“Details of new iPhones and other forthcoming Apple devices have been revealed via an apparent leak,” Leo Kelion reports for BBC News. “Two news sites were given access to an as-yet-unreleased version of the iOS operating system.”
“The code refers to an iPhone X in addition to two new iPhone 8 handsets. It also details facial recognition tech that acts both as an ID system and maps users’ expressions onto emojis,” Kelion reports. “One tech writer said it was the biggest leak of its kind to hit the firm.”
“It has been claimed that the latest leak was an intentional act of sabotage,” Kelion reports. “‘As best I’ve been able to ascertain, these builds were available to download by anyone, but they were obscured by long, unguessable URLs [web addresses],’ wrote John Gruber, a blogger known for his coverage of Apple. ‘Someone within Apple leaked the list of URLs to 9to5Mac and MacRumors. I’m nearly certain this wasn’t a mistake, but rather a deliberate malicious act by a rogue Apple employee.’ The BBC has independently confirmed that an anonymous source provided the publications with links to iOS 11’s golden master (GM) code that downloaded the software from Apple’s own computer servers… ‘There will be an unbelievable effort within Apple to determine how this happened and I don’t envy the person that did it because there will be no forgiveness for it,’ commented Ben Wood from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.”
Read more in the full article here.
“I wish I could say more about how I know what I know, but it’s good to see the BBC confirm this,” John Gruber writes for Daring Fireball. “The BBC doesn’t say definitively that the leak was sent by an Apple employee, but I can state with nearly 100 percent certainty that it was.”
“Someone who works at Apple emailed these URLs to 9to5Mac and MacRumors — possibly without even knowing just how much information could be gleaned from these builds compared to the last developer beta builds,” Gruber writes. “UPDATE: Let me clarify that sentence: whoever leaked these URLs knew it would be an incredibly damaging leak, if for no other reason than that they included the IPSW image for iPhone D22. The list of URLs they leaked included every device. The least amount of heretofore unknown information that was going to come out of this leak was massive, and whoever leaked it knew that. What I’m saying is they quite possibly didn’t even know just how many little things, things I won’t mention here for the sake of DF readers who are trying to stay spoiler-free for Tuesday’s event, were spoiled by this leak.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Ooh, palace intrique!
So much for “doubling down on secrecy.”
Exit question: Could this be politically motivated?
SEE ALSO:
4K Apple TV likely to feature a powerful A10X Fusion chip SoC with 3GB RAM – September 11, 2017
Apple’s next-gen iPhone names: iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X – September 10, 2017
4K Apple TV streaming requirements and native resolution revealed – September 10, 2017
iOS 11 GM leak leaks Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE; video shows new watch face and Digital Crown – September 9, 2017
iOS 11 GM leak reveals key iPhone 8 secrets ahead of launch; Portrait Lighting, True Tone Display, revised AirPods, and much more – September 9, 2017
Apple’s HomePod leak reveals 10 huge iPhone 8 details – August 4, 2017
Apple’s leaked HomePod firmware reveals OLED iPhone’s resizable, hide-able Home Button and more – August 10, 2017
Apple’s leaked HomePod firmware reveals Apple TV with 4K UHD, 10-bit HDR and Dolby Vision – August 6, 2017
Apple’s leaked HomePod firmware shows iPhone 8 likely to abandon Touch ID in favor of ‘Pearl ID’ facial recognition – August 3, 2017
Apple’s HomePod firmware leak confirms inductive charging in ‘iPhone 8’ – August 1, 2017
Apple’s leaked HomePod code confirms facial expression detection and virtual Home button for next-gen iPhone – August 1, 2017
How did Apple’s self-inflicted ‘iPhone 8’ leakapalooza happen? – August 3, 2017
Apple’s leaked firmware suggests ‘iPhone 8’ with split status bar, no Touch ID under display, and function area – August 1, 2017
Here are Apple’s HomePod UI sounds – August 1, 2017
Apple leaks iPhone 8 design – July 31, 2017
Leaked recording: Inside Apple’s global war on leakers – June 20, 2017
I’m sure all Apple fans would agree the leaker should be treated the same way Steve Jobs would have treated him once found.
Someone deliberately doing this has issues. BIG issues. Leaking to 9to5mac or MacRumors? It wasn’t for money, nor with the BBC. Rather it was manitous.
Thousands of people’s hard work, and they do-not-care.
Again, it’s someone who has big grievances, and mental issues to some degree to intentionally do this. Apple needs to find that person, fire them, sue them silly, and then hope they get help.
I think it was probably an employee, not a manitou (a supernatural being that controls nature). *grin*
Studies suggest that people enjoy movies MORE when they know what will happen, despite people’s gut feeling to the contrary. Thus, 2 minute trailers often tell viewers the whole tapestry of the plot.
Unless proven otherwise (like the bar incident) I assume that all MAJOR leaks of Apple software and hardware are Apple directed. I suspect Phil Shiller has a black ops team that undertakes this work when it is determined that it will benefit the company’s PR.
I wouldn’t be surprised that this was in fact correct.
It is quite unlikely that any of these leaks, no matter how accurate, would take the air out of tomorrow’s balloon. There are plenty of people for whom Apple presentation by itself is an anticipated event, even if Shiller just sat there and read the newspapers to the audience. The leaks only came a few days in advance, so there is no material benefit from them for any competitor, and the only negative effect could be a possible spoiler effect.
A leak this big would go a long way to help explain the reduced presentation length for tomorrow reported elsewhere. 😛
So the leak is from someone in the OS development team then!
Blame Trump!!!
I think the majority of iPhone users are not interested in these rumors and will be pleasantly surprised by the new stuff tomorrow…
The inner nerd will geek out on the tech behind all these leaked features.
Me thinks you’re dreaming.
These leaks puts the pressure away from Lazy Eddy Cue, he will ride the gravy train for longer as the pressure is on Apple leader ship to find the rat
“Lazy Eddy” lol
As I suggested before, Apple would be better off turning their operation into a reality show than this farce where we know 99% of the information before the big “reveal”. Instead of “one more thing” we’re to the point of asking “is there anything that hasn’t leaked?”
Why are so many aghast by the leak? I mean…people basically come here and to other Apple rumor sites to find out what Apple’s up to no matter what the source of the info. More so, this site has been filled with “rumors” the past 4 months. Now we find out what’s in the cookie jar and the response is one of “what SJ would do” and “perpetrator has big issues” blah blah blah. Geez!
With unconfirmed rumors there is excitement for the reveal. Sometimes the dream is of more interest than the reality.