MacRumors

Some iPhone users on T-Mobile's cellular service are reportedly experiencing an eSIM bug that causes iMessage and FaceTime to deactivate for their phone number, with no way to reactivate it.

Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman brought the issue to light by tweeting about his own experience with the issue. Gurman said the only solution that worked for him was getting a physical SIM card.

There is a very nasty iPhone and @TMobile bug where iMessage and FaceTime for a device's phone number will randomly deactivate and there is no way to reactivate it. The only solution that worked for me is getting a new physical SIM card. An extremely disappointing issue.

In a follow-up tweet, Gurman said another solution that had worked for some was to remove the eSim account from the ‌iPhone‌ and then set it up again. "But that's complex for most people and shouldn't need to ever be done," he added.

Gurman said the T-Mobile store representative who helped him quickly activate a physical SIM for his ‌iPhone‌ revealed that other customers had visited the store with the same eSIM issue after Apple had been unable to resolve it, suggesting it could be an increasingly widespread problem.

"This issue for sure has existed on iOS 15.4, iOS 15.5, and iOS 15.6 beta 1," Gurman continued in another tweet. "Potentially earlier too, but that's all I can confirm right now."

The Twitter thread has since received replies from other T-Mobile customers chiming in with similar experiences, with some reporting that Apple is aware of the issue but the company has not been able to resolve it. We'll update this post if we learn more about the eSIM issue, which appears to be limited to T-Mobile customers at this time.

Update: T-Mobile said they are working with Apple to try to resolve the issue, according to a follow-up tweet from Gurman.

Apple supplier BOE is still waiting to receive approval from Apple to manufacture OLED panels for the upcoming iPhone 14 series, after the company was found to have made design changes without Apple's approval (via The Elec).

Earlier this month, Apple cut the Chinese display manufacturer out of the iPhone 13 supply chain after it was found to have changed the design of its OLED panels by expanding the circuit width of thin-film transistors.

The change was likely made in a bid to increase the yield rate, according to The Elec's sources, but when Apple discovered what had been done, it told BOE to halt production immediately. As a direct result, BOE is said to have not received any orders from Apple for OLED panels for the iPhone 14.

The latest report claims BOE visited Cupertino to explain why it unilaterally made the circuit design changes, but it appears the explanation didn't wash with Apple, which is now considering giving the order originally intended for BOE to Samsung and LG instead.

The Chinese display panel sent a C-level executive and employees to Apple’s headquarters following the incident to explain why they changed the circuit width of the transistors.

They also asked the iPhone maker to approve the production of OLED panels for iPhone 14, but didn’t receive a clear response from Apple, they also said.

Cupertino seems poised to give the order for around 30 million OLED panels it intended to give BOE before the incident to Samsung Display and LG Display instead.

Apple is said to want over 150 million OLED panels for the iPhone 14 series, up from the 140 million units it originally intended to order. Display panel makers will likely begin production next month at the earliest, with Samsung expected to manufacture the panels for the 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro models and LG expected to supply the panels for the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max.

BOE has manufactured OLED panels for the iPhone 12 and ‌iPhone 13‌ at two factories in China, accounting for just 10 percent of all ‌iPhone‌ displays in 2021, but the company had been planning a significant expansion to overtake LG Display as one of Apple's main suppliers of ‌iPhone‌ displays in 2023.

Costco appears to have recently started selling subscriptions to Apple services at discounted yearly prices. On the Costco website, Costco members can purchase a subscription to Apple TV+, Apple News+, or Apple Arcade at a lower cost.

‌Apple Arcade‌ is available for $44.99, down from the standard yearly price of $49.99, and ‌Apple TV‌+ is also available at the same $44.99 price point. ‌Apple News‌+ is available for $89.99 for a year of service.

Apple does not offer a yearly subscription to ‌Apple News‌+, selling it for $9.99 per month for a total yearly price of $120, so the $90 price point from Costco is a notable discount.

Costco appears to have just recently started offering Apple subscriptions for purchase, and there is a banner on the main Costco website that reads "Now at Costco. ‌Apple TV‌+, ‌Apple News‌+, and ‌Apple Arcade‌. Get 1 year subscriptions at incredible values."

(Thanks, Jordan!)

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Monterey 12.5 update to its public beta testing group, with the update coming one day after Apple provided the beta to developers.

Public beta testers can download the macOS Monterey 12.5 update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website.

There's no word yet on what new features or changes might be included in macOS Monterey 12.5, and nothing new was found in the first developer beta. Apple has provided no details on this time, so we may need to wait for release to find out what bug fixes or minor changes might be included.

macOS Monterey is likely to be one of the final updates to the macOS Monterey operating system as Apple begins its transition to the next-generation version of macOS.

Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6 updates to public beta testers, with the new software coming one day after the release of the first developer beta.

The iOS and iPadOS 15.6 betas can be downloaded over the air after the proper profile from Apple's public beta testing website has been installed on an iPhone or iPad.

There were no new features found in the developer betas of iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6, suggesting that this is a minor update primarily focusing on bug fixes. Apple has also provided no release info at this time.

iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6 are likely to be some of the last updates to iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 as Apple starts transitioning to the next-generation updates, iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, both of which will be unveiled in June at WWDC.

Apple has also seeded public betas of tvOS 15.6 and watchOS 8.7.

Apple last week demonstrated its upcoming AR/VR headset to Apple board members, indicating that the device is in an advanced stage of development and could see a debut in the not too distant future, reports Bloomberg. Apple has also ramped up development of the software that runs on the headset, with that software expected to be called "RealityOS," or rOS for short.

Work on a headworn AR/VR device has been ongoing for years now, and Apple's first product is believed to be a hybrid headset that has a curved visor and a soft mesh that fits against the face. It is expected to have an Apple Watch-like strap to hold it in place, and Apple is aiming to make it lighter and more comfortable than other AR/VR headsets that are on the market.

It will feature two 4K micro-OLED displays, 15 camera modules, powerful processors equivalent to the M-series chips, eye tracking capabilities, hand gesture support, spatial audio, and other features. When it launches, the headset is expected to cost somewhere around $3,000.

Apple has reportedly been working to release the headset since 2019 but there have been multiple delays in 2020, 2021, and now, 2022. Apple has been dealing with issues such as overheating and problems with the camera and the software, which has caused the debut date to be pushed back several times.

Bloomberg suggests that we could see the AR/VR headset as early as the end of the year, though a consumer release isn't planned until 2023.

The AR/VR headset will be Apple's first major new product category since the Apple Watch that came out seven years ago in 2015. Apple is expected to follow the AR/VR headset with a second-generation version and a set of augmented reality smart glasses that are going to launch sometime around 2024.

Apple shipped an estimated 20 million iPhones in North America in the first calendar quarter of 2022, marking notable growth, according to shipment estimates that were shared today by Canalys.

iPhone shipments were up nearly 20 percent from the 17 million iPhones shipped in the year-ago quarter, and Apple's market share hit 51 percent, up from 45 percent.

Apple was the number one smartphone vendor in North America, with Samsung coming in second with 10.5 million smartphones shipped. Lenovo was a distant third with 4 million smartphones shipped, and TCL, Google and others sent out even fewer. Apple, Google, and Lenovo saw market share growth during the quarter, while TCL, Samsung, and other smaller vendors did not.

Canalys attributes Apple's notable growth to the popularity of the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup, which came out last September. The ‌iPhone‌ 13 models introduced camera improvements, faster A15 chips, battery life improvements, smaller notches, new colors, and more. The $429 5G iPhone SE also helped Apple boost sales during the quarter.

"The North American smartphone market has been buoyed by Apple's strong growth," said Canalys Analyst Brian Lynch. "This quarter, the iPhone 13's high popularity was the key driver. With global demand more uncertain, Apple has shifted more devices back into North America after prioritizing other regions in Q4 2021, allowing it to greater fulfill demand and deliver on backorders from the previous quarter. In addition, the launch of the latest edition of the iPhone SE offers an affordable option for many of North America's fiercely loyal iOS users. Despite not being mmWave-enabled, carriers' increasing investments in C-band and sub-6GHz spectrums will open the door for the iPhone SE's market growth in the coming quarters."

The North American smartphone market reached 39 million units shipped in total, up 3.7 percent compared to last year. Going forward, Canalys believes supply chain issues are going to be a continued problem for smartphone vendors, but the North American market is expected to take priority and "maintain healthy supply levels."

Item tracking company Pebblebee today announced the launch of two new products that are designed to integrate with the Find My app. The Pebblebee Clip and the Pebblebee Card are the latest accessories that can be tracked through the ‌Find My‌ network on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Both the Clip and the Card are similar to Apple's own AirTag and other Find My-compatible tracking devices like the Chipolo ONE Spot. Each one can be added to the items tab in the ‌Find My‌ app with just a couple of taps, and they can be tracked right alongside your other Apple devices.

Like other ‌Find My‌ devices, the Pebblebee Clip and Pebblebee Card take advantage of the ‌Find My‌ network. When attached to an item that is lost or misplaced outside of the range of the item owner, the accessories are able to leverage other nearby Apple devices to relay their position back to the item owner.

The Clip and the Card are unique in that they can also alternatively be used with the Pebblebee app to take advantage of the CrowdGPS network, so Apple's ‌Find My‌ app isn't the only tracking solution when purchasing these trackers. Both ‌iPhone‌ and Android users can use the Pebblebee app, so these are cross-platform compatible. You will need to choose ‌Find My‌ or the Pebblebee app, however, as both do not work simultaneously.

Design wise, the Pebblebee Clip is a standard looking black item tracker with a metal frame, and it is designed to attach to keys, bags, bicycles, luggage, and other valuables. It offers a 500 foot tracking range along with water resistance and a loud buzzer to make it easier to locate. The Clip also includes LED lights that are designed to make it easier to locate in the dark.

The Pebblebee Card is best for wallets, bags, coats, passports, and other similar items. It is made from a soft touch black plastic material and it is the thickness of a couple of credit cards. For comparison's sake, the Pebblebee Card is just about the same size as the Chipolo CARD Spot that we reviewed earlier this year. It has a loud leave behind alert and is able to play a notably loud sound when activated through the ‌Find My‌ app.

Unlike the AirTags, the Clip and the Card feature built-in rechargeable batteries, so there is no need to regularly replace the battery. In the Clip, the battery lasts for up to six months on a single charge, and on the Card, the battery works for up to 12 months on one charge.

Recharging the Card can be done through an included proprietary charging cable that attaches to the item trackers magnetically. You'll need to supply your own power adapter and make sure not to lose the charger, but on the whole, it's a better charging solution than a replaceable battery (or non-replaceable like the Chipolo). The Clip is even easier to charge because it includes a USB-C port and can be charged with any USB-C cable.

The inclusion of a rechargeable battery in the Clip and Card does not make them much thicker than other item tracking solutions. The Card is slim enough to fit inside even a thin wallet, and the Clip is similar in thickness to the AirTag.

The Pebblebee Clip and the Pebblebee Card can be purchased from the Pebblebee website. Each is priced at $30, and there is a Clip four-pack available for $100.

Following several months of beta testing, Nvidia today announced that popular battle royale game Fortnite is now available to all GeForce NOW subscribers via Safari on iOS, complete with optimized on-screen touch controls and game menus.

Fortnite had been unavailable to play on the iPhone and iPad since Apple removed the game from the App Store in August 2020, after developer Epic Games added a direct payment option to the game in violation of the App Store's rules. However, the game can now be streamed on iOS via GeForce NOW or Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming.

MacRumors tested Fortnite on iOS via GeForce NOW while it was in beta for those interested in a hands-on look at the gameplay experience.

GeForce NOW is a cross-platform, subscription-based service that allows users to stream hundreds of games across multiple devices. On the iPhone, the service is only available on the web due to App Store rules. On the Mac, there is a GeForce NOW app available that was recently updated with native support for Apple silicon chips.

GeForce NOW offers a basic, limited membership option available for free, with upgraded membership tiers starting at $9.99 per month.

Apple's AirTag 4-Pack is available for $89.00 today on Amazon, down from $99.00. The accessory is shipped and sold directly by Amazon, and currently only Amazon is offering this sale. There is only a discount on the AirTag 4-Pack right now on Amazon, not on the 1-Pack option.

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.

Earlier this month we saw the AirTag 4-Pack down to around $84, so today's deal is a solid second-best offer on the tracker accessory. Overall, there haven't been many discounts on any version of the AirTag in 2022, so if you've been shopping for the device be sure to check out Amazon soon.

AirTag provides a way to keep track of your items in the iOS Find My app, with a way to play a sound on the built-in speaker to find something locally or with precision finding when it's farther away. Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Audi today announced that Apple Music will be available directly in the infotainment systems of a large number of its vehicles via a software update.

‌Apple Music‌ integration will give Audi owners the ability to access their personal ‌Apple Music‌ library directly in their vehicle's Multi-Media Interface (MMI) screen, leveraging the in-car data connection, with no need for Bluetooth, a wired connection, or Apple CarPlay.

To activate ‌Apple Music‌, users have to open the ‌Apple Music‌ app on the Audi infotainment system, follow the on-screen instructions to log in with their Apple ID, and enter a verification code sent to their phone. Christiane Zorn, Head of Product Marketing at Audi, said:

Integrating Apple Music into the Audio infotainment system marks the next step in the collaboration between Audi and Apple. For our customers, it means that we are offering them direct access to their own personalized listening experience. This is our understanding of a premium digital in-car experience. At Audi we are systematically driving the digitalization of the vehicle and we are convinced that the interior is increasingly developing into a third living space.

Available in Europe, North America, and Japan, ‌Apple Music‌ integration will be rolled out to "nearly all" existing 2022 model year Audi vehicles via an automatic over-the-air update, and will come in many new Audis as standard. Cellular data streaming costs are billed via a data package available from Cubic-Telekom in Europe and the first three gigabytes are free of charge.

Audi is not the first automaker to integrate ‌Apple Music‌ directly into its infotainment system, with Porsche first announcing the feature in 2019 before expanding to other services like Apple Podcasts. Similarly, Mercedes began to roll out Apple Music integration from summer last year.

Apple chip supplier TSMC is exploring the potential of building a new factory in Singapore to help address the global chip shortage, the Wall Street Journal reports.

TSMC is Apple's sole chip supplier and is responsible for fabricating all of the company's custom silicon chips, such as the A15 Bionic and the M1. While Apple's chip orders have been prioritized over many other companies, limiting the impact of shortages on Apple customers, TSMC has still suffered from global supply chain issues as the world's biggest contract chip maker.

The plans to build a new multi-billion dollar factory in Singapore are still under consideration. According to individuals said to be familiar with the matter, the government of Singapore may help to fund construction of the plant.

The proposed production lines would manufacture chips with seven- to 28-nanometer fabrication processes, which are older production technologies. While Apple's latest chips are manufactured with TSMC's five-nanometer process and therefore could not be manufactured at the new plant in Singapore, the expansion could free up production capacity at other factories where Apple's chips can be manufactured and help to relieve global shortages.

Beyond the plans for a new plant in Singapore, TSMC is also building a $12 billion factory in Arizona to manufacture five-nanometer chips. TSMC's main factories are located in Taiwan, but it already operates a factory in Camas, Washington, as well as design centers in Austin, Texas and San Jose, California, meaning that the Arizona facility will be its second manufacturing site in the United States. TSMC is also building a new factory in Japan with help from the Japanese government and investment by Sony.

Privacy-focused browser Brave has updated its iOS app with a new Privacy Hub feature that displays a summary of the trackers it has blocked for specific sites or over a given time span.

Similar to Safari’s Privacy Report, the new Privacy Hub in version 1.38 of the browser is designed to educate users about trackers and other privacy threats Brave is blocking.

This update also improves protections against fingerprinting for iOS. Fingerprinting is a technique used to identify and track people by combining multiple semi-identifiers (slight differences of each person’s browser, such as the size of the browser window or computer hardware details) and combining them into a single, unique identifier.

Brave for iOS now protects against fingerprinting by adding small amounts of randomization to fingerprintable APIs rather than disabling them, which can break websites, making for a smoother, more private browser experience.

In addition, Brave has added a certificate viewer to its iOS app, allowing users to confirm that they are visiting a real site and not a spoofed copy. To view a page’s certificate, users can tap the lock icon in the URL bar, and they can then verify if a certificate is valid or revoked, trusted or not, or compliant (or not) with standards.

Brave has gained momentum and popularity in recent years for its privacy focus. Last year, Brave dropped Google as its default search engine and replaced it with the more privacy-oriented Brave Search, which uses an independent index and doesn't track users or their searches. Brave for iOS is a free download from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Disney is launching a cheaper, ad-supported version of its Disney+ streaming service later this year, and reports this week revealed how the company plans to run fewer ads on the cheaper plan than some rival streamers.

Disney says it intends to run ads for four minutes on movies and shows that last an hour or less, according to Variety and The Wall Street Journal.

That's the same as HBO Max, less than NBC's Peacock, which runs no more than five minutes of ads every hour, and less than Disney's own Hulu, which runs anywhere between nine and 12 minutes for every hour of content. For context, viewers of traditional TV are usually exposed to between 18 and 23 minutes of ads per hour, according to data from Kantar.

Disney also confirmed to TechCrunch that preschool programming will not have any commercials whatsoever. In other words, preschool kids who use their own profile to watch Disney+ on the cheaper plan won't see any ads.

Disney has yet to reveal the price of the ad-supported plan, which is set to debut in the U.S. in late 2022, but Disney executives suggested during the company's recent earnings call that once the cheaper plan launches there will likely be a price increase to the existing ad-free plan, which is currently $7.99 a month.

Netflix is planning to introduce a new ad-supported tier in the final three months of the year, with the plan aimed at attracting new subscribers who find the current pricing unaffordable. Netflix has long resisted implementing an ad-supported tier and has said multiple times in the past that the streaming service would never show ads, but it is hemorrhaging subscribers.

Disney in June 2021 also said that it had no plans to introduce a cheaper ad-supported tier anytime soon because it was satisfied with its paid subscriber model, but then the company changed its tune in March.

Other entertainment companies like Discovery, NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia, and Paramount have launched ad-supported subscription tiers to offer content at multiple price points. When Disney+ launches its ad-supported tier, it will make Apple TV+ one of the only services not to offer a cheaper streaming option.

Right now, ‌‌Apple TV‌+‌ is priced competitively even with ad-based services at $4.99 per month, but Apple does not have the wealth of content that other streaming services are able to offer.

YouTube has added a new playback feature to its web player and mobile apps that helps users identify the most replayed parts of a video they're watching (via TechCrunch).

Going forward, a gray graph will appear along the top of the video progress bar. "If the graph is high, then that part of the video has been replayed often," says YouTube. "You can use the graph to quickly find and watch those moments."

The feature is being pitched as particularly beneficial for longer videos or those that haven't been broken down into sections using timestamps or chapters, allowing users to scrub through any YouTube video to find the most interesting parts.

Previously the feature was as an experiment that only YouTube Premium subscribers could access, but it's now available to anyone who uses YouTube from a browser or the company's official iOS and Android apps.

YouTube announced the feature alongside a number of other changes designed to make longer videos easier to navigate, including a new way to loop parts of videos, and a forthcoming experiment for Premium subscribers that lets users to "seek to the exact moment in a video that you want to watch."

Apple CEO Tim Cook this week met with Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, where the two reportedly discussed trade, investment, and finance.

According to Vietnamese news site SGGP (via iMore), Chinh said that the Vietnamese Government wants to create a "fair, transparent, and market-based business environment" to enable U.S. firms and investors to gain ground in Vietnam.

Vietnam has 31 companies that employ 160,000 workers that are producing and assembling electronic parts and equipment for Apple products, and Chinh asked Cook to step up Apple's business activities in Vietnam.

Cook in turn thanked Vietnam for creating a "favorable business environment for Apple's operations," and he told Chinh that Apple does indeed want to extend its supply chain in the country.

Over the course of the past couple years, reports have suggested that Apple is shifting more of its production to countries like Vietnam and India in order to diversify its supply chain and manufacture more products outside of China. Apple has started assembling some AirPods Pro, iPads, and HomePod mini devices in Vietnam.

Apple supplier Foxconn in January 2021 was granted a license to create a $270 million plant in Vietnam after Apple asked the company to move some iPad and MacBook assembly from China to Vietnam.

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 released an iTunes 12.12.4 update for Windows, with the new software adding several security fixes to address vulnerabilities.

According to Apple's security support document for the new Windows version of iTunes, it includes fixes for AppleGraphicsControl, ImageIO, Mobile Device Service, WebKit, and more.

Apple did not mention that the exploits were found in the wild, but iTunes for Windows users should still update to the latest version when possible. There are no other outward-facing changes, with iTunes 12.12.4 focusing on under-the-hood improvements.

iTunes for Windows can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store or from Apple's website.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Monterey 12.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new update coming two days after the release of macOS Monterey 12.4.

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

There's no word yet on what new features or changes might be included in macOS Monterey 12.5, but if we find anything new after installing the software, we'll update this article.