MacRumors

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 8.5 beta to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming just a day after the release of watchOS 8.4.

To install ‌‌‌watchOS 8‌‌‌.5, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, ‌‌‌watchOS 8.4‌‌‌ can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update.

To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌.

We don't yet know what's included in the watchOS 8.5 update, but if if we find new features after installing the beta, we'll update this article.

For the first time in a while, Apple has started selling a refurbished iPhone 8 model for $359 through its online store in the United States.

For the time being, this is now the cheapest iPhone model that can be purchased directly from Apple, but the device is nearly four and a half years old and we strongly recommend considering the second-generation iPhone SE in this price range. Released in April 2020, the iPhone SE is available with 64GB of storage for $399 or 128GB for $449.

An even better option may be to wait for the third-generation iPhone SE, which is expected to launch around March or April with an A15 chip and 5G.

There are many downsides to the iPhone 8, including that the device will likely stop receiving iOS updates at least a few years before the second-generation iPhone SE due to its age. The second-generation iPhone SE also has a newer A13 chip, compared to the A11 chip in the iPhone 8, and has several features not available on the iPhone 8, including Portrait Mode photos, QuickTake video, Wi-Fi 6, Gigabit-class LTE, and eSIM/Dual SIM.

The refurbished iPhone 8 is available in space gray and is an unlocked device. All refurbished iPhones come with a new battery, a new outer shell, and a new white box. Included with the iPhone 8 is EarPods with a Lightning connector, a Lightning to USB-A cable, and a 5W power adapter. All refurbished iPhones are also covered by the same one-year warranty as a new iPhone, and AppleCare+ can be purchased for the device.

The 27-inch iMac with a nano-texture display is unavailable from Apple in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and several other key markets until late March, possibly due to more advanced manufacturing processes needed to achieve the glass coating.

The updated 27-inch ‌iMac‌ released in 2020 offers customers a nano-texture glass option that helps reduce reflectivity by etching the display with a nano-texture at a molecular level. Apple says this coating results in "beautiful image quality that maintains contrast while scattering light to reduce glare to the barest minimum."

Upon checking Apple's online store in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, the 27-inch ‌iMac‌ configured with a nano-texture display shows an estimated delivery date of seven to eight weeks, or in other words, towards the end of March. The standard display option with certain storage and memory configurations is estimated to ship in two to three weeks.

Given the anomaly that only the nano-texture display option is significantly back-ordered, it's plausible that Apple and its suppliers are experiencing production issues with the more advanced display coating. Due to the ongoing chip shortage and pandemic-related restrictions, Apple is struggling to keep up with demand for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros.

For customers looking to purchase Apple's largest all-in-one Mac desktop computer, it might be a safe bet to wait a little bit longer anyway. Apple is expected to be holding an event sometime in March or April to announce a slew of new products, including an updated iPhone SE, a new iPad Air, and possibly a completely redesigned ‌iMac‌ to replace the existing Intel-based 27-inch model.

The ‌iMac‌ family was last updated in April 2021 with the 24-inch model sporting a colorful new design and the first all-in-one desktop Mac computer to feature an Apple silicon chip. The 27-inch ‌iMac‌ has kept the same overall design for almost ten years, and rumors suggest the upcoming redesign could resemble the Pro Display XDR, feature a mini-LED ProMotion display, and start at around $2000. Learn more about what we expect to see in the 2022 ‌iMac‌ redesign using our guide.

Apple is exploring methods to bring user authentication to AirPods, a newly published Apple patent application shows.

In a patent application titled "User Identification Using Headphones," filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and spotted by Patently Apple, Apple explains how it can authenticate AirPods users using other nearby devices, ultrasonic signals, voice recognition, and even a wearer's gait.

The filing seeks to address the issue of AirPods being unable to determine whether a wearer is the authorized user of a connected device. Apple suggests that this can be a problem since any user can place headphones into their ear while they are connected to a device belonging to another person, which risks the connected device releasing personal information, such as via notifications announced by Siri.

The system is able to bypass the need for Face ID, Touch ID, or any other kind of biometric authentication on a separate device, instead using a "similarity score" to verify a user's identity. This similarity score may be based on multiple variables, such as the proximity of other nearby devices belonging to the connected device's owner. Nevertheless, Apple says that biometrics could still be used to increase the accuracy of the similarity score. To authenticate a user based on biometrics with AirPods themselves, Apple proposes playing and receiving ultrasonic sounds inside the headphones:

For example, various characteristics of the user's ear provide an echo of the ultrasonic signal which is unique to the user. Variations in the surface of the user's ear canal may cause the ultrasonic signal to reflect off the surface and generate an echo having a signature that is associated with the user. For example, a user having a larger ear canal may result in an echo having a longer reverberation time than a user having a smaller ear canal.

Apple adds that AirPods could also use information gathered about a user's gait and voice from the AirPods' gyroscopes, accelerometers, and microphones to determine if they are the owner of the connected device. Collectively, these various data points provide an overall similarity score that could authenticate users if it reaches the required threshold.

Apple often adds new features to existing AirPods devices using firmware updates, such as support for the Find My network, Conversation Boost, and Spatial Audio, so seems it plausible that AirPods user authentication could theoretically be added in a future update. Patent filings are not representative of Apple's immediate plans, but they do show some of the company's specific areas of research and development.

Other recent Apple patent filings included designs for all-glass iPhones and Apple Watches, a removable MacBook key that works as a mouse, and a hydration sensor for the Apple Watch.

Today you can get the Beats Studio Buds for $109.95, down from $149.95 on Amazon. Only the white color option is available at this price, and as of writing only Amazon is offering the discount.

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 price is about $10 higher when compared to the record low price that we saw over the holidays. That discount was rare and has yet to return to any retailer, so if you missed out Amazon's offer today is a good second-best price.

If you're shopping for AirPods, be sure to check out our post from earlier this week. All of these deals are still live, and you can save up to $100 on AirPods Max, AirPods 2, and AirPods Pro. Our full Deals Roundup has more Apple-related discounts as well.

Apple released iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 on Wednesday with several security fixes, and we have since learned that the software updates also resolve an issue with HomeKit camera thumbnails failing to refresh for some users in the Home app.

HomeKit Secure Video cameras added to the Home app each have a thumbnail that provides a still view of recent footage, and normally these thumbnails automatically refresh periodically. In recent weeks, however, some iPhone and iPad users had experienced an issue with the thumbnails failing to refresh and showing outdated footage.

As alerted to us by reader Collin A. Zimmerman and others, users who have updated to iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 are reporting that the bug has been fixed, with HomeKit camera thumbnails now behaving properly in the Home app.

iOS 15.3, iPadOS 15.3, and macOS 12.2 are relatively minor updates in terms of new features. Apple still has a few new features promised for early 2022, including Universal Control and the ability to add an ID to the Wallet app in participating U.S. states, and those features could potentially arrive with the next round of updates.

Apple is working on a new payments service that will allow iPhones to accept payments directly on device with no additional hardware, reports Bloomberg. Right now, iPhones can accept credit cards with add-ons like the Square Reader, but Apple's new technology will eliminate the need for a third-party product.

Individuals and small businesses will be able to accept payments with the tap of a debit or credit card on the iPhone, a feature that is likely to use the NFC chip that's already built into Apple's devices.

Apple started developing the hardware-free credit card payment option back in 2020, when it purchased Mobeewave for approximately $100 million. Mobeewave was a startup that created technology for smartphones to accept payments using NFC.

At the time, Mobeewave's website said that sending payments with the Mobeewave app was as simple as inputting a transaction amount and tapping an NFC-enabled card on the back of a smartphone, and Apple's built-in payment feature is likely to work in a similar way.

Bloomberg says it's not yet clear if the payment service will be bundled into Apple Pay, though the team working on the feature has been working within Apple's payments division.

Because current iPhones already have NFC technology, this is not a feature that will be tied to a hardware update. Apple is planning to roll out on-iPhone card payments in the coming months, perhaps including it in the iOS 15.4 update that could launch in the spring.

Apple appears to have fixed an ongoing iCloud server issue that was causing some apps that have implemented ‌iCloud‌ support to fail to sync properly. The bug has persisted since November, and app developers were becoming increasingly upset with Apple's lack of effort to address the problem.

According to YarnBuddy developer Becky Hansmeyer, Apple said that it has managed to address the issue that was causing sync failures.

Users of apps with ‌iCloud‌ issues were seeing 503 error messages such as "Request failed with http status code 503," but multiple developers have confirmed that the error messages appear to have gone away over the course of the last couple of days.

Tweetbot developer Paul Haddad said that he has received "basically 0" ‌iCloud‌ Sync reports over the past couple days, and Craig Grannell, who wrote about the ‌iCloud‌ problems, said that he is no longer seeing issues with the Cloud Battery or Transloader apps he uses.

The ‌iCloud‌ syncing bug appears to have been introduced sometime around late November or early December, and it was a major headache for developers. App users experiencing ‌iCloud‌ syncing issues don't know that it's a problem on Apple's end, causing developers to be blamed. Some app developers even went as far as building ‌iCloud‌ status dashboards into their apps so end users would have a better idea of when there were issues with the way ‌iCloud‌ was working.

While most developers have said that the syncing issue has been largely resolved, there are still a few complaints about ongoing problems, so Apple may have a few kinks to work out.

It's worth noting that this ‌iCloud‌ sync issue is an ongoing problem that developers were dealing with for months, and it is separate from the current two-day iCloud outage that is affecting ‌iCloud‌ services.

Amazon today has Apple's 2020 64GB Wi-Fi iPad Air for $539.00, from $599.00. This sale is available in Green and Sky Blue, but Green has the faster shipping options with delivery as soon as this Friday for United States residences.

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.

Besides the same deal appearing earlier in January, we haven't seen many discounts on the iPad Air line since around August and September 2021. Compared to previous sales, today's offer is a second-best price and so far the best deal we've tracked in 2022.

There are a few other noteworthy iPad deals happening on Amazon this week. You can get the 10.2-inch iPad (256GB Wi-Fi) for $449.00, down from $479.00. The iPad mini 6 (64GB cellular) is on sale for $629.00, down from $649.00. Both of these sales are lowest-ever prices.

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.

Apple today released macOS Monterey 12.2, the second major update to the macOS Monterey update that launched in October. macOS Monterey 12.2 comes over a month after the release of the 12.1 update, which brought SharePlay support.

The ‌‌‌macOS Monterey 12.2‌‌ update can be downloaded on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Preferences. Apple has also released a macOS Big Sur 11.6.3 update for those still running macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina Security Update 2022-001 for those on Catalina.

macOS Monterey 12.2 is a bug fix update, and Apple's release notes have no information other than generic bug fix information. We don't yet have a full list of security updates, but we do know that macOS Monterey 12.2 addresses a Safari bug that could cause your recent browsing history and details about your identity to be leaked to malicious entities.

A full list of security fixes that are in the update will be available from Apple's security update support document.

Apple today released iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3, the third major updates to the iOS and iPadOS 15 operating systems that were released in September 2021. iOS and iPadOS 15.3 come almost two weeks after the release of iOS and iPadOS 15.2.1, minor bug fix updates.

The iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 updates can be downloaded for free and the software is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the new software, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

According to Apple's release notes, iOS 15.3 includes "bug fixes and security updates for your iPhone," with Apple recommending the software for all users.

Apple will have a full list of security updates on its website, but today's iOS and iPadOS 15.3 updates specifically address a recently publicized Safari exploit.

In iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, there is an issue with the WebKit implementation of the IndexedDB JavaScript API. Websites that use IndexedDB can access the names of IndexedDB databases generated by other websites during the same browsing session, which essentially allows a malicious website to spy on other websites that a Safari user visits.

iOS 15.3, iPadOS 15.3, and macOS Monterey 12.2 fix this Safari bug, which also impacted Chrome and other browsers on iOS devices. With the fix, the vulnerability can no longer be used to glean recent browsing history and identity details from Safari users.

Apple today released watchOS 8.4, the third major update to the watchOS 8 operating system that launched in September. watchOS 8.4 comes over a month after the release of watchOS 8.3, an update that added support for the Apple Music Voice Plan.

‌‌watchOS ‌8.4 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌‌‌.

The watchOS 8.4 update is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 3 and later like all ‌watchOS 8‌ updates.

According to Apple's release notes, watchOS 8.4 fixes a bug that could cause some Apple Watch chargers not to work as expected with the Apple Watch.

Since the watchOS 8.3 update, there have been complaints from Apple Watch Series 7 users who have noticed that their third-party chargers (and in some cases, Apple-branded chargers) are not able to charge their Apple Watches.

In some situations, the Apple Watch would not charge at all with an affected charger, and in other cases, it would charge for a few minutes and then stop. Today's update should fix both issues.

Alongside iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3, Apple today released a new 15.3 update that's available for the HomePod and the HomePod mini.

As with iOS 15.3, the ‌HomePod‌ 15.3 software is a minor update that focuses on bug fixes rather than new features. According to Apple's release notes, the update adds Siri voice recognition support for up to six users in a home in English (India) and Italian (Italy). It also includes performance and stability improvements.

‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ software is installed automatically on the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌‌‌ unless the feature is disabled‌‌‌‌, but the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ can also be manually updated in the Home app by following the instructions in our HomePod‌‌ update how to.

Apple today released tvOS 15.3, the third major update to the tvOS operating system that first launched in September 2021. tvOS 15.3 comes more than a month after the launch of tvOS 15.2, an update that added support for Photos Memories, Apple Music Voice Plan, and new screen savers.

tvOS 15.3 can be downloaded over the air on the Apple TV through the Settings app by going to System > Software Update. ‌‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌‌ owners who have automatic software updates enabled will be upgraded to tvOS 15.3 automatically.

Apple's tvOS updates are typically more minor in scale, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes, performance updates, and small tweaks rather than major outward-facing changes. There were no new features discovered in tvOS 15.3 during the beta testing process, so it's not yet clear what's included in the update.

Apple does not provide detailed release notes for its tvOS updates, but the company does offer some tvOS information through the tvOS support document.

Some of Apple's iCloud services appear to be experiencing an outage, based on a multitude of reports that MacRumors has received and hundreds of complaints on Twitter.

According to the Apple System Status page, there are issues with ‌iCloud‌ Backup, ‌iCloud‌ Mail, ‌iCloud‌ Storage Upgrades, iCloud.com, iMessage, and Game Center. Some users are unable to log into the ‌iCloud‌ website, and others are having trouble with app-specific passwords or are seeing a message about an issue with connecting to Apple ID servers.

There are reports about the ‌iCloud‌ issues from multiple countries, though it is not clear if all users are affected at this time. The ‌iCloud‌ outage has been ongoing since yesterday afternoon.

Apple earlier this morning said that the ‌iCloud‌ outage had been fixed and the company updated the System Status page, but after continued complaints from users and ongoing connectivity problems, Apple again changed the System Status page to note several issues. We'll update this article when Apple is able to address the ‌iCloud‌ outage.

Benchmark results have started to surface for MSI's new GE76 Raider, one of the first laptops to be powered by Intel's new 12th-generation Core i9 processor.

Intel previously said that its new high-end Core i9 processor is faster than Apple's M1 Max chip in the 16-inch MacBook Pro and, as noted by Macworld, early Geekbench 5 results do appear to confirm this claim, but there are several caveats as usual.

Geekbench 5 results show that the GE76 Raider with the Core i9-12900HK processor has an average multi-core score of 12,707, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Max chip has an average multi-core score of 12,244. This means the Core i9 processor is around 4% faster than the M1 Max chip in this particular comparison.

One of the biggest caveats is power efficiency. PCWorld measured the new GE76 Raider's power draw from the wall while running a CPU-only Cinebench R23 benchmark and found the Core i9 was consistently in the 100-watts range, and even briefly spiked to 140 watts. By comparison, when running the same Cinebench R23 benchmark on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, AnandTech found the M1 Max chip's power draw from the wall to be around 40 watts.

With the Core i9 consuming much more power, battery life takes a considerable hit, with PCWorld finding the new GE76 Raider achieved nearly six hours of offline video playback. Apple advertises the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro as getting up to 21 hours of battery life for offline video playback. Even with potential differences in display brightness and other factors, the 16-inch MacBook Pro clearly runs longer on battery.

Design is also a factor, with the GE76 Raider being a 17-inch gaming laptop that is just over an inch thick and weighs nearly 6.5 pounds. By comparison, the new 16-inch MacBook Pro is 0.66 inches thick and weighs 4.8 pounds.

All in all, it appears that Intel's claim that its new Core i9 processor is faster than the M1 Max chip holds up, but Apple likely has no regrets with switching to its own power-efficient chips for thin-and-light notebooks like the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. And with the M2 chip expected later this year, Apple is only just getting started.