Last week, I started to report in iOS 15.4, the next version of the iPhone operating system that I expect to see released in a few weeks or so. I mentioned last week that in iOS 15.4, you will be able to unlock an iPhone while wearing a mask even without using an Apple Watch. But I subsequently learned that this new feature does even more. It also lets you use Face ID with any app on your iPhone even if you are wearing a mask. It also works with Apple Pay. José Adorno of 9to5Mac provides lots of details on this upcoming feature. I'll be curious to learn what impact this has on security. Apple says that the odds of guessing a 4-digit passcode are 1 in 10,000, the odds of the wrong person unlocking using Touch ID is 1 in 50,000 (for a single feature), and the odds of the wrong person unlocking using Face ID is approximately 1 in 1,000,000. I presume that Face ID with a face mask will be less secure than 1 in 1,000,000, but will it still be more secure than Touch ID? Hopefully, Apple will explain all of this whenever iOS 15.4 is released so that people can make informed decisions on whether the convenience is worth it. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- California attorney David Sparks went to Disney World last week and he reports that he saw lots of AirTags. On kids. I understand the logic of doing that. There is always a risk of a young child running away in an amusement park, and with so many people walking around with an iPhone, it should be possible to locate a child with an AirTag no matter where they are in the park. Nevertheless, Apple has previously told reporters, such as Michael Grothaus of Fast Company, that "the company designed the AirTag to track items, not people or pets" and that "an Apple Watch with Family Setup might be a better choice" for tracking young children.
- The CARROT Weather app was updated to version 5.5 this week — just in time for the severe cold weather sweeping part of the United States. Attorney John Voorhees, who lives in the Chicago area and knows something about cold weather, discusses the new features.
- Many people use an access card to gain entrance to office buildings. For a few months now, the iPhone has had the ability to act as an access card. Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reports that the World Trade Center in New York City now lets you use an iPhone or Apple Watch to access any location where an access card is accepted. I would love to see this implemented at my office building in New Orleans.
- I've discussed the NSO Group in the past, an Israeli company that sells incredibly sophisticated software at a very high price to governments that can be used to hack into some iPhones. Ronen Bergman and Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times wrote an incredibly detailed report on NSO Group after an extensive investigation.
- Along with improvements to Face ID, iOS 15.4 will contain a large number of new emoji. Keith Broni of Emojipedia shows off what the new characters will look like.
- The Shortcuts app currently gives you lots of notifications when shortcuts are being run, and sometimes those just get in your way. Matthew Cassinelli reports in an article in iMore that you will have the ability to turn off those notifications in iOS 15.4.
- Although this is not a feature iOS 15.4 announced by Apple, apparently another advantage of that upcoming update is that you will be able to download the popular Wordle app into a shortcut so that you can play it whenever you want—playing the same words that others are playing on the webpage version—and this offline version will continue to work no matter what the New York Times does with the game now that it has purchased it. This is all thanks to a shortcut created by Federico Viticci of MacStories. And if you cannot wait for iOS 15.4, Dave Mark of The Loop explains how you can do the same thing right now on a Mac.
- Zac Hall runs through the useful voice commands that you can use with a HomePod. I have my HomePod minis for a while now, and I had forgotten about some of these commands until I read this post.
- When I first saw that Gucci released a $980 case for the AirPods Max, I must admit that I rolled my eyes a bit. On further reflection, people spend lots of money on other luxury items, so if this one floats your boat, I guess go for it. David Price of Macworld explains why for some people, this product makes perfect sense, even if it doesn't appeal to many others.
- Emma Rich of The Verge reports that Apple is now allowing unlisted apps in the App Store. For example, if your company has an app used by its employees, the app can now be in the App Store and accessible by any employee with a specific link while remaining hidden from a search in the App Store. I can see lots of circumstances in which this makes lots of sense, such as a private app for folks who attend a conference.
- I've been using a version of the Apple dock in my office since 2008, the same year that I started using an iPhone. Over the years, I've reviewed the iPhone 3G Dock (12/5/08), the iPhone 4 Dock (8/9/10) the iPhone 5s Dock (11/26/13) and the iPhone Lightning Dock (6/16/15). I use it for my iPhone and also for my AirPods Pro (much like I previously did for my AirPods). Suffice it to say that I'm a fan. Thus, I was disappointed to see Filipe Espósito of 9to5Mac report this week that Apple has discontinued the Lightning Dock. And sure enough, I no longer see it on Apple's website or on Amazon. I guess Apple is encouraging folks to instead use MagSafe chargers, but I prefer a dock that physically connects to the iPhone (and charges it much faster). Hopefully, the dock that I've been using since 2015 will continue to work for many years.
- José Adorno of 9to5Mac identifies third-party accessories that work with Apple's Find My network. What I find most interesting about that list is that it hasn't really changed very much since Apple announced last year that companies outside of Apple could use Find My. I'm curious why that is. I don't know.
- Greg Fink and Duncan Brady of Motor Trend speculate on what an Apple Car might be. There isn't much substance to that article, but I don't get to link to Motor Trend very often so I couldn't resist.
- As long as we are speculating about possible future Apple products, Jason Snell discusses what an AR headset from Apple might include in this article for Macworld.
- The App Transparency feature that Apple introduced last year allows iPhone owners to decide whether apps can track them in certain ways, a change from the past when you could be tracked without knowing it. Kif Leswing of CNBC reports that Facebook said this week that this feature will reduce Facebook revenue by $10 billion in 2022. And John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes that this announcement from Facebook resulted in a $200 billion drop in Facebook's market cap, the biggest one-day drop in market value ever.
- And finally, speaking of Apple's focus on privacy, it doesn't just come by accident. Apple focuses on privacy throughout every stage of product development. Rene Ritchie interviewed Erik Neuenschwander, the Head of User Privacy at Apple, to discuss some of the ways that Apple works to protect your privacy. It's an interesting video.
