A new material could be used on the rear of a future iPhone.
Manzana
If you’re a fan of the Apple Watch Edition in its ceramic finish, there could be good news on the horizon. It comes in the form of a new patent that specifies a Zirconia-based ceramic material that could be used in future Watch models. Even more intriguingly, it could be used for the iPhone as well.
MORE FROM FORBESApple Could Release iPhone 14 And iPhone 14 Pro Sooner Than ExpectedBy David Phelan
The patent is called “Electronic Devices with Textured Zirconia-Based Components” and promises a matte finish. It says it can give “a matte appearance to an exterior surface of an electronic device. The texture of the enclosure component may also be configured so that it has one or more tactile properties suitable for use as a wearable device and can be readily cleaned.” It can also be configured to “provide a particular “feel” to the electronic device” and “may be configured so that the zirconia-based component substantially retains its strength and impact resistance.” Although it doesn’t give full details of the material, it specifies that “The zirconia-based component may be formed of a ceramic such as a partially stabilized zirconia ceramic or an alumina toughened zirconia ceramic.”
Patent image showing a new material on a possible future Apple Watch.
Manzana
It could be used as a side surface (such as the case that wraps around the display on an Apple Watch, it seems) or a rear cover for another device. The images suggest that the rear of an iPhone is the focus here and Apple could use this material instead of the toughened glass currently on the back of its phones. Additionally, the matte finish suggests that it could be used for the Pro models in the iPhone range, as the main part of the back of the phone is matte-finish and only the camera panel is gloss.
The image in the patent even shows a central circular panel, perhaps to indicate that the Apple logo would be located there (and would doubtless be as shiny as it is on current phones).
Ceramic has been used on mobile phones before including handsets from Xiaomi and Samsung. It’s a material usually reserved for high-end devices, but has never been used for the iPhone.
As with all patents, there’s no certainty that Apple will implement such a design change soon or even at all. But the prospects of a ceramic iPhone and another ceramic Apple Watch are intriguing.
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Your iPhone offers a built-in Health app through which you’re able to track your health and fitness, monitor medical conditions, and access records from supported hospitals. Now, with iOS 16, you also have the ability to manage your medications.
Apple’s iOS 16 arrives in the fall, but early adopters can check it out now via the public beta. Download it and you’ll have the ability to add and track each of your medications, set reminders, and even learn about possible interactions between different medications that you take. Here’s how the new feature works.
Add Medications
In the Health app, swipe down the summary screen and tap Add a Medication under the Set Up Medications section. You can also click Browsethen select Medications under Health Categories and choose Add a Medication.
Start typing the name of your medication. If you see a match, tap the appropriate listing. Make sure you select not just the name but the correct dosage, if listed. If the medication doesn’t appear among the results, tap the camera icon to take a picture of it.
Tap the Get Started button and position the medication in the frame of the camera as instructed. If the medication is identified through the scan, tap the correct match. Again, be sure to select the correct name and dosage, if available.
Some medications are available in multiple forms, so you may be asked to choose between a topical cream, tablet, oral solution, or capsule form. If the dosage was not included when you added the medication, the next screen will ask you to choose the medication strength. Select the correct dosage and tap Next.
Any standard, FDA-approved medications should be identified by a search or scan. However, if you can’t find your meds, you can also manually add the name. To do this, tap Search by Name to add the medication, then tap Next.
If you manually add a medication because it can’t be identified by search or scan, you are asked to choose the medication type, such as capsule, liquid, cream, drops, or spray. You are then asked to choose the unit of measurement, eg, mg, g, or mL.
Set Frequency and Time
After you have entered a medication, you are then asked how often you take the medication and at what time of day. Tap Frequency and select the interval; At Regular Intervals, On Specific Days of the Week, As Needed. Then choose a start date and tap donate.
Select Add a time under Time of Day and enter the time that you take the medication. You can add more than one time if you take it more than once per day. Tap the 1 tablet link (assuming the medication is in tablet form) to change how many doses of the medication you take at each interval, then tap Next.
Confirm Shape and Color
You will need to confirm the shape and color of the pill you take. Tap the shape that best matches how the medication looks, then tap Next. Select the color that best matches the medication.
You can also assign a specific background color for the medication, if you need to differentiate one medicine from another, or to simply better highlight the image. Tap Next when finished.
Finalize Medication
Confirm the name, dosage, and schedule for the medication. If you need to change any details, tap the Back arrow at the upper left until you reach each previous screen. Otherwise, you can add optional details at this summary screen. When done, tap Next.
The next screen informs you of any potential interactions as you add more medications to the list. Select any of the displayed items that you use to see if there are any interactions between them and your medications. When finished, tap donate. You can then tap Add Medication if you need to add another medication.
Track Your Medications
Once everything has been added, you can view all the medications you take from the Summary screen. Check the Log section to see when you need to take each medication. The Your Medications section will display the names, dosages, and frequencies of the medications you take. You can also check drug interactions from the Interactions section.
Tap a specific medication to see its summary screen. If you need to change the schedule, tap the Edit link next to Schedule and enter a new interval and time. Swipe down further to see the details you entered. Tap Edit to modify any of these details.
Further down is the About section, which displays information about the medication. Tap side effects to read about any potential side effects for that medication.
You can edit the list of medications to remove any or change their order. Tap the Edit link next to Your Medications, then select the trash can icon next to any you no longer take and wish to remove. That medication is then added to the archived list in case you need to add it back to the active list in the future.
To modify the order in which the medications are listed, press down on the hamburger icon next to a specific listing and then drag and drop it up or down.
When it’s time to take one of your scheduled medications, your iPhone will remind you with a visual notification and audio tone. Tap the notification to see the scheduled medications. Tap the Taken button to indicate that you took a medication or choose the skipped button to indicate that you skipped the dose for now.
The Logged section of the Summary screen will display any medications you have taken for the day and indicate the time you took them.
Apple’s next-gen operating systems are currently in public beta, meaning early adopters can test iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura on their personal devices before a final fall release.
Naturally, OS updates mean that some older hardware gets phased out of the support cycle. However, iPadOS 16 is unique in that some features are exclusive to Apple tablets equipped with the Apple M1 chip. So, which iPads will run iPadOS 16, and how can you tell which versions have the M1 chip? We’ll break it down for you.
Stage Manager
Among the features exclusive to devices with the M1 chip is Stage Manager, Apple’s new window-focused multitasking tool. There are two ways to see if your iPad runs an M1. First, check the model number on the back of your device. Currently, the devices utilizing the M1 chip include:
The 5th-generation iPad Air, introduced in 2022. It comes in 64GB and 256GB iterations. The model numbers are A2588, A2589, or A2591.
The 5th-generation iPad Pro 12.9-inch, introduced in 2021. It comes in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB versions. The model numbers are A2378, A2461, A2379, or A2462.
The 3rd-generation iPad Pro 11-inch, introduced in 2021. It comes in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB flavors. The model numbers are A2377, A2459, A2301, or A2460.
Alternatively, you can go into your iPad’s Settings menu and tap General > About. You should see the iPad’s details at the top of the screen, including the model name. If you have an iPad Air (5th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation), or iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation), then you have an M1 device that can utilize virtually all of the iPadOS 16 update features.
To clarify, we say virtually due tothe Reference Mode feature that offers a unique, color-accurate screen mode via the XDR display. It’s ideal for people who do color work, such as 3D modeling, painting, and photo editing. But it’s exclusive to the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation).
If you’re not too concerned with Stage Manager or the M1 chip, and just want to know which iPad models get iPadOS 16 this fall, here is a breakdown. At the time of this writing, iPadOS 16 is compatible with the following devices:
iPad Pro (all models)
iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
iPad (5th generation and later)
iPad mini (5th generation and later)
Check the Settings menu using the steps mentioned above to see which iPad you own.
Apple’s OS public betas are currently live, and enrolling your device is a cinch. These updates feature excellent improvements, but if you’re a newbie, or don’t have an extra device that can load up the betas, wait for the stable versions of these OSes, which arrive this fall.
For more, read our impressions of iOS 16 to get a gist of what’s coming to the iPhone; MacBook users should take a peek at our macOS Ventura preview, as well.
AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content.
Apple brings battery percentage back to the status bar in iOS 16 beta 5, Google puts Apple on blast over RCS adoption, we review the VESA mount Studio Display, and more on the AppleInsider podcast.
We discuss how the new battery percentage indicator may be Apple’s most disruptive feature of iOS 16. Many Apple fans are excited by the new feature, though neither of your hosts Wesley and Stephen will be turning it on.
Next, Google’s latest campaign for Apple to adopt RCS continues to push a narrative that’s missing a lot of details. The hosts dive into what’s wrong with RCS today and what it would take for Apple to consider the new messaging platform.
Meanwhile, Stephen’s Studio Display has arrived and he shares some controversial opinions about its speakers and webcam — they’re fine. Also, your hosts consider what it would take for them to upgrade from the existing Studio Display and whether Apple would introduce such a product anytime soon.
The latest product rumors point to new HomePods arriving sometime soon, and the new entry model iPad may see big changes in 2022. There’s also a quick discussion of Apple TV+ and the new animated film “Luck.”
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Every time you shut down your Mac, a pop-up appears: “Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now?” Nestled under the prompt is another option most of us likely to overlook: the choice to reopen the apps and windows you have open now when your machine is turned back on. Researchers have now found a way to exploit a vulnerability in this “saved state” feature—and it can be used to break the key layers of Apple’s security protections.
The vulnerability, which is susceptible to a process injection attack to break macOS security, could allow an attacker to read every file on a Mac or take control of the webcam, says Thijs Alkemade, a security researcher at Netherlands-based cybersecurity firm Computest who found the flaw. “It’s basically one vulnerability that could be applied to three different locations,” he says.
After deploying the initial attack against the saved state feature, Alkemade was able to move through other parts of the Apple ecosystem: first escaping the macOS sandbox, which is designed to limit successful hacks to one app, and then bypassing the System Integrity Protection (SIP ), a key defense designed to stop authorized code from accessing sensitive files on a Mac.
Alkemade—who is presenting the work at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas this week—first found the vulnerability in December 2020 and reported the issue to Apple through its bug bounty scheme. He was paid a “pretty nice” reward for the research, he says, although he refuses to detail how much. Since then Apple has issued two updates to fix the flaw, first in April 2021 and again in October 2021.
When asked about the flaw, Apple said it did not have any comment prior to Alkemade’s presentation. The company’s two public updates about the vulnerability are light on detail, but they say the issues could allow malicious apps to leak sensitive user information and escalate privileges for an attacker to move through a system.
Apple’s changes can also be seen in Xcode, the company’s development workspace for app creators, a blog post describing the attack from Alkemade says. The researcher says that while Apple fixed the issue for Macs running the Monterey operating system, which was released in October 2021, the previous versions of macOS are still vulnerable to the attack.
There are multiple steps to successfully launching the attack, but fundamentally they come back to the initial process injection vulnerability. Process injection attacks allow hackers to inject code into a device and run code in a way that’s different from what was originally intended.
The attacks are not uncommon. “It’s quite often possible to find the process injection vulnerability in a specific application,” Alkemade says. “But to have one that’s so universally applicable is a very rare find,” he says.
The vulnerability Alkemade found is in a “serialized” object in the saved state system, which saves the apps and windows you have open when you shut down a Mac. This saved state system can also run while a Mac is in use, in a process called App Nap.
When the Macintosh computer was new, Apple touted the fact that Macs, unlike PCs, didn’t get viruses. We know better now; Macs do get hit with malware, even ransomware. But the fact remains that macOS is intrinsically more secure than Windows. That’s why security researcher Thijs Alkemade’s claim to break through all macOS security layers with one attack is such a gut punch. An excited audience of Black Hat conference attendees, both in-person and virtual, clamored to hear details about this surprising claim.
What Makes MacOS So Secure?
“I’ve been a Mac user all my life,” said Alkemade. “It’s a system I know well. The early Mac platform was based on Unix. In that platform, users are security boundaries but processes are not. For files, every file has an owner, and nine flags define permissions. The root user has full access to modify all files, memory, even the kernel. That was the old model.
“System Integrity Protection (SIP) was introduced in 2015 with El Capitan,” he continued. “It put a security layer between the root users and the kernel, protecting the system from modification even by the root user. Root access is no longer enough to compromise the system. One of the other names for this system is rootless. Some people think it means Apple is going to take root away, like on the iPhone. But actually it just means that root es less powerful. Dangerous operations require entitlements, and each macOS release adds more and more restrictions.
“But…macOS is old, large, and established,” said Alkemede. “A lot of system parts were written before the security model changed. It’s not possible to reconstruct the entire system.”
I have listed off several techniques that could be used to enable process injection, but concluded they’re just incidental. “It’s much nicer to have process injection that you can apply everywhere.”
Where’s the Security Hole?
Where’s the weakness? Alkemade didn’t keep listeners in suspense. “It’s in the saved state feature,” I explained. “When you shut down, you check a box if you want an app to reopen when you start again. It even restores unsaved documents. It largely works automatically. Developers don’t have to do anything to use it, but they can extend it.”
The process of saving an app’s state is called serializing, and the serialized data is meant to be encrypted. However, encryption is not required, which allows a clever programmer to abuse this feature. “I create a saved state using a malicious serialized object and write it to the directory of another application’s state. It automatically deserializes and executes within the other app, and can use the entitlements and permissions of that other app, achieving process injection.”
Alkemade walked the audience through the numerous barricades he encountered, and the techniques he evolved to circumvent them. He did admit, “I have to skip a few steps for time reasons and disclosure reasons.” I won’t attempt to explain the details here, as you need to be a programmer to totally grasp them. The key point is, it worked.
What Can You Do With Process Injection
Alkemade detailed three possible uses for the exploit: escape the sandbox, escalate privilege, and bypass System Integrity Protection.
These are extraordinary claims, given those outcomes are practically the Holy Grail of hacking. Bypassing SIP in particular gives your program supreme power. “We can read email or Safari history of all users, or grant ourselves permission to use the microphone or webcam,” Alkemade explained. “Our process is now protected by SIP, which gives it powerful persistence. We can load a kernel extension without the user’s knowledge or permission.”
Alkemade proceeded to demonstrate these three hacks for the appreciative audience. Only the best Black Hat demos get their own round of applause!
Should We Worry?
This security hole is already fixed in macOS Monterey, but app developers need to do their part. “Developers can and should make apps accept only secure serialized objects,” said Alkemade. “Apple has already done that with all their apps, but existing third-party apps need to do the same.”
As it turns out, this new protection isn’t just for Monterey. “I just learned that they back-ported it to Big Sur and Catalina,” said Alkemade. “The Catalina release notes are updated, but not those for Big Sur. I got a spontaneous email from Apple asking to share the contents of my talk in advance. Two hours ago I got confirmation that it’s fixed in Big Sur, though I haven’t had time to verify it.”
“Apple keeps adding layers to macOS,” concluded Alkemade. “Adding new layers to an established system is hard, so code written 10 or more years ago is today’s attack surface. More layers may not increase the effort for attackers, not if you can use the same bug to bypass all of them.”
Just a few days after Apple reintroduced a battery percentage icon on the latest iPhones, developer Rony Fadel has updated his popular Batteries app with a new option to enable a similar looking battery percentage icon in the Mac’s menu bar.
As on the iPhone, the battery percentage appears inside the battery icon on the Mac for a consistent appearance across iOS and macOS. The existing battery indicator on the Mac can be disabled in the System Settings app in the Battery menu.
Starting with the fifth developer beta of iOS 16, it is once again possible to view an iPhone’s battery percentage in the status bar without having to swipe down to open Control Center. The feature is available on most iPhones with a notch, with the exception of the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, standard iPhone 11, and iPhone XR. It’s possible that Apple may expand the icon to additional iPhones in later iOS 16 betas.
Apple had removed the ability to view battery percentage in the status bar when the iPhone X was released in 2017 due to the notch and only brought it back now.
Batteries for Mac is a useful app that lets you view battery percentages for an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, Beats, and other Bluetooth devices in the macOS menu bar. The app can also provide low battery notifications for the devices on the Mac. The app is priced at $8.99 in the US and is also available as part of the Setapp subscription bundle.
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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov claims that Apple has been delaying an App Store update to the app that will “revolutionize how people express themselves in messaging.”
In a Telegram message on Thursday, Durov says that the upcoming update has been stuck in Apple’s review process for two weeks with no explanation from the iPhone maker about the holdup.
“If Telegram, one of the top 10 most popular apps globally, is receiving this treatment, one can only imagine the difficulties experienced by smaller app developers,” Durov wrote.
The Telegram chief executive also hit Apple and Google for charging a 30% commission on app and in-app purchases. Durov says the app review delay is just another harm on the commission, which he likes to a “tax.”
“The regulators in the EU and elsewhere are slowly starting to look into these abusive practices,” he said. “But the economic damage that has already been inflicted by Apple on the tech industry won’t be undone.”
This isn’t the first time that a Telegram update has been stuck in Apple’s app review process. Back in 2018, Apple delayed global updates after Russian authorities demanded the Cupertino tech giant remove the secure messaging app from the App Store.
Other app developers and executives have complained about Apple’s App Review process in the past. In 2021, Hopscotch CEO Samantha John called Apple’s review process “Kafkaesque.”
Apple has made moves to amend its App Store policies in recent years, including updated App Review processes and rules and the introduction of a lower 15% commission for apps making less than $1 million.
San Francisco: Google has launched a new campaign to put pressure on Apple to adopt RCS (rich communication services) and improve texting between Android and iOS users.
RCS is a next generation SMS protocol that upgrades text messaging across Android and iMessages.
“It’s time for Apple to fix texting. It’s not about the color of the bubbles. It’s the blurry videos, broken group chats, missing read receipts and typing indicators, no texting over Wi-Fi and more,” said the Google campaign.
“These problems exist because Apple refuses to adopt modern texting standards when people with iPhones and Android phones text each other,” it added.
The tech giant is asking Apple to fix these issues by supporting RCS.
“Messaging should bring people together — not pull them apart,” Google said.
“The Android team’s goal is to make texting a more secure, modern and enjoyable experience for everyone, regardless of the phone they’re using. Because it shouldn’t matter what phone they have � things should just work,” the company added.
According to Google, Apple turns texts between iPhones and Android phones into SMS and MMS which are out-of-date technologies.
“But Apple can adopt RCS — the modern industry standard — for these threads instead. Solving the problem without changing your iPhone to iPhone conversations and making messaging better for everyone,” said Google.
Apple was yet to react to the new Google RCS campaign.
In just a few weeks, Apple’s annual fall cavalcade of new products will begin with the iPhone 14 event. And you’re going to notice a trend among this year’s big announcements: They’re going to be, well, big.
Alongside the usual spec bumps and refreshes of existing models we’ll reportedly be getting two new large-screen devices: a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max and a 50mm Apple Watch Pro.
These represent the largest iPhone and Apple Watch, respectively, that the company has ever made. There are rumors of a 14-inch iPad Pro and 15-inch MacBook Air in the works as well, although they probably won’t arrive this year.
As a general rule Apple has tried to resist the trend towards big; it took the company until 2018 to deliver a 6.5-inch iPhone in the XS Max. But this year all four models will be larger than six inches for the first time. And the Apple Watch Series 3’s tiny 38mm screen, which is likely going away once and for all, is a whopping 12mm smaller than the rumored Apple Watch Pro.
So like it or not, Apple is going big in 2022. The pace of innovation is outrunning the ability to shrink batteries and engineer smaller devices, and even Apple has to give in and accept the truth: if you want devices that last longer, they ‘re going to have to be bigger.
Credit: IDG
Larger than (battery) life
According to basically every rumour, the iPhone 14 Max will replace the iPhone mini, which was seemingly a giant flop. Just two years ago, Apple introduced the iPhone 12 mini to much anticipation and demand as handsets continued to grow in size, people had been clamoring for a small premium phone for years, and Apple delivered a 5.4-inch iPhone with the same screen, camera , and processor as its larger sibling.
But the iPhone mini had a small problem: demand wasn’t there, in part perhaps because of widespread concerns about battery life. Even after a boost with the iPhone 13 mini, battery life still seriously lags behind the larger models. The 13 mini lasts about half as long as the 13 Pro Max, according to Apple’s own estimates (25 hours vs 13 hours).
The same goes for the Apple Watch. Ever since the original model debuted in 2015 it’s been rated for 18 hours of battery life. That’s not terrible, but it’s also not enough for all-day use once you factor in sleep and exercise tracking. And it pales in comparison to the multi-day battery life offered by Samsung and Fitbit watches.
The iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Pro will reportedly correct both of those faults. We don’t have exact specs yet, but reports say the iPhone 14 Max will have a 4325mAh battery, much bigger than the 2406mAh battery in the iPhone 13 mini. That could mean the iPhone 14 Max lasts twice as long as the iPhone 13 mini and significantly longer than the iPhone 14.
The Apple Watch Pro could similarly be the greatest leap in battery life for Apple’s wearable. The larger size will allow Apple to increase the battery from 308mAh capacity to something that will likely last at least 24 hours and maybe even closer to 36.
And while we don’t know much about Apple’s other rumored embiggened products, it’s not a stretch to say battery life will be a primary factor here as well.
The iPad, for instance, has had the same 10 hours of battery life for the past 12 years, but with the battery gains afforded by the M1 processor in the Mac, it’s not a stretch to think Apple could push it to 15 or 20 hours in a 14-inch model. And a 15-inch MacBook Air could easily stretch the 13-inch Air’s 18-hour battery life to more than 20.
But to get those battery gains, you’ll need to embrace Apple’s biggest devices ever.
