UK

Apple won’t be forced to pull iMessage and FaceTime out of the UK

By

iMessage and FaceTime
U.K. residents, looks like you get to keep using iMessage and FaceTime.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

The U.K. government dropped a plan that would have allowed it to access the contents of any online message looking for illegal content. It had sought a way around the encryption that protects messaging services like iMessage and WhatsApp.

Apple threatened to disable iMessage and FaceTime in the UK rather than submit to the proposal on the grounds that it would completely compromise the privacy of all users. Other companies said the same about their apps.

Why Apple threatened to pull iMessage and FaceTime out of UK

By

iMessage and FaceTime
iPhone users in the UK might want to talk to the government if they’d like to keep using iMessage and FaceTime.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

The U.K. government has proposed an update to the Investigatory Powers Act that Apple and other tech companies strongly oppose because it they argue it would substantially weaken the security of their messaging applications.

The updated act would allow the government to require security features in the apps be disabled immediately and without informing users.

Apple reportedly warned that it’ll disable iMessage and FaceTime in the UK before it’ll comply with the law.

iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via satellite service expands to more countries

By

Apple launches free Emergency SOS via satellite on all iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models
iPhone 14 can now communicate with satellites in more countries.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple is expanding iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature to more countries. The feature is now available to iPhone 14 owners in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Ireland starting today.

Emergency SOS was only available in the United States and Canada so far. Apple previously confirmed the feature would expand to more countries in December.

Armed thieves rob London Apple store

By

Armed thieves rob London Apple store
Apple Covent Garden was robbed by armed men on Sunday afternoon.
Photo: Apple

Armed criminals carried out a daylight robbery of the Apple store in Covent Garden in London’s West End. The thieves reportedly got away with stolen Macs, iPhone and iPads.

Grab-and-run raids on Apple stores aren’t unusual, but it’s very rare for the perpetrators to be armed. No one was injured in Sunday’s U.K. incident, though.

UK lawsuit dredges up 2017’s ‘Batterygate’ controversy

By

Apple iPhone 6s
A UK lawsuit intends to stop Apple from doing something it already promised five years ago it would never do again.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A UK consumer rights advocate filed a £750m claim accusing Apple of slowing down handsets as old as the iPhone 6. This is over “Batterygate,” a controversy that first erupted way back in 2017 and has long since been settled in the U.S. and other countries.

Even so, a bad decision from five years ago has come back to haunt the company.

UK iPhones will soon scan for nudity in texts sent to children

By

UK iPhones will soon scan for iPhone sexually explicit images in texts sent to children
The iPhone's Communication Safety in Messages feature is already available in the U.S., and is headed for the U.K.
Image: Apple

Apple will soon begin rolling out in the United Kingdom a tool intended to protect children from sexual predators. The Messages application will be able to detect if a child’s iPhone gets or sends sexually explicit photos.

The feature is already available in the United States.

Proposed UK law makes ‘cyberflashing’ via AirDrop a crime

By

Proposed UK law makes ‘cyberflashing’ via AirDrop a crime
Cyberflashing could put you behind bars in the UK. That includes using AirDrop to do it.
Image: Cult of Mac/Icons8

Cyberflashing, sharing unsolicited sexual image via social media, could soon be a crime in the U.K. That specifically includes using Apple’s AirDrop to send a nearby stranger a picture of your junk.

Just… don’t do it. For a lot of reasons. Including the fact that you don’t want to spend up to two years in prison.

UK backs Apple’s CSAM plans, offers rewards for new safety measures

By

UK backs Apple CSAM plan
Home Secretary Priti Patel wants tech firms to step up and be responsible for child safety.
Photo: Number 10 CC

The U.K. government has backed Apple’s plan to scan user photos for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and is offering rewards of up to £85,000 ($117,600) to other technology firms who can develop new tools to keep children safe.

Home Secretary Priti Patel, who this week announced the Safety Tech Challenge Fund, called on “Big Tech” to take responsibility for public safety and find ways to monitor online platforms protected by encryption.

App Store faces barrage of antitrust charges in Europe

By

App Store faces barrage of antitrust charges
Government agencies in the EU and UK are looking into whether the iPhone App Store violates their antitrust laws.
Photo: Sora Shimazaki/Pexels CC

Spotify’s accusation to the European Union that Apple uses its control of the App Store to squeeze out competition reportedly will soon result in antitrust charges being filed against the iPhone-maker. This comes on the same day the UK begins an investigation of the App Store.

The two antitrust agencies could force Apple to lower the commissions it charges software developers. Or even require rival iPhone app stores.

Phone operators in the UK won’t be allowed to sell locked handsets from 2021

By

Know how to hard-lock your iPhone in a hurry.
Locking phones to one carrier made it tougher for customers to switch.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Mobile phone operators in the United Kingdom will be banned from selling locked handsets from December 2021. This will stop companies from selling phones or other devices that are locked to one network and can only be unlocked for a fee.

Telecoms regular Ofcom first suggested the ban in December 2019, although it has only been made official today. This should make it easier for customers to switch networks if they wish.

Disney+ racks up 5 million downloads on launch day in Europe

By

disney.plus.uk.2
Disney+ has finally landed in the UK.
Photo: Apple

The Disney+ mobile app is off to a roaring start in Europe and the UK just days after it launched earlier this week.

Third-party app analytics firm App Annie revealed that the Disney+ app has been downloaded over 5 million times on launch day, possibly thanks to millions of residents having to shelter-in-place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Brits and Aussies can enjoy hundreds of publications with Apple News+

By

Apple News+ in Australia
Another email you didn't want.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s subscription news service just debuted in the UK and Australia, with access to a range of local and international newspapers and magazines for a single monthly fee.

News+ includes offerings like The Times (UK) and The Daily Telegraph (AU). There’s Cosmopolitan UK, Australian Men’s Health and many more.

Apple is named the U.K.’s best tech employer

By

Apple is the U.K.'s top tech employer.
Apple employs some 6,500 people in the U.K.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s home town might be Cupertino, but Apple is a truly global company, circa 2019. (And it has been for years, too.) The latest evidence of this is a ranking of the top tech companies to work for in the U.K. Apple came in at number one on the list.

Apple employs some 6,500 people in the U.K. In capital city London alone it employs 2,500 people. Overall, Apple has around 132,000 full-time employees worldwide.

Proposed U.K. laws could crack down on ‘harmful’ apps

By

Apple removes 17 malware apps which secretly clicked on ads
Censorship or common sense? Expect to see this issue heavily debated.
Photo: Apple

Apple could be among the companies having to censor certain apps and websites as a result of new proposed U.K. laws. Designed to combat “harmful” content online, the new laws would give censorship power to independent regulators tasked with overseeing apps and websites.

The view of “harmful” content is a broad one, including terrorism, self-harm, hate speech, child abuse, and more. It would mean that the U.K. government could have a say on the content that Apple sells or offers to customers in the United Kingdom.

iPhone’s Health app helps solve UK murder

By

A marathon runner's dashboard setup in the Health app.
The Health app can be a valuable tool for police too.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

A UK pharmacist’s attempt to collect more than $2.5 million in life insurance after murdering his wife was thwarted by Apple’s Health app for iOS.

Mitesh Patel strangled his wife, Jessica after five years of planning her murder, according to police. He attempted to make the entire murder look like a break in, but when authorities accessed the Health app on his iPhone and the one on his wife’s iPhone, the data told a completely different story.

Apple will feel effects of U.K. tax avoidance crackdown

By

Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
U.K. Treasury announced its new policy this week.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The U.K. Treasury has announced plans to crack down on tech giants which use overseas profit-shifting strategies to cut down on the amount of tax they have to pay.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that the country will now charge a 20 percent income tax rate on any British earnings held overseas, starting April 2019.

Find My Friends app saves injured climber’s life

By

Find Friends
Find My Friends is super useful.
Photo: Apple

Next time you go hunting for a famous hidden cave, make sure to turn on the ‘Find My Friends’ app. One lucky climber from the U.K. just found out it can totally save your life.

Mountain rescuers workers came to the ill-prepared hiker’s aid after he was injured during his pursuit of the famous Priest Hole cave at the UK’s Lake District National Park. The hike fell over 60 feet and suffered a serious head injury, but was eventually located using Apple’s app.

Tim Cook talks Brexit with U.K. prime minister

By

The staff at the Apple Buchanan Street store give Tim Cook a warm welcome.
The staff at the Apple Buchanan Street store give Tim Cook a warm welcome.
Photo: Tim Cook/Twitter

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s tour of western Europe continued today with a pit stop at Downing Street to meet with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.

Cook was in the country to accept an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow, but took a break from the fun to discuss some serious topics with May, such as the impending Brexit and Apple’s investment in the country.

Widespread shipping delays hit iPhone 7 on eve of launch

By

iPhone 7 Plus jet black
Jet black iPhone 7 will be hard to find.
Photo: Apple

With the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus scheduled to arrive in less than 24 hours, customers around the globe who preordered are being notified that their devices won’t ship on time.

The unpleasant news isn’t sitting well with these Apple fans, many of whom thought they’d get their iPhone 7 on launch day.

Apple Stores will now pay you to sign up for Apple Pay

By

Apple_Store_Union_Square_exterior_side
Now is a good time to sign up for Apple Pay.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

The next time you make a purchase at your local Apple Store, expect to be asked if you want to buy your items with Apple Pay.

Apple is launching a new promotion for its contactless payment system this week that will emphasize paying with your iPhone or Apple Watch rather than busting out a credit card. And those that haven’t signed up for Apple Pay yet will get some free money.

MasterCard offers free Tube rides for Apple Pay users in U.K

By

Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Save yourself the best part of thirty quid with MasterCard and Apple Pay.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If, like me, you live in the U.K., you get bad weather, gray skies, and a baffling international reputation for bland cuisine and poor dental hygiene — but also free London travel for certain Apple Pay customers on selected days in January.

That’s because MasterCard is revisiting its pre-Christmas promotion, by offering more of its “Free Fare Mondays” on the London Underground to promote Apple Pay.

Not a bad trade-off if you ask me!

Forget productivity, councillors caught using iPad to watch soccer

By

Get one of these bad boys, and then some free gift card money to boot!
Despite the advances of iOS 9, these iPad users were no multitaskers.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

U.K. councillors in Croydon have been named and shamed for using an iPad during a council meeting to keep track of the score in a soccer game.

And — wouldn’t you know it — as with every other time something like this happens, senior Labour councillors John Wentworth and Pat Ryan claim that they were just “momentarily” taking a break from the important meeting they were in.