very minute tolerances," he said. "You would never design to that level of tolerance on a building. Your doors would jam."
According to architect German de la Torre, who worked on the project, many of the building's proportions were directly inspired by Apple products, from the curve of a rounded corner, to the elevator buttons, which struck some workers as resembling the iPhone's home button.
One of the most vexing features was the doorways, which Apple wanted to be perfectly flat, with no threshold. The construction team pushed back, but Apple held firm.
The rationale? If engineers had to adjust their gait while entering the building, they risked distraction from their work, according to a former construction manager.
"We spent months trying not to do that because that's time, money and stuff that's never been done before," the former construction manager said.
This obsession with minute features is said to have set back other parts of the project. For example, Apple wanted all the building's signage to reflect a sleek minimal aesthetic, but the emergency services' overriding concern was to ensure the property could be easily navigated if they were called to an incident. Discussions on the topic are said to have extended to 15 meetings with fire department representatives.
The article ends with an anecdote about the back and forth between construction workers and Apple managers over the design of a door handle for offices and meeting rooms. Discussions apparently went on for a year and a half – the door handle is reportedly still unfinished to this day.
Amazon has announced it is extending third-party support for its Alexa Voice Service (AVS) internationally, with rollout beginning today across the U.K. and Germany (via TechCrunch).
First launched in the U.S. in 2015, AVS is the voice-interaction software that powers the company's Echo family of smart speakers as well as a range of supporting third-party smart home connected devices, such as thermostats, lamps, fans, wall switches, and more.
The support will mean owners of supported devices can voice-interact with additional services, such as TuneIn Radio and local Skills – Amazon's other API that lets developers build bespoke services to work with Alexa – although users should note that some services like iHeartRadio and Kindle currently only work in the U.S.
The expansion of AVS into Germany and the U.K. follows the launch of the Echo and Echo Dot in those countries last year. Amazon has yet to expand its Alexa-powered range to other markets outside the U.S., but with plans to shift 10 million units in 2017, the company is expected to speed up rollout soon.
Amazon's simple certification process has led to over 250 smart home products being certified to work with Alexa. By contrast, Apple has certified approximately 100 devices to support its HomeKit platform. Alexa-enabled devices also enjoyed strong holiday sales, with an estimated 10 million units already sold.
At least 76 popular iOS apps have been found to be vulnerable to data inception, according to a report from a security expert.
The discovery was made by app binary code scanning service verify.ly and published in a Medium post by Sudo Security Group CEO Will Strafach, who revealed that the apps failed to make use of the Transport Layer Security protocol.
The TLS protocol secures communication between client and server. Without the protection, the apps are susceptible to data interception by an attacker with access to custom hardware such as modified smartphone, which can be used to initiate TLS certificate injection attacks. The interception is possible regardless of whether the developers chose to use Apple networking security feature, App Transport Security.
The truth of the matter is, this sort of attack can be conducted by any party within Wi-Fi range of your device while it is in use. This can be anywhere in public, or even within your home if an attacker can get within close range.
There is no possible fix to be made on Apple's side, because if they were to override this functionality in attempt to block this security issue, it would actually make some iOS applications less secure as they would not be able to utilize certificate pinning for their connections, and they could not trust otherwise untrusted certificates which may be required for intranet connections within an enterprise using an in-house PKI. Therefore, the onus rests solely on app developers themselves to ensure their apps are not vulnerable.
Apps in the vulnerable list included a number of popular downloads like third-party Snapchat apps, the official app for Vice News, and banking apps for banks based in Puerto Rico and Libya.
Strafach sorted the 76 apps into low, medium, and high risk categories, and says he is reaching out to developers to fix the problems before disclosing the most high-risk apps in the list. According to Strafach, more than 18,000,000 downloads of the vulnerable app versions have been downloaded from the App Store.
Until the issues are dealt with, Strafach advises users of the apps to avoid accessing them over Wi-Fi, as it's harder to exploit the vulnerabilities over a cellular network.
Truphone has introduced international data plans for iPad users with an Apple SIM, including 500MB for €8, 1GB for €11, and 3GB for €20. Each plan lasts up to 30 days and can be used in 40 countries, such as the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
For now, iPad users need to be in Spain when purchasing an Apple SIM plan from Truphone for the first time, but the data can then be used in any of the 40 participating countries. Truphone said it plans to roll out its Apple SIM plans for purchase across Europe and beyond in the coming weeks.
Apple SIM enables iPad users to easily switch between different short-term data plans from select carrier partners without needing multiple SIM cards. Apple SIM can be used in more than 140 countries and territories around the world, making it particularly convenient for staying connected while traveling.
Apple SIM is embedded in the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and preinstalled in cellular-enabled iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4, and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models sold in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Apple SIM is also available for purchase separately at Apple Store locations in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Keep in mind that not all carriers support Apple SIM, and it is not available in China.
Truphone data plans can be purchased or topped up on compatible iPads by tapping Settings > Mobile Data > Set Up Mobile Data. No Wi-Fi connection is needed to purchase a plan. First-time customers can get 100MB for free.
Apple Maps has recently been updated to provide users with real-time traffic conditions in Argentina. As usual, highly congested areas will display orange or red lines along the roads to indicate that drivers may face delays. Argentina is the fourth Latin American country to support the feature after Brazil, Chile, and Mexico.
Apple Maps shows traffic conditions in over 40 other countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, and elsewhere.
As part of its newest "Shot on iPhone" advertising campaign, Apple today uploaded a video entitled "One Night" to its YouTube channel. The spot features videos and images captured by the iPhone 7 on the same night around the world.
The images come from 16 photographers across 15 cities on six continents and were all taken on November 5, 2016. Apple is using the photographs and videos as part of a "One Night" print and billboard campaign that debuted last week.
According to Apple, the "One Night" campaign is designed to showcase the low light photography capabilities of the iPhone 7, featuring the everything from clubs in Johannesburg, South Africa to rooftops in Shanghai, China to ice caves in Iceland.
Some of the photographers tackled extreme climates in search of the perfect shot. Chicago-based photographer Reuben Wu ventured to Java, Indonesia to photograph the 130 active volcanoes, using an iPhone 7 attached to a drone to capture breathtaking views of Gunung Karang's lava flow after dark. Ruairidh McGlynn traveled to Iceland to photograph the foreboding terrain of the Arctic, traveling overnight by dog sled.
Apple is displaying the "One Night" photographs in 25 countries around the world. The company's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus feature optical image stabilization, an f/1.8 aperture, and an improved six element lens for better performance in poor lighting conditions than ever before.
During Tim Cook's visit to France over the weekend, he met with French newspaper Le Figaro for an interview (via MacGeneration[Google Translate]) covering topics ranging from augmented reality to Apple's future retail plans in France.
Much of what Cook said has been mentioned before in past interviews, conference calls, and other public appearances, but he did have some France-specific details to share. He reportedly confirmed rumors that have suggested Apple wants to open an Apple Store on Champs-Élysées, the most famous avenue in Paris.
In regard to a rumor that Apple secured a Champs-Élysées lease in early 2016, Cook said Apple is deciding what to do with the space. That particular rumor said an Apple Store could open on the avenue in 2018 or 2019, but no additional information has been available. Cook also had high praise for France in general, calling it a "special place" for Apple.
France has always had a special place for Apple. This is the best place to discover and chat with all musicians, graphic designers, designers or photographers who use our products. There is such creative energy.
On the topic of taxes and an ongoing dispute with the European Commission, Cook reiterated that Apple pays more taxes than any company in the world and is not involved in tax evasion. "In our view, the law is clear," he said. "We have to pay taxes where we create value."
Cook also spoke about iPhone production, a topic that's arisen as Apple faces pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to manufacture its goods in the United States. According to Cook, "the whole world" is represented in Apple's supply chain and discussions often don't take that into account, instead focusing on where products are assembled. "We have 4,600 suppliers in Europe and have spent $11 billion on the continent," he said.
In the final portion of the interview, Cook reiterated some comments he has made about Augmented Reality, once again pointing out Apple's interest in the topic. He also spoke on artificial intelligence, saying AI has become indispensable and "makes the iPhone even better."
Cook's full comments are available on Le Figaro's website, but there is a paywall in place.
On his trip to France, Cook has also visited the Apple Store in Marseille, met with Shot on iPhone photographer Jean Claude Luong, had dinner with VizEat co-founders Camilla Rumani and Jean-Michel Petit, and met with Paris-based fashion designer Julien Fournié, who designed his latest collection with the iPad Pro.
Later this week, Cook will continue his European tour as he travels to Scotland to accept an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow.
Apple may start production of the iPhone 8 earlier than expected, according to information gathered by BlueFin Research Partners and shared by Barron's Tech Trader Daily.
There is "some indication" from the supply chain that Apple will ramp up production of the iPhone 8 starting in June, but that doesn't necessarily point towards an earlier non-September release date.
The most intriguing data points that we have uncovered suggests that AAPL is ramping the next generation iPhones earlier than historical norms, although we have no indication that there has been any change in release plans for the iPhone 8/X.[...]
Interestingly, our present reads suggest a 300% increase in iPhone 8/X builds in the June quarter, now sitting at 9M. As a result, overall June quarter builds have increased from 45M to 48M, with the sharp increase in iPhone 8 offset somewhat by modest declines in legacy models.
Given the radical design changes expected in the iPhone 8, it is unsurprising that the company may be planning to ramp up production earlier than normal, if the information BlueFin Research has shared is accurate. An earlier production date will give Apple time to improve yield rates and work out manufacturing issues, and could potentially lead to better supply when the iPhone 8 launches in September.
Rumors suggest the iPhone 8 will include an edge-to-edge OLED display, perhaps with curved edges, with a glass backing, a deviation from the aluminum body used since the iPhone 4s. It's said to look like a single sheet of glass, with a Touch ID Home button built directly into the display.
Wireless charging in some form is expected to be included in the device, but it is not yet clear if it will be Apple Watch-style inductive charging or a longer-range over-the-air charging solution. Other rumored features include a faster, more efficient A11 processor, advanced biometrics like facial recognition or iris scanning, a new Taptic engine and 3D Touch advancements, and camera improvements.
BlueFin Research also says Apple has adjusted iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone SE production downward as it begins preparing for the launch of the iPhone 8.
Target is currently discounting its entire Series 1 Apple Watch lineup by $70, dropping prices as low as $199.99 on 38mm models and as low as $229.99 on 42mm models. Regular pricing is at $269.99 for 38mm Apple Watches and $299.99 for the 42mm Apple Watches.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Target and may earn commissions on purchases made through these links.
A total of eight models are available at the discounted price, which is a solid deal for customers looking to pick up an Apple Watch. The Series 1 Apple Watch models feature the same faster processor that's available in the Series 2 models, but lack the GPS, improved display, and superior waterproofing.
For customers who do not swim and do not need GPS positioning for fitness purposes, the Apple Watch Series 1 is ideal. A full list of discounted models is below:
Target is only discounting Apple Watch Series 1 models at this time, with no discount available on the Series 2 models. Free shipping is available on the Series 1 models, and many brick and mortar Target stores have them in stock.
Apple is working on a new "Ultra Accessory Connector" that would be built into headphones and headsets certified under its Made for iPhone licensing program.
The connector, introduced as part of a developer preview as shared by 9to5Mac, features 8 pins and measures 2.05mm by 4.85mm, thinner and smaller than existing Lightning and USB-C ports.
The UAC is smaller than USB-C or Lightning, both pictured
According to Apple's Made for iPhone specifications for the Ultra Accessory Connector (UAC), it's designed to be used with headphone cables. Accessory manufacturers will be able to develop Lightning to UAC, USB-A to UAC, and 3.5mm jack to UAC cables, connecting to a UAC port built into an accessory for charging and audio purposes.
Such a port could perhaps be built into products like Beats headphones, which currently use micro-USB for charging purposes, and it could save internal space manufacturers could use for other components.
Why Apple has developed a new port rather than encouraging manufacturers to adopt USB-C or Lightning is unknown (there are already MFi specifications for Lightning ports), and it is also unclear if Apple will allow accessories beyond headphones to use the new Ultra Accessory Connector in the future.
Update: As Ars Technica points out, the "Ultra Accessory Connector" is a new name for an existing port that's already used in digital cameras and other accessories.
Apple told Ars Technica that the port has been added to the Made for iPhone program at the request of licensees, not because it is trying to push accessory makers to adopt a new type of connector.
Similarly, sources told The Verge that Apple has no plans of replacing Lightning or using this port on any of its devices -- it will be used as "an intermediary in headphone cables."
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.2 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the first watchOS 3.2 beta and two weeks after the release of watchOS 3.1.3, the current public version of the operating system.
The watchOS 3.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update after installing the proper configuration profile on the iPhone. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 3.2 requires an iPhone running iOS 10 to install and will only be available to developers. Apple does not make watchOS betas available to the public as there is no way to downgrade the software on an Apple Watch.
watchOS 3.2 includes a "Theater Mode" designed to let customers quickly mute the sound on the Apple Watch and disable Raise to Wake, preventing the screen from lighting up with arm movement.
Theater Mode, originally introduced in watchOS 3.1.3, is being made available in watchOS 3.2. Customers are still able to receive haptic feedback-based notifications, and information can be viewed by either tapping the screen or pressing down on the Digital Crown.
watchOS 3.2 also brings SiriKit to the Apple Watch, allowing customers to ask Siri to do things like send messages, send payments, book a ride, log a workout, make a call, or search through photos.
SiriKit has been available on iOS devices since the release of iOS 10, but is new to the Apple Watch.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 10.2 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first tvOS 10.2 update and more than two weeks after releasing tvOS 10.1.1, the current release version of tvOS.
Designed for the fourth-generation Apple TV, the second tvOS 10.2 beta can be obtained by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, downloading and installing the software from a registered developer account via iTunes or Apple Configurator. Once a profile is installed, subsequent betas can be downloaded over the air.
Given the tricky installation requirements, tvOS betas are limited to developers and will not be provided to the public.
According to Apple's release notes, tvOS 10.2 introduces improved scrolling behavior, allowing tvOS users to scroll through large lists of information more quickly. A large swipe on the Siri remote automatically activates the new scrolling mode, and a swipe on the far right side of the remote allows users to navigate specific indexes.
It's likely there are other small feature tweaks and bug fixes included in tvOS 10.2, even though additional changes have not been specifically outlined by Apple. We'll update this post should any new content be found in the second tvOS 10.2 beta.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 10.3 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the first beta of iOS 10.3 and more than a month after the release of iOS 10.2, the last major update to the iOS 10 operating system.
Registered developers can download iOS 10.3 beta 2 from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air with the proper configuration profile installed. Xcode 8.3 beta 2 is also available with Swift 3.
iOS 10.3 is a significant update, bringing several new features and some major changes to iOS 10. The biggest new consumer-facing feature is a "Find My AirPods" feature, which is designed to help AirPods owners locate a lost earphone. Find My AirPods records the last known location of when an AirPod was connected to an iOS device via Bluetooth and it causes a lost AirPod to play a sound.
Apple's latest update also introduces a new Apple File System (APFS), installed when an iOS device is updated to iOS 10.3. APFS is optimized for flash/SSD storage and includes features like strong encryption.
Apple plans to introduce some App Store changes in iOS 10.3, allowing developers to respond to customer reviews for the first time. iOS users are also able to label reviews in the App Store as "Helpful" or "Not Helpful," which should help surface the most relevant review content.
Apple also plans to limit the number of times developers can ask for a review, allow customers to leave app reviews without exiting an app, and provide a "master switch" that will let users turn off all app review request prompts (said to be included in beta 2).
Also new in iOS 10.3 is a redesigned app open/close animation, an Apple ID profile in Settings, a better breakdown of iCloud storage usage, improvements to SiriKit, and more. For a full rundown of the changes introduced in the first beta, make sure to check out our dedicated "What's New" post.
What's new in beta 2:
- 32-bit app alert - The alert that warns customers legacy 32-bit apps will not work with future versions of iOS now includes a "Learn More" button. The button is not yet functional and simply takes users to the Settings app, but it may be updated in a future beta.
- Three UK WiFi Calling - WiFi calling was enabled by British carrier Three late last month, and with today's beta 2 update, the feature is now available for users running iOS 10.3.
Apple today launched its annual "Back to Uni" promotion in Australia and New Zealand, offering students and select other educational employees a $70 to $100 Apple Store gift card with the purchase of a qualifying new Mac or iPad Pro.
Apple is offering a A$100 or NZ$105 Apple Store gift card with the purchase of a new Mac, including the iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and built-to-order versions of those models. Refurbished models and the lower-cost Mac mini do not qualify for the offer per usual.
Meanwhile, students and teachers who purchase any new iPad Pro model will receive a A$70 or NZ$75 Apple Store gift card.
In Australia, the promotion is available to full-time or part-time students aged 18 or over studying at an accredited Australian university or other Apple-approved institution. Lecturers and staff members at accredited Australian universities or Apple-approved educational institutions are also eligible.
In New Zealand, the promotion is available to students attending or accepted into a higher education institution, faculty members and staff members of higher education institutions, any employee of a public or private K–12 institution, and parents purchasing on behalf of a current or accepted student.
The promotion runs between February 7 and March 17 in both countries on Apple's website and at Apple Stores in Australia. Eligible customers can also call 133-622 in Australia or 0800-692-7753 in New Zealand. The promotion can be combined with Apple's standard educational pricing discounts.
Apple today also launched a similar promotion in Japan, offering students an ¥8,500 Apple Store gift card with the purchase of a new Mac and ¥5,500 Apple Store gift card with the purchase of any new iPad Pro.
Apple recently announced that its Danbury Fair Mall store in Danbury, Connecticut has temporarily closed, presumably to become one of the company's latest retail locations to be updated with a next-generation design. A temporary store has opened directly behind the existing store during the renovations.
A second-level floor plan [PDF] for the shopping mall shows a large amount of space listed as "available" behind the store, separated into three units, so it is possible the existing Apple Store could expand into at least one or two of the units. One of the units is likely occupied by the temporary location presently.
Following this report, Apple analyst Neil Cybart of Above Avalon told us that he believes the Danbury store will undergo a "very big expansion" into neighboring unit C220, which appears to have been vacated by apparel retailer New York & Company. He said the temporary location takes up a portion of unit C223.
@rsgnl Was at Danbury store yesterday. Looks like new store will be C221 + C220 (very big expansion). Pop-up store is portion of C223.
— Neil Cybart (@neilcybart) February 6, 2017
Apple has opened or renovated a number of retail stores with next-generation designs since 2015, including locations in Brussels, Cupertino, Dubai, London, Memphis, New York, San Francisco, and elsewhere.
The new look often includes wide, open spaces with some combination of indoor trees, large glass doors, touch-sensitive sequoia wood tables and shelves, seating areas, large 6K resolution video screens for product marketing and community events, and light boxes extending the length of the ceiling.
Meanwhile, Apple CFO Luca Maestri recently confirmed that Apple will soon open a second store in Dubai. Last month, tipster Mutaab A. sent us a photo of what appears to be Apple's typical black construction barrier at Dubai Mall in downtown Dubai.
Based on the photo, it appears the store could span two floors. The tipster told us the location will have the "best view" of the Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Fountain from outside-facing windows in the store. A construction worker allegedly informed the tipster that the store will be ready to open by March.
Cook then had dinner with VizEat co-founders Camilla Rumani and Jean-Michel Petit. VizEat is a social dining service that allows travelers to "taste the city with locals" by booking an experience with a host, such as a cooking class, food tour, dinner, and more. VizEat was named one of the Best Apps of 2016 on the App Store.
Déjeuner with @VizEat co-founders Camilla & Jean-Michel. Thanks to our hosts - and new friends - Odile & Pierre for a wonderful meal! pic.twitter.com/WT6roAlY0S
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 6, 2017
At least 76 popular iOS apps have been found to be vulnerable to data inception, according to a report from a security expert.
