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No, devices aren't vulnerable but that can remain a mystery because on monthly occasions, we will get a security update. That just really makes me wonder. I'm on both prospectives currently. I think yours is true and mine is true.
All digital hardwares are vulnerable. The only difference is the effort needed to crack them. The cost of an exploit is different. Unfortunately, devices tend to get exponentially worse in this regard as they age.
 
The article says that the cutoff is "Fall 2020".. that's 6 months ago. We aren't talking about age-old vintage devices here..
Essentially: Everything being sold is old already. Specially in terms of security, this is more likely measured in days then in months.
 
I don’t have enough fast chargers at home, neither do my parents. I have some slow ones but they are occupied by lower end products that never comes with chargers. For example, power banks, electric arc lighters, rechargeable laser pointers, eInk Kindles, electric toothbrushes, headphone, etc. They also don’t work with USB-C.
Okay, Okay.....But the charger that comes with an iPhone is fairly small and in the example they are mentioning, would it not be better to get something like an Anker 5 port or 7 port fast charger and be able to charge everything at the same time in the same place?

Or, like I said before , you get a certificate for a free one in you want it? so for the people that don't need/want it, it's not wasted?
 
Sure save $5 sell a $20 new one instead
It costs $5 for Apple to purchase at volume from the factory, but it will cost significantly more after the cost of retail is factored in. Shipping, returns, product liability, packaging, design cost, tax, tariffs, etc. They come closer to $12 in the end.
 
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If you add a certificate for a free charger, you might as well have put a charger in the box and save the paper used to make the certificate. I mean, “Who doesn’t like free?!?” Probably get a >90% uptake “just in case my current charger fails”.
Not so sure about that, first the comparison of paper to e is a no brainer, paper just goes into paper recycle, e-waste ends up who knows where...based on good conscious.

II know plenty of people that would not take it, because they just don't want more still lying around.
 
Okay, Okay.....But the charger that comes with an iPhone is fairly small and in the example they are mentioning, would it not be better to get something like an Anker 5 port or 7 port fast charger and be able to charge everything at the same time in the same place?

Or, like I said before , you get a certificate for a free one in you want it? so for the people that don't need/want it, it's not wasted?
An extra charger is never wasted. You can put it in a new room, or in the office, or by the toilet like my mom...

Apple will not give you a voucher because the core motivation is not environmental, but budgetary.
 
It costs $5 for Apple to purchase at volume from the factory, but it will cost significantly more after the cost of retail is factored in. Shipping, returns, product liability, packaging, design cost, tax, tariffs, etc. They come closer to $12 in the end.
Still sounds like they are ahead by $8
 
If you add a certificate for a free charger, you might as well have put a charger in the box and save the paper used to make the certificate. I mean, “Who doesn’t like free?!?” Probably get a >90% uptake “just in case my current charger fails”.
Why do you have to use paper? It can be added to the Apple ID. You just order it the same way you book your Apple appointment.


Also. Xiaomi did somet similar. The cost of a version with a fast charger and the one did not is exactly the same. You can choose when you order.
 
Just speaking from my personal usage. I never even take the included chargers out of the box. I have a Sonnett Technology USB-C card in the Mac Pro with a USB-C cable and a Lightning cable at the desk. An Anker 5 port charger next to the bed to power the charging of iPhone cradle, Watch, iPad. A 13" MacBook Pro brick in my backpack with a cable for MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad and watch. A USB charger built into the wall outlet in the living room next to the couch.
 
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Apple made unusual mid-production hardware changes to the A12, A13, and S5 processors in its devices in the fall of 2020 to update the Secure Storage Component, according to Apple Support documents.

a13-bionic-mockup.jpg

According to an Apple Support page, spotted by Twitter user Andrew Pantyukhin, Apple changed the Secure Enclave in a number of products in the fall of 2020:The Secure Enclave is a coprocessor that is used for data protection and authentication with Touch ID and Face ID. The purpose of the Secure Enclave is to handle keys and other information, such as biometrics, that are sensitive enough to not be handled by the Application Processor. This data is stored in a Secure Storage Component inside the Secure Enclave, which is the specific part that Apple changed last year.

The explanation in Apple's support document suggests, at minimum, that the eighth-generation entry-level iPad, Apple Watch SE, and HomePod mini have different Secure Enclaves compared to older devices with the same chip.

However, there are a number of discrepancies in Apple's support document. Despite Apple explaining that A13 products "first released in Fall 2020 have a 2nd-generation Secure Storage Component," there was no device with an A13 chip "first released in Fall 2020." The last device to be released with an A13 chip was the iPhone SE in February 2020.

If the change was, in fact, made to all newly-manufactured devices with these chips, the affected devices would include the iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone SE, and fifth-generation iPad mini, as well as the newly-released eighth-generation iPad, Apple Watch SE, and HomePod mini.

a12-a13-s5-secure-enclave-change.jpg

To make matters more confusing, the table listing the multiple versions of the Secure Enclave's storage component in the feature summary omits the S4 chip with a second-generation Secure Storage Component, despite the rubric claiming that such a chip exists. The Apple Watch Series 4 was the only device to contain an S4 chip, and this device was discontinued in September 2019, long before the second-generation Secure Storage Component was implemented in the fall of 2020. It is possible that part of this lack of clarity relates to the fact that the A12 and S4 chips introduced the first-generation Secure Storage Component.

New devices containing the A14 or S6 chip, such as the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, fourth-generation iPad Air, and Apple Watch Series 6, also have the updated Secure Enclave.

Although the change took place in the fall of 2020, the support document detailing the alteration was published in February 2021. The full PDF version of Apple's Platform Security Guide reveals the difference between the first and second-generation Secure Storage Component:

This appears to be a countermeasure against password-cracking devices, such as GrayKey, which attempt to break into iPhones by guessing the passcode an infinite number of times, using exploits that allow for infinite incorrect password attempts.

The change appears to have been significant enough for Apple to justify an entire "second-generation" version of the Secure Enclave's storage. It is certainly unusual for Apple to change a component in its chips mid-way through production, but Apple likely deemed the security upgrade important enough to roll it out to all relevant new devices from the fall onwards, rather than just devices with the latest A14 and S6 chips.

Article Link: Apple Made Sudden Security Changes to its Chips in Fall 2020
Time for all the experts to tell us how horrible apple is,
 
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Okay, Okay.....But the charger that comes with an iPhone is fairly small and in the example they are mentioning, would it not be better to get something like an Anker 5 port or 7 port fast charger and be able to charge everything at the same time in the same place?

Or, like I said before , you get a certificate for a free one in you want it? so for the people that don't need/want it, it's not wasted?
That's one odd convo
 
Woah woah woah... wait.

I recently received a replacement XS Max about 2 weeks ago due to shattering the back glass. I hooked up this new XS Max to 3UTools and it has a production date of November 2020. This iphone has the A12... does this mean I have the updated processor?
 
Interesting. Mid production changes in chips generally mean they had the spec for the chip fab prior to the initial launch but something held them back from releasing it as such (yields, cost, etc.). I'm guessing that this is something that Apple wanted back in 2019 when cracking tools were a step ahead but couldn't afford to produce because of costs but now they can so they are. Good deal either way.
 
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Woah woah woah... wait.

I recently received a replacement XS Max about 2 weeks ago due to shattering the back glass. I hooked up this new XS Max to 3UTools and it has a production date of November 2020. This iphone has the A12... does this mean I have the updated processor?

Impossible to know without looking at the A12 chip itself and the date printed on it.

Apple salvages logic boards and displays from old iPhones, puts them into a new chassis and gives them a new serial number (with a new manufacturing date).
 
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Why do you have to use paper? It can be added to the Apple ID. You just order it the same way you book your Apple appointment.


Also. Xiaomi did somet similar. The cost of a version with a fast charger and the one did not is exactly the same. You can choose when you order.

One of the reasons for this move is to reduce the number of chargers produced and shipped thereby reducing the amount of green gases being released. It would be counterproductive to make it free or cheap to get a new charger.

Apple has made a promise to become carbon neutral in their entire supply chain by 2030. Producing 200+ million chargers every year won't help them achieve that goal.
 
One of the reasons for this move is to reduce the number of chargers produced and shipped thereby reducing the amount of green gases being released. It would be counterproductive to make it free or cheap to get a new charger.

Apple has made a promise to become carbon neutral in their entire supply chain by 2030. Producing 200+ million chargers every year won't help them achieve that goal.

Why doesn't Apple reduce the production of iPhone to reduce greenhouse gasses?

Leaving out the charger just makes people who need one buy one at additional cost.
 
Is there a way to determine which generation enclave we have?
I’ve today received a replacement iPhone 11 Pro Max at an Apple Store today so would be interesting to know if this has the upgraded chip.


Ah just found manufacture date; July 2020, so sadly not
 
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