The first purported component leak for the so called iPhone SE has emerged via Nowhereelse.fr. The images claim to depict a screen assembly of the upcoming 4-inch iPhone.
Part leaks have been notably absent for the iPhone SE, despite rumors that the new device will launch in the middle of March -- only three weeks away.
The new images seems to confirm that 3D Touch components are absent from the 4-inch device. This is consistent with rumors to date that suggest the 4-inch iPhone will incorporate Live Photo support, but not 3D Touch, which is considered a flagship feature for the iPhone 6s line.
The leaked images are said to be captured by a source that on "several occasions in the past proved to be reliable".
The iPhone SE is expected to be announced during a March 15th media event.
As reported on the MacRumors forums and Reddit, a recent Apple security update has disabled the ethernet port on some iMacs and MacBook Pros. zorinlynx writes:
This software update was pushed via the silent "security updates" to my iMac today:
031-51913 | Incompatible Kernel Extension Configuration Data 3.28.1
After rebooting my ethernet didn't work. Turns out that it added an exclusion for the stock AppleBCM5701Ethernet driver! This breaks ethernet and you have to use WiFi to get online.
The experience was mirrored by several other readers. Apple appears to have already replaced the faulty update, but there doesn't appear to be an obvious solution for those affected.
Update 9:30 PM: Apple has posted a support document outlining how to tell whether your system has the bad update installed and how to update to the fixed version 3.28.2.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a research note to investors, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, in which he claims Apple's next-generation 4-inch iPhone will feature a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, as opposed to an 8-megapixel sensor as previously rumored.
Kuo also reiterated that the new 4-inch iPhone will have other similar hardware specs as the iPhone 6s, including an A9 chip and NFC for Apple Pay. The device's form factor is expected to be similar to the iPhone 5s, although the display is said to have slightly curved 2.5D glass like the iPhone 6 and newer.
Apple's new 4-inch iPhone could also feature 16GB and 64GB storage capacities, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, Live Photos support, and a slightly larger 1,642 mAh battery compared to the iPhone 5s. 3D Touch will likely remain exclusive to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus as a differentiating feature.
The well-informed analyst continues to believe the smartphone will cost between $400 and $500 in the United States. The lower price point should help Apple target the mid- to low-price segment and drive iPhone sales in emerging markets such as China and India. Comparatively, the larger iPhone 6s starts at $649.
KGI Securities expects total 4-inch iPhone shipments to grow 131% year-over-year to 37 million units in 2016, on the strength of the new 4-inch iPhone launch and a 50% price cut on the iPhone 5s. Apple currently sells the iPhone 5s for $450 at full retail price, so the smartphone may soon be discounted to $225.
The research firm has lowered its new 4-inch iPhone shipments forecast to 12 million units from 18-20 million units because it believes customers that favor a small-size iPhone may purchase the cheaper iPhone 5s instead. KGI expects iPhone 5s shipments to "surge" following the half-off discount.
Kuo said Apple's upcoming 4-inch iPhone is "generally dubbed iPhone 5se," but a recent report said the smartphone may actually be called the "iPhone SE." The purported iPhone 5s successor has been given many other names in recent months, including "iPhone 6c," "iPhone 5e," and "iPhone 5s Mark II" internally.
If you've installed an iOS beta either through Apple's developer program or the public beta testing website, you may find yourself wanting to downgrade if you've run into issues. iOS beta software can be notoriously buggy, especially during the first few betas of a major update.
Apps often don't work, devices crash, battery life is poor, and entire features can be rendered non-functional. In some cases, these problems are a big enough deal that users will want to downgrade back to the more stable release version of iOS.
It's possible to restore your iPhone or iPad to the release version of iOS, but you're going to need an archived iTunes backup to restore your iPhone or iPad to its pre-beta state, so hopefully you have one on hand (this is the first step in any beta installation).
If not, downgrading will require wiping your device, so you'll need to start from scratch with apps, accounts, and preferences. Here are the steps to downgrade:
Apple CEO Tim Cook has remained tight lipped about the so-called "Apple Car," but today he dropped a hint about the much-rumored electric vehicle at the company's annual shareholders meeting in Cupertino (via Business Insider).
Do you remember when you were a kid, and Christmas Eve it was so exciting, you weren't sure what was going to be downstairs? Well, it's going to be Christmas Eve for a while.
Cook's comment suggests that, if such a project exists, the purported "Apple Car" will not be publicly revealed for quite some time -- in line with reports claiming Apple is currently targeting a 2019 or 2020 production date.
Apple has recruited hundreds of engineers from Tesla, Ford, GM, Samsung, A123 Systems, Nvidia, and elsewhere, likely to work on the purported car project, which has allegedly been called "Project Titan" internally. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said it is an "open secret" that Apple is developing an electric car, based on its number of recent automotive-related hirings.
When questioned about the "Apple Car" in a recent interview, Cook provided a more elaborate non-answer:
Yeah, I’m probably not going to do that. The great thing about being here is we’re curious people. We explore technologies, and we explore products.
And we’re always thinking about ways that Apple can make great products that people love, that help them in some way. And we don’t go into very many categories, as you know. We edit very much. We talk about a lot of things and do fewer. We debate many things and do a lot fewer.
Apple's internal "Project Titan" team has reportedly faced some obstacles over the past month. In January, supposed "Apple Car" project lead Steve Zadesky informed colleagues that he would be leaving the company for personal reasons. Then, just a few days later, it was reported the "Apple Car" team is on a hiring freeze as Apple executives are unhappy with the progress being made on the development of the vehicle.
If you own an Apple Pencil, you've probably already misplaced its cap once or twice when charging it. The cap, which hides the Lightning connector, is fully removable and easily lost, a flaw the PencilCozy, from Cozy Industries, aims to fix.
Made of a soft, pliable silicone, the PencilCozy has a top portion that fits snugly over the cap of the Apple Pencil and a ring that fits over the Apple Pencil itself. Between the top of the cozy and the ring, there's a strip of silicone to connect the two pieces to ensure the cap of the Apple Pencil doesn't become separated from the body when it's removed for charging.
The PencilCozy comes in three colors: an opaque white that closely matches the white shade of the Apple Pencil, a minty teal green shade, and a glow-in-the dark color that's a translucent white in the light and a bright green in the dark. The glow-in-the-dark shade may be useful for locating the Apple Pencil in the dark, but because the glow doesn't last very long it's more of a novelty than a truly functional feature.
Both the design and the colors are muted enough that they don't stand out or significantly interfere with the aesthetic of the Apple Pencil, but people who like the unadulterated look of the accessory may not want to sully it with an $8 piece of rubber. I didn't mind the appearance of the PencilCozy, taking into account its utility.
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with MOS to give away three of its MOS Pack backpacks. The MOS Pack, which got its start on Kickstarter, features a built-in MOS Reach power strip and cable management system that allows devices stored inside to be charged using a single cord and without removing any items from the backpack.
The MOS Pack can accommodate a MacBook (up to 15 inches), an iPhone, and an iPad all at once, with each one plugging into the power strip, which is equipped with a standard port for charging a MacBook and two USB charging ports.
Inside the MOS Pack, cords are threaded through cable management sleeves to keep them hidden from sight, while the power strip is tucked away in a special compartment and held in place with magnets. The MOS Pack has a padded laptop sleeve, tablet sleeve, iPhone pocket, waterproof water bottle pocket, passport pocket, a padded case for glasses, and slots for pens, pencils, and other accessories.
Available in Onyx and Slate, the MOS Pack is made from rugged nylon, with nylon infused rubber at the bottom. It has a rigid (but soft) back and foam-padded straps for comfort. While it looks slim, the MOS Pack has a 20-liter storage capacity. The MOS Pack is available for $149.95, but MOS is offering MacRumors readers a 20 percent discount.
Three MacRumors readers will also have a chance to win a MOS Pack through our giveaway. 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 winner and send the prize.
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 of age or older are eligible to enter.
The contest will run from today (February 26) at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on March 4. The winners will be chosen randomly on March 4 and will be contacted by email. The winners have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen. The prizes will be shipped to the winners for free.
Rumors surrounding the 4-inch "iPhone 5se" continue today with new information pointing to the possibility of Apple dropping the "5" from the name altogether and simply calling it the "iPhone SE." As reported by 9to5Mac, the new name would be a shift in focus on the 4-inch iPhone's "enhanced and special edition" status, making it stand out from the numerically named crowd of the iPhone family.
A design mock-up of the iPhone SE shows similarities to the iPhone 5s
Based on Apple reinvigorating the 4-inch iPhone screen size at a time where the market is mostly moving toward larger smartphone screens, it would make sense for Apple to position this device as simply the “SE.” Sources say that the dropping of the “5” from the name also simplifies the iPhone lineup as bringing back an iPhone “5” variant amid the iPhone “6” lifecycle could potentially confuse customers. The iPhone SE will replace the existing iPhone 5s and will take its price points.
Mock-ups from earlier in the week suggested that the iPhone SE will look near-identical to that of the iPhone 5s, with a body measuring in at 123.8mm tall, 58.6mm wide, and 7.6mm thick. The device is said to have an A9 processor, an M9 chip to accommodate the new fitness tracking features of iOS, and include "Hey Siri," Apple Pay, and Live Photos support.
The design renderings of the iPhone SE show conflicting claims in regards to the new iPhone's power button placement and camera, but the latter feature is said to support an 8-megapixel system. The iPhone SE is believed to come in the four expected color options of the iPhone line -- Silver, Space Gray, Rose Gold, and Gold -- and be available in 16GB and 64GB sizes.
It won't be long until we find out everything about the iPhone SE, with reports pointing towards a March 15 media event for the reveal of the new 4-inch iPhone. On the same day, Apple is predicted to announce what was thought to be called the "iPad Air 3," but is now believed to be a smaller 9.7-inch addition to the iPad Pro family.
The long-running dispute between Apple and Samsung continues, with an appeals court today handing the Cupertino-based company a defeat by invalidating two Apple patents and ruling a third had not been infringed by Samsung (via Bloomberg). The ruling, which covers Apple patents related to slide-to-unlock, autocorrect, and interactive phone number features, also threw out the original $119.6 million in damages Apple had been awarded in the case.
In addition, Apple's guilty verdict from nearly two years ago has been upheld: the company still has to pay $158,400 for violating Samsung's patent describing an "apparatus for recording and reproducing digital image and speech." Regarding the three operating system features Apple attempted to validate, the court ruled that Apple's claim for Samsung's patent infringement was "invalid."
In this case, Apple claimed that Samsung infringed patents for the slide-to-unlock feature, autocorrect and a way to detect phone numbers that can then be touched to make phone calls. The autocorrect patent is invalid and the detection patent wasn’t infringed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in an opinion posted on its electronic docket. The court upheld the jury’s verdict that two other Apple patents, for universal search and background syncing, weren’t infringed.
In a separate court battle over patent infringements, last December Samsung decided to submit an appeal to the Supreme Court in one final effort to avoid paying $548 million to Apple. Just this month, Apple attempted to convince the Supreme Court to deny Samsung's appeal in the five-year-old case, claiming that the South Korean company was simply attempting to prolong the case even further following the announcement of the settlement.
Spotify team member Johan Lindstrom has confirmed that Apple is working on a fix for a bug that occasionally triggers a kernel panic on OS X when running the streaming music service's official Mac desktop app.
The issue first arose in the Spotify support community in October, when a user claimed that OS X 10.9.5 was crashing after updating to Spotify version 1.0.15.133. Since then, dozens of other affected users have shared kernel panic logs.
I've been in contact with Apple and they have confirmed that this is a known bug in the current and recent versions of OS X. They are working on a fix, but I don't know when they will roll that out. The bug that is causing the kernel panic is being triggered when running Spotify simply because the Spotify app is making network requests (to stream music etc.) and there are several other apps that also cause the same kernel panic to occur.
In the meantime, the user-suggested workaround is to disable OS X's built-in system firewall under System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall. The firewall is normally used to control which apps send or receive network traffic, so be aware of the potential security implications of disabling it.
Spotify has sent the kernel panic logs to Apple and pointed them towards the support community topic, but it remains unclear when the bug will be fixed. Apple seeded the fourth beta of OS X 10.11.4 to developers for testing earlier this week, while OS X 10.12 will likely be previewed at WWDC in June.
A new report from French newspaper Les Echos (via iPhon.fr) [Google Translate] states that Apple Pay will be making its way to France by the end of the year. The introduction of Apple's mobile payment solution will be a gradual rollout, with "a small handful of major French banks" supporting the service in a pilot program period of three to five months.
No specific date was given for the start of the rollout, but the pilot program is rumored to launch by September. The current state of negotiations between Apple and French banks is said to be paused at the issue of the transaction amount for each time a user pays with Apple Pay. A traditional payment with a debit card generates 9 cents for the partnering financial institution, with Apple's current deal taking 5 cents per transaction, "more than half of the average income." Some of the French banks see hope for an agreement to be reached by pointing to Apple's agreement with banks in China.
But " the agreement that the Chinese domestic network Union Pay happened is auspicious because it shows that Apple may make concessions ," said one informed observer. According to the Chinese press, the group based in Cupertino would touch nothing for two years and he then held 0.07% of the transaction amount, which represents about a third of the current Banking Commission.
Last week rumors about Apple Pay's expansion to France began with reports pointing to an official announcement by the company in the first half of 2016. Shortly thereafter, the service launched in China through a partnership with Union Pay. Including China, Apple Pay is currently available in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Spain expected to launch by the end of 2016.
Apple today updated the tvOS App Store to add several new app categories to make it easier for Apple TV 4 owners to find content on their devices. As outlined by AfterPad, a site that showcases Apple TV apps, the new categories are rolling out to Apple TV users and may not be available to everyone just yet. Some users may only see the new categories under Purchased Apps until the rollout is complete.
New categories are as follows:
Business Apps
Weather Apps
Utilities
Travel Apps
Social Networking Apps
Reference Apps
Productivity Apps
Music Apps
Finance Apps
Book Apps
Medical Apps
Catalogs
At launch, the tvOS App Store did not include a Categories section like the iOS App Store, making app discovery difficult early on. App Categories were added at the beginning of November. Available categories were initially limited to just Games and Entertainment, but they have expanded since then.
The tvOS App Store now closely mirrors the iOS App Store when it comes to content discovery, with Categories, Top Charts, and featured apps available.
Apple has officially filed a motion (via Re/code) to vacate the court order that would require the company to help the FBI hack into the iPhone 5c of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. "This is not a case about one isolated iPhone," reads the filing, going on to say the FBI is seeking a "dangerous power" that would undermine the security and privacy interests of hundreds of millions of people.
As expected, Apple argues that the All Writs Act, which the FBI is using in the case, does not give the government a pass to "conscript and commandeer" the company. "No law supports such unlimited and sweeping use of the judicial process," Apple writes. "And the Constitution forbids it." Apple believes setting a precedent for allowing the All Writs Act to be used in this way could lead to more insidious demands in the future, such as turning on the microphone or camera to aid in surveillance.
Apple says FBI's demand for new code would violate its First and Fifth Amendment rights, as it is the equivalent of compelled speech and is contrary to Apple's core principles. Apple also points towards the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, using it as evidence Congress limited the assistance companies must provide to law enforcement.
In addressing the twin needs of law enforcement and privacy, Congress, through CALEA, specified when a company has an obligation to assist the government with decryption of communications, and made clear that a company has no obligation to do so where, as here, the company does not retain a copy of the decryption key.
Apple says the government "sought to cut off debate and circumvent thoughtful analysis" by taking the case to the courts and invoking terrorism instead of pursuing new legislation. Once again, Apple says the FBI's demand to create new software that would allow it to brute force the passcode on the iPhone in question is "too dangerous to build" because it could fall into the hands of criminals and foreign agents.
In short, the government wants to compel Apple to create a crippled and insecure product. Once the process is created, it provides an avenue for criminals and foreign agents to access millions of iPhones. And once developed for our government, it is only a matter of time before foreign governments demand the same tool.
While the government insists the software would be used for a single phone, Apple points out that there are already multiple applications for similar orders. Assisting the FBI could quickly lead to additional orders using the case as a precedent should Apple be ordered to comply.
According to Apple, creating the software the FBI wants would necessitate between six and 10 Apple engineers dedicating a "substantial portion of their time" for a minimum of two weeks and up to four weeks.
It would require new code, detailed documentation, the development of encryption procedures, and rigorous quality assurance testing with the entire development process carefully logged. If the need should arise to respond to multiple demands, Apple would need to create "full-time positions" in a new "hacking" department.
Apple ends its motion by calling for the decision on security to be made by American citizens through the democratic process rather than through a court order.
Society is still debating the important privacy and security issues posed by this case. The government's desire to leave no stone unturned, however well intentioned, does not authorize it to cut off debate and impose its views on society.
Now that Apple has filed its official opposition, it will need to wait for a response from the courts. Should the motion to vacate be denied by the district court, Apple has pledged to take its fight all the way to the Supreme Court.
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's next-generation 9.7-inch iPad has been presumed to be dubbed "iPad Air 3," in line with the last several generations of the device, but according to a new report from 9to5Mac, Apple will instead be branding the new device as part of the iPad Pro family when it is introduced at the company's rumored March 15 media event.
The smaller iPad Pro will have nearly identical features and specifications as the bigger model, bringing along the A9X processor and RAM upgrades from the 12.9-inch model. It will also include the 12.9-inch model’s updated display technology to support the Apple Pencil.
Other features being carried over from the larger iPad Pro include the Smart Connector and the Smart Keyboard, with the latter being made available in a smaller size to fit Apple's mid-sized tablet form factor.
Apple is also reportedly winding down production on iPad mini 2 and original iPad Air models, allowing the company to simplify its tablet lineup to include the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and 7.9-inch iPad mini 4 as its main devices, with the iPad Air 2 likely remaining available as an entry-level model at the middle size.
Apple is working on enhancing the Photos app in both iOS 10 and OS X 10.12, reports Japanese site Mac Otakara. The apps will reportedly be updated with new features to put them on par with the now-discontinued iPhoto 9.6.1 for Mac and iPhoto 2.0.1 for iOS.
It is not clear exactly what features will be added to the apps, but Mac Otakara says iPhoto 2.0.1 included tools for editing EXIF information and touch-based brushes for adjusting brightness and other parameters on only specific parts of a photo. Similar editing tools could be added to the iOS version of Photos.
On OS X, the Photos app will see improvements, but Mac Otakara says Aperture-level functions will not be added to the app.
We don't have much information about OS X 10.12 and iOS 10 as of yet, but a recent rumor has suggested Siri integration will be a headline feature in OS X 10.12. Siri on the Mac has been a long-desired feature and the personal assistant will likely be able to do things like adjust system settings, answer quick queries, and open apps.
OS X 10.12 and iOS 10 will likely be coming in the fall months, but we can expect to see a preview of the software at WWDC 2016, which is typically held in June.
Comey will participate in the first panel, while Sewell will testify in the second panel alongside Worcester Polytechnic Institute professor Susan Landau and New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance. Vance last week said his office was in possession of 175 iPhones that can't be accessed due to encryption. "This has become the Wild West in technology," he said. "Apple and Google are their own sheriffs and there are no rules."
The congressional hearing, titled "The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans' Security and Privacy" will examine encryption technology and its impact on American citizens and lawmakers with the goal of finding a solution that lets law enforcement do their jobs without affecting the privacy protections of U.S. citizens.
"The widespread use of strong encryption has implications both for Americans' privacy and security. As technology companies have made great strides to enhance the security of Americans' personal and private information, law enforcement agencies face new challenges when attempting to access encrypted information. Americans have a right to strong privacy protections and Congress should fully examine the issue to be sure those are in place while finding ways to help law enforcement fight crime and keep us safe.
Head Apple lawyer Bruce Sewell is leading Apple's legal team in its fight against the FBI. Apple plans to oppose an order that would require it to help the FBI brute force the passcode on San Bernardino shooter Farook Syed's iPhone. The FBI is demanding Apple create a software that would both disable passcode security features and allow passcodes to be entered electronically.
In an interview yesterday, Tim Cook said that the FBI was asking Apple to build the "software equivalent of cancer," something the company won't do. While Apple has announced its intentions to fight the order, its official appeal is due tomorrow.
Update: In related news, Microsoft today announced its full support of Apple's decision to stand against the FBI. Next week, Microsoft plans to file an amicus brief to back the company. Verizon has also come out in support of Apple. "We support the availability of strong encryption with no backdoors," Verizon CEO and chairman Lowell McAdam said in a statement.
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 released a new 7.2.1 software update for the third-generation Apple TV. It is not clear what is new in the update, as Apple has not provided release notes, but it includes several security improvements.
The update is available for all versions of the third-generation Apple TV. It can be installed through the software update mechanism in Settings, or delivered automatically for customers who have automatic updates turned on.
The third-generation Apple TV has been available since 2012 and continues to be sold alongside the fourth-generation Apple TV. The older device does not run tvOS and does not include features like Siri support and access to the App Store, but it offers content through dozens of channels like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and more.
Apple recently hired Frederic Jacobs, one of the developers of the secure messaging app "Signal," which is notably known as the encrypted messaging service that Edward Snowden uses "every day." Jacobs will be working on the CoreOS team as an intern this coming summer, where he'll help the company beef up the safety measures and encryption of iOS devices across the board (via Business Insider).
I'm delighted to announce that I accepted an offer to be working with the CoreOS security team at Apple this summer.
— Frederic Jacobs (@FredericJacobs) February 25, 2016
Jacobs' hire comes amidst a heated battle between Apple and the FBI over the latter's attempts to gain access to the iPhone owned by Syed Farook, a shooter in the attacks that took place in San Bernardino, California in December. Apple CEO Tim Cook sees the cooperation with the FBI's request as a potential slippery slope that could lead to a looser grasp on the privacy and security of Apple product users worldwide.
In recent interviews, Jacobs voiced his opinion on where Apple could go with its security far before the friction with the FBI began.
In an interview last year, Jacobs said that one of his goals when coding Signal was that he "wanted to bring these strong cryptography techniques to iPhone users.”
"Apple’s service is not perfect," Jacobs told Technologist. "For example, its proprietary technology makes it impossible for the community to detect vulnerabilities and fix flaws. Signal is open, free, collaborative, and easy to use."
Last night in a thirty-minute interview with ABC, Cook focused on a fearful precedent that the FBI's request could make in terms of the risk of weaker smartphone encryption. He admitted that the company is in a "very uncomfortable position," and is sympathetic with the families of the San Bernardino victims, but believes Apple is ready to take the issue all the way to the Supreme Court if it lasts that long.
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 CEO Tim Cook has remained tight lipped about the so-called "
Apple is working on enhancing the Photos app in both iOS 10 and OS X 10.12, reports Japanese site 
Apple today released a new 7.2.1 software update for the third-generation Apple TV. It is not clear what is new in the update, as Apple has not provided release notes, but it includes several 
