Lit Apple Mac, iPhone, iPad User Group

[sandysgeek]

Apple begins blocking M1 Mac users from side loading iPhone and iPad applications

Earlier this week it was reported that Apple would soon start blocking users from side loading iPhone and iPad applications to their M1 Macs. Now, Apple has officially flipped the server-side switch to implement this change.

This means that it is no longer possible to use an app such as iMazing to side load unsupported applications from your iPhone or iPad to your M1 Mac.

As a refresher, Apple Silicon Macs allow users to run iOS and iPad applications on their Mac, but developers can opt out of allowing their apps to be installed on the Mac. This is the path that many developers have taken, making the necessary change in App Store Connect to remove their app from the Mac App Store.

But with that being said, until today, you could manually install iOS apps like Netflix, Instagram, and Facebook on an M1 Mac by using their respective IPA files downloaded under a valid Apple ID. Many people were using tools such as iMazing to complete this process.

9to5Mac has now confirmed that, starting today, this is no longer possible unless the application is available on the Mac App Store. Apple has flipped the necessary sever-side switch to block iPhone and iPad applications from being installed on Apple Silicon Macs.

The change applies to M1 Macs running macOS Big Sur 11.1 as well as the developer or public beta of macOS Big Sur 11.2. The only difference is that users running the macOS Big Sur 11.2 beta will see a more specific error message.

Here is the error you’ll see when you try to install an unsupported iPhone or iPad app on your M1 Mac running macOS 11.2 beta:

f you attempt to side load an iPhone or iPad app on an M1 Mac running macOS 11.1 Big Sur, you’ll see an error saying that the app installation was unsuccessful and to “try again later.”

If you already side loaded an application from your iPhone or iPad to your M1 Mac, it will still run properly. This change only affects new application installations. Additionally, if you had previously downloaded an .IPA file, you can still install it.

The change itself was made to the App Store system that delivers the actual .IPA file and it is all part of Apple’s APIs that manage the DRM (Digital Rights Management) protections of the operating system. Because of this, it’s unlikely that a workaround will present itself in the future.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple adds 'Privacy' collection to iOS Tips app

Apple this week expanded the first-party iOS Tips app to include a section covering hardware, software, and account privacy.

The new Privacy collection consists of nine tips covering Sign in with Apple, Safari passwords, system-wide password security, camera and mic usage indicators, Messages previews, location, Photos, Private Browsing in Safari, and Safari's Privacy Report feature.

Starting with Safari, Apple notes the web browser can create and remember passwords for specific websites. Users can elect to rely on iPhone's Strong Password generation or type in their own for later recall.

On the same topic, Apple includes a Security Recommendations tool in Settings that alerts users to weak or compromised passwords. The feature is applicable to passwords stored in iCloud Keychain. A Privacy Report is also available to review which trackers Safari is actively blocking.

Private Browsing in Safari can be enabled by tapping on the Private Browsing tab, which allows users to surf the web without leaving tracks on their device. When a Private Browsing tab is closed, the browser deletes its browsing and search history.

Moving on to more recent additions to iOS, Sign in with Apple was introduced last year as a safe and secure log-in option for participating websites and apps. Users can use an Apple ID to create accounts without manually forging a password, and are able to mask their email address from third-party services.

Hardware level privacy tips include an explainer on the green or orange indicator dots that appear at the top of an iOS device's screen when its camera or microphone are being accessed. Apple reminds users that they can see which app is tapping into the phone's audio or visual feed by swiping down from the top right of the display.

The latest versions of iOS also give users more control over location preferences. For example, apps can be denied access to a handset's precise location by toggling the option off in Location Services.

Finally, Apple notes users can hide Messages previews that appear on the lock screen through an option in Notification settings. Similarly, pictures can be selected and hidden from public view in the Photos app.

Apple introduced the Tips app in iOS 8 and has continuously updated the title to highlight new features with each subsequent operating system release.

Change iPhone privacy settings: 9 tips from Apple

• If you don’t have Apple’s Tips app, you can download it from the App Store for free (works on iPad too)
  
  
• You may see a notification about the new Privacy collection, but if not, open the app
  
  
• Swipe down a bit to find Privacy

 

[sandysgeek]

IDC: Mac shipments rise industry-leading 49% in Q4, Apple boosts market share to 8%

IDC: Mac shipments rise industry-leading 49% in Q4, Apple boosts market share to 8%

A new report out from IDC features the firm’s latest estimate for worldwide PC shipments for the holiday quarter. Very notable, the analyst says that Apple led all other PC manufacturers in quarterly growth as Mac shipments increased a huge 49%. Apple still sits behind Lenovo and HP for overall shipments and market share, but the holiday quarter appears very impressive for Mac sales.

IDC’s latest report says that the last time the whole PC global market saw growth this big was 2010. For Q4 2020, the whole market saw an increase in shipments of 26.1%. And IDC believes the trend is going to continue:

“Demand is pushing the PC market forward and all signs indicate this surge still has a way to go,” said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. “The obvious drivers for last year’s growth centered around work from home and remote learning needs, but the strength of the consumer market should not be overlooked.

For the top 5 PC manufacturers, Apple came in fourth behind Lenovo, HP, and Dell. However, Macs saw the greatest amount of growth at a massive 49.2%, – almost double the industry average.

Lenovo saw 29% growth in shipments for the holiday quarter while HP saw 11.3% and Dell 26.8%.

As for raw numbers, IDC believes Apple shipped 7.3 million Macs bringing its global market share for the quarter from 6.8 to 8%. That’s about half of what the firm estimates Dell shipped for the timeframe.

Apple’s holiday quarter included the launch of the all-new Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air, Pro, and Mac mini. And more new M1 Macs are in the pipe.

Taking a look at how PC shipments ended up for all of 2020, IDC says that Apple shipped 23.1 million Macs giving it a 7.6% overall market share.

Another highlight is the report puts Apple as seeing the most growth in PC shipments for the entire year at 29.1%.

We’ll learn more about Apple’s holiday quarter when the company reports its performance on January 27.





Something you might want to keep in mind:

Unlike it's competitors, Apple's business model isn't selling high volume of computers with thin profit margins. Or paid by third party app developers or services to preload bloatware.

And the near fifty percent growth helps explain tight constrains and extending lead times during more than the past six months.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with homepage redesign

Apple has replaced its regular homepage with a tribute to civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For one day only, Apple has replaced all of its usual product promotions and images, with a single photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As it did in 2020, the photo is accompanied by a quote from the civil rights leader.

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension," he is quoted on the site, "it is the presence of justice."

Also the same as previous years, Apple has appended a short caption.

"We honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his leadership in civil rights," it says.

The image and quote entirely replace the space usually given to promoting specific Apple products. The site's regular banner remains, however, with sections for categories such as iPhone, iPad, and so on.

Apple devotes its homepage to honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr



The site's usual footer with a sitemap and contact details also remains as normal.

Also as in previous years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has also tweeted about the company's honoring of Dr King.

Tim Cook
@tim_cook
“It will be power infused with love and justice that will change dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows, and lift us from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2:01 PM · Jan 18, 2021

 

[FrankMathis]

Actually had a bigger issue with this than I could imagine cause I tried going around it using sketchy methods. I installed some viruses on my phone and I was so angry that I couldn't get rid of them and they were so annoying that I threw my phone at the wall. I intended to hit a pillow, but it ended up hitting the wall and it was not fun at all. I had to search for a repair shop, but it was harder than I expected because everywhere I phoned they tried to rip me off by telling me I need a lot of parts that I know I don't. These guys https://breakfixnow.com.sg/repairing-iphone-renewed-state-best/ ended up being really amazing and did a great job.

 

[sandysgeek]

M1 Mac Fast User Switching bug resulting in screensaver lockout

An apparent M1 Mac Fast User Switching bug is resulting in user reports that the screensaver takes over and leaves them temporarily locked out of their machines. The bug can be seen in the view below.

Fortunately, there’s an easy workaround …


A growing number of user reports online suggest some of Apple’s M1 Mac models are susceptible to a Fast User Switching bug that spontaneously activates the screensaver and leaves the user unable to dismiss it.

In macOS Big Sur, Fast User Switching allows users to quickly switch between user accounts without having to completely log out. Based on posts in the Apple Community forums, and on Reddit, however, a screensaver can sometimes take over the screen of Apple Silicon Macs without notice, rendering the desktop workspace completely unavailable.

While the screensaver appears on the screen, the mouse pointer is still on top and moving, but nothing else works, and users have to close and re-open the lid on their MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, or light press the Power/Touch ID key or use the Alt-Command-Q key combination to get back to the login page.

As mentioned, there are several ways of escaping from the lockout, and you can also disable Fast User Switching if you’re willing for forgo the feature for now.

However, at least one user has said they’ve experienced the same thing on a non-M1 Mac.

I’ve had the same issue on the 16″ Macbook Pro, so I think it’s more likely a big sur bug, than an M1 issue.

Screensaver M1 issue - 0:34
https://youtu.be/N3CoMocJ7Rw

 

[sandysgeek]

AirPods Max battery drain reports surface, some saying they empty overnight

There are growing reports of an AirPods Max battery drain problem on the Apple Support Forums, Reddit, and elsewhere. Some owners are reporting that their headphone battery is draining from 100% to 1% or 0% overnight, even when left inside the official Apple case designed to drop them quickly into ultra-low power mode.

Others are reporting drain not quite in the same league, but still dramatically higher than would be expected …

Dutch site AppleTips spotted the reports.

More and more AirPods Max owners are complaining about battery problems. Users discuss the problem on Reddit, social media, the Apple Support forum, and various other forums. For example, that the battery drains during the day without using the AirPods Max.

A Smart Case is supplied with the headphones, when you place the Max in the case, the energy saving mode is switched on and active connections are disconnected. In practice this does not seem to be the case, and the battery life drains during the night. From 100% to 1% is not uncommon.

From Apple Support Forums:

“My AirPods Max are deeply self discharging overnight. They go from 90+% down to 0 overnight.”

“Yup, same exact problem here. I fully charge my Airpods Max, place them carefully in the Apple case (which is supposed to put them in ‘low power mode’), and then when I go to use them a few hours later or the next day, they make the ‘death sound’ indicating the battery is low and I see the battery has dropped down to 1%. Not the behavior I expect in a $549 pair of headphones.”

And Reddit:

“Charged them in the morning to 100% used them occasionally (2-3hrs) during the day and in the evening, put them in to the smart case. Wake up to 0% battery.”

“Yup, same here. Although, I used mine for an entire evening. But still, when I woke up this morning 1% left on battery.”

AppleTips says it has firsthand experience of the issue with its own headphones.

The AirPods Max was stored at 96% in the Smart Case at around 7pm. The next morning, the battery percentage had dropped to only 1% and the headphones could no longer be used. This is not an occasional problem, rather a recurring one. This makes it almost impossible to use the AirPods Max the next day because they have to be charged first.

The issue may have been introduced with a firmware update released on December 18, as most reports are subsequent to that date.

AppleTips says that the problem does not seem to occur when the headphones are used only with an iPhone, but when they are connected to an Apple TV or non-Apple device. There doesn’t yet appear to be any consistent fix, but a number of different things have worked for some of those affected.

• Force restart AirPods Max by pressing and holding the Digital Crown and noise control button until the orange light appears.
  
  
• Restore AirPods Max to factory settings by doing the above and continuing to hold both until the status light turns white.
  
  
• Manually disconnect the AirPods Max connection after use via the Bluetooth settings of your device.
  
  
• Disable automatic switching by device.
  
  
• For the time being, use the Max with one device, for example your iPhone.

Apple had come under fire for the fact that the over-ear headphones don’t have a power switch, and are supposed to be stored inside the unpopular Smart Case to put them into low-power mode. However, Apple subsequently said that using the case makes very little difference.

It’s not the first reported problem with AirPods Max: Some owners have reported a condensation issue inside the ear cups.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple extends 13-inch MacBook Pro service program for 'stage light' issue

Apple has updated its repair program for the 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro to fix the so-called "stage light" problem, increasing the eligibility from four years to five years after the first retail sale of the unit.

Apple launched its 13-inch MacBook Pro Display Backlight Service Program in May 2019, enabling a small number of 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro users to fix an issue with the backlight of their devices. For some units, the backlight can exhibit a stage light-style effect, which the program offers to fix.

The problem of bright and dark spots at the bottom of the screen was found to be due to Apple using fragile flex cablesinstead of wire cables, as used in earlier models, which wear down over time. This can cause parts of the backlight to stop showing, or break the backlight completely.

The issue only affected a "very small percentage" of 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro units sold between October 2016 and February 2018, and not other models. Affected Macs are repaired by Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider free of charge, though if there are other detected faults that have to be repaired, the extra fixes are chargeable.

Previously, Apple defined the program as being eligible for "four years after the first retail sale of the unit." In an update to the program page on January 15, Apple has changed the language to extend the period.

The new terms state eligible models can be repaired up to "five years after the first retail sale of the unit or 3 years from the start date of this program, whichever is longer." As the program commenced on May 21, 2019, this means the affected MacBook units are eligible for the program until May 20, 2022, or at latest, February 2023.

Apple is in the process of dealing with class-action complaints against the company over the issue.


Users can request a repair through the Apple Support website, and customers who have already paid for a display backlight repair can get a refund by contacting Apple. If you’re not sure if your MacBook Pro model is eligible for the program, go to the Apple menu on your Mac and select the “About this Mac” option.

Last week, Apple also extended the repair for the 12-inch MacBook and Retina MacBook Pro models that in some cases had issues with the anti-reflective coating of the screen.

 

[sandysgeek]

There's Still No Sign of Privacy Labels for Most Google iOS Apps

As of December 8, Apple has been requiring developers submitting new apps and app updates to provide privacy label information that outlines the data that each app collects from users when it is installed.

Many app developers, such as Facebook, have complied and now include the privacy labels alongside their apps, but there's one notable outlier -- Google.

Google has not updated its major apps like Gmail, Google Maps, Chrome, and YouTube since December 7 or before, and most Google apps have to date have not been updated with the Privacy Label feature.

The Google Translate, Google Authenticator, Motion Stills, Google Play Movies, and Google Classroom apps do include privacy labels even though they have not been updated recently, but Google's search app, Google Maps, Chrome, Waze, YouTube, Google Drive, Google Photos, Google Home, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Assistant, Google Sheets, Google Calendar, Google Slides, Google One, Google Earth, YouTube Music, Hangouts, Google Tasks, Google Meet, Google Pay, PhotoScan, Google Voice, Google News, Gboard, Google Podcasts, and more do not display the information.

On January 5, Google said that the data would be added to its iOS apps "this week or the next week," but both this week and the next week have come and gone with no update. It has now been well over a month since Google last updated its apps.

When it said that an update was coming soon, Google gave no reason for the delay, and still has not offered up an explanation for the lengthy period of time between app updates. Google typically pushes updates much more frequently across its catalog of apps, and its Android apps have continued to be updated regularly.

There has been speculation that Google is hesitant to provide the privacy label data because of the negative feedback that other companies like Facebook have received, but there's still no confirmed explanation.

Apple implemented App Privacy information in iOS 14.3 to provide customers with upfront details about what data an app collects from them so they can make an informed choice when opting to install an app. App developers are required to self-report privacy information in the *App Store*, and developers must identify all data collection and use cases.

 

[sandysgeek]

Digital Easter egg in new Biden White House website has job invitation

Digital Easter egg in new Biden White House website has job invitation for tech workers

A screenshot obtained January 20, 2021, shows HTML code on https://www.whitehouse.gov containing an invitation to join the U.S. Digital Service, a technology unit within the White House.


A digital “Easter egg” buried in the software code in the Biden administration’s newly updated White House website has a welcoming message for tech workers who stumble across it: There’s a job waiting for you.

“If you’re reading this, we need your help building back better,” says a line in the HTML code for the home of WhiteHouse.gov.

The line ends with a link to the website of the U.S. Digital Service, an executive branch division whose staff builds and improves digital tools used by people interacting with the federal government electronically.

Isaac Hepworth, a Microsoft employee, highlighted the unusual “Help Wanted” listing in a Twitter post Wednesday, just after Joe Biden was sworn in as president.

Hepworth’s post was replying to a tweet from an editor at The Verge, who complimented the updated White House website for having a “dark mode” that allows viewers to have a black background for the text and photos.

The unusual job listing can be viewed by anyone, tech type or otherwise, by using a “developer” tool from the pulldown menu on a web browser such as Chrome or Firefox.

But on its own web site, the agency said, “The U.S. Digital Service is excited to report that we’ve recently received a large number of applications.”

“We’re reviewing them as quickly as we can, and will respond shortly. We thank you for your patience!”

It was not clear if the applications stemmed from the WhiteHouse.gov code link.

The Digital Service uses a tour-of-service model, which hires workers for a maximum term of four years, with most of them doing stints of one or two years.

The somewhat secret want ad replicates one that likewise was hidden in the HTML code for Biden’s presidential transition website, buildbackbetter.gov, which also linked to the Digital Service’s job application.

Newsweek reported in November that the anonymous “hacktivist” known as “The Jester” first spotted that Easter egg in the transition’s website.

“The Jester” at the time noted in a Twitter post that the hidden message “harkens back” to the practice of British intelligence agencies recruiting would-be code breakers by conducting difficult crossword and puzzle competitions in newspapers.








This type of burying to make challenging is not uncommon


TIL a software company buried a $1,000 prize deep in its Terms of Service to see if anyone actually read them. After 5 months and over 3,000 sales, someone finally asked about the prize
Posted by u/skinnysc 7 years ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1baw7v/til_a_software_company_buried_a_1000_prize_deep/
Back in 2005, one lucky PC Pitstop customer won $1,000 by simply reading our End-User License Agreement (EULA) We temporarily added a clause to our EULA offering money to anyone who contacted us, but it took five months and more than 3,000 sales before the first person – dropped us a line asking about the clause.
7 years later — our experiment continues to garner attention in articles detailing the dangers of unread EULAs.
https://techtalk.pcmatic.com/2012/06/12/it-pays-to-read-license-agreements-7-years-later/


Man Finds $1,000 Prize in EULA
Posted on Wednesday February 23, 2005 @07:09PM from the read-the-fine-print dept.
"When Doug Heckman was installing a PC Pitstop program, he actually read the EULA. In it, he found a clause stating that he could get financial compensation if he e-mailed PC Pitstop. The result: a $1,000 check, and proof that people don't read EULAs (3,000 people before him didn't notice it). The goal of this was to prove that one should read all EULAs, so that one can see if an app is spyware if it is buried in the EULA."
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/05/02/23/2315211/man-finds-1000-prize-in-eula


Woman Wins $10,000 For Reading Fine Print : NPR
Georgia high school teacher Donelan Andrews won a $10,000 reward after she closely read the terms and conditions that came with a travel insurance policy she purchased for a trip to England. Squaremouth, a Florida insurance company, had inserted language promising a reward to the first person who emailed the company.
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/701417140/when-not-reading-the-fine-print-can-cost-your-soul?t=1611260981700

 

[sandysgeek]

AAPL climbs to new all-time high as expectations set for first $100B quarter

AAPL saw a slight gain today as the overall market saw the opposite. That was enough to push Apple shares to a new all-time high. Notably, that’s against the backdrop of the company reporting its holiday performance on January 27 – with expectations that it will be Apple’s first-ever $100 billion quarter.

AAPL’s value hasn’t moved much since the end of 2020. On December 29, we saw Apple shares hit $138.78 in intraday trading with the stock seeing an almost 90% gain across 2020. Even so, today’s slight gain of 1.61% was enough to move AAPL to a new all-time high as it closed at $139.07.


Eyes on Apple (AAPL) holiday quarter results

Looking to next, week Apple is set to report its fiscal Q1 2021 performance on January 27. Due to the pandemic, Apple hasn’t shared any guidance for revenue and profit but expectations are high with the iPhone 12 lineup having launched in the period as the company’s first devices with 5G.

For comparison, Apple posted revenue of $91.8 billion and profit of $22.2 billion for Q1 2020. That was an all-time record for both net income and revenue. And for Q1 2021, analysts believe the company will set another all-time record by passing the $100 billion revenue milestone for the first time.

Reported by MarketWatch, Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty has called the iPhone 12 debut “the most successful product launch in five years.” And during the pandemic, Apple has seen booming sales for iPad and Mac with the latter boosted by the company’s new Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Pro, Air, and Mac mini. And Apple’s services growth have been on a tear over the previous quarters.

MarketWatch notes analyst consensus is between $102-103 billion for Apple’s holiday quarter revenue.

Apple has an exciting 2021 planned with more Apple Silicon MacBook Pro machines and other products in the pipeline such as AirTags, a redesigned iMac, and more.

Not bad. Since hitting the low ten months ago on Match 23, 2020, AAPL is up 263%.

 

[sandysgeek]

Facebook says a ‘configuration change’ mistakenly logged iPhone users out

Facebook says a ‘configuration change’ mistakenly logged iPhone users out of their accounts

If you woke up this morning and were inexplicably logged out of the Facebook app on your iPhone, you’re not alone. Facebook says that a “configuration change” affected people’s ability to access the Facebook app on their iPhone on Friday evening, but the issue appears to have since been resolved for most users.


Facebook logged out iPhone users

Interestingly, the issue seems to have primarily only affected iPhone users. On Friday evening, Facebook for iOS users took to Twitter to question why they were logged out of the application for no reason. Some users with two-factor authentication enabled also had difficulty regaining access to their account, and some even had to upload pictures of a valid ID to log in. Affected users say that two-factor authentication SMS codes were very slow to send, or didn’t send at all.

The issue was so widespread that it turned into a trending topic on Twitter as users speculated why Facebook had logged all iPhone users out at the exact same time.


A Facebook spokesperson issued the following statement:

“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing Facebook. We believe this was due to a configuration change and we’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.”

Facebook has not offered any additional details on what exactly happened. In a social media post, the company said the “configuration change” was resolved around 6 a.m. ET on Saturday morning. The social network never went offline. The sole issue was that iPhone users were logged out of their account, and some couldn’t easily regain access.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple Elaborates on Potential for iPhone 12 and MagSafe Accessories

Apple Elaborates on Potential for iPhone 12 and MagSafe Accessories to Interfere With Implantable Medical Devices


Since the launch of iPhone 12 models in October, Apple has acknowledged that the devices may cause electromagnetic interference with medical devices like pacemakers and defibrillators, but the company has now shared additional information.

Apple added the following paragraph to a related support document today:

Medical devices such as implanted pacemakers and defibrillators might contain sensors that respond to magnets and radios when in close contact. To avoid any potential interactions with these devices, keep your iPhone and MagSafe accessories a safe distance away from your device (more than 6 inches / 15 cm apart or more than 12 inches / 30 cm apart if wirelessly charging). But consult with your physician and your device manufacturer for specific guidelines.

While the support document already mentioned "MagSafe accessories" in the title, Apple has further emphasized that accessories like the MagSafe Charger and MagSafe Duo Charger may also interfere with medical devices:

All MagSafe accessories (each sold separately) also contain magnets—and MagSafe Charger and MagSafe Duo Charger contain radios. These magnets and electromagnetic fields might interfere with medical devices.

Apple continues to state that while all iPhone 12 models contain more magnets than prior iPhone models, they are "not expected to pose a greater risk of magnetic interference to medical devices than prior iPhone models."

Earlier this month, an article in the Heart Rhythm Journal indicated that iPhone 12 models can "potentially inhibit lifesaving therapy in a patient" due to magnetic interference with implantable medical devices. Three doctors in Michigan tested this interaction by holding an iPhone 12 near a patient's implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which immediately went into a "suspended" state for the duration of the test, according to the article.

"We hereby bring an important public health issue concerning the newer generation iPhone 12 which can potentially inhibit lifesaving therapy in a patient particularly while carrying the phone in upper pockets," the doctors wrote. "Medical device manufacturers and implanting physicians should remain vigilant in making patients aware of this significant interaction of the iPhone 12 and other smart wearables with their cardiac implantable electronic devices."

Apple provides more information in the "Important safety information for iPhone" section of the iPhone User Guide.

 

[sandysgeek]

iPhone 12 gestures and hidden menus

There are a bunch of hidden menus on your iPhone: Here’s how to use them


Apple adds more functions to the iPhone every year, but the more it can do, the more complicated it gets.

If you recently got a new iPhone after sitting out several generations -- or maybe just don’t fiddle around with your phone a lot -- you might be missing out on some easy ways to get more done, faster. The iPhone has a bunch of “hidden” menus that help you do things like search across apps, go back to the last screen, find widgets that show snapshots of certain information, or quickly turn your Wi-Fi off and on.

They’re hidden because they require you to make specific gestures that aren’t necessarily easy to guess. But once you know where they are, they’re quite useful.

Here’s a quick overview to get you going.


How to reach the top of your iPhone screen without dropping your phone

Reachability brings the top of your screen down.


Maybe you have a big iPhone. Or maybe you have small hands. Either way, you can quickly access the icons that at the top of the phone without stretching your fingers with an option called “Reachability.” This lowers the screen down so you don’t have to fumble with two hands. Reachability is off by default, so do this to turn it on:

• Open Settings.
  
  
• Tap Accessibility.
  
  
• Choose Touch.
  
  
• Toggle the Reachability option to on.

Now that it’s on, use it by quickly swiping down at the bottom edge of the screen.


How to use the Control Center

Control Center on iPhone


You probably already know how to swipe up from the top middle of your home screen. That’s what brings up your recent notifications.

But, if you’re coming from an iPhone with a home button, you might not know that you can also swipe down from the top right corner of your screen. This opens Control Center, which gives you quick access controls to common functions. You can use it to turn on your flashlight, to recognize a song with Spotify, control your smart lights, toggle Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on/off, launch the calculator and more. But you have to set it up so it has the right items in it.

To manage what appears in Control Center, do this:

• Open Settings.
  
  
• Tap Control Center.
  
  
• Scroll down and tap the green button next to any options you want to see when you swipe from the top-right of your screen.

How to use iPhone widgets

Widgets on iPhone


You can place little mini apps, called widgets, on your home screen. But there’s also a whole hidden section dedicated to widgets.

This is to the left of your home screen, so you access it by swiping right across your screen. You can customize it with any app that has widgets. I have a photo gallery in mine and an icon that shows the battery life left on my iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch. I also use it for a quick glance at my Apple Fitness rings, CNBC Trending news stories, and more.

There are two ways to get widgets on this screen. For the built-in Apple widgets, and a handful of others that have been custom-built, do this:

• Swipe right across your home screen until you see the widget panel with a Search bar on top.
  
  
• Scroll down and tap the oval-shaped “Edit” button at the bottom.
  
  
• Hit the + button on the top-left.
  
  
• Choose the widget you want to add.
  
  
• Tap Add Widget.

If you don’t see the widget you want to add, you might need to take an extra step. In this case:

• After you hit “Edit,” scroll down to the bottom of the screen again and select “Customize.”
  
  
• There, you’ll see widgets for other apps you’ve installed on your iPhone. Hit the green + button to add them.

How to search everything on your iPhone at once

Universal search on iPhone


You can search through apps, the web, maps, dictionary, files and more all by using the iPhone’s universal search menu.

You can bring this up by swiping down from the middle of your home screen. You’ll also see Siri suggestions for your most common actions.

(Reminder: swiping from the middle-top will bring down notifications and swiping from the top-right will bring down Control Center.)


How to switch apps quickly

Switch apps on your iPhone


You can quickly change apps or close them by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and then holding until you feel a gentle vibration. Swipe right to move through apps. Tap an app to switch to it, or swipe up to close it.

Here’s a little bonus trick: did you know you can switch between apps by also just swiping right or left across the bottom of the screen? Try it! Open an app and then swipe right across the bottom. It’ll go to the last app you had open. Swipe left to go back or keep swiping right to move between apps

Here’s a second bonus: You can go back to the last screen in an app, like the previous webpage, by swiping right from the edge of the screen. The best way to try this is to open a website, go to another site, and then swipe right across the screen. You’ll be back where you started. If you swipe left from the right side of your phone, you’ll move forward again.

 

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Verizon Fios outage takes services offline for users in the northeastern U.S.

Apparent Verizon Fios outage takes services offline for users in the northeastern United States

An apparent widespread Verizon Fios outage is affecting users up and down the east coast of the United States this afternoon. This outage is preventing Fios users from accessing popular services such as Slack, Zoom, and Google Meet, and there is no timetable for when the issues might be resolved.

Verizon Fios outage

Affected Verizon Fios users have taken to Twitter to complain about the outage. The first reports appear to have surfaced around 11 am ET. According to DownDetector, the outage is affecting locations in the northeast United States, including Boston down through Washington D.C.

Verizon has not yet confirmed an outage via its “Service Outage Information” website. Instead, it simply tells users that “We are not detecting outages in your area.” On Twitter, however, Verizon Support indicated that “there is a fiber cut in Brooklyn,” and there is no timetable for a fix.

The reports on DownDetector indicate that users are having significant issues accessing Google services, Zoom, Amazon, Robinhood, and more. What’s important to keep in mind is that it does not appear that these services themselves are experiencing issues.

At this point, it seems that the Verizon Fios outage is responsible for the problems, but that could change. As of right now, the Amazon Web Services status webpage indicates that all of its systems are operating as expected. This further narrows it down to a Verizon Fios issue.

Affected services according to DownDetector include:

• Google
  
  
• Zoom
  
  
• Gmail
  
  
• Amazon Web Services
  
  
• Google Meet
  
  
• YouTube
  
  
• Hulu
  
  
• Robinhood
  
  
• Slack
  
  
• Google Classroom
  
  
• Spotify
  
  
• Fortnite

Jeremy C. Owens
@jowens510

AWS, Google service issues reported in Northeast U.S.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google services and Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Web Services saw a spike in reported outages mostly confined to the Northeast U.S. Tuesday...

5:44 PM · Jan 26, 2021

Verizon Support
@VerizonSupport
There is a fiber cut in Brooklyn. We have no ETR, as of yet. You can use the MY Fios app for updates. *EAG
4:52 PM · Jan 26, 2021

 

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iOS 14.4 now available with Apple Watch Unity face support, bug fixes, and more

Apple has released iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 to the general public today after previously beta testing with developers and public beta users. The update brings changes to the Camera app, bug fixes for keyboard input lag, and much more. It also includes support for the new Apple Watch Unity watch faces.


iOS 14.4 features

Apple says that iOS 14.4 includes support for recognizing smaller QR codes in the Camera app, as well as the option to classify Bluetooth device types in Settings. Notably, the update also adds new notifications for when your iPhone can’t verify if you’re using a “genuine Apple camera.”

iOS 14.4 also includes a handful of bug fixes related to HDR photography, the Messages app, and more. There is a fix for keyboard lag, which is an issue that has been plaguing many iPhone users since iOS 14 was first released.


iOS 14.4 includes the following improvements for your iPhone:

• Smaller QR codes can be recognized by Camera
  
  
• Option to classify Bluetooth device type in Settings for correct identification of headphones for audio notifications
  
  
• Notifications for when the camera on your iPhone is unable to be verified as a new, genuine Apple camera in iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max

This release also fixes the following issues:

• Image artifacts could appear in HDR photos taken with iPhone 12 Pro
  
  
• Fitness widget may not display updated Activity data
  
  
• Typing may be delayed and word suggestions may not appear in the keyboard
  
  
• The keyboard may not come up in the correct language in Messages
  
  
• Audio stories from the News app in CarPlay may not resume after being paused for spoken directions or Siri
  
  
• Enabling Switch Control in Accessibility may prevent phone calls from being answered from the Lock Screen

iOS 14.4 is available to users via an over-the-air update in the Settings app later today. Simply open the Settings app, choose General, then choose Software Update. As usual, if the update does not immediately appear for download, keep checking as it sometimes takes a while to roll out to all users.

Today’s update features the build number as the Release Candidate version, 18D52, so if you were running the RC on your device, you will not see an update today.


iPadOS 14.4 includes the following improvements for your iPad:

• Smaller QR codes can be recognized by Camera
  
  
• Option to classify Bluetooth device type in Settings for correct identification of headphones for audio notifications

This release also fixes the following issues:

• Typing may be delayed and word suggestions may not appear in the keyboard
  
  
• The keyboard may not come up in the correct language in Messages

 

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Apple says iOS 14.4 patches 3 security flaws that ‘may have been actively exploited’

In addition to the new features detailed earlier today, iOS 14.4 also brings a trio of notable security improvements. In a new Support document published this afternoon, Apple said that iOS 14.4 fixes a kernel vulnerability and two WebKit vulnerabilities, all three of which “may have been actively exploited.”

First, Apple says that iOS 14.4 patches a security vulnerability in the kernel affecting iPhone 6s and later, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation). The company only provides a brief description of the details:

• Impact: A malicious application may be able to elevate privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
  
  
• Description: A race condition was addressed with improved locking.

iOS 14.4 also patches two vulnerabilities in WebKit, which is the browser engine used by Safari, affecting the same aforementioned devices:

• Impact: A remote attacker may be able to cause arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
  
• Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved restrictions.

As TechCrunch rightfully points out, it’s unusual for Apple to denote that a security vulnerability “may have been actively exploited.” The company did not provide any information on who might have fallen victim:

It’s not known who is actively exploiting the vulnerabilities, or who might have fallen victim. Apple did not say if the attack was targeted against a small subset of users or if it was a wider attack. Apple granted anonymity to the individual who submitted the bug, the advisory said.

Apple says that additional details about these vulnerabilities will be provided in the future, but no additional information is currently available. Apple says that all three vulnerabilities were reported by anonymous security researchers.

iOS 14.4 is available to users via an over-the-air update in the Settings app. Simply open the Settings app, choose General, then choose Software Update. With these major security improvements included, we highly recommend updating as soon as possible.

 

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Apple (AAPL) reports record-breaking Q1 2021 earnings with $111.4 billion in revenue

SON-OF-A-BITCH!


There's a lot to go through in the release. There's also Earnings Call at 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern.

Apple (AAPL) has officially reported its earnings for Q1 2021, covering the lucrative holiday shopping season. For the first fiscal quarter of 2021, Apple has reported a record-breaking $111.44 billion in revenue and profit of $28.76 billion.

As always, it’s important to note that Apple no longer reports iPhone, iPad, and Mac unit sales numbers, though it does report a revenue breakdown by product category. More details below.

Apple says that iPhone, Wearables, and Services all set new revenue records. Revenue in total was up 21% year-over-year, while quarterly earnings per diluted share were up 35% to $1.68.

Yet again, Apple is not providing guidance for Q2 2021 because of the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
AAPL Q1 2021 earnings by product

The first quarter of the fiscal year is an important one for Apple as it covers the months of October, November, and December — the most lucrative three months of the year because of holiday shopping. This year, the numbers are especially important.

Notably, Apple did not provide guidance for Q1 2021 because of the continued uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, analysts were expecting big numbers, with the Wall Street consensus view on revenue in the order of $103B.

For comparison’s sake, Apple reported revenue of $91.8 billion and profit of $22.2 billion during Q1 2020 last year. This time around, there are a handful of different factors. For instance, the Mac and iPad businesses have seen major growth because of the work-from-home trend driven by the pandemic.

Apple also released a new iPad Air and new M1 Macs during the quarter. The first fiscal quarter of 2021 also included the entirety of the iPhone 12 lineup being released, something that usually begins in the prior quarter and is spread across Q4 and Q1.

Apple does not report unit sales for any of its hardware products. Instead, it reports a breakdown of revenue by product category. Here are those numbers for fiscal Q1 2021:

• $65.60 billion: iPhone
  
  
• $15.76 billion: Services
  
  
• $8.68 billion: Mac
  
  
• $12.97 billion: Wearables, Home, and Accessories
  
  
• $8.44 billion: iPad

 

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Apple Q1 2021 actual versus consensus estimates

Apple delivered its largest quarter by revenue of all time on Wednesday at $111.4 billion in its first-quarter earnings report for fiscal 2021. It’s the first time Apple crossed the symbolic $100 billion mark in a single quarter, and sales were up 21% year-over-year.


Here’s how Apple did versus consensus estimates:

EPS: $1.68 vs. $1.41 estimated


Revenue: $111.44 billion vs. $103.28 billion estimated, up 21% year-over-year


iPhone revenue: $65.60 billion vs. $59.80 billion estimated, up 17% year-over-year


Services revenue: $15.76 billion vs. $14.80 billion estimated, up 24% year-over-year


Other Products revenue: $12.97 billion vs. $11.96 billion estimated, up 29% year-over-year


Mac revenue: $8.68 billion vs. $8.69 billion estimated, up 21% year-over-year



iPad revenue: $8.44 billion vs. $7.46 billion estimated, up 41% year-over-year


Gross margin: 39.8% vs. 38.0% estimated


Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the results could’ve been even better if not for the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns that forced Apple to temporarily shutter some Apple stores around the world.

Apple did not provide official guidance for the upcoming quarter. It hasn’t offered investors forecasts since the beginning of the pandemic.

Apple highlighted in its release that international sales accounted for 64% of the company’s sales, up from 61% in the same quarter last year.

Apple also declared a cash dividend of $0.205 cents per share and said that it had spent over $30 billion on total shareholder return, which includes share buybacks, during the quarter.

Wednesday’s blowout earnings are also a recovery story for Apple. Two years ago, Apple warned that its projection for its holiday quarter sales were lower than the company expected, a rare warning that raised questions whether Apple was losing its momentum. On Wednesday, Apple revealed that revenue is up over 40% since that report.

 

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Facebook earnings beat but the company warns of impact from Apple privacy changes

During Facebook's quarterly results yesterday, Mark Zuckerbeg included this:


The company said that it benefited in 2020 by a shift toward online commerce and products during the pandemic. Facebook warned that these trends may moderate or reverse and “could serve as a headwind to our advertising revenue growth.”

The company also warned Apple’s privacy changes in iOS 14, which could impact Facebook’s ability to target ads, could start to affect its business late in the first quarter.

Zuckerberg said Facebook increasingly views Apple as one of its biggest competitors.

“Apple may say they’re doing this to help people, but the moves clearly track their competitive interests,” Zuckerberg said. “This dynamic is important for people to understand because we and others are going to be up against this for the foreseeable future.”



He also said more about Apple during their conference call I want to post.

 

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Apple CEO links Facebook’s business model to real-world violence

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday linked Facebook’s business model, which used data to serve targeted ads, with real-world consequences like violence or reducing public trust in vaccines.

Cook’s speech at a data privacy conference in Brussels did not mention Facebook by name, but the social media company was clearly a target of the Apple CEO’s warning.

“If a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all, it does not deserve our praise. It deserves scorn,” Cook said.

Cook also criticized recommendation algorithms that suggest extremist groups to users, as Facebook has been under fire for doing.

Cook also said he believes that some companies reward content that could undermine public trust in vaccinations to boost engagement.

“At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good and the longer the better,” Cook said.

The speech comes as the battle between the Silicon Valley rivals heats up, particularly about a new iPhone feature called App Tracking Transparency, which will force apps to ask for user permission to access an important device identifier that’s used by companies like Facebook and Google to serve and measure mobile ads.

Cook’s comments also come amid questions about whether Facebook’s algorithms and tools were used to supercharge the pro-Trump riot on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was already forced to defend the company, saying that rioters who were planning violence were “largely” not organized on Facebook.

“It is long past time to stop pretending that this approach doesn’t cover the costs of polarization, of lost trust, of violence,” Cook said. “A social dilemma cannot be allowed to cause a social catastrophe.”

On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg slammed the App Tracking Transparency change, and said that Apple was its biggest competitor. He also implied that Apple is using privacy as a justification to disadvantage Facebook.

“Apple has every incentive to use their dominant platform position to interfere with how our apps and other apps work, which they regularly do to preference their own,” Zuckerberg said.

 

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Robinhood, investment apps dominate app store rankings

The retail trading boom turned Apple and Google’s app stores upside down


The retail investing boom this week has taken over Apple and Google’s app stores.

It’s hard to stress just how unusual this is. In normal times, app store rankings are dominated by social and entertainment apps: think YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Disney+ and so on.

First, here’s a look at the app store rankings for Android (left) and iPhone (right) as of Friday morning in the U.S.:

Now for a quick explanation on how app store rankings work. Think of the rankings as a snapshot in time. They reflect the momentum in downloads of a given app, not necessarily the total number of downloads. For example, apps like Amazon Alexa and Fitbit typically see big jumps on Christmas as people activate their new Echo speakers and fitness trackers.

The jump in the rankings for financial apps represents a massive interest among the general population in retail investing through apps like Robinhood or Webull. Reddit’s jump is due to the popularity of the forum Wall Street Bets, where the GameStop boom began. Coinbase is a popular app for buying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

You get the idea.

This is one of the best signs we have yet that the retail boom has gone mainstream.

Attention Robinhood power users: Most day traders lose money

a large body of academic studies going back 20 years that consistently shows day traders and other very active traders have difficulty making money over anything more than short periods of time.

The most recent study, “Attention Induced Trading and Returns: Evidence from Robinhood Users,” was published in October and examined trading activity of Robinhood from May 2, 2018, to Aug. 13, 2020. They particularly studied “extreme herding events,” where Robinhood traders crowded into particular stocks.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3715077

 

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Ten records Apple broke in its historic holiday 2020 quarter

Breaking this into two posts

Breaking down every record Apple smashed in its gargantuan fiscal quarter ending in December 2020.

Apple's first fiscal quarter was one to remember, breaking records left and right on its way to a staggering $111.4 billion in total revenue. While that number was the biggest takeaway, it was far from the only record the company shattered.


Total revenue

Apple brought in a staggering $111.4B in Q1 2021


During the 1Q 2021 financial quarter, Apple raked in $111.4 billion in total revenue. This is the first time the company has passed $100 billion for a quarter, breaking its previous record of $91.8 billion in the prior year's December-ending quarter.

It's all the more surprising that Apple did this during a global pandemic, as many working families cut down on luxury purchases. Impressive iPad and Mac sales boosts may have partially reflected the greater need for work-from-home and Zoom-friendly computing devices. However, the iPhone continued to be Apple's main revenue driver.


iPhone revenue

The entire iPhone 12 lineup


As part of its monumental quarter, Apple also saw a record-shattering $65.6 billion in iPhone sales. This was up from $56 billion in the previous year's quarter.

Apple shipping the new models later than usual may have meant the typical sales from the last few weeks of the fourth quarter carried over to Q1, inflating the final total. However, the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 mini didn't ship until Nov. 13, giving those two handsets only six weeks to contribute to the earnings. CEO Tim Cook also noted that supply constraints affected iPhone 12 Pro sales.

"If you look at this past quarter, we started selling two of the iPhones four weeks into the quarter, and the other two seven weeks into the quarter," said Cook. "So I would caution that this is in the early going, but in looking at the iPhone 12 family, we saw those switchers and upgraders increase on a year-to-year basis."

"And in fact, we saw the largest number of upgraders that we've ever seen in a quarter," he continued. "And so we were, you know, very thrilled about that."


Active install base: Total and iPhones

Apple now has more than one billion iPhones in active use


During the earnings call, Cook said Apple now has an active installed base of 1.65 billion devices. That figure includes all Apple products.

As part of that figure for active devices, iPhones in active use have passed the one billion mark. That compares to 900 million at the same point in 2020.


Mac revenue

The M1 MacBook Pro, one of three Mac products with Apple Silicon


Apple didn't quite pass its record for Mac revenue it had set in the previous quarter. Yet it did break the record for December-quarter Mac revenue, tallying $8.7 billion. Mac sales grew by 41% compared to the quarter ending in December 2019.

The company launched its first Apple Silicon Macs during the quarter. These include M1-powered models of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini.

Cook acknowledged that there have been supply constraints for M1 Macs, suggesting sales may have been artificially suppressed due to lack of available units. He weighed in on the process, saying, "We're partway through the [Apple Silicon] transition, and we've got a lot more to do. We're in the early days of a two-year transition, but we're excited about what we see so far."


Services

Apple One launched late in the quarter


Yet another record to fall was Services. Apple took in $15.8 billion in Services revenue for the final three months of 2020. Apple established new records across its Services categories and in most regions.

The Apple One bundle launched in December, giving customers bulk discounts over the services' combined individual costs. The firm also launched Apple Fitness late in the quarter, offering interactive home workout videos for Apple Watch owners.

 

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Wearables, Home, and Accessories

Apple Watch Series 6 with Braided Solo Loop


Apple also broke records in its Wearables, Home, and Accessories category. It brought in $13 billion, up 30% from the previous year's comparable quarter. Each of this group's sub-categories also set records.

The Wearables category includes Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats headphones. The company released the Apple Watch Series 6 and budget Apple Watch SE during the fall.

Apple also launched AirPods Max towards the end of the quarter, supplies of which will likely be constrained until April 2021.

AirPods Max released with constrained supplies near the quarter's end


The Home category includes Apple TV, HomePod, and the new HomePod mini, which the company also released in fall 2020. This quarter's new accessories included the MagSafe, MagSafe Duo, and MagSafe cases — magnetic accessories compatible with the iPhone 12 line.



China revenue

Apple has bet big on China, and now the company has set a quarterly record in the country

During the quarter, Apple raked in a record $21 billion from China. The company saw those numbers as transcending strong iPhone sales.

"China was more than an iPhone story," said Cook. "We could not have turned in a performance like we did with only iPhone."


iPad sales in Japan

Global iPad revenue was up 41% year-over-year


While overall iPad revenue wasn't record-breaking, it still saw massive growth. Global iPad sales were up 41% year-over-year, totaling $8.4 billion. That's the highest quarterly iPad total in six years.

Apple also noted that Japan's iPad revenue was a record-breaking total.

The company spent 2020 refining its iPad lineup with hardware revisions across each model and significant iPadOS improvements. Desktop Safari and mouse-cursor support allow users to perform more work from the tablet.

Cook noted that some iPad models saw constrained supplies during the quarter.


AppleCare

Apple brought in record AppleCare revenue, despite many stores remaining closed



Apple brought in record-breaking AppleCare revenue. This was despite many U.S. and European stores remaining closed during the quarter. Maestri attributed AppleCare's growth to global in-store traffic ticking upwards.

In addition to in-person Apple Store purchases, Apple customers can buy AppleCare+ extended warranties online and from third-party retailers. In recent years, the company has added monthly AppleCare+ subscriptions, making it easier for customers to afford device insurance.


FaceTime call volume

Apple says it saw the highest-ever volume of FaceTime calls on Dec. 25



Apple says that, over Christmas, it broke the record for the highest-ever volume of FaceTime calls. In the earnings call, Cook stated that "as COVID-19 kept us apart, we saw the highest volume of FaceTime calls ever this Christmas." It's unclear if "this Christmas" refers to Dec. 25, the surrounding weeks, or the entire holiday quarter. Cook also didn't specify the exact amount of FaceTime call volume.

No matter the numbers, this record is unsurprising. Likely contributing factors include families kept apart for the holidays and the greater number of active Apple devices.

 

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Facebook Preparing Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple

Facebook Preparing Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple for 'Unfair' Approach to Privacy and Default Apps


Facebook is preparing to launch a lawsuit against Apple for alleged anticompetitive behaviour, particularly regarding App Tracking Transparency and iMessage, according to The Information.

The antitrust lawsuit would contend that Apple has abused its power in the smartphone industry by enforcing App Store rules that Apple itself supposedly does not have to follow. Within this, the case would argue rules such as the requirement that developers use Apple's own in-app payment service, make it harder to compete in areas such as gaming, messaging, and shopping.

iOS 14's App Tracking Transparency feature, which allows users to opt-out of being tracked via an on-screen prompt, is believed to be central to Facebook's case. Facebook alleges that the prompts are unfair because they do not appear for Apple's own apps, offering it a competitive advantage. However, Apple's apps do not track users or share data for advertising purposes, so this seems to be a bemusing foundation for the lawsuit.

In addition to App Tracking Transparency, Facebook is expected to focus on Apple's refusal to allow third-party messaging apps to be installed as the default option on iPhones and iPads. The company lobbied Apple to allow users to choose Facebook's Messenger app as the default on iOS instead of iMessage in September last year, and it now claims that Apple disallows other messaging apps to be set as default in an effort to prevent people from switching to competing smartphone brands.

Facebook has also reportedly considered inviting other companies to participate in its prospective lawsuit against Apple. A natural ally would seemingly be Epic Games, which has been embroiled in a legal battle with Apple since Fortnite was removed from the App Store for breaking Apple's rules.

The news appears to be a considerable escalation in tensions between the two companies, which have become increasingly fraught in recent months. For example, in December, Facebook paid for a series of full-page advertisements in national newspapers to berate *iOS 14*'s App Tracking Transparency, saying that it harms small businesses.

During Facebook's quarterly earnings call with investors yesterday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Apple's business is increasingly focused "on gaining share in apps and services against us and other developers." He continued, "so Apple has every incentive to use their dominant platform position to interfere with how our apps and other apps work, which they regularly do to preference their own."

While Facebook may be seeking monetary damages, the preferable outcome is believed to be significant changes to Apple's platform restrictions and *App Store* rules. The Information notes that in spite of Facebook's legal preparations, it may yet decide to not bring the case to court.

One factor within this is said to be considerable internal dissent within Facebook itself. Executives are facing "internal resistance" from some employees over the prospect of deepening its public campaign against Apple with a lawsuit. Specifically, some employees are apparently concerned that Facebook is "not a compelling victim," especially given the company's own antitrust cases and mishandling of user data.





Want to make sure I understand this. Apple will make a feature available in their operating system they make for their devices that warns users giving them the option to stop Facebook from not only without users knowledge much less permission, stealing users information but also tracking them around the web, and that's considered anti-competitive behavior.



Yeah, positive I'm definitely not smart enough to found, be CEO, and operate a social media website.