MacRumors

Apple is cracking down on Notification Center widgets in iOS once again, this time telling Neato that its note taking widget is unacceptable and will need to be removed due to the fact that it includes a keyboard.

First launched in early November, Neato installs a quick note taking widget in the Notification Center, letting users type directly in the widget. Notes can be sent instantly to either Evernote or Dropbox. As a widget-focused app, Neato has no other functionality, which means the removal of its keyboard will essentially kill the app.

According to the developers behind Neato, who spoke to Gizmodo, Apple contacted the company after it became popular, hitting the top 10 business list in more than 65 countries.

We were expecting Neato to be featured by Apple but instead Apple called us on Nov 10th, and we were told that: "Neato does not comply with one or more App Review Guidelines". They required us to remove the keyboard from the widget. But Neato without the keyboard is nothing, and like a limp horse.

The company attempted to appeal, but Apple stuck with its decision to force Neato to remove the keyboard, stating that its position on the app had "not changed" and that an update removing keyboard functionality would need to be submitted within two weeks.

Apple appears to be having some difficulty deciding on what constitutes acceptable use of the Notification Center as app developers come up with clever ways to take advantage of widget functionality. In late October, Apple told PCalc's developers that the PCalc calculator widget would need to be removed as Notification Center widgets were not allowed to perform calculations, but a day later, the company reversed course and allowed the calculator widget to remain in the App Store.

Another app, Launcher, wasn't quite as lucky. Introduced shortly after iOS 8 was released to the public, Launcher installed a Notification Center widget that provided access to quick actions like making a phone call, opening a pre-defined Maps route, or sending a tweet. Launcher was only available for a few days in the App Store before Apple opted to pull it.

According to Apple's App Extension guidelines, Notification Center widgets should have a "simple, streamlined UI," a limited number of interactive items, and are prohibited from creating "a mini version" of an app. Apple has run into several apps that, like PCalc, were not expected widget use cases and are not outlined in the widget guidelines, leading to apps that are accepted and then later rejected as Apple further defines how it wants the Notification Center to be used.

Neato can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

During today's opening of the Slush 2014 conference, Nokia announced its new N1 tablet, the first device from the Finnish company following the sale of its mobile division to Microsoft. With its aluminum casing, curved styling and 7.9-inch screen, the N1 is a dead ringer for Apple's iPad mini.

Powered by Android 5.0 Lollipop and Nokia's Z launcher, the Nokia N1 ships with a 2.3GHz Intel Atom processor, PowerVR GPU, 2GB of RAM and a 7.9-inch Retina-resolution display. Other hardware specs include an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera and connectivity options that include 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0.

Similar to Apple's Lightning connector, the N1 includes a reversible USB Type-C connector for charging and syncing. The port is located on the bottom edge of the tablet and is nestled between the tablet's two speaker openings. When it launches next year, the N1 will be available in Lava Grey and Natural Aluminum colors with one storage capacity option of 32GB.

The N1 will ship with Nokia's flavor of Android and the company's branding, but it will be manufactured and distributed by Nokia partner Foxconn. Foxconn will handle support and most other product responsibilities. The N1 will launch first in China in Q1 2015 for $249USD with plans for expansion to other regions.

Nokia is just the latest manufacturer to announce a tablet device that looks remarkably similar to Apple's iOS device lineup. Just weeks ago, Lenovo introduced its S90 tablet that shares a number of design elements with Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, with Lenovo even using marketing images reminiscent of Apple's advertising.

Apple Pay this week continued its retail expansion with the mobile payment service now being adopted by SunTrust bank and Bi-Lo holdings, which manages BI-LO, Harveys, and Winn-Dixie grocery stores. The latter announcement follows our earlier report of Winn-Dixie and BI-LO beginning to go live with Apple Pay support late last week ahead of an official debut, despite not being included on Apple's "Coming later this year" list.

Customers with a SunTrust credit or debit card will be able to add their card to Apple Pay and use it to make purchases at participating retailers. Headquartered in Atlanta, SunTrust bank has 1,497 bank branches across eleven southern states and Washington, D.C.

At the same time SunTrust has added Apple Pay support for its card holders, supermarket chain Bi-Lo Holdings also added Apple Pay as a payment option during checkout. Customers who shop at the primarily southeastern supermarkets of BI-LO, Winn-Dixie, and Harveys will be able to use their iPhone 6 of 6 Plus to streamline their grocery purchases.

"Customers want a shopping experience that is convenient, easy and secure, which is why we’re so pleased to announce support for Apple Pay," said Bert DuMars, vice president, digital marketing at Bi-Lo Holdings. "Bi-Lo Holdings is prioritizing digital mobile solutions for our customers, and Apple Pay is an exciting first step in our journey."

Apple Pay debuted last month alongside iOS 8.1 and has seen strong adoption in the month following release. According to a recent New York Times report, Apple Pay transactions accounted for 50 percent of recent tap-to-pay purchases at McDonald's and doubled the number of mobile payments processed by Walgreens. Currently, there are almost 40 retailers that officially support Apple Pay, with the number continuing to grow.

Update 9:14 AM: According to Mashable, Associated Food Stores, Shaw's Supermarkets, Jewel-Osco, and Albertson's have also announced Apple Pay support today.

While Apple's Lightning connector has become ubiquitous across the company's iOS device lineup over the past several years, third-party accessory manufacturers have so far been unable to include ports for the connector on their products. That appears set to change in the relatively near future, however, as Apple has informed members of the company's MFi program that it will begin shipping a version of the Lightning port for third-party use early next year, reports 9to5Mac.

Allowing accessory makers to build-in a Lightning port provides a number of benefits, according to manufacturers briefed during Apple’s MFi Summit. One of the biggest benefits is to reduce costs for manufacturers and simplify the product experience for users by using Lightning to provide power to both an accessory and the iOS device. Dock or battery case manufacturers, for example, would previously have to provide a separate USB cable and power supply to charge an accessory.

The report indicates Apple is also developing a new "slimmed down, low profile version" of the Lightning connector itself currently used in third-party accessories. The new package will offer a simpler and smaller method for building connectors into accessories such as docks and charging cases.

Some two years after introducing the Lightning connector with the iPhone 5, Apple is clearly working to broaden the ecosystem of accessories taking advantage of the versatile space-saving connector. Earlier this year, the company announced new MFi specifications that would allow headphones to connect to devices over Lightning. While the announcement led to speculation that Apple is looking to remove the traditional headphone jack from its devices, at least for now the feature appears intended to provide additional features such as power to headphones.

Yesterday, Apple released OS X Yosemite 10.10.1, which brought improved Wi-Fi reliability after a number of users reported connection issues with the new operating system. However, Computerworld reports that a number of users on Apple's support forums are still claiming to have issues with Wi-Fi even after updating to OS X 10.10.1, with some saying that they are still not able to connect at all while others note that their Wi-Fi has remained significantly slow.

The largest thread on Apple's support forums discussing the Wi-Fi problems in OS X Yosemite has grown to 1,120 replies with more users reporting issues with a number of Macs and a variety of router types. Members of the MacRumors forums have also reported problems with Wi-Fi after updating to 10.10.1 even when using their computer in different areas. One user even reported Wi-Fi issues with the iMac with Retina 5K Display and the newest Time Capsule networking device.

Currently, some users are finding success with performing a clean install of Yosemite, running their routers in "Access Point" mode, switching their connection a 2.4 GHz band, or running a user-created script to restart OS X's Wi-Fi Monitor. However, there appears to be no general solution for users still having Wi-Fi issues. In addition to Wi-Fi issues, other users are reporting problems with OS X Yosemite's Dark Mode on non-Retina displays, unstable Bluetooth connections, and high CPU utilization.

Apple has not issued an official statement on the reported users issues, although Apple support representatives have instructed users to remove excess preferred networks in the Network section of System Preferences and to reset the System Management Controller. It is likely that Apple will issue more fixes with forthcoming software updates to OS X Yosemite, although there is currently no timetable as to when those updates might come.

Earlier tonight, KTLA 5's The Tech Report aired a segment (via AppleInsider) centering around Apple Pay, which featured Apple's SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue using the mobile payments solution around Santa Monica. The segment, which can be viewed here, followed Cue and reporter Rich Demuro as the Apple executive utilized his iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Pay to purchase a meal at Panera Bread, sunglasses at Bloomingdale's, and merchandise from the Disney Store.

For their meal at Panera Bread, Cue is shown utilizing Apple Pay inside of the restaurant's official app to pre-order food simply and securely. At Bloomingdale's, Cue is shown using Apple Pay and his iPhone at a payment terminal to purchase sunglasses, which he is required to sign for. However, Cue was not required to sign for the two dolls he purchased at the Disney Store with Apple Pay. Cue then notes that users will sometimes be required to sign for more expensive purchases made with Apple Pay in-store.

The pair also visit an Apple Store to discuss Apple Pay on the company's new line of iPads. While users can't make in-store purchases with the iPad, Cue points out that users can still make in-app purchases with Apple Pay and Touch ID on the tablet.

Cue also spoke on the security of Apple Pay and how tokenization helps keeps credit card numbers away from malicious users:

You've seen these hacks that are happening in the systems where thousands of credit cards are getting exposed, and so you have try to protect that number. Well, with Apple Pay, the number that's being given to the terminal is a one-time number that's created for that transaction.

A report from The New York Times over the weekend shed some light on Apple Pay's early successes, noting that the service doubled mobile wallet transactions at Walgreens and accounted for 50% of tap-to-pay purchases at McDonalds. Whole Foods shared earlier this month that it processed 150,000 Apple Pay transactions between October 20 and November 6, and the service has increased consumer interest in the mobile payment area in general. Apple currently has 36 retail partners that accept Apple Pay in their stores as the service is available at more than 200,000 retail locations.

Last Friday, Chinese authorities arrested three individuals that are suspected of developing the "WireLurker" malware, which infected thousands of mobile devices in China after Mac users installed malicious software from a third-party App Store.

According to a police post on Chinese social network Sina Weibo, the three men were arrested in Beijing on suspicion of "manufacturing and distributing" WireLurker after police received a tip from Chinese security company Qihoo 360 technology. In addition to arresting the suspects involved in the creation of the malicious software, Chinese authorities also shut down the site that was spreading it.

First publicized by researchers in early November, WireLurker is a trojan that infected thousands of Chinese iOS and Mac users after they installed software from the Maiyadi App Store, a third-party app platform that delivered more than 400 infected OS X applications.

WireLurker was able to attack iOS devices through Macs using USB, and was described as heralding "a new era in malware attacking Apple's desktop and mobile platforms." After being installed on a Mac, WireLurker would infect an iOS device using enterprise provisioning, making it the first malware capable of installing third-party applications on non-jailbroken iOS devices.

At the time information was published on WireLurker, infected apps had already been downloaded more than 356,104 times. Apple quickly took steps to block the infected apps, preventing them from launching, and in a statement, it reminded users not to install software from untrusted sources.

Just a week after WireLurker surfaced, another vulnerability in iOS was publicized by researchers. Called Masque Attack, it also infects iOS devices using enterprise provision profiles and is somewhat more dangerous, as it can replace existing apps with nearly undetectable fake versions.

Though it hasn't been found in the wild, Masque Attack prompted a warning from the U.S. government and a statement from Apple, with the company once again encouraging customers to download apps only from trusted sources.

Neither Masque Attack nor WireLurker are likely to affect the average iOS user as long as Apple's security features are not bypassed, as both vulnerabilities circumvent the App Store and Mac App Store to install apps.

Sony today announced a new advanced image sensor designed for use in smartphones, which uses a new "stacked" design to cut down on size while introducing improved image quality and faster speeds. Apple uses Sony sensors in its iPhones and iPads, so it is likely that Sony's stacked sensor technology will make it into future iOS devices at some point.

The new 21-megapixel Exmor RS IMX230 sensor is built with a chip that stacks a pixel section and a circuit section on top of one another, which allows Sony to build improvements into each aspect of the sensor individually, leading to dramatic improvements. Sony's been using stacked sensor technology since 2012, but its newest sensor introduces new autofocus and HDR technology.

According to Sony, the IMX230 sensor is the first CMOS sensor for smartphones that includes plane phase detection autofocus signal processing with 192 autofocus points, resulting in much faster tracking of moving subjects that happens almost instantaneously.

The sensor also includes support for full 21-megapixel HDR pictures and 4K HDR video, resulting in better lighting in high-contrast scenes. HDR or High Dynamic Range imaging captures separate images with different exposures, combining them into one image that improves detail and color.

The new IMX230 is a type 1/2.4 stacked CMOS image sensor with a significantly improved 21 effective megapixels, and it is also equipped with a newly developed signal processing function. These features fulfill the growing needs in smartphone photography for high-speed autofocus (image plane phase detection AF) and clear, high-quality capture of bright and dark areas even in backlit scenes (HDR imaging). Image plane phase detection AF is a technology used in mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, and HDR imaging now supports not only 4K (4096 x 2160) high-resolution videos but also still images.

Sony is known for making some of the best image sensors available, and Apple has long used Sony sensors in its iOS devices. Sony's new image sensor will begin shipping in April of 2015, and while it is likely the new sensor technology will make its way into Apple's iPhones and iPads, it is unknown when that might occur.

Apple does not typically use high-megapixel sensors in its iPhone or iPad, but Sony is planning on producing a 16-megapixel version of the IMX230 in 2015, which would be appropriate for iOS devices. It's possible Apple could use the 16-megapixel version of the IMX230 in the 2015 iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but it's also possible that the sensor won't be utilized until 2016 or later as Apple often uses slightly older sensors in its devices.

Tom's Hardware believes that the next-generation iPhone 6 and 6 Plus may incorporate either the upcoming 16-megapixel IMX240 sensor from Sony or the 13-megapixel IMX135, which Sony first introduced in January of 2013.

It's not known exactly which sensor is used in the current iPhone and iPad, but camera experts have speculated that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus use the Sony ISX014 sensor, an 8-megapixel sensor that Sony first introduced in October of 2012.