MacRumors

Canadian smart home accessory maker Ecobee appears to be preparing to release a new version of its SmartThermostat with a built-in indoor air quality sensor.

Ecobee released a new version of its iOS app this week that includes a hidden image of a SmartThermostat with an indoor air quality indicator visible on the screen. The updated app also includes descriptions such as "keep your home's air clean with your Smart Thermostat's built-in air quality sensor" and "your sensor is calibrating to your home," according to code changes discovered by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser.

Ecobee has yet to publicly announce the new SmartThermostat, so no additional details or a release date are known at this time, but the sensor will presumably turn on a home's HVAC fans when indoor air quality has fallen below certain thresholds. This would result in air circulating through the HVAC system's filters for improved air quality.

Ecobee thermostats were previously compatible with the third-party Await+ air quality sensor, but this integration was discontinued in 2020.

Ecobee's SmartThermostat supports Apple's smart home platform HomeKit and also gained support for "Hey Siri" voice control last year. The thermostat is regularly priced at $249.99 in the United States, but it is currently on sale for $199.99.

Members of the European Parliament this week voted overwhelmingly in support of legislation that will compel Apple to offer a USB-C port on all iPhones, iPads, and AirPods in Europe.

The proposal, known as a directive, will force all consumer electronics manufacturers who sell devices in Europe to ensure that all new phones, tablets, laptops, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, handheld videogame consoles, and portable speakers feature a USB-C port, regardless of the manufacturer. Exemptions will only apply for devices that are too small to offer a USB-C port, such as smart watches, health trackers, and some sports equipment. This "common port" would be a world first and impact Apple in particular since it widely uses the Lightning connector instead of USB-C on many of its devices.

• The EU Wants All Phones to Work With Interoperable Chargers, Here's What That Means for Apple's Lightning Port

The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee voted to support the legislation on Wednesday, with 43 votes in favor and just two against. In a press release, MEPs claimed that the move will reduce electronic waste, address product sustainability, and make use of different devices more convenient.

MEPs also expressed a wish to see clear information and labelling on new devices about their charging options, as well as whether or nor a product includes a charger. They claim that this will help to avoid confusion and ease purchasing decisions for consumers that own several devices and do not always need additional chargers. Apple removed the charger from all new iPhone models starting with the ‌iPhone‌ 12 in 2020.

In addition, MEPs want the European Commission to present a strategy for ensuring interoperability between wireless charging solutions by 2026 to prevent fragmentation and reduce waste, ensure user convenience, and avoid consumers getting locked into proprietary charging solutions. It is not clear if this would include Apple's MagSafe charging system for the ‌iPhone‌ and AirPods, since it is based on the Qi wireless charging standard.

In 2018, the European Commission tried to reach a final resolution on the issue but it failed to come into law. At the time, Apple warned that forcing a common charging port on the industry would stifle innovation and create electronic waste as consumers were forced to switch to new cables. The EU's effort resumed last year, with the European Commission spearheading a refreshed version of the directive. To come into effect, the European Parliament must approve the draft legislation next month, before talking with individual EU member states about the final directive.

Today we're tracking new all-time low prices across every model of Apple's 2022 iPad Air, starting at $549.99 for the 64GB Wi-Fi tablet, down from $599.00. All of these deals have been applied automatically and do not require a coupon code of any kind.

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.

The 64GB Wi-Fi iPad Air is available in Blue, Space Gray, and Purple at this price. To date, this is the lowest price we've ever tracked on the 2022 iPad Air from any retailer, and all three colors are in stock and ready to ship out today.

Secondly, you can get the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad Air for $679.99 in Space Gray, down from $749.00. This one is seeing a delayed shipping estimate of a few weeks, but Amazon does have a few more colors priced at $699.99 as a solid second-best option, and those are in stock now.

For cellular models, the 64GB cellular iPad Air is priced at $699.99, down from $749.00, and the 256GB cellular iPad Air is priced at $849.99, down from $899.00. Each tablet is available in multiple colors, and stock is beginning to dwindle on the 256GB cellular model.

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

Apple is continuing its work on the upcoming "M2" chip with help from Samsung Electro-Mechanics, ET News reports.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics supplies the flip chip ball grid array (FC-BGA), a printed circuit board used to connect the semiconductor chip to the main substrate, for the M1 chip. This detail did not emerge until almost a year after the ‌M1‌ chip was introduced, when it was uncovered by The Elec.

While the ‌M1‌, like all of Apple's custom silicon SoCs, is fabricated exclusively by Taiwan's TSMC, the chip includes components from several suppliers. For example, the chip's board is supplied by Ibiden and Unimicron, so it is necessary for Apple to coordinate multiple suppliers for its next-generation SoC for the Mac.

According to today's report from ET News, Samsung is expected to continue to provide the FC-BGA for the ‌M2‌. The company is said to be collaborating with Apple in a project to develop the ‌M2‌ chip and will complete work on the FC-BGA for it this year.

Apple purportedly began developing the ‌M2‌ immediately after introducing the ‌M1‌ chip. The report reiterated Mark Gurman's claim that Apple is testing at least nine new Macs with four different ‌M2‌ chip variants, and that the first devices with the ‌M2‌ could debut in the first half of 2022. The chip could first be introduced in Apple's redesigned MacBook Air.

Transcend has announced a 1TB version of its JetDrive Lite 330 expansion cards for 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, providing users of Apple's latest Macs with an affordable way to increase internal storage capacity.

Transcend says the JetDrive Lite 330 cards are built with high-quality NAND flash, offering read and write speeds of up to 95MB/s and 75MB/s, respectively.

Once the JetDrive Lite 330 is inserted into the card reader slot, where it sits flush with the side of the notebook, the additional storage can be used as a photo library or music library drive, for example, or the card could serve as an onboard Time Machine backup.

Transcend says the JetDrive Lite expansion cards come with a five-year limited warranty and are manufactured using advanced COB (chip-on-board) technology, making them resistant to water, dust, and shock. Other than 2021 ‌MacBook Pro‌ Models, the JetDrive Lite 330 also supports 13-inch Retina ‌MacBook Pro‌ (late 2012-early 2015 models).

The 1TB option adds to Transcend's existing JetDrive capacities, which start at $35.99 for the 128GB version and $250 for the 1TB capacity card on Amazon. Stay tuned to MacRumors as we'll have a review of the new 1TB card coming next week.

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.

Tidal has added Siri support in the latest update to its iOS app, meaning iPhone and iPad users can now ask Apple's virtual assistant to play content from the music streaming service.

As noted by XDA Developers, the added support doesn't appear to extend to the HomePod or HomePod mini, which means Tidal users still can't take advantage of the ‌HomePod‌'s ‌Siri‌ voice controls to navigate their tunes and playlists.

As things stand, ‌Siri‌ on ‌HomePod‌ works with Apple Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Pandora. Apart from Tidal, the only other major streaming service that doesn't yet work with ‌Siri‌ on ‌HomePod‌ is Spotify, a fact which has left users critical of the company. The reasoning behind Spotify's refusal to adopt ‌‌HomePod‌‌ support remains unknown.

Apple has expanded its updated Apple Maps to Germany and Singapore, with the app now offering more detailed road coverage, improved navigation, three-dimensional landmarks, improved views of parks, buildings, airports, shopping centers, and availability of the Look Around feature.

The expansion comes after 48 days of public testing, according to ‌Apple Maps‌ enthusiast Justin O'Beirne, marking the fourteenth time that Apple has expanded its new map data since its public launch in September 2018. Germany and Singapore are the twelfth and thirteenth countries to receive Apple's new map data, and Singapore is the first country in Asia to receive it.

O'Beirne reports that Apple's new map data now covers 18.4% of Earth's land area and 8.5% of the global population (or 673 million people worldwide). That's after almost four years of expansions and nearly eight years of data collecting. Based on the pattern of Apple's expansion, the next update is likely to consist of France and Monaco.

Apple's redesigned maps were first introduced in iOS 12, and since then, the Cupertino company has been working on expanding them. The updated Maps app offers up faster and more accurate navigation along with more detailed views of roads, buildings, malls, sports fields, foliage, pools, pedestrian pathways, bodies of water, and more.

Apple yesterday released a firmware update designed for the MagSafe Battery Pack, and it turns out the new firmware enables 7.5W charging while on the go, up from the previous 5W limit.

In an support document, Apple says that ‌MagSafe Battery Pack‌ owners can update their firmware to the new 2.7.b.0 release to get the faster 7.5W charging capabilities.

Updating the ‌MagSafe Battery Pack‌ can be done by attaching it to an iPhone and waiting (a process that can take up to a week), or using a Mac or an iPad to update within five minutes. Apple suggests users attach a Lightning cable to a ‌MagSafe Battery Pack‌ and then plug in the USB side to an ‌iPad‌ or Mac to initiate the update process.

You can check to see which firmware version your ‌MagSafe Battery Pack‌ is running by attaching it to an ‌iPhone‌ and then going to Settings > General > About > ‌MagSafe Battery Pack‌. You will need version 2.7.b.0 to get the 7.5W charging.

When the ‌MagSafe Battery Pack‌ was released in July 2021, many users were disappointed to find that it would charge at a maximum of 5W while on the go as other MagSafe accessories can charge at 15W. When plugged in to a Lightning cable, the ‌MagSafe Battery Pack‌ can charge at the full 15W, but that is not possible when it is used without a power source.

As of now, those who install the firmware update can charge their compatible ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 models at a faster 7.5W rate. It's still not as quick as the 15W ‌MagSafe‌ charging, but it is equivalent to the fastest available Qi charging speeds on the ‌iPhone‌.

Apple is planning to expand its Communication Safety in Messages feature to the UK, according to The Guardian. Communication Safety in Messages was introduced in the iOS 15.2 update released in December, but the feature has been limited to the United States until now.

Communication Safety in Messages is designed to scan incoming and outgoing iMessage images on children's devices for nudity and warn them that such photos might be harmful. If nudity is detected in a photo that's received by a child, the photo will be blurred and the child will be provided with resources from child safety groups. Nudity in a photo sent by a child will trigger a warning encouraging the child not to send the image.

Communication Safety is opt-in, privacy-focused, and must be enabled by parents. It is limited to the accounts of children, with detection done on-device, and it is not related to the anti-CSAM functionality that Apple has in development and may release in the future.

We have a full guide on Communication Safety in Messages that walks through exactly how it works, where it's used, Apple's privacy features, and more.

Update: Communication Safety in Messages is also coming to Canada.

Update 2: The feature is also coming to Australia and New Zealand, according to The Verge.

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 provided the second beta of an upcoming macOS Monterey 12.4 update to its public beta testing group, with the update coming two weeks after Apple released the first beta and a day after Apple provided the second beta to developers.

Public beta testers can download the macOS Monterey 12.4 Monterey update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website.

According to Apple's release notes, ‌Universal Control‌ in the new iPadOS 15.5 and ‌macOS Monterey‌ 12.4 updates is not compatible with machines running macOS 12.3 or iPadOS 15.4, so Apple suggests that as a workaround, users should update their ‌‌Universal Control‌‌ devices to the new betas. No new features have been found in the macOS Monterey beta at this time.

Apple today seeded the second public betas of iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 to its public beta testing group, with the software updates coming two weeks after Apple seeded the first public betas and a day after Apple provided the second betas to developers.

The iOS and iPadOS 15.5 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.

iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 are minor updates compared to prior iOS 15 point releases, and there are a limited number of changes. Apple may be releasing an Apple Classical app at some point in the near future and there are references to it in the beta, but it is not yet available.

There are also minor changes to Apple Pay Cash, with Apple adding Request and Send options, and Apple is making some changes to the iTunes Pass that used to be available in the Wallet app. We have a complete list of changes in our iOS 15.5 guide.

Pad & Quill recently kicked off its "Spring Moving Sale," offering drastic discounts on a wide range of accessories. This includes iPhone cases, travel bags, MacBook Pro cases, iPad cases, wallets, Apple Watch bands, and more.

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

Many of these products are seeing discounts at up to 50 percent off, and you can add a little extra off by entering PQ10 into the checkout screen. This is Pad & Quill's ongoing 10 percent off code, and it should continue to work as long as the Spring Moving Sale remains live.

We've collected some of the highlights of the Spring Moving Sale in the lists below (prices reflect 10 percent off with code PQ10), but be sure to check out the full sale to see every item being discounted. If you're shopping for a bag, Pad & Quill is offering 20 percent off its collection of high-end leather travel bags. You can get an additional 10 percent off these bags with the code PQ10 as well.

iPhone Cases

• LeatherSafe Luxury Book for iPhone 13 Pro - $40.48, down from $89.95
• LeatherSafe Luxury Book for iPhone 13 Pro Max - $44.98, down from $99.95
• LeatherSafe Pocket Book for iPhone 13 Pro - $40.48, down from $89.95
• LeatherSafe Pocket Book for iPhone 12 Pro - $40.48, down from $89.95
• LeatherSafe Pocket Book for iPhone 12 Pro Max - $40.48, down from $89.95

iPad Cases

• Oxford Leather Case for iPad Air - $62.50, down from $129.95
• Oxford Leather Case for 11-inch iPad Pro - $62.50, down from $129.95
• Oxford Leather Case for 12.9-inch iPad Pro - $107.50, down from $159.95

MacBook Pro Cases

• Copertina Slim Case for 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro - $49.00, down from $119.95
• Cartella Slim Case for 16-Inch M1 MacBook Pro - $103.90, down from $129.95

Miscellaneous

• Classic TechFolio Cord Organizer - $69.70, down from $119.95

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Apple's Wallet app and Apple Pay service are experiencing an outage at this time, and the issue is preventing Mastercard card holders from being able to add their cards to ‌Apple Pay‌.

The outage is reflected on Apple's System Status page, and it has apparently been ongoing for several hours. There do not appear to be many complaints about the issue on social media, so it is unclear how many Mastercard card holders are affected.

Mastercards that have already been added to ‌Apple Pay‌ and are available in the Wallet app should function as normal. We'll update this article when the issue has been addressed.

Update: Apple's status page indicates that the issue has been resolved as of 1:23 p.m. Pacific Time.

Update 2: The issue has resurfaced as of 2:10 p.m.

Update 3: Apple's status page once again says the issue has been resolved.

Apple today announced DJ mixes in spatial audio with Dolby Atmos on Apple Music (via TechCrunch).

Apple said that the launch of DJ mixes in spatial audio brings listeners into an immersive audio experience with "multidimensional sound and clarity." The company added that spatial audio is the "natural next step" in ‌Apple Music‌'s commitment to sound and DJ mixes following the launch of a program based on technology from Shazam that identifies and compensates all of the individual creators involved in making a DJ mix.

"The response to spatial audio from both subscribers and creators has been incredible, and we're thrilled to expand this innovation in sound," ‌Apple Music‌'s global head of dance and electronic music, Stephen Campbell, said in a statement.

Detroit-based DJ and producer Jeff Mills headlines the launch of DJ mixes in spatial audio with an exclusive hour-long mix titled "Outer to Inner Atmosphere: The Escape Velocity Mix," which also officially relaunches ‌Apple Music‌'s One Mix series, a showcase of the world's top DJs and producers.

New DJ mixes will be added monthly, and as part of the announcement, ‌Apple Music‌ also debuted 15 "Boiler Room" mixes that were captured at nightclubs, festivals, and raves in spatial audio for the first time, with more spatial audio sessions set to be released throughout the year.

Apple must compensate a Brazilian customer who recently purchased an iPhone for selling the device without a charger included in the box, which violates consumer law, a judge has ruled.

Apple's decision to remove the charger in the box sparked controversy in 2020. Apple claims the move is for environmental reasons, claiming the decision is equivalent to removing nearly 450,000 cars from the road per year.

Nonetheless, the move has sparked some public and legal outcry. In the latest development, a judge in Brazil, a country that has long-questioned Apple's reasoning to remove the accessory, is forcing Apple to compensate a customer nearly $1,075 for the lack of a charger. As reported by Tecmundo:

According to article 39 of the Consumer Code (CDC), "tie sale" is an abusive and prohibited practice in Brazil, so it is not allowed to sell cell phone and charger separately. Therefore, Apple is being sentenced after selling an iPhone model and charger separately to a consumer in the city of Goiânia.

According to the result issued by Judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro, of the 6th Civil Court of Goiânia, Apple must compensate the consumer R$ 5 thousand for carrying out the "tie sale" of the company's devices.

Last year, Brazil fined Apple $2 million as a punishment for violating consumer law and disrespecting Brazilian customers, according to the head of the consumer group Procon-SP, Fernando Capez.

At one point, it seemed plausible that Brazil would have forced Apple to include a charger in the box for every ‌iPhone‌ sold in the country. Procon-SP said that the charger is an "essential part" of the smartphone experience.

By not providing one alongside the device, Apple was therefore breaching the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code, according to the consumer protection agency. Apple responded by arguing that many customers already have chargers in their homes, adding the environmental benefits of removing the charger and significantly reducing the overall ‌iPhone‌ box footprint.

The original HomePod, which Apple discontinued in March 2021, now appears to be appreciating in value on online marketplace sites (via The Verge).

The ‌HomePod‌ originally debuted for $349, before Apple reduced it to $299 just over a year later. Following lackluster sales, Apple discontinued the HomePod and said it was focusing on the HomePod mini going forward. The ‌HomePod‌ has still continued to receive software updates and new functionality.

Since then, research data from eBay indicates that the value of the ‌HomePod‌ has been gradually appreciating over time. 6,610 HomePods have been sold on eBay in the past year, with an average selling price of $347.61, over 15 percent more than Apple's retail price. 2,082 new or sealed HomePods were sold in this period of time with an average selling price of $432.27.

Over the past week, used or refurbished HomePods sold for an average price of $336.03, while new HomePods sold for an average price of $638.76, indicating a steady climb in value. The Verge places the ‌HomePod‌'s average appreciation at around 25 percent over Apple's $299 retail price. HomePods in used condition with no box tend to sell for prices starting at around $220, but new, factory-sealed HomePods can sell for over $500.

There has also been a noticeable decline in the number of HomePods listed for sale on eBay over time, which may contribute to the product's increase in value. Nevertheless, demand for Apple's large smart speaker appears to persist on online marketplaces, despite the device being almost five years old and containing the A8 chip from the iPhone 6.

Apple is still believed to be working on a successor to the HomePod that combines a smart speaker, Apple TV functions, and a FaceTime camera.

Amazon today has a collection of discounts across Apple's Mac family of computers, including record low prices on the 24-inch iMac and Mac mini. Many of these deals won't be reflected until you reach the checkout screen on Amazon, so be sure to pay attention to those models that have automatic coupons.

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.

24-Inch iMac

Amazon has all three 24-inch iMac models at all-time low prices, starting at $1,199.00 for the 7-core GPU/256GB iMac, down from $1,299.00. This sale is only available in the Blue color option.

Secondly, the 8-core GPU/256GB iMac is down to $1,349.00 in every color on Amazon, down from $1,499.00. At $150 off, this is a match of the previous record low price and one of the unique instances that we're seeing all seven color options discounted at once.

Lastly, in a rare discount we're tracking the 8-core GPU/512GB iMac down to a new best-ever price of $1,499.99, from $1,699.00. This one is only available in Blue and Green, and it is the steepest discount we've ever tracked on this higher-end model of the 24-inch iMac.

Shoppers should note that for the 8-core GPU/256GB and 8-core GPU/512GB iMac models, you won't see the deal price until you head to the checkout screen. At that point Amazon will automatically apply a coupon code to the order and bring these iMacs down to their all-time low prices.

Mac mini

Last week we tracked a record low deal on the 256GB Mac mini from 2020, and now Amazon is offering an all-time low price on the 512GB model. You can get this version for $749.99, down from $899.00, and only Amazon is offering this sale.

This deal won't be reflected until you add the Mac mini to your cart and head to the checkout screen. After this, Amazon will automatically apply a coupon worth $119.01 and you'll see the full discount on the computer applied to your order.

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

Samsung is planning to use a battery production technique normally used for electric vehicles to create more energy-dense smartphone batteries, in a move that could improve the battery life of future iPhone models, The Elec reports.

Samsung SDI, Samsung's battery and energy division, intends to use a production technique it currently uses to make fifth-generation batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) to manufacture batteries for tablets and smartphones, according to sources speaking to The Elec. Rather than the wound jellyroll method that is often used to make rechargeable batteries, the EV method stacks battery materials in layers to increase energy density by over 10 percent without taking up any more internal space.

The company is said to be modifying production lines in South Korea to be able to manufacture the new batteries, and it has already built a pilot line for the stacking method in China. The Elec proposes that Samsung could be seeking to win orders from Apple for the new type of battery. Samsung SDI has supplied batteries for MacBook and iPad models in the past, but has never manufactured batteries for iPhones. Currently, Apple's main battery supplier is China's Amperex Technology.

Apple currently uses an L-shaped multi-cell battery in the ‌iPhone‌, where multiple batteries are connected to make the best use of internal space and increase battery life. Batteries with higher energy density could allow Apple to move away from the multi-cell design, free up internal space, and make the ‌iPhone‌ lighter without sacrificing battery life, or retain the same design and moderately increase battery life.