Apple says that the dangers of allowing customers to load arbitrary apps are too severe and that the iOS App Store is a bulwark against ransomware, device hijacking, the invasion of children’s privacy, and other problems common on Android.
Apple has opened public betas of its next-generation operating systems, but remember that these aren’t for everyday use. Only install on devices that you can dedicate to testing!
Concerns about MagSafe in the iPhone 12 interfering with pacemakers, defibrillators, and other implanted medical devices surfaced earlier in the year. Apple now cautions that many of its magnet-using products could cause problems for such devices.
After suffering from uncontrollable shivers and a fever, Adam Engst (and his family) worried that he might have been infected with COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated. He was able to use the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test—a rapid antigen test—to set everyone’s mind at ease. And the technology involved was a geek’s delight.
Every photo editing app can edit RAW files, but most of them apply the same controls to every image, regardless of format. RAW Power 3.3—on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS—features RAW-specific adjustments, the capability to work with proprietary RAW files that aren’t supported at the system level, and more. It also enables you to edit images in the Apple ProRAW format in ways that Apple’s own Photos app doesn’t.
With its new M1-based iMac, Apple made shopping for a consumer-level desktop Mac more interesting. The 24-inch iMac is thin, colorful, and powerful. But is it right for you? Julio Ojeda-Zapata weighs the pros and cons of the iMac, the Mac mini, the MacBook Air, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, all of which use Apple’s new M1 processor.
If you’re a Mac user who wants to turn Google Docs into a standalone app using a site-specific browser, you have at least seven choices. However, as Adam Engst discovered, there’s a great deal of variability in the site-specific browser world, and a number of the options work poorly with Google Docs in particular.
Confused by what’s involved with the recent bills proposed by lawmakers in the US House of Representatives aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech? Ben Thompson of Stratechery breaks down each bill and evaluates the impact on different companies, including Apple.
Apple has released what is essentially a security update for iOS 12 to address three security vulnerabilities, including two that are actively being exploited in the wild.
We’re taking a brief break from building an email issue of TidBITS next week to make way for the latest addition to the Centers family, so look for the next issue in your mailbox on 28 June 2021.
New services and features in operating systems coming later this year will improve security and privacy for everyone using Apple products, even outside the Apple walled-garden ecosystem. iCloud+ even adds anonymized browsing.
Apple has announced 2021’s Apple Design Award winners, this time splitting them out into six categories.
Apple’s upcoming operating systems have an impressively long list of supported models, but devils dance in the details. Older devices won’t be able to take advantage of all the new features, reasonably enough, but you should be aware of what you might be missing.
It should come as no surprise that TikTok collects a vast amount of data from its users. Now the company is being more upfront about some of that biometric data. Transparent, but creepy.
In addition to the work Apple does in providing explicit accessibility features, Steven Aquino notes that many of the marquee features of Apple’s upcoming operating system updates provide notable benefits to users with disabilities.