In a letter sent to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Lina Khan today, four U.S. legislators said the FTC should "investigate Apple and Google's role in transforming online advertising into an intense system of surveillance," according to The Wall Street Journal.
Apple and Google "knowingly facilitated harmful practices by building advertising-specific tracking IDs into their mobile operating systems," said the letter, which was signed by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), as well as U.S. Representative Sara Jacobs (D-California).
Since the release of iOS 14.5 in April 2021, Apple has required apps to ask for permission before tracking a user's activity across other companies' apps and websites, as part of a feature named App Tracking Transparency. If a user selects the "Ask App Not to Track" option, the app is unable to access the device's Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). On earlier iOS versions, however, access to the IDFA was enabled by default.
"Until recently, however, Apple enabled this tracking ID by default and required consumers to dig through confusing phone settings to turn it off," the letter reportedly said, adding that "these identifiers have fueled the unregulated data broker market."
Given that Apple already implemented App Tracking Transparency last year, it is unclear if any potential FTC investigation would result in any further changes to the company's current policies. The Wall Street Journal said representatives for the FTC, Apple, and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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 today launched its annual "Back to School" promotion for college/university students in the United States and Canada. This year's promotion offers a free Apple gift card with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad, rather than free AirPods like last year. Apple is also offering students 20% off AppleCare+ plans during the promotion.
Apple is offering a $150 gift card with the purchase of any new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or iMac model, and a $100 gift card with the purchase of any new iPad Pro or iPad Air model, with full terms and conditions outlined on Apple's website. The gift cards can be used towards the purchase of Apple products, accessories, App Store apps, subscriptions to services like Apple Music, iCloud+ storage, and more.
The free gift card is in addition to Apple's standard educational discounts, with students able to save around $50 to $100 off a Mac or iPad.
The list of eligible devices includes the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 chip that became available to purchase at Apple Stores starting today, and the new MacBook Air with the M2 chip will also be eligible when it launches next month.
The offer is available through Apple's online education store or at Apple retail store locations for students attending or accepted to a higher-education institution, faculty and staff of higher-education institutions, parents purchasing on behalf of an eligible student, employees of a K-12 institution, and select others.
The promotion ends on September 26 in the United States and Canada.
Update: Apple's Back to School promotion has also gone live in some Asian countries such as India, Singapore, and Thailand, with Apple offering free second-generation AirPods with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad.
Amazon today further discounted the 45mm Cellular Apple Watch Series 7, now available for $403.00, down from $529.00. Besides this model, you can also save on many other versions of the Apple Watch Series 7 along with the Apple Watch SE, all of which we've collected below.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
For the 45mm Cellular Apple Watch Series 7, the deal is only available in the Blue Aluminum Case with Abyss Blue Sport Band, and only Amazon has this price. At $126 off, this is a new all-time low price for the 45mm Cellular version of the Apple Watch Series 7, beating the previous low by about $7.
Along with this Apple Watch Series 7 deal, you can also get a new record low deal on the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE, priced at $209.00, down from $309.00. This model does have a delayed shipping estimate, due to this all-time low sale, and most customers in the United States can expect a delivery date around July 10.
In regards to other sales, you can currently get the 41mm GPS Apple Watch Series 7 for $329.00 and the 45mm GPS model for $359.00, and both sales represent $70 off original prices. Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.
The two standard configurations of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 chip are available for walk-in purchase or same-day pickup at select Apple Stores around the world starting today. The first online orders are also beginning to arrive to customers.
Apple began accepting orders for the new 13-inch MacBook Pro last Friday, with some custom configurations with upgraded specs already facing August delivery estimates.
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro features the same design as the previous model, including the Touch Bar. The only notable change is the addition of the M2 chip with an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. Apple said the M2 chip has up to an 18% faster CPU, up to a 35% faster GPU, and up to a 40% faster Neural Engine compared to the M1 chip.
With the M2 chip, the 13-inch MacBook Pro can be configured with up to 24GB of unified memory, compared to a max of 16GB for the M1 chip. In line with the previous model, the notebook also supports up to 2TB of SSD storage.
Pricing for the 13-inch MacBook Pro continues to start at $1,299 in the United States, with silver and space gray color options available.
Apple has yet to announce an order date for the new MacBook Air with the M2 chip.
Pricing for the Apple Music Student Plan has increased in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
The price changes, first spotted by Michael Burkhardt on Twitter (via 9to5Mac), increase the Apple Music Student Plan from $4.99 to $5.99 per month in the United States and Canada, and from £4.99 to £5.99 in the United Kingdom. The changes cut what was previously a 50 percent discount on the $9.99 and £9.99 monthly cost to just 40 percent.
Archived webpages indicate that the change occurred within the past 48 hours. Last month, Apple increased the price of the Apple Music Student Plan in a large number of countries, including Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Indonesia, Israel, and Kenya. Apple informed affected subscribers via email in these countries, but it seems to have not yet informed customers about the latest price change in the U.S., UK, and Canada.
Update: Price increases have also taken effect in various European countries, where most EU countries have seen a bump from EUR 4.99 to EUR 5.99, Finland has increased from EUR 4.99 to EUR 6.99, Sweden has seen an increase from SEK 49 to SEK 65, Denmark has seen an increase from DKK 49 to DKK 59, and Switzerland has seen an increase from CHF 6.50 to CHF 7.50, for example.
In a detailed post on Medium, Kuo explained that Apple's headset will be a "game-changer" for the augmented-reality and virtual-reality market. Describing some of the headset's functionality, Kuo said that while Apple has repeatedly touted its focus on AR, the headset will "offer an excellent immersive experience" and a "video see-thru" mode. The headset is expected to boost demand for immersive gaming and multimedia entertainment experiences.
Kuo said that the device is "the most complicated product Apple has ever designed," leading Apple to use components from many of its existing suppliers. Kuo also believes that Apple will be an industry leader in the headset space, has "significant competitive advantages," and does not need to join the Metaverse Standards Forum. Notably, Kuo thinks that rivals will race to imitate Apple's headset once it launches, "leading the headset hardware industry to the next stage of rapid growth."
While Apple's headset was widely believed to be scheduled to launch this year, a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman cast doubt on the chances of the device emerging this year due to development problems. According to DigiTimes, Apple in February 2022 completed key production tests on the headset and reportedly plans to begin mass production around August or September. Kuo's prediction of an announcement in January 2023 therefore appears to be broadly in line with other rumors about when the device could emerge.
Regardless of the exact timing, Apple's headset project is believed to be "approaching liftoff," with the device mirroring the development timeline of the Apple Watch in the period before its launch. Apple's work on the headset's operating system, "realityOS," has been rumored since 2017, but the existence of the operating system was confirmed when references to it were found in App Store upload logs and Apple open source code.
Update: This article has been edited to reflect an edit made to Kuo's Medium article. It previously said that Apple's headset would "likely be released" in January 2023, but this has since been revised to "likely be announced."
It's officially Friday, June 24 in New Zealand and Australia, which means it's the launch day for the 13-inch M2MacBook Pro. Customers in New Zealand and Australia are always the first to get their hands on new devices due to time zone differences, and the M2 Macs are no exception.
M2 MacBook Pro models are beginning to arrive to customers who pre-ordered the machine last Friday, and new MacBook Pro owners will likely soon be sharing their experiences with the updated M2 chip on the MacRumors forums, Twitter, and other social networks.
New Zealand does not have Apple Stores, so customers in Australia will be the first to be able to pick up an M2 MacBook Pro. Stock in Australia will give us an idea of what we might be able to expect from other stores worldwide. A spot check shows the stock M2 MacBook Pro models available for purchase at multiple stores in Australia, but custom configurations with upgraded unified memory and SSDs will not likely be available in stores.
Following New Zealand and Australia, sales of the MacBook Pro will begin in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and then North America.
The 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro features the same design as the prior-generation model, and the M2 chip is the only upgrade. The M2 chip features the same 8-core CPU as the M1, but with an upgraded nine or 10-core GPU.
Are you getting a new M2 MacBook Pro today? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Netflix is planning to implement a more affordable ad-supported tier to draw in customers who do not want to pay the $9.99 starting price for an ad-free plan, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed at the Cannes Lions advertising festival today (via The Hollywood Reporter).
The plan is aimed at people who think that Netflix is too expensive and who don't mind ads, with no changes planned for the existing Netflix tiers. "We've left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say: 'Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don't mind advertising,'" Sarandos said. "We are adding an ad tier; we're not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We're adding an ad tier for folks who say, 'Hey, I want a lower price and I'll watch ads.'"
Netflix is already in talks with ad-sales partners, and while Sarandos did not provide details on when the ad-supported tier might come out, Netflix has told employees internally that it is aiming for a launch before the end of 2022.
The Basic Netflix plan is priced at $9.99 and it offers 480p streaming, while the Standard plan is priced at $15.49 for 1080p resolution. Netflix's most expensive Premium plan, priced at $19.99 per month, is the sole tier that offers 4K HDR streaming. Netflix is the only streaming service that charges extra for improved streaming quality, and the ad-supported tier would presumably offer streaming quality similar to the Basic plan.
In addition to offering an ad-supported tier, Netflix is planning on cracking down on account sharing. In select countries, Netflix has been testing an extra payment for those who share their Netflix accounts with people outside of their households.
In the first quarter of 2022, Netflix said that it lost subscribers for the first time in 10 years. Revenue growth "slowed considerably," which the company blamed on "a large number of households sharing accounts" and "competition." Netflix estimates that 222 million paying households are sharing with an additional 100 million households that are not being monetized. Netflix has confirmed that it plans to implement "more effective monetization of multi-household sharing" in the future.
Sarandos said that he believes Netflix could return to growth with the changes that are planned. "We have plenty of scale and profitability and free cash flow to continue to grow this business," he said, suggesting that there's "still a lot of room to grow."
Google today announced several updates that are coming to the Chrome browser on iPhone and iPad, including Enhanced Safe Browsing, a feature that is designed to provide users with better protection against phishing, malware, and other web-based threats.
If turned on, the Enhanced Safe Browsing feature will warn users proactively if web pages are dangerous, with the setting using Google's Safe Browsing function. Chrome will also warn if a username and login typed into the browser have been compromised in a third-party data breach.
Enhanced Safe Browsing has been available on the desktop and on Android for some time now, but it is also set to expand to iOS with the next Chrome update.
Along with Enhanced Safe Browsing, Chrome will also be able to be set as the Autofill provider, filling in logins and passwords on the iPhone and iPad in addition to the desktop.
An interface tweak will allow users to discover new content or start a fresh search in Chrome when the app hasn't been used in a while. Recent tabs will still be available, but Google wants to make it easier for users to browse content or get back to frequently visited sites more quickly.
Chrome Actions on iOS will let iPhone and iPad users type an action into the address bar to do things like clear browsing data, open an incognito tab, or set Chrome as the default browser, plus on-device machine learning is now available to translate websites faster into your language.
Google says that these features are coming in the next release, and that "even more innovation" is on the way for the iOS Chrome app. The Chrome app for iPhone and iPad can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
iOS 16 includes code-level references to what appears to be a new and unreleased version of the Siri Remote for the Apple TV.
The first two betas of iOS 16 include strings for "SiriRemote4" and "WirelessRemoteFirmware.4" that do not correspond with any existing Siri Remote, according to Aaronp613, a contributor at AppleDB, an online database of Apple software and devices.
Aaron said the original Siri Remote is identified as "SiriRemote," while a revised version of that remote with a white circle around the "Menu" button is "SiriRemote2," and the silver Siri Remote released last year is "SiriRemote3." This leads to the possibility that "SiriRemote4" is an upcoming remote for the Apple TV.
No additional details about "SiriRemote4" are mentioned in the code, so nothing is known about the remote's potential design or features at this time. The code findings also do not guarantee that Apple will move forward with releasing a new remote.
Last month, well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said a new Apple TV would launch in the second half of 2022 with an improved cost structure, suggesting that it could have a lower price than the existing Apple TV 4K, which starts at $179 in the United States. Kuo did not provide any additional details, so it is unclear if the new Siri Remote could be for a new lower-cost Apple TV later this year, but it is certainly a possibility.
The latest Apple TV model was released in April 2021 with a new Siri Remote that features a more practical design than the previous remote. A new tvOS 16 update for the Apple TV is currently in beta and expected to be released around September.
A trio of Apple accessory makers have introduced notable discounts on iPhone cases this week, offering up to 50 percent off protective cases for the iPhone 13, iPhone 12, and more.
Nomad
Starting with Nomad, our exclusive sale is taking 30 percent off the retailer's Sport Case lineup for the iPhone 13 family. Once you add one of the Sport Cases to your cart, you can enter the code MACRUMORS30 to see the discount. This sale will expire on Sunday.
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.
At 30 percent off, Nomad's Sport Cases are priced at $27.97 with our exclusive code, down from $39.95. Cases are available for the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max, and come in five different colors.
Casely
Over at Casely, you can take 50 percent off the company's Power 2.0 smartphone cases. Thanks to the discount, these accessories are priced at $37.50, down from $75.00, and you won't need any coupon code to see the discounts.
These cases fit a wide variety of iPhones, including iPhone 13 and iPhone 12, and as far back as iPhone 6 and iPhone X. The Power 2.0 feature includes a battery to fuel up your iPhone while on-the-go. Shoppers should note that this case style is not available for every iPhone model, but you can check by selecting a case design and choosing your iPhone model from the drop-down menu.
Pad & Quill
Pad & Quill is hosting a small sale on its leather folio cases for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. You can save as much as 50 percent during this event.
In 2022, Apple introduced the M2 chip – the second-generation custom silicon chip for the Mac. After the M1 chip revolutionized the Mac starting in November 2020, how much better really is the M2?
Apple says that the M2 chip takes the performance per watt of the M1 even further with an 18 percent faster CPU, a 35 percent more powerful GPU, and a 40 percent faster Neural Engine. There are also other significant enhancements such as more memory bandwidth and support for up to 24GB of unified memory.
As the second major iteration of Apple silicon, it may not be clear how significant of an improvement the M2 is over the M1, especially as it sticks with a 5nm fabrication process, contrary to some rumors that suggested a bigger performance and efficiency leap would be in store. The M2 chip debuts in the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the redesigned MacBook Air, so the extent to which the M2 is better than its predecessor could be an important consideration when purchasing a new Mac. Read on to learn more about the differences between the two chips.
M1 Chip
Made using TSMC's 5nm process (N5)
16 billion transistors
4 high-performance "Firestorm" cores
4 energy-efficient "Icestorm" cores
3.2GHz CPU clock speed
CPU cores first seen in the iPhone 12 lineup's A14 Bionic chip
8-core GPU
Support for 8GB or 16GB unified memory
68.25GB/s memory bandwidth
Neural Engine
Media engine for hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC
Video decode engine
Video encode engine
Image signal processor (ISP)
M2 Chip
Made with TSMC's enhanced 5nm process (N5P)
20 billion transistors
4 high-performance "Avalanche" cores
4 energy-efficient "Blizzard" cores
3.49GHz CPU clock speed
CPU cores first seen in the iPhone 13 lineup's A15 Bionic chip
10-core GPU
Support for 8GB, 16GB, or 24GB unified memory
100GB/s memory bandwidth
40 percent faster Neural Engine
Media engine for hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
Higher-bandwidth video decode engine
Video encode engine
ProRes encode and decode engine
"New" image signal processor (ISP)
Fabrication Process and Transistors
Like the A14 Bionic, the M1 chip is built using TSMC's first-generation 5nm fabrication process. On the other hand, the M2 uses TSMC's second-generation 5nm process like the A15 Bionic chip. The M2 adds four billion additional transistors for a total of 20 billion – 25 percent more than M1. The enhanced 5nm fabrication process is at the heart of many of M2's performance and efficiency improvements.
CPU
The M1 and M2 both have four high-performance and four energy-efficient cores, but while the M1 features "Firestorm" and "Icestorm" cores from the A14 Bionic chip, the M2 offers "Avalanche" and "Blizzard" from the A15 Bionic chip. According to Apple, this results in 18 percent greater multithreaded performance than M1.
In early Geekbench benchmarks, the M2, which runs at 3.49GHz compared to 3.2GHz for the M1, earned a single-core score of 1,919, which is roughly 12 percent faster than the 1,707 single-core score of the M1 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M2 earned a multi-core score of 8,928, up about 20 percent from the 7,419 score of the M1 model. This is right in line with Apple's claim that the M2 chip is up to 18 percent faster than the M1.
Both chips have high-performance cores with 192KB of L1 instruction cache and 128KB of L1 data cache. The energy-efficient cores have a 128KB L1 instruction cache, 64KB L1 data cache, and a shared 4MB L2 cache. The only difference here is that the shared L2 cache is larger on the M2 chip — 16MB instead of 12MB on the M1.
GPU
The M2 features two more GPU cores over the M1, resulting in a moderate boost in graphics performance. Apple says that the M2 has up to 25 percent higher graphics performance than M1 at the same power level, and up to 35 percent better performance at its max power. In early Geekbench Metal benchmarks, the M2 chip scored 30,627, a notable improvement over the 21,001 score earned by the M1.
Media Engine
Both the M1 and the M2 have dedicated video encode and decode engines for hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC, but the M2's video engines are also able to accelerate ProRes and ProRes RAW to enable playback of multiple streams of 4K and 8K video. In addition, the M2's media engine includes a higher-bandwidth video decoder, supporting 8K H.264 and HEVC video.
Unified Memory
The M1 and the M2 come in configurations with 8GB or 16GB of unified memory, but the M2 adds an additional, top-tier 24GB configuration. The M2's memory controller can also deliver 100GB/s of unified memory bandwidth, a substantial improvement over the M1's 68.25GB/s memory bandwidth.
Other Improvements
The M2 features improvements to several of Apple's custom silicon technologies. For example, the Neural Engine can process up to 15.8 trillion operations per second — over 40 percent more than M1. The M2 also contains Apple's latest Secure Enclave and a new image signal processor (ISP) for better image noise reduction.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the M2 chip offers moderate improvements over the M1, even if most M1 users are unlikely to notice significant improvements when upgrading to the M2. The M2's advancements are generally worthwhile, if not transformative, and the chip is certain to provide a more up-to-date experience with lower-spec Apple silicon machines – especially for those coming from an Intel-based machine.
While the M2 offers improvements across the board thanks to its enhanced 5nm process, updated cores, and additional GPU cores, the major upgrades come to users who need to work with video, as well as those who have memory-intensive workflows. The M2's higher-bandwidth video decoder and dedicated engine for ProRes and ProRes RAW video offer meaningful improvements for video editors, while the 24GB unified memory tier and 100GB/s of memory bandwidth significantly boost the capacity of M2 machines to deal with memory-hungry applications and intense multitasking.
iOS 16 introduces a useful new feature for dual-SIM iPhone users: the ability to sort messages per SIM in the Messages app. This feature is particularly beneficial to those who have both personal and work lines set up on a single iPhone.
"Messages now supports the ability for customers with a dual SIM iPhone to filter their messages based on their SIMs," says Apple's release notes for the second beta of iOS 16, which was made available to developers for testing on Wednesday. When enabled, the feature filters both iMessages and SMS/MMS messages.
It appears that per-SIM message sorting requires enabling message filtering in the Settings app under Messages → Filter Unknown Senders. Then, users can tap on the icon with three dots at the top of the Messages app, which opens a menu with options to sort messages based on "All Lines" or individual SIMs, such as Personal, Business, or Travel.
iPhone XS and newer models are equipped with both a physical nano-SIM card slot and a digital eSIM, allowing for dual-SIM functionality. This means you can have two lines of service on one iPhone, which is useful for having personal and business lines on a single iPhone or for purchasing data-only plans via eSIM while traveling abroad. Starting with the iPhone 13 lineup, dual-SIM mode also works with two eSIMs.
iOS 16 is currently in beta for registered Apple developers. The update will be released to all users with an iPhone 8 or newer around September.
Apple's AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro have returned to some of the best prices we've tracked in 2022, with as much as $74 off these wireless headphones.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
AirPods 2
You can get the AirPods 2 for $99.99, down from $129.00. This is the best price that we've tracked on the AirPods 2 in 2022, and overall it remains a solid second-best price on the headphones.
This is the model of AirPods that comes with the Wired Charging Case. Apple discontinued the AirPods 2 with the Wireless Charging Case so we haven't seen any notable deals on that accessory in months.
AirPods Pro with MagSafe
Next, the AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case is available for $174.99 on Amazon, down from $249.00. This is another best price for 2022, and we haven't seen all-time low prices return for this version of the AirPods Pro since last holiday season.
The headphones are in stock today, and they are shipped and sold directly by Amazon. The new AirPods Pro launched in 2021, and are essentially the same as the 2019 model with the addition of the new MagSafe Charging Case.
We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.
CEO Tim Cook this week did an interview with China Daily, where he once again commented on on the future of augmented reality and hinted at Apple's work on an AR/VR headset.
Cook said that Apple is excited about the opportunities available with augmented reality, which is not too far off from prior comments that he's made, but he went on to say that people should "stay tuned" to see what Apple has to offer.
I am incredibly excited about AR as you might know, and the critical thing to any technology including AR is putting humanity at the center of it. And that is what we focus on every day. Right now, as an example, we have over 14,000 ARKit apps in the App Store, which provide AR experiences for millions of people around the world.
I think despite that, we're still in the very early innings of how this technology will evolve. I couldn't be more excited about the opportunities we've seen in this space and sort of stay tuned and you'll see what we have to offer.
Though Apple has not confirmed its work on an AR/VR wearable device, rumors have been circulating about it for years now. Apple's headset is expected to offer mixed reality technology, with a curved visor and soft mesh that fits against the face. It will be lighter than other headsets on the market, and will use an Apple Watch-like strap to hold it in place.
Apple is expected to debut the headset as soon as next year, and has already been demoing it to board members, suggesting it is getting closer to being finished.
Apple today seeded the second betas of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 to developers for testing purposes, and the new betas introduce new features and refine some of the changes that Apple made with the first iOS 16 release.
When customizing a photo on the Lock Screen, there are two new DuoTone and Color Wash overlay options to change the look of the photo.
Wallpaper Photo Editing
If you set a photo as your wallpaper, Apple lets you know that you can use pinch gestures to adjust the crop of the image.
Back Ups Over LTE
iPhone and iPad users can back up their devices over an LTE cellular connection, in addition to a 5G or WiFi connection. Apple introduced support for 5G backups in iOS 15, and has expanded it to LTE in iOS 16.
Astronomy Wallpaper Location
The Astronomy wallpaper now shows a green dot to let you know where you are located. The dot appears in the Earth wallpaper options, but it does not stay on the wallpaper at all times and is instead only visible when editing the wallpaper. These dynamic wallpapers are also now available on older iPhones.
Wallpaper Editing
In the Settings app, the Wallpapers section has been tweaked to make it easier to customize the different wallpapers that you set for the Home Screen and Lock Screen. There are new "Customize" options under the Lock Screen and Home Screen options to make it clearer that there are settings that can be adjusted.
When you choose your look, there's also an option to "Set as Wallpaper Pair."
Apple Cash and Apple Card
The Apple Cash "Send and Request" interface has been changed in the second beta of iOS 16. It's now a single merged button instead of two separate buttons, and the balance is shown more clearly.
For Apple Card, the "Weekly Activity" section also lets you know how much Apple Cash you've earned for the week. t
Screenshots
There's now a "Save to Quick Note" option when saving a screenshot, which joins the Save to Photos, Save to Files, and Delete Screenshot options.
Delete Lock Screens
It's now easier to delete a Lock Screen by swiping upwards.
SMS Filtering
According to Apple's release notes, developers are able to classify incoming SMS messages from unknown numbers into 12 sub-categories with Transaction and Promotion categories for improved organization.
For Indian users, Messages supports event extraction from SMS. EVent and appointment messages are shown as Siri suggestions and are also presented to users in Messages thread and the Calendar inbox.
iPadOS 16 Stage Manager
In iPadOS 16 beta 2 on compatible iPads, there is a new Stage Manager setting under the "Home Screen and Dock" section of the Settings app. It displays options for hiding recent apps and hiding the dock while using Stage Manager.
Messages Junk Reporting
For some U.S. carriers, Messages in iOS 16 beta 2 extends the "Report Junk" feature to allow users to report SMS/MMS junk to carriers.
Translate
The Translate app now supports Turkish, Thai, Polish, Indonesian, and Dutch.
HealthKit APIs
For developers, HealthKit workout APIs support multisport workouts with activities that include swimming, cycling, and running.
iOS 16 beta 2 also adds HealthKit support for the new running workout metrics that Apple announced at WWDC. Workout metrics include running power, ground contact time, vertical oscillation, running speed, and stride length.
Other New Features
Know of a new feature in iOS 16 that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.
With watchOS 9, Apple is adding a new recalibration feature for the Apple Watch Series 4 and Apple Watch Series 5, according to the watchOS 9 release notes. The recalibration will result in a more accurate estimate for maximum battery capacity.
After updating to watchOS 9, your Apple Watch Series 4 or Series 5 will recalibrate and then estimate its maximum battery capacity more accurately.
Following the watchOS 9 update, Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 owners who have noticed battery life being misrepresented should be able to get a better read on how long their device will last.
Apple has previously introduced recalibration functionality for the iPhone 11 to make iPhone battery life estimates more accurate, but there has been no similar feature made available for the Apple Watch until now.
The recalibration process will happen during the update and will be complete once it's installed.
The iPad will no longer be able to be used as a home hub following the launch of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura, and the HomePod 16 software this fall, Apple confirmed today.
As discovered in iOS 16 code by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, Apple says that the iPad will no longer be supported as a home hub. This information will be displayed in the Home app after updating to iOS 16.
A home hub is required to take advantage of features like receiving accessory notifications and allowing other people to control your home. You will not be able to view shared homes until those homes are also upgraded to the latest HomeKit. iPad will no longer be supported as a home hub.
With Apple dropping support for the iPad as a home hub, users will need to have a HomePod, HomePod mini, or Apple TV to take advantage of features enabled by a hub, such as accessing accessories remotely with Siri and using location-based automation features.
Apple's iOS 16 preview webpage suggested that the iPad would not be able to be used as a home hub, but it was not confirmed until now because in the first iPadOS 16 beta, it was still possible to set an iPad as a home hub. "Only Apple TV and HomePod are supported as home hubs," reads the website.
The wording in the code found in the second beta of iOS 16 suggests that Apple is removing the home hub functionality from the iPad. The company has not explained why the iPad will no longer function as a home hub, but it could be related to Apple's upcoming cross-platform Matter smart home standard implementation.
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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.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
