| Cult of Mac

FBI was ‘stunned’ by Apple’s hardened encryption of iOS

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So many new updates!
iOS 8 is when the FBI got really worried about Apple encryption.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The FBI was reportedly “stunned” when it first got to see what Apple had planned for iPhone encryption, after it received early access to iOS 8 (where Apple introduced its new, stronger iPhone encryption) so that it could examine how its evidence-gathering techniques would have to change.

Rocky launch puts a damper on iOS 9 adoption rate

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iphone-transit
iOS 9 adoption isn't as fast as iOS 7's was.
Photo: Apple

The public release of iOS 9 got off to a rocky start yesterday but it appears that Apple’s problematic servers didn’t stop the big software update from gaining faster adoption in the first 18 hours than iOS 8.

Even though iPhone and iPad users are downloading iOS 9 at a slightly faster rate than they installed iOS 8, the number crunchers at TapyJoy found that iOS 9 is still lagging way behind iOS 7’s adoption rate.

Check out the race in the comparison chart below:

No, iOS 9 probably isn’t too big for your iPhone

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Notes-app
Unlike iOS 8 last year, iOS 9 shouldn't be much of a hassle to install.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple made two important changes to the way you install iOS 9 that will help out your storage space and probably your anxiety. If you’re like a lot of other people, you were pretty frustrated last year trying to install iOS 8. Your 16GB iPhone already has to store all your apps and photos, and it just seems downright greedy of Apple to ask you to install a software update that would take up even more space. This year’s update should be much smoother sailing.

AirDrop vulnerability is the best reason yet to upgrade to iOS 9

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AirDrop has a serious problem.
AirDrop has a serious problem.
Photo: Apple

Hackers have just given iPhone and iPad users a big reason to upgrade to iOS 9 due out later today: it fixes a serious AirDrop security vulnerability.

Mark Dowd, an Australian security researcher with Azimuth Security, revealed this morning that iOS 8.4.1 contains a critic security flaw in AirDrop that could allow an attacker to install malware on any device within range. Worst of all, even if a victim tried to reject the incoming AirDrop file, the bug lets attackers tweak the iOS settings so the exploit will still work.

Check out the lethal bug in action:

iOS 8’s final score: 87% of users upgraded

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A new iOS 8 update is here.
iOS 8 did as well as we predicted.
Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

iOS 8 is about to join the big tech scrapyard in the sky, but before it’s replaced by iOS 9, Apple has posted one last set of adoption figure — showing that a whopping 87 percent of eligible users upgraded to Apple’s last-generation mobile OS.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Apple Music, Rhapsody, Apple Watch hacks, tips

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Tons of great stuff this week.
Tons of great stuff this week.
Cover: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

This week we’ve got a magazine positively laden with great stuff: a piece on how great Apple Music actually is, a look at how veteran music service Rhapsody struggles for relevance, a chat with the young hacker who added custom watch faces to Apple Watch, and quite a few helpful how-to tips.

If you want a full-to-the-brim Apple news experience this weekend, be sure to download the latest Cult of Mac Magazine, or subscribe if you’re into that sort of thing!

Cult of Mac Magazine: Updates Galore! iOS 8, iTunes, Boot Camp

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More updates than you can shake a selfie stick at.
More updates than you can shake a selfie stick at.
Cover Design: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

This week, Apple has released a ton of new updates into the wild, including better-and-better versions of iOS 8, an iTunes that does Apple Music a bit better, and a Boot Camp that will let you run Windows 10 on your Mac. Try that on your Chromebook.

We’ve got a ton more, too, like killer tips and tricks for the public beta of iOS 9, a slick feature on trailblazer photographers who took selfies back in the day, and some ideas on how Apple Watch should track weightlifting sessions at your local gym.

All that and much, much more in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine

(Note: Because of Cult of Mac’s recent redesign, some images are not displaying properly in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. We apologize in advance — and we’re working on it.)

Apple’s last iOS 8 update fine-tunes Apple Music

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A new iOS 8 update is here.
A new iOS 8 update is here.
Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

We’re eagerly anticipating iOS 9 next month, but Apple’s got a few more fixes to give us in iOS 8.4.1, which is likely the final mobile upgrade to iOS 8.

Apple released iOS 8.4.1 to the public this morning, bringing with it a number of performance enhancements and bug fixes, plus some nice updates for Apple Music and Beats 1.

iOS 8 has 7x the adoption of Android’s Lollipop

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iOS 8 is shattering Lollipop's "record."
Photo: Flood G/Flickr CC

Android’s Lollipop and iOS 8 were announced at virtually the exact same time, but iOS 8 is obliterating it in terms of user adoption.

According to figures released by both Apple and Google, iOS 8 has 85 percent adoption among eligible iPhone and iPad users, while Lollipop is struggling its way to a mere 12.4 percent.

Here’s how to put your Instagram feed in Notification Center

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Feeday puts Instagram right in your Notification Center.
Feeday puts Instagram right in your Notification Center.
Photo:

If you’re like me, you probably spend a lot of time in Instagram during the day. In fact, if you’re like me, you probably spend so much time in Instagram that you wish it was integrated right into iOS, just a swipe away from no matter where in the operating system you are.

Apple’s never going to get around to baking deep integration to the Facebook-owned Instagram into iOS, but here’s the next best thing: a new app that puts Instagram right in iOS 8’s Notification Center.