MacRumors

Apple today released a new software update for the Apple Watch, upgrading watchOS 2 to version 2.0.1. The update comes one month after Apple first released watchOS 2 to the public with new features like Nightstand mode, native apps, new watch faces, and more.

The 2.0.1 update can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone. watchOS 2.0.1 requires iOS 9.1 or iOS 9.0.2 to be installed on the iPhone.

This update contains new emoji characters, performance improvements, and bug fixes, including:

- Fixes an issue that could cause software updates to stall
- Fixes issues that were impacting battery performance
- Resolves an issue that prevented a managed iPhone from syncing iOS Calendar events to Apple Watch
- Addresses an issue that could prevent location information from properly updating
- Fixes an issue that could cause Digital Touch to send from an email address instead of a phone number
- Addresses an issue that could cause instability when using a Live Photo as a watch face
- Resolves an issue that allows the sensors to stay on indefinitely when using Siri to measure heart rate

The watchOS 2.0.1 update includes a whole slew of bug fixes, as listed above, and it also includes support for the new emoji also made available in OS X with 10.11.1 El Capitan and iOS with iOS 9.1.

Apple today released iOS 9.1 to the public, marking the first major update to the iOS 9 operating system that launched in September. In testing since before iOS 9 was even released, iOS 9.1 was beta tested for more than a month before its launch, with developers and public beta testers receiving five betas in total.

Today's iOS 9.1 update is available as an over-the-air update to all iOS 9 users. It is the third update to iOS 9 so far, with Apple having previously released iOS 9.0.1 and iOS 9.0.2. Apple has also released Xcode 7.1 and the tvOS golden master (GM), which represents the final version of the software that will be available when the new Apple TV launches next week.

iOS 9.1 has a limited number of outward facing changes. It includes support for Unicode 7 and 8, introducing a range of new emoji like taco, burrito, cheese wedge, middle finger, champagne bottle, unicorn head, and more.

This release includes new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:

- Live Photos now intelligently senses when you raise or lower your iPhone, so that Live Photos will automatically not record these movements
- Over 150 new emoji characters with full support for Unicode 7.0 and 8.0 emojis

Aside from these changes, iOS 9.1 includes new features and compatibility updates for upcoming Apple products like the fourth-generation Apple TV and the iPad Pro The new Apple TV requires iOS 9.1 to be set up using an iOS device.

iOS 9.1 also includes bug fixes for a number of issues that iOS users have been experiencing, and as with most iOS updates, it enhances performance and introduces important security fixes.

Update: iOS 9.1 includes security updates that break the recent iOS 9 Pangu jailbreak.

Apple today released OS X 10.11.1, which is the first update to the new El Capitan operating system that was launched to the public on September 30. In testing since mid-September, OS X 10.11.1 is a minor performance update that focuses on fixing bugs found in the first version of El Capitan.

The OS X 10.11.1 update can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store and it is available to all users who are running OS X El Capitan.

According to the release notes, OS X 10.11.1 fixes several major bugs that El Capitan users have been experiencing since the software was released. It improves compatibility with Microsoft Office 2016, addressing ongoing crashing issues that Office 2016 users have run into. There are also two fixes for Mail issues.

This update:
- Improves installer reliability when upgrading to OS X El Capitan
- Improves compatibility with Microsoft Office 2016
- Fixes an issue where outgoing server information may be missing from Mail
- Resolves an issue that prevented display of messages and mailboxes in Mail
- Resolves an issue that prevents certain Audio Unit plug-ins from functioning properly
- Improves VoiceOver reliability
- Adds over 150 new emoji characters with full Unicode 7.0 and 8.0 support

OS X 10.11.1 also introduces support for Unicode 7 and 8, adding new emoji that include taco, burrito, cheese wedge, middle finger, hot dog, popcorn, and unicorn head. These emoji are also included in iOS 9.1.

Apple has honored "Back to the Future" day by updating Siri with at least ten humorous responses related to the popular movie Back to the Future II, released in 1989. iPhone and iPad users can invoke Siri and say "happy Back to the Future day" to receive one of the responses below at random.

Today is "Back to the Future" day because October 21, 2015 is the date that Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown travel to in the movie. The classic film makes several fictional predictions about the future, including hoverboards, flying cars, remote-control dog walkers and the Chicago Cubs winning the 2015 World Series.

Apple has updated Siri with humorous responses in the past for its September 9, 2015 event, WWDC 2014, "Okay Glass" and more.

Apple has leased Tech Place on 101, a 202,000-square-foot building under construction at 2509 Orchard Parkway in north San Jose, California, according to the San Jose Mercury News. The new building is located next to a large parcel of vacant land, owned by realty firm Steelwave, where up to two more office buildings could be built to accommodate around 3,000 workers.

Apple's north San Jose campus could potentially employ up to 20,000 workers.

"They are taking this building to control that entire neighborhood," said David Vanoncini, a managing partner with Kidder Mathews, a commercial realty firm.

If all the sites were built out to their full capacity, over time, Apple potentially could employ up to 20,000 workers on the north San Jose properties.

The company also reportedly expanded into San Francisco for the first time in July, leasing a 76,000-square-foot office space in the popular South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood, and further bolstered its Bay Area presence by acquiring a 770,000-square-foot property in Sunnyvale.

Apple now has real estate in five Bay Area cities, including Cupertino, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. In addition to its One Infinite Loop headquarters, the iPhone maker continues development on its nearby "Campus 2" project, which remains scheduled for completion in late 2016.

Apple today voiced its opposition to the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, or CISA, just days before the Senate will vote on the bill. In a statement given to The Washington Post, Apple reiterated its commitment to user privacy and said it does not support CISA.

"We don't support the current CISA proposal," Apple said in a statement. "The trust of our customers means everything to us and we don't believe security should come at the expense of their privacy."

Apple's public statement on CISA comes on the heels of statements from several other tech companies who oppose CISA, including Twitter, Yelp, Wikipedia, and reddit. The Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon, has also urged the Senate to make improvements to the act, saying it does not support CISA as it is currently written.

The controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act is designed to allow companies to share information on cybersecurity threats with one another and with the government, but opponents say it puts personal privacy at risk by failing to include protections for user privacy and by granting the government wide-ranging rights gather private data from Americans under the guise of shielding them from hackers.

Apple has taken a strong stance on user privacy in recent years and has reiterated many times that the government has no access to Apple's servers. With iOS 8, Apple further strengthened its position on preventing government access to user data by ending its storage of encryption keys for iOS devices, making it impossible for the company to unlock iPhones and iPads under police request.

Over the course of the last two years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken passionately on Apple's unwavering commitment to privacy. He shared his most recent thoughts on the subject last night, at the WSJ.D Live conference in California. "Do we want our nation to be secure? Of course," Cook said. "No one should have to decide between privacy or security. We should be smart enough to do both. Both of these things are essentially part of the Constitution."

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 this week informed a federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn, New York that it "would be impossible" for the company to access data on a locked iPhone running iOS 8 or later, reports Reuters. Apple was responding to a request from the judge, James Orenstein, to help him decide whether to fulfill a U.S. Justice Department request that would have forced Apple to help authorities gain access to a seized iPhone.

Apple's response is not a surprise, as it is the same thing the company has said several times in the past. Since iOS 8, Apple has stopped storing encryption keys for devices, making it impossible for the company to unlock iPhones and iPads under police request. Without an encryption key, Apple cannot bypass a passcode to gain access to an iOS device.

In a brief filed with the court, Apple said 90 percent of its devices are running iOS 8 or higher and are thus inaccessible. Apple is able to access the 10 percent of devices that continue to use iOS 7 or below, but the company told the judge that being forced to comply with the Justice Department's request could tarnish its brand.

"Forcing Apple to extract data in this case, absent clear legal authority to do so, could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand," Apple's lawyers wrote.

Apple's encryption changes, implemented in 2014 with iOS 8, have been unpopular with some law enforcement officials. FBI Director James Comey has expressed concern that encryption implemented by companies like Google and Apple lets people "place themselves above the law."

Just yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook told an interviewer encryption is a necessity and that software backdoors are unacceptable, reiterating Apple's long-standing opinion on the subject.

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.

Just a week ahead of the launch of the fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple has added several new channels to the existing set-top box. As of today, NBC, CBS All Access, and Made to Measure (M2M) are available on the Apple TV.

The new NBC channel is the first time the network has had a channel available on the Apple TV, aside from the dedicated NBC Sports channel. With the NBC channel, customers can watch full episodes of NBC shows on the Apple TV. Cable authentication is required for some features, but all users can watch some NBC content on the channel without needing a subscription.

Announced last night, M2M is an Apple TV exclusive channel that focuses on fashion, run by talent agency conglomerate WME/IMG. The channel features short videos, interviews, and mini-documentaries from the fashion world.

The new CBS channel, CBS All Access, is designed to provide access to the CBS All Access streaming service. CBS All Access includes more than 7,500 episodes of CBS shows on demand, and it offers new episodes of all CBS shows the day after they air. Some customers whose local CBS affiliates support All Access will also be able to watch CBS shows live on the channel.

All three of the new channels are available immediately on the existing Apple TV, and will also be available on the new set-top box that's launching on Monday.

HTC today announced its latest flagship Android smartphone, the HTC One A9. Priced at just $399, the One A9 looks remarkably like an iPhone 6/6s, taking many design cues from Apple's most recent devices.

The A9 has a 5-inch screen with a curved-edge display, so it fits right in between the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus, and it includes the same antenna bands and a protruding rear camera, both design choices that haven't exactly been universally popular on the iPhone. The aluminum body comes in colors that are similar to the iPhone color lineup, available in Opal Silver and Carbon Gray.

The design similarities between the iPhone 6 and the HTC A9 are only external. The A9 runs the latest version of Android, Marshmallow, and it's equipped with a four-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon 617 processor, up to 3GB RAM, and a 13-megapixel rear camera. There's also a 4-megapixel front-facing camera and it ships with up to 32GB of storage that can be expanded to 2TB with a microSD card.

HTC is accepting pre-orders for the One A9 on its website. The phone is priced at $399 and is available unlocked.