Is your Apple Watch still running with watchOS 5.1? Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has pulled the watchOS 5.1 update just hours after making it available to the public.
The move came after reports that the release was “bricking” Apple Watch Series 4 units. Apple has advised those who are experiencing a constant boot loop to contact AppleCare.
iPhone 6s Plus will be “Assembled in India.” Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple is being called on by the China Consumers Association (CCA) to investigate a “considerable number” of reports by users who claim their iPhone 6’s are spontaneously and permanently shutting down.
Your 9.7-inch iPad Pro is safe for now, but stuck on iOS 9.3.1. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has pulled its latest iOS 9.3.2 update for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro due to a mysterious bug that has bricked some devices. “Error 56” asked users to plug their tablets into iTunes, but many found that this didn’t resolve the issue.
Avoid Apple's latest update if you have a 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
If you haven’t already updated your 9.7-inch iPad Pro to iOS 9.3.2, then you might want to wait. Some users are being plagued by a mysterious error that renders their device completely unusable after installing Apple’s latest software.
A new threat targeting iOS devices has been discovered by security researchers Patrick Kelly and Matt Harrigan, promising to “brick” your iPhone or iPad if you happen to log onto malicious Wi-Fi networks.
Why would anyone log onto a malicious Wi-Fi network? Because by exploiting the auto-reconnect feature found on iOS — whereby your Apple device will automatically log into Wi-Fi networks it thinks it’s previously connected to — you might not even realize it’s happening.
The cautionary tale of two-bit thug Tony Montana’s rise from dishwasher to drug kingpin is a well known one. But think of the added depth that would be possible were the same world explored through a TV show. Not only could we explore more of Montana’s backstory and delve into his fractured family dynamics in more detail, the show could also tell the story of the supporting characters in Tony’s life.
Scarface hints at rival groups like the Diaz Brothers, but we never see or hear from them. Plus, how great would it be to find out more about Bolivian gangster Alejandro Sosa, Montana’s beleaguered bank manager, and the city’s police force as they fight corruption to build a case against Montana?
All of this alongside a rocking 1980s soundtrack. Seriously, could there be a better show?
Incase’s Box Case for the iPhone is just that: a boxy, sharp-cornered rubber case with a brutalist minimalism that wouldn’t look out of place on London’s South Bank. And not only does the thing look awesome, it also offers quite a bit of protection thanks to all the extra rubber at the corners. It’s probably not a good idea to start tossing your iPhone on the floor, but if it does accidentally drop, then it might at least bounce to a safe end.
The Apple Blogotubes are a-buzz with boffo Interblag bloviating at a rumor from 9to5mac.com that Apple’s rumored “Brick” product was actually a nickname for a new manufacturing process that will use “lasers and jets of water to carve the MacBooks out of a brick of aluminum.” More, it’s a “game-changer;” “totally revolutionary;” “Apple’s biggest innovation in a decade.”
The glowing LED that appears behind a “solid” front face of the MacBooks is apparently achieved with laser-cutting to thin out and partially perforate the wall in that one area.
Richardson also speculates that the existing iPod Shuffle is manufactured using a similar process, and even the MacBook Air has some telltale signs that it draws on really interesting and unusual manufacturing techniques. But would Apple actually carve an entire laptop out of one block of aluminum? And would it save any money?
On such a small product this is do-able. On a large product like a laptop this would typically result in a massive amount of waste (so kiss your green credentials goodbye). And the notion that this is somehow cheaper than stamping thin sheets or molding plastic is completely wrong – it’s much more expensive.
Yeah… no.
I’ve been talking with other industrial designers about this issue, and they all agree that the reasoning behind the current Brick rumor doesn’t add up. One friend of mine guessed it would add up to $50 in manufacturing costs and might not be any stronger or lighter than more traditional manufacturing approaches.
Does Apple have a game-changing laptop in the wings that will reinvent the MacBook and MacBook Pro design language? For their sake, they’d better. Will it be milled from a single block of aluminum? Not in this lifetime.