A slow day for Apple news, so we’re covering three short stories for you regarding 911 location services, Apple Pay and an upcoming change in macOS Mojave:
- Apple partners with a 911 infrastructure company in the USA to integrate its HELO technology into existing call centers so iOS 12 911 calls will send specific and detailed location information
- Apple Pay is making it to Poland as early as tomorrow
- System software updates are moving from the Mac App Store to a System Preference pane in macOS Mojave, returning to the location they were before OS X Lion
The text version of the podcast can be read below. To listen to the podcast here, click the play button on the player below. Apple News readers need to visit Apple World Today in order to listen to the podcast.
Text Version
This is Steve Sande for Apple World Today, and you’re listening to the AWT News Update podcast for Monday, June 18th, 2018.
If you’re like me, you probably thought that calling 911 in the US already automatically added your precise location to the voice call so that first responders could find you if you couldn’t tell them your location. Well, apparently that’s not the case, as Apple announced that the iOS 12 release later this year will add automatic locations data sharing with 911 and other emergency services. Apple has a feature called HELO, which stands for Hybridized Emergency Location, that uses services like cell towers, GPS, Wi-Fi access points and others to estimate a mobile 911 caller’s location. Apple’s adding to the capability by also using a partnership with a company called RapidSOS to deliver that data to 911 call centers. RapidSOS has infrastructure in place to integrate with 911 call centers over industry-standard protocols, and the emergency location data can’t be used for non-emergency purposes. Apple’s HELO, which was released in 2015, beats the FCC’s requirement that carriers can locate callers to within 50 meters of their actual location, but Apple didn’t have the infrastructure to get that information to call centers. All of the pieces of the puzzle will be in place later this year. Rob McMullen, President of the 911 Association, said “We’re thrilled that Apple is giving 911 centers access to device-based location data via a thoroughly-tested, standards-based approach. This will accelerate the deployment of Next Generation 911 for everyone, saving lives and protecting property.”
Apple Pay will be rolling out to a new country as soon as tomorrow. Poland is the next to get Apple’s touchless payment system, with the company supporting the following banks: Alior, BGZ BNP Paribas, BZ WBK, Getin, mBank, Nest Bank, Pekao, and Raiffeisen Polbank. More banks are expected to be added in September, possibly including PKO BP, which is Poland’s largest retail bank.
Back in the old days before OS X Lion, system software updates weren’t done from the Mac App Store. Instead, whenever you wanted to update the system you went to System Preferences and found the pane for software updates. Apple has now moved system updates back to System Preferences in macOS Mojave, with a new preference pane that combines all macOS related software updates into one place. You’ll be able to adjust different system update options, including having your Mac check for updates automatically, having it download newly available updates in the background without asking you, install app updates automatically, install macOS updates automatically, and install system data files and security updates automatically. Mac app updates will continue to be found in the Updates section of the Mac App Store. This brings macOS and iOS into line, as iOS has long had system updates in the Settings app, not in the App Store.
Join me tomorrow afternoon for the next edition of the AWT News Update.
Like this podcast? Consider supporting Apple World Today with a $5 monthly Team AWT membership.
