Enlarge/ Two examples of Stable Diffusion-generated artwork provided by Apple.
Apple
On Wednesday, Apple released optimizations that allow the Stable Diffusion AI image generator to run on Apple Silicon using Core ML, Apple’s proprietary framework for machine-learning models. The optimizations will allow app developers to use Apple Neural Engine hardware to run Stable Diffusion about twice as fast as previous Mac-based methods.
Stable Diffusion (SD), which launched in August, is an open source AI image synthesis model that generates novel images using text input. For example, typing “astronaut on a dragon” into SD will typically create an image of exactly that.
By releasing the new SD optimizations—available as conversion scripts on GitHub—Apple wants to unlock the full potential of image synthesis on its devices. And it notes this on the Apple Research announcement page: “With the growing number of applications of Stable Diffusion, ensuring that developers can leverage this technology effectively is important for creating apps that creatives everywhere will be able to use.”
Apple also mentions privacy and avoiding cloud computing costs as advantages to running an AI generation model locally on a Mac or Apple device.
“The privacy of the end user is protected because any data the user provided as input to the model stays on the user’s device,” says Apple. “Second, after initial download, users don’t require an internet connection to use the model. Finally, locally deploying this model enables developers to reduce or eliminate their server-related costs.”
Currently, Stable Diffusion generates images fastest on high-end GPUs from Nvidia when run locally on a Windows or Linux PC. For example, generating a 512×512 image at 50 steps on an RTX 3060 takes about 8.7 seconds on our machine.
By comparison, the conventional method of running Stable Diffusion on an Apple Silicon Mac is far slower, taking about 69.8 seconds to generate a 512×512 image at 50 steps using Diffusion Bee in our tests on an M1 Mac Mini.
According to Apple’s benchmarks on GitHub, Apple’s new Core ML SD optimizations can generate a 512×512 50-step image on an M1 chip in 35 seconds. An M2 does the task in 23 seconds, and Apple’s most powerful Silicon chip, the M1 Ultra, can achieve the same result in only nine seconds. That’s a dramatic improvement, cutting generation time almost in half in the case of the M1.
Apple’s GitHub release is a Python package that converts Stable Diffusion models from PyTorch to Core ML and includes a Swift package for model deployment. The optimizations work for Stable Diffusion 1.4, 1.5, and the newly released 2.0.
At the moment, the experience of setting up Stable Diffusion with Core ML locally on a Mac is aimed at developers and requires some basic command-line skills, but Hugging Face published an in-depth guide to setting Apple’s Core ML optimizations for those who want to experiment.
For those less technically inclined, the previously mentioned app called Diffusion Bee makes it easy to run Stable Diffusion on Apple Silicon, but it does not integrate Apple’s new optimizations yet. Also, you can run Stable Diffusion on an iPhone or iPad using the Draw Things app.
Twitter Blue to cost more for iPhone users, big tech companies will share a multi-billion dollar contract from the Pentagon, and the FBI is concerned with Apple’s new security features.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending. It’s Friday December 9th and I am your host, Ashee Pamma.
Even though the Twitter Blue plan is on a hiatus at the moment, when it makes its comeback iOS users will have to pay $11 per month. A report from The Information found that the subscription plan will cost $7 per month if you purchase from the web but to offset Apple’s App Store fees, iOS users will need to chip in a few extra dollars. Apple charges 30 per cent fees to the developers for the first year of subscription, but it drops to 15 per cent from the second year. Elon Musk has expressed his own concerns with Apple’s fee policy. Last month, he described them as a “secret tax” imposed by the company.
Big tech companies Google, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon will share Pentagon’s $9 billion contract to build its cloud computing network. The Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability aims to provide access to unclassified, and top-secret data to military workers across the world. According to AP News, it’s expected to act as an assistant for the Pentagon’s modern war operations, which will rely heavily on unmanned aircraft and space communications satellites, but need a way to get the intelligence from those platforms to troops on the ground in a quick, seamless manner. The contract is estimated to be complete by June 2028.
According to the FBI, Apple’s increasing security features on the iPhone “hinders” the agency’s ability to protect Americans. Apple’s new security plans include additional end to end encryption for most iCloud services. iMessage identity verification and two-factor authentication of Apple IDs using hardware keys are additional security features, expected to roll out in 2023. The FBI told the Washington Post that it was “deeply concerned with the threat end-to-end and user-only-access encryption pose,” speaking on concerns for people within the U.S. The agency said it will impact their ability to protect Americans from dangers such as cyber-attacks, violence against children, drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism. A report from Apple Insider noted that the FBI and others have continually pressed Apple to add a way for law enforcement to see all data, but Apple has refused.
Reddit’s Recap dropped on Thursday and revealed the top moments, communities and topics the Reddit community dove into in 2022. As of November, Reddit saw a total of 430 million and 2.5 billion comments. The most viewed communities on Reddit include “askreddit,” “NBA,” “World News,” and “Personal Finance Canada.” The “Made Me Smile” subreddit saw a 45 per cent increase in views compared to last year—making it the #38 most-viewed subreddit overall. Some of the biggest smiles came from posts about brave cancer survivors and proposals in mid-air. A thread about news in Ukraine had 1.8 billion views with 6 million posts and comments in 2022 alone. Lastly, In the tech category, the subreddit “Space” went from the #11 to the #4 most-viewed subreddit.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash briefings or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Also, catch the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which drops every Thursday morning. If you have a suggestion or a tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thank you for listening, I’m Ashee Pamma.
Apple will no longer bar employees from speaking out about workplace harassment and discrimination issues, as first reported by the Financial Times. The company shared the news following a review of Apple’s non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), which previously excluded language surrounding the discussion of working conditions.
In a note titled, “Our Commitment to an Open and Collaborative Workplace,” Apple says “employees have the right to speak freely about their workplace conditions, including harassment and discrimination.” It adds that an independent reviewer only found provisions that could “be interpreted as restricting a person’s ability to speak about such conduct” in “limited instances,” and that Apple has “committed to not enforce those restrictions and to make improvements and clarifications going forward.” The company already includes language from California’s Silenced No More Act in separation agreements for employees across the US.
Apple’s use of concealment clauses drew scrutiny after Cher Scarlett, an #AppleToo organizer and former Apple engineer, left the company and accused it of engaging “in coercive and suppressive activity that has enabled abuse and harassment of organizers of protected concerted activity.” As noted by a report from Insider, Scarlett claimed that Apple prevented her from talking in detail about her departure from the company as part of a separation agreement. Months later, a group of treasurers called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Apple uses its NDAs to silence workers.
“We are thrilled to share that Apple has released their report & is ending use of concealment clauses in employee contracts, both domestically & for international workers,” Nia Impact Capital writes on Twitter, noting that contract employees are also included. “This is ground breaking shift for the tech industry.”
Twitter is officially bringing back the Twitter Blue subscription Monday, starting in five countries before rapidly expanding to others, according to Esther Crawford, director of product management at Twitter. Web sign-ups will cost $8 per month and iOS sign ups will cost $11 per month for “access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark,” per a tweet from the company account.
Android users can purchase on the web and use their subscription on their phones, said Crawford. The higher cost for iOS sign ups might be a move by Twitter to offset the cost of Apple’s 30% commission for in-app purchased subscriptions, or simply to deter users from subscribing through the Apple Store at all, following a Twitter storm from an angry Elon Musk over allegations that Apple was cutting advertising on the platform.
Twitter had previously attempted to democratize the prestige of the blue checkmark — once used for verifying trustworthy and noteworthy accounts — by making it available to anyone willing to shell out $8 per month, verification be damned. The result was a slew of users buying a checkmark to impersonate other accounts and generally cause mischief. (See: Fake-pharma company Eli Lilly tweeting that insulin is now free and fake-Tesla tweeting, “Our cars do not respect school zone speed limits. Fuck them kids.”)
Crawford tweeted over the weekend that Twitter has now added a review step before applying a blue checkmark to an account in order to combat impersonation, which she says is against the Twitter Rules.
With the relaunch of Twitter’s subscription offering, the social media platform will further color-code timelines by introducing gold checkmarks for businesses and, soon, gray checkmarks for government and “multilateral accounts,” whatever those are.
“Businesses who previously had relationships with Twitter will receive goldchecks on Monday,” tweeted Crawford. “We will soon open this up to more businesses via a new process.”
Because Twitter is still really testing this feature out, the company warned that subscribers who change their handle, display name or profile photo will temporarily lose the blue checkmark until their account is reviewed again.
Subscribers will be able to edit their tweets, upload 1080p videos and have access to reader mode, alongside their blue checkmarks, the company said. They’ll also have their tweets “rocketed” to the top of replies, mentions and search and will be spammed with 50% fewer ads.
The iPhone 14 models are finally here! All in all, Apple launched some of its most anticipated products at its September event. Among them are the much-awaited iPhone 14 series along with the new Watch Series 8, Watch Ultra, and the next-gen AirPods Pro. Finally, after uncountable rumors and possible leaks on the iPhone 14 series, we have the legit model in our hands. However, it would be very unlikely for Apple to not give us a massive surprise. So, we have a new iPhone 14 model with a brand-new name—the iPhone 14 Plus! Let us, hence, take a glimpse of the specs and features of the Apple iPhone 14 series. We will also go through the other products launched at the Apple September event.
iPhone 14 Models: What do we have?
Consequently, Apple launched the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Plus on 7 September. Interestingly, the new iPhones come with few new features, have a familiar design and more. Another key point is that the iPhone 14 Plus replaces the older “iPhone 13 mini” model with a bigger model with a 6.7-inch screen.
Price of the iPhone 14 Series:
iPhone 14: $799 (Rs. 79,000)
iPhone 14 Plus: $899 (Rs. 89,000)
iPhone 14 Pro: $999 (Rs 1,29,900)
iPhone 14 Pro Max: $1099 (Rs. 1,39,900)
As has been noted, preorders will start on Sept 9 and the smaller version will go on sale on Sept. 16. However, the Plus model won’t ship until October 2022. According to Apple, all US iPhone 14 models will no longer use physical SIM cards. In fact, these will be replaced with a digital eSIM that can support multiple phone numbers and also offer better security.
Here are some brief updates on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models:
will continue with the older A15 Bionic chipset
five colors including a new light blue
improved battery life
ceramic screens that are more durable
better low-light performance on the front-facing camera
action Mode that stabilizes video
Here are some brief updates on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models:
powerful new A16 chipset
new 48MP main camera
satellite connectivity (limited to the US and Canada for now)
Pill-shaped notch, with Apple converting it into a ‘dynamic island’ for displaying animations, notifications based on the app that’s open
better low-light photography and redesigned flash for iPhone 14 Pro
To clarify, the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max are Apple’s high-end products. As has been stated, the products will be open to preorder starting on 7 September and will go live for sale on 16 September.
Apple’s AirPods Pro
To begin with, the AirPods Pro (2nd generation) has an enhanced listening experience with active noise-cancellation. Moreover, the price of $249 (Rs 19,851.82). Above all, the AirPods will go on sale on 23 September.
Here are the features of the AirPods Pro 2nd Generation:
Better sound quality and clarity
H2 chip on the inside
New touch control to adjust the volume
Longer battery life with up to 6 hours of listening time
A smaller extra-small ear tip
A speaker added to the case
Can be charged with MagSafe chargers.
In fact, according to Apple, the noise cancellation on the new models is twice as good as before.
Apple Watch Series 8 and Watch Ultra
On the positive side, the Apple Watch Series 8 now has a body temperature sensor to help women know when they are ovulating. It also comes with crash detection when driving and supports international roaming. As a matter of fact, it will be available for pre-order today and the sale starts on September 16. Above all, Apple has also revealed the Watch SE 2 as well.
Meanwhile, the new Apple Watch Ultra is geared for the pros. It comes with a special 49mm case, which also makes it one of the biggest displays on an Apple Watch. In addition to that, the Ultra version also gets a dedicated action button and goes on sale on September 23.
Prices of the Apple Watch:
Apple Watch Ultra: $799 (Rs 89,000)
Apple Watch Series 8: $399 (Rs 45, 900)
Apple Watch SE 2: $249 (Rs 29,900)
Read Also :Why does the Samsung Balance Mouse run away if you try to overwork?
Anwesha has been a creative writer for a while. Currently, on her pursuit of tech writing, she is diving into the realms of technology to produce better content on the forever-changing world of technology. In her free time, you’ll find her humming tunes of her favourite shows or reading a book.
AirPlay, AirPods, and iCloud integration are nice to have
Cons
No remote finder function
Dual home screens can be confusing
Remote gesture controls, while useful, might confound some users
Our Verdict
Apple’s new streaming box gets a lower price without losing what made previous versions great.
Price When Reviewed
$129
Best Prices Today: Apple TV 4K (2022) (64GB)
Apple has always made excellent streaming boxes, but with a caveat: They’re a lot more expensive than the competition.
That’s not the case with the 2022 Apple TV 4K, which at $129 is no longer out of whack with other high-end streamers. Despite being $50 cheaper than last year’s model, the new Apple TV doesn’t sacrifice what made previous versions great: It still offers speedy performance, an ad-free home screen, and a helpful menu for sorting through your streaming options.
Owners of last year’s Apple TV 4K can skip this version, which doesn’t offer enough new features to be worth an upgrade. But for folks in need of a new streaming box, the third-generation Apple TV 4K solidifies its place at the top of the heap.
This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best media-streaming devices.
Choose your box
The 2022 Apple TV 4K is still a hunk of black plastic that plugs into your TV with an HDMI cable (sold separately), only now it’s a little bit shorter and lighter than the previous model as it no longer has a cooling fan inside.
Apple has also upgraded the processor to an A15 Bionic, though the difference is barely noticeable even compared to the 2017 Apple TV 4K in side-by-side testing. Most apps took the exact same amount of time to load (at worst, the older model’s load times were a second or two behind), and jumping through the Apple TV’s recent apps list felt the same on both devices. The new chip merely firms up the Apple TV 4K’s lead as the zippiest streaming box you can buy.
Using the recent apps menu—invoked with a double-tap on the home button—feels as speedy as ever.
Jared Newman / Foundry
The 2022 model’s other main improvement is HDR10+, which can adjust color levels on a frame-by-frame basis on compatible TVs with HDR10+ content, Amazon Prime Video being the main purveyor right now. Dolby Vision, which is more widely adopted (Samsung TVs being a notable exception), continues to be available as well, along with Dolby Atmos object-based surround sound. The new Apple TV will also support a feature called QMS VRR, which can match the frame rate for content without showing a black screen, but this is entirely about future-proofing, as no TVs currently offer the feature.
The entry-level Apple TV 4K no longer includes an ethernet port.
Jared Newman / Foundry
For this review, I evaluated the entry-level $129 Apple TV 4K, which includes 64GB of storage—double that of the previous model—but lacks an ethernet port. For that, you’ll need the $149 model, which can also control smart home devices that use the Thread networking protocol.
Thread support is yet another case of future-proofing, as few smart home devices currently support it. It’s also not essential given that other devices can act as Thread routers as well, and that you can still control HomeKit devices and execute Siri routines with any Apple TV model. For most users, the entry-level Apple TV should be just fine.
Almost the same remote
The new Siri remote has the same design and USB-C charging.
Jared Newman / Foundry
The new Apple TV’s Siri remote is nearly identical to the 2021 version, with an aluminum enclosure and a proper directional pad, but with one important difference: It uses USB-C for charging instead of a Lightning connector.
While the remote feels as classy as ever, it still favors form over function in some ways. The home, back, play, and mute buttons are all the same size and shape, with only a slight concavity on the back button to help distinguish it, and the side placement of the Siri voice control button makes it easy to neglect. Apple also whiffed on another opportunity to build in a “Find My” function as seen on the Roku Ultra. That’s a shame given how easily the remote slips between couch cushions.
The directional pad’s gesture controls, meanwhile, can be tricky to master, even if swiping across the D-pad is the fastest way to scroll through menus or fast forward through videos. For some less tech-savvy visitors, I’ve had to disable the gestures entirely.
That said, the Apple TV’s A/V controls are excellent. The device recognizes most televisions automatically, so you can control volume and power without any additional setup, and it can change the volume on external soundbars or receivers over either HDMI-CEC or infrared. If Apple’s automatic setup fails, you can even program the remote’s volume buttons manually.
The Apple TV lets you dictate login details letter by letter.
Jared Newman / Foundry
The Apple TV is also the only streaming player that supports voice for any input field, including user names and passwords. Being able to dictate each number and letter of your password is much faster than thumbing through the on-screen keyboard, and is sneakily one of the Apple TV’s most delightful features.
Choose your home screen
Apple’s TV app tracks the programs you’re watching and lets you add new ones to the list.
Jared Newman / Foundry
On the software side, the Apple TV is unique in that it essentially offers two home screens.
By default, clicking the home button takes you to Apple’s “TV” app, where you can quickly resume shows you’ve been watching, get suggestions on what to watch next, and look up a list of live sporting events. When you watch a show in a supported app, it automatically appears in Apple’s “Up Next” menu, and selecting a program from here takes you to the corresponding app to begin playback. While the TV app is a little too aggressive about promoting Apple TV+ content, it’s still a useful way to stay on top of what you’re watching from lots of different streaming sources.
Pressing the home button a second time takes you to a more traditional app grid, one that’s refreshingly free of banner ads or other annoying intrusions. From here you can sort apps into folders, and some apps will give suggestions on what to watch when you put them in the top row. By heading to Settings > Remotes & Devices, you can set the Apple TV to bypass the TV app and take you straight to the app grid instead.
Without any banner ads, the Apple TV’s app grid can really stretch its legs.
Jared Newman / Foundry
While I appreciate that Apple gives users this choice, it really ought to bring some sort of app row into the TV app as well. Some apps, such as Netflix and YouTube, don’t display any content inside the TV app, so it’d be nice if you could launch them without loading an entirely separate menu.
As with previous Apple TVs, you can also navigate by voice with the Siri button on the remote. Siri supports sophisticated searches such as “action movies with Harrison Ford” or “new comedies on Netflix,” and it can launch movies or shows directly in a wide range of supported apps. The only notable downside for voice control is that it can’t tune to live channels from YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV, the two most popular live TV streaming services.
While you needn’t be an Apple diehard to appreciate the Apple TV 4K, being plugged into the company’s ecosystem does have its perks.
The most notable is AirPlay support, which lets you stream music and videos to the TV from an iOS device or Mac. While AirPlay is available on Roku players and some recent smart TVs as well, only the Apple TV supports viewing AirPlay videos in picture-in-picture mode. It also lets you stream audio from the box to other AirPlay speakers, which can be useful for playing TV audio on multiple speakers throughout the house.
The Apple TV’s picture-in-picture mode works with any AirPlay video source.
Jared Newman / Foundry
The Apple TV also plays nicely with iCloud Photos, so you can view personal photos in screen-saver mode; plus, it has native apps for Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, and Apple Fitness. Apple Arcade subscribers can even connect a game controller to play on the big screen.
And while the Apple TV can play audio through any set of Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, the pairing process is easier with AirPods: Just open the AirPods case, long-press the home button, open the audio device menu, and select the earbuds from the list. With two sets of AirPods or Beats earbuds, the Apple TV can let two people listen privately at the same time. (Roku is the only other platform that supports private listening for more than one user, via the Roku mobile app.)
Apps on Apple TV must get your permission before sharing tracking data with third parties.
Jared Newman / Foundry
Also worth noting: The same App Tracking Transparency features from iOS are also available on Apple TV, which means apps must get your permission before they can share tracking data with third parties. While this doesn’t prevent the apps themselves from collecting information about you for ad-targeting purposes, it does give some control back to users in ways that other platforms do not.
Apple TV 4K vs. the competition
Even if you ignore those Apple-centric benefits, the Apple TV 4K is the best high-end streaming box for the money.
Its interface is less cluttered than other platforms such as Roku, Fire TV, and Google TV, with no ads to lard up the home screen. Its performance is also unparalleled, and its voice search features are surprisingly helpful given Siri’s not-so-stellar reputation. Meanwhile, the new $129 starting price undercuts the $140 Fire TV Cube and isn’t too far off from the $100 Roku Ultra.
While the remote control still has more of a learning curve than those devices, and Apple’s TV app could use some refinement, those are minor complaints given everything else the device has to offer. The result is a streaming player that feels less like a splurge and more like a sound purchase decision.
Yes, that is correct. Mind blown! The Apple logo on the back of an iPhone is actually a secret button you can use for a wide range of shortcuts. Apple calls this the “Back tap” feature, and it turns the Apple logo on the back of your iPhone into a secret button that can program to perform tasks such as taking a screenshot when you double tap it and launching one of your apps when you triple tap it.
iPhone Back Tap is not on by default though. In this article, we will show you how to turn on the ‘Back Tap feature and make it your own secret button.
How to setup the Apple logo as a secret button
To turn the Apple logo on the back of your iPhone into a secret button when you double tap or triple tap it, follow these below:
Open Settings on your iPhone
Tap on Accessibility
Tap on Touch
Tap on Back Tap at the bottom
Tap on Double Tap
Select the shortcut you want to happen when you double-tap the Apple logo
Tap on Back Tap at the top of your screen
Tap on Triple Tap
Select the shortcut you want to happen when you triple-tap the Apple logo
What is Back Tap and what options are there?
There are a number of options to choose from when it comes to programming what function you would like the button to perform. The standard options available for both double tap and triple tap are:
None
Accessibility Shortcut
App Switcher
Camera
Control Centre
Home
Lock Rotation
Lock Screen
Mute
Notification Centre
Reachability
Screenshot
Shake
Siri
Spotlight
Torch
Volume Down
Volume Up
Assistive Touch
Background Sounds
Classic Invert
Colour Filters
Magnifier
People Detection
Smart Invert
Speak Screen
VoiceOver
Zoom
Zoom Controller
Scroll Down
Scroll Up
If none of these options excites you then you can also use Siri Shortcuts at the bottom of the list of options. If you have created Siri Shortcuts, they will appear here. If you haven’t, you can create a Siri Shortcut, such as showing the weather for the day or calling your bestie for example.
Will the iPhone Back Tap Work If You Have a Phone Cover?
Yes, it will still work but a really think case might make it less reliable. Unlike the touchscreen functionality, the Back Tap feature doesn’t work by sensing touch. To this end, your iPhone’s accelerometer, gyroscope, and other sensors will recognize the input or movement due to your taps and actions.
Unfortunately, Back Tap isn’t a perfect feature and some people, after using it, decide it is not for them. Unlike traditional buttons, Back Tap works by sensing vibrations or movements around your iPhone. This can lead to you accidentally triggering it just by picking up your iPhone or placing it on a desk.It is one of those features you will need to try for yourself and see if it works.
The Apple Watch app of the year, Gentler Streak, has just been updated to version 2.7.5. This update adds the 2022 Activity Recap, which shows a roundup of the user’s workouts throughout the year. The app follows the trend of other platforms that have also released a recap of people’s activities online, such as the most listened tunes, most watched shows, etc.
Here’s how the developers describe the 2022 Activity Recap, which is a free feature for all old and new users:
Find out just how active you were in 2022 with this animated activity recap. See the Yorharts you’ve collected, the distance you’ve covered, total hours actively spent off the couch… to help spread the word, and motivate your friends, we’ve created a neat SHARE option!
In addition to Gentler Streak’s 2022 Activity Recap, this update supports Apple Watch Ultra‘s Action Button. You can now start a workout and pause/resume it with the new Apple Watch button.
The team behind the Apple Watch app of the year. Image source: Gentler Streak
Last week, Gentler Streak was awarded by Apple the Apple Watch app of the year. Katarina Lotrič, co-founder and CEO, shared how it felt to get this recognition:
When we found out we were stunned, speechless and in a way still are. I don’t think it has sunk in yet what we have achieved in this short amount of time. For a small independent team of four this came as a huge shock, a positive one obviously. We see it as an extraordinary confirmation of our work, our vision, our relevance in time and place, and are super happy our message and philosophy is now being spread across the globe. There’s still so much we want to and will bring to life, and we are looking forward to every minute of it. I think it’s safe to say we are just getting started.
Gentler Streak is free to download on the App Store but requires a subscription to take full advantage of it. The Premium Monthly is $7.99, Premium Yearly is $49.99 with Family Sharing included, and a lifetime membership costs $139.99.
There will need to be an Apple USB-C iPhone by December 28, 2024.
This is the formal date the EU has declared for all new devices to have USB-C.
We will likely see a USB-C iPhone well before that date, though.
Earlier this year, the EU officially agreed upon a law that requires manufacturers to use a common charger solution for all applicable products. This set the wheels in motion for what we’ve always wanted: an iPhone that doesn’t have a Lightning port.
Today, the EU finally set a specific date for the enforcement of this law: December 28, 2024 (via The Verge). Any device created after that date that wants to sell to Europe will need to use the USB-C standard. The days of the Apple USB-C iPhone are upon us!
However, we fully expect Apple to already have USB-C iPhones on store shelves before 2024. The iPhone 15 series — which we expect to land in September 2023 — will probably be the first without Lightning ports. By the end of 2024, we’ll also probably have the iPhone 16 series and maybe even a new iPhone SE with USB-C ports.
Regardless, if for some strange reason Apple wanted to hold off even longer on abandoning Lightning, it would need to make the change no later than December 2024.
The EU hopes this law will force manufacturers to be more environmentally conscious. If every device uses the same connector, it will eliminate millions of tons of waste since people won’t need to abandon cable accessories when they upgrade devices. Of course, it will take years for Lightning-based iPhones to fully go away, but we needed to start somewhere.
After years of delay undergovernment pressure, Apple said Wednesday that it will offer fully encrypted backups of photos, chat histories and most other sensitive user data in its cloud storage system worldwide, putting them out of reach of most hackers, spies and law enforcement.
Apple has benefited for more than a decade from a perception that it does more than other phone and computer companies to safeguard privacy, including its use of end-to-end encryption for iMessages between Apple devices. Those can only be read on the devices, not by Apple, a phone service provider or police with a warrant.
But most iPhone and Mac computer owners back up their iMessages, photos and other content to Apple’s iCloud, where the company can retrieve it for locked-out users or authorities. That has also left the material open to hackers who have tricked customers out of their passwords, increasing the potential for embarrassment and even extortion.
Apple representatives said those threats, and increasing attempts to breach cloud providers, made end-to-end encryption in the cloud the best option for those most concerned about security.
The FBI wanted to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. It turned to a little-known Australian firm.
The step is likely to draw protests from multiple governments, some of which could take legislative or court action or deny Apple access to their markets. Top law enforcement officials in the United States, Britain and other democracies have railed against strong encryption, and some have passed laws they could use to try to force companies to cooperate against their customers.
Late Wednesday, the FBI said it was “deeply concerned with the threat end-to-end and user-only-access encryption pose.”
“This hinders our ability to protect the American people from criminal acts ranging from cyber-attacks and violence against children to drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism,” the bureau said in an emailed statement. “In this age of cybersecurity and demands for ‘security by design,’ the FBI and law enforcement partners need ‘lawful access by design.’”
The encryption option will be available for public software testers immediately, for all U.S. customers by year’s end, and for other countries starting next year, Apple said. It added that it might not reach every country by the end of 2023.
Apple’s move follows similar ones by other companies and organizations that have caught up to it on privacy or gone further.
Facebook’s WhatsApp is the most-used fully encrypted messenger, and it began offering an encrypted backup a year ago. Signal, which develops the protocol used by WhatsApp and others, does not allow cloud backups to prevent improper access. Google offers encrypted backups, though it is unclear how popular the service is.
After hacks of cloud service providers, an increasing number of businesses are insisting on controlling decryption keys themselves. Apple will now provide that option to consumers as well.
Privacy experts were thrilled by Apple’s announcement.
“This is great,” said Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal, an encrypted chat app. “There’s been enough pressure and enough narrative work that they see the side of history forming. It’s really incredible.”
The shift is likely to slow an especially effective law enforcement tool. In a six-month period covered in Apple’s most recent transparency report, the company said it had turned over users’ content for legal reasons 3,980 times, mostly in the United States and Brazil. It said legal requests for all types of account data, including just identifying information, had doubled in two years to more than 20,000.
In China, Apple has come under intensifying criticism for not doing more to protect iPhone users who are already heavily surveilled. During the recent wave of protests against harsh covid restrictions, Apple limited the use of AirDrop, which people were using to share videos and other large files at close range. The iCloud data in China is stored on servers under a local company’s control.
Apple had intended to introduce fully encrypted iCloud storage many years ago, according to FBI agents and Apple employees at the time. The FBI objected, and Apple shelved the idea rather than face a public fight.
Despite the hype, iPhone security no match for NSO spyware
Instead, it picked specific categories of data that would be walled off from outside prying, including passwords and payment and health data. Now, everything can be stored securely except for email, calendar and contacts functions that need to interoperate with multiple providers.
Apple will require that users set up a recovery key or name another person who can help them get access in the event that they are locked out. That person, the account holder and Apple would all have to be involved in the recovery.
In a second victory for privacy advocates, Apple said it was dropping a plan to scan user photos for child sex abuse images. The company had paused that plan shortly after its announcement last year, as security experts argued that it would intrude on user’s device privacy and be subject to abuse.
Apple also said Wednesday that it was making iPhones compatible with physical security keys that would connect to the phone so that consumers can require them for access to their accounts from new devices. That way, phishing attackers who steal passwords and user names would still be unable to get in.
Meanwhile, the new Apple Watch Ultra is geared for the pros. It comes with a special 49mm case, which also makes it one of the biggest displays on an Apple Watch. In addition to that, the Ultra version also gets a dedicated action button and goes on sale on September 23.
