Samsung Is Trying to Outdo Apple’s Genius Bar

Samsung thinks it can do better than Apple’s Genius Bar. Reportedly, the South Korean tech giant is moving forward with a plan that it hopes will prove that it can outdo Apple in brick-and-mortar customer care.

According to Fast Company, Samsung is partnering with co-working startup WeWork to create a series of “Care Centers” that will allow Samsung customers to receive technical support and get their devices repaired. That’s the same basic premise as Apple’s in-store Genius Bars, but Samsung wants to one-up the Apple Store experience.

Unlike Genius Bars, which are built inside Apple’s brick-and-mortar retail outlets, Samsung’s Care Centers will be located in WeWork’s co-working spaces. The idea is that, instead of waiting around at a retail store, customers can get work done while they wait for technical support or repairs. They’ll be able to take ”full advantage” of the co-working environment and even partake in various refreshments.

“Service is a hassle.” Samsung VP of Design Mick McConnell told Fast Company. “The concept was, if I take time out of my day, at least I can sit in a conference room, make phone calls, and do work, as opposed to sitting in a busy room with a bunch of angry people.”

Samsung will actually be taking over portions of WeWork locations, installing stations with shared tables and Samsung workstations. But it doesn’t end at customer service: Samsung also announced that it plans to hold after-hours creative talks at its Customer Care locations — something that echoes what Apple already does at its stores.

Samsung will open three pilot locations at WeWork spaces in Detroit, Miami and Brooklyn later this month. They will offer “tier 1” support and will be able to send devices to repair centers — but no repair services will be available on-site initially.

Of course, even with its Care Centers, Samsung may already be a step behind Apple, who is already in the midst of a worldwide refresh of its retail locations. Indeed, gone are the days of the Apple Store and the Genius Bar — soon, there’ll be Apple Town Squares and Genius Groves.

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watchOS 4.1 Released with Apple Music, Beats1 Radio and More

While the Apple Watch Series 3 has been available to order for over a month now, it unfortunately launched absent a number of key features that Apple promised its users would come in a future software update. At long last, on Tuesday released to the general public its much anticipated watchOS 4.1 software update, which brings a number of features (including those exclusive to the Apple Watch Series 3), such as Apple Music and Beats1 radio streaming, a new control center toggle for Wi-Fi, compatibility with GymKit and more.

Most notably, watchOS 4.1 will allow Apple Watch Series 3 users to stream content from Apple Music, Beats1 Radio, as well as their personal iCloud music library over either a Wi-Fi or 4G LTE connection. This means, in other words, that Watch S3 users will now be able to stream music and sync their iCloud playlists directly from their Apple Watch even if their iPhone is left at home.

The update also brings a convenient new Wi-Fi toggle to the control center on Apple Watch, allowing users to quickly enable or disable Wi-Fi, and in that way switch between LTE, without having to dig deep into the Settings menu on your wrist. The Wi-Fi toggle is a subtle yet welcomed addition to the watchOS UI, which should definitely help expedite the process of switching between connections on your device.

Additionally, watchOS 4.1 enables GymKit compatibility on the Apple Watch Series 3, enabling users to connect their wearable with ‘compatible equipment’ such as treadmills, ellipticals, or other exercise machines to instantly share workout data, heart rate and other information. It’s an incredibly useful feature which should help those looking to throughly document their time at the gym. Unfortunately, while it may be available in some places, at present, the majority of gym equipment on the market would have to be updated with GymKit compatibility to work with the Apple Watch Series 3.

Fortunately, Apple noted at its September 12th event that a number of exercise equipment manufacturers including Cybex, LifeFitness, and others have a number of GymKit-compatible machines in their product pipelines. So while we have no official word in terms of when or where we might see these new machines, their arrival is definitely something for Watch S3 owners to be on the lookout for.

Last but not least, today’s update delivers a fresh round of bug fixes, stability enhancements, and patches a range of issues previously-known to Apple Watch users, including a fix for the wearable’s heart rate notification interface, haptic feedback, and charging anomalies

How to Install watchOS 4.1

1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Select General.
3. Tap Software Update and follow the steps listed onscreen.

Remember to ensure that your Apple Watch is connected to Wi-Fi, placed on its charger, and has at least 50% battery life remaining before initiating the update.

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iPhone Lineup Won’t Feature Rear-Facing TrueDepth Next Year

Apple isn’t likely to add its TrueDepth Camera technology to the iPhone’s rear-facing camera next year, according to an analyst report on Tuesday.

The TrueDepth system, which is based on infrared sensing and 3D depth mapping technology, enables features such as Face ID and Apple’s new Animoji for the iPhone X’s front-facing, selfie camera. But despite its added benefits, Apple is unlikely to apply the new system to rear-facing cameras on 2018 iPhones, renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted.

“Based on aforementioned assumptions, we do not expect 2H18F iPhones to come with rear TrueDepth Camera/3D sensing, contrary to market expectations,” Kuo wrote in a KGI Securities research note distributed to clients Tuesday.

Despite his forecast, Kuo added that KGI can “agree that a rear TrueDepth Camera/3D sensing can potentially provide more augmented reality (AR applications.” The analyst went on to state that Apple needs to “quickly” resolve two issues if it wants rear-facing TrueDepth, namely:

1. Fostering the development of both AI and ARKit software and apps, and an AR ecosystem. All of which takes time.
2. Stabilizing shipments and on-time shipping, both of which are challenging due to the “higher spec requirements of a rear TrueDepth camera.”

Presumably, the complexity of manufacturing and assembling the TrueDepth system could also halt its inclusion within the rear-facing camera system. Its components are complicated and incredibly fragile, and those issues are part of why the iPhone X is both a bit late and in short supply this year, reports indicate.

Kuo did add that, since TrueDepth is years ahead of the company’s Android competition, Apple’s main focus for next year’s iPhones will probably be an on-time launch and an adequate supply of devices. Even without rear-facing TrueDepth, Kuo said that Apple will, unsurprisingly, add other upgrade tech and specifications to next year’s stable of iPhones.

Previous reports suggest that front-facing TrueDepth will be included on all of next year’s iPhone models, as well as the 2018 iPad Pro lineup.

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Apple Chief Claims Touch ID for iPhone X Was Never Planned

If you followed rumors about the iPhone X for any amount of time over the last year, you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with the saga that was under-display Touch ID. But now, Apple’s chief of hardware engineering says that none of those reports were true.

The story starts in 2016, when we first heard rumors that Apple was attempting to embed a fingerprint sensor underneath the iPhone X’s display glass. Over the last year, there has been a multitude of rumors suggesting Apple had actively tried — and failed — to get under-display Touch ID tech right. Some rumors even suggested Apple had resorted to a rear- or side-mounted sensor.

But, in a recent interview with TechCrunch, Apple hardware engineering chief Dan Riccio said that the company actually “spent no time” working on fingerprint authentication for the iPhone X. “I heard some rumor (that) we couldn’t get Touch ID to work through the glass so we had to remove that,” Riccio said in response to a question about late design changes.

The Apple chief goes on to explain how that wasn’t true. Apple instead focused on getting Face ID to be as good as it could be. “So we spent no time looking at fingerprints on the back or through the glass or on the side because if we did those things, which would be a last-minute change, they would be a distraction relative to enabling the more important thing that we were trying to achieve, which was Face ID done in a high-quality way,” Riccio told the publication.

Of course, with the sheer number of reports and rumors suggesting that some form of Touch ID would be present on the OLED flagship, it’s a bit suspicious that Apple spent “no time” exploring it. With some of the earliest Touch ID rumors stretching back to May 2016, it’s probable that the company at least tentatively explored the idea but dropped it after going with Face ID.

That seems to be corroborated by a number of patents that Apple holds concerning getting fingerprint authentication to work through display glass. Several of those were applied for and granted during the time that the iPhone X was in development.

Under-display Touch ID rumors were reiterated as recently as this summer, too. And several reports suggested that Apple was struggling to embed Touch ID as late as July — which, at the time, played into rumors that the iPhone X would be delayed.

It’s worth noting that analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities — who is usually an accurate source of Apple forecasts — said in July that the premium OLED handset would ditch fingerprint authentication.

Whether Apple spent any time working to get Touch ID on the iPhone X, it’s looking likely now that the fingerprint authentication method will soon be a thing of the past. Kuo said earlier this month that Apple could use Face ID on all of its handsets next year, as well as on its 2018 lineup of iPad tablets.

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Can iPhone X’s Face ID Tell the Difference Between Twins?

When Apple unveiled the iPhone X and its Face ID authentication system, it said that — although the platform is incredibly secure — those with evil twins might want to exercise a bit more caution.

All humor aside, whether or not an identical twin could potentially unlock their sibling’s device is a valid question. And it’s one that several publications set out to answer — with conflicting results. For a system that has a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of false authentication, identical twins could be a weak point.

Conflicting Results

Mashable conducted two tests with two separate sets of identical twins. During their testing, one of each twin registered their face with the iPhone X. In both cases, their identical twin was able to bypass the otherwise secure system.

On the other hand, Business Insider conducted a similar test with two identical brothers. In a video posted to their site, their iPhone X review unit was able to tell the difference between the siblings and refused to unlock for the unregistered twin.

The Wall Street Journal put Face ID to the test, too. While the TrueDepth-powered platform wasn’t fooled by fraternal twins, the WSJ’s Joanna Stern took her test up a notch. She tested her iPhone X review unit with the help of 8-year-old identical triplets — who, too, were able to bypass Apple’s recognition system.

Apple does state that children under 13 may also shift the probability of false authentication since their facial features are much more likely to change and develop faster over time. But all in all, that’s a 1-to-3 score for twins beating Face ID.

The Scope of the Issue

There is an argument to be made about the scope of the issue, and whether these tests translate to actual concerns in the real world. Apple never claimed that its Face ID system was perfect, and although it’s much more secure than Touch ID, it’s obviously not above fault.

Even though multiple births are on the rise, true identical twins are a bit more uncommon. There are few hard statistics about how many identical twins there are in the world, but according to the University of Texas, about 32 out of every 1,000 people is a twin — though that covers fraternal twins, too. The number of identical twins is likely much lower.

Bottom Line: Face ID is Still Incredibly Secure

But while identical twins might be a weak spot for Face ID, with most of the testing done thus far, it seems to be one of the only weak spots.

The WSJ’s Joanna Stern, for example, even had a professional-grade, silicon mask of her face, and it couldn’t fool Apple’s facial recognition. That’s notable because the facial authentication system relies on depth-mapping to accurately analyze a face. A silicon mask has depth whereas a picture of a face doesn’t — but neither were able to crack Face ID.

It’s still early in Face ID’s life, too. And the iPhone X isn’t even out yet. These preliminary tests shouldn’t come across as conclusive evidence of the system’s overall security.

With the relative rarity of identical twins, it’s understandable that Apple didn’t design Face ID with built-in twin security as a top priority. And if you really have an evil identical twin with truly malicious intent, it’s probably smart to just use a passcode on your device, anyway.

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Augmented Reality Literally Brings These Wine Bottles to Life

Curtis Park Market and 19 Crimes have the Facebook community abuzz with a new viral video showcasing the winery’s dip into augmented reality.

What’s so intriguing about these wine bottles, as you can see in the Facebook video below, is that they take advantage of new AR capabilities in the iOS and Android operating systems. By downloading the winery’s 19 Crimes app on your smartphone, and hovering your camera lens over one of its many bottles as shown, AR kicks in and the figure printed on them instantly “comes to life” — telling the details of their unique experience “forging a new country and new lives, brick by brick.”

“Nineteen crimes turned criminals into colonists. Upon conviction British rogues guilty of a least one of the 19 crimes were sentenced to live in Australia, rather than death. This punishment by transportation began in 1783 and many of the lawless died at sea. For the rough-hewn prisoners who made it to shore, a new world awaited.”

Pretty cool, isn’t it? This is certainly among the more clever implementations of AR we’ve seen — however it’s merely the latest in a myriad of clever, innovative, and useful utilities made possible by ARKit.

Download 19 Crimes and try this experience using an iPhone or Android device. And for those who aren’t able to make it up to Curtis Park Market, not to worry — 19 Crimes might actually be available at a booze or food market near you.

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Apple Officially Releases iOS 11.1 with 70 New Emoji

Apple released the final version of iOS 11.1 on Tuesday morning, capping a little over a month of beta testing. It is now available to download.

iOS 11.1 is a relatively minor update to Apple’s mobile operating system, but it does include a number of notable features beyond the usual under-the-hood changes.

What’s New in iOS 11.1

The update adds support for new Unicode 10 emoji, with about 70 new characters in all. They range from a slew of new animal and dinosaur options to additional clothing, food, and wellness-inspired emoji. There are also a handful of gender-neutral faces, as well as the American Sign Language sign for “I Love You.” With gender and skin modifiers, there are over 200 new options in all.

As far as major security fixes, iOS 11.1 includes a patch for a critical flaw discovered in the WPA2 standard for Wi-Fi network security. Prior to today’s release, the flaw left a multitude of devices vulnerable to attacks via most encrypted Wi-Fi networks. Using the vulnerability, attackers could spy on internet traffic and reveal private sensitive data over otherwise secure networks.

Apple also reintroduced the popular 3D Touch App Switcher gesture in iOS 11.1, making good on a promise to bring the shortcut back to iOS. The popular feature was intentionally removed during the beta testing phase of iOS 11 due to an unknown technical constraint.

The update also fixes a relatively minor bug in Calculator. The animation glitch sometimes prevented the app from giving correct answers when equations were typed quickly. As of iOS 11.1, those animations have been removed and Calculator should function as normal. iOS 11.1 also fixes a Reachability bug that prevented the iOS 11 Cover Screen from being accessed from the middle of an iOS device’s display.

How to Download iOS 11.1

iOS 11.1 is now available as an over-the-air update for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users. To install the update, connect to a Wi-Fi network and navigate to Settings > General > Software Update. Additionally, the update is also available to download and install via iTunes.

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Use These 7 Ingenious Gadgets to Charge Your iPhone Anywhere

Apple has made numerous enhancements to its battery technology over the years — and routine iOS software updates only seek to improve overall system and battery performance. Still, even average users among us will occasionally find themselves in need of a quick charge up before the day’s through. Press the right arrow to browse 7 ingenious gadgets that’ll ensure your iPhone is always charged.

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Apple Shares Hit New High, Company Inches Closer to $1 Trillion Cap

Apple shares have jumped to a new record high based on anticipation of strong demand for the company’s iPhone X, due to launch this Friday.

The company’s shares were up by 2.1 percent on Monday morning, marking the first new intraday record since September. The iPhone X became available for pre-order on Friday, Oct. 27 — and Apple boasts that it saw “off the charts” demand for its first OLED handset.

In the wake of pre-order demand, shipment times for the new phone have already been pushed into December, CNBC reported.

This week will likely be a pivotal moment that will decide Apple’s fiscal future. Indeed, the launch of the iPhone X will likely be the cornerstone of Apple’s bid to prove to investors that it can be the world’s first $1 trillion tech company.

Apple stocks closed at $166.72 a share on Monday afternoon, putting the company at a market cap of about $861 billion. That leaves the company with about $140 billion to gain before it can surpass the $1 trillion milestone — though that is something particularly bullish analysts are already predicting.

Although the iPhone 8 launched to relatively soft demand, it suggested that anticipation was building for the iPhone X and that many consumers were still holding out for the revolutionary new handset.

According to Daniel Ives of GBH Insights, the iPhone X could turn out to be a “game changer” that spurs the long-fabled “upgrade supercycle” for Apple. As Ives pointed out, the last time the market has seen this much pent-up base demand was around the iPhone 6 launch. Of course, that device became a critical success for Apple.

And if GBH Insight’s model turns out to be accurate, Apple could see its stock price rise to $175 through the next 18 months. In a “bull case,” Apple’s shares could jump to $230 by 2018. That would bring its market cap well past $1 trillion.

That’s assuming that the iPhone X is well-received, particularly in China. If Apple manages to attract middle-class and wealthy consumers in the country, it could bypass the “sticker shock” that the iPhone X might have on Chinese consumers. Even now, Apple is seeing iPhone growth in China — an extremely competitive yet critically important market for smartphones.

GBH Insights isn’t the only firm on Wall Street predicting a $1 trillion market cap for Apple, either. Back in July, Brian White at Drexel Hamilton forecasted an Apple stock price of $202 within 12 months. Renowned investor Warren Buffett is also among those with a $1 trillion target for Apple.

The iPhone X will ship out to consumers and hit store shelves this Friday. But if demand for the device is indeed as strong as Apple says, it could present a problem due to the device’s constrained supply. Reportedly, supplies of the OLED handset won’t catch up to demand until early next year.

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Apple Seeds First iOS 11.2 Beta Hinting iOS 11.1 Is Imminent

Apple on Monday seeded the first beta version of iOS 11.2 to registered developers — an interesting release since iOS 11.1 is still in its beta testing phase.

Notably, iOS 11.2 beta 1 fixes an animation issue with the native Calculator app that sometimes prevented certain symbols from registering when equations were typed out in quick succession. For example, typing out 1+2+3 and the equal key quickly would result in an answer of 24 rather than 6. In the latest beta, the Calculator animations have been removed, which resolved the issue.

Other than that fix, it’s currently unknown what other features iOS 11.2 will add. Presumably, it’ll introduce a number of under-the-hood changes and bug fixes — but there’s also a chance that later beta versions of iOS 11.2 will add features like Apple Pay Cash or iCloud support for iMessages.

The release of an iOS 11.2 beta suggests that the public release of iOS 11.1 is imminent. If we don’t see a general release of 11.1 in the first half of the week (possibly Wednesday), it’ll likely roll out alongside the launch of the iPhone X in the latter half. The new handset is due to launch on Friday, Nov. 3.

According to initial reports, the first beta of iOS 11.2 is also a fairly large update. While the exact size depends on the model of phone and version of iOS installed, some users report that the update clocks in at around 2 gigabytes.

iOS 11.2 beta 1 is currently available to registered Apple developers via an over-the-air update, provided that the proper configuration profile is installed on a device. It’s also available via the Apple developer’s portal. It’s unclear when a public beta of iOS 11.2 will be released.

As always, it’s recommended that users refrain from installing beta versions on their daily drivers — as the software can be buggy at this stage of testing. At the very least, users should perform a full backup of their devices before proceeding.

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Google CEO: We’ll Drop Everything to Fix Cheeseburger Emoji

Steve Jobs’ 2000 BMW Z8 Expected to Fetch $400K at Auction

First Legitimate iPhone X Impression Videos Surface Online

Over the weekend, Apple invited a number of YouTubers, tech writers and other media personalities to a private event in New York. Reportedly, in a nondescript building, the attendees got to spend some limited, hands-on time with the upcoming OLED Apple flagship. The iPhone X, of course, hasn’t even been officially released. But unlike the unsanctioned clip posted by an Apple engineer’s daughter, Cupertino has actually allowed them to post their experiences online.

Among those invited to test out the new device were popular online outlets and print publications such as Highsnobiety, BooredAtWork, Popular Science, and Canada-based Fashion Magazine. YouTube content creators like Mark Watson of “Soldier Knows Best” and French channel “TheiCollection” also got a chance to get up close and personal with the new device. Watch the videos below.

The majority of the videos were quick first impression clips, rather than in-depth reviews — but the personalities all gave praise for various features such as Face ID, Animoji, ARKit, wireless charging and the new front-facing Portrait Mode. They do give a good breakdown of the main new features of the iPhone X — but we’ll probably have to wait until Thursday or Friday before we start to see a wider range of in-depth reviews pop up online.

In addition, Apple provided a review unit of the iPhone X to Steven Levy, who was notably one of the first reviewers of the original iPhone 10 years ago. Levy got to spend a bit more time with the OLED flagship and published an in-depth review and impression of the handset on Wired.

Levy said that the “biggest change” for the iPhone X is its screen, which is probably expected. The tech writer said that the experience was “greatly pleasurable” when performing a wide range of tasks, from watching a movie to swiping through social media.

On the subject of Face ID, Levy said that it seemed like a reliable and secure authentication method — he tested it with other people’s faces, as well as a picture of his own face, to no avail. Although his time with the device was fairly short, he noted that he has already “mastered” the intuitive new gestures of the device.

The iPhone X will officially launch this Friday, Nov. 3, when it will start shipping out to customers. But Apple has also confirmed that limited quantities of the iPhone X will be available for in-store purchase, either at its own retail outlets or at authorized resellers.

Of course, if you haven’t preordered the handset yet, it might be hard to get your hands on one this year. However, most analysts predict supply to stabilize by early 2018.

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Girl’s Hands-On iPhone X Video Got Her Dad Fired from Apple

An Apple engineer was reportedly dismissed from his position on the company’s iPhone development team last week, after it was discovered that his daughter’s iPhone X hands-on video went viral on YouTube.

Brooke Amelia Peterson, the daughter of [former] Apple engineer, Ken Bauer, posted a vlog to her YouTube channel early last week in which she paid a visit to her dad’s workplace at Apple HQ. It was there that Peterson got the chance to spend some (unauthorized) hands-on time with Apple’s unreleased iPhone X flagship.

In a purely unfortunate turn of events, Peterson was back just four days later with another impassioned vlog post, this time claiming that her father was fired from his position at Apple as the result of her video-gone-viral, which quickly circulated the web last week and has been viewed some 1.5 million times on YouTube so far.

Peterson explains in her follow-up vlog post that her dad “violated an Apple company rule” by allowing her to film its then-unreleased iPhone X on the company’s campus, which is, in fact, a clear violation of Apple’s policy. According to The Verge, after discovering the video’s presence last week, Apple asked Peterson to remove it; however by that time it had already spread across the web like wildfire.

Interestingly, while filming on Apple’s campus may very well be strictly prohibited, it’s worth noting that Peterson’s post appears to have revealed a bit more than just the iPhone X, itself — which likely reinforced the dismissal of her father. It may have seemed like an innocent “iPhone X hands-on,” as Peterson’s enthusiasm might suggest; however, whether she was aware of it or not, her video also showcased what appears to be some Apple employee-only QR codes, in addition to an open Notes app which may have included codenames and details of some unreleased Apple products.

Of course, while Bauer’s dismissal might seem a bit extreme for his daughter’s naive crime, this wouldn’t be the first of such high-profile dismissals over pre-release leaks. According to an Engadget report, back in 2005 a Microsoft engineer was dismissed from his post after it was discovered that his son posted pictures of the Xbox 360 console ahead of its official release.

Bauer had allegedly worked at Apple on its iPhone RF team for the last four years. Apple has yet to respond to multiple requests for comment on Bauer’s dismissal.

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Apple’s Best Product Is Its Committment to Privacy

The greatest thing about Apple isn’t its computers, its tablets, or even its flagship iPhones. No, Apple’s best product, according to tech columnist John Patrick Pullen, is its commitment to protecting user privacy.

While that’s not a product you can buy in a store or via Apple.com, Pullen contends that it’s what gives Apple an edge over other tech giants. In a recent piece for Time, the tech journalist wrote that Apple’s commitment to data security, and how it makes money compared to other tech firms, had led him to trust his sensitive data with Apple’s cloud services, rather than Google or Amazon.

It’s the Business Model

The first reason, and possibly the most important according to Pullen, is Apple’s business model. While Apple’s products and services tend to err on the pricey side, they represent the primary source of revenue for the company. That’s a prime difference between Cupertino and other Silicon Valley juggernauts.

Google also makes and sells devices, but it has a slightly different business model. Specifically, the company makes money off of the ads and user data that it collects from its products and services. Data that it uses to target advertising. Facebook, too, treats data like a product — offering user insights for curated ads and making money off of its users’ profiles and preferences.

Amazon, on the other hand, has a slightly different gadget-focused business model, but it still involves selling users something. An Amazon Echo or Kindle, for example, are both essentially products that are meant to get users to buy other products from Amazon.

Apple, in contrast, keeps its user data away from prying eyes — and that’s largely because of one of its most longstanding reputations.

Apple’s Commitment to Privacy

Apple has long been committed to keeping private user data private. You can see that commitment in everything from its marketing material to its support resources explaining its position on the matter. According to the company’s new privacy website, Apple products are not only designed to “do amazing things” — they’re designed to “protect your privacy.”

Why? Because, as the company puts it, “At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right.”

Of course, actions speak louder than words. But if you need any additional evidence of Apple’s pro-privacy stance, just recall its legal battle with the FBI. And that’s just one example: the company has consistently resisted attempts to create backdoors, or otherwise release private user data.

As Pullen puts it, Apple is both proactive and transparent in its pro-privacy commitment. And those are “essential character traits of any company I care to do business with in 2017,” he added.

From its use of technology like differential privacy — which is a system that protects user data on the cloud — to its willingness to butt heads with law enforcement over encryption and privacy, Apple is an outlier among other tech giants.

While its products are pricey, and its security mechanisms might not be perfect, Pullen concluded that “Apple’s singleminded focus on locking down its systems justifies the premiums it charges for its products, to me at least.”

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Apple’s First iPad with Retina Display Classified Obsolete

Although it was just over five-and-a-half years ago when the late Steve Jobs unveiled his company’s first iPad with Retina display, an internal memo issued to Apple retail stores and authorized service providers last week indicates that the five-year-young tablet will be added to Cupertino’s growing list of vintage and obsolete products, effective October 31, 2017.

What Does ‘Classified Obsolete’ Mean?

Apple has a running list of older products which it’s classified “vintage or obsolete.” These are products that have been in circulation for at least five-years since their initial launch — after which point Apple directs its retail stores and authorized service providers to stop offering repairs and service on them, mainly because, by that time, the components used within them have become obsolete themselves.

MacRumors, who was first to verify the memo and certify its authenticity, noted that both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/3G Cellular variants of the third-generation iPad will be “classified obsolete” in markets around the world — except for in the state of California, and Turkey, as certain legalities affecting the tablet’s warranty status in those regions will stay in place until 2019, the memo notes.

In California, where Apple’s main offices are headquartered, customers will for example be able to receive service on their third-generation iPads by either visiting an Apple Store or calling Apple Support at 1-800-275-2273 until further notice.

Apple’s third-generation iPad with Retina display holds the honor of being the company’s last iPad with the old-school 30-pin dock connector, and will be joining the ranks of other retired Apple products, including the original iPad from 2010, an assortment of iPhone models and more.

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How to Enable or Disable Auto-Brightness in iOS 11

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Apple Claims iPhone X Demand Is ‘Off the Charts’

Apple’s initial supply of the tenth anniversary iPhone X has sold out in less than ten minutes thanks to “off the charts” demand. Shortly after the iPhone X went on sale at 12:01 a.m. PT on Friday, a deluge of pre-orders pushed shipping estimates out to 5 to 6 weeks, up from the original 2 to 3 week delivery schedule.

“We can see from the initial response, customer demand is off the charts,” an Apple spokeswoman told Reuters. “We’re working hard to get this revolutionary new product into the hands of every customer who wants one, as quickly as possible.”

The news that Apple’s most expensive smartphone had sold out in a matter of minutes came as a relief to investors and Apple shares rallied by 3 percent as a result. The iPhone X costs $999 with 64GB of storage and $1,149 with 256GB, and comes with advanced features like Face ID, an OLED display, and a TrueDepth camera.

However, supply constraints are a big part of the reason Apple has exhausted its iPhone X supply so rapidly. A few weeks ago, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimated that the company would stockpile just 2 to 3 million units of the device prior to the November 3 shipping date due to manufacturing issues. He blamed technical difficulties surrounding the manufacture of flexible printed circuit boards and TrueDepth camera components for the bottleneck. Earlier this week, The Nikkei Asian Review reported that Apple’s expected annual output of the iPhone X had been halved to just 20 million units due to issues with the assembly of face identification modules, among other components. Going into next year, production is expected to stabilize as Apple secures other suppliers and manufacturers.

Sales of the iPhone X may have also depressed demand for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. The latter two devices, which debuted in September, have only accounted for 16 percent of iPhone sales in the September quarter, whereas the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus accounted for 43 percent of sale during the same period last year.

“It seems when Apple announced the the forthcoming iPhone X, it changed the market dynamic, and probably depressed demand for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus,” said Mike Levin, co-founder of Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, to The Guardian. “Rather than waiting for and buying the iPhone 8, it looks like buyers in this quarter either bought existing models, or decided to wait for iPhone X, later in the year.”

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Doctor Diagnoses His Own Cancer Using iPhone Ultrasound Device

Meet Doctor John Martin — a vascular surgeon, by specialty — who in addition to his medical practice, recently accepted a position as the Chief Medical Officer of Connecticut-based health startup, Butterfly Network.

According to a report published by the MIT Technology Review, it was roughly a year ago when Dr. Martin began testing Butterfly Network’s prized creation — a palm-sized, iPhone-compatible ultrasound device dubbed Butterfly iQ, which the company describes as “the first solid-state ultrasound machine” to arrive in the U.S.

Noting how he’d been experiencing an “uncomfortable feeling in his throat” for sometime prior, Dr. Martin seized on the opportunity and decided to test Butterfly iQ on himself; applying gel to the apparatus, connecting it to his iPhone, and in a jaw-dropping turn of events, the Annapolis, Maryland-based vascular surgeon discovered a dark, three-centimeter mass embedded in his neck, which unfortunately turned out to be a mass of squamous-cell cancer.

“I was enough of a doctor to know I was in trouble,” Martin told the MIT Review, noting how he’s “not a cancer specialist” and therefore has no knowledge of how to diagnose the condition.

What Is Butterfly iQ?

Unlike traditional ultrasound equipment which generates and disperses sound waves into the body using a vibrating crystal mechanism, Butterfly iQ relies on “9,000 tiny drums etched onto a semiconductor chip,” which enables the electric razor-sized gadget to generate and capture sound echos — ultimately displaying the live feed on the display of a Bluetooth-connected iPhone.

Additionally, unlike the cumbersome ultrasound equipment used by hospitals and health clinics, Butterfly iQ is built in a semiconductor manufacturing plant, which the company says enables it to create more advanced and versatile technology that ends up costing less. For instance, Butterfly iQ will go on sale early next year for $1,999; and while that’s certainly not chump change, it’s still much more affordable than other ultrasound devices like the $6,000 PHILIPS Lumify.

Butterfly Network says it plans to pair the Butterfly iQ with its currently-in-development artificial intelligence (AI) software that’s designed to help just about anybody use the device as an effective diagnostic tool — even in the comfort of their own homes. Ultimately, the company hopes its ultrasound device will gain a more autonomous position in the market as a tool that “all people” can use regardless of their backgrounds.

Meanwhile, since diagnosing himself with cancer, Dr. Martin has undergone extensive surgery and radiation therapy to treat it — all while maintaining that the potential for a device like Butterfly iQ is truly endless.

“To look at this as just an ultrasound device is like looking at an iPhone and saying it’s just a phone,” Martin said, noting that “If you have a window into the body where anyone can afford it, everyone can use it, and everyone can interpret it, it becomes a heck of a lot more than an ultrasound device.”

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Getting the iPhone X Fixed Out-of-Warranty Will Cost $579

The premium iPhone X is a pricey handset. And today, Apple has confirmed that out-of-warranty repairs for the new flagship are also going to carry a high price tag.

Alongside the iPhone X pre-order on Friday morning, Apple also posted two repair support documents that have been updated to include repair pricing for the iPhone X. In short, getting the premium OLED iPhone fixed out-of-warranty by Apple is going to cost quite a bit more than getting any other Apple handset repaired.

For example, while getting the screen replaced on a Plus-model iPhone (including the iPhone 8 Plus) will cost $169, having the same repair performed on the iPhone X will run customers about a hundred dollars more — $279.

For other, non-screen damage — including water damage — the price is similarly steep. In the “Other iPhone repairs” category, getting an iPhone X fixed out-of-warranty will cost $579. That’s a big jump from the $399 to get an iPhone 8 Plus fixed, or the $349 to repair an iPhone 8.

Of course, these out-of-warranty costs assume that an iPhone owner doesn’t have AppleCare+. Customers who have the extended warranty coverage will pay $29 for iPhone X screen replacements, or $99 for other damage. That’s the same price as any other iPhone Apple is currently offering repairs for.

AppleCare+ for the iPhone X isn’t free, however. The extended coverage plan retails for $199, and consumers must purchase it within the first 60 days after buying a device. AppleCare+ extends warranty coverage to two years from the original date of purchase and adds coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage — though users will still have to pay the $29 or $99 repair fee for screen replacement or other damage, respectively.

Presumably, the elevated cost of the iPhone X’s repairs has a lot to do with its advanced internals and new OLED display — the latter of which costs more than traditional LCD displays. In fact, getting the OLED display replaced on Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 retails for about $300, close to what the same repair costs for the iPhone X.

In addition, some of the extra cost may be due to the new TrueDepth Camera. Replacing the display may require additional repair considerations, given that the suite of advanced sensors are extremely fragile.

Additionally, Apple raised the price for its repair services in September — both those covered by AppleCare+ and those that are out-of-warranty. For example, the plan increased the out-of-warranty repair cost for Plus-model iPhones from $129 to $149.

Learn More: What’s the True Cost of Owning an iPhone X?

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56 New Emoji Available in Latest macOS High Sierra Beta

Apple on Wednesday released a new beta version of macOS High Sierra 10.13.1, and the update includes a slew of new Unicode 10 emoji.

There are 56 new emoji in all, including a wide range of new animals, dinosaurs, fantasy creatures, food and clothing items, smiley faces and other characters. With various gender and skin modifiers, the total amount of options is actually closer to 239. While the Unicode 10 emoji have been available in beta versions of iOS 11.1, the newest macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 beta adds them to the Mac operating system.

Some notable additions include several gender-neutral faces, an expanded variety of wellness-related emoji such as a meditation pose emoji and spa emoji, and characters like a girl with headscarf and a breastfeeding mother. There’s also an orange heart emoji now, allowing users to spell out a rainbow of hearts for the first time. Unicode 10 also adds the sign for “I Love You,” in American Sign Language — something that activists have advocated for years.

In addition to the emoji, macOS High Sierra also includes various bug fixes, performance enhancements, security patches and other under-the-hood changes. These updates aren’t as fun as new emoji, but they’re no less important.

Chief among those is a fix for a serious Wi-Fi security vulnerability discovered a couple weeks ago. Basically, the flaw could allow attackers to gain access to unencrypted and sensitive data over otherwise secure networks.

How to Download the New Beta

The new macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 beta can now be downloaded by both registered Apple developers and public beta testers. It’s available via the Apple Developer’s Portal, or through the Software Update tool in the Mac App Store — provided that the proper configuration profile is installed on a device.

To download the new update, you’ll need to either be an app developer or a registered beta tester. To sign up for the latter program, you can register your device at Apple’s software testing website.

As always, it’s recommended that you avoid downloading beta software, which can be buggy, on your daily driver. At the very least, users should perform a full backup of their device before proceeding.

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iPhone X Devices Demand up to $60,000 on eBay This Morning

Scientist Explains Why Aliens Haven’t Made Contact with Us Yet

In 1950, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi famously wondered why humans have yet to encounter intelligent extraterrestrial life, given the vast number of potentially habitable planets in the Milky Way. There are many potential explanations for this conundrum, known as the Fermi Paradox. It may be that aliens have never existed in our galaxy or that they simply have not reached us yet. Other scientists have suggested that advanced alien civilizations have annihilated themselves before establishing contact with others.

Last week, planetary scientist Alan Stern, presented his explanation at the 49th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences in Provo, Utah. He suggested that most extraterrestrial life may live in subsurface oceans that are buried under a thick layer of ice or rock (or both), literally making it difficult for them to reach space.

Basically, aliens may be buried under too much ice to reach the stars and make contact with humans, says the planetary scientist. It’s a novel explanation for a decades-old question.

Stern is a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado who served as the principal investigator for NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto. His proposed answer to the Fermi Paradox draws on findings that subsurface oceans are prevalent in our own solar system. Liquid oceans have been found buried under the icy crusts of several moons, including those of Jupiter and Saturn, and are believed to exist on several other planetary bodies in our solar system. Earth is the outlier– it’s the only planet in the solar system with a liquid ocean at the surface. It may be that this holds true throughout the rest of the Milky Way as well.

Buried oceans would provide stable environments for the evolution of intelligent life, Stern observes. Nutrients could be pumped into such ecosystems from hydrothermal vents in the ocean floor, whereas the thick shell of ice and rock would shield them from exposure to dangers from above the surface.

“Impacts and solar flares, and nearby supernovae, and what orbit you’re in, and whether you have a magnetosphere, and whether there’s a poisonous atmosphere — none of those things matter,” Stern told Space.

On the flip side, the dense ice cover would also isolate such a civilization from the cosmos, making it difficult to reach the surface and send broadcasts into space, much less accomplish spaceflight. Stern notes that it would be harder for an aquatic species to develop crewed space missions, given the need to carry around plenty of water for life support.

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Apple Will Avoid Violent, Risqué Original TV Content for 2019

ABloomberg report published earlier this week sheds additional light on Apple’s bold ambitions in its pursuit of creating compelling, original TV content. Specifically, the report cites how the tech-giant is currently at work on a “small slate” of original television shows, which could be ready for debut by as early as 2019.

However, in what appears to be a bid at taking on the traditional slate of Hollywood Hogwash, the report cites that Apple is exclusively aiming to create shows free of the violent, profane, nude and otherwise risqué overtures one might expect of an HBO program, for example.

Instead of creating programs like “Game of Thrones”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, or “Sex and The City”, however, Bloomberg claims that Apple is aiming to create shows for a “much wider demographic,” such as a prime-time sitcom or family-friendly program on networks like NBC or ABC.

On that note, the tech-giant is said to already be entertaining pitches for new shows — however the company is reportedly declining any offers containing inappropriate content, including its most recent thumbs-down to a series from “Children of Men” director Alfonso Cuaron, starring Casey Affleck.

Is Apple ‘Too Conservative’?

Of course, while Apple’s move to create only kosher content may bode well with parents, Bloomberg unsurprisingly goes on to cite how some Hollywood producers have labeled Apple “too conservative” in its immovable pursuit of shows “completely devoid” of obscenities.

Apple executives expressed how they “don’t want kids catching a stray nipple,” which is at least somewhat consistent with comments Apple CEO Tim Cook made earlier this year amid his company’s delayed rollout of Carpool Karaoke. Back in April, just days before his company was supposed to debut the show on Apple Music, it was reported that Cook demanded cuts to the use of “foul language and references to vaginal hygiene” in the show.

So What Can We Expect From Apple?

Though the company has dabbled in the original content space for a while now, creating shows like Planet of The Apps and Carpool Karaoke to mixed reviews, the company’s first ‘major’ original content endeavor will be a joint project with NBCUniversal to ‘reboot’ Steven Spielberg’s Emmy Award-winning “Amazing Stories” anthology series from the 1980s. The original series, though packed with action for its time, is unmistakably “conservative” in nature; so the remake isn’t expected to include any risqué or otherwise controversial overtures either.

In the interim, we don’t need to look much further than Apple’s recent $1 billion investment — or its laundry list of high-profile hires from Sony Television and cable TV network WGN America — to get excited about what the company has in store.

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Pirate Bay Founder Calls Mark Zuckerberg ‘Biggest Dictator in the World’

The internet was beautiful once. But in its current state, it’s been ruined beyond repair, at least according to The Pirate Bay founder Peter Sunde.

Sunde gave a fairly cynical speech at the Brain Bar Budapest tech festival. During his talk, he spoke on how the internet has transformed from a free and equal place into a corrupted and centralized web, where the power has been stripped from the people and given to massive tech companies. And there’s no going back now, Sunde contends. We lost the internet, now it’s just damage control.

“Everything has gone wrong. That’s the thing; it’s not about what will happen in the future it’s about what’s going on right now,” Sunde told The Next Web. “We’ve centralized all of our data to a guy called Mark Zuckerberg, who’s basically the biggest dictator in the world as he wasn’t elected by anyone.”

As evidence, Sunde presents the fact that basically every major up-and-coming tech startup or company has been gobbled up by Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook — a quintet of juggernauts that the New York Times recently dubbed “the Frightful Five.”

And this presents a problem. With so few players in the tech industry, it means that the tech titans control basically all of the data collected from various services and products. It means they can paint a fuller picture of you with the data they have. And while that’s mostly used for targeted advertising currently, Sunde said it’s only a matter of time before it’s used for more sinister control.

Suede gives self-driving cars as an example. “Who owns the information about where they can and can’t go?” he asked, adding that autonomous cars could decide to refuse a destination where someone has bought or sold a pirated copy of software.

He then equated “big data” with Big Tobacco, and how the general public didn’t initially realize how dangerous tobacco was. “We didn’t know that big data could be a thing, but now we know it is. We’ve been smoking all our lives on big data’s products, and now we can’t quit,” he said.

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New Concepts Show iPad, iMac + More with iPhone X Style Display

What if every Apple device had an edge-to-edge, bezel-less display and a sensor notch design? Well, a new set of renders via German site Curved.de imagines what that could look like.

The site has produced a set of concept images that show off what the iPad, MacBook, Apple Watch and iMac would look like with a bezel-free display — and the results are pretty stunning. You can also view a video of the renders below.

The edge-to-edge iPad concept, for example, looks incredible with an “all-display” design. There are no specs for the concept’s form factor, but it could obviously pack an impressive screen-to-body ratio — which, for pro users, means an extremely large display area to work with. The sensor notch, presumably, means that it would pack in a TrueDepth Camera and Face ID, too (something that’s already been predicted for future iPad models).

The MacBook and iMac renders are similarly impressive. The 12-inch MacBook concept manages to pack even more display into the already compact design. The iMac concept is also a breath of fresh air and certainly looks like what the Apple desktop of the future could be. More display means more bang for your buck, particularly for creatives and pro-users.

The Apple Watch render, however, is a bit of a mixed bag. Current Apple Watch models basically already have a bezel-free design, and the sensor notch takes up some of that display area. On the other hand, a sensor notch means that it would sport a camera. With the addition of cellular capability in the Series 3, a FaceTime camera on a future Apple Watch seems like the next logical step.

Notably, Curved.de previously released a set of renders in September depicting a concept iPhone SE with an edge-to-edge display and no bezels. The iPhone SE still has a great form factor, and an edge-to-edge, 4-inch iPhone “XSE” is still on our wishlist.

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iOS Developer Leaked a Trove of Upcoming watchOS 4.1 Features

iOS developer Guilherme Rambo gained popularity last month when he made public a number of eleventh-hour iPhone X leaks. Now, the infamous dev is back with yet another round of information pertinent to Apple’s upcoming watchOS 4.1 software update, which will not only bring with it the typical speed, security, and stability enhancements expected of a new software build, but also a number of important features that will enhance the Apple Watch experience.

Published to Twitter via his official account on Wednesday, Guilherme’s list reads like a ‘who’s-who?’ of features, which were discovered in the final golden master (GM) build of the upcoming watchOS 4.1 build.

Worth noting is that some (but not all) of these features were present in the watchOS 4.1 GM build Apple recently began seeding to its registered developers for testing; however there are also a number of exciting new improvements to come which were not present, but will be in the final build.

Features and Fixes Coming in watchOS 4.1

• Stream music on Apple Watch Series 3 with Apple Music or iCloud Music Library
• Listen to live radio on Beats 1, custom stations, and expert-curated stations with the new Radio app on Apple Watch Series 3
• Use Siri to find, discover, and play songs, playlists, or albums
• Sync fitness data with GymKit-enabled treadmills, ellipticals, stair steppers, and indoor bikes for more accurate distance, pace, and energy burn metric
• Ability to disconnect from a WiFi network in Control Center for Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular)
• Fixes an issue for Apple Watch Series 1 and later where Heart Rate notifications were delivered when the feature was not enabled
• Fixes an issue where some users did not receive Stand Reminders
• Resolves an issue where the current stand hour indicator did not appear for some users
• Resolves an issue that caused haptics to not be delivered for silent alarm
• Addresses an issue that prevented Apple Watch (1st generation) from charging for some users
• Resolves an issue where the Sunrise and Sunset complication would sometimes not appear
• Restores Mandarin as the default dictation language for China

Remember to keep in mind that this list is subject to change at any time, meaning Apple could ultimately decide to scrap, or even add in, features between now and the public release. As for a timeframe for said release, we simply don’t have any indications right now. However with iOS 11.1 rumored to start rolling out next week, we could potentially see watchOS 4.1 come alongside it (or at the least, shortly thereafter).

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5 Tips to Score an iPhone X on Pre-Order Day

The iPhone X becomes available to preorder Oct. 27. And you want one. Well, so do millions of other people across the globe — and, unfortunately, the premium handset is going to be in really short supply for quite a while.

Put simply, the iPhone X is likely to sell out in a matter of minutes after it becomes available. Despite that, there are a few things you can do beforehand to increase your chances of nabbing an iPhone X. There’s still no guarantee you’ll get one, but these tips could give you an edge. Press the Right Arrow to Learn 5 Tips to Score an iPhone X on Pre-Order Day

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Developer Warns Apps with Camera Permission Could Be Spying on Us

If you give an iOS app permission to use your camera, that app could spy on you by taking photos and videos without your knowledge, a developer and security researcher warned on Wednesday.

An app running in the foreground (with Camera permissions) can snap photo and video even if there’s no viewfinder or Camera interface currently open.

A social media app, for example, could be covertly taking pictures when you’re doing something non-Camera related — like simply scrolling through a feed.

The issue isn’t a bug, or even necessarily a security vulnerability, but it is a privacy concern that iOS users should keep in mind.

Developer Felix Krause, who first discovered the app behavior, wrote a PSA blog post about it and created a proof-of-concept app to demonstrate how it could be used to secretly spy on users with both the front- or rear-facing camera without a user’s knowledge.

“It’s something most people have no idea about, as they think the camera is only being used if they see the camera contend or an LED is blinking,” Krause told Motherboard. The developer works for Google, but his research on the app behavior was conducted independently of his work there.

Krause’s custom proof-of-concept app, watch.user, demonstrates the app behavior perfectly. It’s a fake “social media” app that periodically takes pictures of users and inserts them into the main feed to show off its covert picture-taking ability. The app even runs a facial recognition engine to detect emotion.

While watch.user doesn’t upload or store the photos in any way, a malicious app theoretically could collect thousands of photos and videos from users, and even upload them online. Currently, it’s unknown how many iOS apps that take advantage of the app permissions. Similarly, if there are apps like this on the App Store, it’s hard to tell which ones are specifically malicious.

What makes the issue worse is that iPhones and iPads, unlike a Mac, don’t have any LED lights or other mechanism to indicate when the Camera is active and currently being used.

Krause has since reported the issue to Apple, and even gave a few methods that could be used to thwart malicious covert photo- or video-taking. For example, Apple could install a MacBook-style LED indicator or another mechanism in iOS that can’t be turned off by app developers. It could also create a new type of temporary app permission that expires based on location, Krause suggested.

What You Can Do to Protect Your Privacy

Beyond any Apple-fielded solutions, Krause said that there are only “a few things” users can do to protect their privacy, such as:

1 Use physical lens covers for your front- and rear-facing cameras.
2 Revoke all app Camera permissions and only use Apple’s native Camera app. This, of course, will hinder convenience and usability of many apps. Open Settings > Privacy > Photos or Camera. From here, you can review apps that have permission, and revoke that access with the toggle.

Again, this isn’t a security breach or bug. But it is a good exercise in reviewing which apps you can trust. While major and reputable apps like Facebook and Snapchat are, presumably, safer than smaller and sketchier third-party apps, permission behavior is still something to keep in mind.

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Apple’s New Acquisition Hints at Massive Wireless Charging Improvements

Honda’s 2018 Gold Wing Is the First Motorcycle with Apple CarPlay

How to Listen to Rock n’ Roll Pioneer Fats Domino

Fats Domino, a legendary figure in American music who helped popularize rock and roll, died Tuesday of natural causes. He was 89.

Known for songs such as “Blueberry Hill,” “Ain’t That a Shame” and “I’m Walkin’,” Domino was among rock and roll’s most pivotal pioneers. The New Orleans icon began playing piano and singing in his teens, and recorded “The Fat Man” in 1949 — what is likely the first early rock ’n roll record to sell one million copies.

In fact, at the height of his career, Domino was second only to Elvis Presley as a commercial force, according to the New York Times. Presley himself acknowledged Domino as a predecessor. “I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that,” Presley told Jet magazine in 1957.

Domino was active in the music scene ever since, releasing nearly 50 albums over five decades, including new music well into the 2000’s. The musician produced more than 25 gold singles, and all in all, sold more than 65 million records, according to his official website.

He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Domino was also given the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton in 1998.

How to Listen to Fats Domino

If you want to listen to Fats Domino’s songs and explore his catalog, his music is widely available on the internet.

1. YouTube

Many of his famous tracks, including “Blueberry Hill” “I’m Ready” and “Ain’t That a Shame” are available on YouTube for free.

2. Spotify and Apple Music

A good portion of Domino’s various albums and records are also available on the major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. Both, of course, require a subscription to stream — but if you’re already a subscriber, you can listen to Domino’s tracks by searching for “Fats Domino” on either service.

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The Truth About iOS 11’s ‘1+2+3=24’ Bug

It’s simple math: 1+2+3=6. But, apparently, if you type that equation into iOS 11’s Calculator really quickly, you’re more likely to get 24 as an answer.

This “bug” has been getting quite a bit of attention recently, but it’s been around in iOS 11 for quite a while.

Basically, the Calculator app’s animations experience some lag when you type in numbers in quick succession. This lag can result in certain numbers being ignored entirely.

If you have iOS 11 installed on your device, you can try it yourself. Type 1 + 2 + 3 and hit equals as fast as you can. More likely than not, you’ll get some random answer instead of 6. It’s not just that equation, either. It all comes down to typing in numbers quickly.

Of course, this is a bug — but not necessarily a major one. Some media outlets have sensationalized the issue, calling iOS’s Calculator “useless.” That’s hardly true. It’s a bit annoying, but it’s not an app-breaking glitch.

To be fair, the “fade” animation speed for the iOS 11 calculator is noticeably slower than the animation for the Calculator in iOS 10 and previous versions of the operating system. But it’s not necessarily the animation speed that’s at fault, it’s how that animation interacts with the app’s ability to register inputs. Specifically, it seems to be caused by pressing an operator button (like plus or minus) more than once in a single equation.

But even with the bug, the iOS 11 Calculator app isn’t “useless” by any means. When typing equations out at normal speeds, the app will still give you the correct answers. Until the animation issue is fixed, it’s just a matter of slowing down a bit.

In case you’re tempted to write a Radar on this, 70+ people have beaten you to it. https://t.co/xrMwJHqHiH

— Chris Espinosa (@cdespinosa) October 24, 2017

Users who are reliant on the Calculator bug will be glad to know that Apple is aware of the issue, as Apple employee Chris Espinosa notes that over 70 people have filed a Radar report on it. We’ll probably see a fix in the next iOS 11 update.

How to Workaround This Bug

In the meantime, just type equations slower. If that’s absolutely not an option, you can download a third-party app like Calcbot 2 and PCalc — or just get Siri to do your math for you.

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Amazon Key Lets Couriers Drop off Packages Inside Your Home

Amazon has a plan to thwart package theft, and it involves letting delivery people inside your house to drop off your orders.

The tech retail giant is launching a new service called Amazon Key. It relies on a system of smart locks and Amazon’s new Cloud Cam. The camera acts as the hub of the system, connects to a home’s Wi-Fi network, and “talks” to the smart locks via the Zigbee wireless protocol.

How Amazon Key Works

1. A courier has a package marked for in-home delivery. First, they’re instructed to knock or ring the doorbell. If no one’s home, they send a request to Amazon’s cloud.
2. The cloud grants permission and sends a message to the camera, which begins recording.
3. The courier then receives a prompt on their app. When they swipe it, your front door unlocks.
4. They open the door “just a crack,” drop off your package and lock the door via the same app. All the while, customers get a notification and a video of the delivery.

Amazon’s VP for delivery technology, Peter Larsen, said the new system gives users “choice, peace of mind and convenience.” But, of course, the system’s success will probably depend on how much customers trust Amazon to ensure that in-home deliveries are being made properly.

The system works with a variety of smart locks, including Yale and Kwikset. But its proprietary camera is the real heart of Amazon Key, and it represents just another of the company’s pushes into the first-party smart home market.

Once the Amazon Key system is set up in a home, in-home delivery will become an option. There will be no additional charge, but the service will only be available in 37 cities initially — the areas where Amazon’s own delivery service operates. Amazon Key will be available for over 10 million items, but the company hopes that Key will be used for things housecleaning via Amazon Home Services, too.

Amazon is currently selling a bundle for $249.99 which includes the camera, a smart lock and installation. Prime customers can preorder the camera today, but the actual service launches on Nov. 8.

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New Video Shows iPhone X’s Intuitive App Switcher in Detail

Since Apple unveiled its powerful new iPhone X flagship last month, we’ve witnessed an increasingly drool-worthy influx of leaked images, spyshots, and videos [mainly of Apple employees] interacting with their units in the wild. And quite honestly, by now it’s starting to seem as if the closer we get to pre-orders going live, the more vivid, detailed, and up-close-and-personal these leaks are becoming, doesn’t it?

Consider the following clip, which was originally uploaded to Imgur before being shared to Twitter earlier this morning, and is merely the latest in an exhaustive string of video leaks showcasing certain aspects of the iPhone X UI.

Much shorter but nonetheless sweeter than those before it, the clip offers us perhaps the clearest view yet of how app switching works on the Home button-less iPhone X.

Of course, if you tuned into Apple’s September 12 event, you might recall seeing the company showcase this iPhone X-exclusive feature on stage — however this is the first time we’ve seen it in such ‘in-your-face’ detail like this. And it truly looks amazing! Watch the video below.

 

Switching between apps on iPhone X

Since the iPhone X is Apple’s first iOS device to ship without a hardware Home button, which has from the get-go been iPhone and iPad’s primary app switching trigger, Cupertino’s team had to essentially reinvent the functionality for its edge-to-edge OLED flagship. And we’ve got to be honest: it looks like they did a phenomenal job, employing a fast, fluid and intuitive interface that allows users to simply swipe left or right on the display to switch between apps, as shown.

Alternatively, though not showcased in today’s video, iPhone X users will be able to engage with the traditional ‘card-based’ iOS app switching interface by swiping upwards on the screen and then press-holding the gesture to initiate that menu.

The clip, meanwhile, is just the latest in a string of recent video leaks showcasing the iPhone X in various colors, from various angles, and featuring various aspects of the user interface — some of which still need to be addressed by app developers, unfortunately. Of course, we can expect these minor issues to be worked out in time, although we’re now fewer than 48-hours away from pre-orders going live at 12:01 am on Friday, October 27, so we’re getting pretty excited either way.

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Did Apple Sabotage iPhone X’s Face ID to Speed up Production?

Apple has a problem: it can’t make enough iPhone X devices to meet demand at its current rate of production. That’s a fact, and something we’ve known for quite a while.

But Bloomberg reported early Wednesday morning that Apple may have resorted to unlikely measures to speed up production. Allegedly, Apple quietly told suppliers that they could reduce the accuracy of Face ID in order to alleviate production issues and make the device easier to manufacture, sources familiar with Apple’s supply chain told the publication.

Apple, of course, denied the claims — stating that the “quality and accuracy of Face ID [systems] haven’t changed.” In a statement to TechCrunch, the company said that “Bloomberg’s claim that Apple has reduced the accuracy spec for Face ID is completely false and we expect Face ID to be the new gold standard for facial authentication.

The main bottleneck in the iPhone X’s production seems to be the advanced 3D sensor and dot projector in the TrueDepth system, as previous reports pointed out. It’s a complex system to manufacture, particularly as many of the vital components are extremely fragile. Not only that, but Apple is demanding its suppliers work on a “very aggressive schedule” — leaving little extra time to “get it right,” a supply source told Bloomberg.

The TrueDepth Camera’s 3D sensor has three components: a dot project, flood illuminator and infrared camera. Precision is key, as even a millimeter of inaccuracy could snarl the whole system. Not only that: at one point, only 20 percent of the dot projectors Apple’s supply chain partners produced were usable due to breakages.

The complexity of the design and manufacturing process is one reason why the iPhone X is being released six weeks later than the iPhone 8 lineup, the same source told the publication.

So, Bloomberg reported, Apple “relaxed” some of the specifications for Face ID in order to alleviate those issues. The iPhone X’s production problems are well-known and that portion of Bloomberg’s story is undeniably accurate. But it’s a matter of debate whether it’s Bloomberg’s sources or Apple that is telling the full truth about the situation.

But Face ID accuracy aside, the fact of the matter is that the iPhone X is going to be available in extremely low quantities throughout the rest of 2017.

Ming-Chi Kuo currently forecasts Apple to have about two to three million iPhone X units available on launch day, and about 25 to 30 million units for the entire holiday quarter. That latter number is down from his original prediction of 40 million, and it’s corroborated by other analysts. Despite that, Apple promised earlier this week that it will have iPhone X units available to walk-in customers at its Apple retail outlets and authorized resellers.

The iPhone X becomes available to pre-order this Friday. It’ll hit store shelves and ship out to customers next Friday, Nov. 3.

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11 Greatest Safari Extensions for iPhone in iOS 11

Despite the essential features that Safari offers, there are a number of important features that are missing. Fortunately, Safari supports third-party extensions which add extra functionality to the browser so that you get the additional features that you want.

Finding Safari extensions in the iOS App Store is not easy, which is why we’ve compiled a list of the 11 best Safari extensions worth checking out. Press the Right Arrow to Learn About 11 of the Greatest Safari Extensions for iPhone.

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New Video Shows iPhone X in Gorgeous White Color

As the official launch of its all-new iPhone X flagship draws closer, we’ve seen a persistent influx of leaked images, hands-on spyshots, and brief videos in which some of the luckiest people in the world have showcased Apple’s new device for all to see.

We previously learned that Apple allowed its employees to start using their iPhone X in public, well ahead of pre-orders going live this Friday, October 27th; so that certainly explains why we’ve seen so much of it.

Adding to the list of leaks this morning we have yet another, short but sweet video showing Apple’s iPhone X in the wild, which was published over the weekend to Reddit by the same user, @anonymousdave52, who’s so far been the source of multiple iPhone X leaks.

Like his other video, this one is quite short and to the point. But it nevertheless gives us a crystal clear look at the thousand-dollar iPhone X in its gorgeous, pearly-white hue. Check out the clip below:

Another iPhone X in the wild (Loud Audio) from apple

Of particular interest in this video (and as the Redditor points out in his since-gone-viral post) is that certain iOS apps have yet to be updated for optimization on iPhone X’s massive 5.8-inch AMOLED display, which we’ve already noted is an issue that app developers will have to address through updates to each of their titles. As evidence, the Redditor gives us a look at the Instagram app which on iPhone X displays unmistakeable text alignment issues.

Which isn’t surprising, actually, seeing as how Apple employed a screen resolution unlike its ever used before at 1125 x 2436 pixels, while also incorporating ‘the notch’ on iPhone X. Developers will therefore have to recalibrate their apps to fit the iPhone X’ untraditional 19.5:9 aspect ratio and wrap around the notch.

The video is merely the latest in a string of drool-worthy iPhone X leaks — most of which have surfaced courtesy of the same Redditor. Previously, we’ve seen iPhone X in the wild decorated in both Black and White hues, with the screen turned on and off. So while there’s nothing particularly new or noteworthy to see here, it’s still a pleasure to just see — especially if you’re planning to get one — isn’t it?

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These 14 Car Brands Will Support iPhone 8, X Wireless Charging

This year’s stable of iPhones all include wireless charging as a feature. It’s a welcome addition to the iPhone lineup, but it’s only really useful if you have a compatible charger. That’s especially true for wireless chargers installed in vehicles.

Luckily, Apple has revealed in a support document which car-based wireless chargers will work with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

While the document doesn’t currently list compatibility with the iPhone X, we can safely assume that it’ll work with the same chargers.

Wireless chargers in cars made by the following brands all support the Qi standard, and therefore, the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X.

For prospective buyers, be sure to double-check whether wireless charging is an included feature in the model you’re considering.

Car Brands Supporting Qi Wireless Charging

• Audi
• BMW
• Chrysler
• Ford
• Honda
• Mercedes-Benz
• PSA
• Toyota
• Volkswagen
• Volvo

Of course, Apple adds that some of the charging areas might not fit the larger iPhone 8 Plus device. “Some automotive wireless chargers have physical size constraints and might not fit every phone. If you’re planning on buying a car with a wireless charger, make sure that your iPhone will fit in the charger first,” Apple wrote.

Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC also manufacture vehicles with wireless chargers, but only some 2018 models support the Qi standard — you can see which ones below.

• 2018 GMC Terrain
• 2018 GMC Yukon
• 2018 GMC Sierra
• 2018 Chevrolet Bolt
• 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe
• 2018 Chevrolet Silverado
• 2018 Chevrolet Suburban
• 2018 Cadillac Escalade
• 2018 Buick Enclave

If you don’t see your vehicle (or prospective vehicle) listed above, you might not be completely out of luck. While Apple listed and confirmed compatibility with the above brands and models, there are some other vehicles that support Qi-based wireless charging — including the 2017 GMC Sierra and 2018 Hyundai Elantra GT.

Your best bet is to check the features list of the car you had in mind. And, of course, figure out whether the iPhone you own will fit in the wireless charging space.

Learn More: Will iPhone X or 8’s Wireless Charging Work Through a Case?

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The FBI Now Has More Than 6,900 Devices It Can’t Unlock

The FBI has been unable to retrieve data from more than half of the devices it’s tried to access, Director Christopher Wray told an audience on Sunday.

All in all, the Bureau was unable to access the contents of about 6,900 devices in the first 11 months of the fiscal year, Wray said at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Philadelphia over the weekend. Wray’s comments are just the latest piece of a long-standing debate about digital privacy.

“To put it mildly, this is a huge, huge problem,” Wray said, according to the Associated Press. “It impacts investigations across the board — narcotics, human trafficking, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, gangs, organized crime, child exploitation.”

Law enforcement agencies across the country have long complained about their inability to unlock and extract data from smartphones and other devices. But tech companies have, in general, been staunchly opposed to opening up access — saying they must protect their customer’s digital privacy.

Of course, this debate seemingly peaked in 2016, when the FBI and Justice Department tried to force Apple to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the gunmen in a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. Apple refused, saying that could set a “dangerous precedent” with serious implications for digital privacy. The FBI only stopped its endeavor when it was reportedly able to unlock the device with help from a third-party company.

It’s unclear how many of the more than 6,900 devices that the FBI couldn’t unlock were iPhones.

The FBI’s struggle also echoes trouble that other law enforcement and legal organizations have had in unlocking devices. Under the Trump Administration, the Justice Department has suggested that it will aggressively seek access to private information from tech companies, but has stopped short of clarifying what that could look like.

Apple, for its part, seems committed to the privacy of its users — even as the battle is far from over. “Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve dat protection, security and privacy,” the company wrote in a statement. “Sacrificing one or the other only puts people and countries at greater risk.”

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3 iPhone X Launch Deals That Will Save You up to $350

We’re now just days away from seeing Apple’s high-end iPhone X go up for pre-order. And while reports have suggested that Cupertino’s tenth-anniversary flagship will be extremely limited in terms of availability at launch, that hasn’t stopped America’s largest wireless carriers from announcing their exclusive launch deals on the device. Press the Right Arrow to Learn 3 iPhone X Launch Deals That Will Save You up to $350

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Here’s How Much an iPhone X Will Cost in 32 Countries

We’re a little under two weeks away from the launch of the most significantly upgraded iPhone in years.

From its edge-to-edge OLED display to its TrueDepth camera and Face ID authentication, the iPhone X is likely to change iPhones forever. But those revolutionary upgrades aren’t going to come cheap. In the U.S., the ultra-premium iPhone X will retail for $999 when it launches on Nov. 3.

The iPhone X will carry a high price tag wherever it’s sold — but it’s worth noting that its price actually varies quite a bit depending on where it’s purchased. As stated above, it’ll run customers $999 in the U.S., but in Hungary, it’ll retail for about 379,990 Ft in local currency. That’s about $1,455.23 in U.S. dollars.

Here’s what Apple’s revolutionary new handset will cost local consumers in 32 of the countries it will be available in, with the exact amount converted into U.S. dollars for comparison, courtesy of Quartz (based on exchange rates on Oct. 20, 2017).

Hungary	379,990 Ft	1,455.23
Denmark	8,899 kr.	1,408.27
Sweden	11,495 kr	1,406.37
Italy	1,189 €	1,400.46
Russia	79,990 pyб.	1,390.57
Finland, Ireland, Portugal	1,179 €	1,388.69
Poland	4,979 zł	1,386.81
Czech Republic	29,990 Kč	1,377.02
Norway	kr 10,990	1,375.28
India	₹89,000	1,368.21
Belgium, France, Netherlands, Spain	1,159 €	1,365.13
Austria, Germany	1,149 €	1,353.35
Luxembourg	1,120.68 €	1,319.99
UK	£999	1,317.83
China	RMB 8388	1,266.97
New Zealand	NZ$1,799	1,253.36
Mexico	Mex$23,499	1,237.06
Australia	A$1,579	1,234.49
Switzerland	CHF 1,199	1,218.50
Singapore	S$1,648	1,210.96
Taiwan	NT$35,900	1,187.82
UAE	AED 4,099	1,115.98
Hong Kong	HK$8,588	1,100.67
Canada	CA$1,319	1,045.57
US	$999	999
Japan	￥112,800	994.67

But Wait, There’s Also Sales Tax

While the iPhone X is undoubtedly more expensive in Hungary than it is in the U.S., there’s a caveat worth considering. Namely, it’s the fact that prices in the U.S. don’t include sales tax — whereas, in many other countries, the listed price actually does include all local sales taxes.

There’s also the issue of how much U.S. consumers will pay depending on their own state’s sales tax, which varies widely. If you’re in California, for example, your sales tax is 8.25 percent of the total price. In New York, it’s 8.49 percent. In New Hampshire, Montana and Oregon, you won’t pay any sales tax at all. So, in many countries, the listed sales price isn’t actually all that bad of a deal.

The iPhone becomes available for preorder at 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Time) this Friday, Oct. 27. It’ll hit store shelves and start shipping out to consumers at 8 a.m. local time next Friday, Nov. 3.

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Apple Confirms iPhone X Will Be Available In-Store Nov. 3

While it’s going to be hard to get an iPhone X this year, it’s not going to be impossible. In fact, if you’re early enough — or just lucky — you might be able to purchase one in-store.

Apple confirmed in a press release today that its retail outlets would have the iPhone X in stock on launch day for walk-in customers. Of course, the company did encourage hopeful walk-in customers to “arrive early.” That will probably involve camping out for hours, if not overnight.

While the company’s announcement didn’t explicitly state it, the iPhone X will presumably be available both from Apple Stores and from authorized resellers.

Of course, while supplies of the iPhone X will still be tight, Apple’s confirmation that there will be some stock available is a step up from previous years. The iPhone 7 Plus and jet black models, for example, completely sold out via preorder — and were unavailable to walk-in customers on launch day.

But while it might be possible to get an iPhone X this year, as stated earlier, it’s still not going to be easy. Particularly as demand is building for the significantly upgraded device — we can take the iPhone 8’s lackluster launch weekend as evidence that many are holding out for the premium OLED handset.

If you’re a hopeful iPhone X buyer, know that in-store supplies will be extremely limited. Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that in a recent interview with BuzzFeed News, but he said that the company is working to mitigate supply issues. “We’ll see what happens,” Cook told BuzzFeed. “We’ll be working as hard as possible to make as many as possible.”

iPhone X Launch Date

The iPhone X will become available to preorder at 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Time) this Friday, Oct. 27. The device will launch in more than 55 countries and territories Friday, Nov. 3, and will begin shipping out to customers the same day. At brick and mortar outlets, the device will officially launch at 8 a.m. local time.

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Google Pixel XL 2 Barely Beats iPhone 8 Plus in New Drop Test

A growing trend has emerged among certain smartphone manufacturers, including Apple and Samsung, in that their most recent, top-tier flagships are fabricated according to a ‘glass-sandwich’ design — where essentially the entire front and back of their high-end devices are covered with semi-thick sheets of glass which enables wireless charging. It’s by all means a sleek, attractive, and inherently functional design; however not every phone-maker is on board with the all-glass form-factor just yet, as evidenced in Google’s latest Pixel 2 and XL 2 smartphones.

Indeed, for whatever reason Google and HTC passed on the all-glass design — and the wireless charging functionalities which would’ve ensued — again this year. And while some might be quick to point out how that’s probably to the search-giant’s benefit (you know, since glass tends to shatter magnificently when dropped, err, hurled towards the ground), a nerve-rattling new drop test published to YouTube over the weekend shows us that, in reality, Google’s pass on glass made little difference.

iPhone 8 Plus vs Pixel XL 2 Drop Test

In the riveting video, which was published to YouTube on Saturday by the notorious drop-tester PhoneBuff, a brand-new Google Pixel 2 XL goes up against Apple’s glass-encompassed iPhone 8 Plus in a series of par-for-the-course drop tests, which include the usual back drop, corner drop, and face drop from various heights, as well as a fun “bonus round” that’s certain to get your blood boiling. Watch the full drop test below!

Of course, what makes this match-up particularly interesting is that Apple’s iPhone 8 Plus is covered in glass on both sides, while the Pixel 2 XL has only the glass display as its most vulnerable surface. Worth noting, however, is that Apple appears to have outfitted the iPhone 8 Plus and upcoming iPhone X with what it’s unabashedly calling the “most durable glass” ever used in a smartphone before, noting on its website how the front and back of iPhone 8 features “custom glass with a 50 percent deeper strengthening layer, a new steel substructure, and a stronger, aerospace‑grade 7000 Series aluminum band [to] provide additional reinforcement.”

Based on statements like these, it would appear that Apple’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are just about indestructible, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, while this world-changing glass was able to withstand a pretty great amount of force — considering how it was thrown against the pavement just so, it appears that Apple’s ultra-strong glass is simply no match against the elements — even with its “aerospace-grade” aluminum reinforcement.

As such, after just one drop test on their back-sides, Apple’s flagship showed noticeable signs of rear-glass fracturing — though to be fair, both handsets remain perfectly functional. Meanwhile, when dropped on their displays, both the iPhone 8 Plus and Pixel 2 XL shattered substantially; although as you can see in the video, the Pixel XL 2 appears to have withstood a little more damage than the iPhone 8 Plus.

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