More Suppliers Secure Apple Watch 2 Orders as Launch Inches Closer

With the Apple Watch 2 expected to launch in the second half of 2016, supply chain informant DigiTimes reports that Samsung and other overseas manufacturers have secured component orders for the next-generation device.

Taiwan-based Advanced Semiconductor Engineering will fulfill the majority of system-on-a-chip production, while Amkor Technology and STATS ChipPAC will share a portion of remaining orders, according to the report.

Meanwhile, additional Taiwanese supplier Kinsus Interconnect Technology is said to have secured Apple Watch 2 substrate orders, and Samsung Electronics will reportedly fabricate the Apple Watch 2’s processor, consisting of mobile DRAM, NAND flash, and other chips. Both Kinsus and Samsung provide components for the original Apple Watch, which is powered by Apple’s custom-designed S1 chip.

Previous reports indicated that Quanta Computer will likely remain the key Apple Watch 2 manufacturer. The supplier reportedly began trial production of the second-generation watch in January, in time for a purported late-second-quarter launch around June. Volume shipments were said to begin in the third quarter, which could be any point between early July and late September.

Opportunities for Apple to introduce a second-generation Apple Watch include its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, or its annual iPhone introduction event in September. The original Apple Watch was announced in early September 2014 and released in late April 2015, suggesting an elongated 14 to 19 month release cycle between models that may help avoid consumer exhaustion.

Apple analyst Brian White recently speculated that a 20% to 40% thinner Apple Watch 2 could be unveiled by June, possibly at WWDC, but his track record at reporting on Apple’s upcoming plans is far from perfect. More reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the Apple Watch 2 will enter mass production in the third quarter of 2016, in line with a fall launch alongside the iPhone 7.

Few details are known about the Apple Watch 2 beyond a June 2015 report that said it will feature a FaceTime video camera and expanded Wi-Fi capabilities, while new bands and finishes are always a possibility. Kuo believes the Apple Watch 2 will feature mostly internal improvements, and possibly minor form factor changes, with a more complete redesign of the device not arriving until 2017.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 2
Tags: Samsung, digitimes.com, Apple Watch 2
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
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FBI Has Found ‘Nothing of Real Significance’ Inside the San Bernardino iPhone Yet

Although the method of the FBI’s entry into the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone has been the source of many rumors, a new report from CBS News states that at this point in the process, “nothing of real significance” has been discovered within the device.

After weeks of back-and-forth between Apple and the FBI, over the possible moral repercussions that a “GovtOS” would have on iPhone users’ privacy, the Justice Department officially dropped its lawsuit against Apple in late March.

In the court-filed motion to vacate the order for Apple’s help, the FBI stated it had discovered its own process of entry into the password-protected iPhone. Rumors initially suggested the FBI was helped by Israeli mobile forensics firm Cellebrite, but more recent reports pointed to the bureau’s hiring of professional hackers to help crack the smartphone.

Much of the discussion surrounding the case has centered around the method the FBI used to unlock the iPhone 5c in question, but a report from yesterday confirmed that the bureau has no legal ground to reveal the exploit to anyone, including Apple. The unidentified group assisting the FBI has sole legal ownership of the method in which it used to enter the device, which could not be divulged without their cooperation with the FBI.

A few sources within the government even stated that the FBI might not know the details of the exploit, only that it has worked. According to the new report from CBS News, those close to the investigation have stressed that the FBI is continuing to analyze the data coming out of the iPhone 5c in the search for information related to the December terrorist attacks.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Apple-FBI
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Apple to End iTunes Allowances on May 25

Apple has announced that it will be ending support for iTunes Allowances, a feature of the service that allowed parents to automatically place money into a child’s iTunes account on a monthly basis. As of April 13, users can no longer create new iTunes Allowance deposits, with the feature officially getting cut-off for good on May 25, 2016.

After that date, any unused allowance credit will be rolled over into the recipient’s basic iTunes account and can be used as normal, but the monthly deposits will cease afterwards. Apple has been informing iTunes Allowance users via email about its cancellation, but gave no specific reason as to why it’ll be ending the long-running program.

iTunes Allowances let parents gift kids with a monthly amount of store credit — from $10 to $50 — without needing to give them credit card information. The allowance credit could be used like a normal iTunes Store gift card, for purchasing content from the iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks Store, Mac App Store, or even an Apple Music membership.

The company encourages users to use its Family Sharing features, including Ask to Buy for underage members of a shared account group, in lieu of the allowance feature. It also encourages those who have questions to contact Apple Support as May 25 gets nearer.

(Thanks, Sam!)
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Oculus Rift exclusives are being unofficially ported to the HTC Vive

Like other platforms, the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive have shared titles and some exclusive games to boot. Unfortunately, that means you’ll miss out on certain listings depending on which you opt for. Luckily, it’s now possible to play a select few Oculus Rift exclusives on the Vive.

As covered by The Verge, a proof of concept program on GitHub called LibreVR allows both Lucky’s Tale and Oculus Dreamdeck to be unofficially loaded on the Vive. Obviously, you’ll need to own the titles you wish to port to the Vive platform, and while it hasn’t been tested on titles other than the two aforementioned, it is noted that this program should work for future ports.

It’s good news for those with the Vive who wish to enjoy the same exclusive content available to friends wielding the Oculus.

Texting in cinemas could be allowed soon: Here’s why that’s good

For some, a trip to the cinema is a chance to escape the real world and be enveloped by another universe. According to one of the biggest cinema chains in the world, AMC, being forced to turn off phones to leave the real world is a problem. It may fix this by allowing phone use during films.

In an interview with Variety, the head of AMC, Adam Aron, said his company is considering introducing phone use in cinemas.

He points out that in order to appeal to the younger audience, and pull people back into cinemas as sales dwindle, phone use may be needed.

Aron says: “When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow. You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their phone. That’s not how they live their life.”

The fact that some other cinema visitors won’t like people using their phones is something that has been taken into consideration. Aron goes on: “What may be more likely is we take specific auditoriums and make them more texting friendly.”

So the situation could evolve to be like trains where there are certain carriages in which phone use is not permitted. Except in this case it would be certain screening rooms that allow phone use.

This might actually be a great idea. This would separate those who casually take in a film, while still connected to the real world, and those that want to get lost. That should mean the no-phone screens are actually as quiet as they’re intended to be.

Imagine going to a cinema where everyone else in there was as respectful of silence as you? All waiting until the action scenes to crunch their popcorn, unheard. Or if you’re a fan of staying connected while in the cinema you’d be able to do that without feeling bad. We’d pay to go to that cinema.

READ: IMAX with Laser: Transporting you to childlike awe

The ‘Game of Thrones’ credits are more fun in 360-degrees

There are still ten days to go until Game of Thrones season six debuts, but HBO is doing its best to keep fans’ appetites for new footage satiated until then. After dropping a dingy new trailer on Monday, and some behind-the-scenes footage yesterday, it’s now released a 360-degree video of the show’s opening credits on Facebook.

The extended sequence lets you explore the famous clockwork map of Westeros and Essos. The map is arranged inside a sphere, which means looking in the right direction will give you a little peek across the water at Sothoryos and the Basilisk Isles. Many of the show’s iconic locations are there, from King’s Landing and Winterfell to Dorne. There are more than a few easter eggs to discover just by looking around as well, including a glimpse of an unnamed direwolf by the wall — make of that what you will — and a PG-13 view of the Titan of Braavos.

Via: Deadline

Source: Game of Thrones (Facebook)

Disney’s streaming app gets Marvel and ‘Star Wars’ cartoons

To cater for fans who don’t want to purchase digital downloads or Blu-rays, Disney launched its own streaming service called DisneyLife. For £10 a month, UK subscribers can watch a huge selection of Disney movies and TV shows, stream music and download books and apps. However, since its debut in November, the service has yet to include anything from the company’s other big subsidiaries, like Marvel and Lucasfilm. Luckily, that’s set to change on April 18th, when DisneyLife becomes home to Star Wars Rebels and a handful of animated Marvel book and animated shows.

Disney will kick things off with Avengers Assemble, Hulk, Agents of S.M.A.S.H and Ultimate Spider-Man cartoons. Star Wars Rebels, if you’re not aware, is an animated series that chronicles the events between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: A New Hope (and aligns with the upcoming film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Their inclusion should be welcome, particularly as subscribers can already watch a collection of Marvel content on Netflix and Amazon Video.

Coolest Cooler asks backers for more money

Coolest Cooler is the latest proof that there are a lot of interesting ideas on Kickstarter from companies that lack a plan to execute them. The company set a funding record in 2014 with $13 million for a do-it-all cooler with a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, USB charger, cutting board and blender. However, it burned through the entire amount after shipping just a third of the products, showing that the tempting $185 price tag was way too generous. To complete orders, the company now says that existing backers (who already paid the full Kickstarter price) will now have to pony up another $97 for “expedited” shipping of their Coolest Cooler.

CEO Ryan Grepper points out that the new, $282 total bill is still less than the $399 price the product sells for on Amazon, and guarantees delivery by July 4th. Even if backers aren’t willing to pay, Grepper promises that “as long as there is breath in my body we are committed to getting each and every backer their Coolest Cooler.” To do that, it plans on using profits from Amazon sales to finance backer coolers. That doesn’t sit well with many backers, of course, since Amazon purchasers will receive coolers earlier than folks who ordered them years before. However, the company says it can ship one new cooler for every two to four retail sales.

As long as there is breath in my body we are committed to getting each and every backer their Coolest Cooler.

Some backers are philosophical about the problems. “I have backed quite a few projects on Kickstarter and each time I know it is a risk,” says one. However, others have demanded refunds, expressed doubt that the product will ever ship and become downright hostile. According to Motherboard, one backer even doxxed company employees, who were then harassed and threatened. The company’s marketing director Susan Towers, who calls the threats “egregious,” says “you can call it a clusterfuck or whatever, but it’s a Kickstarter. It’s not an online store, it’s a cooler. It’s a party cooler.”

Via: TNW

Source: Motherboard

FBI can’t tell Apple how it unlocked the San Bernardino iPhone

The feds might never let Apple in on the secret of the technique they used to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone 5c. According to Reuters, the hackers who discovered the flaw that led to the FBI’s iPhone-cracking tool have the sole legal ownership of the method. Agents might not even know what the vulnerability is or how its resulting hardware works exactly. If you’ll recall, a recent Washington Post report revealed that the feds got help from a group of hackers — from outside the US, Reuters’ sources said — with a history of selling software vulnerabilities to the US government. They were paid a flat fee for the flaw they brought the FBI and the tool they developed.

FBI Director James B. Comey said during a privacy conference last week that the government is considering whether to give Apple details about the technique. See, the White House typically subjects the security flaws it gets a hold of to a procedure called the Vulnerabilities Equities Process. It gives various agencies the chance to discuss what should be done to those security flaws, and whether they should be disclosed to their respective companies. Unfortunately, the process’ rules don’t cover vulnerabilities discovered and owned by private companies. The only way the government can decide on this particular flaw’s fate is to give the equities process an overhaul.

Source: Reuters

FBI Unlikely to Reveal Exploit Used to Unlock San Bernardino Shooter’s iPhone

The unidentified group that assisted the FBI in unlocking the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone has sole legal ownership of the exploit, making it highly unlikely to be shared with Apple, U.S. administration sources have revealed.

According to a report published by Reuters yesterday, the White House routinely reviews technology security flaws as part of its Vulnerabilities Equities Process to decide which ones should be made public, but it does not reveal flaws discovered or owned by private businesses without their explicit cooperation.

Initial rumors had suggested the FBI received assistance from Israeli mobile forensics firm Cellebrite to hack the phone, but more recent information suggests the group involved consisted of “professional hackers” who sell flaws to governments, black market groups, or companies that create surveillance tools.

The FBI itself likely does not know the details of the technique, only simply that it worked, according to government sources and Rob Knake, who managed the Vulnerabilities Equities Process before leaving the White House last year.

The news is being seen as a blow to Apple, which has sought information regarding the exploit used by the FBI to unlock suspected terrorist Syed Farook’s iPhone in the hope of fixing it before it can be used by criminals.

In a separate report published by CBS News yesterday, a law enforcement source revealed that the data successfully extracted from Farook’s iPhone has yet to reveal any information relevant to the FBI investigation. However, the source stressed that the bureau continues to analyze the extracted data in the hope that something of significance will yet be discovered.

After a very public legal battle in which the FBI obtained a court order demanding Apple help the government unlock the iPhone used by Farook, the Justice Department dropped the lawsuit after announcing it had found an alternate method to gain access the phone’s data.

FBI director James Comey has since said the exploit only works on a “narrow slice of phones”, which does not include models of the iPhone 5s and after.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Apple-FBI
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