iOS

Editors note: Will Strafach (@chronic) runs a mobile security services firm helping enterprises protect their employees and confidential data from mobile threats. Fast and thorough analysis of the compiled binaries found within the HackingTeam dump was possible using their upcoming cloud-based iOS application analysis platform, using highly advanced pattern-matching and heuristic techniques to detect threats and privacy leaks within applications installed on enrolled mobile devices. He can be reached at will@wstraf.me if any readers have further questions or concerns regarding HackingTeam or other iOS malware. 

Written by: Will “Chronic” Strafach

There has been a lot of mixed information and speculation in the media recently in regards to the HackingTeam leak and what it all means for iOS users. Do the surveillance tools the group has reportedly provided to governments and law enforcement present a risk to the average iPhone and iPad user? That’s a question we’ve been getting a lot, so I will attempt to present all of the facts based on the recently leaked documents detailing the HackingTeam’s tools, as well as my opinion on the impact of certain aspects for iOS devices. Advanced users will already be aware of what I am about to state, but for everyone else, here’s what we’re dealing with:

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Apple’s talks with networks for its upcoming streaming TV cable service are well underway, according to the New York Post. The four main broadcast networks are involved: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Apple’s 30% revenue share of the subscription fee remains a point of contention, but the report claims that negotiations are rapidly gaining momentum with Apple targeting a late fall launch of its new TV product.

Disney or CBS will apparently be the first companies to sign up with Apple and get the skinny TV package deal rolling. Apple wants to have channels like Disney’s ESPN and Discovery in the mix too. Apple is also interested in getting local live TV as part of the package, as has been previously reported. According to the report, Apple has worked out a way to speed up the process so it doesn’t have to negotiate with every local affiliate network across the country itself.

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Pixelmator for iPhone and iPad has today been updated to version 2.0.2 bringing even more features to the popular image editor for iOS and Mac. This update adds a new kind of brush stroke called Dynamic Touch, which simulates pressure sensitivity by examining the size of the finger input that touches the screen. Larger surface area produces thicker strokes on the canvas. Similarly, using just the tip of a finger results in fine lines in the app.

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Apple Pay has gone live in the UK today with over 250,000 officially blessed locations (although Apple Pay will work at any standard NFC terminal) and seven banks. In the runup to the launch, the main holdout has been Barclays bank who instead promoted their alternative ‘bPay’ service.

Now, though, they have changed their tune. Over Twitter, Barclays announced that it is actually  ‘really excited’ about Apple Pay and will add support for the service to Barclaycard debit and credit cards in future.

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As we reported would happen, Apple Pay will be going live in the U.K. today. The service launches in the country with support from more than 250,000 stores, including Waitrose and Transport for London on its transportation networks. Currently, 8 U.K. banks support Apple Pay. Those banks are American Express, First Direct, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster Bank. Notably missing from that list is Barclays, who is said to still be in negotiations with Apple to support the platform.

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HSBC appears to have let slip the release date of Apple Pay in the UK over Twitter. In a tweet that has since been deleted, a support representative from the bank said ‘Yes! It’s due to launch this Tuesday! We are excited too’. 9to5Mac previously reported the 14th July date for the expansion of Apple Pay into the UK a couple of weeks ago.

UK retailers also seem to think that the Apple Pay launch is imminent as signs showing support for the contactless technology have started appearing across the country, as noted by 9to5Mac readers and Matt Brian on Twitter.

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Earlier this month, Greece instituted new regulations amid the country’s financial crisis that blocked users from renewing iCloud subscriptions and buying from iTunes and the App Store. At the time, this left many users wondering what would happen to their iCloud data, seeing that they legally couldn’t pay to keep their subscription alive. Now, however, it appears that Apple is stepping up to ensure that user data remains intact during Greece’s financial crisis.

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Freedom?

The US antitrust regulators are reportedly looking into Apple’s subscription service rules for the App Store are anticompetitive and illegal under US law, according to Reuters. The main issue of contention is that the standard streaming music price of $9.99 per month is not attainable for Apple Music competitors as App Store rules enforce a 30% cut of all revenues made from within apps.

This means that streaming companies either have to take on significant profit cuts to stay at the $9.99 mark or charge more in the App Store to account for the 30% margin. The argument is that consumers will not want to pay $12.99 (approximately $9.99 with a 30% increase) per month for a streaming music service when they can readily buy Apple Music for $9.99.

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Google has quietly launched a new iOS app today called Ivy that it describes as an experimental big number calculator.
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Update: The public beta is now available via Apple’s Beta Program site. Instructions on how to go about installing can be found here.

Alongside the public beta of OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Apple today has announced that it will release the public beta of iOS 9 later today. The public beta will allow users to test the new features of iOS 9 before Apple launches in a stable build of the operating system this fall. Users can sign up to be a Beta Program member on Apple’s Beta Program site.

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One of the things we all love to hate about Facebook is the way that it thinks it knows better than we do which posts we want to see. Facebook uses unspecified algorithms to assign rankings to posts, boosting the visibility of those it thinks we want to see, and demoting those it thinks will interest us less.

A new iOS Facebook app rolling out later today will for the first time allow us to choose for ourselves whose posts get bumped to the top of our feeds. Three additional features also allow us to control what we do and don’t see further down those feeds … 
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Apple alerted developers to some App Store price adjustments earlier in the week and the alternative price tier details have now been posted. Apple has added other alternative price tiers in the past, but what’s interesting with these changes in particular is is that they are specifically targeted at offering really low price options for apps in a select few countries.

The new tiers enable developers to set prices for their apps way below the usual $0.99 price floor in India,  Russia, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey. (Special pricing for China has existed for some time.)

For example, using the ‘Alternative Price Tier A’ means that apps are priced at 10 Indian Rupees. This is equivalent to about 16 cents in USD. Before the addition, the lowest price developers could charge in India was 60 rupees, which is about 96 cents.

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Apple earlier today began rolling out the third betas of iOS 9, watchOS 2, and OS X 10.11 El Capitan and we’ve been digging into each of them, trying to figure out what is new, changed, and improved. Most of the changes come on the iOS 9 and watchOS 2 side of things, with the new OS X 10.11 beta focusing mainly on under-the-hood changes. Read on for all of the changes…

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In addition to adding the new News app, iOS 9 beta 3 also made a much-needed enhancement to the folder functionality on the iPad. In prior versions of iOS, users were restricted to a 3×3 layout of apps on the iPad, meaning that there were 3 rows of 3 apps on the device, for a total of 9 apps per page. With iOS 9 beta 3, however, users can now have a 4×4 setup of apps in folders on the iPad.

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The third beta release of iOS 9 is the first to include News, the new Apple-developed news aggregating application debuted at WWDC. We’ve already posted a Hands-On Guide to News — and we’re in there! — so here’s a quick guide to adding 9to5Mac and our sister sites to the News app…

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Apple earlier today pushed iOS 9 beta 3 to developers, and this build includes the company’s new News app. The app was unveiled back at WWDC last month, but was not included in the first two beta builds of iOS 9. News is designed with a Flipboard-like magazine interface with large images and minimalistic appearance.

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