MacRumors

Volkswagen has been working on rolling out support for wireless CarPlay across its lineup, and the carmaker recently invited me out to Asheville, North Carolina, for a look at the redesigned Mk8 Golf GTI and Golf R hatchbacks, as well as the refreshed Jetta and the rest of the 2022 lineup.

Given that I've previously looked at VW's MIB3 infotainment platforms with wireless ‌CarPlay‌ in both the 2021 ID.4 and 2021 Tiguan, this is more of an overview of what some of the 2022 models are offering in the infotainment department for the new model year than an in-depth review.

Golf GTI and Golf R

The new Golf launched in a number of international markets a couple of years ago, but it's taken until now for it to come to the U.S. with only the more performance-oriented Golf GTI and Golf R versions joining the U.S. lineup.

On the infotainment side, the Golf GTI and Golf R both come with VW's latest MIB3 platform, although that arrives in a couple of different flavors.

The GTI S trim includes an 8.25-inch infotainment screen with VW's Composition Color system that supports wired ‌CarPlay‌, while moving up to the SE or Autobahn trim upgrades to a 10-inch screen with VW's Discover Pro system that I'm focusing on here. That system includes a completely different look, onboard navigation, wireless ‌CarPlay‌, SiriusXM with 360L, and voice control. The 10-inch Discover Pro system is also standard on Golf R, as that model is available in only a single high-end trim.

The Discover Pro system has seen some criticism since its debut on the ID.4 for bugs and sluggishness, but VW has been working to improve it and over-the-air software updates will allow for continued refinement. I actually didn't have a lot of issues with it in the ID.4, and I still found it working well in the Golf. The system has a modern smartphone-like look with familiar home screen icons and a CarPlay-like dashboard screen showing widgets from multiple apps.

As with the ID.4, volume and climate controls are located in a capacitive strip below the main screen and are operated by swiping left or right. My initial feeling was that it was a creative way to implement streamlined and unobtrusive controls, but the more I've used them, the less enamored I am of them. They can be a bit finicky, and I'd really just prefer to use a hardware knob or buttons with a tactile response. The strip is also a natural place where you might want to brace your hand to operate the touchscreen, but then you have to be careful not to mess up your audio or A/C.

That said, ‌CarPlay‌ looks good on the system, which retains a strip of the native interface along the left side that makes it easy to hop out of ‌CarPlay‌ with a home button icon, as well as offer access to climate and heated/ventilated seat settings.

VW's 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit Pro screen is standard across all trims, which offers great flexibility for displaying the information you want including navigation prompts, and the Golf GTI Autobahn trim and the Golf R add a head-up display for even more glanceable information.

All GTI and R trims include a wireless phone charger standard, which is always great to have alongside wireless ‌CarPlay‌. The charger is a simple cubby tucked under the center stack, and it had no problems charging my iPhone 13 Pro Max in an Apple leather case.

All trims also include four USB-C ports, with two up front supporting both charging and data while two second-row ones on the rear of the center console are charge-only.

Jetta and Jetta GLI

The 2022 Jetta includes a combination of the MIB3 and older MIB2 systems, with lower-level S, Sport, and SE trims featuring MIB2 Composition Color systems with a 6.5-inch display and support for wired ‌CarPlay‌ only. The higher-level SEL and GLI Autobahn trims come with upgraded MIB3 8-inch systems that support wireless ‌CarPlay‌ and are paired with wireless phone charging. The GLI's system is known as Composition Media and lacks built-in navigation, while the SEL's Discover Media system includes navigation.

I spent some time in the GLI with Composition Media, which features not only the 8-inch screen but also several fixed buttons surrounding the display that make it easy to hop between functions, including in and out of ‌CarPlay‌. The 8-inch screen really feels like the bare minimum for infotainment systems these days, so it's unfortunate that the lower trims still come with only a 6.5-inch screen.

As I noted in my 2021 Tiguan review, performance of the MIB3 system is solid, although the simple interface lacks visual interest. That can be a good thing, with understated dark themes being easy on the eyes and limiting distraction, but it's definitely not as modern looking as the Discover Pro systems on the ID.4 and Golf.

‌CarPlay‌ integrates well with the system, and turn-by-turn Apple Maps guidance can also be displayed in the digital cockpit for some second-screen flexibility.

The wireless charger is a rubberized pad inside a nook at the base of the center stack, and it worked well as my phone stayed in place and it had no trouble delivering a consistent charge. For wired connectivity, there's a pair of USB-C data-and-charge ports adjacent to the phone cubby, and another charge-only one in the center console compartment.

Taos

The final 2022 VW I spent significant time in was the Taos, which features the 8-inch MIB3 system on the higher-end SE and SEL trims, with the SEL's Discover Media including onboard navigation to distinguish it from the SE's Composition Media unit. The base S trim features the older MIB2 Composition Color system on a 6.5-inch screen, which again is difficult to recommend these days due to its small size and lack of wireless ‌CarPlay‌.

The MIB3 Discover Media system on the Taos SEL trim I drove is essentially the same as the one in the Jetta at this event and the 2021 Tiguan I previously tested, so there's not a lot else to report. As with the Jetta, the Taos SE and SEL trims include a well-designed rubberized wireless phone charging pad, as well as the same pair of data-and-charge USB-C ports up front. A third charge-only port is located on the rear of the center console for second-row passengers.

Wrap-up

Overall, VW is making some nice strides in the infotainment department, pushing things forward with the MIB3 platform with wireless ‌CarPlay‌ and wireless phone charging. Unfortunately, the lineups can still be a bit confusing, with lower trims still featuring the older MIB2 system while higher trims on the same vehicle get MIB3.

Even within the MIB3 system, there's significant variation in the overall look depending on the vehicle, with the large-screen Discover Pro systems found in vehicles like the ID.4 and Golf bearing essentially no similarity in looks to the Discover Media and Composition Media systems found in other vehicles like the Jetta and Taos. And the MIB3 interfaces in the Jetta and Taos look closer in appearance to MIB2 systems than they do MIB3 Discover Pro systems, but with improved performance and some extra features like wireless ‌CarPlay‌.

It obviously takes time for automakers to roll out updated systems like these, generally requiring some level of interior refresh to accommodate changes to the hardware, so there will always be a staggered rollout across a lineup, but I feel like there's a bit more confusion than there needs to be right now.

So if wireless ‌CarPlay‌ is important to you, make sure you're closely checking the specs for your desired trim. On the Golf and Taos, everything but the lowest-level S trims include it, while the Jetta requires either the SEL or GLI level at the higher end. Other models will vary.

Adobe today updated its Photoshop for iPad app, introducing two tools that were previously unavailable to bring the iPad version of the app more in line with Photoshop for desktop.

With the new Smudge tool, Photoshop for ‌iPad‌ users can blend colors in their images, and with the Sponge tool, different areas of an image can be saturated or desaturated.

According to Adobe, the Smudge tool is able to mimic the effect of a finger running through wet paint, and it can also be used to smudge lines and blend two or more colors together. The Smudge tool can be accessed from the Adjustment tool options.

The Sponge tool can be used to enhance the vibrancy of colors in specific areas of an image, or mute the colors. As with the Smudge tool, the Sponge tool is available by tapping on the Adjustment tools icon.

Today's update also introduces options for adjusting the white balance for Camera Raw images and there are now labels for the tool icons that can be seen when you over over them.

Both tools work well with either a finger or an Apple Pencil, with Adobe recommending an ‌Apple Pencil‌ for the best results.

Photoshop for iPad is available through Adobe's Creative Cloud plans, which are priced starting at $9.99 for the Photography plan. The Photography plan includes Lightroom for desktop and mobile, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop on desktop and ‌iPad‌, and 20GB of cloud storage. A Photoshop-only subscription is also available for $20.99 per month, and that plan includes 100GB storage.

Apple is planning to offer a new "Ring in the New Year" Apple Watch Activity Challenge starting on Saturday, January 1.

The Activity Challenge will require users to close all three of their Fitness rings for seven days in a row in January. That means meeting all stand, exercise, and move goals for a week.

As with all of Apple's Activity Challenges, the New Year challenge will be accompanied by an award that can be viewed in the Fitness app as well as a series of animated stickers that can be used in the Messages app.

Apple has hosted a New Year challenge for many years running now, and it is one of many Activity Challenges that Apple offers throughout the year to encourage people to meet their Fitness goals.

Apple's latest updates, including iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, macOS Monterey, and HomePod 15.2 introduce support for the Apple Music Voice Plan, a cheaper version of ‌Apple Music‌ that's only able to be activated through Siri.

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In our latest YouTube video, we tested the ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan to see if it's worth subscribing to for $4.99 per month (U.S. pricing), or if you're better off upgrading to the full ‌Apple Music‌ plan.

If you're not already an ‌Apple Music‌ subscriber, signing up for the voice plan is as simple as saying "Hey ‌Siri‌, start my ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan," or activating it through an iOS device or Mac.

Those who are new to ‌Apple Music‌ will get the first seven days of access free to try it out, but if you turn on auto-renewal and sign up to pay a monthly fee, you can get a three-month free trial. That seven day option is if you don't sign up and don't allow it to renew after you test it out, and you won't be automatically billed.

The $4.99 per month ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan is entirely separate from the $9.99 per month full ‌Apple Music‌ subscription, which already includes all of the features of the ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan. If you already subscribe to ‌Apple Music‌, you have full ‌Siri‌ access and won't also need the ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan.

Apple designed the ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan as a more limited version of the standard ‌Apple Music‌ subscription. It's primarily designed to allow you to ask for songs and albums from the ‌Apple Music‌ catalog by ‌Siri‌ request rather than through the ‌Apple Music‌ app interface.

So to find music, you'd just go ahead and ask ‌Siri‌ to play something instead of looking it up in the ‌Apple Music‌ app. You do need to have ‌Siri‌ enabled on your devices, and ‌Apple Music‌ Voice works well on all devices that support ‌Siri‌ - iPhone, iPad, Mac, and ‌HomePod‌. It's particularly useful with CarPlay in the car and on the ‌HomePod‌ where the natural inclination is to use voice control.

‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan has a limited interface in the ‌Apple Music‌ app, but it does offer full access to Apple's song catalog and radio stations, as well as playlist suggestions. You can actually search for artists, albums, and songs using the ‌Apple Music‌ app, and you can listen to previews of songs, but not the full song. If you find a song in ‌Apple Music‌ that you want to play after hearing the preview from tapping it, you'll need to ask ‌Siri‌ to play the full version.

With the ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan, there is no option to add songs or albums to the Library, nor can you create playlists or save music for offline listening. If you want those features, you need to upgrade to the full ‌Apple Music‌ subscription.

Playing a song on an iOS device will give you the standard playback controls for playing, pausing, and skipping to the next track, plus you can also use features like AirPlay. It does use the continuous play option, so if you ask ‌Siri‌ to play one song, ‌Siri‌ will keep the music going with similar songs.

There is no support for Spatial Audio or Lossless Audio, both features that require the $9.99 per month ‌Apple Music‌ plan, nor is there an option to view lyrics, watch music videos, or see what friends are listening to.

All in all, it's not a bad idea to choose ‌Apple Music‌ Voice if you're going to use ‌Siri‌ exclusively on something like a ‌HomePod‌ and want to save some money, but there are a lot of additional features that you get with the extra $5 for the full $9.99 per month ‌Apple Music‌ plan.

Alongside iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, macOS Monterey 12.1, and watchOS 8.3, Apple yesterday introduced an updated version of Xcode, Xcode 13.2. Developers who are updating should be aware that there's a bug with the Mac App Store version of the software at this time, and it should be avoided.

According to a thread on the Developer forums, updating to Xcode 13.2 from the Mac App Store results in projects that will no longer compile and package errors. Many developers are seeing the following message: "Internal error: missingPackageDescriptionModule," and there appears to be no fix at this time.

Other developers have received errors related to Github certificate validation and when attempting to add packages from Github.

Apple says that it is investigating the issue, and that in the meantime, Xcode 13.2 should be downloaded directly from the Releases section of the Apple Developer website.

Apple retail stores are implementing stricter COVID measures, once again requiring customers to wear masks in all locations in the United States and enacting social distancing rules in some locations that had been eliminated earlier this year.

Apple in November dropped its masking requirements for customers in many U.S. states due to positive trends in vaccinations and declining COVID-19 cases, but cases are ticking upward again and there are concerns over the Omicron variant.

In some states, mask mandates were not eliminated, but in states where customers were no longer required to wear a mask in an Apple Store, that's changing. About 100 stores were able to drop their masking requirements back in November.

Apple was also able to stop limiting occupancy in its stores, but in areas with high number of cases, there will once again be waits to enter when it's crowded.

Apple has been continually monitoring local guidance and COVID data throughout the pandemic, making adjustments as needed to mitigate risk for customers and employees.

Apple Arcade surpassed 200 games available on the service in August, and new titles continue to be added nearly every week. The latest game coming to Apple Arcade is Disney Melee Mania from Mighty Bear Games, which launches this Friday.

Disney Melee Mania is a battle arena game in which players battle in five-minute 3v3 matches to secure as many points as possible. There are several classic Disney and Pixar characters to choose from, including Wreck-It Ralph, Elsa, Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, and others. The game will be available on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.

"We're thrilled to work with Disney to bring these beloved characters to the first-ever Disney and Pixar battle arena game, available exclusively on Apple Arcade," said Simon Davis, Mighty Bear Games CEO. "Fans will compete with arcade-style Disney and Pixar champions in a fun and frenzied all-out brawl to survive the chaotic melee and stay in the spotlight."

Another game coming soon to Apple Arcade is Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis, featuring iconic Nickelodeon characters, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Angelica, Rocko, Garfield, and others. A multiplayer mode pits players against each other against Nickelodeon-themed backdrops like Bikini Bottom, and there is also a single-player story mode where players are tasked with advancing through unique challenges for each character.

Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis will be available on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. No specific release date has been shared yet for the game, but Apple Arcade subscribers can sign up to be notified when the game becomes available by tapping on the "Notify Me" button in the game's listing on the App Store.

Apple Arcade is a subscription-based gaming service accessible through the App Store. Priced at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, the service provides subscribers with access to a growing catalog of games across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. All games on Apple Arcade are free of ads and in-app purchases.

Nomad today announced the launch of a new version of its Base Station Hub, with the updated option featuring a magnetic alignment feature.

The new Base Station Hub has the same three coil design as the prior model, but it now has built-in magnets to help you better position an iPhone on a Qi hotspot for the most efficient charging. Each wireless coil supports up to 10W, and for the ‌iPhone‌ models, that means the Hub is able to charge them at a maximum of 7.5W.

In addition to spots for charging up to two devices wirelessly, the Base Station Hub is also equipped with a 7.5W USB-A port and an 18W USB-C port for wired charging, allowing for a total of four devices to charge at one time.

The Base Station Hub is available from the Nomad website for $120.

It has once again been rumored that next year's iPhone 14 Pro models will feature an upgraded 48-megapixel primary camera (the "Wide" lens), compared to a 12-megapixel Wide lens on iPhone 13 Pro models, but it is not as simple as it might sound.

In a research note earlier this year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said iPhone 14 Pro models may support both 48-megapixel and 12-megapixel output, which would likely be achieved with a process known as pixel binning. Already in use on some Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra, pixel binning merges data from multiple smaller pixels on the camera's image sensor into one "super-pixel" for improved low-light sensitivity.

Pixel binning is beneficial because simply increasing a smartphone camera's megapixels while maintaining the same camera sensor size results in smaller pixels, which generally capture less light, leading to lower-quality low-light photos. Pixel binning would allow iPhone 14 Pro models to shoot high-resolution 48-megapixel photos in bright conditions and 12-megapixel photos in low-light conditions that are still of high quality.

On the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the device shoots 12-megapixel photos by default, with a toggle available in the camera app for shooting 108-megapixel photos. This is ideal for most users, as high-resolution photos have large file sizes that can use up lots of storage space. A single 108-megapixel photo shot with the Galaxy S21 Ultra can have a 16MB file size, for example, compared to the average 12-megapixel photo being around 2-3MB.

CNET's Stephen Shankland wrote a helpful explainer that goes into more detail on the technical aspects of pixel binning earlier this year.

Kuo expects the iPhone 14 Pro's new 48-megapixel Wide lens to support 8K video recording, up from 4K currently, and he said these high-resolution videos would be suitable for viewing on Apple's rumored AR/VR headset expected to launch next year.

Kuo ultimately believes that the camera quality of the iPhone 14 Pro models will "elevate mobile phone camera photography to a new level."

The Apple TV+ app is now rolling out to Sky Q and Sky Glass TV devices, following a deal between Apple and Comcast earlier this year.

Users of the Sky Q set-top box and the new Sky Glass TV will see the ‌Apple TV‌+ automatically appear on their device, but it is possible to expedite the installation if it has not yet occurred by navigating to Settings, System Management, Resets & Updates, and clicking Refresh Apps. This "updates all existing apps on this device and adds any newly available apps," and should force the installation of the ‌Apple TV‌+ app.

‌Apple TV‌+ joins other video streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and more that are already integrated into Sky's platform. It is effectively the same stripped-down version of the ‌Apple TV‌+ app available on other Smart TVs from LG and Samsung.

Sky also today published a guide on how to sign in and use the ‌Apple TV‌+ app on Sky Q and Sky Glass.

As part of the deal between Apple and Comcast, the ‌Apple TV‌+ app will come to Xfinity in the United States, while Comcast's own Xfinity Stream app come to the ‌Apple TV‌. Sky customers in the UK will also be able to access Sky Go on the ‌‌Apple TV‌‌ starting in mid-2022.

A couple of months ago, Anker launched its new "MagGo" lineup of MagSafe-compatible charging accessories. While they don't support the full 15-watt charging available with official MagSafe accessories and will be limited to 7.5 watts, they otherwise provide a versatile set of charging options for iPhone 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 devices.

I've had a set of most of Anker's MagGo accessories for a few weeks now, and they have proven to work well, so I thought I'd share an overview of all of them.

Anker 610 Magnetic Phone Grip

We'll start off with the cheapest and simplest one, and it's actually not a charging accessory. The Magnetic Phone Grip takes advantage of the ‌MagSafe‌ magnets on an ‌iPhone‌ 12 or 13 (or a compatible case), to stick a metal ring on the back of the phone. Think of it like a magnetic Popsocket, with the ring able to serve as a place to put your finger to help you better hold onto your phone, and it can also serve as a stand if you want to put your phone down on a surface in landscape orientation to watch a video, for example.

The magnetic attachment isn't 100% foolproof, so you do want to be careful about relying solely on the grip to hold your phone, but it does hold pretty tightly. The metal ring folds inside the magnet so there's minimal bulk when the grip isn't being used, and it's simple enough to just pop off the ring and stow it in a pocket or bag if you don't want it on your phone full-time. The grip will prevent your phone from charging over ‌MagSafe‌, so you'll need to either remove it for wireless charging or charge via Lightning, but it's not a hassle to remove the grip as needed, as long as you keep track of it.

The Anker 610 Magnetic Phone Grip is priced at $15.99.

Anker 622 Magnetic Battery

This accessory is similar to Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack, attaching directly to the back of a compatible ‌iPhone‌. It's just a bit larger than Apple's battery pack, and it includes 5,000 mAh of power. Because of power loss in wireless charging, it's not quite enough to fully charge my ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max, but you should be able to get a full charge out of it for any of the smaller models.

What really sets Anker's battery apart is the built-in kickstand. It's just a thin flap that adds almost no bulk to the battery, but it folds into a triangular shape like an iPad Smart Cover to prop up your phone in either portrait or landscape orientation. Despite the thinness of the flap, the stand has proven to be quite steady in my testing, moving only minimally whenever I poke at my phone's screen.

The Anker 622 Magnetic Battery is priced at $59.99.

Anker 623 Magnetic Wireless Charger

This one served for over a month as my primary desk charging solution for my ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max. The weighted base keeps things pretty stable, although it will rock just a bit if you poke vigorously at your phone. In a nice touch, it features an animated ring of light around the bottom of the base that confirms when it's successfully charging after putting a phone on the pad.

I like that the angle of the charging pad is adjustable, and when it's in a more upright position, it reveals a flat 5-watt charging pad that can be used for charging up AirPods. It's about as compact a unit as you can expect for the design, considering it needs to have enough mass to support a phone attached to the top of it. It comes with Anker's 20-watt PowerPort III cube adapter and a color-matched USB-C cable, so you'll have everything you need for it right in the box.

The Anker 623 Magnetic Wireless Charger is priced at $79.94, although it's currently on sale for $69.99.

Anker 633 Magnetic Wireless Charger

The 633 Magnetic Wireless Charger is a flexible solution that offers the best of both worlds as both a charging stand and a portable battery. The charging pad on this is actually a 5,000 mAh magnetic battery that slides into a holder on the stand portion, so on a desk or nightstand you can use it as a traditional fixed charger, but when it's time to go you can either pull your phone off the charger as usual or slide the phone and battery out of the stand and you've got some extra juice for the road.

The battery charges in the stand via some contact pins, but it can also charge directly via USB-C so you can charge it when you're away from the stand. And while it's on the stand, you can adjust the phone angle thanks to a hinge at the top of the arm.

Similar to the 623, the base of the stand gives a cool animated white glow when you put your phone on the charger to confirm that it's charging. The base also features a 5-watt charging pad that works great for your AirPods. A 25-watt PowerPort III adapter and USB-C cable are included in the box.

The Anker 633 Magnetic Wireless Charger is priced at $119.99.

Anker 637 Magnetic Charging Station

While I enjoyed using the 623 as my desktop charger for a while, it's since been supplanted by the 637 Magnetic Charging Station that offers a host of charging possibilities. It's a ball-shaped charger a little over 4 inches in diameter, and the front face of it is a MagSafe-compatible charging pad that puts your phone at a good angle for visibility.

But what takes the charging station to the next level is on the rear, where there are three AC power outlets, two USB-C ports, and two USB-A ports where you can plug in all sorts of other accessories. The design helps reduce clutter by acting as a mini power strip with multiple connection types and letting you run all of your cables out the back.

It supports up to 1250 watts of AC output, so you can hook up lots of equipment through its power outlets, and it supports up to 65 watts of total USB charging. It can route all 65 watts through a single USB-C port if you want to hook up a Mac, for example, or it will divide that power among multiple USB accessories if you're using several ports on the charging station. It comes with an attached 5-foot power cord that uses a 45-degree flat plug for tight spaces.

The Anker 637 Magnetic Charging Station is priced at $99.99.

Anker 613 Magnetic Wireless Charger

In addition to the five items I've covered here, the MagGo lineup also includes the 613 Magnetic Wireless Charger for your car. It sits on the dashboard and features an adjustable arm for positioning the charging pad wherever you need it.

I don't have this one on hand to test out, but it's priced at $69.99.

Note: Anker provided MacRumors with the MagGo accessories for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. 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.

Target has a few Apple-related deals going on today only, headlined by a $20 markdown on the HomePod mini. You can get the smart speaker for just $79.99, down from $99.99.

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 sale is available in Space Gray and White as of writing, with options to pick up the speaker in your local store or ship it to your home. Target RedCard owners can save an additional 5 percent on the HomePod mini.

This is beating the best Black Friday deal we tracked on HomePod mini at B&H Photo and Staples by about $10. It's matching Costco's deal from last month, but given that a Costco membership was required for that deal, Target's sale today will be available to far more people.

Secondly, Target is offering 20 percent off select MagSafe accessories for one day only. You can get the MagSafe Charger for $31.99, down from $39.99 (matched at Amazon), the MagSafe Battery Pack for $79.99, down from $99.99 (matched at Amazon), and a wide assortment of Clear, Leather, and Silicone iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 cases.

We track the best deals on HomePod every week, so be sure to bookmark our guide if you're on the hunt for solid HomePod discounts.

It has been over two years since Apple launched the AirPods Pro, and while the wireless earbuds haven't been updated since then, rumors suggest that second-generation AirPods Pro will finally be released next year.

Key features of the current AirPods Pro include silicone ear tips, improved sound quality over standard AirPods, active noise cancellation, and a Conversation Boost feature that raises the volume of a person talking in front of you. AirPods Pro compete with the likes of Google's Pixel Buds, Samsung's Galaxy Buds, and Amazon's Echo Buds.

We've been hearing rumors about the second-generation AirPods Pro since shortly after the original ones launched, so keep reading to find out when the new AirPods Pro will likely be released and what new features we can expect.

AirPods Pro 2: Release Timeframe

While new AirPods Pro were initially rumored to launch within the first six months of 2022, this no longer appears to be the case.

In a research note earlier this month, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he now expects Apple to launch the second-generation AirPods Pro in the fourth quarter of 2022, which runs from October through December of the year.

Apple announced the original AirPods Pro with a press release on its website on October 30, 2019, which was also in the fourth quarter.

Should you buy AirPods Pro now or wait until the new ones are released? Catch up on rumored features below and decide for yourself.

AirPods Pro 2: Rumored Features

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Debby Wu have previously reported that Apple has tested a more compact design for the new AirPods Pro that would eliminate the stems that drop below the earbuds. If this ends up being the final design, the new AirPods Pro could look similar to Apple's Beats Studio Buds released in June 2021.

Gurman and Wu also claimed the new AirPods Pro will feature motion sensors for fitness tracking capabilities alongside the Apple Watch.

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Pro will have a "significantly upgraded" wireless chip compared to the H1 chip in the current AirPods Pro. The chip powers audio-related functions like active noise cancellation, and improvements to this technology could result in improved battery life for longer listening time per charge. Kuo also expects the new AirPods Pro to support lossless audio available through Apple Music.

The new AirPods Pro charging case will be able to emit a sound to help users find it when misplaced, according to Kuo. It is likely that the next AirPods Pro will also have a water-resistant charging case, like the third-generation AirPods charging case.

If you ultimately decide to purchase the AirPods Pro now instead of waiting, keep in mind that they are often on sale on Amazon for significantly less than Apple's regular $249 price, so be sure to monitor our Apple Deals roundup.

For more details, check out AirPods Pro 2: Everything We Know So Far.

WhatsApp has made a privacy change to prevent people on the messaging platform from viewing the "Last Seen" status of users whom they have never chatted with, according to the latest report from independent feature specialist WABetaInfo.

As regular WhatsApp users will know, the "Last Seen" status of a contact sits atop the conversation thread, informing you when that contact last opened the app and was active on the platform. Users can disable their "Last Seen" status so that other contacts can't see when they were last online, but the setting's options are currently limited to "Everyone," "My Contacts," and "Nobody."

The latest change behind the scenes is said to be a privacy and security feature to prevent people you don't know and haven't communicated with from seeing your "Last Seen" status and online presence in the app.

According to a response from WhatsApp support, people and businesses a user knows or has previously messaged are not affected by the change.

To improve the privacy and security of our users, we're making it harder for people you don't know and haven't chatted with from seeing your last seen and online presence on WhatsApp. This will not change anything between you and your friends, family, and businesses who you know or have previously messaged.

As WABetaInfo notes, if a user can't view the "Last Seen" of any contacts they've already chatted with, it's because they have turned off the visibility of their "Last Seen" status or they've adjusted it on a contact-by-contact basis, a feature currently available to some users on WhatsApp beta that has yet to roll out globally.

As previously rumored, Apple is planning to release four iPhone 14 models in September 2022, including a 6.1-inch iPhone 14, 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max, 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max, according to analyst Jeff Pu.

In a research note with Haitong International Securities, obtained by MacRumors, Pu said the two Pro models will be equipped with a triple-lens rear camera system with an upgraded 48-megapixel Wide lens and 12-megapixel Ultra Wide and Telephoto lenses. This lines up with information shared by TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who in April claimed that the 48-megapixel lens will support 8K video recording.

Pu also expects the iPhone 14 Pro models to be equipped with 8GB of RAM, up from 6GB for the iPhone 13 Pro models. While this rumor sounds plausible, some other iPhone 14 specs forecasted by Pu seem far less likely, such as his claim that all four iPhone 14 models will feature 120Hz displays. Back in September, display industry analyst Ross Young said the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max models will stick with 60Hz displays.

Pu also said the standard iPhone 14 models will start with 64GB of storage, despite the iPhone 13 lineup starting at 128GB of storage.

Pu has a mixed track record for Apple rumors. For example, he accurately claimed that 16-inch MacBook Pro and iPad Pro models with mini-LED displays would launch in 2021, but he was incorrect about HomePods with 3D sensing cameras launching in 2019.

The United States Labor Department has launched a whistleblower retaliation investigation, according to a report from Financial Times.

The U.S. Labor Department did not provide details on the investigation, but Financial Times says that former Apple employee Ashley Gjovik received a December 10 letter from the Labor Department that confirmed the inquiry. Gjovik was fired from Apple in September for allegedly leaking confidential information.

Gjovik, who has been vocal on Twitter, complained about ongoing harassment and unsafe working conditions at Apple, and she believes that she was fired under a false pretext.

Apple told Financial Times that it is "deeply committed to creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace." The company said that it takes "all concerns seriously" and investigates thoroughly when a complaint is raised.

In recent weeks, Apple employees have been critical of workplace misconduct and have shared their frustrations, which has led to the creation of an "AppleToo" initiative calling on Apple executives to address the abuse, discrimination, and harassment that employees have reported.

Back in September, Apple retail and people chief Deirdre O'Brien encouraged employees who are experiencing issues to talk to their managers and their "business relations partner." Apple, she said, has a "confidential process" to investigate complaints in a way that "treats everyone with dignity and respect."

Apple is also facing an investigation from the National Labor Relations Board.

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 released iOS 15.2, the second major update to the iOS operating system that was released in September. iOS 15.2 introduces several features that Apple initially promised would come in iOS 15, but were ultimately delayed. This guide highlights everything new that's been added in the iOS 15.2 update.

App Privacy Report

App Privacy Report is one of the iOS 15 additions that Apple showed off at WWDC. It's a privacy feature designed to allow users to see how often apps have accessed their permission-restricted info like location, photos, camera, microphone, and contacts across the last seven days.

With App Privacy Report, users can also see which apps have contacted other domains and how recently they've contacted them to keep an eye on what apps are doing behind the scenes. You can, for example, see all of the trackers that a website is using, so you know where your data is going.

App Privacy Report is available by opening up the Settings app, selecting the Privacy section, and choosing App Privacy Report. From there, you can toggle it on. After you use apps for some time, data will begin showing up in this spot.

• How to Use App Privacy Report

Apple has a dedicated support document for the App Privacy report feature, which includes additional information on how it works.

Emergency SOS

Emergency SOS, the feature that lets you call emergency services with a series of button presses, has been updated in iOS 15.2. You can now press the side button rapidly multiple times to initiate, or hold down the side button and the volume button together if preferred.

Prior to the update, the rapid press worked, but there was no option for holding down the buttons together. Apple has also added a longer eight-second countdown before a call is placed if you have Auto Call enabled, up from the prior three-second countdown.

Apple Music Voice Plan

iOS 15.2 adds support for the Apple Music Voice Plan that was first introduced in October. Priced at $4.99 per month, the Voice Plan provides access to all songs, playlists, and stations in ‌Apple Music‌ using Siri.

There is a limited on-device interface available as the experience is meant to be ‌Siri‌ oriented. Users can ask ‌Siri‌ for music suggestions that are provided based on listening history or likes and dislikes, and a "Play it Again" feature lets users access a list of recently played music.

Legacy Contacts

With Legacy Contacts, you can set a trusted person to be able to access your Apple ID and your data (or "Digital Legacy") after you die. The person that you designate as your contact can access your photos, messages, notes, files, contacts, calendar events, apps, device backups, and more. iCloud Keychain passwords remain inaccessible, as does licensed media.

The Legacy Contact option can be accessed by opening up the Settings app, selecting "Password & Security," and choosing "‌Legacy Contact‌" from the list. From there, you can select a trusted person to access your account after you pass away. You can choose an iPhone user or an Android user, and share your special access key through Messages or by printing it out.

• How to Use Apple's Legacy Contact Feature to Let Your Family Access Your Photos and Data After You Die

Find My Battery Reserve Feature

With this update, the Find My app can be used to locate an ‌iPhone‌ for up to five hours in Power Reserve, a feature activated when the ‌iPhone‌'s battery is dead.

TV app

In iPadOS 15.2, Apple has introduced a new design for the TV app. The TV app features a sidebar, which makes navigation between the various sections of the TV app simpler.

For ‌iPhone‌ users, there's a dedicated "Store" tab in the TV app for accessing movies and TV shows that can be purchased. The new design and the addition of a Store tab may help separate Apple TV+ content from paid content, as the existing design has been confusing for some users.

Hide My Email in the Mail App

You can use Hide My Email directly from the Mail app after installing the iOS 15.2 beta. When composing an email, just tap on the "From" field and select the "Hide My Email" option to generate a random email address.

Hide My Email is available to everyone who has an ‌iCloud‌+ plan (priced starting at $0.99 per month), and it's a useful feature for protecting your email address.

All the emails sent to the random Apple-created email address are forwarded to you so you can respond if needed, but the person on the receiving end does not see your real email address. And if you start getting spam emails from someone, you can just delete the email address and put a stop to it.

• How to Use the Hide My Email Feature in the Mail App

Display Repair Restriction Changes

Apple promised a software update that will change an ‌iPhone‌ 13 policy that caused Face ID to be non-functional when repairs were made to a broken display, and that update is included in iOS 15.2.

Apple has a microcontroller that pairs the ‌iPhone‌ 13 to its display, and when performing a display repair, the microcontroller had to be paired to the display using Apple's tools in earlier versions of iOS. Because independent repair shops do not have access to those tools, they were upset about being unable to easily perform display repairs.

Apple has removed the microcontroller pairing requirement that disabled ‌Face ID‌ for ‌iPhone‌ 13 models with swapped displays, allowing for independent display repairs.

Communication Safety

In iOS 15.2, Apple is enabling Communication Safety in Messages for children. The feature is designed to scan incoming messages images on children's devices for nudity and warn them that such photos might be harmful.

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

Compared to earlier versions of Communication Safety that Apple described, the implemented version does not notify parents if children open a photo containing nudity. Apple removed this feature after concerns that it could be dangerous in situations of parental abuse.

We have an in-depth explanation of how Communication Safety works to answer any questions that MacRumors readers have about the feature.

Apple is also introducing expanded guidance in ‌Siri‌, Spotlight, and Safari Search that will help children and parents avoid unsafe situations online. Users who ask ‌‌Siri‌‌ how to report child exploitation, for example, will receive information on how to file a report.

Macro Mode Toggle

iOS 15.2 adds a manual toggle for Macro mode, in the form of a flower icon that can be tapped to toggle Macro mode off when the camera is close to an object.

To get the new toggle, users need to go to Settings, navigate to Camera, and turn on "Macro Control." Then, when close enough to an object, the flower icon will Appear in the camera app. The icon can be tapped to enable or disable Macro mode.

Apple has also added a new Preserve Settings option for Macro Control. If Macro Control is disabled, the Camera will automatically switch into Macro mode when close enough to an object, so this feature is meant to give users unhappy with that function more control over when Macro mode activates.

Notification Summary

Apple tweaked Notification Summary in iOS 15.2, and it has a new look with a card-style view that shows main apps in the summary in overlapping cards, making it easier to see at a glance what's included in the summary.

Playlist Search in Music App

Apple has added a long-awaited feature that allows ‌Apple Music‌ users to search within playlists.

iCloud Private Relay

In the Cellular and WiFi sections of the Settings app, Apple has clarified the ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay wording. The toggle, which was previously called "‌iCloud‌ Private Relay" has been renamed to "Limit IP Address Tracking" to make it clearer what happens when it's turned on.

The general functionality is the same, and this is just a clarification to the wording.

Turning off the "Limit IP Address Tracking" feature turns off ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay for the cellular provider or the WiFi network, just as it did before. There have been no changes to the ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay feature, which can be activated separately for cellular and WiFi traffic.

Reminders and Notes Apps

Tags can now be bulk renamed and deleted in the Reminders and Notes apps.

On the iPad, Apple has added a new Notes setting to access Quick Note with a swipe from the lower left or lower right corner of the screen.

CarPlay

The CarPlay Apple Maps app is gaining enhanced detail in iOS 15.2, but only for cities where the new maps features are supported. The updated map includes road details like turn lanes, medians, bike lanes, and pedestrian crosswalks.

More detailed city maps are available in London, Los Angeles, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Stocks App

The Stocks app has been updated to allow users to view the currency for a ticker and see year-to-date performance information when viewing charts.

Siri Commands

iOS 15.2 reintroduces several ‌Siri‌ commands that were removed in iOS 15 and that were used by low vision and blind ‌iPhone‌ owners. The commands that now work are those for checking voicemail messages, playing the most recent voicemail, checking call history, and providing information on recent calls.

Bug Fixes

The update includes several bug fixes for issues with ‌Siri‌, ProRaw, HomeKit, and ‌CarPlay‌, with a list of fixes below.

• ‌Siri‌ may not respond while VoiceOver is running and ‌iPhone‌ is locked
• ProRAW photos may appear overexposed when viewing in third-party photo editing apps
• ‌HomeKit‌ scenes that include a garage door may not run from ‌CarPlay‌ when your ‌iPhone‌ is locked
• ‌CarPlay‌ may not update Now Playing information for certain apps
• Video streaming apps may not load content on ‌iPhone‌ 13 models
• Calendar events may appear on the wrong day for Microsoft Exchange users

Guide Feedback

Know of an iOS 15.2 feature we left out or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Apple is not expected to introduce a foldable iPhone until 2023 at the earliest, with 2024 being the more likely target date, according to display analyst Ross Young.

Rumors about a foldable ‌iPhone‌ have died down in recent months, but there continues to be evidence that Apple is at least working on prototypes of foldable devices. In September 2020, it was suggested that Samsung had provided foldable display samples to Apple for testing purposes, and there have also been rumors that Apple is working with LG Display.

Back in May, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple was working to launch a foldable ‌iPhone‌ with an 8-inch flexible OLED display in 2023, but he has said little else about Apple's work on foldable devices since then. Bloomberg in January said that Apple had started "early work" on a foldable iPhone, but development at the time had not expanded beyond a display.

Going forward, Kuo believes that foldable smartphones are going to become a "must-have" for all major smartphone brands, and Samsung at least has definitely been working on perfecting its foldable smartphone options. Earlier this year, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Z Fold3, the third-iteration of its foldable smartphone.

Early Galaxy Fold devices from Samsung were riddled with issues, but Samsung has now had three years to iron out bugs with little competition in the foldable smartphone field. If Apple does opt to come out with a foldable smartphone in 2023 or 2024, it will need to compete with Samsung, a company that now has several years of expertise with foldable devices.

Kuo has previously said that Apple will need to solve "key technology and mass production issues" to launch a foldable iPhone by 2023, so it would be no surprise at all to have the technology delayed until 2024.