HiTechEdge

Tag: iPhone

  • Wozniak: ‘I Can’t Tell the Difference Really’ Between iPhone 12 and 13

    Wozniak: ‘I Can’t Tell the Difference Really’ Between iPhone 12 and 13

    Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak doesn’t see much difference between the iPhone 12 and 13.

    Each year Apple releases a new iPhone, trying to balance adding new features with keeping the price largely the same. The latest models include a number of improvements, but none of them are really revolutionary, offering relatively minor improvements compared to past upgrades.

    Wozniak would seem to agree, telling Yahoo Finance he can’t tell much of a difference.

    “I got the new iPhone; I can’t tell the difference really,” Wozniak said. “The software that’s in it applies to older iPhones, I presume.”

  • Apple Cutting iPad Production to Keep Up with iPhone Demand

    Apple Cutting iPad Production to Keep Up with iPhone Demand

    Apple is cutting iPad production in an effort to mitigate problems caused by the semiconductor shortage and keep up with iPhone demand.

    The semiconductor shortage has been impacting a range of industries, especially the tech industry. While Apple’s supply chain management is legendary, even it has been struggling to keep up with demand.

    According to Nikkei Asia, the company is severely cutting iPhone production and diverting components to iPhone production, since the two devices share many common components.

    “The scale of iPhone shipments of around 200 million units a year is much bigger than that of iPads. Apple’s most important and critical ecosystems are all surrounding iPhones, its iconic product. To add one more point, iPads do not have that strong seasonality like its flagship iPhones, which are always launched in autumn,” Brady Wang, a tech analyst with Counterpoint Research, told Nikkei Asia.

  • Android 12 Brings iOS to Android WhatsApp Migration

    Android 12 Brings iOS to Android WhatsApp Migration

    Google has brought a major new feature to the latest Android update, enabling iOS to Android WhatsApp migration.

    WhatsApp is one of the most popular secure messaging platforms. The app is available on both iOS and Android, but users looking to switch platforms haven’t always had an easy go of it.

    Google is trying to solve that pain point with its recent Android 12 update.

    “Switching to a new phone can be a daunting experience, especially if you are moving to a completely different operating system,” writes Paul Dunlop, Product Manager. “We want to make this process easier, so with the recent Android 12 release, we added the ability to transfer all your essentials by connecting your iPhone with your new Android phone using a cable. With your permission, Android automatically matches and installs the same apps from Google Play, and lets you easily bring your SMS and iMessage history with you, along with photos, videos, contacts, calendars and more.”

    The process is relatively simple, and works by connecting the two phones to each other.

    “All you need is a USB-C to Lightning cable to get started,” continues Dunlop. “Simply connect your phones, and when prompted while setting up your new Android device, scan a QR code on your iPhone to launch WhatsApp and move all your conversations, media and more over to your new device.”

    The new feature is good news for Android users, and iOS users looking to switch.

  • Google Pixel 6 Will Come With Five Years of Security Updates

    Google Pixel 6 Will Come With Five Years of Security Updates

    A new leak indicates Google’s upcoming Pixel 6 will include a full five years of security updates.

    Samsung made headlines in February when it announced it would provide four years of security updates for its Galaxy line of devices. Updates have traditionally been an area where Android has played second fiddle to Apple, with the Cupertino company well-known for supporting its iPhones for years.

    Not to be outdone, a new leak indicates Google is planning on one-upping Samsung, providing five years of security updates for the upcoming Pixel 6. Leaker Evan Blass tweeted about it, including screenshots of the leaked pages before they were taken down.

  • Apple Increasing 2021 iPhone Production by 20%

    Apple Increasing 2021 iPhone Production by 20%

    Apple appears to be gearing up for a significant increase in iPhone sales, raising its 2021 production by 20%.

    According to Bloomberg, Apple has been fairly steady in recent years, ordering 75 million units a year for the period between a launch and the end of the year. With its next phone, however, the company is asking suppliers to build an initial run of up to 90 million.

    The next version of the iPhone is not expected to be a revolutionary upgrade, but a rather modest evolutionary improvement. Nonetheless, Bloomberg reports that Apple expect post-pandemic demand to drive increased sales.

    Apple is notoriously cautious about estimates and projections, and demand often outstrips supply. For the company to order 90 million units is a testament to how popular Apple expects the next iPhone to be.

  • Parallels Plans to Bring Windows 11 to macOS

    Parallels Plans to Bring Windows 11 to macOS

    Parallels is already working on supporting Windows 11 on Apple’s macOS, although no release date has been set.

    Parallels is one of the leading virtualization companies and has been a stalwart on the Mac platform for years. The software allows Mac users to run Windows and Linux from within macOS.

    The company recently updated its software to support Apple’s M1 processors, based on the same processor the company uses in its iPhone and iPad. The company confirmed to iMore that it is now working to support Windows 11 as well.

    “Since Windows 11 has just been announced recently, the Parallels Engineering team is waiting for the official Windows 11 Insider Preview build to start studying changes introduced in the new OS to deliver full compatibility in future Parallels Desktop updates,” Nick Dobrovolskiy, SVP of Engineering and Support told iMore.

    Parallels did not give a release date, or even a window, but did say it “will surely do everything that’s possible to make it happen.”

  • Microsoft Brings Xbox Cloud Gaming to iOS

    Microsoft Brings Xbox Cloud Gaming to iOS

    Microsoft has brought its much-anticipated Xbox Cloud Gaming service to Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

    Microsoft has been expanding its Xbox gaming platform beyond its namesake console. As part of that endeavor, Microsoft has been working to bring its Xbox Cloud Gaming service to market, as that will enable the widest adoption.

    After a beta in April, for both iOS and Windows 10 PCs, Microsoft has announced the service is now out of beta and available to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members.

    Best of all, the company says the experience will be seamless across all devices.

    Cloud gaming provides seamless play across your devices. When you’re streaming games on a PC or mobile device, your game is playing from Xbox hardware in a Microsoft datacenter. This means you can jump into a game, connect with your friends, and play through the Xbox network just as you’ve always done. That’s right, your game saves are just the same wherever and whenever you play, so you can pick right back up from where you left off. 

    Microsoft’s announcement is good news for gamers, and should be a big win for the company.

  • Apple Watch May Call 911 While You’re Sleeping

    Apple Watch May Call 911 While You’re Sleeping

    If the police and ambulances suddenly show up at your house and wake you from slumber…you may have your Apple Watch to blame.

    The Apple Watch has an Emergency SOS function, whereby holding the Watch’s side button can automatically call 911. The feature is similar to the one on the iPhone and iPad, where holding the power and volume button can do the same thing.

    Unfortunately, it appears some Apple Watch users are sleeping on their Watch in such a way that the Emergency SOS feature is being activated in their sleep.

    “What happens is while people are moving around in their sleep or exercising, they’ll get the Apple Watch into the emergency mode. Without knowing it, the watch will actually call 911,” Overland Park Police Captain Jim Sutterby said told Fox Kansas City.

    Fortunately, the feature has to be enabled in the Watch app on your iPhone first, so not everyone will be impacted. Of course, another easy way to avoid the problem is to simply to take the Watch off and put it on the charger before going to bed.

    If, however, you choose to wear your Apple Watch to bed and the police and paramedics show up in the middle of the night…don’t say we didn’t warn you…

  • Apple’s M1 Chip Has an Unfixable Flaw, but There’s No Real Concern

    Apple’s M1 Chip Has an Unfixable Flaw, but There’s No Real Concern

    Apple’s new M1 chips have an unfixable vulnerability, but the developer who found it says not to worry.

    The M1 chip is based on the Arm architecture, and is the continuation of the A-series chips Apple has used in the iPhone and iPad for years. Apple has been transitioning the Mac platform to the M1, and has incorporated it in the 2021 iPad Pro as well.

    Developer Hector Martin has discovered a flaw in the M1 that allows two apps to secretly communicate with each other — all without the normal oversight the OS would provide.

    A flaw in the design of the Apple Silicon “M1” chip allows any two applications running under an OS to covertly exchange data between them, without using memory, sockets, files, or any other normal operating system features. This works between processes running as different users and under different privilege levels, creating a covert channel for surreptitious data exchange.

    To make matters worse, Martin says the bug cannot be fixed with a software update, and will require a change in the upcoming versions of the M1 and its successors.

    Despite the dire-sounding nature of the bug, Martin says the actual impact is minimal. The vulnerability cannot be used to commandeer a machine, or steal private data. The only real-world danger is that a malware program could communicate with other malware on the same computer. Of course, as Martin points out, if a computer is already compromised with malware, two instances of malware communicating are probably the least of your concerns.

    Really, nobody’s going to actually find a nefarious use for this flaw in practical circumstances. Besides, there are already a million side channels you can use for cooperative cross-process communication (e.g. cache stuff), on every system. Covert channels can’t leak data from uncooperative apps or systems.

    Actually, that one’s worth repeating: Covert channels are completely useless unless your system is already compromised.

  • Shortcuts Run Much Faster in iOS 14.6

    Shortcuts Run Much Faster in iOS 14.6

    It appears iOS/iPadOS 14.6 contains an undocumented improvement, running Shortcuts actions faster than previous versions.

    The Shortcuts app is the unsung hero of iOS and iPadOS, providing a way to automate a series of actions for increased productivity. Federico Viticci, of MacStories, is a long-time iPad proponent and has extolled the virtues of Shortcuts.

    There’s good news for iPhone and iPad power users, as it appears iOS/iPadOS runs shortcuts faster. First spotted by 9to5Mac, users on Twitter started noticing the improvement.

    9to5Mac did their own tests and confirmed Shortcuts actions are indeed faster in iOS/iPadOS 14.6 and the 14.7 beta. One test involved a shortcut with 380 actions that took 8 seconds to complete with iOS 14.5.1. Running iOS 14.6, the same shortcut only took 4 seconds to complete.

    Similarly, one user on Reddit had a shortcut containing 700 actions that now runs in a mere 13 seconds, as opposed to roughly 30 seconds pre-iOS 14.6.