Pebble Time smartwatch users are getting a few notable updates today including a redesigned iOS app alongside the latest firmware for the watch itself that brings new features, fixes and enhancements.

Apple has closed the signing window for iOS 8.1 on compatible iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models, thereby eliminating the ability for users to downgrade to the software version. iOS 8.1.1, seeded as an over-the-air update a few weeks ago, is now the earliest software version that devices can be restored to.

Pebble has launched version 2.5 of its smartwatch firmware, packing a bunch of great new features—including some interesting new abilities for users who have recently upgraded to iOS 8. Notably, the update now allows iOS users to dismiss notifications by clicking the X button to dismiss one, and holding it down to dismiss all. Pebble also says that the app should stay live in the background more often on iOS, but the company says that users should make sure not to disable “Smartwatch Proximity.”

Additionally, the company says that the firmware brings the ability for the Pebble and Pebble Steel smartwatches to display Emoji, replacing the previous small white boxes that are all too familiar across platforms without Emoji support. And to round off the most interesting new features, the company is launching the Compass app that they promised long ago, which can be picked up on the Pebble appstore. I definitely recommend this one; I’ve tried it out and I’m quite impressed with how fluid the app is.

The smartwatch should have improved Bluetooth and notification reliability compared to previous firmware versions, and Pebble says that 2.5 also fixes a plethora of bugs.

Apple has released a bug fix patch for its 2013 AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule, fixing the OpenSSL ‘Heartbleed’ vulnerability. The update does not apply to the AirPort Express.

Firmware update 7.7.3 is recommended for all AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule base stations with 802.11ac. It provides security improvements related to SSL/TLS. Other AirPort base stations do not require this firmware update.

Amusingly, when Heartbleed made headlines earlier this month, Apple said that no key software or services were affected. They conveniently forgot to mention that their latest router hardware was susceptible to the flaw.

Apple issued a minor firmware update today to address issues specifically related to customers using USB hard drives with their routers, and fixes for intermittent loss in WAN connectivity as well as issues that may cause a network loop. You can view the full release notes below:

• Addresses an issue that prevents a USB hard drive connected to an AirPort Extreme from appearing as an available disk in Time Machine
• Resolves an issue that may intermittently cause a loss in WAN connectivity
• Resolves an issue that may result in a network loop

If you own an AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule, you can view more information about grabbing new firmware updates here. 

Apple has released a new firmware update for the mid 2012 MacBook Air today that helps to address problems with the device recovering from a crash. Apple release notes said the update addresses “a storage firmware issue that, in rare cases, may cause a system to fail to recover from crash.”

The MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 is available to download on Apple’s website here and should be hitting Software Update soon. The 1.69 MB update is available for mid 2012 MacBook Airs running OS X 10.7.5 or OS X 10.8.3.

After releasing an SMC firmware update for most MacBook models last month to address the same battery issue, Apple today released MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update 1.7 for mid-2010 and early 2011 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros. The update, available through Apple’s website, addresses a rare battery issue:

About MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update 1.7

This update addresses a rare issue on some Apple notebooks where a battery that has accumulated more than 1000 charge cycles may unexpectedly shut down or stop functioning.

A number of users on Apple’s support forums noticed that the latest Airport/Time Capsule 7.6.3 firmware released last week seems to disable IPv6 tunneling on various devices. It isn’t a big surprise to many users that have experienced the functionality being disabled with past versions of the firmware, and it will likely be fixed in a future release. You can revert to a previous version of the firmware until Apple fixes the issue by using the instructions below:

AirPort Utility 5

1. Open AirPort Utility.
2. Select your base station and choose Manual Setup, or double-click on the Wi-Fi base station icon.
3. Choose Base Station > Upload Firmware…
4. From the window that appears, select a firmware version and click OK. If you select Other from the Upload Version menu, you will be prompted to manually locate the firmware update.

AirPort Utility 6

1. Open AirPort Utility.
2. Select the base station you want to downgrade.
3. Place the mouse cursor over the version number and hold down the Option key to turn it into a pop-up menu. Press and hold the mouse button to open the menu.
4. From the menu that appears, select a firmware version and click OK. If you select Other, you will be prompted to manually locate the firmware update.

The Loop pointed us to this iOS support matrix (Autumn 2012 edition) posted by app developer Empirical Magic. Definitely a useful resource for developers, the chart shows the number of devices running certain versions of iOS, and makes recommendations for dropping support in future updates.

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