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Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Apple Stops Signing iOS 12.1.2 Following Release of iOS 12.1.3
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Following the release of iOS 12.1.3 on January 22, Apple has stopped signing iOS 12.1.2, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 12.1.3 will no longer be able to downgrade to iOS 12.1.2.
iOS 12.1.3, available for all iOS devices able to run iOS 12, was a minor bug fix update that addressed issues with the HomePod, iPad Pro, CarPlay, Messages, and more.
Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.
iOS 12.1.3 is now the only version of iOS that can be installed on iPhones and iPads, but developers and public beta testers can download iOS 12.2, a major update that's currently being beta tested.
Apple will also soon release iOS 12.1.4 to fix a major FaceTime privacy bug.
This article, "Apple Stops Signing iOS 12.1.2 Following Release of iOS 12.1.3" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Following the release of iOS 12.1.3 on January 22, Apple has stopped signing iOS 12.1.2, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 12.1.3 will no longer be able to downgrade to iOS 12.1.2.
iOS 12.1.3, available for all iOS devices able to run iOS 12, was a minor bug fix update that addressed issues with the HomePod, iPad Pro, CarPlay, Messages, and more.
Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.
iOS 12.1.3 is now the only version of iOS that can be installed on iPhones and iPads, but developers and public beta testers can download iOS 12.2, a major update that's currently being beta tested.
Apple will also soon release iOS 12.1.4 to fix a major FaceTime privacy bug.
This article, "Apple Stops Signing iOS 12.1.2 Following Release of iOS 12.1.3" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2WJz7mB
Apple Expands Transit Directions to New Areas, Introduces More Indoor Maps for Malls and Airports
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Transit directions for Apple Maps have recently expanded to encompass the entirety of multiple states and countries, Apple today confirmed in an update to its Feature Availability page.
Transit directions are now available across all of Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Texas.
In many of these locations, transit information has been available for a few weeks, but Apple is often slow to confirm with updates to its Feature Availability page. Several of the above-listed locations also had transit directions in a few major cities, but transit information is now available statewide.
Transit directions have also expanded to encompass all of Australia, and as was discovered in January, transit information is available in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
Apple has introduced indoor maps three new airports, including Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Newcastle International Airport (NCL), and Milano Linate Airport (LIN).
Indoor maps have also expanded to quite a few malls in the cities listed below:
Indoor maps for malls and airports were introduced in iOS 11, providing full layouts of each mall or airport location with icons for restaurants, elevators, bathrooms, shops, and other notable landmarks. Different floors are clearly marked, making it easy to navigate through unknown areas.
A full list of all of the airports and mall locations where the Apple Maps indoor mapping feature is available can be found on Apple's Feature Availability website, which also houses a list of all of the locations where transit directions are available.
This article, "Apple Expands Transit Directions to New Areas, Introduces More Indoor Maps for Malls and Airports" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2t52cLA
Transit directions for Apple Maps have recently expanded to encompass the entirety of multiple states and countries, Apple today confirmed in an update to its Feature Availability page.
Transit directions are now available across all of Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Texas.
In many of these locations, transit information has been available for a few weeks, but Apple is often slow to confirm with updates to its Feature Availability page. Several of the above-listed locations also had transit directions in a few major cities, but transit information is now available statewide.
Transit directions have also expanded to encompass all of Australia, and as was discovered in January, transit information is available in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
Apple has introduced indoor maps three new airports, including Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Newcastle International Airport (NCL), and Milano Linate Airport (LIN).
Indoor maps have also expanded to quite a few malls in the cities listed below:
- Bellingham, WA
- Bloomington, IN
- Boulder, CO
- Brookvale, Australia
- Burwood, Australia
- Carindale, Australia
- Cheltenham, Australia
- Chermside, Australia
- Castel Guelfo di Bologna, Italy
- Chiyoda, Japan
- Denver, CO
- Eastgardens, Australia
- Edinburgh, IN
- Evansville, IN
- Greenwood, IN
- Hoover, AL
- Hornsby, Australia
- Hurstville, Australia
- Jonesboro, AR
- Lakewood, CO
- Littleton, CO
- Liverpool, Australia
- Lone Tree, CO
- Lynnwood, WA
- Manchester, NH
- Merrimack, Australia
- Miranda, Australia
- Minato-Ku, Japan
- Moline, IL
- North Little Rock, AR
- Parramatta, Australia
- Penrith, Australia
- Rogers, AR
- Salem, NH
- Seattle, WA
- Shibuya, Japan
- Spokane Valley, WA
- Spokane, WA
- Suita-Shi, Japan
- Sydney, Australia
- Toshima, Japan
- Upper Mount Gravatt, Australia
- Vancouver, WA
- Vicolungo, Italy
A full list of all of the airports and mall locations where the Apple Maps indoor mapping feature is available can be found on Apple's Feature Availability website, which also houses a list of all of the locations where transit directions are available.
Tag: Apple Maps
This article, "Apple Expands Transit Directions to New Areas, Introduces More Indoor Maps for Malls and Airports" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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New Razer Blade Stealth vs. Apple's MacBooks
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For the last few years, Razer, known for its gaming PCs and accessories, has been making the Razer Blade Stealth, an ultrabook that's quite sleek and snazzy.
We went hands-on with the latest version of the Razer Blade Stealth, released in 2019, to see how it compares with Apple's MacBook options.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
The Razer Blade Stealth, for those unfamiliar with it, is a 13-inch ultrabook offering solid performance in a slim, compact package. It has an aesthetic reminiscent of the MacBook Pro, which is also super slim, but it looks quite a bit different with a black aluminum unibody and squared edges.
Most notably, the Razer Blade Stealth has an option for a 4K display, which is the version we have on hand. You might think a 4K display would look way better than the the lower-resolution displays on Apple's Retina MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, but on such a small machine, it's not as noticeable as you'd expect.
The display is touch sensitive, which is not a feature on Apple's laptops, and it has super narrow side bezels so it has a clean, modern look. The keyboard has more travel than the butterfly keys of the MacBook line, but not as much clickiness, and there's a full set of physical function keys instead of a Touch Bar.
This is Razer we're talking about, so naturally there's customizable RBG backlighting for the keyboard that can be set to different colors and themes. There's a much smaller trackpad, but it's still nice to use and one of the better non-Apple trackpads we've tried. There's no fingerprint sensor like on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, but there is a Windows Hello facial recognition option.
When it comes to ports, the Razer Blade Stealth has two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack. Just one USB-C port is Thunderbolt 3 capable, compared to four on all of Apple's USB-C MacBook Pro models.
The Razer Blade Stealth is equipped with 16GB RAM, a quad-core 1.8GHz 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, and a dedicated Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card. Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pros, the closest in form factor to the Razer Blade Stealth, have an integrated GPU.
Benchmarks indicate the Razer Blade Stealth outperforms the 13-inch MacBook Pro, especially when it comes to the GPU. That's not unexpected, though, because Razer is a gaming company. Razer also sells the Razer Blade Stealth alongside the Razer Core X external GPU to offer desktop-quality gaming.
In our testing, the Razer Blade Stealth did well with everything we threw at it, including browsing the web, watching videos, editing video with Adobe Premiere Pro, and some light gaming. Unigine Heaven benchmarks required us to drop the resolution to 1080p from 4K to get 60 to 70 frames per second, though, and it struggled at the full 4K resolution for gaming.
On an OpenCL test, the Razer Blade Steath scored 47,237 with the GeForce MX150 and 36,488 for the integrated Intel Graphics 620. For comparison's sake, the built-in GPU in the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro scored 23,624, and the AMD Radeon Pro 555X scored 50,257. That's a little bit like comparing apples to oranges, though, as the 15-inch MacBook Pro is a bigger machine and the 13-inch model, which is a closer comparison to the Razer, has no dedicated graphics.
Battery life in the Razer Blade Stealth is okay. It's lasted for about six hours for tasks like web browsing and emails, but for more system intensive tasks, it can drain in less than three hours because of the power draw of the 4K display.
When it comes to price, Razer is charging a premium for its ultrabook, much like Apple does with its notebooks. The 4K 13-inch model we have on hand with the MX150 graphics card is priced at $1,900, though Razer offers lower tiers priced at $1,600 (no 4K) and $1,300 (no 4K and integrated graphics).
Given these price points, the Razer Blade Stealth is tough to recommend over other PC options, but it's powerful, portable, and gorgeous. What do you think of the Razer Blade Stealth? Let us know in the comments.
This article, "New Razer Blade Stealth vs. Apple's MacBooks" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2tbexxH
For the last few years, Razer, known for its gaming PCs and accessories, has been making the Razer Blade Stealth, an ultrabook that's quite sleek and snazzy.
We went hands-on with the latest version of the Razer Blade Stealth, released in 2019, to see how it compares with Apple's MacBook options.
The Razer Blade Stealth, for those unfamiliar with it, is a 13-inch ultrabook offering solid performance in a slim, compact package. It has an aesthetic reminiscent of the MacBook Pro, which is also super slim, but it looks quite a bit different with a black aluminum unibody and squared edges.
Most notably, the Razer Blade Stealth has an option for a 4K display, which is the version we have on hand. You might think a 4K display would look way better than the the lower-resolution displays on Apple's Retina MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, but on such a small machine, it's not as noticeable as you'd expect.
The display is touch sensitive, which is not a feature on Apple's laptops, and it has super narrow side bezels so it has a clean, modern look. The keyboard has more travel than the butterfly keys of the MacBook line, but not as much clickiness, and there's a full set of physical function keys instead of a Touch Bar.
This is Razer we're talking about, so naturally there's customizable RBG backlighting for the keyboard that can be set to different colors and themes. There's a much smaller trackpad, but it's still nice to use and one of the better non-Apple trackpads we've tried. There's no fingerprint sensor like on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, but there is a Windows Hello facial recognition option.
When it comes to ports, the Razer Blade Stealth has two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack. Just one USB-C port is Thunderbolt 3 capable, compared to four on all of Apple's USB-C MacBook Pro models.
The Razer Blade Stealth is equipped with 16GB RAM, a quad-core 1.8GHz 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, and a dedicated Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card. Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pros, the closest in form factor to the Razer Blade Stealth, have an integrated GPU.
Benchmarks indicate the Razer Blade Stealth outperforms the 13-inch MacBook Pro, especially when it comes to the GPU. That's not unexpected, though, because Razer is a gaming company. Razer also sells the Razer Blade Stealth alongside the Razer Core X external GPU to offer desktop-quality gaming.
In our testing, the Razer Blade Stealth did well with everything we threw at it, including browsing the web, watching videos, editing video with Adobe Premiere Pro, and some light gaming. Unigine Heaven benchmarks required us to drop the resolution to 1080p from 4K to get 60 to 70 frames per second, though, and it struggled at the full 4K resolution for gaming.
On an OpenCL test, the Razer Blade Steath scored 47,237 with the GeForce MX150 and 36,488 for the integrated Intel Graphics 620. For comparison's sake, the built-in GPU in the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro scored 23,624, and the AMD Radeon Pro 555X scored 50,257. That's a little bit like comparing apples to oranges, though, as the 15-inch MacBook Pro is a bigger machine and the 13-inch model, which is a closer comparison to the Razer, has no dedicated graphics.
Battery life in the Razer Blade Stealth is okay. It's lasted for about six hours for tasks like web browsing and emails, but for more system intensive tasks, it can drain in less than three hours because of the power draw of the 4K display.
When it comes to price, Razer is charging a premium for its ultrabook, much like Apple does with its notebooks. The 4K 13-inch model we have on hand with the MX150 graphics card is priced at $1,900, though Razer offers lower tiers priced at $1,600 (no 4K) and $1,300 (no 4K and integrated graphics).
Given these price points, the Razer Blade Stealth is tough to recommend over other PC options, but it's powerful, portable, and gorgeous. What do you think of the Razer Blade Stealth? Let us know in the comments.
This article, "New Razer Blade Stealth vs. Apple's MacBooks" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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New Feature For Upcoming Detachable Chromebook ‘Sarien’
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Democrats Send Letter to Tim Cook Asking for Answers About Group FaceTime Eavesdropping Flaw
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The U.S. Committee on Energy & Commerce is now seeking answers from Apple over the Group FaceTime flaw that allowed people to eavesdrop on conversations.
Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today sent a letter [PDF] to Apple CEO Tim Cook questioning the company about how long it took Apple to address the Group FaceTime flaw, the extent to which the flaw compromised consumer privacy, and whether there are other undisclosed bugs in existence.
Pallone and Schakowsky ask Apple a number of key questions, including the following:
The FaceTime vulnerability came to light last Monday after details spread across social media and news sites quickly picked it up. The bug allowed a person to force a FaceTime call with another person, giving them access to the audio (and sometimes video) from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac without the person ever accepting the FaceTime call.
Apple disabled Group FaceTime on its servers to prevent the bug from being used, and the company is still working on an iOS 12.1.4 update that we are expecting to see this week.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
While Apple addressed the bug after it went viral on social media, the company was informed of the issue at least a week before when a teenager discovered it and his mother attempted to contact Apple. Though she sent in multiple reports, they did not go to the right people, and Apple has since apologized and said it is committed to improving the bug reporting process.
Apple is already facing a lawsuit over the Group FaceTime issue and New York officials are also investigating.
This article, "Democrats Send Letter to Tim Cook Asking for Answers About Group FaceTime Eavesdropping Flaw" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2S9fSEp
The U.S. Committee on Energy & Commerce is now seeking answers from Apple over the Group FaceTime flaw that allowed people to eavesdrop on conversations.
Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today sent a letter [PDF] to Apple CEO Tim Cook questioning the company about how long it took Apple to address the Group FaceTime flaw, the extent to which the flaw compromised consumer privacy, and whether there are other undisclosed bugs in existence.
"While these are wonderful tools when used right, the serious privacy issue with Group FaceTime demonstrates how these devices can also become the ultimate spying machines. That is why it is critical that companies like Apple are held to the highest standards," Pallone and Schakowsky wrote to Cook. "Your company and others must proactively ensure devices and applications protect consumer privacy, immediately act when a vulnerability is identified, and address any harm caused when you fail to meet your obligations to consumers."The two representatives ask Apple to be transparent about the investigation into the Group FaceTime vulnerability, and the steps that are being taken to protect consumer privacy going forward. Apple has not been as transparent as "this serious issue requires," according to the letter.
Pallone and Schakowsky ask Apple a number of key questions, including the following:
- When did your company first identify the Group FaceTime vulnerability that enabled individuals to access the camera and microphone of devices before accepting a FaceTime call? Did your company identify the vulnerability before being notified by Mr. Thompson's mother?
- Did any other customer notify Apple of the vulnerability?
- Please provide a timeline of exactly what steps were taken and when they were taken to address the vulnerability after it was initially identified.
- What steps are being taken to identify which FaceTime users' privacy interests were violated using the vulnerability? Does Apple intend to notify and compensate those consumers for the violation?
- When will Apple provide notification to affected consumers?
- Are there other vulnerabilities in Apple devices and applications that currently or potentially could result in unauthorized access to microphones and/or cameras?
The FaceTime vulnerability came to light last Monday after details spread across social media and news sites quickly picked it up. The bug allowed a person to force a FaceTime call with another person, giving them access to the audio (and sometimes video) from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac without the person ever accepting the FaceTime call.
Apple disabled Group FaceTime on its servers to prevent the bug from being used, and the company is still working on an iOS 12.1.4 update that we are expecting to see this week.
While Apple addressed the bug after it went viral on social media, the company was informed of the issue at least a week before when a teenager discovered it and his mother attempted to contact Apple. Though she sent in multiple reports, they did not go to the right people, and Apple has since apologized and said it is committed to improving the bug reporting process.
Apple is already facing a lawsuit over the Group FaceTime issue and New York officials are also investigating.
Tags: FaceTime, FaceTime Listening Bug
This article, "Democrats Send Letter to Tim Cook Asking for Answers About Group FaceTime Eavesdropping Flaw" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Angela Ahrendts Departing Apple in April, Deirdre O'Brien to Oversee Retail and People
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Apple's retail chief, Angela Ahrendts is set to leave Apple in April after spending five years at the company, Apple announced today.
Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's current "Vice President of People" is set to take Ahrendt's place. O'Brien will be taking on new responsibilities for Apple's retail and online stores in her expanded role as Senior Vice President of Retail and People, reporting directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
That's not quite the same role that Ahrendts currently holds as Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail. O'Brien will focus on the connection between the customer and the people, and the processes that serve them.
In her new role as retail leader, she will also lead the People team and will oversee all People-related functions, including talent development and Apple University, recruiting, employee relations and experience, business partnership, benefits, compensation, and inclusion and diversity.
Ahrendts was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of well-known fashion company Burberry, and prior to that role, she held positions at Liz Claiborne and Donna Karan.
This article, "Angela Ahrendts Departing Apple in April, Deirdre O'Brien to Oversee Retail and People" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2GpPdMr
Apple's retail chief, Angela Ahrendts is set to leave Apple in April after spending five years at the company, Apple announced today.
Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's current "Vice President of People" is set to take Ahrendt's place. O'Brien will be taking on new responsibilities for Apple's retail and online stores in her expanded role as Senior Vice President of Retail and People, reporting directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
That's not quite the same role that Ahrendts currently holds as Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail. O'Brien will focus on the connection between the customer and the people, and the processes that serve them.
In her new role as retail leader, she will also lead the People team and will oversee all People-related functions, including talent development and Apple University, recruiting, employee relations and experience, business partnership, benefits, compensation, and inclusion and diversity.
“At Apple, we believe our soul is our people, and Deirdre understands the qualities and strengths of our team better than anyone,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “For more than three decades, she has helped keep Apple focused on serving customers and enriching lives. She’s an exceptional leader and she’s been a vital partner to our retail teams around the world since the very beginning. I am thrilled to work alongside Deirdre in her new role, and I know our 70,000 retail employees will be, too.”According to Apple, Ahrendts is leaving the company for "new personal and professional pursuits." She first joined Apple in 2014 and has headed up Apple's retail initiatives since then, overseeing the launch of redesigned Apple Stores and customer experiences that have been rolling out across the world over the course of the last few years.
Ahrendts was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of well-known fashion company Burberry, and prior to that role, she held positions at Liz Claiborne and Donna Karan.
This article, "Angela Ahrendts Departing Apple in April, Deirdre O'Brien to Oversee Retail and People" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories http://bit.ly/2GpPdMr
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