MacRumors

At just under two years since its last update, the Mac mini seems to have become the forgotten part of Apple's Mac lineup, with a number of fans of the small desktop waiting for any word of a potential update.

As they typically are with Mac products, rumors and leaks regarding the Mac mini's future have been relatively rare, with essentially nothing having appeared on the radar since a reference to a "Mid 2014" Mac mini surfaced on an Apple support page as a likely error several months ago.

MacRumors has now received word that Apple is planning a Mac mini update possibly launching next month alongside new iPad models and presumably OS X Yosemite. While we have been unable to obtain corroborating information of an imminent update, the mere possibility of an update as soon as next month is likely to be welcome news to Mac mini fans. The single source has provided no additional details on what to expect in terms of a next-generation Mac mini, but has provided accurate information in the past.

The timing of such an update would be a bit odd, as it is unclear what processors Apple would use in these machines. Next-generation Broadwell processors from Intel appropriate for the Mac mini are not scheduled to arrive until early next year, and the current Haswell processors are no longer cutting edge as Intel has been forced to prolong their shelf life due to continued delays with Broadwell.

Still, the Mac mini is not generally intended to be a workhorse machine with the fastest processors (although they are popular as servers), so Apple may be willing to launch the updated models with Haswell refresh processors released earlier this year. The Mac mini typically uses the some of the same processors as the MacBook Pro except shifted several months later, meaning that an updated Mac mini released next month could use some of the processors from the late July MacBook Pro update.

The FBI has been in talks with Apple and Google about the way the technology companies are marketing the privacy features in their smartphones, according to FBI Director James Comey (via The Huffington Post). Comey says that he is concerned that the two companies are "marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves above the law."

Comey's remarks come following both privacy changes introduced with iOS 8 and a new privacy site that Apple introduced last week, explaining that the company has altered the way encryption works in iOS 8. Apple no longer stores the encryption keys for devices in iOS 8, making it impossible for it to unlock content on devices under police request.

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access your data," reads its new privacy site. "So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

Shortly after Apple announced the encryption changes to iOS 8, Google announced that the next generation of Android, set to be released next month, will also encrypt data by default, providing the same encryption protections to its smartphones that a passcode provides to iPhones.

According to Comey, though he understands the need for privacy, he believes government access to electronic devices is necessary in some cases.

"I like and believe very much that we should have to obtain a warrant from an independent judge to be able to take the content of anyone's closet or their smart phone," he said. "The notion that someone would market a closet that could never be opened -- even if it involves a case involving a child kidnapper and a court order -- to me does not make any sense."

He goes on to say that one day, it may matter "a great, great deal" that the government be able to infiltrate "a kidnapper's or a terrorist or a criminal's device." His goal, he says, is to have a "good conversation" in the country "before that day comes."

The exact nature of the talks between FBI officials and Apple and Google remains unknown, with Comey only stating that the discussion has been over the "marketing of their devices."

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 has commented on the ongoing complaints about the iPhone 6 Plus bending in user pockets, telling CNBC that the new iPhones include steel/titanium inserts to reinforce stress locations and that they use the "strongest glass in the industry."

The company went on to say that only nine customers had complained about bent iPhones, suggesting the issue is not as widespread as it has appeared in the media. It also stated that both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have met or exceeded testing for strength and durability, and that bending in the iPhone 6 Plus during normal use is "extremely rare."

Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength. They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use.

With normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus. As with any Apple product, if you have questions please contact Apple.

Reports of the iPhone 6 Plus's weakness to bending first began trickling in on Monday, after several MacRumors forum members shared images of devices that had bent while in a pocket. The bending issue went viral after a YouTuber posted a video of the iPhone 6 Plus warping out of shape when bent in his hands, which caused significant damage near the device's volume buttons.

Given the media attention the bending received, it was difficult to tell how many users were truly affected by iPhone 6 Plus bending during real world usage. Though Apple kept quiet on the issue until today, the company has been directing its support staff to replace affected phones under warranty following a visual inspection.

Apple has recently added the Mac Pro to the refurbished section of its online store, giving customers the opportunity to purchase the professional-level desktop at a 15 percent discount compared to a brand-new machine for the first time since the computer's December 2013 release.

There are several different configurations available, ranging in price from $2,549 for the 3.7GHz quad-core machine with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage to $7,479 for the 2.7Ghz 12-core machine with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage. All available refurbished Mac Pro models ship within 3 to 5 business days.

All of Apple's refurbished products, the Mac Pro included, have been thoroughly tested for reliability and come with the same one-year warranty offered with standard products.

Apple's 2013 Mac Pro made waves when it was released, due to its radically redesigned cylindrical form factor and the fact that the machine is the first to be assembled in the United States. It features Ivy Bridge E processors, dual GPUs, Thunderbolt 2, and fast PCI Express-based flash storage.

Competition between mobile phone manufactures is fierce with handset companies using social media and other public platforms to call out their competitors. It's not surprising then to see a wave of tweets and comments from big name companies like Samsung and HTC mocking Apple following its recent iPhone 6 Plus bending controversy.

LG and HTC were among the first to attack Apple, commenting on Twitter shortly after the #bendgate controversy began to escalate. At the same time, BlackBerry CEO John Chen mentioned the bending issue during the company's launch of its new Passport handset, saying "I challenge you to bend the Passport," reports CNET.

Samsung, Nokia Deutschland, and even candy maker and Android sponsor KitKat also joined in on the mockery, noting that their products don't bend. These social marketing efforts are a response to Apple's controversy in which some iPhone 6 Plus users were accidentally bending their 5.5-inch handsets after placing them in their pockets. While the prevalence of the issue appears fairly low, photos of warped iPhone 6 Plus units spread like wildfire, with subsequent "bend test" videos showcasing how much the iPhone 6 Plus was susceptible to bending.

According to The Next Web, Apple reportedly is looking into the issue "with an insane amount of detail." A support representative also confirmed Genius technicians may replace bent phones under warranty following a visual inspection. Such inspections typically reject bent iPhones for warranty coverage, however, and it is unclear how much latitude Geniuses will have with this issue.

Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro tablet is rumored to be landing as soon as early 2015, with the latest report from Taiwan's TechNews (via G For Games) suggesting the tablet will feature an improved A8X processor. Similar to Apple's previous A5X and A6X processors, the A8X would presumably be an graphics-enhanced version of Apple's current A8 processor that debuted in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Apple shifted away from using an "X" version of its base iOS device chip last year, opting to power the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini with the same A7 chip found in the iPhone 5s, albeit clocked slightly faster on the iPad Air. But with a higher-resolution "iPad Pro", the graphics needs are likely high enough to require an enhanced main chip.

In its recent report, TechNews also reiterates its previous claim that Apple's iPad Air 2 will feature 2 GB of RAM. This increased RAM would be a boost from the 1 GB present in both the current-generation iPad Air and the company's new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets. It also may serve to set the iPad Air 2 apart from the next Retina iPad mini, which is rumored to keep its current 1 GB RAM configuration.

While the iPad Pro may land next year, Apple's iPad Air 2 is expected to be introduced sometime in the coming month. The new tablet may launch in time for the holiday shopping season with a redesign possibly including marginally a thinner body, redesigned speaker grille and other improvements such as Touch ID.

Apple knew about an iCloud security flaw six months before it was utilized to hack celebrity accounts on the service, reports The Daily Dot. The company was notified of the exploit by independent security researcher Ibrahim Balic, who shared emails between himself and members of Apple's product security team.

In an email from March 2014, Balic told Apple that he was able to bypass the security of any iCloud account by using a "brute-force" hacking method that was able to try over 20,000 password combinations. Balic recommended to Apple that it should implement a feature in iCloud that prevents log-ins after a set number of failed attempts, and even reported the exploit through Apple's Bug Reporter. Balic was also the developer said to be behind the extended outage of Apple's Dev Center last year.

In May 2014, Apple emailed Balic and questioned the validity of the exploit, stating that it "would take an extraordinarily long time" to find a valid authentication token to get into an iCloud account using the flaw. Balic states that Apple continued to ask him about the exploit and how it would be utilized.

On September 1, 2014, hackers breached the iCloud accounts of many well-known actresses, downloading and leaking private photos and videos. While it was not initially known what caused the breach, The Next Web linked to a Python script on Github that may have been used for the hacking. The script utilized a brute-force like method which allowed hackers to keep guessing passwords without being locked out.

Apple acknowledged later in the day that it was investigating the breach, ultimately leading to comments from CEO Tim Cook along with new security implementations. Those implementations included automatic emails when iCloud accounts are accessed via web browsers, automatic two-factor authentication for iCloud.com, and mandatory app-specific passwords for third-party apps accessing iCloud.

Security researchers from Red Hat have uncovered a new exploit in the common "Bash" command shell found in OS X and Linux which can be used to deploy malicious code with minimal effort. Due to the ubiquity of the Bash shell, the exploit can affect a wide variety of different web-connected devices and properties, including unsecured websites, smart home appliances, servers, and more.

Security researcher Robert Graham noted on his blog that the Bash exploit is "as big as Heartbleed," referring to the flaw discovered earlier this year in the popular OpenSSL software which secures connections between clients and servers:

Internet-of-things devices like video cameras are especially vulnerable because a lot of their software is built from web-enabled bash scripts. Thus, not only are they less likely to be patched, they are more likely to expose the vulnerability to the outside world.

Unlike Heartbleed, which only affected a specific version of OpenSSL, this bash bug has been around for a long, long time. That means there are lots of old devices on the network vulnerable to this bug. The number of systems needing to be patched, but which won't be, is much larger than Heartbleed.

Heartbleed was said to have affected 66% of the Internet, although Apple announced in April that the exploit did not affect its software or "key services." Apple also released updates for the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule to better secure both web devices against Heartbleed.

A topic discussing the Bash exploit on StackExchange also notes that Apple did not include a fix for the bug in its latest round of security updates that came alongside the release of OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 last week. It is possible however that Apple will release a fix for OS X in the near future to address the exploit, similar to what it has done for other security issues in the past.

Earlier today, Apple released iOS 8.0.1, which ended up disabling cellular service and Touch ID on many iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices. Apple said that it was investigating the issue this afternoon, and it has now released a support document confirming that an iOS 8.0.2 update is in the works with a fix.

In addition to announcing the upcoming update, the document also points users towards an interim fix involving reinstalling iOS 8 via iTunes.

The document offers the same advice Apple support representatives have been giving to customers since the issue first surfaced, directing users to download iOS 8 and reinstall it on their devices using iTunes. Apple's specific steps are as follows:

Follow these steps to reinstall iOS 8.0.

1. Make sure that you're using the latest version of iTunes.

2. Connect your iPhone to iTunes.

3. Back up your iPhone in iTunes on your Mac or PC. iCloud backups won't restore to earlier versions, including iOS 8.0.

4. Download the file below that corresponds to your device:
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus

5. Select the file you just downloaded by doing one of these in iTunes:
- Mac: Press the Option key and click Check for Update.
- Windows: Press the Shift key and click Check for Update.

6. Press Update to install iOS 8 on your iPhone.

The Health app won't work in iOS 8 after these steps. It will be fixed in our upcoming iOS 8.0.2 software update.

Apple has pulled the iOS 8.0.1 over-the-air update, but the software was available to customers for approximately an hour and fifteen minutes, leaving many users with broken devices. According to the Apple, iOS 8.0.2 is already in the works with a fix and will be ready "in the next few days."

iOS 8.0.1 originally fixed a significant HealthKit bug that popped up just ahead of the public release of iOS 8. Apple pulled all HealthKit enabled apps from the App Store due to the issue, and iOS 8.0.1 fixed the original bug, allowing the apps to be redistributed. The update also included fixes for third-party keyboards, Reachability, Photo Library, SMS/MMS messages, and more.

Apple's iPhone 6 Plus has been receiving a huge amount of attention over the last day, following reports of users seeing significant bending after placing the phone in a pocket.

A video made yesterday demonstrated just how far the iPhone 6 Plus is able to bend, and now the video's creator, Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, has created a second video to test the iPhone 6 and several other Android devices.

The smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 6 appears to be much less malleable than the larger iPhone 6 Plus. While the iPhone 6 Plus bent significantly near the volume buttons under the force inflicted by Hilsenteger, he is unable to do as much damage to the iPhone 6. Aside from a small dent, the phone remains intact. "This one is far more durable," he says.

Based on his preliminary testing, Hilsenteger does not believe that iPhone 6 users will see the same issues that some iPhone 6 Plus users are seeing in regards to bending. As we noted yesterday, it's unlikely that the force Hilsenteger used in the original video will be replicated inside of a pocket, but photos of bent iPhone 6 Plus devices have suggested that it does not take much force to cause a slight curvature in the device.

Bending issues are not limited to the iPhone 6 Plus, as bending has been seen in prior versions of the iPhone, including the iPhone 5 and 5s.

Apple has not commented on the iPhone 6 Plus bending incidents, but iPhone 6 Plus owners can likely prevent bending by removing the phone from their pockets before sitting or by placing the device in a rigid protective case.

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt and former SVP of products, Jonathan Rosenberg, recently published a new book entitled "How Google Works, which explores topics like corporate culture, strategy, talent, innovation, dealing with disruption, and more. The duo have done an interview with Bloomberg to promote the title, with Schmidt commenting on the state of affairs between iOS and Google and Apple's new larger-screened iPhones.

According to Schmidt, competition between Apple and Google is more brutal than ever before, with "enormous, enormous racing" going on between the two companies, which ultimately has "enormous benefits for consumers worldwide."

In fact I would say that this brutal competition between Apple and Google over Android and iOS has enormous benefits for consumers worldwide. If you look at the innovation on the Apple side and on the Google side, that competition which I think is the defining fight of the computer industry, it benefits global at the billions of people level.

When questioned about how he feels driving past an Apple Store and seeing people lined up around the block to purchase an iPhone, Schmidt said "I'll tell you what I think. Samsung had these products a year ago." The interviewer further notes that nobody "had a huge party" and Schmidt reiterated that Samsung had larger phones first once again. "I think Samsung had the products a year ago. That's what I think."

Re/code has also published a short excerpt from "How Google Works," where Schmidt writes about a meeting he had with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2010. During the meeting, Jobs made it clear that he believed Android was based on Apple's intellectual property, and Schmidt worried that a dispute was brewing.

The two had sat outside at the California-cuisine-oriented cafe, discussing Google's growing mobile operating system, Android. Steve was convinced that the open-source operating system was built on intellectual property created by Apple. Eric responded that we hadn't used Apple's IP and had in fact built Android on our own. But his argument was to no avail. "They are going to fight us," he thought.

The excerpt goes on to detail the friendship between Jobs and Schmidt and the release of the iPhone in 2007, which led to Schmidt stepping down from Apple's board due to the similarities between iOS and Android. It also covers the differences between Apple's closed system compared to Google's open system, and why both methods work.

Apple's control model works not just because of Steve Jobs's excellence, but also because of how he organized the company. At Apple — just like Google — the leaders are product people with technical backgrounds. When you build a team of great, smart creatives, and put the world’s uber-smart creative in charge, then you have a good chance of being right most of the time. And when you are right most of the time, then a highly controlled model can yield tremendous innovation.

Schmidt and Rosenberg's full 15 minute Bloomberg interview contains additional details on the relationship between Google and Apple and is well worth watching. Their new book, "How Google Works," can be ordered on Amazon for $24.

Craig Hockenberry, one of the developers behind Twitterriffic, has written a blog post warning iOS users about in-app browsers, which he says are "considered harmful." According to Hockenberry, and as outlined in a video, an in-app browser has the ability to record what's being typed, even at a secure login screen.

This means an unscrupulous developer could potentially create an app with an in-app browser to capture the usernames and passwords of users who login to websites like Twitter or Facebook with the browser. Many existing apps use in-app browsers to allow users to do things like login with an already existing social media account simply to make the login process easier, but it appears there's also potential for abuse.

A few things to note about what you're seeing:

The information at the top of the screen is generated by the app, not the web page. This information could easily be uploaded to remote server.

This is not phishing: the site shown is the actual Twitter website. This technique can be applied to any site that has a input form. All the attacker needs to know can easily be obtained by viewing the public facing HTML on the site.

The app is stealing your username and password by watching what you type on the site. There's nothing the site owner can do about this, since the web view has control over JavaScript that runs in the browser.

Hockenberry says that acquiring usernames and passwords works in both iOS 7 and iOS 8, and may also work in earlier versions of iOS, but he is quick to point out that it is not a bug, as the techniques demonstrated in the video can be used for "good as well as evil."

Hockenberry does not have a clear solution in mind for Apple, as fixing the core behavior of both WebKit and UIWebView would require the company to update every version of iOS that included Safari and WebKit, but he does suggest the company could protect users with OAuth.

As for end users, Hockenberry warns not to enter private information when using an app that's not Safari. Browsing web content is safe, but he recommends that users open a link in Safari if there are any concerns about private information. More details on the security of in-app browsers, OAuth, and Hockenberry's recommendations can be found in his original blog post.

Following the release of iOS 8.0.1 this morning, numerous of users found that their cellular service was disabled, reporting "No Service" messages after updating. Affected users also appear to be experiencing problems with Touch ID, which seems to be completely non-functional.

It appears that the issue is limited to users who have an iPhone 6 or an iPhone 6 Plus, but affected devices span several carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint in the United States. Rogers subscribers in Canada have reported issues, as have EE subscribers in the United Kingdom and Vodafone subscribers in Germany.

Restarting an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus does not fix cellular functionality, nor does attempting to use "Reset Network Settings," but some users have reported that restoring iOS 8.0.1 via iTunes or doing the initial install from iTunes fixes the cellular connection issues.

Apple support has also recommended restoring iOS 8.0.1 via iTunes to fix the problem, as noted on Twitter and the MacRumors forums.

Users with an iPhone 4s, 5, 5s, or 5c have reported no issues, so iOS 8.0.1 is likely safe for those who do not have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. iPad owners have also had no problems with the update.

Update: Apple has pulled iOS 8.0.1 from the Developer Center and it is also no longer available via an over-the-air download.

Update 2: Apple says that it is actively investigating reports of problems and has pulled iOS 8.0.1 in the meantime. The company also says that it will provide information as quickly as it can.

Update 3: It appears that option-clicking on an iOS 8 file in iTunes will allow users to fix the issue without a restore. iMore has outlined the process:

1. Download iOS 8 for iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus
2. Option (Mac) or Control (Windows) click on Update.
3. Choose the iOS 8 firmware file you downloaded in step 1.
4. Let iTunes do its thing

Apple today released iOS 8.0.1, an update that brings several bug fixes to iOS 8, the new operating system released to the public last week. The new version arrives as build 12A402 and can be downloaded via an over-the-air update.

The new update fixes an issue with HealthKit, which prevented apps that support HealthKit from being allowed in the App Store. The problem with HealthKit first came to light shortly before the public launch of iOS 8, and Apple opted to pull all HealthKit-enabled apps from the App Store until a fix was available. Following today's update, apps that take advantage of the HealthKit API will once again be accepted into the App Store.

As noted in yesterday's report on iOS 8.0.1, the update also fixes several other issues with third party keyboards, Reachability, Photo Library, and more.

- Fixes a bug so HealthKit apps can now be made available on the App Store
- Addresses an issue where 3rd party keyboards could become deselected when a user enters their passcode
- Fixes an issue that prevented some apps from accessing photos from the Photo Library
- Improves the reliability of the Reachability feature on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
- Fixes an issue that could cause unexpected cellular data usage when receiving SMS/MMS messages
- Better support of Ask To Buy for Family Sharing for In-App Purchases
- Fixes an issue where ringtones were sometimes not restored from iCloud backups
- Fixes a bug that prevented uploading photos and videos from Safari

Apple will likely be releasing a second update to iOS 8 in the coming weeks, in order to enable Apple Pay, its mobile payment service expected to be released to the public in October.

Update: It appears that there is an issue with iOS 8.0.1 causing cellular service to be disabled. Many early installers are reporting "No Service" messages after updating. There are also reports of problems with Touch ID.

Apple may not be planning to launch the new Apple Watch until February 2015 or later, according to a new report from The Information (via Business Insider). When the Apple Watch was introduced earlier this month, Apple gave a non-specific "early 2015" timeline for its release, with no additional information on when we might expect to see the device.

One person briefed by the Apple department involved in shipping the watch quipped that Apple would be "lucky to ship it by Valentine's Day." Apple has said only that the watch would ship in early 2015, and a spokeswoman did not comment for this article.

According to the report, Apple initially planned to have the watch ready to ship in time for the 2014 holiday season, but had problems finishing software development in time. Hints of a delay on the software side first surfaced shortly after the keynote, as members of the press who were invited to spend some hands-on time with the devices noted that none of the display units were running the actual operating system, Watch OS.

Instead, the devices displayed only screenshots of various functions and while some Apple employees gave demos of functional units, reporters were not able to explore the software themselves. Apple has also opted not to divulge the battery life of the device, possibly because it is continuing to tweak the Watch OS software for the best results. Concrete information on battery life likely can't be determined until software development is finished.

Apple Watch includes several new cutting edge technologies that have not been incorporated into previous devices, including the pressure-sensitive Force Touch that can determine the difference between a tap and a press, and the Taptic Engine, Apple's unique haptic feedback vibration engine designed to deliver alerts in a subtle way.

When it goes on sale in early 2015, the Apple Watch will be available in an array of materials and with several different band options, with pricing starting at $349.