Here is why Apple killed the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7

Apple explains in detail why it killed the 3.5mm headphone jack

Apple unveiled its latest smartphones – the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus – at a grand event in San Francisco on Wednesday (September 7). Both new iPhones go on pre-order in the U.S. on September 9 and will be going on sale in the country on September 16.

For some time now, the world’s biggest tech company had been widely expected to kill off the headphone jack at the launch of the iPhone 7 in San Francisco. So, it was no surprise when the iPhone 7 was revealed without 3.5mm headphone jack, and has been replaced by headsets that plug into the device’s Lightning adapter, which is also used for charging. The Lightning adapter will be provided for free inside of every iPhone 7 box to help smooth over the transition away from the 3.5mm jack.

However, Apple’s decision to remove the headphone jack that has been around and in-use for decades as part of an underlying push towards wireless, is likely be a topic of heated debate for months to come.

Yesterday, Phil Schiller said that Apple was deserting the headphone jack because it was the only company “courageous” enough to make such a drastic and bold decision. In short, Schiller’s hyperbolic joke became a point of laughter across the web.

Further, defending the company’s decision for removing the headphone jack, Apple’s SVP of hardware engineering Dan Riccio told BuzzFeed News, “We’ve got this 50-year-old connector — just a hole filled with air — and it’s just sitting there taking up space, really valuable space.” He adds, “It was holding us back from a number of things we wanted to put into the iPhone. It was fighting for space with camera technologies and processors and battery life. And frankly, when there’s a better, modern solution available, it’s crazy to keep it around.”

Removal of the headphone jack has allowed Apple to increase the size of the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 battery by 14%, finally offering users with an extra two hours of battery life. Further, removing the 3.5mm jack has also helped Apple deliver a more water-resistant iPhone, Riccio explained.

Apple executive, Greg Joswiak said, “The audio connector is more than 100 years old. It had its last big innovation about 50 years ago. You know what that was? They made it smaller. It hasn’t been touched since then. It’s a dinosaur. It’s time to move on,” justifying that there is no convincing reason to keep the 3.5mm headphone jack active.

In the meanwhile, another Apple executive Phil Schiller said that the shift to wireless technology is “inevitable.”

“You’ve got to do it at some point,” Schiller added. “Sooner or later the headphone jack is going away. There are just too many reasons aligned against it sticking around any longer. There’s a little bit of pain in every transition, but we can’t let that stop us from making it. If we did, we’d never make any progress at all.”

Whether or not Apple has made a sensible decision to do away with the 3.5mm jack on the iPhone only time will tell.

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iPhone 7 is waterproof, but Apple will not cover it under water damage warranty!!!

iPhone 7 And iPhone 7 Plus Are Ip67 Water Resistant, But Water Damage Isn’t Covered Under Warranty

Apple launched their first official water resistant smartphones – the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus – yesterday at an event in San Fransisco. These iPhones have been advertised as “water and dust resistant” with an official IP67 rating under International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standards. Apart from water, Apple designed the devices to resist against dust completely.

The IP67 rating is a combination of both water and dust resistance index. IP6x is the highest dust resistance rating and new iPhone models are completely protected against dust. Similarly, IPx7 means that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus can withstand immersion in water to one meter (3.3 feet) for 30 minutes, tested in laboratory conditions. It is the second highest rating, below IP8, which indicates an ability to withstand long periods of immersion under pressure. Samsung’s devices are rated at IP68, suggesting better overall water resistance.

“iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are splash, water, and dust resistant and were tested under controlled laboratory conditions with a rating of IP67 under IEC standard 60529. Splash, water, and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and resistance might decrease as a result of normal wear. Do not attempt to charge a wet iPhone; refer to the user guide for cleaning and drying instructions. Liquid damage not covered under warranty.”

The above message seems to indicate that the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus should be able to handle accidental drops in the shower, bathtub, pool, or light splashing. Also, it shouldn’t be used in high-pressure water situations, such as in direct shower water or a pressure washer, and it should not be left under water for a long period of time.

Apple also warns against trying to charge a wet iPhone, which could result in damage to the device, and it specifies that any liquid damage to the device is not covered under warranty. So, as a cautionary measure, it is best to avoid contact of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus with water. In short, try and keep your smartphone safe and dry wherever possible.

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Forensic Firm that Unlocked Terrorist's iPhone 5C is Close to Crack iPhone 6

The FBI didn't disclose the identity of the third-party company that helped them access the San Bernardino iPhone, but it has been widely believed that the Israeli mobile forensic firm Cellebrite was hired by the FBI to put an end to the Apple vs. FBI case.

For those unfamiliar in the Apple vs. FBI case: Apple was engaged in a legal battle with the Department of Justice over a court order that was forcing the company to write software, which could disable passcode protection on terrorist's iPhone, helping them access data on it.

However, Apple refused to comply with the court order, so the FBI hired an unknown third-party firm, most likely Cellebrite, who managed to successfully hack the locked iPhone 5C used by the terrorist in the San Bernardino shooting incident last year.

he new method helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to hack iPhone 5C, but that wasn't the FBI's victory as the method didn't work on iPhone 5S and later iPhone models.

Cellebrite is on its Way to Hack the Locked iPhone 6

Now, Cellebrite is reportedly "optimistic" about Hacking the more Secure iPhone 6.

CNN reports that an Italian architect, named Leonardo Fabbretti, met with Cellebrite last week whether the company could help him gain access to a locked iPhone 6 that belonged to his dead son.

Fabbretti's son, Dama Fabbretti, was passed away from bone cancer last September at the age of 13. However, before his death, the son added his father's thumbprint to allow him to access the phone.

Fabbretti was trying to access the messages, notes, and photos of his dead son on the iPhone 6, but unfortunately, the phone had a restart. It now required the passcode for unlocking, and his father doesn't know the code.

Fabbretti initially contacted Apple on March 21, and the company reportedly tried to help the grieving father, but they found that the iPhone was not backed up to the cloud. Expressing sympathy, the company told him that there was nothing they could do.

Hacking iPhone 6 for Free

After watching Fabbretti's story in the news, Cellebrite offered to help the man by hacking the iPhone 6 for free. Fabbretti met with the company employees last week at its office in northern Italy and said:

"The meeting went well. They were able to download the directories with the iPhone's content, but there is still work to be done in order to access the files."

According to the company, there are chances of accessing the files on locked iPhone 6 that contain photos and conversations of the son with the dad, along with a handful of videos taken just 3 days before his son died.

Both Cellebrite, as well as Apple, have yet to comment on the case.

If the Cellebrite gets the success in creating a new method to unlock iPhone 6, undoubtedly the company will sell its tool to the FBI agents to solve their several pending cases, in the same way, it helped the agency accessing the terrorist's locked iPhone 5C.

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Hackers can spy on your calls and track location, using just your phone number

 IN BRIEF

The famous ‘60 Minutes’ television show shocked some viewers Sunday evening when ateam of German hackers demonstrated how they spied on an iPhone used by U.S. Congressman, then recorded his phone calls and tracked his movement through LosAngeles.

Hackers leverage a security flaw in SS7 (Signalling System Seven) protocol that allowshackers to track phone locations, listen in on calls and text messages.

The global telecom network SS7 is still vulnerable to several security flaws that could let hackers andspy agencies listen to personal phone calls and intercept SMSes on a potentially massive scale, despite the most advanced encryption used by cellular networks.

All one need is the target's phone number to track him/her anywhere on the planet and eveneavesdrop on the conversations.

SS7 or Signalling System Number 7 is a telephony signaling protocol used by more than 800telecommunication operators around the world to exchange information with one another, cross-carrier billing, enabling roaming, and other features.

Hackers Spied on US Congressman's Smartphone

With US Congressman Ted Lieu's permission for a piece broadcast Sunday night by 60 Minutes, Karsten Nohl of German Security Research Labs was able to intercept his iPhone, record phone call made from his phone to a reporter, and track his precise location in real-time.

During the phone call about the cell phone network hacking, Lieu said: "First, it's really creepy, and second, it makes me angry."

"Last year, the President of the United States called me on my phone, and we discussed some issues," he added. "So if hackers were listening in, they'd know that phone conversation, and that is immensely troubling."

What's more awful is that the designing flaws in SS7 have been in circulation since 2014, when the same German researchers' team alerted the world to it. Some flaws were patched, but few apparently remain or intentionally left, as some observers argue, for governments to snoop on its targets.

The major problem with SS7 is that if any one of the telecom operators is hacked or employs a rogue admin, a large scale of information, including voice calls, text messages, billing information, relaying metadata and subscriber data, is wide open to interception.

The weakness affects all phones, whether it's iOS, Android, or whatever, and is a major security issue. Although the network operators are unwilling or unable to patch the hole, there is little the smartphone users can do.

How Can You Avoid this Hack?

The best mitigation is to use communication apps – that offers "end-to-end encryption" to encrypt your data before it leaves your smartphone – over your phone's standard calling feature.

Lieu, who sits on House subcommittees for information technology and national security, also argues for Strong Encryption that, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), make itharder to solve crimes.

Lieu strongly criticized the United States agencies, if any, that may have ignored such serious vulnerabilities that affect Billions of cellular customers.

"The people who knew about this flaw [or flaws] should be fired," Lieu said on the show. "You can't have 300-some Million Americans—and really, right, the global citizenry — be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a known flaw, simply because some intelligence agencies might get some data."

Few of such apps that are popular and offers end-to-end encryption are Signal, WhatsApp, and Apple's iMessage service that keep users communications safe from prying eyes and ears.

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Israeli Forensic Firm 'Cellebrite' is Helping FBI to Unlock Terrorist's iPhone

Meet the security company that is helping Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in unlocking San Bernardino shooters’ iPhone:

The Israeli mobile forensics firm Cellebrite.

Yes, Cellebrite – the provider of mobile forensic software from Israel – is helping the FBI in its attempt to unlock iPhone 5C that belonged to San Bernardino shooter, Syed Rizwan Farook, the Israeli YNetNews reported on Wednesday.

The company's website claims that its service allows investigators to unlock Apple devices running iOS 8.x "in a forensically sound manner and without any hardware intervention or risk of device wipe."

If Cellebrite succeeds in unlocking Farook’s iPhone, the FBI will no longer need Apple to create a backdoored version of its iOS operating system that could let it access data on Farook's locked iPhone 5C.

Apple is engaged in a legal encryption battle with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) over a court order that forces the company to write new software, which could disable passcode protection on Farook's iPhone 5C.

However, Apple is evident on its part, saying that the FBI wants the company to create effectively the "software equivalent of cancer" that would likely open up all iPhones to malicious hackers.

FBI Committed $15,278 "action obligation" with Cellebrite

The revelation comes just two days after the DoJ suspended the proceedings at least until next month. The FBI told a federal judge Monday that it need some time to test a possible method for unlocking the shooter's iPhone for which they have hired an "outside party".

According to public records, the same day the Feds committed to a $15,278 "action obligation" – the lowest amount the government has agreed to pay – with Cellebrite.

Many details of the contract are not yet available, and neither the FBI nor Cellebrite has officially commented on their contract publicly.

Watch Video: Here’s What Cellebrite Can Do

Founded in 1999, Cellebrite provides digital forensics tools and software for mobile phones. One of its main products is the Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) that claims to help investigators extract all data and passwords from mobile phones.

For the company's hand on iOS devices, you can watch the 2015 YouTube video (above), demonstrating one of Cellebrite's products that unlocked the device in several hours.

Now the question is:

If the FBI found its iPhone backdoor that has the potential to affect hundreds of millions of Apple users…

Source : Click here

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