dtidmore

For the first time since the original iPhone, I had some anxiety about the rumored switch to FaceID.  I really like Touch ID and there were so many unknowns as to how FaceID would work.  I really never had any doubts that it would work, but the home button was so integral to iOS that the loss of both TouchID and the home button really made me undecided about upgrading....UNTIL I saw it work.  The new UI is going to take a bit of adjustment but then we have been thru many mods to the iPhone UI over the years.  

All the negativity is just people's resistance to change.  Anyone that wants nothing to change needs to go back to the rotary wire line phone and paper notes.  Technology moves forward and for years I have told those resistant to such change that technology is like a steam roller.  You have 3 choices as you see it coming, 1: get out of the way and allow it to pass you by,  2: stand in the way and get crushed or  3: get on board, but you are NEVER going to stop it from its relentless forward progression.  

Was FaceID something that was absolutely needed, no, but Apple has always pulled its users forward and this is no exception.  Will I miss TouchID, yes....for about as long as it takes to setup FaceID.  

This will be the first time in 10 years where I will be upgrading both mine and my spouses iPhones at the same time.  We have been on a one new phone a year with a pass down since the very beginning.  This cycle, like the home button and TouchID was so ingrained that realizing that it made sense to move us both forward at the same time took some mental gymnastics similar to wrapping my head around no TouchID/home button.  

All the prognostications that Apple has made a mistake ditching TouchID/home button are misplaced and reactive emotional responses.  There is a lot of turmoil in our culture, our country and the world and I do understand that no one really wanted to have to make the mental leap to a new paradigm on the iPhone, but such is life and in a few months all this hand wringing and Apple is doomed talk will looks as antiquated and silly as when the cellular industry panned the original iPhone.

wiggin said:
As I understand it Apple will not certify a device that would bridge to other technology standards. 

This is NOT correct.  Phillips Hue and Insteon BOTH have Apple approved bridges that connect their respective non-homekit networks of devices into a HomeKit environment. What Apple has forbidden is the bridging of any "entry" devices such as garage door openers or door locks via bridges.  Light switches, motion sensors, environment sensors, etc CAN be bridged and participate in a HomeKit HA environment.  Allowed non-HK native products participate just as fully in a HK environment as native ones (I know because I am doing it already).  But what ONLY HK brings to the table presently is insane good security.  Apple adopted a key length in excess of 3000 bits running against an elliptical curve algorithm while most current HA products on the market offer weak security at best.  I will gladly pay to replace, perfectly functional, non-HK devices with native HK equivalents as they come to market, even if they come in at a higher price as I simply take security very seriously. 

rob53 said:

ireland said:

1. Good. MacID isn't a great piece of software.

I haven't looked at MacID but if it does as @emoeller says, it isn't secure at all and for those worried about police accessing your computer, using something that automatically unlocks your Mac when your iPhone is close is absolutely hysterically funny. 

I have been using MacID ever since the author released it.   I am VERY security conscience but I am not of the tinfoil hat variety.  

As TouchID seems to be LESS constitutionally protected presently, the use of TouchID as a verification method should be used according to the level of user comfort.  Since Apple tightened up the parameters when TouchID is allowed (i.e. time since last use, time since last use of passcode) and MacID inherits those same parameters, the odds of law enforcement getting a warrant to force the use of TouchID before it requires the entry of the passcode now seems very low.  As Apple allows iOS users to set a complex passcode vs a simple number sequence, anyone security conscience user WILL certainly use that option.

MacID has its own pairing sequence between devices (uses BTLE).  FYI, one iOS device running MacID can control multiple Macs. 

MacID does NOT auto-unlock on simply proximity.  It WILL auto-wake the Mac on proximity (i.e. out of sleep mode) but even that feature is user selectable and assuming that the user has the mac setup to always require password verification on wake, this does NOT compromise security.  If the Mac locks for whatever reason, MacID is going to require either TouchID or passcode on the iPhone OR touch on an already associated AppleWatch.  I might add that the Watch side of MacID is NOT a standalone (i.e. it requires comm with the associated iOS device.

MacID ONLY works when the Mac user is logged in and running the MacID app on the Mac and the iOS device.  If a reboot or logout on the Mac is performed, the user must resort to entering the necessary password...in other words, MacID is simply a tool to unlock the screen, NOT actually log into the Mac. 

MacID DOES have a user selectable auto-LOCK based on decreasing proximity feature which is very good.  

MacID does have a user defined Tap-to-unlock feature exclusively for the Mac trackpad as an option based solely on sequence of multiple finger taps independent of where they occur on the trackpad.  As this feature LACKS all the TouchID timeout safeguards, I do NOT use it, nor recommend it use. 

MacID works with apple watch based on the Apple security model that if the watch has been verified with the associated iPhone (i.e. either passcode on watch OR touchID use on iPhone while watch is ON the wrist) then MacID will unlock the Mac with a simple touch to the popup watch notification from MacID assuming that MacID is running on both the iOS device AND the Mac.  

I have found that on occasion, the watch side of things is not quite as robust (i.e. working first time, every time) as compared to the iPhone use of MacID.  But overall, it works, does NOT compromise security any worse than TouchID imposes and it is real time saver for those of us that have convoluted, high entropy Mac passwords. 

WIFi backups can be automated!  I have two iPhones and an iPad that backup, encrypted, via WiFi with no action on my part other than plugging in the devices to charge and of course them being on the same local network as the machine running iTunes.  You have to check the "Automatically sync when this iPhone/iPad is connected".  Then as long as your leave iTunes running, automatic backups will occur.  

I have found that when you initially are setting up the WiFi backup, it is best to do one via USB cable.  Then once complete, with the proper options checked in iTunes, you should be able to unplug the USB connection to the device and it REMAIN showing in iTunes.  If it disappears, repeat.  This is not something new as I have been using this feature for many releases of both OS-X and iOS.

Alluding that merchants are specifically holding back accepting Apple Pay is simply misdirection. The issue is merchant chose to delay upgrading to new chip ready terminals. ALL chip terminals have the NFC chip in them as part of the encrypting code necessary for chip to work resides in the NFC chip.  I have found in the DFW area that as I see more and more smaller shops finally upgrading to the newer, small, more affordable chip POS terminals that these SAME merchants have NO idea that Apple Pay is even exists.  Most in fact will initially say that they don't accept such.  Yes, I am aware that in some cases, the vendors of the new chip terminals have unfortunately presented NFC activation as an added cost to the merchant, but the overwhelming majority work perfectly.  I was recently in PepBoys and noticed they had new terminals.  I told the cashier that I was going to try Apple Pay since I saw the NFC logo.  He almost immediately told me they did not accept it and before the words had hardly left his mouth the transaction went thru.  He was shocked!  He told me that they had not been able to even get the chip side to work on the new terminals so for NFC payment to go through, let alone Apple Pay, he was astounded.  Then just yesterday, I was in a local mom/pop donut shop and noticed they had gotten new chip terminals.  Again they were totally clueless about NFC or Apple Pay, but astounded to see it work.  

We have got to stop accepting that merchants are the issue.  Look for the new terminals and give it a try as it only takes a moment to see if NFC is alive.