Monthly Mini-Bytes - December 2023

 

Apple Stops Selling Apple Watches What? Yes, it's true. Apple will stop selling their latest versions of the Apple Watch beginning on December 21st. This means if you want an Apple Watch Series 9 or an Ultra 2 you better get over to Apple and pick one up.  The reason for the halt is a patent dispute for the blood oxygen sensor. Yes, other watch brands have had these for years, and Apple is not the first to the party -- they are actually the last, but somehow they infringed on a patent. To learn more, visit: https://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/18/apple-watch-import-ban-software-fix/

iOS 17.3 New Security "Feature" It seems that every time a tech company tries to make our devices more "secure" they just make it more difficult for us to use it. Enter Apple's Stolen Device Protection that will be an option in the upcoming iOS 17.3 release. On the surface it sounds like a good idea. Stolen Device Protection will require additional authentication to use certain features and access passwords when you are away from a "known" location. But Apple will need to know your "known" typical locations, leading to privacy concerns. How is that secure? And if you travel a lot or roam around the valley from place to place like we do, it could make it inconvenient at best to access content, change passwords, or whatever. Great... I guess in iOS 17.4 Apple will introduce a feature that disables our phones when we leave our houses. I mean that would be super extra secure. Or maybe you will have to change your password after changing your password before updating your passcode. It's an idea. I'll send Tim a DM. All of this is just whipped cream on you know what. Security is much more basic than this, and mucking up the works with more and more layers of double dutch authentication is just going to make life harder for the typical user. Adding complication makes it less likely that people will try any security measure, making their devices even less secure.  Here are three tips to keep your iPhone secure. They are simple, and anyone can do them: Put a Passcode on Your iPhone and enable TouchID or FaceID Maintain Physical Control of your iPhone - Don't just lay it around anywhere. Keep it in your hand, or in your pocket, or your purse. Don't lay it on the bar for people to steal. Lock Down Your iCloud Account - Have a strong password and two-factor authentication. You can use this as a back door to lock your iPhone if it is ever stolen. If you have to put in your passcode out in public, do it privately just like you would with your PIN at an ATM. The good news is that Stolen Device Protection is an optional feature in iOS 17.3 so you can make the decision if you want to enable it or not. To learn more, visit: https://9to5mac.com/2023/12/12/apple-stolen-device-protection-for-iphone-how-it-works/

Apple Shipping Delays

For the past several weeks we are aware of Apple orders being delayed. Some of this could be as a result of the holidays or production delays, but if you put in an order for a new Apple device, just know that delivery has been more tortoise than hare.