MacRumors

Woot and Amazon today have a pair of solid markdowns on Beats headphones and Apple Watches, respectively. You can get up to $110 off select Beats devices on Woot and $39 off the second generation Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 8 on Amazon.

Beats

Woot today is hosting a notable sale on headphones from a variety of different brands, including all-time low prices on the Beats Fit Pro and Powerbeats Pro. For the Beats Fit Pro, you can these headphones in new condition for $144.95, down from $199.99.

Note: 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.

The Beats Fit Pro come in brand new condition with a one year Beats manufacturer limited warranty, and only Sage Gray is available at this record low price. Amazon Prime members can get free standard shipping, and delivery is estimated for November 11 to 15.

The Powerbeats Pro are on sale for $139.95, down from $249.99, which is another best-ever price. These are also in brand new condition, come with a one year Beats manufacturer limited warranty, and are only available in one color: Navy.

Powerbeats Pro are on sale for around $180 at most retailers right now, so Woot's sale is particularly steep for a new pair of the headphones. All of these deals will only be available today, so be sure to browse Woot's full headphone sale before it ends.

Apple Watch

In another sale, Amazon is offering all-time low prices on the second generation Apple Watch SE in select configurations. You can get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE (S/M band size) for $239.99 in two colors, down from $279.00.

Only the S/M band size is discounted to this record low price, and it's available in Silver Aluminum and Starlight Aluminum.

We're also tracking a deal on the Apple Watch Series 8, where you can get the 45mm cellular model for $489.99, down from $529.00. This one is only available in M/L band sizes, but it's another all-time low price at $39 off.

We're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2022.

Smart home accessory maker Aqara today shared new details about impending updates and product releases that will add support for the Matter home standard.

Aqara users will first gain access to Matter on their accessories in December 2022 via an over-the-air update to the Aqara Hub M2, allowing existing Aqara Zigbee devices to become compatible with Matter. Other Aqara hubs, including the Hub M1S, Hub E1, Camera Hub G3, and Camera Hub G2H Pro, will receive similar updates in the following months.

The hub updates will expose over 40 existing Aqara Zigbee devices, such as the Door and Window Sensor, Temperature and Humidity Sensor, and Curtain Driver E1, to Matter and connect with other third-party Matter devices. See the full list of devices that will gain Matter support with the first wave of updates on Aqara's website. Aqara says it will expand support for Matter to more Zigbee devices in the future, with over 160 existing accessories in the pipeline.

In addition, Aqara plans to launch a new lineup of Thread-based multi-protocol devices with refreshed designs starting in early 2023, including native Matter support and direct connection with Matter controllers. The company also says it will open up the Aqara Home app to support third-party Matter devices.

Eve Systems today announced an upcoming firmware update for three of its devices, with the new firmware set to add Matter integration. The latest models of the Eve Energy, Eve Motion, and Eve Door and Window devices will receive Matter firmware updates on December 12.

Eve says that Matter certification has been completed for these three products, and they will receive firmware updates through the Eve app. With Matter support, each person in a household will be able to access Eve products from their preferred smartphone or voice assistant.

Eve says that all 14 of its Thread-enabled Eve devices will get free Matter firmware updates over time, and Matter-certified Eve products will be available for sale starting in the first quarter of 2023.

The Eve app has to date been available exclusively for iOS devices, but there is an Android version in the works that will launch in early 2023.

Matter is a new smart home standard that is meant to improve interoperability between smart home devices, allowing them to work across multiple smart home platforms.

Twitter aims to start charging users for blue check verification badges as soon as next week, as part of new owner Elon Musk's plan to further monetize the social media platform, according to a new report.

The badges will be part of an $8-per-month Twitter Blue subscription, an increase of $3 over the current $4.99 per month price, which will also include priority in replies, mentions, and search, the ability to post long video and audio, and half as many ads as non-paying users.

For users who already have the verification badge, such as celebrities, journalists, and other notable influencers, "chief twit" Musk intends to give them a "multi-month grace period" before they will either need to pay for the badge or lose it, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the plans. Twitter will reportedly allow government accounts to stay verified, as well as those in regions where Twitter cannot charge payment.

The company also plans to expand access to its edit function, which is currently limited to paying Twitter Blue subscribers. All Twitter account holders are expected to be given access to the long-requested edit feature, and that could also happen as early as next week, although the timing for Twitter's plans could still change, according to Bloomberg's sources.

The plan to charge for the blue verification badge has been met with controversy, with some prominent holders of the badge speaking out against the move and saying they won't pay for it.

Some critics have accused Musk of "charging for free speech," in the sense that users who don't pay up will have their posts diminished or silenced. Others however have supported the move, agreeing with Musk that it will help weed out bots and other spam accounts.

Musk is working rapidly to monetize Twitter, as the social network has historically not been particularly profitable. In addition to introducing changes to Twitter Blue, Musk has also said that he plans to bring back video service Vine. Rumors suggest that Musk has shifted more than 50 Tesla engineers over to Twitter to work on the new features.

Google is rolling out a new Gmail app feature in time for the holiday season that allows users to more easily track their packages directly from within their inbox.

In a bid to help users stay on top of order and shipping confirmation emails over the festive period, Gmail will show a simplified view of a user's package tracking and delivery information.

For orders with tracking numbers, Gmail will prominently display your current delivery status in your inbox list view and in a summary card at the top of individual emails. Package tracking will be available across most major U.S. shipping carriers and will provide important details at a glance, such as estimated arrival date and status — like "Label created," "Arriving tomorrow" or "Delivered today."

Users can opt in to receive the package tracking updates in their inbox using Gmail's settings. Gmail will then automatically look up order statuses using tracking numbers and surface them in the user's inbox. It will also proactively show delay labels and bring the emails to the top of the inbox. Google says the new package tracking features will roll out "in the coming weeks."

Google's system is vaguely reminiscent of the package tracker that Apple recently introduced in iOS 16, but distinct in that Apple's tracker only works for orders from supporting businesses that are purchased using Apple Pay. Also, Apple's tracker is built into the Wallet app, rather than its stock Mail app.

Popular Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp received a handful of new feature additions today, along with the global rollout of its new Communities feature.

Communities is designed to allow people to bring together separate groups under a single umbrella, providing users with a way to receive updates that are sent to an entire community, and then organize smaller discussion groups on important topics.

An example use case could be school parents creating an overarching "School" community, which breaks out into smaller groups based on grade and other factors. WhatsApp first started testing Communities in April, and now they're gradually rolling out worldwide.

The encrypted chat platform has also gained in-chat polls, something that has been in beta testing since March. Users are now able to ask a poll question and group members can choose from pre-defined answers. Like chats, polls are end-to-end encrypted, meaning only people in the group can see the poll and the results.

In addition, video calls can now have up to 32 participants, and the maximum group size has been doubled from 512 to 1024 users.

WhatsApp has worked to improve the group chat experience over the last few years in an effort to keep up with competing platforms, introducing group descriptions, a catch-up feature, a one-way messaging option, and protection for users who are being added repeatedly to groups they've left.

macOS Ventura causes a number of problems for users who use a Microsoft Exchange account for their calendar or reminders list, according to user reports online.

macOS Ventura is the latest macOS operating system released to the public last week. Since its release, users have taken to Twitter, the MacRumors Forums, as well as the Apple Support forum to share that their Exchange calendar no longer syncs properly with Apple's calendar or Reminders app.

In some cases, when the calendar does sync with Apple's built-in calendar app, other issues still arise, such as event dates and times being synced incorrectly, event invitations not coming through, reminders not syncing, and other related bugs.

It's not clear what Apple has changed with macOS Ventura to cause these issues or whether this is an issue on Microsoft's side. Users who are running macOS Monterey have reported no similar problems, so at least for now, it seems to be a bug with macOS Ventura.

In the meantime, users can try removing and re-adding their Exchange account to their Mac in hopes of resolving the issue. For users still running macOS Monterey and who use an Exchange account, it may be best to wait for the issue to be patched before updating.

The unionized Towson Apple Store in Maryland today filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board after its employees were excluded from some benefits that Apple recently introduced for non-union workers, reports Bloomberg.

Apple in October announced plans to offer employees additional funds for education and new health care options in some states, but workers at the Towson store were denied the benefits. The employees were told that the store would need to negotiate benefits with Apple through the union.

The Towson store was the first Apple retail location to unionize, and Apple's head of retail, Deirdre O'Brien, warned employees about future negotiation issues ahead of their decision to form a union. "We have a relationship that is based on an open and collaborative and direct engagement," O'Brien said in May. "Which I feel could fundamentally change if a store is represented by a union under a collective bargaining agreement."

Restricting benefits from unionized stores could dissuade other retail locations from unionizing, and it is not unique to Apple. Starbucks has also been fighting unionization and has denied benefits to stores that have made the decision to unionize.

The Towson location is represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, which filed the complaint against Apple. So far, two stores in the United States have unionized, including a location in Oklahoma, as has one store in Scotland.

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

Apple will continue to source modem chips from Qualcomm for the 2023 iPhone 15 lineup, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Qualcomm said it is set to provide the "vast majority" of modem chips for Apple's devices, despite earlier expectations that it would provide just a fraction of modem chips.

Qualcomm in November 2021 said that it expected to supply 20 percent of Apple's modem chips in 2023, signaling a potential shift to Apple's own modem chips. Apple has been working to cut down on its reliance on Qualcomm by developing its own modem technology in-house, but it does not appear that Apple's chips will be ready for a 2023 launch.

Gurman's report echoes information that we previously heard from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo said in June 2022 that Apple's work on a 5G modem chip "failed," and that Qualcomm would remain Apple's modem supplier for the 2023 iPhone lineup.

Kuo said that development on the chip stalled, but the work is ultimately continuing. Apple is expected to create its own modem chip, but it will take more time for work to be completed and satisfactory for use in iPhones and other devices.

Apple launched a legal battle against Qualcomm in 2017, accusing Qualcomm of unfairly collecting royalties for technologies it had nothing to do with. Apple wanted to transition away from Qualcomm with the shift to 5G to stop paying Qualcomm's fees and instead use Intel technology, but Intel was not able to manufacture 5G chips that met Apple's standards.

Apple was forced to settle its lawsuit with Qualcomm and has since used Qualcomm 5G modem chips for the ‌iPhone‌ and iPad lineups. Apple has been working on its own modem chip since then, and even purchased Intel's modem chip business to get a head start. Initial rumors pinpointed 2023 as the year Apple would be ready to transition, but it looks like it will take a bit longer for Apple to end its modem deals with Qualcomm.

Former Apple employee Dhirendra Prasad this week pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States after stealing more than $17 million from Apple through mail and wire fraud schemes.

According to the Northern California District Attorney's office, Prasad worked for a ten-year period between 2008 and 2018. He was in the Global Service Supply Chain department, buying parts and services for Apple from vendors.

Starting in 2011, Prasad began accepting kickbacks, inflating invoices, and stealing parts, which resulted in Apple paying for items and services that it did not receive. Prasad worked with two Apple vendors, Robert Gary Hansen and Don M. Baker, to steal money.

In 2013, for example, Prasad had motherboards shipped from Apple's inventory to Baker's company, CTrends. Baker had the components from the motherboards harvested, with Prasad arranging purchase orders for the harvested components so that Apple paid for parts it already owned. The two split the funds from the arrangement.

In 2016, Prasad had components shipped from Apple to Hansen's business, Quality Electronics Distributors, Inc. Hansen intercepted the components, put then in new packaging, shipped them back to Apple's warehouse, and charged Apple for it through Prasad.

Prasad also funneled illicit payments from Hansen to his creditors, and he also created a shell company to send sham invoices to CTrends to hide illicit payments and to allow Baker to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars of unjustified tax deductions.

Prasad could spend up to 25 years in prison after he is sentenced, with the hearing set to take place in March 2023. He also must forfeit $5 million in assets that he gained from the schemes.

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren this week penned a letter [PDF] to antitrust officials at the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, requesting that they investigate "Big Tech's expansion into the automotive industry." Warren specifically called out Google, Apple, and Amazon, saying that the companies are setting themselves up to be a "one-stop shop for automakers," for data collection, cloud storage, analytics, in-car navigation, voice assistants, and autonomous driving collection.

In the letter that was shared by Vox, Warren says that Google, Apple, and Amazon are leveraging their market power in digital app markets, mobile operating systems, and data infrastructure to become "the dominant players in the automotive sphere," which Warren says has "alarming implications for developers, workers, and consumers."

Warren highlights Apple's June 2022 CarPlay announcements, where the company debuted the next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ platform that will "reinvent the car experience" and integrate more deeply with in-vehicle hardware. She also points out that Google has entered into a partnership with Ford that will see Ford using the Android Automotive Operating System, and Amazon is developing autonomous driving systems.

The senator claims that Apple and Google's expansion into cars threatens to spread "anticompetitive mobile app markets practices" to automobiles, citing in-app purchase requirements and the fact that ‌CarPlay‌ and Android Auto apps must be approved by Apple and Google, respectively, before being allowed into vehicles.

Allowing Big Tech into the automotive industry could "stifle a nascent industry" and price developers out of the market.

For these developers, allowing Google and Apple to take control of car operating systems could mean an end to their ability to compete outside Google's and Apple's restrictive platforms. Automotive applications have significant potential to provide drivers and passengers with information, enhance safety, and provide entertainment. But allowing Big Tech companies to cement their exclusive control over the terms of auto app competition could stifle a nascent industry.

Warren is asking the FTC and the DOJ to use their authority to address concerns as they emerge and "prevent further overreach by Big Tech companies." She says that without "proactive and rigorous oversight," Google, Apple, and Amazon will "bring their anticompetitive, anti-consumer, and anti-labor practices to the automotive sector."

Apple's CarPlay system has been in vehicles since 2014, and it has become ubiquitous, with most major vehicle manufacturers supporting the feature in modern cars. Apple is also working to expand further into automobiles with a full autonomous vehicle, a project that has been in development for many years now. Current rumors suggest that some kind of Apple-branded vehicle could be introduced as soon as 2025.

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

The upcoming developer and public beta of iOS 16.2 will officially enable 5G for iPhone in India on select carriers, Apple has told Indian Express.

Apple had previously confirmed it was working with carriers in India, including Airtel and Jio, to bring 5G support to ‌iPhone‌ users in the country. Apple said it would begin its 5G rollout in the country in December. Now, the company says starting with the upcoming iOS 16.2 beta, users on Airtel and Jio networks will gain access to faster 5G connectivity.

Apple released the first beta of iOS 16.2 to developers and public beta testers last week, and the software is expected to launch in mid-December, coinciding with Apple's promise of a December rollout of 5G in India. iOS 16.2 includes several new features and refinements, including the new Freeform app and an updated architecture in the Home app.

Apple's retail store in Glasgow, Scotland, has become the first UK store to officially vote in favor of forming a union.

Staff at the Glasgow store had been eyeing unionization for some time and comes amid continued concerns for some employees over pay and working conditions. Staff at the Glasgow store are now set to use their unionization to push for higher hourly pay.

In response to the vote, Apple told The Herald it is "one of the highest paying retailers in Scotland" and it "regularly made enhancements to our industry-leading benefits as a part of the overall support we provide to our valued team members."

Apple has been attempting to ease concerns from retail staff over the last several months, encouraging store managers to be more open and direct with staff over their concerns and promising action to address them.

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

Although we're still a few weeks away from Black Friday, multiple accessory makers have kicked off early Black Friday events with notable markdowns on charging, travel, and protection accessories for Apple products. This includes Satechi, Twelve South, and ZAGG, offering up to 60 percent off accessories during these sales.

Satechi

Starting with Satechi, you can get 40 percent off a selection of charging accessories with the code DEALS used at checkout. Satechi's early Black Friday event is focusing on USB-C chargers, USB-C hubs, wireless chargers, MagSafe-compatible chargers, and more.

Note: 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.

Wall Chargers

• 30W USB-C Charger - $18.00, down from $29.99
• 100W USB-C Compact GaN Charger - $48.00, down from $79.99

USB-C Hubs

• USB-C Combo Hub for Desktop - $21.00, down from $34.99
• Aluminum Type-C Mobile Pro Hub - $36.00, down from $59.99
• Type-C Aluminum Stand and Hub for Mac Mini - $48.00, down from $79.99
• USB-C On-the-Go Multiport Adapter - $60.00, down from $99.99
• Type-C Pro Hub Adapter - $60.00, down from $99.99
• Type-C Pro Hub Adapter with Ethernet - $60.00, down from $99.99

Cables

• USB4 C-to-C Cable - $15.00, down from $24.99
• USB-C Magnetic Wireless Charging Cable - $18.00, down from $29.99

Miscellaneous

• USB-C Wireless Charging Dock for AirPods - $18.00, down from $29.99
• Dual Smart Outlet - $24.00, down from $39.99
• Aluminum USB Headphone Stand - $30.00, down from $49.99

Twelve South

Twelve South is giving its customers a sneak peek at its upcoming Black Friday sale with up to 60 percent off travel gear. This includes accessories like the Curve Flex for MacBook Pro, PlugBug Duo for MacBook Pro, and AirFly for AirPods.

Accessories for MacBook Pro/Air

• PlugBug Slim - $19.99, down from $24.99
• PlugBug World - $19.99, down from $49.99
• PlugBug Duo - $39.99, down from $59.99
• Curve Flex - $74.99, down from $79.99
• StayGo USB-C Hub - $79.99, down from $99.99

Accessories for AirPods

• AirFly (2nd gen) - $24.99, down from $34.99

Accessories for iPad

• Compass Pro - $44.99, down from $59.99
• StayGo Mini USB-C Hub - $44.99, down from $59.99

ZAGG

At ZAGG, you can get 30 percent off your order when purchasing two or more products at the same time. This excludes already-discounted items, and you won't need a coupon code to see the discount during this event.

The sale covers accessories offered from Mophie, Gear4, ZAGG, and Invisible Shield, so it's a good opportunity to stock up on holiday gifts and stocking stuffers for iPhone owners. Be sure to browse across all of the ZAGG brands to find the best accessories before the sale ends.

We're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2022.

Initial reviews of the new Apple TV 4K highlighted that Apple will add support for Quick Media Switching Variable Refresh Rate (QMS VRR) via a software update to tvOS.

QMS VRR prevents momentary blackouts that occur when switching between content playing in different frame rates. As TechCrunch highlights, users who already have the "Match Content" setting for frame rates turned on may already be familiar with this, "since it happens almost any time you start streaming an actual show or movie from most apps." From The Verge's Apple TV 4K review:

The third-gen Apple TV 4K has another bit of future proofing up its sleeve: later this year, a software update will add support for what's known as QMS VRR. This enables compatible TVs to switch between different frame rates without any black screens or noticeable picture interruptions. How many TVs work with QMS VRR, you ask? Well, zero at the moment. But you'll start seeing them hit the market next year; stay tuned for more news about this feature at CES. I've never been that bothered by the short flicker when changing frame rates, but I won't miss it, either.

It is worth noting that QMS VRR does not prevent blackouts when switching between color spaces or HDR content. The new video quality feature is set to be added via a software update to tvOS.

According to YouTuber Andru Edwards, the feature will not come to the second-generation ‌Apple TV‌ 4K, even though that device introduced support for high-framerate HDR content up to 60 fps and HDMI 2.1 last year.

Former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive will be featured on the cover of WSJ. Magazine later this month, reflecting on his work at Apple and design philosophy in a wide-ranging interview.

The interview spans topics including Ive's youth, first meeting with Steve Jobs and work at Apple, and recent work at his design company LoveFrom. Reflecting on his beginnings at Apple, Ive said:

"I wanted to be a part of this crazy California company," Ive says now. Corporation is a word he reviles. "A group of people who are truly united in a shared sense of purpose" is what he prefers, and that's initially what he hoped to find at Apple. Instead, soon after he joined, the company began to drift. The Newton tablet he designed in 1992 was praised by critics but largely ignored by consumers. Apple started to atrophy into an acquisition target. "The most important lessons you would never choose to learn because they are so painful," Ive says. "The death of a company is so ugly."

Ive on meeting Steve Jobs upon his return to Apple in 1997:

Ive, then 30, assumed Jobs would hire a more renowned designer to replace him, but something unexpected happened at their first meeting. "I clicked with Steve in a way that I had never before done with someone and never have since."

On his purpose, Ive remarked:

"I love making things that are profoundly useful," he adds. "I'm a very practical craftsperson."

He also discussed the importance of language and creativity, the downside of disruption, and curiosity:

"Success is the enemy of curiosity," "I am terrified and disgusted when people are absolutely without curiosity," he says. "It's at the root of so much social dysfunction and conflict.... Part of why I get so furious when people dismiss creativity is that [when] it's an activity practiced in its most noble and collaborative form, it means a bunch of people who come together in an empathic and selfless way. What I have come to realize is that the process of creating with large groups of people is really hard and is also unbelievably powerful."

Ive will be featured in November's "Innovators Issue," out on newsstands on Saturday, November 12. Ive is one of eight covers representing each of this year's award recipients. See the full interview on The Wall Street Journal's website.

The new Apple TV 4K will start arriving to customers and launch in stores on Friday, November 4. Ahead of time, the first reviews of the latest Apple TV have now been shared by select publications and YouTube channels.

Key new features for the third-generation ‌Apple TV‌ 4K include the A15 Bionic chip, 4GB of memory, HDR10+ support, a USB-C charging port on the Siri Remote, and a slimmer, lighter, fanless design. The ‌‌Apple TV‌‌ 4K is now available with 64GB of storage for a lower starting price of $129, sitting below a 128GB model for $149 that also has an ethernet port and support for Thread networking. We have rounded up both written and video reviews of the new ‌Apple TV‌ 4K below.

Written Reviews

The ‌Apple TV‌ 4K's performance improvements were somewhat noticeable to reviewers, particularly when switching apps, but they noted that there is little that can practically take advantage of it other than games. TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington:

If you have a 2021 Apple TV 4K, which I do, you probably aren't feeling the pinch in terms of performance. In fact, I still have a first-generation Apple TV 4K in active use, and despite it now being six years old, I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and my 2021 Apple TV in a blind test.

That said, the 2022 Apple TV 4K does seem to generally make things snappier when it comes to navigating between the Home Screen and apps, and even potentially within apps as well. It also definitely offers a boost when it comes to using the Apple TV as a gaming device, helping it keep up with the most graphically-demanding Arcade and App Store titles available. With expanded controller support via the most recent tvOS update, the Apple TV is a better gaming console than ever combined with the A15's performance prowess.

On the other hand, CNET's Eli Blumenthal found gaming on the ‌Apple TV‌ 4K underwhelming and noted that the A15 Bionic chip still does not help the ‌Apple TV‌ rival games consoles:

NBA 2K23 loaded quickly, and the game finally has commentary which brings some console-like quality that was lacking in earlier editions, but that's where the similarity ends. In my few games, the title looks and feels a bit slower than the console version. Even with an Xbox controller paired to the Apple TV 4K, there is no direct passing and animations lack the fluidity and sharpness of the game on Xbox One, let alone Xbox Series S/X.

Face models are fine, but lack detail in players' tattoos like D'Angelo Russell and Marcus Smart. Standard basketball game staples like instant replays and quick or batch substitutions also remain absent as do 2K23 game modes like The City.

Gameloft's Asphalt 8 Plus similarly loaded quickly and played fine using the Apple TV's included Siri Remote. But there isn't ray-tracing or other modern graphical improvements that would make anyone confuse this title for a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series S/X game.

All told, there doesn't appear to be anything extra that the A15 Bionic brings to gaming on Apple TV 4K...

The Verge's Chris Welch said that while the USB-C charging port of the new ‌Siri‌ Remote is a welcome change, there is still much more that the remote could do:

Other than ditching Lightning for USB-C, the included Siri Remote is identical to the prior generation. This is largely positive: it's ergonomic and easy to use, and once you get down the clickpad's rotational gesture for quickly scrubbing through a movie or show, you'll rarely bother with the old less efficient way of fast-forwarding and rewinding. I do badly wish that Apple had included a U1 chip in the new remote that would've made it easy to hunt down with precision using a nearby iPhone. Failing that, even a built-in speaker would've been nice for a "Siri, find my remote" command. This remote isn't as easy to lose as the previous stupidly thin version, but it still happens to the best of us. You can add backlighting and a raised nub on the play / pause button (making it easier to find by feel) to my wish list for the next iteration of the Siri Remote.

Video Reviews and Unboxings

Apple is no longer expected to announce any new Apple silicon Macs during the remainder of this year, according to reports. With no new Macs on the horizon for 2022, Apple's product lineup is "set" for the rest of the year, according to the company's CEO Tim Cook. Now, all eyes are on 2023.

Apple released many new products in 2022, including a completely redesigned MacBook Air, the iPhone 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro, new iPads, the Apple Watch Ultra, and more. One product missing from Apple's list of 2022 announcements is the company's long-rumored AR/VR headset, which has been in development for several years.

The development of Apple's headset, which may be called "Apple Reality Pro," has ramped up in the last year, and Apple's finally expected to unveil the headset next year after multiple delays. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a reliable source for supply chain-related information, Apple will announce the headset in a few months' time during an event in January of 2023.

Other reliable sources have all indicated the headset will be announced sometime next year. Still, other than Kuo's report, no further information on when exactly Apple may decide to announce it has been reported. If Kuo's information is proven accurate, it would be the first Apple event in January since a special event in 2010, where Steve Jobs announced the iPad.

The headset will be Apple's biggest product announcement since the original Apple Watch, so Apple may decide to dedicate an entire event to the headset rather than including it at another event, such as WWDC.

For the last three years, a headset reveal at WWDC has remained a possibility since the announcement of the headset will likely include the revealing of realityOS, an entirely new operating system and platform for developers that will run on Apple's future AR/VR products.

Apple's last event of 2022 was in September for the ‌iPhone‌ 14, the new AirPods Pro, and a new lineup of Apple Watch models. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported last month that Apple had canceled plans to hold another event this fall in October dedicated to new iPads and Mac models. In a recent Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple held off with another event this year to save "marketing energy for the Reality Pro headset debut next year."

When the headset does get announced, it could be one of Apple's most expensive products. The headset is expected to be a niche product targeted at developers and high-end professionals, with a price tag of around $3,000. Apple is already working on a cheaper model of the headset, which will be followed by a pair of augmented reality glasses later this decade.

Do you think Apple's AR/VR headset is the next product announcement from Apple? Let us know in the comments.