Apple’s “By Innovation Only” media event for new iPhones and other new product launches is set to start at 10:00 AM PDT. Join The Mac Observer for our live coverage of Apple’s announcements. And be sure to stick around after the event for our extra news and analysis, plus our Daily Observations wrap up.
Mozilla VPN Launches Under Test Pilot Program
Firefox Private Network is a Mozilla VPN launching under its old Test Pilot program. It’s available as a beta today for U.S. users with a Firefox account.
In a nutshell, the Firefox Private Network extension will provide a “secure, encrypted path to the web” to protect the user’s Wi-Fi connection and data contained within the Firefox browser. One of the scenarios Mozilla thinks Firefox Private Network will be useful for is when connecting to the internet through public Wi-Fi hotspots, as it will shield personal information and conceal what websites a user is visiting.
McDonalds Purchases AI Firm to Speed up Drive-Thru
McDonalds purchased Apprente Tuesday, as it doubled down on AI investment . The move followed its purchase of another AI firm, Dynamic Yield, earlier in 2019. The idea, reported Wired, is to help speed up drive-thru and get you your Big Mac quicker.
Apprente’s speech-based artificial intelligence deals within the relatively narrow confines of quick-service restaurants. As with Dynamic Yield’s decision engine, which switches up menu items based on what it thinks consumers want at any given time and location, Apprente’s ultimate goal is to increase the speed of any given transaction. Anyone who’s had to repeat their order into a squawking speaker knows that pain. Apprente calls its technology “sound-to-meaning,” in contrast to “speech-to-text.” The distinction, other than having a nice ring to it, is that unlike many voice AI models, Apprente says it does not transcribe what the customer says, and then infer meaning from that transcript. It goes directly from speech signals to result.
Apple Backs Increasing Songwriter Pay. No Other Streaming Service Agrees.
When the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) ruled that songwriters should get paid more per stream, Apple agreed. All the other major music platforms did not. Instead, they chose to appeal the ruling. Music Business Worldwide explained the ongoing legal wranglings.
Spotify, Amazon, Google, and SiriusXM/Pandora are now appealing this ruling because, to cut a long story short, they argue it could unfairly advantage Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, and Warner Music Group — who all own both major record companies and major music publishers. Apple stands alone in refusing to appeal the CRB’s judgement. Spotify et al’s appeal, filed last month, argues that, to avoid giving the major music companies too much power, a ‘cap’ should have been introduced by the CRB Judges, which would ensure that no method of payout to publishers could ever exceed the equivalent of $0.80 per paying subscriber, each month, of each service.
50 Attorneys General Launch Google Antitrust Probe
Attorneys general from 48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico launched an antitrust probe into Google Monday. The drive was led by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, CNBC reported. It followed the launched of similar action against Facebook on Friday.
The probe includes attorneys general from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. California and Alabama are not nvolved in the probe, Paxton said at a press conference. Other attorneys general at the media conference emphasized Google’s dominance in the ad market and use of consumer data. “When there is no longer a free market or competition, this increases prices, even when something is marketed as free, and harms consumers,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican. “Is something really free if we are increasingly giving over our privacy information? Is something really free if online ad prices go up based on one company’s control?”
The (In)Security Behind Trump's Twitter Account
According to an investigation of President Trump’s Twitter security, his account might be vulnerable to being hacked, although some disagree.
The source who shared information about Trump’s Twitter security said they don’t believe the account will be hacked, but that the risk should be kept in perspective. “Remember we are talking about access to a Twitter account, not access to the nuclear launch codes,” they said. “While the optics would be bad if the account were ever hacked, it would not be a national crisis.”
iMessage and Safari Make iPhones Less Secure
Andy Greenberg writes about security problems in iMessage and Safari, saying that these products make iPhone less secure.
“If you want to compromise an iPhone, these are the best ways to do it,” says independent security researcher Linus Henze of the two apps…He and other iOS researchers argue that when it comes to the security of both iMessage and WebKit—the browser engine that serves as the foundation not just of Safari but all iOS browsers—iOS suffers from Apple’s preference for its own code above that of other companies.
Apple is in a tough position. If a company isn’t great at security, they could get a third-party to audit its software. But that would create a huge target.
MacX DVD Ripper Pro Lifetime Single License: $19.99
We have a deal on MacX DVD Ripper Pro, software that can convert your DVDs into digital video files for your media library. It supports batch converting for multiple videos at once, can extract audio, and more. The deal listing has more information, and a lifetime license for MacX DVD Ripper Pro is $19.99 through our deal.
The Apple Watch is a Slow Burning Success
When Tim Cook first showed-off the Apple Watch it was not necessarily clear what it was for. But, said James Titcomb at the Telegraph, it has proved to be a success.
New gadgets rarely come out of the gates fully formed; technology is an iterative process. The problem for Cook was that the company’s previous products had delighted instantly. The appeal of the iPod and iPhone were obvious as soon as they were touched. The Watch, by contrast, has been that rare thing for Apple: a slow burner. Unlike its predecessors, which were close to the finished item when launched, the original Apple Watch felt like a prototype, one that has since developed it out in the open. More recent versions have dramatically improved. Apple has dispensed with any pretence of the Watch being a luxury good, and stopped attempting to squeeze aspects of the iPhone onto its small screen.
Apple Changes App Store Algorithm to Address Antitrust Complaint
Apple is tweaking the App Store algorithm to make Apple apps less likely to appear in search results. This seeks to address complaints that the company unfairly uses the App Store to promote its own apps in favor of competition.
Mr. Schiller and Mr. Cue said the algorithm had been working properly. They simply decided to handicap themselves to help other developers.
“We make mistakes all the time,” Mr. Cue said.
“We’re happy to admit when we do,” Mr. Schiller said. “This wasn’t a mistake.”
I think the antitrust concerns about Apple have valid arguments, and I think this is a good move by Apple. Notice Phil Schiller gently correct Eddy.
Apple's Fifth Avenue Store Gets a Rainbow Reopening
Apple’s glass cube retail store on Fifth Avenue is reopening, and it’s bedecked with rainbows to celebrate.
A filming crew was posted outside the cube, grabbing shots of passers-by photographing themselves with the new design. One of the crew members told Quartz they were filming “a new commercial” for Apple about the relaunched store, but wouldn’t go into any further detail.
I think it looks great.
Featured image credit: Quartz/Mike Murphy
iCloud Cluster****, Or Why You Shouldn't Run Betas On Important Devices
iCloud features in the iOS 13 betas have been removed because of buggy issues (And is probably a big driver behind iOS 13.1 betas). Developer Craig Hockenberry says this resulted in some unhappy customers.
Entire folders were either gone or corrupted. Apple’s mechanism to recover deleted files was of no help. The customers with weird folder duplicates were the “lucky” ones…Anyone who’s not a developer, and hasn’t been burned by a bad OS, does not know the kind of trouble that lies ahead. It’s irresponsible for Apple to release a public beta with known issues in iCloud…As an Apple shareholder, I also worry about how these failures will damage the iCloud brand.
This is exactly why you don’t run beta software on mission-critical devices. It’s not irresponsible of Apple, it’s irresponsible of people who ignore the warning on beta.apple.com to make backups. These people are why there are “Caution: Product May Be Hot” labels on microwaveable food.
People are Putting Their Apple Cards Through a CNC Mill
Some people are customizing their Apple Cards with CNC milling machines in an effort to improve Apple’s minimalistic credit card.
As Wiegand showed on his Instagram account, he loaded his card into one of these computer-controlled cutting machines to customize the white finish with the filigree you’d find on the back of a 19th-century-era Bicycle playing card.
Neat stuff. We’ve already seen wallet cases specifically for Apple Cards. I wonder if some companies will create Card skins.
Zulu Audio Alpha Wearable Speakers: $39.99
We have an interesting pair of speakers for today’s deal, the Zulu Audio Alpha Wearable Speakers. These are personal Bluetooth speakers—not headphones—that stay attached to your body using magnets that clip to your clothing. They’re $39.99 through our deal. I’m linking to a black pair, but there’s also a white pair at the same price.
Google launches open-source differential privacy library
Google released an open-source version of its differential privacy library Friday, TechCrunch reported. The library powers some of the company’s core products.
“Whether you’re a city planner, a small business owner, or a software developer, gaining useful insights from data can help make services work better and answer important questions,” writes Miguel Guevara, a product manager in the company’s Privacy and Data Protection Office. “But, without strong privacy protections, you risk losing the trust of your citizens, customers, and users. Differentially-private data analysis is a principled approach that enables organizations to learn from the majority of their data while simultaneously ensuring that those results do not allow any individual’s data to be distinguished or re-identified.” As Google notes, the current version of the Apache-licensed C++ library focuses on features that are typically hard to build from scratch and includes many of the standard statistical functions that developers would need (think count, sum, mean, variance, etc.).
Qualcomm 5G Chips Coming to Mid-Priced Phones
Qualcomm will expand use of its 5G chips into mid-priced phones. Reuters reported the shift from being almost exclusively in top-end phones will happen in 2020.
Qualcomm is already supplying phone makers such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) with chips for 5G wireless data networks, which are expected to be faster than current 4G and LTE networks. But those chips have typically been from the San Diego chip suppliers’ most expensive line, its Snapdragon 8 series. Qualcomm said in remarks prepared for the IFA tech fair in Berlin that it plans to add 5G capabilities to its lower-cost Snapdragon 6 and 7 series devices, which could make 5G phones available at lower prices than the current models, mostly flagship devices priced at a premium. Qualcomm’s 6 and 7 series Snapdragon chips are found in devices from Lenovo Group Ltd’s (0992.HK) Motorola, Xiaomi Corp (1810.HK), Oppo and Vivo that retail in the $300 range.
Apple Beta Tests Official Apple Music Web Player
Apple is starting to get the hang of what being a services company really means. Charlotte and I have wrote about unofficial web players for Apple Music, and now Apple is beta testing an official one.
To use the new Apple Music web version, subscribers can visit the link beta.music.apple.com and sign in with their Apple ID.
At launch, the service includes many core features, like searching and playing songs from the Apple Music catalog, searching and playing songs from your library (if Sync Library is enabled), accessing your playlists and more.
Activists Ask Jeff Bezos to Buy Amazon Rainforest
Some creative climate activists approached Jeff Bezos with an investment opportunity this week. They asked the Amazon boss to buy the rainforest that shares his company’s name, which is still on fire. Adweek spoke one of the creative directors behind the project.
According to a creative director who helped spearhead the project, he and another creative came up with the idea a few weeks ago while on a shoot in Spain. As they reflected on the news of the rainforest burning, and 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg’s weeks-long trek to New York on an emissions-free yacht, they became uncomfortable when steaks were served during lunch since Brazil’s booming agribusiness sector has contributed to the rainforest fires. “We had to go lay in the grass and look at the trees,” he said. “It was in that moment that we were like, ‘What can we do?’”
Samsung Rethinks the Galaxy Fold Customer Experience
The Verge writes:
Samsung may have finally fixed the Galaxy Fold and confirmed new release dates for the foldable phone, but anyone who preordered the phone earlier this year may still be out of luck: Samsung is emailing customers to cancel all preorders while it “rethink[s] the entire customer experience” surrounding the sale of the phone,
How un-Apple.
CASA i4 USB-C 4-in-1 iPad Pro Hub: $49.99
We have a deal on the CASA i4 USB-C 4-in-1 iPad Pro Hub. This slim and portable hub features four ports: a USB-C PD port for charging, a USB Type-A for reading flash drives, an HDMI port for video output, and a 3.5mm audio connector for headphones. This device is $49.99 through our deal.
Planned Parenthood's App Comes to All 50 States This Year
Planned Parenthood Direct is an app that lets you order birth control and get UTI treatment from your phone. It will roll out to all 50 states by the end of 2019.
For either birth control prescriptions or UTI treatment, you’ll need to fill out some personal and medical information, then wait up to one business day for a clinician to decide whether your case is straightforward enough that they can write your prescription. In some states, you’ll need to do a video chat. And depending on the provider’s decision, your request may be turned down and you’ll need to see somebody in person.
Two Zombie Rumors are Back: iPhone SE 2 and Display Touch ID
I’ve coined the phrase “zombie rumor” because these rumors keep getting resurrected. First it was the Apple TV set, and now it’s the iPhone SE 2 and Touch ID that is embedded into the screen. Mark Gurman tells us about both.
Apple is considering including this in-screen touch sensor in the 2020 iPhone model if testing is successful, the people said. Suppliers have proven their ability to integrate the technology into iPhones, but the company has not managed to mass-produce it yet, one person familiar with the development work said.
I think going back to Touch ID is a step backward. Face ID is more secure, so Apple would be intentionally creating less-secure devices, unless they can somehow get Touch ID up to par with Face ID.
Netflix Announces New 'Latest' Section
Netflix unveiled its new ‘Latest’ section Thursday. It provides a personalized list of forthcoming content, TechCrunch reported.
Netflix had confirmed in August that the Latest section would be available on its streaming app for TVs, including Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, and others. But it also had a similar feature available on Android and is testing the feature on iOS, it said at the time. Today, the company confirms the new tab will now be available on many game consoles and Roku, with smart TVs and other devices getting the upgrade in the next couple of months.
Facebook Dating Launches in U.S.
Mired in data breaches and privacy scandals Facebook has turned to love. It launched its dating service in the U.S. Thursday The Verge reported.
Facebook says it will suggest matches for you based on preferences you express when you create your profile, along with your interests and Facebook activity. The app, which borrows many design elements from the dating app Hinge, allows you to send a “like” and a corresponding message to any profile you encounter on the service. You won’t see your Facebook friends in the app unless you use its “secret crush” feature, which lets you express interest in up to nine Facebook friends (or Instagram followers). If you both like each other, you’ll get a notification letting you know.