Earlier this week, Apple released iOS 14.7.1 and similar updates for the iPad and Mac. And yesterday, Apple released a similar update for the Apple Watch. If you haven't updated yet, do so now. As Juli Clover of MacRumors reports, this update fixes a flaw i the operating systems that Apple believe was actually being used — not just some theoretical bug. As security expert John Simek of the digital forensics firm Sensei Enterprises explained on his blog, this flaw allowed a bad guy to essentially "own the device." This is an example of the type of flaws being used by the Pegasus software from NSO Group, which I discussed last week. For some of these security flaws, once a bad guy has access to your device, they can continue to "own the device" so long as the hacker's software remains in memory. Thus, the Associated Press reported this week that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) recommends rebooting your phone at least once a week just in case any malware happens to be in memory and running. Your iPhone could be hacked again — and apparently, the Pegasus software tries to automate this process when it notices that an iPhone is restarted — but at least you are making it harder for the bad guys. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- California attorney David Sparks discusses the importance of services revenue to Apple and how that might change the company.
- If you are heading to an Apple Store, don't forget to wear a mask. And frankly, with the Delta variant, if you are heading ANYWHERE right now, you should wear a mask. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reports that Apple restored a mask requirement at most of its retails stores in the United States this week.
- The battery in an AirTag should last about a year. When you are alerted that it is time to replace the battery, you use a standard CR2032 battery, which is about the size of a small coin. Because this battery is so small, it is sometimes swallowed by children — which is dangerous — and thus some battery manufacturers now add a non-toxic bitter coating to the battery to deter a child from swallowing the battery once it is placed in the child's mouth. That sounds like a smart idea but, according to Dave Mark of The Loop, Apple advised this week that CR2032 batteries with a bitterant coating might not work with the AirTag.
- Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reviews the Device Therapy Bike Mount & Reflector, a $15.99 bike reflector that hides an AirTag so that (hopefully) a bike thief won't notice that it is there, allowing you to retrieve a stolen bike.
- Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac compares Apple's new MagSafe Battery Pack to the Anker Magnetic Battery Pack.
- Sami Fathi of MacRumors reviews a similar device from Hyper that costs $40 called the Wireless Battery Pack.
- You can currently listen to The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in Spatial Audio on Apple Music (click here to do so). But Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone interviewed The Beatles producer Giles Martin this week, and Martin says that the current mix is based on a theatrical production so he doesn't think that the mix is quite right for a smaller device like the iPhone. He plans to produce a new mix and replace the current version. On the other hand, Martin thinks that the Spatial Audio version of Abbey Road (click here) is much better. I agree that Abbey Road in Spatial Audio sounds great, especially Here Comes the Sun (link) and instruments like the drums in Come Together (link). If you have any interest in Spatial Audio, that Rolling Stone interview is worth reading because Martin describes the process of creating a Dolby Atmos mix, how it works when you are using headphones instead of speakers, and more.
- Brent Butterworth of Wirecutter explains how Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio works, and notes that how good it sounds depends in large part on how well the music is mixed.
- CNN is currently airing a series called History of the Sitcom. Kyle Moss of Yahoo Entertainment reports that, in the most recent episode, show creator Greg Daniels notes that one of the things that made The Office such a successful sitcom in 2005 was that high school and college kids were watching episodes on a video iPod — an audience that NBC never realized would enjoy the show. I wasn't a teenager at that time, but I also remember watching episodes of TV shows like The Office and Lost on my video iPod back in 2005 and 2006, a time when I wasn't living in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. I have no doubt that the popularity of the video iPod played a role in the development of the iPhone.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors produced lots of colorful charts to explain Apple's recent fiscal quarter results, which I discussed earlier this week.
- And finally, Apple released a video this week in which Apple employee Landon speaks with photographer Maria Lax about how she uses an iPhone to take outdoor pictures at night that have an otherworldly feel to them. The video includes lots of tips on taking night photography.