Snapchat today announced that all users can now discover and unlock thousands of user-generated Lenses built by the app's global creator community with "Lens Explorer." This marks the first time that Community Lenses will be discoverable alongside the main, Snapchat-created Lenses in the Lens Carousel.
To find the new section, navigate to the Lens Carousel, tap the new smiley face icon in the top right corner, and tap a Lens tile to unlock the Lens you want. Then, the app will navigate you to the Snap Camera to try it out, or you can see how it looks on other users in featured Our Stories. Additionally, if you know the name of a lens you can directly search for it.
The Lenses found in Lens Explorer are made by creators using Snapchat's Lens Studio, a desktop app for Mac and Windows that lets creatives and developers build augmented reality face filters and other effects that go to use in the Snapchat mobile apps. Today, the company announced that since Lens Studio launched last December creators have submitted more than 100,000 unique Lenses that have been viewed more than 2.5 billion times.
Lens Explorer is rolling out beginning today to the iOS Snapchat app.
Mozilla's Firefox Text Pilot program allows users to test out experimental features and provide feedback that goes toward improving the service, and today the company is expanding the program to include two mobile apps. The first is an iOS app called Firefox Lockbox and it enables you to access your saved passwords within the app so that you can easily sign into various other apps on your iPhone.
The password management app syncs with existing Firefox accounts and imports the passwords you've already saved in the Firefox browser. You can then browse a list of all your passwords, copy the one you need, navigate to another app, and paste it into the log-in field. The company says the app is secured by 256-bit encryption and supports unlocking via Touch ID and Face ID.
Since Firefox Lockbox requires you to sync existing passwords from the browser, it'll only be useful for those users who regularly use Firefox to browse online and store their log-in information.
With Firefox Lockbox, iOS users will be able to seamlessly access Firefox saved passwords. This means you can use any password you’ve saved in the browser to log into any online account like your Twitter or Instagram app. No need to open a web page. It’s that seamless and simple. Plus, you can also use Face ID and Fingerprint touch to unlock the app, so you can safely access your accounts.
Notes by Firefox is the second Test Pilot app, and is built for Android users so that they can take and store notes across desktop and mobile devices. Any note written in the Firefox browser can then be synced to the new mobile app, and vice versa.
For those interested in testing out the apps, you will need a Firefox account and Firefox Sync to gain full functionality of each of the app's features. Otherwise, the company explains that the Test Pilot program is open to all Firefox users to try out, and the Firefox Lockbox app is available on the iOS App Store for free starting today [Direct Link].
Netflix has announced a new feature launching for Android smartphones and tablets today, and coming to iOS devices later this year, called "Smart Downloads." With this turned on, the Netflix app will automatically delete the downloaded episode of a show that you've finished watching offline, and replace it by automatically downloading the next episode in line (via BuzzFeed News).
The company says this will help to save space on smartphones and tablets while ensuring that users can keep binges going without having to search through the app's menus for the next episode they want to watch offline. Netflix explains that Smart Downloads are only activated when users are connected to Wi-Fi and are done with an episode.
"Downloading is a very manual process today," Netflix director of product innovation Cameron Johnson told BuzzFeed News. "And you have to manually go back and delete episodes."
How is this useful? Imagine you download an episode or two of Stranger Things at home and watch it on the subway ride to work. Once you connect to your office WiFi, Netflix will delete the episodes you've already watched and seamlessly download the next one in the background.
If users want to keep an episode downloaded to their device without having to worry about Smart Downloads deleting it, the feature can be turned off as well. Smart Downloads only work for episodic TV shows and will not automatically replace a movie with another similar program.
Netflix first introduced offline downloads in November 2016, allowing viewers to download select shows and films to their devices to watch them during moments when they aren't connected to the internet. Most of Netflix's originals are supported for offline viewing, and all content available for download can be found in the "Search" tab of the Netflix mobile app.
Smart Downloads will launch for iOS devices sometime "later this year."
Live streaming television service Philo today launched on the fourth- and fifth-generation Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, after first launching on iPhone, Roku, smart TVs, desktop and web browsers, and more last November.
With the Apple TV app, subscribers can sign into their Philo accounts and watch 40 channels at the cost of $16 per month. The service mainly attracts customers who aren't interested in sports as it has no such channels, which helps to decrease subscription costs.
“Our goal is to build a television service that people love. The expansion onto Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV is a natural extension for us and allows many new people to discover and enjoy Philo, as well as expanding the viewing options for our existing subscribers,” explained Andrew McCollum, Philo’s CEO. “We’re thrilled with the response we’ve seen to Philo so far, but we’re always looking for ways to make it even better, and this is another big step forward in that direction.”
With the connected apps -- now including Apple TV -- users can watch their favorite channels live or on demand, pause live TV, restart programs from the beginning, save shows to a 30-day DVR, and watch on up to three devices at once.
The company promises that a native Android app is coming soon, and also announced that it has raised more than $40 million from investors with AMC Networks, Discovery, and Viacom leading its Series C round of funding. The money will go towards "product features" and "enhancements" to Philo, which will soon include a "socially-driven TV experience."
Earlier in the spring, Philo also introduced the ability for subscribers to unlock the streaming apps for TV networks included in their Philo subscription. Now, more than 35 participating TV Everywhere apps support this feature, so that if users pay to stream a channel like AMC on Philo, they can use their Philo log-in within the AMC app to access paywalled content.
Philo's $16/month tier now provides access to 40 channels, including A&E, AMC, BBC America, Lifetime, TLC, Travel Channel, and VH1. There's also a $20/month option that increases the channel count to 49, adding in options like Logo and Nicktoons. Philo's entertainment-focused lineup lacks sports, live news, major broadcast networks, and local channels -- all of which help lower the monthly cost of the service.
Philo's low-cost angle comes in contrast to rival services that include sports and local channels, at a hit to subscribers' wallets since most have announced price hikes in recent months. YouTube TV started off by increasing its cost from $35/month to $40/month to align with Hulu with Live TV and PlayStation Vue's $40/month starting price. Then in July, DirecTV Now announced the increase of all plan prices by $5/month, meaning its cheapest plan also starts at $40/month.
Sling TV's $20/month Sling Orange plan was one of the closest tiers to Philo on the market, but this plan will increase in price as well, jumping to $25/month beginning in August.
Those interested in Philo can download the Apple TV app today on the tvOS App Store, and the service's iOS app [Direct Link] is also available to watch on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Apple's iOS App Store, Sensor Tower has shared a list of the apps and games that have spent the most time in the #1 spot of the store's various charts. Looking at the period of time from July 1, 2010 to July 5, 2018, Sensor Tower's researchers found that a total of 30,000 unique apps have achieved #1 status on the free, paid, or top grossing charts in at least one country.
Honing in the data a bit more, Sensor Tower found 422 apps that hit #1 on the top free iPhone apps chart in the United States during this period, and of those apps, Facebook Messenger spent the most days at #1 with a combined 317 days. Worldwide, WhatsApp earned the top spot with a combined 1,783 days at #1 for free iPhone apps. Popular apps in both the U.S. and worldwide for these charts included Snapchat and YouTube.
Looking at the amount of days at #1 for paid iPhone apps, Minecraft had the most days both in the U.S. (847 days) and worldwide (1,645 days) App Stores. Games were popular in the U.S. on the paid iPhone apps chart, also including Angry Birds (311 days), Heads Up (225 days), and Where's My Water (47 days), but globally there was more of a mix with apps like Facetune (1,501 days), Afterlight (1,312 days), and 7 Min Workout (1,134 days) rounding out the top four spots under Minecraft.
Clash of Clans spent 805 days at #1 on Apple's top grossing iPhone apps chart in the U.S., coming in far ahead of the second place app Candy Crush at 278 days. The only non-gaming apps on this chart were Pandora (202 days), Netflix (172 days), and Spotify (61 days). Worldwide, Clash of Clans held onto the top spot with 1,900 days, while Spotify also remained in the top ten with 1,047 days spent at #1.
The App Store officially launched on July 10, 2008 with 500 apps for iPhone 3G owners to download, 75 percent of which were paid downloads. Over time the App Store grew and expanded, introducing in-app purchases, apps for the iPad, subscriptions, revamped interfaces, and more. Most recently in iOS 11, Apple introduced editorialized content on the App Store's home page with articles and features that highlight new and interesting apps and games every day.
For more on the ten-year anniversary of the iOS App Store, be sure to check out our retrospective that dives into the big events that hit the App Store over the past decade.
Apple may adopt LED backlighting chips for the LCD panels in its forthcoming 6.1-inch iPhone that enable it to reduce screen bezel size and bring LCD panels closer to bezel-free OLED screens.
DigiTimes reports that Japan-based Nichia will become the exclusive supplier of the LED chips for use in backlighting of the panels used in the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, which Apple is expected to launch around September.
While LTPS-LCD smartphone screens with backlights using 0.4t LED chips have bottom bezels of 4.0-4.5mm, use of 0.3t LED chips can reduce them to 2.0-2.5mm, enhancing LCD screens' competitiveness against OLED all (bezel-free) screens panels, the sources explained.
Packaging of 0.3t LED chips for side-view backlighting of LTPS-LCD smartphone panels is more difficult in accuracy and stability than that of 0.4t LED chips, the sources noted, adding Nichia began trial production of 0.3t LED chips for use in high-end smartphone models launched by China- and Japan-based vendors in the first half of 2018.
Apple is expected to launch three new smartphones later this year: Two OLED models measuring in at 5.8 and 6.5 inches and a 6.1-inch lower-cost LCD model. All three are believed to feature Face ID and edge-to-edge displays.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who first predicted Apple would introduce a low-cost LCD iPhone, believes the device will have a price tag that comes in at $700 to $800, similar to the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus.
Previous rumors have suggested the use of upgraded display technology in the lower-cost device. For example, Apple may use Full Active LCDs from Japan Display, which are said to match or exceed some of the benefits of an OLED display at a lower cost. Japan Display is said to be ramping up LCD production in an effort to fulfill orders from Apple.
According to The Wall Street Journal, sources involved with Apple's supply chain claim that Apple now expects LCD models to make up the majority of iPhone sales in its upcoming lineup. Apple initially wanted roughly equal production of iPhone models with LCDs and OLED displays, but now plans to make more of the LCD model, as it supposedly anticipates strong customer demand for the more affordable X-like model.
DigiTimes sources suggest trial production of the 6.1-inch iPhone will begin in July, with small-volume production in August and volume production beginning September. Based on that timeline, Nichia's production capacity for the enhanced LED backlighting chips is expected to be booked up by Apple in the second half of 2018.
Additional details on what to expect in the iPhones coming in 2018, likely in the September timeframe, can be found in our 2018 iPhones roundup.
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.
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 today announced that transcripts are now available for all of the WWDC 2018 videos, which can be found both in the WWDC app and on Apple's developer website.
Transcripts are searchable and downloadable, so you can quickly locate specific content within each video.
Take advantage of transcripts to quickly discover and share information presented in WWDC18 videos. You can search by keyword, see all instances where the keyword is mentioned in the video, go straight to the time it was mentioned, and even share a link to that specific time.
Apple shares dozens of WWDC sessions led by Apple engineers on its website after each Worldwide Developers Conference. The 2018 content has been available since June, but not all videos featured transcripts.
There are a wide range of topics available, covering iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, with all content free for both registered developers and non-developers.
Disney today announced a major expansion of its "Dream Big Princess" photography campaign that first launched in 2017, which will see 21 talented young women provided with the tools to create inspiring digital short stories.
Disney has selected aspiring filmmakers from around the world, who will be tasked with "telling the stories of inspiring female role models." Each filmmaker will be paired with an inspirational interview subject, such as director and screenwriter Jennifer Lee, who also serves as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
The 21 participants in the program will shoot their videos using an iPhone X, with content to be edited in Final Cut Pro X running on a MacBook Pro.
Disney has also partnered up with Apple for an Apple-led workshop that will offer the participants hands-on training from Apple technical experts along with mentoring sessions from production company Summerjax, and Apple will also provide ongoing mentorship ahead of when the videos debut in October.
The short films will be shared across Disney's global media platforms as part of a campaign to unlock up to a $1 million donation for Girl Up, a global leadership development initiative led by the UN Foundation.
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.
Last week, Amazon announced that its annual Prime Day sale event will be held one week from today, on July 16. Ahead of the event, Amazon has begun Prime Day countdown discounts, which today includes a collection of solid deals on Anker power banks, chargers, wireless chargers, and cables.
As with the upcoming Prime Day event, these Anker deals require you to have an Amazon Prime subscription to see the savings. Today's countdown savings also include a 50-inch Hitachi 4K TV for $289.99, down from $379.99, 30 percent discounts on Ecovacs robot vacuums, and more. For the Anker deals, check out the list below and be sure to place your order before they expire later tonight:
Elsewhere on Amazon, RAVPower is offering a super low price on its 16,750mAh dual-USB battery pack for the iPhone just for MacRumors readers, dropping the price tag to the lowest it's ever been.
To get the deal, enter the code RUMORS010at checkout, which discounts the charger from $26.99 to $21.99. This discount code will be good through tomorrow, July 10 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
As a reminder, our full list of exclusive RAVPower codes are still live as well, through July 31:
Alongside the release of iOS 11.4.1, the latest update to the iOS operating system, Apple has also released new 11.4.1 software that's designed for the HomePod.
The new HomePod software will be installed automatically on the HomePod after you update to iOS 11.4, but you can also manually update and check your software version by following the instructions in our HomePod software how to.
According to Apple's release notes, the 11.4.1 update for the HomePod includes "general improvements for stability and quality," with no further details provided.
The new software comes over a month after Apple released the 11.4 update for the HomePod, which introduced stereo support and multi-room audio functionality through AirPlay 2.
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.
Apple today released watchOS 4.3.2, a small update to the watchOS 4 operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 4.3.2 comes more than one month after the release of watchOS 4.3.1, a minor update.
watchOS 4.3.2 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the iPhone.
As a 4.x.x update, watchOS 4.3.2 is minor in scale, focusing on bug fixes and under the hood performance improvements. No major new features were discovered during the beta testing period.
watchOS 4.3.2 may be one of the last updates to the watchOS 4 operating system now that Apple has shifted its focus to watchOS 5. watchOS 5 is available to developers and will see a public release this fall.
Introduced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, watchOS 5 brings a push-to-talk Walkie-Talkie mode, support for automatic workout detection, a Podcasts app, new features for the Siri watch face, and more. For full details on what's coming in watchOS 5, make sure to check out our watchOS 5 roundup.
