Category: Apple

Apple is About to Add Some Beats to its iOS Devices

Apple’s acquisition was a big news for the music industry. This multi-billion dollar deal gave Hip-Hop its first billionaire in Dr. Dre. There were no clear directions though as to what the company was planning to do with the popular audio equipment brand. Looks like the first step in the Apple-Beats saga is about to unveil itself. Financial Times reports that the Cupertino-based tech giant will be integrating Beats Music app on all the iPhone and iPads.

Beats Music is a subscription-based music service that uses algorithms to curate music according to your interests. Beats also has tie-ups with some of the major labels in the music industry and thus, has a huge library of songs that you can listen. The songs are downloadable, so you can listen to the tunes when you are not online. The service will be a part of the default offerings of Apple such as iMovie, Garageband amongst others.

By forcing the Beats Music on its customers, Apple will be benefitting a lot. The company already has iTunes that let you buy music, but with this music streaming service, the company can take on market leaders like Spotify. Be ready for some Apple power, dear music industry.

November 20, 2014
iPhone 6 Successor Might Feature a ‘DSLR Quality’ Camera

It’s hardly been three months since the launch of the latest flagship from Apple, the iPhone 6. But it’s the next-gen model which is now on everyone’s radar. According to a recent report, the successor of the iPhone 6 might feature a camera that is capable of DSLR level performance. Sources close to the Cupertino giant have revealed in a podcast that the next-gen iPhone will have two lens system. Apple blogger John Gruber, who has a long history with the company, attributes the information.

“The specific thing I heard is that next year’s camera might be the biggest camera jump ever. I don’t even know what sense this makes, but I’ve heard that it’s some kind of weird two-lens system where the back camera uses two lenses and it somehow takes it up into DSLR quality imagery,” said Gruber.

But there could be other possibilities that we cannot ignore. For instance, the HTC One M8 has a ‘dual camera’ feature that includes two sensors that work in tandem to produce images. So what exactly this ‘two lens’ system refers to is still unclear.

The iPhone camera is still considered to be one of the best in the industry, adding DSLR quality to it will just put it miles ahead of the competition. Other smartphone manufacturers like Sony, Samsung, etc. use 16-20 megapixels, while iPhone still carries an 8MP resolution sensor.

The first iPhone ever launched came with a 2MP camera, which was upgraded to 3.2 MP in the iPhone 3GS, while iPhone 4 had a 5MP camera. Though, it was in 2011 when the camera was significantly enhanced to 8 MP in the iPhone 4S, and is still stuck with the same.

So, an upgrade to the iPhone camera is certainly long due. We are likely to find out next year if this turns out to be a reality or just one of the many rumors that pop up before every iPhone launch.

November 19, 2014
Apple’s Latest iOS Update to Speed Up Old Devices

As expected, Apple rolled out the second update iOS 8.1.1 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. While the last update brought features like Apple Pay, return of the Camera Roll and fixed bugs with third-party extensions, iOS 8.1.1 is essentially a usability update.

The new iOS 8.1.1 update includes a number of bug fixes, improved overall stability, and most importantly, performance improvements for older devices including the iPhone 4s and iPad 2. Apple says that the latest release should speed up the iPad 2 and iPhone 4s, two of the company’s old generation devices.

These devices, while technically supported with iOS 8.0, suffered a performance hit as a result of increased demand for the new OS, and this update should help make life easier for those who’ve already upgraded. Updating old generation devices to the major upgrade can often result in degraded performance, making the user experience slower and worse than it had been before.

Apple says the latest release should speed up the iPad 2 and iPhone 4s.

The same was experienced with iOS 7 last year, and now again Apple is working to make things better for customers who are still holding onto their old gen devices. Usually, the company provides a list of particular bugs and the updates fix, but this time around, the company has not done so. Anyway, the main feature of this update appears to be increased performance for iPhone 4s and iPad 2.

Along with the iOS update, the company has also rolled out an update for Mac devices. OS X 10.10.1, as it is called, is the first update to Apple’s Yosemite. According to the company, the new update will result in “better Wi-Fi reliability, improved Microsoft Exchange connections, and fixes for reliability in Mail when sending messages using ‘certain’ email providers.”

The update also provides two fixes for enterprise customers. One makes the Mac App Store report that an Apple Remote Desktop update is available even when it’s not true, and another allows you to append search domains for partially qualified domain names when performing DNS lookups.

November 18, 2014
iPhone 6 Records Three Times Higher Sales Than its Bigger Sibling

Even though Apple is always tight-lipped about its sales figures, a research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) tracked down the first 30 days of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus availability in the US and has come up with some interesting data.

According to the analyst Steven Milunovich of CIRP, the iPhone 6 accounted for 68 percent of all iPhone sales, while the iPhone 6 Plus took between 23 and 24 percent. This puts the sales ratio somewhere near 3:1 in the favour of iPhone 6. Unlike the Asian market where phablets are always best sellers, iPhone 6 are preferred by the US customers over iPhone 6 Plus.

Together, the new iPhones represented about 91 percent of the total iPhone sales over their first four weeks of availability. The remaining units are represented by the previous-generation iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. Obviously, the data clearly shows that there’s a clear favourite, but it is also to be noted that the iPhone 6 Plus has faced stock issues since its launch. That’s one of the reasons many people haven’t really been able to buy one.

CIRP’s research also pointed out that maximum buyers went for 48 GB storage, which is almost double the average storage capacity from a year old model. The reason is that Apple, this year, dropped the 32 GB capacity and offers the iPhone 6 Plus in sizes of 16, 64, and 128 gigabytes.

It is said that as soon as the stock level of iPhone 6 Plus picks up and a normal delivery time is achieved, we can expect the device to gain some considerable ground.

November 17, 2014
Apple Faces Lawsuit for Text Disruption Caused by their iMessage Service

Apple’s iMessage is a free messaging service. This service was announced in 2011, and it along with other free messaging apps have been blamed for the steady decline in the usage of SMS service. There was though a major flaw in iMessage that has got Apple another visit to the courthouse.

Apparently, Apple’s messaging followed the users even after they bid their iPhones goodbye. When an iMessage user used a different device with the same number, Apple’s system was still automatically converting messages from iPhone users. This led to non-delivery of messages. This is an important issue as essential or emergency messages could have been disrupted because of this bug.

Apple has fixed the issue now, but not before getting an invite to court. The company is now facing a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company failed to disclose the bug to the users. The court specifically alleged that Apple’s intentional acts have caused an ‘actual breach or disruption of the contractual relationship.

In response to the allegation, Apple has stated that they have not intentionally kept the bug a secret. They added that there is no incentive in curbing the SMS feature considering that it needs the carriers to sell its devices.

November 12, 2014
New Web Tool by Apple Allows Users to Deregister Phone Numbers from iMessage

Apple has released a new tool that let’s former iPhone users deregister their phone numbers instantly from Apple’s iMessage system. This allows switching between iOS and other smartphones hassle free. Many former iPhone users have reported for years that they were unable to receive text messages from friends.

The problem occurs as Apple continues to route texts through iMessage even after users have moved on to non Apple devices. Since iMessage is exclusive to the Apple platform, users who moved away from iOS but did not disable iMessage first, were unable to see messages sent from friends who used Apple devices. The only solution to this for users who were still facing this problem was to deregister entirely the old device from their Apple accounts.

With the recently released tool, all users need to do is enter the phone number they wish to deregister from Apple’s iMessage system. Apple will then send a code via SMS, which they need to type into the browser to deregister.

Apple received a lot of heat earlier this year over disappearing messages which irritated some users to the extent that they had to file a law suit over the matter.

November 10, 2014
Facebook Plans to Take on Apple’s Monopoly Over the App Business

It is no secret that Apple has dominated the $45 billion market with its App Store. Even though Android ecosystem has proliferated to almost 80% of the market globally, iOS has taken over the major chunk of the app store revenue on its side.

The main reason being iOS users are more than ready to spend money on apps than Android users. Android being an open source OS comprises of users that may or may not like to spend money on apps, hence, the revenue differs. So the best apps are developed first for Apple’s iOS mobile operating system. Only if they are successful do companies produce an Android version, often months or years later. However, Facebook is planning to change this game.

According to the folks at Facebook Europe, the dominance of Apple is about to weaken soon. Facebook’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa platform director Julien Codorniou while talking to Business Insider suggested that the new trend he is seeing is going to favour Android. According to him, Android is very rapidly catching up iOS in terms of revenue generation. He also mentioned that there days, many developers, especially game developers, are going for Android first in the European market.

Facebook is planning to tap into situation with its own Parse app development platform, and favour Android big time.

“There is a pattern coming from Eastern Europe. The Russian developers develop on Android first because of a big audience, and it maybe being easier to develop. They liked the fact that they could submit a new version of the app every day. [With Apple, you have to get each new version of the app approved before it hits the App Store. There is no version approval for Android.] This is a trend that I see and I think it is going to accelerate.”

Facebook is planning to tap into the situation with its own Parse app development platform and favour Android big time. Codorniou believes that Parse virtually erases the two-step iOS/Android development process, letting companies release new apps on both platforms at the same time. If apps are released at the same time on Android, it erases one of the key selling points of the iPhone, which is users who want the cool new apps must be Apple users in order to get them.

Codorniou has a team of promoters for spreading the word: “As of today, I have four guys from my team in Paris talking to Android developers about the greatness of Parse, Facebook login, app links, app events, all of these things we introduced at f8. It’s a very important bet for us.”

November 8, 2014
‘WireLurker’ Malware Threatens to Attack Apple Devices

Apple’s loyal users have long thought themselves safe from all sorts of notorious malware and viruses. However, a new report from Palo Alto Networks has suggested that Apple devices are at risk of a virus described by researchers as ‘the biggest scale’ malware they have ever seen.

Dubbed WireLurker, the malware targets both Mac as well as phones and tablets running iOS, when connected using a USB cable. When a mobile device is connected to the infected Mac, the virus spreads and installs nasty apps.

According to a research conducted by Palo Alto Networks, “WireLurker monitors any iOS device connected via USB with an infected OS X computer and installs downloaded third-party applications or automatically generated malicious applications onto the device, regardless of whether it is jailbroken. This is the reason we call it “wire lurker”. Researchers have demonstrated similar methods to attack non-jailbroken devices before; however, this malware combines a number of techniques to successfully realise a new brand of threat to all iOS devices. WireLurker exhibits complex code structure, multiple component versions, file hiding, code obfuscation and customised encryption to thwart anti-reversing”

WireLurker is not the first malware developed for Apple devices, but it is the first of its kind in many respects and only the second-known malware family to attack iOS devices through Mac OS X via USB. The malware is currently contained in China, where it appears to have originated on a third-party Mac app store called Maiyadi. However, the malware is under active development, and anybody downloading any unlicensed apps on Mac or connecting iOS devices to an unknown computer could be vulnerable.

Apple said that it has begun blocking the malware. “We are aware of malicious software available from a download site aimed at users in China, and we’ve blocked the identified apps to prevent them from launching,” the company stated. “As always, we recommend that users download and install softwares from trusted sources.”

November 7, 2014
Apple Plans to Replace Transit Passes with iPhone 6’s NFC

iPhone users have just started using Apple Pay to make purchases at cash registers and online stores. But the application of this NFC-based payment system is not limited to just this. According to The Information, Apple is in talks with keycard maker HID Global and Cubic to enable security features through which the NFC-equipped iPhone can be used as a pass to enter buildings and transit fare systems.

“The Apple representatives have spoken to technology providers like HID Global and Cubic, which enable secure access to buildings and transit fare systems respectively, briefed people involved in the discussions. Spokespeople for the companies declined to comment on any discussions with Apple, but executives there discussed how they could integrate their systems with the iPhone.” the report said.

This could only mean that the iPhone 6 could soon come with the ability to unlock hotel room doors and even pay public transit fares. Back at the launch of Apple Watch, the company publicly announced a partnership with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide that would allow Apple Watch owners to unlock their hotel room doors using bluetooth. However, that specifically isn’t NFC technology, but the concept is the same.

Currently, developers are not allowed to tap into the NFC chip found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. By allowing access to the NFC chip, the cards would be able to upload on the Passbook the same way credit cards are added. Users will then have to just tap on the home button at NFC-powered transit turnstiles to pay for their desired rides.

Its functions remain exclusively tied to Apple Pay, which launched with the release of iOS 8.1 last week. Apple hasn’t indicated any plans to open up NFC access in the future. However, report from The Information illustrated that Apple may selectively partner in offering NFC support. Initially, Apple also restricted Touch ID support until the launch of iOS 8, which now allows developers to offer fingerprint-based access with applications.

October 28, 2014
German Guy Finds an Awesome Use of His Retired Power Mac G5

If you ever had to deal with the pain of parting with an electronic device, then you must know how hard it is. Laptops and desktops are especially hard to say goodbye to. You spend a lot of time trying to figure out which device to buy and then you spend countless moments with it. But some people find it so hard to bid them farewell that it leads them to create something amazing.

Meet Klaus Geiger who gave a second life to his Power Mac G-5. It is so cool; you might ask why hasn’t this been done before. Klaus uses two shells of the Power Mac’s and lays classy wooden slabs on them.

If you think about it, it’s a great homage to the first 64-bit architecture. It is also a great way of taking care of the exponentially growing e-wastes. With the access to technology getting cheaper and the devices getting updated at a faster rate, discarding of old technology has also increased. For a cleaner planet, it is essential that we find effective solutions to dump the e-waste. What Klaus has done is one great example of fixing the new generation trash.

Check out the images here:

October 27, 2014
Apple Protects Chinese Citizens from the Government Attacking Their Security

Reports have been circulating about a massive piracy attack on iCloud. It is being alleged that hackers and Chinese authorities were deploying man-in-the-middle(MITM) attacks in order to compromise Apple ID’s from Chinese users that visited Apple’s iCloud website.

The latest report by the Wall Street Journal suggests that Apple has officially confirmed that it is aware of the organized attacks on its iCloud users, however their own servers have not been compromised.

“Apple is deeply committed to ‘protecting our customers privacy and security. We’re aware of intermittent organized network attacks using insecure certificates to obtain user information, and we take this very seriously. These attacks don’t compromise iCloud servers, and they don’t impact iCloud sign in on iOS devices or Macs running OS X Yosemite using the Safari browser”.

Apple has come out with a support document that clearly specifies the importance of digital certificates, advising users who come across an invalid certificate alert in their web browser while visiting iCloud. The company has also issued guidelines as to how users can verify that their web browser is connected to iCloud and not a fake third party MITM website.

Apple has asked its users to make sure the green lock icon is visible and see the following message “Safari is using an encrypted connection to www.iCloud.com” when the lock icon is clicked.

But the main problem lies in the fact that users are not using secure browsers to access their cloud storage. A report indicates that many users in China access the Internet via a popular Chinese browser named Qihoo. It does not alert users when a fake site is getting their information, it rather redirects Chinese users to a fake website identical to the iCloud website. Users who eventually log into the fake site inadverently give the attackers their login and passwords that can be used to access personal information.

Chinese authorities are suspected to be a part of this attack. According to CNBC, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry said that Beijing was “resolutely opposed” to hacking.

Chinese users are being advised to switch to secure browsers like Chrome or Firefox, or use a VPN to bypass the redirection and log in directly to iCloud. Two factor authentication is also required to be turned on as it restricts unauthorized users from logging into an iCloud account even when a username and password is compromised.

October 22, 2014
Apple Decides Against Offering EMI Options for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in India

In response to the unprecedented high demand for the new flagship iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in India, Apple has decided not to offer any EMI options. The reason quoted for this is that they are not able to cope up with the supply. Apple had tied up with Bajaj Finance and Capital First to offer a zero-interest finance options on their earlier products. However, the schemes are not applicable to the new line-up.

It has been said that the company will furthur evaluate the decision to offer EMI options for the new iPhones in the January quarter. Meanwhile, EMI options are still available on older models which include iPhone 5s, 5c and 4s.

Both phones deliver a good battery backup even with their massive displays.

The iPhone 6 has gone out of stock in India just days after its official release. In the nation’s capital, Apple’s ardent fans had even lined up at midnight to be the first to buy the device.

Apple had brought in a stock of 55,000 devices for sale in India on the midnight of 16th October. The entire stock got sold in just 3 days. Now the company is planning to bring 25,000 new devices soon to quench the demand for the latest bestseller. It was said that there will be a delay of three days before the devices are available again.

October 21, 2014
iOS 8.1 Now Available for Download, Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Apple had launched the iOS 8 with some key features missing, which was a let down for many. One of the major problem with the update was that it demanded close to 5GB of free space on your device before you could update, which only meant users had to delete a lot of music, photos and apps to make space. The second important feature missing from iOS 8 was the absence of a Camera Roll.

When the iOS 8.0.1 update released on September 24, Apple ended up pulling the update just hours after it became available. The bug-laden update has caused iPhones to lose cell network and affected the Touch ID.

Apple studied and considered the user feedback before launching iOS 8.1. Now it has finally brought some key and impressive features to its mobile platform that were missing earlier. However, to have the best possible experience of these features, users will need to have the OS X Yosemite installed. If you have an iPhone 5s or higher, here’s what to look forward to in the latest iOS 8.1 update.

Apple Pay

Apple’s rumoured payment platform finally hits on iOS 8 devices running with the 8.1 update. In order to use Apple Pay, users need to add a card to Apple Pay by taking a snap of their card. After the card is verified from the bank, it is added to passbook, where users can finally access it for future purchases. Users can now open their Passbook in retail stores, a finger print scan via the Touch ID sensor completes the process. Though as of now, the feature is U.S locked, UK availability is expected to start some time early next year.

Personal Hotspot

The 8.1 update brings about a significant improvement in communication sharing features between desktop and mobile. The new personal Hotspot allows the iPhone’s 4G LTE compatibility to be accessed from a nearby Mac. Once connected, the Mac acts as a phone.

Camera Roll is Back

When Apple launched the iOS 8 last month, it was missing the Camera Roll feature which was a major let down for users. Now with the 8.1 update, this feature is back where users can house all their photos again in one single folder.

Beta iCloud Photo Library Access

iCloud Photo Library returns as a beta in iOS 8.1. It stores as much as you want, provided you have purchased that much space in iCloud. Previously, iCloud only stored your last 1000 photos for 30 days. Therefore, all photos uploaded in the iCloud Photo Library will be a part of your total iCloud storage. You get 5GB of free storage for starters, with 99 cents a month you get 20GB, while $3.99 will get you 200GB.

SMS Relay

A feature you’d probably already know about, deserves another mention here. With the SMS and Phone integration, you can send and receive text messages as well as phone calls across all Apple devices. This is definitely the future of interlinked digital devices. Apple definitely was to be the first company to benefit from this because of its enormous hardware ecosystem.

The iOS 8.1 definitely looks much more promising from the the iOS 8, and is now available for download. Apple seems have really made an effort to bring about some refreshing changes based on consumer feedback that were missing earlier.

October 21, 2014
China Rages a Massive Privacy Attack on iCloud

Just when Apple fans were setting up their new iPhones, they discovered that they are being misled to an identical looking page. Web censorship watchdog Great Fire is reporting that the Chinese authorities are staging a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack on Apple’s iCloud. The attacks coincide with the new iPhone launch, thereby giving the authorities’ access to a massive number of passwords of people setting up their new phones.

According to Wikipedia, a MITM attack is a form of active eavesdropping. The attacker makes independent connections with the victims and relays messages between them. It makes them believe that they are talking directly to each other over a private connection, when in fact the entire conversation is controlled by the attacker.

When a person tries to log into their iCloud, they are instead redirected to an identical looking page. When using a Firefox or Chrome browser, there is a warning that you are not on the authentic website, but when using China’s most popular browser, Qihoo there is no warning. Microsoft’s Live.com, Github, Google and Yahoo have also faced such attacks in the recent past.

It is being said that this is a massive effort from the Chinese authorities to fish out usernames and passwords from a huge population. Doing so will give them access to all the data including personal documents, pictures and videos stored on the cloud. For folks who set automatic syncing to the cloud for their entire data, this news might be troublesome.

It’s being said that the recent addition of encryption system might have attracted this unfriendly attention from the Chinese authorities. The system faced disapproval from security institutions like the FBI.

China is infamous for censoring the internet using its giant firewall, known as Golden Shield Project or better known as the Great Firewall of China. But fishing out user information is a recent phenomenon which by the looks of it is gaining steam. There are few ways you can circumvent the impositions. The user can use a VPN service to access their real accounts just make sure that the VPN service is also not blocked by the country’s firewall.

Internet freedom are considered a part of human rights and right to privacy is one of the cornerstones of a civilized society. But this recent surge of privacy theft should concern all.

Here’s a TED talk by Glenn Greenwald who explains why privacy is such an essential element for our society:

October 21, 2014
Apple’s iPhone 6 Goes Out of Stock in India Within Days

A feat that was thought to be only achievable by Xiaomi has been achieved by its papa bear, Apple. The technology superpower’s latest flagship smartphone, the iPhone 6 has gone out of stock in India just days after its official release. In the nation’s capital, Apple’s ardent fans had even lined up at midnight to be the first to buy the device.

Apple had brought in a stock of 55,000 devices for sale in India on the midnight of 16th October. The entire stock got sold in just 3 days. Now the company is planning to bring 25,000 new devices soon to quench the demand for the latest bestseller. It was said that there will be a delay of three days before the devices are available again.

55,000 devices flew of the shelves in just three days.

Apple’s new iOS based devices not only have bigger screens that make them more multimedia friendly, they also have seamless connectivity features with other Apple devices. This, for now, separates these devices from everything else in the market.

The reason for the clearing up of shelves, even at such high price tag, might be the current festive season. With Diwali right around the corner, everyone is trying to attract new customers and seems like Apple has clearly made its mark. It wouldn’t be long before we get a final tally who scored the most off this festive climate.

October 20, 2014