iPhone 14 Rescue

Recently I was watching the news on TV, and they were showing a helicopter rescuing a young couple from remote Monkey Canyon in California. The couple had lost control of their car and rolled down a steep, 300-foot embankment. They had an iPhone 14 with them, and it 'recognized' the crash and sent an emergency 911 call out via satellite, with the GPS coordinates. The sheriff's department got the message and sent a helicopter out and rescued them. An amazing technology story for the iPhone 14, and it quite possibly saved two lives.

Jim Hamm    

iOS 16.2 New Security Feature

If you've updated your iPhone to iOS 16.2, the following article from Wirecutter describes how to turn on a new security feature - - end to end encryption for your iCloud backup --  if you're inclined to do so.

Jim Hamm 

Wirecutter: Why You Should Enable Apple’s New Security Feature in iOS 16.2 Right Now

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/how-to-set-up-apples-new-icloud-encryption-security-feature/

Apple News

Here is an article discussing where Apple plans to open the iPhone and iPad to third-party app stores, starting in 2024. Is this good news or not, you might ask? Well, it probably depends on who you ask. I see the potential risk of apps coming from other sources perhaps containing a virus. But probably Apple will do some serious screening of these alternative apps.

Jim Hamm

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-reportedly-opening-iphone-and-ipad-to-alternative-app-stores

iOS 16.2 Update

If you've done the subject update to your iPhone, and your iPhone is capable of implementing the update, the list of new features is noted below. Although I hope never to use it, the emergency call for SOS via satellite could be very helpful someday.

Jim Hamm

This update introduces Freeform, an app that offers a great place to brainstorm and bring your ideas to life. This release also adds Apple Music Sing, support for Emergency SOS via satellite on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models, Lock Screen improvements, and other features and bug fixes for your iPhone.

Freeform

  • Freeform is a new app for working creatively with friends or colleagues on Mac, iPad and iPhone

  • A flexible canvas lets you add files, images, stickies and more

  • Drawing tools let you sketch anywhere on the canvas with your finger

Apple Music Sing

  • A new way to sing along with millions of your favourite songs in Apple Music

  • Fully adjustable vocals let you duet with the original artist, sing solo or mix it up

  • Newly enhanced beat-by-beat lyrics make it even easier to follow along with the music

Emergency SOS via Satellite

  • Support for users to connect with emergency services when mobile data and Wi-Fi coverage are not available on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models

Lock Screen

  • New settings allow you to hide wallpaper or notifications when Always-On display is enabled on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max

  • Sleep widget lets you view your most recent sleep data

  • Medications widget lets you view reminders and quickly access your list of medication

Game Center

  • SharePlay support in Game Center for multiplayer games so you can play with the people you are on a FaceTime call with

  • Activity Widget allows you to see what your friends are playing and achieving in games straight from your Home Screen

Home

  • Improved reliability and efficiency of communication between your smart home accessories and Apple devices

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

  • Improved search in Messages allows you to find photos based on their content, like a dog, car, person or text

  • Reload and Show IP Address setting enables iCloud Private Relay users to temporarily disable the service for a specific site in Safari

  • Participant Cursors in Notes allow you to see live indicators as others make updates in a shared note

  • AirDrop now automatically reverts to Contacts Only after 10 minutes to prevent unwanted requests to receive content

  • Crash Detection optimisations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models

  • Fixes an issue that causes some notes to not sync with iCloud after updates are made

Some features may not be available in all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201222

Wiper Malware

The following article from Arstechnica discusses a malware that is becoming more prevalent, and which wipes all the data files on your computer. Ars can't tell where it's coming from, or even why someone is doing this, and there's no apparent solution except be careful on what you click. Another option is to do a complete backup of your computer to an external hard drive, or perhaps the 'cloud', so you could recover your files if ever you got infected.

Just passing this on FYI and something to be aware of. The article doesn't mention whether an AV program, such as Avast, et al, would be effective in blocking this malware. Right now, the article is just more of a 'heads up' alert..

Jim Hamm

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/12/effective-fast-and-unrecoverable-wiper-malware-is-popping-up-everywhere/

Apple's Chip Source

Here's an article discussing Apple's plan to source chips from a TSMC plant outside Phoenix. This should benefit Apple in having their chips sourced here instead of Taiwan.

Jim Hamm

Apple’s plans to source chips from Arizona is a major step forward for American semiconductor manufacturing. Those chips will likely come from the new fab that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is building outside Phoenix, as that company is the sole supplier for Apples processor chips use in iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers.

Apple is a large customer for TSMC’s 5 nm process, and it is said to be getting ready for its 3 nm process. TSMC’s Arizona fab will have an initial capacity for 20,000 12” wafer starts a month, and it recently announced plans to build another fab adjacent to the first. This might be related to Apple’s announcement, as 20,000 12” wafer starts a month is miniscule compared to its capacity in Taiwan, where its fabs have an aggregate capacity exceeding a million 12” wafers per month. It’s Fab 18 in Southern Taiwan Science Park is believed to be where it is focusing 3 nm production, and reportedly is on track for production in the fourth quarter of 2022.

TSMC reports that their largest customer (presumably Apple) accounted for 26% of its revenue in 2021, while its second largest was only at 10%. More intriguingly, that share has been on an uptrend from 23% in 2019, and 25% in 2020. The company points out that there are only a limited number of customers who are able to operate in this space – namely designing their own semiconductors and dealing directly with foundries like itself. That suggests that Apple and the Arizona expansion are closely linked. The Arizona fab is slated to come online in 2024 with 5 nm production.

If indeed Apple shifts some part of its sourcing to Arizona, it will pave the way for other fabless companies such as Qualcomm QCOM +4.3%, AMD, and Nvidia to move some of their production there as well. Like Apple, all of them likely want to diversify their sourcing needs, and TSMC also likely would not want to have a fab dedicated exclusively to Apple. Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly commented that “60% coming out of anywhere is probably not a strategic position.” But getting some of that production back on U.S. shores will be pretty strategic for the U.S.

Apple Weather App

To be honest about it, here's a brief story about an Apple app that I didn't even know was missing. But this writer and owner, from Small Dog Electronics (https://smalldog.com/), has some enthusiasm for this weather app.

Jim Hamm

Check the Weather on Your Mac and iPad, Finally!

At long last, Apple has plugged one of the most inexplicable holes in its app library—the lack of a Weather app for the iPad and Mac. In iPadOS 16 and macOS 13 Ventura, you’ll now find a large-screen version of the iPhone’s iOS 16 Weather app. Locations you enter on one device automatically sync to your other devices, and the feature set is identical across the different platforms. That’s especially welcome now that Apple has integrated all the features of the acquired Dark Sky service, including hyperlocal notifications of incoming weather, next-hour and 12-hour animated forecast maps (tap the map), and time-based graphs of temperature, UV index, wind, precipitation, “feels like” temperature, humidity, visibility, and pressure. Plus, you’ll find cards for air quality and sunrise/sunset times. You no longer need to look elsewhere on the iPad and Mac for a basic weather app!

I love Dark Sky and it is great that it is now fully integrated into the Apple OS.  I have my own on-site Tempest weather stations both in Key West and Vermont which give me micro-climate data but this long overdue expansion of weather data to iPad and Mac is welcomed!

Passkeys

If you use a computing device or a smartphone, then you're well aware of Passwords and how to use them. Well, according to the following article, "Passkeys" may soon replace Passwords:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/10/passkeys-microsoft-apple-and-googles-password-killer-are-finally-here/

Now, I did read the article but must admit I'm still a bit fuzzy on how Passkeys work -- but they're supposed to be "mo bettah". If you have a simpler explanation, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Jim Hamm

Apple Update

If you're a user of Apple products, you may enjoy the following brief update on the company, which comes from a blog I subscribe to.

Jim Hamm

Apple unveiled its latest product lineup recently at a live event with enough fanfare to be confused for a royal wedding.

Some highlights:

  • Four new iPhones, including the iPhone 14, 14 Plus, and new Pro models that run on an advanced chip and feature fancy cameras

  • Next-gen Apple Watches with new temperature sensors (that can, controversially, help track ovulation cycles)

  • Souped-up AirPods with better noise cancellation and six hours of listening time per charge

But marginally better gadgets aren’t the growth drivers they used to be for Apple. So, with smartphone sales plateauing globally, the company is now embracing something it largely used to avoid: selling online advertising.

Helping itself

For now, Apple’s got a much smaller piece of the online ad sales pie than rivals Google and Facebook. Recently, though, it’s started carving out a bigger slice: A study released Tuesday by Appsumer found that Apple’s advertiser adoption rate rose four percentage points year over year in Q2, while Facebook’s dropped three percentage points and Google’s slipped two points.

The company plans to start showing you ads in new places, like Apple Maps, to boost ad revenue—but also it may not exactly be a coincidence that Apple’s gains in online advertising happened following its App Tracking Transparency update last year. That change limited the user-tracking data Apple made available to advertisers in the name of privacy and cost companies that depend on ad sales, like Meta and Snap, billions in revenue.

Apple is now working to nearly double the size of its advertising staff, per the Financial Times, leaving it poised to benefit from the new landscape it created.

Apple claims its own ad business is different from the others. So far, it is: Apple doesn’t allow ads that target you for visiting a competitor’s website, and it won’t tailor ads to specific individuals. Still, experts told the NYT that Apple might have to start making compromises if it really wants to grow its ad sales.—AR