MacBook Pro Crushes Windows Laptops in New Battery Tests

In a direct comparison between a number of brand-name laptop computers, British publication, Which?, discovered in a series of real-world testing that Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro were the only machines among the bunch able to consistently meet or exceed their makers’ battery life claims.

Of all the models tested, Apple’s recent 13-inch MacBook Pro clocked in at an impressive 12 hours of use — slightly besting Apple’s self-proclaimed 10 hours of battery life for its most recent machine sans the OLED Touch Bar. Another two MacBook models also bested Apple’s 10-hour claim by about 15 minutes while easily putting to shame a bevy of PC-based offerings from the likes of ASUS, Acer, DELL, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, and Toshiba.

 

Major discrepancies were discovered, however, between some models’ advertised claims, and the results they actually achieved in real-world testing. For instance, HP’s Pavilion 14-al115na, which the PC-maker alleges can achieve 9-hours of battery life, in fact lasted just 4 hours and 25 minutes. Likewise, the “7-hour battery-life” of Dell’s Inspiron 15-5000 barely managed to churn out 4 hours. Other models from Acer and Lenovo, respectively, while not falling unacceptably short of their manufacturer’s claims, were still short by a few hours apiece, nevertheless.

“It’s difficult to give a specific battery life expectation that will directly correlate to all customer usage behaviors because every individual uses their PC differently,” a representative from Dell explained, in a clear defense of the Which? findings, while adding that “It’s similar to how different people driving the same car will get different gas mileage depending on how they drive.”

“[Our battery testing] uses real life scripts and runs on real applications like Microsoft Office,” Hewlett Packard attested in a similar show of defense, adding that “particular specifications” — including screen resolution, RAM, and CPU speed, for example — can ultimately impact battery consumption.

Continuous employment of everyday tasks, such as watching movies or loading webpages over Wi-Fi, were at the core of the testing publication’s strategies.

Sure to add fuel to fire of the Mac vs. PC argument, is that in relation to more liberal estimates of as much as 19 hours from U.S. Magazine, Consumer Reports, Which? estimates for Apple’s 2016 MacBook Pro are actually more on the conservative side of the spectrum at 10-12 hours.

The modified numbers from Consumer Reports fly in the face of their previous estimates, which pegged the 13-inch MacBook Pro’s battery performance at anywhere between 4 hours and 16 hours. Via the release of macOS 10.12.3, however, Apple all but addressed the concerns that were previously raised by Consumer Reports — regulating battery performance, and proving, yet again, that MacBooks are just all-around better machines.

Are you the proud owner of a MacBook? Let us know in the comments!

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Contrary to Early Reports Verizon’s AppFlash Isn’t Actually Spyware

Bloodthirsty internet service providers wasted no time rolling out invasive spyware in the wake of internet privacy deregulation — or so it seemed for a few hours.

Earlier today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation — a digital advocacy organization — released a statement claiming that Verizon was rolling out a launcher feature called AppFlash that was little more than thinly veiled spyware. AppFlash, as TechCrunch points out, will live on the Android home screen and seeks to help users find content and services across different applications. But the EFF press release didn’t paint AppFlash as useful software. Instead, the organization alleged that it may be used to “collect intimate details” and illustrates Verizon’s “intent to gather location and contact information.”

“In other words, our prediction that mobile internet providers would start installing spyware on their customers’ phones has come true, less than 48 hours after Congress sold out your personal data to companies like Comcast and AT&T,” the EFF statement reads. “With the announcement of AppFlash, Verizon has made clear that it intends to start monetizing its customers’ private data as soon as possible.”

But is that really the case? Take a look at the EFF statement now, and it becomes clear that it might not be. After receiving “additional information” from Verizon, the Foundation decided to redact the post and its accusations while they “investigate further.” Apparently, the AppFlash test is only going to be conducted on a single smartphone — the LG K20 V — and requires an explicit opt-in to use, Verizon said in a statement to Engadget. As the service provider points out: “Nobody is required to use it.”

Additionally, Verizon posted a statement on its website briefly explaining some of its privacy policies in the wake of FCC privacy law rollbacks. “We have two programs that use web browsing data — and neither of these programs involves selling customers’ personal web browsing history,” Verizon’s Karen Zacharia said.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that online privacy deregulation isn’t a valid concern, you should probably still take ISP statements with a grain of salt. As it’s arguably more important than ever to be mindful about your digital footprint, we still recommend vigilance in keeping yourself and your data secure and away from prying eyes.

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Samsung Galaxy S8 Facial Recognition Security Cracked with Just a Photo

Samsung’s newest biometric security feature is certainly cool — but it has a critical weakness. The Korean company’s upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S8, will come equipped with a biometric facial recognition system — basically, you can unlock your Galaxy just by looking into the front-facing camera. Reportedly, it’s works very smoothly and is actually faster than a traditional fingerprint authentication system.

But the new facial recognition feature has a fatal flaw that could potentially render the feature useless as a security measure: it can be fooled by a picture. This weakness was first spotted by iDeviceHelp, who ran a test using a picture of the phone’s registered user displayed on another smartphone. By holding that picture up to the front-facing camera, they were able to authenticate the phone’s facial recognition and unlock the device.

In the wake of that video, Samsung provided a statement to Business Insider saying that the facial recognition technology isn’t meant to be a true security feature: “Facial recognition is a convenient action to open your phone — similar to the “swipe to unlock” action,” the Samsung spokesperson told the publication. “We offer the highest levels of biometric authentication — fingerprint and iris — to lock you phone and authenticate access to Samsung Pay or Secure Folder.”

Reportedly, Samsung’s upcoming flagship will warn users who are setting up facial recognition that it’s not a secure method of locking a device. As The Verge notes, the demoed devices weren’t final products — so it’s possible that Samsung will tighten up the phone’s security before launch. But that might be a dubious hope this close to the device’s launch on April 21, however.

Of course, this vulnerability doesn’t mean that all facial recognition features are useless — Windows Hello, for example, is a biometric recognition system that’s so accurate, it can tell identical twins apart. As for Samsung’s competitors, it’ll certainly be interesting to see if Apple’s much-rumored advanced facial recognition system — expected to debut on this year’s flagship iPhone — could be as easily fooled.

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All Three Upcoming iPhone Models Expected to Feature ‘True Tone’ Displays

All three of Apple’s upcoming iPhone models are expected to sport True Tone displays, according to a new report. The trio of iPhones — tentatively named the iPhone 7s, the iPhone 7s Plus, and the OLED-equipped iPhone 8 (or iPhone Edition) — will all include a full spectral ambient light sensor, according to a research note by investment bank Barclays obtained by MacRumors. The four-channel sensor suites are expected to be produced and supplied by AMS, a semiconductor manufacturer based in Austria. According to the note, the addition of these sensors are estimated to be a “material step-up in content from the $0.60 range to $1.00.”

True Tone technology displayed on iPad Pro.

True Tone works by sensing the ambient light in a given environment, and adapts a device’s display color temperature and intensity accordingly — similar to the Night Shift feature introduced in iOS 10, but not just for nighttime use. In a dimly lit room, for example, the display might be warmer and yellower. While outside, it might appear cooler and bluer. The effect, Apple says, is a natural and comfortable viewing experience, more akin to looking at a sheet of paper than a display. Currently, the only Apple device with True Tone technology is last year’s 9.7-inch iPad Pro (this year’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro refresh is also expected to get a True Tone display).

Interestingly, it was rumored last year that the iPhone 7 would be the first Apple smartphone to sport True Tone technology, but that wasn’t the case. On the other hand, it would make perfect sense for Apple to include True Tone as a feature on its trio of iPhones this year — especially considering the rumored new features and radical redesign of Apple’s 10th anniversary flagship.

On a side note, the Barclays investment note tentatively calls the trio of smartphones the iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus and iPhone 8 — while we’ve heard that naming convention before, it’s important to note that there are conflicting rumors as to what monikers Apple will ultimately adopt for its three iPhones. So take any rumored names with a grain of salt.

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Hang up Immediately If ‘Apple’ Calls Asking for Your iCloud Password

Amidst an increasingly desperate and deceptive landscape of hackers and scammers and nefarious actors gone rampant, these dead-beats have likewise become increasingly crafty in the way they go about trying to extort your most sensitive information all for the sake of potentially making a few bucks at the expense of those naive enough to play along.

Consider the Turkish Crime Family, a group of hackers who had supposedly gained access to as many as 600 million iCloud accounts and was using their “upper-hand” as a way of extorting Apple into paying a ransom in iTunes gift cards or Bitcoin currency.

Though Apple’s security team initially invalidated their claims, the company has unfortunately stopped short of providing outright evidence that the Turkish Crime Family’s claims were invalid in their entirety. Even more unfortunate, though, is that the group (and supposedly others like them) have now resorted to alternative means of obtaining the iCloud credentials they previously claimed were already in their possession.

These increasingly desperate tricksters are now calling unsuspecting iCloud subscribers by phone, alleging to be an ‘Apple employee’ in hopes that you’ll simply hand over your iCloud login credentials right over the phone, simply because they ask. While we’re certainly not suggesting that you, personally, would fall for such a trick, there may be a segment of the population who are perhaps a bit less tech-savvy, or haven’t been following this story as it’s unfolded. In either case, we highly encourage anyone and everyone who happens to receive a call from Apple, requesting the aforementioned information, to simply hang up and ignore it.

Tell your kids, tell your parents, tell the milkman if you must because, quite frankly, they’re calling an increasing number of people and they hope you’ll be the next victim to play along. And unfortunately once the iCloud login information is handed over, these hackers will have unrestricted access to your account – total freedom to buy apps, download movies, music, and run up a bill that will only be sent to you in the end.

Even worse, the frequency and prevalence of these phone scams has only increased in recent years. According to the most recent statistics from mTAB, incidences of these phone scams have gone up by as much as 30 percent since 2013, and approximately 86.2 million U.S. citizens are now receiving scam calls every single month. What’s more, iCloud is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what these nefarious cheats will try to convince you of.

“Your personal computer has a serious virus,” some mysterious caller might tell you. “But don’t you worry, pal, we can go ahead and wipe it out right here and now, if you’ll just pay us [some amount of money].”

So if anyone calls asking for sensitive information claiming they work for Apple, simply hang up the phone.

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Apple Releases New Betas for All Operating Systems

Apple is definitely keeping busy, as the company seeded beta versions for all of its various operating systems this week.

Notably, the beta 1 versions of iOS 10.3.2, tvOS 10.2.1 and watchOS 3.2.2 were rolled out for developers on March 28 — just one day after previous updates were officially released. A public beta version of iOS 10.3.2 was released yesterday. Also worth noting is that the update designations seem to indicate that Apple is skipping iOS 10.3.1 and watchOS 3.2.1.

watchOS 3.2.2 and tvOS 10.2.1

watchOS 3.2.2 and tvOS 10.2.1 also seem to be minor updates with an under-the-hood and general maintenance focus.

macOS 10.12.5

Besides the mobile and TV updates, today Apple seeded the first beta version of macOS 10.12.5 — it’s seemingly a minor update with bug fixes and performance improvements, as no major features have been reported. Unlike its iOS counterpart, Apple has not included any release notes with the newest macOS update beta. This beta also closely follows a previous version — on Monday, Apple officially rolled out macOS 10.12.4, which brought Night Shift to the Mac, along with other minor improvements.

iOS 10.3.2

As far as iOS 10.3.2 is concerned, it seems to be an incremental update with bug fixes and improvements. No major features have been discovered yet — which is understandable, iOS 10.3 was a major update adding a slew of new features and improvements, and it was only just officially rolled out. The release notes for iOS 10.3.2 can be seen below.

Fixed in this Release

SiriKit

The new SiriKit car commands should now work as expected.

Notes and Known Issues

Managed and Shared Devices

The ability to update devices from a remote server is in development and may not yet work as expected. openURL When a third party application invokes openURL: on a tel://, facetime://, or facetime-audio:// URL, iOS displays a prompt and requires user confirmation before dialing.

SOS

SOS is only supported in India.

WebKit

Safari now supports the prefers-reduced-motion media query. This query allows a web developer to provide alternate page styles for users who are sensitive to large areas of motion. Users can change their preference for reduced motion in the Accessibility section of System Preferences.

The iOS 10.3 update removes support for SHA-1 signed certificates used for Transport Layer Security (TLS) in Safari and WebKit that are issued from a root Certification Authority (CA) included in the operating system default trust store. All other TLS connections will continue to support SHA-1 signed certificates until late 2017. SHA-1 signed root CA certificates, enterprisedistributed SHA-1 certificates, and user-installed SHA-1 certificates are not affected by this change.

openURL

When a third party application invokes openURL: on a tel://, facetime://, or facetime-audio:// URL, iOS displays a prompt and requires user confirmation before dialing.

Where to Update

The new beta versions of iOS 10.3.2, watchOS 3.2.2, tvOS 10.2.1 and macOS 10.12.5 are currently available to download for registered Apple developers. Additionally, macOS 10.12.5 and iOS 10.3.2 can both be downloaded by members of Apple’s public beta testing program. Apple doesn’t currently offer public beta testing for its watchOS and tvOS operating systems.

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Apple Commits to Fighting Climate Change After EPA Rollback

Earlier this week, President Donald J. Trump signed a sweeping executive order rescinding many environmental policies that were formerly instated by the Obama administration. The order effectively gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a greater amount of leeway in its consideration of the many climate regulations instated by former President Barack Obama, while also eliminating a number of the former administration’s orders that the federal government “consider climate change” at the forefront of its decision-making processes.

Even in light of President Trump’s order, which also grants major corporations the freedom to conduct their businesses independent of these former regulations, a number of the largest corporations in America have banded together in a joint pledge to persist in their efforts to combat climate change, according to a report by Bloomberg.

In a joint statement issued shortly after the order was signed on Tuesday, Apple and several other tech-titans, including Google and Microsoft, expressed their unanimous support in favor of the climate rules rescinded by Trump’s order. At the core of their opposition was the administration’s rescission of the EPA’s Obama-enforced Clean Power Plan, which sought to reduce carbon emissions from U.S. based power plants by 32% over the next few decades (relative to their levels in 2005.)

“We believe that strong clean energy and climate policies, like the Clean Power Plan, can make renewable energy supplies more robust and address the serious threat of climate change while also supporting American competitiveness, innovation, and job growth,” the statement reads, which was jointly signed by Apple, Google, and Microsoft, as well as Amazon, Walmart, IKEA, Best Buy, and others in various industries.

Other companies and influencers have spoken out against the Trump administration’s executive order too, including Andy Pharaoh, vice president of corporate affairs for Mars’ confectioners, who expressed disappointment in the administration’s decision to rollback Obama-era regulations, while advising that his firm would remain steadfast in its commitment to reduce carbon emissions entirely by 2040.

Apple is among the foremost of these corporations to pledge its ongoing commitment to implement more environmentally conscious practices. Not only has the Silicon Valley tech-giant championed a number of initiatives, including solar energy-run data centers, to help support its agenda, but the company also hired former EPA administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, back in 2013 to oversee the entire scope of the iPhone-maker’s green initiatives.

And these ongoing efforts have certainly not been in vain. Apple Park, for example, the company’s new Cupertino, California-based headquarters, will run entirely on renewable energy thanks to its consortium of roof-mounted solar panels; and the tech-titan has been ranked No. 1 on Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Index for the last three years in a row.

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4K Drone Video Shows Apple Park Near Completion

Construction progress continues to be made at Apple Park as the facility gets even closer to its grand opening next month.

The progress can be seen in a new piece of drone footage shot by Matthew Roberts, a YouTuber and aerial videographer who has released several drone flyby videos showing off Apple Park in the past. It’s not entirely clear when exactly the video was recorded — but since the title calls it an April update, we can assume that it was shot fairly recent.

The footage gives a close-up view of the solar panels on the roof of Apple Park’s main donut-shaped building — and it gives another hint that the solar panel installation process on the spaceship building is basically complete. It’s been previously estimated that installation was around 80 percent done across the entire campus.

Work on the research and development facility also seems to be wrapping up, as furniture can already be seen through the building’s glass windows, and the exterior of the building looks complete as well. The large parking garage located on Tantau Avenue also seems to be nearing completion, with most of the solar panel installation appearing complete. Staircases have also been installed at the base of the main building — a necessary step before employees can move in.

Although technically opening next month, much of Apple Park’s landscaping is still incomplete, and will continue to be worked on even after employees begin moving into the new facility. As seen in the video, a lot of the prep work for the large-scale landscaping project is moving swiftly — including preparation for the pond within the spaceship’s inner circle.

Late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs originally envisioned the new campus to be a “center for creativity and collaboration,” according to a press release sent out by the company in late February. In memory of Jobs, the 120,000-square-foot auditorium where Apple will hold future keynote events will bear his name. As far when Apple Park will be finished, employees will begin occupying the facility sometime in April. The actual process of moving the over 12,000 people is likely to take over six months, even while construction on other parts of the campus continue, Apple added.

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Minimal Differences Between New iPad and iPad Air Found in Teardown

In their typical fashion, the prying hands over at iFixIt have dismantled Apple’s latest 9.7-inch iPad, which is being referred to around the web as the iPad 5, and they were able to unearth a few interesting discoveries while dissecting the slate to its core.

As you can see from iFixIt’s side-by-side comparison image below, aside from a somewhat more compact Wi-Fi module embedded in the iPad 5, there’s really not much in the way of internal disparities between the new budget-friendly offering and Apple’s first generation iPad Air, which debuted back in November, 2013.

The main differences come in the form of an upgraded Apple A9 SoC, which is actually a rather substantial upgrade over the A7 chip powering the original iPad Air. Also absent from the original iPad Air was a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which first debuted on Apple’s iPad Air 2, and was carried over to the new iPad, as well.

iFixIt goes on to note that Apple’s latest iPad is a bit more difficult to repair than the original iPad Air and Air 2 — mainly due to the fact that its front panel is glued down to the device itself using a super-strong adhesive material — and apparently a good amount of it, to boot. Unlike the original iPad Air or Air 2, however, Apple’s new iPad does have one key benefit going for it: the battery is not soldered down to the logic board, which theoretically means it could be replaced if the need ever arises.

In relation to the original iPad Air, iFixIt also noted three key external differences: most notably, the absence of a mechanical lock switch on the side of the device, smaller microphone holes, as well as a single row of speaker holes on the bottom of the chassis.

Interestingly, while Apple claimed in its original press release that the new iPad boasted a “brighter display,” the folks at iFixIt appear to cast doubt on those claims — noting that the device lacks a fully laminated display and anti-reflective coating, which was perhaps intended to keep manufacturing costs down.

“In Apple’s press release announcing the iPad 5, they told us it comes equipped with a brighter 9.7-inch Retina display,” iFixIt noted. “Our question is: brighter than what? It doesn’t look that different from the Air 1’s display. If they mean brighter than the Air 2, then that may simply be due to reverting to the unfused display design of the Air 1.”

Still, at just $329 for a 32 GB model with Wi-Fi, Apple’s iPad 5 is the least expensive iPad in its class the company has released to date and will make a great device for beginners, for use in the education field, or simply as a first or second iPad for use around the house.

Are you planning on picking up Apple’s new cost-conscious yet powerful iPad?
Let us know in the comments!

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How to Protect Your iPhone Browsing Data from Your ISP

This week, the Senate and House voted to allow Internet Service Providers to sell your browsing history and other private information to the highest bidder without your consent.

We’re no strangers to aggressive advertising – everything from sophisticated AI mechanisms to brute force email blasting barrage us with things to buy or do. But in this historic decision made by the Senate and the House, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are now allowed to release consumer data without the explicit consent of the customer.

That means ISPs can now sell and share you (and your family’s) browsing data and other private information with whoever pays the most for it. The implications of this are huge, of course: those that advocate the release of consumer private information state this measure would eliminate harmful regulations that “stifle economic growth”. But those who oppose worry about the very real violation of privacy that occurs when companies are in an open bidding war for your personal information – that includes financial information, even information on your children and your health. Anything where data can be sold to develop a map that produces profit is vulnerable to this decision making.

Because we’re a culture that digests information digitally, especially via our iPhones, our ISPs know how we respond when we believe we’re ill, what school we’d like our child to attend, what our financial concerns are – probably even better than we know them ourselves. And that’s because our ISPs have free access to our search history, which reveals even our geolocation and our listening and viewing habits.

Think about all the things you’ve searched for on the Internet – if someone could build a portfolio of your life through your search history, it would be a pretty easy project. The time you first bought a car, or a house – the loans you did take out, or didn’t. The time you went to the hospital (or all the times you thought you needed to). Your worries, your interests, your talents, your friends and even your family.

Except that portfolio does exist – and it’s in the hands of your ISP. Once they have that literal goldmine of data, companies can piece together a full picture of our lives – and target their advertising towards it.

Previously, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had planned to have privacy regulations set in place that required an opt-in consent for sensitive information, such as geo-location data, Social Security numbers, web browsing history, app usage history and communication content. Not only was this privacy measure overturned, the Senate used the Congressional Review Act to limit the FCC from attempting to create similar rules in the future.

Now this bill, if passed through President Trump’s hands (the final stage), would mean not only could ISPs collect all this information freely, but they could share it without your knowledge.

Darkly, a few senators commented that ISP now stands for “invading subscriber privacy” or “information sold for profit”.

So, how do you protect yourself?

It might seem like the only option at this point is to be sold to the highest bidder or go totally dark – but that’s not the case.  Here are three ways you can encrypt your browsing, so that your ISP can’t track your search history or app usage:

1. HTTPS

   Your ISP can’t see what you do when you’re browsing through an HTTPS website. They can see what website you’ve visited, but not the articles you’ve looked through, or the actions you’ve taken. Unfortunately, this is completely in the hands of the websites themselves. If a website doesn’t support HTTPS, then you’re not able to use the website without a recording of your user behaviors.

2. Tor

   iPhone users can easily download Tor browsing apps in the Apple App Store to stay anonymous when surfing the web in the Tor browser. Tor preserves the user’s anonymity by routing traffic through different series of relays – so your IP address is hidden, and it appears as though your location is the IP address of a Tor exit relay. The downside? Tor won’t protect you when using Wi-Fi outside of the browser, i.e. with other apps.

3. VPNs

   The best, simplest and safest solution: pay for a subscription to a Virtual Private Network. Unlike Tor, VPNs are operated by single providers working with a network of private servers. Meaning? Your internet traffic will be fully encrypted and will look like its coming from somewhere other than your house or your iPhone. And while some VPN companies keep logs of your browsing history, it’s a whole lot better than it being sold by an ISP. Luckily, VPNs can be extremely affordable and easy to set up, too.

An ideal VPN privacy solution is this VPN Unlimited: Lifetime Subscription. It operates using 53 locations in 39 countries, protecting Wi-Fi and cellular connections and completely securing your online activity. Named a PC Mag Top VPN for 2016, VPN Unlimited includes both unlimited traffic bandwidth and an unlimited high-speed connection – so you can thwart your ISP provider, and still enjoy your internet, your way.

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Will Samsung’s Bixby AI Assistant Overtake Siri?

There’s been a lot of anticipation surrounding Samsung’s newly released Galaxy S8 pair, particularly because the new flagships are a chance for the beleaguered Korean tech giant to redeem its sorely damaged reputation. Samsung’s Bixby AI assistant for the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus is the company’s answer to the virtual assistants that are currently on the market, but it’s hard to tell how the competition will shake out because Samsung isn’t actually done working on Bixby.

Samsung hinted in a press release last week that Bixby is still very much a work in progress: “There has been a lot of excitement and speculation about what we will deliver with the launch of the Galaxy S8 later this month, especially due to the advancements in artificial intelligence. We do have a bold vision of revolutionizing the human-to-machine interface, but that vision won’t be realized overnight. Ambition takes time.”

Samsung has announced that it will continue working on Bixby right up until the S8 line arrives in stores, and probably long after. From there, Samsung plans to integrate Bixby into its other smart device lines.

What We Know About Bixby So Far

While we’re unsure of how Bixby will function in the real world, on paper it has a few noteworthy qualities that make it stand out. For one, it’s easy to access. Bixby has a dedicated button on the left side of the S8 that you can press to summon it, or you can utter the wake phrase, which is “Bixby.” It’s also accessible through the camera app. Bixby can also speak 52 languages, compared to the 21 languages that Siri has a grasp of.

Also, Bixby actually comes in three parts: Bixby Voice, Bixby Vision, and Bixby Home.

Bixby Voice

Bixby Voice is the most similar to the virtual assistants that we’re familiar with. But unlike Siri, Alexa, and Cortana, which primarily focus on drawing on web resources to answer your questions, Bixby’s focus is inward-oriented. Samsung’s headline for its homegrown AI is “anything you can do with touch, you can do with voice”. The company aims to one day allow you to use your device completely through Bixby, which is a pretty tall order and far from reality right now.

So far, Bixby Voice works with S8 functions like phone, messaging, camera, settings, and contacts, with more to follow after launch. You can use voice commands to rotate photos, pull up your inbox, and place calls.

Bixby Vision

Bixby Vision is essentially an augmented reality camera with image recognition capabilities, like Google Goggles, that you’ll most likely use to identify products that you want to buy. For instance, you can point it at a bottle of wine to find its price and other neat details like recommended food pairings. Samsung announced that it’s working with Pinterest and Amazon, among other partners to build out uses for Bixby Vision.

Beyond shopping, you can also use it to recognize things in your vicinity, like flowers and trees for instance. At the S8 unveiling on Wednesday, another use case showed a user taking a photo of a landmark and Bixby providing historical information about it as well as local restaurant recommendations.

Bixby Home

Finally, Bixby Home is essentially a vertical pane of “cards” for stuff like weather, controlling smart home devices, news, and fitness tracking. It also links to third party apps like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

There are a lot of open questions about how Bixby will work in the real world, how useful we’ll find it, and how well Samsung improves upon and builds it out in the near future. But for Samsung, there’s no question that a lot is riding on Bixby’s success.

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10 Reasons to Download iOS 10.3

This week, Apple officially rolled out iOS 10.3, the newest update for its mobile operating system. The new iOS update is a major one, and it adds new features, additional functionalities, bug fixes, and general performance enhancements. If you’re not convinced, here are our top 10 reasons to download iOS 10.3 today. As with any iOS update, it’s recommended that you backup your device either to iTunes on a computer, or via iCloud. In fact, we especially recommend backing up before iOS 10.3 because it carries a major file system change (but more on that later).

Click the Right Arrow to Continue

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iOS 10.3 Seems to Magically Free up Storage Space on iPhone and iPad

With Apple’s release of iOS 10.3 earlier this week, all the exciting new features and enhancements that it brings to the table are continuing to sprout up on the web every day. The latest, and perhaps most noteworthy of what we know so far, however, comes to us courtesy of Cupertino’s all-new Apple File Management System (APFS) which was ushered in as part of the update.

While we’ll touch upon some of the intricate details of APFS towards the end of this article, we want to first point out how it appears that the new file management system for iOS devices has been able to free up a considerable amount of available storage space for some users thus far. In particular, as AppleInsider recently reported, they were able to free up approximately 7.81 GB of storage on their 256 GB iPhone 7 Plus handset, as documented in the comparison images below. Not only that, but the site also reported that it was somehow able to increase the overall storage allotment, altogether, which climbed from 248.5 to 252.14 GB when upgraded from iOS 10.2.1 to the latest version 10.3.

This apparent storage bump may seem strange — if not downright questionable — to the average user, especially considering that new versions of iOS typically demand more available storage than their predecessors. However, it’s important to note that while it appears one can free up a fairly substantial amount of space of their device by upgrading to iOS 10.3, the greater amount of available capacity to you will ultimately result in a proportionally larger storage bump.

Either way, one thing is clear: it’s resoundingly apparent that APFS, and the way it manages our iOS files, provides our devices a much more efficient means of managing storage, on the whole. APFS actually replaces Apple’s former file management system — known as Hierarchical File System+ (HFS+) — from as far back as 1998. Given the seemingly antiquated nature of HFS+, however, Apple sought to revolutionize how iOS devices store and manage files, by ushering these methods into the modern era of 64-bit CPUs and Solid Stage Drives.

Interestingly, as opposed to the standard, magnetic-based spinning hard drives (HDDs) of Macintosh and PC computers past, Apple’s APFS system is designed with optimizations for the future of solid state storage in mind, and could even pave the way for 64-bit CPU-equipped iOS devices that feature an even greater amount of storage than 256 GB.

APFS also changes how much volume data is written at the lower levels of the onboard partition. In other words, the apparent capacity increase appears to be the direct result of the new file writing system and how it utilizes less space on the SSD.

Additionally, APFS includes support for other “lower-level” storage-saving features. An example would be the system’s ability to create what’s known as “clones” — allowing APFS to create a duplicate, space-saving pseudo-copy of any particular file, by “referencing the same storage structure as representing multiple files in different locations” according to AppleInsider.

While there are many complex explanations of how exactly APFS works to maximize storage, users of lower-capacity iPhones and iPads will be thrilled to know that iOS 10.3 can give their storage a much needed bump amidst our increasingly digital, data-demanding ways of life.

Have you noticed an improvement in your available storage since upgrading to iOS 10.3?
Let us know in the comments!

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Congress Votes to Let Internet Providers Sell Your Data Without Permission

Congress has just sent legislation to President Trump that will strike down a set of landmark internet privacy regulations passed by the Federal Communications Commission in October of last year.

Those FCC protections dictated what internet service providers could do with their customers’ sensitive data, including browsing habits, app usage, location data and Social Security numbers. If President Trump signs the new legislation into law — which he is expected to do — it would nullify those FCC rules, meaning that internet providers would have free reign to monitor their customers’ behavior online and use their information without permission, according to The Washington Post.

As well as monitoring user habits and behavior, internet providers could also sell user information to marketers and marketing agencies, financial firms, and other companies without their consent. Such data being available to those firms could open up the doorway for a new wave of privacy incursion. Additionally, Tuesday’s legislation would also forbid the FCC from issuing similar privacy protections in the future, WaPo reported.

Congress voted to dismantle those rules largely along party lines, with Republicans in favor of pulling back privacy protections. Last week, the Senate also voted to dismantle those measures. According to critics, those “overbearing” rules — passed under a Democrat-controlled FCC — allegedly stifled innovation and arbitrarily picked winners and losers in the industry, according to ABC News.

But while broadband companies and service providers celebrated the House vote as a victory, internet privacy activists aren’t similarly thrilled. Advocates are specifically worried that the FCC rules gave consumers greater control to stop companies from making money off of their private data, the New York Times reported. Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, told WaPo that Tuesday’s vote was a “tremendous setback” for American consumers, adding that it means “Americans will never be safe online from having their most personal details stealthily scrutinized and sold to the highest bidder.”

The vote comes at a crucial period in internet history, an era in which many of the rules governing internet access and usage may be reworked by the Trump Administration. Similarly, in the wake of government surveillance allegations and criminal data breaches, arguably more consumers than ever are concerned about their safety and privacy online.

Luckily, consumers aren’t entirely powerless to stop unwanted surveillance — whether by criminals, the government or service providers. Among the variety of privacy tools and methods available to internet users are easy, simple options like a VPN — a virtual private network, which scrambles and encrypts your internet browsing and communications. If you’re looking for a VPN in light of recent events, you can check out some excellent options below.

Find Some of the Best VPNs Available Below

1. VPN Unlimited: Lifetime Subscription – 92% OFF – $39 (User Rating of 5/5 stars)
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3. PureVPN: Lifetime Subscription – 85% OFF – $89 (User Rating of 4.5/5 stars)
4. Infinity VPN: Lifetime Subscription – 90% OFF – $45 (User Rating of 4/5 stars)

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26,000 Indiana Prisoners to Receive Free Tablets for Personal Use

Indicating that the devices will be used for the purpose of furthering educational possibilities, programming, and providing entertainment, the Indiana Department of Corrections (IODC) recently announced a new initiative that would see the statewide prison system’s 26,000 inmates receive a free tablet computer, according to a report published by the IndyStar.

In what IODC officials are referring to as a “system-wide technology push,” the incarcerated constituents thereof could each receive a “secure tablet,” which would primarily be used as a mechanism to stay in contact with their families while behind bars. Likewise, the modified tablets could be used to “further education and personal development by providing inmates with access to classwork and self-help material,” FOX News reports.

Most controversially, however, under the terms of the proposition that would see Indiana’s 23 prison facilities outfitted with secure networking capabilities, the tablets could also be used by inmates to acquire access to digital content and entertainment — including music and movies — which would supposedly be offered as a reward for those who display model behavior while they’re simmering in the slammer.

“What we’ve learned is that sometimes through positive reinforcement you gain better performance, better behavior,” said IODC executive director, William Wilson, while adding that his department has, in the past, successfully implemented similar “consequence-based punishment and reward methods.”

In an apparent defense of this proposition, Rutgers University Professor of Criminal Justice, Todd Clear, expressed to the IndyStar how inmates face an unavoidable “technology gap” when they leave the prison system and resume normal lives.

“They don’t know how to download stuff, they don’t know how to click on links, they don’t know how to search,” said Clear, who added that by promoting technology skills among prison inmates “They’ll come out more able to navigate the contemporary world which involves connectivity all the time.”

Sure to quash speculation that this proposal has been promoted only to reward inmates, it should be noted that IODC won’t simply be doling out a bunch of high-end tablets like they’re merely Halloween candy — but rather, officials are apparently in the process of seeking a vendor who would be willing to create “specially-built” tablets that only allow certain core functionalities.

Interestingly, in a move that’s sure to raise its fair share of eyebrows, IODC officials are hoping they’ll ultimately find a vendor who is willing to foot the bill for the entire arsenal of tablets — with the ‘promise’ of ultimately being reimbursed, over time, if and when the inmates decide to purchase digital content. According to the IndyStar, the program, which was first announced in January 2017, will be open to consideration from vendors until the end of April — with tentative rollout plans slated by the end of this year.

Do you think tablets for prison inmates will foster education and personal development? Let us know in the comments!

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Samsung Officially Unveils Gorgeous Galaxy S8 and S8+ Devices

After what seems like months of rampant speculation, leaks, and even a few pre-release videos, Samsung on Wednesday morning officially took the wraps off of its highly-anticipated Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones, ushering in the South Korean tech-giant’s first major flagship release since its doomed Galaxy Note 7 went up in flames last summer.

As we’ve been seeing and hearing from the rumor mill, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ boast a litany of high-end specifications and the differences between them, although they’re somewhat region specific, have more to do with their battery packs and screen size, respectively. Also, fret not about the fiery batteries, as Samsung has reportedly implemented a thorough 8-step battery inspection and certification protocol to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.

While the standard Galaxy S8 features an edge-to-edge, 5.8-inch curved AMOLED panel boasting a whopping 2,960 x 1,440 resolution (571 pixels per inch), the Galaxy S8+ ups the ante just a bit to a massive 6.2-inch AMOLED display (529 ppi) boasting the same resolution and curvature. In an unorthodox move for Samsung, however, both devices feature a somewhat quirky, extra-long aspect ratio of 18.5:9 — similar to LG’s new G6. The S8 duo also differs in their battery capacities, with the S8 boasting a 3,000 mAh Li-Po battery pack, and the S8+ boasting a proportionately larger 3,500 mAh pack.

The S8 duo also boasts a unique new design with truly limited bezels on the top and bottom of the handset — with no bezels, whatsoever, on either side. Accordingly, the traditional fingerprint sensor-enabled home button of Galaxy devices past has been repositioned to the rear of the device, next to the camera module, while Samsung has incorporated a dedicated side button which will exclusively summon Bixby — the company’s powerful new voice-assistant, who boasts a laundry list of advanced features and capabilities. Otherwise, the impressive specification set is identical across both devices.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Key Features

• In various markets, including the U.S., the S8 duo will be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 octa-core ‘Kyro’ CPU.
• Each device includes 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of expandable storage (up to 256 GB UFS cards) via microSD.
• The international variants, on the other hand, will ship with Samsungs’s home-brewed Exynos 8895 octa-core ‘Mongoose’ CPU, up the ante to 6 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of storage.
• Both devices will feature the same 12 MP (f/1.7 aperture) rear ‘dual-pixel’ cameras as the Galaxy S7 family, as well as upgraded 8 MP selfie cameras around front.
• While the rear camera modules might not be different from the company’s S7 devices, Samsung has incorporated a bevy of software enhancements that bring their functionality and capabilities to a whole new level. For instance, the company has baked in what it’s referring to as ‘Multiframe Processing’, which appears will work somewhat akin to Google’s HDR+ feature, though details are scant at this point.
• They’ll also ship with a slate of advanced, next-gen connectivity options, including LTE-A compatibility, USB Type-C (v3.1) connectivity, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, GPS, Galileo, NFC, and Bluetooth 5.0 technologies.

The S8 and S8+ will both feature a ‘glass sandwich’ design, similar to the Galaxy Note 7, featuring front and back Gorilla Glass 5 panels sandwiched around a polished aluminum alloy frame; and they’ll be offered in either Arctic Silver, Orchid Grey, Black Sky, Maple Gold, or Coral Blue color schemes. The duo will also feature IP68 dust- and water-proof resistance, Samsung’s Adaptive Fast Charging technology, WPC and PMA-based wireless charging, and a front-mounted Iris scanner for advanced security.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering: yes, the Galaxy S8 duo will also ship with a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack — and will even come with a gratis pair of uber-premium AKG headphones for your pleasure.

The S8 and S8+ will go on sale in the U.S. beginning on April 21st, in European markets beginning on April 28th, and will cost $750 or $850 for the S8 or S8+, respectively.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ Specs

	Galaxy S8	Galaxy S8+
OS	Android 7.0
Network	LTE Cat.16 * *May differ by markets and mobile operators
Dimension	148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm, 155g	159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm, 173g
AP	Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process Octa core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process *May differ by markets and mobile operators*
Memory	4GB RAM (LPDDR4), 64GB (UFS 2.1) *May differ by markets and mobile operators
Display	5.8” (146.5mm) * Quad HD+ (2960×1440), (570ppi)	6.2” (158.1mm) * Quad HD+ (2960×1440), (529ppi)
	* Screen measured diagonally as a full rectangle without accounting for the rounded corners
Camera	Rear: Dual Pixel 12MP OIS (F1.7), Front : 8MP AF (F1 .7)
Battery	3,000 mAh,	3,500 mAh,
	Fast Charging on wired and wireless Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA7 *Fast wireless chargers sold separately
Payment	NFC, MST
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO,1024QAM Bluetooth® v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou) * Galileo and BeiDou coverage may be limited.
Sensors	Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, HR Sensor, Proximity Sensor, RGB Light Sensor, Iris Sensor, Pressure Sensor
Audio	MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF
Video	MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM

Samsung Galaxy S8 Image Gallery

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Google Reprimands Cybersecurity Firm Symantec

Last week, Google quietly announced its intent to downgrade the level of trust it places in certificates issued by Symantec, effectively issuing a vote of no confidence in one the internet’s largest certifiers.

Symantec is a massive Certificate Authority (CA), tasked with confirming the authenticity of a website and verifying that the owner is who it says it is. CAs issue certificates vouching for websites of every variety — including those of banks, online retailers, and news outlets– so you can establish secure HTTPS connections with them and trust that you’re communicating with the entity you mean to. Without proper certification, it becomes possible for malicious actors to pose as legitimate websites and monitor communications. Symantec is similar in that regard to your local department of motor vehicles, which issues driver’s licenses to people in order to establish their identity and qualification to operate cars. In 2015, Symantec issued certificates that accounted for 30 percent of the certified Internet. According to Firefox, the security giant is also responsible for 42% of certificate validations.

So Google’s announcement and the charges it’s leveled against Symantec are pretty serious, severely undermining trust in the company and by extension, the large swathes of the web it has vouched for. The search giant has accused Symantec of failing to meet its responsibilities as a CA, and improperly issuing at least 30,000 HTTPS credentials to websites without performing their due diligence.

Effective immediately, Google Chrome will downgrade certificates issued by Symantec-owned issuers. Chrome will remove the “extended validation status” of Symantec-issued certificates for a period of at least one year, until Symantec earns back its trust. Extended validation status provides a higher guarantee to users by displaying the name of the website owner in the left of the address bar.

Chrome will also shorten the length of time Symantec certificates are valid, essentially moving up their expiration dates. It will also gradually nullify current Symantec certificates, requiring websites to replace them with fresh ones over time. This means that Symantec will have to work overtime to re-issue newer and more trustworthy certificates to websites. It may also prevent users from accessing websites with old Symantec-issued certificates, at least not without encountering a bunch of warnings from Chrome.

Google’s decision comes as a huge blow to Symantec and a major headache for Symantec customers, given that Chrome accounts for 58.5% of desktop browser usage and 55.2% of all mobile usage.

Google’s announcement is the culmination of an 18-month long struggle with Symantec over its certification protocols, according to Techcrunch. Back in October 2015, Google discovered that Symantec had improperly issued certificates, making it possible to impersonate a number of Google webpages. As a result, Symantec fired an undisclosed number of employees.

In January of this year, an independent security researcher found evidence that Symantec had misissued 108 new certificates, Ars Technica reports. Since then, Google Chrome has been investigating Symantec’s certification practices and its repeated failures to properly validate certificates.

In a post, Google Chrome software engineer Ryan Sleevi writes: “Over the course of this investigation, the explanations provided by Symantec have revealed a continually increasing scope of misissuance with each set of questions from members of the Google Chrome team; an initial set of reportedly 127 certificates has expanded to include at least 30,000 certificates, issued over a period spanning several years. This is also coupled with a series of failures following the previous set of misissued certificates from Symantec, causing us to no longer have confidence in the certificate issuance policies and practices of Symantec over the past several years.”

Sleevi went on in the post to accuse Symantec of failing to properly oversee four organizations that had access to its infrastructure and neglecting to release timely updates regarding critical security issues, even when they were made public.

In response to these sharp allegations, Symantec has released a statement objecting to Google’s actions and accusing Google of greatly exaggerating the scope of the problem.

“Google’s statements about our issuance practices and the scope of our past mis-issuances are exaggerated and misleading. For example, Google’s claim that we have mis-issued 30,000 SSL/TLS certificates is not true. In the event Google is referring to, 127 certificates – not 30,000 – were identified as mis-issued, and they resulted in no consumer harm” Symantec wrote. “We operate our CA in accordance with industry standards. We maintain extensive controls over our SSL/TLS certificate issuance processes and we work to continually strengthen our CA practices. We have substantially invested in, and remain committed to, the security of the Internet.”

Symantec also announced that the four parties that were responsible for misissuing certificates had been terminated and taken other remediation measures.

In an e-mail, Google wrote: “This remains an ongoing discussion, and we look forward to continuing our conversations with Symantec about this issue. We want to enable an open and transparent assessment of the compatibility and interoperability risks, relative to potential security threats to our users.”

This back-and-forth sniping between the two companies will probably go on for some time, given the stakes.

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Samsung to Sell Refurbished Galaxy Note 7 Smartphones After Recall

Samsung announced that it plans to begin selling and renting refurbished Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

For those who need a refresher, the Galaxy Note 7 was the ill-fated phablet that carried explosion-prone batteries. After a chaotic and mismanaged recall, Samsung finally pulled the plug on the Note 7 in October, permanently discontinuing and ceased manufacturing the device.

Now, it seems, that at least some Note 7 devices will be returning to the consumer markets as refurbished devices, the Korean company announced in a press release late Monday. While that may seem like a bad idea on the surface, Samsung and independent researchers alike have found that the phones had no other problems beyond the faulty batteries, which were revealed to be the primary culprit behind reports of Note 7-related fires, Reuters reported.

Perhaps to save face in the wake of last year’s fiasco, Samsung has refrained from announcing any of its plans for the recovered phones — until today, that is. “Regarding the Galaxy Note 7 devices are refurbished phones or rental phones, applicability is dependent upon consultations with regulatory authorities and carriers as well as due consideration of local demand,” the company said in the statement.

Samsung’s announcement suggests that such refurbished devices won’t be returning under the Note 7 brand: “The product details including the name, technical specification and price range will be announced when the device is available,” the company wrote. The refurbished devices won’t be offered within the U.S., but Samsung plans on selling them in Korea in July or August of this year — equipped with safe batteries, of course. The company is aiming at selling between 400,000 and 500,000 refurbished phablets in its home country — which, along with the upcoming Galaxy S8 flagship — should help recoup some of the $5.5 billion profit hit that it took as a result of the Note 7 disaster.

But while money could be a factor, Samsung told The Verge that the primary objective of its new plans is “solely to reduce and minimize any environmental impact.” Beyond the refurbished devices, Samsung is also planning on recovering, using and selling as many reusable components and materials from recovered phones as possible.

It’s worth noting that Greenpeace applauded the efforts in a press release on Monday. Previously, the environmental advocacy group had protested Samsung’s keynote at this year’s Mobile World Congress — demanding to know what the company planned on doing with its recovered Galaxy Note 7 devices. “Samsung’s announcement is the first step to show its effort to set a new path for recycling smartphones starting with the Note 7s,” the group wrote.

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iOS 10.3 Patches Safari Ransomware Vulnerability

It appears that an iOS Safari-based ransomware campaign — formerly exploited by a group of nefarious actors looking to cash in at the expense of unsuspecting iOS users — has been patched thanks to Apple’s recently released iOS 10.3 software update.

The former vulnerability, which sought to manipulate the way Apple’s iOS-based Safari browser regulated JavaScript pop-up windows, was primarily exploited by odious scammers who largely targeted visitors of pornographic websites, tried to download bootlegged music, and other sketchy content on their iPhone or iPad, according to ArsTechnica.

Mobile security firm Lookout explained that the ransomware campaign was essentially a form of “scareware,” which, from as far back as iOS 10.2, would enable scammers to overtake the Safari browser by initiating a swarm of incessant pop-up pages and messages — often increasing in both presence and threatening nature — until unknowing users ultimately paid “a fee” — generally in the form of an iTunes gift-card that they would be asked to deliver to an unknown phone number via text.

Lookout reported that scammers had become increasingly crafty in their attempts to exploit the vulnerability, often carrying out attacks on innocent users from domains like “pay-police (dot) com” in order to masquerade themselves as being legitimate law enforcement authorities.

These domains would generally project an image of legitimacy, oftentimes boasting professional-looking published content so as to appear as viable properties on the web — however, in the grand scheme of things, their principal intent was to trick oblivious iOS users into purchasing iTunes gift-cards, which the tricksters would request be sent to a phone number associated with the illegitimate domain.

“The attackers effectively used fear as a factor to get what they wanted before the victim realized that there was little actual risk,” wrote Lookout researchers Andrew Blaich and Jeremy Richards in their ‘scareware’ report.

Essentially, the pop-ups would appear onscreen as a “continuous loop,” according to Lookout, meaning that new pages and notifications would appear reading “Cannot Open Page” — but would only continue to appear as users persisted to click OK from the pop-up box, believing that they’d eventually get out of the crosshairs.

The vulnerability was first discovered last month by Lookout, who subsequently shared the details of the so-called “scareware campaign” with Apple. The Cupertino-company then issued a minor fix shortly thereafter, which supposedly rendered JavaScript pop-ups “per tab” as opposed to an “app-wide” event. However, iOS 10.3, among a number of neat enhancements, appears to have indefinitely thwarted these egregious scammers dead in their tracks.

 

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Your iPhone Likely Harbors More Bacteria Than a Toilet Seat

Your beloved iPhone is home to many things: your pictures, your important data, and all kinds of bacteria.

In fact, your iPhone likely carries around 10 times the amount of bacteria found on most toilet seats, according to University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba. If that wasn’t bad enough, then consider this fact: researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that one out of every six smartphones harbored fecal matter.

Mostly, this is caused by people failing to wash their hands properly after using the restroom, the researchers found — which is even more worrying if you think about how many people use their smartphones while doing so. While 95 percent of the people interviewed in that 2011 study said that they washed their hands with soap when possible, 82 percent of those hands — and 92 percent of the phones that those hands touched — had bacteria on them. The other primary factor is that these devices are not commonly disinfected — really, ask yourself when the last time you actually cleaned your iPhone. For some of us, the answer might be never. Contrast that with the toilet seat: an object that is, in most cases, cleaned and sanitized rather frequently.

If there’s any good news attached to these statistics, it’s that devices that aren’t likely to be shared — like your own smartphone — only carry a single set of germs, and won’t get you sick. The problems arise when these smartphones or other devices are shared between people, Gerba found.

Your smartphone isn’t the only thing germier than the porcelain throne in your house — in fact, your kitchen sink and sponge, your shoes and even your reusable shopping bags all commonly more bacteria-laden than toilet seats, USA Today reported. Electronic devices that are commonly shared are especially prone to being germ-ridden — including the family iPad and the TV remote.

Thankfully, this common problem is also easily fixed: always wash your hands thoroughly, and implore other people in your household to wash theirs. To sanitize your germ-ridden devices, just use a disinfectant wipe to clean your phone’s surface every once in awhile.

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Apple Watch Series 3 Rumored to Feature LTE Connectivity and More

Chronicling his escapades from a recent tour through Apple’s Far East supply chain, Susquehanna Financial Group analyst, Christopher Rolland, indicated that he was able to meet with several of Apple’s largest suppliers — including Broadcom and Qualcomm — and unearthed insider knowledge about the Silicon Valley tech-giant’s forthcoming products, including the Apple Watch Series 3.

Most notably, as we’ve heard several times before, the Cupertino-company’s 3rd generation wearable will more than likely boast a Cellular/LTE chip all its own, according to a report published by Barron’s. Specifically, Rolland indicated that he heard via multiple supply chain insiders how the Apple Watch Series 3 will not only boast a SIM card slot, but in order to offset the battery consumption demands of LTE, Apple is likely to outfit its 3rd generation Watch with a “low-power CAT-M1 LTE chip” in addition to Voice over IP (VoIP) functionality.

“We understand a model of the next Apple watch will include a SIM card, and therefore is likely to support LTE” Rolland indicated to Barron’s, while adding, however, that “Some issues remain.”  

Chiefly among them include battery life, as well as the wearable’s size in relation to its form factor. However, Rolland noted that significant progress has been made, and that there’s evidence suggesting Cupertino could employ combined VoIP functionality and LTE data access via an ultra power efficient CAT-M1 chip, such as was recently announced by Verizon Wireless to promote superior battery life.

More information from Rolland’s trip includes the revelation that Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus, and OLED-equipped iPhone 8 will all boast inductive wireless charging capabilities — with the entire array of compatible transmitter pads currently being manufactured by Pegatron and Foxconn. If true, this would echo an earlier report which suggested that the entire trifecta of 2017 iPhones would feature wireless charging — a sentiment initially spearheaded by KGI Securities analyst, Ming Chi Kuo.

Last but certainly not least, Rolland indicated that various Apple suppliers are currently investigating an iPhone-bound “hybrid charging” solution of some sort, which will reportedly embody a Lightning / USB-C combination. What remains unclear is how exactly this new solution would be implemented. However, Rolland noted that the technology is very young at this point, and therefore is unlikely to debut in 2017 although it could certainly launch at some point next year.

Interestingly, an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal had suggested that the upcoming ‘iPhone 8′ would feature USB-C charging in place of Apple’s proprietary Lightning port; however, that rumor was quickly debunked.

 

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Some Data Held In Apple Ransom Proven to Be Accurate

It appears that the purported data breach crisis Apple is facing has now gotten worse.

A little backstory: earlier this month, a group of London-based hackers calling itself the Turkish Crime Family threatened to wipe millions of iOS devices unless Apple met its demands by paying a ransom by April 7. Apple has since denied that any of its own servers were breached — and that email addresses and passwords appear to have been obtained from third-party sites and services, according to Motherboard, who first broke the story.

Now, it seems that at least some of the account information in the hands of the hacking group is accurate, according to original reporting by ZDNet. That publication cross-checked account information that they obtained by contacting the owners of those accounts — in the first round, ten out of 54 account holders confirmed that the leaked passwords were accurate. In the second round, ZDNet reported that out of 65 people contacted, 20 responded — three said that the provided passwords were not accurate, while 12 confirmed that they were

The site then provided the batch of compromised data to Troy Hunt, who runs a data breach notification site called Have I Been Pwned. Around 99.9 percent of the accounts were found to match data in Troy’s databases — with the majority of information coming from the June 2016 Evony data breach, as well as breaches of Last.fm and LinkedIn from 2012.

Of course, that’s not the end of the story — while some of the allegedly compromised data may indeed be accurate, we still have no idea how many Apple accounts are actually in jeopardy of being breached. Some security experts — including Hunt — are doubting that the Turkish Crime Family has access to the amount of accounts that they said they did. More likely is that the hackers have a limited number of username and password pairs, and are using them to extort money from Apple under the guise of having access to a larger group of accounts, Threatpost reported.

Still, just in case, it’s a good idea to change your Apple ID’s password — as well as enable two-factor authentication. Beyond that, the best we can hope for is that Apple tackles or fully debunks this threat before it actually becomes an issue for its customers.

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Apple’s 10.5-Inch iPad Pro Is ‘Coming Together’

Just one of Apple’s 2017 iPad models went up for sale last Friday and ever since, those in the know have been wildly speculating about the fate of Apple’s other iPads that are rumored to touch down this year. According to one notable analyst, however, while the company’s highly-anticipated 10.5-inch iPad Pro will allegedly enter “limited production” at the end of this month, she and her constituents appear to conflict in regards to when users can expect to scoop up their very own.

That’s according to IHS Markit analyst, Rhoda Alexander, who in an exclusive interview over the weekend with Forbes expressed those very sentiments — while cautioning that she’s unsure about Apple’s plans to launch the device. Alexander has conceded that she’s unsure of whether Apple will launch its new 10.5-incher at a special media event this April, at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this June, or if the Apple may even hold off until a more substantial inventory is on hand later on this fall. And so far, unfortunately, the consensus among rumor mill heavyweights like her has been just as indecisive.

While Alexander believes that an early-April unveiling, as rumored by Japanese Blog Macotokara a few weeks ago, is a big possibility, she conceded that the likelihood “still looks somewhat tentative” even though “the necessary elements are starting to come together.” This could imply, as one anonymous supply chain source indicated to MacRumors, that Apple will be launching the device this spring although said launch will be more of an incremental event, with the tablet possibly launching in the U.S. market next month, and in select other markets around the world later this year once production ramps up to its full capacity.

“It looks like Apple is doing the releases in a staggered fashion,” the source indicated, requesting confidentiality due to the sensitive nature of their position. “I still expect a 10-inch-range iPad sometime in the spring. The supply chain is pretty clear that it is coming, maybe as soon as April.”

An equally likely reality, however, as reported by DigiTimes, is that while the new 10.5-inch model might launch within the early-April timeframe, it — along with the larger, 12.9-inch iPad Pro refresh — may not actually begin shipping to customers until the end of May or June, at the earliest.

Still, some analysts remain steadfast in their sentiments that the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro — which will supposedly retain the dimensions of Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad, while boasting minimal bezels — might not launch until later on this fall. Apple authority John Gruber recently made a noteworthy analysis about why it would actually make sense for Apple to wait until its usual September/October timeframe to launch its bezel-free iPad Pro and that would be to avoid spoiling the similar, minimal bezel design theme that’s expected of the upcoming, OLED-equipped iPhone 8.

“I think the most likely explanation is that Apple is working on a new edge-to-edge design iPad with a 10.5-inch display, but, at the very earliest, it’s a late 2017 thing — something they could unveil in October” Gruber noted, while adding that the device could even be “a 2018 thing, not a 2017 thing” at all.

Are you holding out for Apple’s new 10.5-inch iPad? Let us know in the comments!

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Exclusive ‘iPhone Edition’ Insider Information Leaked

iDrop News has obtained exclusive information from a source with intimate knowledge of Apple’s manufacturing facility, dispatched by Benjamin Geskin, that will spark new rumors as well as lay old rumors to rest. According to the insider reporting to iDrop News, Apple’s tenth anniversary iPhone, most commonly known as the iPhone 8, will not carry the aforementioned name and will instead be christened the iPhone Edition.

According to the leaker, a final-stage iPhone Edition prototype has been spotted and features a radical new design. Generally, most of the components of the prototype echo the design aspects that we’ve drafted in previous concepts, however as seen in the renders below, the rear of the iPhone Edition will feature a vertical dual-lens camera setup rather than a horizontal one, likely for better depth of field when the device is used horizontally within an AR/VR headset. It has been reported that a dual-lens camera setup has been implemented on the front of the device as well, a necessary addition to facilitate the iPhone Edition’s rumored 3D sensing camera technology.

iDrop News’ source who has spoken privately with a Foxconn employee, reported that various iPhone 8, X, or Edition concepts have many ‘mistakes’ and do not line up with the actual iPhone Edition prototype that Apple is currently set to produce. Our inside source also reported that the many rumors stating Apple’s iPhone Edition would feature a glass back are now incorrect. Apple’s current iPhone Edition prototype features a ‘metal’ back plate. Apple’s decision to switch to metal over glass was authorized due to the tendency glass has to shatter when dropped. A metal backing will prove to be sturdier than glass, prolonging the life of the Apple’s soon-to-be flagship iPhone Edition.

iDrop News’ source also communicated that the iPhone Edition will feature a fingerprint scanner on the rear of the device, which contradicts previous rumors that Apple would be adding its Touch ID technology beneath the display. It’s been speculated that Apple has developed and tested inbuilt Touch ID technology, however it’s possible that the technology is still in its infancy and hasn’t been proven to work in a way that’s secure or dependable enough for use, leading Apple to revert to more reliable technology.

The leaked information confirms that the iPhone Edition will not feature a curved OLED display, and in its place will be a flat 5.8” OLED edge-to-edge display. It’s also been confirmed by our informant that the Apple Edition prototype appears almost identical to the visualizations we have developed, shown below.

Also expected for the iPhone Edition is iOS 11 with advanced Siri functionality, wireless charging, and Apple’s powerful A11 SoC. Apple’s iPhone Edition will likely be ready for an official announcement and launch in September 2017.

Images: Copyright 2017 iPhone Edition, iDrop News. Attribution required.

iPhone Edition Image Gallery

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How to Play Funny AirDrop Jokes

How to Play Funny AirDrop Jokes

If you own any Apple device or Mac with the AirDrop feature, you know it’s a convenient and quick way to share content with those around you. While you might frequently use it with friends and family, you can send files via AirDrop to anyone with an enabled device within about 30 feet.

Some people might choose to allow only contacts to send them files, but many people keep the setting where anyone can send them stuff through AirDrop. This opens a fun world where you can use AirDrop to send your favorite memes and random photos to strangers around you. If you’re a jokester, meme addict, or troll, then keep reading for some inspiration.

For the Class Clown

Thanks to AirDrop, you don’t have to be outspoken or play pranks all the time to be the class clown. Even if you sit in the back and hardly talk to anyone you can make everyone laugh. Everyone knows class gets boring, so why not loosen the mood with some memes? They can even be relevant to your class too, like this one:

How-to-Play-Funny-AirDrop-Jokes

Credit: @Blakely_McCool on Twitter

Who knows, if you consistently AirDrop the best memes in class, you could become a hero like Evan who got this text file sent to his MacBook:

Credit: @ThyArtIsMemes on Twitter

Entertain the Plane

We all know flying is a drag. Whether it’s two or twelve hours, being on a plane gets boring fast even if you have some movies to watch. If you’re lucky enough to have in-flight Wi-Fi (with airplane mode on!) then take advantage of it by having some fun and making your passengers laugh.

For example, you could be like Josh and send people a picture of a weird dog, because why not? Weird dogs are good because all dogs are good.

How to Play Funny AirDrop Jokes

 

How to Play Funny AirDrop Jokes

Credit: @JD_2020 on Twitter

If you’re feeling confident, you could try and pick up a date like Philip did.

How to Play Funny AirDrop Jokes

Credit: @amanda_atkins24 on Twitter

Or you could be like Aleka, who made use of her three hour delay by “whacking people with a trout” via AirDrop.

How to Play Funny AirDrop Jokes

Credit: @alekache_ on Twitter

AirDroppin’ at the Club



You’re out at the club or bar having fun with friends. Drinking, dancing, and flirting all night. Why not throw some meme-sharing? There’s never not a good time for it.

You could end up making somebody’s night by AirDropping this majestic picture of a cow jumping out of the ocean with a dolphin.

How to Play Funny AirDrop Jokes

Credit: @SAJ0rdan on Twitter

Even if you aren’t feeling adventurous, you can still use AirDrop to entertain your friends sitting right next to you. After a few drinks, anything is funny.

How to Play Funny AirDrop Jokes

Credit: @alexseath on Twitter

As you can tell, there’s no limit to how much fun you can have and what shenanigans can ensue with AirDrop. We’re not entirely sure Apple intended for AirDrop to be used for pranks or distributing memes, but it’s amazing nonetheless. If you’re willing to see things get interesting for yourself, set your AirDrop to receive files from everyone and see what you get back!  If you are not sure how to, check out our what is AirDrop article.

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