MacRumors

Samsung kicked off its Cyber Week sale a few days ago, offering discounts across smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, computers, and home appliances. Many of the deals in this sale are the same exact prices we tracked during Samsung's Black Friday sale, making Samsung one of the few retailers to keep these best-ever prices around all week.

samsung best holidayNote: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Right now, both the Smart Monitor M8 and ViewFinity S9 5K Display have all-time low prices on Amazon. The Smart Monitor M8 is available for $399.99 ($300 off) and the ViewFinity S9 5K Display is available for $1,201.82 ($398 off). The latter deal has been fluctuating on Amazon, so if it does disappear, Samsung has a second-best offer at $1,299.99 for the next few days.

Samsung is encouraging users to shop through the Shop Samsung mobile app this season, which has some exclusive deals and deep discounts on smartphones, smartwatches, and mobile accessories. Clicking any of the Samsung links in this post while on mobile should give you the option to install the app.

Other than monitors and TVs, we're also now tracking quite a few deals on refrigerators, tablets, and computers below. These sale prices will be live for this week only, so be sure to check out Samsung's event before the best prices of the year disappear.

Monitors

smart monitor holiday

TVs

the frame holiday

Refrigerators

fridge holiday

Smartphones

smartphone samsung
If you're shopping for a Samsung smartphone this week, there are extra cash discounts to be found on these devices when shopping via the Shop Samsung mobile app, beyond the trade-in bonus offers listed below.

  • Galaxy S23 Ultra - Get up to $800 instant trade-in credit with an eligible phone trade-in
  • Galaxy S23 - Get up to $600 instant trade-in credit with an eligible phone trade-in
  • Galaxy S23+ - Get up to $600 instant trade-in credit with an eligible phone trade-in
  • Galaxy Z Fold5 - Get a free storage upgrade and up to $1,000 instant trade-in credit
  • Galaxy Z Flip5 - Get up to $600 instant trade-in credit with an eligible phone trade-in
  • Galaxy S23 FE - Get up to $400 instant trade-in credit with an eligible phone trade-in

Smartwatches

Blue Gradient

Earbuds

samsung earbuds

Tablets

samsung tablets

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

Black Friday deals have expired on most Apple products, but today Amazon is back with an all-time low price on the Apple Watch Series 9. Deals are available for both the 41mm and 45mm GPS models, and they're the exact same prices we saw last week.

apple watch series 9 candy canesNote: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You can get the 41mm GPS Apple Watch Series 9 for $329.99 with the on-page coupon, down from $399.00. This one is available in Pink Aluminum and (PRODUCT)RED Aluminum, and they both require you to clip an on-page coupon in order to see the sale price at checkout.

Note: You won't see the deal price until checkout.

Additionally, the 45mm GPS Apple Watch Series 9 is down to $359.99 with the on-page coupon, from $429.00. You can get this deal in Storm Blue Aluminum, Midnight Aluminum, and (PRODUCT)RED Aluminum, and all three require you to clip an on-page coupon to see the deal price at checkout.

Note: You won't see the deal price until checkout.

Not only GPS models are on sale, as you can also get 41mm cellular and 45mm cellular Apple Watch Series 9 models at Black Friday pricing right now. Just like the other watches, these require you to clip the on-page coupon in order to get the discounts.

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

Apple pays British chip architect Arm less than 30 cents per chip in royalties, The Information reports.

arm logo blue bg
Apple licenses the underlying technology used in the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and HomePod from Arm. Despite being one of its biggest and most important customers, Apple represents less than five percent of Arm's annual revenue, with the company paying the least of any of Arm's smartphone chip customers. Apple pays a flat fee of less than 30 cents in royalties for each chip used in its devices, regardless of how many cores it has.

SoftBank is the owner of Arm, and in 2017, the company's CEO gathered Arm executives and explained that Apple pays more for the piece of plastic that used to be used to protect the screens of new iPhones than it does to license Arm's intellectual property. SoftBank's attempts to renegotiate Arm's deal with Apple to raise royalty rates were apparently unsuccessful.

While Apple is unlikely to sever its ties with Arm, the company has apparently explored the long-term possibility of using a competing open-source technology for its chips called RISC-V. Apple's current licensing agreement with Arm was signed in September and it "extends beyond 2040," but the chip architect is said to have continually attempted to renegotiate its financial terms.

From November 28 through December 8 this year, Apple says it will donate $1 to the life-saving organization The Global Fund for every purchase made with Apple Pay on Apple.com, in the Apple Store app, or at an Apple Store worldwide. Apple says it donation through this initiative will be limited to a maximum of $1 million.

Apple Pay RED 2023
The Global Fund aims to combat diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria throughout the developing world. Apple says its donation to the organization will continue to "help fund critical health programs that save lives."

Apple has supported The Global Fund for 17 years through its partnership with the (RED) brand, co-founded by U2 singer Bono in 2006. Apple offers several products in a (PRODUCT)RED color, ranging from iPhones to Apple Watch bands, and a portion of the proceeds from every one of these products sold by Apple goes to The Global Fund.

December 1 is World AIDS Day, and Apple typically has a (PRODUCT)RED-related announcement and initiatives throughout the day.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Apple is discontinuing in-house modem development after several unsuccessful attempts to perfect its own custom 5G modem chip, according to unconfirmed reports coming out of Asia.

Apple 5G Modem Feature Triad
According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources related to Apple's 5G modem departments claim that the company's attempts to develop its own modem have failed so far, and that Apple is in the process of winding down its years-long investment in the project. Separately, the leaker known as @Tech_Reve today said they had heard similar reports from a Japanese supply chain source.

It's too early to say if the latest reports are accurate, but according to a September Wall Street Journal report, Apple's attempts to develop its own modem chip have been hampered by major issues related to unrealistic goals, an inadequate understanding of the challenges involved, and unusable prototypes.

Apple's plan to design its own in-house modem led to the hiring of thousands of engineers: Apple acquired the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019, and as it filled the project's ranks with Intel engineers and others hired from Qualcomm, company executives set a goal to have the modem chip ready for fall 2023.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple was continuing to run into troubles in its attempt to develop a 5G modem to replace Qualcomm's 5G modems in the iPhone and other products. The modem chip launch was said to have been postponed until the end of 2025 or early 2026, but Apple was reportedly still planning to introduce the technology in a version of the low-cost iPhone SE.

Development on a modem chip was said to be in the early stages, and it "may lag behind the competition by years." One version in development does not support faster mmWave technology, and Apple has also run into issues with the Intel code that it has been working with. Rewrites have been required, and adding new features has been causing existing features to break, plus Apple has to be careful not to infringe on Qualcomm patents while developing the chip.

Despite delays, the company was thought to be continuing development because it is eager to end its expensive deal with Qualcomm. In 2017, Apple sued Qualcomm over alleged anticompetitive practices and $1 billion in unpaid royalty rebates. The two companies settled the lawsuit in 2019.

Apple's first modem chip was expected to be a standalone chip, but the company hoped to eventually develop a system-on-a-chip that would also cut out suppliers like Broadcom and give it more control over component development.

Google Drive for iPhone and iPad has been updated to finally include the document scanning feature that has featured in the Android version of the app for almost a decade.

Google Drive
Rolling out over the next three days, the scanning feature can be accessed via the app's camera icon. The scanner detects the edges of a document in the viewfinder, aligns things properly, and removes all glare and tilt to achieve a clean scan ready for uploading.

Multiple pages can be scanned in a session, users can crop scans if needed, and users residing in the U.S. can receive relevant title suggestions based on machine learning, according to Google. Apple has included a similar scanning feature in its stock Notes app since 2017.

iOS Scanner
On Tuesday, Google Drive users were warned not to disconnect their account within the Google Drive for desktop app, after a spate of reports of files going missing from the cloud service. Google is still investigating the issue.

Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card.

apple card 1
Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the ‌Apple Card‌ and the Apple Savings account. Apple in a statement that was provided to CNBC said that it will continue to provide "the best tools and services" for ‌Apple Card‌ customers.

"Apple and Goldman Sachs are focused on providing an incredible experience for our customers to help them lead healthier financial lives. The award-winning Apple Card has seen a great reception from consumers, and we will continue to innovate and deliver the best tools and services for them."

Rumors earlier this year suggested that Goldman Sachs wanted to get out of its relationship with Apple as part of a plan to cut back on its consumer business. Goldman Sachs at the time was said to be speaking with American Express about a possible takeover, but the ‌Apple Card‌ needs to run on the Mastercard network until 2026 due to a deal established between Apple and Goldman Sachs. Amex also had concerns about aspects of the program such as loan loss rates due to Apple's push to have customers approved, so the status of the talks is not known.

Synchrony Financial, known as the largest issuer of store credit cards, has considered taking over the ‌Apple Card‌, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Goldman Sachs and Apple have worked together on the ‌Apple Card‌ since it launched in 2019, and have also teamed up for the high-yield Apple Savings account and the Apple Pay Later feature. The partnership has not gone smoothly, with Goldman Sachs running into customer service issues due to long wait times for disputed ‌Apple Card‌ transactions and issues with the Apple Savings account.

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched an investigation into Goldman Sachs due to the customer complaints, leading to tension with Apple. Apple is unhappy with the customer service reputation of its ‌Apple Card‌ and Apple Savings products, while some Goldman Sachs executives blame Apple for the regulatory scrutiny.

Goldman Sachs was new to consumer banking when the ‌Apple Card‌ launched, and to establish a deal with Apple, it is not collecting fees that many credit card issuers receive. The bank does not get a cut of the fee that merchants pay to Apple to accept the ‌Apple Card‌, nor is it able to collect annual fees, late fees, or foreign transaction fees. Goldman Sachs does earn money from loans issued to cardholders who split Apple purchases into installments, but it is not known if Apple will be able to establish a similar deal with another issuer because of the limited revenue the ‌Apple Card‌ provides.

Apple today began promoting new holiday-themed Apple Pay discounts, with a handful of stores offering deals when purchases are made with Apple Pay.

apple pay holiday 2023

  • Banter - 40% off jewelry priced at $50 or more with promo code APPLEPAY.
  • Champion - $20 off $100 or more with promo code APPLEPAY.
  • Chewy - $5 off orders of $5 or more in the Chewy app with promo code APPLEPAY.
  • Columbia - $25 off orders of $150 or more.
  • Compartes Chocolatier - 15% off your purchase with promo code APPLEPAY.
  • Coyuchi - Extra 10% off sale items and 10% off full-priced styles with promo code APPLEPAY.
  • HotelTonight - 10% off your hotel reservation in the HotelTonight app with promo code APPLEPAYHT.
  • Theory - Extra 10% off your purchase.

These holiday ‌Apple Pay‌ promotions will be available through December 13. ‌Apple Pay‌ must be used to make the purchase in order to get the discount, with more information available on the Apple Pay holiday website.

Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality.

iOS 17
We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2.

Default Notification Sound

Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to choose the sound used for all incoming notifications aside from texts, mail alerts, and calendar alerts, which already had customization options.

ios 17 default alert
All of the text tones can be used for the default notification sound, plus there is an option to also change the haptic vibration of default notifications.

Collaborative Apple Music Playlists

While collaborative Apple Music playlists were introduced in an earlier version of iOS 17.2, Apple has removed the option in the fourth beta, which suggests this is not an option that will be coming in iOS 17.2 after all.

apple music collaborative playlists

AppleCare Settings

The "Coverage" section under Settings > General has been renamed to AppleCare & Warranty. It still includes ‌AppleCare‌ info for your iPhone and connected devices such as the Apple Watch and AirPods.

applecare warranty ios 17 2
Under General > About there's a new Warranty section that provides coverage information for the ‌iPhone‌.

Recording to an External Device

With the iPhone 15 Pro models, ProRes video can be recorded directly to an external device. iOS 17.2 appears to include a new pop up message that lets users know that external recording is not working because of a USB-C cable that is too slow.

There was previously a warning about an external storage device not having a fast enough write speed to support external recording, but now there is an added message about the write speed of the USB-C cable.

iTunes

Code in iOS 17.2 confirms that Apple is planning to eliminate the option to purchase TV shows and movies in the iTunes app. TV and movie content will need to be purchased in the TV app in the future, but for now, the change has not actually been implemented.

"You can buy or rent TV shows and find your purchases in the Apple TV app," reads the code.

More iOS 17.2 Beta 4 Features

Know of a feature that we left out in this list? Let us know in the comments below.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Best Buy's Cyber Monday sale has transitioned into a "Holiday Deals" event that's promising new discounts and offers every day for the next 20 days. For today, the focus is on a few laptop deals, including the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air.

best buy cyber weekNote: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

As with the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals we saw, some of the discounts below require a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total membership. These start at $49.99/year and grant members early access to sales, exclusive discounts on select products, and more.

MacBook Air

macbook air present

The highlight of the sale is Apple's 256GB 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air for $949.00, down from $1,099.00. Best Buy has this sale price in all four colors, and it represents a solid second-best price on the 2022 notebook.

Similarly, the 512GB model of the 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air is available on sale during Best Buy's Cyber Week event. You can get this version for $1,249.00, down from $1,399.00. Neither of these deals require you to have a My Best Buy Plus/Total membership.

Computers

TVs

Audio

Smart Home

LEGO

Best Buy has numerous discounts on LEGO sets this season, including Botanicals, Technic, Architecture, Disney, Icons, and more.

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

The fourth beta of iOS 17.2 that Apple released today adds a much-desired feature, the option to change the default notification alert.

ios 17 default alert
Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to choose the sound used for all incoming notifications aside from texts, mail alerts, and calendar alerts, which already had customization options.

Apple has not previously offered an interface for tweaking the default notification sound, so this is a notable update for those who have always wanted to select a sound. All of the text tones can be used for the default notification sound.


There's also an option to change the default haptic feedback. Apple in iOS 17 changed the haptic alert, and now it can be changed back or customized for those who were not happy with the update.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Apple today released the fourth betas of upcoming iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two weeks after Apple released the the third betas of iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2.

iOS 17
Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the ‌iOS 17 or iPadOS 17‌ Developer Beta. An Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta.

The biggest new feature in iOS 17.2 is the Journal app, which can be used to record daily activities and thoughts. You can write about your day to day life, but Apple also provides topic suggestions based on the music you listen to, the places you visit, and the people you see. Journal entries support pictures, voice recordings, and location information, with the app organized by entry date.

In Apple Music, there's a Favorites playlist that houses everything you've favorited, plus Apple added support for collaborative playlists. You can now share a playlist with multiple people, and each participant can add songs.

Stickers can now be used to reply to iMessages when you long press on a chat bubble in the Messages app, and there's also now support for the extra-secure iMessage Contact Key Verification option. If you have an iPhone 15 Pro, the Action Button supports Translate in iOS 17.2, and there are new Weather and Clock widgets.

More on what's new in iOS 17.2 can be found in our iOS 17.2 beta features list.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming macOS Sonoma 14.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third beta of macOS Sonoma 14.2.

sonoma desktop wwdc
Registered developers can opt-in to the beta through the Software Update section of the System Settings app. Under Beta updates, toggle on the Sonoma Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID associated with an Apple Developer account is required to get the beta.

macOS Sonoma 14.2 adds an Apple Music Favorites playlist that houses everything you've favorited, plus Apple added support for collaborative playlists. You can now share a playlist with multiple people, and each participant can add songs.

Shazam can also be added to the Control Center or menu bar on the Mac.

Stickers can be used to reply to iMessages when you long press on a chat bubble in the Messages app, and there's also now support for the extra-secure iMessage Contact Key Verification option.

Related Forum: macOS Sonoma

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 10.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third watchOS 10.2 beta.

Apple Watch Faces watchOS 10 Feature Blue
To install the ‌watchOS 10.2‌ update, developers will need to open the Apple Watch app, go to the Software Update section under "General" in Settings, and toggle on the ‌watchOS 10‌ Developer Beta. An Apple ID linked to a developer account is required.

Once beta updates have been activated, ‌watchOS 10‌ can be downloaded under the same Software Update section. To install software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life and it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger.

watchOS 10.2 adds support for iMessage Contact Key Verification, a feature designed for those who face "extraordinary digital threats," such as journalists, human rights activists, and government officials.

Users can ensure that there is no "man in the middle" snooping on iMessage conversations, and there is a Contact Verification Code so that iMessage users can verify that they're speaking to the correct individual during in-person meetings or on FaceTime calls.

The update also reintroduces an option to change watch faces by swiping left and right.

Related Roundup: watchOS 11
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 17.2 to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming two weeks after the release of the third tvOS 17.2 beta.

Apple TV 2022 Feature Blue
Registered developers are able to download the tvOS 17.2 update by opting in to the beta through the Settings app on the Apple TV. A registered developer account is required.

tvOS updates are often minor in scale compared to other operating system updates, focusing primarily on bug fixes and smaller improvements rather than notable outward-facing changes, but tvOS 17.2 introduces an overhauled ‌Apple TV‌ app.

The app now includes a sidebar that houses content from both Apple's services and streaming services that integrate with the tvOS Watch Now feature. There are dedicated sections for Search, Watch Now, ‌‌Apple TV‌+‌, MLS Season Pass, Sports, the Store, and the Library at the top of the sidebar, along with dedicated sections for streaming services like ABC, CBS, Comedy Central, Hulu, ESPN, Discovery, Peacock, Prime Video, and more.

You can click into each streaming service to see content that's available specifically on that service, and there's also a new My TV section that replaces "My Channels."

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Cyber Week deals have arrived for Mac software bundles and streaming services, and in this article we're rounding up all of the best of both. This includes steep discounts on apps from Adobe, Flexibits, and Parallels, as well as the best prices of the year on Hulu, Disney+, and Paramount+ streaming services.

General Cyber Week 23 FeatureNote: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Software

Flexibits

New users can get 50 percent off Flexibits Premium. This deal is technically for 50 percent off your next purchase on the Flexibits website, so you can choose from either the Individual or Families subscription model.

Flexibits Premium includes the Fantastical and Cardhop apps, and a single subscription unlocks all premium features found within each app, across all devices. This sale will run through December 4.

Adobe

You can get 50 percent off the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan this week only if you're a first-time subscriber to the service. The individuals plan is billed monthly at $29.98 for the first year, which is down from the regular $59.99 price. A 12-month commitment is required.

Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps includes more than 20 apps for photography, design, video production, and more. Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Lightroom, and Adobe XD are some of the included apps. You can get the monthly discount on Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps through December 3.

Unclutter

Unclutter's Cyber Week deals include 75 percent off a bundle of ten Mac applications, totaling $58 (regular price $231). If you want an individual app and not the bundle, you can get 50 percent off each app.

This year, the Unclutter Mac app bundle includes: Rocket Typist, DaisyDisk, Bike Outliner, Default Folder X, Lasso, Unclutter, Name Mangler, BetterZip, Scapple, and Soulver.

Parallels

Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac is available for 25 percent off during Cyber Week. You can get the Pro Edition for $89.99 per year (regular $119.99 per year) or the Standard Edition for $74.99 per year (regular $99.99 per year).

Parallels Desktop enables its users to add Windows, Linux, and other operating systems to your Mac computers through the use of a virtual machine. With this, you can install Windows onto your Mac and run multiple operating systems at the same time.

Streaming

Hulu

Hulu (with ads) is available for just $0.99 per month for an entire year during Cyber Week, which is down from its regular $7.99 per month price tag.


Disney+ and Hulu

You can bundle Disney+ and Hulu for the low price of $2.99 per month for an entire year. Both the solo Hulu deal and bundle offer will expire tonight at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.


Paramount+

Paramount+ Essential is down to just $1.99 per month for three months (regular $5.99 per month), while Paramount+ with SHOWTIME is down to $3.99 per month for three months (regular $11.99 per month). These deals will last until December 3.

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

At WWDC in June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, increased personalization, and more.

All New CarPlay Five New Features Article 2
Apple's website still says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in "late 2023," but it has not shared any additional details heading into the final month of the year, so it's unclear if that timeframe will still be met. We have reached out to Apple for an update on the matter.

Below, we have recapped five key features to expect from the new version of CarPlay. Apple said committed automakers included Acura, Audi, Ford, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Volvo, and a few others.

Next-Generation CarPlay Features

Instrument Cluster Integration

Multi Display CarPlay 2
The new CarPlay experience will provide integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster, including the speedometer, tachometer, odometer, fuel gauge, engine temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge, and more. Apple says drivers will be able to choose from several gauge cluster designs and layouts, including brand‑specific options.

Climate Controls

CarPlay Next Generation Screen
You'll be able to access your vehicle's climate controls directly within the new version of CarPlay, allowing you to adjust the temperature of the A/C or heat, fan speed, heated seats, heated steering wheel, and other options.

Multi-Display Support

CarPlay Next Generation Multi Screens
The new version of CarPlay will be able to appear across all of the displays in a vehicle, providing a consistent experience across the infotainment system, instrument cluster, and any additional screens on the dashboard. Apple says CarPlay will be tailored to each new vehicle model to accommodate unique screen shapes and layouts.

Widgets

CarPlay Next Generation Widgets
Widgets will be a key part of the new CarPlay experience, offering at-a-glance information such as trip duration, fuel economy, distance traveled, calendar events, weather, phone calls, the status of a HomeKit-enabled garage door, and more. It will also be possible to view and scroll through the widgets within the instrument cluster.

FM Radio App

CarPlay Next Generation Radio
The new version of CarPlay will include an all-new Radio app that allows you to easily control the FM radio in your vehicle, such as to change the station.

CarPlay on iOS 17

In the meantime, CarPlay includes a handful of new features and changes when used with an iPhone running iOS 17, including SharePlay support in the Music app for passengers and real-time electric vehicle charging station availability.

CarPlay SharePlay
iOS 17 was released in September for the iPhone XS and newer. To update, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Apple today announced that its Books app now offers a "Year in Review" recap in select countries, including the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, France, and Germany. The feature requires an iPhone or iPad on iOS 17.1 or iPadOS 17.1 or later, and it can be found within the Read Now tab under Top Picks, for users with at least three titles marked as finished.

Apple Books Year in Review
Year in Review allows Apple Books users to view personalized highlights about the books and audiobooks they read in 2023, including their total time spent reading, the longest book or audiobook they read, their most-read author and genre, their highest-rated book, and more. The recap can easily be shared with others.

How to mark books or audiobooks as finished:

To add books or audiobooks, readers can tap and hold on any book in the app and choose Mark as Finished. To change the finished date shown, users can hold down on the book and select Edit Finished Date. For titles read elsewhere, such as in hardcover or paperback, users can search for them in Apple Books and select Mark as Finished to add them to their Year in Review.

When the "Reading Goals" option is turned on in the Settings app, under Books, users can also view their longest reading streak, the average number of minutes they spent reading in a month, and other statistics in Year in Review.

Apple Books Year in Review 2023
Year in Review can determine a user's personal reading type:

There are six reader types to discover, including The Contemporary for readers of trendy titles; The Completist for readers of multiple books in a series; The Seeker for nonfiction readers; The Wanderer for multigenre readers; The Deep Diver for single-genre readers; or The Free Spirit for readers with wide-ranging interests across the book world.

Apple also shared the most popular books in the Books app in 2023:

Top Nonfiction Books of 2023
1. Spare by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
2. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
3. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
4. Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia and Bill Gifford
5. Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson

Top Fiction Books of 2023
1. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
2. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
3. Happy Place by Emily Henry
4. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
5. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

As the end of 2023 nears, Apple has started sharing year-end content, including award-winning apps and the the most popular podcasts. In addition, the complete Apple Music Replay experience is now available for 2023, and Taylor Swift was named Apple Music's Artist of the Year.