In the news this week, Adam Engst examines Apple’s vehement denial of Bloomberg Businessweek’s claim that Chinese spies snuck malicious chips onto servers used by Apple and other tech companies. Plus, we share details of the minor iOS 12.0.1, watchOS 5.0.1, and tvOS 12.0.1 updates, and Glenn Fleishman explains how Wi-Fi is moving from unscrutable names like 802.11ac to simple generational numbering. Adam also looks at the new TidBITS News app and other app-based ways of reading TidBITS. Finally, Rich Mogull, who’s a paramedic as well as a security expert, spells out how the Apple Watch Series 4’s health monitoring features will and won’t save lives. Notable Mac app releases this week include macOS Server 5.7.1, BusyCal 3.4.4 and BusyContacts 1.2.17, and Little Snitch 4.2.1.
Bloomberg Businessweek last week published a bombshell article that alleges that Chinese spies inserted a malicious chip into servers used by Apple and other technology companies. Apple has unequivocally denied everything. Who to believe?
Apple has released iOS 12.0.1, watchOS 5.0.1, and tvOS 12.0.1 to fix a number of annoying bugs. iPhone XS and iPad users may be the most interested in updating.
So long, 802.11ax. Hello, Wi-Fi 6! The Wi-Fi Alliance has simplified the names for Wi-Fi standards to make it easier to tell generations of equipment apart.
If you like reading news in an app, we have four possibilities for you. And we’d appreciate it greatly if you could follow us in Apple News and Google News to encourage their recommendation algorithms for others.
The Apple Watch Series 4 promises to detect falls, identify atrial fibrillation, and let wearers take electrocardiograms on demand. Rich Mogull draws on his paramedic training to evaluate how effective each of these technologies is likely to be.
Watchlist
Brings enhancements to Profile Manager and now requires macOS 10.14 Mojave. ($19.99 new, free update, 106 MB)
Improves Mojave compatibility for both apps and addresses a crash due to Google's backend changes. ($49.99 new for each, free update, 13.8/7.8 MB)
Provides Mojave compatibility and fixes bugs. ($45 new, free update, 39.2 MB)
