Alliance – Latest Apple News

How to use Passkeys on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac

tigaman webdesign — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:56:00 +0000

“Passkey” is the name for a simplified login process to websites that arrived in its full glory later this year with macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, and iPadOS 16. A passkey relies on broadly supported industry standards to let you carry out an encrypted login with almost no effort on your part after the initial setup.

You can try a passkey without installing the public betas of these upcoming operating systems, as Apple built passkey support in a preview form into Safari across all its operating systems in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and Safari 15 with macOS 12 Monterey. With the full release of passkeys in a few weeks or months, and Google and Microsoft’s announced support for compatible technology, you’re likely to see options to add a passkey login at many websites this fall.

Here’s how the process works.

Apple IDs

Beginning with iOS 17 and macOS 14 Sonoma, your Apple ID will support passkey authentication. Anywhere you need to sign in with your Apple ID, including websites and icloud.com, you’ll have two options to log in: with a standard password or by pressing the “Continue with Apple” button that will display a QR code that can be scanned with your iPhone’s camera to create the unique code.

Enroll at a website

A passkey comprises a paired set of encryption keys, known generally as public-key cryptography. When you visit a server that supports WebAuthn (the technology required to accept, store, and interact with a passkey), your browser will present the public key of the encryption pair. The public key can’t be used for login but rather to prove your identity: you possess the private key, which is created on your device and never leaves it for a login.

To enroll, you visit a website that offers passkey support. A site might state it supports passkeys generically, say that it has WebAuthn support, or declare that it’s FIDO2, CTAP, or “multi-device FIDO credential” compatible. All of those terms should mean you can use an Apple (or Google or Microsoft) passkey as your login credential. (FIDO2 is the name given by the FIDO Alliance trade group, a key part of making passkeys and WebAuthn happen, and which Apple, Microsoft, and Google are members of.)

The process will work very similarly to when you enroll at a site for two-factor authentication (2FA) or if you have previously used a hardware key for WebAuthn, like those made by Yubico:

Log in using your existing username and password.
The site may prompt you for additional verification. This might be a link sent via email, a texted code, or a prompt for a 2FA acknowledgment with a code or via an app you already have installed on your iPhone or iPad.
The site’s security section lets you choose to use a passkey or one of the alternate names above.
The web server pushes a request to your browser to provide encryption information.
You’re prompted to approve this request with Touch ID, Face ID, or your device password, depending on what’s available and enabled.
If you successfully validate your identity, your device generates the public/private key pair. The private key is stored on your device and never sent to the remote site.
Your browser sends the public key along with a cryptographically signed message that the server can validate using the provided public key: only someone whose device holds the private key can produce a verifiable message.
The web server stores your public key for your future logins.

As part of the enrollment process, you validate that you want the website to be able to use Touch ID (or another authentication element).

Setting up a passkey login may disable 2FA on your account or allow you to opt for a passkey login instead of a 2FA pathway. A passkey provides proof of possession of both a secret and the device on which it’s stored, effectively two factors. (Some higher-security sites and services may still require 2FA instead of or in addition to a passkey.)

You can see the passkey process at work with some of the underlying technical pieces exposed at Webauthn.me, a site made by Auth0, a provider of authentication services. Some production sites currently offer passkey-compatible logins, but they’re fairly few at the moment. You could set a Google or Dropbox account to use a “security key” and use a passkey instead. See below for my experience with that.

Log in with a passkey

At an enrolled site, you can use a stored passkey the next time you need to log in. You might have noticed that many websites have begun to split the user name or account email submission from a password submission–that appears to be prep for passkeys.

With a site fully ready for passkeys, you’ll tap or click in a username or account email field and be prompted by Safari to validate a passkey login. In some cases, Safari may first ask you if you want to allow Touch ID or “security key” logins on the site; click Allow to continue. Then you can authenticate via Touch ID, Face ID, or your device password just as during enrollment. That’s it! Using the Webauthn.me site noted above, you can test this in Step 4 of its process.

You may be asked to allow secure logins on a site before you can login for the first time after enrollment with a passkey.

Passwords hold passkey entries starting with this fall’s operating system releases.

With some sites that have WebAuthn support but aren’t yet fully aligned with the simplified passkey process, you may be prompted to perform a normal user name and password login before the site initiates the sequence that asks your browser for a passkey.

I was able to enroll with a passkey at Dropbox by choosing the Security Key option and following the prompts within Safari for macOS. (While logged into Dropbox via Safari, click your avatar in the upper-right corner, click the Security link, and click Add next to “Security keys.” When it asks if you’ve inserted the key, confirm you have.)

Subsequent logins worked in Safari for macOS but not in Safari for iOS, probably because of a lack of iCloud Keychain sync support prior to the release of the new operating systems. In iOS 16, iPadOS 15, and Ventura, with iCloud Keychain enabled, passkeys will sync and be listed in Settings > Passwords in iOS/iPadOS and System Settings > Passwords in Ventura.

Apple will let you share passkeys with other Apple users by securely sending them over AirDrop. This will share both the public and private key and give people the same degree of account access as if you had given them the username, password, and two-factor token for your account.

Some sites will let you specify a passkey login as your sole method to gain access. So what if you’re trying to log in from a device that doesn’t have your passkey stored, like a communal or family computer, a device at work, or one you have access to while traveling? Or you need to use a Windows system or Android phone to access a site due to features specific to those platforms? Apple demonstrated a clever approach in its introduction to passkeys at the 2022 Worldwide Developer Conference that requires a QR code and Bluetooth.

The process works like this:

On a device with an operating system or browser new enough to support WebAuthn logins, when you enter your account name at a website with which you use a passkey.
The site will query the browser for a passkey, and the browser will discover it has none. You can then click to provide a passkey via a proxy, such as by clicking “Add a new phone.”
The site sends a query that causes the browser to display a QR Code.
On your iPhone or iPad, you scan the QR Code and tap the prompt “Sign in with a passkey.”
On your device, click Continue and then approve the login with Touch ID, Face ID, or your device password.
The browser shows you’re logged in.

On a device that doesn’t have your passkey, a QR code paired with Bluetooth will allow a secure login that doesn’t give up your secrets or allow for phishing.

Apple

During this process, the device on which the QR Code is displayed and your iPhone or iPad quietly establish a connection via Bluetooth and exchange key information. This lets your device get assurance that the login is happening using a piece of gear that’s nearby to prevent remote attacks, and the Bluetooth backchannel an encrypted channel separate from the browser connection, avoiding phishing attacks that present fake logins.

After you’ve authenticated your login on that other device, your session proceeds as normal. Make sure and log out when you’re done to clear the state.

The future is passkeys

The simplicity of passkeys hides the sophistication. For once, we get both ease, no overhead for managing the process, and the highest possible level of security. Each login is unique, stored for you, and verified in both directions—by your device and by the site—to ensure only the person with access to your device can log into the site.

Internet

Apple automatically assigns Apple ID owners their very own passkey in macOS Sonoma, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17

tigaman webdesign — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 13:55:54 +0000

Apple will start automatically assigning passkeys to Apple ID owners with the release of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma. Passkeys are a new type of login credential that are more secure and easier to use than traditional passwords. They are stored in iCloud Keychain and can be used to sign in to apps and websites on all of your Apple devices.

Apple in May 2022 announced plans to expand support for a common password-less sign-in standard created by the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium. The new capability allows websites and apps to offer consistent, secure, and easy password-less sign-ins to consumers across devices and platforms. In iOS 16, Apple introduced passkeys that use iPhone’s Touch ID or Face ID for biometric verification, and are securely synced with end-to-end encryption using iCloud Keychain so they are available across Apple devices including iPad, iPhone, and Mac. Created as a joint effort in collaboration with the FIDO Alliance, Google, and Microsoft, passkeys work across apps and the web, and users can sign in to websites or an app on non-Apple devices using just their iPad.

Cesar Cadenas for TechRadar:

You can test the newfound passkey support today if you go to either the iCloud or AppleID website. However, you must be running the beta versions of either iOS 17 or macOS Sonoma on your device. At the time of this writing, there isn’t anything available for iPadOS 17.

Passkeys will be available on their respective platforms later this year. We still don’t have an official launch date for any of these operating systems although we’re expecting the drop to be sometime during autumn (September-to-October).

MacDailyNews Note: Follow the links for information on how to sign in with passkeys on your Mac, on your iPhone, and on your iPad.

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iPhone 15 said to get ultra wideband upgrade, iPhone 16 likely to offer Wi-Fi 7

tigaman webdesign — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 13:37:05 +0000

Apple’s iPhone 15 will likely see an specification upgrade of ultra wideband (UWB), with the production process moving from 16nm to more advanced 7nm and, in 2024, iPhone 16 is likely to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7, according to TF International Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

iPhone 15 Pro Max (iPhone 15 Ultra) rendering based on CAD. (imagevia @UniverseIce)

Ming-Chi Kuo via Twitter:

Apple will aggressively upgrade hardware specifications to build a more competitive ecosystem for Vision Pro

1. The ecosystem is one of the key success factors for Vision Pro, including the integration with other Apple hardware products, and related main hardware specifications are Wi-Fi and UWB.

2. iPhone 15 will likely see an specification upgrade of UWB, with the production process moving from 16nm to more advanced 7nm, allowing for improved performance or reduced power consumption for nearby Interactions.

3. iPhone 16 will likely upgrade to Wi-Fi 7, which will be more conducive to Apple’s integration of hardware products running on the same local network and provide a better ecosystem experience.

Ming-Chi Kuo via Twitter:

JCET’s 2H23 gross margin/profit will benefit from the iPhone 15 UWB process upgrade… iPhone 15’s UWB production process will be upgraded from 16nm to more advanced 7nm. JCET is the back-end SiP supplier, and this upgrade will help improve profits. Generally speaking, when 16nm is upgraded to the more advanced 7nm, the profit margin of the back-end process can increase by more than 10-20%.

Chance Miller for 9to5Mac:

According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, Wi-Fi could offer peak data rates of more than 40Gbps, making it up to four times faster than Wi-Fi 6 And Wi-Fi 6E, and nearly six times faster than Wi-Fi 5.

In addition to those impressively fast speeds, Wi-Fi 7 will also introduce something called Multi-Link Operation technology. This will allow devices to simultaneously send and receive data over multiple radio bands. One of the biggest changes is an increase in the number of multi-user MIMO (multi-user, multiple input, multiple output) streams, doubling from eight to 16.

The best way to explain these changes without getting too technical is that they dramatically reduce latency.

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Kuo: iPhone 15 to Get Next-Gen Ultra Wideband Chip for Enhanced Vision Pro Headset Integration

tigaman webdesign — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 09:26:46 +0000

Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 will feature an upgraded Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip to optimize integration with the company’s Vision Pro headset, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In his latest Twitter post, Kuo said upgrading the UWB processor, which Apple currently calls the U1 chip, is part of a plan to “aggressively upgrade hardware specifications to build a more competitive ecosystem for Vision Pro.” Kuo goes on:

The ecosystem is one of the key success factors for Vision Pro, including the integration with other Apple hardware products, and related main hardware specifications are Wi-Fi and UWB.

iPhone 15 will likely see an specification upgrade of UWB, with the production process moving from 16nm to more advanced 7nm, allowing for improved performance or reduced power consumption for nearby interactions.

First debuting in the iPhone 11, the U1 chip powers several of Apple’s location-based features like Find My, Precision Finding, and AirDrop. The U1 chip is also included in Apple Watch Series 6, the HomePod mini, the second-generation HomePod, AirTag trackers, and the charging case for the second-generation AirPods Pro.

Looking further ahead, Kuo says the iPhone 16 will feature support for Wi-Fi 7, “which will be more conducive to Apple’s integration of hardware products running on the same local network and provide a better ecosystem experience.”

Positioned as the next major generational Wi-Fi technology evolution, Wi-Fi 7 is expected to provide speeds of “at least 30” gigabits per second and could even hit 40Gbps, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Wi-Fi 7 is also able to use 320MHz channels and supports 4K quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) technology, ultimately providing up to 2.4x faster speeds than Wi-Fi 6 with the same number of antennas.

Apple previewed its Vision Pro headset earlier this month at WWDC, but did not reveal all the details of its hardware specifications. The headset is set to launch early next year, and Apple reportedly plans to launch a more affordable model by the end of 2025.

Related Roundups: Apple Vision Pro, iPhone 15, iPhone 16

Tags: Ming-Chi Kuo, U1 Chip

Related Forums: Apple Vision Pro, iPhone

This article, "Kuo: iPhone 15 to Get Next-Gen Ultra Wideband Chip for Enhanced Vision Pro Headset Integration" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple announces macOS Sonoma with support for desktop widgets and screensavers

tigaman webdesign — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 17:47:19 +0000

Image: Apple

Apple has just unveiled macOS Sonoma, the latest version of its desktop operating system, onstage at WWDC 2023. The headline features are support for widgets on the desktop, as well as new moving screensavers that can also serve as your wallpaper. Based on Apple’s release strategy in previous years, it should be available in developer beta imminently as a public beta in the coming weeks. General availability is expected later this year.

Widgets are designed to fade into the background when you open a window, and the Mac can access widgets from an iPhone if a device is one the same Wi-Fi network. Widgets are also interactive, with one demo showing how you can control a connected vehicle from the desktop widget.

There’s also a new “Game mode” for Mac. Apple says the mode works with all games available on the Mac, with reduced audio latency for AirPods and double the Bluetooth sampling rate when using Xbox and PlayStation controllers with Macs. To affirm its commitment to gaming on the Mac, Apple had game developer Hideo Kojima appear during its stream to announce that Death Stranding Director’s Cut will be coming to MacOS.

Reports previously indicated that 2023 will see Apple avoid making major changes to the Mac’s operating system. Last year’s headline feature was Stage Manager, a new way of organizing open windows that also came to the iPad with iPadOS 16. Other new additions included the ability to hand off FaceTime calls between iPhones and Macs, use the iPhone’s camera as a Mac webcam, and support passkeys.

Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Connectivity Standards Alliance releases Matter 1.1

tigaman webdesign — Fri, 19 May 2023 21:05:14 +0000

This week’s release of Matter 1.1 is the result of the collective effort of hundreds of companies and individuals who have gathered as members of the Connectivity Standards Alliance and contributed to the ongoing progress and success of this evolving technology. Matter 1.1 creates an improved path forward for developers, and new user experiences, preparing for the next leg of Matter’s journey.

Matter 1.1 released

The updates in 1.1 make it easier for device makers and developers to get started with Matter, and to more easily certify products they’ve developed and get them to users faster. It features enhanced support for battery-operated devices — an important feature across many smart home categories.

One of the benefits and differentiators of Matter is its publicly available specification and open-source SDK that allows all developers to work from a common specification and code base. Of course, it’s important that those tools are easy to work with, so the Alliance has taken feedback and learning from members and early developers, and made clarifications and clean-up to the specification. This will make it easier for developers to dive in, understand, and use the specification. It’s also easier for developers to contribute to the Matter specification, with better guidance for contributing support for new device types.

When it comes time for testing and certifying the devices they’ve built, new enhancements to testing automation make it easier for device makers to pre-qualify their products and verify they will pass certification. This is also an improvement for Authorized Testing Laboratories (ATLs) with improved automation making testing more efficient and comprehensive.

Matter 1.1 enhances support for a category of devices that apply to many smart home products — Intermittently Connected Devices (ICDs). Sometimes called “sleepy devices,” these are typically battery-powered devices like contact, motion, and temperature sensors as well as door locks and switches that need to conserve power for optimal operation and lifespan. The additional support reduces the likelihood that a device will be reported as offline when users or platforms interact with it. These improvements mean developers will find it easier to optimize their products and create better user experiences.

These enhancements, now included in the Matter SDK and API, further the working group’s continuous goal of improving Matter products and the Matter developer experience.

Since the release of Matter 1.0 in October 2022, the Alliance has seen 17,991 downloads of the specification with 1,135 new products certified by the Alliance. Matter’s momentum has resulted in more than 60 members joining the Alliance since the specification’s release. These statistics demonstrate that Matter is well on the way to the future envisioned for the IoT, where Matter aims to solve problems for security, connectivity, innovation, complexity, and trust.

Developers interested in learning more about these enhancements can access the following resources:

Matter 1.1 specification
Matter 1.1 SDK Release

Alliance Opens New Interoperability Test Facility in Portland, Oregon

Further accelerating that future, the Alliance has announced the launch of its Interoperability Testing Facility (ITF) for Matter products. This facility provides interoperability testing services to members of the Alliance developing Matter products for certification. It includes an extensive range of Matter controllers, hubs, and end devices configured to check the most typical sets of devices and installation configurations found in residential settings.

Interop testing goes even further than the specification compliance testing performed for certification purposes. It enables checking of product behavior and user experience in real-life settings with a variety of different products, hubs, and controllers across different brands, and in various network configurations, including mobile apps and controller interactions, providing feedback to device, app, and platform makers, with a goal of enabling increased product quality and an improved user experience.

The ITF is located in Portland, Oregon, and is staffed by Alliance personnel. Members may utilize these facilities by booking slots to attend in person, witness interop testing, or send their products to be tested in their absence. To book a slot, please email your request to interop@csa-iot.org. The ITF also provides a testing environment for Zigbee products.

Moving Matter Forward

With this first post-launch release, our members have focused on making Matter easier to use and get products to market, and with the exciting launch of our ITF, supporting the continuous improvement of the experience users have with those products.

When Matter 1.0 was launched in the fall of 2022, the Alliance set a goal of a twice-yearly release cycle. The Alliance is actively working on the next version of Matter with new features and device type support, expected later this year.

MacDailyNews Note: As an open, industry standard, companies interested in bringing their ideas and device type support to Matter can join the Connectivity Standards Alliance and the Matter Working Group. Visit csa-iot.org to learn more about membership.

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Connectivity Standards Alliance releases Matter 1.1

tigaman webdesign — Fri, 19 May 2023 21:05:14 +0000

Matter 1.1 released

These enhancements, now included in the Matter SDK and API, further the working group’s continuous goal of improving Matter products and the Matter developer experience.

Developers interested in learning more about these enhancements can access the following resources:

Matter 1.1 specification
Matter 1.1 SDK Release

Alliance Opens New Interoperability Test Facility in Portland, Oregon

Moving Matter Forward

TGIF! Beloved interns, please do your duty and TTK! Prost, everyone!

Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!

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The post Connectivity Standards Alliance releases Matter 1.1 appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Home automation standard Matter gets its first update since release

tigaman webdesign — Thu, 18 May 2023 18:18:53 +0000

Matter, the new smart home standard that launched in late 2022 is getting an update, but it doesn’t look like it’s bringing anything new to consumers.

HomePod mini and Matter logo

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) is the governing body behind Matter, and today it has announced the first major update for the standard. With Matter 1.1, the CSA is squashing bugs, but that’s about it.

Home automation standard Matter gets its first update since release

tigaman webdesign — Thu, 18 May 2023 18:18:53 +0000

Matter, the new smart home standard that launched in late 2022 is getting an update, but it doesn’t look like it’s bringing anything new to consumers.

HomePod mini and Matter logo

Home automation standard Matter gets its first update since release

tigaman webdesign — Thu, 18 May 2023 18:18:53 +0000

Matter, the new smart home standard that launched in late 2022 is getting an update, but it doesn’t look like it’s bringing anything new to consumers.

HomePod mini and Matter logo

Alliance – Latest Apple News

How to use Passkeys on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Apple IDs

Enroll at a website

Log in with a passkey

Login from other devices

The future is passkeys

Apple automatically assigns Apple ID owners their very own passkey in macOS Sonoma, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17

iPhone 15 said to get ultra wideband upgrade, iPhone 16 likely to offer Wi-Fi 7

Kuo: iPhone 15 to Get Next-Gen Ultra Wideband Chip for Enhanced Vision Pro Headset Integration

Apple announces macOS Sonoma with support for desktop widgets and screensavers

Connectivity Standards Alliance releases Matter 1.1

Connectivity Standards Alliance releases Matter 1.1

Home automation standard Matter gets its first update since release

Home automation standard Matter gets its first update since release

Home automation standard Matter gets its first update since release