MacRumors

Starting later this week, Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers will be able to offer customers an iPhone XR as a loaner device during lengthier repairs in the U.S. and other regions, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors.

iPhone XR will be available as a loaner starting November 4, which will be an upgrade over the iPhone 8 that Apple currently offers as a loaner. As a one year newer device than the iPhone 8, the iPhone XR has more modern features like Face ID and Dual SIM support, and the iPhone XR also has a newer A12 Bionic chip for faster performance.

If an Apple Store determines that a customer's iPhone must be mailed off to an Apple repair center to be serviced, the customer would be eligible to receive an iPhone XR for free until their regular iPhone is ready for pickup.

Apple's iPhone Loan Agreement provides more details, including that customers must return the loaner iPhone no more than 14 days after the date that Apple notifies them that their repaired iPhone is ready for pickup.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will be one of the speakers at DealBook, an online summit from The New York Times that's hosted by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Sorkin announced today.

Cook is set to appear on Tuesday, November 9 at 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and according to the site's description, he will speak on the future of the internet, the next tech innovations, and more.

What is the future of the internet? What innovations will make the next leap possible? What battles should we be willing to fight? The leader of the iconic tech giant shares his vision.

The event will also feature General Motors CEO Mary Barry, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, WeWork co-founderAdam Neumann, actor Dax Shepard, and more.

Join us for two extraordinary days, celebrating the 20th anniversary of DealBook. We're bringing together some of the most influential minds in business, policy and culture to take stock of a world in the midst of rapid reinvention, grappling with the ripples of Covid and rewriting the rules in real time.

Registration for the event is free and can be done on the DealBook website.

Apple is offering discounts on several of its Beats headphones options in the United States, dropping prices from $20 to $50 depending on the product. The Beats Flex, Apple's most affordable Beats headphones, are available for $50 at the current time, a discount of $20 off of the regular $70 price.

Beats Flex are earbuds with a wire between them, and they come in blue, black, yellow, and gray. Apple first introduced Beats Flex in October 2020 with a $50 price point, but prices went up in September due to rising component costs. Beats Flex are now back at their original pre-increase price.

Apple has also dropped the price of the Beats Studio Buds and the Powerbeats Pro. Beats Studio Buds are available for $130, a $20 discount off of the original $150 price.

Apple introduced Beats Studio Buds in June 2021, and they were the first Beats-branded wire-free earbuds designed to compete directly with the AirPods. Apple today unveiled the Beats Fit Pro, its second-generation totally wire-free earbuds with ANC, and those earbuds sell for $200 and are not discounted at the current time.

The biggest discount is available on the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌, Apple's wire-free earbuds with earhook to keep them in place. The Powerbeats Pro are available for $200, a $50 discount off of the regular $250 price.

Apple's Beats discounts are listed as "special" deals that will be available for a limited amount of time. Apple today also kicked off its holiday shopping season with an extended return policy. All purchases made from November 1, 2021 to December 25, 2021 can be returned to Apple through January 8, 2022.

Amazon is also price matching Apple on all of the Beats discounts. The Beats Flex are available from Amazon for $50, and the Beats Studio Buds are available for $130. Amazon is offering even lower prices on the Powerbeats Pro, with the black, ivory, red, and navy shades available for $150.

Apple seems to have no plans to replace the iPhone's Lightning port with a USB-C port to bring it in line with Macs and iPads, but robotics student Ken Pillonel spent months hacking an ‌iPhone‌ to add a USB-C port.

In early October, Pillonel shared a video demonstrating the "world's first ‌iPhone‌ with a USB Type-C port," and now he's shared a second video explaining how he pulled it off.

Pillonel explains how he built a proof of concept and the steps that he went through to design a functional USB-C port that actually fit inside the ‌iPhone‌. It's a technical video, but it does walk through all the steps for those who are interested and for those who might want to attempt their own modification.

The modded ‌iPhone‌ X with a USB-C port is being auctioned off on eBay, with Pillonel guaranteeing a functional phone on arrival. Buyers are forbidden from updating or erasing the ‌iPhone‌, opening it up, or using it as a daily phone. So far, the bidding has exceeded $800.

Some users who recently upgraded to macOS Monterey are experiencing a bug known as a "memory leak," a scenario in which a specific macOS process or application is bugged out and stays running for prolonged periods in the background, consuming abnormally high amounts of memory or RAM.

It's difficult to pinpoint precisely what models of Mac computers are affected; however, the range is relatively wide, including the newly released 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Reports on Twitter, Reddit, the MacRumors Forums, and the Apple Support Communities consist of users reporting their Mac warning that the system has "run out of application memory" or that specific applications are consuming ridiculously high amounts of RAM in Activity Monitor.

Some reports call out the macOS Control Center as the main culprit, with YouTuber Gregory McFadden sharing a screenshot of Control Center using up to 20GB of RAM on their 64GB M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro. Other users are also sharing similar experiences on the MacRumors Forums and Reddit.

Another cluster of related reports includes Mozilla Firefox. As shown in the tweets below, Firefox for some users is taking up incredibly high amounts of memory, as high as 80GB for one user.

Excluding Firefox and Control Center related reports, more widespread reporting from users across different platforms suggest the more common bug is the pop-up "Your system has run out of application memory."

The pop-up is seemingly being shown to users despite minimal use of their Macs with considerable amounts of memory to spare. In some instances, some users have suggested that restarting the Mac helps, while others say the pop-up reappears shortly after. A user on the Apple Support Communities noted their experience:

Since downloading Monterey I receive repeated messages "your system has run out of application memory". This is only occurred since downloading Monterey. When examining activity monitor pages seems to be the main culprit using up 18 GB and more! Is this evidence of a memory leak for Pages with Monterey os? Restart makes no difference.

Mac users on the MacRumors Forums (1, 2, 3, 4), the Apple Support Communities (1, 2), and Reddit, are noting similar experiences. Just earlier today, we reported on user reports that the macOS Monterey update is bricking some older Mac computers. Given that and issues surrounding memory usage for some users, it may be best for users still on macOS Big Sur to wait until the second version of macOS Monterey before upgrading.

Apple today released tvOS 15.1.1, a minor update to the tvOS operating system that first launched in September 2021. The tvOS 15.1.1 update comes one week after the launch of tvOS 15.1, software that brought SharePlay support to the Apple TV.

tvOS 15.1.1 can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌ by going to System > Software Update. ‌‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌‌ owners who have automatic software updates enabled will be upgraded to tvOS 15.1.1 automatically.

Apple's tvOS updates are typically minor in scale, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes, performance updates, and small tweaks rather than major outward-facing changes. According to Apple's tvOS support document, today's update brings the TV app, Siri, and the App Store to South Korea as the ‌Apple TV‌ recently launched in the country.

Apple today announced that its extended return policy is now in effect for the holiday shopping season. The policy applies to most products that Apple sells, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod mini, and more.

In the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, and select other countries, most items purchased between November 1, 2021 and December 25, 2021 may be returned through January 8, 2022:

Items purchased at the Apple Online Store that are received between November 1, 2021 and December 25, 2021, may be returned through January 8, 2022. Please note that all other terms and conditions provided in the Apple Online Store Sales and Refunds Policy are still applicable with respect to such items purchased. All purchases made after December 25, 2021 are subject to the Standard Return Policy.

In some countries like Italy and Spain, most items purchased between November 1, 2021 and December 25, 2021 may be returned through January 20, 2022.

More details are available on Apple's returns and refunds page.

Following its earnings report last week, Apple said supply constraints would continue to affect availability of its products through the holiday shopping season, so we recommend shopping for gifts early to ensure timely delivery.

(Thanks, Jeff!)

Following their appearance in iOS 15.1 and some celebrity leaks, Apple's Beats brand today is officially announcing Beats Fit Pro, fitness-focused wireless earbuds that include flexible wingtips to help them fit securely in the ear.

The $200 Beats Fit Pro also include all of the features you'd expect from higher-end Apple earbuds, such as silicone tips in three sizes, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency audio modes, Adaptive EQ, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and an H1 chip for "Hey Siri" and Find My support as well one-touch pairing on iOS, automatic switching among devices on the same iCloud account, and audio sharing.

We've been using the new Beats Fit Pro for close to a week, and the best description we can come up with for them is a fitness-focused version of the AirPods Pro. They have very similar feature sets but almost completely different designs, with the Beats Fit Pro lacking the stems seen on all AirPods models and going with a low-profile in-ear look with wingtips for stability.

Three different sizes of silicone ear tips are also included to help find the best fit for your ear canal, with an Ear Tip Fit Test available in Bluetooth settings to assess whether your selected tips are providing a good seal.

On the fitness side, Beats says it measured thousands of ears to be able to digitally model the soft wingtips, which indeed are quite flexible yet provide good stability to keep the Beats Fit Pro secure in the ear. Getting an earbud in place requires just a slight twist after inserting it into your ear, hooking the wingtip in place in your upper ear. The Beats Fit Pro also have an IPX4 rating, which means they are sweat- and water-resistant so you won't need to worry about them while working out.

Setup is super simple thanks to the H1 chip, so all you have to do is bring the Beats Fit Pro close to your device and open the case, at which point you'll see a series of prompts to get your earphones paired to your device and walk you through the basic functions.

As for sound quality, Beats says it has developed an all-new transducer for robust sound, along with a new vent system to minimize distortion in the treble range and eliminate discomfort. In our testing, we found very good quality on par with the ‌AirPods Pro‌, though a bit heavier in the low end, which isn't much of a surprise for a Beats product.

The Beats Fit Pro include dual beamforming microphones in each earbud, as well as an internal microphone and voice accelerometer, all of which work together to optimize sound quality both for audio playing in your ears and for picking up your voice.

With no stems, the Beats Fit Pro don't feature squeezable force sensors for onboard controls as on the ‌AirPods Pro‌ and third-generation AirPods. Instead, the outer surface of each earbud features a Beats "b" button that supports multiple functions, just like the Beats Studio Buds and similar to the Powerbeats Pro.

A single press of the "b" button on either side will play or pause audio or answer or hang up a phone call. A double press skips to the next audio track, while a triple press skips backward. By default, pressing and holding the button for a second rotates through the various listening modes.

The press and hold gesture for each earbud can be configured independently through the Beats Fit Pro listing in your Bluetooth settings, with the ability to select which of the three listening modes (ANC, Transparency, and standard with Adaptive EQ) are included as options as you cycle through, or to set one side to activate ‌Siri‌ rather than change listening modes, for example. Or, you can use the press and hold gesture for onboard volume control, selecting one side for raising the volume and the other for lowering it.

Skin detect sensors located in the earbuds mean that Beats Fit Pro can tell when they are in your ears and automatically play or pause when you insert them or remove them from your ears. With the specific ability to detect skin contact, you also won't have issues with the earbuds being tricked into activating playback when tossed into a bag, for example.

You can also control listening modes in Control Center on your iOS device by long pressing on the volume control to bring up additional options. You can also turn Spatial/Spatialize Audio on or off, and choose between fixed or head tracking when you have the surround audio experiences turned on.

Battery life is rated at up to six hours with ANC or Transparency turned on, and that can be pushed to seven hours with those functions turned off. Our informal testing found results consistent with those stated benchmarks. The carrying case charges over USB-C (no wireless charging, unfortunately) and provides up to 21 additional hours of battery life with ANC/Transparency. A Fast Fuel charging feature delivers an hour of playback after just five minutes in the case, and they can charge to full in about an hour and a half.

The charging case for the Beats Fit Pro is significantly larger than that for the AirPods or ‌AirPods Pro‌, though not nearly as big as for the Powerbeats Pro. The earbuds snap into their slots in the charging case magnetically and remain firmly in place even with a fair amount of shaking of an open case.

The Beats Fit Pro do support Android with the dedicated Beats companion app for the platform supporting one-touch pairing, a guided fit test, and the ability to toggle listening modes and customize the "b" button, but you won't get the full suite of Apple-specific features enabled by the H1 chip.

The Beats Fit Pro are priced at $199.99 and are available in four colors: Stone Purple, Sage Gray, White, and Black. They are available to order in the United States starting today with shipments beginning November 5. They will launch in China in early December, with additional countries to follow in 2022.

Today you can shop all-time low prices on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which launched with the M1 chip in late 2020. Both sale prices listed below will be reflected at the checkout screen after you add each notebook to your cart, thanks to an automatic coupon.

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.

Starting with the 256GB 13-inch MacBook Pro, this model is on sale for $1,099.99, down from $1,299.00. Only Space Gray is available at this price, and it's in stock and ready to ship from Amazon today.

Next, Amazon has the 512GB 13-inch MacBook Pro for $1,249.99, down from $1,499.00. This is a new lowest ever price on this model, but it does have a slightly delayed shipping estimate. If you order today, Amazon notes that you should see the MacBook Pro ship out within five days.

Today's deals on Amazon are solid offers across the board on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and perfect for anyone who wants to save a lot of money, particularly when comparing these models with the newest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Prices on those models currently start at $1,949.99 for a discounted 14-inch MacBook Pro, and because they're new we aren't expecting steep deals anytime soon.

You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you're shopping for a new Apple notebook.

Apple today announced that the new HomePod mini colors, including yellow, orange, and blue, are now available to order on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The new colors are also available for same-day pickup at select Apple Store locations in the United States and Canada.

The new HomePod mini colors will also be available to order in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan starting at 6 p.m. Pacific Time today, and availability will expand to Australia, Austria, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and the UK later this month — there's no specific release date for those countries yet.

The first real-world photos and videos of the new HomePod mini colors were shared earlier today. The new yellow, orange, and blue models all have color-matched woven power cables and volume icons, but there's still a plain old white Apple sticker in the box, along with a 20W USB-C power adapter.

The new HomePod mini color options are still first-generation models and pricing remains at $99 in the United States.

Today we're tracking a few early Black Friday deals on Amazon, including low prices on the new AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case, 11-inch iPad Pro, and 21.5-inch iMac. If you're starting to prep for the shopping event, check out our Black Friday 2021 roundup, which we've begun updating with early deals news.

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.

Starting with the AirPods Pro, you can get the model with the MagSafe Charging Case for $189.99, down from $249.00. This is now matching the price of the regular AirPods Pro, and it's a new all-time low price on this model.

Secondly, Amazon has the 256GB Wi-Fi 11-inch iPad Pro for $799.99, down from $899.00. This is a match of the previous record low price, and it's only available on Amazon as of writing.

There are a few other iPad Pro deals on Amazon today. You can get the 512GB Wi-Fi 11-inch tablet for $949.99 ($149 off), and the 128GB Wi-Fi 12.9-inch tablet for $999.00 ($100 off). Both of these sales are all-time low prices.

Lastly, the 21.5-inch iMac (2.3GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) is down to $879.00 on Amazon, from $1,099.00. This is a new record low price on this 2020 model of the iMac, and it's only available in Amazon's early Black Friday sale. Apple just discontinued this model of the 21.5-inch iMac.

There are many more deals to shop in Amazon's early Black Friday sale, including Kindle tablets, Fitbits, Fire TV devices, Amazon Basics accessories, video games, and more. Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

At its "Unleashed" event last month, Apple announced that the HomePod mini would be available in three new colors starting in November, including yellow, orange, and blue.

The first real-world photos and videos of the new HomePod mini colors were shared today, providing a closer look at the yellow, orange, and blue models, which all have color-matched woven power cables and volume icons. There's still a plain old white Apple sticker in the box along with a 20W USB-C power adapter.

The new HomePod mini colors are now available to order on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and they are also available for same-day pickup at select Apple Store locations in the United States and Canada.

Availability in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan will begin at 6 p.m. Pacific Time today, and the new colors will launch in Australia, Austria, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and the UK later this month — there's no specific release date for the latter group of countries yet.

Beyond the new colors, there are no other hardware changes to the HomePod mini, and these remain first-generation models. Pricing remains at $99 for the new colors, and the existing space gray and white color options continue to be available.

Apple is planning a new feature for the iPhone and Apple Watch that would enable the devices to detect if you are involved in a car crash and automatically dial 911 for emergency services, according to The Wall Street Journal's Rolfe Winkler.

Apple plans to launch the "crash detection" feature in 2022, the report claims, citing company documents and people familiar with the matter.

The feature would use iPhone and Apple Watch sensors like the accelerometer to "detect car accidents as they occur" in part by measuring a sudden spike in gravitational force, more commonly known as g-force, on impact.

The report claims that Apple has been testing the feature in the past year by collecting data shared anonymously by iPhone and Apple Watch users, and the devices have apparently already detected more than 10 million suspected vehicle impacts. As with any feature in testing, the report cautions that Apple could choose not to release it.

From the report:

Apple products have already detected more than 10 million suspected vehicle impacts, of which more than 50,000 included a call to 911.

Apple has been using the 911 call data to improve the accuracy of its crash-detection algorithm, since an emergency call associated with a suspected impact gives Apple more confidence that it is indeed a car crash, according to the documents.

The feature sounds similar to Fall Detection on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer, which can detect if the wearer has experienced a hard fall and automatically call emergency services unless they indicate that they are okay.

Google already offers a car crash detection feature on some recent Pixel smartphone models.

As a result of its privacy features, Apple has cost social media companies including Meta, formerly known as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube, nearly $10 billion in revenue in the second half of 2021, according to an investigation by the Financial Times.

The Financial Times found that most users have opted out of tracking using Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework, a requirement that forces developers to ask users if they wish to be tracked across other apps and websites. Data in the report from Lotame, a third-party company, suggests that Meta, YouTube, Twitter, and Snap lost $9.85 billion in revenue in the third and fourth quarters of 2021, with Snapchat and Facebook being the most impacted.

Lotame, an advertising technology company whose clients include The Weather Company and McClatchy, estimated that the four tech platforms lost 12 percent of revenue in the third and fourth quarters, or $9.85bn. Snap fared the worst as a percentage of its business because of its focus on smartphones, while Facebook lost the most in absolute terms because of its size.

ATT has caused social media giants who rely heavily on their ad models, such as Meta, to be remarkably worried about the repercussions of giving users a choice on whether they wish to be tracked or not.

Meta, in particular, has used the narrative that ATT will hurt small businesses that run targeted ads for potential customers. If users tap "Ask App Not to Track" when shown the prompt on initial app launch on newer versions of iOS and iPadOS, that app has considerably fewer data points to use to show them "personalized ads."

Last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg blamed Apple's privacy changes for Meta's lackluster performance this year. Other Meta executives also pointed the finger towards the Cupertino tech giant, claiming that its business would have done better if not for Apple's privacy rules.

Meta’s revenue was impacted by 13.1% percent due to ATT, while Twitter was only impacted by 7.4%. Twitter told the Financial Times that it was less impacted because its "ads rely more on context and branding than on tracking consumers' mobile habits."

Apple plans to release its first mixed reality headset with Wi-Fi 6E support in 2022, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a note sent out to investors.

Apple is rumored to be working on at least two AR projects that include an augmented reality headset set to be released in late 2022, followed by a sleeker pair of augmented reality glasses coming at a later date.

According to Kuo, Apple's first head-mounted device and similar competing headsets will adopt faster Wi-Fi 6E support to meet the needs of the high-end, immersive experience they deliver.

The adoption of the latest Wi-Fi specification is a basic requirement for head-mounted displays (HMDs) to improve the wireless experience. New HMDs from Meta, Apple, and Sony will all adopt Wi-Fi 6/6E in 2022.

[...]

We forecast Meta, Apple, and Sony to be the most influential brands in the metaverse device market in 2022, with Meta, Apple, and Sony launching new HMDs in 2H22, 4Q22, and 2Q22, respectively.

Kuo breaks down the logic of his expectation by drawing attention to this year's launch of the Oculus Air Link, a wireless way to play VR games on the Oculus Quest 2, which was launched by Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook.

"Wi-Fi 6 is significantly better than Wi-Fi 5 in transmission speed and power consumption, so Meta's latest Oculus Quest 2 supports Wi-Fi 6," explains Kuo. "Wi-Fi 6 helps Oculus Air Link operate more stably and allows for a display refresh rate of up to 120Hz (compared to 72Hz or 90Hz for Wi-Fi 5)."

A previous report by The Information claimed Apple's first AR/VR headset will need to be wirelessly tethered to an iPhone or another Apple device to unlock full functionality. Some reports suggested this year's iPhone 13 series would feature Wi-Fi 6E, but the rumor never panned out. If both the report from The Information and Kuo's latest headset prediction are accurate, Apple's 2022 iPhone will presumably feature Wi-Fi 6E support.

Wi-Fi 6E offers the features and capabilities of Wi-Fi 6, including higher performance, lower latency, and faster data rates, extended into the 6 GHz band. The additional spectrum provides more airspace beyond existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, resulting in increased bandwidth and less interference for devices that support Wi-Fi 6E.

In terms of the type of software that the headset will be designed to run, Apple is believed to be focusing on gaming, streaming video content, and video conferencing, with a special emphasis on gaming. Writing in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says Apple is "shooting for" a headset that can handle high-quality VR games:

Apple's first headset will be of the mixed reality variety. That means it will have both AR and VR capabilities. While gaming can be done in both environments, virtual reality is what you want for seriously high-performance games with top-tier graphics. For Apple's first headset, that's what it's shooting for: a mixed reality experience that can handle games in high-quality virtual reality with snappy chips and high-end displays.

Kuo recently claimed mass production of Apple's headset could be delayed until the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, but today's report suggests it could still launch in the same quarter. This AR/VR headset that's in development is separate from a set of augmented reality smart glasses that are in the works. The sleeker, smaller smart glasses will follow the headset and are expected to launch in 2023. More details are available in our AR/VR roundup.

macOS Monterey, released last week as the latest version of macOS, is bricking older Mac computers, rendering them unusable and unable to even turn on, according to a number of reports from users across social media and online forums.

If this sounds oddly familiar, it may be because last year, with the launch of macOS Big Sur, similar reports surfaced about that update bricking older MacBook Pro models. Less than a year later, similar issues are now seemingly taking place once again.

At least ten separate posts (1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) on Apple Support Communities contain users complaining that as they were attempting to update their Mac to macOS Monterey, the Mac went completely black and they're unable to turn it on. One post in specific includes several comments from users also reporting similar issues. Reports on Twitter are also plentiful.

A comment on a post on Reddit includes a user chronicling their experience, saying that the macOS Monterey update bricked their 2017 iMac, declaring that "it's just dead."

Same thing happened to my 2017 iMac. Said it needed to restart. Never restarted. Waited a couple hours and tried to power cycle it. Reset pram ect. Nothing seems to be working it's just dead. Took a couple tries to get it installed on my 2015 Mac Air. That seems to be running but I'm at a loss as to what to do with the imac. I unplugged it and headed to work. Hoping to find some solutions tonight to get this resolved in the am.

One possible solution floated on Apple Support Communities is that users may need to revive or restore their Mac's firmware. "In very rare circumstances, such as a power failure during a macOS update or upgrade, a Mac may become unresponsive and so the firmware must be revived or restored," Apple says in a support document.

All user reports suggest the issue is impacting older MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and ‌iMac‌ models. More recent computers such as Apple silicon-based Macs are not seemingly having problems, at least according to the lack of user reports suggesting so.

While the issue with macOS Monterey bricking Mac computers is not as widespread as last year with macOS Big Sur, enough users are reporting that the update is causing problems to warrant some concern. It's possible that following this article, even more users will come forward and share their experience with macOS Monterey causing issues on their Macs.

Apple is currently testing macOS 12.1, but that isn't expected to be released for at least several more weeks. macOS Monterey is still in its first version, and it's typically a safe bet to wait until several updates are released before updating to the latest version from a previous generation. It's possible a smaller dot-update could be released to address bugs and security fixes.

Anker's audio brand Soundcore last month announced the Soundcore Frames, modular Bluetooth glasses frames that offer open-ear audio and interchangeable front frames for a variety of looks. The Soundcore Frames start at $200 for a standard kit and begin shipping today, but I've been trying them for the past couple of weeks and have come away impressed with their looks, versatility, and performance.

The Soundcore Frames consist of a pair of temple pieces that support the glasses and include all of the electronics, paired with a choice of 10 frame options in various shapes, sizes, and styles.

Anker sent me a basic kit with a Tour Style frame, but also included Harbor Style, Landmark Style in clear, black, and tortoise shell, Festival Style, Wander Style, Marina Style, and Promenade Style. There is also a Cafe Style option available that I did not receive for testing.

Swapping between front frames is very simple, as all you have to do is pull the temple pieces out of the slots on front frame and insert them into your new frame. It does require a bit of force to remove them, but that's a good thing to ensure they stay together during use, and they snap in easily.

In addition to the temple pieces and a front frame, the standard Soundcore Frames kit also comes with a special USB-A charging cable to connect to the glasses and a collapsible case that helps protect the glasses when not in use.

Setup and Tap/Swipe Controls

Setting up the Soundcore Frames is super simple, requiring only that they be paired to your device through the standard Bluetooth settings, and then the Soundcore app can be used to customize controls, sound profile, and more. The app also manages firmware updates for the glasses themselves.

The Frames include both touch and voice controls, and the two sides of the glasses can be configured for different functions. With double-tap and forward/backward swipe gestures, a total of six functions can be configured.

I set mine up so that the right temple controls play/pause with a double-tap and track skip forward and backward with swipes, while the left temple activates Siri with a double-tap and volume up and down with swipes.

The gestures took a little bit of getting used to, but once I got the hang of them, they worked well. I found that I was initially double-tapping too quickly, and putting a bit more of a pause between the taps yielded more consistent results. Similarly, I needed to make sure there was a bit of a pause between swipes, such as if I was trying to raise the volume by several levels at once.

Voice Controls

In addition to the swipe controls, the Soundcore Frames also support voice commands. Once the feature is turned on, no special wake word is required, with the Frames responding to a handful of specific phrases including "stop/resume playing," "next/previous song," "volume up/down," and "answer/reject the call". English and Chinese are currently supported, with additional languages coming in the future.

Voice control worked quite well in my testing, consistently picking up my commands and immediately responding with only a few misses.

As with many other earphones, the Soundcore Frames support the native voice assistant on your connected device, so in the case of Apple's ecosystem, that means you can interact with ‌Siri‌ through the microphone and speakers in the Soundcore Frames. I was able to place phone calls, check the time, and more by simply double-tapping on the left side and making my requests to ‌Siri‌.

Design and Fit

The temple pieces are definitely chunky in order to hold all of the electronics, but I didn't find the size overly distracting from the look or particularly uncomfortable to wear. Their black design minimizes their obtrusiveness, although there is some small Soundcore branding on each side.

I'm normally a glasses wearer with occasional contacts usage, and the Soundcore Frames are unsurprisingly heavier than my regular glasses. With most of the weight being toward the back over the ears, I found the Soundcore Frames to still be fairly comfortable, although I did feel a bit of pressure from the nose pads after several hours.

Audio Quality

I found the audio quality to be perfectly acceptable, but you're certainly not going to be getting audiophile quality out of these. That's to be expected considering these are an open-ear design where the sound comes from small speakers embedded in the temple pieces, and you're more likely to be using these when you're out and about than for serious music listening.

There are actually two speakers on each side, a primary one located just in front of your ear and a secondary one behind the ear to assist with stereo.

With the open-ear system, people around you will definitely be able to hear your audio unless you have the volume set very low, so that's something to be aware of. There is a privacy mode available in the Soundcore app that helps minimize sound leakage in quiet environments. Anker says it turns down the rear speakers on each side while maintaining audio quality, and in my experience, it sounded about the same as just reducing the overall volume level.

The Frames offered good stereo separation in my experience, and there's also an OpenSurround mode with seven levels that offers a "concert-like experience" that's more immersive than standard stereo and works pretty well, although it feels like you lose some bass as it has more of an airy sound.

The Soundcore app allows you to configure equalizer settings for various sound profiles, including a handful of presets and the ability to save custom configurations. I found the Bass Booster preset to be my favorite as it helps compensate a bit for the shortcomings of the tiny speakers.

While the Soundcore Frames are handy for listening to music, where I found their utility particularly noteworthy was when it came to phone calls. Being able to chat on the phone while leaving my phone in my pocket and without having anything in my ears is super convenient both around the house and while out and about. Phone audio is as crisp and clear on my end as it is directly through the phone, and listeners on the other end of the line had no problem hearing my voice in our testing.

Bluetooth range has proven to be solid for me, as I was able to leave my phone in my office and move to a different floor at the opposite end of my house before I lost the audio connection.

Charging

Charging the Soundcore Frames is incredibly simple, with the custom USB-A cable included in the box. The cable has two inline magnetic charging units that snap onto contacts on each temple piece when the glasses are folded. LEDs on the charging units shine green while the frames are charging and turn off once charging is completed.

As long as your frames have a charge and you've already paired them to your device, they automatically power on and connect to your device when you put them on your face. Thanks to proximity sensors, they can automatically play and pause audio when you put them on and take them off, and once you take them off, the frames will completely power down after two minutes.

Battery Life

Anker says the Soundcore Frames offer up to 5.5 hours of audio playback per charge, with a fast fuel feature delivering 1.5 hours of battery life after just 10 minutes of charging. My usage was roughly in line with Anker's stated figures, so they offered plenty of battery life for my daily activities.

Lens Options

The Soundcore Frames come in both clear blue-light filtering (Cafe and Promenade styles) and sunglasses options, with most of the sunglasses options being polarized. If you're a prescription glasses wearer, you can take the frames to your optometrist to have prescription lenses custom made for your desired frame style, although that obviously adds to the overall expense.

The Soundcore app and website include a virtual try-on experience using your device's camera, letting you see how the different frame options will look on you.

Wrap-up and How to Buy

Even after a week or so of testing, my biggest question mark with the Soundcore Frames remains whether the use case for the audio/phone capabilities sufficiently overlaps with the use case for glasses. As someone who primarily wears glasses, I'm not inclined to spend the money to get prescription lenses in these and wear them as my full-time glasses. I don't necessarily want iPhone-connected glasses on at all times and I don't want to be swapping between glasses throughout the day.

So that limits me to the times I'm wearing contacts, which obviously applies more broadly for people who don't wear glasses at all. Around the house and other indoor settings, perhaps using blue-light filtering lenses as computer glasses might be handy so I can stay connected for music and phone calls both at my desk and while wandering around the house without needing to wear earphones, so that's something I'll have to explore a bit more.

But based on Anker's promotional materials, the intended primary use case is as sunglasses. If I'm outside all day on a bright day, I can certainly see these being handy. But if it's more marginally sunny or I'm going in and out of buildings, the need to take my sunglasses on and off may frequently not match up with the times I want or need the audio and phone functionality. For that reason, separate earphones and standard sunglasses are a more useful combination for me than putting both functions in one product.

Still, I can't deny that it feels cool to be able to just wander around and listen to music and talk on the phone with nothing in my hands or ears. So what I can recommend is to carefully consider the situations where you might be able to use the Soundcore Frames, and if they seem reasonable to you, you might want to give these a shot.

They're not the only option for audio sunglasses on the market, as seen in our previous hands-on with Bose's Frames Tenor sunglasses, but I do like the interchangeable frames on Soundcore's version so you can have a more individualized look and even change your look depending on your mood or activities.

I think the overall product is a solid one that's well-executed, but you'll need to decide for yourself whether it's something you'll get enough use out of to make a purchase worthwhile.

The Soundcore Frames are launching today via the Soundcore website and Best Buy, with the basic kit including one frame style of your choice priced at $199.99 and additional front frames available for $49.99 each.

Note: Anker provided MacRumors with Soundcore Frames and additional front frames for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker/Soundcore and Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple has quietly discontinued the Intel-based 21.5-inch iMac, which had remained available as a low-end configuration suitable for educational institutions. This leaves customers with the 24-inch and 27-inch ‌iMac‌ models to choose from.

A single 21.5-inch ‌iMac‌ configuration remained part of the iMac lineup following Apple's "Unleashed" event last week, but Apple has confirmed it is being discontinued and will no longer be sold through its online store or in Apple retail stores. The 21.5-inch model will remain available through third-party providers while supplies last.

The discontinued 21.5-inch ‌iMac‌ configuration included a 2.3GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 for $1,099.

The ‌iMac‌ lineup now starts with the new 24-inch model released in April of this year, with key features including Apple's M1 chip and an updated design available in several colors. The 24-inch ‌iMac‌ starts at $1,299. For customers wanting an even larger ‌iMac‌, the 27-inch ‌iMac‌ remains in the lineup.

Apple stopped selling several higher-end 21.5-inch ‌iMac‌ configurations after the 24-inch model launched and now the 21.5-inch model has been discontinued entirely. Apple continues to sell some refurbished 21.5-inch iMac models through its online store.

(Thanks, Mark!)