MacRumors

Apple today released a new "Apple Events" app on the tvOS App Store, which will be used to live stream its upcoming "Let Us Loop You In" media event set to take place on March 21 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. This will be the first Apple Event live streamed since the fourth-generation Apple TV was released in October.

Unlike on previous Apple TV models, the Apple Events app must be downloaded from the tvOS App Store on the fourth-generation Apple TV. As usual, second- and third-generation Apple TV users will likely have to wait until the Apple Events app automatically appears on their home screen. No software update is required.

The live stream will also be available on Macs and iOS devices through Apple's event website. iOS 7 or OS X 10.8.5 with Safari 6.0.5 or later is required.

Apple's spring event is expected to see the debut of the 4-inch "iPhone SE," which is rumored to look nearly identical to the iPhone 5s. It will include an A9 processor, an improved camera, and NFC support for use with Apple Pay. The 4-inch iPhone will be Apple's first small screen iPhone since 2013.

Also expected is a new 9.7-inch iPad, which may be branded as an iPad Pro instead of an iPad Air. It is rumored to be adopting features from the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, including a four-speaker design, a Smart Connector for connecting accessories, and display improvements for Apple Pencil support. New Apple Watch bands will likely be introduced. Existing bands will be available in new colors and there may be new product lines, like a rumored nylon band and a Space Black Milanese Loop.

MacRumors will provide live coverage of the event, both on MacRumors.com and through the @MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

British microchip designer and major Apple supplier Imagination Technologies announced additional cost cuts this morning, following a significant restructuring program unveiled by the UK firm only last month.

The company, which supplies the PowerVR graphics architecture in Apple's iPhones and iPads, said it would reduce its cost base by an additional £12.5 million ($18 million) by April 2017, on top of the £15 million in cost cuts announced in February. Two hundred staff now face redundancy as a result, adding to the 150 job cuts announced last month.

Tough trading conditions and a slowdown in iPhone shipment growth is said to be behind the decision, after the company posted an operating loss for the year to the end of April.

"This swift and decisive action will put us back on a sound financial footing and will enable us to have the necessary resources to further strengthen our three core businesses," the company's interim chief executive Andrew Heath said in a statement. "The ongoing operational review will identify clearly where we need to focus, building on our current strengths and allocating the right capital to ensure growth and attractive returns."

Imagination Technologies has reported financial difficulties for several years, despite repeated expectations that iPhone sales would boost its revenues. Shares dropped 10 percent last year when the company reported a first-half loss, and nosedived as much as 18 percent when the restructure was announced in February. The company has also put its digital radio business Pure up for sale.

Apple has been a licensee and stakeholder in Imagination Technologies since at least 2008. The two companies have worked closely together over the years, with Apple being a key investor in the graphics firm since it raised its stake to roughly 10 percent in mid-2009. In 2014 Imagination announced an extended licensing agreement with Apple. However, it has been under pressure to reduce its dependence on Apple since at least 2012 because of declining average royalty rates.

Imagination announced the next iteration of its PowerVR Rogue graphics architecture at this year's CES in January. The PowerVR Series7XT Plus builds on the Series7XT GPU used in the iPad Pro, with a focus on improved camera and vision processing capabilities for photography-based applications.

It remains to be seen whether the new chips will appear in Apple's rumored 'iPad Pro' branded 9.7-inch tablet set to launch next week, the iPhone 7 expected this September, or indeed in any other future Apple devices.

Apple today shared a humorous new iPhone 6s ad that features well-known Sesame Street character Cookie Monster. In the spot, Cookie Monster is baking cookies and using the always-on hands-free "Hey Siri" feature to set a timer.

On the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the A9 processor and M9 motion coprocessor allows Siri to continuously listen for the "Hey Siri" command without needing to be plugged into power. On older devices, "Hey Siri" is available, but only while an iOS device is charging.

While Cookie Monster impatiently waits for the cookies to be done, he uses "Hey Siri" to play Jim Croce song "Time in a Bottle," and proceeds to pace around the kitchen, gobble up a wooden spoon, and moan about the wait.

The iPhone 6s "Timer" ad starring Cookie Monster is one of several iPhone 6s ads starring well-known celebrities, but it is the first to feature a character rather than an actor or athlete. Previous ads focusing on iPhone 6s features ranging from Live Photos to 3D Touch to the device's A9 processor have starred Jamie Foxx, Bill Hader, Jon Favreau, and Stephen Curry.

Apple has signed a deal with Google that will see the Google Cloud Platform providing some of the cloud infrastructure for iCloud and other cloud-based Apple services, reports CRN (via Business Insider). Apple reportedly established a $400 to $600 million deal with Google last last year and has, as a result, "significantly" cut down on its reliance on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

According to the sources, Google executives have told partners that Apple is spending between $400 million and $600 million on Google Cloud Platform, although this couldn't be independently confirmed. Also unclear is whether this range refers to an annual spending rate or a set amount of capacity.

While the money Apple is now paying Google was previously spent on AWS, Apple has not stopped using Amazon's cloud computing services entirely. Apple has never confirmed the cloud services that power iCloud, but past rumors have pointed towards AWS and Microsoft Azure, suggesting Apple will continue using multiple services to meet its needs.

According to The Information's Amir Efrati, who has confirmed Apple's plans, it will take a year for Apple to transition to using Google Cloud Platform.

Since last year, Google has been aggressively pursuing deals for its Google Cloud Platform, led by former VMware CEO Diane Greene. Google and Amazon have been involved in ongoing pricing wars, but Google claims to be the "price/performance leader" in public cloud and says its Google Cloud Platform is between 15 and 41 percent less expensive than AWS.

In the future, Apple may scale back on the money it spends on third-party cloud computing platforms, based on its data center plans. Apple is building new data centers in Ireland, Denmark, Reno, and Arizona, plus it is expanding its existing data center in Prineville, Oregon.

In Arizona, Apple's data center will be located at the former GT Advanced sapphire plant and has been described as a "command center" for Apple's global data network. Apple says the Arizona location is "one of the largest investments" the company has made.

A new iOS trojan has been found in the wild that's able to infect non-jailbroken iOS devices through PCs without the need to exploit an enterprise certificate. Named "AceDeceiver," the malware was discovered by Palo Alto Networks and is currently affecting iOS users in China.

AceDeceiver infects an iOS device by taking advantage of flaws in FairPlay, Apple's digital rights management (DRM) system. According to Palo Alto Networks, it uses a technique called "FairPlay Man-in-the-Middle," which has been used to spread pirated iOS apps in the past by using fake iTunes software and spoofed authorization codes to get the apps on iOS devices. The same technique is now being used to spread the AceDeceiver malware.

Apple allows users purchase and download iOS apps from their App Store through the iTunes client running in their computer. They then can use the computers to install the apps onto their iOS devices. iOS devices will request an authorization code for each app installed to prove the app was actually purchased. In the FairPlay MITM attack, attackers purchase an app from App Store then intercept and save the authorization code.

They then developed PC software that simulates the iTunes client behaviors, and tricks iOS devices to believe the app was purchased by victim. Therefore, the user can install apps they never actually paid for, and the creator of the software can install potentially malicious apps without the user's knowledge.

From July of 2015 to February of 2016, three AceDeceiver iOS apps were uploaded to the official iOS App Store, posing as wallpaper apps and providing attackers with a fake authorization code to use in the AceDeceiver attacks.

A Windows iPhone management app called "Aisi Helper" that claimed to provide services like system backup and cleaning was installed by users in China, and it went on to install malicious iOS apps on connected devices. The apps were designed to be third-party App Stores with free content to bait users into using them and submitting their Apple IDs and passwords. Apple ID information was then uploaded to the AceDeceiver server.

Though Apple removed the original AceDeceiver iOS apps from the App Store in February (the ones used by the hackers to obtain the authorization codes), the attack remains active because attackers still have the authorization codes necessary to install fake apps on iOS devices. AceDeceiver only affects users in China, but Palo Alto Networks believes the AceDeceiver trojan or similar malware could spread to additional regions in the future. AceDeceiver is especially insidious as it has not been patched (and could work on older versions of iOS even when patched), installs apps automatically from an infected computer, and does not require an enterprise certificate.

AceDeceiver in its current incarnation requires users to download the Aisi Helper Windows app to their computers before the malware can spread to iOS devices, so people who have downloaded this software should remove it immediately and change their Apple ID passwords. In the future, AceDeceiver can be avoided by not downloading suspicious software.

Palo Alto Networks has a full rundown of AceDeceiver, its history, and how it works on the Palo Alto Networks website. It's well worth reading for anyone who wants more information about the malware.

Medical smartphone accessory company AliveCor today announced that it will bring "the first medical-grade EKG band" to the Apple Watch with the "Kardia Band," in addition to a new smartphone app for users of its heart-rate reading devices. The company already sells a few "mobile EKG" products in its online store, including cases for the iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 5/5s that have users place their fingers on metallic plates to get sufficient heart-rate readings.

The Kardia Band for Apple Watch will function in a similar way, with a small, integrated metal sensor in the band communicating with the company's new app to take wrist-worn EKG readings. All users will have to do is navigate to the Apple Watch-compatible Kardia app, start a reading, place their thumb on the sensor, and wait for the 30-second analysis to complete. During this time, users can also speak into the Apple Watch's microphone to detail any palpitations, shortness of breath, or dietary habits that could be linked to heart-rate fluctuations.

Users can record a single-lead EKG by simply touching Kardia Band’s integrated sensor that communicates with the Watch app, Kardia by AliveCor™. The Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Detector then uses Kardia’s automated analysis process (algorithm) to instantly detect the presence of AF in an EKG, the most common cardiac arrhythmia and a leading cause of stroke.

Also included is the Normal Detector, which indicates whether your heart rate and rhythm are normal, and the Unreadable Detector, which tells you when to retake an EKG so physicians receive only the highest quality recordings.

The collected recordings are stored and can be viewed in the iPhone version of the Kardia app, and even sent to a patient's preferred doctor if any suspicious activity is gathered during a reading. AliveCor said that the app can also connect to Apple's stock Health app, so users can integrate their EKG readings into established fitness data like step count and calorie intake to further bolster an overall assessment of their well-being.

The Kardia Band is currently undergoing clearance approval by the Food and Drug Administration, and can't be sold until it does so, but AliveCor believes the device will be available to purchase as soon as "late spring." The updated Kardia by AliveCor app [Direct Link] can be downloaded today, however, and works with the company's re-branded Kardia Mobile device as well as the line of iPhone cases.

AliveCor encourages those interested to sign up on its website to be the first to know when the Kardia Band will be for sale and at what price.

Following a rumor that Apple may sell an iPhone 7 Plus with 256GB storage, Italian website HDblog has shared pictures of a SanDisk 256GB NAND flash memory chip that could be appropriate for the next-generation smartphone.

Apple has used SanDisk flash memory chips in a number of previous iPhone models, including the iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus, while other models have used NAND flash chips from Samsung, SK Hynix, and Toshiba.

SanDisk has managed to reduce the size of its 256GB flash memory chip to be smaller than its 64GB counterpart, which makes it a viable option given rumors that the iPhone 7 lineup could be up to 1mm thinner with a larger 3,100 mAh battery.

It remains unclear if the iPhone 7 Plus will still have 16GB base storage, which has been a highly contested option in recent years, or if Apple will opt for larger storage sizes such as 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB at existing price points.

Other rumored iPhone 7 series changes include a faster TSMC-built A10 chip, Smart Connector, dual-lens camera, stereo speakers, Intel 7360 LTE modem, no 3.5mm headphone jack, waterproofing, wireless charging, relocated antenna bands, and more. iPhone 7 Plus models could have 3GB of RAM.

Apple is working to further harden iCloud security so that even it won't be able to access user information stored on its data servers, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

According to yesterday's report, which cites "people familiar with the matter", Apple executives are actively considering how to bolster iCloud encryption without inconveniencing users.

Currently, encrypted data kept on the cloud service is accessible by Apple using a key, which is used for restoring account information if, for example, a user forgets their password. Apple's access also allows the company to provide relevant information it has to law enforcement agencies that approach it with proper, legal requests.

However, Apple appears to be concerned that keeping a copy of the key means it could be compromised by hackers or that the company could be legally compelled to turn it over to governments.

The news contrasts with a report earlier this month suggesting that Apple viewed privacy and security issues differently between physical devices that can be lost and its iCloud service.

However, according to The Wall Street Journal, an Apple spokesperson pointed to comments made by senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi in reference to the company's fresh concerns. "Security is an endless race—one that you can lead but never decisively win," he wrote in a March 6 opinion piece in The Washington Post. "Yesterday's best defenses cannot fend off the attacks of today or tomorrow."

iCloud backups contain user iMessages and texts, content purchase history, photos and videos, device settings, app data, voicemail password, and health data. Any steps Apple takes to close off access to these backups are likely to further antagonize law enforcement authorities, especially given the company's current fight with the FBI over the latter's demand for help to unlock the iPhone at the center of the San Bernadino shooter investigation.

A court hearing to address the iPhone backdoor issue is scheduled for next Tuesday, March 22, the day after Apple's media event, where it is expected to introduce a new 4-inch "iPhone SE" and a new 9.7-inch iPad, as well as make additional announcements.

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.

Following the U.S. government's filing last week once again urging the court to compel Apple to assist the FBI in unlocking the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, a document Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell called a "cheap shot," Apple today filed its response arguing that the government's reliance on the All Writs Act dating back to 1789 as justification for the request is an attempt to "rewrite history by portraying the Act as an all-powerful magic wand rather than the limited procedural tool it is."

Today's filing, shared by Business Insider, outlines Apple's arguments as to why the All Writs Act should not apply in this situation and reiterates a number of positions the company has previously described, including belief that this issue needs to be settled legislatively and that the imposition of the order would cause "unprecedented and offensive burdens" and violate both Apple's First Amendment rights and the Due Process Clause.

This case arises in a difficult context after a terrible tragedy. But it is in just such highly-charged and emotional cases that the courts must zealously guard civil liberties and the rule of law and reject government overreaching. This Court should therefore deny the government’s request and vacate the order.

Apple goes on to outline its arguments as to why the All Writs Act is not applicable, noting that Congress had previously declined to expand the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to include scenarios such as this and that the government's request usurps the legislative authority exercised by Congress.

CALEA’s legislative history makes clear the sound policy reasons behind its specific limitations on when decryption services can be required. During congressional hearings on CALEA, then-FBI director Louis Freeh assured Senator Leahy that CALEA would not impede the growth of new technologies. When Senator Leahy asked whether CALEA would inhibit the growth of encryption, he responded “this legislation does not ask [companies] to decrypt. It just tells them to give us the bits as they have them. If they are [en]crypted, that is my problem.”

In its conclusion, Apple argues that "the government’s motivations are understandable, but its methods for achieving its objectives are contrary to the rule of law, the democratic process, and the rights of the American people."

A court hearing to address the issue is scheduled for next Tuesday, March 22, the day after Apple's media event where it is expected to introduce a new 4-inch "iPhone SE" and a new 9.7-inch iPad, as well as make a few additional announcements.

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.

Apple today opened up its Apple News Format to all publishers, giving independent publishers and individuals tools to offer rich media content within the Apple News app for iOS 9, as noted by Vanity Fair.

Apple News launched as part of iOS 9, offering a one-stop location for users to keep up on news on various topics from a number of different sources. Any publication with an RSS feed could apply to be included in Apple News, but initially only a select group of major publications was given access to the Apple News Format that allowed for much richer content to be included in their feeds.

Since Apple launched the app in September, it has attracted more than 100 major publishers as partners, including this magazine’s Web site. What the new launch means is that anyone—from individual bloggers to smaller, independent news organizations—will be able to edit and deliver their stories, videos, galleries, and audio in the Apple News format, with Apple News’s reach.

As highlighted by Wired, Apple is also rolling out a new analytics dashboard for Apple News publishers, giving them access to data on users viewing their content on the platform.

Apple should be updating its News Publisher portal shortly with details on how publishers can take advantage of the new format for maximum impact.