Apple’s sales team must be seriously worried about this one.

Effective immediately, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will discontinue providing iPhones as option for replacements or upgrades for existing employees [over] Apple’s recent refusal to cooperate in unlocking an encrypted iPhone used by individuals involved in the recent San Bernardino shootings.

There are currently 564 smartphones deployed throughout the office, 366 of which are iPhones. 

It seems some are taking Donald Trump’s call to boycott Apple and iPhones seriously.

Via Engadget. Photo Maricopa County.

Filed under: iOS Devices

Continue reading more about iOS Devices at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Arizona’s Maricopa County takes Trump’s advice, boycotts iPhones over FBI battle” with our community.

Brand loyalty consultancy Brand Keys says that Apple has topped the lists in three of the categories in which it competes: laptops, tablets and smartphones. It wasn’t quite a clean sweep, however – Apple Music lost out to Pandora in the online music category …

The large-scale survey asked 42,792 people to pick their top brands in 72 categories. Other tech winners included Amazon, AT&T, Dropbox, Facebook, Google and Netflix.

Apple of course regularly wins awards, last month picking up arguably the most eccentric when the Apple Watch was named ‘Life enhancer of the year.’ 9to5Mac readers picked the Watch as Apple Product of the Year last year.

Via CNET

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple awards, Apple Inc, award, Pandora

For more information about AAPL Company, Apple Inc, and Pandora continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Large-scale brand loyalty survey shows Apple tops the list in laptops, tablets and smartphones” with our community.

Apple may be battling one branch of U.S. law enforcement on a terrorist-related issue, but CNN reports that the company is working closely with another on a broader fight against ISIS. Apple is one of six leading tech and media companies offering assistance to the Department of Justice in countering ISIS messaging and posts on social media.

At a meeting conducted at the Justice Department on Wednesday, executives from Apple, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, MTV and Buzzfeed offered their input to top counter intelligence officials, according to an industry source familiar with the meeting.

In all, nearly 50 companies and community groups participated, along with the National Security Council, the State Department and the British Embassy.

The issue is not just one of propaganda, said National Counterterrorism Center director Nick Rasmussen, but of directly encouraging acts of terrorism …

Rasmussen told the group the administration is making strides in combating ISIS on social media, where the terrorist army has inspired potential lone wolf assailants to carry out attacks.

Apple’s participation may help to cool suggestions that the company is helping “put people beyond the law.”

Tim Cook yesterday told ABC News that a master key into the iPhone would be “the software equivalent of cancer,” a description that will have particular resonance in a company whose co-founder died from pancreatic cancer.

Photo: AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: California, DOJ, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Bernardino, United States Department of Justice

Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of AAPL Company, California, and FBI.

What do you think? Discuss “Apple working with DOJ to help fight ISIS messaging and propaganda on social media” with our community.

In a conference call with reporters last week, an Apple exec said it was reasonable to expect the company to continue strengthening the security policies of its products in light of the Apple/FBI battle.

In complementary reports today, The New York Times and Financial Times are detailing that Apple engineers are now actively developing new encryption methods for iCloud backups and iPhone hardware, so that Apple couldn’t even hack itself … if it was asked to again like in San Bernardino iPhone backdoor/unlock case.

Not only would this counter the orders by the FBI in the current court case for future iPhone owners, it would also close a security hole in iCloud backups that various law enforcement institutions have exploited thousands of times before …

Right now, although iCloud backups are encrypted, the keys for the encryption are also stored with Apple. This means that law enforcement can ask for this data to be provided from Apple’s servers. In the San Bernardino case, Apple gave FBI iCloud backups for the iPhone until October 19th. It could have used the same technique to get access to even more recent backups, but the local county police in cooperation with the FBI reset the Apple ID password, which meant the phone could no longer authenticate with the backup servers.

The Financial Times report explains that Apple is developing a new backup strategy, where the keys would be tied to the local user device in some way. Apple could not decrypt these backups by itself and hence could not comply with law enforcement requests, uncovering no private user data. It’s unclear what impact this will have on user convenience — according to the report, such measures may mean that users who forget their iCloud authentication password may be permanently locked out of their data as well. Apple refused to comment on rumors and speculation beyond its public statements on the Apple/FBI case.

Similarly, for hardware, NYT says Apple is re-evaluating its iOS security with the mindset that it needs to be even impervious to Apple itself. This tenet had not been fully considered in the current iPhone security model, as the FBI request compelling Apple to create special OS software was unprecedented. With this now a real possibility, whether it passes through court or not, Apple does not want to risk a similar set of circumstances from arising again.

Although this would likely require hardware changes, leaving the existing 800 million iOS devices exposed, future iPhones and iPads which include the new security measures, would be truly secure … to everyone. The San Bernardino furore would not be a furore because what the FBI would want would be technically impossible. In a TV interview, Tim Cook called the software the FBI is ordering Apple create ‘the equivalent of cancer’.

One potential hardware solution would be for system storage to be configured to wipe itself when new firmware was applied, without a valid passcode. This would mean that Apple could still flash the firmware to resolve user technical issues but it would require explicit user authentication in the form of their passcode. If a passcode was not present, the device could still be wiped afresh but so would all private user data.

Apple’s willingness to make devices in this manner may cause a new round of legal disputes; governments or even countries may want to ban ‘unencryptable’ devices from the start. In terms of the current legal battle, Apple has until Friday to post a formal court rebuttal. Tim Cook said he is willing to take the matter all the way to Supreme Court, if necessary.

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices, Tech Industry Tagged: apple fbi, Encryption, iCloud backup, iPhone

For more news on AAPL Company, iOS Devices, and iPhone continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Apple working on stronger iCloud backup encryption and iPhone security to counter FBI unlock requests” with our community.

Last month it was reported that Apple manufacturer Foxconn had bid $5.3 billion to acquire Japanese display maker Sharp, who has faced numerous financial and manufacturing difficulties over recent years. Now, Japanese news outlet Nikkei Asian Review reports that Sharp has accepted an offer from Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, for $6.2 billion.

It was initially reported last year that Foxconn was looking to acquire Sharp with an investment from Apple. That rumored deal proposed that Foxconn would hold a majority stake in the company, while Apple would be on the board as an investor. It’s unclear at this point if the deal Sharp accepted from Foxconn included an investment from Apple or not.

With Foxconn having now acquired Sharp, the company is put in a position where it can start to actually make iPhone components, going beyond its current role of assembling the devices.

Sharp’s Kameyama Plant No. 1 in Japan is solely dedicated to producing iPhone displays. Apple initially invested $987 million to transform the plant from an HDTV panel plant to a smartphone LCD factory.

Whether Apple is involved in the deal or not, it’s good news for the Cupertino company. iPhone displays are currently manufactured by Sharp, Samsung, and LG, with Foxconn handling the assembly process. For Apple’s part, it should no longer have to worry about one of its iPhone manufacturing partners going out of business and being unable to fulfill orders.

We should know more about Apple’s role in the deal when Sharp and Foxconn officially release details. Until then, it’s unclear how big of a role Apple played in the acquisition process.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, displays, Foxconn, iPhone, Sharp

Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of AAPL Company, Apple, and iPhone.

What do you think? Discuss “Report: Apple manufacturer Foxconn acquires Sharp for $6.2 billion” with our community.

Earlier this month an odd issue was discovered that could potentially brick any iOS device. Essentially, if you used the Settings app to change the date of your device to January 1st, 1970 and rebooted it, any 64-bit iPhone or iPad would be basically bricked. A handful of fixes floated around, but the general consensus was that visiting an Apple Store and getting your device replaced was the best way to solve the problem. Now, as spotted by MacRumors, Apple appears to have fixed the issue with the latest iOS 9.3 beta.

Users have noticed that if you have a device stuck in a boot loop due to this issue, you can successfully use iTunes to restore to iOS 9.3 beta 4 and your device will boot as normal. Previously, performing a restore via iTunes would not fix the issue.

Furthermore, iOS 9.3 beta 4 removes the ability to set a device’s date to anything prior to January 1st, 2001, ideally preventing people to cause this issue in the first place.

iOS 9.3 beta 4 was released earlier this week and includes small changes such as a new Nigh Shift icon and new star icons next to track names in the Music app. Also also announced earlier this week that the next beta of iOS 9.3 will bring back the ability to use Apple Pencil to navigate iOS.

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: 1970 bug, Apple, iOS, iOS 9.3

Continue reading more about iOS Devices, Apple, and iOS at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “iOS 9.3 beta 4 fixes devices affected by 1970 bug, prevents issue from occurring in the future” with our community.

This week Zac, Chance, Jeff, and Greg talk about updates for iPad Pro, Apple TV, and the controversy surrounding Apple’s situation with the FBI. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.

New episodes of Happy Hour are available every Wednesday. As mentioned, you can download this podcast via iTunes or plug in our RSS feed link into your favorite podcasting app. Send an email to listenermail@9to5mac.com (or click here) and your question/comment may be featured in an upcoming episode of Happy Hour.

Note: iTunes (web interface and app) may still be propagating the new episode which could take up to 24 hours. Subscribing to the podcast feed will guarantee the latest episode is downloaded.

Hosts:

• Zac Hall
• Greg Barbosa
• Chance Miller
• Jeff Benjamin

Here’s what we discussed in this episode:

• Apple restoring full Pencil functionality on iPad Pro in next iOS 9.3 version
• Apple TV App Store gains app previews videos on tvOS
• A first look at app preview videos on Apple TV [Video]
• Apple TV 4 adds Disney Channel, Disney X D and Watch ABC to universal search + Siri
• tvOS 9.2 solves major user experience issue with Siri Remote for Apple TV
• Apple updates iOS 9.2.1 to restore iPhones affected by ‘error 53’, apologizes to customers
• Apple releases iOS 9.3 beta 4 with Night Shift, Touch ID Notes, & Verizon Wi-Fi Calling
• U.S. judge orders Apple to help FBI access data on San Bernardino gunman’s iPhone 5c
• Apple publishes letter responding to FBI iPhone unlock demand: ‘an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers’
• Should Apple comply with FBI request to bypass San Bernardino gunman’s iPhone? [Poll]
• Mark Zuckerberg sides w/ Apple in encryption battle as poll suggests public supports FBI
• Donald Trump calls for boycott on Apple … while tweeting from iPhone

If you missed our 54th episode last week, you can subscribe and find every episode or start off from the previous episode here.

Remember: Subscribe on iTunes to catch all of the episodes as they go live and send in your questions/comments to listenermail@9to5mac.com.

Filed under: Happy Hour Tagged: Apple, Apple Pencil, Apple TV, FBI, Happy Hour, iPad Pro, Podcast

For more news on Apple, Apple TV, and iPad Pro continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Happy Hour Podcast 055 | Apple Pencil changes, Siri Remote improvements, and the FBI encryption battle” with our community.

Apple today has shared a collection of Apple TV Tech Talks in which Apple experts demonstrate to developers how to design and develop apps and games for the company’s fourth-generation Apple TV. Apple announced the availability of these talks on its Developer Portal.

Previously, developers had been learning how to make apps for the Apple TV during various demos around the world, but Apple hopes that the Apple TV Tech Talk collection will make it easier for everyone to learn the process.

Over the past few months, developers around the world learned how to design and develop apps and games for Apple TV directly from Apple experts. Now you can share in the experience by watching all the session videos from the Apple TV Tech Talks.

The collection consists of 11 different sessions. The sessions follow the entire process of creating a tvOS app, starting with designing the interface and continuing on with how to develop for the Siri Remote, handling media playback, implementing streaming video, fine-tuning the app, creating a Top Shelf interface, and distributing the app on the tvOS App Store.

All of Apple’s Apple TV Tech Talk videos are available on the company’s developer website and are free for anyone to view. They range in length from around 20 minutes to upwards of 40 minutes.

Filed under: Apple TV, Developers Tagged: Apple TV, developer, Tech Talks

For more information about Apple TV, Developers, and Apple TV continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Apple shares Apple TV Tech Talk videos demonstrating how to build a tvOS app” with our community.

We have been reported since earlier this year that Apple is preparing to launch a new 4-inch iPhone called the iPhone 5se. Our sources have said that the new device is essentially the 2013 iPhone 5s with significant internal hardware and software upgrades. Earlier rumors about a next-generation smaller iPhone model called the device an “iPhone 6c” and said that it would look similar to the iPhone 6 in appearance.

Today, a case maker source provided us with schematics that line up with what we have been hearing from our sources who have used the iPhone 5se: the device looks nearly like a 5s. The case maker source tells us that the product’s dimensions are indistinguishable from the iPhone 5s, meaning that the new device will fit inside of existing iPhone 5s cases. There are a couple of changes, however, on our drawings. First, these schematics indicate that the sleep/wake/power button has been relocated to the side.

This change would make sense given that Apple made the shift on the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus beginning in 2014. In line with our sources have been saying since January, the case maker tells us that the edges of the device and the front glass panel are slightly curved around the edges, but not as curved as the sides of the iPhone 6 and 6s. Schematics shown on website iGeneration also show these curves, but do not show the relocated power switch. They also oddly show a small camera bump.

Besides those changes, the iPhone 5se is externally essentially an iPhone 5s: a design nearly identical to the 2012 iPhone 5 with metal plates on the back, glass caps on the top and bottom of the back, and a FaceTime camera centered above the front facing speaker.

As for the insides, sources have said that the new device includes the A9 and M9 chips from the iPhone 6s, the ability to take Live Photos, an upgraded camera hardware system, and an NFC chip for Apple Pay. The only other noticeable external difference will be a new Rose Gold color option, joining the previously available Gold, Silver, and Space Gray options from the iPhone 5s. The new device will come in 16GB and 64GB storage options and sell for the same prices as the 5s.

Sources say that Apple will unveil the new iPhone 5se at an event on March 15th. Apple then plans to release the phone as soon as March 18th, and the company is not currently planning to offer the device via a standard pre-order campaign. At its March 15th event, Apple is also said to be readying a series of new Apple Watch model options (including a new Space Black Milanese Loop and NATO-style nylon straps), as well as an upgraded version of the 9.7-inch iPad with an A9X processor and a Smart Connector.

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: design, Drawings, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5se, schematics, Siri

Continue reading more about iOS Devices, Siri, and iPhone 5s at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “iPhone 5se drawings: nearly identical to 5s, relocated power key + slightly curved edges” with our community.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has today sat down with ABC’s David Muir to talk about the company’s battle with the FBI. Last week, a California court requested that Apple unlock an iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino gunmen in December. Cook replied to the request with a letter on Apple’s homepage, saying that Apple did not want to create the tool that would be required to unlock the device. In his interview with Muir, Cook elaborated on the company’s decision…

Cook was first asked about Apple’s communication with the Obama Administration regarding the Justice Department’s request. He noted that, relating to this specific case, there was almost no communication between the government and Apple. “We actually found out about the filing from the press,” Cook said. “And I don’t think that something so important to this country should be handled that way.”

Muir then pressed Cook to dive deeper into the company’s reasoning for siding with protecting user security versus potentially protecting national security. Muir pointed out that many people see the San Bernardino attacks as a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, making it hard for them to side with Apple on the issue. Cook explained, however, that he believes it would “be bad for America” to set a precedent where user data is compromised to potentially expose something that “might be there.”

I think safety of the public is incredibly important. Safety of our kids, safety of our families is very important. The protection of people’s data is incredibly important and so the tradeoff here is that we know that doing this could expose people to incredible vulnerabilities. This is not something that we would create. This would be bad for America and it would also set a precedent that I believe many people in America would be offended by. And so when you think about those which are knowns, compared to something that might be there, I believe we are making the right choice.

You can view two clips from Cook’s interview on ABC below. More clips will soon come.

Apple’s battle with the FBI over national security versus user privacy began last week and has since become one of the biggest and most complex stories in tech and politics. You can view all of our extensive coverage at the links below:

• U.S. judge orders Apple to help FBI access data on San Bernardino gunman’s iPhone 5c
• Apple publishes letter responding to FBI iPhone unlock demand: ‘an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers’
• Google CEO Pichai appears to side with Apple in series of vague tweets on FBI encryption battle
• Security firm shows how Apple could bypass iPhone security to comply with FBI request
• Opinion: How likely is Apple to succeed in resisting the FBI court order?
• Should Apple comply with FBI request to bypass San Bernardino gunman’s iPhone? [Poll]
• Civil rights groups and tech companies express support for Apple’s stand against the FBI
• Opinion: Why an iPhone master key is better than a backdoor, but still too dangerous
• Petition urges White House to support Apple in blocking government access to locked iPhones
• Senate Intelligence Committee considering bill to penalize companies refusing to decrypt user device
• Report: Apple to get more time to formally respond to government’s request for access to locked iPhone
• Apple/FBI fight looks destined to go all the way to the Supreme Court as more background is revealed
• Department of Justice files motion to force Apple to comply with FBI iPhone backdoor request
• Apple implies FBI screwup: iPhone Apple ID password changed in govt possession, backdoor unnecessary
• FBI explains why it changed Apple ID password in iPhone unlock case, retrieved iCloud backups up to October 19 but wants more
• San Bernardino victims divided on iPhone issue as FBI claims not trying to set a precedent
• Apple/FBI: Tim Cook sends memo to employees, wants government to drop All Writs Act demands, posts customer FAQ
• Mark Zuckerberg sides w/ Apple in encryption battle as poll suggests public supports FBI
• Report says DOJ seeking data from ‘about’ 12 other iPhones as Bill Gates sides with FBI
• Report: Apple to argue that encryption battle with FBI should be decided by Congress
• Bloomberg: Apple will argue that the digital signature it uses to validate code is protected as free speech

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices Tagged: Apple, Encryption, FBI, interview, iPhone, Tim Cook

Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of AAPL Company, iOS Devices, and Apple.

What do you think? Discuss “Tim Cook talks encryption case in interview, says unlocking device would ‘be bad for America’” with our community.