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Apple is having a bad week. Just days after Face ID was hacked and the company’s “user-hostile” iPhone battery practices were exposed, an extraordinary story of Apple neglect has resulted in a warning every iPhone and iPad user needs to know about. Picked up by AppleInsider, security firm Check Point has revealed it has found a way to hack every iPhone and iPad running iOS 8 right up to betas of iOS 13. This spread covers eight years of devices (iOS 8 supports the 2011 iPhone 4S) and, with Tim Cook stating there are 1.4BN active iOS devices around the...

Apple has activated a “dormant software lock” that effectively kneecaps third-party replacement batteries on some newer models of iPhone Even using another Apple battery doesn’t work, according to iFixit, as a replacement battery can apparently only be authenticated using the company’s internal tools: iFixit compared the practice to having a “Check Oil” light in a vehicle that can only be deactivated at a Ford dealership.

Recently, reports came out stating that Apple throttles CPU performance on older iPhone models with older lithium-ion batteries to prevent sudden shutdowns due to excessive current draw. Several class action lawsuits have already been filed as a result of this revelation. While at first it may appear that Apple has a significant liability in this case, I propose that it has several defenses and will likely take these cases to verdict. Further, the company can make software changes that will eliminate any potential damages that could be argued in lawsuits against it. This revelation is unlikely to have any...

Apple has admitted that some iPhone 6S devices can suddenly shut down for no apparent reason. The tech giant is offering owners of the problematic smartphones free replacement batteries. "A very small number" of iPhone 6S devices manufactured between September and October 2015 are affected, Apple (AAPL, Tech30) said in a statement Monday. It didn't provide details on the battery fault that is causing the phones to unexpectedly go dark.

How would an iPhone with half the battery of competing smartphones ever have won the test, and why didn’t Which test a similar device? Which? is getting lots of attention today on strength of its report that claims smaller batteries don’t last as long as larger batteries. That’s the only logical discovery the organization made in a flawed-by-design smartphone battery life test that’s being widely reported. What the report’s headline doesn’t make clear is that the iPhone 7 in the test has a 4.7-inch display, while all three of the other smartphone models tested are larger (5.1-inches, or more), and...