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New Apple Update Available for Character Bug Solution

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Recently, another “exotic character” bug was found in iOS.  If someone sends this particular character (a special character that’s part of the Indian language pack) to your phone via any messaging app, it will not only crash your phone, but cause a variety of messaging apps to stop functioning.

When the bug was initially reported, Apple treated it as a somewhat low priority item and announced their plan to fix it with the release of iOS 11.3 later this spring.  The company’s loyal user base, however, had other ideas.  Faced with a growing chorus of demands for a more immediate fix, Apple has incorporated it into the 11.2.6 release which is now available.

If you’re set up to automatically receive OS updates, there’s nothing for you to do, and if you haven’t already encountered this issue, you never will.  If, on the other hand, you are in the habit of manually applying OS updates, this is one you won’t want to miss.  While the chances of someone sending this exotic character to you are quite low, there’s nothing to be gained by exposing yourself to needless risk.

Long time users of Apple’s products will recognize a trend here.  This is hardly the first time an exotic character or other unusual event has caused iOS to crash.  Just last month, there was a similar (though less serious) issue with another special character.  Last year, it was discovered that a properly formatted URL could crash any system running iOS.  Not long after that discovery was made, a five second video went viral that, if watched on a device running iOS, would crash it.

In any case, the user base spoke and Apple listened.  Grab the latest update and you won’t have anything to worry about.  At least until the next unusual crash bug is discovered.

Known Bug On Macs May Be Causing Lost Data

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Do you own a Mac?  Do you use APFS “sparse disk images?”  If so, be aware that under certain conditions, your trusty computer may allow you to copy important data into the void where it will be lost forever, without giving you a heads up first.

This unusual error was recently discovered by Mike Bombich, the creator of Carbon Copy Cloner, which is a popular Mac backup application.  According to Mr. Bombich, the bug is only likely to impact a small percentage of users, but if you’re one of the unlucky few who lose important data, that’s going to be small consolation.

Here’s how the bug works, and where it can get you into trouble:

Let’s say you’ve created a 100 GB APFS-formatted sparse image whose data is stored on a remote network share.

Time passes, and you copy 90 GB worth of data to the remote network share, which leaves just 10 GB for use by your sparse image, but therein lies the problem.  The sparse image still thinks it’s got the full amount of space to play with.

At this point, if you copy a 20 GB file, the copy function will appear to succeed.  In the short run, you’ll still be able to access and open the file until you reboot your machine.  After restarting, 10 GB of the 20 GB file copy vanishes, and the file becomes corrupt and unusable.

Details of the bug have been forwarded to Apple, and the company is in the process of reviewing them.  At this point, no ETA has been given on when a fix might be made available.  Until it is, be very careful when using sparse images, because the system will let you copy your files right into oblivion.

New Bug Discovered in iOS That Can Disable iPhone Apps

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Last year, Apple had to fix a “special character” bug in their Message app that was more of an annoyance than anything.  This year, a new special character bug has been found, but this one is much more serious and could allow an attacker to crash your phone and block access to a variety of messaging apps.

The bug is specific to iOS 11, so if you’ve got an older version, you don’t have anything to worry about.  The company has already announced that it will be fixed in the upcoming release of iOS 11.3.

Unless you’re in the habit of getting messages in Telugu (Indian language), you’re not likely to see it, because the bug relies on one of the special characters utilized in that language pack.  Once you receive a message containing the special character, your phone will crash.  Even after you restore it, you’ll find that you’re not able to access iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Gmail, or Outlook for iOS. Although if you use either Telegram or Skype, these appear to be unaffected.

Unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of control over who sends text messages to you, so until the patch is released this spring, there’s not much you can do except to be mindful that it could happen.

If you’re a long time user of Apple products, then you know that this is hardly the first time that strange things have caused the OS to crash.  Just last month, it was discovered that a properly formatted URL could cause a system crash.  In 2015, researchers discovered that a properly formatted text string could cause iMessage to crash. Just last year, a five-second video caused iPhones around the world to crash.  All that to say, keep an eye out for strange text messages, and definitely upgrade to iOS 11.3 as soon as you get the opportunity to do so.

Apple And Google No Longer World’s Top Brands

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The latest Brand Finance Global 500 report out and contains some surprises this year.

In the battle of the Brands, two companies have long topped the list:  Apple and Google.  This year, there’s a new Sheriff in town.  Amazon blew past the top two claiming the top spot for itself.  It is now the most valuable brand in the world with an impressive $150.8 billion dollar value.

David Haigh, the CEO of Brand Finance had this to say about the upset in the rankings:

“Jeff Bezos once said that ‘brands are more important online than they are in the physical world.’  He has proved himself right by choosing the name Amazon, known as the largest, most powerful river in the world, as 23 years later the Amazon brand carries all before it as an unstoppable force.  The strength and value of the Amazon brand gives it stakeholder permission to extend relentlessly into new sectors and geographies.  All evidence suggests that the amazing Amazon brand is going to continue growing indefinitely and exponentially.”

The new number two, Apple, saw the value of its brand increase by a hefty 37% to $146.3 billion.  While impressive, the report stresses that Apple’s long-term prospects look bleak because the company has failed to diversify. It relies on its aging line of iPhones for more than a third of its total revenue, which hampers its opportunities for growth.

Third ranked, Google’s brand saw more modest growth in value (just 10 percent), and now stands at $120.9 billion.  Like Apple, the report stresses that although Google is a Titan in certain sectors (search, cloud, and Mobile OS), its relatively narrow focus has kept it from unleashing the full power of its brand in the same way Amazon has.

All hail the new King of the brands, Amazon!

iPhone Throttling Issue To Be Addressed In Upcoming Update

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Recently, Apple found itself in hot water with its normally adoring user base. This happened when it became known that the company was intentionally throttling (slowing down) the speed of older iPhones.

The company’s intentions were good.  They clearly meant well.  The move was designed to even out performance in older equipment.  As cellphone batteries age, they tend to lose charge more quickly.  What was happening was that people with older equipment would drop from 20% battery to 0% in the blink of an eye, causing their old phones to simply shut down at inopportune moments.  Apple’s strategy was simply designed to help keep that from happening.

Well-intentioned or not, the company didn’t formally announce the change, and it was discovered by chance by security researchers.  Needless to say, the legions of people who still use older iPhones were not amused and the company has faced backlash from an angry user base since.

Apparently, the backlash got bad enough that they listened.  Apple just announced that as of the next OS update, version 11.3, the OS will include a toggle switch that will allow users to choose whether or not to throttle their  phones to extend battery life.

This is the latest in a series of moves the company has made to get back in the good graces of its users.  Previous efforts have included a public apology and an offer to reduce its fee for battery replacement to just $29.

This has been a PR disaster for the company.  It probably won’t hurt their bottom line much, but perception matters. While the company has been trying bravely to save face, the simple truth is that this was a self-inflicted and avoidable wound.

There’s a lesson here for businesses of all shapes and sizes.  Transparency matters, and if you’re going to do something that directly impacts large segments of your user base, be upfront about it and give them a viable choice.

Better Parental Controls Underway For Apple Devices

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Recently, a group of investors wrote an open letter to Apple, urging the company to do more in regards to offering better and more robust parental controls on the devices the company makes.  Although the group of investors control some $2 billion in Apple stock, this is a drop in the proverbial bucket, given the company’s $900 billion market cap.  Nonetheless, the letter seems to have gotten Apple’s attention.

In a statement published in the Wall Street Journal, the company said: “We think deeply about how our products are used and the impact they have on users and the people around them.  We take this responsibility very seriously, and we are committed to meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations, especially when it comes to protecting kids.”

Previously, the company has touted the suite of parental controls it’s had in place on the devices it makes since 2008.  For example, every iPhone sold has a settings app with a parental controls section that allows adults to control in-app purchases, install and delete apps, and restrict website access.

Those are all good things, but the group of investors is pushing for more.  Although the company has not released any details about their planned enhancements, it does appear that the letter has prompted them to think even more deeply about the matter, and in that same letter, also requested that apple aid research that studies what impacts excessive smartphone use has on mental health.

To their credit, Apple has done more with  parental controls than many, if not most other tech companies, and it is very good to see that they’re listening and responding to the concerns of their investors.  This kind of responsiveness bodes well, and depending on the particulars of their plan, it could well cause other companies in the industry to attempt to match their moves.

Older iPhones Are Being Purposefully Throttled, According To Apple

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Not long ago, observant Reddit users noted and began discussing a curious phenomenon. It appeared that older iPhones were unexpectedly slowing down, and no one could name the reason why.

It caught the attention of a number of security researchers who delved more deeply into the issue, including a man named John Poole, who confirmed the Reddit claims. His tests confirmed that on iPhone 6s and 7s, Apple made tweaks to iOS versions 10.2.1 through 11.2.0.

These changes are designed to throttle the phone’s performance when the battery degrades beyond a certain point. While the company itself has subsequently confirmed the findings, they didn’t offer much in the way of a detailed explanation other than to say:

“Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batters become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.

Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.”

If you have an older iPhone, you may find yourself in disagreement that throttling its performance optimizes your user experience, and admittedly, it isn’t an optimal solution. On the other hand, having your phone power down unexpectedly when the battery life still reads 40 percent can be worse than annoying.

The only way around it is to replace your battery, which will not trigger the throttle built into the OS.

Apple Might Be Working On Universal Apps Across Mac, iOS

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Apple has been quietly working on something called “Project Marzipan” for a couple of years now, and it appears that they’re getting closer to unveiling it.

The company seeks to bring its MacOS and iOS platforms closer together by developing universal apps that will work in either environment. This mirrors Microsoft’s Universal Windows app strategy, where apps can detect the environment they’re running on and adjust their display and navigation accordingly.

Project Marzipan presents some real challenges for Apple because MacOS programs use an entirely different set of development tools, although there is some overlap. The programming language called Swift, for example, can be used to make apps that run in either environment and if the company placed a greater emphasis on it, the process of creating their own universal apps would be greatly simplified.

The thinking behind Marzipan seems to be driven by the company’s desire to breathe new life into the Mac App Store, which hasn’t seen nearly the level of success as their iOS Store. The move would be a boon to developers because creating a common platform would allow Mac app developers to get their product in front of more potential customers.

Another potential reason is that the company may be planning to ultimately merge MacOS and iOS into a singular operating system that runs every Apple product. It’s a compelling theory, but the company has said nothing to confirm it.

In any event, if Apple goes ahead with Marzipan, and at this point, all indications are that they will, then we can expect a public announcement to that effect at next year’s World Wide Developer Conference. The first of the universal apps should appear not long after that, although the process of merging the two app stores and building out a robust collection of universal apps could take more than a year.

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