A long-running FaceTime patent infringement battle isn’t over yet, despite Apple paying VirnetX the full $454M awarded against it when the US Supreme Court rejected the iPhone maker’s appeal.
We noted at the time that the two sides were still arguing over a recalculation of the damages, and it seems the worst case could see Apple paying more than a billion dollars in total …
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It turns out Apple included a stealthy update with iOS 14.2 that didn’t appear in the release notes. With the latest public release, iPhone 8 and later have gained support for 1080p FaceTime HD video calls on Wi-Fi and for iPhone 12, on 5G and Wi-Fi.
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For many years, FaceTime has been blocked in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to local telecom restrictions. With today’s release of iOS 13.6, however, this restriction appears to have been lifted, at least partially.
After WhatsApp and Telegram promised that they will not, for now, hand over any user data to local authorities, Apple has said that it is assessing its own Hong Kong policy.
The Cupertino company said that it already has one protection in place …
The rise of Zoom could be the headline for the 2020 technology scene. Zoom has replaced classrooms, board meetings, concerts, and even some low budget sporting events. What I find interesting about Zoom is how it took off for video communications while we had other services that were better in a lot of ways. I particularly want to look at FaceTime during COVID-19, and how despite having a nearly decade long existence and being built into every iOS and macOS device, it didn’t have its ‘Zoom’ moment, and why Zoom became the new default group video service.
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As video call apps have seen massive growth over the last few months during the pandemic, Apple users have found Group FaceTime’s moving tiles to offer a distracting experience. With Apple’s iOS 13.5 software comes the option to stop moving faces in Group FaceTime calls.
With everyone stuck at home, more and more people are resorting to video chat tools like FaceTime to stay connected. Apple is adding a new setting in iOS 13.5 to improve the experience on a busy Group FaceTime call…
Apple has officially inked a deal to settle a class action lawsuit in California that accused it of intentionally breaking FaceTime on older iPhone devices. According to Law360, Apple has reached an $18 million deal in the case.
Less than a month after Apple paid $440M to settle one FaceTime patent infringement claim, it is now faced with another.
Apple fought a claim from VirnetX for almost a decade before finally deciding to settle the case last month in order to end the drawn-out battle …
One business that has been hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown is photography – but a British photographer has come up with an innovative solution: taking remote portraits via FaceTime.
Tim Dunk’s main business is wedding photography, and that has completely dried up as all mass-gatherings are banned, forcing people to postpone their weddings.
The idea of taking portraits via FaceTime is not quite as crazy as it sounds …
Parents are able to FaceTime their babies in neonatal intensive care units after hospitals were forced to ban physical visits over coronavirus fears.
The iPad-based arrangement has been set up at hospitals in both the US and Europe as they enact measures designed to limit the spread of the virus …
Apple technology and hardware continues to be a reliable solution for entertainment creators working from home amid the COVID-19 shutdown. Now, CBS has announced that it will use FaceTime and other video conferencing platforms to create a virtual episode of its “All Rise” drama series.
Various people have suggested in the past that Apple should allow FaceTime for Android and Windows, in an attempt to make it the default standard for consumer video calls. That idea gained new impetus when Apple launched the Group FaceTime function for calls between up to 32 people.
But the coronavirus outbreak has taken consumer group videoconferencing to a whole new level. Back in February, most non-techies had never done it in their lives. Fast-forward to now, and Zoom conferences are a completely normal thing for everyone …
Group FaceTime is a great iOS feature and with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s likely to see a lot more use as many cities, states, and even countries put in place lockdowns around the world. Follow along for two ways to start Group FaceTime calls with up to 32 people.
Users of 16 popular iOS and Android apps claim that they would be willing to pay a monthly subscription for popular apps if there was no longer a free version.
WhatsApp was the one most users would rather pay for than give up, while YouTube was the app for which they’d be willing to pay the highest subscription fee…
We reported yesterday one funky new feature in iOS 13 beta 3: FaceTime eye contact correction.
Currently, when you look at the screen to see the face of the person you’re talking to, they will see your eyes looking down as the camera is above the screen. But the latest iOS 13 beta offers a feature called FaceTime Attention Correction…
The Trump administration is considering the possibility of banning end-to-end encryption, as used by services like Apple’s Messages and FaceTime, as well as competing platforms like WhatsApp and Signal.
The topic was reportedly the main topic of a previously-unreported meeting of a National Security Council meeting on Wednesday …
Apple has turned its Group FaceTime feature back on following the release of iOS 12.1.4 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Apple manually disabled the feature over a week ago after a privacy bug was discovered with Group FaceTime that allowed eavesdropping between FaceTime users.
Apple has also shared an on-the-record statement confirming the fixes are in place:
Update: iOS 12.1.4 is now available.
Last week was a tough one for Apple and privacy. First, a huge bug in Group FaceTime would allow someone to eavesdrop on another FaceTime user just by calling them and adding themselves to a group call before the contact answered. Then, a project from Facebook was revealed to be spying on users, violating Apple’s Enterprise Developer Program policies. The latter was dealt with by revoking Facebook’s enterprise certificate, rendering their internal apps unusable. The same action was taken against Google, which had a similar project.
The US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has today penned a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook with a list of questions about the FaceTime eavesdropping bug. The letter is signed by Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky.
In the letter, the committee says it is “deeply troubled” about the bug, as well as how long it took Apple to address the issue.
The FaceTime bug that made waves as result of 9to5Mac’s coverage last week was actually first reported to Apple by Grant Thompson and his mother in Arizona a week earlier. However, deficiencies in the Apple bug reporting process meant that the report was not acted upon by the company …
Apple has today released an update on the FaceTime eavesdropping bug and offered an apology. The company says it has patched the flaw on its servers and will roll out an update to iOS users next week to bring back Group FaceTime with the bug fixed. It also makes a promise to improve how it handles bug reports and its escalation process.
Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) – the UK equivalent of the NSA – is calling on Apple and other tech companies to secretly add law enforcement agents to Messages chats, FaceTime calls and other forms of encrypted chat on demand.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has said this would be like the recently-discovered FaceTime bug, only worse …
While we’re waiting on Apple’s fix for the Group FaceTime bug, the New York State Attorney General announced today that it is launching an investigation into Apple’s “slow response.” This comes after allegations that Apple was first alerted to the eavesdropping flaw earlier this month.
