MacRumors

Justine Ezarik, known as iJustine on YouTube, today shared an inside look at the Apple Fitness+ studio in Santa Monica, California. As part of the tour, Ezarik interviewed Apple's head of fitness Jay Blahnik and a few Fitness+ trainers.


British GQ also visited the Fitness+ studio and interviewed Blahnik and Apple's operations chief Jeff Williams, who oversees the Apple Watch team. According to the publication, the 23,000-square-foot building is outfitted with numerous aerial camera rails and lighting rigs, along with robots that aid in filming the workout videos.

Launched in December 2020, Apple Fitness+ features a library of workout videos, with new content added weekly. The subscription-based service is available through the Fitness app on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV in over 20 countries, with pricing set at $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year in the United States. While completing a workout, Apple Watch metrics like heart rate and calories burned are shown on screen.

Apple Fitness Plus Studio Recording

Image Credit: British GQ

"We had always been thinking about what a service like this would look like if it was built around Apple Watch at the center," Blahnik told British GQ. "And so we kept leaning into many of the things we've learned with Apple Watch, which is that people want it to be unintimidating. It needs to be friendly. It needs to be motivating."

Up to 30 new workouts and meditations are added to Fitness+ each week, according to Apple. Workouts range from five minutes to 45 minutes in length, with categories including high-intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, strength, pilates, treadmill walking, treadmill running, rowing, dancing, cycling, core exercises, and mindful cooldowns.

Amid the process of Apple employees returning to in-person work using a hybrid schedule, a group of employees represented by "Apple Together" are protesting the company's current hybrid working policy.

appleparkempty
Last month, corporate Apple employees in the United States began returning to their offices, ending a two-year work from home policy that Apple implemented during the pandemic. Employees at locations like Apple Park and Infinite Loop were given a deadline of April 11 to return to in-person work.

Apple is not forcing employees to return to the office five days a week, and has instead adopted a gradual return strategy and a hybrid home/office work policy. Apple employees were required to work from the office at least one day per week by April 11, at least two days per week by May 2, and will be required to work in-person at least three days per week by May 23.

When the three-day in-office work policy is enacted on May 23, employees will be required to be in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, with most able to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Now, a group of Apple employees represented by "Apple Together" have penned a letter addressed to the company's executive team. It argues that Apple's hybrid working pilot "does not recognize flexible work and is only driven by fear."

The letter claims that Apple has hampered communication while strengthening the company's siloed structure, diminishing the "serendipity" that it said would be restored by returning to in-person work. Secondly, it argues that in-person collaboration simply is not needed every week or every month, and that Apple's hybrid working pilot is "one of the most inefficient ways to enable everyone to be in one room, should the need arise every now and then."

Now we ask you, the executive team, to show some flexibility as well and let go of the rigid policies of the Hybrid Working Pilot. Stop trying to control how often you can see us in the office. Trust us, we know how each of our small contributions helps Apple succeed and what's required to do so. Our direct managers trust us and in many cases would happily let us work in a more flexible setup. And why wouldn’t they, we've successfully done so for the last two years. Why don't you?

Or as Steve said: "It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do." Here we are, the smart people that you hired, and we are telling you what to do: Please get out of our way, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, let us decide how we work best, and let us do the best work of our lives.

It goes on to say that Apple's policy of three days in the office and two days working from home is a "smokescreen" that offers "almost no flexibility at all." The letter also attacked the "huge waste of time as well as both mental and physical resources" caused by commuting and claimed that Apple's current working policies have "a negative impact on diversity."

Apple has been eager to get employees back in the office and was forced to delay return dates several times. "For all that we've been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other," Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees back in June 2021. "Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate."

See Apple Together's full "Thoughts on Office-bound Work" open letter for more information.

AgileBits today announced the release of 1Password 8 for Mac with a redesigned interface and several new features.

1password 8 for mac
The popular password manager has been redesigned to better match the look of macOS Monterey, from the sidebar and unified toolbar to the typography and iconography. The new design language extends to 1Password for Safari on the Mac.

1Password 8 improves productivity with a new Quick Access feature. Inspired by the built-in Spotlight search tool on macOS, Quick Access is a floating panel that is always available, providing convenient access to all of your login information. Quick Access works with keyboard shortcuts and suggests the most relevant logins for the active app.


Autofill is now supported within Mac apps and system prompts, including when macOS requests your admin password. The feature can be triggered with the keyboard shortcut ⌘\ in apps like Zoom and Spotify and also works with two-factor authentication codes.

A new Watchtower dashboard provides an all-in-one overview of your overall password strength, detects vulnerable passwords, and more.

1Password 8 for Mac is available to download on the AgileBits website. A subscription is required, with individual pricing set at $2.99 per month for unlimited access across several platforms, including iOS, macOS, Windows, Android, and others.

Apple has asked Foxconn to start recruiting workers to assemble iPhone 14 models earlier than usual amid fears that China's lockdowns could lead to short supply or delays later in the year, United Daily News reports.

chinafoxconn
Foxconn, Apple's main assembly partner, has reportedly launched a large recruitment drive for its factory in Zhengzhou this week, despite the season normally being off-peak for ‌iPhone‌ production. The company is said to have increased bonuses by 30 percent to attract more workers amid a pressing need to meet Apple's requirements.

Apple's instruction to increase recruitment at this time of year is ostensibly derived from continued strong demand for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup and mounting concern about the impact of lockdowns in China on its ability to meet demand for the ‌iPhone‌ 14 in the second half of the year. Zhengzhou has been largely unaffected by lockdown measures so far, encouraging Foxconn to increase production capacity at the facility.

Apple briefly mentioned supply problems caused by lockdowns in China in its earnings call last week. DigiTimes recently speculated that parts of Apple's supply chain may be severely impacted depending on how long lockdowns persist, potentially even forcing Apple to delay the launch of new ‌iPhone‌ models later this year.

Earlier today, it was reported that Apple supplier Quanta is now gradually resuming production of MacBook Pro models at its Chinese plant following the easing of lockdown restrictions in Shanghai. The measures caused significantly extended delivery times for new MacBook Pro orders.

Related Forum: iPhone

Amazon today is discounting a collection of Apple's first-party Magic Keyboards for the iPad Pro lineup. Many of the accessories listed below are in stock today and sold directly by Amazon.

magic keyboard sale feature purpleNote: 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.

Starting with the 11-inch iPad Pro Magic Keyboard, this model is on sale for $249.00 in White and Black, down from $299.00. Compared to previous 2022 sales, this is about $10 higher than sales we tracked a few months ago, but it's still a solid second-best price for the year so far.

Secondly, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro Magic Keyboard has dropped to $299.00, down from $349.00. This sale is also available in both White and Black, although the Black option is seeing a shipping delay of about five days at the time of writing.

In the context of other Magic Keyboard deals from 2022, this is about $7 higher than the all-time low price that we've seen so far this year. So, if you've been shopping for Apple's Magic Keyboard and waiting for a good sale, Amazon's prices today are still the best we've seen in months.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

Firefox today announced the launch of Firefox 100, the newest version of the popular browser that serves as an alternative to Safari and Chrome. Firefox 100 brings new features for both mobile devices and the desktop to enhance the browsing experience.

mozilla firefox banner fixed
On Macs, Firefox 100 supports High Dynamic Range (HDR) video for higher-fidelity video content. The feature requires a Mac with an HDR-compatible display that's running macOS 11 or later. Also new to the desktop, there are subtitles and captions when using Picture-in-Picture mode. Subtitles and captions are available on websites that support the WebVTT format, such as YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video.

A new language switching feature allows Firefox to detect a device's language preference and ask whether a user would like to switch to their preferred language, and credit card autofill functionality has now expanded to the UK, France, and Germany.

As for iOS devices, the update brings clutter-free history and clutter-free tabs for better organization, plus it includes new browser wallpapers for personalization. The history feature groups history items by the original item, so you can, for example, find all the websites you visited under a specific search term. History is also now searchable.

To cut down on tab clutter, Firefox for iOS will now focus on recent tabs in the tab tray to make it easier to swap between what's current. When a tab hasn't been visited in 14 days, it is moved to an "inactive state" in the tab tray. In that situation, the tab is available, but out of the way until you need it.

The updated version of Firefox for Macs can be downloaded from the Firefox website, and the iOS version can be downloaded from the App Store. The iOS features will be available later this week.

Tag: Firefox

The UK is set to abandon plans to heavily regulate Apple and other big tech companies using a new competition authority, the Financial Times reports.

app store blue banner uk fixed
In a paywalled report, the Financial Times claims that the British government's new legislative agenda, due to be set out in the Queen's Speech next week, will not include a bill to empower the Digital Markets Unit (DMU). The government announced plans to set up the DMU in 2020, stating that it would grant powers to the body to create a code of conduct that big tech companies have to abide by in the UK or face fines of up to 10 percent of annual turnover. An interim report published by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) earlier this year was intended to focus the DMU's attention, and it was met with an aggressive response from Apple.

While the DMU currently exists with around 60 members of staff, it has no powers beyond the CMA's existing capabilities. The DMU is currently working on a number of investigations, including into the terms of Apple's App Store and Apple and Google's "duopoly" over mobile ecosystems.

Julian Knight, Conservative chair of the House of Commons' Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said if legislation to empower the tech regulator was not included in the Queen's Speech, it would "damage the credibility of the whole enterprise... It would be a hammer blow to the capability of the UK to regulate these sectors."

The government's decision to step back from further regulating big tech is reportedly due to the decision to drop corporate reforms and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's desire to step away from state intervention in the economy.

A statement from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to the Financial Times suggested that powers to "change the conduct of the most powerful tech firms and protect businesses and consumers" are still on the way, but it "could not comment on timelines for potential future legislation."

Apple's ecosystem is increasingly coming under intense scrutiny by governments around the world, including in the United States, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, and more, with a clear appetite from global regulators to explore requirements around app store policies, app sideloading, and interoperability.

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.

Today you can get Apple's AirTag 4-Pack for $84.55 on Amazon, down from $99.00. Only the 4-Pack option is being discounted, and only Amazon is offering this sale on the AirTag.

AirTag and Lavender iPhoneNote: 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.

Discounts on the AirTag 4-Pack have been somewhat rare in 2022, with the last notable sale happening nearly two months ago now. Today's deal is a new all-time low price, but there is a shipping delay of about 10 days at the time of writing.

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.

Update: This article has been updated to reflect the new discount price of $84.55 for the AirTag 4-Pack.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

Microsoft Edge has overtaken Apple's Safari to become the world's second most popular desktop browser, based on data provided by web analytics service StatCounter.

edge
According to the data, Microsoft Edge is now used on 10.07 percent of desktop computers worldwide, 0.46 percent ahead of Safari, which stands at 9.61 percent. Google Chrome remains in first place with a dominant 66.64 percent share, and Mozilla's Firefox stands in fourth with 7.86 percent.

As the default Windows 11 browser, the popularity of Edge has crept up in recent months, with the first concrete signs that it would surpass Safari to take second place coming in February, when it was used on 9.54 percent of desktops globally. Back in January 2021, Safari held a 10.38 percent market share, indicating a gradual slippage in popularity over the last 14 months.

Meanwhile, first-placed Chrome has seen its user base increase incrementally over that time, but perhaps surprisingly, Firefox has leaked users since the beginning of the year, despite regular updates and improvements. That suggests Safari's hold on third place isn't in immediate danger, having lost only 0.23 percent share since February, but things could always change fast if Apple decides to introduce sweeping changes to the way Safari works in macOS 13 later this year.

StatCounter browser ww monthly 202104 202204
When it comes to mobile platforms, it's a different story, reflecting Microsoft's lack of a mobile operating system since the demise of Windows Mobile. In StatCounter's analysis, Edge doesn't even make it into the top six browsers on mobile, but first-placed Chrome commands 62.87 of usage share, with Safari on iPhones and iPads taking a comfortable 25.35 percent in second place, 20.65 percent ahead of third-placed Samsung Internet, with 4.9 percent.

Looking at the overall statistics for desktop and mobile, Chrome leads with 64.36 percent, Safari lies in second with 19.13 percent, and Edge stands in third with 4.07 percent of the total market share. Trailing the top three are Firefox, Samsung Internet, and Opera with 3.41 percent, 2.84 percent, and 2.07 percent, respectively, in that order of position.

Safari for desktop has faced complaints from some users in recent years because of bugs, user experience, and website compatibility, causing Apple's Safari team to ask for feedback about how it can improve. At WWDC last year, Apple introduced a radical redesign of its browser, but the changes were met with derision, and Apple eventually rolled many of them back before releasing the final version to the public in September.

With the likes of Brave, Vivaldi, and DuckDuckGo in its rearview mirror, Apple is likely to be wary of making such substantial changes in future versions of its native browser, leading to a focus on bug fixes and performance improvements instead.

Apple today added the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 2 to its vintage and obsolete products list, as it has been more than five years since the devices were last offered for sale.

ipad air mini
The ‌iPad Air‌ 2 was first released in October 2014, and was the first ‌iPad Air‌ to feature a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. It also used Apple's A8X processor and had a laminated gapless display, which made it significantly thinner than the original ‌iPad Air‌.

Launched in November 2013, the ‌iPad mini‌ 2 was colloquially known as the Retina ‌iPad mini‌, due to its Retina display with 2048 x 1536 resolution. Otherwise, visually it was identical with its predecessor, though it was slightly heavier and thicker. The tablet used an A7 processor and the M7 coprocessor originally introduced in the iPhone 5s.

The vintage products list features devices that Apple stopped distributing for sale more than five years ago and less than seven years ago. Apple provides service and parts for vintage devices for up to 7 years, or as required by law, but repairs are subject to parts availability.

On a side note, Apple was expected to move 2014's 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models and the mid-2014 13-inch MacBook Pro from vintage to obsolete at the beginning of May, but the latest update shows that only the two MacBook Airs have currently made the transition.

Related Roundups: iPad Air , iPad mini
Related Forum: iPad

Apple supplier Quanta is gradually resuming its production of MacBooks at its Chinese plant following the easing of lockdowns in Shanghai, reports DigiTimes.

macbook pro 4
Order pull-ins are also said to be slowly turning strong at the production facility, according to supply chain sources, which should boost the availability of MacBook Pro models and shorten the extended delivery times that Apple customers have been experiencing in recent weeks.

Several MacRumors readers waiting on ‌MacBook Pro‌ models ordered in March and April had their shipments significantly delayed due to Apple's supply issues. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Quanta is the sole supplier of high-end MacBook Pros, which have seen delivery times increase by three to five weeks since the China lockdowns. Some ‌MacBook Pro‌ configurations currently are not available for delivery until late June running into early July.

Despite the gradual resumption of ‌MacBook Pro‌ production, supply issues are expected to impact product sales in the third quarter of 2022. Apple last week said that lockdown disruptions in China and silicon shortages will continue to make it difficult to make enough product to satisfy strong consumer demand, and this will ultimately affect Apple's June quarter revenue.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Internet provider Frontier today announced the launch of a new promotion that will see the company providing a free Apple TV 4K to new customers who sign up for a new 2 Gigabit Fiber plan.

apple tv 4k design clue
According to Frontier, customers who opt for the 2 Gig plan will be provided with an ‌Apple TV‌ 4K to enjoy 4K television content. Priced at $150 per month, this is Frontier's highest-priced internet tier, but it also comes with a WiFi 6E-compatible router and extender.

Along with offering customers who sign up for the 2 Gig plan a free ‌Apple TV‌+, Frontier is also providing three months of ‌Apple TV‌+, a promotion that is available to all new and existing Frontier customers regardless of their internet plan.

Frontier's website says that the promotion is available for both new and returning ‌Apple TV‌+ subscribers, so even those who have already tried the service should be able to get three additional months of ‌Apple TV‌+ access.

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed the ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

Safari Technology Preview Feature
‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release 144 includes bug fixes and performance improvements for Web Inspector, CSS, Web Animations, JavaScript, WebAuthn, Web API, Accessibility, Media, Security Policy, and Web Extensions.

The current ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release is built on the Safari 15.4 update and it includes Safari 15 features introduced in macOS Monterey.

The ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple's aim with ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.

Apple today started selling refurbished versions of the Apple Watch Series 7, which is the newest Apple Watch model that was released in September 2021.

apple watch series 7 refurbished
Pricing on the Series 7 starts at $339 for a 41mm aluminum model, with the 45mm aluminum models priced slightly higher at $359. At this time, Apple is only offering aluminum Apple Watch Series 7 models, though there are several color options available with matching Sport Bands.

The 41mm aluminum Apple Watch is normally priced at $399, and the 45mm version is priced at $399, so Apple is offering discounts of $60 and $70, respectively. All of the refurbished Apple Watch Series 7 devices that are available right now are GPS only, and in the future, if Apple adds cellular versions or models in other materials, prices will be more expensive.

Refurbished Apple Watches are inspected, tested, cleaned, and repackaged with a new box, new manuals, and a new Apple Watch charging puck. Apple provides a standard one-year warranty that can be extended with AppleCare+ for Apple Watch.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Apple has levied a lawsuit against RISC-V startup Rivos, a company that has hired several former high-ranking engineers from Apple. Rivos describes itself as a "startup in stealth mode," and according to Apple, Rivos not only poached Apple employees, but also stole chip trade secrets.

new m1 chip
As noted by Reuters, the lawsuit that was filed last Friday accuses Rivos of hiring more than 40 former Apple employees over the course of the past year to work on system-on-chip (SoC) technology that competes with Apple's own A-series and M-series chips.

Apple claims that at least two former engineers (Bhasi Kaithamana and Wen Shih-Chieh, aka "Ricky") took "gigabytes of sensitive SoC specifications and design files" during their last few days working at Apple. Rivos is accused of launching a "coordinated campaign" to target employees with information about Apple's SoC designs.

"Stealth mode" startup Rivos, which was founded to design and market its own competing SoCs, has filled out its ranks with dozens of former Apple engineers. Starting in June 2021, Rivos began a coordinated campaign to target Apple employees with access to Apple proprietary and trade secret information about Apple's SoC designs. Apple promptly sent Rivos a letter informing Rivos of the confidentiality obligations of Apple's former employees, but Rivos never responded.

The employees who allegedly stole information are said to have used USB drives and AirDrop to offload sensitive Apple material to their own personal devices, as well as steal presentations on unreleased SoCs and save them to their cloud accounts. Apple believes that Rivos communicated with some employees through encrypted messaging apps, and the former Apple workers who allegedly participated in the theft of information attempted to wipe their Apple devices to try to cover their tracks.

In the lawsuit, Apple said that it had no choice but to sue because of the volume of information taken, the nature of the information stolen, and that the employees are "now performing the same duties for a competitor with ongoing access to some of Apple's most valuable trade secrets."

Kaithamana, one of the specific employees accused of data theft, allegedly copied thousands of Apple documents containing "proprietary and trade secret information" over the course of a week in August 2021. He copied the files on his work computer before transferring them to a USB drive, and Apple's lawsuit goes into detail about the specific data that he collected.

Wen, a second employee that allegedly stole info, transferred 390 gigabytes of data from his Apple-issued computer to a personal hard drive just before departing the company. Apple says that he stole information on both current and unreleased SoCs, accessing proprietary data just before the file transfer.

Between July 26, 2021 and July 29, 2021, Mr. Wen transferred approximately 390 gigabytes from his Apple-issued computer to a personal external hard drive. Among the data transferred are confidential Apple documents describing Apple trade secrets, including aspects of the microarchitecture for Apple's past, current, and unreleased SoCs.

Other Apple employees not specifically named in the lawsuit also connected external hard drives to their Apple-issued computers shortly after being hired by Rivos, and at the same time, were accessing Apple trade secret information about SoC designs.

Apple is asking for an injunction against the employees who joined Rivos to prevent them from continuing to leak sensitive data, compensation for the loss caused by trade secret misappropriation, and additional damages for "unjust enrichment" Rivos gained from Apple's data. In lieu of damages, Apple is asking for "a reasonable royalty rate" from Rivos. Apple has requested a jury trial, so we are likely to hear more from the Apple v. Rivos dispute going forward.

For those interested, the full lawsuit can be read over on Scribd.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have created an artificial intelligence algorithm that is able to use single-lead ECGs taken by the Apple Watch to find patients who have a weak heart pump, according to research data that was shared this week at the Heart Rhythm Society conference.

apple watch ecg wrist
A weak heart pump, or left ventricular dysfunction, is an issue that affects two to three percent of people around the world, and up to nine percent of people over age 60. Like atrial fibrillation, another heart issue the Apple Watch can detect, a weak heart pump can have no symptoms. It can also be accompanied by symptoms that include racing heart beats or shortness of breath.

Paul Friedman, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said that it is "absolutely remarkable" that AI is able to use a consumer watch ECG to detect the condition, as it is normally something that requires an echocardiogram, CT scan, or MRI to identify.


The ECG feature on the Apple Watch is a single-lead ECG, and it requires users to place a finger on the Apple Watch digital crown for 30 seconds. Results are uploaded to the Apple Health app and can be shared with medical professionals. The ECGs are designed to help detect atrial fibrillation, but ECG functionality and other Apple Watch features are also being studied in the detection of other conditions.

A standard ECG uses 12 electrode leads that are placed on a person's chest, arms, and legs to monitor the heart's electrical signals. To use the single-lead ECG results from the Apple Watch, researchers modified an existing 12-lead algorithm that is known to be able to detect a weak heart muscle.

The study included 125,610 ECGs collected over a period of six months from 46 states and 11 countries. Each person submitted many ECGs, and the cleanest readings were used for the algorithm. Several hundred of the participants had clinical testing to measure pump strength, and that data was used to determine whether the Apple Watch could detect an issue.

Approximately 420 patients had a watch ECG recorded within 30 days of a clinically ordered echocardiogram, or ultrasound of the heart, a standard test to measure pump strength. We took advantage of those data to see whether we could identify a weak heart pump with AI analysis of the watch ECG. While our data are early, the test had an area under the curve of 0.88, meaning it is as good as or slightly better than a medical treadmill test. AI analysis of the watch ECG is a powerful test to identify a weak heart pump.

Researchers plan to launch global prospective studies to do further testing in more diverse populations to demonstrate the benefit of the single-lead ECG feature in the Apple Watch.

"This is what the transformation of medicine looks like: inexpensively diagnosing serious disease from your sofa," said Friedman.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Tag: ECG
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular secure messaging app Telegram is testing new monetization strategies, and hints of a new Telegram Premium subscription have shown up in the 8.7.2 beta version of the iOS app.

telegram premium
As noted by Android Police, the beta includes both stickers and reactions that are locked behind a paywall. Users who select these premium stickers and reactions are prompted to sign up for the Telegram Premium service, and non-subscribers cannot see the stickers or reactions as they are blocked for those who do not pay. Non-subscribers who receive a premium reaction or sticker are prompted to sign up for a subscription themselves.

As of right now, Telegram makes money through ad sales and features for group channels, but there are no add-on purchase options that target individual users. Should this new Premium feature be implemented, that could change.

It is not unusual for social networks to charge extra for premium reactions, as Twitch and Discord also have subscription options that include additional emoji and customization options. Telegram founder Pavel Durov has previously said that Telegram does not plan to charge for core features that already exist, though he did say in 2020 that additional monetization strategies would be coming.

Full details on what might be included in some kind of Telegram Premium subscription are unknown at this time, and there is no word on when the functionality might see a wider rollout following the beta test.

This year, Mother's Day lands on Sunday, May 8, and we're tracking quite a few offers and deals from some of the best Apple-related accessory companies. If you're planning on purchasing a gift for someone, we recommend looking at the below deals as soon as possible, considering shipping estimates vary for every company.

Mothers Day Deals 2022Note: 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&T

Carriers are one of the best retailers to find solid discounts around holidays like Mother's Day, and this year is no different. You can get up to $700 off the iPhone 13 Pro Max at AT&T with an eligible trade-in this month.

iphone 13 pro max display bleen

AT&T also has a BOGO offer on Apple Watch devices, offering up to $330 off an Apple Watch when you purchase one at full price. If you opt for the Apple Watch SE, you can get this model at no extra cost.

There are plenty of other discounts going on at AT&T this week, including 50 percent off the iPhone 12 and savings on Internet packages, so be sure to browse the carrier's website for more information.

B&H Photo

B&H Photo has a big sale this year for Mother's Day, discounting Nikon cameras, Beats headphones, tablets, computers, and more.

mothers day deals bh photo

One of the highlights of the sale focuses on the Beats Studio Buds earphones, available for $99.95, down from $149.00, which is one of the lowest prices we've tracked.

Brydge

Brydge is discounting a collection of accessories this week, including steep markdowns on the MacBook Vertical Dock, iPad keyboards, and Leather Folios for MacBook Pro models.

Casely

Casely is offering 30 percent off everything across its website this week; just use the code MAMA at the checkout screen to see the discount.

casely mothers day
Casely has a wide variety of cases and accessories for iPhones, AirPods, iPads, Samsung smartphones, and more.

Nomad

Nomad is discounting a collection of its best accessories for Mother's Day this year. To see the sale, you'll need to enter the code MOM20 at checkout and get 20 percent off any of the items in the sale.

nomad sale

This event includes savings on Apple Watch bands, iPhone cases, AirPods cases, cables and chargers, and more. The event will run through the end of this week, so be sure to use the discount code before it expires.

More Sales

  • Adorama - Save on smart watches, headphones, and more.
  • Hyper - Save on Hyper's Pearl Battery Packs that double as LED makeup mirrors.
  • JBL - Save up to 30% on JBL's portable speakers.
  • Moment - Save up to 75% on backpacks, iPhone cases, and more.
  • Newegg - Save on smartwatches, notebooks, PC equipment, and more.
  • Pad & Quill - Save on iPhone folios and travel organizers.
  • SENA Cases - Use code CALLMOM to get 20% off iPhone cases.
  • Twelve South - Shop Twelve South's gift guide to find savings on chargers and more.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals