Latest news with #Macbooks
Time Magazine
14-05-2025
- Time Magazine
What to Know About the Apple Class Action Lawsuit—and How You Can File a Claim
Apple users—specifically those who use Siri through products such as Macbooks, iPhones, and Apple TVs—may be entitled to make a claim after Apple's class action lawsuit settlement, worth $95 million dollars, regarding the voice-activated assistant. The settlement comes from a lawsuit filed in 2021 by Californian Fumiko Lopez, who claimed that Apple, via Siri, conducted 'unlawful and intentional interception and recording of individuals' confidential communications without their consent and subsequent unauthorized disclosure of those communications.' 'Apple intentionally, willfully, and knowingly violated consumers' privacy rights, including within the sanctity of consumers' own homes where they have the greatest expectation of privacy,' the lawsuit stated. 'Plaintiffs and Class Members would not have bought their Siri Devices, or would have paid less for them, if they had known Apple was intercepting, recording, disclosing, and otherwise misusing their conversations without consent or authorization.' In 2019, Apple published a statement titled "Improving Siri's privacy protections," in which they said they hadn't "been fully living up" to their "high ideals" and vowed to issue improvements. Apple agreed to the settlement on Dec. 31, 2024. According to the settlement website: "Apple denies all of the allegations made in the lawsuit and denies that [they] did anything improper or unlawful." The website also provides information about who is eligible to file a claim and the deadlines they need to adhere to. Here's what you need to know about how you can file a claim: Who is eligible to file a claim? People eligible to make a claim include those who owned or purchased a Siri device—which includes the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac, HomePod, iPod touch, Apple TV—between Sept. 17, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2024. They must have 'purchased or owned a Siri Device in the United States or its territories and enabled Siri on that device.' According to the settlement agreement, eligible parties also should have 'experienced an unintended Siri activation during a confidential or private communication.' Those not eligible include Apple employees, legal representatives, and judicial officers assigned to the case. How can you make a claim and when is the deadline? Claimants can submit a claim form via the settlement website, and can submit claims for up to five Siri devices. The deadline to make a claim is July 2, 2025. This is also the deadline to opt out of the payment, which would allow the customer to keep their right to bring any other claim against Apple arising out of, or related to, the claims in the case. Some of those eligible to make a claim may have received a postcard or an email—with the subject line 'Lopez Voice Assistant Class Action Settlement'—notifying them about the settlement. This correspondence would likely include a Claim Identification Code and a Confirmation Code. Per the settlement website, people can use these codes when making a claim, but eligible Apple customers who haven't received any correspondence can still file a claim. When can you expect to receive payment? On August 1, 2025, the courts are due to host a final approval hearing, but there could still be appeals. Payments will only be issued after any appeals are resolved. The settlement website is set to keep customers updated on timings and payment schedules, as and when that information is available.
India.com
11-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Tim Cook's Apple wants to beat Mark Zuckerberg's Meta at its own game, this is how the tech giant plans to do it
Apple vs Meta: If the Bloomberg report is anything to by, then the American tech giant Apple is working to develop a new chip that will perform the functions of 'the brain' of its future smart devices, including its first smart glasses, more powerful Macbooks and artificial intelligence servers. Apple is said to have made big strides on the chip it is developing for its smart glasses. The new processor for these smart glasses is said to be inspired by the chips used in the Apple Watch. It is being used as it consumes less power than the parts used in other Apple products such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac. It is said that Apple has adjusted the chip to remove some parts to improve power efficiency and designing it to control multiple cameras. It is reported that Tim Cook's company is reportedly planning to mass produce these processors by the end of 2027. If it is successful, new Apple smart glasses could be released in the next two years and would be in direct competition with the Ray Ban smart glasses developed by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta. It is said that Apple has reportedly been planning to develop smart glasses for years and the original idea was to use augmented reality to superimpose media, notifications and apps on top of the real-world view, but this will require a long time to be realised, perhaps years. Apple is said to be venturing into the non-AR smart glasses market to compete with Meta for which it has also conducted user studies with employees on the concept. The non-AR glasses would reportedly use cameras to scan the environment and rely on AI to assist users. With its record of its AI capabilities being questioned with iOS 18 rollout, Apple is looking to improve its technology before launching the new smart glasses. Apart from the smart glasses, Apple is also said to be working on adding cameras to AirPods and smartwatches in a bid to turn these devices into AI products and is also working on many new Mac chips.
Mint
09-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Tim Cook wants to beat Meta at its own game, Apple's smart glasses could be ready by 2027: Report
Apple is working on a new chip that will act as the brain for its future smart devices, including its first smart glasses, more powerful Macbooks and artificial intelligence servers, according to a Bloomberg report. The Cupertino-based tech giant is said to have made progress on the chip it is developing for its smart glasses. The new processor for these smart glasses is said to be inspired by the chips used in the Apple Watch, which consume less power than the parts used in other Apple products such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Apple is said to have tweaked the chip to remove some parts to improve power efficiency, while also designing it to control multiple cameras. The Tim Cook-led company is reportedly planning to mass produce these processors by the end of 2027, and if successful, new Apple smart glasses could be released in the next two years. The new glasses would be in direct competition with the Ray Ban smart glasses developed by Meta. Apple has reportedly been planning to develop smart glasses for years. The original idea was to use augmented reality to superimpose media, notifications and apps on top of the real world view, but this idea is said to be years away from being practical. Meanwhile, Apple is now planning to jump into the non-AR smart glasses market to compete with Meta, and has also conducted user studies with employees on the concept. The non-AR glasses would reportedly use cameras to scan the environment and rely on AI to assist users. With its AI capabilities already being questioned with iOS 18 rollout, Apple is looking to improve its technology before launching the new smart glasses. Aside from the smart glasses, Apple is also said to be working on adding cameras to AirPods and smartwatches in a bid to turn these devices into AI products. For the camera-equipped Apple Watch, the company is developing a chip called Nevis, while the AirPods would have a similar component called Glennie. The tech giant is also working on many new Mac chips which could be known as M6 (codenamed Komodo) and M7 (codenamed Borneo). There is also a more advanced processor in development dubbed Sotra. Notably, Apple could bring out its M5 processor with the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro by the end of this year.
WIRED
29-04-2025
- WIRED
Millions of Apple Airplay-Enabled Devices Can Be Hacked via Wi-Fi
Lily Hay Newman Andy Greenberg Apr 29, 2025 8:30 AM Researchers reveal a collection of bugs known as AirBorne that would allow any hacker on the same Wi-Fi network as a third-party AirPlay-enabled device to surreptitiously run their own code on it. Illustration:Apple's AirPlay feature enables iPhones and Macbooks to seamlessly play music or show photos and videos on other Apple devices or third-party speakers and TVs that integrate the protocol. Now newly uncovered security flaws in AirPlay mean that those same wireless connections could allow hackers to move within a network just as easily, spreading malicious code from one infected device to another. Apple products are known for regularly receiving fixes, but given how rarely some smart-home devices are patched, it's likely that these wirelessly enabled footholds for malware, across many of the hundreds of models of AirPlay-enabled devices, will persist for years to come. On Tuesday, researchers from the cybersecurity firm Oligo revealed what they're calling AirBorne, a collection of vulnerabilities affecting AirPlay, Apple's proprietary radio-based protocol for local wireless communication. Bugs in Apple's AirPlay software development kit (SDK) for third-party devices would allow hackers to hijack gadgets like speakers, receivers, set-top boxes, or smart TVs if they're on the same Wi-Fi network as the hacker's machine. Another set of AirBorne vulnerabilities would have allowed hackers to exploit AirPlay-enabled Apple devices too, Apple told Oligo, though these bugs have been patched in updates over the last several months, and Apple tells WIRED that those bugs could have only been exploited when users changed default AirPlay settings. Those Apple devices aside, Oligo's chief technology officer and cofounder, Gal Elbaz, estimates that potentially vulnerable third-party AirPlay-enabled devices number in the tens of millions. 'Because AirPlay is supported in such a wide variety of devices, there are a lot that will take years to patch—or they will never be patched,' Elbaz says. 'And it's all because of vulnerabilities in one piece of software that affects everything.' Despite Oligo working with Apple for months to patch the AirBorne bugs in all affected devices, the Tel-Aviv-based security firm warns that the AirBorne vulnerabilities in many third-party gadgets are likely to remain hackable unless users act to update them. If a hacker can get onto the same Wi-Fi network as those vulnerable devices—whether by hacking into another computer on a home or corporate network or by simply connecting to the same coffeeshop or airport Wi-Fi—they can surreptitiously take over these gadgets. From there, they could use this control to maintain a stealthy point of access, hack other targets on the network, or add the machines to a botnet of infected, coordinated machines under the hacker's control. Oligo also notes that many of the vulnerable devices have microphones and could be turned into listening devices for espionage. The researchers did not go so far as to create proof-of-concept malware for any particular target that would demonstrate that trick. Oligo says it warned Apple about its AirBorne findings in the late fall and winter of last year, and Apple responded in the months since then by pushing out security updates. The researchers collaborated with Apple to test and validate the fixes for Macs and other Apple products. Apple tells WIRED that it has also created patches that are available for impacted third-party devices. The company emphasizes, though, that there are limitations to the attacks that would be possible on AirPlay-enabled devices as a result of the bugs, because an attacker must be on the same Wi-Fi network as a target to exploit them. Apple adds that while there is potentially some user data on devices like TVs and speakers, it is typically very limited. Below is a video of the Oligo researchers demonstrating their AirBorne hacking technique to take over an AirPlay-enabled Bose speaker to show their company's logo. (The researchers say they didn't intend to single out Bose, but just happened to have one of the company's speakers on hand for testing.) Bose did not immediately respond to WIRED's request for comment. The AirBorne vulnerabilities Oligo found also affect CarPlay, the radio protocol used to connect to vehicles' dashboard interfaces. Oligo warns that this means hackers could hijack a car's automotive computer, known as its head unit, in any of more than 800 CarPlay-enabled car and truck models. In those car-specific cases, though, the AirBorne vulnerabilities could only be exploited if the hacker is able to pair their own device with the head unit via Bluetooth or a USB connection, which drastically restricts the threat of CarPlay-based vehicle hacking. The AirPlay SDK flaws in home media devices, by contrast, may present a more practical vulnerability for hackers seeking to hide on a network, whether to install ransomware or carry out stealthy espionage, all while hiding on devices that are often forgotten by both consumers and corporate or government network defenders. 'The amount of devices that were vulnerable to these issues, that's what alarms me,' says Oligo researcher Uri Katz. 'When was the last time you updated your speaker?' The researchers originally started thinking about this property of AirPlay, and ultimately discovered the AirBorne vulnerabilities, while working on a different project analyzing vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to access internal services running on a target's local network from a malicious website. In that earlier research, Oligo's hackers found they could defeat the fundamental protections baked into every web browser that are meant to prevent websites from having this type of invasive access on other people's internal networks. While playing around with their discovery, the researchers realized that one of the services they could access by exploiting the bugs without authorization on a target's systems was AirPlay. The crop of AirBorne vulnerabilities revealed today is unconnected to the previous work, but was inspired by AirPlay's properties as a service built to sit open and at the ready for new connections. And the fact that the researchers found flaws in the AirPlay SDK means that vulnerabilities are lurking in hundreds of models of devices—and possibly more, given that some manufacturers incorporate the AirPlay SDK without notifying Apple and becoming 'certified' AirPlay devices. 'When third-party manufacturers integrate Apple technologies like AirPlay via an SDK, obviously Apple no longer has direct control over the hardware or the patching process,' says Patrick Wardle, CEO of the Apple device-focused security firm DoubleYou. 'As a result, when vulnerabilities arise and third-party vendors fail to update their products promptly—or at all—it not only puts users at risk but could also erode trust in the broader Apple ecosystem."
Business Mayor
21-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Designed in US, made in China: Why Apple is stuck
Annabelle Liang Business reporter Getty Images To leave or not to leave? China, home to more than a billion consumers, is Apple's second-largest market Every iPhone comes with a label which tells you it was designed in California. While the sleek rectangle that runs many of our lives is indeed designed in the United States, it is likely to have come to life thousands of miles away in China: the country hit hardest by US President Donald Trump's tariffs, now rising to 245% on some Chinese imports. Apple sells more than 220 million iPhones a year and by most estimates, nine in 10 are made in China. From the glossy screens to the battery packs, it's here that many of the components in an Apple product are made, sourced and assembled into iPhones, iPads or Macbooks. Most are shipped to the US, Apple's largest market. Luckily for the firm, Trump suddenly exempted smartphones, computers and some other electronic devices from his tariffs last week. But the comfort is short-lived. The president has since suggested that more tariffs are coming: 'NOBODY is getting 'off the hook',' he wrote on Truth Social, as his administration investigated 'semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN'. The global supply chain that Apple has touted as a strength is now a vulnerability. The US and China, the world's two biggest economies, are interdependent and Trump's staggering tariffs have upended that relationship overnight, leading to an inevitable question: who is the more dependent of the two? How a lifeline became a threat China has hugely benefited from hosting assembly lines for one of the world's most valuable companies. It was a calling card to the West for quality manufacturing and has helped spur local innovation. Apple entered China in the 1990s to sell computers through third-party suppliers. Around 1997, when it was on the verge of bankruptcy as it struggled to compete with rivals, Apple found a lifeline in China. A young Chinese economy was opening up to foreign companies to boost manufacturing and create more jobs. Getty Images Apple's first store in China opened on 19 July 2008, in Beijing in the Sanlitun entertainment district It wasn't until 2001 though that Apple officially arrived in China, through a Shanghai-based trading company, and started making products in the country. It partnered with Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronic manufacturer operating in China, to make iPods, then iMacs and subsequently iPhones. As Beijing began trading with the world – encouraged by the US no less – Apple grew its footprint in what was becoming the world's factory. Back then, China was not primed to make the iPhone. But Apple chose its own crop of suppliers and helped them grow into 'manufacturing superstars,' according to supply chain expert Lin Xueping. He cites the example of Beijing Jingdiao, now a leading manufacturer of high-speed precision machinery, which is used to make advanced components efficiently. The company, which used to cut acrylic, was not considered a machine tool-maker – but it eventually developed machinery to cut glass and became 'the star of Apple's mobile phone surface processing,' Mr Lin says. Apple opened its first store in the country in Beijing in 2008, the year the city hosted the Olympics and China's relationship with the West was at an all-time high. This soon snowballed to 50 stores, with customers queuing out of the door. As Apple's profit margins grew, so did its assembly lines in China, with Foxconn operating the world's largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, which has since been termed 'iPhone City'. For a fast-growing China, Apple became a symbol of advanced Western tech – simple yet original and slick. Today, most of Apple's prized iPhones are manufactured by Foxconn. The advanced chips that power them are made in Taiwan, by the world's largest chip manufacturer, TSMC. The manufacturing also requires rare earth elements which are used in audio applications and cameras. Some 150 of Apple's top 187 suppliers in 2024 had factories in China, according to an analysis by Nikkei Asia. 'There's no supply chain in the world that's more critical to us than China,' Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said in an interview last year. Getty Images Happier days: Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has visited China and met President Xi Jinping several times The tariff threat – fantasy or ambition? In Trump's first term, Apple secured exemptions on the tariffs he imposed on China. But this time, the Trump administration has made an example of Apple before it reversed tariffs on some electronics. It believes the threat of steep taxes will encourage businesses to make products in America instead. 'The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones – that kind of thing is going to come to America,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview earlier this month. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated that last week: 'President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops.' She added: 'At the direction of the president, these companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.' But many are sceptical of that. The thought that Apple could move its assembly operation to the US is 'pure fantasy,' according to Eli Friedman, who formerly sat on the firm's academic advisory board. He says the company has been talking about diversifying its supply chain away from China since 2013, when he joined the board – but the US was never an option. Mr Friedman adds that Apple didn't make much progress over the next decade but 'really made an effort' after the pandemic, when China's tightly controlled Covid lockdowns hurt manufacturing output. 'The most important new locations for assembly have been Vietnam and India. But of course the majority of Apple assembly still takes place [in China].' Apple did not respond to the BBC's questions but its website says its supply chain spans 'thousands of businesses and more than 50 countries'. Getty Images China's unrivalled supply chain is a major draw for foreign manufacturers like Foxconn Challenges ahead Any change to Apple's current supply chain status quo would be a huge blow for China, which is trying to kickstart growth post-pandemic. Many of the reasons that the country wanted to be a manufacturing hub for Western companies in the early 2000s ring true today – it creates hundreds of thousands of jobs, and gives the country a crucial edge in global trade. 'Apple sits at the intersection of US-China tensions, and tariffs highlight the cost of that exposure,' says Jigar Dixit, a supply chain and operations consultant. It might explain why China has not bowed to Trump's threats, retaliating instead with 125% levies on US imports. China has also imposed export controls on a range of critical rare earth minerals and magnets it has in stores, dealing a blow to the US. Read More Delay to TikTok ban gets Trump sign-off There is no doubt the US tariffs still being levied on other Chinese sectors will hurt, though. And it's not just Beijing facing higher tariffs – Trump has made it clear he will target countries that are part of the Chinese supply chain. For instance Vietnam, where Apple has moved AirPods production, was facing 46% tariffs before Trump hit pause for 90 days, so moving production elsewhere in Asia is not an easy way out. 'All conceivable places for the huge Foxconn assembly sites with tens or hundreds of thousands of workers are in Asia, and all of these countries are facing higher tariffs,' Mr Friedman says. So what does Apple do now? Getty Images First day of in-store sales at Apple's store in Guangzhou in September 2024 The company is fighting off stiff competition from Chinese firms as the government pushes for advanced tech manufacturing in a race with the US. Now that 'Apple has cultivated China's electronic manufacturing capabilities, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and others can reuse Apple's mature supply chain,' according to Mr Lin. Last year, Apple lost its place as China's biggest smartphone seller to Huawei and Vivo. Chinese people are not spending enough because of a sluggish economy and with ChatGPT banned in China, Apple is also struggling to retain an edge among buyers seeking AI-powered phones. It even offered rare discounts on iPhones in January to boost sales. And while operating under President Xi Jinping's increasingly close grip, Apple has had to limit the use of Bluetooth and Airdrop on its devices as the Chinese Communist Party sought to censor political messages that people were sharing. It weathered a crackdown on the tech industry that even touched Alibaba founder and multi-billionaire Jack Ma. Apple has announced a $500bn (£378bn) investment in the US, though that may not be enough to appease the Trump administration for long. Given the several U-turns and the uncertainty around Trump's tariffs, more surprise levies are expected – which could again leave the company with little manoeuvring room and even less time. Mr Dixit says smartphone tariffs will not cripple Apple should they rear their head again, but regardless will add 'pressure – both operationally and politically' to a supply chain that cannot be unwound quickly. 'Clearly the severity of the immediate crisis has been lessened,' Mr Friedman adds, referring to last week's exemption for smartphones. 'But I really don't think this means Apple can relax.' Additional reporting by Fan Wang
