Polestar, ChargePoint introduce seamless charging in new partnership

A new alliance between Swedish electric performance automaker Polestar and EV infrastructure startup ChargePoint takes aim at the charging experience with the debut of an in-car app that will let customers seamlessly charge their Polestar 2 model vehicles.

Seamless charging—being able to pull up to a charging station, plug in and let the vehicle handle billing and payment—has been dominated by Tesla through its branded Supercharger network. Most other EV drivers have to pay for charging using an RFID card or smartphone, and the convenience level is on-par with a traditional gas station. The partnership eliminates the need for these extra items at ChargePoint’s more than 130,000 stations. The app will embed directly into Polestar 2’s in-car “infotainment system,” which runs on Google’s Android Automotive OS.

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There have been some inroads into seamless charging elsewhere, most notably by Electrify America, the entity established by Volkswagen as part of its settlement with U.S. regulators over its diesel-emissions scandal. It introduced an in-car payment technology dubbed Plug&Charge last November that will allow 2021 models of the Porsche Taycan, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Lucid Air to seamlessly charge at its stations.

The partnership also takes aim at the buying experience, another area that Tesla’s cornered with its branded Wall Connector home charger. Polestar 2 drivers will now be able to order the $699 ChargePoint Home Flex home charger alongside the purchase of a Polestar 2 and arrange for home installation prior to vehicle delivery.

It’s a blueprint for future collaboration between the two companies, ChargePoint senior VP Bill Loewenthal said in a statement. The partnerships may be the start of many more alliances between automakers and EV infrastructure companies who see user experience as a key part of their value proposition.

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Apple releases results from its Women’s Health Study

Last week, Apple announced early results from its ongoing hearing health study. Conducted alongside the University of Michigan School of Public Health, the figures were released to mark World Hearing Day. Now, a day after International Women’s Day, it’s releasing results tied to its Women’s Health Study.

As with the hearing study, the figures are collected from those who choose to participate via the Research app the company launched back in 2019. It’s all a part of Apple’s attempts to take a more serious approach to user health, built, in part, on data collected through the Apple Watch and iPhone.

Early results note that symptoms like nausea and sleep changes are common, along with more frequently discussed things like bloating and cramps. The study also notes that many of the tracked symptoms are common and consistent across age, race and location — even though they may not be widely discussed. The company says the efforts are, in part, to de-stigmatize discussions around these sorts of symptoms.

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Data was collected from some 10,000 participants around the U.S. with a range of different ages and ethnic backgrounds. While much of the data collection is still in early stages, Apple and research partner Harvard are looking to study the connection between menstrual cycles and a variety of different health conditions, including infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome and perimenopause.

“What researchers and physicians in the scientific community want and need to know is more about the menstrual cycle, its relation to long-term health, as well as more about what environmental factors might affect cycle length and characteristics,” Harvard’s Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah said in a statement. “With this study, we are creating a larger foundational data set on this topic, which can eventually lead to further discovery and innovation in women’s health research and care.”

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Apple releases results from hearing health study

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Apple releases important iPhone, iPad, Mac and Watch security patches

Apple has released a set of security updates for iPhones, iPads, Macs and Watches. There are no new features — but these are updates you will still want to install.

As part of these security fixes, iPhones and iPads will update to iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1, watchOS users will update to 7.3.2 and macOS Big Sur will update to 11.2.3. Those on older versions of macOS can install the latest version of Safari, bumping the version to 14.0.3.

Apple says these are “important” security updates and are “recommended for all users.”

These patches fix the same vulnerability — a memory corruption bug in WebKit, the engine that powers Apple’s Safari browser. The bug can be triggered by visiting a malicious web page containing code that can exploit the vulnerability. Once exploited, an attacker can run malicious code on the affected Apple device.

The bugs were reported by Google and Microsoft, but are not believed to be actively exploited by malicious hackers unlike recent security flaws.

Last month, Apple pushed out iOS 14.4 to fix three WebKit vulnerabilities that were being “actively exploited.” The vulnerabilities were chained together to break into the underlying iPhone software.

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Decrypted: A hacker attempted to poison Florida town’s water supply

Apple says iOS 14.4 fixes three security bugs ‘actively exploited’ by hackers

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Apple releases important iPhone, iPad, Mac and Watch security patches

Apple has released a set of security updates for iPhones, iPads, Macs and Watches. There are no new features — but these are updates you will still want to install.

As part of these security fixes, iPhones and iPads will update to iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1, watchOS users will update to 7.3.2 and macOS Big Sur will update to 11.2.3. Those on older versions of macOS can install the latest version of Safari, bumping the version to 14.0.3.

Apple says these are “important” security updates and are “recommended for all users.”

These patches fix the same vulnerability — a memory corruption bug in WebKit, the engine that powers Apple’s Safari browser. The bug can be triggered by visiting a malicious web page containing code that can exploit the vulnerability. Once exploited, an attacker can run malicious code on the affected Apple device.

The bugs were reported by Google and Microsoft, but are not believed to be actively exploited by malicious hackers unlike recent security flaws.

Last month, Apple pushed out iOS 14.4 to fix three WebKit vulnerabilities that were being “actively exploited.” The vulnerabilities were chained together to break into the underlying iPhone software.

If you haven’t already, update today.

Decrypted: A hacker attempted to poison Florida town’s water supply

Apple says iOS 14.4 fixes three security bugs ‘actively exploited’ by hackers

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Apple teams with Common Sense Media to curate podcasts for kids

Apple announced this morning it’s teaming up with Common Sense Media to curate a selection of kid-friendly podcasts in the U.S. in light of what appears to be growing interest in spoken word entertainment among families. That interest, in part, may have been prompted by the pandemic and parents’ desire to reduce kids’ screen time for entertainment.

Via a new website at Apple.co/showsforkids (which launches Apple Podcasts), Apple has collaborated with Common Sense Media to group podcasts by age group as well as by theme. At launch, the collection features creators like Tinkercast, American Public Media, Gen-Z Media, Pinna, Tumble, Highlights, WNYC Studios, Rebel Girls, and Nickelodeon, among others.

In addition to groups by age, there are also four thematic collections available: Common Sense Media Picks, which are all-time family favorites; One More!, which features mysterious tales and action-packed dramas; Kids Know Best, which feature shows picked by kids themselves; and Story Time, which are story-driven shows.

Image Credits: screenshot of Apple Podcasts

The site will be updated monthly to feature new and popular shows and to introduce timely collections around historical and cultural moments, like Women’s History Month or Back to School ideas, Apple says.

The company also notes the selection of shows is curated using the same sort of research-backed approach that Common Sense Media applies to other entertainment, like TV shows, movies, books, apps and games.

The launch follows Apple’s recent debut of an “Apple for Kids” website that helps parents set up devices for kids and learn about Family Sharing options, highlighting an increased interest in catering to the needs of families.

But unlike with kids’ use of Apple devices, the current market for kids’ podcasts is small — none of Apple’s top 100 podcasts are directed towards kids, for example.

However, industry experts believe the kids market may grow alongside the overall adult podcast market. Plus, as Morning Consult recently reported, the COVID-19 pandemic has helped drive new interest in the audio format as parents struggled to keep kids entertained at home.

Case in point: one leading kids’ podcast, “Wow in the World” by NPR, saw 94% increase in downloads in the 13 weeks post-COVID compared with pre-COVID, the report said.

In another recent analysis, NPR’s 2020 Spoken Word Audio Report found that 15% of U.S. adults were now listening to children’s spoken word audio — an indication that many parents were already co-listening with kids. In addition, research from Kids Listen, a nonprofit advocacy group for kids’ podcast, found that 89% of kids who listen to podcast are ages 8 or under, Morning Consult pointed out.

Apple, it’s worth noting, has been rumored to be considering a new podcast subscription service to challenge Spotify, The Information reported year earlier this . In the weeks since that report, Apple has seemingly begun to pay more attention to the format, having launched a new editorial franchise, Apple Podcasts Spotlight, to highlight interesting creators.

Adding kids’ programing could play into Apple’s future ambitions, perhaps, as 64% of parents who listen to podcasts said they’re likely to purchase a paid subscription to podcasts for their kids.

The new collection is live in the U.S. in Apple Podcasts.

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The iMac Pro is being discontinued

Chalk this up to inevitability. The iMac Pro is soon to be no more. First noted by 9to5Mac, TechCrunch has since confirmed with Apple that the company will stop selling the all-in-one once the current stock is depleted.

One configuration of the desktop is still available through Apple’s site, listed as “While Supplies Last” and priced at $5,000. Some other versions can also still be found from third-party retailers, as well, if you’re so inclined.

The space gray version of the popular system was initially introduced in 2017, ahead of the company’s long-awaited revamp of the Mac Pro. Matthew called it a “love letter to developers” at the time, though that particular letter seems to have run its course.

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Since then, Apple has revamped the standard iMac, focusing the 27-inch model at those same users. The company notes that the model is currently the most popular iMac among professional users. The system has essentially made the Pro mostly redundant, prefiguring its sunsetting. Of course, there’s also the new Mac Pro at the high end of Apple’s offerings.

And let us not forget that the Apple silicon-powered iMacs should be on the way, as well. Thus far the company has revamped the MacBook, MacBook Air and Mac Mini with its proprietary chips. New versions of the 21.5-inch and 27-inch desktop are rumored for arrival later this year, sporting a long-awaited redesign to boot.

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Apple clarifies you can’t actually set a ‘default’ music service in iOS 14.5

Apple has clarified that the iOS 14.5 beta is not actually allowing users to select a new default music service, as has been reported. Following the beta’s release back in February, a number of beta testers noticed that Siri would now ask what music service they would like to use when they asked Siri to play music. But Apple doesn’t consider this feature the equivalent to “setting a default” — an option it more recently began to allow for email and browser apps.

Instead, the feature is Siri intelligence-based, meaning it can improve and even change over time as Siri learns to better understand your listening habits.

For example, if you tell Siri to play a song, album or artist, it may ask you which service you want to use to listen to this sort of content. However, your response to Siri is not making that particular service your “default,” Apple says. In fact, Siri may ask you again at some point — a request that could confuse users if they thought their preferences had already been set.

Image Credits: iOS 14.5 screenshot

Apple also points out there’s no specific setting in iOS where users can configure a “default” music service, the way there is with email and browser apps. While many earlier reports did note this difference, they still referred to the feature as “setting a default,” which is technically incorrect. 

More broadly, the feature is an attempt to help Siri to learn the listening apps you want to use for different types of audio content — not just music. Perhaps you want to use Spotify to listen to music, but prefer to keep up with your podcasts in Apple Podcasts or some other third-party podcasts app. And you may want to listen to audiobooks in yet another app.

When Siri asks you the which service you want to use for these sorts of audio requests, it will present a list of the audio apps you have installed for you to choose from.

Image Credits: iOS 14.5 screenshot

In addition to Siri’s understanding of your habits — which are based on your responses and choices — app developers can optionally use APIs to provide Siri with access to more intelligence about what people listen to in their app and why. This could allow Siri to fulfill users’ requests with more accuracy. And all this processing takes place on the device.

The audio choice feature, of course, doesn’t prevent users from requesting a particular service by name, even if it’s not their usual preference.

For instance, you can still say something like “play smooth jazz radio on Pandora” to launch that app instead. However, if you continued to request Pandora by name for music requests — even though you had initially specified Apple Music or Spotify or some other service when Siri had first prompted you — then the next time you asked Siri to play music without specifically a service, the assistant may ask you again to choose a service.

Image Credits: iOS 14.5 screenshot

Although this may seem like a minor clarification, it has a greater importance given the increased regulatory scrutiny Apple is under these days over how its App Store and app ecosystem work. Spotify, in particular, has alleged that Apple is behaving in anti-competitive ways — for instance by requiring a commission on Spotify’s in-app purchases even though Apple runs a rival music service that Spotify claims has first-party advantages.

The audio choice feature had first appeared in iOS 14.5 beta 1, but had been pulled in beta 2. It has since returned with the release of beta 3, which again drew attention and headlines — as well as Apple’s response.

Although it’s not technically allowing you to set a “default,” the Siri-powered feature could eventually feel like one for users with consistent listening behavior. The iPhone will simply become smarter about how to play what you want to hear, without necessarily forcing you to use Apple’s own apps if you don’t want to.

 

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