MacRumors

Apple's much-rumored iWatch has been depicted as a standalone device able to function as a typical smart watch and monitor everything from glucose to blood pressure, but a new report from Brian Dolan of MobiHealthNews (via NetworkWorld) suggests that the iWatch's actual functionality may be somewhat more simple, with Apple aiming to make the health-tracking experience more accessible to everyone.

In a report that covers existing rumors and predictions for Apple's iWatch, Dolan aggregates known information and adds a few tidbits from his own sources, which he says "have limited but direct knowledge of Apple's plans for the iWatch and Healthbook."

While rumors have indicated the iWatch may be a standalone device able to function without an iPhone, that may not be the case. Poised as a peripheral device, the iWatch may require connectivity to a smartphone for its full functionality.

Actual iWatch functionality may be somewhat more simple, however, as many of the hires are said to be focusing on making basic health-tracking functions more effective. Some of the hires' more exotic expertise, in fields like blood and glucose monitoring, may not make it into the iWatch.

A source tells us that the team Apple has assembled is intended to ensure that the health sensing capabilities of the device are efficacious. Some fitness tracking devices available today primarily give users feedback in the form of an arbitrary points system — like Nike Fuel. Apple will likely not do this, but instead focus on real metrics like calories. Having a team with such advanced pedigrees will help ensure Apple's device is accurate. Don't expect glucose sensing though.

Today's report confirms the existence of the Healthbook concept that was detailed in late January, but could not verify the app's rumored name. The app is said to serve as a repository for all health and fitness information and could integrate not only with the iWatch, but other health-tracking apps and devices on the market. It focuses on simple concepts like exercise, diet, sleep, stress, and medication adherence.

Apple's overall focus with the iWatch is said to be on the experience rather than the technology. With the iWatch and its accompanying health-related app, Apple aims to make health tracking "a mass market behavior" by increasing its mass market appeal and moving the concept beyond something that interests just "data-obsessed" people.

The report speculates that Apple's recent FDA meeting may have been about keeping the iWatch unregulated, which would inherently limit its ability to collect and analyze medical data and prevent it from collecting data from regulated medical devices, again pointing to a somewhat more simple device than previous rumors have suggested.

Information on the iWatch remains sketchy, but we may begin to get a clearer picture as we creep nearer to a release date. It is unknown when Apple plans to launch the iWatch, but in the fall alongside iOS 8 is a strong possibility.

Though Brian Dolan does not have an established track record for reporting rumors, he was the first to report on Apple's hiring of former Masimo Chief Medical Officer Michael O'Reilly.

Recent rumors have indicated Apple is planning to release a redesigned set-top box in the near future, and hints of the new hardware have already appeared in iOS 7 software builds, according to 9to5Mac and developer Hamza Sood.

There is a reference to the AppleTV4,1 listed in the iOS 7 Apple TV framework that handles AirPlay. AppleTV4,1 does not correlate to an existing Apple TV device, thus pointing to new hardware.

The current Apple TV (which was tweaked in 2013) is listed internally as AppleTV3,2, while AppleTV3,1 refers to the 1080p device released in 2012. AppleTV2,1 references the first ios-based Apple TV released in 2010.

According to 9to5Mac, references for AppleTV4,1 first appeared in the original version of iOS 7 released in September, but were not discovered until recently. AppleTV4,1 appears to be a reference to an entirely new device that is more than just an iterative update to Apple's existing set-top box.

An updated Apple TV has been expected for quite some time, as Apple's last refresh of the device was a minor tweak last year that saw the device upgraded to a smaller A5 chip. The device has otherwise retained the same look and functionality since the third-generation Apple TV was released in March of 2012.

Rumors have suggested that the revamped box might include game support, an Apple TV-based App Store, and support for Bluetooth controllers. Apple is also said to be testing a set-top box that combines the Apple TV with wireless router functionality and the company may also be testing a version of the device with a TV-tuner component allowing users to pull in content from their existing cable boxes, overlaying channels with an Apple interface.

Recently, Apple revised its online storefront to give the Apple TV greater prominence, suggesting it has moved past the "hobby" status that Apple executives have long assigned it. Over the course of the last several months, Apple has worked hard to boost the content it offers on the Apple TV, adding a number of channels including ABC, Bloomberg, Crackle, KORTV, Redbull TV and The Beatles channel, which was just added today.

Apple has launched its iTunes Radio streaming music product in Australia, the first non-U.S. country to get the service after it was launched alongside iOS 7 in September. It was reported in October that Apple was looking to launch iTunes Radio in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in early 2014.

Apple today announced iTunes Radio™ is now available to music fans in Australia. iTunes Radio is a free Internet radio service featuring over 100 stations and an incredible catalog of music from the iTunes Store, combined with features only iTunes can deliver. When you tune into iTunes Radio on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC or Apple TV, you’ll have access to stations inspired by the music you already listen to, Featured Stations curated by Apple and genre-focused stations that are personalized just for you. iTunes Radio evolves based on the music you play and download. The more you use iTunes Radio and iTunes, the more it knows what you like to listen to and the more personalized your experience becomes. iTunes Radio also gives you access to exclusive “First Play” premieres from top selling artists, plus the ability to tag or buy anything you hear with just one click.

Apple's Eddy Cue has said that launching iTunes Radio worldwide is a top priority for the company, with Apple ultimately aiming to have the service "in more than 100 countries."

iTunes Radio is ad-supported but iTunes Match subscribers (AU$34.99/year) get to use the service ad-free. The service is available on all iOS 7 products in the Music app.

Billionaire Carl Icahn has abandoned his effort to encourage Apple to increase its stock repurchasing program, according to a new letter addressed to Apple shareholders. Icahn had aggressively pushed for an increased stock buyback of up to $150 billion, going so far as to recommend a proxy vote for shareholders to support his agenda.

In explaining his reversal, Icahn points to a recent decision by Apple to repurchase $14 billion on a dip in the company's stock price following its most recent earnings announcement. Well-known proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) this week also sided with Apple and recommended against Icahn's scaled-back $50 billion stock buyback plan presented to shareholders.

That being said, we also agree with ISS's observation, taking into account that the company recently repurchased in "two weeks alone" $14 billion worth in shares, that "for fiscal 2014, it appears on track to repurchase at least $32 billion in shares." Our proposal, as ISS points out, "thus effectively only asks the board to spend another $18 billion on repurchases in the current year."

As Tim Cook describes them, these recent actions taken by the company to repurchase shares have been both "opportunistic" and "aggressive" and we are supportive. In light of these actions, and ISS's recommendation, we see no reason to persist with our non-binding proposal, especially when the company is already so close to fulfilling our requested repurchase target.

Icahn went on to say that he is excited about Apple's future, which will see the company introduce products in new categories this year. Rumors strongly suggest Apple is working on a watch/fitness band with sensors to potentially measure steps, calories, heart rate, glucose levels and more. Apple has assembled a "dream team" to work on this iWatch product, hiring a number of the best and brightest scientists from the medical device and health sensor field.

Apple's 2014 annual meeting of shareholders is scheduled for February 28, 2014.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' American debut, Apple today has expanded the lineup for its Apple TV set-top box by adding a channel dedicated to the legendary rock group.

The channel allows users to view The Beatles' groundbreaking performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" for a limited time, and also offers download links to The Beatles' U.S. releases, which are available digitally for the first time on iTunes.

The Beatles' music originally debuted on iTunes in November 2010 after years of speculation and prolonged negotiation between record label EMI and Apple. The group's music went on to sell 2 million songs and 450,000 albums in its first week on the iTunes Store, and eventually reached overall sales of 5 million songs and 1 million albums within in two months. Exclusive ringtones by The Beatles were made available on iTunes in February 2012, and a digital compilation of 59 rare and unheard recordings by the group also launched last December.

Thanks, Mike!

As promised, Dong Nguyen, the developer of Flappy Bird, has removed the popular game from the App Store. Flappy Bird has been the number one downloaded free app on Apple's App Store for almost a month. The game was generating $50,000/day in revenue from in-app ads.

Nguyen had previously expressed frustration at the attention he has received since the sudden popularity of his game. In a tweet last week he said "Please give me peace.", and yesterday, he announced that the game would be removed from the App Store today.

Flappy Bird no longer shows up in search, developer's app listing, and Top Free games. The direct link for the game still shows in the App Store at the time of this writing, but is unavailable for download.

In subsequent tweets, he said the removal was not due to legal reasons and that he was not interested in selling the game.

If you already have downloaded the game, you can still play it even though its been removed from the App Store.

Dong Nguyen, the developer of Flappy Bird, the viral hit that remains at the top of the App Store rankings, has promised on Twitter to remove the app from the App Store because the sheer amount of attention the app has drawn is something he isn't interested in dealing with.

Nguyen has repeatedly said on Twitter that the press is "overrating the success" of his games and that the sudden fame and attention is something he doesn't want, saying "please give me peace". He said today that though he is planning to remove Flappy Bird from the App Store, he will continue to make games. However, he isn't interested in the future of Flappy Bird and he won't sell the app to another developer.

Yesterday, before the shutdown was announced, Flappy Bird was updated to remove all social sharing features.

Apple CEO Tim Cook compared Android to Europe in his wide-ranging interview with The Wall Street Journal yesterday, saying that the PC and mobile platform wars couldn't be compared. Cook said that Android is made up of many different things under one banner, as opposed to Windows which was one uniform platform.

Cook's statement was in response to a question asking if the mobile device market will ultimately follow the PC market, where Apple remains a comparatively niche player compared to the dominance of Windows.

He said that the examining the PC and mobile markets as a direct comparison doesn't work, largely because one of the historical differences between the Mac and Windows was the lack of availability for applications on the Mac, while iOS has a very strong developer base.

"There was a vast, vast difference in the number of applications that were available for the Macintosh", Cook said. And, over the years, the gap continued to grow because the Mac lost some key applications.

However, on mobile devices, Apple has more than one million applications with half of those specifically optimized for the iPad. On Android, Cook says, there are only 1,000 apps optimized for tablets. He says the lack of properly optimized apps is one of the reasons "why the experience on Android tablets is so crappy".

The other thing is that Windows pretty much was one thing. Android is like Europe. Europe was a name that somebody came up with for Americans who didn’t understand that Europe was a lot of countries that weren’t like U.S. states. They were very different. Android is many things. How many people who use a Kindle know that they’re using Android? And you see what Samsung is doing by putting more and more software on top. I think it’s night and day. The compare is so off.

Cook also noted that he doesn't view the PC market a a monolith because he works at Apple -- he joined the company from Compaq and said he understands the PC world "at that time because [he] was in it". He continued, "if you really talk to the people who went through it... I don't think any of them would tell you it's the same" as the mobile device market today.

Elsewhere in the interview Cook revealed that Apple has repurchased $14 billion in stock over the past two weeks, and that the company is open to making large acquisitions if it makes sense. He also reiterated that Apple is working on "some really great stuff" in new product categories, an assertion that Apple executives have made numerous times over the past few months, and that Apple is spending an enormous amount of time and money on the "Macs of the future".

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread has been moved to 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.

A vulnerability in the Snapchat app opens the iPhone up to denial-of-service attacks that can cause the device to freeze and crash, according to cyber security researcher Jamie Sanchez [Google Translation] (via The Los Angeles Times).

A weakness in the app’s system can allow a hacker to send thousands of messages to a Snapchat user in seconds, which can cause a crash that requires a hard reset to fix. Tokens generated by the app used to verify user identity can be reused by hackers to send a flood of messages.

By reusing old tokens, hackers can send massive amounts of messages using powerful computers. This method could be used by spammers to send messages in mass quantities to numerous users, or it could be used to launch a cyber attack on specific individuals, [Sanchez] said.

Sanchez demonstrated the flaw for The Los Angeles Times, sending a reporter 1,000 messages within five seconds in a denial-of-service attack, which caused the reporter's iPhone to freeze until it restarted.

The security researcher declined to contact Snapchat with his findings as he believes the startup "has no respect for the cyber security research community" after ignoring previous app vulnerability reports.

Snapchat has faced multiple problems as its private messaging app has grown in popularity, including vulnerabilities that allowed users to bypass screenshot notifications and a recent security breach that compromised the user names and phone numbers of more than 4.6 million customers, which Snapchat was warned about ahead of time by a security group.

When asked about this particular vulnerability, Snapchat said it was unaware of the problem but interested in learning more.