Tag: Delivery or Project managers

Apple announces that App Store review team will work through holidays, but review time might be increased.

The busiest season on the App Store is almost here! Make sure your apps and games are up to date and ready in advance of the upcoming holidays. We’ll remain open throughout the season and look forward to accepting your submissions. On average, 90% of submissions are reviewed in less than 24 hours. However, reviews may take a bit longer to complete from December 22 to 27.

Apple Developer

Apple Developer: Get your apps ready for the holidays

Counterpoint shares the report highlighting Q3 sales numbers for Apple Watch. Another take from the report is that Huawei is gaining Samsung's share in wearables segment.

Apple delivered its best-ever Q3 performance, with a 7% YoY increase in shipments. This achievement is particularly noteworthy given that the latest Apple Watch, a key product in their lineup, was released slightly later than the previous year. The strong shipments of the 2nd-generation SE model significantly contributed to the growth of the industry leader.

9to5Mac

Reference: Apple Watch sees best ever Q3 numbers, as Huawei hurts Samsung

Multiple active exploits could affect iPhone use of Bluetooth.

Flipper Zero hacker tool could be used to trigger iPhone DDoS attack using Bluetooth signals by AirPods, HomeKit accessories, etc. These signals usually trigger popup on iPhone allowing to connect to headphones or perform other actions. Crafting these signals in a specific way could result in iOS restart.

Newly discovered BLUFFS attack could be used to impersonate devices and trigger disclosure of private information. It is not yet clear, if AirDrop is affected by this attack as it uses more than just Bluetooth to authenticate the device. However, it is still possible to hijack audio or other Bluetooth connection. Fix would require device manufacturers to modify security mechanisms of Bluetooth stack.

References:

• Flipper Zero can still crash iPhones running the latest version of iOS 17
• Bluetooth security flaws allow connections to be hijacked; AirDrop unlikely to be affected [U]

Apple's Tap to Pay framework is getting support in many countries. Now one of the major US airlines adopts framework to process in-flight purchases.

Alaska Airlines is teaming with Stripe to provide support for purchases and uses Tap to Pay on iPhone to accept contactless payments.

Reference: Alaska Airlines adopts Tap to Pay on iPhone for in-flight purchases

Following announcement of award finalists Apple now publishes App Store Awards 2023 winners. Apple lists winners as apps and games of the year for its platforms.

Apple also mentions trend of the year.

Apps are a reflection of culture, and in 2023, generative AI captured users’ collective imagination with its evolution unfolding in real time. Apps started integrating AI throughout the year in a variety of ways. Although many features are still in their infancy, they gave users a chance to see, firsthand, the technology in action and come to their own conclusions about the benefits and risks. In addition to this year’s App Store Award winners, App Store Editors across the globe have highlighted a collection of generative AI apps that exemplify the Trend of the Year. Read more from App Store Editors.

Apple Newsroom

Apple Newsroom: Apple unveils App Store Award winners, the best apps and games of 2023

Apple Developer: App Store Award winners announced

References:

Bloomberg reports that Apple Vision Pro development is not yet done and headset is expected to ship no earlier than March 2024.

Another report claims that Apple is expected to ship 400k units in 2024 and up to 10 million by 2026. Next generation device is expected to be available in 2025 with reduced price.

Beware, these rumors are not fully verified and should not be considered as facts.

References:

• Apple Vision Pro now expected to ship in March
• Apple’s In-House Technologies Team Still Has Plenty of Work to Do
• Sketchy report says 400,000 Apple Vision Pro units to ship initially, 10 million by 2026
• Report: Work on Multiple Next-Gen Vision Pro Headsets Ongoing, Including Cheaper Model

Telegram team teases their visionOS app. Demo highlights use of glass materials, 3D floating stickers.

Telegram: https://t.me/durov/239

References:

• Telegram teases visionOS app with immersive video player and AR stickers
• Telegram Demos visionOS App

There are reports that wireless charges in some of GM cars are not charging iPhone 15 models. It seems also to be related with iOS 17.1 update.

References:

• iPhone 15 wireless charging apparently broken in many GM cars with iOS 17.1
• Some iPhone 15 Owners With GM Cars Experiencing Wireless Charging Issues

Apple announces that it will eventually support RCS standard in addition to SMS and MMS in 2024. This will bring iMessage-like features (longer messages, reactions, better media support) to communications with non-Apple devices.

This messages will still be "green bubbles" and will lack other iMessage features (including iMessage apps). Also, Apple will not be implementing encryption features created by Google and will be adopting GSMA standards for end-to-end encryption.

References:

• Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year
• Apple to Adopt RCS Messaging Standard for Better Interoperability With Android Devices
• Apple to Support RCS Messaging in 2024
• Apple Announces Intention to Support RCS Messages ‘Next Year’
• Apple will add RCS support to Messages ↦
• Apple to Add RCS Messaging in iOS 17 Update
• Apple's flavor of RCS won't support Google's end-to-end encryption extension
• Google's RCS messaging is coming to iPhone in 2024
• Google will work with Apple on implementing RCS on iPhone
• RCS is coming to iOS, but will it change anything for most iPhone users?
• What color bubbles will RCS messages be? Apple confirms the answer
• Apple’s RCS announcement date wasn’t coincidence, and is good insurance

Apple announces that iPhone 14 will get another year of free SOS satellite connectivity feature. This extends free period for iPhone 14 models to three years. iPhone 15 models are not getting this extension at this time.

Apple Newsroom: Apple extends Emergency SOS via satellite for an additional free year

References:

• Apple extends free period for iPhone 14 satellite features
• iPhone 14 Users Get Free Emergency SOS via Satellite for Another Year