Apple has been in the rumour mill for a considerable amount of time, for its upcoming 2018 iPhone line-up. The tech giant is believed to unveil three iPhones this year. A new leaked video has now revealed the design of the iPhone SE 2.

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According to 9to5 Mac, a video first spotted by Weibo shows the upcoming iPhone SE 2 with an iPhone X-style display. The 30 seconds video clip not only shows the new iPhone from all angles but also shows the phone in action. The video suggests that the iPhone SE 2 could come with a notch and even sport the iPhone X's vertical dual cameras and its swipe-up-to-go-home gesture.
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But rumours suggest that the possibility of this design is totally next to zero. Additionally, the cited source says "this is actually an Android phone cleverly crafted to look like an iPhone." Moreover, in terms of pricing, Apple moving to an iPhone X-like design would be irrelevant for the iPhone SE 2. But, some other rumours indicated its strong existence.
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Besides, previous leaks and rumours claimed that the successor to the iPhone SE might be unveiled in the first half of 2018, similar to the original iPhone SE which was released in March 2016. If rumours are to be believed, the iPhone SE 2 could come with the A11 Bionic chip that powers the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. The phone is said to come with 2GB of RAM/32GB of storage, expandable up to 128GB.

Using an Apple product? Well, you should know that you are probably on the hit list for having one of the most valuable and expensive non-financial accounts. Cyber criminals are all eyes for your account and can fetch a good amount of money if sold on the dark web. However, for a casual hacker, your account will fetch as little as $15, a cyber criminal can use the data in the account to make more money than what the hacker can make, depending on what data is stored in it. Important emails, spicy photos, juicy chats and a complete load of important contacts and account information — a heaven for cyber criminals hunting for sensitive information.
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According to a report by Top10VPN, a company that offers VPN services, Apple IDs cost around $15.39 in average on the dark web or online black market.

‘Our team reviewed all fraud-related listings on three of the largest dark web markets, Dream, Point and Wall Street Market over 5-11 February 2018. Relevant listings were collated and categorized in order to calculate average sale prices,’ said the report.

Now this is the price for accounts that may not have any financial benefits within. However, if your Apple ID is associated with wallets and financial accounts, the price can break the roof. For example, PayPal credentials can fetch $274 each, while Western Union accounts and debit cards can fetch as good as $101 and $67.50 respectively. Credit cards details are generally ‘affordable’ and can fetch as much as $50 each. Microsoft Skype accounts cost less than $50 — while hackers can’t gain much from these types of accounts, they usually use these accounts to spread malware or links to phishing websites that make more money.

“Dark web bidders can get hold of your passport details for as little as $60, while access to online shopping accounts such as Amazon and Walmart are rarely worth much more than $10 and often a lot less. Even eBay accounts with their broad scope for fraud fetch just $12 on the dark web. Vital communications services, like Skype and T-Mobile, are worth less than $10 each. With these details, fraudsters could send messages containing phishing links to trusted contacts or get around security features that rely on SMS verification. On the dark web, even logins to dating sites are valuable, and tend to earn bidders on average $3.11 – allowing criminals to ‘catfish’ potential matches, sparking up relationships to manipulate people for financial gain,’ reveals the report.

Most accounts sold on the dark web are via phishing scams and Apple IDs have been the major target every time. Take for example the infamous Fappening scandal where intimate pictures of celebrities were stolen after hackers compromised their iCloud accounts and stole Apple ID credentials to gain access to their photos stored in the cloud.

iPhones are configured by default to store/upload all photos from the camera roll straight on to iCloud as backups. Gaining access to these accounts are what hackers are keen on.

Earlier in the day, Apple announced an increase in the prices of various iPhone models, thanks to the new budget which proposed an increase of 5 per cent in customs duty for phone manufactured outside India. However, despite the revised prices implemented from 5th February 2018, e-commerce giant Amazon is still offering all the premium iPhone models at a discounted price.

The flagship iPhone X, which was launched at a starting price of Rs 89,000, is currently available for Rs 85,991 for the 64GB variant. The top-end 256GB variant is up for grabs for Rs 1,00,798, which is currently priced at Rs 1,08,930 with the revised post-budget prices. Apple’s revised prices might be implemented shortly on these portals, which is why you should book one immediately before the revised prices come into effect within a few hours.

​It isn’t yet known for how long these discounted prices will be offered on the iPhone models. If you are looking to buy an expensive new iPhone without spending a premium on them unnecessarily, booking one right now on Amazon is a sensible choice.

If you haven’t bought an iPhone already this is bad news, as Apple iPhone prices are going to hiked in India. This comes after the Union Budget for 2018-2019 increased the import duty on mobile phones from 15 per cent to 20 per cent. All Apple products' prices including Apple iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone and Apple Watch are going to be escalated.

Since all the Apple products are manufactured outside India (excluding iPhone SE), the customs duty in December had already hiked from 10 to 15 per cent which led to a price increase in iPhones. And, now that per cent rose from 15 to 20 due to the new Budget 2018, which is going to cost a load on the consumers.

​By this time, we already know that Apple iPhone X is the costliest phone, which was priced at Rs 89,000 at the launch. The iPhone X was hiked to Rs 92,430 for the 64GB variant in December and now has been bumped up to Rs 95,390. The larger 256GB variant costs a hefty Rs 1,08,930 in India, which is an increase from the Rs 1,05,720 pricing, which is almost a 3.2 per cent hike from the original price.

Apple iPhone 8/8 Plus, which were launched in September, last year at Rs 66,120 and Rs 75,450 for 64GB variant are now been hiked up to Rs 67,940 and Rs 77,560 respectively. The 256GB variants of 8/8 Plus will now cost Rs 81,500 and Rs 91,110, which were priced at Rs 79,420 and Rs 88,750 during the launch.

Apple iPhone 7 hiked to Rs 52,370 from Rs 50,810 for the 32GB variant, which is a 3.1 per cent hike in price. The bigger 128GB variant will cost Rs 61,560 compared to the earlier official price of Rs 59,910. The bigger iPhone 7 Plus will now start at Rs 62,840, which is an increase from Rs 61,060.

Apple iPhone 6s will now start at Rs 42,900 in India for the 32GB variant, while the 128GB version will cost Rs 52,100. Apple iPhone 6s Plus will start at Rs 52,240 for the 32GB version. The three-year-old Apple iPhone 6 is now Rs 31,900 which is also an increase from Rs 30,780.

Apple Watch Series 3 price has also been to Rs 32,380 in India from the original price of Rs 29,900. Apple Watch Series 3 GPS 42 mm will cost Rs 34,410 compared to the earlier pricing of Rs 31,900.
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As iPhone SE is being manufactured in India, the price remains same for all its variants. The 32GB variant starts at Rs 26,000 and 128GB version remains at Rs 35,000. However, the e-commerce sites offer huge discounts on this iPhone, which leads to a starting price of Rs 20,499.

A few early adopters have also complained of issues with installation and download, problems with first and third-party apps, and issues connecting to Bluetooth

The release of latest update by Apple to its iOS 11, iOS 11.2.2 was expected to solve an issue on the iPhones and reported by customers. While the update didn’t bring any new features, the update brought security improvements to Safari and WebKit to mitigate the effects of the bug ‘Spectre’ that affected nearly all iOS devices.

However, it appears to have ended up creating more issues. The way Apple’s latest OS has had to be rectified with updates and patches in a short span of 2 months from release is also something unprecedented. Apple generally gets it right the first time.

Now it is being reported that those who installed the upgrade iOS 11.2.2 on their iPhones are facing up to 50% drop in the performance of the device. This is causing quite a stir and the Cupertino tech giant has to do something very quickly before the situation gets out of control. Many users of iPhones and iPads have actually posted the results of the benchmark tests they did with their respective devices, before and after they installed the new upgrade.

It is reported that iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 owners appear to be facing a more acute crisis than possible the ones owning iPhone X or iPhone 8. One of them using an iPhone 6 has posted the results of the benchmark core tests done and the range of performance drop noticed varied from 39% to 41%.

A few early adopters have complained of issues with installation and download, problems with first and third-party apps, severe battery drain, and issues connecting to Bluetooth. Some issues with the iPhone X’s Face ID have also been reported.

Interestingly, Apple had indeed warned the phone users that the particular upgrade meant to mitigate the Spectre vulnerability would have an impact on the device’s performance, but the range indicated by Apple was in the 2-2.5% range. Experts are now not sure if there is some error in the upgrade itself or the issue the upgrade was meant to take care of, has precipitated this performance crisis for the users.  
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And to the surprise of many, there are a few users who have posted their reviews stating they are seeing an improvement in the performance. Even this is a difficult to swallow, since Apple had itself mentioned there will be a drop.

Jana Partners and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, Apple Inc's shareholders are urging the smartphone maker to address the growing problem of  addiction of the youth to iPhones.
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According to a report by Reuters, Jana and CalSTRS, one of the public pension plans, who together control about $2 billion worth of Apple shares, has recently delivered a letter to Apple on January 6, which asks the company to consider developing software that would allow parents to control and regulate their childrens phone use. They have also asked Apple to study the impact of excessive phone use on mental health. The investors are reportedly worried that Apple’s reputation and  the stock could be hurt if it does not address those concerns.

This comes after the issue of phone addiction among young people has been on the rise in the United States as parents report their children cannot give up their phones

Apple recently came up with a battery replacement program, which reduces the price of iPhone battery repairs from around $79 to $29 after it was accused of deliberately slowing down its older devices.

According to a report of The Investor, an official battery manufacturer has reportedly revealed that Apple charges twice as much as Samsung for battery repairs. The source also claims that the former overcharges its customers even though the technology and the complexity of the process is almost the same.

The battery manufacturer was quoted saying, “All flagship phones from Samsung, LG and Apple have the most advanced batteries in the market. There is no reason for the price difference. Battery replacement for an iPhone may be trickier considering its use of unique parts like black pouch and tape. Still, it is difficult to understand why the cost is so high.”

The report also quoted an official of a smartphone manufacturer who said, “Apple is saying they are reducing the price for consumers but the price is never a discount considering parts and labor costs.”

The iPhone batteries are known to have a smaller capacity than those used in the flagship phones which Samsung has. iPhone 7, which is the latest model under the replacement program, features a 1,960 mAh battery unit, while in contrast, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 comes with a 3,000 mAh battery.

While Apple hasn’t commented on the cost of a battery replacement, and with the program being underway, the customers are allowed to request the repairs at the discounted price in any Apple Store.

Buddybuild was founded in 2015 by former Amazon employees Dennis Pilarinos and Christopher Stott.

​Apple has acquired Canadian start-up buddybuild, a mobile iteration platform focused on building integration and debugging tools for iOS developers, for an undisclosed sum.
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"We're excited to share that the buddybuild team has joined the Xcode engineering group at Apple to build amazing developer tools for the entire iOS community," buddybuild said in a statement on Wednesday

The company said that it would stay in Vancouver -- a hotbed of developer and engineering talent.

"The buddybuild service will remain available to existing customers to build, test and ship iOS apps to testers through buddybuild.com," it added.

The startup is no longer accepting new customers.
"Existing 'Free

 Starter' plans and Android app development will be discontinued on March 1, 2018," the company said. According to TechCrunch, buddybuild would be rolled into Xcode, Apple's suite of development tools for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.

Apple still generates significant revenue from apps.

"Of the $17 billion generated in Q3 from apps globally (excluding China), Apple accounted for around $11 billion of it, according to App Annie," the report added.
Buddybuild was founded in 2015 by former Amazon employees Dennis Pilarinos and Christopher Stott.

In 2014, Apple acquired TestFlight which began to require users to employ Xcode to utilise the service.

There were also reports earlier this week of Apple looking to acquire Netflix instead of launching a video subscription product in 2018 to counter Netflix.

In fact, Apple has been on an expansion spree. In December, it acquired music recognition app Shazam for $400 million. Prior to that in November, acquired Vrvana, a startup from Montreal, Canada , which makes  Totem headset, for around $30 million.

Prior to that, it also acquired InVisage Technologies in November as part of its strategy to work on smaller but powerful computing devices. InVisage develops solutions to improve imaging capabilities on space-constrained devices, like smartphones.

iTunes has been a huge hit for Apple, but viewers have migrated increasingly to services like Netflix or Amazon to watch their favourite shows.

Contrary to the reports of Apple launching a video subscription product in 2018 to counter Netflix, analysts from Citi have said that the iPhone maker could possibly buy the entertainment company by taking advantage of US President Donald Trump's corporate tax cut.

According to Citi analysts, Jim Suva and Asiya Merchant, there is a 40 per cent likelihood that Apple will acquire Netflix. Under the new taxing rules, the tech giant will be able to repatriate about $220 billion in cash to the US.

"The firm has too much cash -- nearly $250 billion -- growing at $50 billion a year. This is a good problem to have," Suva and Merchant were quoted as saying.
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"Historically, Apple has avoided repatriating cash to the US to avoid high taxation. As such, tax reform may allow Apple to put this cash to use. With over 90 per cent of its cash sitting overseas, a one-time 10 per cent repatriation tax would give Apple $220 billion for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or buybacks," they added.

A report in business insider said that iTunes has been a huge hit for the company, but viewers have migrated increasingly to services like Netflix, Amazon or Hulu to watch their favourite shows leaving Apple struggling to offer a compelling TV or movie offering.

In September 2017, reports poured in that Apple might lease the Culver Studios in California as it plans to pour $1 billion into TV and movie productions.

The battle for best movie scripts and television projects has intensified between tech giants in the Silicon Valley. Google-owned YouTube is already producing original television series and Amazon has won Oscars for "Manchester by the Sea" show.

The iPhone maker has already hired top Hollywood talent, Sony duo Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, to lead its Hollywood push and is reportedly developing a new TV show that will star Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.

"Apple's patent notes that the system is 'configured to wirelessly transmit power over the wireless power transfer link'," the report says.

Apple has filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office that will reportedly let the user set up wireless charging transfers in a particular order so that their iPhone gets power first, followed by Apple Watch and then the iPad.

The Radio Frequency (RF) based long-range wireless charging is on the lines of wireless power developer Energous that has been recently granted consumer safety certification for its wireless charging technology by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

"The US Patent and Trademark Office published a pair of patent applications from Apple that relates to wireless power transfers and a unique scheduling system," Patently Apple reported on Friday.

"Apple's patent notes that the system is 'configured to wirelessly transmit power over the wireless power transfer link'," the report added.

However, it is unclear whether this is the equivalent to "over-the-air" wireless transfer. 
Apple’s other innovation is a communications system between the power transmitter and receiving device. As per the protocol specified in the patent, it uses the same coils used for wireless charging to send data signals, seemingly to coordinate between the transmitter and any client devices.  
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Wireless power developer Energous and the Cupertino-based giant have been working together on wireless charging technology since 2014, according to tech website VentureBeat.

Meanwhile, earlier in November, Apple filed a patent application for a yet-unnamed foldable device that can be "opened and closed like a book".

"An electronic device may have a flexible portion that allows the device to be folded. The device may have a flexible display. The flexible display may have a bending region that allows the display to bend along a bend axis when the device is folded," said a patent application published by The US Patent and Trademark Office.