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Good morning, Tech Squad! If you’ve ever felt like your phone was listening in on all your conversations, I’ve found the answer. We also get our first hands-on with Apple Intelligence, while the company announces some truly impressive numbers.
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Your Phone Isn’t Spying On You, But It’s Predicting Your Every Move
“Hey Siri, stop spying on me.”
Think your iPhone is eavesdropping to serve you ads? Think again—it’s actually worse. After casually discussing birthday gift ideas, you might find an ad for the new blue couch you mentioned earlier. Spooky, right? Turns out, it’s not high-tech eavesdropping but something much more insidious.
Your Phone is Listening… But Not Like That
Phones constantly listen for “wake words” like “Siri” or “Alexa,” but they aren’t transmitting your chats to advertisers. That’s too resource-heavy and legally dubious. Instead, advertisers use a method called fingerprinting, gathering data points like:
• Location
• Search history
• Browsing habits
• Purchase history
These data points paint a detailed picture of your interests, making ads eerily accurate without spying on your conversations.
The True Spies: Your Data Points
Your phone collects a treasure trove of data that’s far more valuable than your voice. This data allows advertisers to track you across sites and apps, predicting your needs based on your behavior and interactions with others.
The Creepy Connections
Ever wonder why you see ads for things you talked about with friends? Advertisers link your profile with those around you, like your spouse. If they search for drills, you might see drill ads too. It’s like social networking for advertisers, minus the fun.
The Power of Predictive Advertising
Computers analyze vast amounts of data, making connections we can’t see. This can make targeted ads feel supernatural. Even more unnerving, future AI advancements promise even more personalized and invasive advertising.
Fighting Back
To keep your data private, use tools like VPNs to encrypt your traffic, and take advantage of privacy features like Apple’s App Tracking Transparency and similar tools from DuckDuckGo. These can help shield your data from prying eyes, making your digital life a bit more secure.
Talking Privacy with Apple - Are Your Secrets Safe?
Apple Drops iOS 18.1 Developer Beta with ‘Apple Intelligence’ Features
Apple has just released the developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, giving users access to the company’s first set of AI features.
What’s New with Apple Intelligence?
Siri Gets Smarter
Siri now sports an updated design and can maintain context across multiple requests. Need to ask a follow-up question? Siri’s got you covered.
Smart Mail and Photos
• Mail: Features like smart reply, email summaries, and time-sensitive message prioritization.
• Photos: Natural language search, allowing you to find specific moments by description alone.
Writing Tools
New tools for proofreading, rewriting, and summarizing text, making it easier to polish your content across Mail, Messages, and more.
Personal Context? Not Yet
Although more Apple Intelligence features, including a major Siri overhaul, are expected to roll out by 2025, the current beta focuses on refining what’s already available.
Installation Requirements
To install these updates, you’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max, or any Mac or iPad with an M1 chip or later.
Apple Intelligence is still in the early stages, but as it evolves, it promises to bring powerful AI features while maintaining Apple’s commitment to privacy and security.
Apple Intelligence Features You Need to Try
Apple Smashes Records in Q3 2024 Earnings
Apple has just unveiled its earnings for the fiscal third quarter of 2024, showcasing an impressive performance. The tech giant reported $85.78 billion in revenue for the period of April to June, marking a new June quarter revenue record. Net profit soared to $21.45 billion, with earnings-per-share (EPS) reaching $1.40, both record highs for the company.
The Numbers Game
Analysts had predicted modest growth, but Apple exceeded expectations:
• Total Revenue: $85.78 billion (up 4.87% year-over-year)
• Net Income: $21.45 billion (up 7.89% year-over-year)
• Earnings-per-share: $1.40
Product Category Breakdown:
• iPhone: $39.30 billion (down 0.94%)
• Mac: $7.01 billion (up 2.46%)
• iPad: $7.16 billion (up 23.63%)
• Wearables, Home, and Accessories: $8.10 billion (down 2.26%)
• Services: $24.21 billion (up 14.14%)
Despite the overall positive performance, Apple faced a setback in China, with net sales dropping 6.54% from $15.76 billion to $14.73 billion.
Quick Bits
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