John McCall:
SE-0446 added basic language support in Swift for non-escapable types, whose values are restricted in scope. However, it intentionally left out the ability for functions and properties to return values of these types, pending a future proposal to add lifetime dependencies. The design and implementation of that proposal is still in progress. In the meantime, SE-0456 added multiple properties to the standard library which return Span, a non-escapable type. These properties have been defined using a feature, @lifetime, that is not yet officially in the language.
[…]
However, we’re conscious that the development of that feature may take a few releases, and we want developers to be able to take advantage of non-escapable types like Span in their own code and APIs in the meantime.
[…]
The Language Steering Group is therefore considering introducing @lifetime as a supported experimental feature in Swift 6.2.
Previously:
Language Design Memory Management Programming Swift Programming Language
Benjamin Mayo (Hacker News):
The EU has followed up on its Digital Markets Act specification procedures for Apple regarding the iPhone’s interoperability with third-party connected devices like smartwatches and headphones, as announced last fall.
Today’s announcement details exactly what third-party integrations the EU commission expects Apple to implement. This includes giving third-party devices access to iOS notifications, as well as way for companies to make like-for-like competitors to AirDrop file sharing, AirPlay streaming, and much more.
The list of features that the EU commission has ordered Apple to implement is vast, as well as signalling that any future Apple features with first-party hardware integrations must also be made available to third-party companies.
[…]
Headphone makers will be given access to system features that support AirPods, like proximity auto-pairing and automatic audio switching.
Tim Hardwick:
“Today’s decisions wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don’t have to play by the same rules,” said Apple in a statement given to MacRumors. “It’s bad for our products and for our European users. We will continue to work with the European Commission to help them understand our concerns on behalf of our users.”
Amy Worrall:
“Europe forces Apple to compete by actually innovating, rather than holding back competitors through their monopoly” doesn’t make as good a sound bite, I guess.
Previously:
Update (2025-03-24): See also: Hacker News.
Adam Overholtzer:
Why should Apple, a platform maker, have to do all the work of making a platform?
John Gruber:
My interpretation of the adopted decision is that the EU is requiring Apple to treat iOS like a PC operating system, like MacOS or Windows, where users can install third-party software that runs, unfettered, in the background.
Nick Heer:
There is a free market argument that can be made about how Apple gets to design its own ecosystem and, if it is so restrictive, people will be more hesitant to buy an iPhone since they can get more choices with an Android phone. I get that. But I think it is unfortunate so much of our life coalesces around devices which are so restrictive compared to those which came before.
[…]
The iPhone repositioned that in two ways. First, the introduction of iCloud was a way to “demote” the Mac to a device at an equivalent level to everything else. Second, and just as importantly, is how it converged all that third-party hardware into a single device: it is the digital camera, the camcorder, and the music player. As a result, its hub-iness comes mostly in the form of software. If a developer can assume the existence of particular hardware components, they have extraordinary latitude to build on top of that. However, because Apple exercises control over this software ecosystem, it limits its breadth.
[…]
Even if you believe Apple is doing this not out of anticompetitive verve, but instead for reasons of privacy, security, API support, and any number of other qualities, it still sucks. What it means is that Apple is mostly competing against itself, particularly in smartwatches.
Jesper:
It’s like I said. What matters to Apple isn’t the products. What’s matters to Apple… is Apple.
[…]
Then they should make it a standard, document it and build it in, because that’s what it means to be a platform. That’s what it means to care for and about the user. That’s what it means to be a technology company working not for technology’s sake, but for the betterment of the world.
But they sat on their hands and acted like a monopoly. They let sales and marketing make product decisions. They listened to users and developers ask for the same thing more evenly distributed, and they called them names, or dismissed their wishes as lunacy.
[…]
As a user, I would have preferred that Apple would just have done the right thing from the beginning. As a user, I do not prefer that this is what happened. Much like, as a user, I do not prefer that car manufacturers are legally held to emission standards, or that factories are forced by regulation instead of driven by ideals to not pollute – or that governmental agencies step in, in the face of monopolistic practices screwing the customer. The world would be much better if there would have to be no intervention at all. Compliance is seldom as passionate and genuine as drive and goals.
Update (2025-03-25): Victoria Song:
For years, I’d ask device makers why this feature wasn’t available. Every single time, from companies large and small, the answer was that Apple didn’t allow it. So, I was hardly surprised when Android smartwatch makers started kissing iOS goodbye in 2021 with Wear OS 3. In the years since, the number of platform-agnostic wearable makers continues to dwindle.
This is a big reason why it’s a good thing that the European Commission recently gave Apple marching orders to open up iOS interoperability to other gadget makers. You can read our explainer on the nitty gritty of what this means, but the gist is that it’s going to be harder for Apple to gatekeep iOS features to its own products. Specific
[…]
These days, I receive far more queries about smart rings and smart glasses — because everyone knows that if you have an iPhone, you get an Apple Watch, and if you have an Android, you get a Galaxy Watch or a Pixel Watch. (Maybe a OnePlus Watch 2 or 3 if you really care about battery.) If you’re an endurance athlete, you get a Garmin. There’s not much incentive for any of these companies to zhuzh up designs or think out of the box when ecosystem lock-in all but ensures they don’t have to. There’s no urgency. The result is smartwatches have become boring as we wait for the next Big Health Feature to get FDA clearance.
Federico Viticci:
Can you imagine if your expensive Mac desktop had, say, some latency if you decided to enter text with a non-Apple keyboard? Or if the USB-C port only worked with proprietary Apple accessories? Clearly, those restrictions would be absurd on computers that cost thousands of dollars. And yet, similar restrictions have long existed on iPhones and the iOS ecosystem, and it’s time to put an end to them.
AirDrop Airplane AirPods Antitrust Digital Markets Act (DMA) European Union iOS iOS 18 Notification Center
Eric Migicovsky (via Dare Obasanjo, Hacker News):
During Pebble v1, I learned how much harder it is to build a great smartwatch experience on iPhone than it is on Android. It sounds like things have actually gotten worse over the last 8 years.
I want to set expectations accordingly. We will build a good app for iOS, but be prepared - there is no way for us to support all the functionality that Apple Watch has access to. It’s impossible for a 3rd party smartwatch to send text messages, or perform actions on notifications (like dismissing, muting, replying) and many, many other things.
Here are the things that are harder or impossible for 3rd party smartwatches (ie non Apple Watches) to do on iPhone[…]
[…]
Apple closed off the ability of smartwatches after Pebble to negotiate with carriers to provide messaging services, and now requires users to turn off iMessage (disabling iOS’s core messaging platform) if they want to take advantage of such contracts between a third-party smartwatch maker and cellular carriers.
Recall that, in addition to restricting the actual integration between Pebble and iPhones, Apple rejected third-party iPhone apps from the App Store for mentioning that they were compatible with Pebble watches.
John Voorhees:
The Apple Watch is great. There isn’t another smartwatch that I’ve even been tempted to try in recent years, but is that because no one has been able to make a good alternative or hasn’t because the disadvantages third-party wearables face are too great?
I’d like to see Apple focus on finding ways to better integrate other devices with the iPhone. There are undoubtedly security and privacy issues that need to be carefully considered, but figuring those things out should be a priority because choice and competition are better for Apple’s customers in the long run.
Have we gotten to the point yet where it’s quaint to argue that Apple should do something because it’s better for customers? In what universe would they choose to better integrate with third-party hardware (thus helping either a small startup or Google/Samsung) when they’ll hide the default maps app setting if you live in the wrong country?
Adam Overholtzer:
Would those first few versions of Apple Watch have driven Pebble and FitBit out of the market without Apple’s lock-in? I think the Watch’s later success has made folks forget what a product design misfire that first Watch was.
Eric Migicovsky:
We’re excited to announce two new smartwatches that run open source PebbleOS and are compatible with thousands of your beloved Pebble apps.
- Core 2 Duo has an ultra crisp black and white display, polycarbonate frame, costs $149 and starts shipping in July.
- Core Time 2 has a larger 64-colour display, metal frame, costs $225 and starts shipping in December.
Rui Carmo:
I love these, and reading past the watch specs it’s clear that the project is driven by personal passion more than commercial polish, with the reasoning behind each design choice – from sensor selections to display trade-offs – in a refreshingly candid manner.
Konstantin:
These cute little pebbles have 30 day battery life!
Rory Prior:
I loved my Pebbles and backed a couple of them on Kickstarter. I’m an Apple Watch convert now but the idea of a 30 day battery life sure is tempting as daily charging is a pain. PebbleOS was/is lovely too
Previously:
Update (2025-03-24): John Gruber:
If the experience as a Pebble owner can be a lot better paired with an Android phone than an iPhone, lean into that. Show how much better it is on Android than iOS.
Antitrust App Store Apple Watch Battery Life iOS iOS 18 Pebble Strategy Tax watchOS
Arin Waichulis (Hacker News, MacRumors):
It’s now been revealed that a serious HTTP bug left Passwords users vulnerable to phishing attacks for nearly three months, from the initial release of iOS 18 until the patch in iOS 18.2.
Security researchers at Mysk first discovered the flaw after noticing that their iPhone’s App Privacy Report showed Passwords had contacted a staggering 130 different websites over insecure HTTP traffic. This prompted the duo to investigate further, finding that not only was the app fetching account logos and icons over HTTP—it also defaulted to opening password reset pages using the unencrypted protocol. “This left the user vulnerable: an attacker with privileged network access could intercept the HTTP request and redirect the user to a phishing website,” Mysk told 9to5Mac.
[…]
However, it becomes a problem when the attacker is connected to the same network as the user (i.e. Starbucks, airport, or hotel Wi-Fi) and intercepts the initial HTTP request before it redirects.
[…]
While this was quietly patched in December of last year, Apple only just disclosed it in the last 24 hours.
Mysk:
“Unfortunately, this issue didn’t qualify for a bounty because it didn’t meet the impact criteria or fall into any of the eligible categories”
Mysk:
Yes, it feels like doing charity work for a $3 trillion company. We didn’t do this primarily for money, but this shows how Apple appreciates independent researchers. We had spent a lot of time since September 2024 trying to convince Apple this was a bug.
Previously:
Update (2025-03-24): Ricky Mondello:
The icons issue was present for some time and affected all platforms. The “Change Password” bug only appeared in the Passwords app for iOS, and was quickly fixed.
Some of the discussions I’ve seen around both of these promptly fixed bugs are mixing up details.
Apple Password Manager Apple Security Bounty iOS iOS 18 Phishing Security
