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While CarPlay has become very common in cars over the past several years, most manufacturers are still relying on a wired implementation that requires the user to plug his or her iPhone in using a Lightning cable connected to one of the vehicle's USB ports.

The first and only car manufacturer to adopt wireless CarPlay so far is BMW (including its MINI brand), although Mercedes recently announced wireless CarPlay coming later this year. On the aftermarket front, Alpine is offering one solution that supports the feature, while Pioneer has just announced a few models of its own.

One common justification for the slow adoption of wireless CarPlay has been that the car is an easy place to charge your phone, so it pays to plug it into your car to top off the battery while you're driving. But with Apple's latest iPhones supporting Qi wireless charging and more car manufacturers starting to include Qi charging pads as options on their vehicles, we thought it would be worth taking a look at how such a setup works in the real world.

BMW recently invited me down for a tour of Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina, which is BMW's largest plant in the world and produces 1,400 vehicles per day from the X3, X4, X5, and X6 lines. I also got to take part in the Performance Center Delivery program at the BMW Performance Center, a program that is typically available to anyone who purchases a new BMW and elects to pick it up at the factory.

During the program, an instructor introduced me to the capabilities of some of the company's cars, including Dynamic Stability control on the skid pad, ABS handling in panic braking situations, and general vehicle handling on a road course. A follow-up off-road experience in an X3 offered a taste of high-water driving, climbing, descending, moguls, and more. After that, I was oriented on a 2018 X3 M40i and sent off on my own time to test out its capabilities, focusing on the CarPlay integration with BMW's iDrive infotainment system.

As far as CarPlay goes, it's a fairly standard experience, as Apple primarily controls how the feature functions. On the X3, CarPlay requires the Premium or Executive tier with a widescreen 10.3-inch display that also supports onboard navigation (the standard center display is 6.5 inches), the CarPlay interface takes up the left two-thirds of the screen while a split screen function allows you to display one of a number of widgets such as current audio selection, vehicle information, or other options on the right side of the screen.

Wireless CarPlay

Where BMW's CarPlay implementation differs from nearly every other manufacturer is that it's entirely wireless. In fact, wired CarPlay isn't even supported in BMWs, so setup is just a bit more complicated than you might be used to, but the pairing process to get things up and running is still pretty simple.

Pairing for wireless CarPlay happens over Bluetooth for ease of initial data transfer, but the actual CarPlay communication happens over Wi-Fi for a stable, higher-bandwidth connection. It's remarkably convenient to just hop in the car and have CarPlay pop up on the screen without having to take your phone out of your pocket.

One inconvenience of the wireless-only CarPlay implementation in BMWs is that it's harder for guests to use their phones with the system. If you're in the car every day, it's a minor inconvenience to spend a minute walking through the pairing process the first time you set it up. But for a guest who may only be in the vehicle once, either as driver or passenger, you have to go through that pairing process to add his or her phone to the vehicle rather than simply plugging the iPhone in and granting CarPlay permission.

Wireless Charging and Hotspot

If you're going for a longer drive, you might want to charge your phone while you're in the car, and that normally means plugging in a Lightning cable. It's another accessory to remember, a split second of finickiness as you get the cable plugged in, and then the actual cable draped over your dashboard or center console while you're driving. Some vehicles offer a tidier solution where you can store your phone away while plugged in, such as in the center console, but that too takes a few extra steps.

With the $500 wireless charging and Wi-Fi hotspot option on the X3, you've got a convenient wireless charging pad located right at the front of the center console. You can just toss your phone down onto it, and it begins charging while wireless CarPlay pops up on the display. A small status light near the front edge of the charging pad shines blue while charging and red if things aren't quite right like the alignment is off.

In practice, I found the charging surface quite forgiving in terms of placement, and only once did I run into a red light situation with improper device alignment. The charging surface is plenty large, with even a Plus-sized iPhone in an Apple case fitting with room to spare.

Charging speeds leave a bit to be desired, however, as I typically found the charging pad only able to maintain or slightly increase the battery level during use. For example, during one 90-minute drive while using Apple Maps via CarPlay, the wireless charger in the X3 was only able to boost my iPhone X battery from 46 percent to 54 percent. Taking time to ensure optimal alignment of the phone with the charging pad might yield a bit better results, but if you're looking for a quick charge this isn't the way to go. Still, it's better than allowing your phone to run down on a long road trip as you're using it for maps, music, and more.

The vehicle will also warn you if you're about to leave your phone in the car on the charging pad, sounding a chime and popping up a warning on the dashboard as you exit the car if a device is still on the charger. It's nice to have a reminder, but I found it sounding a bit too often simply because it takes a second for the charger to recognize the phone has been removed. So if you're like me and the last thing you do before opening the door is grab your phone, you'll still get an occasional warning because the car hasn't realized the phone has already been picked up.

There's one other quirk that stems from the wireless CarPlay setup that's related to its use of Wi-Fi to make the connection. When you're using wireless CarPlay, you can't also connect the phone to the car's Wi-Fi hotspot, as the phone's Wi-Fi connection is already being used. If you try to connect to the hotspot, your iPhone will prompt you that you need to disconnect from CarPlay.

It's not a huge deal, as vehicle Wi-Fi hotspots are most useful for devices that don't have their own cellular access. In fact, you may even have your car as a separate line on the same account as your phone, in which case the data is likely all coming from the same bucket anyway, regardless of whether you're using a direct cellular connection on the phone or routing through the Wi-Fi hotspot.

BMW's Wi-Fi hotspot service is provided by AT&T, and the X3 comes with a free trial lasting three months or 3 GB, whichever comes first. After that, you'll need to subscribe either on a standalone basis or by adding it as a line to an existing account.

CarPlay Subscription Pricing

BMW has generated some controversy with its recent shift in pricing model for CarPlay support. Initially, CarPlay was a standalone $300 option on BMW vehicles, but with the 2019 model year, BMW is shifting to a subscription model. Instead of a separate upfront option charge, CarPlay support is included in any of the packages that support navigation, but only for one year. After that, you'll have to sign up for a subscription priced at $80 per year.

The controversy unsurprisingly centers around this shift to a subscription model, which on the surface appears to make little sense considering there are no ongoing costs to BMW associated with the feature. Once the hardware support for CarPlay is included in the vehicle, it just works, which suggests an upfront fee should be the obvious way to charge for CarPlay.

As BMW tells me, however, the subscription model offers owners more flexibility as technology rapidly evolves. For one, many people who own or lease cars only keep them for a few years, so the subscription model ends up being cheaper than a $300 upfront fee for these users, particularly with the first year free.

Including CarPlay support in all BMWs with navigation also makes it easier for owners to add the service in the future if they decide they want CarPlay or if the vehicle changes owners. A simple software unlock will activate CarPlay once a subscription is purchased, which will even be possible straight from the ConnectedDrive Store right in the car.

Now, I may be in the minority of car owners, but I tend to keep my vehicles for ten years or more, which would make the shift to a subscription model a bad deal for me, so it would be nice if BMW offered the option of a flat fee or a subscription.

Better yet would be if CarPlay was simply part of the navigation package with no additional charges required at all. It would mean non-CarPlay users would be paying for a bundled feature they won't use, but at some point it's worth keeping things simple and just grouping it all together in one package. The incremental cost of supporting CarPlay for manufacturers must be relatively small, as it's available even in fairly low-priced cars at this point, although BMW's wireless CarPlay implementation likely costs them a bit more.

iDrive

BMW's iDrive system has been around for over 15 years and is currently on version 6. Over the years, it's generally regarded as having become one of the most intuitive and best-looking infotainment systems available from car manufacturers, which is a welcome contrast in a field where many manufacturers do a very poor job.

The iDrive system offers three main ways to interface with the system, including the large touchscreen (a recent addition for BMW), a Nuance-based voice assistant, and the iconic iDrive controller knob within easy reach next to the gearshift on the center console.

There's actually even a fourth way of performing some functions, and that's Gesture Control that lets you wave your hand near the dashboard to do things like turn volume up or down and accept or decline phone calls, but it's rather gimmicky when you've got buttons for those functions right at your fingertips on the steering wheel. With 360º camera views around the car, you can even use pinching gestures to pan around the vehicle, but again, the real-world usefulness here is pretty minimal.

BMW's voice assistant works quite well, and both BMW's assistant and Siri are invoked using the same button on the steering wheel – a quick press activates the BMW assistant, while holding the button brings up Siri.

The iDrive controller knob is a convenient and powerful control mechanism that allows for a wide variety of inputs within easy reach. The knob itself turns like a dial to scroll through options (including through various interactive buttons in CarPlay), and pressing the knob down registers your selection. The knob can also be rocked forward, backward, and side to side to quickly navigate through the various menu hierarchies.

Text entry unsurprisingly leaves a bit to be desired, as each letter must be selected from a rotary display, but even here BMW has simplified things by making the surface of the knob touch sensitive so you can quickly draw the desired letter with your finger. Either way, text entry is slow and clunky, so you're definitely going to want to use voice input if possible.

Surrounding the knob is a series of buttons for media, communications, menu, map, options, and a back button. Those will quickly take you straight to the corresponding popular functions, and they even intelligently integrate with CarPlay so that, for example, if you've been using Apple Maps in CarPlay, hitting the Map button will take you there. But if you've been using the onboard navigation, the button will pop up that feature.

The main iDrive 6 display consists of a series of six cards offering functions like media/radio, communications, navigation, vehicle data, notifications, and Connected Drive app services like weather, news, Yelp, and more. The cards can be rearranged as desired.

Navigation works quite well, with traffic support and several different viewing options. If you want to dedicate the entire 10.3-inch display to navigation, you can do that, and you'll see a wide panoramic view of the route in front of you.

The Premium tier and above include a heads-up display, which projects your vehicle's speed and the current speed limit onto the windshield in the lower portion of your field of view. It can also pop up audio options as you change stations or sources from the steering wheel, so you don't have to take your eyes off of the road. Finally, it will also show upcoming turns when using the built-in navigation system, and that's one important reason why you might want to use BMW's navigation system rather than CarPlay.

Wrap-up

BMW already offers a solid infotainment system in the form of iDrive, but CarPlay provides another option for those users embedded in the Apple ecosystem. With wireless CarPlay and Qi charging support built into the vehicle, everything is nearly seamless, and it's hard to overstate the convenience of having CarPlay just work every time you step into the car. Having to plug in a cable doesn't seem like much of a hurdle, but it's one more thing to think about and an extra few seconds of fumbling when you're just trying to get where you're going.

All of this convenience doesn't come cheaply, however. BMW's aren't entry-level vehicles to begin with, and then you have to add on at least the Premium tier to get the large display with navigation capabilities in order to get CarPlay. On 2018 models, CarPlay support is an additional $300 on top of that. Starting with 2019, there's no additional charge for the first year, but then you're stuck paying for a yearly subscription to access a hardware feature, which is unfortunate.

If you want wireless charging, that's another $500 upfront fee, which does also get you a convenient hotspot to let the kids surf the Internet on their iPads in the back seat, but remember that after three months it's also going involve another monthly fee to AT&T.

Still, if you don't mind opening up your wallet, the combination of wireless CarPlay and Qi charging is undoubtedly handy, and here's hoping it comes to other car brands and trickles down to lower-priced models and packages over time.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.4.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one day after releasing tvOS 11.4, an update that introduced support for AirPlay 2.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 11.4.1 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode.

We're not yet sure what fixes and changes the tvOS 11.4.1 update might bring, but it's likely to focus on bugs that have been discovered since the release of tvOS 11.4.

Apple's tvOS updates have historically been minor in scale, and Apple does not often provide us with detailed notes outlining what's new. We'll update this post should anything be found in the beta.

Apple's work on tvOS 11 is winding down as the company is now focusing on tvOS 12, which is set to be unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference next week.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.3.2 update to developers, one day after releasing watchOS 4.3.1, a minor bug fix update that addressed a startup issue.

Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software update.

To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.

It's not yet clear what features will be introduced in the watchOS 4.3.2 update, but as another 4.3.x update, it's likely to be minor in scale, addressing bug fixes and making other small improvements to the operating system.

watchOS 4.3.2 is likely to be one of the final updates to the watchOS 4 operating system. Apple has begun work on watchOS 5, which will be provided to developers next week at the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple has launched an internal music publishing division, headed by industry executive Elena Segal, according to Music Business Worldwide.

Segal had served as Director of iTunes International since 2006, covering a wide range of legal and licensing matters for iTunes around the world. She began her new role as Apple's Global Director of Music Publishing earlier this month, based out of London, England, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The initiative is said to be one of the first major moves from Apple Music's new global operations chief Oliver Schusser, who was promoted from his previous role as Vice President of iTunes international in April.

The report suggests that the new division will help the Apple Music team to better discover up-and-coming artists, and improve its direct relationships with publishers and songwriters. The division is said to be made up of several subdivisions dedicated to operations, publisher relations, and other areas.

Like her boss Schusser, Segal will likely split her time between London and Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Recode's annual Code Conference is underway in Rancho Palos Verdes, California this week, and on Tuesday Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel took the stage to discuss the ephemeral app's controversial update, Facebook's copying, and the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Specifically, Spiegel is said to have "poured salt on the wound" during his 40-minute interview with Kara Swisher as he called out Facebook and its ongoing struggles with user privacy. Referencing Facebook's decision to copy Snapchat stories in the Facebook app, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, Spiegel said, "We would really appreciate it if they copied our data protection practices also."

Snapchat is built around the idea that messages and photos that users send on the platform all disappear after a pre-set amount of time, providing some sense of security within the iOS and Android app. Facebook, on the other hand, is "just a bunch of features" -- now including ephemeral stories -- placed within an app without an underlying philosophy of user privacy, Spiegel argued.

Spiegel said Facebook — whose name he repeatedly declined to utter — has failed to sufficiently overhaul its user privacy protections after the Cambridge Analytica scandal exploded earlier this spring.

“Fundamentally, I think the changes have to go beyond window dressing to real changes to the ways that these platforms work,” he said.

Spiegel ultimately said that he thinks Snapchat will survive competitors copying the app, because while other platforms are forcing people to "compete with their friends for 'Likes'", Snapchat is focused on communicating with close friends. So, while Facebook imitates its features, the CEO remained confident that Snapchat's "values are hard to copy."

Snapchat hasn't been without its own data leak scandals, however, and Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos took to Twitter to point that out. Stamos said that "poor API security" has been a factor that led to mass leaks of compromising user photos. "So no, I don't think copying Snapchat would be a smart move" for Facebook, he finished.

Many companies have voiced their opinions on the Facebook data scandal, including Apple and CEO Tim Cook, who said he "wouldn't be in this situation" when asked what he would do if he was Mark Zuckerberg.

Plex today announced the launch of Plex Podcasts, a feature that's designed to provide Plex users with an intuitive, customizable podcasts experience on any iOS device or Mac with no subscription or media server required.

According to Plex, the new Podcasts feature offers cross-platform playback, so you can begin a podcast on one device, such as your Apple TV, and then pick it up later on another device like the iPhone.

The Plex Podcasts interface displays the latest unplayed and in-progress episodes, just as Plex does for television shows and movies. Podcasts are displayed right alongside your photos, videos, music, TV shows, and more, putting all of your favorite media right in one place.

Standard podcast controls are available to control playback, and there's an option to add your own favorite podcasts that aren't already in the Plex catalog by adding the feed URL.

As with other media, Plex Podcasts is designed to enhance the podcast experience with metadata, providing users with info about each episode and related podcasts.

The feature is available on iOS, Android, Roku and the Plex web platform, with support for other devices coming in the near future. Plex also plans to add improved metadata and smart downloading in the coming weeks.

Along with Plex Podcasts, the Plex mobile apps are being overhauled to focus on a more customizable media experience. Users are able to choose the types of content they want to see, adding select categories to the Plex home screen.

Plex for iOS devices can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

On Monday, a report from South Korea's ET News claimed that Apple's transition to a full OLED iPhone lineup will be complete in 2019. This would mark the first time Apple has relied entirely on the organic light-emitting diode panel technology and not included LCD panels in any way, but now a group of analysts have responded to the report and argued that the 2019 timeframe might be inaccurate (via Bloomberg).

Jay Kwon, an analyst with JPMorgan, said that it's too early for a switch to OLED-only production for the iPhone. This is because the OLED screens would make the smartphones more expensive, removing the chance for a "low-cost" iPhone model like the LCD version believed to be coming in 2018, and Kwon argued that Apple likely needs more time to find additional OLED suppliers besides its current sole supplier in Samsung Display.

While Apple has embraced OLED, most analysts said they don’t see the switch happening in 2019.

“It is unlikely that Apple will be releasing three OLED models next year,” said Jeff Pu, an analyst at Taipei-based Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting. The other major OLED supplier, LG Display, has struggled to move into mass production and isn’t likely to boost OLED production for Apple in 2019 from 5 million to 10 million units expected this year, he said.

While rumors about Apple's incoming shift to an entire OLED iPhone lineup have been around for over a year, shares of suppliers reacted quickly in response to the new report from ET News. Goldman Sachs analysts Daiki Takayama and Jie Dai believed that "share prices have overreacted" to the news, because they "think it is unlikely that all 2019 iPhone models will switch to OLED screens."

Arthur Liao, an analyst with Fubon Securities, said he has not heard anything from his own supply chain sources in Taiwan regarding Apple moving to all OLED iPhone models in 2019. Most analysts repeatedly pointed towards pricing as an issue, including IHS Markit analyst Jerry Kang: "Apple hasn't been able to expand on its iPhone X production because of market demand and price issues." Kang said that while Apple's plan is to ultimately "go full OLED," the real "question mark" is determining what year the company will make that shift.

In an effort to reduce reliance on Samsung Display, Apple has reportedly invested billions of dollars to help LG get up and running with OLED technology, and LG has been rumored to be the supplier for this year's "iPhone X Plus." Besides that model, Apple is predicted to release two other iPhones in 2018: a second generation iPhone X and a low-cost, 6.1-inch option with a similar full-face display as seen on the iPhone X, but with LCD rather than an OLED display.

Camera+ 2 was released for iPhone and iPad today, a complete rewrite of the popular photography app of the same name that appeared almost eight years ago and sold over 14 million copies in that time. The successor app features a completely redesigned interface for accessing manual controls, raw shooting and editing, depth capture, and more.

As a universal app, Camera+ 2 promises a consistent experience across iPhone and iPad, with multitasking support for the latter baked in. Unlike its predecessor, the app also comes with all features, one-touch filters, and tools included as-is – no in-app purchases required.

In shooting modes, the manual onscreen wheels and controls include traditional settings like shutter speed, ISO, White Balance, and Macro, with wide-angle and telephoto options available on dual-lens devices. These functions can also be hidden during casual shooting.

With depth capture enabled in Camera+ 2, the depth information is saved alongside the image, and the adjustments in The Lab section of the editor can be selectively applied to distant or close subjects. A collection of filters are also available, with options to adjust their strength and layer them to customize the aesthetic.

A new Smile mode enables Camera+ 2 to detect smiles and shoot automatically, while a Stabilizer mode shoots only when the iPhone is steady enough to produce a sharp picture. The Slow Shutter mode meanwhile brings the ability to take long exposures, even in daylight, with additional Burst and Timer modes also included.

Elsewhere, in a much-requested change, Camera+ now has full Photo Library integration with editing support, with the added ability to switch between the Photo Library and the Lightbox with the tap of a button. Drag and drop gestures on the iPad are supported for copying or sharing photos, while Files and iTunes integration are also available for transferring pictures to a computer or other apps.

Camera+ 2 is available to download on the App Store for $2.99 and requires iOS 11 or later. [Direct Link]

The Pokémon Company today announced the upcoming launch of Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!, two games designed for the Nintendo Switch.

The two new Pokémon: Let's Go games are designed to connect to Pokémon Go on the iPhone and other mobile devices and offer many of the gameplay functions that are available in Pokémon Go.

Players will be able to catch Pokémon using Pokémon Go on iOS or Android and then transfer those Pokémon over to the switch. Any of the original 151 Pokémon from the Kanto region can be transferred over to the Switch using Bluetooth.

As demonstrated in the video accompanying the announcement, a player captures a Dratini on a smartphone and then pulls out a Switch to transfer the Dratini to something called the "GO PARK" where the player is able to interact with the Pokémon.

The video also shows a Nintendo Switch user sending a present to a Pokémon Go player on an Android device, suggesting gifts will also be able to be exchanged cross device.

Pokémon Let's Go gameplay was inspired by Pokémon Yellow, where Pikachu followed the player throughout the game, and The Pokémon Company says the two games are designed for players "taking their first steps into the Pokémon video game world."

"With the launch of Pokémon GO in 2016 and the global sensation that ensued, millions of new players were introduced to the world of Pokémon," said Junichi Masuda, director at GAME FREAK inc. "For many people, Pokémon GO was their first experience with the Pokémon brand, so we have crafted these two new titles to be an accessible entry point to our core RPG series while giving our longtime fans a new way to play Pokémon."

Gameplay in Pokémon Let's Go, as with other Pokémon games, consists of capturing, leveling, and fighting Pokémon. Local multiplayer gameplay is supported, with two Pokémon catchers able to team up to catch Pokémon.

The Pokémon Company says that in addition to integration with Pokémon Go on Switch, "something special" will be coming to the world of Pokémon Go in the future "making the connection between both games even more appealing for trainers."

Pokémon Let's Go for the Switch will be accompanied by a new Poké Ball Plus accessory that can be used in lieu of a standard Nintendo Switch controller for capturing and interacting with Pokémon. The Poké Ball Plus is also compatible with Pokémon Go and can be used to catch Pokémon instead of the existing Pokémon Go Plus accessory.

The Poké Ball Plus offers motion controls and it lights up, vibrates, and plays sounds. Players who capture a Pokémon using the Poké Ball Plus will be able to feel it move around inside the ball.

Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! and Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu! will be released on November 16, 2018. The Poké Ball Plus will be available for purchase at retailers on the same day.

Nintendo today also launched a new free-to-play game on the Nintendo Switch called Pokémon Quest, which is coming to mobile devices in late June.

Pokémon Quest, an RPG developed by Game Freak, is set in Tumblecube Island, where everything is a cube, including Pokémon. The idea is to travel through the island hunting for treasure, capturing Pokémon, discovering new areas, decorating a base camp, and more.

Apple at WWDC is expected to introduce a new pride watch face, reports 9to5Mac. The upcoming watch face is "inspired by the rainbow flag" and is likely designed to match the limited edition Rainbow Pride Woven Nylon Apple Watch band that Apple released at WWDC last year.

Code for the new watch face was found in iOS 11.4 and watchOS 4.3.1, and it appears that the new watch face will animate with moving threads of color that shift whenever the display is tapped.

The watch face will become available on Monday, June 4 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time, which suggests it will be made available to all iOS users through an over-the-air update to watchOS 4.3.1. On Twitter, a user was able to change the date on his Apple Watch and the new face showed up, confirming it will release for everyone just after the keynote event wraps up.

It is not clear if Apple has any other pride-related announcements in store to accompany the new watch face, such as a new pride band. It is also not known if Apple plans to release additional watch faces with watchOS 5, but last year's watchOS 4 release did include new faces.

Apple always celebrates San Francisco Pride and participates in the parade, with the event set to take place on Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24 this year, so it makes sense for the company to release a new rainbow Apple Watch face ahead of that date.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues 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.

The New Zealand Commerce Commission today sent a warning to Apple over concerns that the company misled customers about their replacement rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act and Fair Trading Act, reports the New Zealand Herald.

According to the commission, Apple may have violated New Zealand consumer law by telling customers its products have a two year warranty and also referring customers who purchase non-Apple branded products from Apple to the manufacturer for warranty issues.

From an eight-page statement released by the Commerce Commission:

We consider that Apple is likely to be misleading consumers by trying to exclude its liability for non-Apple branded products. If this behaviour is continuing, we recommend you take immediate action to address our concerns and seek legal advice about complying with the Fair Trading Act."

The New Zealand Herald says the Commerce Commission began an investigation into Apple's practices in April 2016 after receiving complaints from consumers who sought repairs from Apple but were told that their products were covered by consumer law for just two years.

Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, there is no set two-year period after which it expires, with the act instead outlining a set of requirements for consumer devices regarding build quality (products must be free from defects).

According to Commissioner Anna Rawlings, businesses should not base warranty decisions in New Zealand "solely on how long a consumer has owned a product." Instead, the "reasonable lifespan" depends "very much on what that product is" and each fault must be assessed "on its own merits."

During the investigation, the commission also said that Apple is "likely to have misled" consumers by excluding liability for non-Apple products. Apple is responsible, says the commission, for "compliance with consumer guarantees applying to all products it sells, even if it is not the manufacturer."

There were also some issues discovered around the availability of spare parts and repairs after one New Zealand customer was told he could have a maximum of four replacements for a faulty product.

The commission says Apple made voluntary changes to address some of the concerns that were raised, including making it clear to Apple employees in New Zealand that consumer law rights are not bound by a set time period. The commission believes Apple will consider and fix the other issues that were raised during the investigation.