MacRumors

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the App Store for iOS devices, which launched on July 10, 2008, just a day before the iPhone 3G came out. The iPhone 3G was the device Apple used to debut the App Store, with the new functionality built into the iPhone 3G's operating system, iPhone OS 2.

Prior to the launch of the App Store, Apple in March of 2008 introduced an iPhone SDK, providing early app developers with the tools to build the first third-party apps. On stage at the announcement event, demo apps included EA's Spore Origins for the iPhone, AIM, Sega's Super Monkey Ball, and a Salesforce app, and within a matter of days, the original iPhone SDK had been downloaded more than 100,000 times.

When the App Store opened up in July 2008, 500 third-party apps were ready to download, and in less than a week, Apple announced 10 million apps had been downloaded. From Apple CEO Steve Jobs:

"The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days. Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly."

Since that initial debut, the App Store has evolved on a yearly basis, with Apple continually refining and revamping the App Store experience for both consumers and developers. We thought we'd explore the App Store's history, highlighting the major evolutionary steps (and a few fun facts) that have ultimately transformed the way we use our iOS devices.

- July 10, 2008 - The App Store launches with 500 apps available, 25 percent of which were free, and 75 percent that customers had to purchase.

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Microsoft yesterday unveiled the 10-inch Surface Go, the company's smallest and lightest tablet computer to date. Priced at $399, the device is aimed at the same $500-and-under market as Apple's 9.7-inch iPad, which starts at $329.

Looks-wise, the Go is basically a smaller version of the $799 Surface Pro, including the integrated kickstand and a front-facing camera above the 1800 x 1200 resolution IPS touchscreen display.

On the right side of the Go is a magnetic Surface Connector port for charging and connecting to a desktop dock, one USB-C port, and a headphone jack, with a microSD card slot located underneath the hinge.

Inside, the Go features a fanless Kaby Lake dual-core Intel Pentium Gold processor, 4GB or 8GB RAM, and 64GB or 128GB solid-state storage. Microsoft claims the Go has up to 9 hours of battery life.

Weighing in at 1.15lbs, the Go is slightly heavier than Apple's iPad. Like the Surface Pro, the Go supports the $99 Surface Pen (Apple added Apple Pencil support to its $329 iPad in March) and optional keyboard cover, which starts at $99 in black, with four color options costing $129. The optional Surface Mobile Mouse costs $35.

Off the shelf, Surface Go devices will run Windows 10 in "S mode", a streamlined version of Microsoft's desktop OS that only runs verified apps downloaded from the Windows Store, although customers can switch to the regular version of Windows 10 at no additional cost. For business customers, Microsoft is also offering a Surface Go with Windows 10 Pro installed for $449.

The $399 Surface Go ships August 2 in the U.S. and two dozen other markets, with Wi-Fi versions available initially and LTE versions to come later in the year.

Security researchers claim to have discovered a loophole that prevents an iPhone or iPad from activating USB Restricted Mode, Apple's latest anti-hacking feature in iOS 12 beta and iOS 11.4.1, which was released on Monday.

USB Restricted Mode is designed to make iPhones and iPads immune to certain hacking techniques that use a USB connection to download data through the Lightning connector to crack the passcode.

iOS 11.4.1 and iOS 12 prevent this by default by disabling data access to the Lightning port if it's been more than an hour since the iOS device was last unlocked. Users can also quickly disable the USB connection manually by engaging Emergency SOS mode.

However, researchers at cybersecurity firm ElcomSoft claim to have discovered a loophole that resets the one-hour counter. The bypass technique involves connecting a USB accessory into the Lightning port of the iOS device, which prevents USB Restricted Mode from locking after one hour.

ElcomSoft's Oleg Afonin explained the technique in a blog post:

What we discovered is that iOS will reset the USB Restrictive Mode countdown timer even if one connects the iPhone to an untrusted USB accessory, one that has never been paired to the iPhone before (well, in fact the accessories do not require pairing at all). In other words, once the police officer seizes an iPhone, he or she would need to immediately connect that iPhone to a compatible USB accessory to prevent USB Restricted Mode lock after one hour. Importantly, this only helps if the iPhone has still not entered USB Restricted Mode.

According to Afonin, Apple's own $39 Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter can be used to reset the counter. Researchers are currently testing a mix of official and third-party adapters to see what else works with the bypass technique.

Afonin notes that ElcomSoft found no obvious way to break USB Restricted Mode once it has been engaged, suggesting the vulnerability is, in his words, "probably nothing more than an oversight" on Apple's part. Still, at present its existence provides a potential avenue for law enforcement or other potentially malicious actors to prevent USB Restricted Mode from activating shortly after seizure.

Both iOS 11.4.1 and iOS 12 beta 2 are said to exhibit the same behavior when exploiting the loophole. However, expect this to change in subsequent versions of iOS – Apple continually works on strengthening security protections and addressing iPhone vulnerabilities as quickly as possible to defend against hackers.

Apple reportedly introduced USB restrictions to disable commercial passcode cracking tools like GrayKey. Afonin cites rumors that the newer GrayShift tool is able to defeat the protection provided by USB Restricted Mode, but the research community has yet to see firm evidence confirming this.

Apple last week introduced a beta version of the Siri Shortcuts app that's designed to let iOS 12 users create Workflow-style shortcuts and assign Siri commands to them, allowing a range of actions to be executed with voice-based requests.

While the app is complex, powerful, and can be explored for hours without uncovering all that it can do, we thought we'd take a quick look at it in our latest YouTube video to give MacRumors readers an idea of what to expect from Siri Shortcuts when it launches this fall.

The Shortcuts app (and the Siri Shortcuts feature) is based on the Workflow app that Apple acquired in 2017, so if you've used Workflow before, Siri Shortcuts and the dedicated Shortcuts app will be immediately familiar to you.

Shortcuts allows you to create multi-step customizable workflows that can use first-party apps, third-party apps, and Apple services and settings, which ultimately leads to a huge number of possibilities for tasks that can be streamlined and simplified. While much of this was possible with Workflow, adding Siri to the mix makes it easier to execute your shortcuts.

If you're unfamiliar with Shortcuts, the best way to describe the feature is through examples.

You can create a "I'm going home" shortcut that sets the thermostat at a lower temperature using the Nest app, texts your roommate that you're on the way home from work, turns on the lights at home, and opens up the Maps app with directions to your house, with the entire action activated using Siri.

Or, as Apple demonstrated during the WWDC keynote, you can make an "I'm going surfing" shortcut that uses a Siri command to get a surf report, display the current weather, calculate an estimated time of arrival to the beach, and prepare a reminder to put on sunscreen. Simpler shortcuts do things like turn a Live Photo into a GIF or surface photos you took a year ago.

When you install the Shortcuts app, you'll see that it's already populated with a huge gallery of pre-created shortcut options, along with all of your previously created Workflow shortcuts if you regularly use Workflow.

The Gallery section provides multiple suggestions on how shortcuts can be used, offering up options like "Home ETA," which shares how long it will take you to get home, "Photo Grid," which lets you select photos and organize them into a grid," "Log Day One Activity," which starts a new diary entry in the Day One app," and "Make Top 25 Playlist," which creates a playlist from your 25 most listened to songs.

Shortcuts in the Gallery are organized in different sections like "Designed for Safari," "Share From Other Apps," "Essentials," "Morning Routine," "Explore Apple Music," "Stay Healthy," "Photography," "Do More Around the House," "On the Interweb," and much more, and there's a search option if you're looking for something specific.

You can modify any of the shortcuts in the gallery to tailor them to your needs or you can create shortcuts from scratch. All of your shortcuts you download are stored in the Library tab, and if you tap the "+" button in this section, you can create new shortcuts.

When making your own shortcuts, there are a huge range of actions and options to choose from, from both first and third-party apps. You can access actions from apps that include Health, Contacts, Calendar, Maps, Music, Photos, the web, and more, with these options set to expand over the course of the beta testing period as third-party apps begin implementing Shortcuts support.

All of your shortcuts can be "Added to Siri," which assigns a personalized phrase to the shortcut. Going forward, the shortcut can then be activated using that particular Siri command.

The Shortcuts app is limited to developers at the current time, and developers who have not signed up for the Shortcuts TestFlight beta can do so through the "Request" option available in the download section of the Apple Developer Center.

It is not clear if Apple will expand the TestFlight beta to its public beta testing group, but expect the Shortcuts app to launch alongside iOS 12 this fall.

What do you think of the new Shortcuts app and the Siri Shortcuts feature in iOS 12? Let us know in the comments.

Apple today released macOS High Sierra 10.13.6, the sixth update to the macOS High Sierra operating system available on Apple's Mac lineup. macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 comes more than a month after the release of macOS High Sierra 10.13.5, which introduced support for Messages in iCloud.

macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 can be downloaded directly from the Mac App Store or through the Software Update function in the Mac App Store on all compatible Macs that are already running macOS High Sierra.

The macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 update is minor in scale, focusing on bug fixes and security improvements. No major feature changes were discovered during the beta testing process, but Apple's release notes say it adds AirPlay 2 multi-room support for iTunes with the accompanying iTunes 12.8 update. Full release notes are below:

The macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 update adds AirPlay 2 multi-room audio support for iTunes and improves the stability and security of your Mac. This update is recommended for all users.

AirPlay 2 for iTunes
- Control your home audio system and AirPlay 2-enabled speakers throughout your house
- Play music at the same time on multiple AirPlay 2-enabled speakers in your house, all in sync

Other improvements and fixes
- Fixes an issue that may prevent Photos from recognizing AVCHD media from some cameras
- Fixes an issue that may prevent Mail users from moving a message from Gmail to another account

macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 may be one of the final updates to the macOS High Sierra operating system, as Apple in June introduced macOS Mojave, an update that will be launching to the public this fall. macOS Mojave is currently available to developers and public beta testers and will be tested for several months before it sees a launch.

macOS Mojave introduces a system-wide Dark Mode, Desktop Stacks for organizing all of the files on your desktop, several changes to Finder to make it quicker and easier to access and edit your files, Continuity Camera for importing photos to Mac right from an iPhone, and new apps that include Apple News, Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos.

For full details on all of the new features that are coming in the macOS Mojave update, make sure to check out our roundup.

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee this morning sent letters to Apple and Google parent company Alphabet to ask 16 multi-part questions about how the companies handle customer data, according to a press release.

The letter to Apple [PDF] cites recent media reports as the reason for the inquiry, referencing November news suggesting Android collects extensive user location data even when location services are disabled along with reports that smartphones collect and store "non-triggered" audio data from user conversations near a smartphone to hear a trigger phrase such as "Ok Google" or "Hey Siri."

While both of these reports were focused on Android, the House wants to know if Apple has similar practices, collecting location data when location services, WiFi, and Bluetooth are disabled or gathering "non-triggered" voice data from customers and sharing it with third-party sources.

A summary of some of the questions are below, with the complete list available in a PDF of the letter shared by the committee.

• When an iPhone lacks a SIM card (or if WiFi, Bluetooth, or location services are disabled), is that phone programmed to collect and locally store information through a different data-collection capability, if available, regarding: nearby cellular towers, nearby WiFi hotspots, or nearby Bluetooth beacons? If yes, are iPhones without SIM cards (or with WiFi/Bluetooth/location services disabled) programmed to send this locally stored information to Apple?
• If a consumer using an iPhone has disabled location services for multiple apps, but then reenables location services for one app, are iPhones programmed to reenable location services for all apps on that phone?
• Do Apple's iPhone devices have the capability to listen to consumers without a clear, unambiguous audio trigger? If yes, how is this data used by Apple? What access to this data does Apple give to third parties?
• Do Apple's iPhone devices collect audio recordings of users without consent?
• Could Apple control or limit the data collected by third-party apps available on the App Store? Please provide a list of all data elements that can be collected by a third-party app downloaded on an iPhone device about a user.
• Apple recently announced a partnership with RapidSOS for enhanced location services for 911 calls. What role will RapidSOS serve in the sharing and retention of this information?
• What limits does Apple place on third-party developers' ability to collect information from users' or from users' devices? Please describe in detail changes made in June 2017 from prior policies.

That last question references App Store Guidelines that Apple updated in June to restrict apps from from collecting user data to build advertising profiles or contact databases. The new rules also prohibit apps from harvesting data from an iPhone user's contacts to create contact databases.

The letter goes on to request Apple's policies for data collection via the microphone, Bluetooth, WiFi, and cellular networking capabilities, along with Apple's policies pertaining to third-party access and use of data collected by the microphone. It also asks whether Apple has suspended or banned companies for violating its App Store rules, requesting specific examples and whether users had been notified their data was misused when the developer was banned.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee asks Apple to make arrangements to provide a briefing on the topics listed in the letter, but it does not provide a timeline for when Apple needs to respond. Apple generally responds to these requests in a prompt manner, however.

Apple maintains stricter and more transparent privacy policies than companies like Google and Facebook, with a dedicated privacy website that explains its approach to privacy, outlines tools available to customers to protect their privacy, and details government data requests.

Privacy is at the forefront of many features Apple implements, and the company is careful to always outline the privacy protections that have been added when introducing new functionality. When introducing new Photos features in iOS 12 that allow for improved search and sharing suggestions, for example, Apple was quick to point out that these features are all on-device.

Apple executives have said several times that Apple customers are not the company's product, and Apple CEO Tim Cook has maintained that privacy is a fundamental human right. From a recent interview:

To me, and we feel this very deeply, we think privacy is a fundamental human right. So that is the angle that we look at it. Privacy from an American point of view is one of these key civil liberties that define what it is to be American.

Cook has also said that people are not fully aware of how their data is being used and who has access to it, a problem that "needs to be addressed."

"The ability of anyone to know what you've been browsing about for years, who your contacts are, who their contacts are, things you like and dislike and every intimate detail of your life - from my own point of view it shouldn't exist."

Apple is continually introducing new privacy tools and protections for customers. Both macOS Mojave and iOS 12 include security and privacy improvements designed to better protect users, with additional tracking protection in Safari on both operating systems and extended privacy protections in Mojave.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple today released iOS 11.4.1, the fifteenth update to the iOS 11 operating system that was first introduced in September 2017. iOS 11.4.1 comes more than a month after the release of iOS 11.4, a major update that introduced support for Messages in iCloud and AirPlay 2.

iOS 11.4.1 is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings --> General --> Software Update. Eligible devices include the iPhone 5s and later, the iPad mini 2 and later, the iPad Air and later, and the 6th-generation iPod touch.

iOS 11.4.1 is a minor update that's been introduced to address bugs that have been discovered since the launch of iOS 11.4, with no new features discovered during the beta testing period. According to Apple's release notes, today's update fixes an issue that prevented some users from viewing the last known location of their AirPods in Find My iPhone and it improves the reliability of syncing mail, contacts, and notes with Exchange accounts.

iOS 11.4.1 also includes USB Restricted Mode, which was first introduced in the iOS 12 beta. USB Restricted Mode is designed to make your iPhone and iPad immune to certain hacking techniques used by law enforcement or other potentially malicious entities to gain access to an iOS device.

There are some iPhone access methods that use a USB connection, downloading data from your iPhone (or iPad) through the Lightning connector to crack the passcode. iOS 12 prevents this by disabling data access to the Lightning port if it's been more than an hour since your iOS device was last unlocked.

USB Restricted Mode is enabled by default when you update to iOS 11.4.1 (or iOS 12), but it can be toggled off if necessary by following the steps in our how to.

Today's iOS 11.4.1 update may be one of the last updates that we see to the iOS 11 operating system.

At its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple introduced iOS 12, the next-generation version of iOS. iOS 12 brings improvements like Group FaceTime, Screen Time for monitoring iPhone and iPad usage, Do Not Disturb improvements, Grouped Notifications, new Memoji and Animoji options, and more, with full details available in our iOS 12 roundup.

While the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ were only released nearly four months ago, rumors have already surfaced about the Galaxy S10 lineup.

Korean website The Bell today reported that Samsung plans to release a trio of new Galaxy S smartphones next year, including the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, and a lower-priced version of the Galaxy S10. The latter device is expected to be the first-ever entry-level Galaxy S model, not a Galaxy A or Galaxy J model.

If that sounds familiar, it is because Apple is widely rumored to introduce a trio of new iPhones this September, including a second-generation iPhone X, a larger 6.5-inch version dubbed the iPhone X Plus, and a lower-priced 6.1-inch iPhone, with some but not all features of the iPhone X.

The report adds that the Galaxy S10+ will feature a triple-lens rear camera system and a dual-lens front camera system. The rear system is said to include the same 12-megapixel wide-angle lens and 12-megapixel telephoto lens as the Galaxy S9+, in addition to an all-new 16-megapixel 120º ultra-wide-angle lens.

Again, if that sounds familiar, it is because Apple is rumored to introduce at least one new iPhone with a triple-lens rear camera in 2019.

The standard-sized Galaxy S10 is expected to have a single-lens front camera and a triple-lens rear camera, while the entry-level Galaxy S10 is said to sport a single-lens front camera and a dual-lens rear camera.

Last week, The Bell reported that the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ will feature an in-display fingerprint scanner, and possibly 3D facial recognition, similar to Face ID on the iPhone X. These would likely be the only biometric authentication options, as Samsung reportedly plans to exclude iris scanning on the devices.

Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ at Mobile World Congress next February and release the smartphones in March.

Apple today shared four new 15-second ads highlighting the portability of the iPad for education and travel.

The ads, titled Travel Simply, Organized Notes, Paperless Paperwork, and All Your Stuff, depict the iPad as a space-saving replacement for textbooks in the classroom, paperwork in the office, and a laptop during a flight.

Many of the comparisons are exaggerated — for example, the baby on the plane suddenly stops crying when the camera pans over the passenger using an iPad — but the ads convey a clear message about the iPad's versatility.

Two of the ads show the iPad Pro, and two show the sixth-generation iPad, introduced at Apple's education event last March. The latter is priced from $329 in the United States, serving as a lower-cost alternative to the iPad Pro.

Apple initially uploaded the ads to its YouTube channels in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and later in the United States.