In the weeks leading up to the anti-government protests in China, Apple had restricted access to the popular file-sharing tool AirDrop.
On Nov. 9, Apple published a new version of its mobile operating system to users everywhere: iOS 16.1.1. The tech firm noted that the “update includes bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.” But 9to5Mac Chinese readers noticed an interesting change in the update that applies only to iPhones sold in mainland China.
Following the updated OS, AirDrop can only be configured to receive messages from everyone for just 10 minutes before switching off. Typically, the AirDrop users could choose to receive files from everyone—contacts and non-contacts—for an unlimited time. Before the changes were completed, the “everyone” setting could have been turned on permanently on Chinese iPhones….