Apple and Facebook Are on a Collision Course

We’ve reported a lot on The Mac Observer about the growing tensions between Apple and Facebook. Bloomberg News has a good writeup of how things turned sour between the two tech giants, and why this may be just the beginning.

In March 2018, Facebook Inc. was in the midst of a scandal involving political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and was facing serious questions about its stewardship of its users’ personal data. A commentator on MSNBC asked Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook what he would do if he were in Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s shoes. “I wouldn’t be in this situation,” Cook said…. The feud has escalated rapidly over Apple’s forthcoming update to the software that powers its iPhones, which includes a requirement that developers get explicit permission to collect certain data and track users’ activity across apps and websites. Such a move could undermine the efficacy of Facebook’s targeted advertisements. In December, Facebook took out full-page ads in a trio of U.S. newspapers saying it was “standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere” by opposing the changes, which it describes as an abuse of market power.

Affinity Apps Updated With RAW Engine, Contour Tool, More

Serif has updated its line of Affinity apps to version 1.9. on Thursday. New features include a contour tool, a RAW engine, GPU acceleration, and plenty of other goodies.

A key feature which sets Affinity Photo apart from the competition is its non-destructive workflow, and that has been taken to another level again with the ability to add liquify adjustments as live, maskable layers. On top of that there are substantial improvements to its RAW engine, new linked layer functionality, path text, as well as a whole new mode to control the stacking of astrography images for stunning results.

Additionally, all Affinity apps are currently available with 50% discount as an initiative to support the creative community during COVID-19, from affinity.serif.com.

iPhone 13 Likely to Have Upgraded Ultra Wide Camera

The verification process for Chinese supplier Sunny Optical’s iPad 5P lens has reportedly gone smoothly, significantly increasing the probability of the ‌iPhone 13‌ shipping with its 7P Wide Angle lens. This would improve the Ultra Wide camera’s low light capabilities. That’s according to the latest TFI Securities note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, seen by MacRumors. (The information does though conflict with a report from Barclays analysts.)

Kuo expects Sunny to begin mass shipments of its ‌iPad‌ 5P lens in the middle of the first quarter of 2021, supplying Apple with around 15% of those parts due to limited initial production capacity. It is not specified in the report which ‌iPad‌ model the 5P lens is destined for, but shipment proportion for both 5P and 7P lenses is expected to further increase to between 15-20% and 25-30% in 2022. According to Kuo, Sunny Optical’s greater competition will also put pressure on Largan, which is currently fueling a price war due to its significant technological advantages over other iPhone lens suppliers.

UVCcleans UVC Mask Box: $32.99

We have a deal on the UVCcleans, a device that uses 185nm UVC light to clean your face masks. It deactivates the DNA of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, destroying their ability to multiply and cause diseases. It’s $32.99 through our deal.