Until Dawn remake studio Ballistic Moon has reportedly "effectively closed", amid claims only a handful of employees "at most" remain - none of them developers. Read more

Every morning, modern sleepers the world over are roused by the unwelcome sound of their smartphone alarm, but the best alarm clocks present an alternative vision for your morning wake up routine: less grating, more considerate, and (if we have any say in it) aesthetically pleasing. For our list of the finest timekeepers out there, we privileged looks and throwback features (FM radio, anyone?) over Bluetooth capability and USB ports, resulting in this assortment of beautifully designed analog and digital alarm clocks that cover the basicsa snooze button, a backlight, and dimmerwithout going full 21st century. Your doom-scrolling brain will thank you for the Circadian rhythm reset, and your groggy self will appreciate the thoughtful Daylight Savings Time assist.Our Top Picks for the Best Alarm Clocks:Best for Classic Design: Braun Classic Analogue Alarm Clock, $37Best Analog Option: Schoolhouse Farbe Alarm Clock, $99Best Smart Alarm Clock: Loftie Alarm Clock, $160The Designhead-Approved Pick: Arne Jacobsen City Hall Clock, $139Best for Maximalists: DWR Hemisphere Table Clock, $100Braun Classic Analogue Alarm ClockGerman-based Braun (of coffee maker fame) are masters of modernist style. This alarm clock has the basic amenities youd expecta backlight, snooze, and a crescendoing alarmwhile still maintaining the analog look. Its simplicity, clean lines, and white color way give a nod to Scandi design, especially the way its sphere is set in its frame is ultra-modern. This pick is also battery operated, which makes it a great choice for those who live without the privilege of bedside outlets.Schoolhouse Farbe Alarm ClockThis Farbe analog clock takes us back to the future with a super 70s design in bold primary colors. The frame is Japanese beech, making for a high-quality base that looks playful without leaning kitschy.Loftie Alarm ClockThis smart alarm clock doesnt just look good on your bedside tableit also works as a white noise machine, and a Loftie+ subscription gets you custom-made bedtime stories, guided visualizations, and meditations. The two-phase alarm mimics your body's natural waking process (heavy sleepers, this is for you), so you can ease into your consciousness, instead of irritably beginning your day with a grating beep. It also makes a handsome night light.Arne Jacobsen City Hall Analog Tabletop ClockOne of the handsomest picks in our round-up, this analog clock from Danish architect Arne Jacobsen has a gorgeous clock face coupled with a very straight-forward set of features: alarm, snooze button, and light. If youre shopping for a design-first bedside clock, and willing to make peace with a single alarm sound, this is a great choice.Design Within Reach Hemisphere Table ClockDesigner Henry Julier plays with dimensionality in this pieceupgrading a flat wall clock shape with a diagonal stand, while still keeping the watch arms at their most basic (no numerology here). Fans of pop art will love the character this brings, especially the Pepto Bismol-pink clock face and contrasting green ticker.Wideboy Alarm Clock by Jim and Chloe ReadIf youre a sucker for mid-century modern, this design looks as suited for a Dali painting as it does a Hitchcock film. Wed pair it with a tapered leg nightstand or a lacquered end table to suit its style, but its handsome enough to stand alone as a living room decor moment, too.Lexon Minut Alarm ClockMiniacs will lose it for this teeny tiny digital alarm clock, coming in at just less than 2.5 long. It has touch controls for time and alarm settings, and charges via USB-C, though its battery life lasts up to two months on a single charge.HAY Jasper Morrison Table ClockJasper Morrisons iconic wall clock goes tabletop with this one-of-a-kind design from Copenhagen-based firm HAY. This clock comes in a deep green and cerulean colorways that will add a welcome dose of personality to your bedside table.

Dust ruffles may have gone the way of the dodo after their heyday in the maximalist 80s, but the absolute best bed skirts (done up in cottagecore ginghams and frothy sateens and linens) are putting the antiquated bed dressing back on the map.Typically placed atop a box spring or bed frame, their frilly folds help to keep dust bunnies from piling up under the bed, but fell out of favor in recent decades as minimal, barebones bed setups took over. Recent data suggests that an unlikely comeback is underway, though: Piglet In Bed, the much-beloved English purveyor of sustainable linen bedding, reports that valance is their sites fifth most-searched term, with a 734% spike in searches since December.Perhaps this shouldnt come as a surprise, as the charms of a bed skirt are many. Practically speaking for those who appreciate under-bed storage, a valance also keeps clutter conveniently hidden. Plus, depending on the rest of the bedroom decorwhether pared-back and minimal, say, or ruffled and romanticthe extra pattern and texture can add everything from hotel-like polish to countryside coziness to the mix.Ready to get reacquainted? Below, weve found 13 high-quality options that harness the bed skirts nostalgic allure, with enough modern appeal to plant it firmly in the present day.Our Top Picks for the Best Bed Skirts:Best Classic: Annie Selke Classic Hemstitch Bed Skirt, $188For the Cottagecore Convert: Piglet In Bed Gingham Linen Bed Skirt, $209For the All-Season Linen Purist: Cultiver Linen Valance, $340Wallet-Friendly Pick: Garnet Hill Matelass Bedskirt, $99For the Clean, Coastal Look: The Company Store Eyelet Classic Bed Skirt, $194Editor's Note: All prices listed reflect the queen size version of each bed skirt.Annie Selke Classic Hemstitch Bed SkirtCrisp, clean, and classic for any kind of bedroom setup, this 100% cotton option from Annie Selke features split corners, ornamental stitching, and a generous 18-inch drop. (For those interested in completing the look, the Classic Hemstitch collection includes pillowcases, shams, a duvet cover, and sheet set.)Piglet In Bed Gingham Linen Bed SkirtTreat your space to a cottagecore makeover with Piglet in Beds signature ginghama look thats a brand bestseller for a reason. Made from OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified materials, this cotton and linen bedding has it all: style, sustainability, and ease (its machine washable, and looks even better when a little rumpled).Cultiver Linen ValanceThis pleated bed skirt, available in a choice of two soft neutrals, pairs a luxurious, hotel-caliber look with the low-maintenance appeal of exceptionally soft linen. (A decidedly grown-up option, its made in just king and queen sizes.)GreenRow Vintage Striped Bed SkirtChannel childhood nostalgia with this 100% cotton bed skirt, featuring a rosy stripe thats sweet but not saccharine. (For more vintage-inspired goodness, GreenRows crocheted option offers the same traditional feel as eyelet, but with a 1960s bohemian flair.)The Company Store Eyelet Scallop Cotton Percale Bed SkirtDreamy details are at the center of this classic, coastal-influenced design. Eyelet embellishments and a sweetly scalloped edge lend some youthful energy to the already airy cotton percale construction.Garnet Hill Matelass BedskirtCovering an impressive range of dimensions (twin to Cal King size, each with a choice of a 14- or 18-inch drop), this 100% cotton matelass option has split corners, a cotton percale platform, and can be paired with the brands matching matelass box spring cover.Pottery Barn Voile Cotton Bed SkirtLight, floaty, and romantic, Pottery Barns voile bed skirt could easily skew frillybut bright-white cotton and sleek, elegant folds help the design steer clear of fuss.Annie Selke Lush Linen Bed SkirtA pitch-perfect center pleat sets this three-panel bed skirt apart. Its look is somehow both easy-breezy and neat-as-a-pinthe former thanks to its 100% linen construction; the latter due to its menswear-inspired design.Serena & Lily Wave BedskirtThis lightweight, 100% cotton percale bed skirt blends tailored sophistication with a sense of childlike play. In addition to white, its available in four nautical shades (were partial to red-hot Lobster and cool French Blue); plus, each sale supports efforts to rid the ocean of toxic plastics and pollution.Taylor Linens Farmhouse Stripe Bed SkirtThe bedding equivalent of a perfectly lived-in button-up shirt, this handmade design features fade-resistant, 350 thread-count cotton in a warm, earthy pinstripe. (Other notable bed skirts from the family-owned brand include delicate eyelets and prairie-inspired pintucks.)Ballard Designs Jardin Toile BedskirtFor pattern lovers: a botanically-themed cotton percale bed skirt with kick pleat and split corners. Add a coordinating duvet cover to bring decadent, old-world energy to even the most modern and minimal of bedrooms.Les Indiennes Little Flower Bedspread With RuffleAvailable in twin to king size, this block printed, organic cotton coverlet achieves the cozy, layered look of a bed skirt without the effort required to put on a traditional valance. (Whats more, the style is interior designer approved, with multiple variations sold at Nickey Kehoe.)Sferra Giotto Bed SkirtThe epitome of luxury, this Italian-made bed skirt is crafted from lustrous sateen and features an adjustable drop length to accommodate beds of various heights. (Mix and match with a Giotto flat and fitted sheet, shams, duvet cover, and more.)

Theres a new Bluesky app in the works from a popular developer of iOS applications. Tapbots, the company behind the popular Mastodon client Ivory, born out of its earlier efforts with Tweetbot (RIP), is readying a new app called Phoenix, designed for Blueskys growing social network of over 32 million users.In a post on Bluesky, the company shared its website teasing the new app, which is expected to launch sometime later this summer.On its site, Tapbots clarified that its work on a Bluesky client doesnt mean its abandoning its efforts in the fediverse, also known as the open social web. However, Ivorys development will temporarily slow as the new efforts are underway.Ivory, which launched in 2023, brought back Tweetbots look and feel and several of its features to offer an alternative to Mastodons official social app, an open source, decentralized alternative to larger platforms like X. As a federated app, Ivory is integrated with ActivityPub, the protocol powering a host of federated social apps including not only Mastodon, but also PeerTube, Pixelfed, Metas Threads, Flipboard, and others.Bluesky, meanwhile, is built on a different protocol, the AT Protocol (or atproto for short). Since Twitters acquisition by Elon Musk and its transformation into X, many former Twitter users have moved on to other networks, including Mastodon and Bluesky. For an indie operation like Tapbots, that meant its customer base was split between two services, making it harder to generate revenue with just one app. For us to continue to thrive as a company, we must support both, Tapbots shared on its website. Unfortunately, we cant survive on Mastodon alone.The company also explains that it decided to launch a dedicated app for Bluesky users instead of combining the two networks into one app because this would offer users a better experience. Those who want to maintain a presence on both social networks will be able to take advantage of a planned cross-posting feature, it added. Unfortunately for Mastodon users, work on Ivory will need to slow as the team works to launch Phoenix.It would be a lie if we said Ivory would be in full development while we are trying to get Phoenix up and running, the website explains. However, we did not want to start Phoenix development until after we released Ivory v2.3. Once Phoenix is out the door, development will happen concurrently and both apps will get all the huge improvements we have planned throughout the apps.News of Phoenixs launch was first reported by MacStories.Though the company has not announced Phoenixs monetization strategy, it will likely be a subscription model similar to Ivorys a free app with in-app purchases for access to premium features. Currently, Ivory is $1.99 per month or $14.99 per year.Phoenix will enter a limited public alpha phase ahead of its summer 2025 launch.

President Donald Trump has delayed tariffs on automobile imports from Canada and Mexico for one month after requests from executives at the Big Three automakers General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis with the expectation that automakers will move any offshore operations to the United States by April 2.The reprieve, which Politico first reported, comes less than two days after Trump issued 25% tariffs on all goods from the U.S.s neighbors, which had previously been duty-free under a North American trade agreement (sometimes characterized as NAFTA 2.0) negotiated during his first term. The exemption applies to automakers that comply with the USMCA, per The Wall Street Journal.Several automakers, including the Big Three, have complex supply chains and operate several manufacturing facilities in Mexico and Canada. For example, GM produces its Chevy Equinox in Mexico and Canada, and both Fords Lincoln Nautilus SUVs and Stellantis Dodge Chargers are made in Ontario. Multiple automotive suppliers also have factories in the two countries.Car prices are already at historic highs, and the tariffs threaten to send sticker prices skyrocketing by as much as $12,000, according to Jeff Schott, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who was interviewed by the Detroit Free Press. That could lead to less demand, leaving dealers stuck with unaffordable cars on their lots.In an address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump urged manufacturers to move their operations onshore. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing Wednesday that Trump expects GM, Ford, and Stellantis to shift production to the U.S. before the tariffs kick off at the end of the month. He told them that they should get on it, Leavitt said. Ford CEO Jim Farley said last month at an investor talk the company doesnt have excess capacity at its plants to shift production. Farley noted that Ford could withstand tariffs in the short term, but if they persisted, they would blow a hole in the U.S. industry that weve never seen.Through February, nearly half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. were built in the U.S., but 17.4% of them were built in Mexico, and 7.4% in Canada, according to data from Edmunds.com. Since President Trumps successful USMCA was signed, Ford has invested billions in the United States and committed to billions more in the future to both invest in American workers and ensure all of our vehicles comply with USMCA, reads a statement from Ford. We will continue to have a healthy and candid dialogue with the Administration to help achieve a bright future for our industry and U.S. manufacturing.This article has been updated with information from the White House press secretary and a statement from Ford.

Los Angeles faces a huge housing crunch, with thousands of people living on the streets and numerous low-income workers unable to afford market-rate rentals or mortgages. Absent a large-scale housing program, dedicated developers and designers are piecing together residential solutions on infill sites that model high ideals. They often confront complex financial and political challenges, along with resistance from neighbors. To allay concerns, explain challenges, and elevate appreciation for affordable housing in Los Angeles, Friends of Residential Treasures Los Angeles (FORT: LA) and Frances Anderton created Awesome and Affordable: Great Housing Now, a multiplatform project that includes an explainer about L.A.s housing unaffordability and ways to tackle it (The Case for Great Housing); a Housing Terminology Playbook, written by David Kersh, that unpacks the policies, laws, and players underlying the maintenance and production of affordable homes; and 12 awesome projects, selected over the course of 2024. An edited excerpt of the accompanying interview with FORT founder Russell Brown and Anderton follows below. In early January, Los Angeles was beset by the devastating Palisades, Eaton, and other fires. This tragedy has put huge pressure on L.A.s housing supply, as thousands of evacuees rush to secure new homes, causing massive price gouging in the rental market and further squeezing the areas limited housing supply.Obviously, keeping people safe and housed is the first priority, and that comes with many challenges. Next comes rebuilding, and of course the architecture community stands ready with strategies for building back better in vulnerable areas. Long term, however, residents, politicians, and planners might ask if, after a century of runaway residential development in the fire-prone mountain ranges, it is time to reconsider our development patterns and perhaps disincentivize urban sprawl in the danger zones. This would go hand in hand with emphasizing denser residential development in the safer flatlands near downtowns and adjacent lowrise neighborhoods close to mass transit.Plenty of talented architects and developers are showing that this kind of infill can be done with great allure and at all income levels, as evidenced in this project and Andertons 2022 book Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the pressure is on to rebuild just as before. Before embers had cooled, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order temporarily suspending the permitting and review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act, which will speed up rebuilding in Los Angeles County wildfire zones. This was easy short-term politics but questionable long-term leadership.Rose Apartments mixes up ground-level offices and studios in wings around two stepped courtyards. (Jeff Durkin/Courtesy Brooks + Scarpa)Meanwhile voters have shown high resistance to intensifying development in downtown areas. In the last two years, Los Angeles elected officials, under pressure from stakeholders including homeowners, have already stymied directives and policy measures aimed at promoting denser housing. This means the two-thirds of residential land long zoned single family only remains at very low density (with the addition of ADUs), while multifamily buildings are mostly consigned to the thoroughfares.At the same time, confusingly, voters passed Measure A, a half-cent sales tax to support the construction of affordable housing. This is one of several funding measures passed in recent years by voters, aimed at resolving homelessness. Yet, when a real project is presented for a site, it becomes a much harder nut to crack, exemplified in the bitter political and legal struggle over an affordable complex designed for Venice Community Housing by Eric Owen Moss. The nonprofit developers have won the latest round but have switched architects.The devastation may, however, bring some winds of change. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has issued a new executive order calling for city agencies to expedite temporary occupancy approvals for 1,400 housing units that are near completion. It may be harder now for communities to thwart apartment construction, at all income levels. And hopefully the projects shown in Awesome and Affordable, along with many other inventive multifamily buildings by L.A. architects, will make a powerful case for denser development and a more equitable city. Awesome and Affordable is just one of several collaborations between FORT: LA and Anderton. In late January, they coproduced, with Helms Bakery District, a public event to address the fires and recovery. They are cohosting quarterly gatherings, combined with wine tastings, at the historic Barnsdall Art Park. Later this year they will publish Golden Years in the Golden State: Tales From the Senior City, an exploration into how older Angelenos are choosing to live. Additionally, FORT: LA and Anderton are collaborating on a documentary about the influential architects who began their careers in Venice in the 1970s, including Thom Mayne, Eric Owen Moss, Craig Hodgetts, Coy Howard, and Fred Fisher, bringing the story full circle with a re-creation of the famed 1980 Venice Beach photo taken by Ave Pildas.What has been the most rewarding part of working on the Awesome and Affordable project this past year?Its always inspiring to see great new architectureand its exciting to realize that there are endless new solutions to the challenge of providing affordable housing. Some of L.A.s most creative architects are putting their minds to that problem.In the past year, what have we seen? The extraordinary Isla Intersections designed by Lorcan OHerlihy Architects, which takes public land at an uninviting site at the intersection of the 105 and the 110 freeways and Broadway and turns lemons into lemonade with a very creative design utilizing shipping containers repurposed into a courtyard complex in a triangular arrangement that has layered terraces and a shady, quiet place for the residents to sit inside a courtyard area, as well as a new, landscaped paseo alongside the building. We also saw The Journey, on Lincoln Boulevard at Venice, another uninviting place to live that has been turned into something special by the architects at Studio One Eleven. They figured out how to turn a dense development for people who were formerly living on the streets or transitioning out of foster care into a complex of airy little studios and one-bedroom dwellings, opening onto stacked open terraces that offer residents a view toward the sea. From the same nonprofit developer, for a similar demographic as The Journey, comes Rose Apartments, a stunning complex designed by Brooks + Scarpa, which mixes up ground-level offices and studios in wings around two stepped courtyards with a lustrous glitter stucco facade.We also got to see retrofits of older buildings, like St. Andrews Court, a bungalow court which was acquired and beautifully restored by Hollywood Community Housing in the 1990s. Also in Hollywood, we have the Castle Argyle, which, when it was built in the 1920s, was pretty fancy rental apartments for people who were hoping to make it in the movie business. Over the years, it fell into disrepair and it is now senior housing, lovingly repurposed by Bell Design Group, with a new outdoor plaza, showing that affordable housing doesnt have to be a negative experience or a negatively perceived experience. Those are some of the highlights of this year. Its been a really wonderful journey, and my only regret is not being able to shine a light on even more of the projects out there.Masterplan for Jordana Downs (Urbanist471/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)Did any human stories from the project resonate with you personally?One of the projects we included was Jordan Downs, a famous public housing estate in Watts that started out as wartime housing. Over the years it suffered from a concentration of poverty, a lack of economic opportunity in the area, and it became beset with social problemsso much so that the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles stepped in and entered into a deal, somewhat controversially, with private affordable housing developers to have them take over the management of the building. They embarked on a massive overhaul involving a rolling program of demolition of the existing buildings and the construction of new structures within a masterplan established by a firm called Mithun/Solomon, led by Daniel Solomon and John Ellis. This is a very sensitive development because, despite all of its problems, it was home for a lot of people who were nervous about the transition in ownership and the changes in their lives that were going to happen.Now, of course, in one visit, I cant say that I came away with a full picture of whats going on there, but I did run into a resident who had moved from one of the older buildings, where people were particularly skeptical of what was coming, into a new section of the development that was designed by a terrific firm, FSY Architects, that also designed our January awesome, the Vista Ballona. They are creative with producing unpretentious, light-filled, modest dwellings that have a sense of calm. The resident told me that he loved his new place. He liked some of the new features, like air-conditioning. He talked about how restful he found his new dwelling.Was there anything that jumped out at you that you would like to change?Well, it relates to the air-conditioning mentioned above. I heard that at Jordan Downs not everybody was happy about the newly added air-conditioning because it added to their electricity bills. And one of the things I noticed on my travels aroundL.A.s affordable housing was how several new developments were configured around an open courtyard, for social reasons, and yet they did not have windows in the wall of the unit that faced the courtyard, thereby denying the lovely natural light and cross-ventilation enabled by that open space. It seems that there are various reasons for this, from fire codes to privacy to costs, but this seems like a huge missed opportunity for affordability and enhanced livability. Do you have any advice for emerging architects who might be interested in building affordable housing?Building affordable housing is not simply about designing housing; its also about navigating tremendously complex rules and limitations. Affordable housing is borne of complex legislation at the city, county, and state levels because the free market doesnt produce affordable housing. The free market, by definition, produces housing that is aimed at what the market will bear, and what the market will bear is very high priced, because there are enough people in L.A. earning high enough salaries. So the market simply doesnt provide for the lower-middle and very-low-income people. And yet, the backbone of L.A.s economy is those workers, whether its in the service industry, teachers, people working in hospitals, and so on.Around 8,000 people joined the list for the Vista Ballona and only 50 applicants were housed. Every project is piecemeal and can take years. Thats not really solving a problem; its making a teeny dent in a problem. At a certain point, one has to ask: Is this viable? Can we not do something at scale that really expedites the process?So architects, these days, have to don another hat. They must help push for policy changes. That might mean speaking up at community meetings or council meetings and making the case for this housing, or it might mean getting involved in pushing for legislative change. Its a brave new world for architects. Affordable housing is the new frontier. Its essential right now in L.A. and in many cities in the world, and architects ought to engage with it and, ideally, do it well.

All images Nick Brandt, shared with permissionNick Brandts Photos Stress the Resilience of Syrian Refugees in the Face of the Climate CrisisMarch 5, 2025Kate MothesIn the Jordanian desert, Syrian families displaced by war huddle atop stacks of boxes like stalwart islands in a dry and unforgiving landscape. Photographer Nick Brandt captures children, siblings, and entire families who stand together and climb skyward like monuments or promontorieswhat the artist describes as pedestals for those that in our society are typically unseen and unheard.The series marks the fourth chapter in an ongoing series called The Day May Break, which has taken Brandt around the world in search of visual stories illuminating the effects of the climate crisis.Brandt began the series in 2020, reflecting on myriad experiences of limbo, both in the midst of the pandemic and relating to the tenuous ecological balance of our planet. In an essay accompanying Chapter One of The Day May Break, Brandt writes: Nearly twenty years ago, I started photographing the wild animals of Africa as an elegy to a disappearing world. After some (too many) years seeing the escalating environmental destruction, I felt an urgent need to move away from that kind of work and address the destruction in a much more direct way.Brandt began the series in Zimbabwe and Kenya, focusing the first chapter on portrayals of both people and animals that have been impacted by environmental degradation and destruction. Every person he documented was deeply affected by the changing climate. Some were displaced by cyclones that destroyed their homes, Brandt says. For some, like Kuda in Zimbabwe, or Robert and Nyaguthii in Kenya, it was more tragic: both of them lost two young children, swept away by the floods.For Chapter Two, Brandt traveled to the Senda Verde Animal Sanctuary in Bolivia, where wildlife affected by trafficking and habitat destruction are cared for. And for Chapter Three, subtitled SINK/RISE, he took his camera into the ocean off the coast of Fiji, focusing on individuals whose livelihoods have been impacted by rising sea levels. Plunging decrepit furniture onto the sea floor, individuals and families interact with one another entirely underwater.For the series newest addition, Chapter Four, subtitled The Echo of Our Voices, Brandt traveled to arid Jordan, one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. The dramatic black-and-white photos feature refugee families who fled the war in Syria. Perched on stacks of cubes, they transform into living monoliths, symbolic of resilience, surrounded by the rugged, sandy expanse.The photographer says, Living lives of continuous displacement largely due to climate change, they are forced to move their homes up to several times a year, moving to where there is available agricultural workto wherever there has been sufficient rainfall to enable crops to grow. Parents stand alongside their children; siblings embrace; and families are shown alternately gazing into the distance, turning to one another for comfort, or taking time to rest.This chapter is different from the first three chapters, both visually and emotionally: a show of connection and strength in the face of adversity; that when all else is lost, you still have each other, Brandt says. Explore much more work on his website.Next article

Apple has filed a legal appeal against a secret Home Office order to provide back door access to its users encrypted data in a case that will test the limits of how far the government can lawfully go to access the publics private messages and emails.The Home Offices pursuit of Apple is widely seen as a stalking horse for more significant targets, including WhatsApp, Signal and Proton Mail, which provide the public with encrypted messaging and email services.Apple has fought back against the Home Office by filing an appeal to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to challenge the lawfulness of the Home Offices order which requires it to provide UK law enforcement and intelligence services with access to encrypted files stored by Apple users on its iCloud service.The Home Office appears to have chosen Apple as a test case to test the limits of government powers under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 to issue Technical Capability Notices (TCNs) requiring companies to give government agencies the ability to obtain and read encrypted communications.Ministers will be watching the publics reaction carefully to see whether people understand or care about the loss of their privacy of iCloud and if they do care, whether they care enough to vote against the government in future elections.Apples iCloud service is seen as and easy and relatively uncontroversial target compared to platforms like WhatsApp or Apples own encrypted iMessage service.Apples ADP cloud encryption service is an opt-in service, which is not widely used and might not be missed by those Apple customers that rarely think about their privacy and security.When the case reaches the IPT, which could be as early as this month, the first argument will be whether the case should be heard behind closed doors for national security reasons or whether the normal principles of open justice can and should apply.For the Home Office to continue to neither confirm nor deny the existence of the Technical Capability Notice issued against Apple will be hard to sustain when its existence has already been widely leaked and reported in the Washington Post and the Financial Times.The Spy Catcher case in the 1980s proved that it is pointless for governments to attempt to ban the publication of material that is already in the public domain. In other words, once a secret is no longer a secret there is no need for secret hearings.The courts took a dim view of MI5 when it emerged that the spy agency had falsely told three courts that the name of its agent had to be protected through secret court hearings without mentioning that it had already disclosed the agents name to a BBC journalist.Having a public hearing would allow the IPT to hear expert evidence from cryptographers and technical specialists who can properly explain how an order to break encryption could expose individuals and businesses to cyber security risks.For example, over 200 cyber security experts, companies and civil society groups, signed a letter in February calling for home secretary Yvette Cooper to drop demands for Apple to create a backdoors to its iCloud service.They pointed out in an open letter that back doors introduced for the government could just as easily be exploited by hostile nation states or cyber criminals, placing the UKs national security at risk.For national security professionals and government employees, access to end-to-end encrypted services allows them to safeguard their personal life, it said. Ensuring the security and privacy of government officials is vital for helping prevent extortion or coercion attempts, which could lead to greater national security damage.Apple's application to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal is believed to be the first time that a technology company has challenged a government Technical Capability Notice.Although similar notices have been issued in the past against traditional telecommunications companies, such as BT or Cable & Wireless, the companies have chosen to quietly implement them rather than to challenge them in court.The IPT will need to decide whether the Home Offices order against Apple is proportionate, which will mean weighing up the impact of breaking Apples encrypted services on security and privacy against the claimed benefits of the government having access to encrypted data on Apple's cloud storage.The argument is largely academic. Apple withdrew its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service - which allows users to opt-in to use encryption to protect their iCloud data - from UK users in February, rather than comply with the Home Offices demands.That means that if police want to retrieve data from a UK registered phone, for example after a suspect had thrown their phone into the sea, they can ask Apple to retrieve the data from the phone owners iCloud account.For an overseas phone the task would be more difficult but far from impossible. GCHQ or the National Crime Agency for example have the ability to apply for equipment interference warrants to obtain data by lawfully hacking of a suspects phone.That leaves the only real case for introducing the order against Apple - to test the waters for issuing TCNs against big tech companies like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram that appear to be the governments ultimate targets.UK law enforcement agencies and the Home Office have been claiming for years that such services pose a risk because they can be used by terrorists or paedophiles, regardless of whether they are used by millions of people for lawful purposes.The UKs action has created tensions with the US, however. President Trump told the Spectator on 28 February that the UKs actions were something you would hear about in China and that he had warned the UK you cannot do that during talks with prime minister Keir Starmer.Rebecca Vincent, Interim Director of Big Brother Watch, a civil society organisation that has successfully challenged the government over its use of intrusive surveillance in the courts, told Computer Weekly that the move against Apple would impact millions of people.The governments latest escalation towards Apple is alarming, as is the fact that the legal proceedings around this may take place in total secrecy. This is a matter of high public interest that will impact the privacy rights of millions in the UK, she said.If the government wins at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, we will no doubt see similar orders to other platforms in the very near future. We will all pay the price, leaving the door to access our personal data wide open to the government and malicious actors alike, she added.A spokesperson for the Home Office said, We do not comment on operational matters, including for example confirming or denying the existence of any such [TCN] notices.But more broadly, the UK has a longstanding position of protecting our citizens from the very worst crimes, such as child sex abuse and terrorism, at the same time as protecting peoples privacy, the spokesperson added.Security Minister Dan Jarvis told the Commons on 24 February that it was not the case that privacy and security were at odds and that we can and must have both.The Investigatory Powers Act contains robust safeguards and independent oversight to protect privacy and ensure that data is obtained only on an exceptional basis, and only when it is necessary and proportionate to do so, he said.In response to questions about its legal appeal, Apple referred back to a statement it issued last month announcing its withdrawal of ADP services in the UKApple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and are hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future in the United Kingdom. As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will, it said.Read more about the Home Offices battle with AppleUS intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard probes UK demand for Apples encrypted dataApple withdraws encrypted iCloud storage from UK after government demands back door accessTop cryptography experts join calls for UK to drop plans to snoop on Apples encrypted dataUK accused of political foreign cyber attack on US after serving secret snooping order on AppleApple: British techies to advise on devastating UK global crypto power grabTech companies brace after UK demands back door access to Apple cloud

Looking for cutting-edge Apple tech without the premium price? Now is the perfect time to grab Apple's most budget-friendly desktop at an even lower price.

MacBook Air M4 Product ShotApple NewsroomAfter a perfunctory campaign ahead of the launch, Apple has released the M4 MacBook Air. While it carries many of Apples innovations, Tim Cook and his team have opted for a straightforward upgrade rather than disrupt the consumer-focused laptop brand.MacBook Air M4 FeaturesHighlights include the aforementioned M4 chipset, doubling the RAM on all models to 16 GB, supporting two external displays, and a price drop on the entry-level models to $999 for the 13-inch and $1,199 for the 15-inch.While the Apple community will welcome these features, its notable that they are all readily available on the current MacBook Pro models. The increase in RAM in the base model will help support Apple Intelligence and echoes the RAM increase seen in the entry-level iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus from 6 GB to 8GB. Being able to drive two external displays, in addition to the laptop screen, will boost productivity for many, and by introducing this new MacBook Air at the totemic $999, the rest of the portfolio can be trimmed.The built-in webcam has been upgraded from 1080p to 12 megapixels and carries the CenterStage Camera branding, which will use software to push you towards the centre of the frame if you are pacing by your laptop.Finally, the M4 chipset debuted some ten months ago in May 2024, and has already featured in the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Studio. The MacBook Air is still picking up the M4 while it is current, but with the M5 expected to launch at WWDC in May 2025, the Air will be a generation behind in short order.Perhaps thats why the price can be brought down to $999.Whats New In The MacBook Air M4And thats it for new features. While the MacBook Pro pushes ahead with innovation, the MacBook Air has addressed some of the pain pointsbut not all of them, it comes with just two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left-hand sidebut does not little to advance the design and forward-looking nature the Apple brand came to be known for.Oh, and it comes in Sky Blue now, which makes the upgrade worthwhile. Doesnt it?Now read why Apples delayed introduction of the M4 MacBook Air benefits the portfolio...