Category: Apple Insider

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So much speculation points to new iPads and models of the iPad Pro, but if you want rumors and expectations, 2023 is going to be the year of the Apple AR headset. Or it won’t.

It’s not likely to be the year of the Apple Car, but just in case, you heard it here first and probably last: Apple Car 1.0 in June, in blue, center stage at WWDC. Or not.

As ever it’s what we can’t predict that is going to be the most exciting. No one foresaw the Mac Studio in 2021, though everyone is trying to foresee the Mac Pro in 2022.

Then there’s iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and whichever Californian destination lends its name to the next macOS.

But whatever happens — or does not happen — AppleInsider will be here every pixel of the way and we hope you’ll join us.

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On November 30, LastPass notified users that it was investigating an August “security incident” leading to user data theft.

Now, the LastPass CEO Karim Toubba has posted a blog informing users of the extent of what was stolen.

“To date, we have determined that once the cloud storage access key and dual storage container decryption keys were obtained, the threat actor copied information from backup that contained basic customer account information and related metadata including company names, end-user names, billing addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and the IP addresses from which customers were accessing the LastPass service,” the blog post reads.

The hacker also created a copy of customer vault data, which the company maintains is “stored in a proprietary binary format.” Some vault data, like website URLs, is not encrypted. Other data, like usernames and passwords, are “secured with 256-bit AES encryption,” which the company maintains cannot be decrypted by hackers.

“[Encrypted data] can only be decrypted with a unique encryption key derived from each user’s master password using our Zero Knowledge architecture,” Toubba writes. “As a reminder, the master password is never known to LastPass and is not stored or maintained by LastPass.”

While the company claims that it would be highly unlikely that the hackers could decrypt the data, it warns users that they could be targeted by phishing or social engineering attacks.

LastPass has come under fire for questionable security practices in the past.

In December 2021, LastPass members reported multiple attempted logins using correct master passwords from various locations. The company assured customers that attacks were a result of passwords leaked in third-party breaches.

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Spotify subscribers may soon be able to “get the right music” for their workouts, thanks to a yet-unreleased feature spotted in Spotify’s iOS app code.

Chris Messina highlighted the relevant code in a tweet as noted by 9to5Mac, which implies the feature may be released soon.

By utilizing a user’s health data, as well as the musical preferences obtained via Spotify, the app would be able to generate personalized workout playlists.

Spotify also recently updated its Apple Watch app experience. The new update features larger controls, swipe gestures, and a better library view.

iPhone SE

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On Tuesday, Apple Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo took to Twitter to discuss Apple’s plans for the iPhone SE 4.

He noted that his latest survey showed signs that Apple is reconsidering the next iPhone SE. He believes that it is possible that Apple will either cancel or delay its current plans for a 2024 release date.

Previous rumors have suggested that the next iteration of the iPhone SE could look like an iPhone XR with a 6.1-inch LCD display, complete with notch.

However, another rumor suggests that Apple was not fully sold on the idea and had not nailed down the exact design by late October.

Apple has had a more difficult time moving lower-end models of the iPhone in recent months, forcing the company to cut back iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus orders.

Apple’s AirTag

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Apple updated the AirTag on November 10 to version 2.0.24. The update, detailed by Apple and spotted by 9to5Mac, enables Precision Finding to help users locate an unknown AirTag following them. The AirTag also will emit a noise.

The feature is part of Apple’s commitment to prevent people from using an AirTag to stalk others.

Apple also updated AirTag on December 12 to version 2.0.36. This update fixed a bug where the accelerometer was not activating in certain scenarios.

While users typically have ways to update devices’ firmware manually, there is no such option for AirTag. Instead, users have to wait for it to occur on its own.

You can check the firmware version of your AirTag via the Find My app on your phone. Once in Find My, tap the relevant AirTag, then tap the battery icon for the AirTag — this will display the serial number and the firmware version.