Apple refuses to back GOP convention because of Trump politics

Despite having provided aid in the past, Apple is withholding financial and technological support from this year's Republican presidential convention — owing to controversial positions by candidate Donald Trump, a report claimed on Saturday.

The company privately told Republicans it won't offer support because of Trump's comments on minorities, women, and immigrants, according to two Politico sources. The website didn't say whether the topic of Trump's direct criticisms of Apple came up in discussions.

In January, Trump promised to make Apple manufacture its products in the U.S. instead of overseas. A month later, he suggested people should boycott Apple unless it backed down in its fight with the Department of Justice over unlocking the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook.

Later on it was found that Trump's Twitter account was still being updated from an iPhone, and that he owned over $1 million in Apple shares.

Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are still supporting this year's GOP convention, despite having sometimes expressed their own concerns about Trump. Apple has traditionally curried favor by backing both Democratic and Republican conventions — in 2008, for instance, it supplied roughly $140,000 in MacBooks and other materials to the two parties. It skipped 2012, when the Democrats decided against taking corporate donations for their event.

Opposition to Trump may be steep at Apple. In March, stopping his presidential run was allegedly the main topic of discussion in a meeting with GOP representatives attended by Apple CEO Tim Cook and other tech industry figures, as well as various financial giants and politicians.

This weekend is proving an unusually political one for Apple, as Lisa Jackson — the company's VP Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives — said she will be speaking at the Bay Area Women's Summit on June 21. Many other prominent figures will be at the event, like the mayors of San Francisco and Oakland, U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios, and senior advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett.

Inside watchOS 3: New 'Breathe' app for Apple Watch reminds you to relax, focus

In addition to reminding you to stand and walk throughout the day, watchOS 3 will also prompt Apple Watch users to take a minute to relax, focus and meditate with a new app dubbed "Breathe."

Breathe is an all-new app found in watchOS 3. Upon updating, the default settings will have Breathe prompt a user to have a focused breathing session every four hours.

The app guides users through a series of deep breaths, intended to help manage everyday stress. By default, the app offers a one-minute session of seven breaths, but these can be extended to longer sessions, and breathing can be slowed to four breaths per minute, or expanded to ten per minute.

When a Breathe notification pops up, users can either begin a session or choose to snooze it. A dedicated Breathe app on the app screen — as well as a new Breathe complication that can be added to watch faces — also allow users to start a session whenever they choose.

Once users begin, the app informs them to "be still and bring attention to your breath." A series of circles on the Apple Watch display gradually expand, accompanied by taptic feedback on the wrist, letting the user know to slowly inhale.

The use of feedback in the app can allow users to focus on their breathing and following along with their eyes closed, without a need to look at the app on their wrist.






The circles on the Apple Watch face then gradually contract as the user exhales along with the Breathe app. In the default settings, this will repeat seven times over one minute.

Once the session is completed, users are presented with a summary screen that lets them know how many Breathe sessions they have completed so far today, and what their heart rate was measured at during the last session. There's also a "Breathe Again" button that allows users to continue, if they choose.

watchOS 3 is a free update for all Apple Watch owners that will arrive this fall. It's currently available in beta for for developers to test.

Withings' Body Cardio scale delivers at-home heart health monitoring

. Withings on Wednesday launched a fourth-generation Wi-Fi connected scale called Body Cardio, offering users access to cutting edge cardiovascular health measurements formerly restricted to clinical settings, and other key health metrics, right on their iPhone.

The data is made possible thanks to pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurements, which are the speed at which heartbeat-generated vibrations spread out along the arterial wall. High PWV indicates stiff arteries or high blood pressure, while low readings suggest soft, healthy arteries.

To bring PWV into the home Withings developed a system sensitive enough to detect slight variations in weight caused by forces exerted each time the heart pumps blood in the aorta. Using impedance plethysmography at the foot, Body Cardio calculates pulse transit time (PTT), or the time it takes a systolic pressure wave generated at the base of the aorta to reach a user's foot. PTT readings are then used to deduce an estimated PWV.

The scale also reads measures of weight, body mass index, fat, muscle, water, bone mass and standing heart rate thanks to a scientific technique called biometrical impedance.

As a connected device, Body Cardio syncs with its partner Health Mate app to display graphs showing weight trends over time, step counts gathered by the iOS app or other Withings products and even the day's weather report on a built-in screen. Health Mate automatically syncs data for in-app viewing after every use of the scale.

Body Cardio is 0.7 inches thick, with a flat aluminum base, footless design and heat-tempered glass surface. Withings claims the design provides accurate readings on almost material, from hard floors to thick carpet. A built-in rechargeable battery lasts up to one year between charges.

Priced at $179.95, the Body Cardio is available in white and black from the Apple Store and the Withings website.

CurrentC inches closer to death as Apple Pay adds over 30 banks

Payments industry hopeful CurrentC continued its slow death march on Tuesday, announcing plans to officially end beta testing later in June without plans for wider rollout. In related news, Apple Pay this week gained support from more than 30 U.S. banks and credit unions. 

The Merchant Customer Exchange, a consortium of retailers responsible for developing the CurrentC platform, sent out an email notifying beta testers in Columbus, Ohio, that the program's trial period will end on June 28, reports The Consumerist. 

An update to the CurrentC website confirms the upcoming services shutdown. When the late June deadline rolls around participating stores will no longer be able to process CurrentC transactions, and all customer accounts will be disabled. Beta testers who loaded a gift card into the CurrentC app and disposed of the original hard copy are being asked to use the balance by June 28.

MCX offers little insight into CurrentC's future, saying only that plans are in place to analyze data accumulated from the beta period. Last month the consortium postponed a scheduled nationwide rollout for the second time in as many years, reportedly firing 30 employees. The development prompted speculation on the system's impending demise. 

In development since 2012, CurrentC was designed to link directly with customer bank accounts, allowing major retailers like Walmart to skirt credit card network fees. The system got off to a rocky start and was immediately challenged by tech sector players, including in-house offerings from Apple and Google. MCX attempted to thwart competition by restricting member retailers from accepting other NFC payment platforms, but ongoing troubles and industry pressure prompted Rite Aid and Best Buy to break rank late last year. Walmart followed suit in May by launching its own branded solution. 

The news comes as Apple continues to build out its own mobile payments product, Apple Pay, with the addition of 34 banks and credit unions. 

According to the company's Support webpage cards from the following banks can now be provisioned on Apple Pay:

121 Financial Credit Union
Acclaim Federal Credit Union
Boston Firefighters Credit Union
Catholic Vantage Federal Credit Union
Clackamas County Bank
Coastal Community Federal Credit Union
Commonwealth Community Bank
Cumberland Valley National Bank
Discovery Federal Credit Union
Easthampton Savings Bank
First Bank & Trust (IL)
First Bank & Trust (TX)
First Federal Lakewood
First Heritage Federal Credit Union
First National Bank of Carrollton
First National Bank of Fort Smith
First Security Bank & Trust
First State Bank of Wyoming
Home Bank
Members Credit Union
Nebraska State Bank
Origin Bank
Pegasus Bank
Sandia Area Federal Credit Union
Siouxland Federal Credit Union
State Farm Bank
Summit Bank
Synergy Federal Credit Union
Texas First State Bank
The Bank of Monroe
The Honesdale National Bank
University of Toledo Federal Credit Union
Wayne County Bank
Willis Credit Union

Apple is aggressively expanding Apple Pay beyond the domestic market and most recently struck deals with Canada's "big five" bank holdouts. The payments service is available in Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, the U.S. and the UK, with future launches rumored for Brazil, France and Japan.

A report earlier today claimed preparations for a debut in Switzerland could be completed in time for announcement at next week's Worldwide Developers Conference. The rumblings are in line with Apple's immediate focus on expanding Apple Pay into markets within Asia and Europe.

Success of next-generation iPhone could rest with Siri, survey says

A fresh survey published ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference suggests updates to Siri and the unlocking of the digital assistant's software development kit could be a key factor in future iPhone adoption, a topic of keen interest coming off Apple's first ever handset sales contraction. 

About 42 percent of iPhone owners in Fluent's pre-WWDC survey indicated they would be "somewhat more likely" to purchase the next iPhone if the Siri voice recognizing assistant is vastly improved. Apple is expected to announce Siri innovations, highlighted by the first Siri SDK release, at its developer conference next week.

Siri alone is unlikely to drum up iPhone sales above cooling expectations, however. The survey found only about 19 percent of iPhone users are "much more likely" to buy the next iPhone.

"Overall, Apple needs to recapture that wow factor, and could potentially do so with more aggressive moves into the automotive and television markets," Jordan Cohen, CMO for Fluent told AppleInsider.

Even if excitement surrounding Siri's SDK doesn't reach Amazon Echo and Alexa-level buzz, Apple can still count on about 87 percent of iPhone users staying loyal to the brand. That's the percentage of survey respondents that indicated that they plan on buying iPhones for their next upgrade, a figure approximately 13 percent higher than Android's reported retention rates.

In the face of sagging global smartphone sales and meatier options from a fleshed out mid-tier market, consumers are sticking with Apple because they simply want premium products in their pockets and purses. About 65 percent of iPhone users said they feel iPhone is worth the comparatively high cost, according to the survey.

While Fluent discovered high consumer confidence in Apple products, the firm also confirmed that there are low expectations among iPhone users for this year's release.

"Many consumers have been trained not to expect major improvements in Apple's new releases," Cohen said. "Our research indicates low expectations for the new iPhone, iPad and Mac, with nearly half of consumers expecting little to no change in the next generation of products."

Apple is expected to announce major Siri developments alongside a host of iOS, Mac, tvOS and watchOS improvements at next week's WWDC 2016. AppleInsider will be reporting live from the five-day event scheduled to kick off with a keynote on Monday, June 13 at 10 a.m. Pacific.

Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo all add bloatware with high-risk vulnerabilities to Windows 10 notebooks

A study by Duo Labs looking at a series of name-brand PC makers revealed that their bundled software "is making us vulnerable and invading our privacy." 

"Updaters are an obvious target for a network attacker, this is a no-brainer," wrote Duo Labs researcher Darren Kemp. "There have been plenty of attacks published against updaters and package management tools in the past, so we can expect OEM's to learn from this, right?

"Spoiler: we broke all of them."Every vendor shipped with a preinstalled updater that had at least one vulnerability resulting in arbitrary remote code execution as SYSTEM

Kemp noted that an analysis of Windows 10 notebooks from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo found that "every vendor shipped with a preinstalled updater that had at least one vulnerability resulting in arbitrary remote code execution as SYSTEM, allowing for a complete compromise of the affected machine."

He added, "the level of sophistication required to exploit most of the vulnerabilities we found is somewhere between that possessed by a coffee stain on the Duo lunch room floor and your average potted plant - meaning, trivial."

Even without third party partners adding their own poorly designed bloatware, Microsoft Windows 10 was discovered to continue to connect to Microsoft's servers and send unknown data, even after users activate data privacy settings.

Lenovo scrambles to save its sloppy security record


China's Lenovo—the largest producer of both Windows PCs and Android smartphones—responded to the report by issuing a security advisory that "recommends customers uninstall Lenovo Accelerator Application by going to the 'Apps and Features' application in Windows 10, selecting Lenovo Accelerator Application and clicking on 'Uninstall,'"

One of the components of the Lenovo Accelerator Application is UpdateAgent, which Duo Labs had called "one of the worst updaters" due to the fact that it pings Lenovo's servers for new updates every ten minutes. 

Because there is "no verification or encryption protecting the transmission of updates, it's trivial for an attacker to insert malicious code," noted a report by ThreatPost.

Duo Labs researcher Mikhail Davidov noted of UpdateAgent, "It was unclear at the time of discovery what its legitimate use was for," adding that "Lenovo's decision to advise users to uninstall it manually seems strange to me, as an update can be pushed to all affected models to uninstall itself without requiring user interaction."

ThreatPost added, "These issues are not unique to Lenovo. All of the vendors' machines Duo Labs examined had similar flaws around a lack of encryption, privilege escalation and remote code execution vulnerabilities. Of those vendors who did encrypt the transmission of updates, for example, some were either poorly implemented or failed to include proper validation checks."

One year after Lenovo's Superfish scandal


Last year, Lenovo was discovered to have bundled Superfish adware on its notebook computers, software that was designed to hijacks users' browser sessions to inject customized advertisements but had a side effect of seriously degrading the security of encrypted connections.

To inject ads in pages involving encrypted HTTPS requests, Superfish loaded its own a self-signed root certificate on the Lenovo machines. Pages loaded over HTTPS are signed with this certificate, rather than the actual certificate of the site owner, allowing Superfish to decrypt the contents without the user knowing. 

Bank of America's website being signed with a Superfish certificate, as noticed by Google security engineer Chris Palmer


Lenovo responded by saying it would stop sending ads to Superfish-tained machines and stop installing Superfish on its new Windows PCs, but did nothing to solve the actual problem Superfish created for users. 

The company effectively blew off the findings of researchers by claiming in a statement that it "thoroughly investigated this technology and do not find any evidence to substantiate security concerns."

Windows, like Android, endangered by hardware partner's malice or incompetence


The fact that top tier PC makers are all bundling their own poorly designed software with Windows, introducing easy to exploit security vulnerabilities, has a clear parallel on Android, where hardware vendors routinely bundle not just buggy software updaters but often even purposely disable the security configuration settings that protect devices from installing apps from malicious third-party sources and in some cases install security backdoors.

A 2014 study by Bluebox Labs tested a dozen Black Friday bargain Android tablets from major retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Kmart, Kohl's, Staples, Target and Walmart and reported "shocking" security flaws, malware and active backdoors installed on the new devices.

These flaws are on top of issues that affect the Android OS itself, which have included vulnerabilities such as Masterkey, FakeID and Stagefright.

Security is a key issue for Apple


While Google's chairman Eric Schmidt boasted to the media in 2014 that "our systems are far more secure and encrypted than anyone else, including Apple," groups that take privacy and security seriously, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have recommended Apple's messaging products for their end-to-end encryption while cautioning that Google did not provide similar security for its users.

Last November, Chris Soghioan, the principal technologist for the American Civil Liberties Union, went even further to state that Apple's efforts to protect the privacy of its users, including end-to-end encryption of their communications, effectively separated its more affluent iOS users from the poor and disadvantaged forced to use Android. 

"The security people I know at Google are embarrassed by Android," Soghioan noted.
Both Android devices and Windows PCs have a wide variety of over the counter spyware tools and privacy exploits that are easy for even amateurs to find, while even tools sold to law enforcement (including FinSpy, above, from global surveillance firm Gamma Group) note that they won't work on iPhones and other iOS devices unless their security has been jailbroken by the user. 

Apple has doubled down on security and privacy as key features of its Mac and iOS platforms. Additionally, without any commercial interest in collecting user data for marketing purposes, Apple is in a unique position to defend user privacy and security.

Last summer, Apple introduced WebKit Content Blockers as a secure new App Extension to enable developers to create tools that filter out any web content, including display ads and user tracking.

The company is likely to outline further new initiatives in security and user privacy at its Worldwide Developer Conference to be held in San Francisco the week after next.

The best RSS Readers for iPhone and iPad

Of all the different ways for one to get their fix of news, RSS has persisted. RSS, for the uninitiated, stands for Rich Site Summary. It is a way to deliver content that is constantly changing, which is why it is perfect for news sites and blogs. It packages all their content into easily digestible feeds, that can be easily organized and read through any number of RSS reader apps. We will help you search through the best ones available on the App Store.

To tackle the challenge of finding the best RSS app, we took a look at what features we would deem most important. To start, we looked at whether you could add RSS feeds yourself, or if you needed an account of some sort (like Feedbin or Feedly). Sharing is also extremely important to news stories. That’s why we prioritized both saving options for yourself, as well as external sharing options to send to others. Lastly, we looked at the reading experience. How is the typography, cleanliness of the app, readability, and UI configurability options.



Apple launched their News app in iOS 9, which I admit is a great option for the casual user, but there is plenty of content coming in through RSS that you may want to do more with. Such as organizing it, grouping it, or marking articles as read. So if you are interesting in upgrading your existing RSS reader, or getting into one for the first time, read on.

Reeder 3
Reeder 3 RSS App Screenshots

Reeder is a very popular RSS app and has been for some time. Currently they are on the 3rd major version and it includes some great features. On the Home screen you have many options to get started including many services like Feedly, Feedbag, Feed Wrangler, etc. It even supports Read Later services like Readability and Instapaper. Lastly, it also supports raw RSS. You can easily add your own feed and put it on the same ground as all other options.

When browsing your feeds, it breaks it into 3 options. Starred, unread, and all. This makes it easy to sort and see whats new. There is also a wealth of customization for the UI. You can alter the background color into 4 shades, including  night mode, and a sepia-like paper color. You can adjust the font itself, as well as the size. This is the most options for customization amongst all our apps.

The other big thing Reeder has going for it is the healthy list of sharing options. I doubt there is an option here you are looking for and won’t find. When I’m reading through news, sharing is something I do all of the time, and this makes it easy to save for myself, to something like Safari’s Reading List, Twitter, Messages, or anything in the iOS Share Sheet.

Device Support: iPad, iPhone
Sharing Options: The most sharing services of all our options
Notable Features: All encompassing list of sharing options. Many customization options for the UI including background colors and fonts.
Cost: $4.99
Unread
Unread RSS App Screenshots

Unread is probably the best looking app. For the casual user, this may be the best option. It offers a free mode that limits the number of articles you read. This is nice, because if you don’t use this all the time, you can get nearly all the premium features, for free.

The app is quick and simple, but the biggest problem is you can’t simply add an RSS feed. It does require you to use an account of some sort. Your options are Feed Wrangler, Feedbag, Feedly, Fever, or Newsblur. Some of these names sounding familiar yet?

While it is unfortunate you can’t add a RSS feed without an account, it isn’t a huge deal. Those often offer major benefits, but it is another step to go through. When adding an account, it was a nice touch they built in 1Password integration which is always appreciated. I added my Feedly account, and it easily broke it down into unread, all, and saved. As well as any categories, and subscriptions I had.

Gestures are really great here as well. When you are in an article you can swipe left to right to go back a page, right to left to open a contextual menu, or bottom to top to go to the next post or article. The contactual menu that appears from the right allows you to save or mark an article as unread. This keeps the reading view nice and clean without any menus to clutter it. You can also view in your browser, change the theme, and share from the menu too.

A downside could be the lack of customization, but I easily forgive this fault. The app looks great as is, but i you do want to change it up, you can enter readability mode, or change to one of the 7 themes available. Unfortunately, those themes (including a night mode) are limited to the premium mode.

Device Support: iPad, iPhone
Sharing Options: iOS Share Sheet
Notable Features: Clean, minimalistic, gorgeous UI with no clutter while reading. Easy intuitive gestures.
Cost: Free (Pro $4.99 via in app purchase)
Mr. Reader
Mr Reader RSS App Screenshots

Unfortunately, Mr. Reader is iPad only. That may knock this off the list for many people. But if you read on your iPad, stick around because this app is great. It offers a hearty supply of syncing services (AOL Reader, Feedly, Feed Wranger, to start), and plenty of sharing options. This may actually have the most as far as sharing options go.

You can post to Tumblr, add to a link shortener, open with 12 different browsers, as well as a handful of 3 party apps such as Hootsuite, or searching Wikipedia.

Themes look great on Mr. Reader, and several are available. There are simple ones that make reading enjoyable, and night mode ones that are great for evenings.

You can change the toolbar position, set preferred view mode, change font family and size, as well as a built in tag system. You can also file your feeds away into different groups or folders. There are even more to be done inside the settings itself.

Device Support: iPad
Sharing Options: 12 browsers, many 3rd party apps, and syncing services
Notable Features: iPad only, but extensive sharing and integrations
Cost: $3.99
Newsify
Newsify RSS App Screenshots

If you like to read your news in a format thats akin to a newspaper, then you may really enjoy Newsify. It takes any of its repopulated options, or any RSS feed you fancy, and turns it into a view that looks similar to a newspaper. It groups them into a grid system with a little bit of text or a headline, and an accompanying image.

When viewing an article, you get a navigation bar on top, as well as a toolbar on bottom. On the bottom you can quickly mark an item as unread, save for later, or share. If you don’t like the newspaper styled layout, you can opt for a straight list option, but what fun is that.

Swiping to the right opens a menu on the left that shows all items, unread, or saved, as well as all your sources. It shows the last time it fetched for new articles down on the bottom. This is also how you get to settings. There are actually many options here for customizing, including a unique “Auto Night Mode” that comes in very handy. Otherwise, many options for font, size, and order.

You have lots of different sharing options which is always nice to see. Lots of services like Pocket, Evernote, or Instapaper. These special services aside, you have the old iOS Share Sheet standby with even more choices.

My biggest complaint is the banner ads. They look especially bad in night mode, where they are still blindingly white. If you upgrade to premium you can ditch them for a $2.99 a month IAP. Premium gives you full text search, no ads, automatic full text, and more images.

Device Support: iPad, iPhone, & Apple Watch
Sharing Options: The most sharing services of all our options
Notable Features: Unique newspaper-esque layout. Auto night mode comes in handy without having to manually change anything.
Cost: Free (IAP to remove adds, and to upgrade to premium $2.99/month)
Feedly
Feedly RSS App screenshots

Feedly has been mentioned several times so far in this post. It is two separate things. It is a service, that syncs your RSS articles between your devices and browsers, as well as giving you a built-in discovery section to find more feeds to follow. It is also an app that allows you to add your own feeds and view them on your device.

It isn’t very obvious how to add your own RSS feed unless you know how though. You actually take your URL, then paste it into the search bar used to find new content. It will then parse that URL and allow you to add it. You can customize how it displays your feeds, including a standard list view.

There are quite a few sharing options, but by far not the most we’ve seen in these apps. Essentially a few more than the standard Share Sheet. Of all of them, they seem to prioritize Twitter. It is in the share menu, in the bottom under the large “Share” button, and then there is a Twitter icon up at the top. So 3 places to get that story onto the bird-based social network.

Device Support: iPad, iPhone, & Apple Watch
Sharing Options: Many 3rd party apps, plus iOS Share Sheet
Notable Features: Built-in syncing service. Discovery of other feeds.
Cost: Free
Honorable Mention
Flipboard

Flipboard is our honorable mention of this post. It is really positioned as a customized magazine. It looks really gorgeous and has been featured by Apple several times. They really push discovery, and give you lots of ways just to find new content. Content literally flips by as you go post to post.

If you do however attempt to bypass all of the actual curated content, at the bottom there is a search icon. Here you can actually enter a RSS feed URL. It will then add it to your “Following” list, which is the second tab on the bottom. This lets you easily just go in and read that particular feed.

Summary
We did try to shy away somewhat from syncing services and discovery apps, because it gets into a grey area of RSS, or just a news app. There are still many apps out there that we didn’t even touch on that count as an RSS reader, though.

Are there any really stellar ones you want to let us know about? How many people out there still use RSS, or have you migrated to the new Apple News app?

Please also let us know your suggestions for other app roundups as well.

Look, Finch for Twitter, Annotable, and other apps to check out this weekend

In this week’s edition of our Apps of the Week post, we’ve hand-picked 5 titles for you to check out this weekend. The selections include a video streaming app with a unique twist, a different kind of Twitter client, a full-featured annotation app, and two new games that you won’t want to miss!

 Look
look

The live video streaming app space is already crowded, with entries from major player like Facebook and Twitter. But Look offers something the others don’t: the ability to request a stream. Want to see what’s going on in Time Square? At the beach? The local bar? As long as someone at your desired location has the Look app installed, you can send them a notification asking for a live video stream. This is one of those things that sounds really cool on paper, but a lot of people have to start using it for it to be so. This app is available for free.

Finch for Twitter
finch

Twitter is know for its 140-character excerpts, but the social network can also be a great place for discovering great photos. That’s where Finch comes in. The app turns your timeline into beautiful streams of photos, with features like Following, Lists, and keyword/hashtag search. Use the Explore feature to discover new and interesting photos, and instantly save, retweet or like them. This app is available for $2.99.

Annotable
annote

Looking for a new annotation tool? Check out Annotable. It’s a full-featured, all-in-one annotation app with several customization options including rectangles, ovals, arrows, lines and text; 8 colors; 3 outlines and 3 blur styles. You can also highlight items and focus on a certain spot in an image with the Loupe tool. Many of the tools are included with the app, some must be unlocked with in-app purchases. Annotable is available for free.

Never Alone: Ki Edition
ki

Reimagined for mobile — Never Alone: Ki Edition includes every level and all the excitement of the original atmospheric puzzle platformer enjoyed by millions of PC and console players around the world. Experience the epic journey of Nuna and Fox as they search for the source of an eternal blizzard that threatens the survival of everything they have ever known. The mobile version features new touch controls and gorgeous graphics. This game is available for $4.99.

Sky Force Reloaded
sky

The sequel to the hit 2014 title Sky Force, “Reloaded” gives players more of the same great stunning shoot ’em up action with classic arcade elements. Features include beautiful and atmospheric levels with diverse missions, memorable battles with enormous bosses, upgradeable weapons, full voiceover and incredible electronic soundtrack.

After Apple's objections, UK removes encryption backdoors from Investigatory Powers Bill before passing

The U.K. House of Commons has passed a limited version of its Investigatory Powers Bill after removing controversial elements that would have demanded that manufacturers like Apple to weaken or build backdoors into their encryption products. 

UK House of Commons | Source: UK Parliament


According to report by Bloomberg, the bill passed despite some remaining opposition over concerns related to privacy and civil rights. The law grants spy agencies the power to continue bulk surveillance and the use of malware to break into the devices of suspected criminals. 

However, the most objectionable components of the bill—related to proposals that would have weakened encryption—were stripped following intense criticism from civil liberties groups and technology companies.

Apple led a critical challenge of the legislation last winter, arguing in an eight page letter to the U.K parliamentary committee that "the creation of back doors and intercept capabilities would weaken the protections built into Apple products and endanger all our customers."

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook warned of "dire consequences" if the law passed with language weakening device encryption. 

While noting that it cooperates with the U.K. and law enforcement to "catch criminals and save lives," Apple insisted that legal efforts to weaken device encryption on iPhones, iPads and Macs would fail to stop criminals seeking to hide, because those individuals could simply continue using other encryption technologies that are freely available to anyone. 

"There are hundreds of products that use encryption to protect user data, many of them open-source and beyond the regulation of any one government," Apple's letter stated. "By mandating weakened encryption in Apple products, this bill will put law-abiding citizens at risk, not the criminals, hackers and terrorists who will continue having access to encryption."

Apple's global fight against overreaching governments


Cook took the same stance in the United States, where he maintained a very public stand against efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigations to use the courts to require the company to develop a broken version of iOS that would enable law enforcement to bypass a variety of security mechanisms in order to hammer away at encrypted iPhones. 

The FBI later withdrew its motions to force Apple to unlock devices related to a New York drug-related case as well as developing software to break into a company device assigned to dead terrorist shooter in San Bernardino. 

In parallel, encryption-weakening legislation proposed in the U.S. Congress was withdrawn this spring after political support evaporated as the public increasingly sided with Apple's stance on privacy and civil rights. 

In April, Apple's general counsel Bruce Sewell testified at a hearing of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce that the company has twice refused demands from Chinese authorities to turn over source code over the past two years.

The testimony came in response to unsupported accusations by Captain Charles Cohen, a state law enforcement official from Indiana, who suggested that Apple hands over data to the Chinese government but was simply unwilling to help U.S. law enforcement access private data.

Representative Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, refuted the Captain's suggestion and forced Cohen to admit that his only source of information was media reports.

A variety of other technology companies, including Facebook, Google's Alphabet, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo have joined Apple in lobbying against legislation that could undermine customers' faith in their products and brands.

Rumor: Supplier already shipping hinges for Apple's redesigned 13" MacBook Pro

Though new MacBooks aren't expected to launch until later this year, a new supply chain report claims that one key component supplier is sending parts to Apple as the company gears up for a completely revamped notebook design.

Notebook hinge manufacturer Jarllytec allegedly began shipping metal injection molding hinges for new 13-inch MacBooks to Apple last month, according to China's Commercial Times. Sales for the month of May were said to have increased 107.2 percent year over year thanks to Apple's apparent preparations.

Jarllytec is also said to be preparing to ship metal injection molding hinges for a new 15-inch MacBook Pro in the third quarter of calendar 2016, which runs from July through September.

Hinges are, of course, a crucial component in terms of the durability of notebooks, connecting the keyboard and processing components of a MacBook to the Retina display in a clamshell design that allows for portability. Apple is said to have redesigned the hinge on its 2016 notebooks, allowing for continued durability with thinner form factors.

Thus far, rumors have pegged Apple's revamped MacBook Pro lineup for a late 2016 launch, in time for the holiday shopping season. That would suggest that shipments from Jarllytec are not meant to be taken as a sign that a new notebook launch is imminent.




Notably, Apple is set to host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference next week, but the event is expected to focus on software, while hardware upgrades are likely to wait until later this year.

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, Apple's MacBook Pro models are set to be redesigned with a touch-sensitive OLED display that will replace the row of function keys on current MacBook designs. The notebook overhaul is also expected to bring Touch ID secure fingerprint logins to the Mac for the first time.

Like last year's 12-inch MacBook, the new Pro models are expected to adopt speedy USB-C connectivity. It's also possible that Apple could use USB-C for charging and ditch its MagSafe connector, according to photos of an alleged MacBook Pro chassis that leaked online last month.

iTunes U expands cloud support, new Google app turns Live Photos into GIFs

Apple on Tuesday released an important update to its iTunes U iOS app, adding features like a cloud-capable document picker. Google meanwhile debuted Motion Stills, an iPhone app that creates unusual GIFs based on Live Photos.

The iTunes U update, version 3.3, lets users add materials stored on various cloud services. On top of Apple's iCloud Drive, other examples include Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive.

Teachers can now import class rosters from Apple School Manager, and point students to specific iTunes U courses through the separate Classroom app. Finally, Explain Everything and Notability project files can be used either as course materials by staff or hand-ins by students.

Google's Motion Stills uses special video stabilization technology to freeze the background of a Live Photo during the GIF conversion process. The app also tries to calculate the optimal start and stop points for a loop, and toss any blurry frames.

Notably Motion Stills works without signing into Google services, or even an internet connection. Multiple GIFs can be combined into a montage, and any output can be shared via messaging apps or social networks.

The app nominally works on any iPhone with iOS 9 or later. Only the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus support Live Photos, however.

Microsoft throwing developer party at Apple's WWDC, says its iOS apps set 'gold standard'

Microsoft wants to inject its own software and services into the agenda for Apple's Worldwide Developers conference next week, hoping to lure attendees to an offsite afterparty with the promise of drinks and prizes.

Microsoft estimates WWDC 2016's opening day will conclude at about 5 p.m. Pacific next Monday, June 13, at which point the Windows maker will kick off its own afterparty, taking place at Twitter headquarters a block from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.

To appeal to iOS developers, Microsoft has planned free food and drinks, as well as prizes such as an Apple Watch Sport or Xbox One console. All developers are welcome, even if they are not attending WWDC.

Engineers from Microsoft-owned Xamarin will offer one-on-one sessions with developers, offering guidance on using the Xamarin Test Cloud to guarantee the consistency of apps across platforms. 




Microsoft recently opened up the SDK for Xamarin, an iOS and Android-compatible test tool that was once priced at $999 for business users. To Joe Silverman, owner of New York Computer Help, that was a "surprising" move from the Redmond, Wash., software giant.

"If they can create lots of code, games, and programs to be sold, everyone wins in the end, including, dare I say it, Microsoft," Silverman told AppleInsider on Tuesday.

In promoting the event, Microsoft said that apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneDrive are "setting the gold standard on iOS." The company said next week's event will showcase to developers how Microsoft is "reinventing itself on iOS."

To date, Microsoft has developed and published nearly 80 iOS apps, ranging from Word and One Drive to games based on its Halo and Age of Empires franchises. While the company's own Windows Phone platform has struggled, its call to iOS developers could help push not only adoption of the Xamarin development tools, but also integration with Microsoft's software and services ecosystem.

ITC investigates Apple & AT&T over haptic patent complaints by Immersion

On Tuesday the U.S. International Trade Commission launched an investigation into Apple and AT&T, following up on a complaint by San Jose's Immersion that various products are violating its haptic feedback patents.

The ITC is aiming to complete the investigation within 45 days, according to an official announcement. Immersion originally made the complaint on May 5, and is asking the ITC to issue cease-and-desist orders plus a limited exclusion order.

The announcement doesn't specify which products are the target of the investigation except for "smartphones and laptops." With Apple, though, that implies devices equipped with 3D Touch or Force Touch, specifically the iPhone 6s/6s Plus and recent MacBook models, excluding the MacBook Air.

The investigation is linked to a lawsuit also dating back to May 5, launched against Apple and AT&T via a Delaware district court. Immersion claimed the companies are infringing on four haptic patents via MacBooks and the iPhone 6s. A similar lawsuit and ITC complaint filed earlier in the year included the Apple Watch in accusations.

Apple made haptic feedback an important element of its 2015 product lineup. While 3D Touch and Force Touch are nominally about pressure-sensitive controls, haptic technology responds to these gestures with complex vibrations.

Deals: 12.9-inch iPad Pro for $849; 15-inch MacBook Pro for $1,600; $200 off 13-inch MacBook Pro

Apple authorized resellers this week are discounting 12.9-inch iPad Pros by up to $100, bringing the Space Gray model down to $849. Plus, score a 15-inch MacBook Pro for under $1,600 — or save $200 on the smaller 13-inch MacBook Pro with your choice of free Parallels 11 or a 1-year LoJack subscription.

128GB 12.9" iPad Pro $849

iPad Pro Coupon


For a limited time, authorized Apple reseller B&H is taking $100 off the 128GB 12.9" iPad Pro (WiFi Only) in Space Gray, bringing the price down to $849.00. Featuring Apple Pencil support, the 128GB model normally retails for $949. Plus, on top of the instant savings, B&H won't collect sales tax on orders shipped outside NY — and free expedited shipping is included.

128GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Space Gray (WiFi Only) for $849.00 ($100 off, no tax outside NY)

$50-$70 off 12.9" iPad Pros at B&H
32GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Silver (WiFi Only) for $749.00 ($50 off, no tax outside NY)
32GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Space Gray (WiFi Only) for $729.90 ($71 off, no tax outside NY)
32GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Gold (WiFi Only) for $749.00 ($50 off, no tax outside NY)
128GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Silver (WiFi + 4G LTE) for $1,029.00 ($50 off, no tax outside NY)
128GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Space Gray (WiFi + 4G LTE) for $999.00 ($80 off, no tax outside NY)
128GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Gold (WiFi + 4G LTE) for $1,029.00 ($50 off, no tax outside NY)
256GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Space Gray (WiFi Only) for $1,049.00 ($50 off, no tax outside NY)

$15-$20 off 12.9" iPad Pros at MacMall with exclusive coupon
256GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Silver (WiFi Only) for $1,084.00 ($15 off)
256GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Gold (WiFi Only) for $1,084.00 ($50 off, no tax outside NY)
256GB 12.9" iPad Pro in Silver (WiFi + 4G LTE) for $1,209.00 ($20 off, no tax outside NY)
Use coupon code APPLEINSIDER02 on the landing page to activate the discount.

15" MacBook Pro for $1,599.99

Apple MacBook Pro Spotlight Deal


Today's top deals also include a 15" MacBook Pro for $1,599.99 on eBay, which is $400 off MSRP and $200 cheaper than buying from an authorized reseller, according to our Mac Price Guide. In addition to the instant savings, shipping is free. This eBay Spotlight Deal is valid for a limited time only while supplies last.

15" MacBook Pro (2.2GHz, 16GB, 256GB) for $1,599.99 ($400 off)

13" MacBook Pro for $1,399


Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch savings


Also this week, B&H is slashing the price of the 3.1GHz/8GB/128GB 13" MacBook Pro by $200, bringing the price to $1,399 with free expedited shipping and your choice of a free 1-year LoJack subscription or Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac (OEM). Plus, B&H won't collect tax on orders shipped outside NY. According to our Mac Price Guide, this model is $100 cheaper than at other authorized resellers.

13" MacBook Pro (3.1GHz, 8GB, 128GB) for $1399.00 ($200 off, no tax outside NY)

AppleCare for 13" MacBook Pro
You can easily tack on an AppleCare extended protection plan to these MacBooks for the discounted rate of $229 by selecting the AppleCare option immediately after you press the "Add to Cart" button on B&H's website. Or just use this link.

Apple stock currently has limited potential downside for investors, UBS says

Barring a complete meltdown of its iPhone business, shares of Apple stock have limited potential downside at their current trading price, investment firm UBS said on Tuesday.

Analyst Steven Milunovich believes that unless the iPhone sees a colossal meltdown akin to the failures of BlackBerry, Apple should not trade any lower than its current range between $95 and $105. In his view, AAPL stock has limited downside for investors at its current price.

Milunovich believes Apple's current share price reflects the outlook of "product cycle bears," who believe the iPhone could see annual declines of between 5 and 10 percent, much like the PC business. But in his view, this outlook for the iPhone business is "probably too negative."

Instead, UBS has maintained a price target of $115 for Apple stock, with a "buy" rating for investors. At that valuation, Milunovich sees Apple largely as a service-focused company.




The analyst predicts that Apple will continue to sell profitable hardware, but will pivot to becoming a service-oriented company where its customers are monetized through products like Apple Pay, Apple Music and the App Store.

For shares of Apple to really move the needle and move to $120 and beyond, Milunovich believes Apple needs to introduce new hardware and products that will resonate with consumers. Even if a new product were to achieve just 25 percent of the success of the iPhone, he believes that could push the company's stock price to a range between $130 and $150.

Milunovich's most bullish scenario for Apple sees the company hitting "another hardware home run" that achieves 50 percent of the success of the iPhone. In addition, if the company were to launch a rumored "Apple Car" around the year 2020, he said he could see shares of AAPL reaching as high as $200.

For now, however, Milunovich remains squarely in conservative territory with his outlook on Apple, and believes the company's stock could reach $115 within the next year. His forecasts call for iPhone sales to grow by 2 percent in fiscal year 2017, driven by consumers who have yet to upgrade from the 4-inch form factor to larger models.

New Apple Stores opening in China’s Tianjin and Shanghai this month

According to a pair of notices on Apple’s Retail webpage, a new retail store is scheduled for grand opening in China’s Tianjin this coming Saturday, and another one the following Saturday in Shanghai.

The new Tianjin store is scheduled to open doors to shoppers on Saturday, June 11, while the new Shanghai location is opening on Saturday, June 18.

Apple’s second store in Tianjin is located at the Galaxy International Shopping Center on 9 Le Yuan Road in the city’s southwest Hexi District.

The new Shanghai outlet, also Apple’s second new store in the region, is located at the new Hopson One shopping mall complex at 1099 Xiangyin Road in Wujiaochang, Yangpu District.

Retail boss Angela Ahrendts said in January 2015 that Apple would increase the number of retail outlets in the Greater China region to 40 stores within two years.

As noted by MacRumors, with the two new stores coming, Apple is about to hit its self-imposed milestone in just eighteen months.

Checking out Focus, a minimalist task manager for iPhone

Focus for iPhone, a new task manager by Oslo, Norway-headquartered digital marketing agency Dots Design, is a beautifully conceived application with a minimalist user interface which makes creating lists built around your lifestyle a breeze.

Available at no charge on the App Store, Focus, as the name suggests, is all about focusing on the task at hand. The minimal user interface lends itself nicely to keeping the app very easy to use, with gestures-driven actions and a single screen on which everything takes place.

Simplicity is the name of the game
While not as fully-featured as other task managers, Focus will be more than adequate if all you want is a simple to use app that helps you get things done.

As I mentioned, the app leans heavily on gestures. There are no multiple screens in Focus, no settings, no menus—just the highly focused UI with the tasks at hand.

Focus comes with built-in task lists that are based around a typical user’s lifestyle, but you can easily edit them, or create your own.

Gestures, gestures, gestures
To open or close a task list, tap its title.

To create a new task within a list, tap the plus button next to the appropriate task list. I like it that Focus lets me add multiple tasks within a list quickly by tapping the Another button after entering each one.

To mark a task as completed, simply swipe over it.

You can rearrange tasks within a list by tapping and holding, then drag a task to the new location. To edit a task’s title (which can be up to 26 characters), tap it.

And that’s about it when it comes to Focus’s feature set and ease of use, but don’t let the app’s simplicity fool you—if you need a minimal task manager to quickly create and manage shopping lists and other task lists on the go, this is it.

Final thoughts
I have a few smaller quibbles with Focus.

For starters, I would have most definitely welcomed some sort of settings interface to change the typeface and color scheme. Don’t get me wrong, I like Focus’s minimal UI but also understand that an all-red interface may not suit everyone’s tastes.

This app also begs for 3D Touch Peek and Pop gestures, which I have no doubt in my mind will be added in a future update.

Other than that, Focus is a cool app for those who are looking to simplify their productivity with a highly focused task manager for their iPhone. That it’s a completely free of charge app with no In-App Purchases is a plus as well.

The 26-character limit for task names should be removed, in my opinion.

Pricing and availability
Focus requires an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with iOS 8.1. The app is English-only and lacks a native watchOS 2 component for the Apple Watch.

What’s on your Home screen: Anthony Bouchard

Anthony Bouchard Featured Home Screen
Opinions are like Home screens; everyone has one.

Because the Home screen is one of the most-used parts of any iPhone, and because people are always in search of cool new apps to download, it seemed appropriate for me to share what I have on the first page of my Home screen and talk about why I use what I use.

Following suit with my other colleagues here at iDB, I’ll be sharing mine as well.

The minimalist of all minimalists
One thing you can tell about me from looking at my iPhone’s Home screen is I don’t like changing things much. I’m not huge on customizing my stuff, and honestly, I don’t know why. All I can really say is I am a minimalist and I like to keep things that way.

One thing you can tell is that my daily driver, which is an iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 9.3.2, is not jailbroken. I keep it as stock as can be. On the other hand, there are a variety of third-party apps I like to use that I am happy to discuss.

I have only two Home screen pages; the first is completely full, and the second is only almost full and contains a single folder full of apps I don’t use. Although I won’t be talking about the apps I have stored in my folder, I will talk about the rest of my apps that I have installed.

The apps I use and why: Page 1
I have no real order to my apps, but I can say that I like to keep them in places on the Home screen where I’m familiar with so that when I unlock my iPhone, I can quickly have the muscle memory to go to the spot where I know the app always is and tap on it without having to search for it.

These are the apps I keep on my first Home screen page and use regularly:

Messages: need I say more? It seems pointless to have an iPhone if you can’t message people, and I do a lot of that, so that’s app #1 on my Home screen.

Calendar: to be honest, I hate the iOS Calendar app. I much prefer Fantastical 2, but the real perk to having the app on the Home screen is you can simply glance at the app icon to see what the date is.

Photos: I take a lot of photos, so I like to have quick access to them. So here they are!

Camera: it made sense to me to put the Camera app right next to the Photos app, and really, putting it where it makes it easy to get to the app and snap a quick picture.

App Store: my go-to place for finding new apps. I like to have this on my front page so I know when I have pending app updates.

Clock: I use the Clock app mostly for alarms, but it’s on my Home page so I can see the seconds in the time from the app icon itself. I work on cars a lot, so when I disconnect my battery and need to reset my car’s time, this app icon is useful for timing the clock down to the very second.

Notes: I jot things down all the time to remember stuff, so it’s easy to get to where it is.

Contacts: I’m always adding new people to my contacts because I like to keep friends and business partners in the loop.

Facebook: more than just for keeping in touch with friends, I manage social media for my day job, so this app is a must. Free

Facebook Messenger: because I like to keep in touch with my Facebook friends. Free

Twitter: to keep in touch with the jailbreak community and follow developers to make great tweaks, I have Twitter. Free

Slack: the best way for me to keep in touch with my buddy Sebastien and my other iDB colleagues. Free

Amazon: I order stuff. A lot. Leave me alone; I have a buying problem. Free

Ebay: for when Amazon isn’t enough, sometimes I find great deals on Ebay. Once again, I have a buying addiction, especially for Jeep parts. Free

PayPal: we all need to get paid somehow. Free

Discover: for managing one of my favorite credit card issuers and seeing my balance. Free

YouTube: I like watching videos. Most of the time, I am looking up how to do stuff to repair cars because I simply can’t afford to take my vehicles into the garage every time something makes a squeak. Free

Shazam Encore: almost every time I go somewhere, I hear something I want to know the name of, and this app helps with that. Here on my first Home screen page, it’s super easy to access the app and tag music. $6.99

Deliveries: since I have a buying problem, I also have a complimentary tracking problem. I like to know where my purchases are, and this is hands-down my favorite delivery-tracking app. $4.99

Screens: my absolute favorite VNC software for Mac; this lets me control my Mac’s screen while I’m away. $19.99

Settings: bruh, everyone’s gotta configure their device.

Google Maps: I like Apple Maps, but in my opinion, Google Maps will always be the best. It has never steered me wrong, and I do a lot of driving. Free

Yahoo Weather: my favorite third-party weather app because it has so much interactive information about the weather outside. Free

Skype: I honestly don’t use this app that much, but I keep in touch with my ex-coworkers with this app. Free

Phone: I don’t always call people, but when I do, I use the Phone app (don’t you too?).

Safari: I search for so much stuff, and all third-party web browsers pretty much suck. I like the speed and reliability of Safari.

Mail: for my many email contacts for my many needs, Apple’s mail app is my go-to.

Music: I actually just signed up for Apple Music not too long ago after my student discount for Spotify expired. I still miss Spotify’s streaming quality, but it’s nice to have streaming from a native iOS app now.

The apps I use and why: Page 2

Anthony Bouchard Featured Home Screen 2

MacID: I’ve talked about MacID over and over with you guys; it’s my favorite way to unlock my Mac using Touch ID. $3.99

Dropbox: I use Dropbox as a way to keep my files accessible on the go. Free

Fantastical 2: I use Fantastical instead of the Calendar app to keep up with dates and events. Its UI and feature set are so much better than Apple’s Calendar app. $4.99

Reeder: I like to keep up with news in the Apple world, and I do that with Reeder. $4.99

iTunes Movie Trailers: because I don’t watch much TV, I never know what movies are in theaters without this app. Free

Wallet: I use Apple Pay. It’s great. At least, it is when stores actually support it…

Calculator: for those tricky every-day calculations you always seem to have to make.

Voice Memos: I rarely use it, unless I want to record somebody talking to prove them wrong when they say they said something and didn’t.

Maps: as a backup for when Google Maps doesn’t work, which is basically never.

Watch: I love my Apple Watch, so I configure it here.

Shopkick: I find it fun to earn rewards and gift cards while shopping, and Shopkick lets me do that. Free

Walmart: I use the Walmart app to scan every receipt I get from Walmart to earn bucks with the savings catcher feature. Free

Instagram: I follow Jeep pages because I like Jeeps. Instagram seems to have endless photos of Jeeps. Free

myAT&T: since I have AT&T, and they can often be shysters, I use this app to make sure my data consumption looks right. Free

LongScreen: for making those abnormally long screenshots you often see in my tutorials. $3.99

iDB: to keep up with what’s being posted on iDownloadBlog. Free

CNN Politics: to keep up with what’s new in the 2016 presidential race. Free

There’s really nothing special about my Home screen layout, so I don’t expect to be the model for anyone’s Home screen desires, but it works for me. I’m pretty simple when it comes to looks and I never go over the top with these kinds of things.

My bland wallpaper
I used to be really into having cool abstract wallpapers, but I slowly realized that it was an endless and pointless search because I would always find something cooler week after week.

As a result, I just keep my wallpaper plain Jane stock. Until Apple releases a wallpaper that I totally can’t stand, I probably won’t even bother changing it.

Wrapping up
Like I said before, I’m a minimalist. I don’t really change a whole lot when it comes to my iPhone because I like things to stay as basic as possible. On the other hand, I’m a sucker for great apps, and that’s why you won’t find any junk on my Home screen.

What do you have on your Home screen? Send us an email and we might even feature you if it’s written decently enough to pass through editorial control.