MacRumors

Other World Computing today announced a new product that will allow newer Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air owners to upgrade the storage in their notebooks for the first time.

Aura SSD upgrade kits are available in 480GB and 1TB capacities and will work with the Late-2013 Retina MacBook Pro and newer and the Mid-2013 MacBook Air and newer. At up to 1TB of storage, a Retina MacBook Pro or MacBook Air can gain up to 8x the capacity of the standard 128GB hard drive that comes with lower-end models. 1TB also exceeds the maximum factory drive available in the MacBook Air, which is limited to 512GB.

According to OWC, its Aura PCIe-based flash storage is designed using high-quality components that are fully compatible with Mac notebooks.

Tier-1 Flash - Aura SSDs use only top-rated flash for amazing performance and dependability.
Superior Error Correction - Three-level error correction with low-density parity checks provides significantly improved reliability, and RAID-like protection for your data.
Cell-Level Data Refresh - Aura's powerful embedded processor monitors and re-writes data blocks as needed to maintain correct charge at the cell level, improving the integrity of your data and extending the life of your drive.
Global Wear-Leveling - A global wear-leveling algorithm helps evenly distribute data across your SSD cells, extending the life of your drive by preventing any section of flash from getting worn out prematurely.

Upgrade kits include all of the tools that are necessary to replace the solid state drive in a Mac notebook, and it also includes an OWC Envoy Pro drive enclosure to house the existing factory drive in the Retina MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, so it can be used as an external SSD.

OWC's 480GB Aura SSD Kit (with enclosure) is available for $399, with a standalone drive priced at $347.99. The 1TB Kit is priced at $649, with the 1TB standalone drive available for $597. Both drives are available from the OWC website and will begin shipping out at the end of March.

Apple is rumored to be further expanding the iPhone's screen size beyond the current 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus, moving to 5.8 inches in a future device that could launch "in 2018 or even earlier in 2017." The news comes from a pre-publication report by DigiTimes that has been obtained by The Motley Fool, and it states that the 5.8-inch iPhone will include an OLED display, in line with previous rumors of Apple adopting the technology around that time.

According to the report, Samsung is to be the main source for the OLED panels, with LG and Japan Display "joining in later." Recently, Samsung was reported to be on the verge of investing over $7 billion into supplying OLED displays for future iPhones, following rumors last year that 2018 would mark Apple's official shift from LCD to OLED displays in its popular smartphone line. More recent reports suggest that OLED timeline could be moved up to 2017.

Based on DigiTimes' estimates, the production of OLED displays could see significant output within the first year, though still only a fraction of the over 200 million iPhones Apple sold over the past year.

Per the note, DIGITIMES' supply chain sources believe that 50 million of these AMOLED-equipped iPhones will make it out to customers in the first year of availability.

The company's upcoming March media event is rumored to showcase the launch of a new 4-inch "iPhone SE," but as of yet there have been few rumors suggesting the company has looked into expanding the already-large screen of the iPhone 6s Plus. With the rumored launch dates of 2017 or 2018, if it becomes a reality, the 5.8-inch OLED iPhone could arrive as either an "iPhone 7s" or more likely an "iPhone 8" generation.

Recent rumors surrounding this year's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have indicated the device will adopt a thinner body, flush rear camera, and stereo speakers, while also doing away with the traditional 3.5-mm headphone jack. A dual-lens rear camera has also been rumored for at least some models of the larger iPhone 7 Plus, with one report claiming those models could be launched under a separate "iPhone Pro" name.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple a series of 40 new patents, including one that describes various implementations and benefits of a Liquidmetal home button on iPhones and iPads.

Liquidmetal alloys, otherwise known as "bulk solidifying amorphous alloys" in the patent filing (via Patently Apple), have a number of unique properties, including high strength, corrosion resistance, light weight, and malleability.

Apple has annually renewed its exclusive rights to use Liquidmetal since 2010, but how it plans to use the alloys remains unclear. Early speculation centered around Apple using Liquidmetal for the iPhone SIM Tool, while other Liquidmetal home button patents have surfaced as early as 2014. Meanwhile, Steve Zadesky, named on this and other Liquidmetal patents, recently announced he was leaving Apple.

Today's patent explains how Liquidmetal's high elasticity makes it an ideal material for a pressure-sensitive home button that would deform slightly when pressed, but return to its normal shape when you remove your finger or thumb. Liquidmetal would always retain this elasticity, while other materials like titanium or stainless steel could become irreversibly deformed and adversely affect the home button.

A second embodiment of the patent details a home button with a switch comprising a small actuator positioned adjacent to Liquidmetal material, whereby pressing the actuator deforms the bulk solidifying amorphous alloy. The efficient design could be easier for Apple to manufacture compared to conventional pressure-sensitive home buttons that use dome switches placed on a substrate with or without an actuation nub.

It does not appear that Apple's upcoming products, including the rumored iPhone SE, iPhone 7, and new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, will adopt Liquidmetal, given the absence of any recent rumors surrounding the alloys, but Apple's continuous renewal of the material implies it remains interested. It is common for Apple to patent inventions that are not publicly released until years later, if ever.

United States Patent No. 9,279,733 describes Apple's invention in more detail.

Apple has updated its vintage and obsolete products list with three new products: MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010), MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010), and Xserve (Early 2009).

The older notebooks and server rack hardware are now classified as vintage in the United States and Turkey, and obsolete in the rest of the world, according to Apple.

Macs and other products on the vintage and obsolete list are generally no longer eligible for hardware service, but OS X El Capitan still supports many older Macs back to Mid 2007. Apple defines vintage products as those that have not been manufactured for more than five but less than seven years.

The new additions come less than three months after Apple obsoleted select early 2008 to late 2009 Macs, including the iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009), iMac (27-inch, Late 2009), MacBook Air (Mid 2009), Mac Pro (Early 2009), MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008), MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008), and MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008).

The MacBook Pro models obsoleted today were originally announced on April 13, 2010. Read how to identify your MacBook Pro model.

Following an announcement in January, ExxonMobil today officially launched Apple Pay support within its Speedpass+ iOS app, letting customers pay for gas or car washes directly from their iPhone (via CNET). Although most of ExxonMobil's stations come equipped with an RFID station for mobile payments, the company decided to focus on software within the app to further streamline the transaction process.

"Anything that involves the pump from a hardware point of view takes years to deploy and is extremely expensive," Bryant Russell, Americas program manager for mobile payment and loyalty at ExxonMobil, said during a demo of the app at the San Mateo gas station.

The rollout today will be seen at more than 6,000 ExxonMobil gas stations in 46 states, with a goal to expand to 2,000 by the summer and all 10,000 locations across the United States by the end of 2016.

The Speedpass+ app will use GPS to check the exact location a user is at, ask which pump they are using, and confirm the purchase with Touch ID. Locations with spotty GPS will be guided through a QR code-scanning step or manual search process within the app.

Once payment in the app is finished, users have "about 45 seconds" to start pumping gas, or Speedpass+ will time out and require users to start over from the beginning. Similar to Apple's own Wallet app, Speedpass+ will track the purchase history of every transaction at ExxonMobil locations.

Last year, Chevron launched a pilot program for Apple Pay -- using NFC terminals -- in a focused location within the Bay Area. ExxonMobil's widespread introduction of Apple Pay today is the first big rollout for the mobile payment service by a gas company to date, despite its software-focused rollout. Next, the company plans to begin introducing Apple Pay into its convenience stores along with linking its Plenti loyalty program to the service.

The Speedpass+ app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

The U.S. Justice Department yesterday appealed a New York federal judge's refusal to force Apple to help investigators unlock the iPhone of a suspected Brooklyn drug dealer.

Last week, magistrate Judge James Orenstein ruled that the FBI lacked the legal authority to force Apple to bypass the iPhone's passcode, and that the prosecution's use of the 1789 All Writs Act was an unconstitutional overreach.

On Monday, Reuters reported that prosecutors are now hoping to overturn the ruling and yesterday's filing to the court of U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie is the official first step in such an appeal.

"In light of the debate that has recently come to surround this issue, it is worth briefly noting what this case is not about," the Justice Department's court filing said. "Apple is not being asked to do anything it does not currently have the capability to do."

All of Apple’s pre-iOS 8 operating systems allowed for extracting data from a passcode-locked device. Apple has used that capability dozens of times, in response to lawful court orders like the one sought here, with no claim that doing so put customer data or privacy in harm’s way.

Apple may perform the passcode-bypass in its own lab, using its own technicians, just as it always has, without revealing to the government how it did so. Therefore, granting the application will not affect the technological security of any Apple iPhone nor hand the government a 'master key'.

The All Writs Act is the same act that the agency has revived to order Apple to unlock the iPhone at the center of the San Bernardino shooter case, which Apple has requested to be vacated. However, the device in the California investigation is an iPhone 5c running iOS 8, which Apple cannot unlock without creating special software. In contrast, the New York case involves an iPhone 5s running iOS 7.

As noted in the filing, Apple has complied with cases involving iPhones running iOS 7 and earlier versions of the software, partly because the company is able to retrieve data from such devices without having to unlock them. But in a statement Monday evening, Apple made clear its specific issue with the FBI's invocation of the All Writs Act, and reiterated its belief that misuse of the Act, passed in its current form more than 100 years ago, threatens public privacy.

Judge Orenstein ruled the FBI's request would 'thoroughly undermine fundamental principles of the Constitution' and we agree. We share the Judge's concern that misuse of the All Writs Act would start us down a slippery slope that threatens everyone's safety and privacy.

Apple CEO Tim Cook believes that use of the All Writs Act signals a disregard for established legal procedures and that any ruling should come from Congress, while Apple has repeatedly warned that forcing it to create software that could unlock devices running iOS 8 and later would set a dangerous precedent.

Apple's opposition to the order that would require it to help the FBI break into the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone will face off against the government in court on March 22.

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.

Tim Cook attended American Enterprise Institute's annual World Forum this past weekend in Georgia alongside Google CEO Larry Page, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and other tech leaders, according to a new report from The Huffington Post. Top Republican officials, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConell, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton also attended, with the main topic of conversation revolving around Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump.

Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard and political commentator, wrote in an emailed report that much of the conference was haunted by "the specter of Donald Trump," with many attendees unhappy about his emergence and discussing how he gained his support.

"The key task now, to once again paraphrase Karl Marx, is less to understand Trump than to stop him," Kristol wrote. "In general, there's a little too much hand-wringing, brow-furrowing, and fatalism out there and not quite enough resolving to save the party from nominating or the country electing someone who simply shouldn't be president."

Some sources familiar with the meetings told The Huffington Post that the meeting centered more around how and why Trump has attracted support rather than how to stop him. The meeting included a presentation by Republican political consultant Karl Rove about focus group findings on Trump.

While Trump took up much of the conversation, the discussion eventually turned to encryption. Cook and Cotton "fiercely debated" cell phone encryption, and one source tells The Huffington Post that "Cotton was pretty harsh on Cook." Cotton's aggressiveness was reportedly hostile enough to make other attendees uncomfortable.

Since Apple and the FBI began their duel over encryption, Trump has criticized the company for its decision to oppose a court order to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone. The Presidential candidate has said that Apple should unlock the phone and called for a boycott on Apple products until the company complies, despite using an iPhone to tweet.

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.

FlexBright, an app that allows the user to manually adjust the display temperature of an iOS device, was recently approved by Apple, marking one of the first third-party apps that's able to function in a manner similar to the company's own Night Shift mode, set to be released in iOS 9.3. The only catch is it must be triggered somewhat manually in response to a notification, rather than continuously, like Night Shift or f.lux.

Currently available for download in the App Store, FlexBright was created by Intelligent Apps, who worked with Apple to find a way to implement blue light reduction capabilities. The app includes controls that allow it to both dim an iPhone or iPad's display and adjust the display temperature to cut down on blue light exposure.

FlexBright runs in the background on an iPhone or iPad, sending notifications to prompt users to change the brightness or the blue level on the display at sundown or at user-specified times. After tapping on the alert, FlexBright launches and changes the brightness or blue light filter to a preset value, which can introduce a lot more yellow light than Apple's own Night Shift mode in iOS 9.3. FlexBright's screen adjustments work throughout the iOS operating system, in third-party apps and on the Home screen.

According to one of the developers behind FlexBright, using this notification system was the only way Apple would allow the app to change brightness or blue light while running in the background. The app does not use private APIs to change the screen temperature, instead utilizing a "native objective-c library that filters the blue light from the iOS screen."

In the app, which has an admittedly confusing interface, there are toggles to turn the screen yellower on demand and adjust alert times for the notifications that will allow it to work on an almost-automatic basis. There are also alerts for adjusting brightness and there's a toggle for a "Dark Mode" that turns the screen black and white, similar to (but not identical to) the Grayscale mode under Accessibility settings.

FlexBright is notable because it offers display temperature adjustments for devices that are not compatible with Apple's Night Shift mode. FlexBright is available on devices running iOS 7 or iOS 8, while Night Shift is limited to devices running iOS 9.3, and it's also available on non-64-bit devices like the iPhone 5 and earlier.

Apple's decision to allow FlexBright into the app store is interesting because just a few months ago, there was a controversy over f.lux, a similar app. F.lux is a well-known blue light reduction app for the Mac that allows users to adjust their screen temperature, shifting it towards the warmer yellow spectrum in the evenings. In November, the developers behind f.lux launched an iOS version that was side-loaded on devices using Xcode due to its private APIs, something Apple quickly said was not allowed. F.lux's developers have said that it is not possible to introduce a f.lux app for iOS using Apple's existing tools and has asked the company to "open up access" to Night Shift features.

FlexBright has a primitive interface, and current color schemes seem yellower than Apple's implementation of Night Shift, but it opens up an interesting option, especially for those who have devices that won't be supported by Night Shift. FlexBright is available from the iOS App Store for $2.99. [Direct Link]

Update: FlexBright has been removed from the App Store. No explanation for the removal has been provided by Apple at this time.

Over the weekend, the first instance of Mac ransomware was found in a malicious update to the Transmission BitTorrent client. Version 2.90 of Transmission downloaded from the Transmission website was infected with "KeRanger" ransomware.

"Ransomware" is a class of malware that encrypts a user's hard drive and files, demanding money to decrypt it. In this case, KeRanger would have required Mac users to shell out a bitcoin for decryption, equivalent to approximately $400.

The developers behind Transmission have shared some additional details on the attack with Reuters, giving us some insight into how it occurred. The server that delivers the Transmission software to customers was breached in a cyber attack, allowing the KeRanger malware to be added to the disk-image of its software.

Transmission representative John Clay told Reuters via email that the ransomware was added to disk-image of its software after the project's server was compromised in a cyber attack.

"We're not commenting on the avenue of attack, other than to say that it was our main server that was compromised," he said. "The normal disk image (was) replaced by the compromised one."

During the time that the malware-infected version of Transmission was available, it was downloaded approximately 6,500 times before the vulnerability was discovered. Security on the server has since been increased, ensuring a similar attack can't occur a second time.

On Sunday, Transmission's developers released software updates to block the malicious software and to remove it from the Macs of users who had unwittingly installed the malicious version. Apple also updated its software protections to keep the malware from affecting Mac users and to prevent the bad version from being installed on additional machines.

Customers who have downloaded the Transmission BitTorrent client should make sure they have updated the software to version 2.92, which will remove the malware from infected computers. Additional details on how to determine if you have the malware installed are available through Palo Alto Networks.

Apple's progress on its second campus has been tracked by drone videos and ongoing construction updates, but the company recently gave Mashable details on the new location, sharing impressive photos and inside information on the main ring-shaped structure and surrounding buildings like the auditorium.

As we know, Apple's new campus features massive curved glass windows to give the building an open feel. Outfitting the campus in curved glass requires 3,000 panels, each of which is 46 feet long and 10.5 feet wide, and getting those panels into place required Apple to build custom machines it calls "Manipulators."

Mashable got a first look at the "Theatre," the 120,000 square-foot underground auditorium where Apple will host future events. Designed to seat 1,000 people, the Theatre lobby is made of glass that offers 360-degree views of the campus with stairs down to the event area. According to Apple, the roof is the most impressive part of the auditorium. It weighs 80 tons and was assembled in Dubai before being shipped in pieces to California.

But perhaps the most stunning addition is its roof, which Apple believes is the largest freestanding carbon-fiber roof ever made. Created by Dubai-based Premier Composite Technologies, it's a massive statement piece, in addition to a design feat. But please, Apple doesn't want you to call it a UFO. The roof was added to the Theatre last month.

The circular roof is made up of 44 identical radial panels averaging 70 feet long and 11 feet wide, and each connects to a small central hub positioned in the middle.

There are many unique elements included in Apple's second campus, and a 60,000 square-foot restaurant inside the ring-shaped building is no exception. Designed to house 2,800 employees inside and 1,200 on an outside patio, the restaurant will feature two glass doors that are four stories high.

Apple expects construction on its campus to be finished at the end of 2016, which is right on schedule. Tim Cook said in a past interview that employees will begin moving into the building in January of 2017.

The full set of photos from Apple Campus 2 are available over at Mashable and are worth checking out for those interested in a close-up look at the new campus.

Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming iOS 9.3 update to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, less than a week after seeding the fifth iOS 9.3 beta and three months after the public release of iOS 9.2, the last major update to iOS 9. iOS 9.3 has been in testing since January 11.

The sixth iOS 9.3 beta, build 13E5231a, is available as an over-the-air update and through the iOS section of the Apple Developer Center.

As a major update to the iOS 9 operating system, iOS 9.3 introduces several new features. There's a Night Shift mode to reduce the amount of blue light iOS users are exposed to in the evening by shifting the iPad or iPhone display to a warmer (yellower) color spectrum, and there are several features designed to improve the iPad for Education program, such as multi-user login. Multi-user login, while an appealing feature, is limited to MDM customers and is not available to the general public.

Multiple apps and features are also seeing updates in iOS 9.3. Apple News includes more personalized recommendations, faster updates, a landscape view on the iPhone, and support for in-line video, while Health includes an Apple Watch-style "Activity" view, Notes has an option to password protect individual entries, and third-party apps can add songs to Apple Music.

Apple Music for CarPlay offers "New" and "For You" sections for better music discovery in iOS 9.3, and a Nearby Feature in CarPlay Maps offers more information about points of interest that are close by. Paired with watchOS 2.2, an iPhone running iOS 9.3 is able to support multiple Apple Watches, and for iPhone 6s users, there are new Quick Actions for Weather, Settings, Compass, Health, App Store, and iTunes Store.

This is likely to be one of the last betas of iOS 9.3 we'll see before it is released to the public. Apple is planning to launch iOS 9.3 in the spring, perhaps following an event that is scheduled to take place on March 21.

Amid rumors a dual-lens camera will be introduced in the iPhone 7, Apple recently submitted a patent application published in January which gives us rare insight into what Apple thinks a dual-lens camera interface could look like on future iOS devices.

The patent outlines a dual-camera system that consists of one standard wide-angle lens similar to what's in the iPhone today and a second telephoto lens capable of capturing zoomed-in video and photos.

Both lenses can be used simultaneously to take separate photos or videos, with Apple's software able to merge the images together in unique ways. As described by Apple, images from both lenses can be displayed on the same screen in the Camera app through a split-screen view that shows a standard wide-angle image on one side and the zoomed image on the other side.

When capturing a video or a photo, users are able to transition between both lenses seamlessly, tapping on a spot in the photo to zoom in with a second lens. Apple's system would work similarly to digital zoom does today, but because it's using a lens with a longer focal length instead of zooming in through software, there's no loss of detail and the zoomed in image is much more crisp and clear.

Using the information obtained from the patent as a guideline, MacRumors videographer Matt Gonzalez created this video depicting how Apple might utilize multiple cameras to add impressive new features to the iPhone's picture taking capabilities.

As a specific example in the patent, Apple outlines a photo-taking opportunity at a child's birthday party. A parent could capture a video of the moments before the candles on the cake are blown out using the standard wide-angle iPhone camera, and then tap on the screen to open a split-screen view and activate the telephoto lens for a close-up portrait shot of the exact moment the candles are blown out.

According to the patent, both cameras are able to be used separately, with each one capturing video (even slo-mo video) or one capturing video and another taking photographs. The resulting files can be saved independently or artfully merged together using Apple's software.

We can't be sure that the patent is representative of an actual dual-camera implementation we might see in a future iPhone, but it's certainly a possibility and it gives us a solid look at some of the ideas Apple is working on. We're still several months away from the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, but multiple rumors suggest a dual-lens camera will be a feature for the larger-screened device.