MacRumors

The U.K.'s Ministry of Defense has chosen Apple's iPhone 7 over Samsung as the "device of choice" for its military personnel, according to a report by TechRepublic this week.

Telecoms company BT is said to be working with the country's MoD to harden the security of the phone so that military officers can discuss and store sensitive information on the device. Steve Bunn, technical business manager for defense at BT, said the phone would eventually be capable of being switched between different modes depending on which security level was appropriate.

"We've been working very closely with them to develop what we've commonly called a 'dual-persona device'. Essentially this means you can have voice at official and at secret."

BT is also working with the MoD to create "secure storage containers" on the device to hold sensitive data, revealed Bunn.

BT is said to have begun using a Samsung Note 4 to develop the bespoke military communications device, but testing quickly revealed that the security of the Android OS wasn't sufficient and the project was transferred to Apple's phone.

Despite Apple's high-profile reputation for upholding iOS security standards, the MoD's switch to iPhone bucks a trend in the defense industry, which tends to prefer phones running Android because of the ease with which the operating system can be altered.

As noted by TechRepublic, the GSMK CryptoPhone, which runs a heavily stripped-down version of Android, is currently in active use among military and security bodies around the world.

Update: BT has since contacted MacRumors with the following statement: "We would like to clarify that the MoD has not expressed any views about the suitability of dual-persona technology from specific handset/technology vendors and is prototyping a range of devices."

Mozilla has added more than 20 new languages to Firefox Focus, its privacy-centric browser that automatically blocks all trackers as users navigate around the web.

The latest update to the stripped-down web browser – which features an "Erase" button at the top of the app to erase all browsing history, searches, cookies, and passwords instantly – means users can now browse privately in 27 languages.

The additional support includes Arabic, Azerbaijani, Czech, Welsh, German, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, among many other tongues.

One of the complaints about the previous version of Focus was that it forced users to use a default search engine. Mozilla says it's listened to criticism and added a new option that allows users to select an alternative search service, which includes non-tracking engine DuckDuckGo.

When using Focus's most stringent tracker blocking setting, occasionally some sites visited in the app may fail to display as intended, making viewing content difficult. To compensate for this, Mozilla has also added a new button that allows users to open the web page in Firefox or Safari instead.

The first incarnation of the Focus brand came in 2015 in the form of a content blocker for iOS 9. In November of last year, Mozilla launched Focus as a fully functioning privacy browser.

Firefox Focus is available to download from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Lawmakers in Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts and Kansas have introduced legislation aiming to legalize "Right to Repair" rules for electronic devices, including Apple's iPhone, reports Motherboard. The laws would require manufacturers to sell replacement parts to independent repair shops and customers, and force them to make service and diagnostic manuals public.

The bills are aimed at diluting the "authorized repair" model that most tech products subscribe to, making electronic device repair more similar to the car repair. The legislation is modeled after the Motor Vehicle Owner's Right to Repair Act, which passed in Massachusetts in 2012. That law effectively became national legislation as auto manufacturers didn't want to bother dealing with different legislation in each state.

The legislators behind the New York bill say that authorized repair shops result in "high repair prices and high overturn of electronic items." Additionally, many independent repair shops end up purchasing parts from Chinese grey markets or taking parts from recycled electronics to compete. This results in raids from the Department of Homeland Security as the independent shops end up unknowingly selling counterfeit parts.

Apple currently runs the Apple Authorized Service Provider Program, which allows companies to obtain Apple-genuine parts, reimbursement for repairs covered by Apple's warranties, a performance-based bonus program, on-the-spot technical service, comprehensive repair information, inclusion on Apple's website and more. However, the program requires businesses to allow Apple to review financial records, maintain high levels of customer service, establish a credit line with Apple and agree to promote the Apple brand and AppleCare. It also does not include individual customers who may want to repair their devices on their own.

The bills are being pushed by Repair.org, a lobbying firm representing independent repair shops. Repair.org tells Motherboard that it is focusing its effort on the New York bill since it's being considered for the third year and even had momentum last year until lobbyists from groups backed by Apple and other manufacturers stepped in to kill the legislation.

HBO today updated its HBO GO app for iOS devices and the Apple TV with support for Single sign-on, allowing subscribers to access HBO content more quickly.

With Single sign-on, HBO customers will no longer need to enter their cable credentials separately when logging in to the HBO GO app. Instead, the app will use universal credentials that are stored by Apple. HBO GO is also now available in the TV app, with full support for "Watch Next" tracking functionality.

Single sign-on, introduced in December, is one of the first steps Apple has made towards streamlining the television watching experience on the Apple TV and iOS devices. It's designed to allow all cable subscribers to sign in once with their cable credentials to gain access to all cable-restricted content available within apps.

Single sign-on is limited to the United States and requires both service providers and app developers to implement support for the feature. Along with HBO, more than 20 popular television apps support the Single sign-on, with a full list available via a Single sign-on support document.

Not all cable providers are offering support for Single sign-on yet, so the feature is limited to Cable ONE, CenturyLink Prism, DIRECTV, Dish, GVTC, GTA, Hawaiian Telcom, Hotwire, MetroCast, Service Electric, and Sling TV.

Last October, Twitter began testing out an enhanced version of a new "Explore" tab on its iOS app, giving a small group of users access to trending topics, simplified search tools, and "Moments," the news aggregating feature which previously had its own dedicated tab within the app. Beginning today, the "Explore" tab will be available to all users on the iOS Twitter app, giving them one-stop access to trends, search, Moments, and live video.

According to Twitter, the tests from last year went well, and users told the company "that the new Explore tab helped them easily find news, what’s trending, and what’s popular right now." In the blog post today, Twitter also pointed out that "nothing is going away," simply that various parts of the app are moving into the new Explore section.

When users tap on Explore, they'll see breaking news via a live video header with trending topics underneath, and further news stories under a "Today's Moments" section.

Over the past year, we’ve been exploring different ways to make it simpler for people to find and use trends, Moments, and search. During our research process, people told us that the new Explore tab helped them easily find news, what’s trending, and what’s popular right now.

Nothing is going away – we’re just making it easier to find what you want. Explore will begin rolling out today on Twitter for iOS, and in the coming weeks on Twitter for Android. Make sure you have the latest version of your app to check it out. And of course, we will continue to listen to your feedback to make Explore even better, based on your thoughts and some ideas we have up our sleeve!

The overhaul to Moments -- which launched in 2015 -- comes after Twitter faced its slowest revenue growth in years. In an attempt to keep old users happy and welcome newcomers, Twitter has recently removed media attachments from the 140 character limit, and is trying to address harassment on the service with new mute filter and reporting features.

Last December, the company began a new test to see if a rebranding of "retweet" to "sharing" would increase traction on the social network for new users confused by the Twitter-specific lingo of the word "retweet." One of the most user-requested features -- Tweet editing -- is still not available on Twitter, but CEO Jack Dorsey admitted recently that it's "definitely needed."

Twitter is available on the iOS App Store for free. [Direct Link] The company noted that the update will be rolling out throughout the day, and "in the coming weeks" it will arrive on Android.

Popular freelancing website Upwork today released its quarterly study ranking the fastest-growing skills employers are looking for, and Apple's Swift programming language scored the number two spot, meaning it's one of the most sought after skills for freelance developers.

Swift, along with the other top 10 skills that made the list in the fourth quarter of 2016, experienced more than 200 percent year-over-year growth. Other skills that have become more essential on Upwork alongside Swift include natural language processing, Tableau, Amazon Marketplace Web Services, and Stripe.

Introduced in 2014, Swift is Apple's programming language, developed in part by Chris Lattner who made headlines recently when he left Apple for Tesla. Designed to be concise yet expressive, Swift replaces Objective-C and is being increasingly adopted by developers.

Swift is meant to be simple to learn, something Apple highlights with Swift Playgrounds, an app that teaches children to code using the Swift language. Apple has been updating and refining Swift since its 2014 debut, and is set to unveil Swift 3.1 in the spring of 2017.

Upwork's Skills Index measures year-over-year growth rates based on freelancer billings through the Upwork site.

Dong Nguyen, creator of the popular iOS game Flappy Bird, today launched an all-new game on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store called Ninja Spinki Challenges!! [Direct Link] (via TouchArcade). The game is a collection of six mini-games that task users with completing a set of trials centered around training to become a ninja.

TouchArcade went hands-on with the game earlier this week, and noted that while it's a "kinder" entry in comparison to the difficulty of Flappy Bird, it can "quickly become tough as nails."

I had the chance to try the game a little bit ahead of its release, and while it's certainly a little more polished than Nguyen's previous titles, Spinki's got its creator's fingerprints all over it. The main character is drawn from the cast of Swing Copters, and the gameplay focuses on performing relatively simple actions in increasingly challenging circumstances. At the same time, this is a kinder, gentler game than Nguyen's previous releases, at least initially.

After a boom of social media attention surrounding Flappy Bird back in 2014, Nguyen quickly removed the game from the App Store because he believed it became an "addictive product" for all of the players devoted to beating their high scores. The game's popularity reached such heights that Apple began rejecting apps on the App Store with "Flappy" in the title, because they were attempting to "leverage a popular app" to gain success.

The drama surrounding the game began in the first half of 2014, and in August of that year Nguyen released a spiritual successor to Flappy Bird called Swing Copters [Direct Link], which got a sequel [Direct Link] in 2015.

Players interested can download Ninja Spinki Challenges!! from the iOS App Store for free [Direct Link].

Google Translate recently updated its iOS and Android applications, bringing Japanese-to-English and English-to-Japanese translation support to its augmented reality "Word Lens" feature. Thanks to the added support, English-speaking users can point their smartphone camera at Japanese text and instantly get an English translation on screen. The same can be done for Japanese tourists visiting predominantly English-speaking countries.

Before the update, Google mentioned that users could snap a picture of Japanese text and get an English translation, but thanks to the AR in Word Lens, "it's a whole lot more convenient" to figure out where you are in a foreign city with the live translation feature. Notably, users don't have to worry about having an Internet or data connection when using Word Lens during travel, as the translation software works offline.

The Google Translate app already lets you snap a photo of Japanese text and get a translation for it in English. But it’s a whole lot more convenient if you can just point your camera and instantly translate text on the go. With Word Lens, you just need to fire up the Translate app, point your camera at the Japanese text, and the English translations will appear overlaid on your screen—even if you don't have an Internet or data connection. It’s every savvy traveller’s dream!

Back in November Google announced an update to Google Translate that made longer articles and paragraphs "a lot smoother and easier to read." Using new AI learning software called Neural Machine Translation, Google Translate can now learn over time "to create better, more natural translations."

The official Apple Support app for iPhone and iPad launched in additional countries this week, including but not limited to Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The app first launched in the Netherlands in November and expanded to the United States last month.

The app mirrors Apple's support website, providing users with a list of their Apple devices, options to receive support by phone, chat, or email, and the ability to schedule a Genius Bar appointment or repair with an Apple Authorized Service Provider. The app also features how-to articles and other helpful information.

The app is now available in 22 countries around the world as planned:

• Australia
  

• Belgium
  

• Brazil
  

• Canada
  

• France
  

• Germany
  

• Hong Kong
  

• Ireland
  

• Italy
  

• Japan
  

• Liechtenstein
  

• Macau
  

• Mexico
  

• Netherlands
  

• Singapore
  

• Spain
  

• Sweden
  

• Switzerland
  

• Turkey
  

• United Arab Emirates
  

• United Kingdom
  

• United States

Apple Support is a free download on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone and iPad.

Facebook has hired Xiaomi executive Hugo Barra to lead its virtual reality business, following the vice president's announcement earlier this week that he would be leaving the Chinese smartphone maker.

On Monday, the former Android executive at Google said he would be returning to Silicon Valley next month to reunite with friends and family, and to take some time off before "embarking on a new adventure".

His appointment at Facebook was announced on Wednesday by company founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who said Barra would lead all of Facebook's virtual reality efforts including the Oculus team.

"I've known Hugo for a long time, starting when he helped develop the Android operating system, to the last few years he's worked at Xiaomi in Beijing bringing innovative devices to millions of people.

"Hugo shares my belief that virtual and augmented reality will be the next major computing platform. Hugo is going to help build that future, and I'm looking forward to having him on our team."

Sometimes referred to as "the Apple of China", Xiaomi announced a VR headset last year under Barra's watch. The device was certified to work with Google Cardboard apps and some of its mobile phones. In reply to Zuckerberg's welcome, Barra said he aimed to make VR a mainstream technology.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun always says that the highest calling of an engineer is to make technology breakthroughs quickly and readily available to the widest possible spectrum of humanity. That will be my mission at Facebook and I look forward to building the future of immersive technology with Mark Zuckerberg, Brendan Trexler Iribe, Mike Schroepfer, and the visionaries in the Oculus team.

Facebook has made VR and augmented reality two focal points of its long-term innovation roadmap, with artificial intelligence and connectivity being the additional lynchpins for future research.

While Apple's interest in related technology has leaned more towards an AR experience – most recently suggesting a feature that would be integrated into the iOS camera app – the company has been rumored to be developing a full-on VR headset as well.

Google updated its Maps app for iOS today to include the live crowd-tracking feature that's been popular with users of its Maps web service for some time.

While the maps app has had day-by-day, hour-by-hour charts that display when a business or retail location tends to be at its busiest, version 4.27 of the app augments that information with live data to tell users how busy the location is in real time.

Called Popular Times, the feature works by crowd-sourcing anonymized location data from other Google users and also feeds in Google searches to analyze how busy a location is at any given moment. Alongside the live results, the feature also lets users know the average time people spend at a location.

The iOS update also adds support for quick access to addresses copied to a user's clipboard. So when searching in the app, users are now given the option to fill in the search bar with an address copied from an email or other app.

Google Maps is a free download on the Apps Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

Facebook today announced that it has begun testing ads in the Messenger app. The test will be limited to users in Australia and Thailand and will allow businesses to place ads on the Messenger home screen below favorite users and most recent conversations.

The company says that "no one will see an ad in a conversation without clicking on an ad experience on the Messenger home screen or starting a conversation with a brand." Facebook assures that ads will not "originate" in conversations.

Facebook says businesses have told the company that they're excited to use the Messenger platform to connect to its billion users, driving sales and building brand awareness. Currently, Facebook runs ads on its News Feed that, when clicked, take users into Messenger conversations with brands. This has helped person-to-business messaging grow popular, with Facebook saying over a billion messages are sent a month between people and businesses.

Messenger users will have "complete control" over their experience, and will be able to either hide or report specific ads using a dropdown menu, similar to how users can report ads on their News Feed. Additionally, advertisers are not allowed to directly message users unless the user initiates the conversation.

The test will only work for a "very small group" of people in Australia and Thailand, and Facebook says the company will take its time before it considers further expansion.