We have fixed the Group FaceTime security bug on Apple's servers and we will issue a software update to re-enable the feature for users next week. We thank the Thompson family for reporting the bug. We sincerely apologize to our customers who were affected and all who were concerned about this security issue. We appreciate everyone's patience as we complete this process.
We want to assure our customers that as soon as our engineering team became aware of the details necessary to reproduce the bug, they quickly disabled Group FaceTime and began work on the fix. We are committed to improving the process by which we receive and escalate these reports, in order to get them to the right people as fast as possible. We take the security of our products extremely seriously and we are committed to continuing to earn the trust Apple customers place in us.
Widely publicized on Monday, the FaceTime bug allowed one person to call another person via FaceTime, slide up on the interface and enter their own phone number, and automatically gain access to audio from the other person's device without that person accepting the call. In some cases, even video was accessible.
We demonstrated the bug in a video earlier this week:
Apple disabled Group FaceTime as a temporary server-side solution, preventing the bug from working any longer. Apple is also working on a software update with a permanent fix that it originally said would be available this week, but it has been delayed until next week, according to Apple's statement.
Apple thanked the Thompson family for reporting the bug—supposedly over a week before it made headlines—and said it is committed to improving the process by which it receives and escalate these reports in order to quash bugs faster.
In recognition of Heart Month, Apple today announced it will offer an Activity Challenge on Apple Watch and heart health events at Apple Stores in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York throughout February.
Apple Watch users who close their exercise ring in the Activity app for seven days in a row between February 8 and February 14 will earn a special badge and iMessage stickers on Valentine's Day.
San Francisco: Apple Union Square on February 11 at 6 p.m. with Dr. Sumbul Desai, Jeanette Jenkins, and Julz Arney
New York: Apple Williamsburg on February 21 at 4:30 p.m. with Dr. Sumbul Desai, Jeanette Jenkins, and Jay Blahnik
Chicago: Apple Michigan Avenue on February 27 at 6 p.m. with Dr. Sumbul Desai, Nancy Brown, Jeanette Jenkins, and Craig Bolton
"Apple Watch users have told us since the beginning it has motivated them with everything from Activity Sharing to Challenges to all of the different workouts available all right from the wrist," said Jay Blahnik, Apple's senior director of fitness for health technologies.
Nintendo today announced that its next iOS and Android release will be Dr. Mario World, an action puzzle game set to be released later in 2019. Nintendo will be partnering with messaging app LINE to develop the new title.
Little detail is available on the new game at this time, but Dr. Mario was a 1990 puzzle game that tasked players with rearranging different colored pills as they fall to clear them off of the game board and eliminate viruses.
The gameplay of the original title was similar to Tetris, and it should translate well to mobile devices.
Nintendo says that Dr. Mario World will be free to play with in-app purchases, with Nintendo aiming to release the game in “early summer 2019” in Japan, the United States, and dozens of other countries.
Dr. Mario World may be Nintendo's first game of 2019, as its other title, Mario Kart Tour, won't be coming out until the summer. It was originally scheduled to launch right around March.
Nintendo has released five mobile games thus far, four of which have been free-to-play and three of which have been highly successful. Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and Dragalia Lost are current free-to-play titles, while Miitomo, Nintendo's first mobile game, is now defunct. Nintendo's only paid app so far has been Super Mario Run.
Email apps are a popular App Store category for one simple reason - almost all of us need to access email on our iPhones and iPads. While Apple has its own Mail app built into iOS devices, some people want a more feature rich experience.
Luckily there are plenty of developers out there who are trying to create the perfect iOS inbox, but it's hard to sort through the dozens of email apps available. We dove into the App Store in our latest YouTube video and rounded up a handful of the best email apps we found.
Spike, a free app, is a conversation-based email app that used to be called Hop. The app's aim is to turn emailing into more of a message like conversation, organizing the inbox into a chat-style window.
Spike removes email headers, signatures, and more to make the emailing experience chat-like, and it prioritizes emails sent by people while filing newsletters and other automatic emails to other folders. Other features include a unified inbox, email grouping options, quick responses, a unified calendar, and snooze. Spike is unusual and not our first choice, but it's definitely unique and could be what some people are looking for.
Polymail
Polymail, also free, is more of a traditional email app. It has a sleek, clean interface with a useful comment and mention feature that's available on the desktop for teams.
On iOS, Polymail offers useful features like quick tags, read later, and read receipts to let you know what someone has received and read your email. You can also get reminders to follow up on an email that someone has read but not responded to. Other unique features include a calendar invite option in the compose window, one-click unsubscribe, email scheduling, click and attachment tracking, and more.
Polymail is one of the more useful apps if you want to better track who is viewing your emails, but if you don't need that functionality, there may be better apps for you.
Airmail
Airmail, priced at $4.99, started as a Mac app and then expanded to iOS. Airmail is a straightforward email app with a focus on minimalism. There's a single unified "All Inboxes" view for quick email management, but if you swipe from the left, there's access to folders for to-do lists, snoozed emails, and attachments, which is handy for finding specific content.
Airmail keeps it simple with options to reply, delete, and archive when viewing an email, though there are an expanded set of features in the compose window, including tracking, send later options, reminders, and templates. Airmail is compatible with a wide range of other services and apps so you can better integrate the apps you already use with your email app.
Airmail's interface isn't going to appeal to everyone, especially on iOS, but it offers a good cross-platform experience.
Spark
Spark, a free app from Readdle, is one of our top email app picks. Spark offers up a Smart Inbox that presents your most important emails first, saving the junk, newsletters, and less important tasks for later.
Emails are automatically categorized into sections that include Personal, Notifications, and Newsletters, but you can use a single firehose inbox option if you want. Spark has a robust search engine, which makes it easy to find any email, something that we liked about the app.
Spark has tools for discussing and collaborating on emails with your team, and it's one of the few email apps with these kinds of tools. It also offers options for scheduling emails and snoozing emails, plus there are smart notifications so you only get pinged when there's something important to see.
Other Spark features include followup reminders, integrations with other services, and customizable swipe gestures.
Edison Mail
Edison Mail, another free app, is super popular on the App Store for a reason. It has a clean, modern look, customizable swipe settings, and all of the tools that you need for managing your email.
Edison Mail's design is reminiscent of the design of the Mail app, so it fits well on the iPhone, but it offers a richer feature set than the Mail app. There's an included personal assistant that organizes your inbox, sorting out subscriptions, travel emails, bills, receipts, and package emails.
It lets you track packages and sends an alert when something is out for delivery, and it can do other things like send notifications for upcoming flights. Traditional tools are included too, like snooze options, send undo, and one-tap unsubscribe. It also integrates with Face ID, providing another layer of protection for your inbox.
Conclusion
Of all the email apps listed above, which are some excellent options for email management, we liked Spark and Edison the best, with Edison ranking as our top favorite. If you're looking for a new email app to try out, it's worth taking a look at everything on the list.
Did we miss your favorite email app? Let us know which one you prefer in the comments.
Apple is cracking down hard on companies that have been abusing its Enterprise Certificate program, and Google today joined Facebook in losing access to Apple's internal app tools, reports The Verge.
Apple revoked Google's Enterprise Certificate and as a result, none of Google's internal apps are functional. Pre-release versions of iOS apps like Google Maps, Hangouts, Gmail, and more stopped working today, along with employee transportation and cafe apps.
Google, like Facebook, was using its Enterprise Certificate designed for internal employee apps to distribute an iOS app called "Screenwise Meter" to customers.
Screenwise Meter was an app designed to collect information on internet usage, including details on how long a person spends on a site to the apps that are downloaded on a device. Apple does not allow data collecting apps like Screenwise Meter on the App Store, so Google asked customers to download it using an Enterprise Certificate.
By having customers install Screenwise Meter this way, Google was able to bypass Apple's App Store rules. Google was more forthcoming about its data collection policies than Facebook, but it still clearly violated the Enterprise Certificate Program, which only allows these certificates to be used for internal apps for employees.
Facebook was doing the same thing as Google with its "Facebook Research" app, and has also since lost access to its Enterprise Certificate, disabling all of the internal Facebook iOS apps and reportedly causing chaos within the company.
Both Google and Facebook have disabled the apps that took advantage of Apple's Enterprise Certificate program, but that did not stop Apple from revoking their Enterprise Certificates entirely.
Facebook yesterday said that it was working with Apple to reinstate the certificate, and Google is also likely in discussions with the Cupertino company to solve the issue.
Given the size of Google and Facebook and the importance of the Google and Facebook apps, Apple is likely to restore the certificates, but reinstated use may come with much more oversight.
Update: In a statement to Bloomberg, Google said it is working with Apple to resolve the issue. "We're working with Apple to fix a temporary disruption to some of our corporate iOS apps, which we expect will be resolved soon."
Update 2: In a statement to TechCrunch, Apple says it is working with Google to fix the certificate issue. "We are working together with Google to help them reinstate their enterprise certificates very quickly."
Update 3: Apple has restored Google’s Enterprise Certificate so its internal apps now function again, TechCrunch confirmed with a source after a Bloomberg journalist reported the development. A Google spokesperson said they "can confirm that our internal corporate apps have been restored."
A questionable and unconfirmed rumor from Israeli site The Verifier suggests that Apple's iOS 13 update, expected to be previewed this summer at the Worldwide Developers Conference, will drop support for a number of iPhones and iPads.
The site says iOS 13 will be unavailable on the iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus, all devices that are compatible with iOS 12.
As for iPads, The Verifier believes Apple will drop support for the iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, and possibly the iPad mini 4. The sixth-generation iPod touch is listed as a device that will also be incompatible with iOS 13.
If this rumor is true, and we don't know that it is because The Verifier did not provide details on where the information is from or how it was obtained, it would see Apple dropping support for three generations of iPhones at one time, a move that seems somewhat unlikely.
Apple aims to provide software updates for its iOS devices for as long as possible. Both iOS 12 and iOS 11 offered support for the iPhone 5s and newer, the iPad mini 2 and newer, and the iPad Air and newer. At the time iOS 12 launched, some of those devices were five years old.
Dropping support for everything up to the iPhone 7 would leave iOS 13 compatible only with iOS devices from 2016 or later. Two of those devices, the iPad mini 4 and the sixth-generation iPod touch, are current-generation devices, though they may not be by the time iOS 13 launches as updates for both are in the works.
To cast further doubt on the site's claims, it lists the iPhone 6s as a device that won't support iOS 13 without naming the fifth-generation iPad. Both the fifth-generation iPad and the iPhone 6s use the A9 chip.
The Verifier claims that in addition to dropping support for iOS 13 on a wide swath of devices, Apple will also restrict some iOS 13 features to newer models to "make as many users upgrade to the latest models of iPhones." While it's true there are sometimes iOS features limited to newer devices because of hardware limitations, Apple has a long history of supporting older devices for years after launch.
The Verifier has previously provided semi-accurate info on Apple's plans. In 2017, for example, the site said Apple would bring Group FaceTime to iOS 11. We did get Group FaceTime, but not until iOS 12.1 in 2018.
Update:The Verifier has updated the original article to list the lack of iOS 13 support for the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s as "questionable" rather than concrete.
Shortly after the 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models were released, some MacRumors readers began complaining of noticeable bends in their tablets, with some of the bends appearing to be worse than others.
The issue received little attention until The Vergepublished an article on the iPad Pro with word from an Apple spokesperson suggesting that the bending was a side effect of the manufacturing process and not, in fact, a defect.
Image of slightly bent iPad Pro via the MacRumors forums
Apple device bending raises major red flags with customers after the "Bendgate" issue that affected the iPhone 6 Plus, with those devices bending due to structural problems that were later solved, so iPad Pro owners were rightly confused and outraged over Apple's response.
At the time, Apple's response suggested that customers would not be able to get replacements for some of the seriously bent iPads that had popped up in photos.
Apple's VP of hardware engineering Dan Riccio sent out emails to a few concerned iPad Pro owners, and a MacRumors reader shared one of them. Riccio said that the iPad Pro meets or exceeds Apple's quality and precision standards and that its level of flatness would not shift during the lifetime of the product. He also said that the small variations would not affect the function of the device.
An bend in an iPad Pro taken right out of the box, via the MacRumors forums
Riccio's email did not mollify customers, and Apple was silent on the issue for several more weeks until publishing a support document that offered further explanation.
Apple says that while the iPad Pro is manufactured to allow for only 400 microns of variation along a single edge of the device, the flat design can make subtle shifts in straightness more apparent.
400 microns is less than the thickness of four sheets of paper, and some of the bends that we've seen have been more severe than this. Customers with iPads that are more bent than Apple describes should contact Apple for help.
Bending issues appear to affect 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, both Wi-Fi only and LTE. Apple has suggested the bending may be more common and more noticeable in the cellular models.
Not all 2018 iPad Pro models have noticeable bends.
How do I know if my iPad has a bend problem?
Bending can be detected by placing an iPad Pro on a flat surface or by holding it up and looking at the side of it. Most of the bends that we've seen have been easily detectable using one of these two methods.
The bending that has been described by Apple will be visible right when the iPad Pro comes out of the box because it's due to a manufacturing issue.
If your iPad Pro has a severe bend or a bend that appears after a few weeks or months, it is not likely impacted by the bending issue in this guide and may have suffered from damage.
A bent 2018 iPad Pro, via the MacRumors forums. This bend is more severe than Apple describes and may not be caused by the same issue
What does Apple have to say about the issue?
Apple commented on the iPad Pro bending issue through a support document and has confirmed that it can be normal to see slight bends in the new iPad Pro models due to their straighter, flatter edges.
Bends can be more visible on the cellular iPad Pro models, which feature small vertical bands or splits in the side of the iPad inserted via a high-temperature process where plastic is injected into precisely milled channels to serve as a cellular antenna.
Apple's manufacturing techniques and rigorous inspection process allow for no more than 400 microns of deviation across the length of any side, which is less than the thickness of four sheets of paper. Apple says this is actually a tighter specification than previous-generation iPads, and that the flatness variation is imperceptible during normal use.
We've seen iPads that appear to have more severe bends. Apple says that if an iPad Pro does not meet the specifications listed in the support document, that Apple's support staff should be contacted.
Is the bend going to get worse?
Apple says that the small deviations in the flatness of the iPad Pro are due to the manufacturing process and the bends will not get worse over time or affect the strength of the enclosure.
All tablets are going to bend if you try hard enough, though, so the iPad Pro still needs to be treated carefully, especially as it's Apple's thinnest iPad ever at 6.1mm.
If you have an iPad Pro model that has a slight bend, it's not going to get worse during the course of normal usage, according to Apple.
What do I do if my iPad Pro is bent?
If the bend in your iPad Pro appears to be so slight that it's less than four sheets of paper worth of deviation, Apple does not consider it a manufacturing defect and probably wont offer you a replacement.
If the bend is more noticeable than that and does not meet Apple's specifications, you can contact Apple support for help or bring it into an Apple retail store.
All iPad Pro models feature a one-year included warranty, and for more severe defects, a replacement is a possibility. The standard one-year warranty can be extended with AppleCare+, which needs to be purchased alongside the iPad Pro or within 60 days of when you bought your iPad Pro.
AppleCare+ is priced at $129 and offers extended coverage along with accidental damage coverage (deductible required).
All iPad Pro purchases can be returned for a full refund within 14 days, so if you purchase a new iPad Pro, it's a good idea to inspect it and then return it to Apple if there is a noticeable bend that's going to bother you.
Apple says these bends do not affect performance, but for a device that is priced starting at $799, many customers will want a perfect looking iPad.
If you have a bend, it's generally only noticeable when viewing the iPad from the side on a flat surface and it should not interrupt day to day usage. If it does, contact Apple.
Is it still worth buying the 2018 iPad Pro?
The iPad Pro is a capable, powerful tablet that has a gorgeous display, support for the Apple Pencil 2, and a Smart Keyboard Case, all of which makes it worth considering, even with this bending issue.
Not all iPad Pro models are affected, so it is possible to get one where the manufacturing deviation isn't as noticeable so long as you inspect the tablet right after a purchase and make a swap if necessary.
What's still unclear
Apple says the iPad Pro models that display a slight bend won't worsen over time, but we'll need to wait to see how the iPad Pro ages to see if that's true.
We have seen iPad Pro models that seem to have a more serious bend than described by Apple, so it's not clear if the new 2018 iPad Pro models are more prone to bending issues than prior models.
As with any expensive device, it's best to treat the 2018 iPad Pro models carefully and take steps to avoid situations that might result in bending, such as carrying it in a backpack without padding or sitting on it.
Discuss this issue
Over on the MacRumors forums, our readers who have run into the bending issue have been sharing their experiences with replacements, Apple support, and more, so that thread is well worth checking out if you've purchased a new iPad Pro model with a bend in it.
One Drop, a company known for its iPhone-connected One Drop Blood Glucose Monitor, today announced the launch of a new Personal Diabetes Assistant and integration with the Health Records feature on iPhone.
The One Drop Personal Diabetes Assistant is designed to encourage One Drop users to better adhere to medication times, eating plans, and blood glucose monitoring.
Users can get regular reminders for blood glucose checks, medication doses, meals, physical activities, weigh-ins, and blood pressure measurements, with the app providing a daily personalized schedule based on each person's needs and a progress chart towards health goals.
With the Health Records integration, One Drop users at participating healthcare institutions are able to access medical records in the Health app alongside their One Drop info for a better overview of total health.
One Drop users who are subscribed to the company's One Drop Experts service can share electronic medical records with their personal diabetes coach, giving coaches access to vitals, labs, and medication history for better diabetes management recommendations.
For those unfamiliar with One Drop, the company makes an affordable Bluetooth-connected blood glucose monitoring device, a lancing device, and a subscription service for lancets and glucose strips. Apple offers the One Drop Blood Glucose Monitoring Kit online for $70.
Apple's upcoming fix for the FaceTime eavesdropping bug that was discovered on Monday will come in the form of an iOS 12.1.4 update, according to MacRumors analytics data.
We began seeing a handful of visits from devices running an iOS 12.1.4 update on January 29, the day after the bug was widely publicized and spread across the internet.
Apple on Monday said that a software fix for the issue would come "later this week," but now that it's Thursday, there's not a lot of time left. Apple could still release the update later today, but if not, Friday morning is the likely target launch date.
The FaceTime eavesdropping bug allowed iPhone users to exploit a privacy-invading Group FaceTime flaw that let one person connect to another person and hear conversations (and see video, in some cases) without the other person ever having accepted the call.
The FaceTime bug in action
Apple has put a stop to the FaceTime bug by disabling Group FaceTime server side, leaving the feature unavailable, but questions remain about how long the bug was accessible and how long Apple knew about it before attempting a fix.
The mother of the teenager who originally discovered the bug shared convincing evidence that she contacted the Cupertino company as early as January 20. She did not receive a response from Apple despite sending emails and a video.
It's not clear, therefore, when the right team at Apple learned of the bug and when work on a fix was started. We did not see signs of iOS 12.1.4 in our analytics data prior to January 29, but it's possible Apple was working on a fix earlier than that.
The multi-day wait for an official solution to perhaps one of the worst Apple-related privacy bugs we've seen, however, does suggest that development on iOS 12.1.4 did not start too far ahead of when the bug went public.
Highly anticipated role-playing title Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition got its official release on Mac today, exactly three months since Apple teased the game at its October 2018 Keynote event.
Developed in partnership with Mac porting studio Elverils and Apple's Metal engineering team, the acclaimed RPG from Larian Studios includes all the content from the PC version, along with a raft of additional features exclusive to Mac.
Examples of the latter include full MacBook Pro Touch Bar support for quick access to in-game actions (such as the journal or map), MacBook trackpad and selected gestures support, eGPU support, support for Apple MFi controllers and rumbling support on selected controllers, and iCloud support for easy backup between devices.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition supports cross-play between Windows and Mac systems. It's also the first title on macOS to support HDR (on selected hardware, macOS Mojave 10.14+ only).
Since its 2017 PC release, DOS2 is one of only 15 games to receive a GameSpot 10/10 score. The in-depth sandbox adventure for up to four friends has also won a BAFTA in the Multiplayer category and is the highest rated PC game of 2017 on Metacritic.
System requirements include an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory, HD Graphics 5000 or Radeon R9 M290X, 19.3GB of disk space, and macOS 10.13.6 High Sierra or later.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition is available on the Mac App Store for $44.99 and on Steam for $29.24 including the 35 percent discount that runs until February 11. For more information, be sure to check out the official Divinity: Original Sin 2 website.
Qualcomm today filed a motion calling for a German court to levy fines against Apple for not complying with a December import ban barring iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models from being sold in Germany, reports Bloomberg.
According to Qualcomm, Apple failed to properly recall the banned iPhones from third-party sellers and continued to sell them in some Apple Stores in early January. Qualcomm in early January posted 1.34 billion euros in security bonds to enforce the ban, and Apple pulled its iPhones entirely from the country the next day.
Qualcomm general counsel Don Rosenberg said that Apple "intentionally" defied the court order and continued to sell iPhones in some stores, and that the company "obviously" doesn't consider itself "bound by the injunction."
"Significant fines must be imposed to put a check on that," he wrote in a statement to Bloomberg.
To prove Apple's non-compliance with the order, Qualcomm pointed towards a December press release that Apple has already been forced to retract. In the press release, Apple said that while the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models would be unavailable for purchase at its own retail stores, the devices would be available from carriers and third-party retailers.
Qualcomm and Apple have been embroiled in an increasingly tense legal battle since January 2017. Qualcomm has thus far won sales bans on older devices in China and Germany, rulings that Apple is fighting against.
Over the course of the last month, representatives from both companies were in a Northern California court for the Qualcomm v. FTC antitrust lawsuit. The FTC has accused Qualcomm of using anticompetitive tactics to remain the main supplier for baseband processors for smartphones, an argument similar to Apple's.
The Qualcomm/FTC trial wrapped up yesterday, and we are awaiting a verdict from the presiding judge, Lucy Koh, who also handled Apple v. Samsung.
Nike in January announced the launch of iPhone-controlled self-adjusting basketball shoes, and now another popular shoe brand, Puma, is set to launch its own self-lacing sneaker.
The upcoming Puma Fi, which was able to be tested by Engadget's Richard Lai, has been in development for three years. Puma has experimented with automatic shoe technology before with the laceless Autodisc, and is building on that experience with the new model.
Fi is an all-black shoe with a cordless motor at the top that's designed to fit the shoe around the foot, replacing traditional laces. The motor is attached to blue Dyneema strings (a material used in the fishing industry) that tightens when the motor is activated.
The Fi is powered by a removable battery hidden in a water resistant pocket inside of the shoe, and it can be charged by putting the heel of the shoe on an included Qi wireless charging mat or through a charging case.
There are a series of blue LED lights around the tongue of the Fi that light up when the motor is operational and display battery life. The battery lasts for five to seven days before it needs to be recharged, a process that takes 90 to 120 minutes.
According to Lai, the Fi is comfortable and looks and feels like an ordinary sneaker when in use. You can adjust the fit of the Fi with a touch module on the front that supports swipes for tightening the shoe.
The Fi can also be controlled via an iPhone, and there is included Apple Watch support. Using the iPhone controls, you can change the tightness, see battery life, and make small micro adjustments not possible with the on-shoe controls.
With the motor inside, the Fi weighs 428 grams, but Lai said that the weight "wasn't that noticeable" when wearing the shoe. There is a noticeable mechanical noise when operating the shoe, which Lai said "sounds cool."
There are no activity tracking and GPS tracking features in the Fi, but both the Fi and Nike's smart sneaker are just some of the first smartphone-controlled shoes. If the trend catches on, we could see more capable, feature rich iPhone-connected sneakers in the future.
Puma Fi will launch in spring 2020 and it will be priced at $330. Puma plans to launch an open beta program in the future to allow customers to use the sneakers in exchange for product feedback. Those interested should download Puma's PUMATRAC app, where Puma will announce Fi availability. [Direct Link]
The proposed lawsuit seeks compensation for all Canadians who used FaceTime on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 12.1 or later, or a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.4.1 or later, in their possession.
This is the first pending class action lawsuit against Apple we know of in relation to the FaceTime bug. An earlier lawsuit filed by a lawyer in Houston, who claimed the bug allowed an unknown person to listen in on sworn testimony, did not seek class action status according to the court document we reviewed.
Due to the serious privacy implications of the FaceTime bug, there may be more class action lawsuits to follow in the United States and elsewhere.
Widely publicized on Monday, the FaceTime bug allowed one person to call another person via FaceTime, slide up on the interface and enter their own phone number, and automatically gain access to audio from the other person's device without that person accepting the call. In some cases, even video was accessible.
We recorded a demonstration of the bug earlier this week:
Apple reported sales of 13.2 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2017, when it was still disclosing unit sales, so the Strategy Analytics data suggests that iPad unit sales have grown nearly 10 percent on a year-over-year basis.
Strategy Analytics estimates that the iPad's average selling price was $463, an increase of just over four percent from $445 in the year-ago quarter. This sounds unsurprising, as Apple raised prices with its new iPad Pro lineup in 2018, with the cheapest model starting at $799 compared to $649 in 2017.
Apple remained the world's most popular tablet vendor, easily topping Samsung's estimated 7.5 million tablet shipments in the quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. Amazon, Huawei, and Lenovo round off the top five with an estimated 5.5 million, 4.6 million, and 2.3 million shipments respectively.
On an operating system basis, however, Android tablets from multiple brands still commanded an estimated 60 percent of the market.
Apple reported iPad revenue of $6.7 billion in the quarter, a 17 percent increase over the year-ago quarter.
Apple has replenished stock of the iPhone SE on its online clearance store for the third time this month. These are brand new, unopened, and unlocked models starting at $249 in the United States. Availability dwindled very quickly in the each of the firsttwo times the iPhone SE was added, so act fast.
Apple is offering the iPhone SE with 32GB of storage for $249 and with 128GB for $299 in Silver, Space Gray, Gold, and Rose Gold. Tech specs include a 4-inch Retina display, A9 chip, Touch ID, 12-megapixel rear camera, and 3.5mm headphone jack.
Prior to being pulled, the iPhone SE was available with 32GB and 128GB of storage for $349 and $449 respectively, so Apple is offering $100 to $150 off. The device was originally released in March 2016 and was popular among fans of smaller smartphones and those who preferred the iPhone 5-like design.
The Criterion Collection has announced the upcoming launch of an all-new streaming service aimed at classic movie fans, called the "Criterion Channel." Launching on April 8 in the United States and Canada, Criterion Channel will include over 1,000 classic and contemporary films for $10.99/month (via Variety).
Image via The Criterion Channel/Variety
Subscribers will also be able to pay $99.99 for an annual subscription, and each tier will include a 30-day free trial. Those who sign up now will get discounted prices, including $9.99/month and $89.99/year. The company says these prices will be locked in "for as long as you stay active."
Criterion Channel will be available on the web, Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Android, Fire TV, and Roku devices. The company hasn't yet revealed specific movies that will be in the service, but confirmed that it will allow access to Criterion's entire streaming library and offer "constantly refreshed selections" of Hollywood, international, art-house, and indie movies.
The service's apps will showcase new films and content each day, including Sunday Spotlights on directors, stars, genres, and themes; Tuesday's Short + Feature; Friday Double Bill; and more. There will also be movie recommendations from filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro, Mira Nair, and Barry Jenkins offered within the app.
The new service will launch six months after AT&T and Warner Media shuttered FilmStruck, a service that was focused on classic films and was the only streaming home for the Criterion Collection. Turner and WB Digital Networks at the time said that FilmStruck remained "largely a niche service" for its entire run, leading to the decision to shut it down.
The Criterion Collection will now be exclusively available to stream on the Criterion Channel. If you're interested in signing up for the Criterion Channel to get the discounted price, you can do so now on the service's website.
FuboTV this week has quietly rolled out support for the TV app on Apple TV, allowing subscribers to connect their FuboTV account with the TV app and keep track of all the shows and movies they watch within FuboTV. For those keeping track, this means that FuboTV is now the second live TV streaming service to integrate with Apple's TV app, following PlayStation Vue last October.
Users can discover FuboTV content within the TV app now, and all shows and films will be marked with an "Available on: FuboTV" tag when they're available in the streaming service. Subscribers can add these movies to their Up Next queue in the TV app, and when they begin watching them in FuboTV, the TV app will keep track of their progress.
When first opening a movie or TV show from the TV app into FuboTV, subscribers will see a splash screen asking for permission to connect FuboTV to Apple's app. Once connected, users will be able to keep track of their FuboTV content in the TV app across their Apple devices, including Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. As of writing, Apple has not yet added FuboTV into the list of supported apps on its website.
There are nearly 90 apps supported in the TV app as of 2019, including a few live news apps, but PlayStation Vue and now FuboTV are the only over-the-top live TV streaming services available to connect to the TV app. Rival live TV streaming platforms that lack this feature include DirecTV Now, Hulu With Live TV, and YouTube TV.
Last month, Hulu began talking about a new form of advertising it had in the works that it called "pause ads." At the time, the company said it tested numerous versions of the format, but they all boiled down to showing subscribers some form of advertising every time they hit pause on a video in Hulu.
The final version of pause ads has now been decided, and they'll begin rolling out in the second quarter of 2019. When they do, pause ads will not play video or audio when you pause a show or movie in Hulu, but instead they will showcase static images with taglines from various brands.
Just as consumers’ viewing habits have evolved, their expectations for advertising have also changed. Viewers no longer accept an irrelevant, intrusive ad experience and appreciate when brands tell their stories in authentic and integrated ways. To stand out and continue engaging their target audiences, brands must rise to the challenge and flex their creative muscles to go beyond the traditional commercial break.
Enter Hulu’s new Pause Ad, which provides a non-intrusive, viewer-initiated ad experience that is both delighting to viewers and effective for brands.
Hulu says pause ads will be "contextually relevant" and have background gradients that change to distinguish the ad from the paused scene. The company calls the ads "non-disruptive", and the final form was decided upon after extensive user testing found that consumers preferred ads that don't play extensive audio and video when pausing movies and TV shows.
The first two brands to debut with pause ads will be Charmin and Coca-Cola. When pause ads roll out they will appear within "select content" in Hulu's streaming library, presumably for those subscribed to Hulu With Limited Commercials. In today's press release, an example of a pause ad is shown in the Hulu Original show Marvel's Runaways, so it appears that even Hulu's own original content will have the new ads.
