iPhone X problems

Apple has unveiled the iPhone X, which joins the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in Apple"s all-new iPhone line-up.

We think that Apple"s flagship iPhone is great, as you can see if you read our review of the iPhone X, however, there have been a few issues with the new handset.

Here, we bring you everything you need to know about the iPhone X problems, including stock shortages, unresponsive screens (for which a software update has now been issued), Face ID security, buzzing speakers, and a green line.

A new study claims that an iPhone X with a Qualcomm modem is faster - but a different study a month prior claimed that those models with an Intel modem were faster, read more about the modem issue here. We also explain how to find out which modem your iPhone X uses here.

The good news is that it looks like Apple"s iPhone X inventory has increased - so if you were hoping to get your hands on an iPhone X in time for Christmas, then you may be in luck. More on that below...

How to say iPhone X

Not a problem as such but if you are referring to an iPhone "ex", and get a blank look it may be because the person you are speaking to knows that the correct name for the iPhone X is iPhone 10.

In a way reminiscent of the old Mac OS X, the iPhone X is actually pronounced "iPhone ten" (with the X representing the Roman numeral for 10). That"s because 2017 is 10 years after the very first iPhone launched at Macworld Expo in 2007. So this is a sort of special, celebratory anniversary iPhone.

However, we think that more than half of people refer to the iPhone X as the iPhone "ex", so if you do so you are probably in good company.

iPhone X availability

Since the iPhone X went on sale stocks have been limited. If you are trying to buy Apple"s newest handset we have some advice here: how to get an iPhone X, but beware that it is unlikley that you will be able to get hold of the iPhone X without a wait of a week or so.

It"s not clear how long iPhone X stocks will be constrained, but it looks like reports that Apple would struggle to meet anticipated demand for the iPhone X ahead of the Christmas and January sales rush are unfounded.

If you are looking to buy an iPhone X from Apple, as of 29 November you can expect delivery between 7-14 December. That"s an improvement on the 3-4 week wait time seen previously.

Reports in the run up to the launch suggested that production had been held up because attempts to make Face ID accurate had failed, with Apple eventually lowering its standards. However, Apple has denied those reports, with a spokesperson saying: "Bloomberg"s claim that Apple has reduced the accuracy spec for Face ID is completely false and we expect Face ID to be the new gold standard for facial authentication." Read more about the issues with Face ID here.

KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also expected supply to be constrained, predicting that only two to three million X handsets would be ready in time for the launch, way down on expected demand: as a comparison, the iPhone 6s phones shifted 13 million units in their opening weekend.

When asked about shortages, Apple CEO Tim Cook replied only that "we"ll see what happens".

Hopefully there will be adequate supplies of the iPhone X in the run up to Christmas and the end of 2017.

iPhone X Price

The iPhone X costs $999 / £999 for the 64GB model. For the 256GB model you will be looking at paying $1,149 / £1,149.

Of course there is also the option to purchase the iPhone X from your mobile network, in which case you will be able to spread payments out over a couple of years (and not break the bank straigtt away). In the event that you want to pick it up on a contract, Carphone Warehouse offers a selection for the UK, with typical prices around £50-60 per month with roughly £200 upfront. The lowest upfront cost is around £59.99. For more information read our roundup of the best iPhone X deals here.

Regardless of how you buy it, £999 is a lot of money for a smartphone and unsurprisingly there have been calls for Apple to reduce the price. In fact, in early January 2018 a report appeared in DigiTimes claiming that Apple was considering dropping the price - at least in the Asian markets. We think such a price drop is unlikely - although the company could feasibly reduce the price if and when it introduces the iPhone SE2.

Unresponsive screen

Some people have found that their iPhone X screen becomes unresponsive in cold weather. In response Apple has issued a iOS 11 update that addresses the issue.

Initially a thread on Reddit claimed that: "It literally takes 2 seconds from going inside to the cold outdoors and my screen stops being very responsive."

According to a report on The Loop, Apple confirmed that it is aware of the issue. The company said: "We are aware of instances where the iPhone X screen will become temporarily unresponsive to touch after a rapid change to a cold environment. After several seconds the screen will become fully responsive again. This will be addressed in an upcoming software update."

That software update has now been issued. According to the release notes iOS 11.1.2 fixes an issue where the iPhone X screen becomes temporarily unresponsive to touch after a rapid temperature drop. It also addresses an issue that could cause distortion in Live Photos and videos captures with the iPhone X.

Apple has always advised that iPhones may not function in temperatures below 0º or above 35ºC (that"s 32º to 95ºF).

Face ID hacked

There have been a number of stories appearing claiming that people have been able to fool Face ID so that it will unlock someone else"s iPhone X.

There were a number of videos where identical twins were able to unlock each others phones. Apple has already confirmed here that someone who looked like you might be able to unlock your iPhone (a twin or just another family member.)



However, the most likely scenario in cases where a twin or family member unlocks an iPhone X is that at some point in the process the passcode had been entered, telling Face ID to start to learn that the new face was in fact the old face.

We tested this theory with some identical twin friends and found that twin two couldn’t open the phone when it was set up with twin one’s Face ID. However, all twin two needed to do was enter the passcode and then Face ID updated itself to recognise them as well as their twin. From then on Face ID could be unlocked by both twins.

There is one case where a 10-year-old boy was able to unlock his mother"s iPhone X. Apparently within seconds of the boy looking at his mother"s new iPhone X it unlocked. In the statement on Face ID Security linked to above Apple said that it doesn"t recommend that children use Face ID as their facial features are still developing, and the company has also warned that people with similar features may be able to unlock your iPhone X, but it seems strange that the boy, who"s face is so much smaller than his mother"s would be able to unlock the iPhone.



Apple claimed that it had thoroughly tested Face ID and found that it was impossible to fool it with the use of a mask. However, a Vietnamese security firm is claiming it has bypassed Face ID using a silicone mask, a 3-D printed frame, and 2-D images of the eyes and mouth.

The security firm has shared this video of the hack.



While it"s unlikely that anyone would go to such lengths to hack into your iPhone X, it could be a threat to the privacy of a celebrity, or anyone whos iPhone would be in demand (someone who ran a company or a country, for example).

As for whether it would work the other way round, someone has tested that theory by making themselves up to look like celebrities.

Makeup artist Promise Tamang is already famous for using makeup to make herself look like celebrities, so she put the iPhone X to the test by making herself look like Kylie Jenner and Mariah Carey. Obvioulsy she didn"t have their iPhones to find out if she was able to fool them, but she wasn"t able to fool her own iPhone X which unlocked straight away as it recognised it was really her all along.

Speaker buzzing issues

Apparently some iPhone X users are experiencing distortion and buzzing sounds from the iPhone X speaker.

iPhone X owners posting on Reddit and Twitter are reporting crackling sounds that can be heard when using the iPhone X speakerphone at high volumes.

Although, one Redditor claims that the issue happens even at just 50% volume.

Another poster claims that Apple replaced his iPhone X due to the issue, but that the new unit was also affected by the issue.

The iPhone 8 also suffered from an earpiece cracking issue and this was fixed with a software update.

Face ID not working

After installing the iOS 11.2 update some iPhone X users found that Face ID was no longer working. Apparently turning the device on and off again fixed that issue. (If you are wondering how to turn off and restart your iPhone X here"s a tutorial).

iPhone X headaches

Is your iPhone giving you a headache? Apparently some iPhone X users are complaining of eye fatigue and headaches.

The problem could stem from Apple"s use of pulse-width modulation which it uses to dim the brightness of the display. This can produce a flickering effect that some people are sensitive to.

If you are experiencing similar issues, you could try adjusting some of the settings on your iPhone. We found that some of the new features in iOS 11 made us feel sick - you can find out how to turn nausea inducing iPhone effects here.

iPhone X green line

Some iPhone X units are developing a green line on the side of the display.

Twitter user mixOmatOsis was one of a number of iPhone X users to experience the issue. He tweeted this photo of the problem to Apple Support:

https://twitter.com/mix0mat0sis/status/927713433482653696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The line tends to run vertically either down the right or left side of the device"s OLED display.

Some iPhone X handsets are slower than others

Because Apple doesn"t use the same components in all of its iPhone X handsets, some are apparently slower than others.

According to a SpeedSmart, this is because Apple is using different suppliers for the baseband modems inside the iPhone X. Either a Qualcomm or Intel modem.

In November, SpeedSmart claimed that the data that it has obtained from users of its app shows that there are big differences in speeds depending on which modem is in the iPhone.

Apparently Intel"s modem is the faster option. However, Apple has artificially limited the Qualcomm modem, says BGR in its report.

In December a further study by Cellular Insights seemed to suggest the opposite findings.

According to that study, the iPhone X models with a Qualcomm modem "get consistently better LTE speeds than Intel’s on America’s most common LTE band".

PC Mag suggests that "most consumers will feel the difference in very weak signal conditions, where every dBm of signal matters".

How to find our which modem your iPhone X uses

Want to find out which modem your iPhone X uses?

1. Open Settings on the iPhone


2. Go to General > About


3. Scroll down until you see Model


4. Tap on Model to change from part number to model number

A1865 model number = Qualcomm iPhone X

A1901 model number = Intel iPhone X

Qualcomm trying to sue Apple over iPhone X

Speaking of Qualcomm, that company has a bit of an issue with Apple"s apparent use of technology that"s described in patents that were previously owned by Palm until Qualcomm bought the patents in 2014. Qualcomm has filed three complaints against Apple regarding 16 patents.

Qualcomm just wants the iPhone X banned.

Apple had already filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm, claiming that the company is using its own battery management technology in the Snapdragon processor.

macOS High Sierra vs macOS Sierra: Should you upgrade to High Sierra?

macOS High Sierra arrived on Macs later on 25 September 2017, but not everyone has downloaded it yet. If you are wondering whether to bite the bullet and upgrade, read on to find out what to expect, and whether it"s worth the upgrade if you"re already happy with Sierra (or an even older version of Mac OS X).

Given that High Sierra is a free update, you might wonder why there"s any debate at all. But, there"s always a bit of work involved with updating a Mac, and that it can be pretty difficult to downgrade once you"ve done it. Then there is the fact that often, despite thorough beta testing, there can still be issues with the software and problems with compatibility, and that may well cause headaches for you. So you want to be sure before you jump to the latest version of macOS.

If you want more detail on each of the versions you can check out our Sierra review and our High Sierra review, but for now let"s put the two head-to-head.

Design & interface

Here"s one area you really don"t have to make a decision. Design-wise, Sierra and High Sierra are pretty much identical - the biggest change is the new High Sierra desktop background.

Of course, there are plenty of design tweaks to specific apps which we"ll get to below, but as far as the OS in general goes, it"s business as usual.

Features

High Sierra features changes not only to the core function of macOS but also tweaks to a number of Mac users" favourite day-to-day apps. Despite that, it"s got to be admitted that this isn"t one of the really exciting macOS updates.

As the name suggests, this is akin to Mac OS X Mountain Lion (which followed Lion) and Snow Leopard (which followed Leopard) - a mid-step upgrade that builds on Sierra while focussing on under-the-hood improvements that developers will care about, but that the average user might not even notice, although they will benefit from.

Apple File System

Nothing exemplifies that better than the biggest change High Sierra offers: a new file system. Yeah, thrilling stuff, we know.

The new Apple File System (APFS) may not be the sexiest OS update (but then, what is?) but it is important. Already the file system in iOS 10, APFS changes the way macOS handles and organises data with a number of important benefits.



First of all, copying files and finding the size of files and folders should now be near-instantaneous, the sort of small improvement that will add up over long-term use.

It also helps keep files safe thanks to built-in encryption, data protection for power outages and system crashes, and simplified data backup. It"s also compatible with HFS drives and data so you shouldn"t lost anything during the upgrade - though we"d still always recommend a backup first.

Beyond APFS, a similar under-the-hood upgrade sees High Sierra adopt the H.625 video standard, also known as HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), which will make it easier to encode, stream, and store 4K video (files will be compressed up to 40 percent more than on Sierra), which is only going to become more important in the future.

VR

Apple"s been a slightly slow adopter when it comes to VR, but with High Sierra that looks to be changing. The update adds the capability to use Macs to develop virtual reality content on compatible Macs using peripherals like the HTC Vive headset.



While new VR development tools won"t affect most of us, it could signal a move towards being able to actually use the Vive and other headsets with a Mac to play VR games and experiences - though you"ll need a high spec model with a compatible GPU - or an external GPU, support for which is another new feature expected in spring 2018.

Safari 11

Now we"re getting more into the sort of changes the everyday user will notice - except that the version of Safari that arrived on macOS High Sierra can also be downloaded for macOS Sierra and macOS El Capitan. So really there is nothing here to incentivise you to update.

That said, if you aren"t running Sierra or El Capitan right now, perhaps you are looking to upgrade from an older version of Mac OS X, such as Yosemite or Mavericks, then you"ll be interested to learn that Safari 11 features some welcome tweaks that should improve most people"s browsing experience.

First up, to the dismay of advertisers everywhere, there are easy to use settings in Safari that allow you to prevent videos from auto-playing, ending the desperate hunt for that one tab blaring advert music at you. You"ll even be able to choose to always see web pages with the ads entirely stripped out thanks to Safari Reader.

The new Intelligent Tracking Prevention will also limit how much sites can use cookies to track your browsing and serve ads based on your browsing history.

Finally, you"ll be able to personalise your browsing by creating custom settings for specific pages or sites - changing the default zoom setting on certain sites, or adjusting your location settings on a case-by-case basis.

If you want to gain these new features in Safari - and you aren"t running El Capitan or Sierra already - then an upgrade to High Sierra is going to be a must. Sure you can use ad blockers, and other software to get a similar result, but the new Safari will simplify the process.

Photos 3

When Apple discontinued iPhoto and introduced Photos with Yosemite back in 2014 some fans of iPhotos (and Aperture that was also discontinued) were critical of the way that the app simplified the tools offered for editing photos, reduced functionality and did away with things like the sidebar.

Those people will possibly be pleased to see that in High Sierra Photos has received some changes that return some of those features to the app, and add some more professional tools that would have been the domain of Aperture.

First up, the new always-on sidebar should make the app easier to navigate, while image editing should be easier thanks to a new layout, new advanced editing tools, and a selection of professionally-inspire filters.



There"s also now support for external editors, so that you could use Photoshop tools to edit images from Photos and save your work into the default Photos library, simplifying things for anyone who works on their images across various software.

Live Photos are getting changes too, including the ability to create looping images, or make them "bounce", playing a selection of frames forwards and backwards. The new Long Exposure effect will emulate a slow shutter speed to blur water or create light trails.

Siri

The headline change to Siri is primarily cosmetic. Apple has fine-tuned both the male and female voices so that they should sound less robotic and more natural, with more detailed expression and intonation.

Siri"s integration with Apple Music has also been improved ahead of the release of the HomePod, so that the virtual assistant will be able to recommnnend songs, create playlists, answer queries about tracks, and help with natural language queries like "play more music like this".

We"re not sure how many people have adopted Siri on the Mac as a way of communicating. It can save some time if you wanted to "turn on Bluetooth" or "play music", or "remind me I have a meeting at 4" but we feel a bit silly asking our Macs to do things when we are in the office (which is why we love the fact that it is possible to type to Siri on your Mac, but we wish this was a default option). We don"t think the new features in Siri in High Sierra will make anyone more likely to adopt it.

Mail

Mail has been tweaked too, with a change to search so it should be easier than before to find emails within your swamped inbox.



That"s thanks to the new Top Hits feature, which will appear at the top of search results. It will display a select few emails deemed most relevant to your search, based on the emails you read most, the people you reply to most, and more - and thanks to machine learning, it will get better at predicting your needs the more you use it.

This should help when it comes to finding emails, but initially it might be a bit confusing to find that emails aren"t in date order when you search for something.

Messages

This one"s good news for iOS users. In High Sierra Messages will be synced with iCloud, which brings with it a few welcome benefits.



The biggest benefit being improved syncing across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, so that you know longer read a message on one device only to see the notification for it pop up immediately on another.

Of course you will need to set Messages up on your Mac to receive standard text messages or you will only see iMessages sent from other Apple devices there. If you want to know how to do this read: How to send and receive text messages on your Mac.

iCloud

In terms of iCloud, there are two welcome changes here. First up, the storage limit for iCloud Storage Plans is being upped to 2TB for £6.99 a month, so you shouldn"t run out of space any time soon (if you don"t need that much storage 20GB is £2.49 a month). Of course the allocation of storage and the price won"t change depending on which version of MacOS you are running.

Second, you"ll be able to share a file stored on your iCloud Drive with others via a link so that they can edit the original file, rather than creating duplicate copies. It"s similar to existing collaboration tools in some Apple apps, but it should be a simpler implementation.

It"s not clear if sharing files via the iCloud Drive this way will be limited to High Sierra users. We are confident that anyone will be able to access the shared file, whether on a Mac running an older version of MacOS or on a PC.

By far our favourite iCloud feature is the fact that since Sierra we have been able to share our Desktop across multiple Macs, and automatically access anything stored there on all of our devices. There is also the fact that we can copy something on one device and paste it on another as if by magic. These are features that arrived in macOS Sierra so if you are running an older version then you really ought to update and experience them.

Notes

Another app, another quality of life improvement. This time it"s the introduction of pinned notes, so that you can quickly access the notes you need the most without having to sort through them all.



You"ll also be able to add tables to notes, which will save you from diving into Numbers every now and then.

Read all about the best features in macOS here: Best Mac tips, tricks and timesavers.

System requirements

Here"s some good news: if your Mac is running Sierra, it can run High Sierra, as the two OS versions have exactly the same system requirements. For reference, these are all the current Mac models that can run both Sierra and High Sierra:

• MacBook (Late 2009 or later)


• MacBook Air (2010 or later)


• MacBook Pro (2010 or later)


• Mac mini (2010 or later)


• Mac Pro (2010 or later)


• iMac (Late 2009 or later)

Updating from an even older version of OS X - read about how Sierra compared to El Capitan here.

Wondering how macOS High Sierra compares to Windows 10, click here to find out!

How to uninstall Flash on a Mac

Adobe Flash has caused many problems in the past, with critical vulnerabilities frequently being exposed and Adobe regularly being required to release security updates.

These security flaws have affected Flash on Windows, Mac and Linux. How can you ensure that your Mac is protected from Flash vulnerabilities?

Chances are Flash isn"t actually installed on your Mac at all. Since Safari 10 was introduced with macOS Sierra in 2015, Adobe"s Flash Player has been disabled by default - previously you needed to disable it manually. Clearly Apple isn"t prepared to leave customers exposed to Flash vulnerabilities. Apple"s preference is that customers use HTML5, the newer, safer way of browsing the web. In fact, Apple"s Steve Jobs expressed his preference for HTML5 back in April 2010 when he penned his "Thoughts on Flash," which you can read here.

However, Apple doesn"t stop you from installing Flash if you do want to run Flash content on your Mac. If you want to install Flash so that you can watch content from All4 for example, we have this tutorial on How to install Flash on your Mac here.

Even if you have chosen to install Flash on your Mac, it won"t necessarily remain there. Flash tends to disappear from your Mac everytime you update the Mac operating system. We explain how to check whether Flash is installed on your Mac below.

If Flash is installed on your Mac, and you would like to remove it, this article will outline how to uninstall Flash Player on Mac.

Do I need Flash on my Mac?

Before we start you might want to be absolutely sure that you don"t need Flash.

It is likely that you will be able to happily browse the web without requiring Flash at all, as many sites have now been updated to use alternatives, especially since Adobe in July 2017 confirmed that: "Adobe is planning to end-of-life Flash".

There are very few sites that do still use Flash. The only one of note, we think, is All4. Hopefully Channel 4 will soon update its content to use HTML5. In fact, in June 2017, Channel 4, announced that it would be tranitioning from Adobe Flash-based video players to HTML5, so an announcement should be immanent.

How to tell if Flash is installed on your Mac

Wondering if you have Flash installed on your Mac? If you don"t have Flash installed you will see "Blocked Plug-in" when attempting to view Flash content in Safari.

To check this, you could visit Channel 4 or Crunchyroll.com, which, at the time of writing, were still using Flash.

If you try and play video you will see a message indicating that there is a Missing Plug-in.



Alternatively you may see a message like this one:



If you want to install Flash you can choose to do so - we have more information about installing Flash on your Mac here.

How to uninstall Flash Player on your Mac

If it turns out that you have got Flash installed on your Mac, but you have decided that the web is a better place without Flash - perhaps because you have heard about a recent vulnerability, or because you want to avoid seeing Flash based ads, here"s how to uninstall it:

1. You need to download an uninstaller from Adobe, you can find it here.


2. Note, there’s a different version depending on the age of your operating system. The newest is for OS X 10.6, but don’t worry, it covers all subsequent versions of the OS.


3. Launch the uninstaller from your Downloads folder on your Mac.


4. When the uninstaller runs, click Uninstall.


5. Enter your admin password and close all your browsers.


6. When the uninstaller has finished it is also wise to delete a couple of folders, according to Adobe. These can be found in the home directory’s Library folder. Go to Finder, click Go in the menu and hold down Alt (or Option) to make the Library folder appear as a drop-down menu. Locate these two folders and delete them:

~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player

~/Library/Caches/Adobe/Flash Player

HTML5 v Flash

One reason for Flash"s demise it HTML5, which is an open standard supported natively across a variety of devices and platforms including PC web browsers, mobile devices, and smart TVs.

Flash, by comparison, is proprietary technology owned and controlled by Adobe. Even though Flash was long considered the de facto standard for web-based video, it isn"t a native component of most browsers and either has to be enabled with a built-in plugin or a downloadable one from Adobe.

Java vulnerabilitues on the Mac

It"s not only Flash that can be plagued by security flaws. Java can also suffer from vulnerabilities and has come under fire as the means by which hackers have been able to gain control of computers. Most recently it was flagged by Apple as a way that the Spectre vulnerabilty could be utilised.

Apple wrote of Spectre that: "While they are extremely difficult to exploit, even by an app running locally on a Mac or iOS device, they can be potentially exploited in JavaScript running in a web browser."

In April 2012 more than 600,000 Macs were reported to have been infected with a Flashback Trojan horse that was being installed on people"s computers with the help of Java exploits. Apple has already stopped bundling Java with OS X by default. You can read about how to disable Java on your Mac here.

How to Change Language in Google

How do you change the language across all your Google services? The answer isn’t as apparent as you might think.

Sure, changing the language in Chrome is quite straightforward, but that won’t affect the language you see on YouTube, Keep, Drive, or any of Google’s other productivity apps.

If you created your Google Account while living as an expat in a foreign land and you can’t understand a thing, or you’re trying to immerse yourself in a new language in a bid to aid the learning process, keep reading. In this brief article, we explain how to change the language in Google.

How to Change Language in Google

To change the language in Google, you just need to follow the step-by-step instructions below:

1. Navigate to myaccount.google.com.


2. Enter your Google Account credentials and click Sign In.


3. On the Google Account home screen, select Account Preferences.


4. In the panel on the left-hand side of the screen, scroll down to Language and Input Tools and click on the link.


5. Click on Language.


6. Firstly, set your Default Language. Click on the pencil icon to see the available options, then highlight a language and choose Select to make your choice.


7. Next, set up Other languages that you understand. If some content is naturally in that language, Google will not convert it to your Default Language.


8. You can add multiple extra languages by clicking Add Another Language.

All Google’s services should now be shown in the newly selected language. You might need to log out of Google then log back in for the changes to take effect.

Have you changed the default Google language? What made you make the alteration? You can share your stories and ask any questions ion the comments below.

Image Credit: Pe3k via Shutterstock

Apple has hired tech team from data science startup SVDS

Apple has made a gentle but curious move in its longer-term strategy around law more business from initiatives. The corporation has hired the tech crew -- at the least 18 parties, including at least two co-founders, one of whom is the CEO -- from Silicon Valley Data Science( SVDS ), a startup located out of Mountain View that caters business change consulting to enterprises and other organizations using data science- and engineering-based solutions.

SVDS the startup is not part of the treat: we had gratuity that Apple acquired the company but Apple responded to our queries to confirm it has not been able to acquired the company, without developing further( we’d originally been tipped off on the via deal an anonymous gratuity ).

We likewise reached out many other people connected with the company, including investors, benefactors and other employees.

“I’m sworn to secrecy at the moment, ” one person connected with the company told me when I contacted him. “I’d prefer not to comment, ” another said.

“Everything is confidential, ” a third reply said. “Apple acquired the tech team to support commodity dev aspirations. Can’t say more.”

It’s not clear "whats going on" with SVDS itself. Its website is still up, but the SVDS social accounts on LinkedIn and Twitter have not been revised since November, although it did come online to post a blog on December 28, with a short, upbeat meaning pleasing readers a joyous holiday.

The 18 or so people who have updated their LinkedIn charts to now working for Apple appear to have made up between one-half and one-third of the company.

They include Sanjay Mathur, who was a co-founder and CEO of SVDS, who now describes himself as a strategy and analytics chairman at Apple on LinkedIn. Another one of the company’s founders and its CTO, John Akred , now rosters its most recent chore as “algorithms at Apple” on his LinkedIn chart. SVDS’s principal inventor, Serena Cheng, now registers her job as engineering commodity manager at Apple. And Scott Kurth, who had been VP of consumer mixtures at SVDS, is now likewise a strategy and analytics master at Apple.

In a method, SVDS is not your traditional Silicon Valley tech startup: it is focused more on consultancy around existing engineering than improving the tech itself, although those who have worked on firm IT implementations and questions know that often some of the more interesting mixtures are created to crowd a motive, and sometimes the criteria for products in their own right.

SVDS itself was founded by Jim McLean, Akred and Mathur, who respectively cut their teeth at large-hearted financing and consultancy houses( McLean at 3i and Crosslink; Akred and Mathur at Accenture) in previous roles.

The team, which at the opening up of this month numbered around 30 is in accordance with LinkedIn, also counts a number of data scientists and other architects as well as consultants in its ranks with years of cumulative know between them. SVDS has raised around$ 3 million in funding from a striking group of investors that include Crosslink, GSV Capital, Cendana Capital and the well-known tech investor Frank Quattrone.

It’s not always completely clear what Apple intends to do with its acquisitions -- human or otherwise -- but it’s remarkable that the company has is constantly ramping up a particular focus on working with great and small enterprises in recent times.

Apple last-place breaks out how much it made from its endeavour business in September 2015, when CEO Tim Cook said the company reached $25 billion in the 12 months to June 2015, accounting for 14 percent of its revenues in that period. “This is not a hobby. This is a real business, ” he said at the time.

It’s a sensibility from which he has definitely not withdrawn: “Enterprise is like the mother of all opportunities, ” he said last year, in an interview with Bloomberg.

While Apple has not are broken down endeavor receipts, you can do rough computations to guesstimate what the value for it might be today. Abusing its fiscal year 2017 revenues of exactly over $229 billion, 14 percentage of that would work out to about $32 billion in FY 2017.

As with Apple’s other business, a large part of its endeavour marketings will be attributable to the purchase of hardware like iPhones, iPads and Macs. But these days, the company is no stranger to the fact that when it comes to corporate customers, they often oblige maneuver preferences that are tied in with bigger IT is planned that include the building of business solutions that could include apps and something much -- a displacement from its previous positioning and reputation.

Apple technology isn"t in Star Trek because they couldn"t integrate into existing Enterprise systems.

-- SwiftOnSecurity (@ SwiftOnSecurity) May 22, 2014

blockquote > div >

Starting in July 2014, Apple started to ink deals with the likes of IBM, Cisco, SAP, Deloitte and most recently Accenture to help clear the occurrence to enterprises for Apple-based answers to their business needs, constructing iOS productivity apps, business change assistances, bequest IT migrations, IoT-based service and more.

Interestingly, these are all areas where SVDS happens to have worked on in the past, both directly with clients as well as part of R& D projects that it bequeaths to expand people’s skillsets.( The latter list has included a large job analysing Caltrain postpones to predict their newcomers; a visual representation of the history of rock-and-roll; and trying to give a figure on the value of data .)

At least one of these partnerships, with Accenture, co-locates Apple employees within Accenture squads. One guess I’ve had is that SVDS could have been acquired by one of these partners and is continuing to work with its tech team, which has now moved over to Apple.

Again, we’re not absolutely certain where this crew is labour; this is just an trained guess, which highlights things that both Apple and SVDS is currently being doing, and could be doing more , now in collaboration. We’ll update this history as we discover more.

Read more: https :// techcrunch.com/ 2018/01/ 19/ apple-has-hired-tech-team-from-data-science-startup-svds /~ ATAGEND

Download this: Sweatcoin"s app lets you cash in exercise for actual prizes

Image: Getty Images/ Westend6 1

If you"ve ever struggled to get into better condition then you know going motivated to start is often the hardest component. But a brand-new app may really be able be able to candy the deal.

Sweatcoin mixes fitness tracking and micropayments, paying out wages when its users actually exercise.

SEE ALSO: Apple wants to settled medical records on your iPhone. Here"s how it wreaks .

The premise is comparatively plainly: the app taps into your phone"s motion-tracking capabilities and continues tabs on how many steps you take throughout the day. Spawn it to 1,000 steps and you"ll deserve your first sweatcoin. Earn fairly, and those in-app silvers can be exchanged for endowment cards, airline approvals, videos, and other medals.

Seriously. You can get a new Tv or a $1,000 Delta airline credit just for doing something you should be doing anyway.

Before you start fastening up your shoes: you might want to consider training for a marathon. Big-hearted ticket items cost 20,000 sweatcoins, which would take more than a decade to deserve even if "youre walking" 10,000 steps a date.

And even if you do take enough gradations, they are not able to make sense as quickly as you think. Sweatcoin doesn"t tally any "indoor" steps so your treadmill duration and gym classes won"t count. Likewise, the app typically weighs far fewer paces than other fitness-tracking apps( the company says this is to deter possible cheaters ).

Despite its disadvantages, the app has been a hit with users. It"s been in the App Store"s top 10 for weeks and is currently sitting at the number one place, despite some user complained about the above issues.

It just goes to show: we"ll do anything for a "free" prize.

WATCH: The cold won"t stop this swimmer

Read more: https :// mashable.com/ 2018/01/ 27/ download-this-sweatcoin /~ ATAGEND

Facebook acquires biometric ID verification startup Confirm.io

Facebook has confirmed to TechCrunch that it’s acquired ... Confirm.io. The startup offered an API that gave other firms abruptly corroborate someone’s government-issued discovery card, like a driver’s permission, was authentic. The Boston-based startup will shut down as both the project team and technological sciences are gone into Facebook, where it could help users who are locked out of their accounts.

Confirm.io had raised at least$ 4 million from investors, including Cava Capital, since propelling 3 years ago. The 2015 grain round money advanced forensics are applied to pull information from an ID card, as well as portable biometrics and facial recognition to confirm a person’s identity before the startup removed the personal data.

Clients could promptly unite the tech, which facilitated on-demand startup staff onboarding. Food delivery service Doordash consumed Confirm.io to substantiate its operators, while Notarize used it to certify the name of customers looking to file documents.

The startup writes, “When we launched Confirm, our assignment was to become the market’s relied name origination scaffold for which other multifactor proof business can build upon. Now, we’re ready to take the next step on our travel with Facebook. However, in the meantime this symbolizes all of our current digital ID authentication software offerings will be wound down.”

Confirm.io’s ID authentication feature

Facebook tells TechCrunch, “We are stimulated to welcome the Confirm team to Facebook. Their technology and knowledge will support our ongoing efforts to keep local communities safe.”

Facebook experiments selfie-to-unlock feature

Facebook could potentially use the technology to have people approve their identities if they’re locked out of their chronicles after being spoofed or losing their password. Back in September we spotted Facebook experimenting specific features that let you open your accounting employing a selfie. And since at the least 2013, Facebook has caused people forward in a replica of their photo ID or other name proof materials in order to regain access to their account.

Because this is a full possession , not just an acqui-hire, Confirm.io’s team and tech could help Facebook strengthen and streamline these options. And one day, perhaps Facebook could even serve as your ID card in some situations. Face ID on the iPhone X could eventually be opened to third parties to dominance more biometric security across apps. With our keys and payment posters becoming digitized and part of our phone, the ID card is certainly the last reasonablenes you were supposed to carry an old-school wallet.

Read more: https :// techcrunch.com/ 2018/01/ 23/ facebook-confirm-io /