Morning Report: iOS 8 May Launch Ahead of Yosemite, EFI Firmware Headaches

In the process of updating your home theater? Logitech made the task a bit easier Tuesday with the announcement that its Harmony Smart Keyboard and Harmony Smart Control remote products can now be purchased separately for users who already own the required Harmony Hub. And hey, they work great with your existing iOS and Mac devices, which is more than we can say for some of the news in our Morning Report...

Report Claims iOS 8, OS X Yosemite May Not Launch Together

Although the latest developer betas for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite have been released in tandem thus far, 9to5Mac reported Tuesday the rollout of these mobile and desktop operating system updates may be staggered when they finally arrive this fall. Much like Apple did last year with iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, this year's updates are expected to launch a month apart from each other, with iOS 8 arriving first, presumably alongside new iPhone hardware in September, while OS X Yosemite toddles along the next month in October.

What makes this rumor from "people briefed on the plans" a bit suspect is the fact that iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite feature far tighter integration than ever before thanks to the new Continuity and Handoff features, allowing Mac users to make phone calls or iOS owners to pick up where they left off on the desktop.

EFI Firmware Update Causing Headaches for MacBook Air Owners

MacRumors reported Tuesday that the latest MacBook Air EFT Firmware Update 2.9 released July 15 appears to be doing more than solving sleep and wake issues, causing many notebooks to "shut down completely for several hours," while others continue to see the update listed in the Mac App Store as if it were never installed in the first place. Apple's Support Communities have a growing thread on the issues, with some users claiming the update bricked their MacBook Air, even several hours after installation.

Apple Posts Support Document Over iOS "Backdoor" Concerns

A forensic expert sounded the alarm earlier this week over what he called "backdoors" Apple allegedly built into iOS to covertly collect data from iPhone, iPod touch or iPad users. After issuing a stern denial of those claims, Apple has now posted a support document detailing what it calls the "diagnostic capabilities" of iOS, which are intended to "help enterprise IT departments, developers, and AppleCare troubleshoot issues."

The three processes outlined include com.apple.mobile.pcapd, com.apple.mobile.file_relay, and com.apple.mobile.house_arrest, which Apple points out "requires the user to have unlocked their device and agreed to trust another computer," while all such transmitted data is encrypted in such a way that not even Cupertino has access to it. Whether such explanations are enough to satisfy critics, however, remains to be seen...

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