MacRumors

Apple today seeded new betas of iOS and iPadOS 15 to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to download and test the updates ahead of their fall release. The fifth public betas come one week after Apple released the fourth public betas.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS and iPadOS 15 updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website.

iOS 15 is adds new features for FaceTime, tools for reducing distractions, updated notifications, and privacy enhancements. ‌FaceTime‌ supports SharePlay for watching TV, listening to music, or screen sharing with friends, while a Shared with You feature keeps track of the songs, website links, pictures, and more that friends send you.

Focus is designed to help keep you on task by cutting out notifications you don't want while you're busy, and there's a new notifications summary feature that prevents you from being inundated with unimportant notifications throughout the day.

Safari has a redesigned look with a compact tab bar that's located at the bottom of the screen (which is optional as of this beta), plus Tab Groups let users save open tabs for later. Maps has a new zoomed out globe view and a new 3D view in select cities, plus there's more road detail and an AR-based walking direction feature.

The Wallet app will support IDs and more kinds of keys in iOS 15, and Photos gains updates to Memories and a new Live Text feature that uses on-device intelligence to recognize the text in an image, making it searchable and copyable. Spotlight is better than ever, and processing for Siri requests is now done directly on device.

Mail Privacy Protection in the Mail app stops senders from seeing your IP address and knowing if you've opened up an email, and an App Privacy Report gives you details on how often apps use permissions like camera and location access.

The newest beta introduces some significant Safari changes that allow users to choose between the iOS 15-style bottom address bar in Safari or the iOS 14-style top address bar, plus it removes the SharePlay feature. Apple is pulling SharePlay for now and plans to reintroduce it at a later date after iOS 15 has launched.

There are a ton of other new features available in iOS and iPadOS 15, with full details available in our roundup.

Apple has also seeded new publics beta of tvOS 15 and watchOS 8 to its public beta testing group. tvOS 15 can be downloaded by opening up the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌, navigating to the Software Updates section under "System," and then toggling on "Get public Beta Updates" after signing up to beta test on Apple's public beta website.

watchOS 8 can be downloaded can be downloaded after upgrading your iPhone to the public beta version of iOS 15. After installing ‌iOS 15‌, the proper ‌watchOS 8‌ profile from Apple's beta software website must also be installed. The software can be accessed by going to General > Software Update in the Apple Watch app on ‌iPhone‌. To update, ‌Apple Watch‌ needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌iPhone‌.

For more than a year, a member of the iPhone leaks and jailbreaking community was actually serving as a "double agent" for Apple by secretly providing the company with information about other leakers, according to Motherboard.

The report claims that Andrey Shumeyko, who was known as "YRH04E" online, advertised internal Apple information and stolen devices for sale on platforms like Twitter and Discord. However, unbeknownst to other members of the community, the report adds that he was secretly providing Apple's Global Security team with information that could help the company crack down on leaks and the individuals responsible for them.

In May 2020, after a pre-release version of iOS 14 was leaked online, the report claims ​​Shumeyko provided Apple with information about an individual who allegedly helped "orchestrate" the leak by purchasing a stolen iPhone 11. The prototype device was allegedly loaded with an early development build of iOS 14 intended for internal use by Apple employees, prior to the software being announced at WWDC in June 2020.

Shumeyko added that, in the summer of 2020, he informed Apple that he had been in contact with an Apple employee in Germany who worked on Apple Maps. The employee was allegedly offering to sell access to an internal Apple account used to access corporate emails and other internal materials on Apple's intraweb. Shumeyko said that he kept in touch with the employee and later learned that he had been fired by Apple.​​

Shumeyko said that by serving as an informant for Apple, he hoped he would be able to redeem himself for being a former participant in the iPhone leaks community, and he also hoped there would be a financial incentive for his cooperation. ​​Shumeyko said he repeatedly asked if it would be possible for him to be paid for his information, but Apple was apparently noncommittal, and he is now speaking out after feeling taken advantage of.

"I just wanted to be heard for once, and the story I tell to be truthful," ​​Shumeyko said, according to the report, adding that he does not care what anyone will think of him now that his role as a "double agent" has been revealed.

Apple today launched a new mini game show called "Play, Pause, Delete," which asks artists to "make the tough decisions about music, culture, and everything in between." Apple provides artists with three options from a series of personalized categories, and they have to select one to play, one to pause, and one to delete.

The first "Play, Pause, Delete" video is available on Apple's YouTube channel, and it features rapper Coi Leray. The game overall appears to be similar to the well-known kiss, marry, kill game.

Apple asks her favorite music, how she starts making music, her go-to sidekick, her ideal birthday gift, her favorite hairstyles, what super power she would want, and more.

It sounds like this will be an ongoing series for Apple, so we can expect to see additional artists featured in the mini Play, Pause, Delete YouTube game show.

The battle arena game "Pokémon Unite," which has to date only been available on the Nintendo Switch, is set to come to iOS, iPadOS, and Android on September 22, Nintendo has today announced.

Pokémon Unite is a free-to-play online multiplayer game that was first released for Nintendo Switch on July 21. In the game, players face off against each other in five-a-side battles. During battles, players must cooperate with their teammates to catch wild Pokémon, level up and evolve their own Pokémon, and strategically defeat their opponents. To win the match, players have to earn more points than the opposing team within the allotted time.

Cross-platform play will be available across Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, enabling players to link their accounts on both versions of the game to sync their progression, saved data, and characters.

Preregistration and sign-up for a notification when the game is available for download is now available on the App Store and Google Play Store. Nintendo has said that if preregistration for the mobile version of the game reaches 2.5 million, players will receive a "Pikachu Unite" license or "Aeos coins." If preregistration numbers hit five million, players will receive a "Holowear—Festival Style: Pikachu."

Member of the German parliament, Manuel Höferlin, who serves as the chairman of the Digital Agenda committee in Germany, has penned a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, pleading Apple to abandon its plan to scan iPhone users' photo libraries for CSAM (child sexual abuse material) images later this year.

In the two-page letter (via iFun), Höferlin said that he first applauds Apple's efforts to address the dangers posed by child sexual abuse and violence but notes that he believes Apple's approach to remedying the issue is not the right one. Höferlin continued to say that the approach Apple has chosen violates one of the "most important principles of the modern information society – secure and confidential communication."

The approach chosen by Apple however – namely CSAM scanning of end devices – is a dangerous one. Regardless of how noble your motives may be, you are embarking on a path that is very risky – not only for your own company. On the contrary, you would also be damaging one of the most important principles of the modern information society – secure and confidential communication. The price for this will most likely be paid not only by Apple, but by all of us.

Höferlin notably called Apple's CSAM approach "the biggest opening of the floodgates for communication confidentiality since the birth of the internet." The letter speaks out against Apple's plans to scan images in a users' iCloud Photo Library for CSAM by checking the hashes of images to a database of known child sexual abuse material.

That feature is entirely different from another feature rolling out later this year, in which iOS will use on-device image analysis to detect possible sexually explicit images in the Messages app and asks users under the age of 13 if they wish to see the photo. While Höferlin referenced some legitimate concerns over CSAM scanning, he continued that the feature destroys "some of the trust users place in not having their communications secretly monitored." Neither CSAM scanning nor the Child Safety Features in Message, however, are monitoring any communication.

Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, admitted in a recent interview that the conjoined announcement of CSAM detection and improved safety for children within the Messages app has caused confusion. Nonetheless, Höferlin continued in his letter by stating that while he wishes he could believe Apple's reassurance that it will not allow government interference into CSAM detection, he is unable to take the company by its word.

As much as I want to believe your assurances that you will reject all requests for further application of this function, such as the location of regime critics or surveillance of minorities, these lack credibility. In every country on Earth – even in my home country, despite our historical experiences – political forces continue to coalesce for whom confidential communication and encryption are a thorn in their side, and who are engaged in ongoing efforts to replace freedom with surveillance. For people who unlike us are not lucky enough to live in Western democracies, this can in the worst-case scenario mean a genuine threat to their lives.

Höferlin concluded his letter by pleading with Cook for Apple to abandon its CSAM scanning plans and asked that the company stays on the side of free and private internet.

That is why my urgent appeal to you is that you abandon your plans for CSAM scanning. This would not only save your own company from many foreseeable problems, but would also protect the Achilles' heel of the modern information society! Please stay on the side of those who defend civilization’s achievement of a free internet!

Since its announcement earlier this month, Apple’s plans have received criticism, and in response, the company has continued its attempt to address concerns by publishing additional documents and an FAQ page. CSAM scanning and Child Safety Features within the Messages app are still on track to be released later this year.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News 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.

T-Mobile has issued a statement with further details about a cyberattack that the company confirmed earlier this week, confirming that the data breach included the personal information of almost 50 million current, former, and prospective customers.

Late last week, T-Mobile confirmed that a forum post that purported to offer data from more than 100 million people was the result of a company data breach. At that time, it was not known if personal customer data had been accessed, but T-Mobile has now confirmed that the stolen data included personal information, such as customer names, dates of birth, SSN, and identification such as driver's licenses. There is as yet no indication that the data contained information about customer financial or payment information.

Currently, the information of 7.8 million current T-Mobile customers is believed to have been stolen, as well as information of over 40 million former or prospective customers. The company has been able to confirm that approximately 850,000 active T-Mobile prepaid customer names, phone numbers, and account PINs were also exposed, leading the company to proactively reset all of these PINs.

Customers are due to be contacted shortly with the news that T-Mobile will immediately offer two years of free identity protection services with McAfee's ID Theft Protection Service, implement an additional step to protect mobile accounts with Account Takeover Protection, and publish a new web page for information and solutions for customers to further protect themselves. Customers will also be encouraged to change their account's PIN. T-Mobile's investigation into the data breach is ongoing.

Apple has been seeking to add geographic diversity to its supply chain for some time, with a shift of some production of the AirPods lineup to Vietnam being one significant step for the company.

Apple reportedly began trialing production of regular ‌AirPods‌ in Vietnam over a year ago, and it was reported in December that Apple's ‌AirPods‌ suppliers were looking to line up financing to expand production.

Originally, those plans also included the upcoming AirPods 3, but those plans have changed. According to a new report from Nikkei Asia, Apple has had to begin mass producing the third-generation AirPods in China rather than Vietnam because of disruptions related to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Apple will start mass-producing its latest AirPods earphones in China instead of in Vietnam as previously planned, two people familiar with the situation said. The company still hopes to move around 20% of new AirPods production to Vietnam later, they said.

Apple's plan to bring some MacBook and iPad production to Vietnam has also been put on hold due to stricter border control measures in China and Vietnam, which has resulted in a lack of engineering resources and an incomplete supply chain, according to the report.

One of the problems is said to be the need for so-called "new product introductions," where companies and suppliers work together to develop and produce a completely new product. This has been especially difficult in Vietnam due to the lack of engineers able to work on AirPods 3 and other new devices.

Following the height of U.S.-China trade tensions two years ago, Apple, Google, and Amazon all initiated moves to shift some production to Vietnam. Google had intended to produce the Pixel 5 range there early last year, but the smartphones ended up being made in China.

Meanwhile, Amazon is facing delays in the production of smart doorbells, security cameras, and smart speakers, as assembly lines in the northern part of the country coped with a surge in local COVID cases and tougher infection prevention measures.

According to an IDC analyst quoted in the report, any setback for Vietnam is likely to be temporary, as the country has already established itself as a key alternative manufacturing location outside of China.

Apple's forthcoming third-generation AirPods are expected to adopt a form factor similar to the AirPods Pro, featuring a new case, a shorter stem, and perhaps replaceable ear tips.

The new AirPods were initially rumored to be launching in the first half of 2021, but in March, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and DigiTimes said that they're not expected until later in the year, with mass production to begin in the third quarter, which means the new version will likely launch in September alongside new iPhones.

Bose appears to be near to releasing a successor to its popular QuietComfort 35 active noise-canceling headphones. Based on leaked photos and details obtained by WinFuture, the company's upcoming QuietComfort 45 headphones look set to retain the QC35's signature overall design, with some welcome changes that bring it up-to-date.

Launched in 2016, the QC35s (reviewed here) still come with a micro-USB port, and this is the most notable change in the QC45s, which sport USB-C. Meanwhile, the same physical buttons for controlling noise canceling, volume, and your voice assistant of choice are in evidence, and the headphones fold up in the same way.

Otherwise, the housing for the headband and cups make use of the same synthetic leather and glass-filled nylon to ensure the headphones remain "shockingly light" and durable, according to Bose. Expect similar pad comfort levels, too.

The QC45s feature an Aware Mode for allowing external sounds to be heard (think Transparency Mode in AirPods), the same TriPort acoustic architecture, and support for tuning audio to Bose's volume-adaptive Active EQ.

Battery life is said to be 24 hours of continuous playback – up from 20 hours in the QC35s – and the inclusion of USB-C brings with it a 15-minute Quick Charge capability that provides 2.5 hours of listening time. Multipoint pairing to two devices at the same time is supported, and the 3.5-millimeter jack is staying put for longer wired listening.

As for the quality of the active noise-canceling, WinFuture doesn't have any information, but expect Bose to go all out for the latest version of its flagship model, given competing headphones like Sony's WH-1000MX4 offer equal if not better noise cancelation than the QC35s.

The QuietComfort 45 headphones are expected to be officially announced soon with a retail price of $329.

LG Display, which is expected to play an increasingly more integral part in Apple's supply chain, is planning to double its production capacity for OLED displays specifically for Apple, as the company is expected to include OLED technology with more devices in the future, according to a new report from ITHome.

According to the report, LG Display, a subsidiary of LG, is investing in additional equipment to double its small OLED display panels output from 30,000 per month to 60,000. LG Display declined to comment; however, the report cites a source stating that the increased capacity will almost be entirely used for OLED displays meant for Apple devices.

Apple currently uses OLED displays in its higher-end iPhones and has done so since the introduction of the iPhone X in 2017. Lower-end models of the iPhone, such as the iPhone XR and iPhone SE 2, continue to use LCD technology thanks to their lower costs.

Until April, Apple only utilized OLED and LCD technology, but with the introduction of the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, Apple has also introduced mini-LED into the family. With the upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, Apple will also expand mini-LED to the Mac.

Despite mini-LEDs recent introduction into Apple devices, the company is planning to bring OLED to some iPad models for the first time. While one report suggests that the fifth-generation iPad Air, rumored for launch next year, will include an OLED display, that report has been discredited by more reliable sources stating the first iPad with an OLED display will arrive in 2023.

Back in December, Apple lost a copyright lawsuit against security research company Corellium, and today, Apple filed an appeal in that case, reports Reuters.

The judge in the copyright case determined that Corellium was operating under fair use terms and that its use of iOS was permissible, throwing out several of Apple's claims. For those unfamiliar with Corellium, the software is designed to replicate iOS exactly to allow security researchers to find bugs and vulnerabilities.

Apple claimed that Corellium illegally copied the iOS operating system and applications that run on the iPhone and iPad, and that it had violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by circumventing Apple's security measures.

Corellium argued that its software helps Apple by making it easier for security researchers to find flaws. Corellium also said that Apple was using its lawsuit to "crack down on jailbreaking" and that Apple's code in the product was fair use, which the judge agreed with.

Apple is appealing the verdict in this specific copyright lawsuit, which is separate from the settlement that Apple and Corellium reached earlier this month.

Apple and Corellium on August 10 settled a federal lawsuit that would have gone to trial on August 16, and this settlement was related to the DCMA claims. The terms of the settlement were confidential, and so far, Corellium is still selling its virtual iOS platform.

According to Reuters, security researchers are surprised that Apple has opted to revive its legal battle with Corellium after the settlement terms, and after Apple's Craig Federighi said that security researchers would serve as a check on its plans to scan iPhones and iPads for CSAM to make sure the scanning is limited to CSAM. Security researchers will be able to confirm that the database of images used to match CSAM content on user devices only consists of content from agencies like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Earlier today, Corellium said that it was launching an "Open Security Initiative" aimed at rewarding independent public research into mobile devices. Corellium's first focus is Apple's CSAM system and the company has called on security researchers to submit projects designed to validate "any security and privacy claims" from any mobile software vendor. Qualifying submissions will receive up to $5,000.

We applaud Apple's commitment to holding itself accountable by third-party researchers. We believe our platform is uniquely capable of supporting researchers in that effort. Our "jailbroken" virtual devices do not make use of any exploits, and instead rely on our unique hypervisor technology. This allows us to provide rooted virtual devices for dynamic security analysis almost as soon as a new version of iOS is released. In addition, our platform provides tools and capabilities not readily available with physical devices.

It's possible that Apple's decision to revive the Corellium lawsuit is related to Corellium's announcement earlier today. In a statement, Corellium Chief Executive Amanda Gordon told Reuters that "enough is enough." "Apple can't pretend to hold itself accountable to the security research community while simultaneously trying to make that research illegal," she said.

Apple today seeded the sixth beta of the upcoming watchOS 8 update to developers for testing purposes, with the update coming one week after Apple released the fifth watchOS 8 beta.

To install ‌watchOS 8‌, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, ‌watchOS 8‌ can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update.

To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌iPhone‌. It's not recommended to install ‌watchOS 8‌ on a main Apple Watch as the software may be unstable at this early date.

watchOS 8 has several new features that are extensions of new features introduced in iOS 15. There are improvements to Wallet that allow it to hold keys for unlocking hotel, car, and home doors, plus Apple will let U.S. users add their IDs to Wallet later this year.

Apple overhauled the Home app, and for the Workout app, there are new Tai Chi and Pilates workout types, and the Breathe app has been renamed to Mindfulness thanks to a new Reflect session that invites users to get into a positive state of mind. When sleeping, the Apple Watch now measures respiratory rate.

Focus mode from iOS 15 syncs to the watch so users can stay on task, and in the Messages app, Scribble, dictation, and emojis can be combined within the same message, making it easier to communicate. Dictated text can be edited, and GIFs can be sent right from the watch.

There's a new Portrait watch face, and the Photos app has been updated with support for Memories and Featured ‌Photos‌. A new Find My app lets items be located right on the wrist, and there are also new updates for Music, Weather, Timers, and more, along with a new Contacts app.

Apple released the sixth beta of iOS 15 just a week after the fifth beta, but the new update brings some of the most significant tweaks that we've seen to iOS 15 during the beta testing period.

Safari Redesign

Apple in iOS 15 beta 6 has added a toggle to move the Safari address bar to the top of the interface, which returns Safari to an iOS 14-like design and mitigates all of the Safari changes introduced in earlier betas.

Those who prefer the bottom bar can still opt to have that toggled on with the Tab Bar view, but Apple has also changed the look and the url bar at the bottom has been merged with a dedicated control panel that does away with trying to merge all page management options into a single address bar view.

Safari design options let you swap between the Tab Bar at the bottom or the Single Tab at the top, plus there are toggles to disable website tinting and enable or disable a landscape tab bar. "Allow Website Tinting" appears to be the same as the prior "Show Color in Tab Bar" setting that was available in earlier betas.

You can swap between the two views in Safari using the "Aa" menu right in Safari without having to access the Safari app.

Safari Bookmarks and History

When accessing Safari History, Bookmarks, and Reading List in iOS 15 with the bottom Tab Bar view toggled on, the interface comes up from the bottom and takes up less space on the screen. With Single Tab enabled, the interface looks the same as it did before.

SharePlay Removed

SharePlay is no longer functional in the sixth beta of iOS 15, because Apple has temporarily removed it. When iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and macOS Monterey launch, there will be no SharePlay feature available.

Apple instead plans to reintroduce SharePlay in a later software update this fall after the iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and macOS Monterey updates debut.

Watch Face Automation

The fifth beta of iOS 15 removed the Automation for automatically setting a watch face on the Apple Watch at a specific time, but in the sixth beta, the option is once again available in the Shortcuts app.

Other New Features

Know of something new in the beta that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.

Google today announced the launch of the low-cost 5G Pixel 5a, a follow up to the Pixel 4a that debuted last year. At its $449 price point, the Pixel 5a most closely competes with the $399 iPhone SE, which is $50 cheaper, though it has a similar feature set to Apple's $699 iPhone 12 mini thanks to the inclusion of 5G.

Apple is rumored to be working on a new version of the iPhone SE that will also include 5G, with the device set to launch in 2022. The updated iPhone SE will be positioned as Apple's cheapest 5G iPhone, and based on the $449 price point of the Pixel 5a, it could be priced similarly to keep it competitive with lower-cost Android devices.

In addition to 5G mmWave and sub-6GHz connectivity, the Pixel 5a brings a bigger 6.3-inch hole punch display that offers more available screen space than the prior Pixel 4a, so it may still have an edge over Apple's upcoming 2022 iPhone SE. The new iPhone SE is rumored to feature a design that's "roughly the same" as the current iPhone SE, which is modeled after the iPhone 8.

Other Pixel 5a features include IP67 water resistance, a dual camera setup with wide and ultra wide lenses, a 4,620mAh battery, 6GB RAM, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chip.

Google is selling the Pixel 5a with an 18W adapter that supports fast charging, but Google is taking a page from Apple's playbook. The Pixel 5a will be the last Pixel phone that will include a charger, according to The Verge. Google says that because most people already have a charging brick, its future phones, including the upcoming Pixel 6, will not ship with one.

Apple stopped providing a 5W charger with iPhone models in 2020 and in most countries, iPhones no longer come with a charger.

Apple today released a new firmware update for the Siri Remote designed for the new Apple TV 4K and ‌Apple TV‌ HD models. The new firmware has an internal version number of 9M6772, while the prior firmware version was 9M6336. Note that this is not the firmware version that you see in the ‌Apple TV‌ Remote settings.

There's no word on what's new with the ‌Apple TV‌ remote update, but it likely addresses minor bugs and performance issues.

Apple has not detailed how to install a firmware update for the ‌Siri‌ Remote, but it's likely similar to AirPods, delivered silently and over the air while the ‌Apple TV‌ is asleep. Firmware updates are installed in the background and it may take some time for the ‌Siri‌ Remote update to be downloaded and installed.

Tweetbot 6 designed for the iPhone and the iPad today received a major update, with Tapbots introducing several significant new features that are designed to make the app experience better than ever.

There's now a Tweetbot 6 widget that can be added to the Today View or the Home Screen, and it shows the Twitter timeline. A single tweet can be shown in the smallest widget view, but there are also larger options that show more tweets at a glance.

When using the Tweetbot 6 update on iOS devices, there's now support for Handoff, so you can resume what you were doing on one device on another device using the built-in Handoff feature. Handoff does not yet work on the Mac, but support will be added later.

Tweetbot 6 now supports Shortcuts so Tweetbot actions can be used in the shortcuts created on iOS devices, plus on the ‌iPad‌, multiple Tweetbot windows are now supported for multitasking purposes. There are also additional app icons to choose from.

Tweetbot 6 can be downloaded from the App Store for free, but a subscription costs $5.99 per year or $0.99 per month. [Direct Link]