Apple Music or Spotify? Here’s How to Decide

Apple Music and Spotify are both good streaming services. Many of you already know which one you’ll be using. They both have the same essential features, the same sound quality and not much to complain about. But what about those who keep shifting from subscription to subscription, not knowing which will give them the best deal?

Will it be Spotify or Apple Music? Ultimately it is your money and you’ll be looking for the best place to spend it. So this article is the one for you.

You Might want to give Apple Music a Try if you have your own songs: 

If you’re one of those types that prefer to listen to your own music or mixes over today’s music, then you’re better off using Apple Music. If you have your own bootlegs or personal mixes that are not possible to get on any streaming service then Apple Music is the one for you.

You may have some albums that have modified versions of songs that makes copyrighting them complex so many streaming services steer clear away from those songs. In these cases you’d be better downloading them form your CD onto iTunes which is pretty simple enough and then you can hear those songs on your phone as well. This is not to say you can’t do the same on Spotify as well but it’s just that it involves a whole lengthy process that is better avoided.

Using many Devices- use Spotify:

Apple Music may not have much wrong with it but when it comes to listening to music on multiple devices you may have to use Spotify. Apple Music is the same as it was years ago but on the other hand Spotify has much to offer and many new features added since those same years.

Spotify has an excellent desktop app that you can use to play music from and onto you Bluetooth speakers. With Spotify you can even play music from a web browser interface.

Apple Music works the same as well but just not as easily and smoothly as you might expect.

Looking for rare Songs get Apple Music: 

Spotify claims to have over 30 million songs and Apple music claims to have over 40 million which does not mean that Apple Music is the better bet. When you go on to look for music you may get all you’re looking for on both streaming services but it might be that one song that crops up every once in a while that you don’t find and this could happen on either streaming service. It’s not like they both keep offering the exact same songs. Some might be different.

Coming back to the point Apple Music gets early releases of songs much faster than what Spotify does, mainly because of artists signing up with Apple first.

Better Radio on Apple Music: 

Apple Music has a wide variety of radios- decade wise and genre wise, this means that you get all songs from a specific type in one place.

Spotify has radio stations but has songs that are limited to the same algorithms, which makes it hard to hear good songs that don’t fit into the bracket.

Apple Just Killed GrayKey iPhone Passcode Hack

How Apple’s iOS 12 may have just Blocked GrayKey from accessing your iPhone

Everyone believes Apple’s iPhones are one of the best smart phones in the market which maybe true of course! One of the main reasons why, is because of the tight security that Apple gadgets gives to a user. This is at least what many believe to be true but is it a fact? In Android while everything is open source where all are able to see and dissect- that is if you’re an expert in such stuff, Apple seems to be a closed book. That is until GrayKey.

Apple, this may come as a surprise to some, but it is still not indefensible.With GrayKey, users, that is mainly law enforcement, can access your data which is kept locked up in your phone. Of course this whole procedure has not come cheap to them.

What really is GrayKey? 

Grayshift, the makers behind GrayKey manufactured a device that can apparently unlock your iPhone and get to your data. This GrayKey is only sold to law enforcement but has now become useless after Apple’s release of iOS 12.

Grayshift keeps the coding to GrayKey a secret and sells it only to governments and law enforcement to decrypt encrypted devices such as the iPhone.

GrayKey sells for $15,000 a piece with that one piece being able to unlock only 300 devices and for the unlimited variety, the government would have to shell out another $15,000.

Apple’s first Strike to GrayKey: 

The unlimited license that GrayKey provided became less appealing over the summer as Apple launched USB restricted mode in iOS. This update basically ensures that iPhone data is secure after one hour of the phone being locked.

This defense was however short lived as many experts speculated that hackers could keep iPhones unlocked for longer until they got into secure files.

GrayKey one Apple zero!

Apple comes out the winner with GrayKey: 

With iOS 12 Apple seems to have turned the tables on GrayKey. How you say? Well we don’t really know. All we do know is that GrayKey will be able to work only on partial extraction mode now. Which means that all law enforcement officials will be able to get is a few unencrypted files, metadata, folders and not much else.

Keeping a secret with GrayKey:

Grayshift or the makers behind GrayKey have kept everything hush hush about their breakthrough gadget. So, it becomes difficult to speculate how exactly Apple has blocked GrayKey without really knowing how it works.

The bare minimum that we know, is that GrayKey would run propriety software onto the iPhone and open the passcode without the retry option coming on.

Apple may have used deep kernel changes as well as the previous USB restricted mode to block GrayKey besides other things.

But this is not the end for GrayKey. As the company has made a lot of money in the Apple iPhone hacking game it is not likely that they are going to quit anytime soon.

New Mac Mini Packs a Huge Punch

A More Powerful New Mac Mini to get the Job Done!

The theme running with all the Apple gadgets released this time has been- more power and more work done. The new mac mini is no different too. Apple has boosted the performance of the new mac mini with quad and 6 core processors, 64GB of enhanced memory and a super- fast all flash storage. What’s more and this one is going to be greatly appreciated by all those concerned with protecting the environment- Apple has made the new mac mini from recycled materials.

So, now without wasting more time let’s look at the specs of the new mac mini: 

Sleek and recycled enclosure with the new Mac Mini:

Apple has made the enclosure of the mac mini in a cool space grey with recycled aluminum. This is the first time that an Apple gadget has been made from recyclable materials.

Don’t you go and think now, that it wouldn’t be as good as other Apple gadgets. Apple promises that you get the same quality finish with the new recycled material that all their other gadgets have.

Aluminum is not the only recycled material that has been used but Apple has also gone ahead with recycling post- consumer plastic in parts like the foot of the new mac mini. All in all, the carbon footprint in making the new mac mini is dropped to less than 50%.

A More Powerful Processor with the New Mac Mini: 

Apple has given the new mac mini a major upgrade in terms of a power boost with the quad- 6-core 8th generation Intel Core processor. This processor gives you turbo boost like never before with speeds reaching 4.6GHz.

Tasks that seemed taxing before are now made easy with the new mac mini such as photo and video editing and even software and app development.

The new mac mini gives you 64GB of 2,666MHz memory so that you can now load larger files in much lesser the time than before.

Apple T2 Security Chip inside the New Mac Mini: 

Apple has brought industry level security to the new mac mini with the T2 security chip. The T2 security chip features an SSD controller with data encryption which means that any and all of your data that passes through the chip is automatically encrypted.

The T2 security chip also comes with a Secure Enclave which ensures that all software that loads during the booting process has not been tampered with. The T2 chip also comes with features like HEVC video transcoding that enables you to work more quickly and with a higher resolution.

macOS Mojave on the New Mac Mini: 

All the latest or new macs come with Apple’s new macOS Mojave, featuring the new dark mode that puts the focus on user content and a whole bunch of new features.

The macOS Mojave is pegged as one of the best desktop OS to be released to date.

You can get the new mac mini starting at $799.

How to Protect Your iCloud Account from Online Threats

Hackers are getting more notorious day by day by improving their hacking skills. That's why most of the people are worried about their online information. On top of these, the recent icloud security issues are making people more concerned than ever. Most people started searching for “how to protect your icloud accounts” topics just to stay safer.

If you don't know about the recent news, then I am talking about the “China infiltrated Apple” issue. There are some claims that China has infiltrated apple with hidden chips to the last year's threats “ Turkish crime family” regarding the stolen password issues.

Now, with this news people are wondering what their private and essential information which is stored in iCloud is not safe. So, most of the people are thinking to remove data from icloud, and some people are thinking about “how to protect your icloud account.”

If you are wondering how to protect your icloud account from those hackers? Then don't worry I have covered the best tips to stay away from those attacks.

Here’s how you can safeguard your data.

Back Up All the Vulnerable & Normal Data: 

First of all, you need to back up your entire icloud data. Although icloud is used to store our information, it is best to back up your data in your Mac or iPhone.

Now, if you don't know how to back your data means have a look at this process.

• Plug in your device into your Mac.
• Then go to iTunes and hover over to the top left-hand corner.
• Now, Under the play controls, you will find the tiny icon of a phone.
• Click on that, and it will take you to the device menu.
• Now, click on the summary in the left-hand side.
• Then you will see three checkboxes. In that choose select backups.
• After that, choose to automatically or manually backup the device.
• That's it with this you have successfully backed up your data.

The only bad thing about this process is it won’t back up your Apple Pay information and settings along with that it also won't backup purchased iTunes Content.

So, this is the minor glitch in backing up your icloud account. If you don't want to lose anything from your icloud account, then you can protect the icloud account by following these security tips.

Let’s get into the process of “ how to protect your icloud account.”

How to protect your icloud account: 

To protect your icloud account, you have to take some security measures. As Apple’s icloud works on end to end encryption, it has been harder for hackers to hack into the accounts. But nowadays there are finding some ways to get through. So, you have to make sure you are following some best practices to protect your icloud account.

1. Create a strong & Robust Password: 

This is the primary and best practice to protect your online accounts. In general, the password of iCloud is the same as the password of your Apple account. So, you have to be conscious in securing your password by keeping the unhackable password.

Usually, Apple has some requirements while creating a password.

• It should be eight characters long.
• You should use at least one special character.
• Use upper and lowercase letters.
• You should have at least one number.

With these requirements as users, we can create an unhackable password. But, it is not happening in real time. Most of the users are keeping their name and adding one special character and keeping 1234 as numbers.

This format can be easily solved by hackers these days. So, as a user, you should be smart in selecting the password. You should reseat the old apple id password and update the password and keep the strongest one.

Here to create a robust password you should be using around 13-15 characters password with the combination of numbers, special characters, uppercase, and lowercase letters, etc.

By using these, you can take a breath happily because hackers will have to work even harder to crack the code. So, you will be safe, and your information in the icloud will also be secure.

Now, if you are worried about reminding the password then don't worry make use of a password manager which stores all your passwords for you. These days password managers are vital because they act as today’s digital security programmes to protect accounts.

2. Carefully Setup your Security Questions: 

It's always a best practice to reset your security questions once in a while. If you haven’t changed your security questions since creating your Apple ID means now is the time to change your security questions.

These questions work just like other best security options for any online security portals. Here you can set a few questions you like about your life, and you answer those questions crazily or strangely as well, so that stranger couldn't guess your answer.

Usually, Apple will ask you these questions when you make significant changes in your Apple account. So, in those cases, these security questions will help yours from hackers.

To reset your security questions all you have to do is follow below steps: 

• Log into the Apple account.
• Look for the security section on the right-hand side of the page.
• Then select the Edit button to expand the section merely.
• With that, you can verify the security questions headings.
• If you haven't used any security questions, apply now.

Some people may not see the security settings in their devices while they log in with Apple ID. In those cases, you can skip this step and go for the 2FA process.

3. Enable Two Factor Authentication: 

Previous versions of Apple, we used to find “ Two-step Verification,” but it has been upgraded to “two-factor authentication.” The two-factor Authentication” 2FA is the best way of making sure that you are accessing your account from your real device.

This is the most trusted authentication process which you have to set up in a device or phone number. So, whenever you log into your account from the unrecognized device, then you have to enter the verification code which is sent to your phone to activate and log in to the account in that unrecognized device.

If you already have 2FA means its good for you but if you do not have 2FA means it is better to set up two-factor authentication right now. The process of setting 2FA is pretty easy for that you have logged into your account and go to the security section and simply look out for 2FA.

Then go through the steps which apple suggest you do. Setup your 2FA and be secure from the unauthorized logins.

With the above practices also make sure you sign out of your device when you are not using the device. It is the best practice to stay away from Wi-Fi hackers and other. Along with this don’t ever give your Apple ID or password to anyone.

iPhone XR: New Colourful iPhone Opens for Pre-Order

iPhone XR: Why the cheapest iPhone Yet maybe Worth more the Wait

As you’ll must have heard, unless you’re living under a rock, Apple has recently released its new iPhone line up and while the iPhone XS and XS Max maybe be great phones all on their own, today we’ll be looking at the iPhone XR and why it maybe the one for you. If you’re in the house for an iPhone and have waited long and patiently for a new phone then the iPhone XS or the XS max could be the ones for you. But if you’re an old iPhone user or have used the iPhone X then these versions are just a small upgrade and you might want to wait for the better priced iPhone XR before you make a purchasing decision.

Looking at the Specs on the iPhone XR:

Apple has decided to put the same A12 bionic processor into all iPhone XR, XS(not for extra small) and XS max. This is the same as last year when Apple released its new lineup of phones that too had the same processor running on all of them.

The main difference is when it comes to Advance LTE which the iphone XR does not have, which is not really a big thing other than internet speeds will be a little lower than this year’s pricier models.

Let’s look at the camera on the iPhone XR: 

The camera is almost the same on the iPhone XR but has a few differences. There’s only one 12MP camera on the back of the iPhone much like what was on the iPhone 8. This means that you won’t get 2x the optical or digital zoom when you take a pic.

iPhone XR will have a different kind of portrait mode. In the normal portrait mode iPhones have dual
camera, one that blurs the background while the other sharpens the foreground. But with the advancements in Apple’s A12 bionic chip the iPhone XR will be able to take a picture in portrait mode with just one rear facing camera.

Like this year’s Lineup: 

The Apple iPhone XR will have much of the same features that are present in the iPhone XS and XS Max, like dual sim and a glass backing. But unlike the iPhone XS and XS Max, the iPhone XR will be made from aluminum (I mean the non- glass parts) instead of steel.

The iPhone XR will not have 3D touch too. But don’t be too disappointed, the Apple iPhone XR will still have some haptic touch sensors, making it, not a total loss.

Battery Life on the Apple iPhone XR: 

The iPhone XR maybe worth it just for the battery if you know what I mean and if you don’t….Well the iPhone XR has 15 hours of internet usage and 16 hours of video playback which is the best we have seen in an iPhone to date.

Colors and price of the iPhone XR: 

You’ll get this iPhone with a lot more color options and this budget iPhone is supposed to retail for a starting price of $749.