Category: Mobile Computing

Articles

The Apple messaging app on your iPhone will support RCS messaging as a fallback platform in 2024

Apple announces RCS support for iOS. What does this mean for green vs. blue bubbles? | Mashable

Messaging Between iPhones and Android to Get So Much Better Next Year (droid-life.com)

Apple iPhones will support RCS starting 2024 but green bubbles will remain – SamMobile

My Comments

RCS Universal Profile messaging is a rich open-frame messaging standard defined by GSM Association that follows on from SMS and MMS messaging. This allows for IP-based text messaging and offers features typically associated with over-the-top messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Signal or Apple’s iMessage. But it allows mobile-phone service providers to offer these kind of features.

Android has provided inherent support for this messaging system as part of Google’s and Samsung’s messaging clients. But Apple was determined to use their own iMessage platform as the preferred messaging platform for iPhones or iPads. If you as an Android user communicated with someone who uses an iPhone, your messages would go through as an MMS message.

This wouldn’t have the rich messaging abilities of either RCS or iMessage and your messages come through as green bubbles in the conversation flow. Photos and videos would also appear at lower resolutions which may not do them justice. In some cases, people who want to engage in rich messaging with Apple users would end up resorting to WhatsApp, Signal or a similar platform.

Sometimes Apple fanbois see the green bubble as an indication that their correspondent is “not in the program” because they aren’t using an iPhone, with some tech and general press describing the green bubble as a “scarlet letter”. Recently Google and Samsung have been putting pressure on Apple to implement RCS messaging in iMessage including shaming Apple in front of industry peers. This is similar to how Apple products, especially iPhones, have been seen as status symbols.

As well, the European Union enacted their Digital Markets Act which is seen as a way to significantly regulate Big Tech and their market power. There was further interest amongst the tech press about having the European Commission use this law to enforce Apple to implement RCS messaging on iPhones and iPads. This is after the success that the European bureaucrats had with forcing Apple to install USB-C power-data connectors on the iPhone 15 in lieu of Apple’s preferred MFi Lightning connectors, with this connection appearing on the iPhone 15 family and newer iPhones offered around the world.

The RCS messaging feature will work as a fallback cross-platform messaging platform for sending messages to non-Apple devices. This is while the Apple iMessage platform continues to exist as the preferred messaging platform amongst Apple’s own platforms. That will still mean that Apple users appear in a conversation stream as blue bubbles while other platforms appear as green bubbles.

This feature will be expected to start sometime in 2024 and most likely be issued as part of a new major version or “point” update for iOS where functionality is introduced to the operating system, rather than a software-quality / security update.

Article

Google to integrate Samsung’s “Maintenance Mode” in to the Android platform rather than for a particular manufacturer’s devices

Google steals Maintenance Mode from Samsung smartphones – SamMobile

Google Pixel Repair Mode may hide your personal data during repairs (androidauthority.com)

Previous coverage on Maintenance Mode

Samsung to roll out a “valet key” for your smartphone

My Comments

In 2022, Samsung introduced the “Maintenance Mode” function to their Android phones that run One UI 5.

I described this feature as being equivalent to a “valet key” setup for most of the good cars where you give the carpark valet or the mechanic a key to your car that only allows them to open the doors and start the engine. But that key doesn’t provide access to the boot (trunk) or the glove box. You still have another key to open the boot or glove box, whether that is a separate key or a so-called “master key” that works all of the vehicle’s locks.

In this case, it is about putting your phone in this “Maintenance Mode” where there is an account available to the technicians when you hand over your phone for repairs. But your data is moved to an account that is only available to you, which you log in to when you reclaim your phone from the repair facility.

More Android phones will have that kind of “valet key” operation. just like cars such as this Jaguar XJ6 did to limit access to the boot (trunk) and glove box when the vehicles were repaired or at valet parking

Google has shown interest in Samsung’s Maintenance Mode feature and wants to implement it in to Android 14 QPR1, primarily pitched towards Google’s own Android hardware, as a significant feature. But this effectively provides a clean version of the operating systems to repairers rather than creating an alternate account. This may be useful for creating the “known to be good” environment for repairers to work with when they are troubleshooting your phone, along with being able to install any test software that can be removed when you re-enable your phone by logging in to your account.

Again, there is an issue with “pushing through” and preserving software upgrades that will usually be part of a repair job. Here, it is to permit an Android version upgrade or a security patch installed by the repairer to survive the reboot process when the phone is booted in to standard usage mode. This will be required to work in conjunction with a trusted-software environment where the software is trusted by Google or a third-party endpoint-data-security lab.

But other operating systems like Windows, MacOS and iOS will need to support this functionality

At the moment, Google Pixel phones will have this feature but there is also a likelihood for it to appear as a subsequent feature update to other Android 14 packages for other device manufacturers. What will have to happens is for Apple and Microsoft to offer this kind of functionality in their desktop and mobile operating systems to provide some sort of peace of mind for their devices’ end users.

Here, I see this as a feature that the desktop and mobile computing market will demand especially when we see increased legal protection for the right to repair our devices and become able to have our equipment upgraded by equipment retailers or independent repair workshops.

Article

OWC Thunderbolt Go Dock Review | TechRadar

From the horse’s mouth

OWC

Thunderbolt Go Dock (Product Page)

Product Video – Click or tap to play in YouTube

MacFixit Australia (Australian distributor)

OWC Thunderbolt Go Dock – Thunderbolt 4 – Macfixit Australia (Click to buy)

My Comments

OWC has come up with an impressive Thunderbolt 4 dock that has features that are out of the ordinary for this class of equipment. This is a unit that is compact enough to fit in one of the pockets of a laptop bag

Here, it can connect to a host computer device that uses a Thunderbolt 3/4/USB4 connection and has plenty of connections for other peripherals. There are two Thunderbolt 4/USB4/USB-C downstream ports, an extra USB-C port, three USB-A ports with two as USB3 ports, a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, an HDMI port, a 3.5mm stereo line-out jack and an SD card reader.

The use of a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port on one of these devices is astounding because, along with the Thunderbolt connection, it means that the equipment is ready for wired networks that implement the next logical upgrade from Gigabit Ethernet. It can also be of relevance with newer network-attached-storage units that support this kind of Ethernet connection.

This OWS Thunderbolt Go Dock only comes with the Thunderbolt cable and a standard AC cord

A feature that makes this Thunderbolt dock special compared to other Thunderbolt or USB-C docks is that it has a built-in power supply. That means you only need to use the kind of “figure-8” AC cord typically used to power something like a boombox. This is compared to the other docks that are powered by a wall-wart or power-brick AC adaptor. I suspect this has come about due to GaN technology that allows for a very small power-supply footprint in product designs.

This means it is easier to replace the AC cord if you happen to lose it or it becomes damaged. Also you are at an advantage when you travel overseas because you can use a “figure 8” AC cord with the destination country’s AC plug. Here, you may be able to use one of these cords that became spare due to a piece of equipment breaking down or could buy one from an electronics store or supermarket.

The power budget for this device is 90W upstream to the host computer and 15W downstream to the Thunderbolt / USB-C downstream connections. The standard USB-A connections are rated for 1.5A each. As well, the power supply works across the standard mains voltage ranges used in just about all countries, making this device really about travel.

OWC supplies an “ejector” package that safely releases all the secondary-storage devices that are connected to the host computer via the dock. Here, it is more about providing simultaneous ejection of all of the devices rather than requiring the user to go through each device to safely dismount each disk or SD card.

Windows and Linux users would also have to install a Realtek driver package for the Ethernet network functionality because there isn’t device class support in these operating systems for Thunderbolt network interfaces.

This concept could be taken further with increased power output across the USB ports or to support 12-24V DC as an alternative power input. That could then come in to its own with automotive, marine and aviation use cases where you have that kind of power comes out of an accessory-power / cigar-lighter socket or aviation EmPower socket. Such a use case could encompass tradespeople, digital nomads or others who work from the back of a van.

But what I see is the idea of a portable capable Thunderbolt or USB-C dock that doesn’t require you to worry about carrying a particular AC adaptor with it because it has its own power supply built in to it. This practice could become the way to go for newer premium Thunderbolt or USB-C docking stations and similar devices whether they are pitched for desktop use or on-the-road use.

HP E14 G4 portable monitor

Most of the monitor brands have at least one portable monitor in their range, with a few companies offering them as their only product.

These are monitors that have a screen size of between 11” to 18”, weigh below 2kg and are packaged in a manner so you can take them with you when you are out and about. They come in to their own as a second screen for your laptop, typically due to them matching common laptop screen sizes.

The USB-C connectivity standard, especially as used with display devices, has made these devices possible due to the use of one cable to power the monitor, send the video and audio signals to the monitor and, in some cases, pass data back to the host computer according to common standards. Some of these monitors have their own power supply like a battery which can reduce the power burden on your laptop.

Most of these monitors have a stand that is part of the cover or as a clip-on base that has the connection ports. But there are those that are designed to clip to your laptop, with these monitors typically sold as “screen extenders”.

They are typically a “plug-and-play” accessory that can work with any computer no matter the operating system as long as the computer has the appropriate hardware connections. Some of them will even have a micro-HDMI or DisplayPort connection so they can work with digital or video cameras or with older laptops that don’t have USB-C connections.

There are some monitors that have the built-in audio with their own speakers and/or a headset / line-out jack. These work to the “display audio” driver used by your computer’s graphics processor. Some of the monitors have a touchscreen, a Webcam and/or a USB peripheral hub as product-differentiating features.

The typical resolution for most of these monitors is at Full HD (1920×1080) and they typically have a screen quality that is similar to common consumer or business laptops. A selection of these portable monitors are being pitched at the gaming or creative market with them supporting higher resolutions like 4K UHDTV, which is a screen quality equivalent to a laptop or desktop monitor pitched at the creator / prosumer market, or higher screen refresh rates. These are justifiably sold at a higher price premium.

You may find that some Android mobile devices, especially high-end Samsung devices, and some handheld video game consoles like the Nintendo Switch can work with portable monitors. This may appeal to those of us who do a lot of mobile gaming for instance.

Who are they worth it for

A portable monitor would come in to its own with laptop users who value a second screen while on the road. They may not earn their keep when you use your laptop primarily on public transport like in an aircraft. Rather they would come in to their own when used at the place you are staying at overnight, or a place you use as a secondary workspace like a café.

Using an EspressoFlow portable monitor to show information to another person when working with someone else

If you are talking with someone at a table and want to show them resources you have on your computer or the Internet, these screens come in handy because you can have the portable monitor face whoever you are talking to while you are able to prepare material on your laptop to show the other person. This is important if you want to sit opposite the other person so you can see the other person’s face. Similarly, they can work well with videoconferences and online classes, giving you the advantage of two screens.

If you have a multi-screen home office, you may think of that portable monitor as something that is redundant. But in could come in bandy for some uses like monitoring particular email, Social Web, news or messaging feeds. Touchscreen-enabled or stylus-enabled portable monitors could end up as a form of digital tablet for your computing workspace.

Some of you will find a touchscreen or stylus-enabled portable monitor suitable for your needs especially where you want to add touch or stylus input to your existing setup. It can also be useful if you are wanting a larger touch-enabled or stylus-enabled input surface for your existing touch-capable or stylus-capable setup.

What to look for

An EspressoFlow portable monitor serving as a stylus-driven tablet for artists to use

When you are looking for a portable monitor, you need to be sure you are after a unit that is well built. Most users can get by with any of the models that are pitched towards business users and professionals.

They will typically have a screen design similar to the typical consumer or business laptop computer and would have a Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen resolution, similar to what I would prefer for a laptop computer so you aren’t unnecessarily running out of battery power.

As well, the screen size should approximate your laptop’s screen size if you are using the portable monitor to extend the laptop’s screen area. A good rule of thumb is to have the screen’s height the same as your laptop’s screen, something that could work well if both displays are of different aspect ratios. On the other hand, larger screen sizes can come in to their own for activities where you are see the monitor act as another “desktop” or “work area”.

If your laptop computer has a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 / 4 port, the portable monitor should have a USB-C port with DisplayPort alt and PowerDelivery functionality. The latter functionality would even come in to its own even if the monitor has its own power supply such as a battery. That means it can effectively “balance” the power requirements for the computer and monitor and “spin out” the battery.

If you have or are likely to use the portable monitor with an older computer that doesn’t have a USB-C port, the portable monitor should have a micro-HDMI or DisplayPort connection and cables to connect it to an HDMI port on the host computer. Or it has to support DisplayLink which sends video information over a USB connection with the monitor being supplied with a USB-C to USB-A cable. As well, it would also have to be self powered and able to he charged from an external charger.

A portable monitor equipped with an HDMI connection and, preferably, HDCP and audio support would come in to its own with all sorts of video peripherals. Think of reviewing photos or video you took with your digital or video camera on a screen larger than the camera’s own screen. Or teaming the monitor with a set-top box to use it as the equivalent of one of those portable TVs.

Higher resolutions or stylus support can be of value for anyone who does a lot of work with graphics and multimedia. Touchscreen monitors would be nice to have for those of us who want the touch-driven “tablet experience” for our regular computers. It is important where software allows for a screen to be purposed as a touch-friendly control surface which is being expected of most software.

Conclusion

Portable monitors are a useful accessory for your laptop computer, especially where you value multiple-screen computing on the road or want to have an ancillary screen for videoconferencing and interviews.

In some ways, they can add extra functionality to your existing computer setup such as a touch-enabled control panel or stylus-enabled drawing tablet. Those units that have HDMI inputs equivalent to an ordinary TV can come in to their own with many different video devices used in a personal manner.

LG SoundPop 360 Bluetooth speakers
– an example of the popular Bluetooth speakers

A very popular accessory for smartphones, tablets and laptops is the Bluetooth speaker. These speakers connect to your mobile device via Bluetooth and work as an audio output device for it.

The typical design for most of these speakers is to be a highly portable battery-operated unit that can fill a small area with sound in a manner equivalent to the typical portable radio. These appear in many different sizes from something that fits in your palm to larger tube-shaped units that can be carried using a strap or shoved in your coat pocket. Add to this an increasing number of larger cube-shaped speakers that put out a bass rich sound.

Add to this larger mains-powered bookshelf active speakers that have Bluetooth audio functionality in them along with a variety of inputs like analogue line-level and phono inputs or USB, SP/DIF and HDMI digital-audio inputs. These are being pitched as a way to set up a stereo for an office or small apartment.

In a lot of cases especially with portable speakers, these have a built-in microphone so they can become a speakerphone for your mobile device, something that can come in handy for conference calling including Zoom calls. But some Bluetooth speakers like the B&O Beosound A1 2nd Generation speaker even have this function set up so they work with your smartphone or tablet as a voice-activated smart speaker.

T

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 2nd Generation Bluetooth smart speaker that works with a smartphone or similar devicce to benefit from Amazon Alexa

hese exist in a universe of Bluetooth audio endpoints like audio adaptors that work between a line-level audio connection and Bluetooth Classic audio as either a transmitter or receiver. This is in addition to home audio equipment receiving Bluetooth audio as an input and/or transmitting content available to it as a Bluetooth audio stream.

An example of this is in the form of portable and mantel radios that work as Bluetooth speakers. This device class has capitalised on the interest over the last 15 years in premium radios thanks to the likes of Bose and Tivoli offering radios that look and perform “above average”; the nostalgia for vintage-styled radios, along with broadcast radio being delivered via digital-broadcast technology or Internet technology and yielding programming exclusive to those technologies.

It includes companies offering audio source devices like turntables or CD players that stream to Bluetooth speakers. This is because the Bluetooth audio specifications are in fact “application-level” specifications that have been pre-determined for a long time, so there as surety that their source devices can work with any Bluetooth audio endpoint device. Here, it could allow someone to create an elementary sound system around that device and a pair of Bluetooth speakers.

Some of these speakers come with other features like LED-driven “party lights” or very large batteries that work as powerbanks for charging mobile devices. As well, a lot of larger portable Bluetooth speakers make use of passive radiators as a way to increase their bass response while others rely on an app-driven approach to allow you to adjust their sound quality from your smartphone.

Multi-speaker operation

But, thanks to Bluetooth 5, there has been an interest in multi-speaker Bluetooth audio approaches. This comes in the form of two operating modes:

Party Mode: Multiple speakers play the same programme content from the same source device with speakers that are stereo-designed playing the content in stereo across the speakers in that same box. This is to provide more sound coverage, typically for entertaining people at a party. Most such setups can handle a relatively large number of speakers due to latency not being considered important for this use case.

Stereo Mode: A pair of like speakers are set up so that one plays the left channel of a stereo programme source from one source device while the other plays the right channel of that same source. This is to improve the channel separation for the stereo content.

Typically manufacturers are limiting this functionality to a subset of their Bluetooth-speaker product range, more so the products in the “value” and “premium” market positionings.

These operating modes may work in one of two arrangements;

Source-to-speakers / hub-and-spoke: The source device streams the audio content to the speakers at once. This is typically implemented for stereo-mode operation so as to reduce latency by making sure the data gets to each speaker without any middleman device processing it.

Speaker-to-speaker / daisy-chain: The source device streams the audio content to one speaker which passes it on to other speakers down the line. This appeals to party-mode operation so as to permit large numbers of speakers to be in the setup. It may allow speakers to introduce some latency but this isn’t an issue for party-mode operation due to the goal of covering a large area with sound.

What to watch

Bluetooth LE Audio and its impact on Bluetooth speakers

Bluetooth LE Audio has been cemented in stone as the next-generation Bluetooth multimedia audio standard and is expected to provide a raft of improvements for this device class.

This implements the Bluetooth LC3 audio codec which is about efficient audio data transfer and even improve sound quality, operational stability and battery runtime. Here it also allows mobile-technology designers to avoid reinventing the wheel for audio-codec improvements when it comes to baseline audio performance for Bluetooth audio.

For portable Bluetooth speakers, this could be about allowing you to move around more freely with your mobile device without fear of losing the music as well as being able to run for a long time before needing to be charged up. As well, there will be the ability for these speakers and similar devices to cope with congested 2.4GHx wireless environments like in a city centre because of the robustness that the LC3 audio codec will offer.

This could impact how they are designed such as to have portable speakers that are lighter because of not needing to design around large battery packs. There will also be the chance to design higher-quality portable Bluetooth speakers that take advantage of higher quality sound that the new codec offers. Multi-speaker setups, especially based on Auracast, could be benefitting if the setup permits meshed or daisy-chained operation because of reduced latency in such setups and less impact on battery runtime for the actual sound reproduction.

Auracast broadcast audio will come in to its own with Bluetooth speakers that implement the Bluetooth LE Audio standard. Firstly, this could be about multiple-speaker party-mode operation without a requirement to use particular speakers from the same manufacturer. It may even allow the use of multichannel setups within the same Auracast multi-speaker setup rather than having “party mode” or “stereo mode” being mutually exclusive. Here, you would be using “audio sharing” on your phone, tablet or laptop to facilitate this mode with the device being enabled for Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast.

As well, Auracast-based broadcast audio and Bluetooth speakers can be a perfect partner here. For example, a small Bluetooth speaker used in this context could be about close listening to an alternative soundtrack for video or other content or following an event going on in a nieghbouring area from another small room where you might be engaging in activity relating to that event.

Similarly, Auracast with Bluetooth speakers could be a logical follow-on to FM radio where listenership using BYO audio devices is desired for an event hosted in an area with a small footprint.

Previously, radio broadcasters were often collaborating with event organisers to broadcast the musical soundtrack to a large public event like a fireworks display, street parade or motorcade. Then you would have to bring a portable radio to that event and tune in to that station to follow the soundtrack using that radio to get the best value from that event. This approach may be seen as irrelevant for a radio station with a large broadcast area like a major city’s metropolitan area unless the event has a large footprint that takes in more of that broadcast area such as a fireworks display encompassing a waterway that passes through the city.

Similarly, there were the drive-in cinemas where you tuned your car radio to a particular frequency to hear the film’s soundtrack. Here, this was limited to what the FM band was about and issues like destructive multipath that could ruin your listening experience.

Here, Auracast could lead towards a license-free wireless audio distribution approach centred around Bluetooth speakers that implement Bluetooth LE Audio technology. It would also be about increased flexibility within the setup like multichannel speaker clusters (think stereo pairs or speakers plus subwoofer setups).

The Bluetooth LE Audio specification will also impact multiple-input operation for Bluetooth speakers. This could be about seamless multipoint operation when you want to use a speaker with a smartphone and laptop or allowing your party guests to contribute to the music at your party using their devices. It could also be about party speakers that work with Bluetooth LE Audio microphones for karaoke and PA usage.

How Bluetooth LE Audio will come in to play for devices like Bluetooth headsets and speakers is the availability of dual-mode system-on-chip circuitry for this class of device. This will allow devices to work in a Bluetooth LE Audio or Bluetooth Classic Audio mode depending on what Bluetooth device they are working with, so as to assure maximum compatibility.

What could be done

There could be an emphasis towards optimising for and promoting mesh operation within multiple-speaker setups. Here, it can be used to make these setups more robust including allowing you to position your smartphone or other source device near any of the member speakers to assure audio continuity.

Multi-speaker setups could also be about bass improvement such as to add a subwoofer in to a party-mode or stereo-mode setup to pump up the bass. This also includes use of speakers that implement separately-amplified bass drivers being capable of working as part of these setups, especially “stereo-mode” setups.

There could be less reliance on “app-cessory” operation for common advanced functionality like tone control or lighting control. This could be facilitated with application-level functionality in Bluetooth LE Audio for these functions and avoid the need to create buggy apps for mobile and desktop platforms.

Manufacturers could look towards offering a variant of their Bluetooth speaker designs that has a broadcast-band radio tuner built in. Here, if you had already bought a particular speaker and then know there is one of the same design as what you already bought but has the radio functionality as well, you could justify buying the one with the radio so you can have a pair of speakers for party-mode or stereo-mode operation. It could also incentivise the manufacturer to design the speakers to work in multi-speaker mode for radio broadcasts as well as your phone’s audio.

It could extend to Bluetooth speakers that have line-input connections being able to stream the device connected to that input across a multi-speaker setup. This would extend the utility of that connection for multi-channel setups or party-mode setups.

Other complementary standards could be worked on to bring more utility out of the Bluetooth speaker class. For example, the HDMI-ARC standard could be worked on in a manner to support delivery of multiple soundtracks for the same video content. Here, this could incentivise the development of soundbars and AV receivers that allow streaming of different soundtracks to Bluetooth audio endpoints associated with the same device. That could allow a viewer to hear an alternate-language or audio-described soundtrack for video content using a Bluetooth headset or speaker paired to the soundbar or AV receiver while others hear the main soundtrack for that same content through that soundbar.

What I see that will affect Bluetooth speakers is the next few model cycles is to have Bluetooth LE Audio support as a heavily-marketed feature that will improve how they operate in many ways. It is something that I would see drip through a manufacturer’s Bluetooth audio product range.

Articles

You can use security keys as a second factor for authenticating with Apple ID on your iPhone

iOS 16.3 Lets You Use a Physical Key for Added Security When Logging Into Your Apple Account (gizmodo.com.au)

Apple iOS 16.3 arrives with support for hardware security keys (bleepingcomputer.com)

Security Keys Are Now the Best Way to Protect Your Apple ID (lifehacker.com.au)

From the horse’s mouth

Apple

Apple advances user security with powerful new data protections (Press Release)

About Security Keys for Apple ID (Support article)

Use security keys to sign in to your Apple ID account on iPhone (Support article)

My Comments

Apple is making it feasible to use hardware security keys in iOS as an authentication factor for their Apple ID logon.

This is being desired as a “phish-proof” approach for secondary authentication or sole authentication due to a physical device not being easily coerced or fooled. As well, this “machine-to-machine” approach allows for stronger passkeys.

It is even seen as a preferred secondary authentication factor for online services used by journalists, human-rights defenders, the public service within democracies and others working with high-stakes information. This avoids such users being fooled in to releasing their online accounts to highly-targeted spear-phishing attacks.

Apple supports this on iPhones and iPads through the iOS/iPadOS 16.3 major feature update. This is also being written in to MacOS Ventura 13.2 for the Apple Mac regular computers whereupon you just use the security key as the secondary authentication factor. They primarily implement this as an alternative secondary authentication means to transcribing a six-digit number shown on your iPhone when it comes to two-factor authentication for your Apple ID.

In the context of the Apple Watch, Apple TV and HomePod devices, you use your iPhone that you set up with the security key authentication to provide the secondary authentication factor when you set these up for your Apple ID. Here, this is easier for limited-interface devices because another device is managing some of the authentication work with your Apple ID.

FIDO-compliant hardware security keys are supported with this update but they have to have an MFi Lightning plug or NFC “touch and go” interface to work with the current crop of iPhones in circulation. USB-C is also supported but you would need a USB-C to MFi Lightning adaptor for iOS devices except newer iPads that have this connector. You also may find that newer iPhones that are to come on the market soon will have the USB-C connector due to pressure from the European Union and some other jurisdictions.

There will be a requirement to set up two hardware keys with the same iOS device when you implement this feature. This is so you have a backup key in case the one you lose the one you regularly use or that one is damaged such as being laundered with your clothes.

Add to this that support does exist for app-level or Website-level verification with security keys within iOS. But it may allow Apple to build in and refine the necessary application-programming interfaces for third-party app developers who want to support this form of authentication.

What I see at least is the implementation of hardware security keys in the mobile platform context when it comes to multi-factor or password-free authentication for the user’s primary platform account. Who knows when Google will offer this feature for Android. Could this also be about leading towards the use of hardware security keys as a hardening factor for user account security?

Articles

There is action taking place that is prying open the app-store marketplace for mobile platform devices

Spotify and Google Give You Choice in Paying Them (droid-life.com)

Apple will allow third-party app stores, because the EU mandates it | Mashable

Apple is reportedly preparing to allow third-party app stores on iOS | Engadget

Previous Coverage on HomeNetworking01.info

USA to pry open mobile-app-store market

My Comments

Thanks to the “Fortnite” saga where Google and Apple were accused of slugging Epic Games with commissions for selling in-app commodities via their mobile-platform app stores, there has been a shake-up regarding how these app stores are run.

This has also been intensified with various jurisdictions instigating work on or passing legislation and regulation regarding a competitive market for online app stores. One of these is the European Union with the Digital Markets Act which targets large online services that have a gatekeeper role, along with the USA with its Open App Markets Act which targets app stores appearing on mobile and desktop computing platforms and other devices like games consoles or smart TVs.

The Europeans see their effort not just to pry open app stores but also search engines, social networks, video-sharing sites, digital ad platforms, public cloud platforms, even so-called intermediary services like AirBnB, Uber, Uber Eats and Booking.com. There are similar efforts also taking place within UK and Australia with this effort resulting in codes of practice being established for online services.

What has happened so far

Google has taken steps to enable user-choice billing for in-app purchases normally made through their Play Store.

Firstly, they allowed people who use Bumble online-dating apps to subscribe directly with Bumble or via the app store. Now they have enabled Spotify subscribers to pay for their subscription either through the Play Store or direct with Spotify. Of course, some online services like Netflix and Britbox allow for direct payment for their subscriptions by requiring you to manage your account through the service provider’s Website.

But Google will implement this feature at the checkout point in your purchase by allowing you to select payment via Google Play or directly with the software developer. When you pay directly, you will see the online service payment user-experience provided by the developer including the ability to redeem their service’s gift vouchers, pay using PayPal or pay using a payment card platform they have business relations with. Or you pay using Google Play Store’s payment user interface that you would be familiar with.

When your payment-card statement arrives, you will see a reference to Google if you paid for the online commodity through them or a reference to the software developer / online service if you paid directly.

Paying directly would mean that software developer or online service gets your money without having to pay a “cut” to Google for accepting payment via the Google Play Store. As well, the software developer or online service is at liberty to sign up with other payment means like PayPal, other credit cards like AMEX or Discover / Diners Club, or national account-linked payment platforms like EFTPOS, Carte Bleue or EC-Karte. There is also the ability for them to offer gift vouchers that go towards their offerings.

Another benefit that will come about if you pay for a subscription directly is that if you change to a different mobile platform, your subscription is kept alive rather than you having to reinstigate your subscription with the new platform’s app store and payment mechanism.

It also positions the Google Play Store’s online payment arrangement in competition with the software developer or online service thus improving the terms of business for accepting payment from customers. An example of this is both service providers providing a link with payment-anchored loyalty programs as a way to incentivise customers towards payment through their platforms.

Another direction being taken towards prying open the app stores is Apple baking  support for third-party app stores into iOS 17 which is the next major feature release of iOS. This is in addition to offering newer versions of the iPhone with USB-C ports rather than MFi Lightning ports for external connectivity. Here, this is due to intense European pressure to open themselves up to open markets by the European Union. But the support for third-party app stores would also come down to the Open App Markets Act that is being pushed through the US Congress.

Issues to be resolved

One issue that will have to be resolved is how the average smartphone or tablet user can install a competing app store to their device.

This is more about where a smartphone manufacturer or mobile operating system developer can get away with burying this option behind a “developer mode” or “advanced-user mode”. Or it could be about onerous requirements placed on software developers by mobile platforms when it comes to creating or publishing their software such as access to application-programming interfaces or software development kits.

The app stores will also have to be about selling good-quality compelling software and games. This is so they don’t end up as the equivalent of bulletin boards, download sites and optical discs attached to computer magazines where these resources were full of poor-quality software, known as “shovelware”.

Then there is the appeal of competing app stores to consumers and software developers. Personally I see these stores have initial appeal in the gaming sector with the likes of Steam or GOG existing on mobile platforms. Also I would see some software developers operate their own app stores as a way to maintain end-to-end control of their apps.

Conclusion

There are steps being taken by Google and Apple to liberate their mobile-platform software ecosystem even though it is under pressure from competition authorities in significant jurisdictions.