MacRumors

Apple's next Apple Watch activity challenge is set to take place on International Women's Day, which will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 8.

The Activity Challenge will show up on the Apple Watch as a notification in the days leading up to the event. To win the International Women's Day award, Apple Watch users will need to complete a workout of any kind with a length of at least 20 minutes.

March 8 is a day to celebrate women around the world! Earn this award by doing any workout for 20 minutes or more. Record your time with the Workout app or any app that adds workouts to Health.

Apple Watch users who earn the award will unlock a badge in the Fitness app along with a series of animated stickers that can be used in the Messages and FaceTime apps.

In February, Apple hosted Activity Challenges for Heart Month, Lunar New Year, and Black History Month.

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming macOS macOS Monterey 12.3 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming a week after the release of the fourth macOS Monterey 12.3 beta.

Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences.

macOS Monterey 12.3 is a major update that introduces Universal Control, a feature that Apple first teased at WWDC and then delayed for several months. ‌Universal Control‌ is designed to allow you to use a single mouse/trackpad and keyboard across multiple Macs and iPads (with iPads running iPadOS 15.4).

After updating your devices to macOS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4, ‌Universal Control‌ works automatically, allowing your Mac's cursor and keyboard to work on the iPad and vice versa. It's simple and intuitive to use.

macOS Monterey 12.3 adds support for updating the AirPods firmware when the earbuds are connected to a Mac, plus it deprecates kernel extensions used by Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive, and it eliminates Python 2, with Apple instructing developers to use an alternative scripting language like Python 3 going forward.

There are also new emoji characters, including melting face, biting lip, heart hands, bubbles, beans, face with diagonal mouth, palm up hand, eggs, troll, low battery, coral, lotus, and more.

Apple today seeded the fifth betas of upcoming iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming one week after Apple seeded the fourth betas of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4.

Developers can download iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 through the Apple Developer Center or over the air after the proper profile has been installed on an iPhone or iPad.

iOS and iPadOS 15.4 introduce some of the most significant changes we've seen in an update since iOS 15 launched. On the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and 13 models, there's now an option to use Face ID while wearing a mask with no Apple Watch required for authentication. It works just like Face ID, but it scans the area around your eyes when you're wearing a mask.

On ‌iPad‌, iPadOS 15.4 brings the long awaited Universal Control feature. Paired with a Mac running macOS Monterey 12.3, Universal Control allows multiple Macs and iPads to be controlled with a single cursor and keyboard. It's a feature that works seamlessly after installing the updates, and it is simple and intuitive to use.

There are 37 new emojis with the addition of Emoji 14 characters, so you can now use emojis that include melting face, biting lip, heart hands, bubbles, beans, face with diagonal mouth, palm up hand, eggs, troll, low battery, coral, lotus, and more.

The second beta added support for the "Tap to Pay on ‌iPhone‌" feature that is designed to allow NFC-compatible iPhones to accept payments through Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, without requiring additional hardware.

Tap to Pay on ‌iPhone‌ is enabled in the iOS 15.4 beta, but it does require third-party providers to add support, so it is not yet available for use.

In the fourth beta, Apple added a new Siri voice for American users and support for AirTag anti-stalking features announced in February. When setting up an AirTag or a Find My accessory, there is now a warning that the device is locked to an Apple ID and that using it to track someone without consent is a crime.

"You can locate this item using the ‌Find My‌ network," reads the setup screen. "Using this item to track people without their consent is a crime in many regions around the world. This item is designed to be detected by victims and to enable law enforcement to request identifying information about the owner."

There are also signs that Apple may be planning to roll out support for digital IDs and driver's licenses in iOS 15.4. There isn't a ton of evidence for this at the current time, but there was a mention of the feature in the PassKit code in beta 2. "Find out when your driver's license or state ID is ready to use and get important updates about your ID," it reads.

Other new features include full 120Hz ProMotion support for app animations on ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro models, EU vaccine certificates in the Wallet app, the ability to turn off notifications for Shortcuts automations, keyboard brightness controls in Control Center on the ‌iPad‌, an Apple Card widget, iCloud Keychain notes, support for adding custom email domains to ‌iCloud‌ Mail right on device, and a SharePlay option in the share sheet.

We have a full list of all of the features introduced in iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 in our dedicated guide highlighting everything new in the update.

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming watchOS 8.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the release of the fourth watchOS 8.5 beta.

To install ‌‌‌watchOS 8.5, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, ‌‌‌watchOS 8.5‌‌‌ can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update.

To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌‌. You'll also need the accompanying iOS 15.4 update before you can install watchOS 8.5.

watchOS 8.5 introduces support for Emoji 14 characters, with new additions including melting face, biting lip, heart hands, bubbles, beans, face with diagonal mouth, palm up hand, eggs, troll, low battery, coral, lotus, and more.

Nomad today announced the launch of the Base One, its first official MagSafe wireless charger. For a long time, Belkin has had the only official ‌MagSafe‌ charging options, but that's starting to change now that third-party accessory companies are able to get Apple's Made for iPhone-certified hardware.

The Base One is using ‌MagSafe‌ components sourced directly from Apple, so it is able to charge a MagSafe-compatible iPhone at up to 15W (except for the iPhone 12 mini and ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini, which max out at 12W). Non-MagSafe magnetic charging options are limited to 7.5W, much like any other Qi charger.

At 15W, the Base One can charge at the same speed as Apple's official ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, so what Nomad is bringing to the table is it own spin on design. The Base One is priced at $130, so it's $90 more expensive than the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, making it a premium option. It's worth noting that some of that cost comes from Apple's own hardware fees, as this is using ‌MagSafe‌ technology sourced from Apple.

The Base One has a shiny glass surface and a heavy aluminum body that you can get in either silver or gray. It undoubtedly feels like a high-quality product, weighing in at 515 grams, which is more than a pound. On top of the glass surface, there's the soft-coated ‌MagSafe‌ charger, and a set of feet on the bottom lift it up slightly and add protection for whatever surface it's placed on.

You might think that at the heavier weight it would able to remain on the desk without lifting when you want to pull your ‌iPhone‌ off the charger, but magnets are strong and that's not the case. You need to do the same tilt lift or lift with a finger under the ‌iPhone‌ that you need to do with other ‌MagSafe‌ charging options. The glass surface does collect some fingerprints and dust, but it's easy to clean off.

According to Nomad, the Base One is designed to look great on a desk, which it does, but at this price point it's as expensive as multi-device chargers from Belkin, Mophie, and others, so it may not be worth the high cost for some users. The Base One is a single-device charger, so it only works with one ‌iPhone‌ at a time.

It can be used to charge any MagSafe-compatible ‌iPhone‌ at the supported wireless charging speed, plus it can also charge AirPods or an older non-MagSafe ‌iPhone‌, though the magnets won't work. It connects over USB-C and comes with a braided USB-C cable, but there is no power adapter included so you'll need to supply your own 30W+ charger.

Bottom Line

The Base One for Nomad will likely appeal to those who want a high quality charging accessory for their ‌iPhone‌, but at $90 more than a $40 ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, I find it hard to justify the price.

Yes, it looks nice on a desk, it's more attractive than a plain ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, and the USB-C connectivity is great, but for that kind of money, I'd rather shell out for a more versatile multi-device charger.

How to Buy

The Base One can be purchased from the Nomad website for $130.

Oppo has announced a record-breaking fast charging technology that is around twelve times faster than the iPhone 13 lineup.

On the first day of 2022's Mobile World Congress (MWC) yesterday, Oppo showcased a range of technologies, including its latest Find X5 series of smartphones, the MariSilicon X custom image processor, a retractable camera system, the Air Glass extended reality monocle, and more. Among the announcements and spotlights, Oppo announced two new fast charging technologies.

The first, which Oppo calls "150W SUPERVOOC flash charge," features charge pumps and can charge a device with a 4,500 mAh battery to 50 percent in five minutes and deliver a full charge in just 15 minutes. 150W SUPERVOOC includes Oppo's Battery Health Engine, which recently debuted in the Find X5 lineup, to keep the battery at 80 percent of its original capacity after as many as 1,600 charge cycles – double the industry standard of just 800 cycles. Oppo will introduce 150W SUPERVOOC on selected OnePlus devices in the second quarter of 2022.

The company also revealed "240W SUPERVOOC flash charge" technology, which can charge a 4,500mAh battery to 100 percent in just nine minutes. 240W SUPERVOOC is the fastest-ever charging technology of its kind, surpassing Realme's 150W charging.

Oppo says that the 240W SUPERVOOC charging system contains five safety protection measures, including a custom-designed control chip that monitors voltage, current, and temperature, and conforms to standards for heat dissipation despite the very high power output. Oppo did not say when the first devices with 240W SUPERVOOC will be released.

Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini and ‌iPhone‌ 13 support wired 20W fast charging, while the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro is able to support up to 23W and the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max is able to support up to 27W. The ‌iPhone‌ 13 models do not sustain peak power for their entire charging cycle due to thermal considerations.

With a 20W power adapter and a Lightning to USB-C cable, users can charge an ‌iPhone‌ 13 from zero to 50 percent in half an hour, and fully charge in about two hours, which is significantly slower than either of Oppo's new charging technologies. Last week, Oppo announced plans to directly compete with Apple on a global scale with a wave of premium devices, starting with the Find X5 models.

Today you can get Apple's 21.5-inch iMac (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $799.99, down from its original price of $1,099.00. This is another Amazon sale price that will not be seen until you head to the checkout screen, at which point a coupon worth $229.01 will be applied.

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.

Compared to past sales, this is a second-best price on the mid-2020 21.5-inch iMac. In January, the iMac hit $599.99, but that sale was extremely limited and did not last long. If you're looking to purchase an iMac for someone who isn't a power user, this is still a solid deal.

You can keep track of ongoing sales on Apple's iMac line by visiting our Best iMac Deals guide. There, we keep track of the best iMac offers from Amazon, Adorama, B&H Photo, and other retailers, so be sure to check back often if you're shopping for an iMac for the first time, or thinking of upgrading.

Apple appears to be working on an upcoming Safari feature that will introduce a Dark mode user preference for individual websites, based on references found in open-source WebKit code.

WebKit is Apple's browser engine that powers all browsers on iOS, and the new option, spotted by 9to5Mac, is referred in the GitHub-hosted WebKit code as "overriding the system color-scheme with a per-website preference." This should, for example, let users always view a particular website in Dark mode, even if the system's Light mode is enabled.

Since Apple introduced Dark mode for iPhone and iPad with iOS 13, developers have updated their app interfaces to match the system setting or allow users to override it. The new per-website preference in Safari would extend this option to browsing sites, and also let users correct for sites that don't display properly in either Light or Dark modes.

In addition to the per-website display setting, Apple is developing another option to block modal popups on specific websites viewed in Safari. Modal popups must be dismissed by tapping a Cancel or other button, and can look like system alerts. Apple also has a new API in the works to manage the process of cookie consent that many websites use.

The new WebKit features are labelled as "TBA," or to be announced, so it's unclear whether they will become available to use in Safari via future iOS 15 and macOS 12 updates or later in the year when the new operating system versions are released.

Qualcomm has unveiled its new 5G Snapdragon X70 modem, which is likely to be the last Qualcomm modem to be used by Apple in its iPhones before it switches to in-house custom-designed chips.

Qualcomm says its latest 5G modem for smartphones includes "the world's first 5G AI processor integrated in a 5G Modem-RF System," which is supposed to increase the average download and uplink speeds on mmWave and sub-6GHz bands. From the company's press release:

Snapdragon X70 inherits the unrivaled 10 Gigabit 5G peak download speed of its predecessor and packs in new, advanced capabilities such as Qualcomm 5G AI Suite, Qualcomm 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite and 4X carrier aggregation to achieve unmatched 5G speeds, coverage, signal quality and low latency. The Qualcomm 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite in Snapdragon X70 allows OEMs and operators to minimize latency for hyper-responsive 5G user experiences and applications.

"Our 5th generation modem-RF system extends our global 5G leadership and the introduction of native 5G AI processing creates a platform and inflection point for performance-enhancing innovations," said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, 5G, Mobile Broadband and Infrastructure, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Snapdragon X70 is an example of how we're realizing the full potential of 5G and making an intelligently connected world possible."

According to the company, the Snapdragon X70 can reach up to 10Gbps downlink speed and a peak 3.5Gbps upload speed, and yet it is up to 60% more power efficient, due to its 5G PowerSave Gen 3 technology. The modem also includes support for global 5G multi-SIM and Dual-SIM Dual Active.

The Snapdragon X70 modem is expected to launch in 5G devices by the end of this year, although that doesn't necessarily mean it will appear in the iPhone 14, or indeed any future iPhone.

In a 2020 agreement to dismiss a long-running legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm, a settlement filing revealed that Apple has committed to using X65 and X70 modems in products launched between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2024, which would seem to suggest the X65 will be used in the ‌iPhone 14‌, while the just-announced X70 modem will be in Apple's 2023 ‌iPhone‌ series.

However, other reports have suggested Apple will have its own custom-designed 5G modem ready for use in 2023 iPhone models, so it's not entirely clear where the X70 fits in. Apple could end up using its own chips in most regions, and rely on Qualcomm for X70 chips in certain areas (or certain models), which could explain why Qualcomm says it is expecting to supply just 20% of Apple's ‌iPhone‌ modems in 2023. When Apple's agreement with Qualcomm ends, Apple will switch to its own custom-designed cellular modem for all future devices.

Rumors in early 2019 suggested that Apple was planning to design a modem in-house, and in mid-2019, Apple purchased the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business to accelerate its own development efforts. Apple took over Intel's modem-related intellectual property and hired 2,200 Intel employees, and it has already lined up its main chip manufacturing partner TSMC to begin producing the majority of its new in-house modem chips.

Honor has announced Earbuds 3 Pro that come with integrated temperature monitoring technology, a feature that has also reportedly been tested by Apple in AirPods prototypes.

Market interest in building temperature measuring functions into earbuds has been mooted for some time now, as it could be useful for fertility tracking, keeping track of sleep, and in the future, it could also detect when a user has a fever.

Honor's $199 buds include a temperature sensor that combines with an AI temperature algorithm and can take a measurement that has about an 80% chance of achieving a ±0.3 degrees Celcius or less error, according to the company.

Tapping three times on the earbud can start a measurement, and a continuous measurement function is available. The Earbuds 3 Pro also feature an "abnormal temperature alert," although Honor's marketing materials stress that they are not for any medical purpose and still need to pass regulatory hurdles.

The earbuds hark back to an October 2021 report by The Wall Street Journal that claimed Apple is developing prototypes of AirPods with temperature sensors for monitoring a wearer's core body temperature from inside the ear.

The report noted that these in-ear temperature sensors could work in tandem with a rumored temperature sensor that could be included in this year's Apple Watch Series 8. However, individuals said to be familiar with Apple's plans told the The ‌Wall Street Journal‌ that AirPods with said health features are not expected to launch in 2022, and may never be released.

Honor unveiled its new noise-canceling Earbuds 3 Pro at MWC 2022 alongside its Magic 4 series of smartphones, "Pro" variants of which can be fast-charged wirelessly at 100W, allowing the phones to be charged to 50% in just 15 minutes. The Chinese company said it hoped to release its new products globally, but whether they will actually arrive in the US anytime is unknown.

Microsoft has been testing a pre-release Apple silicon version of OneDrive since last year, and now the native version of the app is available for all OneDrive users.

"We're excited to announce that OneDrive sync for macOS will now run natively on Apple silicon. This means that OneDrive will take full advantage of the performance improvements of Apple silicon," Microsoft said in an announcement on the OneDrive blog that was first spotted by XDA Developers.

Microsoft said that the long-awaited feature is generally available starting with build 22.022.

With official support for the M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips, the OneDrive app will run faster and more efficiently on the latest Macs as the Rosetta 2 translation software will no longer be required.

Apple is rumored to be introducing an upgraded version of the iPhone SE as soon as March 8, the prospective date of the company's first event of 2022. The new ‌iPhone SE‌ is expected to be priced at $399 and it will be replacing the current ‌iPhone SE‌, but will Apple keep the older model around and drop the price as it sometimes does when new iPhones come out?

In his most recent "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggested that Apple could potentially keep the 2020 ‌iPhone SE‌ around, dropping the price to somewhere around $199. At this price point, Apple would be able to capture market share in places like Africa, India, and South America, where people gravitate toward lower-cost Android devices.

Apple has never had a sub-$200 iPhone before, with the entry-level $399 ‌iPhone SE‌ positioned as the cheapest ‌iPhone‌ that's been released to date, but as Gurman suggests, component costs are low enough that Apple might be willing to consider an even more affordable ‌iPhone‌ option.

Bill-of-material estimates from two years ago pegged the hardware cost of the iPhone SE at around $200, meaning a $199 price tag would be a money-loser. But time and economies of scale have probably made that cost much lower by now. Would the cost be low enough for Apple to earn its typical profit margins? No, but the chance to sell services and other products to big new markets could make up for that.

Most of Apple's focus is on its flagship devices, with Apple never seriously targeting the low-end smartphone market, but Apple is known for keeping older iPhones around and offering them at more affordable price points when introducing new devices. With the ‌iPhone‌ 13, for example, Apple dropped the price of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and kept it around. 2019's ‌iPhone‌ 11 is also still available for purchase, and at $499, is Apple's most affordable device next to the ‌iPhone SE‌.

Gurman argues that if Apple does end up keeping the old ‌iPhone SE‌ around and selling it for a ~$199 price point, Apple could see notable sales in developing markets and create long-term services revenue while growing the iOS ecosystem.

Such a device would also allow Apple to replace the long outdated iPod touch, which has gone several years without an update. The iPod touch has seen no updates since 2019 and is still using an A10 Fusion chip. Apple sells the 32GB iPod touch for $199, so a $199 ‌iPhone SE‌ would be a solid replacement.

Gurman has confirmed that there is no sign that Apple actually plans to keep the older ‌iPhone SE‌ around as a lower cost alternative, but it's clear there's incentive. Either way, Apple is poised to bring us a new ‌iPhone SE‌ that features the same general design but chip upgrades and 5G connectivity.

Well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that the 2022 ‌iPhone SE‌ will be Apple's cheapest 5G iPhone to date, bringing faster connectivity to millions of people at an affordable price point.

Samsung's Galaxy S22 devices appear to be more prone to damage when dropped than Apple's iPhone 13 models, according to drop tests conducted by Allstate Protection Plans. With major new smartphone releases, Allstate does the same set of drop tests to determine the degree of front, back, and side damage when a device hits the ground, and the testing indicates the ‌iPhone‌'s design is more durable.

When dropped face-down, the S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra displays shattered on the first six-foot drop onto the sidewalk, and two of the three were unusable due to the severity of the damage. The middle tier device, the S22, was usable, but had notable damage at the corners.

Comparatively, when Allstate Protection Plans drop tested the ‌iPhone‌ 13 models back in September, they fared better. In the face-down drop, the ‌iPhone‌ 13 survived a single drop with minor damage, cracking in the second drop test. The ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro cracked along the bottom, but both phones were largely usable.

In the back-down test, the Galaxy S22 devices all had their back panel shattered, and while all three phones continued to work normally and the camera housing remained intact, it was not possible to safely handle the phones bare-handed because of the glass damage.

The comparable test on the ‌iPhone‌ 13 models saw the ‌iPhone‌ 13 survive two drops, ending up with minor cracks along the camera and the corner after the third drop, while the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro back glass shattered more similarly to the S22 devices.

Allstate did a side-down test for the S22 models that saw the S22 and S22+ survive with minor damage, while the curved glass S22 Ultra shattered at the corners and along the display. All of the smartphones remained functional.

A comparable test was not done for the ‌iPhone‌ 13, but back in 2020, the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models were dropped on their side in the same test and survived intact with minor scuffing because of the aluminum steel edges, similar to the S22 and S22+, which also use an "Armor Aluminum" frame.

The S22 Ultra has a curved display and thus takes more damage at the sides than Apple's iPhones. All in all, it seems the S22 may be more vulnerable to breakage than Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 13 models, which use Apple's "Ceramic Shield," purported to be more durable than traditional glass. Samsung's S22 devices are using Gorilla Glass Victus+, Corning's most durable glass.

In addition to being more prone to damage than the ‌iPhone‌ 13 models in Allstate's testing, the Galaxy S22 devices are also more vulnerable than the prior-generation Galaxy S21 smartphones, which used a plastic backing. Allstate Protection Plan vice president Jason Siciliano said that the design upgrades in the S22 and the S22 Ultra models have "resulted in durability downgrades when compared to their Galaxy S21 predecessors," increasing the need for smartphone cases and screen protectors.

As always, drop tests are variable and the results will depend on the angle that the smartphone happens to fall at. Allstate Protection Plans uses the same variables for all of its tests, but there's always an element of unpredictability, and even if the ‌iPhone‌ fares better controlled tests, that may not reflect real-world results.

With every all-glass smartphone like the Galaxy S22 and the ‌iPhone‌ 13, caution should be used to avoid drops and protective cases should be employed because neither Apple's Ceramic Shield and Samsung's Gorilla Glass Victus+ are reliable solutions against breakage.

Amid an ongoing dispute with the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) in the Netherlands over the App Store, Apple has defended its plan to require app developers to submit an additional app binary for the Dutch storefront if they wish to use a third-party payment processing method.

The ACM has ruled that Apple must allow dating apps in the Netherlands to use third-party payment processing systems. This differs from developers elsewhere in the world who must use Apple's in-app purchasing system built into the ‌App Store‌. Apple has announced plans to comply with the ruling, giving developers the ability to use a third-party method in the app itself or redirect users to a website for purchase.

Apple's plan to comply with the ruling, however, has faced some criticism over its requirement that developers submit an additional app binary for their dating app in the Netherlands if they wish to use a third-party payment method. The requirement has caused the ACM to deem Apple's plan as not complying with its ruling and consequently has levied weekly fines for the Cupertino tech giant. The penalties have now accumulated to €30 million.

In a letter obtained by MacRumors, Apple's head of compliance, Kyle Andeer, has defended Apple's plan and said it believes it is fully compliant with the ACM ruling and that Apple has a "consistent and longstanding commitment to compliance in each and every country in which we do business." In the letter, Andeer explained that the ‌App Store‌ operates under one set of core rules applied to all developers and all apps, irrespective of country.

"To ensure the best experience for users, Apple does not operate multiple versions of the ‌App Store‌, there is just one store with many different storefronts. That has proven to be an incredible opportunity for developers," Apple said. In some cases, Apple noted that some developers might want to offer a different app binary for specific storefronts, possibly to comply with local law and regulation.

Apple's requirement that dating apps submit a different app binary if they wish to use a third-party payment method or redirect users to the web for in-app purchases is "a straightforward prerequisite," according to Apple. The additional app binary ensures "that Apple complies with its legal obligations in the Netherlands while at the same time having the ability to maintain its standard terms and conditions in the rest of the world," Apple added.

Apple emphasized in the letter that the practice of employing an additional app binary is not complicated or costly for developers to do. "Dating apps are familiar with this process and in fact engage in it voluntarily," Apple noted. To prove its point that the practice is not an out of the ordinary requirement for it to enforce, Apple highlighted several apps made by Match Group, a developer which led the ACM to investigate Apple's ‌App Store‌, that have different app binaries for different storefronts, including "Our Time" and "Match."

Dating app developers in the Netherlands would only need to conduct "minor technical" changes to their existing app binary if they wish to use third-party payment methods or websites.

Dating app developers need to update their binary in order to take advantage of the new alternatives ordered by the ACM as the existing binaries of apps in the App Store do not contain third party processor or linking out capabilities. Apple's requirement therefore does not add any additional coding obligation on the developers but simply requires them to maintain the old binary for use outside of the Dutch storefront. With the changes Apple has implemented to comply with the ACM order, developers of dating apps in the Netherlands may update their binary now.

The ACM has been blunt in its denial of Apple's plans, saying that Apple has "refused to put forward any serious proposals" for its concerns over the company's compliance plan.

Andeer admitted in the letter that Apple and the ACM "have a difference of opinion" that may eventually need to be resolved by a court. Nonetheless, Andeer said that Apple is committed to working with the ACM in finding a solution both parties can agree to that benefits both Dutch developers and consumers.

Woot today has Apple's previous generation Apple TV 4K (32GB) in new condition, priced at $99.99 for Amazon Prime members and at $109.99 for everyone else. When this device originally launched in 2017 it was priced at $179.00.

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

If you're a Prime member, you can sign into your account on Woot by clicking "sign in with Amazon" on the Account tab. At checkout, you'll get an additional $10 off. This deal lasts for one day only.

This version of the Apple TV 4K is the previous generation model that launched in 2017, and as such it has the older Siri Remote model. It is in new condition, and Woot limits one per customer during this sale.

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.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has penned an open letter for the first issue of Login, a new magazine from Italian publication Corriere della Sera. In the letter, Cook reflects on Apple's commitment to innovation, humanity, the environment, and more.

Cook believes that the world is currently facing a crucial moment in history and that technology will have a profound influence on the future:

As the world emerges from a pandemic that has taken so much away from us in the past two years, we have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the future we want to live in.. The decisions we make today about how to rebuild and where to focus our resources will leave their mark for many decades to come. And while technology will clearly have a profound influence on the future we build, it is important to remember that technology is not inherently good or bad. Its impact will depend on the values ​​and intentions we place at the heart of our innovations.

Cook challenged "innovators" from across Italy to join Apple in using technology to change the world for the better:

We believe everyone has the potential to innovate when they have access to the right tools, especially in a vibrant place like Italy, full of passion and creativity. And we want to help more and more people realize that potential. For this we have collaborated with the University of Naples Federico II and created the Apple Developer Academy, which provides aspiring developers and entrepreneurs with the coding skills necessary to shape their ideas.

The letter reiterates many of Apple's common talking points, including its belief that privacy is a fundamental human right and that it is committed to tackling climate change. In 2020, Apple unveiled a plan to ​become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030.

The full letter can be read in Italian on Corriere della Sera's website.

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.