Over the course of the last several years, Apple has begun to take an intense interest in biometrics as a way to improve the security and accessibility of its devices. Apple purchased sensor company AuthenTec in 2012 and quickly incorporated its fingerprint-sensing technology into the Touch ID fingerprint scanner that debuted in the iPhone 5s.
Touch ID marked Apple's first foray into biometrics, confirming user identity via fingerprint, but the company may have much bigger plans in mind for biometric sensors in future devices. Biometrics are said to play a key role in Apple's iWatch, and Apple may even expand beyond fingerprint technology, as the company has reportedly taken a new interest in iris scanning.
While little is known about Apple's investigation into iris scanning, it is a promising biometric technology that's already widely used for identification and authentication purposes.
App developer Steven Troughton-Smith posted a number of images on Twitter of what appears to be Apple's upcoming iOS in the Car interface. The files may have been bundled into the recently released iOS 7.1 beta 4, but it is unclear how Troughton-Smith was able to obtain the images, which show a simple iOS 7-style Maps design. When asked for clarification on the origin of the images, Troughton-Smith declined to comment.
First introduced alongside iOS 7, the upcoming iOS in the Car feature is designed to provide enhanced iOS integration in automobiles, offering an iOS-style interface on the car's touchscreen dash that allows users to make phone calls, access Maps, control music, and more. As shown in the screenshots, the software includes a warning screen like most typical GPS software, and it also has a home screen and an area for bookmarks.
The images of iOS in the Car provided by Troughton-Smith are quite different from those that have been provided by Apple in marketing materials, but that could be due to an evolution of the software's development. In the image below, Troughton-Smith's screenshot is compared to Apple's early example of iOS in the Car.
iOS in the Car as shown on Apple's website on the bottom, iOS in the Car screenshot on the top
On Apple's iOS 7 website, iOS in the Car is listed as "Coming soon" and the company has given few hints as to when it might make an appearance in cars. In mid–2013, Tim Cook said that iOS in the Car was an "important part of the [Apple] ecosystem" and a "key focus."
Many car makers have expressed interest in including iOS in the Car in their 2014 models, including Audi, BMW, Acura, Chevrolet, Honda, and more. While Honda has included new HondaLink connectivity in its newly released models and several car manufacturers have implemented support for last year’s Siri Eyes Free, cars with full support for iOS in the Car have yet to be released.
Specific iOS in the Car settings were found in the second iOS 7.1 beta, leading some to believe that iOS in the Car support could be a feature bundled into iOS 7.1. Currently on its fourth beta iteration, it is unknown when iOS 7.1 will be released to the public.
Last year, Apple executive Phil Schiller tweeted a link to a research report that noted significant growth in mobile malware, particularly on Android. The report found that Android accounted for 79 percent of mobile threats, with just 0.7 percent attacking iOS.
Today, Schiller followed up, tweeting a link to Cisco's 2014 Annual Security Report. The report, which came out late last week, notes that while overall vulnerabilities are highest since tracking began in 2000, 99 percent of all mobile malware targeted Android devices -- leaving iOS devices relatively unscathed thanks to Apple's controlling mobile ecosystem.
The report does note that many mobile users encounter phishing or other social engineering websites, something that Apple's security protocols won't necessarily protect users from.
Not all mobile malware is designed to target specific devices, however. Many encounters involve phishing, likejacking, or other social engineering ruses, or forcible redirects to websites other than expected. An analysis of user agents by Cisco TRAC/SIO reveals that Android users, at 71 percent, have the highest encounter rates with all forms of web-delivered malware, followed by Apple iPhone users with 14 percent of all web malware encounters.
Other than that specific mention of social engineering -- and that spam messages mention Apple Gift Cards -- the Cisco report does not mention Apple or the Mac or iOS at all. The tweet is likely part of a larger push by Apple to share more favorable third-party reports about the company and its products.
Apple slipped behind Samsung, Sony and Microsoft in a 2014 customer experience survey from Forrester Research (via The Wall Street Journal). This is the third annual survey, and the first time Apple has fallen behind these rival companies.
The survey measures customer experience, which involves difficult-to-define criteria based on how a customer feels about his or her interaction with a company. Forrester queried 7,500 consumers about their retail and customer support experiences and used the responses to assign each company a customer-experience index score.
Amazon scored highest among the 17 consumer-electronics manufacturers operating in North America. It was the only manufacturer to garner an “excellent” rating of 91 for Kindle customers.
Sony came in second with a rating of 83, while Microsoft and Samsung followed one point behind at 82. Apple scored an 81. All three brands rated below Apple in the 2013 survey.
Though it slipped behind the competition, Apple still improved its score in the 2014 survey and earned a "good" score according to the survey's criteria.
Apple has struggled somewhat with the continually increasing volume of customers visiting its retail stores for sales and support, particularly under the leadership of former retail chief John Browett. Browett was ousted as part of a management restructuring after spending just six months on the job, during which Apple's retail unit saw staff cutbacks and an emphasis on profits erode the customer experience and employee satisfaction. After nearly a year and a half without a retail chief, Apple will see Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts take the helm in the coming months to oversee both retail and online store operations.
The ongoing dispute over external compliance monitoring of Apple in the e-books antitrust case has taken another turn today, with a federal appeals court granting Apple a brief reprieve from monitoring as it considers the possibility of a longer stay as Apple appeals the original decision, reports Reuters.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York granted Apple an "administrative stay" of the court order appointing the monitor, Michael Bromwich, while the company seeks permission for a longer stay during its appeal.
In a brief order, the 2nd Circuit said a three-judge panel would hear Apple's motion for a stay pending appeal as soon as possible. It gave the government until Jan. 24 to file opposition papers. The government did not oppose the request for an administrative stay.
Last November, Apple filed a formal complaint regarding Bromwich, alleging significant overreach and exorbitant fees. In response, Bromwich, who has no significant previous antitrust experience and whose ties to Judge Denise Cote have been questioned, claimed that Apple was hindering his investigations.
Apple formally requested removal of Bromwich earlier this month, but Cote declined to do so, arguing that "Apple's reaction to the existence of a monitorship underscores the wisdom of its imposition."
Apple is continuing to pursue an appeal of the original decision, and the appeals court will ultimately decide whether the monitoring by Bromwich should be put on hold while that appeal is heard.
Apple today was awarded U.S. Patent No. 8,633,916 (via AppleInsider), which describes a touchpad that utilizes force sensors and acuator feedback. The buttonless design uses an array of sensors and an actuator to mimic the function and tactile feedback of the current trackpad found in the company's MacBook product lines.
Currently, Apple's trackpad technology is based on an integrated button design. Surface touch sensors track the movement of fingers and a hinged button allows the trackpad to click when a user presses down on it. A switch located under the trackpad is actuated when a click pivots the trackpad downward on its rear hinge. The pivoting motion of this button makes it difficult to click near the rear edge of the trackpad and requires extra space within the chassis of the notebook.
In the newly awarded patent, which was filed in December 2009, Apple builds upon its current design by using a surface touch sensor and four corner force sensors to track finger movement and clicking input from the user. An actuator would be used to provide tactile feedback. Also similar to the current trackpad, a buttonless trackpad may have user-customizable settings that adjust the sensitivity levels for the click pressure or the tactile feedback.
In addition to processing touch sensor signals to determine the location of touch events, signals from the force sensors may be processed. A rectangular touch pad may have four corners. Force sensors may be mounted under each of the four corners. When a user presses on the surface of the touch pad, the force sensors may pick up four corresponding independent force signals.
Tactile feedback may be provided using an actuator. The actuator may be controlled by actuator drive signals. As a user of an electronic device interacts with the touch pad, the user may make gestures and perform other touch-related tasks. When the user desires to select an on-screen object or perform other tasks of the type traditionally associated with button actuation events, the user may press downwards against the surface of the track pad. When sufficient force is detected, appropriate action may be taken and drive signals may be applied to the actuator. The actuator may impart movement to the touch pad.
Whether Apple chooses to incorporate this new trackpad technology or not is unknown, but a move to do so would make sense considering that Apple's multi-touch trackpad debuted with the MacBook Air in 2008, and has made its way to every MacBook since then. But given the fact that it has been over four years since the patent's filing, Apple may simply have abandoned the proposed design for unknown reasons.
Verizon Wireless announced its earnings today for 4Q 2013, making it the first major U.S. carrier to release its financial statement for the quarter. But while many were hoping to get the first insight into holiday sales of the iPhone, the carrier failed to break out these numbers. This is the first time Verizon has not announced iPhone activations and is following AT&T, which also stopped reporting quarterly iPhone activations last year.
The carrier revealed during its earning conference call that it activated 8.8 million smartphones in the quarter, down approximately 10 percent from the 9.8 million smartphones the carrier activated in 4Q 2012 but up approximately 16 percent from the previous quarter. The carrier activated 625,000 tablets in the quarter and now has 3.6 million tablets on its network.
Verizon also confirmed it activated 9 million LTE devices in 4Q 2013 while completing its LTE deployment on its cellular network and leading the industry in 4G LTE smartphone connections. As of the end of the quarter, the carrier's 4G LTE network covers 305 million people in more than 500 markets in the U.S. Approximately 69% of the carrier's total data traffic now is transferred over LTE.
Apple will be reporting its own earnings next week on January 27, 2014 after the close of trading, at approximately 4:30 PM Eastern / 1:30 PM Pacific. MacRumors will have full coverage of Apple's earnings release and associated conference call taking place at 5:00 PM Eastern / 2:00 PM Pacific.
Apple has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (via AppleInsider) detailing a "station tuning" function for a media player or mobile device that would curate a playlist filled with both audio and visual content based on a user's interests.
The patent, which was originally filed in 2008, details a system that would automatically pull from content streams such as radio broadcasts, television broadcasts, and onboard media to deliver a custom playlist, and would also factor in metadata and user patterns when selecting different types of content. The tuning function is similar to the Genius feature currently found in iTunes, but extends well beyond the selection of music and into a variety of content.
The media player may automatically tune to one of the sources based on user preferences or criteria to output the currently playing content. The media player may tune to a source or switch from one source to another source based a user's tastes for music, a give volume level, an aversion to talk radio, or other user preferences or criteria. The media player may also queue or schedule forthcoming content on a given source for playback to the user.
In terms of controlling the tuning function, the patent details a gesture controlled graphical user interface that resembles a radio tuner. The interface itself would allow for previews of stations, as well as the ability to search for specific content based on criteria and when to trigger the station tuning.
Factors such as the volume, color, hue, and saturation attributes of content may also be used to determine what to include next in a playlist, with the function also being able to determine and show relevant advertisements or whether to skip them altogether based on a user's listening patterns.
It is unknown when or even if Apple plans to integrate a station tuning function into an existing product, but such a feature would fit well into Apple's iTunes Radio. While Apple already includes a host of stations to choose from in iTunes Radio including a "Featured Stations" function, integrating station tuning with content beyond audio would be an appealing addition for the service.
Apple announced today that it has expanded availability of iBooks Textbooks and the iTunes U Course Manager to over 50 total countries, including new countries such as Brazil, Italy, Japan, Russia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Overall, Apple states that iBooks Textbooks are now available in 51 total countries, while the iTunes U Course Manager has expanded to include a total of 70 countries.
“The incredible content and tools available for iPad provide teachers with new ways to customize learning unlike ever before,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We can’t wait to see how teachers in even more countries will create their new lesson plans with interactive textbooks, apps and rich digital content.”
Apple originally announced iBooks Textbooks at an education-focused media event in 2012, as a part of a push into the education market.
Beats has launched its much-rumored Beats Music streaming service and app, directly competing with other services like Pandora, Spotify, Rdio and Apple's iTunes Radio.
We wanted to build a music service that combined the freedom of an on-demand subscription service – unlimited, uninterrupted streaming and downloads of tens of millions of songs – but layer on top features that would give you that feeling only music that moves you can give. The right song at the right time will give you a chill. Make you pull someone close. Nod your head. Sing in the mirror. Roll down the car window and crank the volume to the right.
The service is heavily built on curation, with Beats hiring music experts from publications like Pitchfork and DJs from some of the most listened to radio stations around the country to curate stations, playlists and to make sure the music catalog of 20 million songs allows for "great listening choices".
Users can simply open the app and "hit play" to start streaming music, or they can use one of the curation-based features. "Right Now" allows users to input where they are, what they're doing, who they're with and what they want to listen to and the service creates and endless playlist to match that mood. "Highlights" allows users to stay up-to-date with the music world by following Beats Music's programmer picks.
Similarly to Spotify, users can also create and share playlists with all their friends. They can also download "hundreds of albums" for offline listening.
Back in March of 2013, Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine revealed that he had met with Apple executives, including CEO Tim Cook and SVP of Internet Services Eddy Cue about the music service. Specifically, the Apple executives expressed interest in the service's "business model and plans".
Beats Music is $9.99 a month for unlimited streaming, unlimited album downloads for offline streaming and no ads, although AT&T customers can get the service for their entire family for $14.99 a month.
Update: Due to high traffic, Beats Music has been experiencing some issues. As a result, the company has decided to stop allowing new signups until its traffic problems are resolved. Because of the blip, Beats Music is rewarding all users who register during this week with an additional 7 day trial period.
A new videography app called Horizon uses the iPhone's gyroscope to automatically "level out" iPhone videos so they are always shot in landscape mode, avoiding the so-called vertical video problem.
By automatically rotating video so that it is always horizontal, the app ensures that video is always kept in the default format for televisions and Apple's newer computer screens, but that it is always kept straight -- something that Instagram and other apps can do for photos -- but a feature that is unique for video.
The biggest downside is that the app effectively crops video, reducing total resolution, in order to keep the video horizontal and steady. But, as many videos get reduced in quality when posted online anyway, it may not matter to the average user.
Horizon lets you record horizontal videos no matter how you hold your device. Hold it upright, sideways or even keep rotating it while capturing, the video will always stay horizontal! You can add filters, shoot with the back or front camera and share your creations!
Ever felt you had to rotate your device while recording a video? Do you often end up with vertical videos or videos in wrong orientation? Enter Horizon!
Horizon works like magic! It auto-levels your videos while recording, using your device’s gyroscope. The orientation of the resulting video is corrected so that it always stays parallel to the ground.
Horizon is temporarily available for $0.99 from the App Store, with the price rising to $1.99 sometime after launch. [Direct Link]
Earlier today, Apple released the fourth beta of iOS 7.1 to developers, which included both bug fixes and a few new changes to the operating system. While iOS 7.1 beta 3 introduced several visual changes, iOS 7.1 beta 4 focused more heavily on behind-the-scenes improvements. There were, however, a few tweaks to further streamline the look of iOS 7, which are detailed below.
Slide to Unlock/Power Off: Most notably, the Slide to Unlock bar at the bottom of the phone is now more prominent, with a brighter, slower animation. The same brighter animation can be seen in the Slide to Power off bar when turning off the phone.
Revamped Slide to Unlock/Slide to Power off animation (Courtesy of @Elias96)
Contacts in Dialer: The option to add a contact when entering a phone number has been altered slightly and is now executed by tapping the + sign next to the phone number. Previously, there was a line that said "Add to Contacts."
Old version on left, iOS 7.1 beta 4 on right. (Image courtesy of iDownloadBlog)
Messages Scrolling: When scrolling through the Messages app in beta 4, it seems there is slightly more "bounce." This is in line with previous changes to Control Center, which introduced a bounce animation.
Siri: In the U.K., there is a new Siri voice on the iPad.
To check out previous changes introduced in iOS 7.1, make sure to take a look at our previous tidbits post on iOS 7.1 beta 3, which detailed a number of visual changes to the operating system.
It is unclear when Apple plans to release iOS 7.1 to the general public, but a report from December suggested it could see a lengthy beta testing period with a March launch. It is likely that Apple will continue making subtle changes to look and feel of iOS 7 in coming betas, which could result in a refined and polished version of the operating system when it is finally made available to the public.
A new jailbreak tweak called Controllers for All allows users to play iPhone and iPad games with the PlayStation 3's Dual Shock 3 controller, via Bluetooth. The tweak supports all games that have native iOS 7 controller support and when used with a Lightning Digital AV Adapter, users can play iOS games, with a wireless controller, on a television.
If you're into the whole jailbreaking scene, this seems like a must-have tweak. The games I've played with my actual legit iOS 7 controllers have been really awesome, and I can only imagine how much better the whole experience would be with an actual amazingly high quality controller like the PS3 controller.
Also, amusingly enough, you could pick up the PS3 controller from Amazon, jailbreak your device, and drop two bucks on Controllers for All, and spend less than half of what a "real" iOS 7 controller would cost you for what I imagine to be a substantially better overall experience.
Controllers for All is a $1.99 download from Cydia's ModMyi repo.
As reported last week, Apple is now offering in-store repairs for iPhone 5c displays.
Users with a cracked or damaged iPhone 5c display that do not have AppleCare+ can pay a $149 fee to get the screen repaired. Prior to the in-store repairs, that fee was $229 as Apple was forced to send damaged phones to an off-site repair center.
Apple first began offering in-store repairs back in June, when it began replacing iPhone 5 screens. The company is not yet equipped to replace iPhone 5s or iPhone 4s screens, so those devices are still sent off-site.
Apple’s in-store repairs are designed to cut down on costs and in a June 2013 employee meeting, Apple noted that in-house repairs could save the company as much as $1 billion per year.
iPad 2 sales have dropped significantly following the introduction of new iPad and iPad mini models back in October, according to the latest research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Both the mini and full-size iPad Air making significant percentage gains in Apple's iPad mix.
For the September quarter, the last quarter before the new iPads were released, CIRP said the iPad 2 accounted for some 22 percent of iPad sales. For the December quarter, the iPad 2 fell to only 5 percent of total iPad sales.
In the quarter, the iPad mini with Retina display remained supply constrained until at least mid-December -- the full size iPad accounted for 54 percent of sales, while the iPad mini accounted for 41 percent.
"Apple managed to shift significant sales to its higher-priced models," said Mike Levin, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder. "For the past year, the legacy iPad 2 grabbed from one-quarter to one-third of iPad sales. Along with the trend toward sale of models with larger storage capacities, Apple should see higher iPad average selling prices, with iPad 2 at only 5% of total sales and iPad mini sales split between the original model and the new iPad mini with Retina display."
The new iPad Air -- which was in strong supply for the quarter -- accounted for 41 percent of total iPad sales, significantly outselling the fourth-generation full-size iPad. Sales of the non-retina iPad mini outstripped its retina-equipped brethren, likely because of supply issues. On the U.S. Apple Online Store, the iPad mini with Retina display only began shipping within 24 hours at the end of December.
The shift of sales from the cheaper iPad 2 to the more expensive iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina is a good sign for Apple. The company has seen its iPad Average Selling Price consistently drop over the past three years.
Apple today released the fourth beta of iOS 7.1 to registered developers for testing purposes, following the release of the third iOS 7.1 beta at the beginning of this month. The update has a build number of 11D5134c and is available via an over-the-air update or through Apple’s developer center website.
The last version of iOS 7 available to the public, iOS 7.0.4, was released back in November. There are still several known issues for Apple's engineers to address, so iOS 7.1 will likely not be released to the public without at least one more round of beta testing.
Today's update also includes Xcode 5.1 Developer Preview 4 and a new version of the Apple TV beta software. Earlier today, it was rumored that Apple would soon be releasing the next beta of iOS 7.1.
While there were a wide array of UI tweaks in Beta 3, it appears that Beta 4 focuses much more on behind-the-scenes changes. The only UI change our readers have been able to find so far is a modest tweak to the Slide to Unlock animation to make it "shinier".
Apple may be close to releasing iOS 7.1 beta 4 to developers, according to a report by BGR. The new beta is reportedly in the hands of testing partners and is slated to be released to developers as soon as tomorrow. The beta will be the fourth of a reported six planned developer builds for iOS 7.1.
We are told there are various fixes in this latest version, including fixing keyboard issues, problems with the contacts app, more changes to the phone UI, and other changes. We have heard from sources that with iOS 7.1, Apple is working very hard to address some large memory bugs and other issues in iOS 7 that have caused crashes and restarts for a lot of people. Additionally, iOS 7.1 should help unify iOS 7 better graphically, with various user interface updates across the entire system and in apps for a more cohesive feel.
BGR has a bit of a hit-or-miss track record when it comes to predicting iOS releases, but the timing for a new iOS 7 beta release makes sense. Apple tends to release new beta versions every few weeks, and tomorrow would be two weeks since the release of iOS 7.1 beta 3. It should be noted that the build number mentioned by BGR for the fourth beta, 11D5127c, is actually for the current iOS 7.1 beta 3. A possible typo, however, doesn't invalidate the entire rumor, and therefore it remains plausible that the beta 4 is still in the pipleline for a developer release tomorrow.
According to a report [Google Translate of cached version] from Korean publication Digital Daily that was published and then pulled (via G 4 Games), Apple has inked a deal with LG to provide flexible, plastic OLED displays for the company's iWatch product. LG is allegedly the sole supplier of the 1.52-inch panels for Apple's rumored smart watch device.
LG is said to be starting mass production of these flexible panels starting in July 2014 with an initial target volume of 2 million units, and Apple chose these panels because they are thin, light, and provide adequate brightness with minimal power consumption, insiders claim. LG introduced the display technology in early 2013 and incorporated the panel in its curved LG G Flex smartphone, which was unveiled in October of last year.
Besides a flexible display, other rumors have suggest the iWatch will be launched in the second half of 2014 with wireless charging as a possible feature. OLED has been a commonly rumored technology for the iWatch, but other sources have pointed to different display sizes for the device, including the possibility of separate sizes in the 1.3-inch and 1.6-inch ranges for men and women.
The reason for the removal of today's report about the claimed deal with LG is unclear, and with no rumor track record for Digital Daily it is difficult to assess the reliability of the claims.
The ongoing dispute over external compliance monitoring of Apple in the 
A new videography app called 
