For example, the iPod touch can no longer be ordered with 256GB of storage in any color on Apple.com in the United States, and the (PRODUCT)RED model with 128GB of storage is also listed as "sold out" in the country. Stock may fluctuate over the coming days, but it is clear that Apple's remaining iPod touch inventory is quickly depleting.
First introduced in October 2001, the iPod is one of Apple's most iconic products, but the device's discontinuation became inevitable given the wide array of Apple products that can play music, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod mini, and more.
"Today, the spirit of iPod lives on," Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak said Tuesday. "We've integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and across Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. And Apple Music delivers industry-leading sound quality with support for spatial audio — there's no better way to enjoy, discover, and experience music."
While stock is depleting on Apple's online store, the iPod touch may still be found at select Apple Store locations and at Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last. The seventh-generation iPod touch was released in May 2019 and features a 4-inch Retina display, an A10 chip, and a classic Home button without Touch ID.
Once the iPod touch is fully sold out, Apple will no longer sell any iPod, marking the end of an era.
Amazon has an all-time low price on Apple's M1 Mac mini (256GB SSD), available for $569.99, down from $699.00. You won't see this deal price until you add the Mac mini to your cart and an automatic coupon worth $99.01 is applied to the order.
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.
Amazon's sale price today on the Mac mini is a match of the same record low discount that we tracked last month on the same model. The Mac mini is shipped and sold directly by Amazon, with delivery as soon as May 13-18 for most places in the United States. The 512GB configuration is not on sale
Note: You won't see the deal price until checkout.
The M1 Mac mini was introduced in November 2020, and is the first Mac mini to include Apple's M1 chip. The M1 in the Mac mini has an 8-core CPU with four high-efficiency cores and four high-performance cores along with an integrated GPU that has 8 cores.
Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.
Mophie today announced the release of two new ultra-compact USB-C chargers designed for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, with 30W and 67W options available.
Mophie's 67W charger (front) vs. Apple's 67W charger (back)
Designed with GaN (gallium nitride) material, the chargers are smaller, lighter, and more power efficient than traditional silicon-based chargers, including Apple's own 30W and 67W chargers. Both chargers feature foldable prongs, a single USB-C port with fast charging capabilities, and a two-meter USB-C to USB-C cable included in the box.
The 30W charger is ideal for use with iPhones, iPads, and the M1 MacBook Air, while the 67W charger is suitable for the 14-inch MacBook Pro and more.
The only GaN charger that Apple has released to date is its 140W USB-C power adapter, included with the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro and sold separately. Apple is also rumored to be planning a new 35W charger with dual USB-C ports that could utilize GaN material, with leaked images suggesting the charger will feature foldable prongs.
Mophie's new chargers can be ordered through Apple's online store, with the 30W option priced at $44.95 and the 67W option priced at $69.95. The chargers can also be ordered from Mophie's parent company ZAGG (30W here and 67W here), which is currently offering customers 30% off when they buy two or more products during the same transaction.
Note: Mophie's press release as originally published indicated that the 67W charger had two USB-C ports, but we've received confirmation from Mophie that this was an error and that the charger only has one port.
Disclosure: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Mophie. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
A pair of discounts on the AirPods and AirPods Pro are available right now on Amazon, offering the best prices of the year so far on each model.
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.
AirPods 2
Apple's AirPods 2 have returned to $99.99 on Amazon, down from $129.00. This is still the best discount that we've tracked in 2022, and overall it's a solid second-best price on this version of the AirPods.
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
Secondly, Amazon is discounting the AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case to $174.99, down from $249.00. This is another 2022 low price, and overall a second-best price on the AirPods Pro.
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.
E-ink tablet maker "reMarkable" has now sold more than one million devices since 2017 and raised money at a valuation of $1 billion, indicating that its unusual minimalist reading- and writing-focused tablet is growing its market share despite competition with fully-fledged tablets like the iPad (via TechCrunch).
The Norway-based startup company, which employs more than 300 people, has announced that it achieved investment from multiple international investors at its $1 billion valuation last year. The company's valuation comes after making revenues of $300 million and operating profits of $31 million in 2021. Founder and CEO Magnus Wanberg said that the company was now closing the investment as a "good indication, a signal out to the world."
The reMarkable 2 launched in 2020, priced at $299, just $30 less than Apple's ninth-generation iPad. While both devices tout their e-reading capabilities and can be used with a stylus accessory for notetaking and annotating PDFs, the reMarkable effectively only allows for reading and writing, with no other functionality. The reMarkable 2 includes features such as handwriting conversion, screen sharing, Wi-Fi connectivity, integration with cloud storage services, and more. Wanberg said:
The future of the tablet as we see it is in the direction that Apple and others are heading, a fusion of laptop and tablet forms... But our offering is a third device, a focussed space for books, drawing, and notes, where you can really avoid distractions and procrastination. That is our positioning.
With these specific purposes in mind, the reMarkable features an e-ink display that is gentler on the eyes than a display that directly emits light, a textured screen for a paper-like feel, and an ultra-slim design. The company claims that customers do not need to buy a new device for at least 10 years after purchasing a reMarkable tablet.
With an E-reader and you own and use it for quite a long time. In our business, it's not a new-model-every-year dynamic. There is no emphasis on new model ownership. We don't want to force our company to slap on some iteration for the sake of it. There is true innovation, major steps in terms of what we can offer the customer. We also think it's great from a sustainability perspective [to move away from] pushing out new hardware.
The company says that its devices bridge the gap between pen and paper, and digital devices. While the reMarkable 2 is not a like-for-like iPad rival, the company's rapid growth may indicate the emergence of a new mass market of e-ink "distraction-free" tablets dedicated to specific tasks.
Apple has launched a special limited-time offer for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad trade-in that offers customers additional credit when trading in their only device for a new one.
The offer is being run in several countries including the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, India, and France. In the UK, Apple is offering up to £50 of extra trade-in credit for specific iPhone and iPad models and up to £30 for certain Mac and Apple Watch models. Apple is automatically applying for the additional trade-in credit during the process.
As always, exact trade-in values will depend on the model of the device and other factors like its condition. Apple earlier this week cut down on the base trade-in value of some its devices, but with the offer that runs until May 31, the losses should be less for customers trading devices.
Update 7:15 a.m.: The bonus is now also showing as available in the United States with bonuses of up to $50 on iPhone and iPad, up to $40 on Apple Watch, and just $10 on Mac.
Apple will ditch its proprietary Lightning port and switch to USB-C on all or possibly some models of the iPhone 15 lineup destined to launch in the second half of 2023, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today.
Since the iPhone 5, Apple has kept the Lightning port on the iPhone, despite much of the industry moving to USB-C. In a tweet today, Kuo said that the latest supply chain survey indicates that Apple will ditch Lightning in favor of USB-C in 2023. Kuo noted that USB-C would improve transfer speeds on the iPhone and improve charging speeds.
Kuo had previously said that Apple would be sticking with Lightning on the iPhone for the "foreseeable future," saying that switching to USB-C would be harmful to Apple's MiFi business and has lesser waterproof specification. Now, Apple has reportedly changed its tone. One possible reason for Apple's change in heart is pressure being placed upon it by the EU.
The EU continues to move forward with passing new legislation that would force Apple to adopt USB-C on all iPhones, iPads, and AirPods sold in Europe. Such legislation, if passed, would require Apple to either ship specially designed USB-C equipped models of its products to Europe while keeping the rest of the world stuck with Lightning or adopt USB-C for all of its products globally.
Most of Apple's iPad lineup already features USB-C for faster transfer speeds from accessories such as cameras. For photographers and cinematographers, a demographic Apple has been keen to target with its high-end iPhones, the Lightning port represents a bottleneck for transferring large video and photo files. A move to USB-C would ease that workflow, make it easier to transfer files and be supported by a broader ecosystem of USB-C accessories.
Initial speculation was that Apple would keep the Lightning port on the iPhone until it's ready to go entirely port-less, relying simply on MagSafe to charge and transfer files. MagSafe was first introduced on the iPhone with the iPhone 12 in 2020, so it's still a relatively new technology to the iPhone. The pressure being placed by the EU may have forced Apple to reconsider its timeline for moving entirely portless, requiring it to comply with possible upcoming regulations and move the iPhone to USB-C.
The European Commission is set to release a draft law this week that could require tech companies like Apple and Google to identify, remove and report to law enforcement illegal images of child abuse on their platforms, claims a new report out today.
According to a leak of the proposal obtained by Politico, the EC believes voluntary measures taken by some digital companies have thus far "proven insufficient" in addressing the increasing misuse of online services for the purposes of sharing child sexual abuse content, which is why the commission wants to make detection of such material mandatory.
After months of lobbying, groups representing tech companies and children's rights organizations are said to be waiting to see how stringent the rules could be, and how they will work without tech companies having to scan the gamut of user content – a practice deemed illegal by the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2016.
Apart from how identification of illegal material would operate within the law, privacy groups and tech companies are worried that the EU executive could result in the creation of backdoors to end-to-end encrypted messaging services, the contents of which cannot be accessed by the hosting platform.
The EC's Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson has said technical solutions exist to keep conversations safe while finding illegal content, but cybersecurity experts disagree.
"The EU shouldn't be proposing things that are technologically impossible," said Ella Jakubowska, speaking to Politico. Jakubowska is policy adviser at European Digital Rights (EDRi), a network of 45 non-governmental organizations (NGOs.)
"The idea that all the hundreds of millions of people in the EU would have their intimate private communications, where they have a reasonable expectation that that is private, to instead be kind of indiscriminately and generally scanned 24/7 is unprecedented," said Jakubowska.
MEPs are far from aligned on the issue, however. Reacting to the leak of the proposal, centrist Renew Europe MEP Moritz Körner told Politico the Commission's proposal would mean "the privacy of digital correspondence would be dead."
The heated debate mirrors last year's controversy surrounding Apple's plan to search for CSAM (child sexual abuse material) on iPhones and iPads.
Apple in August 2021 announced a planned suite of new child safety features, including scanning users' iCloud Photos libraries for CSAM and Communication Safety to warn children and their parents when receiving or sending sexually explicit photos. The latter, and arguably less controversial, feature is already live on Apple's iMessage platform. Apple's method of scanning for CSAM has yet to have been deployed.
The majority of criticism was leveled at Apple's planned on-device CSAM detection, which was lambasted by researchers for relying on dangerous technology that bordered on surveillance, and derided for being ineffective at identifying images of child sexual abuse.
Apple initially attempted to dispel some misunderstandings and reassure users by releasing detailed information and sharing interviews with company executives in order to allay concerns. However, despite Apple's efforts, the controversy didn't go away, and Apple decided to delay the rollout of CSAM following the torrent of criticism.
Apple said its decision to delay was "based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers and others... we have decided to take additional time over the coming months to collect input and make improvements before releasing these critically important child safety features."
In December 2021, Apple quietly nixed all mentions of CSAM from its Child Safety webpage, suggesting its controversial plan to detect child sexual abuse images on iPhones and iPads hanged in the balance following significant criticism of its methods.
However, Apple says its plans for CSAM detection have not changed since September, which suggests CSAM detection in some form is still coming in the future.
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.
AT&T today announced the launch of a new location-based routing system for emergency calls in the United States, with the system designed to transmit wireless 911 calls to the appropriate 911 call centers based on a device's GPS location.
According to AT&T, this is the first-ever nationwide location-based routing initiative, which it is launching in partnership with Intrado. AT&T says that the "Locate Before Route" feature will allow AT&T to identify where a 911 call is coming from within 50 meters of a device's location.
The GPS-based routing is an improvement over prior 911 call routing that relied on the location of cell towers, which can cover up to a 10-mile radius, resulting in slower emergency response times. With calls directed to the appropriate 911 call centers, first responders can get to the correct location more quickly.
AT&T is paving the way to create safer communities and is the only carrier to provide the most accurate solution to reduce wireless 9-1-1 call transfers beyond what the FCC is requiring carriers today. This is especially important in an emergency when lives are on the line.
AT&T has started rolling out the GPS-based routing system, and it is live in Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Guam. It will be coming to additional regions over the next several weeks, and the nationwide rollout is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.
Throwboy, known for its lineup of plush pillows modeled after classic Apple products, today announced the launch of a new set of high-end woven blankets that are designed with Mac fans in mind.
Created in collaboration with the Mineola Knitting Company and priced at $160, the throw blankets come in three designs. There's a multi-colored iMac version that features the iMac G3 in a series of bright colors, an Icon version that's modeled after the original Mac Finder icon, and an iPod version that features iPods dripping different colors.
Each blanket measures in at 50 inches by 60 inches, and they are individually woven from recycled cotton and recycled polyester materials. Throwboy says that the blankets are stretchy, soft, and have a comfortable, slightly weighted feel.
All of the blankets can be purchased from the Throwboy website, and for those who want a Mac-themed blanket but don't want to shell out so much money, Throwboy also has a line of more affordable fleece blankets.
Apple today announced the official discontinuation of the iPod touch, the last remaining device in the iPod lineup. The sunsetting of the iPod touch marks the end of a 21-year era, that all started with the 2001 iPod.
Over the years, Apple introduced multiple iterations of the iPod, including iPod mini, multiple versions of the iPod nano, the iPod shuffle, and the iPod touch. We want to hear from you - what was your favorite iPod? Let us know in the comments below, and share your iPod photos with us.
Apple said that it is discontinuing the iPod because the iPod's capabilities have been built into the entire Apple product lineup, from the Mac to the iPhone to the Apple Watch.
Apple plans to continue selling the iPod touch on its website and in retail stores while supplies remain, but once it sells out, it will be gone for good. The iPod touch is priced starting at $199.
Apple today released a new 4E71 firmware update for the AirPods 2, AirPods Max, and AirPods Pro, up from the 4C165 firmware that was released back in December. Apple has also released new 4E71 firmware for the AirPods 3, up from the 4C170 firmware that was released in January.
Apple does not offer information on what's included in refreshed firmware updates for the AirPods, so we don't know what improvements or bug fixes the new firmware brings.
There is no standard way to upgrade the AirPods software, but firmware is generally installed over-the-air while the AirPods are connected to an iOS device. Putting the AirPods in the case, connecting the AirPods to a power source, and then pairing the AirPods to an iPhone or an iPad should force the update after a short period of time.
You can check your AirPods or AirPods Pro firmware by following these steps:
Connect your AirPods or AirPods Pro to your iOS device.
Open the Settings app.
Tap General.
Tap About.
Tap AirPods.
Look at the number next to "Firmware Version."
If we find notable changes after the firmware updates are installed, we'll share details, but the software likely includes performance improvements and bug fixes.
A more affordable, ad-supported Netflix plan could be introduced before the end of 2022, Netflix told employees in an internal letter (via The New York Times).
Netflix is currently planning to introduce the 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.
The company has been steadily raising its prices for the last few years, and enacted a significant increase at the beginning of 2022. The basic streaming plan is now priced at $9.99, up from $8.99, and the standard plan that allows for HD streaming is priced at $15.49, up from $13.99 per month.
The highest-tier 4K Ultra HD streaming plan now costs $19.99, a $2 increase over the prior $17.99 price point. Netflix continues to be the only streaming service that prices by streaming quality, with other options like Disney+, Hulu, and Apple TV+ offering more straightforward pricing.
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. Netflix in April said that it lost subscribers in the first quarter of the year, and it marked the first subscriber loss for Netflix in more than a decade. Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers, and expects to lose two million more next quarter.
The subscriber loss has been partially attributed to account sharing, which Netflix has said that it is going to crack down on. Netflix told employees in the letter that it plans to cut down on password sharing by restricting access to subscribers who share a household. Netflix estimates that 222 million paying households are sharing with an additional 100 million households that are not being monetized.
Netflix started testing an extra payment for those who share their Netflix accounts with people outside their households in March. In Netflix's current test markets of Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, customers can pay an extra fee to share their accounts with two people outside of their household. When the test was launched, Netflix said that it was working to "understand the utility of these two features" before making changes in other countries.
All four iPhone 15 models slated for release next year will feature a pill-and-hole display design that replaces the notch, according to display industry consultant Ross Young, who has a respectable track record with display-related information.
In a tweet, Young shared a roadmap that indicates both standard and Pro models of the iPhone 15 will feature the pill-and-hole layout, which refers to a pill-shaped cutout for Face ID sensors and a hole for the front camera. By comparison, only iPhone 14 Pro models are expected to switch to the pill-and-hole design this year, with the standard iPhone 14 models expected to retain the same notch as iPhone 13 models.
Young believes that Apple's end goal is to move Face ID sensors and the front camera completely under the display. If development is successful, he expects this transition to begin with under-screen Face ID on iPhone 16 Pro models in 2024, followed by under-screen Face ID and an under-screen front camera on iPhone 18 Pro models in 2026.
Based on the technical challenges remaining for under panel cameras to meet discerning brands quality requirements as well as panel manufacturers' cost requirements, I still believe this roadmap makes sense for the iPhone. pic.twitter.com/3ck5X3sVcL
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) May 10, 2022
Young said the pill-and-hole design will result in iPhone 14 Pro models having slightly larger screen sizes compared to iPhone 13 Pro models.
Apple is expected to introduce the iPhone 14 lineup in September, barring any major supply chain disruptions. For the Pro models, an upgraded 48-megapixel rear camera is expected to enable 8K video recording, up from 4K currently.
Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, has in the past accurately revealed that the sixth-generation iPad mini would feature an 8.3-inch display and that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models would feature ProMotion.
Apple just announced the discontinuation of the iPod touch, and with the end of this product's lifecycle you can expect to see stock quickly begin to dwindle at all retailers. For this reason, we're highlighting the last best deals you'll find on the iPod touch.
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.
Amazon has the 32GB iPod touch in Space Gray for $184.00, down from $199.00, and that's the lowest price currently available and overall the second best price we've ever tracked. All other colors can be found priced at $189.99.
The 128GB iPod touch is available for $289.99 in Silver, down from $299.00. This is another second best price, and only Silver is seeing this markdown on Amazon at this time.
There is currently no deal on the 256GB iPod touch among the major Apple resellers online, but stock is already beginning to dwindle for many colors on Amazon. Remember that once all of these iPod touch models sell out on Amazon and at other retailers, the only other place to purchase them will be in used condition from third-party resellers like on eBay.
Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.
Apple today announced that it is officially discontinuing the iPod touch, an out of date accessory that has been replaced by other devices like the iPhone and the iPad. Apple says that it is eliminating the iPod touch because its capabilities are available across Apple's product lineup.
The iPod touch is the last remaining device in the iPod lineup, and it has not been updated since May 2019, three years ago. In a statement, Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak said that the "spirit of the iPod lives on" in other Apple products.
"Music has always been part of our core at Apple, and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impacted more than just the music industry -- it also redefined how music is discovered, listened to, and shared," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Today, the spirit of iPod lives on. We've integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and across Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. And Apple Music delivers industry-leading sound quality with support for spatial audio -- there's no better way to enjoy, discover, and experience music."
Apple introduced the first iPod 21 years ago in October 2001, and at the time, it was a revolutionary music device that put thousands of songs in the pockets of Apple fans. Apple introduced many iterations of the iPod, including the iPod Shuffle, the iPod nano, and the iPod touch, but all have since been phased out and discontinued.
The iPod touch will still be available for purchase through Apple's website, Apple retail stores, and through Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last.
The seventh-generation iPod touch is priced starting at $199 and it features a 4-inch display with thick bezels, a standard Home button with no biometric unlocking mechanism, and an A10 Fusion chip. It is available in Pink, (PRODUCT)RED, Space Gray, Silver, Gold, and Blue.
Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models will feature slightly larger screen sizes compared to the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, according to information shared by display industry consultant Ross Young.
When measured as a standard rectangular shape, Young said the iPhone 14 Pro will have a 6.12-inch screen, compared to a 6.06-inch screen on the iPhone 13 Pro. Likewise, Young said the iPhone 14 Pro Max will have a 6.69-inch screen, which would be marginally larger than the 6.68-inch screen on the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Young said the slightly larger screen sizes are due to narrower bezels around the display and a new pill-and-hole design replacing the notch. The pill-shaped cutout is expected to house Face ID sensors, with the hole being for the front camera.
iPhone 13 Pro - 6.06" iPhone 14 Pro - 6.12" iPhone 13 Pro Max - 6.68" iPhone 14 Pro Max - 6.69"
Differences due to pill + hole replacing the notch and narrower bezels.
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) May 10, 2022
Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, has a respectable track record with regards to display-related information about future Apple products. He accurately revealed that the sixth-generation iPad mini would feature an 8.3-inch display and that the latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models would feature ProMotion.
Pillonel told The Verge that he managed to design a custom flexible PCB that allowed him to fit the necessary USB-C charging hardware inside the AirPods case, and he plans to open source the project so that others can attempt the project themselves.
He shared a short video of the USB-C AirPods on YouTube and plans to release a full-length video with more details in the coming weeks.
Apple has opposed proposed EU legislation that would require the company to offer a USB-C port on devices like the iPhone. Apple does offer USB-C ports on some devices, such as the latest MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini models.