MacRumors

Apple's upcoming 15-inch MacBook Air model will be configurable with two variants of the M2 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a tweet shared earlier today, Kuo said that he expects the new ‌MacBook Air‌ to be available with two ‌M2‌ chip options that have different numbers of cores like the existing 13-inch model. The news comes as a revision of Kuo's previous forecast, which predicted that the 15-inch MacBook Pro could be configurable with either the ‌M2‌ or ‌M2‌ Pro chip.

The 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ with the ‌M2‌ chip that Apple launched last year is available in 8- and 10-core GPU variants, and the M1 model from 2020 was available in 7- and 8-core GPU options. The 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ is therefore likely to mirror the 13-inch model in terms of chip specifications.

Kuo also affirmed that the new model will explicitly be branded as a 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, rather than a new product line. He expects the device to reach five to six million unit shipments in 2023. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that the 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ will be announced at WWDC in June.

Voicemod, the popular voice changer and soundboard, has just landed on macOS, allowing Mac users to transform their voices and trigger sound effects in real time.

The AI-powered software features a wide range of features, with over 100 voice options, including natural and realistic human options, pitch-shifting, sound enhancement, and a variety of fantasy, funny, spooky, and musical voices.

Voicemod's virtual microphone includes support for Discord, Roblox, Minecraft, Riot Games, Fortnite, Zoom, and more. The software is also compatible with FaceTime and iMessage, bringing real-time voice changing to Apple's stock video and chat apps.

"We are excited to be the first company to offer a real-time voice changer and soundboard app to macOS users," said Jaime Bosch, CEO and co-founder of Voicemod. "Our app is designed to help users gain confidence, express themselves, or bring their character impersonations to life. With Voicemod, macOS users can now easily transform their voice and even add sound clips to create personalised soundboards relevant to their group of friends."

Voicemod has long been popular with Windows PC users, with more than 40 million gamers, streamers, content creators, and others seeking to find their voice online. Voicemod beta for macOS is available to download for free from the company's website, with the paid Pro version unlocking additional features and content.

The forthcoming 15-inch MacBook Air will indeed be equipped with an M2 chip, not the M3 that Apple originally planned, claims news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Korean Naver blog.

According to the blog's Taiwanese supply chain source, Apple's decision to use an M2 chip was not down to production issues at chipmaker TSMC, but was due to a combination of factors, including market conditions and inventory adjustment.

A previous report out of Korea earlier this month claimed that Apple temporarily halted production of its M2 series chips at the start of 2023 following a pronounced slump in global demand for MacBooks.

The suspension is said to have continued through February, after which production of M2 series chips resumed, but they were "only half the level of the previous year," said the Korean-language report at the time, quoting a person familiar with the matter.

Last week, an unreleased 15-inch MacBook Air with a processor "on par" with the M2 chip was spotted in App Store developer logs. The MacBook Air configuration had an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, just like the M2 chip, along with 8GB of RAM. The new Air was also listed with a display resolution equal to that of the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

It's unclear exactly when the 15-inch MacBook Air will be released, but it will likely be announced by WWDC, which begins June 5. The existing 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip launched in July 2022 after being announced at WWDC a month earlier.

The release of an M3-powered Mac is expected to come at a later date, and will represent a transition to a 3-nanometer production process from the current 5-nanometer standard. The 3nm process, which is also being used in this year's iPhone 15 series, allows for significantly improved performance and more efficiency.

Apple will soon make it possible for users to fix App Store subscription payment issues within apps, rather than having to go into their device's Settings to make the necessary changes.

Currently if a third-party app has an issue with an auto-renewing subscription – if the payment method is no longer valid, for example – users must exit out of the app and make the changes in the Apple ID section of the Settings app.

This system often forces users to take out the subscription again, which can cause them to lose any in-app discounts or introductory subscription offers. However, that's set to change. From Apple's announcement on its developer website:

Starting this summer, if an auto-renewable subscription doesn't renew due to a billing issue, a system-provided sheet appears in your app with a prompt that lets customers update their payment method for their Apple ID. No action is required to adopt this feature.

The new in-app system should make it easier for users to resolve payment issues, says Apple, meaning developers should be better able to retain subscribers and benefit from in-app purchases.

When it goes live in the summer, Apple says the in-app billing issue resolution sheet will require iPhones and iPads to be running a minimum of iOS 16.4 or iPadOS 16.4, respectively.

Apple Watch's Running Track Detection feature has gone live in France and the Netherlands, according to French tech blog WatchGeneration.

With Track Detection, the Apple Watch uses an Apple Maps database and GPS to automatically detect when you step on to an outdoor running track.

In the Workout app, you can select which lane of the track you are running in and receive more accurate distance measurements and a more precise route map. There is also an option to receive lap alerts that show distance, time, and pace as you complete each lap.

The feature is available on Apple Watch models running watchOS 9.2 and later. watchOS 9.2 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer.

• How to Use Running Track Detection on Apple Watch

The function was first available in the United States last year, and in February it rolled out to Canada, Australia, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Apple has yet to update its regional feature support page to reflect the latest additions.

Apple has announced the launch of Tap to Pay on iPhone in Taiwan, allowing independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers in the country to use ‌iPhones‌ as a payment terminal.

Introduced in February 2022, the feature allows compatible iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, using only an ‌‌iPhone‌ - no additional hardware or credit card machine is required‌. Tap to Pay on ‌‌iPhone‌‌ uses NFC technology to securely authenticate the contactless payments.

China Trust Bank and TapPay are the initial payment platforms supporting Tap to Pay for their business customers (including major customers Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Taxi Co). Taipei Fubon Bank will add support to its payment platform later in the year.

Tap to Pay on ‌‌iPhone‌‌ requires ‌‌iPhone‌‌ XS or newer models, and works for customers as any normal ‌‌Apple Pay‌‌ transaction would. Sellers just need to open up the app, register the sale, and present their ‌‌iPhone‌‌ to the buyer, who can then use an appropriate contactless payment method.

Tap to Pay on ‌iPhone‌ is available to over 700,000 additional businesses across the United States, and Apple Stores in the U.S. have also rolled out the feature. Taiwan is the second region to support Tap to Pay.

(Thanks, Lance!)

Elevation Lab, known for its range of accessories designed for Apple devices, today announced the launch of the TagVault: Fabric, its latest AirTag holder.

The TagVault: Fabric is, as the name suggests, made of fabric, and it features a fabric holder for the ‌AirTag‌ along with an adhesive base that can stick anywhere. The fabric mount can be used with luggage, purses, bags, jackets, and more, and it serves the purpose of keeping the ‌AirTag‌ tucked away, securing it to whatever it's attached to, and making its presence less obvious.

Elevation Lab says that the TagVault: Fabric is able to adhere to nylon, polyester, vinyl, rubberized fabrics, and GORE-TEX, and it will reach full adhesion strength after a 24-hour period. It is not designed to work with leather, fibrous fabric, suede, or stretchy fabrics, and while it can be safely removed, it is not meant to be reused once it is attached to an item. Note that the ‌AirTag‌ can be removed from the TagVault without having to remove the TagVault from the item.

When adhered to an item, the TagVault: Fabric is flexible and can move around without coming loose, as it is designed to conform and flex with the surface that it is mounted on. According to Elevation Lab, it was also created to withstand getting hit by items that are shoved in a bag.

The TagVault: Fabric can be purchased from the Elevation Lab website or from Amazon.com for $13.95. A pack of two is available for $19.95, and a pack of four is available for $29.95.

Apple in January 2023 introduced new 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that are equipped with next-generation M2 Pro and ‌M2‌ Max chips. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera picked up a 14-inch ‌M2‌ Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ when the machines were released, and he's been using it daily for the past three months in preparation for a longer-term review on Apple's latest chip technology.

The 2023 14 and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models haven't changed in design since Apple introduced the M1 Max and M1 Pro models, so the main difference is the chipset. In terms of performance, there is a noticeable difference between the ‌M1 Max‌'s performance and the ‌M2‌ Max performance. The ‌M2‌ chip is able to handle intensive video editing tasks with ease, and it's not too far off from the M1 Ultra.

Dan's 14-inch machine has 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, and there are also noticeable improvements in SSD speeds. As for the size, the 14-inch form factor is better for travel, though it is nice to have the larger display real estate of the 16-inch machine, and you'll also notice thermal management deficiencies between the 14 and 16-inch models.

Dan has a lot of other thoughts on the ‌M2‌ ‌MacBook Pro‌ models compared to the prior-generation versions and other Mac options, so the full video is well worth watching.

Purdue University today announced that students can now add their ID to the Apple Wallet and Google Wallet apps, allowing them to use their iPhone, Apple Watch, or Android smartphone to securely access campus buildings, purchase meals, and more.

The digital ID is available in the Transact eAccounts app for undergraduate students on the West Lafayette, Indiana campus only, while graduate students, faculty, and other staff will continue to use physical ID cards, according to Purdue. The university said current students are still able to use their physical ID, or the digital version if they prefer, but incoming undergraduates will no longer be issued a plastic card starting this summer.

The digital ID can be used to access dorms, libraries, gyms, book stores, and other areas on and off campus, and to pay for meals and laundry around campus. Express Mode is turned on automatically for student IDs added to Apple Wallet, allowing students to simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a card reader to gain access. If this mode is turned off, authenticating with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode is required.

Apple Wallet has supported student IDs since late 2018, and the technology is now available at dozens of colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada. Purdue says it has around 50,000 students at its West Lafayette campus.

Apple today published its 2023 Environmental Progress Report, setting out the company's ongoing efforts to combat climate change and reduce its impact on the environment ahead of Earth Day on April 22.

The report explores Apple's chemical research, recycling and device recovery operations, energy efficiency improvements and use of renewable energy, reduction of waste, support of community action, and more as part of its ongoing goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. It also draws attention to Apple's recent announcement that it plans to accelerate the transition to recycled materials across its devices.

In addition, Apple highlighted its individual Product Environmental Reports, which break down the environmental impact of any current Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, Mac, external display, Apple TV, or HomePod with regards to source materials, manufacturing, packaging, shipping, use, and recovery. Apple vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson said:

This year, we've also made it easier to understand the carbon impact of your Apple devices, and the extraordinary steps we’re taking to reduce their emissions. In our Product Environment Reports, you can learn about recycled gold in your iPhone, the energy demands of your iPad, and the packaging around your Mac. We're transforming so many aspects of the way we make our technology, and with our Product Environment Reports, you'll see where we've made progress and where the hard work remains.

Visit apple.com/environment or see the full PDF version of Apple's 2023 Environmental Progress Report for more information.

Amazon today has discounts across every model of the 2022 iPad Air, offering numerous all-time low prices on these tablets in multiple colors. In total, you'll find up to $119 off the iPad Air, with record low prices available for both Wi-Fi and cellular models.

Note: 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.

Shoppers should note that for all iPad Air tablets listed below, you won't see the discounted price until you add the product to your shopping cart. Once you head to the checkout screen, Amazon will automatically apply a coupon to your cart, netting you these low prices.

Starting with the 64GB Wi-Fi iPad Air, this model is available in all five colors at $499.99 on Amazon, which is down from $599.00. This is a record low price for this tablet on Amazon, and most color selections are in stock now and can arrive as soon as April 21.

Secondly, the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad Air has hit $649.99 on Amazon, down from $749.00. This is another record low price, and it's available in three colors. Most of these models have an estimated delivery date between April 21 and April 25 for residences in the United States.

Moving to cellular models, the 64GB cellular iPad Air is available for $629.99, down from $749.00. This one is only available in Pink and it marks a new all-time low price on this model. You'll find most of the other colors at solid second-best $649.99 price tags.

Lastly, the 256GB cellular iPad Air has hit $799.99, down from $899.00. You'll find all five colors are available at this discounted price, which is also another all-time low price on the iPad Air.

For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

The Wall Street Journal's Nicole Nguyen and Joanna Stern today published a report highlighting how thieves can use Apple's optional recovery key security option to permanently lock out iPhone users from their Apple ID account.

As the journalists first revealed in February, there have been increasing instances of thieves spying on an iPhone user's passcode in public and then stealing the device in order to gain widespread access to the device and its contents, including financial apps. All of the victims interviewed in the initial report said their iPhones were stolen while they were out socializing at bars and other public places at night.

With knowledge of the iPhone's passcode, a thief can easily reset the victim's Apple ID password in the Settings app, even if Face ID or Touch ID is enabled. Subsequently, the thief can turn off Find My iPhone on the device, preventing the owner of the device from tracking its location or remotely erasing the device via iCloud.

Today's report places more focus on an additional step that thieves can take: using the stolen device to set or reset a recovery key, a randomly generated 28-character code that is required to regain access to an Apple ID once enabled.

"Apple's policy gives users virtually no way back into their accounts without that recovery key," the report states. With unmitigated access to a stolen iPhone, the device's passcode, and the Apple ID password, thieves can steal money via Apple Pay and potentially other banking apps, view sensitive information like photos and emails, and more.

Apple's website does warn that losing access to both your trusted devices and recovery key means that "you could be locked out of your account permanently." In this scenario, however, thieves spying on iPhone passcodes before stealing the devices means that victims only need to lose their device in order to potentially be permanently locked out. The report serves as a valuable reminder to protect your iPhone's passcode in public.

For more details, read our previous coverage.

Apple Responds

In a statement shared in response to the report, Apple said it is "always investigating additional protections against emerging threats like this one."

"We sympathize with people who have had this experience and we take all attacks on our users very seriously, no matter how rare," an Apple spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. "We work tirelessly every day to protect our users' accounts and data, and are always investigating additional protections against emerging threats like this one."

How to Stay Protected

iPhone users should use Face ID or Touch ID as much as possible when in public to prevent thieves from spying on their passcode. In situations where entering the passcode is necessary, users can hold their hands over their screen to hide passcode entry.

The report also recommends that users switch from a four-digit passcode to an alphanumeric passcode, which would be more difficult for thieves to spy on. This can be done in the Settings app under Face ID & Passcode → Change Passcode.

To protect a bank account, consider storing the password in a password manager that does not involve the device's passcode, such as 1Password.

Users can enable Screen Time parental controls to further lock down their device, the report adds.

Apple CEO Tim Cook logged a busy day on Tuesday as his whirlwind trip to India involved various meet-and-greets with new retail staff, local app developers, celebrities, and politicians, but it was the arrival of a long-time Apple fan at the Apple BKC store launch that appeared to generate the Apple chief's most excited reaction.

Cook looked visibly surprised when Sajid, a local UX designer, unexpectedly turned up to the store opening in Mumbai with a vintage Macintosh SE, circa 1987. Wearing the iconic turtleneck style of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Sajid chatted fondly with Cook about his prized possession and posed for pictures while the store employees and crowd cheered.

"I am a designer myself, I was a print designer and moved to UI/UX, so I do digital design now," Sajid told Moneycontrol. "I am very happy and proud that Apple is opening a store here finally. It is a big moment for Apple users in India and we can look forward to coming to this store and exploring all the latest Apple products."

The Macintosh SE was released by Apple in March 1987, and was introduced at the same time as the Macintosh II. The Macintosh SE was replaced in 1990 with the Macintosh Classic, a similar model which retained the same central processing unit and form factor, but was offered at a lower price point. Eight years later, Steve Jobs asked Cook to join Apple, where his first position was senior vice president for worldwide operations.

Apple's sales in India hit a new high of almost $6 billion in the year through March 2023. The company's revenue in India grew by nearly 50%, from $4.1 billion a year earlier, according to one report.

Cook is continuing his India trip today in New Delhi, with the Apple chief taking in local cultural sites and artistic highlights. Cook is expected to attend the opening of Apple Saket, the capital's first Apple Store, on Thursday, April 20. It is the CEO's first trip to India in seven years.

Heart Analyzer this week reached version 10, bringing some major improvements and changes to the popular heart health app including a new dashboard experience, a refreshed Watch app, enhanced charts, and new tracking complications.

The new Dashboard experience has been designed to let users switch days more easily and aims to offer clearer indications as to which day the user is looking at, while still offering a summary of heart rate and other Vital Health data for each day. In addition, Dashboard cards have all been refreshed, while for app Customization Premium users, the Health types can now be filtered and sorted based on personal preference.

Another change in version 10 is the renaming of "Heart Home" to "Insights." Here users can view updated metrics and charts on various Vital Health types. There are trend comparisons for the past 30 days to the preceding 30 days, and the Heart Reports have been updated to use the new Swift Charts for more visually compelling and accurate displaying of Health data.

The adoption of Apple's Swift Charts framework in particular is a highlight of the app. As the developer explains in a blog post:

Up to now, Heart Analyzer has relied mostly on custom charts made to display Heart Rate summaries on your wrist, graph your recent heart rate in a complication and so much more. These charts were ground breaking at the time, but Swift Charts allows me to modernise the app with ever more precise and readable charts.

If you're running iOS 16 and WatchOS 9, you'll find these new charts throughout the app. With line, bar, area and range charts implemented across the app, visualizing your data has never been easier. For Blood Oxygen Saturation, Heart Rate Variability and Respiratory Rate Heart Analyzer now offers updated range charts.

These charts continue to indicate average values for the day, but the vertical bars now represent 10th and 90th percentiles of the data. Markers still also indicate the day's maximum and minimum values. These percentile bars offer better comparisons between day to day changes by ensuring spikes in the data have less effect on the overall picture.

In addition to new charts, the Deep Analytics section of the app now includes new Health types. Cardio Fitness and Sleep Time averages are available to track over the past four years alongside updates to all the other types. The Custom Heart Rate Zones feature has also been updated and now allows users to track this zone on the Dashboard.

Meanwhile, over on the Heart Analyzer app for Apple Watch, a new app layout houses watchOS 9's enhanced Swift Charts, which means that all charts can now be tapped to reveal additional detail. Complications have also been refreshed, and there's a new Recent HRV complication that works in conjunction with the new Apple Health AFib History feature and shows the last 12 hours of HRV data.

The new Heart Analyzer v10 update is free for both non-paying and premium users with devices running iOS 16 and watchOS 9. The app also continues to offer Premium features via one-time purchases with no subscriptions via the App Store.

Vivaldi web browser this week pushed out its sixth major release, bringing a new Workspaces feature and custom icons and themes to the highly configurable Mac app.

Similar in functionality to virtual desktops, the new Workspaces feature is designed to further enhance the browser's powerful tab management by letting users organize tabs by category into separate workspaces and switch easily between them.

For example, users can create Workspaces for productivity, social media, news, and shopping, and then open related tabs within those Workspaces, making it possible to flip between different sets of tabs and keep workflows organized.

Workspaces can also be used in conjunction with Tab Stacks (similar to Safari's Tab Groups). Vivaldi offers the example of maintaining a Sports workspace and having stacks for "Football," "Cricket," "Racing," and "Tennis" to sub-organize your tabs.

In addition, Workspaces support Vivaldi's Tab Tiling feature, allowing users to view multiple tabs in a split-screen or grid within workspace groups.

Elsewhere in Vivaldi 6.0, the browser's built-in theming tools have been upgraded to include new Custom Icons, which can be found in the Themes Gallery. With different icon packs now supported, users can create anything from a Windows 95-inspired look, complete with the familiar buttons and colors, to something more artistic with the Hand Drawn style.

Users can head to Settings -> Themes -> Create more Themes to get started, or use the new filter on the Themes page to see only themes with new custom icons.

Vivaldi browser 6 is a free download for Mac available directly from the Vivaldi website. The browser includes built-in tracking protection, innumerable tab tools, a translation feature, Chrome extensions support, and much more.

Netflix is upgrading its nascent ad-supported plan to support higher quality streaming than the current maximum 720p resolution, the company has announced.

Netflix launched its "Basic With Ads" plan in November for $6.99 per month in the United States, but the tier was immediately criticized for its limited video streaming resolution.

That criticism was only heightened the following month when Disney+ launched its rival ad-supported plan, "Disney+ Basic," which for $7.99 per month lets users stream in Full HD, HDR10, 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, and Expanded Aspect Ratio with IMAX Enhanced.

In its Q1 2023 earnings report released on Tuesday, Netflix said that it would be increasing the video quality of its Basic With Ads tier to 1080p at no extra cost to subscribers. Additionally, it said it would increase the number of simultaneous streams from one to two.

Netflix said that customers in Canada and Spain would see the 1080p resolution and provision for additional streams immediately, with the upgrades to roll out to all markets by the end of the month. The more affordable tier is also available in the U.K., the U.S., Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and South Korea.

Netflix revealed in its earnings report that its Basic with Ads plan already brings in more revenue than its Standard plan, which costs $15.49 per month and offers HD quality streaming. The company also announced that it is shutting down its mailed DVD delivery service, which was Netflix's main revenue generator when it began nearly 25 years ago.

Apple is likely to bring on board another supply partner for the iPhone 15 Pro Max as it seeks to recruit an additional lens module specialist for the device's new periscope camera.

This year's iPhone 15 Pro Max is expected to include a periscope camera system, in which light entering the telephoto lens is reflected by an angled mirror towards the camera's image sensor.

The change in direction in which the light travels allows for a longer "folded" telephoto setup inside phones, enabling users to zoom in further without any blurriness or other reduction in quality. The system is expected to add a 5-6x optical zoom to Apple's next premium iPhone model (the current iPhone 14 Pro supports up to 3x optical zoom).

Previous reports suggested Largan Precision would be the sole supplier of the periscope system. Largan's periscope lenses were first to launch in 2019, when they debuted in the Huawei P30 Pro smartphone.

However, industry sources cited by DigiTimes now claim that Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO) has been identified as an additional supplier of the module. GSEO shipped periscope lenses to a Japanese handset vendor in 2021, the outlet's sources said.

Apple industry analyst Kuo believes both iPhone 16 Pro models in 2024 will use the same or similar periscope lens as the one used exclusively in the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max, with Apple continuing its trend of setting apart standard and Pro models by reserving certain higher-end hardware features for the latter.