iOS Devices

Android has featured the ability to stream to AirPlay devices like the Apple TV by means of third-party utilities for some time now, but no Android device has ever shipped with native AirPlay support in tow. That’s all changed with the announcement of the HTC 10, the first device to ship with native AirPlay support.

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A proposed bill now in committee in the New York State Senate could give NY police officers the ability to plug smartphones into a ‘textalyzer’ following a motor vehicle accident. The device would read data from the phone to determine whether or not the driver had been texting or otherwise using the phone at the time of the crash.

ArsTechnica reports that Cellebrite, the Israeli company believed to have cracked the San Bernardino iPhone, is developing the technology required for the checks. Such checks without a warrant would normally violate the Fourth Amendment right to privacy, but Cellebrite believes it has a solution to that …

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London’s Metropolitan Police service has apparently abandoned plans to issue iPad minis to 15-20,000 frontline officers after spending a total of £6M ($8.58M) on a trial of just 641 devices. This means that the trial ended up costing the taxpayer £9,360 ($13,397) per iPad.

The Inquirer obtained the information using a Freedom of Information request.

The Met spent £1.2m on hardware during that time, including the iPads and supporting servers and accessories, £4.1m on custom software development, which included the databases to support mobile operations, £600,000 on business and management activities and £100,000 on licences. The costs also include the replacement of 12 tablets during the trial period … 

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There was a time just a few years back when the 4-inch screen was considered Apple’s big phone. After five generations of 3.5-inch screens, Apple made the iPhone taller in 2012 with the 4-inch iPhone 5. The width remained the same in a “common sense” move that maintained easy one-hand use for most people, and the 16:9 aspect ratio framed video playback perfectly. Two years later, Apple upgraded the iPhone with two new models: 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch, but no new 4-inch iPhone until now.

iPhone SE is the first upgrade to this size since the iPhone 5s in 2013. It’s a huge specs upgrade if you’re coming from an iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, or earlier. And in some cases like mine, iPhone SE is mostly on par with Apple’s iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus flagships. But there are a few limitations of varying importance plus a few oddities that should be considered before buying … even with the relatively competitive price tag on iPhone SE.

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With the iPhone SE behind us, those that didn’t jump on the new 4-inch iPhone are now looking to the fall when Apple is expected to introduce its true next-generation smartphone with the iPhone 7. Or at least that’s what we’re calling it until things become official, and from the sounds of the latest rumors and reports, there’s a lot more up in the air than just the device’s name when it comes to new features, design changes, and more.

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Cellebrite, the company widely believed to have accessed the San Bernardino iPhone for the FBI, is reportedly ‘optimistic’ that it will also be able to access a locked iPhone 6.

CNN reports that Italian architect Leonardo Fabbretti met with the company last week to see whether it could help gain access to his dead son’s iPhone. Before his death from bone cancer, 13-year-old Dama Fabbretti had added his father’s thumbprint to allow him access – but the phone required the passcode after a restart, and his father doesn’t know the code.

Apple had told him it was impossible to access the iPhone without the passcode, but Fabretti told CNN that Cellebrite has already made progress …

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Apple today has shared a new advertisement for the fourth-gen Apple TV. The ad follows the same theme as “The Kiss,” which was released last month and starred Allison Brie. Today’s new ad, however, features Lakers player Kobe Bryant and actor Michael B. Jordan using the Apple TV and accompanying Siri Remote.

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Our top stories this week include our hands-on coverage and real-world testing of the new iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7-inch, as well as the latest on what to expect from the next generation iPhone 7 and iPhone sales going forward. Apple also attracted some attention with the announcement of new Hermès Apple Watch bands this week, and we had a handful of notable iOS and Mac app launches and updates.

Stories surrounding the Apple and FBI controversy over encryption came to a slow as the FBI officially confirmed the hack it discovered does not work with the iPhone 5s or later iPhones. Head below for the handy links to all of this week’s top stories. 

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Have you noticed that virtually every aspect of the personal information on our iPhones can be restored individually via iCloud? Things like photos, mail, contacts, calendars, Safari bookmarks, and notes can all be individually recovered on a fresh install of iOS.

The one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is text messages and iMessages. Sure, it’s possible to restore text messages if you’re willing to backup and restore the entire contents of your iPhone, but what if you wish to perform a fresh install of iOS and then restore messages?

Fortunately, backing up and restoring SMS texts and iMessages on an individual basis is possible, as long as you’re willing to take some time to follow our step-by-step guide.

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The San Bernardino iPhone case over Apple’s iPhone encryption may be over for now after the FBI managed to break into the iPhone 5c used by one of the shooters, but the same isn’t true for another high-profile case in New York. Bloomberg reports that the United States Department of Justice has decided to indeed continue its demand that Apple help unlock the encrypted iPhone 5s of an alleged drug dealer in the case.

The U.S. government is pressing a demand that Apple Inc. help it crack a drug dealer’s phone in Brooklyn, New York, even after it said it successfully accessed a California shooter’s iPhone without the company’s help.

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I said in the final part of my iPhone SE diary that perceptions of iDevices are very personal, in part because of the role the product plays within our own personal Apple ecosystem – and that’s equally true here.

For someone who likes to draw, or handwrite, Apple Pencil support makes the upgrade from an earlier iPad a no-brainer. You’re getting a huge amount of additional functionality for your money. You could say that you’re getting an iPad Air 2 plus a sophisticated electronic sketching device, all in one box.

But I can’t draw, and I haven’t handwritten anything for years. So for me, the upgrade from my iPad Air is a less dramatic one. The question is whether the relatively modest enhancements can justify the fairly stiff increase in price … ?

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The WSJ has illustrated the stark contrast in Apple’s attitude to assisting law enforcement to access iPhones before and after the Snowden revelations about mass surveillance of private data. It was already known that Apple had helped access more than 70 pre-iOS 8 iPhones, and the paper today reports that – in the earliest known case – the company went as far as drafting the language for the court order.

Lawyers and investigators involved in the 2008 prosecution of Amanda and Christopher Jansen, a young married couple from Watertown, N.Y., remember it as one of the most horrific cases of child sex abuse they had ever seen.

History may remember it for another reason. It is believed to be the first case of a federal judge ordering Apple to assist the government in unlocking an iPhone—and the technology giant not only complied; it helped prosecutors draft the court order requiring it to do so … 

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Last month, Apple unveiled a new commercial for the iPhone and always-on Siri, and now the company has shared a new video showcasing the behind-the-scenes process of making the video. “Go behind the scenes of the commercial, with Cookie Monster and everyone’s favorite personal assistant, Siri,” Apple teases.

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It has been widely speculated that the method used by the FBI to access the San Bernardino iPhone might not work with phones that have the Secure Enclave, and this has now been effectively confirmed. FBI director James Comey told CNN that the method doesn’t work with the latest iPhones.

The FBI director also said the purchased tool worked only on a “narrow slice of phones” that does not include the newest Apple models, or the 5S.

This fact also lends support to the main theory about how the hack was performed …

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The White House will not be supporting draft legislation that would allow courts to force tech companies like Apple to help law enforcement hack into encrypted devices, reports Reuters.

The Senate Intelligence Committee in February announced plans to impose criminal penalties on companies that fail to comply with court orders like the one challenged by Apple and finally withdrawn by the FBI. Remarks by President Obama last month appeared to suggest he would support the proposed legislation, but it now appears this isn’t the case …

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Until today, the only way to get a premium Apple Watch Hermès band was to buy the band and watch together from the Apple Store, or buy a very-similar (and cheaper) knockoff band and pretend it is genuine. It was also only offered in one color, fauve brown. That is all about to change however. Apple has announced that it will soon start selling Apple Watch Hermès bands standalone and in several new colors.

Soon, customers will be able to buy Double Tour, Single Tour and Cuff bands separately in fauve brown, feu red, blanc white, bleu paon green and blue saphir blue shades. The new bands will be available from April 19, 2016 …

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After resisting the temptation for several months, I finally broke down this week and bought an Apple Pencil. I purchased the initial iPad Pro back in November when it first came out, but sold it and switched to the 9.7-inch model last week, and so far I’ve been very happy with that choice. Figuring that I’ll probably stick with this size iPad Pro for at least a year, I decided the Apple Pencil would be a worthwhile investment. And I was right.

I was skeptical of the Apple Pencil when it was first announced, as I assumed it would just be the same as the tacky styluses third-parties had been making for years, but after using it I’ve realized just how wrong I was. The thing that I noticed very early on in my time with the Apple Pencil though, was how crazy good the palm rejection is. Writing with an Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro is nearly as easy as writing on actual paper. As a student, this is a huge factor for me when it comes to note taking, so I decided to dive a little deeper into the apps on iOS that are made for taking notes and are optimized for iPad Pro. Here are some of the ones I would recommend…

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If you consider your iPhone 6s to be a very good camera, then the 9.7-inch iPad Pro should equally be considered an acceptable camera in terms of quality. Both have 12‑megapixel iSight cameras on the back with True Tone flashes, 5-megapixel FaceTime HD cameras on the front with Retina Flash, and Live Photos on both sides, plus 4K video capture.

The only difference is obviously the form factor of each device: the iPhone’s candy bar shape makes it look like a digital camera, whereas the iPad may only be socially acceptable as a camera if no one realizes you’re actually taking photos. That’s kinda the trick for me; shoot with the iPad if I’m already using it for something else, otherwise go for the iPhone first.

That context is mostly around the house where no one can see (read: judge) me, but seriously using the 9.7-inch iPad Pro as a convenient camera has made me realize the iPad’s Camera app has a few drawbacks compared to the same app on the iPhone. Part of it is size, but there are some software tricks too that you’ll want to keep in mind to better utilize the newly improved camera system…

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[UPDATE April 7: Apple has also made the OS X 10.11.5 beta available to public beta users, as well.]

Just moments after releasing the first betas of iOS 9.3.2 and watchOS 2.2.1, Apple this afternoon has pushed fresh developer betas of tvOS and Mac OS X. The latest tvOS version released to developers today is 9.2.1, while OS X El Capitan has been bumped to 10.11.5.

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