Saturday 23 May 2015

Apple Watch: Software update messes with heart rate sensor readings

APPLE THIS WEEK released the first software update for its Apple Watch, but it appears all hasn't gone to plan.
Since installing Watch OS 1.0.1, users have taken to Apple's support forums to complain about the wearable's heart rate sensor has been acting wacky since the software was updated.
The sensor is supposed to measure the wearer's heart rate every 10 minutes, but users are complaining that this has become more sporadic. Some users are also moaning that it now only takes readings when they do so manually.
Others are reporting that the Apple Watch's calorie counting feature is also less accurate since the release of the software update.
Apple has yet to respond, but the issue reportedly has been raised with the firm.
Watch OS 1.0.1 was released earlier this week for the Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch, and Apple Watch Edition, and brings with it a range of usability improvements and a boost to Siri.
The Apple Watch has had a security shine too, and its certificate trust policy has been tightened. There's also a fix to do with font parsing that could have paved the way for malicious attacks.
"A memory corruption issue existed in the processing of font files. This issue was addressed through improved bounds checking," said Apple.
The problem about people possibly stealing and selling the Watch does not appear to have been tackled.
Other security fixes are also applied, and again these address a number of possible threats and likely risks.
Apple has posted information about its prophylactic response to memory corruption problems in the kernel and the infamous RSA key issue called FREAK.
The company said that a hacker who exploited this could intercept SSL/TLS connections, which is not good. It credited a team of researchers from Inria Paris with the discovery.
"This issue, also known as FREAK, only affected connections to servers which support export-strength RSA cipher suites, and was addressed by removing support for ephemeral RSA keys," Apple explained.
It is a 56MB update and Watch users should expect to see notification of it on their timepiece or iPhone.
As well as security and Siri improvements, Watch wearers can now enjoy the experience in new languages. These are Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Thai and Turkish.
Watchers will also see improvements to the tracking of standing, rowing and cycling activities.
Importantly, perhaps, third-party app support has also been improved. It is likely that this could inspire more app development for the hardware.

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