Apple has released iOS 11.2.1 for iPhone and iPad. The software update restores remote access in HomeKit for shared users which was temporarily disabled last week to address a vulnerability in Apple’s smart home framework that allowed unauthorized access in certain circumstances. Apple has also released tvOS 11.2.1 which is likely related to the fix.

more…

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications. more…

T-Mobile has today shared that it will be entering the TV market next year with its own streaming service. To make this possible, the carrier has announced that it is acquiring Layer3 TV, which refers to itself as a “next generation cable company.”

more…

Apple is a rich company, but even so, a rumored $400M is a lot of money to spend on buying a single app. So some eyebrows were raised when Apple confirmed its acquisition of Shazam earlier this week.

Shazam already powers Siri’s music recognition, so will at least be saving the ongoing licensing fee it paid for this, but what could justify spending so much money on the app … ?

more…

Lossless streaming music service Tidal is reported to be running out of cash, having run up losses of around $44M last year. Jay-Z and other owners are said to have lost more than half a billion dollars in all.

Norway’s Dagens Næringsliv says that the company now has only enough cash to last it six months, raising the prospect of the service closing down by the summer – despite a $200M investment by Sprint …

more…

An app which scrapes pollution data from government websites in China has resulted in 196 Apple suppliers facing action from the iPhone maker over breaches of its environmental rules. Some of those suppliers have been axed altogether.

The environmental activist behind the Blue Map app says that giving access to the data to companies like Apple and Wal-Mart has proved more effective than trying to get the government to take action …

more…

Data from Mixpanel indicates that sales of this year’s flagship iPhone X quickly overtook both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus, but not the two combined.

Using analytics data captured from apps that use Mixpanel’s software developer kit, the firm was able to see that the iPhone X now makes up 4.76% of all iPhone users. This puts it ahead of the iPhone 8 Plus at 3.59% …

more…

Google has published its annual list of the most popular searches of the year. This year’s new iPhones took the #2 and #3 slots after Hurricane Irma …

more…

It was long-rumored that Apple was working on embedding Touch ID into the display of the iPhone X. The Cupertino company had multiple patents for different approaches to the task, and it confirmed after launch that it had been working on the technology.

Synaptics has now announced that it has put an in-display fingerprint sensor into mass-production for a ‘top 5’ Android smartphone manufacturer, under the branding Clear ID. The company isn’t saying who, but does reference ‘infinity displays,’ making Samsung appear a prime candidate.

But with Apple having instead opted for Face ID, my view is that offering an embedded fingerprint sensor as a competitive feature is too little, too late …

more…

As part of its billion dollar Advanced Manufacturing Fund, which supports domestic US manufacturing, Apple has announced a $390 million investment into Finisar. This follows a $200 million Corning investment earlier this year.

Apple says that Finisar makes vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers used in iPhone X (as part of the TrueDepth camera system) and the proximity-sensor inside AirPods. All of the VCSELs purchased by Apple from Finisar will be made in Texas.

more…