iOS 11.3 will introduce new battery features and AR improvements

Apple is bringing iOS 11.3 to iPhones and iPads this spring, and today the company released a preview of what we can expect from the upgrade. The most notable improvements are the battery health indicator, upgrades to ARKit and the introduction of Health Records.

iPhone batteries have been a big subject of discussion lately, with the recent news that Apple has been throttling performance on older phones to balance aging battery life. Now, Apple is replacing batteries on some phones for a low fee. This latest update includes a feature that shows the health of your phone’s battery, as well as if it needs to be serviced. What’s more, users will be able to see if that power management feature is turned on, and toggle it off if they so choose.

Additionally, the company introduced improvements to ARKit, its AR SDK for developers. ARKit 1.5 will be able to recognize vertical surfaces such as walls and doors, as well as map objects that are irregular in shape, such as a circular or oval table. The experience will also be clearer, as the real-world view now has 50 percent sharper resolution.

Apple also announced Health Records, which allows users to bring all their medical records together within one app. Rather than logging into every single provider separately, Health Records will work with your existing doctors and hospitals to put all your health information into one place. It’s currently available to patients of 12 medical institutions, but more will follow, and all data will be encrypted to ensure privacy.

iOS 11.3 has four new Animoji, including a bear, a dragon, a skull and a lion; this brings the total number of Animoji up to 16. Business Chat will also launch within the Messages app as an 11.3 beta feature. This will allow users to communicate directly with businesses such as Hilton, Lowe’s, Discover and Wells Fargo.

If you have an Apple developer account, the iOS 11.3 preview is available today; the free public beta preview will follow. The upgrade will be available widely this spring, for the iPhone 5s and later, all iPad Airs and iPad Pros, the iPad fifth generation, iPad Mini 2 and later and the sixth generation of the iPod Touch.

Source: Apple (1), Apple (2)

iOS 11.3 Will Allow iPhone Users to View Battery Health and Disable Apple’s Power Management This Spring

Apple today announced that iOS 11.3, available this spring, will enable users with an iPhone 6 or newer to view their smartphone’s battery health under Settings > Battery. The software update will also allow users to disable Apple’s power management feature.

More details to follow…

Related Roundups: iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, iPhone SE, iOS 11Tag: iOS 11.3Buyer’s Guide: iPhone 8 (Neutral), iPhone 8 (Neutral), iPhone SE (Don’t Buy), iPhone 8 (Neutral)
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Apple Introduces ‘Health Records’ Section Coming to Health App in iOS 11.3

Apple today revealed an update coming to the Health app in the iOS 11.3 beta, which will bring a “Health Records” section to the app and allow users to see their medical records from various providers. The updated Health Records area will combine hospitals, clinics, and other information from Health “to make it easy for consumers to see their available medical data from multiple providers whenever they choose.”

Some of the first provider partners include John Hopkins Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Penn Medicine, and various other hospitals and clinics. Apple explained that the update is intended to serve as a consumer-friendly solution to easily access medical records, which were previously housed across multiple websites and online repositories. The company said it created Health Records based on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), which provides the standard for transferring electronic medical records.

“Our goal is to help consumers live a better day. We’ve worked closely with the health community to create an experience everyone has wanted for years — to view medical records easily and securely right on your iPhone,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s COO. “By empowering customers to see their overall health, we hope to help consumers better understand their health and help them lead healthier lives.”

Health Records will provide an overall view of a user’s allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures, and vitals. The Health app will also now notify them when their Health Records data is updated, which is encrypted and protected by the iPhone passcode as well.

Apple said that more medical facilities will be connected to Health Records in the coming months, further expanding the amount of users who have access to the feature. The full list of medical institutions that are supported on the iOS 11.3 beta include:

– Johns Hopkins Medicine – Baltimore, Maryland
– Cedars-Sinai – Los Angeles, California
– Penn Medicine – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
– Geisinger Health System – Danville, Pennsylvania
– UC San Diego Health – San Diego, California
– UNC Health Care – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
– Rush University Medical Center – Chicago, Illinois
– Dignity Health – Arizona, California and Nevada
– Ochsner Health System – Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
– MedStar Health – Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia
– OhioHealth – Columbus, Ohio
– Cerner Healthe Clinic – Kansas City, Missouri

Apple today also previewed iOS 11.3, stating that iPhone users will be able to view battery health and disable Apple’s power management when the update comes out this spring.

Related Roundup: iOS 11Tag: iOS 11.3
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iOS 11.3 Coming This Spring With New Animoji, ARKit Improvements, Health Records, Battery Settings, and More

Apple today previewed iOS 11.3, its next major iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch software update. The first beta will be seeded to developers later today, followed by a public beta soon, ahead of an official release this spring.

iOS 11.3 introduces new Animoji on the iPhone X, including a lion, bear, dragon, and skull. There will now be 16 characters to choose from in total, including existing ones like a pig, fox, chicken, pile of poo, and robot.

iOS 11.3 will feature ARKit 1.5. In addition to horizontal surfaces like tables and chairs, Apple’s updated augmented reality platform will now be able to recognize and place virtual objects on vertical surfaces like walls and doors, and more accurately map irregularly shaped surfaces like circular tables.

ARKit 1.5 can find and recognize the position of 2D images such as signs, posters, and artwork, and integrate these real-world images into augmented reality experiences, such as bringing a movie poster to life. In addition, the view of the “real world” will now be in 1080p HD, up from 720p currently.

The software update will introduce Business Chat, a new way for users to communicate directly with businesses within the Messages app. This feature will launch in beta following the public release of iOS 11.3 this spring, with support from select businesses, including Discover, Hilton, Lowe’s, and Wells Fargo.

With Business Chat, it’s easy to have a conversation with a service representative, schedule an appointment or make purchases using Apple Pay in the Messages app. Business Chat doesn’t share the user’s contact information with businesses and gives users the ability to stop chatting at any time.

In the Health app on iOS 11.3, users will be able to view health records, including available medical data from multiple providers like John Hopkins and Cedars-Sinai. The data is encrypted and protected with a passcode.

In a future beta release of iOS 11.3, users with an iPhone 6 or newer will be able to view their battery health under Settings > Battery. In the same menu, it will also be possible to disable Apple’s power management feature.

Apple outlined some other features coming to iOS 11.3:

– Apple Music will soon be the home for music videos. Users can stream all the music videos they want without being interrupted by ads. They can also watch the hottest new videos, the classics or ones from their favorite artists back-to-back in new music video playlists.

– Apple News now makes it easier to stay up-to-date on the most important videos of the day with a new Video group in For You, and improved Top Stories.

– HomeKit software authentication provides a great new way for developers to add HomeKit support to existing accessories while protecting privacy and security.

– Support for Advanced Mobile Location (AML) to automatically send a user’s current location when making a call to emergency services in countries where AML is supported.

More details to follow…

Related Roundup: iOS 11Tags: health, ARKit, Business Chat, Animoji, iOS 11.3
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Apple Reveals Messages in iOS 11.3 Will Get Four New Animoji and Customer Support ‘Business Chat’

Within its larger unveiling of iOS 11.3, Apple today announced two new updates coming to Messages when the operating system update debuts this spring. First, there are four new Animoji characters that will allow iPhone X owners to become a dragon, bear, skull, or lion.

This brings the total amount of Animoji available on iPhone X to 16. Just like the original characters, you can use the new Animoji to copy the movement of parts of your face with the iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera, record a 10-second video clip, and send it to someone through Messages.

Second, Apple revealed a new customer support feature coming to Messages called “Business Chat.” Apple said that this will be a way for you to text directly with a business within its messaging app, and will be supported by Lowe’s, Discover, Hilton, and Wells Fargo, and select other companies at launch in the spring.

Besides support chat, you’ll be able to schedule appointments and even make purchases using Apple Pay. Beta users will gain access to Business Chat ahead of the public launch of iOS 11.3.

With Business Chat, it’s easy to have a conversation with a service representative, schedule an appointment or make purchases using Apple Pay in the Messages app. Business Chat doesn’t share the user’s contact information with businesses and gives users the ability to stop chatting at any time.

There are plenty of other details about iOS 11.3 to discover today, so be sure to check out our full post on the upcoming iPhone update, as well as Apple’s announcement that iOS 11.3 users will be able to view their device’s battery health and disable power management features. The company also shared information on a new “Health Records” section coming to the iOS Health app.

Related Roundup: iOS 11Tag: iOS 11.3
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Qualcomm hit with $1.23bn fine for abusing Apple partnership

Things just get worse and worse for Qualcomm. The European Commission has fined the company €997 million ($1.23 billion) for “abusing its market dominance” in LTE baseband chipsets. According to the Commission, Qualcomm prevented rivals from competing in the market by making hefty payments to Apple on the condition it wouldn’t buy from anywhere else, which is illegal under EU antitrust rules.

The fine bookends a long-running feud between Qualcomm and Apple. The two companies were tight back in 2011, when they signed an agreement stipulating that Apple would only use Qualcomm’s chipsets in its iPhones and iPads — a deal which was extended in 2013 to 2016. But towards the end of the agreement period Apple began scouting out alternatives, prompting reports that its next iPhone would be built without Qualcomm chips. By this point, though, the two were already embroiled in an intensifying legal battle that saw Apple piggybacking off a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission, and later, Qualcomm suing Apple for patent infringement.

The €997,439,000 fine represents just 4.9% of Qualcomm’s turnover in 2017, so this alone is not likely to bankrupt them. But the company is amassing antitrust fines and lawsuits at an alarming rate. In 2015 it was hit with a $975 million anti-monopoly fine in China, in 2016, the Korea Fair Trade Commission slapped it with a $854 million fine for unfair patent licensing practices, and in October 2017, Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission fined the company the equivalent of $774 million for abusing market dominance. As one of, if not the, world’s largest supplier of LTE baseband chipsets, Qualcomm can probably swallow the fines. But if it keeps angering market regulators and falling out with partners, it may well find itself in a far more precarious financial position.

Update: Qualcomm says it will appeal. “We are confident this agreement did not violate EU competition rules or adversely affect market competition or European consumers,” said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm, in a statement sent to Engadget. “We have a strong case for judicial review and we will immediately commence that process.”

Source: European Commission

DuckDuckGo upgrades apps to block hidden ad trackers

DuckDuckGo has given its browser extensions and apps a boost with more features meant to protect you from prying digital eyes. To start with, they now come with a built-in tracker blocker that prevents ad networks from following you around and collecting data on what you’re doing. It even lists all the hidden networks it blocks, such as Google and Facebook, which you can access when you expand that section of the updated extension/app.

DuckDuckGo now also gives each website a Privacy Grade rating, which goes up after it blocks the trackers in it. So, a Grade D website will end up a Grade B — you’ll rarely see A’s, because “hardly any website out there truly prioritizes your privacy.” In addition to blocking trackers, the updated apps and extensions will automatically load encrypted versions of websites whenever available.

They also have a new section dedicated to explaining oft-confusing privacy policies. However, it’ll only be available if Terms of Service Didn’t Read, a project that aims to decode privacy policies, has already reviewed the URL you’re visiting. The upgraded DuckDuckGo extension is now out for Firefox, Safari and Chrome. You can now also download the latest version for iOS and Android devices from the App Store and Google Play.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: DuckDuckGo

Divisive anti-piracy company Denuvo has a new owner

Denuvo, the firm behind the best-known gaming anti-piracy tech, has been snapped up by global digital security company Irdeto. The company’s divisive software, which protects video games from attempts to “crack” them and produce a free copy, is considered notoriously difficult to break.

But, recent versions of its system haven’t fared as well. In October, it emerged that its anti-tampering tech didn’t hinder hackers from cracking Middle-Earth: Shadow of War in a day. Before that, a cracker published a workaround for indie title Rime less than a week after its release, leading to its developers releasing a DRM-free update.

In a press release, Irdeto claims that Denuvo will operate as usual, with all staff (including sales) retained. Its new owner is also interested in its anti-cheating tools, claiming that they can be used to protect online game data and micro-transactions from hackers. Whereas Denuvo may be recognizable to gamers, Irdeto has also left its mark on the industry, most notably by issuing takedown notices for Overwatch porn.

Source: Irdeto

The exquisite torture of Kickstarter exclusives

A month or so ago, I discovered a project on Kickstarter that made my heart ache with desire. It was a tabletop game called The Wilson Wolfe Affair by Simulacra Games, which is unlike any other I’ve seen. Each “game” is really a crate full of 1930s cartoon memorabilia, which contain clues and hidden secrets to a larger, unsolved mystery. The artwork is incredible and the puzzles themselves look fantastic — you’d find solutions through reading letters, using a Viewmaster, playing games, looking at objects under a UV light, and more. The game invites you to essentially play amateur detective, which is the kind of game I love.

There’s one big caveat though, and it’s that due to the unique nature of the game, it can’t be scaled to sell in traditional retail. That means that it would remain “exclusive” to Kickstarter. If I wanted this game, I needed to back it within the next few days or risk missing out on it, potentially forever.

It’s part of a “Kickstarter exclusive” trend that’s been on the rise in recent years. After some initial research, this strikes me as a phenomenon that seems relatively unique to tabletop games, due largely to three factors: The high cost of manufacturing, the niche audience that they serve and the fact that a lot of the companies who make them are small, independent outfits.

After all, these are often games with intricate plastic miniatures or simply too many components to be sold in a normal retail environment. In a way, Kickstarter, or other crowdfunding sites like it, are the only way these games can exist.

“It would never sell alongside Monopoly in a supermarket,” said George Fox, who created the Wilson Wolfe Affair. “And would probably sell very slowly even in a specialized game store, since the price point is relatively high.” He also said he felt that the nature of the game lends itself to being a one-time thing, like an event you buy a ticket for. “I think the more niche your game is, the more sense it probably makes to stay Kickstarter exclusive.”

Another popular Kickstarter exclusive in recent years has been Serious Poulp’s 7th Continent, a choose-your-own-adventure-style game of epic proportions. “The game is a Kickstarter exclusive mostly because of its manufacturing costs,” said Bruno Sautter, one of the game’s designers. “It would prohibit a distribution through ‘classic’ retail circuits.” Sautter did put the game up on the company website as a “Late Pledge” pre-order for a few months after the Kickstarter was over, but it’s still considered part of a one-time deal.

Although it makes some sense, Kickstarter exclusives present a few issues. For one, you need to have heard about them in the first place in order to get them. So, if you get wind of the campaign months after the fact, well, too bad. Another issue is that even if you do manage to catch the campaign while it’s in progress, you’re sort of cornered into making an on-the-spot decision on whether to plop down money on something you’re not entirely sure is worth it.

Now, for the most part, Kickstarter campaigns for tabletop games don’t set out to be exclusive. There might be a few components exclusive to the Kickstarter but the game itself isn’t marketed that way. Sure, there’s still a chance that the game might not make it to retail, but there’s a chance it could, especially if the company behind the Kickstarter is established.

Cool Mini Or Not (also known as CMON), for example, is a pretty well-known company that often runs campaigns for its games, but then follows them up with retail copies if they gain enough interest. At the moment, however, CMON is running a Kickstarter exclusive campaign for HATE (inspired by Adrian Smith’s Chronicles of Hate graphic novel series).

CMON says that while HATE will not be available through traditional channels, individual retailers can still choose to get the game through a special Kickstarter retail pledge. The game will also be available through conventions throughout the year. Admittedly, that still means the game will be hard to get, but at least there will be opportunities beyond the initial Kickstarter.

“The thing about Kickstarter-funded board games is that you really don’t know what the future holds for them,” said Quintin Smith, who runs Shut Up and Sit Down, a board games review site. “Which is part of the reason that they receive funding — this might be your only chance to buy it!”

Some games are Kickstarted once and never again, some might get Kickstarted a second time (7th Continent had a second run last year), while others might even get to retail later on, as is the case with a large company like CMON.

“Kickstarter games making it to standard retail is a bit like a spacecraft trying to make it through Earth’s atmosphere to touch down on a landing strip,” said Smith. “It might make it missing a few pieces, or it might not make it at all.”

And, of course, the problem is that few people get a chance to see and review these games at all, so you don’t know how good the game is before backing it. “The only solution that I’m aware of,” continued Smith, “and the one that I suggest to my audience, is that if they don’t want to get stuck with a disappointing game then just wait until the first Kickstarter is over. If a game is really, really good then it’ll either get a second Kickstarter or it’ll arrive in retail.”

That’s sort of the issue with Kickstarter; it’s not a store. Instead, Kickstarter is a place where ideas are brought to life through the power of crowdsourcing — ideas that might not otherwise see the light of day. As alluded to earlier, games like 7th Continent and the Wilson Wolfe Affair could only exist in the Kickstarter era, as they bypass the usual rules and barriers to getting your product to market. As a backer, I’m more than a customer; I’m an early investor.

But as with all investments, there’s always a chance that they could fail. And while I’m happy to see ambitious projects like these get funded — it increases the likelihood they’ll run a second campaign, for one thing — the idea of Kickstarter exclusives “forcing” me to back it does make me feel a touch uncomfortable.

This is, of course, a thoroughly modern problem. Kickstarter (and sites like it) have allowed wonderfully specific and whimsical products to become a reality that otherwise would have remained on someone’s bar napkin. It enables the weird and wonderful products of our dreams, as long as you show up at the right time and you’re willing to take a chance on something you haven’t seen. It’s a modern-day quandary that technology and crowdfunding have conspired to create, which delights and frustrates in equal measure.

For my part, I know that the question of “what if” would always hang over me. What if the game happens to be great? What if it happens to be the single greatest gaming experience of my life? What if I’ll regret missing out on this one-time exclusive? Is it worth it?

And that’s why I breathed a heavy sigh, took out my wallet, and backed the Wilson Wolfe Affair regardless.

EU Regulator Fines Qualcomm $1.2 Billion for Paying Apple to Use Its Mobile Chips

Qualcomm has been hit with a 997 million euro ($1.2 billion) fine by EU antitrust regulators for paying Apple to use its LTE chips in iOS devices, Reuters reported on Wednesday. According to the European Commission’s investigation, the payments to Apple occurred from 2011 to 2016, and were made with the sole aim of blocking Qualcomm’s LTE chipset market rivals, such as Intel.

“Qualcomm paid billions of U.S. dollars to a key customer, Apple, so that it would not buy from rivals. These payments were not just reductions in price – they were made on the condition that Apple would exclusively use Qualcomm’s baseband chipsets in all its iPhones and iPads,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

“This meant that no rival could effectively challenge Qualcomm in this market, no matter how good their products were,” she said.

The EU fine – said to represent 4.9 percent of Qualcomm’s 2017 turnover – is particularly bad news for the company, as it could put it at increased risk of a $103 billion hostile takeover bid by rival U.S. chipmaker Broadcom. Separately, Qualcomm is also in an ongoing legal battle with Apple over smartphone chips.

The troubles began for Qualcomm in January 2017 when the Federal Trade Commission complained that it had engaged in anticompetitive patent licensing practices. Soon after, Apple sued the chipmaker for $1 billion, accusing it of charging unfair royalties for “technologies they have nothing to do with” and refusing to pay quarterly rebates. A Qualcomm countersuit followed in April, and the dispute escalated throughout the year with expanded lawsuits and claims lodged by both sides.

The last legal volley between the two came in November, when Apple countersued Qualcomm with a patent infringement claim, after the latter company sought iPhone and iPad import bans in the United States last summer.

Tag: Qualcomm
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