MacRumors

Following a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, accessory maker Hyper today announced that its HyperDrive Duo Pro hub is now available to purchase for use with 2016 and newer MacBook Pro models and 2018 and newer MacBook Air models.

The form-fitting hub features a 7-in-2 design, meaning that it connects to both Thunderbolt ports on one side of a compatible MacBook and provides access to seven connectivity options, including an HDMI port (4K @ 60Hz), a Gigabit Ethernet port, a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4 support and up to 100W Power Delivery, a USB-C port (5 Gbps), a USB-A port (5 Gbps), a microSD card slot (UHS-I), and a 3.5mm combo audio jack.

The HyperDrive Duo Pro is available in space gray or silver colors and can be ordered for $99.99 on Hyper's website. The hub comes with an extended USB-C adapter in the box that allows it to be used with other USB-C devices like the iPad Pro, Chromebooks, and more.

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

Nomad, known for its range of accessories designed for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, today announced the launch of a dual-port 65W USB-C PD charger that uses Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology for a slim and light design.

This is Nomad's third GaN charger, and it is the company's most powerful with 65W maximum. When a single device is plugged in, the power adapter is able to charge at the full 65W, and when both ports are in use, the upper port outputs at 45W and the bottom port supplies 20W.

We were able to test out the charger ahead of its launch, and it has a simple, compact shape with collapsible prongs that make it ideal for travel. It works as expected, and is able to charge an M1 MacBook Air, M1 MacBook Pro, iPad, or iPhone at full speed, with a second port available for another device. It can dual charge an iPhone or iPad and a MacBook at the same time, though it is not powerful enough for Apple's 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

The charger is ideal for Apple products but it also works with Nomad's Base One and Base One Max MagSafe chargers.

The 65W AC Adapter can be purchased from the Nomad website starting today for $69.95.

All four iPhone 14 models that are expected to launch later this year will likely feature an upgraded front camera with autofocus and a wider ƒ/1.9 aperture, well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a tweet today.

The wider aperture would allow more light to pass through the lens and reach the front camera's sensor on iPhone 14 models. Kuo said these camera upgrades could result in an improved depth-of-field effect for Portrait mode photos and videos, while autofocus can enhance focus during FaceTime and Zoom video calls. By comparison, the front camera on all iPhone 13 models has fixed focus and an ƒ/2.2 aperture.

Kuo has previously claimed that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max in particular will also feature an upgraded rear camera system with a 48-megapixel Wide lens that will enable 8K video recording, up from 4K currently.

Apple is expected to introduce the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max around September as usual. For more rumors about these devices, including other features that are expected, read our iPhone 14 roundup.

Amazon is seemingly working on an extended-reality (XR) device that could rival similar efforts from Apple, Meta, Google, and Samsung, according to several job listings.

According to a number of job listings spotted by protocol, Amazon has been looking to fill senior roles for computer vision scientists, designers, program managers, product managers, researchers, and technologists in the augmented-reality (AR) and virtual-reality (VR) space.

A listing for a Senior Technical Program Manager in New Products said that the hire "will develop an advanced XR research concept into a magical and useful new-to-world consumer product," suggesting that the company is looking to establish a new product category. The listing has since been edited to remove references to extended reality.

Another role describes Amazon's initiative related to "XR/AR devices," explaining that hires will be part of "a greenfield development effort" that will include "developing code for early prototypes through mass production." The company is also seeking UX designers to work on "the core system interface along with end-user applications spanning from multi-modal interfaces to 3D AR entertainment experiences," suggesting that applicants should be able to "think spatially, with 3D design experience in motion design, animation [and] AR/VR, games."

In March, the company reportedly launched a new "Futures Design" group headed by Kharis O'Connell, who previously worked for AR headset maker Meta View and Google, helping to design AR operating systems.

Amazon has not been at the forefront of rumors related to new AR and VR hardware, with companies such as Meta and Apple possessing much larger teams working on competitive future AR and VR products. Meta is heavily investing in AR and VR, to the extent that it is said to be causing workplace disruption, and Google is believed to have around 300 employees working on an AR headset that is rumored to use an array of sensors and cameras to project computer-generated content onto the real world.

After reports of Samsung significantly falling behind in the rush to bring AR and VR devices to market, partially due to its "obsession" with foldable smartphones, it is now said to be co-developing an AR device with Microsoft and DigiLens, with the product rumored to feature "hologram" technology and an Exynos chip.

While Apple's mixed-reality headset was widely believed to be scheduled to launch this year, a recent report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman cast doubt on the chances of the device emerging in 2022 due to development problems, with 2023 now looking more likely. Nevertheless, Apple's headset project is said 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 recently confirmed when references to it were found in App Store upload logs and Apple open-source code.

The headset is rumored to feature a lightweight design, two 4K micro-OLED displays, 15 optical modules, two main processors, Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, eye tracking, a see-through AR mode, object tracking, hand gesture controls, and more. The device's exact price point is as yet unclear, but some reports indicate that it could cost customers around $3,000.

Like Apple, Amazon has a history of filing for patents related to smart glasses, and the company has already launched Echo Frames, which offers an audio-only experience with the Alexa voice assistant.

Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, 8-core CPU, 512GB) has returned to its previous all-time low price of $1,749.99, down from $1,999.00. This sale price will be reflected after you add the MacBook Pro to your cart on Amazon and receive an automatic coupon worth $200.

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 a total of $249 off the original price of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, this remains the best deal we've ever tracked on this model. Only Space Gray is on sale this time around, and the earliest estimates place an April 24 delivery date for this model.

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 published its 2022 Environmental Progress Report, setting out the company's ongoing efforts to reduce its impact on the environment and combat climate change, as well as new details about its increased use of recycled materials.

Apple has introduced certified recycled gold and more than doubled its use of recycled tungsten, rare earth elements, and cobalt. Almost 20 percent of all material in Apple products last year was recycled, which is the company's highest-ever use of recycled content.

The company highlighted that in 2021, 59 percent of the aluminum, 45 percent of the rare earth elements, 30 percent of the tin, and 13 percent of the cobalt Apple shipped in its products came from recycled sources, and plastics accounted for just four percent of packaging. All new iPhone, iPad, AirPods, and Mac models feature 100 percent recycled tin in the solder of their main logic boards, and Apple is using recycled gold in the plating of the main logic board and wire in the front camera and the rear cameras of ‌iPhone‌ 13 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro.

Apple today announced "Taz," a machine that helps to recover materials from recycled electronics, and explained how it seeks to reduce mining by recovering more materials from existing devices.

Taz, a machine that uses new shredder-like technology to separate magnets from audio modules and recover more rare earth elements, is the latest in a series of recycling advancements spearheaded by Apple. The company has also further expanded the capabilities of its patented iPhone disassembly robot Daisy to take apart 23 models of iPhone, and has offered to license those patents to other companies and researchers free of charge. An additional robot, Dave, disassembles Taptic Engines, helping to recover valuable rare earth magnets, tungsten, and steel.

See the full PDF version of Apple's 2022 Environmental Progress Report for more information about the company's work to become carbon neutral across its global supply chain, promote renewable energy, use materials more safely, reduce waste, extend the lifetime of devices with refurbishment, and more.

In addition, Apple shared new ways for customers to celebrate Earth Day, such as finding green spaces in Apple Maps, nature-inspired yoga, meditation, cycling, rowing, and treadmill workouts in Apple Fitness+, as well as new episodes of Time to Run in Yosemite National Park and Time to Walk with Dr. Jane Goodall, and a new augmented reality experience on Snapchat. Apple News, Apple Books, Apple Podcasts, the Apple TV app, and the App Store will feature curated collections of content with opportunities to experience the natural world.

After completing any workout of 30 minutes or more on April 22, all Apple Watch users can earn a limited-edition award, and from today to April 22, Apple will donate $1 to World Wildlife Fund for each purchase made with Apple Pay on apple.com, in the Apple Store app, or at an ‌Apple Store‌.

Following a number of enthusiasts successfully adding a USB-C port to the iPhone, engineer Ken Pillonel has explained how he added a fully functional Lightning port, including support for charging and data transfer, to a Samsung Galaxy A51.

After posting a preview of the project earlier this month, Pillonel has now shown how he completed the conversion in detail. The complex process involved working around the device's limited internal space, circumventing Apple's proprietary software checks for the Lightning connector, micro-soldering, and 3D-printing a custom connector.

Upon posting the preview of the project, Pillonel told Engadget that it was "a complex modification that required some out-of-the-box thinking."

The Lightning cables sold by Apple are not "dumb." They will only charge Apple devices. So I had to find a way to trick the cable into thinking it was plugged into an Apple device. And the whole thing needs to fit inside the phone, which is another challenge in itself.

Pillonel admitted that "the quality of the finished product is nowhere near what it was for the iPhone," but he doesn't expect "anyone in their right mind" to want to do this to their device. "It was for fun, I just wanted to see if I could do it," he explained, adding that such projects serve as a great example of what can be achieved with devices, even without the help of the companies that originally made them.

Pillonel was the first to gain notoriety for modifying an ‌iPhone‌ X to add a functional USB-C port, which went on to sell for over $86,000 at auction.

You can take up to $100 off Apple's iPad Pro lineup today on Amazon, with the best deals focused on the 11-inch models. Prices start at $699.99 for the 128GB Wi-Fi 11-inch iPad Pro, which is down from $799.00 and an all-time low price.

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.

Additionally, the 256GB Wi-Fi 11-inch iPad Pro is down to $799.99, from $899.00. This is another record low deal that's currently only available on Amazon. For both sales, you can get the 11-inch iPad Pro in either Silver or Space Gray at these prices.

If you're looking for the larger model, the entry level 128GB Wi-Fi 12.9-inch iPad Pro is at its usual discount price of $999.00, down from $1,099.00. This is an all-time low price and it's only available in Silver on Amazon.

For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.

iPhone production in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou is "proceeding well" despite lockdowns and restrictions being imposed in the area, according to managers at Foxconn cited by Henan Daily (via Bloomberg).

Following in the footsteps of Shanghai, Zhengzhou has decided to impose new restrictions, including lockdowns and mass COVID-19 testing. Despite this, Foxconn's massive assembly plant in the city, nicknamed by locals the "‌iPhone‌ City," is seeing limited disruptions, with the production of Apple devices proceeding as usual.

"Production at the Foxconn campus is proceeding well with some 200,000 workers," the newspaper said, citing Foxconn managers within the compound. The Taiwanese company is cooperating with local government and putting measures in place to ensure worker safety. "The supply lines haven't been affected by Covid."

The restrictions were first imposed last week and come amid a continued constrained supply chain. At the moment, iPad and ‌iPhone‌ supplies seem to be uninterrupted, but Apple's Mac line continues to face supply chain issues and delays for customers. Two Apple suppliers, Pegatron and Quanta, recently said they would suspend production of Apple devices due to the new lockdowns and restrictions.

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 has added cycling directions for several parts of the Midwest, including Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Charleston.

According to Apple Maps enthusiast Justin O'Beirne, the updated coverage reportedly includes all of Ohio and West Virginia, as well as parts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Virginia.

Since the beginning of April, Apple has been quietly adding cycling directions for parts of the Northeast, which suggests to O'Beirne that Texas and the Gulf Coast could receive coverage next, based on the pattern of Apple's map expansions.

Cycling directions take into account elevation, how busy a street is, and whether there are stairs along the route. The feature launched last year in a limited number of regions, and Apple has been gradually expanding support since.

Apple maintains a list of all of the areas where cycling directions are available on its website, but the latest locations have yet to be added. Outside of the U.S., cycling directions are officially available in Barcelona and London as well as cities in Canada and in mainland China.

Telegram Messenger has released a new update for iPhone and iPad that lets users set a custom sound for notifications, in addition to a number of other new features.

Following the update, custom alert tones can be created in the app from short audio files and voice messages that are under five seconds and up to 300KB in size.

Multiple custom alerts can be created and assigned to individual chats or entire groups of chats, and Telegram has set up its own Notification Sounds channel with some samples to get users started.

For those who don't want to be constantly inundated by notifications, this update also introduces custom mute durations. Telegram users have long been able to temporarily mute chats for pre-defined durations, but now it's also possible to pause notifications for a specific custom duration.

Each chat has been given a streamlined menu for modifying alerts, where users can choose Disable Sound to receive notifications silently, or one of the Mute options to turn off notifications completely.

Elsewhere in this update, Telegram has improved in-app message translation in iOS, added a new interface for changing phone numbers, and thrown in more animated emoji including a "Food that moves" category.

Further details about other more nuanced changes and improvements to the Telegram interface can be found on the developers' blog. Telegram version 8.7 is available now on the App Store for ‌‌iPhone‌‌ and ‌‌iPad‌‌.

Back in July, rumors suggested that Apple was pursuing streaming rights for the National Football League's "Sunday Ticket" package, and as of this week, there is a report suggesting that the deal could already be done.

NFL Sunday Ticket has been described as "Apple's to lose" by Matthew Belloni of Puck News in a report that's been making the rounds today. In fact, he says that the deal is "actually done" according to one of his sources, and is being kept quiet at the behest of Apple.

My sources say it's Apple's to lose, at this point. (One source told me this weekend that the deal is actually done and is being kept quiet at Apple's request, which I haven't confirmed and don't know for a fact; Apple isn't commenting.) That would make sense: Even after winning top Emmys and the best picture Oscar, C.E.O. Tim Cook has said Apple is merely in its early days of premium video, and nothing is more premium than NFL football. Plus, it would explain Apple's recent foray into live events and advertising with MLB games.

Given that the information comes from unspecified sources and has yet to be confirmed, it should be viewed with some skepticism at this point. Apple was in talks with NFL executives last year, but there was competition from other TV networks and tech firms like Amazon.

Sunday Ticket airs on DirecTV, but rights are up for auction as the NFL's DirecTV deal is expiring after the 2022 season. DirecTV paid around $1.5 billion for the games, but whoever wins the rights for the 2023 season will likely pay around $2.5 billion.

Should Apple win the bid for Sunday Ticket, out-of-market fans will be able to watch non-prime time games from all 32 NFL teams on Apple TV+. Sunday Ticket would join Friday Night Baseball, which Apple airs each Friday as part of a deal with Major League Baseball.

T-Mobile provided the fastest cellular service in the United States during the first quarter of 2022, according to Ookla. For those unfamiliar, Ookla is the company behind the popular Speedtest bandwidth measurement service, and it regularly releases reports on connectivity speeds.

The median T-Mobile download speed was 117.83Mb/s on modern chipsets, while Verizon came in second with median download speeds of 62.62Mb/s, and AT&T placed third with 56.10Mb/s. T-Mobile's median connectivity speeds have increased since the fourth quarter of 2021, when it was measuring in at 90.65Mb/s.

When considering just 5G connectivity, T-Mobile again had the fastest median download speed at 191.12Mb/s, followed by Verizon at 107.25Mb/s and AT&T at 68.43Mb/s.

T-Mobile has the largest 5G network of the three carriers because it has used 600MHz low-band spectrum for 5G coverage across the United States. 5G coverage from AT&T and Verizon is more limited in availability at this time, but it can also hit higher maximum speeds in urban areas.

T-Mobile and Verizon tied for lowest median latency at 31 ms, with AT&T coming in at 34 ms. T-Mobile also won the top "consistency score" with 88.3 percent of results showing at least 5Mb/s download and 1Mb/s upload speeds. Verizon came in second at 84.6 percent and AT&T was third at 82.1 percent.

Minnesota, the District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Illinois, and New Jersey had some of the fastest median download and upload speeds in the United States during the quarter, with St. Paul, Minnesota winning out as the city with the fastest speeds (136.72Mb/s median download speeds).

Ookla's website has additional carrier-specific information about connectivity speeds in the United States, with details available in its full Q1 2022 report.

ZAGG is marking the end of tax season with a new sitewide sale that's taking 25 percent off all of ZAGG and Mophie's best charging and protection accessories. This discount does not require any coupon code and will be applied automatically in the cart.

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.

In regards to Mophie products, this includes wireless chargers, power banks, and battery cases. This will exclude items that are already marked down, and you can only get 25 percent off up to three items. ZAGG's sale will last through tomorrow, April 19 at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time.

There are a variety of power banks on sale at Mophie, including the Snap+ Juice Pack Mini, which is compatible with iPhone 12 and 13 MagSafe and is down to $37.46, from $49.95. There are regular portable batteries as well, including the Powerstation XXL ($44.96), Powerstation Ultra ($59.96), and more.

For higher-priced items, you can save big on Mophie's 4-in-1 Wireless Charging Mat, discounted to $112.46 during the sale, down from $149.95. Mophie also sells a 3-in-1 Travel Charger with MagSafe, priced at $112.46, down from $149.95.

There are plenty of other accessories on sale during this event, including car mounts, Apple Watch chargers, iPhone battery cases, screen protectors, and audio equipment. You can head to ZAGG's website to browse the full sale across all of its brands before the sale ends tomorrow. Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Gallaudet University has announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver the university's commencement address next month. Located in Washington, D.C., Gallaudet says it is the only university in the world where Deaf and hard of hearing students live and learn bilingually in American Sign Language and English.

Cook will speak alongside Gallaudet University student Molly Feanny, who will be the undergraduate student speaker at the commencement.

"I am beyond proud and honored to share that Tim Cook will be our 2022 commencement speaker," said Roberta J. Cordano, president of Gallaudet University. "Tim is a remarkable visionary, truly one of the great CEOs of our time who, without question, will leave a lasting imprint for generations to come. As the leader of one of the most admired brands in the world, Tim has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to diversity, inclusion, representation and accessibility – values that matter deeply to our Gallaudet community and so many other underrepresented groups."

The announcement comes after Apple TV+ film "CODA" won an Academy Award for Best Picture. The film revolves around a young woman named Ruby, the sole hearing member of a Deaf family. Using sign language, Ruby acts as an interpreter for her parents while working for her family's struggling fishing boat business. Cordano said the film is "one the most authentic representations of deaf people and their families in the history of cinema."

Gallaudet's 152nd undergraduate commencement ceremony will take place on Gallaudet's campus on Friday, May 13 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

Cook has delivered commencement addresses at several universities in the United States, including Stanford, Duke, Auburn, MIT, and others.

Apple's 64GB Wi-Fi iPad has dropped to a new all-time low price of $289.99 today on Amazon, down from $329.00. This sale price will only appear once you reach the checkout screen and a coupon worth $19.01 is automatically applied to the order

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 time, the sale price is only available in Silver, and among the major Apple resellers only Amazon has this low of a markdown. Shipping has been slightly delayed, and delivery estimates mark May 4-6 for free Prime delivery. This sale will likely expire soon, so be sure to lock in the deal now before delivery slips even more.

For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.