Lattepunk Intelligence
Lattepunk
Apple’s new iPhones are coming out, but do you really need one?
This week, Apple had their iPhone launch event. Along with a new Apple Watch and some new Airpods, the main event was the annual update to their flagship money maker. You can watch the event here.
Even though they do have some new tricks (dedicated camera button), like every other major phone release year, the main feature is Artific...excuse me, Apple Intelligence. Yes reader, more A.I. in our year of 2024.
Even though those the features come out, in beta mind you, next month, it was making it the main selling point. Next month. The phone comes out September 20th. They are selling you a product that isn’t ready. A product whose scraping bot, which is used to scrap the internet to make “better”, is already being blocked.
I’m not here to rail on you to not buy it, I just ask you consider the following: do you really need this upgrade? If you are currently rocking an iPhone 8/iPhone X, you should probably upgrade. Not cause your phone was used by Noah to take photos of all the animals for his boat, but because it no longer going to receive updates. That’s kind of important.
If you’re around the iPhone 12 or newer, you might want to hold out. I got reasons for you. We need to find out if Apple Intelligence is bullshit or not. The Washington Post has an article on these features. Excerpt from the article:
Even worse, there were times its mistakes nudged me to take the wrong action. For example, it once summarized and elevated to “priority” status an email that it said told me I needed to change my password immediately. That’s not what the email actually said — it only warned me to change my password if I wasn’t responsible for a recent login.
You and I are sophisticated and capable humans reader, but what about someone who isn’t? If their iPhone all of a sudden summarizes a phishing email and marks is important, who’s fault is it when they fall for it? I’m sure in the terms of service that you and I don’t read, that’s not Apple’s fault. So let this A.I. hype play out and see if this stuff is actually useful.
The main reason though, the iPhone 17!
Wait! What!? They just announced the 16 and you’re already talking about the 17!?
Yup. We already know it’ll be the fastest iPhone ever, the smartest iPhone ever, the most whatever iPhone ever. But rumors have it this thing might legit be different. I’m going to link out to a website called MacRumors. They’re a pretty popular aggregator of Apple news but I’ve seen this across multiple websites, mainly cause they all get it from the same sources.
Apple changed the game with iPhone when they switched to making their own processing chips for their devices. They did it again when they started making their M-series chips for the laptops and computers. Rumors have it they may be making their own 5G chips. Hitting devices in 2025. That alone could be a huge game changer. But wait...there’s more!
If you clicked that link, you’d see a specific device mentioned in the headline. An “ultra-thin” iPhone. Rumors are pointing to a completely revamped phone. In many aspects of the device. People have started to refer to it as the iPhone Air. That’s a massive deal. I’d hate to buy this year’s phone when rumors are pointing to a MASSIVELY different iPhone coming out next year.
I can hear you now reader: But what am I supposed to buy to hold me over this year? I got you! May I entice you in a Barbie Phone? Yes, that Barbie!
An old school, now referred to as “dumb”, phone where you just text and call people. We need to curve our phone addictions anyway! What better way to stunt in our social interactions then pulling out a pink Barbie phone! You can sign up to get notified when it comes out. Don’t say I didn’t come with options!
Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you update all your Apple devices on September 16th.
Recommendations:
Listen:
I went a little hard during a music festival this past weekend. Once my ears stopped ringing, I've been listening to Jhayco’s latest album. FIRE! Check it out:
Jhayco - Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X) | Apple Music / Spotify
Things I wish I could buy:
BitmoLab is making a dope as iPhone case. Look at this thing:
It doubles as an actual controller for playing games on your iPhone. I don’t game on my phone and I don’t use cases, but this has me reconsidering.
I recently upgraded backup solution to a nice Samsung external SSD. Absolutely worth it! Then I discovered iodyne is making a sick ass external SSD with so many features:
Why am I not buying this? The 4TB model cost $1495. I didn’t forget a period there.
Read:
AI
What’s in & What’s Out | Kevin Nguyen for The Verge
Convicted fraudsters launch AI lobbying firm using fake names | Daniel Lippman for Politico
Cops’ favorite face image search engine fined $33M for privacy violation | Ashley Belanger for ArsTechnica
How Do You Change a Chatbot’s Mind? | Kevin Roose for NY Times
The US Needs Deepfake Porn Laws. These States Are Leading the Way | Vittoria Elliott for Wired
Cops lure pedophiles with AI pics of teen girl. Ethical triumph or new disaster? | Ashley Belanger for ArsTechnica
Telegram
The Accelerationists’ App: How Telegram Became the “Center of Gravity” for a New Breed of Domestic Terrorists | James Bandler, A.C. Thompson, Karina Meier for ProPublica and FRONTLINE
Inside the deepfake porn crisis engulfing Korean schools | Jean Mackenzie and Leehyun Choi for BBC
Germany’s Far Right Is in a Panic Over Telegram | Josh Axelrod for Wired
Security
Sextortion Scams Now Include Photos of Your Home | Brian Krebs for Krebs on Security
YubiKeys are vulnerable to cloning attacks thanks to newly discovered side channel | Dan Goodin for ArsTechnica
We Hunted Hidden Police Signals at the DNC | Dhruv Mehrotra for Wired
Therapy Sessions Exposed by Mental Health Care Firm’s Unsecured Database | Matt Burgess for Wired
Car rental giant Avis data breach impacts over 299,000 customers | Sergiu Gatlan for Bleeping Computer
Environment
What Cancún’s Tourists Don’t See Is a Sprawling Concrete Jungle | Ricardo Hernandez for Wired
How to sell an ‘ugly’ vegetable? Give it googly eyes. | Ayurella Horn-Muller for Grist
These Household Brands Want to Redefine What Counts as “Recyclable” | Lisa Song for ProPublica
New York Cracked Down on Airbnb One Year Ago. NYC Housing Is Still a Mess | Amanda Hoover for Wired
Healthcare
“I Don’t Want to Die”: Needing Mental Health Care, He Got Trapped in His Insurer’s Ghost Network | Max Blau for ProPublica (reading this broke my heart. you’ve been warned)
Arizona Cracked Down on Medicaid Fraud That Targeted Native Americans. It Left Patients Without Care. | Hannah Bassett, Mary Hudetz for Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica
Study: Playing Dungeons & Dragons helps autistic players in social interactions | Jennifer Ouellette for ArsTechnica
Prosthetic Limbs Have Become Billboards | Chloe Valentine Toscano for The Atlantic
‘Right to Repair for Your Body’: The Rise of DIY, Pirated Medicine | Jason Koebler for 404 Media (this was wild and honestly, exciting)
Love
Confessions of a Hinge Power User | Jason Parham for Wired
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