Apple releases iOS 7.0.2 to fix lock screen security bug

Apple's released yet another supplemental update for iOS 7, a little more than a week after the software was first released.
The 7.0.2 update, which went out Thursday morning, fixes a bug that would let users bypass the passcode security on the lock screen. That security issue was discovered just hours after the public update was released, and would give anyone direct access to applications and user data.
Apple last week said it was working on a fix, though did not offer an estimate on when it would arrive.

Along with the security fix, Apple says the update brings back the capability to use a Greek keyboard when typing in passcodes, something that was apparently missing in the early release.
Lock screens offer the primary means of defense against unwanted use of mobile devices. When introducing the iPhone 5S earlier this month, Apple claimed that only about half of smartphone users actually had passcode security enabled. That was just before debuting Touch ID, a new fingerprint scanning technology that's baked into the iPhone 5S and can unlock a phone without users having to enter in their passcode. The feature is expected to be included in all future iOS devices.
Source:Cnet

Apple iPhone 5c vs Apple iPhone 5s vs Apple iPhone 5 comparison

	Apple iPhone 5c	Apple iPhone 5s	Apple iPhone 5

General
Alternate names
Release date	September 2013	September 2013	November 2012
Form factor	Touchscreen	Touchscreen	Touchscreen
Dimensions (mm)	124.40 x 59.20 x 8.97	123.80 x 58.60 x 7.60	123.80 x 58.60 x 7.60
Weight (g)	132.00	112.00	112.00
Battery capacity (mAh)			1440
Removable battery	No	No	No
Bundled accessories	Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic, Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter, Documentation	Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic, Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter, Documentation	Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic, Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter, Documentation
Colours	White, Pink, Yellow, Blue, Green	Space Gray, Gold, Silver	White, Black
SAR value	NA	NA	NA
Display
Screen size (inches)	4.00	4.00	4.00
Touchscreen	Yes	Yes	Yes
Touchscreen type	Capacitive	Capacitive	Capacitive
Resolution	640x1136 pixels	640x1136 pixels	640x1136 pixels
Pixels per inch (PPI)	326	326	326
Colours
Hardware
Processor			1.3GHz   dual-core
Processor make	Apple A6	Apple A7 (64-bit ARMv8)	Apple A6
RAM			1GB
Internal storage	16GB	16GB	16GB
Expandable storage	No	No	No
Expandable storage type
Expandable storage up to (GB)
Camera
Rear camera	8-megapixel	8-megapixel	8-megapixel
Flash	Yes	Yes	Yes
Front camera	1.2-megapixel	1.2-megapixel	1.2-megapixel
Software
Operating System	iOS 7	iOS 7	iOS 6.1.4
Skin
Java support	No	No	No
Browser			HTML
Browser supports Flash	No	No	No
Connectivity
Wi-Fi	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi standards supported	WiFi A, WiFi B, WiFi G, WiFi N	WiFi A, WiFi B, WiFi G, WiFi N	NA
GPS	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes, v 4.00	Yes, v 4.00	Yes, v 4.00
NFC	No	No	No
Infrared	No	No	No
DLNA	No	No	No
Wi-Fi Direct	No	No	No
MHL Out	No	No	No
HDMI	No	No	No
Headphones	3.5mm	3.5mm	3.5mm
FM	No	No	No
USB	No	No	No
Charging via Micro-USB	No	No	No
Proprietary charging connector	Yes	Yes	Yes
Proprietary data connector	Yes	Yes	Yes
Number of SIMs	1	1	1
GSM/ CDMA	GSM	GSM	GSM
2G frequencies supported	GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900	GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900	NA
3G	Yes	Yes	Yes
3G frequencies supported	NA	1900, 2100	NA
Sensors
Compass/ Magnetometer	Yes	Yes	Yes
Proximity sensor	Yes	Yes	Yes
Accelerometer	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ambient light sensor	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gyroscope	Yes	Yes	Yes
Barometer	No	No	No
Temperature sensor	No	No	No

Source:NDTV

iPhone 5s and Apple A7's 64-bit architecture: What does it mean?

Apple launched two new iPhones, the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, at a special event on Tuesday. While the iPhone 5c sports almost the same internals as the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5s is Apple's new flagship that boasts of many "forward-looking" features as per Apple's claims, including a custom A7 chip (ARMv8 based), which boasts of 64-bit architecture, powering the phone, a first for a smartphone.

This means that the iPhone 5s would be the first mobile ARM chip with 64-bit support. According to Apple the chip has 64-bit desktop-class architecture, a modern instruction set, 2x general-purpose registers, 2x floating point registers, and over 1 billion transistors. While all this sounds too technical, it essentially implies that the architecture of the new chip should result in performance improvements.

In desktop computing, a 64-bit processor can perform tasks at double the speed of a 32-bit one as it can address more volatile memory or RAM. With double the address size, 64-bit processors can transfer data twice as fast. But a lot also depends on the amount of RAM built-in, and Apple has not shed any light on this (it usually does not). So, until a hardware review site actually investigates it, most figures, including number of cores and clock speeds, will remain a mystery. However, Apple has said that the processor is twice as fast as the iPhone 5 and up to 40 times faster than the first iPhone. 

However, not all these gains are derived from the switch to 64-bit, as hardware gurus at Anandtechpointed out from the launch event: "So just to be clear, the 2X increase in performance is not from the move to 64-bit." 

64-bit software will be needed to utilise the capabilities of the hardware, and Apple is shipping a 64-bit version of its mobile operating system, iOS 7 complete with 64-bit kernel, libraries and drivers along with optimised native apps with the iPhone 5s. So, all these apps will work much more efficiently. Even third party apps can be easily compiled for 64-bit architecture. As Donald Mustard from Epic games, the company behind the Infinity Blade games series said while demoing Infinity Blade III, it took them about two hours to compile the game for 64-bit.

Even if Apple doesn't ship the iPhone 5s with tons of RAM, it appears that it wants to prepare developers to make a transition to 64-bit apps making sure it's the first one to jump the gun, when smartphones make the switch. For now, because of the 64-bit kernel, one can expect a faster browser and app loading times, smoother video and audio playback, and faster calculations. Camera engine performance will also be improved, with faster autofocus and capture just some of the benefits implied.

The Apple A7's support for ARMv8 also implies goodies like full-virtualization support. It is also backward compatible with its 32-bit, therefore existing apps will face no real issues. The new custom chip also supports OpenGL ES version 3.0 graphics standard, which together with the 64-bit architecture, implies much improved graphical prowess, something that we can better hope to appreciate once Apple brings the A7 to the next-generation iPad and iPad mini, as expected.

Interestingly, with the inclusion of the M7 co-processor, which takes care of the sensor data processing on the device, allowing fitness, motion-sensing and voice-recognition based apps to function without draining the battery significantly, or decreasing total available processing power. This design, of offloading tasks to another processor for the sake of battery life and performance, is something we've been seeing other manufacturers attempt, such as Nvidia with its companion core on the Tegra 4, and Motorola's X8 computing system.

Just how the Apple A7 compares with its contemporaries, is something we'll have to wait and see, once the iPhone 5s gets launched and makes its way to the benchmarks.
Source:NDTV