Apple wins first original video Emmy for ‘Carpool Karaoke’

Ahead the launch of its own video streaming service, Apple has been awarded its first-ever Primetime Emmy for its original video programming, for “Carpool Karaoke.” The series won the “Outstanding Short Form Variety Series” category on Sunday night. This is not Apple’s first-ever Emmy – it has won other technical and engineering awards in the past, including last year’s win for Siri integration in Apple TV – but it is its first for original video.

The series beat out “Between The Scenes – The Daily Show,” “Creating Saturday Night Live,” “Gay of Thrones,” “Honest Trailers,” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Cover Room.”

Apple’s “Carpool Karaoke” was spun out from a recurring sketch on CBS’ “The Late Show With James Corden” in 2016, and was one of the first originals from Apple, along with its Shark Tank-like “Planet of the Apps, which largely bombed.

Over “Carpool Karaoke’s” past episodes, it has featured a number of big-name guests, including Will Smith, Alicia Keys, John Legend, LeBron James, Billy Eichner, Metallica, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Seth MacFarlane, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, John Cena, Shakira, Trevor Noah, and many others.

The series itself received almost universally negative reception from critics, but nevertheless earned a second season.

Apple has since shifted its focus from shows like this to other more high-profile series with the hires of Sony TV vets, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht.

Its upcoming video streaming service now has a number of anticipated shows, including a Witherspoon-backed comedy starring Kristen Wiig, a thriller starring Octavia Spencer, a revival of “Amazing Stories” exec-produced by Steven Spielberg, a new space drama from “Battlestar Galactica’s” creator Ronald D. Moore, called “See,” a scripted basketball show based on Kevin Durant’s life, a show from “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle, an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation,” original shows produced by Oprah Winfrey, a psychological thriller produced by M. Night Shyamalan and many others.

It has also been making acquisitions to expand the service, with additions like the documentary “The Elephant Queen” and animated film “Wolfwalkers.”

The company is expected to launch its streaming service in March 2019 – something we may hear more about at Apple’s press event on Wednesday.

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Alex Jones’ Infowars gets banned from Apple’s App Store

Another domino has fallen in Alex Jones’ media empire. Apple this week announced that it’s pulled the controversial conspiracy theorist/provocateur from the App Store this week, banning the Infowars app over violations to its “objectionable content” rules.

Slightly more specifically, the host was determined to have violated the TOS around “defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content, including references or commentary about religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, national/ethnic origin, or other targeted groups, particularly if the app is likely to humiliate, intimidate, or place a targeted individual or group in harm’s way.”

There’s been a cascade effect with many of the major platforms Jones has used to distribute his video content. Facebook, Google and Spotify have all pulled Infowars content from their respective platforms. This week, Twitter and Periscope banned him after widespread criticism.

Among other controversial comments, Jones has come under fire for suggesting that the Sandy Hook shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 20 elementary school students, was a hoax.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment.

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Fortnite hits 15 million installs on Android

Circumventing the Google Play store wasn’t exactly a gamble for Epic, given the fact that Fortnite is essentially a license to print money. But even by its own standards, the game is posting some impressive numbers three weeks after hitting Android.

In a blog post this week, Epic noted that the wildly popular sandbox survival game hit 23 million players on Google’s mobile operating system, spread out across 15 million APK installs. Those numbers are arriving 21 days after the title launched on the OS.

This, like every other piece of Fortnite news, means big bucks for Epic. That’s especially the case here, however, given that the launch means the gaming company is cutting Google’s 30 percent take out of the equation.

Along with the numbers, Epic also highlighted some of its efforts to tackle potential malware threats — an added issue given that the game isn’t distributed through Google’s official channel.

“So far, Epic has instigated action on 47 unauthorized “Fortnite for Android’ websites,” the company writes, “many of which appear to be run by the same bad actors. We continue to police the situation with a goal of taking them offline, or restricting access by leveraging Epic’s connection to a network of anti-fraud partners.”

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A top-tier app in Apple’s Mac App Store will steal your browser history

A popular top-tier app in Apple’s Mac App Store was found pilfering browser histories from anyone who downloads it.

Yet still, at the time of writing, the rogue app — Adware Doctor — stands as the No.1 grossing paid app in the app store’s utilities categories. But Apple was warned weeks ago and did nothing to pull the app offline.

As of publication, the app is still in the store. (We’re not linking to it.)

Apple’s walled garden approach to Mac and iPhone security is almost entirely based on the inability to install apps outside the app store, which Apple monitors closely. While it’s not uncommon to hear of dangerous apps slipping into Google’s Play store, it’s nearly unheard of for Apple to face the same fate. Any app that doesn’t meet the company’s strict security and sometimes moral criteria will be rejected, and users won’t able to install it.

This app promises to “keep your Mac safe” and “get rid of annoying pop-up ads” — and even “discover and remove threats on your Mac.” But what the app won’t tell you is that for just a few bucks it’ll steal and download your browser history — including all the sites you’ve searched for or accessed — to servers in China run by the app’s makers.

Thanks in part to a video posted last month on YouTube and with help from security firm Malwarebytes, it’s now clear what the app is up to.

Security researcher Patrick Wardle, a former NSA hacker and now chief research officer at cybersecurity startup Digita Security, dug in and shared his findings with TechCrunch.

Wardle found that the downloaded app jumped through hoops to bypass Apple’s Mac sandboxing features, which prevents apps from grabbing data on the hard drive, and upload a user’s browser history on Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers.

Wardle found that the app, thanks to Apple’s own flawed vetting, could request access to the user’s home directory and its files. That isn’t out of the ordinary, Wardle says, because tools that market themselves as anti-malware or anti-adware expect access to the user’s files to scan for problems. When a user allows that access, the app can detect and clean adware — but if found to be malicious, it can “collect and exfiltrate any user file,” said Wardle.

Once the data is collected, it’s zipped into an archive file and sent to a domain based in China.

Signal for Mac users should disable notifications to keep their messages secure

Wardle said that for some reason in the last few days the China-based domain went offline. At the time of writing, TechCrunch confirmed that the domain wouldn’t resolve — in other words, it was still down.

“Let’s face it, your browsing history provides a glimpse into almost every aspect of your life,” said Wardle’s post. “And people have even been convicted based largely on their internet searches!”

He said that the app’s access to such data “is clearly based on deceiving the user.”

Apple was contacted weeks ago. The email it responded with, in not so many words, said “we can’t tell you anything,” but forwarded the feedback.

A meagre $4.99 for the app may not seem much to the average user, but it’s a heavy price to pay for having the app steal your browser history — which users will never get back. And given that Apple makes a 30 percent cut of every purchase of this popular app, there isn’t much financial incentive to withdraw the app from the store.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

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What to expect from next week’s big iPhone event

It’s been a slow year for Apple hardware. The company has traditionally done a good job spreading announcements throughout the calendar, but aside from an iPad event in Chicago and a MacBook refresh a few months back, there’s been little news out of the company. Even this summer’s WWDC was utterly devoid of hardware news.

All that’s about to change at the big show being held next week at Steve Jobs Theater on the company’s new space-age Cupertino campus. Rumors are coming fast and furious, and by all accounts, there’s A LOT to expect, from a slew of new phones, to an updated Apple to some additional news on the iPad front.

Here’s a breakdown of some of what we expect from the big show on September 12.

iPhone XS: This is the big one. In more ways than one. Last year’s 10th anniversary iPhone event found the company intent on pushing the state of the art on iPhone (and bezel) technology. This year, we fully anticipate the arrival of the sequel.

The flagship model will arrive in two sizes — 5.8 and 6.5 inches, referred to as the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Plus (or, possibly, max), respectively. One of the smaller (but compelling) rumors of the bunch is the inclusion of a Lightning to USB-C cable in-box.

Yes, for better or worse, Apple is keeping Lighting around, but the new cable will make it easier to hook up to those new MacBooks and also enable fast charging. The phones will all supposedly be available in gold, as well, which appears to have been hinted at with the invite’s art work.

Cheaper iPhone X: Along with the flagships, Apple is said to be bringing a cheaper version of the X-style phone. After all, the first iPhone X was pretty commonly understood to be cost-prohibitive. The easiest way to drop the cost? Swap the OLED display for LCD, naturally. The phone will reportedly get Face ID as it drops the home button. As for the name? iPhone XC has been somewhat credibly floated.

Apple Watch Series 4: It’s the time of the season. The suggestion of a round face appears to be little more than wishful thinking, but the standard squircle shape has been improved a bit with the addition of an edge-to-edge display, marking the first major hardware redesign in the three years the watch has been kicking around. Along with a 15 percent larger display, battery and heart-rate monitoring are said to be improved, as well.

Etc.

Speaking of wishful thinking, here’s an assorted collection of what else could be on hand:

• HomePod Mini: A smaller version of the company’s premium smart speaker? Siri could certainly use the boost.
• MacBook Air upgrade: The legacy line is certainly due for an update, including a long-awaited Retina display.
• AirPods: Water resistance and improved Siri functionality could be on tap.
• iPad Pro: This one feels like a bit more of a crapshoot, all said, but a new iPhone X-style design is likely coming sooner or later.
• AirPower: A year should be enough time, right?

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What to expect from next week’s big iPhone event

It’s been a slow year for Apple hardware. The company has traditionally done a good job spreading announcements throughout the calendar, but aside from an iPad event in Chicago and a MacBook refresh a few months back, there’s been little news out of the company. Even this summer’s WWDC was utterly devoid of hardware news.

All that’s about to change at the big show being held next week at Steve Jobs Theater on the company’s new space-age Cupertino campus. Rumors are coming fast and furious, and by all accounts, there’s A LOT to expect, from a slew of new phones, to an updated Apple to some additional news on the iPad front.

Here’s a breakdown of some of what we expect from the big show on September 12.

iPhone XS: This is the big one. In more ways than one. Last year’s 10th anniversary iPhone event found the company intent on pushing the state of the art on iPhone (and bezel) technology. This year, we fully anticipate the arrival of the sequel.

The flagship model will arrive in two sizes — 5.8 and 6.5 inches, referred to as the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Plus (or, possibly, max), respectively. One of the smaller (but compelling) rumors of the bunch is the inclusion of a Lightning to USB-C cable in-box.

Yes, for better or worse, Apple is keeping Lighting around, but the new cable will make it easier to hook up to those new MacBooks and also enable fast charging. The phones will all supposedly be available in gold, as well, which appears to have been hinted at with the invite’s art work.

Cheaper iPhone X: Along with the flagships, Apple is said to be bringing a cheaper version of the X-style phone. After all, the first iPhone X was pretty commonly understood to be cost-prohibitive. The easiest way to drop the cost? Swap the OLED display for LCD, naturally. The phone will reportedly get Face ID as it drops the home button. As for the name? iPhone XC has been somewhat credibly floated.

Apple Watch Series 4: It’s the time of the season. The suggestion of a round face appears to be little more than wishful thinking, but the standard squircle shape has been improved a bit with the addition of an edge-to-edge display, marking the first major hardware redesign in the three years the watch has been kicking around. Along with a 15 percent larger display, battery and heart-rate monitoring are said to be improved, as well.

Etc.

Speaking of wishful thinking, here’s an assorted collection of what else could be on hand:

• HomePod Mini: A smaller version of the company’s premium smart speaker? Siri could certainly use the boost.
• MacBook Air upgrade: The legacy line is certainly due for an update, including a long-awaited Retina display.
• AirPods: Water resistance and improved Siri functionality could be on tap.
• iPad Pro: This one feels like a bit more of a crapshoot, all said, but a new iPhone X-style design is likely coming sooner or later.
• AirPower: A year should be enough time, right?

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Apple’s Shazam acquisition cleared by EU regulators

European regulators have given the green light to Apple’s December 2017 acquisition of music and image recognition discovery firm Shazam.

Apple Music is the second largest music streaming service in Europe, after Spotify. While Shazam offers what has been described as “a leading music recognition app” in the region (and globally).

TechCrunch broke the news of the acquisition last year — reporting the price for Apple picking up the veteran UK startup to be in the region of $400 million. Apple confirmed our scoop a few days later.

But two months later European Union competition regulators said they were reviewing the deal, a move triggered by concerns raised by multiple countries in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Then in April the Commission stepped the review up into a full-blown investigation.

Today, after carrying out its in-depth probe, the Commission says it’s satisfied the deal will not adversely affect competition in the EEA — and has given it the go-ahead.

Commenting in a statement, antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, said: “Data is key in the digital economy. We must therefore carefully review transactions which lead to the acquisition of important sets of data, including potentially commercially sensitive ones, to ensure they do not restrict competition. After thoroughly analysing Shazam’s user and music data, we found that their acquisition by Apple would not reduce competition in the digital music streaming market.”

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment.

In reaching this decision, the Commission found that Apple and Shazam mainly offer complementary services that do not compete with each other.

It says its investigation looked at:

• whether Apple would obtain access to commercially sensitive data about customers of its competitors for the provision of music streaming services in the EEA, and whether such data could allow Apple to directly target its competitors’ customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music. As a result, competing music streaming services could have been put at a competitive disadvantage
• considering Shazam’s strong position in the market for music recognition apps, whether Apple Music’s competitors would be harmed if Apple, after the transaction, were to discontinue referrals from the Shazam app to them

The decision to clear the deal was made after what it describes as “a wide range of investigative measures” were undertaken. It also says it took feedback from “key market participants in the digital music industry, including providers of music streaming and music recognition services, as well as other stakeholders”.

It said today that it does not believe the merged entity will be able to shut out competing providers by accessing commercially sensitive data about their customers — viewing Shazam’s data holdings as unable to “materially increase Apple’s ability to target music enthusiasts”.

It also does not believed the merged entity could shut out competing providers by restricting access to the Shazam app — saying the app has “a limited importance as an entry point to the music streaming services of Apple Music’s competitors”.

The Commission has also judged the combined user datasets of Shazam and Apple as not able to confer “a unique advantage to the merged entity in the markets on which it operates”.

“Any concerns in that respect were dismissed because Shazam’s data is not unique and Apple’s competitors would still have the opportunity to access and use similar databases,” it added.

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