Lit Apple Mac, iPhone, iPad User Group

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Some iPhone 13 and iOS 15 users affected by touch screen responsiveness bugs

Some iPhone 13 Users Reporting Intermittent Touch Issues, Older Models Also Affected After Updating to iOS 15

Apple released iOS 15 and the iPhone 13 to the public last week, and a handful of early bugs have emerged since then. Now, users of the iPhone 13 are taking to Reddit and Twitter to report touch screen responsiveness issues on their new devices. Interestingly, however, the problem also seems to extend back to older iPhones with iOS 15 as well.

On Reddit, users report that their iPhone 13 touch screen sometimes fails to respond to touch, both on the public release of iOS 15 as well as with the iPhone 15.1 beta. The issue affects the tap to wake functionality of the iPhone as well as interaction with other aspects of the iOS interface.

Initially, this seemed like a bug that solely affected the new iPhone 13 lineup. On Twitter, however, reports have also emerged from users of older iPhones who say they are experiencing this same problem after updating to the public release of iOS 15 last week. This means that it’s likely not a hardware problem affecting the iPhone 13, but rather a software bug in iOS 15.

The fix for these issues in most cases appears to be a reboot of the affected iPhone. Some users note that they can also simply repeatedly tap the display to “wake” the screen up.

Apple is currently beta testing iOS 15.1, but it appears that the touch responsiveness issue is still present in the latest beta. iOS 15.1 beta 2, however, does resolve the Apple Watch Unlock problem that was affecting iPhone 13 users.

It remains to be seen whether Apple is planning an iOS 15.0.1 update to resolve some of the early problems affecting iOS 15 users and iPhone 13 users. It could also be that Apple is planning to roll out all of the fixes, along with SharePlay, as part of iOS 15.1.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apparent flaw allows hackers to steal money from a locked iPhone

Apparent flaw allows hackers to steal money from a locked iPhone, when a Visa card is set up with Apple Pay Express Transit

Security researchers today announced findings surrounding a vulnerability with Visa cards, specifically when a Visa card is set as the default card for Express Transit in Apple Pay on the iPhone (this feature is named Express Travel in the UK).

The demo shared by The Telegraph showed that a hacker could trick the contactless system to perform arbitrary transactions and therefore steal money from a locked iPhone, assuming they have physical possession of the device.

Apple Pay Express Transit allows contactless transactions with transit like the London Underground to happen without any Face ID or Touch ID authentication, to save time when tapping in and out at the train gates. The lack of authentication is deemed okay as the maximum transaction amount for transit is low, and there is a daily cap.

However, these security researchers have shown that a nefarious hacker can make a dummy payment terminal that mimics the behavior of a public transport terminal, allowing Apple Pay Express Transit card to activate but with seemingly no cap on the amount. As such, the researchers were able to perform a £1000 transaction on the locked iPhone, without any authentication required.

Apple said the fault lies in Visa’s system, and that any unauthorized payments are covered by Visa’s zero liability policy. Visa said “variations of contactless fraud schemes have been studied in laboratory settings for more than a decade and have proven to be impractical to execute at scale in the real world”.

The exploit is specific to to Visa cards. Apple Pay Express Transit paired with Mastercard or American Express Cards are not vulnerable.

 

[sandysgeek]

iOS 15 Messages Bug Causes Saved Photos to Be Deleted

A serious bug in the iOS 15 Messages app can cause some saved photos to be deleted, according to multiple complaints we've heard from MacRumors readers and Twitter users.

If you save a photo from a Messages thread and then go on to delete that thread, the next time an iCloud Backup is performed, the photo will disappear.

Even though the image is saved to your personal iCloud Photo Library, it appears to still be linked to the Messages app in *iOS 15*, and saving it does not persist through the deletion of the thread and an *iCloud* backup.

To replicate this bug, the following steps must be taken:

1. Save a photo from a Messages conversation to your Camera Roll.
   
   
2. Check to see that the photo has been saved.
   
   
3. Delete the Messages conversation the photo came from. The photo will still be in your *iCloud Photo Library* at this point.
   
   
4. Perform an *iCloud* Backup, and the photo disappears.

This is a concern because most users keep the *iCloud* Backup feature enabled and it's something that happens automatically. If you're someone who regularly deletes message threads, if there's a photo that you want to keep, you won't be able to keep it with *iCloud* Backup turned on. We tested this bug on an iPhone running iOS 15.1 beta 2 and had our photo deleted after deleting the Messages thread and performing an *iCloud* Backup, so the issue has not been addressed in the current beta as of yet.
current beta as of yet.

15.1 beta 2 is still deleting photos from my library when I delete the iMessage thread I saved them from FB9658241 — Ezekiel (@superezfe) September 29, 2021

Until this bug is fixed, if you've downloaded photos from the Messages app, you'll want to make sure to keep those Messages conversations and not delete them to prevent them from being automatically removed from your devices.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple confirms Apple Card outage affecting some users this Friday

If you experienced any problems with Apple Card this Friday, it’s not just you. Apple has just confirmed an Apple Card outage on its System Status website that has been affecting some users.

According to Apple, the outage began around 11:33 a.m. PT and is still ongoing. The company says that some users may not be able to apply for the Apple Card, pay their bill, or even apply for a new card.

Some users are affected. Some users may not be able to apply for Apple Card, pay their bill, lock/unlock their physical card, request a new or replacement physical card, or request a new card number.

Although Apple says nothing about not being able to pay with Apple Card due to the outage, some users have confirmed on Twitter that they are unable to make purchases with their Apple Card.

Unfortunately, it’s unknown when the issue will be fixed. If you have had any problems with your Apple Card today, please try to use it again later.

Earlier this year, Apple Card faced two other major outages that made the card unusable for multiple users for more than a day. Hopefully Apple will quickly fix today’s outage.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple releases iOS 15.0.1 with ‘Apple Watch Unlock’ fix on iPhone 13 and more

One week after the release of the iPhone 13 and iOS 15, Apple is rolling out a bug fix update with some notable improvements. iOS 15.0.1 and iPadOS 15.0.1 are rolling out now with a fix for ‘Unlock with Apple Watch’ and more. Head below for the full release notes.

Here’s what Apple says is fixed in today’s release of iOS 15.0.1:

• Unlock iPhone with Apple Watch may not work on iPhone 13 models
  
  
• Settings app may incorrectly display an alert that storage is full
  
  
• Audio meditations could unexpectedly start a workout on Apple Watch for some Fitness+ subscribers

The most notable fix here is for the Unlock with Apple Watch bug. As we reported last week, Apple acknowledged this issue in a support document and promised that a fix would come soon. Apple said at the time:

Apple has identified an issue where Unlock with Apple Watch may not work with iPhone 13 devices. You might see “Unable to Communicate with Apple Watch” if you try to unlock your iPhone while wearing a face mask, or you might not be able to set up Unlock with Apple Watch.

There have been other bugs reported in iOS 15, including issues with touch screen responsiveness and more. At this point, it’s unclear whether today’s release of iOS 15.0.1 resolves this issue. It’s also unclear if today’s update fixes a bug related to the iPhone 13 Pro’s ProMotion display and third-party apps.

You can update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 15.0.1 and iPadOS 15.0.1 by heading to the Settings app, choosing General, then choosing Software Update.

 

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Deals: Get $10 Amazon Credit When Purchasing a $100 Apple Gift Card

Amazon today is offering $10 in Amazon credit when you spend $100 or more on the Apple Gift Card. This card is digital and will be delivered to you via email, and the offer will automatically be applied at the checkout screen.

Amazon's wording on the sale is somewhat confusing, so if you don't see the sale automatically applied at checkout, you can use the code APPLEOCT at the checkout screen to get the deal. For most shoppers, however, the deal should apply automatically.

It's been just over a year since deals were tracked on iTunes gift cards, because Apple phased those out in favor of the new Apple Gift Card. This makes Amazon's sale today of particular note, since you won't find a straight cash discount on these cards again, but can at least get credit added to your Amazon account.


$10 CREDIT - $100 Apple Gift Card at Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Gift-Card-accessories-Delivery/dp/B08F3C99KN


All of the Apple Gift Cards on this page are supported under the new promotion, as long as you customize one to be worth $100 or more. The gift cards are sold by ACI Gift Cards, LLC, which is owned by Amazon and was related to iTunes gift card discounts in the past.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple commemorates tenth anniversary of Steve Jobs passing with homepage takeover

Apple is today commemorating the tenth anniversary of Steve Jobs’ passing with a special homepage takeover on Apple.com. Full bleed imagery of Jobs fills the page and there is a special film that relives some of Jobs’ most memorable quotes.

The website also features a special statement from the Jobs family, which reads “for all of Steve’s gifts, it was his power as a teacher that has endured, he taught us to be open to the beauty of the world, to be curious around new ideas, to see around the next corner, and most of all to stay humble in our own beginner’s mind'”.

The statement can be read in full on Apple.com.

Jobs and Wozniak founded Apple on April 1, 1976. The company introduced groundbreaking technology products during his tenure, including the original Mac that popularized the graphical user interface as the future of desktop computing, the iPod which became the most popular digital music player in the world, and of course, the iPhone and iPad.

Following a long-running battle with cancer, Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple on August 24, 2011. He planned to continue as chairman of the board. Sadly, Jobs passed away only a couple months later on October 5, 2011, just one day after the iPhone 4S was announced at an Apple product briefing. At that time, Jobs was too ill did not attend.

With Jobs’ recommendation and support of the board, Tim Cook took over as permanent CEO from that point on.

“People with passion can change the world for the better.”— SJ. Hard to believe it’s been 10 years. Celebrating you today and always.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 5, 2021

 

[Stillrandy]

Apple is today commemorating the tenth anniversary of Steve Jobs’ passing with a special homepage takeover...

Thank you for sharing that. My own favorite Steve Jobs memory is that Stanford graduation speech from 2005. No doubt everyone remembers it, but here is the link in case someone wants to revisit:

https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/

Cheers,

John

 

[sandysgeek]

Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp down again

PSA: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp down again for some users

Earlier this week, Facebook’s services went completely down for more than six hours. And now some users are reporting that Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp are not working again.

According to DownDetector, all Facebook services are facing another outage since 11 a.m. PT. However, at least for now, today’s outage does not seem to affect all users. It's been confirmed that at least Instagram is completely down right now.

On Twitter, users have been sharing complaints about WhatsApp, Messenger, and other Facebook apps not working on Friday. It’s unclear what is causing today’s outage. The company has acknowledged the problem and says it’s “working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.”

Facebook’s servers were affected by a major DNS problem on Monday that “wiped out” the paths to the company’s domains, which took down all Facebook apps and services for hours. Even the company’s internal network was affected, which made the outage even longer and more complicated.

At the end of the day, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg lost $6 billion due to that major outage.

We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and we apologize for any inconvenience.

— Facebook (@Facebook) October 8, 2021

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple announces ‘Unleashed’ special event for October 18

Apple announces ‘Unleashed’ special event for October 18,
M1X MacBook Pros expected

Apple today has officially confirmed its highly-anticipated October event. The event will take place on Monday, October 18, and will be broadcast live from Apple Park. Apple is teasing the event with the tagline “Unleashed.” which is likely a hint at the new M1X MacBooks that are rumored to be coming.


Apple October Event details

Apple’s October 18 event will be held at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET. This marks the second year in a row that Apple has held an October event completely virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The October 18 event will be live-streamed across Apple’s website, on the company’s YouTube channel, and via the Apple TV application on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. We’ll have more details on how to watch when event day rolls around.



What to expect at the event

The star of Apple’s October 18 event is expected to be the long-anticipated new M1X-powered MacBook Pros. Apple is rumored to be working on new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that are powered by a so-called “M1X” processor.

The new MacBook Pros are expected to feature a mini-LED display, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, MagSafe for charging, and much more. Apple is also expected to ditch the controversial Touch Bar in favor of a traditional row of function keys. The design of the new MacBook Pros is expected to be similar to the latest iMac, iPhone, and iPad design language with flatter edges.

Apple is also rumored to be working on a new Mac mini with specs identical to the M1X MacBook Pro with up to 64GB RAM, 10-core CPU, and 16 or 32 graphics cores.

Continuing with the Mac focus of the event, we also expect Apple to announce macOS Monterey’s official release date during Monday’s event. Monterey is currently in beta testing and is expected to be released to the public sooner rather than later.

Unleashed! These next six days are going to speed by. #AppleEvent | pic.twitter.com/0ops2bVPvl

— Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) October 12, 2021

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple unveils new AirPods, MacBook Pros, HomePod Mini colors and more

Here’s what Apple announced: New AirPods, MacBook Pros, colorful HomePod Minis and more



Here’s everything Apple announced:

• New AirPods
  
  
• New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros
  
  
• New colors for the HomePod Mini
  
  
• The M1 Pro processor and the M1 Max processor.

$4.99 Voice Plan for Apple Music

Apple announced a lower-cost version of Apple Music called “Voice Plan.” It costs $4.99 per month, undercutting Spotify. The difference between Voice Plan and Apple’s existing individual plan is that users can only access it through Siri and it doesn’t have spatial audio and other premium features.



new HomePod Mini speaker in different colors

Apple’s $99 smart speaker, HomePod Mini, will launch in a variety of new colors. It now comes in orange, yellow, and blue. Previously, it was only available in white and dark grey.

Apple has used colors to boost sales on previous-year products since the iPod Nano came in several colors.



new third-generation AirPods with new design, wireless charging, for $179

new chips, M1 Pro and M1 Max, for high-end MacBook Pro laptops

Apple said the new MacBook Pro laptops are “completely reimagined.” They will sport Apple’s M1 Pro chip, a new processor Apple says has a 10-core CPU that Apple says is 70% faster than its current M1 chip.

Apple also announced the M1 Max, a more powerful version of the M1 and M1 Pro. It has 57 billion transistors, Apple said, and a 32-core graphics processor. Apple says that its graphics processor compares favorably to current laptop graphics processors, especially when using less power.

Apple continues to define its processors using performance per power drain, instead of raw processing capability.

Silicon industry commentators will need to test these processors once they ship to customers to verify Apple’s claims.



More growth for Apple’s accessories business

This is what Apple excels at: Creating great hardware accessories tied to its most popular product -- the iPhone.

AirPods and the Apple Watch are the two most successful and popular examples. Hardware has always been Apple’s specialty, and the accessories are some of the best stuff Apple makes besides the iPhone. (Apple isn’t as good at developing digital services.)

The new AirPods Apple unveiled Monday add a lot of the features that used to be exclusive to the more expensive Pro model. They’re going to be a tempting buy. Plus the current version of the regular AirPods will be available at a discount. Expect to see some impressive growth in Apple’s wearables and accessories business when the company reports earnings for this quarter.



new MacBook Pro laptops with MagSafe magnetic chargers

Apple announced new MacBook Pro laptops using its M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, which it says is much faster than laptops that use Intel chips.

The new models have an HDMI port to connect to displays and TVs, a SD card slot for photographers. It also uses a MagSafe magnetic connector, bringing back a beloved feature from older MacBooks. Users can still charge using the USB-C ports, of which there are three, which support Thunderbolt connections.

It comes in 16-inch and 14-inch sizes with denser screens and ProMotion screens with a higher refresh rate, a feature that landed on the iPhone 13 this year. The displays are using MiniLED technology, Apple said.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999. The 16-inch model starts at $2,499, representing a slight price increase from previous models, although the price can increase when users configure their laptops with upgrades. They are available for pre-order on Monday and hit store shelves next week.

The display includes a notch cutout at the top of the screen for its cameras, according to an Apple video on Monday. Apple made the bezels thinner, and said its software would “wrap” the top option bar around the camera, which juts out into the screen.

However, unlike iPhones, the notch does not appear to house Apple’s Face ID facial recognition camera. Apple says the front-facing camera can take 1080p video and has been improved for better image quality.

The new models do not have a Touch Bar touchscreen on the keyboard but have a fingerprint sensor in the power button.

The new 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999

Apple is slated to release the MacBook Pro at a hefty price tag. The 14-inch model will begin at $1,999 and the 16-inch model at $2,499. Pre-orders begin today and they begin shipping next week.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple Card 6% Daily Cash Listings for Apple Purchases Were in Error, Apple will Honor

Apple confirms Apple Card 6% cash back was an error, but will issue credits to affected users

After over a day of confusion among users, Apple has officially confirmed that Apple purchases using Apple Card are only eligible for 3% Daily Cash. This comes after many Apple Card users noticed that Apple purchases were showing 6% Daily Cash yesterday. Head below for the full details.

In an email to Apple Card users, Apple confirmed the error, but added that it will honor the 6% Daily Cash bonus for affected users.

You may have noticed that a recent Apple purchase was eligible for 6% Daily Cash instead of the standard 3% Daily Cash.

This was an error due to a system issue, however, in addition to the 3% Daily Cash that you already received for this purchase, we will be providing you with a one-time credit for an additional 3% Daily Cash back — totaling 6% Daily Cash for that purchase.

You’ll see the one-time credit appear as a Balance Adjustment in the Wallet app. This will also appear on your October monthly statement.

As a reminder, future purchases at Apple are eligible for and will earn unlimited 3% Daily Cash. If you have any questions, contact an Apple Card specialist.

The confusion was further amplified by Apple’s silence on the issue, as well the fact that the company has previously offered legitimate 6% Daily Cash bonuses on two separate occasions. Nonetheless, it seems that this time was just an error.

Apple Card Daily Cash is issued at the end of every day, and appears directly via your Apple Cash card in the Wallet app on your iPhone. You can then transfer that money to your bank, apply it to your Apple Card balance, spend it using Apple Pay, or use it to fund Apple Cash transactions with friends and family.

 

[sandysgeek]

First 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pro orders now shipping; new orders backorder out to 12-23

First 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pro orders now shipping; new orders backordered to as late as December 23

After indicating that they were “preparing to ship” earlier this week, the first 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro pre-orders have now officially started shipping. The first orders are slated to arrive to customers on Tuesday, October 26.

Meanwhile, shipping estimates for new orders placed today via the Apple Store Online continue to slip towards 2022…

If you check your order status via the Apple Store Online or Apple Store app, some users are seeing that their MacBook Pro pre-order is still “preparing to ship,” while some people’s orders have already shifted to “shipped.”

If your order still shows as “preparing to ship” via the Apple Store, you can also check its status via the UPS website. Some people are seeing their Apple Store order show as “preparing to ship,” even though the package is already in the UPS system.

To do this, either enroll in the UPS My Choice platform or use the “[URL="https://www.ups.com/track?loc=en_US&requester=ST/"]Track by Reference Number[/URL]” feature. The reference number is likely the phone number listed on your Apple order or your order number without the last two digits. Not all orders have been transferred to UPS just yet, however, so be sure to keep checking over the coming days if you can’t find yours just yet.

UPS has also made changes to the “Track by Reference Number” feature, to limit the “display of reference number tracking details for improved security. This means your best bet nowadays is to enroll in the UPS My Choice platform.


Shipping times for new orders continue to slip

Meanwhile, as the first pre-orders begin shipping to buyers, Apple’s shipping estimates for new orders continues to slip and inch closer to 2022 for some configurations.

For the 14-inch MacBook Pro, both “stock” configurations are now showing estimated deliveries of between November 16 and November 23. Meanwhile, select custom configurations with higher-spec options are slated to deliver as late as December 16.

For the 16-inch MacBook Pro, all three “stock” configurations are showing estimated delivery dates of between November 23 and December 1. Select higher-end configurations are backordered even further, with some showing delivery dates of December 23.

 

[sandysgeek]

20 years ago today iPod changed the world, here’s what it means to us

The iPod is a funny product. It fundamentally changed Apple and yet it has been slowly and unceremoniously murdered by its successors, the iPhone and the iPad. iPod has a long and storied history, from how it came to be to the sheer number of models that the company worked on for two decades. The original iPod was the very first handheld consumer electronic that Apple made post Steve Jobs’ return to the company and it kickstarted a revolution in virtually every major industry around the world.


From Town Hall to the world stage

On October 23, 2001 Steve Jobs walked out on onto the Town Hall stage at 4 Infinite Loop in Cupertino and introduced the very first iPod. There’s no question that the industry was slightly confused at Apple’s decision to make an MP3 player. After all, the company was best known for making big colorful computers not sleek white little boxes that fit in your pocket.

What the media didn’t realize at the time was that it was a natural next step for the company and Steve knew exactly what he was doing. There’s that famous story about the executive team, Jon Rubinstein in particular, discovering the small 5GB hard drive made by Toshiba. It was a clear indication that the industry was really stepping on the gas when it came to miniaturization. The iPod was the perfect kind of device for consumers to get introduced to an Apple product that goes with you everywhere. It was friendly, personal, and unlike anything anyone else had ever made.

Steve Jobs introduces the original iPod



The first few years of iPod were fairly slow. The device was expensive at $399 and only played music. At that time it was hard to justify unless you were an audiophile or loved music and had money burning a hole in your pocket. iPod really took off once it was made compatible with Windows. Apple added the ability to sync your iPod with a Windows computer with the second generation model and a year later they introduced iTunes for Windows streamlining the experience. In the blink of an eye, the iPod became a gateway drug for Windows users to get hooked on Apple products.

The company shipped several different families of iPod over its lifetime. The original white iPod, later renamed iPod Classic, had 7 different generations. Following the 4th generation iPod, the company created a new spin off line that ended up being short lived: the iPod Photo. iPod Photo was the first iPod with a colored display. Alongside iPod Photo, Apple also introduced the first U2 iPod which was refined over the years as the iPod evolved.

Bono with U2 iPod + Steve Jobs with iPod Photo



That same year, 2004, the company unveiled the first colorful iPod: the iPod mini. iPod mini was the first iPod to have Apple’s now signature anodized aluminum finish. It was only revised once with some new colors and a better display. It was also the first Apple product to come in gold. In 2005 the company made things… mini-er. With the iPod shuffle, Apple democratized the product line and made it insanely accessible. For just $100, anyone could get their hands on an iPod that worked with iTunes. iPod shuffle was also the company’s first wearable. It had tons of accessories like lanyards, sport cases, docks, and even special types of headphones.

iPod shuffle and its many first-party accessories



In 2005, the iconic iPod nano replaced the iPod mini. It had a breakthrough ultra thin form factor and it was the iPod that made small speedy solid state storage synonymous. Throughout its life Apple experimented with the product changing its design entirely nearly every single year. The 3rd generation iPod nano gained a squat wide form factor, the 5th generation iPod nano had a video camera and a unique polished finish, the 6th generation iPod nano was really a predecessor to Apple Watch and featured a small square design with a touch display. When Apple began work on the Apple Watch, they switched the iPod nano back to the tall and skinny design and added a home button. Both iPod shuffle and iPod nano were put to rest in 2017.

iPod nano 4th generation



The last iPod to survive is of course the iPod touch. It’s still around, languishing in the shadows of the Apple Store. It’s out of date, too small, and frankly not a good value. But iPod touch used to be star of the show. When it was introduced in 2007, it helped make the iPhone the revolution that it was. It was an iPhone without the phone and expanded the iOS user base. Early on in its life it was updated alongside the iPhone, only getting skipped over a few times before the product ultimately lost its steam. You can still buy an iPod touch from Apple in several colors for $199, but who knows how long that will last. The company has removed it from the new music page on Apple.com and you now have to actively search for the product to find it.

Apple’s 5th Generation iPod ads



The iPod itself was great, but you could argue that the reason it was so successful was Apple’s now legendary marketing campaigns. The company worked with longtime collaborator Chiat/Day on the iconic silhouette ads that made the white earbuds the fashion statement that they were. The company iterated on the style many times over the years and had special artist guests like Eminem and Coldplay. They’ve revived the style a few times since then, most recently with the AirPods 3rd generation reveal video and website.

The silhouette ads weren’t the only important marketing campaign for iPod. The company’s ads evolved throughout the iPod’s life. Some of my favorite ads include: the 4th generation iPod nano’s paint dripping ad set to Chairlift’s “Bruises,” the 3rd generation iPod nano’s ad set to Feists “1234,” and the 2nd generation nano’s trippy 3D coloring ad. Like iPod nano itself, the ads were a testing ground for wild and quirky ideas.


Left to languish, but not forgotten

Some of Apple’s best products were iPods and it’s sad to see how the product line has languished. Apple knew that phones were going to cannibalize the iPod, so it made its own phone. Sure enough, they were right and the iPhone ate the iPod’s lunch. It has stuck around in the form of the iPod touch but it shows no signs of life.

Apple Music has changed things too. It holds nearly every song ever written. We’re a long way from 1000 songs in your pocket. Now there’s tens of millions on your wrist. Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod have arguably taken the iPod’s place. Apple clearly has fun with the three product lines. The new HomePod minis come in delightful colors that feel very iPod-y. AirPods are everywhere and arguably more iconic than the old white earbuds were. And Apple Watch is on wrists everywhere, serving a similar purpose as the iPod. It’s a complement to your phone.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple Reports 4Q 2021 Results: $20.6B Profit on $83.4B Revenue

Apple revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations in its fiscal fourth quarter on Thursday, which Apple CEO Tim Cook attributed to larger-than-expected supply constraints on iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Apple fell under 3% in extended trading.

“We had a very strong performance despite larger than expected supply constraints, which we estimate to be around $6 billion,” Tim Cook said. “The supply constraints were driven by the industry wide chip shortages that have been talked about a lot, and COVID-related manufacturing disruptions in Southeast Asia.”

However, Apple’s overall revenue was still up 29% and each of its product categories grew on an annual basis.

Here’s how Apple did versus Refinitiv consensus estimates:

• EPS: $1.24 vs. $1.24 estimated
  
  
• Revenue: $83.36 billion vs. $84.85 billion estimated, up 29% year-over-year
  
  
• iPhone revenue: $38.87 billion vs. $41.51 billion estimated, up 47% year-over-year
  
  
• Services revenue: $18.28 billion vs. $17.64 billion estimated, up 25.6% year-over-year
  
  
• Other Products revenue: $8.79 billion vs. $9.33 billion estimated, up 11.5% year-over-year
  
  
• Mac revenue: $9.18 billion vs. $9.23 billion estimated, up 1.6% year-over-year
  
  
• iPad revenue: $8.25 billion vs. $7.23 billion estimated, up 21.4% year-over-year
  
  
• Gross margin: 42.2% vs. 42.0% estimated

iPhone sales were up 47% year-over-year, but still came in under Wall Street estimates.

Apple hasn’t provided official guidance since the start of the pandemic, but Cook said Apple expects “solid year-over-year revenue growth” in the December quarter despite the fact Cook said Apple will face worse supply constraints, higher than the $6 billion hit to revenue in the September quarter. Still, Apple says that its December quarter will be the company’s largest in terms of revenue in its history.

For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $83.4 billion and net quarterly profit of $20.6 billion, or $1.24 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $64.7 billion and net quarterly profit of $12.7 billion, or $0.73 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. For the full fiscal year, Apple shattered company records with $365.8 billion in sales and $94.7 billion in net income, up from $274.5 billion in sales and $57.4 billion in net income for fiscal 2020.

 

[sandysgeek]

macOS Monterey Users Report Connectivity Issues With USB Hubs

Some Mac users who upgraded to macOS Monterey this week are experiencing problems getting USB hubs and other USB-based devices to work properly with their machines, based on scattered online reports.

There have been several reports on Reddit, Apple's Developer Forums, and Apple's Support Communities about the issues. In some cases, users say the the USB 3.0 ports on their hub no longer work since upgrading to Monterey, while HDMI, USB-C, and other hub ports continue to work as expected.

In other user reports surfacing online, the USB hubs fail to work at all. Some of the problems even relate to Apple certified hubs. Reddit user Flyersny81 relates their experience:

My USB-C hub has issues with this update. The HDMI port connected to my second screen is working on the hub but none of the USB3 ports are working at all. I have tried different C ports on the MacMini and different hubs (I have 4). I also replicated this issue on my M1 MacBook Air after updating to Monterey. Here is the hub I am using. These hubs worked perfectly in Big Sur.

Had a call with Apple support and they said to try an Apple certified hub. I used this one I had floating around in my bag and both the HDMI and USB3 ports worked on it. I tried to daisy chain the Amazon hub to the Apple hub but that didn’t work either. Support told me that many people have been complaining about this issue and it will hopefully be fixed in the next patch to be pushed out.

In other cases, the USB hubs work except for the power delivery port. For some, it's the additional connectivity provided by external displays that no longer works, with the power delivery affected in particular. From Apple's Developer Forums:

PD (Power Delivery) over USB-C also stopped working on my MBP 2018 after updating to Monterey (12.0.1). I use a Philips 346P1CRH. Everything was working flawlessly with Big Sur.

- TommyWi

I have the same issue with my MBP M1 2020 connected with an external Monitor HP S340c. Power Delivery (PD) and Video-Connection not working (but Mouse and Keyboard is still supported/working).

- Tiggar

Same problem as everyone, bought 34" Philips 346P1CRH/00 and everything worked fine on BigSur... After updating to Monterey, the video and ethernet works, but power supply is cut off. I'm on an M1 Macbook Air. :/

- lenskdav

Essentially, Monterey has broken support for a WIDE number of USB Hubs. Some USB Hubs work but certain ports on the hub do not, some Hubs do not work at all.

For me, USB-C & HDMI work on the hub, but my USB 3.0 port will only power devices and there appears to be no data transfer.

This issue is absolutely a Monterey bug. My devices were working fine prior to upgrading, and I have been able to replicate the issue and narrow it down by testing against a device that does not have Monterey installed.

- macmjs1996

Many of the reports are from owners of M1-powered Macs, but not all. Some users have reported similar issues on Intel Macs. Based on user discussions, USB issues were reported in early beta versions of Monterey, suggesting this could be due to a legacy bug that Apple has still not patched.

As such, the problems appear to be evident in all versions of Monterey, including the latest 12.0.1 version. Suffice to say, anyone who has yet to upgrade to Monterey and relies on a USB hub is advised to hold off upgrading until Apple issues a fix.

 

[sandysgeek]

iPhone users in Canada affected by DST bug causing iOS to show the wrong time

Daylight Saving Time is set to come to an end in the United States and Canada next Sunday, November 7, meaning that’s when our clocks are set to “fall back” by an hour. Some iPhone users — primarily in Canada it seems — have woken up this Monday morning to find that their devices changed the time six days early…

According to a slew of reports on Reddit and Twitter, iPhone users in Canada woke up this morning to find that the clocks on their iPhones had shifted the time back one hour, a week ahead of schedule. The issue seems to be localized to Canada, but is affecting users across multiple different carriers including Bell, Virgin Plus, and more.

The fix, according to some affected users, is to go into the Settings application, choose General, choose Date & Time, and switch the “Set Automatically” off and back on again. This should trigger your iPhone to reset to the proper time.

Time did change backwards by one hour in the UK and Europe over this past weekend, but again Daylight Saving Time is not set to end in Canada or the United States until next weekend.

Because this issue is localized to Canada, it’s unclear whether it’s an issue on Apple’s side or a carrier glitch, though it seems far more likely to be the latter rather than the former.

This isn’t the first time that Apple devices have struggled with bugs related to Daylight Saving Time. In 2018, Apple Watch devices were affected by a software glitch that caused watchOS to repeatedly crash and reboot. The issues were more common in the early days of the iPhone, with Apple’s software having improved since then to better accommodate the time changes.

Some clients may have experienced an incorrect time change on their phone this morning. Our teams are investigating the situation in order to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.

— Bell Support (@Bell_Support) November 1, 2021

 

[sandysgeek]

Users Reporting 'Memory Leak' Issues After Updating to macOS Monterey

Some users who recently upgraded to macOS Monterey are experiencing a bug known as a "memory leak," a scenario in which a specific macOS process or application is bugged out and stays running for prolonged periods in the background, consuming abnormally high amounts of memory or RAM.

1,600px × 900px



It's difficult to pinpoint precisely what models of Mac computers are affected; however, the range is relatively wide, including the newly released 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Reports on Twitter, Reddit, and the Apple Support Communities consist of users reporting their Mac warning that the system has "run out of application memory" or that specific applications are consuming ridiculously high amounts of RAM in Activity Monitor.

Some reports call out the macOS Control Center as the main culprit, with YouTuber Gregory McFadden sharing a screenshot of Control Center using up to 20GB of RAM on their 64GB M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro. Other users are also sharing similar experiences on Reddit.

So glad I got 64GB of memory on my new Mac so I can use 26GB of it for control center... Wait... what. pic.twitter.com/inCOPaii1o — Gregory McFadden (@GregoryMcFadden) October 28, 2021

Another cluster of related reports includes Mozilla Firefox. As shown in the tweets below, Firefox for some users is taking up incredibly high amounts of memory, as high as 80GB for one user.

@FirefoxSupport
Firefox has a memory leak! macOS 12.0.1 (21A559)
Firefox 93.0 (64-bit)
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) pic.twitter.com/fC7fNRv7jE — y (@y80481629) October 27, 2021

@AppleSupport got any idea what this is about ? m1 Mac mini 8gb safari does it too. I've restarted I've ran CleanMyMac x I've tried everything I know to do pic.twitter.com/TXNuEn3ayl — BayekAuditore (@Bayek_Auditore) October 29, 2021

Excluding Firefox and Control Center related reports, more widespread reporting from users across different platforms suggest the more common bug is the pop-up "Your system has run out of application memory."

The pop-up is seemingly being shown to users despite minimal use of their Macs with considerable amounts of memory to spare. In some instances, some users have suggested that restarting the Mac helps, while others say the pop-up reappears shortly after. A user on the Apple Support Communities noted their experience:

Since downloading Monterey I receive repeated messages "your system has run out of application memory". This is only occurred since downloading Monterey. When examining activity monitor pages seems to be the main culprit using up 18 GB and more! Is this evidence of a memory leak for Pages with Monterey os? Restart makes no difference.

Mac users on the Apple Support Communities (1, 2), and Reddit, are noting similar experiences. Just earlier today, it was reported on user reports that the *macOS Monterey* update is bricking some older Mac computers. Given that and issues surrounding memory usage for some users, it may be best for users still on macOS Big Sur to wait until the second version of *macOS Monterey* before upgrading.

 

[sandysgeek]

Peloton says Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature is hurting

Peloton says Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature is hurting its ability to gain subscribers

Popular connected fitness company Peloton reported its earnings for fiscal Q1 2022 today. The company missed expectations across the board, and it’s blaming Apple for some of its challenges. Specifically, like many other companies recently, Peloton says that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency platform is impacting its ability to gain new subscribers…

Peloton reported $805.2 million in revenue for the quarter, compared to expectations of $810.7 million. It reported a loss per share of $1.25, higher than expectations of a $1.07 loss per share, for a total loss of $376 million.

In terms of subscribers, Peloton reported 2.49 million connected fitness subscribers at the end of the three-month period, up 87% year-over-year. This category of people solely consists of those who own Peloton hardware and also pay the monthly fee to access Peloton content. The entire member base, which includes digital-only subscribers, hit 6.2 million.

As noted by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, during a call with investors and analysts, Peloton said that subscriptions are higher than internal forecasts, but that Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency feature is impacting its ability to reach new subscribers for Peloton Digital. Again, these are people who don’t own Peloton hardware but subscribe to Peloton Digital for classes, similar to Apple Fitness+.

App Tracking Transparency launched as part of iOS 14.5 earlier this year, and it requires that apps request permission from users before tracking them across other apps and websites. Under Settings, users can also see which apps have requested permission to track them, so they can make changes as they see fit.

Many different companies have said that App Tracking Transparency is impacting their business, including Facebook, Snap, and others. In Peloton’s case, the company is likely running online ads to attract Peloton Digital subscribers, but those ads are proving less effective because of App Tracking Transparency.




Facebook again criticizes Apple’s privacy policies, says they hurt ‘millions of small businesses’
Oct. 25th 2021

Facebook on Monday reported fiscal results for its third quarter of 2021 with $29.01 billion in revenue coming from advertisements. However, company CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains upset about Apple’s privacy changes, as he said during an investor call that Apple has been hurting not only Facebook, but “millions of small businesses.”

Zuckerberg said that Facebook experienced “revenue headwinds” this quarter due to Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency feature, which impacts the advertising business.

The Facebook CEO once again criticized these changes and argued that the new iOS privacy policies have been affecting not only big companies, but also small businesses that rely on ad platforms in these “difficult times.”






Snap CEO says Apple’s privacy policies have been affecting its revenue
Oct. 21st 2021

Earlier this year, Apple implemented a new App Tracking Transparency system that requires the user to allow or deny third-party apps from tracking them over the internet. Although Snap (the company behind Snapchat) was in favor of these changes at first, it now says its revenue has been affected by Apple’s new privacy policies.

The company today reported results for its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter with over $1 billion in revenue. However, as noted by Engadget, the amount is $3 million less than the company’s expectations. According to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, part of this is caused by the recent changes that Apple made in iOS, which have impacted the mobile ad market.

“Our advertising business was disrupted by changes to iOS ad tracking that were broadly rolled out by Apple in June and July,” CEO Evan Spiegel said during a call with analysts. “While we anticipated some degree of business disruption, the new Apple provided measurement solution did not scale as we had expected, making it more difficult for our advertising partners to measure and manage their ad campaigns for iOS.”

Even so, Spiegel doesn’t criticize Apple for the new privacy guidelines. Instead, the Snap CEO argues that the changes are “really important for the long term health of the ecosystem and something we fully support.” Earlier this year, Spiegel had already argued in favor of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency system on multiple occasions.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple rolls out fix for macOS Monterey bug that bricked some Macs with the T2 chip

macOS Monterey was released to the public last month with new features such as Focus modes, Shortcuts, and more. For users of select older Macs, however, the update bricked their machines and prevented them from turning on.

Now, Apple says it has identified an issue affecting the T2 security chip that caused this problem and is rolling out a fix to prevent it from happening in the future.

In a statement, Apple explained (via Rene Ritchie):

We have identified and fixed an issue with the firmware on the Apple T2 security chip that prevented a very small number of users from booting up their Mac after updating macOS. The updated firmware is now included with the existing macOS updates. Any users impacted by this issue can contact Apple Support for assistance.
5:18 PM · Nov 5, 2021

To prevent this problem from occurring to additional users, Apple has rolled out an updated version of the bridgeOS firmware that runs on the T2 security chip. Users already impacted by the problem are instructed to contact Apple Support for assistance.

This means that the new firmware for the T2 chip released today is not meant to solve the problem for users already affected. Instead, it is meant to prevent the issue from happening to any additional users. Apple says the new T2 security chip firmware is included now in existing macOS updates.

These Mac computers have the Apple T2 security chip:

• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
  
  
• iMac Pro
  
  
• Mac Pro (2019)
  
  
• Mac Pro (Rack, 2019)
  
  
• Mac mini (2018)
  
  
• MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)
  
  
• MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
  
  
• MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)

 

[sandysgeek]

M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro Owners Complain of Crashes Playing HDR YouTube Videos

Some 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro owners have been experiencing kernel crashes when watching HDR YouTube videos.

As explained by Cababah, watching an HDR YouTube video in Safari and then scrolling through the comments results in a kernel error on macOS Monterey 12.0.1. Watching YouTube in full screen and then and exiting full screen mode can also cause the error, and it may be primarily affecting 16GB machines, though 32GB/64GB models can also be affected.

Others are able to replicate the error, which appears to happen after watching a few YouTube videos. From spiritedaway:

Been happening to me as well, YouTube 4K HDR video on Safari. After closing full screen playback the Mac completely shuts down and reboots. M1 Pro 16". I can pretty much get it to do it every single time

From Sam.b1:

I'm getting the same error under the same conditions, 4k HDR YouTube playback on Safari/Chrome. At first I thought it could have been some Chrome bug but then it crashed in Safari too. I'm running Monterey 12.0.1, 16 inch M1 Max with 32GB RAM. I haven't tried the workarounds yet. I'm thinking I should just exchange it, not sure.

Some MacBook Pro owners speculate that it's an issue with AV1 decoding, but it is not yet clear what the specific problem is or if it's something that can be fixed in a software update. Not all MacBook Pro owners are seeing this issue, but have been able to replicate it in testing.

The *macOS Monterey* 12.1 beta may fix the problem as some users are reporting improved performance after updating.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple shares new ‘Everyday Experiments’ video with iPhone 13: ‘Hollywood at Home’

Apple is continuing its popular “Everyday Experiments” video series this weekend to promote the iPhone 13’s camera features. The latest installment in this series is entitled “Hollywood at Home” and it features several different scenes including RC cars, food, and pets.

The film clips shown in this video were shot on iPhone 13 by professional filmmakers, with Apple saying the video was “commissioned by Apple.” The goal of the video is to showcase that you can “create beautiful and cinematic shots just like the movies using everyday objects with iPhone 13.”

This first part of the video focuses on “capturing a pursuit” using the iPhone 13 camera and remote control cars. These clips were then edited in with project filters in iMovie on iPhone 13. The second part of the video shows how to “create magical landscapes with groceries, miniature figurines, and Cinematic mode on iPhone 13.” Finally, the third chapter shows you how to “simulate monster movies with cardboard boxes, construction paper, pet and monster consume, and filters in Photos on iPhone 13.”

Apple has released a handful of “Everyday Experiments” videos over the years to showcase the iPhone’s video features.



Shot on iPhone 13 | Everyday Experiments: Hollywood at Home | Apple - 4:22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbKUz3TN4m4

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple Watch Mail app fails to use company’s own Mail Privacy Protection

A developer and security researcher has discovered that the official Apple Watch Mail app fails to use the company’s own Mail Privacy Protection feature.

The feature was introduced as part of iOS 15 and was touted by Apple as offering three forms of privacy protection …

About Mail Privacy Protection

Apple says the feature protects your location, prevents tracking, and stops marketeers seeing whether or not you’ve opened an email.

Emails you receive may include hidden pixels that allow the email’s sender to learn information about you. As soon as you open an email, information about your Mail activity can be collected by the sender without transparency and an ability to control what information is shared. Email senders can learn when and how many times you opened their email, whether you forwarded the email, your Internet Protocol (IP) address and other data that can be used to build a profile of your behaviour and learn your location.

If you choose to turn it on, Mail Privacy Protection helps protect your privacy by preventing email senders, including Apple, from learning information about your Mail activity. When you receive an email in the Mail app, rather than downloading remote content when you open an email, Mail Privacy Protection downloads remote content in the background by default regardless of how you engage with the email. Apple does not learn any information about the content.

In addition, all remote content downloaded by Mail is routed through multiple proxy servers, preventing the sender from learning your IP address. Rather than share your IP address, which can allow the email sender to learn your location, Apple’s proxy network will randomly assign an IP address that corresponds only to the region your device is in. As a result, email senders will only receive generic information rather than information about your behaviour. Apple does not access your IP address.

The feature is enabled in Settings > Mail > Privacy Protection.


The Apple Watch Mail app fails to use it

Once enabled, the feature works with the Apple Mail app on the iPhone. However, it does not apply if you view emails – or even previews of them – on your Watch. The omission was discovered by Ctrl and Tommy Mysk.

Heads-up: The mail privacy protection introduced in iOS 15 doesn't apply to the Mail app on the Apple Watch. Both the Mail app and the notification preview on the Apple Watch download remote content using your real IP address.#Cybersecurity #iOS pic.twitter.com/o0lh9rPQTd

— Mysk (@mysk_co) November 15, 2021

He was able to demonstrate this by hosting an image on his own server, embedding it into an email, and then sending it. He then checked the IP address that downloaded the image and found that it was the real IP address of the Watch, not the proxy one which ought to be used with the privacy feature enabled.

 

[sandysgeek]

PSA: Widespread outages affecting TikTok, Spotify, Snapchat, and more

A number of online services are reporting widespread outages and downtime today. The issues are affecting Snapchat, Spotify, Google, Facebook, and more, according to user reports. As of right now, these outages appear to be due to a Google Cloud outage of some sort.

Data from Downdetector shows that users are facing issues with a number of different services. The first reports appear to have emerged around 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. Affected services include TikTok, Google, Spotify, Discord, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, Mailchimp, Instagram, and more.

An update posted to the Google Cloud website explains the situation:

Summary: Global: Experiencing Issue with Cloud networking

Description: We are experiencing an issue with Cloud Networking beginning at Tuesday, 2021-11-16 09:53 US/Pacific.

Our engineering team continues to investigate the issue.

We apologize to all who are affected by the disruption.

Diagnosis: Customers may encounter 404 errors when accessing web pages.

Workaround: None at this time.

Spotify has acknowledged that it is impacted, saying that it is “investigating” the situation and is “digging into some reported issues.” Meanwhile, Snapchat says that it is “working on a fix” and recommends that users stay “logged in” to the application in the meantime.



Will try to update this post with the latest developments.

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple launches ‘Self Service Repair,’ allowing you to do your own iPhone repairs

Apple today announced the "Self Service Repair" program, allowing users to complete their own repairs via a new online store dedicated to parts and tools.

The Self Service Repair program will give customers who are comfortable with the idea of completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals, starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups. The scheme will be introduced in phases, adding more repairs and supported devices over time. Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams said:

Creating greater access to Apple genuine parts gives our customers even more choice if a repair is needed. In the past three years, Apple has nearly doubled the number of service locations with access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and training, and now we're providing an option for those who wish to complete their own repairs.

The first phase of the program will focus on the iPhone's most commonly serviced parts, such as the display, battery, and camera, but more kinds of repairs will become available later next year. Apple silicon Macs with the M1 chip, including the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and 24-inch iMac, will be next to join the scheme.

The Self Service Repair program will be facilitated by a new Apple Self Service Repair Online Store, offering more than 200 individual parts and tools to complete *iPhone 12* and *iPhone 13* repairs at launch.

Customers who want to perform a repair will first be encouraged to consult the Repair Manual before placing an order for parts and tools using the Apple Self Service Repair Online Store. After the repair has been completed, customers who return their used or broken part to Apple for recycling will receive credit toward their purchase.

Apple cautioned that Self Service Repair is intended for "individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices," and encouraged "the vast majority of customers" to visit a professional repair provider with certified technicians for "the safest and most reliable way to get a repair."

The company also highlighted the significant global expansion of service locations with access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and training, as well as the growing number of Independent Repair Providers that sit alongside Apple Authorized Service Providers.

The Self Service Repair program will be available to users starting early next year in the U.S. and expand to additional countries throughout 2022.