The Apple iPhone is decorated and revered in the smartphone industry as one of the safest devices around. Thanks to its closed-off ecosystem, its record for malware and intrusion is unparalleled, with Google's Android soaking up the vast majority of the negative press in this area. However, it is this strictly-moderated infrastructure, allied to continued popularity, which makes the iPhone a lucrative target to criminals, and according to a latest research from SourceFire, the number of vulnerabilities discovered on iPhone over the years far outweigh the combined number found within Windows Phone, Android, and BlackBerry.
Beginning on April 12th, Apple Retail Stores will be selling a slightly-modified A1428 model of its flagship iPhone 5, featuring support for AWS bands. According to Engadget, facilitating Advanced Wireless Services is something requiring slightly re-jigged hardware and thus, those wielding the older model of iPhone 5 cannot enjoy the benefits by means of a software update.
Samsung may be dominating the news cycles right now, but Apple is keen to remind everyone that it is still very much alive and kicking, with the company now offering all iPhones with free next-day shipping in the United States. More details after the jump.
Chevrolet has, along with Honda, outlined its intention to integrate Apple's Siri technology into production cars, in a system known as "Eyes Free". Handsfree technology, while useful in helping prevent drivers from becoming distracted whilst behind the wheel, isn't without flaw; and by implementing this new, Siri-based system, major car manufacturers hope to make our roads even safer moving forward. The initial reports of Chevrolet's Siri integration, which first came to our attentions at the end of last November, we got a fairly good insight of how the system would work. Now, following last month's announcement that the 2013 Chevy Sonic and Spark would be among the first to feature Eyes Free, the company has just aired an advertisement showcasing the technology.
It may have taken the Cupertino based company a while to get there, but Apple has officially rolled out two-step verification for those users who have an active Apple ID (iTunes, App Store, iCloud etc). The initiative is essentially a process that makes it a lot more difficult for those with scrupulous morals to get access to someone else's Apple ID by implementing an additional security element. Those who are keen to implement an additional security layer will find that making purchases or logging into the ID on a new device will trigger an authentication process that takes the shape of a four-digit code entry.
Back in October, iOS leader Scott Forstall was, along retail SVP John Browett, removed from Apple. It was a surprising decision, even after the nightmare iOS 6 Maps issue, but it quickly emerged that Forstall, in particular, had stepped on more than a few toes within the Cupertino executive ranks. Jony Ive, head of Industrial Design and credited with molding the vast majority of the company's recent success stories, was said to strongly disagree with Forstall's rampant skeuomorphism within the iOS UI, and since the Englishman has taken on the role as leader of Human Interface following Forstall's departure, it now looks as though he plans to remove all remnants of the former iOS Senior Vice President.
Google's Eric Schmidt appears to have pointed the finger at Apple over the lack of a Google Now app on the Cupertino firm's iOS devices during a recent Q&A session. More details right after the jump.
We are getting close to that time of the year again when speculation surrounding the next-generation iPhone hardware starts to intensify. We've recently seen Samsung announce the Galaxy S4 smartphone, which may not offer much in terms of visual innovation, but definitely packs a punch when it comes to internal hardware and specifications. Those who are coming to the end of their current minimum-term contracts will be debating whether or not to snap up the latest flagship Android device from Samsung, or wait to see what Apple has in store for us with the new iPhone, or the iPhone 5S.
Mobile users, even many of those with an affinity to Apple's iOS, seem in agreement that the look and feel of the fruit company's flagship operating system is in severe need of updating. With a new leader at the helm of iOS in the form of Jony Ive, there's fresh optimism that iOS 7 will break the mold and bring the radical changes and implementations so many users seem to crave. As such, we've also seen many iOS 7 concepts since iOS SVP Scott Forstall was given his marching orders toward the end of last year, and this latest one from designer Mohamed Kerroudj is one of the best to date.
Apple today has released a new firmware update for Apple TV. The set-top box has seen its software bumped to version 5.2.1, and as well as a bunch of the customary bug fixes, there have also been significant enhancements made to the Hulu Plus interface for 5.2.x firmware users.

