News

Apple to issue new Activity challenge for Mother’s Day

Apple is about to issue a new challenge to its users in the United States this Friday ahead of Mother's Day, via a notification on Apple Watch and in the Activity app on iPhone.

As first reported by 9to5Mac, the US-only challenge will invite users to complete a one-mile walk, run or wheelchair workout session on Mother's Day on Sunday, May 14 to win a special rose medal in the Activity app and rose-themed stickers for iMessage.

The workout must be recorded to the Health app using Apple’s stock Workout app on Apple Watch or any other third-party app that integrates with HealthKit. As mentioned, this particular challenge was designed specifically for users in the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf7CuUMbZKM

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The challenge won’t be visible in the Activity app on iPhone until Friday.

Past Activity challenges focused on Earth Day 2017, New Year 2017 and Thanksgiving 2016.

FBI paid $900,000 for the tool to break into San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone 5c

FBI and Apple logos

Just how much did the tool to break into the San Bernardino gunman's locked iPhone 5c cost US taxpayers? According to senator Dianne Feinstein, the Federal Bureau of Investigation coughed up a cool $900,000 to purchase the tool from a third-party.

The Associated Press said Monday that the classified information was revealed during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, where senator Feinstein was questioning FBI director James Comey.

“I was so struck when San Bernardino happened and you made overtures to allow that device to be opened, and then the FBI had to spend $900,000 to hack it open,” said Feinstein, D-Calif. “And as I subsequently learned of some of the reason for it, there were good reasons to get into that device.”

While the tool's vendor wasn't named, it's been speculated that the FBI bought the software from Israeli digital forensics firm Cellebrite.

Comey called the sum “worth it” even though the FBI itself said it found “nothing of real significance” after gaining access to the device.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM7X-EUTowY

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The FBI sought to protect the identity of the vendor it paid to do the work.

The organization considers the exact sum paid for the tool to be classified information, prompting The Associated Press and a few other news organizations to file a public records lawsuit seeking to force the government to publicly reveal both pieces of information.

Taiwanese outlet claims there will be no delay for iPhone 8 launch

We still don't know by how long Apple's OLED-based iPhone 8 might be delayed. Be that as it may, a Taiwanese outlet is saying that the flagship handset is on schedule for an announcement in September alongside the iterative LCD-based iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus updates. Apple should begin selling the new iPhone range in October, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News repoted Monday.

An excerpt from the report:

The report defied previous speculations that volume production of new iPhone devices would be delayed to the fourth quarter of 2017 instead of the original schedule in August-September due to yield rate issues on production of some parts.

Contract manufacturers Foxconn Electronics, Winstron and Pegatron are allegedly hiring and training new workers in China in preparation of mass production of 2017 iPhones.

Suppliers should start ramping up production of new iPhone parts in June.

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Some of the suppliers mentioned in the report include semiconductor maker TSMC, substrate-like printed circuit board makers Zhen Ding Technology and Kinsus Interconnect Technology, as well as battery vendor Simplo Technology.

TSMC is thought to begin producing wafers for Apple-designed A11 chips on June 10 ahead of volume production in the second half of July. Zhen Ding and Kinsus should kick off volume production of related iPhone 8 components in June, added the report.

Older reports have said that the Tenth Anniversary iPhone, as it has been affectionally dubbed by the media, would be delayed because of manufacturing issues related to new components.

Concept image: iPhone X with Full Vision Display via iFanr

How to switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices

Two screenshots from the iPhone Weather app with one showing the temperature in Fahrenheit and the other in Celsius

Your Apple devices provide a global setting for representing specific quantities of temperature in apps. You can switch between displaying the temperature in either Celsius or Fahrenheit. Apps that support this feature, including Apple's stock Weather app, honor this setting to display the temperature in your preferred unit regardless of your regional settings.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit independently of your other regional settings on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, as well as adjust this setting on other Apple devices, such as your Apple TV, Apple Watch, or Mac.

JPMorgan: iPhone 8 to bring enhanced stereo sound and waterproofing, ship with AirPods

JPMorgan analysts who track Apple's supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, including Gokul Hariharan, shared a new research note this week. In it, the they predicted that the company's upcoming iPhone 8 will come outfitted with an enhanced earpiece sporting “further improvements” to stereo sound and waterproofing.

The note, obtained by MacRumors, does not specify what acoustical improvements Apple could introduce to iPhone 8's earpiece.

JPMorgan also made the prediction that AirPods could come as a free accessory with iPhone 8. If true, Apple's $159 wireless earbuds could replace the firm's $29 wired EarPods with Lightning connector that come in the box with current iPhone models.

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The research note mentions other previously rumored iPhone 8 features, like an OLED display, a stainless steel and glass design, a faster A11 processor, a larger battery, wireless charging and enhanced cameras with new sensors for 3D mapping, 3D selfies, facial recognition, augmented reality capabilities and more.

The analysts estimate that iPhone 8 will be $75 to $80 more expensive to manufacture.

iPhone 7 became the first iPhone to feature stereo sound.

Rather than use two separate speakers at the bottom of the device, Apple has opted to combine a speaker unit at the bottom with the earpiece at the top to create “immersive stereo sound” delivering two times the audio output of iPhone 6s and increased dynamic range.

How to open your iTunes playlists in separate windows

In older versions of iTunes, you could easily open a playlist in a separate window. It was both a great time-saver and a boon to your productivity, especially on large screens.

For reasons unknown, Apple has removed that functionality from the iTunes 12 update which was overhauled around a single-window workflow.

Thankfully, the company has reinstated the ability to open playlists in new windows with iTunes 12.6. Here's how to open your playlists in their separate windows using iTunes for Mac.

How to open your playlist in a new iTunes window

1) Launch iTunes on your Mac.

2) Choose Music from the menu near the upper-left corner, then click the Library tab.

3) In the lefthand column, right-click or Control (⌃)-click your playlist underneath the All Playlists heading, then select the option Open In New Window from the popup menu.

This will open a new iTunes window containing the selected playlist, as shown top of post.

You can drag songs at will between the playlist windows and open as many playlists in separate windows as you like. I don't have that many playlists created in iTunes so I was able to open “only” four playlist windows, but it worked like a charm.

How to open an Apple Music playlist in a new window

Playlists on Apple Music cannot be opened in their separate windows unless they're in your iTunes library. To do so, follow the steps below:

1) Launch iTunes on your Mac.

2) Choose Music from the popup menu near the upper-left corner of the window, then click either the Library or the For You tab.

3) Find a playlist on Apple Music and click the three dots in the lower-right corner of playlist graphics to bring up the contextual menu, then choose the option Add to Library.

4) With the selected Apple Music playlist now in your iTunes library, switch to the Library tab, right-click it underneath the Apple Music Playlists heading in the lefthand column, then select the Open in New Window command.

Just like that, the selected Apple Music playlist from your library opens in a new window.

iTunes playlists windows and Split View

Sadly, playlists windows in iTunes don't support macOS's useful Split View feature.

If iTunes supported Split View properly, it could have been a great multitasking feature. In other words, you cannot browse your iTunes library in the main window and have your favorite playlist in its separate window in macOS's Split View mode.

And that's it, boys and girls!

Pass along this article to other Mac users you support and don’t forget we accept your submissions regarding future coverage ideas via tips@iDownloadBlog.com.

If you have any questions, please post a comment below.

No more 7-day signing woes: use Extender Installer

Update: the tool is now entitled Extender: Reloaded, not Extender Installer. Amend your Cydia search accordingly.

Since the release of Yalu for iOS 10, many users have been faced with a new annoyance: the 7-day signing period for their jailbreak app. Without a paid Apple developer account they are forced to connect their devices to their computers once a week to sideload their jailbreak app again.

Whilst this has technically been true for all semi-(un)tethered jailbreaks, it was never an issue with Pangu 9.2-9.3.3 because it came with a one-year certificate, and later a re-jailbreaking website. It was with mach_portal and Yalu102 that the problem became evident.

Survey ranks Apple as #1 wearables maker

In a report issued Thursday market research firm Strategy Analytics said that Apple has overtaken Fitbit to become the world's leading vendor of devices worn on one's body, capturing sixteen percent of the global market for wearables in the March quarter.

Apple sold an estimated 3.5 million watches during the three-month period ending in March, a 59 percent increase over the 2.2 million Apple Watch units sold in the year-ago quarter.

According to Strategy Analytics data, rival Fitbit shipped 2.9 million units in March, marking a significant 36 percent drop from the 4.5 million Fitbits shipped in the year-ago quarter.

Strategy Analytics stated:

Fitbit has lost its wearables leadership to Apple, due to slowing demand for its fitnessbands and a late entry to the emerging smartwatch market.

Fitbit’s shipments, revenue, pricing and profit are all shrinking at the moment and they have a major fight on their hands to recover this year.

The new Apple Watch Series 2 is selling “relatively well” in the US, UK and elsewhere, due to “enhanced styling, intensive marketing and a good retail presence,” said the research firm.

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Chinese startup Xiaomi shipped 3.4 million wearable units, good for a cool fifteen percent marketshare worldwide. Demand for Xiaomi's popular Mi Band fitness range was broadly flat across its core markets of Asia.

Fitbit thus far has mostly focused on fitness bands and related accessories.

That could change soon as the company is expected to add smartwatches to its portfolio. However, if an image leaked earlier this week (above) is anything to go by, Fitbit's upcoming smartwatch slated for release this fall won't win any beauty contest.

Fitbit also plans on releasing a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, codenamed “Parkside” internally, alongside the smartwatch, according to two of Yahoo Finance’s sources. A photo of the upcoming $150 earbuds (below) was leaked to Yahoo Finance earlier this week.

Last December, Fitibit acquired software assets of the struggling smartwatch maker Pebble for a mere $40 million. Following the acquisition, Fitbit put the last nail in Pebble's coffin by cancelling all new hardware that Pebble had in the pipeline.

Global wearables shipments reached 22 million units during the March quarter, marking a 21 percent increase year-over-year from 18.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Stronger demand for new smartwatch models in North America, Western Europe and Asia drove the uptick, said Strategy Analytics.

The full Wearables Market Data repot is available on the Strategy Analytics website.

Amazon may launch its video streaming app for Apple TV in the summer

After pulling all Apple TV hardware from Amazon.com in December 2015 because it didn't “interact well” with its video-subscription service, online retail giant Amazon has at long last warmed up to the idea of permitting owners of Apple's set-top box to use its service.

Recode reported Friday that the two companies are “close to an agreement” that would bring Amazon's Video app to Apple TV in the third quarter of the year, possibly coinciding with the introduction of a next-generation Apple TV with support for 4K video streaming and more.

“It’s unclear what got the two companies to reach an agreement, though some industry observers suggest that any pact would have been worked out, at a high level, by CEOs Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos,” said Recode.

That app would let Amazon Prime Video subscribers watch TV shows and movies directly on their Apple TV set-top box without having to use AirPlay.

It's unclear if Apple TV hardware will be returning to Amazon.com anytime soon and whether or not the two tech giants might have settled other disputes involving their rival video ambitions.

Last year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said why they stopped selling Apple TVs:

We want our player, our Prime Video player, to be on the device, and we want it to be on the device with acceptable business terms. And so, you can always get the player on the device; the question is can you do so with acceptable business terms.

And if you can’t, then we don't want to sell it to our customers, because they’re going to be buying it thinking they can watch Prime Video and then they’re going to be disappointed. And they’re going to return it.

Currently, Apple TV owners and Prime members must use AirPlay to wirelessly send movies and TV shows to their Apple TV via Amazon's pretty limited Prime Video app for iOS, which still won't let you buy or rent individual programs without visiting Amazon.com first.

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“As we have already succeeded in developing an app for iPhone and iPad, we hope to make an app separately for the Apple TV,” said the online retailer a year and a half ago.

The app was supposed to release before the end of 2015, but negotiations between the two tech giants obviously took a lot longer than expected.

Earlier this year, Apple hired Amazon's former Fire TV chief to head up its Apple TV business.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s shopping app is available on the fourth-generation Apple TV with purchasing support for Prime members and other features.

Bosch wins orders for iPhone 8 motion sensors

German engineering and electronics company Robert Bosch GmbH has reportedly landed orders to manufacture motion sensors for Apple's upcoming iPhone 8. According to a report Friday by Bloomberg citing a person familiar with the deal, the German firm could build as much as half of the motion sensors in upcoming iPhones, with InvenSense supplying the rest.

InvenSense counts Apple as its client and files as the primary supplier of the smartphone motion-sensing components, with the iPhone maker accounting for an estimated 60 percent of InvenSense's revenue. In that regard, the Apple-Bosch deal could be a major blow to Invense, shares of which declined more than five percent in extended trading Thursday.

InvenSense is currently seeking to complete its $1.3 billion sale to TDK Corp. The deal is partly aimed at boosting the Japanese company’s business with Apple. Apple was already one of TDK’s biggest customers before the Japanese firm agreed to buy InvenSense in December.

“We aim to become a strong player in the sensor business with InvenSense as our perfect partner,” TDK CEO Shigenao Ishiguro said at the time.

Bosch did supply gyroscopes and accelerometers for Apple in the past and it currently supplies barometric pressure sensors for iPhones. Before iPhone 5s came out, STmicroelectronics used to supply gyroscope sensors for iPhones.

Since iPhone 5s, Bosch has been supplying gyroscopes and accelerometers for iPhone 6 models, with California-based InvenSense providing the gyroscopes and accelerometers in iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 7 on an exclusive basis.

The first Bosch microelectromechanical systems to make its way inside any iPhone was their Sensortech BMA220 unit in iPhone 5s, which initially suffered from inaccuracies that were later fixed via a firmware update.

The iPhone 6 series uses a three-axis accelerometer sensor built by Bosch and InvenSense’s six-axis MPU-6700 accelerometer. Relying on accelerometers from two different vendors helps increase power efficiency.

The Bosch accelerometer has a significantly faster cold start up time than the InvenSense—3ms vs. 30ms, respectively—meaning users see less of a delay.

For games and other apps that require sophisticated inertial sensing capabilities, iPhone 6 uses the InvenSense sensor. For simpler tasks, such as tracking footsteps and rotating the screen to match the device's orientation, the device uses the Bosch sensor.

Photo: Bosch's Sensortech BMA220 accelerometer in iPhone 5s, via Chipworks.