Apple

no-last-minute-reprieve,-us-ban-on-some-apple-watch-sales-now-in-effect

No last-minute reprieve, US ban on some Apple Watch sales now in effect

Apple, Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, syndication / /

no joy for Apple —

Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 blood oxygen sensors are patent-infringing.

–

The Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Enlarge / The Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Apple

Apple is banned from selling the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US after President Joe Biden’s administration refused to grant a reprieve from a trade tribunal’s decision that it had infringed another company’s patents.

Apple confirmed on Tuesday it had appealed against the earlier ruling from the US International Trade Commission, which stems from a patent dispute with health technology company Masimo.

Biden’s administration had 60 days from the ITC decision, which was handed down in October, to decide whether to allow it to take effect. The authority to decide whether to intervene was delegated by the White House to the US trade representative, Katherine Tai.

“After careful consultations, Ambassador Tai decided not to reverse the ITC’s determination and the ITC’s decision became final on December 26 2023,” Tai’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

In a statement, Apple said it strongly disagreed with the ITC’s decision and exclusion order and was “taking all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the US as soon as possible.”

Ahead of a final decision from the White House, Apple had said it would preemptively halt sales of the affected models in the US on its website from December 21, and in physical stores from December 24.

It is exceptionally rare for the White House to wade into such cases, although the Obama administration vetoed a patent ban on iPhones and iPads in 2013 during the company’s legal dispute with Samsung.

The ruling deals a blow to Apple, which is already facing a slowdown in hardware sales this year. Earlier models of the Apple Watch remain available in the US, and Apple says the ban will have no impact on service for customers who have already bought the new models.

The case stems from a legal dispute between Apple and Irvine, California-headquartered Masimo over patents on the technology for measuring blood oxygen levels on the devices. The method, known as pulse oximetry, measures oxygen in the blood by shining light into the wrist.

Apple first introduced the technology in 2020, in an effort to draw in more consumers and give them the incentive to upgrade with new features on the device. Masimo said Apple copied its patented technology.

The US International Trade Commission ruled in Masimo’s favor, issuing a “limited exclusion order” against Apple’s products.

Masimo has separately sued Apple in federal court alleging trade secret violations. A trial in that case ended with a hung jury in May.

Apple is similarly embroiled in litigation with medical wearables company AliveCor over the heart rate monitoring technology on its watches. In December 2022 the ITC upheld a judge’s ruling that Apple violated AliveCor’s patents.

But that same month, the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board invalidated the AliveCor patents at the center of the dispute, putting any potential ban on hold pending appeals.

© 2023 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way.

No last-minute reprieve, US ban on some Apple Watch sales now in effect Read More »

laptops’-2023-quantum-leap:-5-computers-we’ll-still-be-talking-about-in-2024

Laptops’ 2023 quantum leap: 5 computers we’ll still be talking about in 2024

Apple, ASUS, Features, laptops, Lenovo, Tech / /
hand reaching for laptop, with blue swirls in the background

You’ll never uncover The Next Great Thing if you don’t deviate from the norm. When looking back at 2023’s laptops, we can see that many were merely refreshed designs—approaches that already work. But what happens when a company explores a design that, though not the most appealing today, might lead us to a new trend tomorrow?

You might end up with some computers that many, or even most, people aren’t currently interested in buying. But you could also end up glimpsing the designs that influence future laptops.

The laptops we’re about to look at all defied trends in some way, and we’re curious to see if they impact the laptop industry beyond 2023. We’ll also look at the challenges these ideas might face in the future—and some ways they could improve.

Lenovo’s laptop with dual 13.3-inch screens

  • A company called SZBOX is already selling a similar design, and I don’t think it’ll be the last.

    Scharon Harding

  • I was able to multitask like never before on a 13-inch-size laptop.

    Scharon Harding

  • Lenovo’s depiction of the Yoga Book 9i’s various forms. There has to be a useful idea somewhere in there, right?

    Lenovo

With the number of secondary screens already being built into laptops, Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i, as striking as it appears, was a somewhat expected progression. But Lenovo actually pulled it off with a legitimate PC featuring most of the bells and whistles found among traditional premium laptops. With the design serving practical use cases in an improved form factor, I expect it to not only be imitated (one small firm is already selling a laptop like this) but to also give the concept of foldable-screen laptops a good run for their money.

The Yoga Book 9i, with its pair of 13.3-inch OLED screens, isn’t kicking off this list solely because it’s creative, flashy, or unique. It’s because, as detailed in our Lenovo Yoga Book 9i review, it proved itself an effective way to boost the amount of multitasking one can reasonably do on a 13-inch-size laptop. Lenovo’s revision of how to use a 13-inch chassis could improve options down the line for the many people seeking that golden area between ultra-portability and productivity potential.

On the Lenovo laptop’s 26.6 inches of cumulative screen, I was able to do the types of things that would only bring me frustration, if not a headache, on a single 13.3-inch panel. Want to take notes on a video call while monitoring your news feeds, having a chat window open, and keeping an eye on your email? That’s all remarkably manageable on a laptop with two full-size screens. And that PC is easier to lug around than a laptop and portable monitor.

What’s next?

The dual-screen setup worked well for small-laptop multitasking. But the polarizing lack of an integrated physical keyboard and touchpad challenge this form factor’s longevity. Easily accessible touchscreen controls are handy, but you can’t really replicate the reliable tactility and comfort of a keyboard and touchpad with touchscreens. A super portable laptop suddenly feels less portable when you have to remember to bring its accessories.

Still, I think this design has a place in the increasingly mobile world of computing. Future designs could improve with less reflective screens, given that reflectivity is especially distracting on a dual-screen laptop where one screen can cast reflections on the other.

Moving from OLED could help improve battery life to some degree. But, as you might have guessed, a laptop with two 13.3-inch OLED displays won’t be winning any laptop battery-life contests. Further, I wonder what price improvements could be made by foregoing OLED.

But many of the creative laptop designs these days opt for OLED, due to its high image quality, flexibility, and broad market appeal from more mainstream tech implementations, like OLED smartphones and TVs. This presents an ongoing price obstacle for a laptop design that already leans niche.

Laptops’ 2023 quantum leap: 5 computers we’ll still be talking about in 2024 Read More »

apple-wants-ai-to-run-directly-on-its-hardware-instead-of-in-the-cloud

Apple wants AI to run directly on its hardware instead of in the cloud

AI, Apple, IPhone, LLMs, syndication / /

Making Siri smarter —

iPhone maker wants to catch up to its rivals when it comes to AI.

–

The iPhone 15 Pro.

Enlarge / The iPhone 15 Pro.

Apple

Apple’s latest research about running large language models on smartphones offers the clearest signal yet that the iPhone maker plans to catch up with its Silicon Valley rivals in generative artificial intelligence.

The paper, entitled “LLM in a Flash,” offers a “solution to a current computational bottleneck,” its researchers write.

Its approach “paves the way for effective inference of LLMs on devices with limited memory,” they said. Inference refers to how large language models, the large data repositories that power apps like ChatGPT, respond to users’ queries. Chatbots and LLMs normally run in vast data centers with much greater computing power than an iPhone.

The paper was published on December 12 but caught wider attention after Hugging Face, a popular site for AI researchers to showcase their work, highlighted it late on Wednesday. It is the second Apple paper on generative AI this month and follows earlier moves to enable image-generating models such as Stable Diffusion to run on its custom chips.

Device manufacturers and chipmakers are hoping that new AI features will help revive the smartphone market, which has had its worst year in a decade, with shipments falling an estimated 5 percent, according to Counterpoint Research.

Despite launching one of the first virtual assistants, Siri, back in 2011, Apple has been largely left out of the wave of excitement about generative AI that has swept through Silicon Valley in the year since OpenAI launched its breakthrough chatbot ChatGPT. Apple has been viewed by many in the AI community as lagging behind its Big Tech rivals, despite hiring Google’s top AI executive, John Giannandrea, in 2018.

While Microsoft and Google have largely focused on delivering chatbots and other generative AI services over the Internet from their vast cloud computing platforms, Apple’s research suggests that it will instead focus on AI that can run directly on an iPhone.

Apple’s rivals, such as Samsung, are gearing up to launch a new kind of “AI smartphone” next year. Counterpoint estimated more than 100 million AI-focused smartphones would be shipped in 2024, with 40 percent of new devices offering such capabilities by 2027.

The head of the world’s largest mobile chipmaker, Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon, forecast that bringing AI to smartphones would create a whole new experience for consumers and reverse declining mobile sales.

“You’re going to see devices launch in early 2024 with a number of generative AI use cases,” he told the Financial Times in a recent interview. “As those things get scaled up, they start to make a meaningful change in the user experience and enable new innovation which has the potential to create a new upgrade cycle in smartphones.”

More sophisticated virtual assistants will be able to anticipate users’ actions such as texting or scheduling a meeting, he said, while devices will also be capable of new kinds of photo editing techniques.

Google this month unveiled a version of its new Gemini LLM that will run “natively” on its Pixel smartphones.

Running the kind of large AI model that powers ChatGPT or Google’s Bard on a personal device brings formidable technical challenges, because smartphones lack the huge computing resources and energy available in a data center. Solving this problem could mean that AI assistants respond more quickly than they do from the cloud and even work offline.

Ensuring that queries are answered on an individual’s own device without sending data to the cloud is also likely to bring privacy benefits, a key differentiator for Apple in recent years.

“Our experiment is designed to optimize inference efficiency on personal devices,” its researchers said. Apple tested its approach on models including Falcon 7B, a smaller version of an open source LLM originally developed by the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi.

Optimizing LLMs to run on battery-powered devices has been a growing focus for AI researchers. Academic papers are not a direct indicator of how Apple intends to add new features to its products, but they offer a rare glimpse into its secretive research labs and the company’s latest technical breakthroughs.

“Our work not only provides a solution to a current computational bottleneck but also sets a precedent for future research,” wrote Apple’s researchers in the conclusion to their paper. “We believe as LLMs continue to grow in size and complexity, approaches like this work will be essential for harnessing their full potential in a wide range of devices and applications.”

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple wants AI to run directly on its hardware instead of in the cloud Read More »

beeper’s-esoteric-fix-for-imessage-access-suggests-why-it’s-pushing-politically

Beeper’s esoteric fix for iMessage access suggests why it’s pushing politically

Apple, Tech / /

Blue bubbles requiring space gray boxes —

Beeper’s iMessage access could depend on both Mac data and DOJ action.

–

An M1 Mac Mini, held in hand.

Enlarge / If you have one of these, or another Mac handy, you should soon be able to access Beeper on Android and desktop platforms. You’ll just need to grab its “registration data” every so often.

Samuel Axon

Beeper’s Android app, which initially promised iMessage support with just a phone number, lost that connection once Apple started openly pushing back on it less than a week after it launched. Beeper has kept revising its approach, and its newest method—involving regular access to a physical Mac—suggests why the company has added a political component to its efforts.

Beeper started pushing back after its initial blockage, both through continued development and through media and political messaging. After a second, if smaller, Apple crackdown, co-founder Eric Migicovsky welcomed CBS Mornings into his garage, where he advanced his argument that Beeper was turning grossly insecure SMS messages between iPhone and Android users into secure, end-to-end encrypted chats. (CBS also interviewed James Gill, the 16-year-old whose work connecting to iMessage, using reverse-engineering methods, is the foundation of Beeper’s iMessage tech).

CBS Mornings‘ interview with Beeper co-founder Eric Migicovsky and James Gill, a teenage coder.

That interview lined up with another development: a bi-partisan foursome of US lawmakers, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), sending a letter to the Department of Justice regarding “Apple’s potential anti-competitive treatment of the Beeper Mini messaging application.” Apple’s actions toward Beeper, the letter suggests, could “eliminate choices for consumers,” “discourage future innovation and investment” in messaging, and make Apple a “digital gatekeeper,” suggesting a need for review by the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.

The move follows, and seems to echo, similar efforts by European Union regulators to open up iMessage, which have been stalled so far. Apple has announced that it will adopt RCS standards for SMS messaging, bringing delivery status and higher-quality media to messages between Android and iPhone users. But Apple is adopting a general RCS standard, not one with end-to-end encryption enabled, such as with Google’s own extension of RCS.

As of Sunday, more than 60 percent of Beeper users still couldn’t access iMessage, according to Beeper status updates. Today, Migicovsky told Beeper users (and a “Beeper Team” member posted on Reddit) that there was a solution, though it requires “access to a Mac computer,” or “a friend on Beeper with a Mac.” The updated workaround is due to arrive on Wednesday.

Beeper says that the issue involves the need for non-identifying “registration data” to access iMessage. Beeper had been using “our own fleet of Mac servers” to provide that data. “Unfortunately, this has proven to be an easy target for Apple because thousands of Beeper users were using the same registration data,” Migicovsky wrote users.

The updated Beeper app for Mac will allow for pulling a real Mac’s registration data, for both desktop and Android apps, and perhaps even sharing it with a small number of Beeper users. “In our testing, 10-20 iMessage users can safely use the same registration data,” Migicovsky wrote. He added that Beeper will be open-sourcing its full iMessage bridge, along with the Mac app code that generates registration data, which should provide a self-hosting option.

You’ll need occasional, if regular, access to that Mac running Beeper, however, as “roughly once per week or month” the data needs to be re-generated.

That kind of requirement, besides limiting a big part of its market to “Android users who also happen to have a Mac,” pushes Beeper even further into a kind of uncanny valley for providing iMessage support to non-Apple hardware. Being able to sometimes send secure, feature-rich iMessages, but occasionally losing access due to Apple’s stated intent to stop it, is a tough sell, even if Beeper isn’t charging at the moment.

That might explain why the company is looking to Congress, and user outcry, for alternate routes into iMessage.

This post was updated at 5: 30 p.m. on Dec. 19 to add context regarding Apple’s adoption of RCS, but not end-to-end encryption for RCS messages.

Beeper’s esoteric fix for iMessage access suggests why it’s pushing politically Read More »

apple-watches-being-pulled-from-stores-this-week-due-to-potential-import-ban

Apple Watches being pulled from stores this week due to potential import ban

Apple, apple watch, patent, Tech / /

Apple v. Masimo —

Ban on Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2 starts Dec. 26 if Biden doesn’t intervene.

–

Apple Watch Series 9

Enlarge / The Apple Watch Series 9 released in September 2023.

Apple

Apple will pause sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 starting December 21, it revealed today in a statement to 9to5Mac. The move comes as the products are facing a potential import ban until August 2028, due to rulings that the watches infringe on patents from Masimo.

In October, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) upheld a January ruling that Apple Watches with pulse oximeter features infringe on two Masimo patents. Since then, the case has been under a 60-day Presidential Review Period, which ends December 25. After that date, the watches are subject to an import ban until the patents’ expiration in 2028.

Apple told 9to5Mac:

While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. This includes pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple.com starting December 21, and from Apple retail locations after December 24.

The Apple Watch SE will remain available since it doesn’t have the blood oxygen sensor technology under dispute, which Apple debuted with the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020.

Since the ITC’s ruling is still under presidential review, President Biden may decide to veto the ruling, saving the Apple Watch from an import ban. However, we’ve already seen Biden decline to veto an ITC ruling that the Apple Watch infringes on electrocardiogram sensor-related patents owned by AliveCor. (The Apple Watch wasn’t banned related to that because the US Patent and Trademark Office revoked the patents in question, a decision that AliveCor is appealing.)

People can still buy the watches from third-party retailers for now. But if the ITC’s ruling isn’t vetoed, then, come December 25, Apple won’t be able to sell the watch to other retailers, like Best Buy, anymore.

Apple’s statement today noted that it “strongly disagrees” with the ITC’s ruling and is “pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers.”

“Should the order stand, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible,” Apple said.

Apple said it would appeal the ITC’s ruling on December 26 if the Presidential Review Period ends without a veto. But the watches would still be subject to the import ban.

A long battle

California-based Masimo has alleged that Apple started engaging in discussions with the company in 2013 under the premise of a potential partnership. However, Masimo claims that Apple ended up poaching some of its workers and tech. Apple previously claimed that Masimo was only “one of many medical-technology companies” that it met with during that time and that it never partnered with Masimo because it wasn’t consumer-focused.

As of this writing, Masimo’s “consumer health” website includes a handful of products. That includes the Masimo W1 health-tracking watch, against which Apple filed a patent infringement case in 2022 [PDF]. And if that’s not enough litigious beef between these two, Masimo also has a case against Apple filed in the US District Court in the Central District of California in early 2020, as noted by 9to5Mac.

While Apple is announcing some preemptive moves today, don’t expect the battle to be over. Apple made $39,845,000 [PDF] in wearables, home, and accessories sales for fiscal year 2023, (which ended September 20). There are numerous stakeholders—from suppliers to third-party retailers—invested in Apple producing flagship smartwatches.

Apple has alluded to numerous paths it can take to keep its watches alive, from more litigation to seeking new technologies. But it’s also possible that Masimo and Apple try to end their battle by working out some sort of licensing agreement.

Apple Watches being pulled from stores this week due to potential import ban Read More »

apple-partly-halts-beeper’s-imessage-app-again,-suggesting-a-long-fight-ahead

Apple partly halts Beeper’s iMessage app again, suggesting a long fight ahead

android, Apple, beeper, beeper mini, encrypted chat, Encryption, iMessage, imessages, iOS, IPhone, Tech / /
Beeper group chat illustration

Enlarge / The dream of everybody having blue bubbles, and epic photos of perfectly digestible meals, as proffered by Beeper.

Beeper

A friend of mine had been using Beeper’s iMessage-for-Android app, Beeper Mini to keep up on group chats where she was the only Android user. It worked great until last Friday, when it didn’t work at all.

What stung her wasn’t the return to being the Android interloper in the chats again. It wasn’t the resulting lower-quality images, loss of encryption, and strange “Emphasized your message” reaction texts. It was losing messages during the outage and never being entirely certain they had been sent or received. There was a gathering on Saturday, and she had to double-check with a couple people about the details after showing up inadvertently early at the wrong spot.

That kind of grievance is why, after Apple on Wednesday appeared to have blocked what Beeper described as “~5% of Beeper Mini users” from accessing iMessages, both co-founder Eric Migicovksy and the app told users they understood if people wanted out. The app had already suspended its plans to charge customers $1.99 per month, following the first major outage. But this was something more about “how ridiculously annoying this uncertainty is for our users,” Migicovsky posted.

Fighting on two fronts

But Beeper would keep working to ensure access and keep fighting on other fronts. Migicovsky pointed to Epic’s victory at trial against Google’s Play Store (“big tech”) as motivation. “We have a chance. We’re not giving up.” Over the weekend, Migicovsky reposted shows of support from Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who have focused on reigning in and regulating large technology company’s powers.

Apple previously issued a (somewhat uncommon) statement about Beeper’s iMessage access, stating that it “took steps to protect our users by blocking techniques that exploit fake credentials in order to gain access to iMessage.” Citing privacy, security, and spam concerns, Apple stated it would “continue to make updates in the future” to protect users. Migicovsky previously denied to Ars that Beeper used “fake credentials” or in any way made iMessages less secure.

I asked Migicovsky by direct message if, given Apple’s stated plan to continually block it, there could ever be a point at which Beeper’s access was “settled,” or “back up and running,” as he put it in his post on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote that it was up to the press and the community. “If there’s enough pressure on Apple, they will have to quit messing with us.” “Us,” he clarified, meant both Apple’s customers using iMessage and Android users trying to chat securely with iPhone friends.

“That’s who they’re penalizing,” he wrote. “It’s not a Beeper vs. Apple fight, it’s Apple versus customers.”

Apple partly halts Beeper’s iMessage app again, suggesting a long fight ahead Read More »

you-can-now-access-apple’s-official-diagnostics-tool-online-for-diy-repairs

You can now access Apple’s official diagnostics tool online for DIY repairs

Apple, IPhone, Mac, MacBook, repairability, right to repair, Tech / /

repairability —

Parts pairing still irks right-to-repair activists, though.

–

The front of the iPhone 15 Plus, with the Dynamic Island

Enlarge / The iPhone 15 is part of Apple’s self-repair program now.

Samuel Axon

Apple today expanded the Self Service Repair program it launched in April to include access to Apple’s diagnostics tool online and the iPhone 15 series and M2 Macs.

The online tool, Apple said in today’s announcement, provides “the same ability as Apple Authorized Service Providers and Independent Repair Providers to test devices for optimal part functionality and performance, as well as identify which parts may need repair.” The troubleshooting tool is only available in the US and will hit Europe in 2024, according to Apple.

Upon visiting the tool’s website, you’ll be prompted to put your device in diagnostic mode before entering the device’s serial number. Then, you’ll have access to a diagnostic suite, including things like a mobile resource inspector for checking software and validating components’ presence, testing for audio output and “display pixel anomalies,” and tests for cameras and Face ID.

Apple’s support page says the tests may “help isolate issues, investigate whether a part needs to be replaced, or verify that a repair has been successfully completed.”

The tool requires iOS 17.0 or macOS Sonoma 14.1 and later.

Apple’s Self Service Repair program relies on parts pairing, though, and critics say this limits the tools’ effectiveness. Self-repair activist iFixit has been vocal about its disagreement with Apple’s use of the practice since the tech giant launched its self-repair program. iFixit has argued that parts serialization limits the usage of third-party parts. In September, iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens called parts pairing “a serious threat to our ability to fix the things we own,” noting that Apple may be seeking to strong-arm a favorable customer experience but that it’s costing us the environment and “ownership rights.”

In a statement to Ars Technica today, Wiens expressed further disappointment with Apple’s parts serialization:

Apple still has a long way to go to create a robust repair ecosystem, including ending their repair-hostile parts pairing system. This software tool clearly illuminates the problems we’ve identified with parts pairing, where the diagnostic tool fails to recognize the ambient light sensor in a new part we’ve installed.

Users of Apple M2-based MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops, as well as the Mac Mini, Pro, and Studio, are now all included in the program, which gives customers access to tools, parts, and manuals previously only accessible by Apple and authorized repair partners. Customers can also rent tool repair kits, although they, too, have been criticized for their bulkiness and limited rental period.

Since launching its repair program, though, Apple has made a turnabout with user repairability, even if it’s still flawed. With the latest additions, Apple’s program now supports 35 products. The company has also become an unexpected proponent for state and national right-to-repair bills. And it’s simplified repairs via its Self Service Repair program— somewhat—by no longer requiring fixers to call Apple upon repair completions. People can instead verify repairs and update firmware with the System Configuration post-repair software tool. Today, Apple also announced bringing the program to 24 new European countries, bringing the program’s total to 33 countries.

Apple still says its repair program is best reserved for people who are experienced with electronics repairs.

You can now access Apple’s official diagnostics tool online for DIY repairs Read More »

Apple releases iOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2, delaying two features to 2024

Apple / /

Today, Apple pushed out the public releases of iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, macOS Sonoma 14.2, watchOS 10.2, and tvOS 17.2.

iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2’s flagship feature is the new Journal app, which Apple teased when it first introduced iOS 17 earlier. The app mimics several existing popular journaling apps in the App Store from third-party developers but leverages data from your Photos, workouts, and other Apple apps to make journaling suggestions.

Other features include the ability to tap a “catch-up arrow” to scroll to the first missed message in a conversation in Messages, the ability to take spatial video photos for later viewing on Vision Pro, and several tweaks and additions to the Weather app.

FURTHER READING

Apple exec departure leads to major iPhone, Apple Watch reshuffleThere are a few iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max-specific updates, too: The Translate app is now one of the main supported mappings for the Action button, and Apple says there have been improvements to the telephoto camera focusing speed in some situations.

There are still a couple of iOS features that were initially promised for the iOS 17 cycle that haven’t yet materialized: AirPlay for hotel room TVs and collaborative playlists in Apple Music. Those features will arrive sometime in 2024.

As is so often the case now, the latest macOS update (14.2) is comparatively modest. macOS gets some of the same tweaks to Messages and Weather. Additionally, “Enhanced AutoFill identifies fields in PDFs and other forms enabling you to populate them with information such as names and addresses from your contacts.”Advertisement

We’ve included Apple’s full release notes for its major operating system updates below.

iOS 17.2 release notes

Here are Apple’s release notes for iOS 17.2:

This update introduces Journal, an all-new way to reflect on life’s moments and preserve your memories. This release also includes Action button and Camera enhancements, as well as other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone.

Journal

  • Journal is a new app that lets you write about the small moments and big events in your life so you can practice gratitude and improve your wellbeing
  • Journaling suggestions make it easy to remember your experiences by intelligently grouping your outings, photos, workouts, and more into moments you can add to your journal
  • Filters let you quickly find bookmarked entries or show entries with attachments so you can revisit and reflect on key moments in your life
  • Scheduled notifications help you keep a consistent journaling practice by reminding you to write on the days and time you choose
  • Option to lock your journal using Touch ID or Face ID
  • iCloud sync keeps your journal entries safe and encrypted on iCloud

Action Button

  • Translate option for the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to quickly translate phrases or have a conversation with someone in another language

Camera

  • Spatial video lets you capture video on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max so you can relive your memories in three dimensions on Apple Vision Pro
  • Improved Telephoto camera focusing speed when capturing small faraway objects on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

Messages

  • Catch-up arrow lets you easily jump to your first unread message in a conversation by tapping the arrow visible in the top-right corner
  • Add sticker option in the context menu lets you add a sticker directly to a bubble
  • Memoji updates include the ability to adjust the body shape of any Memoji
  • Contact Key Verification provides automatic alerts and Contact Verification Codes to help verify people facing extraordinary digital threats are messaging only with the people they intend

Weather

  • Precipitation amounts help you stay on top of rain and snow conditions for a given day over the next 10 days
  • New widgets let you choose from next-hour precipitation, daily forecast, sunrise and sunset times, and current conditions such as Air Quality, Feels Like, and wind speed
  • Wind map snapshot helps you quickly assess wind patterns and access the animated wind map overlay to prepare for forecasted wind conditions for the next 24 hours
  • Interactive moon calendar lets you easily visualize the phase of the moon on any day for the next month

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

  • Siri support for privately accessing and logging Health app data using your voice
  • AirDrop improvements including expanded contact sharing options and the ability to share boarding passes, movie tickets, and other eligible passes by bringing two iPhones together
  • Favorite Songs Playlist in Apple Music lets you quickly get back to the songs you mark as favorites
  • Use Listening History in Apple Music can be disabled in a Focus so music you listen to does not appear in Recently Played or influence your recommendations
  • A new Digital Clock Widget lets you quickly catch a glimpse of the time on your Home Screen and while in StandBy
  • Enhanced AutoFill identifies fields in PDFs and other forms enabling you to populate them with information such as names and addresses from your contacts
  • New keyboard layouts provide support for 8 Sámi languages
  • Sensitive Content Warning for stickers in Messages prevents you from being unexpectedly shown a sticker containing nudity
  • Qi2 charger support for all iPhone 13 models and iPhone 14 models
  • Fixes an issue that may prevent wireless charging in certain vehicles

Apple releases iOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2, delaying two features to 2024 Read More »

apple-releases-ios-172-and-macos-14.2,-delays-two-features-to-2024

Apple releases iOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2, delays two features to 2024

Apple, iOS, iOS 17, iOS 17.2, macOS, macOS 14.2, macos sonoma, Tech, watchos, watchOS 10, watchOS 10.2 / /
The iPhone 15 Pro Max with three cameras

Enlarge / The iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Samuel Axon

Today, Apple pushed out the public releases of iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, macOS Sonoma 14.2, watchOS 10.2, and tvOS 17.2.

iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2’s flagship feature is the new Journal app, which Apple teased when it first introduced iOS 17 earlier. The app mimics several existing popular journaling apps in the App Store from third-party developers but leverages data from your Photos, workouts, and other Apple apps to make journaling suggestions.

Other features include the ability to tap a “catch-up arrow” to scroll to the first missed message in a conversation in Messages, the ability to take spatial video photos for later viewing on Vision Pro, and several tweaks and additions to the Weather app.

There are a few iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max-specific updates, too: The Translate app is now one of the main supported mappings for the Action button, and Apple says there have been improvements to the telephoto camera focusing speed in some situations.

There are still a couple of iOS features that were initially promised for the iOS 17 cycle that haven’t yet materialized: AirPlay for hotel room TVs and collaborative playlists in Apple Music. Those features will arrive sometime in 2024.

As is so often the case now, the latest macOS update (14.2) is comparatively modest. macOS gets some of the same tweaks to Messages and Weather. Additionally, “Enhanced AutoFill identifies fields in PDFs and other forms enabling you to populate them with information such as names and addresses from your contacts.”

We’ve included Apple’s full release notes for its major operating system updates below.

iOS 17.2 release notes

Here are Apple’s release notes for iOS 17.2:

This update introduces Journal, an all-new way to reflect on life’s moments and preserve your memories. This release also includes Action button and Camera enhancements, as well as other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone.

Journal

  • Journal is a new app that lets you write about the small moments and big events in your life so you can practice gratitude and improve your wellbeing
  • Journaling suggestions make it easy to remember your experiences by intelligently grouping your outings, photos, workouts, and more into moments you can add to your journal
  • Filters let you quickly find bookmarked entries or show entries with attachments so you can revisit and reflect on key moments in your life
  • Scheduled notifications help you keep a consistent journaling practice by reminding you to write on the days and time you choose
  • Option to lock your journal using Touch ID or Face ID
  • iCloud sync keeps your journal entries safe and encrypted on iCloud

Action Button

  • Translate option for the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to quickly translate phrases or have a conversation with someone in another language

Camera

  • Spatial video lets you capture video on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max so you can relive your memories in three dimensions on Apple Vision Pro
  • Improved Telephoto camera focusing speed when capturing small faraway objects on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

Messages

  • Catch-up arrow lets you easily jump to your first unread message in a conversation by tapping the arrow visible in the top-right corner
  • Add sticker option in the context menu lets you add a sticker directly to a bubble
  • Memoji updates include the ability to adjust the body shape of any Memoji
  • Contact Key Verification provides automatic alerts and Contact Verification Codes to help verify people facing extraordinary digital threats are messaging only with the people they intend

Weather

  • Precipitation amounts help you stay on top of rain and snow conditions for a given day over the next 10 days
  • New widgets let you choose from next-hour precipitation, daily forecast, sunrise and sunset times, and current conditions such as Air Quality, Feels Like, and wind speed
  • Wind map snapshot helps you quickly assess wind patterns and access the animated wind map overlay to prepare for forecasted wind conditions for the next 24 hours
  • Interactive moon calendar lets you easily visualize the phase of the moon on any day for the next month

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

  • Siri support for privately accessing and logging Health app data using your voice
  • AirDrop improvements including expanded contact sharing options and the ability to share boarding passes, movie tickets, and other eligible passes by bringing two iPhones together
  • Favorite Songs Playlist in Apple Music lets you quickly get back to the songs you mark as favorites
  • Use Listening History in Apple Music can be disabled in a Focus so music you listen to does not appear in Recently Played or influence your recommendations
  • A new Digital Clock Widget lets you quickly catch a glimpse of the time on your Home Screen and while in StandBy
  • Enhanced AutoFill identifies fields in PDFs and other forms enabling you to populate them with information such as names and addresses from your contacts
  • New keyboard layouts provide support for 8 Sámi languages
  • Sensitive Content Warning for stickers in Messages prevents you from being unexpectedly shown a sticker containing nudity
  • Qi2 charger support for all iPhone 13 models and iPhone 14 models
  • Fixes an issue that may prevent wireless charging in certain vehicles

Apple releases iOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2, delays two features to 2024 Read More »

apple-appears-to-have-blocked-beeper-mini’s-imessage-app-in-less-than-a-week

Apple appears to have blocked Beeper Mini’s iMessage app in less than a week

Apple, beeper, beeper mini, eric migicovsky, iMessage, messaging, rcs, Reverse-engineering, SMS, Tech / /

A very mini runway —

Co-founder: “All data indicates that” Apple has cut off Beeper Mini’s reverse-engineering.

– Updated

Beeper mini promotional splash image

Enlarge / Beeper Mini’s promises of “Blue bubbles” on Android seemed to have been nixed by a certain Cupertino-based firm on Friday.

Beeper

Beeper Mini, the Android app born from a reverse-engineering of Apple’s iMessage service, is currently broken, and it is unknown whether it will resume functioning.

Beeper desktop users received a message from co-founder Eric Migicovsky late on Friday afternoon, noting an “iMessage outage” and that “messages are failing to send and receive.” Reports had started piling up on Reddit around 2: 30 pm Eastern. As of 5: 30 pm, both Beeper Cloud on desktop and the Beeper Mini app were reporting errors in sending and receiving messages, with “Failed to lookup on sever: lookup request timed out.” Comments on Beeper’s status post on X (formerly Twitter) suggested mixed results, at best, among users.

The Verge, messaging with Migicovsky, reported that he “did not deny that Apple has successfully blocked Beeper Mini”; to TechCrunch, Migicovsky more clearly stated about an Apple cut-off: “Yes, all data indicates that.” To both outlets, Migicovsky offered the same comment, re-iterating his belief that it was in the best interests of Apple to let iPhone owners and Android users send encrypted messages to one another. (Ars reached out to Migicovsky for comment and will update this post with new information).

On Saturday, Migicovsky notified Beeper Cloud (desktop) users that iMessage was working again for them, after a long night of fixes. “Work continues on Beeper Mini,” Migicovsky wrote shortly after noon Eastern time.

Responding to a post on X (formerly Twitter) asking if restoring Beeper Mini’s function would be an “endless cat and mouse game,” Migicovsky wrote: “Beeper Cloud and Mini are apps that need to exist. We have built it. We will keep it working. We will share it widely.” He added that such an attitude, “especially from people in the tech world,” surprised him. “Why do hard things at all? Why keep working on anything that doesn’t work the first time?“

Beeper, as it worked shortly before launch on Dec. 5, sending iMessages from a Google Pixel 3 Android phone.

Beeper, as it worked shortly before launch on Dec. 5, sending iMessages from a Google Pixel 3 Android phone.

Kevin Purdy

Beeper’s ability to send encrypted iMessages from Android phones grew from a teenager’s reverse-engineering of the iMessage protocol, as Ars detailed at launch. The app could not read message contents (nor could Apple), kept encryption keys and contacts on your device, and did not require an Apple ID to authenticate.

The app did, however, send a text message from a device to an Apple server, and the response was used to generate an encryption key pair, one for Apple and one for your device. A Beeper service kept itself connected to Apple’s servers to notify it and you about new messages. Reddit user moptop and others suggested that Beeper’s service used encryption algorithms whose keys were spoofed to look like they came from a Mac Mini running OS X Mountain Lion, perhaps providing Apple a means of pinpointing and block them.

Members of the Discord focused on the original reverse-engineered tool on which Beeper Mini was built, PyPush, also reported that the tool was down Friday evening. Some noted that it seemed like their phone numbers had additionally been de-registered from iMessage.

Beeper Mini’s iMessage capabilities, for which the company was planning to charge $1.99 per month after a seven-day trial, were more than a feature. The company had planned to build additional secure messaging into Beeper Mini, including Signal and WhatsApp messaging, and make it the primary focus of its efforts. Its prior app Beeper, temporarily renamed Beeper Cloud, was marked to be deprecated at some point in favor of the new iMessage-touting Mini app.

This post was updated at 12: 50 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, to reflect restored function to Beeper Cloud (desktop), and Migicovsky’s social media response after the outage.

Apple appears to have blocked Beeper Mini’s iMessage app in less than a week Read More »

apple-exec-departure-leads-to-major-iphone,-apple-watch-reshuffle

Apple exec departure leads to major iPhone, Apple Watch reshuffle

airpods, Apple, apple watch, Bloomberg, IPhone, Tang Tan, Tech / /

Musical Chairs —

Tang Tan is leaving the company, and multiple people will shift to take his place.

–

The iPhone 15 Pro.

Enlarge / The iPhone 15 Pro.

Samuel Axon

According to a report in Bloomberg, Tang Tan, vice president of Product Design, is leaving Apple, and his departure heralds a shuffle of executives heading up some of the company’s most important products.

Sometimes, you might wonder just how much a specific executive influences the grand scheme of things, but the report claims that people within Apple see Tan’s departure as “a blow,” clarifying that he “made critical decisions about Apple’s most important products.” His team reportedly had “tight control” over the look and functionality of those products.

Tan oversaw major aspects of iPhone and Apple Watch design, and he was the executive overseeing accessories and AirPods, as well. He reported to John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, who is likely a more widely known name.

Richard Dinh, “Tan’s top lieutenant and head of iPhone product design,” will report directly to Ternus and take on some of Tan’s duties, while Kate Bergeron, previously involved in Mac hardware engineering, will take on the Apple Watch.

Apple has seen several executive departures from its product design and engineering groups recently, so many aspects of upcoming iPhones and other products will be designed with new eyes and perhaps new sensibilities, though what that might lead to remains to be seen.

Apple recently shifted the iPhone from the company’s proprietary Lightning port to a more standard USB-C, and it changed the materials for its Pro line of phones. Despite tweaks like that, the iPhone’s design and functionality has not changed significantly in the past five or so years.

The iPhone 16 line in 2024 is expected to shake things up a little more, at least regarding the phone’s look and feel. Rumors have suggested that the new phones may have larger screens (and bigger chassis overall) and perhaps haptic buttons instead of the current physical buttons. Other changes could be in store, and Apple’s plans are likely not yet finalized.

Apple exec departure leads to major iPhone, Apple Watch reshuffle Read More »

vision-pro-will-use-external-display-for-more-than-just-showing-your-eyes

Vision Pro Will Use External Display for More Than Just Showing Your Eyes

Apple, Apple Vision Pro News & Reviews, eyesight display, News, vision pro, visionos beta 6 / /

The recently released VisionOS Beta 6 contains a video showing how users will scan their face to create their avatar using the Vision Pro cameras. Perhaps more interestingly, the video shows that Apple plans to use the external display for more than just showing the user’s eyes through the headset.

Probably the most unexpected thing about the Apple Vision Pro reveal is the headset’s external display. This is something that no commercial XR headset has shipped with to date. Apple calls this the EyeSight display, because its primary function is to show the wearers eyes ‘through’ the headset, so people nearby can tell if the wearer is looking at them or if they’re fully immersed and unable to see.

Image courtesy Apple

Technically, the EyeSight display isn’t actually showing the user’s real face. It’s actually projecting a view of their Vision Pro avatar (or ‘Persona’ as Apple calls them). Apple masks this fact with a stereoscopic display and some clever blurring and coloring effects to hide the limited resolution and quality of the avatar.

To generate the avatar, users will use the headset’s own cameras to capture multiple views of their face. The exact procedure was found in the files of the VisionOS Beta 6 which developers can get access to.

New video tutorial showing Persona Enrollment for Apple Vision Pro added in visionOS beta 6!

The enrollment uses the EyeSight display to guide the user. pic.twitter.com/cGfsdTuIaY

— M1 (@M1Astra) November 14, 2023

In the video we see a pretty quick and easy process which employs the headset’s external display as a sort of step-by-step guide through the process.

The scanning process is interesting in itself, but perhaps more interesting is the way Apple is thoughtfully using the external display to help guide user.

It seems likely that Apple will leverage the display for more than just showing the user’s eyes and guiding them through the scanning process, which opens a bunch of interesting doors.

For one, the display could be used to let the headset communicate in other ways to the user when it isn’t being worn. For instance, it could light up green to indicate an incoming FaceTime call; Or blue to tell the user that a large download has finished; or red to indicate that it’s low on battery and should be plugged in.

While there’s nothing stopping Apple from literally just putting text on the display and going full Daft Punk, the company seems to be thinking of the external display as something a bit more organic and magical than a readout of how many emails are waiting for you or how many calls you missed.

Can you think of any other interesting use-cases for the headset’s external display? I’d love to hear more ideas in the comments below!

Vision Pro Will Use External Display for More Than Just Showing Your Eyes Read More »