MacRumors

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 10.3 update to public beta testers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first beta and one day after providing the second iOS 10.3 beta to developers.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 10.3 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on their iOS device.

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

As a major 10.x update, iOS 10.3 introduces a new "Find My AirPods" option to help users locate a lost AirPod. Located in the "Find My Friends" app, the Find My AirPods feature keeps track of the last known location where AirPods were connected to an iOS device via Bluetooth, and it allows the AirPods to play a sound to make finding them nearby easier.

Apple recommends all users make an iCloud backup before installing iOS 10.3, as the update will cause the iPhone's file system to switch over to Apple File System.

iOS 10.3 also introduces a tweaked app animation, a new Apple ID profile in the Settings app, a better breakdown on how iCloud storage is being used, SiriKit improvements, new iCloud analytics options, and more.

YouTube today announced that its new mobile live streaming feature is officially launching to all content creators with 10,000 or more subscribers on their channel, while promising that the rest of YouTube viewers "will have it soon." YouTube has supported live streaming on its website since 2011, but it began a very small beta test of mobile live streaming on iOS devices last summer.

To begin live streaming, creators will only have to open the YouTube app, tap the "capture" button, and their broadcast will be sent out to their subscribers so they can tune in. After a stream ends, former live videos will be indexed alongside traditional YouTube videos, able to be searched for, added to playlists, and protected from unauthorized use. The company implemented a few pieces of creator feedback discovered during the beta, including slowing down live chat and ensuring solid streaming quality on every device.

Our mobile live streaming uses YouTube’s rock-solid infrastructure, meaning it’ll be fast and reliable, just the YouTube you know and love. And we’ve been working hand-in-hand with hundreds of creators to refine the mobile streaming experience while they stream from a boat or take live calls from their fans.

On the monetization side of things, creators will be able to earn money through broadcasts thanks to "Super Chat," which lets viewers "stand out from the crowd and get a creator's attention" through the purchase of chat messages and bubbles that are highlighted in bright colors and remain pinned at the top of the live chat for upwards of five hours. Super Chat will be available for creators in more than 20 countries and viewers in more than 40 countries.

Super Chat gives viewers a chance to add a little visual flair to their chats and gives creators a new way to keep connected to their fans while earning a little money on the side, let’s say for example, while shopping at Target or playing video games :)

YouTube is entering the mobile live streaming video market in a crowded field, following companies like Facebook and Twitter, which each have ways for every user to stream from their smartphone. YouTube's angle on creator-only streaming may help it stand out, and the company has yet to give a hint as to when the rest of its users will be able to stream on mobile.

Lutron at ISE 2017 today announced that its whole-home systems HomeWorks QS and GRAFIK RA 2 will support Apple HomeKit in March.

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.

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.

Other Apple SIM partners around the world include AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Three UK, EE, AlwaysOnline Wireless, GigSky, SoftBank, and au by KDDI. As a pricing comparison, rival global network GigSky offers data in over 140 countries for between 1 and 10 cents per MB depending on the region.

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.

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.

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:

• 38mm Space Gray Aluminum with Black Sport Band - $199.99
• 38mm Silver Aluminum With White Sport Band - $199.99
• 38mm Rose Gold Aluminum With Pink Sand Sport Band - $199.99
• 38mm Gold Aluminum With Concrete Sport Band - $199.99
• 42mm Space Gray Aluminum with Black Sport Band - $229.99
• 42mm Silver Aluminum with White Sport Band - $229.99
• 42mm Rose Gold Aluminum With Blue Sport Band - $229.99
• 42mm Gold Aluminum With Cocoa Sport Band - $229.99

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.