Police in Bentonville, Arkansas, obtained a search warrant for the audio captured by an Amazon Echo as part of a homicide investigation, raising concerns over just how much smarthome devices know about us. In the case of the Echo, Amazon says little is being recorded and stored, but that’s not much of a consolation for IoT device owners who’re worried their tech might be used against them by the government.
Bryan Gets Paranoid About the IoT - ACM 391
Bryan is totally paranoid about the Internet of Things, and he isn’t at all happy about the idea of having an Amazon Echo or Google Home listening in on everything in his house. Jeff laughs at him. Once the guffaws die down, they talk about how and why Apple is getting crushed by these good enough devices.
AirPod Alerts for Your Local Apple Store
When AirPods went on sale for preorder on December 13, Apple quickly became backordered. Customers found that delivery estimate for their order were up to 4-6 weeks out. Apple Stores have been receiving shipments of AirPods every day or so. Other stores like BestBuy and Target are also getting regular shipments. If you haven’t ordered AirPods yet, and don’t want to have to check with each store, you can use this handy website to get AirPod Alerts. You enter your email address and the physical address of your local Apple Store. Then, you’ll be notified whenever your store gets a new shipment of AirPods.
Amazon Echo, Police, and Privacy - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-28
With police getting search warrants for Amazon Echo recordings questions about personal privacy are on the rise. Dave Hamilton and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to look at what Amazon’s Echo hears and records, what our other smarthome devices may be logging, and what that means for our privacy and police investigations.
Sorry, New Video Isn't Proof of a White iPhone 7
A video showing the rumored Jet White iPhone 7 is making the rounds on the internet. iPhone fans hoping for an all white model shouldn’t, however, get their hopes up because these are most likely after market replacement parts.
NomadPlus Smartphone Wall Charger and Battery Pack: $18.99
We have a deal for you today on the NomadPlus Smartphone Wall Charger and Battery Pack. It’s designed to be used with your Apple wall charger, turning it into both a wall charger and an 1,800mAh portable battery. You can get it through us for $18.99.
How to Transfer Files Between Mac and iPhone With iTunes
There are multiple ways to share files between Apple devices. You can use AirDrop, iMessage or even email. But an oft-overlooked feature is iTunes File Transfer. Andrew Orr explains how to use this feature to transfer files between your iPhone and Mac.
Star Wars Icon Carrie Fisher Passes Away at Age 60
The Star Wars universe got a little smaller on Tuesday when Carrie Fisher, who portrayed Princess Leia in four Star Wars films, passed away following a heart attack late last week.
Apple May Add 5-inch Screen to the 2017 iPhone Lineup
Apple is adding a 5-inch model to its iPhone lineup in 2017, or so the latest supply chain report claims. Assuming the sources are right, that would give Apple four different smartphone screen sizes starting at 4-inches for the iPhone SE, and topping out at 5.5-inches for the iPhone 7 Plus.
![Sylvania Announces Smartbulbs for Apple HomeKit, No Hub Required [Update]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sylvania-smart-multicolor-a19-wide.jpg)
Sylvania Announces Smartbulbs for Apple HomeKit, No Hub Required [Update]
Sylvania announced Tuesday it was launching an LED smartbulb in its LEDVANCE product line with support for Apple’s HomeKit (yay!). Better yet, the Smart Multicolor A19 doesn’t require a hub—just plug it in, find it with Apple’s Home app, and you’re good to go. Sylvania said the device will be sold through Amazon and ship in “early 2017.” This will be a great addition to the HomeKit ecosystem. To that end, I’ve been seeing more HomeKit stuff in my inbox during the last few weeks for CES 2017. It’s almost as if Apple’s smarthome platform is finally coming alive. Let’s hope, at any rate. I’ve left messages with Sylvania reps asking about pricing, which wasn’t announced. Sylvania also didn’t release images of the new bulb—the image below is of current products in the company’s smartbulb line. [Update: Sylvania’s PR folks got back to me—pricing is definitely unannounced. I also added a rendered image of the A19. We’ll be visiting with the company next week at CES. – Bryan]