MacRumors

Apple today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Israeli firm NSO Group and its parent company with the aim of holding it accountable for targeting Apple users with spyware used for surveillance purposes.

In the lawsuit, Apple offers up information on how NSO Group infiltrated the devices of iPhone owners and how it utilized the Pegasus spyware to do so. Apple is asking for a permanent injunction that would ban NSO Group from using Apple software, services, or devices.

"State-sponsored actors like the NSO Group spend millions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance technologies without effective accountability. That needs to change," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "Apple devices are the most secure consumer hardware on the market -- but private companies developing state-sponsored spyware have become even more dangerous. While these cybersecurity threats only impact a very small number of our customers, we take any attack on our users very seriously, and we're constantly working to strengthen the security and privacy protections in iOS to keep all our users safe."

NSO Group created invasive spyware known as "Pegasus" that was sold to various world governments and was used to access the devices of journalists, lawyers, and human rights activists. Apple has been working on fixing exploits and has addressed major Pegasus-related hacks in iOS 14.6 and iOS 14.8.

With iOS 14.8, for example, Apple addressed a zero-click FORCEDENTRY iMessage exploit that could infect iOS devices with the Pegasus software, allowing for access to the camera, microphone, text messages, phone calls, emails, and more. Apple engineers worked around the clock to develop a fix, and additional BlastDoor security protections have been implemented in iOS 15 to protect the Messages app.

Those who were impacted by FORCEDENTRY will be notified by Apple, and going forward, Apple says any time that it finds activity consistent with a state-sponsored spyware attack, affected users will be informed.

Apple says that it has not found evidence of successful remote attacks against users running iOS 15 and later updates, and that everyone should update their phones and run the latest software. Apple security chief Ivan Krstić said the lawsuit is a signal that Apple will not stand for the use of weaponized spyware against "those who seek to make the world a better place."

"At Apple, we are always working to defend our users against even the most complex cyberattacks. The steps we're taking today will send a clear message: In a free society, it is unacceptable to weaponize powerful state-sponsored spyware against those who seek to make the world a better place," said Ivan Krstić, head of Apple Security Engineering and Architecture. "Our threat intelligence and engineering teams work around the clock to analyze new threats, rapidly patch vulnerabilities, and develop industry-leading new protections in our software and silicon. Apple runs one of the most sophisticated security engineering operations in the world, and we will continue to work tirelessly to protect our users from abusive state-sponsored actors like NSO Group."

In addition to filing a lawsuit against NSO Group, Apple plans to contribute $10 million to organizations pursuing cybersurveillance research and advocacy. Apple will also donate the damages from any lawsuit to the same cause, and will continue to support researchers at Citizen Lab with pro-bono technical, threat intelligence, and engineering assistance.

NSO Group has claimed that its software exploits have only been sold to "vetted" military, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies for use against criminals and terrorists, but a massive data leak earlier this year confirmed widespread abuse of the spyware. As a result, NSO Group has been blacklisted by the U.S. government, and no American organization is allowed to work with it. The company is also facing a 2019 malware lawsuit from Facebook, which a judge earlier this week refused to dismiss.

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 recently updated its website to indicate that an upcoming iOS 15 and watchOS 8 feature that will let you add your driver's license or state ID to your iPhone and Apple Watch in participating U.S. states has been delayed until early 2022. Apple previously said the feature would launch in late 2021.

In September, Apple said Arizona and Georgia would be among the first states to introduce the feature to residents, with Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah to follow. Apple added that it was in discussions with many more U.S. states (reportedly including Florida) as it works to offer the feature nationwide in the future.

Apple has not provided a specific release date for the feature beyond the early 2022 timeframe, and the feature is not enabled in the latest iOS 15.2 beta.

Apple said select TSA security checkpoints in select U.S. airports will be the first locations where users can present a digital ID in the Wallet app. Users will be able to tap the plus sign at the top of the Wallet app to begin adding a driver's license or state ID to the app, and then simply tap their iPhone or Apple Watch on an identity reader to present their ID to the TSA, without taking out their physical card or handing over their device.

Upon tapping their iPhone or Apple Watch on an identity reader, users will see a prompt on their device displaying the specific information being requested by the TSA. Only after authorizing with Face ID or Touch ID is the requested identity information released from a user's device, and they do not need to unlock, show, or hand over their device to a TSA security officer to present their ID, according to Apple.

Apple has emphasized the privacy and security protections of the feature. When adding a driver's license or state ID card to the Wallet app, the company said users will be required to take a photo of their face, which will be securely provided to the issuing state for verification. As an additional measure, Apple said users will be prompted to complete a series of facial and head movements during the setup process.

Amazon is now matching Walmart's price on the AirPods Pro with MagSafe, available for $159.00, down from $249.00. These are shipped and sold directly from Amazon, and although stock is low you can still get them in time for the holidays (mid December as of writing).

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.

Stock may begin dwindling soon, however, due to this sale being one of the best all-around deals on Apple products happening this week. We aren't expecting to see any better discounts on the all-new AirPods Pro on Friday, so if you want a pair, buy them now.

If you're shopping for other AirPods, the AirPods 3 are $149.99 right now on Amazon, down from $179.00. You'll need to add these to your cart for an automatic coupon to apply to your order. Additionally, AirPods Max are back to their all-time low price of $429.00 on Amazon, down from $549.00.

Lastly, AirPods 2 have reached a low price of $99.99 this week, down from $129.00. This is another deal that will be reflected in the checkout screen after an automatic coupon is applied to the order.

We're keeping track of all this season's best deals in our Black Friday 2021 Roundup. You can also find more of our daily deals and other offers in our Deals Roundup.

Two months after its launch, the iPhone 13 lineup is seeing unprecedented low levels of depreciation, according to research by SellCell.

SellCell's research, based on data from 45 buyback vendors, shows that the ‌iPhone 13‌ has the best value retention of any iPhone in the first two months after its launch. Overall, the ‌iPhone 13‌ models have only depreciated by 25.5 percent on average. By comparison, the ‌iPhone‌ 11 lineup lost 44.6 percent of its value and the ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup lost 41 percent of its value in the same period after launch.

Between the first and second months after launch, the ‌iPhone 13‌ models depreciated by just 0.6 percent on average, with depreciation of 24.9 percent by the end of month one and depreciation of 25.5 percent by the end of month two.

Some ‌iPhone 13‌ models even recovered value after an initial drop in value after launch. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro Max with 1TB of storage regained 1.4 percent of its value, the 512GB model regained 1.7 percent of its value, and the 128GB model regained 1.8 percent of its value. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro performed even better, with the 128GB model regaining two percent of its initial value and the 256GB model regaining 4.6 percent of its initial value.

The ‌iPhone 13‌ mini was the biggest depreciator in the lineup, with the 128GB and 256GB models losing five percent and 7.5 percent respectively.

The reduced rate of depreciation may be attributed to setbacks such as component shortages, production cuts, and shipping delays, which reduced the availability of the ‌iPhone 13‌ models and pushed up the price of used devices. Until Apple begins to fully meet the demand for ‌iPhone 13‌ models, SellCell speculates that there could be even more value recovery through the end of 2021.

The iPhone 14 is said to be unlikely to benefit from such unusual factors to suppress its rate of depreciation after launch, making it probable that this depreciation trend will be the slowest for some time.

Every so often, MacRumors videographer Dan rounds up some of his favorite home products that he's been using. We have another installment of our HomeKit series, this time featuring devices from Lutron, Belkin, Sonos, and more.

You can see everything in action in the video, and we have links and a short description for the ‌HomeKit‌ products below.

• Lutron Caseta Light Switches ($195 for a set) - It can be expensive to swap out bulbs for all of the lighting in your home, but with Lutron's Caseta Smart Lighting Switch and Dimmer Switch, you can wire up your house for ‌HomeKit‌ with minimal effort. You need a bridge for the Caseta devices, so it's best to buy them in a kit if you're replacing more than one light switch.
• Lutron Serena Smart Shades ($600) - Though not inexpensive, if you want a ‌HomeKit‌ house, Lutron makes a series of Serena Smart Shades that can be controlled using ‌HomeKit‌. You'll need to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $600 per window, so this is pricey home improvement.
• Wemo Stage Scene Controller ($50) - The multi-button Wemo Stage Scene Controller can be used to control any ‌HomeKit‌ accessory with its assignable buttons.
• Hunter Ceiling Fan ($180) - Hunter's HomeKit-enabled ceiling fans are surprisingly affordable and can be controlled with Siri, making this a useful smart home addition. Pricing starts at $180 for the Aerodyne, but there are also higher-end models available.
• Sonos Beam Sound Bar - ($449) Sonos recently released its second-generation Beam, which is designed to work with a TV. It's AirPlay 2-enabled, so it shows up in the Home app and can be used with other ‌AirPlay‌ 2 speakers like the HomePod.
• HomePod mini ($99) - A HomePod mini is an essential component for a ‌HomeKit‌ setup as it can serve as a Home Hub, it works with Thread devices, and it supports ‌Siri‌ commands. Apple just released the ‌HomePod mini‌ in a selection of new colors, so it's a good time to buy.

Have a favorite ‌‌HomeKit‌‌ device that we left out? Let us know in the comments and we may highlight it in a future ‌‌HomeKit‌‌ video.

Pixelmator Pro 2.3 went live on the Mac App Store on Tuesday, and the latest major update to the popular image editing app brings a smart new automatic background removal feature, automatic subject selection, new Select and Mask tools, and more.

In a blog post announcing the update, Pixelmator's developers say that it's now possible for users to "magically" remove the background from any image with just a click. The new feature is based on machine learning models that can find a subject in almost any image and automatically strip out the background, and it's also available in Finder as a built-in Quick Action.

In addition to the background eraser feature, a new AI-powered Decontaminate Colors feature can remove traces of the old background from the edges of objects left behind, allowing them to blend seamlessly with any new background. Decontaminate Colors can be applied manually in any layer, even on ones that have been cut out in other apps.

Building on the same set of machine learning algorithms is Automatic Subject Selection, which allows users to make a selection of the subject of any image with just a click. Meanwhile, a new Select and Mask tool makes it easier to select difficult areas of subjects like hair, fur, and other objects with complex edges.

The Smart Refine feature has also been redesigned to enhance selection accuracy, and a new Refine Edge Brush lets users brush over particularly tricky edges to get the selection they want.

These new features are powered by ML algorithms that are integrated into Pixelmator Pro using Core ML, which makes them "absolutely fly" on the latest M1-powered devices thanks to their overall speed and the Apple Neural Engine, according to the developers. For example, background removal takes around 2-5 seconds on M1 devices and up to 30 seconds on Intel devices for an average image.

The update includes some smaller changes, like the ability to specify custom export sizes and scales in the Export dialog. More details are available in the release notes. Version 2.3 is free for existing Pixelmator Pro users, and there's currently a 50% discount off the app price (usually $39.99) in the Mac App Store.

Apple and Amazon were today fined a total of more than 200 million euros ($225 million) by Italy's antitrust authority for alleged anti-competitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products, reports Reuters.

The fines are the culmination of an investigation that began last year over allegations that the two companies had been blocking the sale of Apple and Beats devices to resellers in order to stifle competition.

The Italian watchdog today said contractual provisions of a 2018 agreement between the two companies meant only selected resellers were allowed to sell the products on Amazon's Italian store, which was in violation of EU rules and affected competition on prices.

Amazon was fined 68.7 million euros ($77.3 million), while Apple received a fine of 134.5 million euros ($151.2 million). The watchdog also ordered the companies to end the restrictions to give retailers of genuine Apple and Beats products access to the Italian Amazon web store in a "non-discriminatory manner." Both Apple and Amazon said they plan to appeal against the fines.

"To ensure our customers purchase genuine products, we work closely with our reseller partners and have dedicated teams of experts around the world who work with law enforcement, customs and merchants to ensure only genuine Apple products are being sold," Apple said, denying any wrongdoing.

In a separate statement Amazon said it strongly disagreed with the decision of the Italian authority and that the proposed fine was "disproportionate and unjustified."

"We reject the suggestion that Amazon benefits by excluding sellers from our store, since our business model relies on their success. As a result of the agreement, Italian customers can find the latest Apple and Beats products on our store, benefiting from a catalogue that more than doubled, with better deals and faster shipping," Amazon said.

This isn't the first investigation into Apple by Italy's antitrust regulator. A previous probe looked into the company for iPhone battery slowdowns, which the antitrust watchdog said was a form of planned obsolescence and subsequently slapped Apple with a 10 million euro fine.

Apple today made the HomePod mini available to order in yellow, orange, and blue in Australia and New Zealand, several weeks after the new colors were released in the United States, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan.

The new yellow, orange, and blue models all have color-matched woven power cables, but there's still a white Apple sticker in the box, along with a 20W USB-C power adapter. There are no other changes to the HomePod mini beyond the new colors, and pricing remains $149 in Australia and $159 in New Zealand, including sales tax.

The new colors can be ordered on Apple.com or using the Apple Store app in both Australia and New Zealand with a 1-3 business days shipping estimate. Apple Store pickup is also an option in Australia, but there are no Apple Store locations in New Zealand.

Apple said the new colors would also be released in Austria, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the UK by the end of November, and indeed, several of Apple's regional online stores for these countries are already accepting orders, with delivery in France and the UK being offered as early as this Thursday and in-store pickup from Friday, for example.

(Thanks, Ben Winter!)

Tile, known for its range of Bluetooth-based tracking accessories that compete with the AirTag, is being acquired by location tracking service Life360, Tile announced today.

Tile will continue to be operated as a standalone brand under Tile CEO CJ Prober, but Tile says that when the acquisition is completed, it will be able to leverage Life360's 33 million smartphone users to grow Tile's Finding network by 10x. Tile's network is the equivalent of Apple's Find My network, leveraging nearby devices to locate lost items.

Life360 has what it calls a "family safety platform" that allows family members to keep tabs on one another with tracking software on smartphones. It's primarily used by parents to track their children and teenagers, and it has raised privacy concerns.

With the Tile acquisition, Life360 founder Chris Hulls says that Life360 will be able to provide an "all-encompassing solution" for locating people, pets, and things with cross-platform tracking and combined service for tracking items and people.

Individuals and families will be able to tap into Life360's flagship mobile app, a market leading app for families with features that range from communications to driving safety and location sharing. Additionally, people will be able to seamlessly leverage Tile's bluetooth-enabled finding devices trackers, which can equip nearly any item -- such as wallets, keys or remotes -- with location-based finding technology. Tile's technology is also embedded in over 50 different third-party devices, ranging from wireless earbuds and headphones to laptops to retainer cases to dog collars.

Life360's Tile acquisition deal is valued at $205 million and it is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

Last Friday, code suggested Google would soon roll out an update for Google Messages that would display iMessage Reactions from iPhone users as emoji on Android devices, and now that update has started rolling out.

According to 9to5Google, some Android users are beginning to see iMessage reactions in Google Messages as emoji that are linked to the relevant conversation.

Google Messages appears to be interpreting iMessage reactions just like reactions sent through the RCS protocol used for Google Messages rather than providing them in a text format.

Prior to the Google Messages update, if an ‌iPhone‌ user added a reaction like a heart or thumbs up to a message in the Messages app, it would look odd on an Android device while showing up appropriately on an ‌iPhone‌. Adding a heart icon to a message showed a little heart on ‌iPhone‌, for example, but on Android, it would show up as [Person] "Loved" and then the text of the original message.

The text-based system could lead to awkwardness, especially with Android users unaware of iMessage reactions. It also cluttered up the chat thread by unnecessarily repeating texts.

As shown in the screenshots above, the reaction messages are linked to the chat bubble, and they also use icons pulled from the ‌RCS‌ system. As 9to5Google points out, the little heart for "loving" an image on ‌iPhone‌ is replaced with a heart eyes emoji on Android, and the laugh iMessage Reaction is translated into a laughing face emoji.

Android devices will also display a "translated from ‌iPhone‌" icon so that Google Messages users understand where the reaction is coming from.

Microsoft has declined to make a version of Windows 11 available for Apple's M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max Macs that are built on an Arm architecture, and now we may know the reason - a secret exclusivity deal with Qualcomm.

According to XDA-Developers, Arm-based Windows has only been made available on devices with Qualcomm SoC's because of a previously unknown deal between the two companies.

Two people familiar with the deal told XDA that the deal is "set to expire soon" but there is no specific word on when it will end. When the agreement between Microsoft and Qualcomm does conclude, it will allow other chip vendors to create machines using Arm Windows, and it may perhaps free up Microsoft to make Arm Windows available on Apple silicon Macs.

Apple silicon Macs do not offer Boot Camp and there is no official Windows support at the current time, leaving ‌M1‌, ‌M1 Pro‌, and ‌M1 Max‌ owners with few options for accessing Windows on their devices. In September, Microsoft said that an Arm version of Windows 11 for Apple silicon Macs through virtualization or otherwise is not "a supported scenario," so there's a chance that it still won't happen.

Apple silicon Mac owners who need Windows access can use Parallels 16.5 or later to run Insider Preview builds of Windows 10 and 11 that have been created for Arm hardware, but there are often issues to deal with. Parallels continues to be the only solution because Microsoft has made no licensed retail version of Arm Windows available for Apple silicon Macs.

Update November 23: This deal is now also available at Amazon.

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Black Friday is officially in full swing this afternoon, with the launch of one of the first major discounts at Walmart. There you can get Apple's AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case for just $159.00, down from $249.00.

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.

This deal is live as of 3 p.m. EST for Walmart+ subscribers only, and it will go live for all shoppers beginning tonight at 7 p.m. EST.

This deal is now the best price that we've ever tracked on the AirPods Pro with MagSafe, and it's beating most other retailers' prices by about $30. Given that Apple just refreshed the AirPods Pro with the MagSafe Charging Case in October, this is a very good deal for the AirPods Pro.

The only difference between the 2021 AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case and the 2019 AirPods Pro is the addition of the MagSafe Charging Case. Otherwise, the headphones are the exact same as they were when released in 2019, but given that the price cut is already so steep on the 2021 model, it's best to opt for Walmart's deal.

We're keeping track of all this season's best deals in our Black Friday 2021 Roundup. You can also find more of our daily deals and other offers in our Deals Roundup.

We've been tracking early Black Friday deals in our dedicated Black Friday Roundup, and in an effort to prepare our readers for the big shopping event we're highlighting sales store-by-store in the lead-up to November 26.

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

Similar to Walmart and Target, Best Buy really kicked off Black Friday weeks ago. However, it's now shared the deals you can expect to see on Black Friday, so you should have a clearer view on what you can expect when shopping this week.

Best Buy's Black Friday Schedule

Like other stores, Best Buy's event is more of a week of sales rather than just one day. The retailer kicked things off on Sunday, November 21, and deals will come in and out all the way through Black Friday.

• Sunday, November 21 - Online sales begin
• Wednesday, November 24 - MacBook Air deals begin
• Thursday, November 25 - Stores closed, online sales continue
• Friday, November 26 - Specific opening hours vary by location

Best Buy Black Friday - Deals Live Now

Best Buy's early Black Friday sale is focused on a variety of TV sets, including those from brands like Sony, Insignia, Samsung, Toshiba, LG, and more. There are also a few deals on sound bars to pair with a new TV setup, like Samsung's HW-Q65T 7.1ch Sound Bar with Dolby Atmos for $279.99 ($220 off).

• Insignia 58-inch LED 4K UHD Smart TV - $349.99, down from $579.99
• Samsung 50-inch LED 4K Smart TV - $459.99, down from $479.99
• Samsung 70-inch 4K Crystal UHD Smart TV - $599.99, down from $749.99
• Samsung 65-inch 8000 Series LED 4K UHD Smart TV - $699.99, down from $799.99
• Samsung 75-inch 4K UHD Smart TV - $849.99, down from $1,099.99
• Sony 55-inch OLED 4K UHD Smart TV - $1,399.99, down from $1,799.99

Best Buy is already offering solid deals on video games as well, many of which are reaching prices that we're expecting to see on Black Friday. Standouts in the sale include Deathloop for $29.99 ($30 off) and Guardians of the Galaxy for $29.99 ($30 off).

Best Buy is also currently offering deals on the AirPods lineup, but we recommend waiting for better deals later this week. For example, the retailer has the AirPods Pro for $189.99 ($60 off) right now, but Walmart is set to have these for $159.00 later today, a record low price.

If you shop more at Best Buy than Target, you can get a $15 Best Buy gift card when purchasing a $100 Apple Gift Card. This offer is the same as Target's deal, so it just comes down to which retailer you want a $15 gift card from.

Otherwise, the live sale is offering deals on Windows laptops, Google Nest smart home products, Amazon smart speakers, Beats headphones, Dyson vacuums, kitchen appliances, and much more. Best Buy says that there are thousands of deals live right now, so you can shop for more on the company's website.

On Sunday, November 21 Best Buy also opened up a handful of new discounts on its website and they're all now live, headlined by the Nintendo Switch with Mario Kart 8 Bundle for $299.99. With a free copy of Mario Kart 8 and three months of Nintendo Online, you're saving about $65.

Best Buy is also matching Target's offer on the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset. When purchasing the product, you'll get a $50 Best Buy e-gift card. Lastly, the new deals include $280 off KitchenAid Pro 5 Series stand mixers and $100 off Dyson's Cyclone V10 Animal Vacuum.

Best Buy Black Friday - Deals Starting 11/24

On Wednesday, November 24, just one deal is expected to appear on Best Buy's website, offering $150 off select models of the MacBook Air. We've seen these models get discounted by as much as $200, so while Best Buy may be offering solid markdowns we may see steeper discounts during the week.

Best Buy Black Friday - Deals Starting 11/25

Similar to Wednesday, on Thanksgiving day shoppers can expect one major deal added to Best Buy's week-long event. The retailer will be taking $50 off the Beats Studio Buds, dropping the new earphones to just $99.99.

We're keeping track of all this season's best deals in our Black Friday 2021 Roundup. You can also find more of our daily deals and other offers in our Deals Roundup.

Spotify users are growing impatient with the music streaming giant over its lack of HomePod support, pushing several customers to the brink of canceling their subscriptions entirely and moving to alternative platforms, such as Apple Music.

More than a year ago, at the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced that it would be adding third-party music service support to ‌HomePod‌. A few months later, Apple highlighted some of the apps that would take advantage of the new feature, including Amazon Music, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. A notable exclusion from the list - Spotify.

Whether Spotify opted not to be part of the initial batch of third-party music providers with ‌‌HomePod‌‌ support or Apple didn’t ask remains unknown. Nonetheless, a feature request was posted to the Spotify Community forum a few weeks later, kindly requesting that Spotify add support for ‌HomePod‌.

At the time in June of 2020, and more recently, Spotify said it plans to implement AirPlay 2 support into its iOS app. While ‌AirPlay‌ 2 support would allow users to play their Spotify content through their ‌HomePod‌, it is not native ‌HomePod‌ support. Native ‌HomePod‌ support would allow users to use Siri to play Spotify content from their ‌HomePod‌ without opening the app and selecting the speaker manually.

Customers are not holding back their frustrations, with one user writing that Spotify is exhibiting "childish behavior," while another said, "this is a total joke - how can they still not be offering it… how many people have come here, seen this and then just canceled. Why does Spotify make it so hard to support them."

"This is absolutely pathetic Spotify," another user wrote. Users are poised to turn their frustrations into action, with many saying that they have activated ‌Apple Music‌'s three-month trial and will renew their subscription unless Spotify adopts ‌HomePod‌ support before the trial ends. "Month with no information about the integration...why should I pay for Spotify when other Services are more interested in integrations," another user wrote, with many others saying they've moved to ‌Apple Music‌ (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

How many comments are needed to bring attention to this? More than 100 pages? Being a software engineer myself, I understand that such integration shouldn't take THAT MUCH time. Come on, it's hard not to conclude that Spotify has intentionally decided not to implement it. They haven't even said a simple "yes, we're on it."

It doesn't seem like Spotify cares about their users considering the number of votes on this.

Spotify has labeled the idea a "Live Idea" but has not provided any updates on where it stands. Spotify spokespeople have also declined to respond to several emails by MacRumors over the last several months regarding ‌HomePod‌ support.

The reasoning behind Spotify's refusal to adopt ‌HomePod‌ support remains unknown. Spotify has in the past called Apple "anti-competitive," accusing the tech giant of making it harder for other services to compete with ‌Apple Music‌. However, when given a chance to join a level playing field with Apple's service, Spotify seems less interested.

Left Spotify, this was a dealbreaker for me - Nothing happened and they don't care about the consumer - waited for a year, but nothing happened. I got 6 months free subscription with my AirPods, so it was time to leave. It's Time to Play Fair Spotify, you can't complain about not being on the HomePod, and then when they let you in you don't even bother to support it.

While the ‌HomePod‌ remained a rather niche product at the time third-party support was announced, the product has slowly grown more mainstream thanks to the smaller $99 HomePod mini which just recently launched in new colors.

Apple is offering new customers a free three-month trial to ‌Apple Music‌, which does include native ‌HomePod‌ support. New ‌Apple Music‌ customers who own select AirPods and Beats model headphones can get six months of Apple Music for free. We'll update this article if Spotify provides new information concerning ‌HomePod‌ support.

Last week, Apple announced a new self-service repair program that will provide customers with access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals for completing their own repairs of select devices, starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups and later Macs with M1 chips. Apple said the program will be available starting early next year in the United States and expand to additional countries throughout 2022.

In an internal memo obtained by MacRumors, Apple provided a few more details about the program, including that repair manuals will be made available on the Apple Support website, confirming the location of where customers will be able to review this information prior to ordering parts for a self-service repair.

Apple's memo also said that its online parts store will be operated by an unspecified third party. While no official reason was provided, it would certainly be logistically easier for Apple to outsource shipping and receiving of parts to and from customers. A similar system is already in place for Apple Authorized Service Providers.

When announcing the program last week, Apple said self-service repairs are intended for "individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices," adding that the initial phase of the program will focus on common repairs, such as replacing an iPhone's display, battery, or camera.

Apple's self-service repair program announcement has received praise from supporters of the "Right to Repair" movement, but there are still some question marks. In its memo, Apple said more details will be shared as the program's launch approaches.

Apple recently announced that it will soon be opening a second retail store in the heart of Berlin. The store will be located on the popular Rosenthaler Strasse shopping street in Mitte, the historic center of Germany's capital city.

Apple has yet to share a specific opening date for the Rosenthaler Strasse store, which will accompany Apple's existing Kurfürstendamm store in Berlin.

Twitter account Storeteller has shared some photos of the Rosenthaler Strasse store, which is covered in a colorful facade ahead of its grand opening. Apple is also offering matching wallpapers for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac on its website.

Apple operates over 500 retail stores worldwide, including a newly relocated store at The Grove in Los Angeles and a new store in Istanbul, Turkey.

While Apple maintained its dominant share of smartwatch shipments in the third quarter of 2021, the company's shipments fell as Samsung made significant gains, according to Counterpoint Research.

Global smartwatch shipments in the third quarter of this year increased by 16 percent overall compared to the same time in 2020, but Apple Watch shipments declined by 10 percent. The drop may be explained by the Apple Watch Series 7 shipping later than usual due to delays, pushing sales of the latest model into the fourth quarter. Customers may also have been reluctant to buy the Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 6 in the third quarter with the expectation of new models arriving soon, suppressing Apple's shipments further.

Meanwhile, Samsung saw its highest number of quarterly smartwatch shipments to date, reclaiming its position as the second biggest smartwatch brand from Huawei. Counterpoint credits the launch of the Galaxy Watch 4 series, Wear OS's expanding app ecosystem, a broader range of models, and well-received features for the company's significantly increased shipments.

Wear OS also made comparatively large gains in terms of operating system market share. watchOS's presence continues to decline with a share of just 22 percent, sustaining a progressive decline since a peak market share of 40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Data for the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, showing shipments of the Apple Watch Series 7, are likely to give a more accurate presentation of Samsung's growth in the smartwatch market.

Following in the wake of an AirPods Max deal earlier today, Amazon is now taking $24 off Apple's brand new AirPods 3. The wireless headphones are available for $154.99, down from $179.00. You'll see this price once you add the item to your cart and an automatic coupon is applied.

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The AirPods 3 are the newest version of Apple's AirPods lineup, and they feature spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, adaptive EQ, a new design, sweat and water resistance, and up to six hours of listening time on one charge. The included MagSafe Charging Case also provides up to 30 hours of listening time.

We're keeping track of all this season's best deals in our Black Friday 2021 Roundup. You can also find more of our daily deals and other offers in our Deals Roundup.