Opinion

With Connected Home over IP, Apple hopes to bring order to smart home chaos

Apple's newly announced Connected Home over IP initiative - made with Amazon, Google, the Zigbee Alliance and others in tow - is a grand attempt to unify a really broken environment for smart home appliances. Apple's participation will help HomeKit gain a leg up in the smart home wars going forward, and should also help devices from other makers be more secure.

My favorite cases for the iPhone 11 Pro

iPhone 11 Pro

Apple’s brand-new iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max handsets are beautiful – both to the eyes and to the touch – but all it takes is one good drop to put an end to that seemingly short-lived appreciation. That’s why I always use a case.

Given just how many case options there are on the market today, both from no name manufacturers and from well recognized brands, it seemed like a wonderful opportunity to go over some of my favorite cases that I’ve enjoyed using since splurging on the smaller iPhone 11 Pro this Fall.

My favorite wrist bands for the Apple Watch Series 5

No sooner than Apple’s launch of the Apple Watch Series 5 did I quickly hop online to pre-order my space black titanium Edition model. I’ve since experimented with a plethora of different Apple Watch bands, and with that in mind, I’ve decided on those I like best and use frequently, depending on the occasion.

Since I can’t be the only one with a never-ending hunger for new Apple Watch bands, I’ll be using this piece to delve into my five favorites. I’ll first discuss what it is I enjoy about each one, then talk about the things I don’t like, and lastly, I’ll attempt explain what I think each band is best suited for.

Last chance to downgrade to iOS 12.4 for jailbreak eligibility

It was only within the past couple of weeks that Pwn20wnd and the Electra Team updated the unc0ver and Chimera jailbreak tools with support for iOS 12.4 by way of an updated Sock Puppet exploit, and while it was the first time in a long while that the latest version of iOS could be jailbroken, all fun things must, unfortunately, come to an end…

Apple released iOS 12.4.1 to the general public on Monday with bug fixes and security enhancements, one of which tended to the updated Sock Puppet exploit that Apple initially patched in iOS 12.3 and then inadvertently un-patched again in iOS 12.4.

The best jailbreak tweaks for iOS 12

With the public release of iOS 13 right around the corner, the iOS 12 jailbreak is set to climax very soon as security researchers shift their efforts toward the newer firmware. With that in mind, we thought we’d take this wonderful opportunity to reflect on the past year with a roundup of some of the best jailbreak tweaks ever released for pwned iOS 12 devices.

If you’re jailbroken on iOS 12 with Chimera by the Electra Team or unc0ver by Pwn20wnd, then this roundup is for you. For ease of reading, we’ll sort the following jailbreak tweaks by alphabetical order.

More of my favorite accessories for the 2018 iPad Pro

The 2018 iPad Pro was (and still is) a game-changer for me, as it quickly became a mobile companion to my home computer when I first started using it. While the iPad Pro isn’t a complete laptop replacement by any stretch, it certainly makes it possible for me to leave home without my laptop at times; but like most things, the iPad Pro works best in tandem with great accessories.

Earlier this year, I compiled a roundup of my favorite accessories for the 2018 iPad Pro. But as you might come to expect, I’ve accumulated several more since that time that can seriously augment the iPad Pro user experience. With that in mind, I’m excited to share some more of my must-haves with you in this part-two roundup.

Should I jailbreak with Chimera, Electra, or unc0ver?

In case you’ve been living under a rock, there are now three major full-fledged jailbreak tools floating around in the wild: Chimera, Electra, and unc0ver. So which one should you be using?

Answering this question is challenging, and given the seemingly volatile state of the jailbreak community at the time of this writing, I’ve been hesitant to answer it; but I think it’s finally time, especially since folks now have more choices to pick from than ever before.

PSA: Nagging Pwn20wnd won’t make A12(X) support come any faster to unc0ver

Many enjoy jailbreaking their iPhones and iPads because it gives them more control over the aesthetic and behavior of their device. That said, it comes as no surprise that folks are thrilled to get their hands on a full-fledged jailbreak for iOS 12 on Apple’s latest handsets.

Albeit exciting, we’d like to remind the community that relentlessly begging for support on your device and hounding the experts for ETAs does not make things come any faster; in fact, it may only delay our waiting as the hackers behind our jailbreaks don’t much care for the spam and become frustrated as a result.