MacRumors

Amid the controversy surrounding Stage Manager and its hardware requirements, an investigation has revealed that iPadOS 16 in fact includes an internal mode that allows Apple to test the multitasking feature on iPads that don't have an M1 chip.

Code found by 9to5Mac in the beta software reportedly references an internal setting that enables "Chamois" (the Stage Manager codename) for "Legacy Devices," or in other words, iPad models lacking the M1 processor that Apple deems is necessary to deliver an "instantaneously responsive" experience.

The existence of the internal mode tallies with comments made by Apple's head of software engineering Craig Federighi in a recent interview with Forbes, in which he said that internal testing had revealed non-M1 iPads couldn't deliver the Stage Manager experience that Apple was aiming for.

"We began some of our prototyping involving those systems and it became apparent early on that we couldn't deliver the experience that that we were designing toward with them," he said. "Certainly, we would love to bring any new experience to every device we can, but we also don't want to hold back the definition of a new experience and not create the best foundation for the future in that experience. And we really could only do that by building on the M1."

The existence of the internal mode for testing Stage Manager on older iPads is no guarantee that the feature works on these devices as Apple intended, but it is likely to add fuel to the debate around whether Apple is being completely upfront about the hardware limitations of iPads that lack the M1 chip.

In a statement last week, shared by Rene Ritchie, Apple asserted that Stage Manager "requires large internal memory, incredibly fast storage, and flexible external display I/O, all of which are delivered by iPads with the M1 chip."

Stage Manager allows users to resize iPad apps into overlapping windows for an improved multitasking experience. It also supports an external display with up to 6K resolution, allowing users to work with up to four apps on the iPad and up to four apps on the external display simultaneously.

Some users have questioned why Apple does not allow Stage Manager to work on older devices by capping the external display resolution or limiting the number of apps that can be used at the same time. Others have pointed out that Stage Manager is also included in macOS Ventura, which works on Intel Macs that were released as early as 2017.

A UK consumer champion has launched a £750 million ($907 million) legal claim against Apple over the 2017 iPhone throttling controversy that saw a software update effectively slow down older devices (via The Guardian).

Market researcher Justin Gutmann has filed the claim with the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal seeking the damages for up to 25 million UK owners of a range of older iPhone models affected by the update.

The claim relates to Apple's introduction of power management features for older iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns during times of peak power draw on devices with degraded batteries. These power management features throttle the processor on older iPhones with less than optimal batteries, resulting in slower performance.

Gutmann claims that Apple introduced the features to disguise the fact that ‌iPhone‌ batteries were unable to cope with new iOS processing demands and that rather than recall products or replace batteries, Apple instead pushed users to download the software updates.

"Instead of doing the honorable and legal thing by their customers and offering a free replacement, repair service or compensation, Apple instead misled people by concealing a tool in software updates that slowed their devices by up to 58%," Mr Gutmann said.

"I'm launching this case so that millions of iPhone users across the UK will receive redress for the harm suffered by Apple's actions.

"If this case is successful, I hope dominant companies will re-evaluate their business models and refrain from this kind of conduct," he added.

Though introduced early in 2017, the power management features were not widely publicized until late 2017, leading many customers to feel deceived by Apple.

Apple apologized the same year for not better explaining how battery health could impact performance. It has since implemented a policy offering low-price no-questions-asked battery replacements for out-of-warranty devices.

In 2020, the company also agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit in the United States that accused the company of "secretly throttling" older ‌‌iPhone‌‌ models. Apple has faced similar lawsuits in Belgium, Chile, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Gutmann's claim relates to the ‌iPhone‌ 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and ‌iPhone‌ X models. It seeks compensation for each model owned and is an opt-out claim, meaning customers will not need to actively join the case to seek damages.

Commenting on the claim, Apple told The Guardian: "We have never, and would never, do anything to … degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.

"Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that."

Apple today announced that apps that use iCloud can now be transferred to another developer, solving a problem that developers have been dealing with for years now.

Apple previously had an app transfer program for developers who want to transfer their apps to a new account or a new owner, but prior to now, it did not work with apps that use ‌iCloud‌.

Given the sheer number of apps that take advantage of Apple's ‌iCloud‌ functionality, this made it impossible for many developers to transfer their apps to a different App Store account using ‌App Store‌ Connect. Apple says that apps are now able to be transferred regardless of whether ‌iCloud‌ is in use.

There are some minor details that developers will need to be aware of when embarking on an app transfer for an app that uses ‌iCloud‌, with details available on Apple's website.

When an app is transferred, reviews, ratings, and other information remain accessible, and the app is not removed from the ‌App Store‌ during the transfer.

With iOS 16, Apple introduced a curious new feature that's kind of like instant Photoshop, as you can use it to pull the subject out of any image or photo, pasting it into another photo or using it as a sticker in the Messages app. It's nifty enough that we thought we'd show it off in our latest YouTube video.

Apple calls this feature "Lift subject from background," and it is part of the Visual Look Up suite of functions. To use it, you just long press on any image and then you can drag it out into a different app or copy it.

It works in Photos, Screenshot, Quick Look, Safari, and even videos, and it is available on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. There's not a lot of practical use for it, but it is certainly impressive and fun to use. Make sure to check out our video to see it in action.

Apple is today accepting registrations for Apple Camp, a summer program for children held in Apple's retail stores. Apple is returning to a full Apple Camp schedule this year after hosting limited sessions last year.

Apple Camp will take place each week from June 20 through August 31, with a new two-hour format for families. Participants in Apple Camp will be able to create a digital comic book about protecting and celebrating the planet through the "Art Lab: Comic Book Adventure With Your Family" session.

"We can't wait for campers and their families to ignite their imaginations as they learn from our team members and each other during Apple Camp," said Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's senior vice president of Retail + People. "This special program has provided a space for connection and learning in our stores around the world for the past 20 years, and we're thrilled to be hosting these experiences again."

Apple Camp attendees will use the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to take photos and then add drawings, speech bubbles, and stickers to design their own stories.

Apple designed Apple Camp for children aged 8 to 12, with kids able to participate alongside their parents or guardians. Sessions will be available both in stores and outdoors, and devices are provided. Along with in-person sessions, Apple is also providing a downloadable Camp Field Guide that includes 20 at-home activities for the iPad.

Apple's new M2 chip is up to 20 percent faster than the M1 chip when it comes to multi-core performance, according to leaked M2 benchmarks from the upcoming 13-inch MacBook Pro that were discovered on Geekbench today.

The ‌M2‌, which runs at 3.49GHz compared to 3.2GHz for the ‌M1‌, earned a single-core score of 1919, which is roughly 12 percent faster than the 1707 single-core score of the ‌M1‌ 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. The ‌M2‌ earned a multi-core score of 8928, up about 20 percent from the 7419 score of the ‌M1‌ model.

Apple has said that the ‌M2‌ chip is up to 18 percent faster than the ‌M1‌, so the Geekbench 5 test is right in line with Apple's claims.

As for the Metal benchmark, the ‌M2‌ chip scored 30627, a notable improvement over the 21001 score earned by the ‌M1‌. The ‌M2‌ chip offers up to a 10-core GPU, compared to the 8-core maximum of the ‌M1‌.

The ‌M2‌ chip is available in the new 2022 MacBook Air and 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. Apple has not provided information on when the ‌MacBook Air‌ will launch, but the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ will be available for pre-order starting Friday, June 17.

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

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

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

macOS Monterey 12.5 is likely to be one of the final updates to the macOS Monterey operating system as Apple begins its transition to the next-generation version of macOS, macOS Ventura. macOS Ventura is set to be released this fall.

Apple today seeded the third public betas of iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6, with the software updates coming two weeks after Apple seeded the second public betas of iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6.

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

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

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

Apple is planning a new 15-inch MacBook model that could launch around the second quarter of 2023 or later, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today.

In a tweet, Kuo said the notebook may be available with both M2 and M2 Pro chip options. Kuo previously claimed the new 15-inch model might not be branded as a MacBook Air, but he did not provide any further details about potential naming.

For the new 15-inch MacBook, configurations with the M2 chip would be bundled with Apple's new dual-port 35W power adapter, while configurations with the M2 Pro chip would ship with a more powerful 67W adapter, according to Kuo. These power adapters are already options for the new M2-powered MacBook Air launching next month.

Kuo also said he has not yet heard of any plans for the previously rumored 12-inch MacBook. Last week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple was considering launching a new 12-inch notebook at the end of 2023 or in early 2024. Gurman said it was unclear if the notebook would be a low-end MacBook or a higher-end MacBook Pro.

Over the last few weeks, rumors have surfaced about several new MacBook and iPad sizes planned for 2023 and beyond. Gurman recently reported that Apple was working on a new 15-inch MacBook Air, for example, which could end up being the machine that Kuo is referring to. As the devices get closer to launching, details should become clearer.

After a long wait, Meta this week announced the ability to transfer WhatsApp chat history, photos, videos, and voice messages from Android to iPhone while maintaining end-to-end encryption. The system uses Apple's Move to iOS app for Android phones, and can be initiated during the setup process for a new (or factory reset) ‌iPhone‌.

This article runs through the steps involved in transferring your WhatsApp chat history from an Android phone to an ‌iPhone‌. The much-requested migration feature transfers everything in your WhatsApp history including texts, voice notes, and media files to a new ‌iPhone‌.

Note that WhatsApp chat history migration is only supported on Android devices running Android 5.0 or later and iPhones running iOS 15.5 or later. Also, both the Android phone and the ‌iPhone‌ need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network when the migration takes place. The following steps guide you through the process.

Transfer WhatsApp Chats From Android to iPhone

1. On your Android phone, download the Move to iOS app from the Google Play Store.
2. Start the ‌iPhone‌ setup process of your new (or factory reset) ‌iPhone‌.
3. When the Apps & Data setup screen appears, select Move data from Android.
   
   

4. On your Android phone, open the Move to iOS app and follow the onscreen instructions.
5. On your ‌iPhone‌, tap Continue when you see the Move from Android screen, then wait for a ten-digit or six-digit code to appear.
   
   

6. Enter the code on your Android phone, select WhatsApp on the Transfer Data screen, then tap Start.
7. Wait for your WhatsApp history and data to be prepared for migration. Once the process is complete, you will be signed out of WhatsApp on your Android device.
8. Once your ‌iPhone‌ is fully setup, download WhatsApp from the App Store and sign into the service using the same phone number.

After following these steps, the WhatsApp chat history from your Android phone should appear on your new ‌iPhone‌.

Satechi is offering 20 percent off sitewide to coincide with Father's Day this weekend, marking a great chance to save on the company's best accessories. In order to get the discount, you can shop on Satechi's website and then enter the code FATHERS at checkout.

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

Satechi is known for its wireless chargers, USB-C hubs, keyboards, cables, and other accessories, many of which are compatible with Apple products like the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, iMac, and iPhone. Satechi has a hub showcasing all of its newest products to give you an idea of what can be bought with the discount, but remember that the FATHERS code will work sitewide.

• 30W USB-C Wall Charger - $24.00, down from $29.99
• USB-C Magnetic Charging Cable for Apple Watch - $32.00, down from $39.99
• 2-in-1 Headphone Stand and Wireless Charger - $64.00, down from $79.99
• Pro Hub Max - $80.00, down from $99.99
• 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand - $96.00, down from $119.99
• USB-C Slim Dock for 24-inch iMac - $120.00, down from $149.99

The sale will end later this week, so browse Satechi's website soon if you're interested in using the coupon code before it expires. Additionally, be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Qualcomm has successfully appealed a 997 million euro ($1.05 billion) fine from EU antitrust regulators for paying Apple to use its LTE chips in iOS devices (via Reuters).

The fine was imposed by regulators in 2018 after a European Commission investigation concluded that payments to Apple from 2011 to 2016 were made with the sole aim of blocking Qualcomm's LTE chipset market rivals, such as Intel.

The General Court, Europe's second-highest, annulled the EU finding and faulted the EU competition enforcer, Margrethe Vestager, over the handling of the case.

"A number of procedural irregularities affected Qualcomm's rights of defence and invalidate the Commission's analysis of the conduct alleged against Qualcomm," judges said.

"The Commission did not provide an analysis which makes it possible to support the findings that the payments concerned had actually reduced Apple's incentives to switch to Qualcomm's competitors in order to obtain supplies of LTE chipsets for certain iPad models to be launched in 2014 and 2015."

The EU competition enforcer can appeal the judgement to the EU Court of Justice, Europe's highest court. The Commission said it would carefully study the judgement before considering its next steps.

The judgement is another painful setback to Vestager's crackdown on Big Tech. The loss represents Vestager's second major defeat after failing to get the court's backing in January for a 1.06 billion euro fine on Intel 12 years ago for engaging in illegal anti-competitive practices to exclude rival AMD. Before January, the Commission hadn't lost a big antitrust case in more than 20 years.

Qualcomm's fine is one of several imposed by the EU antitrust chief on companies including Google, Facebook, and Amazon over anti-competitive practices.

As more post-WWDC interviews with Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi surface, we continue to learn more about Apple's reasoning behind iPadOS's new Stage Manager feature being limited to iPads with the M1 chip.

The latest interview was published by Forbes contributor David Phelan, who asked Federighi if Apple attempted to make Stage Manager work with iPad models without the M1 chip. In response, Federighi said Apple did some early testing of the feature on other iPads, but Apple was not satisfied with the experienced delivered on those devices.

"We began some of our prototyping involving those systems and it became apparent early on that we couldn't deliver the experience that that we were designing toward with them," he said. "Certainly, we would love to bring any new experience to every device we can, but we also don't want to hold back the definition of a new experience and not create the best foundation for the future in that experience. And we really could only do that by building on the M1."

In an interview with TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino shared earlier this week, Federighi said the M1 chip's performance ensures that all apps being used in Stage Manager are "instantaneously responsive," as customers expect from a touch-based interface.

In a statement last week, shared by Rene Ritchie, Apple asserted that Stage Manager "requires large internal memory, incredibly fast storage, and flexible external display I/O, all of which are delivered by iPads with the M1 chip."

The M1 iPad Pro is available with up to 16GB of RAM and a Thunderbolt port, while the previous-generation iPad Pro features 6GB of RAM and a USB-C port. The M1 iPad Pro also features up to 2x faster storage and up to 40% faster GPU performance compared to the previous model. The fifth-generation iPad Air is also equipped with the M1 chip, but the iPad mini, entry-level iPad, and older iPad Pro models are not.

Introduced as part of iPadOS 16, Stage Manager allows users to resize iPad apps into overlapping windows for an improved multitasking experience. The feature fully supports an external display with up to 6K resolution, allowing users to work with up to four apps on the iPad and up to four apps on the external display simultaneously. A version of Stage Manager is also available on macOS Ventura for keeping windows front and center.

As of this week, Apple will begin shipping repaired iPhone 12 models in a new brown box that is 100% plastic free and created with bleach-free paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, according to a company memo obtained by MacRumors. Until now, all repaired iPhones shipped by Apple were packaged in a white box.

In the memo, Apple said it is trialing the new packaging for repaired iPhones as part of the company's commitment to eliminate plastics in all packaging by 2025. In April, Apple announced that it had reduced plastic in its packaging by 75% since 2015, and said that plastics accounted for just 4% of the company's packaging in 2021.

The eco-friendly packaging will be used for repaired iPhone 12 models shipped from Apple Repair Center depots to Apple Stores, Apple Authorized Service Providers, and/or directly to customers in the United States and other countries.

Apple did not indicate whether it would expand the more eco-friendly packaging to all repaired iPhones if the trial is deemed successful.

Apple previously announced that its global operations have been carbon free since 2020, and the company said it has used 100% renewable energy to power its offices, stores, and data centers since 2018. As of March 2022, Apple said 213 of its manufacturing partners have also committed to 100% renewable electricity for Apple-related production.

International Day of Yoga is set to take place on Tuesday, June 21, and Apple is celebrating with a new Activity Challenge that will let Apple Watch users earn a new yoga badge and a set of animated yoga stickers.

Earn this award inspired by the International Day of Yoga. On June 21, do a yoga workout of 20 minutes or more. Record your time with any app that adds workouts to Health.

To earn the award, Apple Watch users will need to complete a yoga workout that lasts for 20 minutes or more on June 21. The award for completing the challenge looks similar to the award provided for past Yoga Day challenges, and there are several sticker options for various yoga poses.

Apple holds Activity Challenges for various holidays and events throughout the year, and began offering awards for International Day of Yoga back in 2019.

Any yoga workout will fulfill the requirement, as long as you select the yoga workout type from the Workout app on the Apple Watch or use an app that adds yoga workouts to the Health app. Apple's Fitness+ service, available for $9.99 per month, offers built-in yoga workouts that you can do.

Apple is working on a refresh of the low-cost entry-level iPad, which will expand the feature set of the device. According to 9to5Mac, Apple's 10th-generation ‌iPad‌ will include several updates that will bring it in line with the rest of the ‌iPad‌ lineup.

The 2022 ‌iPad‌ is said to include a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, which would expand USB-C across the ‌iPad‌ lineup. The iPad Air, iPad Pro, and iPad mini are all equipped with USB-C at this point, leaving the ‌iPad‌ as the sole tablet that is using Lightning.

The updated device is expected to include a larger 10.5-inch display, which would be an upgrade from the current 10.2-inch display. Display analyst Ross Young, who often provides accurate info on Apple's display plans, has confirmed that the ‌iPad‌ will have a 10.5-inch display.

Apple is planning to update the ‌iPad‌ with the A14 Bionic chip. The A14 was first used in the iPhone 12 lineup and the fourth-generation ‌iPad Air‌, and it will bring faster performance compared to the A13 in the existing model.

Along with the display and chip updates, Apple will add 5G connectivity to the ‌iPad‌, allowing it to connect to 5G networks. There's no word on design updates at this time, so it is unclear if Apple will add a Touch ID power button or stick with the Home button.

Apple is expected to update the low-cost ‌iPad‌ at some point in 2022, likely in the fall.

The 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE has dropped to $229.00 on Amazon today, down from $279.00. You can get this deal in Gold Aluminum with Starlight Sport Band, Silver Aluminum with Abyss Blue Sport Band, and Space Gray Aluminum with Midnight Sport Band.

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.

This is the first time in a few weeks that we've seen the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE return to this all-time low price. All three models are in stock and ready to ship from Amazon today.

The 44mm GPS model is also seeing an all-time low price, but stock has dwindled and caused a shipping estimate of mid-July. It's available for $229.00 as well, down from $309.00, only in Silver Aluminum with Abyss Blue Sport Band.

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

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

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

There's no word yet on what new features or changes might be included in macOS Monterey 12.5, and nothing new was found in the first two betas. It's likely this update focuses on bug fixes and other minor improvements to the operating system.

macOS Monterey 12.5 could be one of the final updates to the macOS Monterey website as Apple is now shifting its focus to macOS Ventura, the next-generation Mac operating system coming this fall.