France’s lower house of parliament has passed an amendment which could see Apple charged heavy fines, and even handed out jail time, if it fails to hand over encrypted data as part of government investigations.
The amendment affects both tech and telecoms companies. The punishment could reach up to €350,000 ($385,000) and five years in jail, although a proposed amendment asking the French government to hand out fines of €1 million was rejected.
Apple is planning to import and sell refurbished iPhones in India as a way of getting its handsets into more people’s hands.
“An application from Apple regarding import of certified pre-owned iPhones for sale in India and manufacturing certified pre-owned iPhones for sale in India has been received in the ministry of environment and forests,” telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.
The oddball collection of Steve Jobs-inspired musicals is set to gain another entry this month, as new “original pop-rock musical” The Crazy Ones makes it debut at 54 Below — the supper club beneath the legendary Studio 54 — in New York City.
Taking its name from a line in Apple’s iconic “Think Different” ad campaign, the musical tells the story of a young Steve Jobs being driven out of Apple — although the wording on its press release makes it sound oddly like the trailer for a 1980s horror movie.
The FBI is unlikely to give up trying to pry its way into iPhones even if it loses the current standoff with Apple over encryption, says security expert Bruce Schneier.
Schneier, who is one of the leading experts on modern cryptography, says it is “clear that the San Bernardino case was preselected as a legal precedent case” by the bureau — despite the fact that FBI Director James Comey has claimed this is not the case (only to later contradict himself.)
iPhone sales may be set to level off this year, according to Tim Cook, but don’t think that Apple handsets are entering an irreversible decline.
According to the latest forecast from analysts at IDC, in their Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, iPhone growth should return as soon as 2017 — thanks to Apple’s trade-in programs and expansion into new markets outside the United States.
Government officials seem to be in some kind of race to see which of them can be the most indignant and/or outraged at Apple’s refusal to create security-bypassing software for its devices. And we’re pretty sure Rep. David Jolly has just won.
Jolly, who represents Florida’s 13th District, submitted a bill Wednesday that would make it illegal for any federal office to own or lease Apple products until Cupertino gives in to the FBI’s demands. And he did so because state-sponsored blacklisting of organizations that legally disagree with the government is exactly how free countries work.
Companies and organizations have filed over a dozen amicus briefs supporting Apple in its showdown with the FBI over phone encryption. Filers include law professors, rights organizations, and some of the biggest companies in the world.
This outpouring of support is just the latest in a series of apparent victories for Apple in its fight to keep its devices secure.
As it turns out, Apple is not ready for some football.
The iPhone-maker was expected to be among a number of tech giants bidding for the streaming rights to 18 regular season football games this year, but it appears the company has decided to pass on the option to bid, figuring it wouldn’t be a big enough draw for the Apple TV platform.
If you’re in the (presumably small) subset of people who are both looking forward to the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film and still playing the Injustice: Gods Among Us iOS game, you’ll be excited to know that a new update has tossed the two properties together like some kind of super salad.
The film’s release is still three weeks away, but the clash of heroes could be happening in your iPhone or iPad right now if you don’t mind putting in some work. Check out the new characters in action in the trailer below.
The Amazon Echo has quickly become one of our favorite gadgets thanks to its accompanying digital assistant Alexa that makes it easy to do everything from ordering new laundry detergent to checking the news. Today the service is getting even better with two new gadgets that essentially split the Echo into two parts: Tap and Dot.
Amazon divvied up what the original Echo did by creating the Echo Dot ($89) that can hear your commands from anywhere in the room, it just doesn’t have great speakers like the original, while the Amazon Tap boasts great speakers for only $129, but you have to push a button on the top of the device to give it commands.
If you’re hoping to get your hands on an Echo Dot you’ll need to own an Alexa device (the original Echo, or a Kindle Fire tablet). However, anyone can pre-order the Amazon Tap right now.
Here’s a teaser:
While Apple is embroiled in an ugly battle with the FBI in the hope that it can protect the privacy and security of its users, Amazon is throwing away the encryption it previously offered its own.
With its latest Fire OS 5 update, the company has removed the ability to encrypt data on its Fire tablets.
The coolest way to pay for stuff is finally coming to the country’s hippest store: American Apparel.
The company revealed today that it will be using software provided by Index to bring Apple Pay support to point-of-sale terminals across the country, making it easier than ever to buy simple cotton hoodies and t-shirts.
Remember when the iPhone had by far the best camera you could get in a smartphone? Those days are long gone.
In the camera comparison video below, Samsung’s new Galaxy S7 edge well and truly trounces the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in almost every test carried out.
We have a ready shortlist when asked which famous person with whom we most want as a dinner date.
So if Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is on that list, he will happily dine with you and three friends and even throw in a bottle of champaign tied to Apple’s history – that is, if you are the winning bidder.
The United Nations is standing behind Apple in the company’s fight against the FBI over whether the federal government can compel the iPhone-maker to create a backdoor into iOS.
In a letter written in support of Apple’s case, U.N. Special Rapporteur David Kaye says that if the feds are successful, it would infringe on citizens’ right to freedom of expression.
Google’s next-generation Nexus smartphone will adopt the iPhone’s 3D Touch technology, according to an “insider” familiar with the company’s plans. It’s thought HTC will be tasked with building the device, and it should arrive later this year.
Oculus Rift most likely won’t be coming to Mac any time soon, according to Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey, who says an Apple-compatible version of the virtual reality headset won’t arrive until Cupertino decides to “release a good computer.”
If you’ve got a question for Apple — or simply want to pick up some new tips and tricks for your iOS device or Mac — Apple has launched a brand new Twitter account to help you.
Launched this morning, @AppleSupport has already sent out 137 tweets, covering everything from Apple IDs to downloading app updates, to its 21,200 users.
Chiming in on one of the biggest tech stories of the year, Samsung says that customer privacy is “extremely important to it” and argues against software backdoors — but won’t totally commit to supporting Apple, either.
SAN FRANCISCO — The idea for Robert Macauley’s “photographs for the new millennium” sprang from a camera that is totally 20th century.
“What if you could create a Polaroid experience for your phone?” Macauley said as he showed off a prototype of LifePrint, his pint-size printer that works with an augmented-reality app. LifePrint lets you print out Polaroid-size images that, when viewed through the app, can come to life on your smartphone screen.
Speaker maker Soundmatters has just released an audio device you can talk to without looking like a crazy person. And even better, it’ll talk back with the voice of Apple’s digital assistant, Siri.
The aptly named Dash7+Siri has all the functions of the basic mini soundbar, but it also lets you issue commands directly to the speaker with the press of a button.
Companies like Best Buy offer good deals on the Apple Watch, but one of the most innovative concepts I’ve heard is currently being offered by South African health insurer Discovery Health.
In a program announced this week, Discovery is allowing some customers to buy a $350 Apple Watch for only $25 by hitting fitness-related exercise goals. If users miss their targets, their discount shrinks.
Best part of it? The program is coming to the U.S., too.
Apple has never been a company to offer the kind of perks that Google and others do — allowing its stock options and world-beating reputation to make up for the tech giant’s lack of indoor climbing walls and free food.
But a new report suggests that Apple may be slowly rethinking its approach to incentives. And it’s all beginning with San Francisco real-estate.
Virtually everyone is expecting Apple to make the jump to OLED displays sooner or later, but according to a new report iPhone users may be able to expect the arrival of the new, sharper displays as soon as next year’s iPhone 7s — around one year earlier than was being predicted.
Apple is reported to have spoken with its display suppliers at both LG and Samsung concerning its desire to ramp up OLED production so that it is ready for next year’s iPhone release.
In the endless battle for supremacy between Apple and Samsung, the Korean company has leaped ahead of Cupertino when it comes to water-resistance. But the iPhone 6s Plus still reigns supreme in terms of shatter-resistance.
A YouTuber set the new Samsung Galaxy S7 edge next to an Apple iPhone 6s Plus in a big deep tub of water, then dropped them both from different heights, and the results are pretty predictable (yet still fun to watch).
The results definitely aren’t pretty.