Apple Reiterates Inability to Unlock iOS Devices Running iOS 8 or Higher in New Court Filing
Apple this week informed a federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn, New York that it “would be impossible” for the company to access data on a locked iPhone running iOS 8 or later, reports Reuters. Apple was responding to a request from the judge, James Orenstein, to help him decide whether to fulfill a U.S. Justice Department request that would have forced Apple to help authorities gain access to a seized iPhone.
Apple’s response is not a surprise, as it is the same thing the company has said several times in the past. Since iOS 8, Apple has stopped storing encryption keys for devices, making it impossible for the company to unlock iPhones and iPads under police request. Without an encryption key, Apple cannot bypass a passcode to gain access to an iOS device.
In a brief filed with the court, Apple said 90 percent of its devices are running iOS 8 or higher and are thus inaccessible. Apple is able to access the 10 percent of devices that continue to use iOS 7 or below, but the company told the judge that being forced to comply with the Justice Department’s request could tarnish its brand.
“Forcing Apple to extract data in this case, absent clear legal authority to do so, could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand,” Apple’s lawyers wrote.
Apple’s encryption changes, implemented in 2014 with iOS 8, have been unpopular with some law enforcement officials. FBI Director James Comey has expressed concern that encryption implemented by companies like Google and Apple lets people “place themselves above the law.”
Just yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook told an interviewer encryption is a necessity and that software backdoors are unacceptable, reiterating Apple’s long-standing opinion on the subject.
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.
Jony Ive on the ‘Intertwining of Fashion and Technology’ and 2016 Met Gala
Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Apple would sponsor its annual 2016 Gala and Costume Institute exhibition, with Apple Design Chief Jony Ive serving as co-chair of the event.
The Gala, which takes place next year, is themed “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” and while few details are available this early on, The Wall Street Journal has now shared a bit more information on what we can expect from the event following an interview with Jony Ive, Anna Wintour, and Costume Institute Curator Andrew Bolton.
“Manus x Machina” is a theme that aims to combine handmade crafting techniques like lacework with automation like 3D printing to “explore the full spectrum of processes by which clothing is designed and made.” A theme that covers the intersection of technology and fashion is a good fit for Apple, as the company debuted its first fashion item, the Apple Watch, earlier this year.
“As products become more personal, something that is worn on the wrist put us in the space of fashion,” said Mr. Ive. He and Ms. Wintour were wearing versions of the Apple Watch Hermès, introduced this month.
“These are issues close to our hearts,” said Mr. Ive of the intertwining of fashion and technology. “Our understanding will temper and define future products we’re working on. We’re only starting.”
At the Met Costume Institute exhibition, haute-couture garments will be paired with ready-to-wear versions to show “the equal contributions of automation and craftsmanship.” Three dozen designers and 100 items of clothing will be featured, dating from the 1880s to now, and there will be rooms dedicated to embroidery, knitting, lacework, leatherwork, ultrasonic welding, thermo shaping, laser cutting, and 3D printing.
The annual Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Gala will be held on May 2, 2016. It’s a fund raising event that benefits the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Held in New York City, the Met Gala always attracts hundreds of well-known celebrity attendees.
HTC Unveils the One A9, an iPhone Lookalike That Runs the Latest Version of Android
HTC today announced its latest flagship Android smartphone, the HTC One A9. Priced at just $399, the One A9 looks remarkably like an iPhone 6/6s, taking many design cues from Apple’s most recent devices.
The A9 has a 5-inch screen with a curved-edge display, so it fits right in between the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus, and it includes the same antenna bands and a protruding rear camera, both design choices that haven’t exactly been universally popular on the iPhone. The aluminum body comes in colors that are similar to the iPhone color lineup, available in Opal Silver and Carbon Gray.
A Topaz Gold shade is available internationally, and a Deep Garnet color will be available later in the year. When it comes to thickness, the A9 One measures in at 7.26mm, putting it on par with the 7.1mm iPhone 6s and 7.3mm iPhone 6s Plus.
The design similarities between the iPhone 6 and the HTC A9 are only external. The A9 runs the latest version of Android, Marshmallow, and it’s equipped with a four-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon 617 processor, up to 3GB RAM, and a 13-megapixel rear camera. There’s also a 4-pixel front-facing camera and it ships with up to 32GB of storage that can be expanded to 2TB with a microSD card.
The HTC One A9 compared to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, via The Verge
Like many smartphones available these days, the One A9 has a fingerprint scanner to unlock the phone without a passcode, and it has built-in DAC to convert 16-bit audio to 24-bit high-resolution audio.
HTC is accepting pre-orders for the One A9 on its website. The phone is priced at $399 and is available unlocked.
Apple TV Gains CBS All Access, NBC, and Made to Measure Channels
Just a week ahead of the launch of the fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple has added several new channels to the existing set-top box. As of today, NBC, CBS All Access, and Made to Measure (M2M) are available on the Apple TV.
The new NBC channel is the first time the network has had a channel available on the Apple TV, aside from the dedicated NBC Sports channel. With the NBC channel, customers can watch full episodes of NBC shows on the Apple TV. Cable authentication is required for some features, but all users can watch some NBC content on the channel without needing a subscription.
Announced last night, M2M is an Apple TV exclusive channel that focuses on fashion, run by talent agency conglomerate WME/IMG. The channel features short videos, interviews, and mini-documentaries from the fashion world.
The new CBS channel, CBS All Access, is designed to provide access to the CBS All Access streaming service. CBS All Access includes more than 7,500 episodes of CBS shows on demand, and it offers new episodes of all CBS shows the day after they air. Some customers whose local CBS affiliates support All Access will also be able to watch CBS shows live on the channel.
All three of the new channels are available immediately on the existing Apple TV, and will also be available on the new set-top box that’s launching on Monday.
Facebook’s Instant Articles Feature Now Rolling Out to All iOS Users
Several months ago, Facebook announced “Instant Articles,” a new platform for publishers that aimed to speed up the loading times of articles when browsing on the Facebook iOS app, but it was limited to a small number of iPhone users. As of today, Facebook’s Instant Articles are rolling out to all iOS users and should be showing up in Facebook timelines starting now.
With Instant Articles, publishers are able to host their posts and stories on the Facebook servers, which are able to load linked articles up to 10 times faster than a separate web app. The platform also includes several interactive tools like photo zooming, maps, auto play videos, audio captions, comments, and more, plus it lets publishers access analytics tools to measure article traffic.
According to Facebook, its users are more likely to read and share content that loads instantly, and content that gets a lot of shares is beneficial to publishers as it ranks higher in the Facebook News Feed.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/142956439?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
Several major publications have signed up to use Facebook’s Instant Article platform, including The New York Times, National Geographic, BuzzFeed, NBC, The Atlantic, The Guardian, BBC News, Spiegel, Bild, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic, Business Insider, Fox Sports, MLB, Hollywood Reporter, The Onion, The Verge, TIME, and more.
Instant Articles are highlighted in the iOS Facebook feed with a lightning bolt icon, letting users know which content has the special formatting.
Apple Pay Now Supports HSBC and Over 70 Other Issuers in U.S.
Apple updated its Apple Pay participating issuers list today with 75 additional banks, credit unions and financial institutions supporting the contactless payment service in the United States. Apple Pay now has over 600 participating issuers nationwide, and several more plan to support the NFC-based mobile payment service in the future.
HSBC Atrium in Buffalo, New York
HSBC, one of the ten largest U.S. banks, highlights the complete list of Apple Pay participating issuers. As a disclaimer, it should be noted that some smaller banks, credit unions and financial institutions listed may have already had support for the contactless payments service and are only now being reflected on Apple’s website.
The full list of new Apple Pay participating issuers is ahead. Read more 
Sphero Review: BB-8 Is a Must-Have Toy for Star Wars Fans
Sphero’s been making iPhone-connected ball-shaped robotic toys since 2011, and while the company has been successful with the original Sphero and the Ollie, it stumbled on a major hit this year with the launch of the BB-8, a Star Wars branded iPhone-controlled droid.
BB-8 is based on the droid from the upcoming movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It combines Sphero’s existing robotic ball technology with the Star Wars universe, a marriage that’s resulted in the most appealing, advanced Sphero toy to date.
Sphero’s BB-8 has a fun backstory and was designed with help from Lucasfilm. Throughout the development process, Lucasfilm provided Sphero with details on BB-8, feedback on the design, and the iconic sounds that bring the toy’s personality to life.
The “real” BB-8 can be seen in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer
Hardware and Design
Design wise, the BB-8 consists of a robotic ball, similar to the original Sphero, and a droid head that fits onto the ball using magnets. Under the head, there are a set of wheels that allow it to move around and stay in place on top of the body of the BB-8 while it is in motion.
BB-8 is about the size of a baseball and fits in the palm of a hand. If you have a Sphero already, the body of the BB-8 is the same size as the Sphero ball. The head is about the size of half a ping pong ball and is adorned with two ornamental antennae. The body and the head are both made of a smooth plastic and there are LEDs inside that allow BB-8 to light up. This is a pretty durable plastic – even when BB-8 slammed into walls, it remained undamaged. Plastic is breakable though, and it’s still worth being gentle with BB-8.
Read more
Developers Press BBC to Bring iPlayer to Apple TV by Building Their Own Proof of Concept App
Following the unveiling of the new Apple TV back in September, United Kingdom-based public service broadcaster BBC told fans on Twitter that there were “no plans currently” to develop an iPlayer app for the new platform. While the broadcaster has backtracked slightly since that time, more recently stating it doesn’t “have any info to give” on the topic, with the launch of the Apple TV right around the corner, a couple of Dorset-based developers have taken the task into their own hands to prove that the app can be made with relative ease.
Screenshot from the proof of concept iPlayer app
The BBC iPlayer app allows viewers of the popular British channel to catch up with current series and watch live TV on a smartphone or tablet. The company expanded support for the service to streaming devices like Chromecast and smart TVs last year, but never made the leap to Apple TV due to its limited SDK support and nonexistent functionality with other platforms like Android. Now, a pair of developers from Bournemouth, Dorset in the United Kingdom — Matt Cheetham and Phillip Caudell — have used a recent hack event to prove Apple TV support for BBC iPlayer could be implemented fairly easily by the broadcaster.
The pair took to GitHub to share the app they created, dubbed the “Auntie Player,” which splits the iPlayer experience up into Home, Categories, Live, and Search tabs, with full episode lists, descriptions, and run times for each show. Cheetham and Caudell cite BBC’s “disappointing response” from September as the main source of inspiration for the proof of concept app, pointing out BBC’s failure to support Apple TV as a direct contradiction to its public purpose to “make engaging digital content and services available on a wide range of digital platforms and devices.”
Most impressively, the duo planned, coded, and completed the app in under nine hours at the “Hack to the Future” event in Bournemouth over the weekend. As they note in the GitHub post, the two won’t be submitting the app to the App Store, but they wanted to showcase “what can be achieved with the tvOS platform and the BBC’s amazing content.”
The app we’re publishing here was built in just under 9 hours at a hack event to prove it could be done. It’s by no means complete or perfect, and it’s very much a proof of concept. It’s our hope the BBC will release an official app for Apple TV, as they’ve made iPlayer available on a wide range of other set-top boxes and Smart TVs.
Check out the developers’ full suite of source code for Auntie Player on GitHub, along with an array of screenshots and more of the reasoning behind sharing their creation with the public.
With Apple’s new tvOS developer tools for the fourth-generation Apple TV, the platform is now open to all developers, significantly broadening the potential for Apple’s set-top box beyond the locked-down content provider model that has existed until now. Just yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook reiterated his thoughts that the television experience needs to be reinvented and that apps are the way to do it.
‘Guitar Hero Live’ for iOS Launches With $100 Guitar Controller Bundle
Activision today released Guitar Hero Live for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in the U.S., following a five-year hiatus in the iconic video game franchise. The app is accompanied by an optional $99.99 bundle including a Bluetooth LE six-button guitar controller, guitar strap, redeem code and 2 AA batteries, available through major U.S. retailers. A two-guitar bundle is also offered for $149.99.
Guitar Hero Live puts you on stage rocking reactive live-action crowds. Guitar Hero Live is all about the dream of becoming a rock star. You will play with REAL band members, playing to REAL crowds, with REAL reactions to your performance. Play well and the crowd will love you! Play poorly and your fans will turn on you!
Guitar Hero Live for iOS has single-player and multiplayer modes and includes two free trial songs, while the guitar controller bundle unlocks over 40 additional tracks, access to GHTV channels featuring over 200 songs at launch and touch-based gameplay. A digital bundle is also available for $49.99 that unlocks the same features without a Bluetooth guitar for touch-based gameplay.
T-Mobile is also selling the Guitar Hero Live for iOS bundle and, for qualified customers, offering financing that breaks down the $99.99 price into 23 monthly payments of $4.16, with a final monthly payment of $4.31.
Supported iOS Devices:
- iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2
- iPad mini, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4
- iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus
- iPod touch (6th generation)
The game also requires iOS 8 or later and at least 3GB of device storage.
Guitar Hero Live [Direct Link] is free on the App Store, and also available for $99.99 on PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PS3 and Xbox 360. A version for the new Apple TV will also be released to play on the big screen. The game launches in Europe on October 23.
Learn more about Guitar Hero Live and other iOS games at our sister website TouchArcade.
Blind Camera Shootout – the winner is…
If you’ve been following the homepage over the past week, you’ll have seen we published a big blind smartphone camera shootout to find out how the new Sony Xperia Z5 camera compares to the iPhone 6S, Galaxy Note 5 and the LG G4. Like our past blind camera shootout, we didn’t tell you which device took each image and today, we’re revealing the results – which smartphones takes the crown?
The cameras in numbers…
Before we reveal the results, let’s recap the various camera specs of each smartphone:
| Sony Xperia Z5 | Galaxy Note 5 | LG G4 | Apple iPhone 6S | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution: | 23MP (5520×4140) | 16MP (5312×2988) | 16MP (5312×2988) | 12MP (4032×3024) |
| Focus: | Hybrid AF | Autofocus | Laser Autofocus | Phase Detection AF |
| Flash: | dual LED | dual LED | dual LED | dual LED |
| Manual controls? | Yes | Yes | Yes | partial |
| Aperture: | f/2.0 | f/1.9 | f/1.8 | f/2.2 |
| Focal Length: | 24mm | 28mm | 28mm | 29mm |
| Camera Sensor Size: | 1/2.3″ | 1/2.6″ | 1/2.6″ | 1/3″ |
| Pixel Size: | TBC | 1.12µm | 1.12µm | 1.22µm |
| Stabilisation: Features: |
Effective Stabilisation |
OIS | OIS Colour Spectrum Sensor |
Digital Image Stabilisation |
| Front Camera | 5MP | 5MP | 8MP | 5MP |
Numbers are only one part of the equation and while you could make a decision on which is best just based on the specs, we all know that cameras and images are about more than megapixels, and algorithms and processing play a large part. Clear your mind, settle down and let’s check out which smartphone camera really is the best.
The Galleries:
Let’s take a look at each gallery again and discuss which smartphone took the best shot. Before we do that however, it’s time to reveal which device is which:
- Phone A = Sony Xperia Z5
- Phone B = LG G4
- Phone C = Apple iPhone 6S
- Phone D = Samsung Galaxy Note 5
Now, let’s look through the galleries:
Gallery 1
This shootout proved to be interesting as it tested how each smartphone camera handled the change between a colour-rich subject and a sky with various shades of grey. No smartphone was able to capture the sky in all its details but the iPhone 6S seemed to handle the transition between light and dark the best.
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Gallery 2
This gallery combined an interesting collection of tests; from the varying sky colours to the detail of the individual tree leaves, the sign in the foreground and the building details and colours to the right.
The Note 5 wins this test as it handles the sky well, produces a good amount of detail in the sign and has clarity in the tree outline. The LG G4 and the Xperia Z5 come second and third respectively as they both produce good all round images while the iPhone 6S comes fourth as it overcompensates for the white balance in the image.
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Gallery 3
This gallery was designed to see how each smartphone handles the details and colours in and on the shop front as well as the details in the shop signs and the reflections in the windows.
The Xperia Z5 wins this shootout as it produces a saturated image with deep colours that is closest the image produced by the EOS 70D. Next up is the Galaxy Note 5, which slightly overcompensates for the light but still captures details, while the iPhone 6S comes third and the washed out LG G4 rounds off this gallery.
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Gallery 4
As pointed out in the comments on the original shootout, the wide angle of the Xperia Z5 lets it down here. When evaluating this gallery, we zoomed into the Apostrophe sign, the detail on the ladies’ hair and the grille at the end of this feature.
The winner is the LG G4, which handles the range of colours better than its rivals. The others are quite close with the Xperia Z5 adding a slight hue to an otherwise good image, the iPhone 6S handling the colours in the scene quite well and the Galaxy Note 5 offering impressive detail even if colours are a little saturated.
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Gallery 5
This gallery was an interesting test as it evaluated how each smartphone handled the colours in the two different LED signs, as well as the detail of the door stand, which can be seen just past the front door.
Each smartphone handled the scene differently and the winner is the Galaxy Note 5, which comes closest to the EOS 70D image with detail and accurate colours throughout. Next up is the iPhone 6S which offers great colour reproduction in the signs and this is followed by the LG G4. The Xperia Z5 brings up the rear as it over compensates for the light and hence, the signs are almost washed out.
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Gallery 6
While shots of scenery and subjects are always great, it doesn’t quite cover how each smartphone handles the contours and detail of a human face. This gallery aims to test just this as well as looking at the amount of bokeh in the details on the wall and mirror behind.
This proved to be a test of two halves with the Galaxy Note 5 narrowly beating the LG G4 to the top spot followed by the Xperia Z5 narrowly pushing the iPhone 6S into last place. In particular, the Xperia Z5 would have probably done a lot better had it been in oversampling mode and the iPhone 6S seems to get the white balance all wrong.
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Gallery 7
For this gallery, the blue sky and amount of detail in the buildings was an interesting test of how good each smartphone’s HDR mode was. From the detail in the rooftops to the Breitling sign at the bottom of the scene and the Itsu sign in the immediate foreground, there’s a lot of detail to capture.
The iPhone 6S wins this with the Galaxy Note 5 very close behind as the sky is a little less saturated than on Apple’s flagship. The Xperia Z5 comes third over the LG G4, mainly because the latter produced a darker image and Sony managed to more accurately reproduce the colour of the sky.
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Gallery 8
Almost the same scene as the above, this gallery used the red telephone box as the subject of the photo. When evaluating this, we looked for reproduction of details on and in the box, the clarity of the Itsu shop sign to the left and the amount of bokeh in the background details.
The Galaxy Note 5 wins this just for its reproduction of details inside the iconic telephone box while the LG G4 and the iPhone 6S tie for second, as the latter captures the details in the background better and the former is better at reproducing the white balance of the scene. Sony’s Xperia Z5 comes a very close fourth as a seeming lack of stabilisation results in some noise in the image.
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Gallery 9
This was an interesting test as the flags had varying amounts of detail, the buildings were detailed and intricate and the sky can be just seen to the left. The Xperia Z5 has a good reproduction of the overall scene but lacks detail when you zoom into the image.
The LG G4 captures the scene well and captures good detail of the brickwork on the building while the iPhone 6S is slightly darker but does better at capturing the sky. The Galaxy Note 5 is very similar to the LG G4 as it captures the scene well including details in the brickwork but lacks depth when you zoom into the image even slights. It’s too close to call a winner in this gallery.
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Gallery 10
This was an interesting gallery as it kicked off the low light testing with a combination of varying colours, intricate detail and bright lights. The Galaxy Note 5 probably wins this for the amount of detail captured even though the colour reproduction isn’t quite accurate.
Beyond this, the LG G4 comes second for the amount of detail captured and even though it is slightly noisy, the Xperia Z5 comes third with the iPhone 6S last thanks to inaccurate white balance. Interestingly, the Xperia Z5 would probably win this or come very close when used in oversampling mode.
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Gallery 11
A combination a dark shop sign and a low light cream building above made an interesting test of each smartphone’s ability to handle low light conditions. The Xperia Z5 overcompensated for a lack of light resulting in a bright image but a lack of detail in the overall image.
The Galaxy Note 5 and the LG G4 tie for first place here as the overall image is almost identical from each of these devices and the iPhone 6S completely misjudges the white balance resulted in a dark image that fails to capture all the details.
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Gallery 12
The last two galleries combine to form a test of the overall night shot capability of each handset. The first gallery is the scene captured with no flash and the second gallery takes the same scene but applies the inbuilt flash of each device.
As far as details in the image go, the Xperia Z5 is the best of all four devices as, although the iPhone 6S produces a lighter image, Sony’s best captures more details. The Galaxy Note 5 comes third and the LG G4 comes fourth, although it’s worth noting that the ISO is set quite low on both of these devices (although all handsets were set to auto mode) and they would produce much better images with a higher ISO.
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Gallery 13
Now to the final gallery – which smartphone has the strongest and most accurate flash? The EOS 70D has a significant advantage thanks to its Xenon flash and while companies such as Nokia have used Xenon in the past, a dual/triple LED flash is the common standard as it can be used for both photos and videos (Xenon cannot be used while video recording).
The LG G4 and the Galaxy Note 5 tie for first place here as the former reproduces details better (albeit with a slight hue) while the latter captures the light better but lacks somewhat in the details. Sony’s Xperia Z5 comes a close third and the iPhone 6S rounds off this shootout in a lowly fourth place.
The results:
Now to the results – which device wins the shootout? Here’s how the voting stands at the end of this shootout:
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It turned out to be quite a close-run race between the iPhone 6S and the Galaxy Note 5 for the title but Apple’s latest just beat Samsung’s latest with 38.2 and 34.1 percent of the 7810 votes respectively. Sony’s Xperia Z5 comes in third with 17.7 percent of votes while the LG G4 brings up the rear with 10 percent of all the votes.
The phones in detail…
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@media only screen and (min-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
width: 100% !important;
@media only screen and (max-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos
width: 100%;
float: none !important;
overflow-x: auto;
overflow-y: hidden;
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
overflow: auto;
max-height: none;
body .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: left !important;
clear: none !important;
As mentioned in the original gallery post, all the settings were at their maximum resolution, which proved to be detrimental to the Xperia Z5 (which relies on the 8MP oversampling mode for its best shots). We’ll be retesting these smartphones along with a few others in the big camera shootout in the coming weeks so stay tuned! Let us know what you thought about these results in the comments below guys and head over to the original shootout post for all the galleries.
AIVAnet 