Well, it was nice while it lasted. For a while now, the consensus seemed to be that if your iPhone was updated with the latest version of iOS, a third party should not be able to unlock your device without you entering the password or using FaceID/TouchID. However, Andy Greenberg of Wired reported this week that a tweet from the Israeli forensics company Cellebrite asserts the firm can now unlock any iOS device on any iPhone, including those running iOS 12.3. Cellebrite did not release any details on how this works or what the limitations might be, and Cellebrite only sells to law enforcement which should limit who can take advantage of this. But of course, if Cellebrite is telling the truth, one cannot help but wonder if there are malicious hackers out there who have also figured it out. Presumably, Apple will patch this flaw in iOS 13, and then the cat and mouse game will continue as smart folks will look for more workarounds. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- CardHop is an app that lets you work with your address book entries on an iPhone or iPad and includes many features not available in the default Contacts app. I liked the idea of CardHop 1.0, but ultimately I decided just to go back to the regular Contacts app. However, there are some new features in CardHop 1.1, and California attorney David Sparks describes them and shows them off in a video.
- When iOS 13 comes out later this year, CarPlay will be improved in numerous ways. One such improvement is that you will be able to see album art when you are playing music (or, I presume, listening to podcasts or audiobooks). CarPlay Life shares some pictures of what CarPlay will look like with album art.
- Jason Cross of Macworld discuss what will be new with Apple's Maps app when iOS 13 comes out later this year.
- My Apple TV sends the picture to my television but sends the audio to my receiver which is connected to my 5.1 speakers. I've never noticed the video and audio being out of sync, but I can imagine how this might happen when audio and video are not being managed by the same equipment. Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac explains that if this happens in the future, iOS 13 will include a feature which uses the microphone on your iPhone to help the Apple TV to resolve audio sync. Neat idea.
- Leif Johnson of Macworld describes what will be new with the Apple Pencil when iPadOS comes out later this year.
- Small devices which turn one wall outlet into two outlets have been around for a very long time, but Satechi has come out with a HomeKit-enabled Dual Smart Outlet. As Zac Hall of 9to5Mac explains, the device can control two different devices, does not block the other outlet, and monitors energy usage.
- Matthew Miller of ZDNet shared a horrible story. A crook convinced T-Mobile to reassign the SIM card in his iPhone, and then the hacker used the phone to serve as a second form of authorization and was able to take over his Twitter account, his Gmail account, and even tried to use his bank account to purchase $25,000 in Bitcoin. Ugh.
- After that ugly story, here is an uplifting technology story from Steve King of WXII in North Carolina. A teenager had a car accident when her vehicle hydroplaned and then flipped into a ravine, pinning her under the vehicle. Although she could not reach her iPhone, she already used the Find My Friends app to share her location with family members. After she was missing for several hours, a family member used that app to determine her location and then rescue her. She then spent five days in the hospital, but according to the article is on the road to recovery. If she had been wearing an Apple Watch, she may have been able to call for help even faster.
- Frederic Lardinois of TechCrunch reports that American Airlines is now offering fast satellite-based Wi-Fi connections on almost all of its planes. According to the airline's website, the cost is "as little as $10" on most routes, or $50/month.
- And finally, Luke Hutchings posted a video containing every iPhone ad from 2007 to 2018. It's amazing how far the iPhone has come over the years:
