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Charlotte Henry

Charlotte is a media junkie, covering how Apple is not just a revolutionary tech firm, but a revolutionary media firm for TMO. She is based in London, and writes and broadcasts for various outlets.

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Articles by Charlotte Henry

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Things for Apple Watch Gets Major Update

Charlotte Henry ·

Good news for those who use the Things task manager app – the Apple Watch version has been given an overhaul. 9to5 Mac reported that not only does it now work with multiple Apple Watches, it also syncs directly with the Things Cloud.

The new version of the task manager finally works with multiple Apple Watches. This limitation previously made Things for Apple Watch unusable when using a second Apple Watch for sleep tracking. The bigger story is under-the-hood. Things for Apple Watch has been completely rewritten to sync directly Things Cloud. The major overhaul to the watchOS app now means Things for Apple Watch no longer requires the iPhone for syncing tasks. The new watch app sync is independent just like Mac, iPhone, and iPad versions.

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App Store Guidelines For Developers Get an Update

Charlotte Henry ·

On Tuesday, Apple announced updated App Store guidelines for developers. Amongst other things, the updated guidelines cover reviews, spam, push notifications, Sign in with Apple, data collection and storage, and mobile device management. MacRumors has a good breakdown of some the key changes.

1.4.4 – Apps used to commit or attempt to commit crimes of any kind by helping users evade law enforcement will be rejected. (This previously was a rule limited to apps about DUI checkpoints). 4.3 – Apple has added new content types to its “Spam” list of app categories it considers already saturated. Fortune telling and dating apps join fart, burp, flashlight, and Kama Sutra apps as apps that will be automatically rejected unless they provide a “unique, high-quality experience.”

 

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Apple Employee at Cork Campus Tests Positive For Covid-19

Charlotte Henry ·

An employee at Apple’s Cork campus in Ireland has tested positive for the Coranavirus, the Irish Independent reported. The company confirmed the case of Covid-19. Over the weekend, Apple encouraged employees who were able to to work from home at a number of global locations, although Cork does not appear to be one where this policy was initially implemented.

“One of our employees in Cork has been confirmed to have Covid-19,” the company said in a statement. “We are closely coordinating with the local health authorities who feel the risk to others is low, and the individual remains in self-isolation. As a precaution, we have asked some of our team members to stay at home while we work with the Health and Safety Executive to assess the situation. We are continuing to regularly deep clean all our offices and stores and will take all necessary precautions in accordance with guidance from health authorities.” The Apple campus employs over 6,000 people.

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Powerbeats 4: Leaked Images And Details Emerge

Charlotte Henry ·

Some images and details of the expected Powerbeats 4 headphones have emerged. AppleInsider picked up on the reports from German publication Win Future (from where the images in this post come).

Following both January 2020’s discovery of a “Powerbeats 4” icon within iOS 13.3.1, and February’s FCC approval of the device, what appear to be final specifications and images have leaked. The latest sports wireless earbuds will add Apple’s H1 chip, and bring up to 3 extra hours battery life than the 12 hours in the previous Powerbeats 3. The addition of the H1 chip means, if correct, that Powerbeats 4 will feature “Hey, Siri,” plus the ability to announce messages with Siri. The H1 chip is already in Apple’s Powerbeats Pro, AirPods 2, and AirPods Pro. The leaked marketing images match previous reports, showing a new arrangement of cabling

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Cloudflare Offering 'Teams' Products For Free to Small Firms During Coronavirus Outbreak

Charlotte Henry ·

‘Cloudflare for Teams’ products will be free for small businesses for at least the next six months. In a blog post, CEO Matthew Prince said he wanted to help such firms allow staff to work from home during the coronavirus outbreak.

Beginning today, we are making our Cloudflare for Teams products free to small businesses around the world. Teams enables remote workers to operate securely and easily. We will continue this policy for at least the next 6 months. We’re doing this to help ensure that small businesses that implement work from home policies in order to combat the spread of the virus can ensure business continuity. You can learn more and apply at: https://www.cloudflare.com/smallbusiness We’ve also helped launch an online hub where small businesses can see technology services available to them for free or a substantial discount from multiple companies, during the Coronavirus Emergency: https://openforbusiness.org

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Resale Value of Android Devices Drops Twice as Fast as it Does For iPhones

Charlotte Henry ·

When you get a new phone, there is always a balance to be struck between making the effort of reselling your old device and how much money you will actually get for it. Well, according to data reported on by Cult of Mac, it is worth making that effort for a lot longer if you have an iPhone to sell.

Apple devices do lose value over time. “In the first year, on average, iPhones lost -23.45%; by year two, the total loss is -45.46%,” notes BankMyCell. But Androids lose way more. After one year, they’ve dropped an average of 48.65% — more than twice as much as iPhone after the same amount of time. And after two years, Androids are down 79.66%.

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How Coronavirus Misinformation is Spreading Across Facebook

Charlotte Henry ·

Almost as soon as the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak became clear, misinformation and conspiracy theories relating to it began spreading. Not surprisingly, Facebook is an absolute hub of inaccurate information. Wired took a look at what is being shared across various groups on the platform.

This fake news has spread through “cure” books on Amazon, WhatsApp viral texts, and even the mainstream media. Now, according to data taken from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned tool that tracks the diffusion of viral stories, a small army of Facebook fringe groups are following suit and pivoting to a new hot topic: coronavirus misinformation. The posts, which are filling innocuous Facebook groups normally dedicated to political discussions and flight deals, are a strange evolution of conspiracy theories that have been knocking around the internet for years. One much-mooted theory, for example, is that the coronavirus has been caused by radiation from 5G masts. One of these posts, on Smart Meter Health problems UK, garnered 191 reactions, 188 comments and 86 shares – eleven times the normal amount for the group.

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More Details of How Uyghur Muslims Are Exploited in Tech Supply Chains Emerge

Charlotte Henry ·

Earlier this week, I reported on research by an Australian think tank that highlighted how Uyghur Muslims in China were being exploited, maltreated, and used in the manufacturing of products. Apple is one of the companies whose supply chain was cited in the report. Now, the Associated Press has published further on-the-ground reporting about the exploitation of this minority during the making of tech products. Apple is again one of the firms mentioned, along with the likes of Lenovo and Huawei.

OFILM’s website indicates the Xinjiang workers make screens, camera cover lenses and fingerprint scanners. It touts customers including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, HP, LG and Huawei, although there was no way for the AP to track specific products to specific companies. Apple’s most recent list of suppliers, published January last year, includes three OFILM factories in Nanchang. It’s unclear whether the specific OFILM factory the AP visited twice in Nanchang supplies Apple, but it has the same address as one listed. Another OFILM factory is located about half a mile away on a different street. Apple did not answer repeated requests for clarification on which factory it uses. In an email, Apple said its code of conduct requires suppliers to “provide channels that encourage employees to voice concerns.” It said it interviews the employees of suppliers during annual assessments in their local language without their managers present, and had done 44,000 interviews in 2018.

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U.S. Lawmakers Urge UK to Rethink Huawei 5G Involvement

Charlotte Henry ·

Senior U.S Senators have once again urged the British government to not give Huawei any role in the development of the country’s 5G network, Sky News reported. In total, 20 lawmakers from both parties signed the open letter.

In a letter to MPs, the group of US politicians – including both Democrats and Republicans – expressed their “significant concern” with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to hand the Chinese company an infrastructure role. Critics allege Huawei has close links to the Chinese government and its equipment could be used for espionage purposes – something the company has always denied. US President Donald Trump has put trade restrictions on Huawei and previously suggested future intelligence-sharing cooperation with America’s “Five Eyes” allies – the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – could be put at risk if the UK worked with the firm.

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Police Chased Criminals Using 'Find My' App

Charlotte Henry ·

We’ve heard a number of stories about how the Apple Watch has alerted people suffering from a heart condition, potentially saving their lives. Now it seems, Apple products are helping fight crime. The Sydney Morning Herald told the story of how the ‘Find My’ app helped police pursue two men, in what ultimately became a fatal police chase.

The victim opened his tracking app, which pinged the iPad, and he began following his stolen Triton. Police called him off before officers tracked the ute and iPad to the Glengala Hotel in Sunshine. The police air wing was called in, but when officers arrived at the scene the ute had been dumped. The iPad, though, began pinging inside the Toyota Kluger. Over the following two hours the men were traced heading to the Sunshine Motor Inn and across the suburb before a brief police pursuit on the Western Ring Road. Police then tracked the Kluger to Tullamarine, Epping, Mernda and Thomastown.

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Twitter Urges Employees to Work From Home

Charlotte Henry ·

In an updated blog post, Twitter encouraged its staff to work from home in a bid to protect them from COVID-19. It became one of the first major U.S. firms to take such a step.

We are working to make sure internal meetings, all hands, and other important tasks are optimized for remote participation. We recognize that working from home is not ideal for some job functions. For those employees who prefer or need to come into the offices, they will remain open for business. Our Real Estate & Workplace team is increasing deep cleaning and sanitizing in all spaces, as well as more visual reminders for personal hygiene best practices and pre-packaged, pre-composed, and pre-plated food options. Working from home will be mandatory for employees based in our Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea offices due in part to government restrictions. Our criteria will evolve over time as we get more information, and we will communicate to affected Tweeps as appropriate.