They discover a new function of the M4 chip for iPad Pro
The launch of the iPad Pro 2024 range led to the discovery of lots of surprises, many of which weren’t even presented during the official announcement new Apple tablets. One of these surprises lies in the M4 chip and was revealed very recently.
Apparently Apple has incorporated a new feature in the iPad Pro’s M4 chip which, until now, had remained secret. More specifically, it is a microphone and camera-related privacy feature.
Apple has always been considered one of the technology companies most concerned about the privacy of its users. And this new function of the M4 chip is a clear example of this.
The new privacy feature of the M4 chip
The M4 chip is more powerful than we thought
This interesting new feature of the M4 chip was discovered and shared by Guilherme Rambo on Mastodon and consists of an improvement in security for camera and microphone indicators.
Now the mechanism of Safety Indicator Light (SIL) is built into the iPad Pro hardware. This is the first time an Apple device. link this mechanism to the hardware and this thanks to all the power of the M4 chip.
When an app uses the iPad Pro’s microphone or camera, an indicator light turns on. In this way, It will be much more difficult for an app or malware to access the microphone or camera without the consent and/or knowledge of the user.
An orange LED indicator alerts you when the microphone sensor is in use
In reality, this function has already been present on the iPhone for many years, it landed on Apple’s smartphone in fall 2020 with iOS 14 and consists of a few green and orange light spots that appear when the microphone or camera sensors are used.
But the confidentiality function of the SIL mechanism until now it had always been present in software and not hardware. This means that it is now much more reliable and offers a higher level of security.
Indicators for this feature will tell users when an app is listening through the microphone or accessing camera feeds. All this through hardware.
We continue to discover the new features of the iPad Pro 2024 range
Little by little we reveal all the hidden mysteries that reside inside the iPad Pro 2024. Like its tandem OLED technology, with several panels that combine their light and allow the iPad Pro to have the best OLED screen of the market. What other secrets will the hardware of the 2024 iPad Pro line hide?
We expect this new feature powered by the iPad Pro’s M4 chip to also be available on the iPhone 16 with the A18 and/or A18 Pro chips. Many App Store apps take advantage of accepting permissions to access the camera and microphone at any time, something that should not be legal and constitutes a clear intrusion into users’ privacy.
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