Posts

A pair of reports today explain that Apple customers across in Singapore are noticing a high number of fraudulent credit card charges being made via iTunes. According to the Channel NewsAsia, Apple has said it is investigating the complaints, but specifics remain unclear… The report explains that “dozens” of Apple customers have recently experienced fraudulent charges on their iTunes account. Two people said that they had at least $5,000 (S$7,000) drained from their bank accounts through iTunes purchases....

Apple just released iOS 15 to all users. After three months of testing and some features delayed, the company is also revealing what security issues it’s fixing with the latest version of its iPhone operating system. Apple says that iOS 15 brings a fix regarding the Face ID technology, which is, of course, available to all devices with the TrueDepth sensor: all the way from the iPhone X to the iPhone 12 line and third-generation iPad Pro....

When iOS 14.5 was introduced, Apple also made the new App Tracking Transparency feature available to the public, so that users can opt out of being tracked by third-party apps. However, several users had been complaining that the Tracking toggle was grayed out for unknown reasons, but it seems that Apple is finally fixing this. Back in April, Apple said that the “tracking option should come grayed out by default for Apple IDs of which the owner is under the age of 18 or for devices with an MDM profile....

A report from Digitimes claims that, although touch panel orders from the iPhone and iPad 2 have increased significantly for the third quarter, Apple is allegedly placing orders at nearly half the cost of previous shipments. This leads us to believe they are either trying to reduce BOM (and increase margins) at the expense of suppliers, or they’re prepping for the usual price cuts in the wake of new product releases (iPhone 5, we’re looking at you)....

Apple today stopped signing iOS 14.4, which means users who have updated their devices to iOS 14.4.1 can no longer downgrade to iOS 14.4 or previous versions of the operating system. This follows the release of iOS 14.4.1 last week with important security patches for iPhone and iPad users. iOS 14.4.1 patches a vulnerability in WebKit, the browser engine that powers Safari and third-party browsers on iOS. According to Apple, the exploit could lead to malicious code execution through web content....

All of this week’s best deals are now up for the taking for Monday, with an Apple TV 4K discount dropping to $100. That’s alongside the latest batch of Anker iPhone essentials from $13 and a chance to score the refurbished Beats Fit Pro for $130. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Score a prev-gen. Apple TV 4K for $100 with this 1-day discount Woot is currently offering a previous-generation Apple TV 4K 32GB discount, dropping the price down to $100....

Apple updated the Apple TV today with two additional channels: Hallmark Card’s Feeln network and A&E’s FYI network. The Feeln network includes “family-friendly movies, documentaries, and short films” according to its description. The FYI network owned by A&E and formerly called The Biography Channel “features lifestyle programming, with a mix of reality, culinary, home renovation and makeover series.” Both new channels are available automatically or by rebooting the Apple TV....

After hearing rumors about Apple expanding its bug bounty program earlier this week along with expectations for the company to start giving out dev devices like iPhones to security researchers, Apple has confirmed at the Black Hat conference today a vast expansion to its bounty program along with opening it up to all. Up until now, Apple has restricted its bug bounty program to iOS and limited those who can participate in it....

Wearing an Apple Watch was a very smart decision for a California man who can credit it with calling for help after a life-threatening injury. Hermosa Beach police in Los Angeles County, California, were called to the scene of a crash in the middle of the night after an Apple Watch feature notified emergency services. According to the local police department, officers were responding to a 911 call that came from an Apple Watch....

Following the official release of the Apple Watch Hermès yesterday, unboxing videos are beginning to appear online, showing the premium Watch version’s custom packaging and watch faces. This YouTube video depicts the Single Tour model, and shows some of the customizations unique to the Hermès watches, including: A special orange cardboard box outside the standard white plastic Apple Watch box, with a matching orange post-purchase carrying bag. A Hermès embossing on the microfiber lining of the plastic Apple Watch inner box....

Research firm Strategy Analytics released its latest report today forecasting global Apple Watch sales and smartwatch marketshare for 2015. The firm’s predictions put Apple’s anticipated global smartwatch marketshare at more than half with 54.8% reached in 2015. Notably, that forecasted percentage is versus all other smartwatches combined competing with the Apple Watch. While the report predicts that Apple will take the overwhelming majority of smartwatch sales this year, it predicts a relatively conservative number of units shipped globally in 2015 at 15....

We’ve made it halfway through the workweek, and all of today’s best deals are headlined by the Apple Watch Series 7 on sale from $339. That’s alongside the latest 10.2-inch iPad at $30 off. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Apple Watch Series 7 fall to new all-time lows of $60 off If the other discounts we’ve seen throughout the rest of the holiday shopping season weren’t enough to catch your eye, today’s sale certainly should....

All of today’s best deals are now up for grabs to mark the halfway point through the week, and Apple Watch Series 7 on sale from $270 lead the way. A 20% off Nomad sale also has its new Base One 15W MagSafe charger at $80, and you can now score AirPods 3 in stock at $150. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break....

While Apple left a lot unknown in the lead-up to Apple Watch Series 7 pre-orders opening this morning, it has now published its usual in-depth details on the new wearables. New tech spec and comparison pages on Apple’s website offer a closer look at the Series 7 and its differences (and similarities) when compared to the Series 6. Size and weight First off, Apple has confirmed the size and weight of the Apple Watch Series 7, which had been a common question, given the larger 41mm/45mm sizing....

Apple won’t offer special business pricing, financing, and bulk discount options, like it does with Macs, iPhones, and iPads, for the Apple Watch at launch, according to sources. However, business customers will still be able to make their purchases via the dedicated Business Teams at some Apple Stores… In most cases, business customers will still, however, be offered the walk-through sales process discussed in our earlier articles. Some readers have hoped that Apple would sell the stainless steel or gold models in bulk due to the pricing and the allure of gifting several watches simultaneously....

. Apple just issued a 4.2.1 update to AppleTV that is meant to fix a few nagging bugs: 4.2.1 Direct Download. Snow Leopard 10.6.7 causing iTunes crashes for some MacBook Air owners (9to5mac.com) AirPlay video comes to first Apple TV with hack (9to5mac.com) 2011 MacBook Pro glitches causing display flickering, lock ups under heavy load (9to5mac.com) A5 Powered Apple TV 3 To Handle 1080p Video? (9to5mac.com) Apple TV unseats iPad for Netflix viewing hours (9to5mac....

eWeek reports that while, “Windows laptops are losing lustre, Mac laptops are making surprising gains.” (Not that surprising, eWeek – they’re clearly superior machines). In essence the news is that MacBooks and MacBook Pros accounted for 20 per cent of notebooks sold across US retail stores, which is nice. Even more interesting, Apple’s notebooks took a substantial chunk of the market when measured in dollars. What does that mean? It means for every $3 spent on a laptop in the US, Apple took $1 while the various partners in the world’s dominant OS ecosystem shared $2 between them....

Asymco’s Horace Dediu broke down iTunes’ economy and placed it in context with the entire Apple revenue model. The excellent diagram above illustrates Apple’s revenues in Q4 2012. The initial stats—$4.6 billion consolidated revenues, $650 million in operating income, etc.—isn’t exactly new information, but, as Dediu noted, it is certainly fascinating to see where Apple’s revenues came from and where they were spent during the quarter. As for the diagram itself, note “Dev Payments” equals $1 billion—or each vertical pixel represents $50 million—and sources of revenue appear according to size....

When beta 1 of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 dropped earlier this month, based on code findings and wording on Apple’s official feature preview website page, it seemed that the iPad will no longer be a supported device to act as as a HomeKit home hub. However, in a new statement to The Verge, Apple says this isn’t correct. Apple says iPads can continue to be home hubs in iPadOS 16 “with no loss of functionality”....

As a response to recent coverage of software being purged from the App Store, Apple is sharing its criteria for how it chooses to remove abandoned apps. The company is also reiterating that the practice is not new but instead part of an initiative that started six years ago. Developers will also have more time to comply after being notified. Abandoned apps The effort started in September 2016 as part of a greater initiative to revitalize the App Store with daily editorial and clearer policy decisions....