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Underclocked iPhone SE More Powerful Than Android Phones

Andrew Orr ·

Some impressive news for Apple: Not only is the iPhone SE more powerful than the most expensive Android phones, it’s doing that while underclocked.

More powerful than Android phones:

Building your own mobile chipset brings many advantages, and Apple is leveraging them today. Google really needs to do the same, and soon.

Underclocked processor:

Looking at the result breakdown of the iPhone SE (2020), the CPU and GPU yield is closer to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max that are powered by an A12 Bionic platform. Memory speed is the only thing pushing the 256GB iPhone SE way ahead of the XS family with the result of 77,968, which is in line with the iPhone 11 trio.

No speculation on why it’s underclocked, but one possible reason is heat.

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Netatmo Smart Indoor Security Camera Patched After Security Issue Found

Andrew Orr ·

Following an investigation by PCMag and Bitdefender, a patch has been issued for the Netatmo Smart Indoor Security Camera.

The Bitdefender IoT Vulnerability Research Team discovered that the device is susceptible to an authenticated file write that leads to command execution (CVE-2019-17101), as well as to a privilege escalation via dirtyc0w—a local privilege escalation bug that exploits a race condition in the implementation of the copy-on-write mechanism in the kernel’s memory-management subsystem.

Many smart home devices are notoriously insecure, and this is the main reason why I don’t have any of them (Besides my robot vacuum, but I explained my reasoning).

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Apple Watch: Remove The Band Before Getting a Repair

Charlotte Henry ·

Customers need to remove the band on their Apple Watch before going to get the device repaired. If they leave it on, it will no longer be returned. That’s according to update guidance, reported on by Cult of Mac.

It is now explicitly asking customers to remove them. Its new support document warns that any bands sent in will not be returned. Your Apple Watch band and any other accessories that you send won’t be returned, so please remove them before sending your Apple Watch in for service,” read the updated guidelines. Apple also reminds users who own a Link Bracelet band to “remember to separate the link before you remove the band.” In the past, Apple has been known to return accessories, bundled together, when practical. Apple Watch bands would be be reattached, but they would be sent back to the user. It’s possible that practice has now become too time-consuming.

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Fortnite is Now in The Google Play Store, but Epic Games Isn't Happy About it

Charlotte Henry ·

After an 18-month standoff, Fortnite is finally on the Google Play Store. However, Techcrunch reported that gamesmaker Epic Games is not all that happy about it.

“Google puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage, through technical and business measures such as scary, repetitive security pop-ups for downloaded and updated software, restrictive manufacturer and carrier agreements and dealings, Google public relations characterizing third party software sources as malware, and new efforts such as Google Play Protect to outright block software obtained outside the Google Play store,” an Epic Games spokesperson said in a statement. “Because of this, we’ve launched Fortnite for Android on the Google Play Store.” Epic Games withholding Fortnite from the Play Store was a very clear threat to Google’s app profits, though Google argued that downloading Android software outside of the Play Store presented a clear security threat to users who could unknowingly download malware from less reputable sites.

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Apple Care+ For iPad Pro Can Also Apply to New Magic Keyboard

Charlotte Henry ·

If you bought one of the new iPad Pros you likely wanted Apple Care+ too.  Cult of Mac explained how you can extend this coverage to your accessories, including the new magic keyboard.

Apple says “AppleCare+ extends your iPad, Apple Pencil, and Apple-branded iPad keyboard coverage and includes up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage every 24 months.” Obviously, that includes the new Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, the most expensive iPad keyboard Apple ever released. The version made for the 11-inch tablet is $299. And Apple asks $349 for the one designed for its 12.9-inch iPad Pro, putting this version of the accessory above the $329 price for the base-model iPad. Accidental damage coverage also covers the Apple Smart Keyboard Folio, which is either $179 or $199, depending on the screen size of the iPad Pro it’s intended for. The $99 Apple Pencil or $129 Apple Pencil 2 are also covered.

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Should Apple Offer Discounts to Those With Disabilities?

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple offers a variety of discounts – to veterans, to students, to government workers. However, as a reader highlighted to iMore, it does not offer such discounts to those with disabilities, despite the number of excellent accessibility features baked into Apple products. It’s a really interesting discussion, and the letter is very much worth reading.

I have tried everything else, which is to say Android and Windows. They are not the same. They do not work together seamlessly. They are not simple. They are not intuitive. They are not thoughtful. They do not have the built-in features I need. They do not have the third-party apps I need. They do not have Apple’s commitment to security. They do not have Apple’s commitment to privacy. They do not have Apple’s commitment to quality. They do not work with my brain… Accessibility features benefit everyone. It is disheartening when those features are not affordable to those who need it the most. Apple should extend discount pricing to all people with disabilities. Today.

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FaceTime Didn’t See Much Growth due to COVID-19

Andrew Orr ·

A survey of 1,630 people found that among other video chat apps, Apple’s FaceTime got the highest satisfaction score, but didn’t see significant growth in users now that everyone is working from home.

Respondents consider FaceTime to be the easiest service to use, by far: it was ranked highest in terms of video quality and overall satisfaction. However, almost everyone reserved the service for one-on-one calls, and use of the app has barely changed since stay-at-home orders were put in place. Because FaceTime is only accessible to people with Apple products, it makes sense that current circumstances haven’t had a significant impact on the app’s popularity—it is quite likely that users interact with the app in much the same ways they did pre-COVID.

I’m thinking the biggest factor for this is the fact that FaceTime is only available on Apple devices. It’s not a good video conferencing app for businesses with multiple operating systems.

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Apple Pay Expands to More Banks in Germany

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple Pay is now available to more customers in Germany. Banks within the Volksbank Raiffeisenbank collective are offering the service, AppleInsider reported.

The banking cooperative, which includes DZ Bank, Fiducia & GAD, VR Payment and DG Verlag, was initially scheduled to roll out support in 2019. It is unclear why BVR delayed rollout into 2020. With Volks- and Raffeisenbank on board, nearly all major German banks are in the Apple Pay fold, though Postbank, Targobank and Santander remain notable holdouts. Apple’s mobile payments service debuted in Germany in late 2018 with support from Comdirect, Deutsche Bank, Fidor Bank, Hanseatic Bank, HypoVereinsbank and prepaid service Edenred. Mobile banking services Boon, Bunq, N26, o2, Square and VIMpay were also added at that time, while credit card companies American Express, MasterCard and Visa offered limited integration.