Apple today released iOS 10.2 to the public, marking the launch of the second major update to the iOS 10 operating system since it launched on September 13. iOS 10.2 has been in testing since October 31, with seven betas seeded to developers and public beta testers.

The iOS 10.2 update is available as a free-over-the-air update for all iOS 10 users, and it can also be downloaded via iTunes.

As a major 10.x update, iOS 10.2 introduces new features and design tweaks to iOS 10. It includes a new "TV" app, which is designed to serve as an Apple-designed TV guide that aims to simplfy the television-watching experience and help users discover new TV shows and movies to watch.

Along with the TV app, Apple recently debuted the long-awaited Single Sign-On feature, allowing cable subscribers to sign in once with their cable credentials to access all live cable content available within various apps. Single Sign-On is available for Single Sign-On is currently available for CenturyLink Prism, DirecTV, Dish, GVTC, GTA, Hawaiian Telcom, Hotwire, Metrocast, Service Electric, and Sling TV. Both Single Sign-On and the TV app are available across multiple devices, including the Apple TV.

A range of new emoji are included in the update, like clown face, face palm, selfie, fox face, owl, bacon, avocado, croissant, and more. There are more than a hundred new emoji, including several profession emoji available in both male and female genders. Apple has also redesigned many existing emoji, adding more detail to make them look more realistic.

iOS 10.2 also includes new wallpaper, revamped sorting options and some design tweaks to the Repeat and Shuffle buttons in the Music app, new "Celebrate" and "Send With Love" Screen Effects, an option for preserving camera settings, a TV widget, and new TV settings.

Apple ceases iOS 10.1 and 10.1.1 code signing with release of iOS 10.2



Apple routinely stops signing code for older iOS and macOS iterations to protect users from potential bugs or security vulnerabilities patched with the most recent software revisions. In addition, invalidating obsolete code helps ensure a consistent experience across devices.

Released last Monday, iOS 10.2 introduces Apple's new "TV" app, which acts as a smart repository for streaming video content. Sampling TV shows and movies from multiple apps, "TV" lets users watch the shows they love and surfaces new content through a recommendation system.

In addition to "TV," iOS 10.2 also delivers redesigned emoji and more than 100 new characters.

The latest point update also includes a number of performance enhancements for first-party apps. For example, Photos gained improved stabilization and faster frame rates for Live Photos, while Messages nets new "love" and "celebration" full-screen animation effects. HomeKit also receives a buff with notification support for connected accessories.

As for bug fixes, iOS 10.2 addresses issues in Photos, Messages, Music, News, Mail, Accessibility features and more.

Finally, Apple's latest mobile OS update includes a widget for the Videos app, three new wallpapers, a "Preserve Camera" setting and a "Press and Hold to Speak" setting for the home button.

Alongside iOS 10.1 and iOS 10.1.1, Apple stopped signing for tvOS 10.0.1 on Tuesday after tvOS 10.1 landed last week.

Apple Music ranks ninth in 2016 Nielsen charts of most-used mobile apps

Apple Music was the ninth-most popular smartphone app in the U.S. this year in terms of average unique users, according to new Nielsen research data, despite it being heavily iOS-focused and of less use without a paid subscription.

The app picked up just under 68.4 million users in tracking between January and October, Nielsen said. That's an increase of 20 percent year-over-year, placing it above the Amazon app's 65.5 million.

All of the spots above Apple Music were controlled by either Facebook or Google, including apps like Gmail, Instagram, Messenger, and YouTube. Leading the pack was the core Facebook app, with over 146 million users —up 14 percent annually.



Apple Music does have a presence on both iOS and Android, but the service's global subscription base is only around 20 million. That would imply that many people are only briefly checking the app out without paying. It's installed by default on iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches, on which it also handles local music playback.

Apple’s latest iPhone update cuts off cellular connectivity

Updating your iPhone to the latest version of iOS 12 could cut off your cellular data and disable Internet connectivity.

According to Forbes, iOS 12.1.2 , which was released to fix cellular connectivity issue for users in Turkey, ironically introduced the same problem in other countries.

In the official release note for iOS 12.1.2, Apple says the update “addresses an issue that could affect cellular connectivity in Turkey for iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max”.

Many users have taken to Twitter to complain about the issue, with some even claiming that their smartphones have been bricked.

In various Twitter replies, Apple’s support desk recommends users to check if their phones are showing “No Service” or “Searching” at the top the screen, and if it does, users are recommended to either restart the phone or check if mobile data is enabled.

In another tweet, Apple suggests users to update their carrier settings, which fixed the issue for some users.

With no confirmation from Apple when the bug will be fixed, users are recommended not to update to iOS 12.1.2

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2...HzfOmmb5G672.99

Foxconn may start manufacturing flagship iPhone models in India

For the first time, Foxconn may be assembling Apple's handset in its Sriperumbudur plant located in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu. The assembly partner is planning to invest 25 billion Indian rupees, roughly $356 million in U.S. dollars, on expanding their plant to accommodate the iPhone production according to M C Sampath, Tamil Nadu's Industries Minister.

The Economic Times also noted that Foxconn is aiming to create as many as 25,000 jobs for the local workforce. The new production could commence as early as 2019.

As of now, only lower cost iPhones such as the iPhone SE and iPhone 6S are assembled in India and by competitor Wistron. The upgraded plant expected to put out Apple's higher-end handsets. The report specifically cites the iPhone X as a possibility for manufacturing, expanding Apple's business in the country. The report is likely in error regarding the specific model, as the iPhone XR and iPhone XS has supplanted the iPhone X in size, and camera capabilities, respectively.

Apple and Foxconn both have been exploring other options for manufacturing as the U.S. tiptoes around a trade war with China in recent months.

As of late, there have been a number of hurdles for Apple's expansion plans in India, including recently allowing the country's anti-spam app into the App Store to avoid a ban from the local cellular networks. A top advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi also insisted the country should restrict its import of luxury goods like the iPhone and tax them heavily, further hurting Apple's outlook in the country for high-end sales.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/12/27/...models-in-india

Happy New Year everyone !

Future Apple devices may use your biometric data to pair with each other

Future Apple devices (Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, etc.) may use your biometric data to pair with each other. The tech giant has been granted a patent (number 10,171,458) for “wireless pairing and communication between devices using biometric data.”

Biometric identifiers are distinctive, measurable physiological characteristics related to the configuration or characteristics of the body that can be used to identify individuals. Example biometric identifiers include, but are not limited to, a fingerprint, face recognition, DNA, a palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, retina recognition, and scent. Think TouchID and FaceID.

Per Apple’s patent, a host device (say, a Mac) would determine to pair with a device and transmits biometric data for a user to the device. The device would receive the transmitted biometric data and compares such to device biometric data to determine whether or not to pair with the host and/or what data stored by the device to allow the host to access.

The host then accesses data of the device to which the device has allowed access. In another implementation, a device determines to pair with a host and transmits biometric data for a user to the host. The host receives the transmitted biometric data and compares such to device biometric data to determine whether or not to pair with the device and/or what data stored by the host to allow the device to access. The device then accesses data of the host to which the host has allowed access.

In the patent filing, Apple says that, given the prevalence of electronic devices (such as desktop computers, mobile computing devices, portable data storage devices, smart phones, digital music players, and so on) that store data in the modern world, many users may own and/or utilize more than one such electronic device. As such, users may need to wirelessly transfer data (such as music files, preference files, configuration files, document files, movie files, image files, and so on) back and/or forth between the storage media of various such electronic devices in order to make full use out of the electronic devices.

In order to control the use of such electronic devices and/or the security of data stored by such electronic devices, electronic devices may need to perform one or more pairing operations before data transfer can be performed. However, in order to provide access control and/or security, such pairing processes may be time consuming and/or otherwise burdensome for users.

For example, electronic devices may be configured to pair and/or communicate data utilizing a Bluetooth communication connection. Apple says that, however, in order to configure the devices to pair and/or communicate utilizing the Bluetooth communication connection a user may be required to enter one or more passcodes into one or more of the electronic devices. Such a manual configuration and/or passcodes entry system may be inconvenient for users.

Users may not want to remember passcodes and/or have to enter such passcodes or similar security measures in order to transfer data between different electronic devices. Apple thinks its biometric data plan is a better option.

Of course, Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product.

Report: Apple developing new iPod touch, 2019 iPhones could switch to USB-C

According to a new report from supply chain blog Macotakara, Apple could be in the process of developing a revised iPod touch. Further, the report says the 2019 iPhone might make the jump to USB-C, just like the 2018 iPad Pros.

The report is rather vague, with Macotakara citing supply chain sources. Details on what changes a new iPod touch might feature are unclear at this point, but it is long overdue for an update. The 6th generation iPod touch was released in 2015 and for $199 with 32GB of storage.

Theoretically, an entry-level iPod touch would be a way for Apple to continue to grow its install base and thus its Services segment. Having more iOS users means there are more users able to pay for iCloud storage, use Apple Music, and use the App Store and iTunes Store. The iPod touch would likely target younger users who aren’t yet ready for a smartphone.

Apple discontinued the iPod nano and iPod shuffle in 2017, meaning the iPod touch is the sole iPod still sold by Apple today.

The report goes on to say that the 2019 iPhones “might” make the switch to USB-C, following in the footsteps of the 2018 iPad Pros. While we’ve heard scattered reports over the last several years that the iPhone would eventually adopt USB-C, details remain sparse.

Further, Macotakara says that “those who are working on” the iPhone’s USB-C transition indicate it has not yet reached the reference design stage. This could suggest that the transition will miss the 2019 iPhone refresh. Macotakara has a decent track record, but like most supply chain sources, can struggle with details such as timing.