MacRumors

Apple today announced a set of new projects as part of its $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI) to help dismantle systemic barriers to opportunity and combat injustices faced by communities of color.

The projects include the Propel Center, a global innovation and learning hub for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), an Apple Developer Academy to support coding and tech education for students in Detroit, and venture capital funding for Black and Brown entrepreneurs.

"We are all accountable to the urgent work of building a more just, more equitable world — and these new projects send a clear signal of Apple’s enduring commitment," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We're launching REJI's latest initiatives with partners across a broad range of industries and backgrounds — from students to teachers, developers to entrepreneurs, and community organizers to justice advocates — working together to empower communities that have borne the brunt of racism and discrimination for far too long. We are honored to help bring this vision to bear, and to match our words and actions to the values of equity and inclusion we have always prized at Apple."

The initiative builds on Apple's work to advance racial equity in education, the economy, and the criminal justice system, and is led by Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, Lisa Jackson.

"Every individual deserves equal access to opportunity regardless of skin color or zip code," said Jackson. "For too long, communities of color have faced gross injustices and institutional barriers to their pursuit of the American dream, and we are proud to lend our voices and resources to build new engines of opportunity that empower, inspire, and create meaningful change."

Apple is contributing $25 million to the Propel Center, which is designed to support the next generation of diverse leaders, providing innovative curricula, technology support, career opportunities, and fellowship programs. The Propel Center will offer a wide range of educational tracks, including AI and machine learning, agricultural technologies, social justice, entertainment arts, app development, augmented reality, design and creative arts, career preparation, and entrepreneurship. Experts from Apple will help develop curricula and provide ongoing mentorship and learning support, along with offering internship opportunities.

Later this year, Apple will also open an Apple Developer Academy in Detroit. The academy is designed to empower young Black entrepreneurs, creators, and coders, helping them cultivate the skills necessary for jobs in the rapidly growing iOS app economy. Launched in collaboration with Michigan State University, Apple Developer Academy courses will be open to all learners across Detroit, regardless of their academic background or whether they have any previous coding experience.

In addition, Apple is today announcing two new investments in the venture capital and banking spaces, with both projects designed to provide capital to minority-owned businesses. The company will invest $10 million with Harlem Capital — an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York — to support its investments in 1,000 companies with diverse founders over the next 20 years. In addition to providing capital to entrepreneurs of color, Harlem Capital will also lend its expertise to Apple's broader efforts to advance access to economic opportunity. The firm will offer guidance and mentorship to students at the Detroit Developer Academy and participants in Apple's Entrepreneur Camp for Black Founders and Developers. Apple will also support Harlem Capital's internship program, focused on opening doors for aspiring women and minority investors.

The company will also invest $25 million in Siebert Williams Shank's Clear Vision Impact Fund, which provides capital to small and medium-size businesses, with an emphasis on minority-owned companies. The fund looks to support businesses that operate in or serve underserved markets, and that foster inclusive growth initiatives.

Lastly, Apple is making a contribution to The King Center, a living memorial to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to share his teachings and inspire new generations to carry forward his unfinished work. Next week, Dr. King’s daughter and the CEO of The King Center, Dr. Bernice A. King, will issue a call to action encouraging young people to give back to their communities as part of Apple’s "Challenge for Change" series — a set of conversation guides and learning-based challenges on issues related to race and inequality.

The announcements follow news on Tuesday that Apple planned a non-product related announcement today. Apple CEO Tim Cook has given an interview with CBS This Morning that focuses on the initiatives and should air sometime today.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple bucked a trend as falling global smartphone shipments in 2020 by increasing its shipment rate by over 10% compared to the previous year, claims a new report.

According to DigiTimes Research, global smartphone shipments suffered an overall 8.8% decline to 1.24 billion units last year, due in part to the crippling effects of the health crisis.

Despite that, however, worldwide shipments of 5G-enabled smartphones reached as high as 280-300 million units in 2020, up from the 20 million units shipped a year earlier, indicating a surge in demand for the faster data speed.

In the first quarter of 2020, global shipments "dove over 20% on year in the first quarter of 2020, fell by a double-digit rate in the second, and narrowed the decline to a single digit in the third, before staging a single-digit rebound in the fourth," according to the DigiTimes' figures.

Samsung and Huawei felt the impact worst over the course of the year, both seeing their shipments dip by a double-digit rate. Out of the top six smartphone brands in 2020, only Apple and Xiaomi managed to ramp up their shipments compared to 2019.

According to research conducted by Omdia, Apple's iPhone 11 was the most-shipped smartphone in the first half of 2020 and was the single most popular handset last year. Apple shipped an estimated 37.7 million ‌‌iPhone‌ 11‌ units in 2020 – 10.8 million more units than last year's top-selling model, the ‌iPhone‌ XR.

Apple held talks with electric vehicle company Canoo in early 2020, according to a new report from The Verge. Apple and Canoo discussed several options from an investment to an acquisition as part of Apple's efforts to further its electric vehicle project.

Canoo has developed a scalable, modular electric vehicle platform that drew Apple's interest. It is designed to support a range of vehicle applications for consumers and businesses, and as described by The Verge, it integrates more of the car's electronics for more flexibility in cabin design.

Canoo was hoping to secure an investment from Apple, but the talks deteriorated and ultimately, Canoo merged with Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. IV, raising $300 million to finance the production of the Canoo minivan. Canoo plans to create commercial electric vehicles like delivery vans, plus a consumer-focused van.

In a statement, Canoo said that it does not "openly comment on strategic discussions, relationships, or partnerships, unless deemed appropriate," and Apple also declined to comment on The Verge's story.

Apple moved on to discussions with other manufacturers, and in January, news broke that Apple has entered into negotiations with Hyundai that would see the two companies partnering on electric vehicle manufacturing for Apple's self-driving car. Apple and Hyundai could reach an agreement as soon as March.

Apple is aiming to develop a self-driving car that would be available to consumers, but a recent report from Bloomberg has suggested that the car project is in the early stages and it will be at least half a decade before Apple is ready to launch an electric vehicle.

Coincidentally, Canoo in February 2020 signed a deal with Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors for the development of a new electric vehicle platform, but that appears to be separate from Apple's prospective agreement with Hyundai.

We've compared the AirPods Max to several other competing sets of headphones from companies like Bose, Sennheiser, and Sony, but recently, the Drop + THX Panda Wireless Headphones have been getting some attention, so we thought we'd see how they measure up to Apple's over-ear headphones.

Priced at $400, the Drop + THX Panda Wireless headphones are the first headphones that offer THX AAA Amplification, for what Drop says is the "world's lowest possible levels of distortion." They're also equipped with "planer-ribbon drivers" for additional distortion resistance and more realistic sounding audio, and they're supposedly super comfortable with plush foam earpads wrapped in leather.

These weren't on our radar until we started hearing from the YouTube community, so they're not as familiar as other, more popular brands, but they have some impressive features. That said, these are not better than the AirPods Max, which is not unexpected given the disparity in price points.

When it comes to sound, MacRumors videographer Dan, who tested the headphones, said the Drop + THX Pandas are "dead even" with the ‌AirPods Max‌ in terms of sound quality, and perhaps even a little bit better.

The ‌AirPods Max‌ are more comfortable than the Drop + THX Panda headphones, with the latter exerting more pressure on the temples and the cheeks while the ‌AirPods Max‌ are able to better distribute weight. The mesh ear cups of the ‌AirPods Max‌ are also more comfortable than leather ear cups, as leather along with the tight seal can get hot.

Compared to the ‌AirPods Max‌, the Drop + THX Panda headphones are lacking Active Noise Cancellation, but there is enough of a seal around the head that it drowns out most outside noises.

The Drop + THX Panda headphones come with a hardshell case that fits the headphones plus additional cables, and they come with a USB-C cable for charging and a 3.5mm audio cable if you want to use them in a wired capacity. Comparatively, the ‌AirPods Max‌ have the Smart Case, which is not particularly protective.

When it comes to battery life, the Drop + THX Panda headphones can last for up to 30 hours, which is 10 hours more than the ‌AirPods Max‌. As for controls, the Drop x THX Pandas have a little joystick that can be used to skip tracks and control playback.

All in all, the Drop + THX Panda headphones may be ideal for those who want good sound quality and don't mind the lack of Active Noise Cancellation, but the ‌AirPods Max‌ win out in comfort, ANC capabilities, Spatial Audio, head detection, and ease of use with Apple devices thanks to the H1 chip that allows for fast pairing and fast device switching.

Home security company Arlo highlighted two upcoming products at CES this year, both of which received Smart Home awards at the event. The Essential Indoor camera and the Touchless Video Doorbell are both new product offerings that will be released in the coming months.

The Essential Indoor camera is designed to let families choose when the camera monitors and records video through a "disarm mode." In disarm mode, recording, motion, and audio detection is disabled and won't be re-enabled until manually done through the Arlo app. Video recording resumes when the camera is placed into arm mode.

The Touchless Video Doorbell is a new entry in Arlo's camera-equipped doorbell lineup. It uses Proximity Sensing Technology to gauge a visitor's distance, and when it sees someone approaching, it gives off an audible chime and lights up to let guests know that the doorbell has been virtually "pressed" and that the homeowner has been alerted.

Arlo says that it designed the Touchless Video Doorbell to allow for interaction with limited communal contact, while also keeping the homeowner's front entry secured. Additional details on the Essential Indoor Camera and Touchless Video Doorbell will be provided closer to their launch date, which has yet to be shared.

Along with these announcements, Arlo today appears to have quietly added HomeKit support to the Essential Video Doorbell Wired, based on an updated support document.

The support page lists the Essential Video Doorbell Wired as a HomeKit-compatible device alongside the Arlo Ultra, Pro 3, Pro 3 Floodlight Camera, Pro 2, and more. Enabling ‌HomeKit‌ compatibility requires an Arlo SmartHub or base station with the latest firmware, with Arlo providing instructions on adding ‌HomeKit‌ connectivity.

Facebook is today rolling out an update for its "Access Your Information" tool to make it easier to use and to better explain how data is used, reports TechCrunch.

"Access Your Information" provides a detailed look at the information about you that's shared on Facebook. The updated version is organized into eight categories: Your Activity Across Facebook, Personal Information, Friends and Followers, Logged Information, Security and Login Information, Apps and Websites off of Facebook, Ads Information, and Preferences.

Inside of each category, information is organized into subcategories to make it easier to find the data that you're looking for, with the tool also able to be used to remove data.

Search functionality is now included so you can find something specific like "location," and there's more information on how Facebook uses data to personalize the Facebook experience.

As TechCrunch points out, the launch of the updated tool comes as Apple is requiring apps like Facebook to provide a detailed list of the personal data that's collected, and it has been released just ahead of when Apple will begin requiring Facebook and other apps to obtain express user permission before tracking them.

"Access Your Information" can be found in the Facebook iOS app by accessing the Settings & Privacy section, choosing Settings, and scrolling down to the "Access Your Information" setting. The feature will expand to the desktop in the future.

Anker today announced the launch of the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro headphones, which are true wireless earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation capabilities.

Priced at $130, the Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds are half the price of the AirPods Pro, and are the first Soundcore headphones to offer noise cancelling functionality. There are three ANC modes, including Transport, Indoor, and Outdoor to adjust the noise cancellation levels.

Transport mode is optimized to cut down on the noise of engines, traffic, and public transport to reduce up to 90 percent of noise during a commute, while Outdoor mode targets low and mid-frequency sounds to minimize noise while allowing traffic sounds to come through. Indoor mode targets and cancels human voices.

The Liberty Air 2 Pro come in four colors: Onyx Black, Titanium White, Sapphire Blue and Crystal Pink. The earbuds offer a six hour battery life with ANC turned on or seven hours with the feature deactivated, and there's a USB-C/Qi charging case that adds up to 26 hours of additional battery life.

Six built-in microphones optimize voice for phone calls and aim to minimize background noise, and the earbuds are compatible with Siri at launch. There are built-in touch controls for music playback, which can be customized inside the accompanying app.

As for sound, Anker says that the earbuds are equipped with PureNote Driver technology with 11mm drivers for "accurate sound and clarity at all frequencies." A HearID personalized EQ feature is included to intelligently analyze each person's hearing profile to create a tailor-made sound setup. There's also an adjustable EQ with 22 preset sound profiles, and the earbuds come with nine pairs of silicone ear tips so that users can get the ideal fit.

The Liberty Air 2 Pro can be purchased from the Anker website or from Amazon for $129.99.

In an internal memo obtained by MacRumors, Apple recently informed its network of Apple Authorized Service Providers that mail-in repair is now required for Mac notebooks with anti-reflective coating issues in the United States.

The new policy went into effect January 4, 2021 and means that customers who take an eligible 12-inch MacBook or MacBook Pro exhibiting this issue to an Apple Authorized Service Provider will have their notebook mailed to a centralized Apple depot for the repair to be completed, likely resulting in longer waiting times in most cases. It is unclear if the policy applies to any countries outside of the United States at this time.

Apple launched an internal "quality program" in October 2015 after some 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro users experienced issues with the anti-reflective coating wearing off or delaminating on Retina displays. Apple has never publicly announced the repair program on its website, opting instead to handle the matter internally.

Apple continues to authorize free display repairs for eligible Mac notebooks for up to four years after the original purchase date. At this point, it is likely that only select 2016 and 2017 models of the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro still fall within that four-year window, depending on the purchase date. 2018 or newer models of the MacBook Pro and all MacBook Air models have never qualified for the program.

To initiate a Mac repair, visit the Get Support page on Apple's website. Apple has previously said that customers who already paid for a repair related to this issue may be eligible for a refund, which can be initiated by contacting Apple's support.

CBS This Morning today shared a short clip of an upcoming interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook in which addressing last week's events at the U.S. Capitol, with Cook saying "it's key that people be held accountable for it."

Following the clip, Gayle King of CBS noted that the interview with Cook was not specifically arranged to address the current controversy over Parler and other repercussions, and that it was previously scheduled as part of a "big announcement that they want to make tomorrow."

We should say, he didn't sit and say "You know, I want to sit and talk to CBS about this." This was an interview that was scheduled because they have a big announcement that they want to announce tomorrow. It is not a new product, we should say, it's not a new product. It's something I think bigger and better than that. So we did an interview, and we did it at the Apple Store here, and he's at his headquarters, and he agreed to answer other questions. But that wasn't the purpose of the interview. What we're going to tell you about tomorrow is very exciting.

No further information on Apple's announcement has been made available.

Comments on this story have been disabled.

Apple is researching a number of unique iPhone cases that can charge AirPods, as well as other accessories, according to newly-granted patent filings.

The patent, spotted by AppleInsider, titled "Cases and folios for carrying and charging accessories" and was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. While the patent predominantly "relates to a case for retaining a portable electronic device and an accessory," suggesting that it could apply for virtually any external accessory, the majority of the images included in the filing clearly feature AirPods.

The described embodiments relate generally to protective cases and covers for electronic devices. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to cases and covers that receive and retain portable electronic devices as well as electronic accessories, such as earphones, and that provide or facilitate charging of the electronic accessories or the electronic devices.

The filing outlines a wide range of different configurations for storing and charging AirPods or other electronic accessories within an ‌iPhone‌ case, including "a folio, a wallet, a flap, a cover, an enclosure, a holster, a clip, a sleeve, an armband, or suitable combination hereof." Specifically, it covers cases with "a cavity that generally corresponds to the dimension of an accessory" and a number of terminals, as well as a battery.

If the case variant contains a battery, it can be charged via a terminal from the device in the case. This battery can then charge accessories via another terminal. Apple also highlighted that cases could communicate with the device inside and accessories via NFC and have "a slotted compartment to store money and credit cards."

One of the main designs for the case depicts AirPods being charged within a long, raised section on the front of a folio.

The patent adds that some cases could "include a display that displays information supplied by the electronic device and/or the electronic accessory, such as a level of charge of the electronic device and/or the electronic accessory," and illustrates how a small display could display the time and an incoming call on the front of a folio case.

Another less well-developed case design features "two openings, one at each end for receiving accessory devices," on the top of a case. Each opening contains "a charging terminal in between for energy transfer between the receptacle and the accessory devices." AirPods or other accessories "can be retained through frictional fit, magnetic coupling, or both."

Unlike the folio design, this variant is less invasive and more lightweight. However, it leaves much of the AirPods exposed and offers less protection. It is also unclear if this slimmer design is able to include a battery for charging, or if it solely relies on the ‌iPhone‌ itself for power.

Other case variants visualize AirPods being charged on the back of a case in a design that appears to be similar to the MagSafe Wallet.

It may be important to contextualize this patent with the understanding that Apple is increasingly interested in its accessories segment, which has been bolstered in recent years with Apple Watch bands and ‌MagSafe‌ accessories. While patent filings do not necessarily prove what Apple is intending to implement on a consumer product and the contents of many patents never come to market, an ‌iPhone‌ case that can stow AirPods does not seem to be an unfeasible product.

In light of its expanding selection of accessories and increasingly modular approach, an ‌iPhone‌ case for AirPods could offer a compelling option for users that frequently travel with both devices, should Apple ever choose to release the product.

A few weeks ago, Adobe dropped support for Flash Player and continued to strongly recommend that all users immediately uninstall the browser plugin for security reasons. And starting today, Adobe has gone one step further and blocked Flash content entirely.

When a user attempts to load a Flash game or content in a browser such as Chrome, the content now fails to load and instead displays a small banner that leads to the Flash end-of-life page on Adobe's website. While this day has long been coming, with many browsers disabling Flash by default years ago, it is officially the end of a 25-year era for Flash, first introduced by Macromedia in 1996 and acquired by Adobe in 2005.

"Since Adobe will no longer be supporting Flash Player after December 31, 2020 and Adobe will block Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021, Adobe strongly recommends all users immediately uninstall Flash Player to help protect their systems," the page reads. Adobe has instructions for uninstalling Flash on Mac, but note that Apple removed support for Flash outright in Safari 14 last year.

Adobe first announced its plans to discontinue Flash in 2017. "Open standards such as HTML5, WebGL, and WebAssembly have continually matured over the years and serve as viable alternatives for Flash content," the company explained.

Adobe does not intend to issue Flash Player updates or security patches any longer, so it is recommended that users uninstall the plugin.

Over the years, Flash had an infamous reputation due to numerous security vulnerabilities that exposed Mac and PC users to malware and other risks, forcing vendors like Microsoft and Apple to work tirelessly to keep up with security fixes.

Apple's co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs offered his "Thoughts on Flash" in a 2010 open letter, criticizing Adobe's software for its poor reliability, security, and performance. Jobs also said that Apple "cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers."

Flash's discontinuation should not heavily impact most users since many popular browsers have already moved away from the plugin. Additionally, iPhone and iPad users are not affected by the change, as iOS and iPadOS have never supported Flash.

Following backlash after changing its terms and privacy policy to consolidate a significant amount of data sharing with Facebook, WhatsApp is now assuring users about the privacy measures built into its app.

Last week, WhatsApp began informing users of updates to the app's terms of service and privacy policy. The updated agreements, which users must consent to in order to continue using WhatsApp, explicitly give parent company Facebook access to a large amount of user data. While WhatsApp has shared some user data with Facebook for years, this update consolidates data sharing for all users, including those that chose to opt-out of data sharing with Facebook in the past.

The updated terms help WhatsApp to integrate more closely into Facebook's family of products, as it aims to provide a more coherent experience to users across services, and enables the company to use gathered information on all users to display targeted ads. The widely-reported change was met with an outcry of displeasure on social media, leading to a rush to download rival messaging app Signal, and has even sparked an antitrust investigation in Turkey.

Via posts on social media, WhatsApp is now assuring users that "Our privacy policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family." It has also added to its FAQ to address users' privacy concerns relating to data sharing with Facebook.

The FAQ explains that WhatsApp and Facebook cannot see a user's private messages or hear their calls. Logs of who users are messaging and calling are not retained and shared location, contact information, and group membership is kept private.

WhatsApp suggests that the majority of data sharing with Facebook is derived from communicating with businesses that use hosting services from Facebook or after using Facebook-branded commerce services such as Shops. Either may result in targeted ads being shown to users.

However, it is noticeable that WhatsApp has mostly focused on what data is not shared with Facebook, rather than what is. The FAQ update does not acknowledge the fact, as stated under the updated privacy policy, that WhatsApp shares device and interaction information, IP address, and unspecified "other information" with Facebook.

Satechi today announced the launch of the Aluminum 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand, which is designed to work with the magnets inside Apple's iPhone 12 lineup.

Though the charging stand includes magnets, it is not MagSafe and it is limited to charging an ‌iPhone‌ at 7.5W rather than the 15W that's available with official ‌MagSafe‌ chargers.

The Aluminum 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand has an upright charger that works with an ‌iPhone‌ 12, and a 5W Qi charging spot at the base that is compatible with AirPods or AirPods Pro. Because it requires a magnetic connection for a device to stay upright, the Aluminum 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand is not compatible with earlier ‌iPhone‌ models.

The stand features an adjustable ball mount that allows the attached ‌iPhone‌ to be moved and titled into a variety of viewing angles, and an ‌iPhone‌ can be attached either in landscape or portrait mode. Satechi says that there's non-slip padding at the bottom of the charger to keep it secure on a table or desk, and it features LED lights to indicate when devices are charging.

The Aluminum 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand can be pre-ordered from the Satechi website for $59.99, and through February 15, customers can get a 20 percent discount using the code MAGNETIC at checkout.

LG announced it will launch the world's first rollable smartphone this year, as it offered a sneak peek of the device at CES 2021 with a five-second teaser video.

The clip features a smartphone held in landscape orientation as the display rolls in from an expanded tablet-style form factor screen into a more compact chassis.

The hybrid handset is said to be based on flexible organic light-emitting diode technology, which is reportedly being supplied by China's BOE Technology Group, although the specifics of the tech remain unclear. Speaking at CES, the company told Nikkei Asia that the product would be officially released later this year:

"Our management wanted to show that it is a real product, as there were many rumors around the rollable phone," said Ken Hong, a spokesman for LG. "As it is released at CES 2021, I can tell that it will be launched this year."

LG's rollable display follows the moderate success of Samsung foldable smartphones, and comes as the LG's phone business is struggling financially due to stiff competition from the likes of Samsung, Huawei and Apple.

Apple has explored rollable displays in the past, based on patents from the company. In March 2020, a patent attributed to Apple appeared on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that describes an "Electronic device with flexible display structures."

The patent details a flexible display that can be wrapped around one or more internal roller mechanisms, allowing the screen to expand out of the chassis. A rigid section remains to house the printed circuit boards and other electronic components, but with the addition of the rollable display layers.

"Elongated bistable support members may run along the edges of the display or may be overlapped by a central active area of the display to help stiffen and support the display in its extended position," explains the patent, which conceives the technology as adaptable to anything from a smartphone to a smartwatch.

As with all Apple patents, there's no indication that Apple has plans to bring such a device to market, but it is interesting to see what sorts of future solutions Apple is eyeing as it seeks to innovate beyond current consumer-use technologies.

Tech blogs 91mobile and MySmartPrice on Tuesday posted a series of allegedly leaked factory CAD images of Apple's upcoming fifth-generation 11-inch iPad Pro.

Rumors suggest Apple plans to announce two new ‌iPad Pro‌ models in both 11-inch and 12.9-inch versions, and today's images offer perhaps the clearest indication yet that Apple's next-generation iPad Pros will have minimal, if any, external design changes.

According to MySmartPrice, the the fifth-generation 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ will be the same thickness, but Apple will "shave off some millimeters from the length and breadth." The device may also exhibit changes to the internal speaker system, by potentially reducing the number of speakers grilles and relocating them.

Previous rumors about the next-generation ‌iPad Pro‌ models indicate no changes to the display size or housing, but A-series chip performance is expected to be "significantly improved."

According to one rumor, the rear cameras are said to protrude less in the new ‌iPad Pro‌ models. Specifically, the camera bump will remain, but the protrusion of the individual camera lenses will not be required.

There is also the suggestion that Apple will release standard ‌iPad Pro‌ 11-inch and 12.9-inch updates, while also making a separate high-end mini-LED 12.9-inch model, which could be about 0.5mm thicker to accommodate the higher spec display.

DigiTimes believes Apple is working on a 5G iPad with mmWave support, which would be positioned as a high-end ‌iPad Pro‌, and 5G support could be released alongside the new mini-LED display.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that a mini-LED ‌iPad Pro‌ launch is expected in the first half of this year, while DigiTimes also believes a mini-LED ‌iPad Pro‌ will launch in early 2021, as does Korea's ETNews.

Apple's iPhone 12 sales in China exceeded all expectations in the fourth quarter of last year, according to local media sources (via DigiTimes).

Sales reached 18 million units, earning Apple an over 20% market share, with momentum expected to continue through the Lunar New Year holiday, bringing shipment volumes for Q1 2021 on par with the number of units shipped the previous quarter.

The figures are all the more impressive given that prior to the ‌iPhone‌ 12 series launch in October 2020, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo accounted for over 90% of China's smartphone market.

The staggering fourth-quarter iPhone 12 shipments helped push Apple's share in China's handset segment to over 20% in fourth-quarter 2020 and reduced the combined share of Chinese brands to about 78%, said the sources, citing market data.

The DigiTimes report offers a word of caution regarding whether supply can keep up with demand, following a widening shortage of semiconductors for handset parts.

However, Apple's wholesale adoption of 5G should bode well for it in the mainstream Chinese market, where 5G phones have started replaced 4G models, with shipments totaling 160 million units out of a total of 300 million handsets.

Microsoft today released updates to its suite of Office apps for iPad, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Notably, Excel for ‌‌iPad‌‌ now supports Split View, which allows you to open two spreadsheets simultaneously side-by-side to view and edit. Word and PowerPoint received support for Split View in May 2020.

Split View can be accessed by touching and holding on a spreadsheet document in any file view and then dragging it to the left or right side of the screen. To exit Split View, grab the slider in the middle of the screen and drag it to either the left or right to close one of the spreadsheet documents and take the remaining one full-screen.

Meanwhile in PowerPoint, users can now rehearse their presentations with the new Presenter Coach feature, which offers feedback on the things that keep an audience engaged, such as pacing, pitch, filler words, sensitive phrases, and more.

Microsoft has also been working to implement full support for the iPadOS trackpad controls that were introduced in iPadOS 13.4, and the latest version of Word (2.45) does just that. Following the update, users can connect a trackpad and mouse to their ‌iPad‌ to interact with documents. Keyboards with trackpads include Apple's Magic Keyboard and Brydge's Pro+ for the iPad Pro and Logitech's Combo for the 10.2-inch ‌iPad‌ and the 10.5-inch iPad Air.

If you run into trouble with your AirPods Max and need to get a replacement pair under warranty, it looks like the new set will be delivered without a refreshed set of ear cushions.

A 9to5Mac reader sent in a pair of ‌AirPods Max‌ for repair due to an issue with the Digital Crown, and the replacement set that he received back did not include ear cushions.

Apple instead expects users to keep the ear cushions from the damaged set of ‌AirPods Max‌ to use them with the replacement pair, unless of course the ear cushions themselves have also experienced damage. Given the modular design of the ‌AirPods Max‌, it is possible for Apple to ship just the headphones or just the ear cushions for replacement purposes.

Apple's instructions for mailing in the ‌AirPods Max‌ include a diagram that instructs users to remove the ear cushions before shipping the ‌AirPods Max‌ in a repair box.

With replacement AirPods Pro models, Apple does provide new ear tips, but ear tips for the AirPods Pro are priced at $8 rather than $69 like the AirPods Max ear cushions, so it's no surprise these are delivered separately.

At the current time, Apple is not selling ear cushions on a standalone basis, but they will presumably be available when stock improves. ‌AirPods Max‌ purchases from Apple continue to have March delivery dates at the current time.