News on the margin the week May 31 - June 6

Vision Pro glasses were sold in other countries outside the United States in mid-June, and the iPhone 5s is now very old devices, and these iPhones may not support some artificial intelligence features in iOS 18, and a redesigned control center that is customizable in iOS 18. The latest Apple devices contain a hidden radio, and other exciting news on the sidelines...

Apple intends to fix a loophole in Safari that allows it to bypass parental control restrictions after it was ignored for three years

Apple will finally address a vulnerability in its Safari browser that allows children to bypass parental controls and bypass Screen Time restrictions on devices by using a string of characters in the address bar in Safari, after the Wall Street Journal highlighted the issue. Children were able to use this vulnerability on devices running iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and later, as well as macOS Sonoma. Apple has been aware of the issue since March 2021, but ignored the reports until they were recently published and highlighted again on social media. Apple confirmed that it plans to fix the vulnerability in the next update.

The Apple Developer app on Apple Glass provides an immersive environment for watching WWDC 2024 videos

Apple has launched a special version of the Apple Developer app on the Apple Vision Pro, which includes Immersive environment It can be used as a background for watching session videos during WWDC 2024. This environment features a black background with neon animation to match this year's WWDC artwork. This environment can be accessed via the app and the level of immersion can be adjusted using the Digital Crown. The WWDC conference begins next Monday with an opening speech at XNUMX p.m. Cairo time, and the sessions can be watched via the Apple Developer application, on YouTube, through Apple TV, or on the Apple website.

Humane warns against using the AI ​​Pin charging case due to the risk of fire

Humane has advised customers who purchased its $700 AI Pin device to stop using the charging case accessory that comes with the device, after it was found that it may pose a safety risk and may cause a fire, due to a problem with the quality of the battery provided by a third-party supplier. third. Humane apologizes and explains that it is working to find a replacement battery supplier, and confirms that the problem is limited to the charging case only and does not affect the main device or its other accessories. The company offered users two months of a free Humane subscription as compensation. The AI ​​Pin is an innovative device that uses smart technology, but it has not received positive reviews due to its mediocre performance and technical issues.

Apple's value exceeds $3 trillion again, but Nvidia stole the breakthrough

Apple regained its position as a company worth $3 trillion based on market value, but Nvidia stole this achievement and stole the spotlight by exceeding $3 trillion for the first time and surpassing Apple, which is considered the second largest company in the world in terms of value, after Microsoft. Thus, NVIDIA became the second largest company in the world by value after Microsoft

Nvidia shares have soared over the past year due to high demand for its AI server chips, which has led to a significant increase in its stock price over the past year. While Apple previously reached $3 trillion, this is the first time since 2019 that it has fallen to the third most valuable company in the world. Apple is expected to unveil its AI strategy during this year's WWDC developer conference, with rumors pointing to improvements to Siri powered by a large language model (LLM) and a partnership with OpenAI, the owner of GPT chat, to integrate it on the iPhone.

The latest Macs and iPads have a hidden radio

Reports revealed that Apple secretly added the “Thread” radio to the new Mac and iPad devices that were launched in the last 8 months, as it was added to the iPad Pro devices with an M4 processor, the iPad Air devices with an M2 processor, and the MacBook Pro devices with M3 processors. M3/M3 Pro/M3 Max, M3 MacBook Air, and MXNUMX iMac. “Thread” is not mentioned as a feature in the specifications for these devices, but the FCC reports that it does exist.

Thread radios inside the devices may not be inactive at the moment, which may be why Apple doesn't mention them as a included feature.

“Thread” is an important component that connects smart home devices together, and is considered an extension or improvement over Bluetooth. For it to work, a border router is required for it and it is found in the Apple TV 4K, HomePod, HomePod Mini and others among other smart home products. The source added that this technology may be used in the future to improve communication between devices.

A redesigned, customizable Control Center in iOS 18

Apple is conducting tests on a new design for the Control Center in the iOS 18 update, which features a customizable interface where the placement of some controls can be rearranged using a drag-and-drop system directly on the interface, unlike current versions that allow rearranging or removing only smaller items in the lower half of the screen. Control Center for things like flashlight and low power mode through Settings. If this new design is relied upon, it will be the biggest update to the Control Center since the launch of iOS 11 in 2017. Of course, this reminds you of the Cydia tools and their time. Who of you remembers the Control Center tool? Tell us in the comments.

OpenAI employees warn of risks of advanced AI

Current and former OpenAI employees have warned of the dangers of advanced artificial intelligence, especially the possibility of it being used for malicious purposes. The employees posted an open letter online expressing their concern that OpenAI and other AI companies are developing advanced AI technologies without adequate consideration of the potential risks. The letter included a list of potential risks of advanced artificial intelligence, including:

Increasing inequality: AI can be used to widen the gap between rich and poor, as people with high financial means can access more powerful AI technologies and use them to increase their wealth and status.

Manipulation and misleading information: AI can be used to create fake content and spread it widely, potentially manipulating public opinion and sparking social unrest.

Loss of control over artificial intelligence systems: If AI systems become too powerful, they could become uncontrollable and pose a threat to humanity. Think “The Terminator” and Skynet.

The staff called on OpenAI and other AI companies to take steps to mitigate these risks, including:

Increase transparency: AI companies must share information about their research and development with the public.

Setting ethical standards: Ethical standards must be developed to regulate the development and use of artificial intelligence.

Strengthening international cooperation: Governments, companies and NGOs should collaborate to develop joint plans to deal with AI risks.

Nintendo 3DS emulator for iPhone released in the App Store with warnings

After years of waiting, iPhone users can now play Nintendo 3DS games almost legally on their devices thanks to a new app called Folium, which is priced at $4.99. However, Folium will not provide you with any games and you will need to provide your own Nintendo 3DS game files, which are known as Folium. Namely ROMs, which may be illegal to obtain depending on your location.

‎Folium

$4.99

Developer	Jarrod Norwell

Also, Folium is the first paid iOS emulator for Nintendo 3DS, and it may not be completely stable with all games. Additionally, some sources have indicated that another emulator app like RetroArch may add free Nintendo 3DS support in the future.

However, Folium currently remains the only option for playing 3DS games on the iPhone, as it also supports emulation of Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games.

These iPhones may not support some artificial intelligence features in iOS 18

Apple is expected to introduce many new features supported by artificial intelligence in the upcoming iOS 18 release, but there is a possibility that some of these features will not be available on older iPhones with less powerful processors. Advanced artificial intelligence features require significant processing power. AI features will be divided into two parts: basic features that are processed on the device itself, and advanced capabilities that require connection to Apple servers. The features processed on the device will depend on the iPhone's processor and memory, and will only be available on the iPhone 15 Pro and later, according to reports.

As for the rest of the iPhone models compatible with iOS 18, such as the iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12, iPhone 11, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and iPhone SE second and third generation, they will not support processing on the device.

The same will apply to iPads and Macs, as on-device processing features will only be available on iPads from the fifth generation onwards, and Macs with Apple Silicon M1 processors and later.

The high working memory requirements of large language models are thought to be the reason why some AI features are limited to modern devices with at least 8GB of memory.

The iPhone 5s is now a very old device

Apple made three changes to its lineup of legacy products, including the iPhone 5s, the sixth-generation iPod Touch, and an older iMac model. As Apple considered that the iPhone 5s had become an “obsolete” product globally, Apple launched it in September 2013, which means that Apple stores and authorized service providers will no longer provide any repairs or maintenance services for the device, seven years after its last distribution. For sale.

Apple classified both the sixth generation iPod Touch and the 21.5-inch Retina 4K iMac released in late 2015 as “old” products, as more than 5 years have passed since Apple stopped distributing them for sale. Apple Stores will continue to provide repairs for these products for an additional two years only if the necessary parts are available. The sixth generation iPod Touch was launched in 2015 and Apple stopped producing it permanently in 2022.

Miscellaneous news

◉ Apple's weather app has had some issues, with some users reporting a failure to load or a delay of 30 seconds or more in updating to current weather conditions. Apple's system status page confirmed that an outage had occurred and that the weather app may be slow or unavailable. Apple has worked to fix the issue, but there are still some users complaining about the issue.

◉ Apple's supply chain is expected to begin shipping Vision Pro glasses to other countries outside the United States in mid-June, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, Japan, and Singapore will be among the countries that will receive shipments of Apple Glass at the end of this month, along with other countries such as Australia, Canada, and South Korea. Apple may reveal international availability details during its WWDC developer conference on June 10.

◉ According to the codes for the Uber iPhone application, a new report revealed that the company is planning to add small playable games within the application during trips. It has not been officially announced when this feature will be released or what games will be included, but it will likely require an internet connection to work. This step comes after YouTube recently added simple games to its application on the iPhone.

◉ Apple has launched a new version of the iPadOS 17.5.1 update, specifically for the low-cost tenth generation iPad. There is no information about this release, but it may include fixes for some bugs.

Sources:

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