Monday, December 10, 2018

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Hands-On With the iPhone XR Clear Case From Apple

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It took nearly two months following the on-sale date for the iPhone XR, but Apple's highly anticipated clear case for the colorful device is now available. We're not entirely sure what the delay was in launching it, and it's currently the only first-party case available for the iPhone XR, so we went hands-on with the new case to see how it stacks up.

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Apple's clear case is intended to show off the colorful rear shell of the iPhone XR, and it does a great job at that, with a crystal clear view of the phone itself all around. The case is a bit firmer than we expected based on our previous experiences with third-party clear cases, so Apple's case holds its shape well while also providing solid protection.


The iPhone XR Clear Case has a design that's very similar to Apple's other iPhone cases like the leather and silicone options for other models, with a raised lip around the front to protect your phone when placed or dropped face down and an open bottom that makes it easy to use gestures such as the Home screen swipe that starts at the very bottom of the screen.


It's not the most protective case on the market, but Apple has never been about providing maximal protection, so you'll have to look for other options if you're expecting to need anything more than protection from the occasional small drops.


The case unsurprisingly fits perfectly around the iPhone XR with ample clearance for the rear camera, although we wish the side button covers provided for a little more movement upon pressing to give the buttons a bit more tactile feel and that the ring/silent switch opening was a bit bigger to make it easier to access.


One common issue with third-party cases is that they tend to yellow over time after long-term light exposure. We obviously haven't had Apple's case long enough to know if that will be an issue, but we'd be surprised if Apple didn't take this phenomenon into account when selecting materials for the case.

The iPhone XR Clear Case is priced at $39, which is in line with Apple's other first-party cases but substantially more expensive than many third-party clear cases, so you'll need to decide for yourself whether the price premium is worth it.

Related Roundup: iPhone XR
Buyer's Guide: iPhone XR (Buy Now)

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Google Accelerating Closure of Google+ Due to API Bug, Will Now End in April 2019

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Google today announced that it is expediting the closure of its Google+ social platform, which was previously set to end in August 2019 and will now be shut down in April 2019.

The company explained that it's doing this because of a discovery that 52.5 million users were impacted by a software update in November that contained a bug affecting Google+ API.

The bug appears to be connected to a certain Google+ API that let apps view information that users added to their profile, even if the user had set this data as private.

This included their name, email address, occupation, age, and more, but not financial data, passwords, or national identification numbers.

While Google discovered and addressed the bug within a week, and promises no third party compromised its systems, it has decided to hasten the closure of the consumer version of Google+ and all Google+ APIs. Ahead of the April 2019 sunsetting of the platform, the network's APIs will be shut down within 90 days from today.

Google explained what it knows about the bug:
- We have confirmed that the bug impacted approximately 52.5 million users in connection with a Google+ API.
- With respect to this API, apps that requested permission to view profile information that a user had added to their Google+ profile—like their name, email address, occupation, age (full list here)—were granted permission to view profile information about that user even when set to not-public.
- In addition, apps with access to a user's Google+ profile data also had access to the profile data that had been shared with the consenting user by another Google+ user but that was not shared publicly.
- The bug did not give developers access to information such as financial data, national identification numbers, passwords, or similar data typically used for fraud or identity theft.
- No third party compromised our systems, and we have no evidence that the developers who inadvertently had this access for six days were aware of it or misused it in any way.
Google says that ahead of the closure of the consumer Google+, in the coming months it will provide users with additional information on how to safely and securely download and migrate their data off of the platform. In the end, Google also reiterated on its original reasoning behind the sunsetting of Google+, which is because of "the significant challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations, as well as the platform’s low usage."

The pushed up end date for Google+ comes just under a week after the company announced the closure of Google Allo, which will see many of its features migrated to the main Google Messages app on Android.

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