MacRumors

Apple has published a new support document detailing the use of high-impedance headphones with the new MacBook Pro models.

As Apple mentioned when it unveiled the latest MacBook Pros, the 3.5mm headphone jack offers support for high-impedance headphones, which is good news for professionals who want to use the ‌MacBook Pro‌ with studio quality headphones.

As noted in the support document, the new MacBook Pros come with DC load detection, adaptive voltage output, and a built-in digital-to-analog converter. For some use cases, they may also remove the need for an external headphone amplifier.

The 3.5 mm headphone jack on the MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021) or MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) features DC load detection and adaptive voltage output. Your Mac can detect the impedance of the connected device and will adapt its output for low- and high-impedance headphones, as well as for line-level audio devices.

When you connect headphones with an impedance of less than 150 ohms, the headphone jack provides up to 1.25 volts RMS. For headphones with an impedance of 150 to 1k ohms, the headphone jack delivers 3 volts RMS. This may remove the need for an external headphone amplifier.

With impedance detection, adaptive voltage output, and a built-in digital-to-analog converter that supports sample rates of up to 96 kHz, you can enjoy high-fidelity, full-resolution audio directly from the headphone jack on your MacBook Pro.

Apple's new ‌MacBook Pro‌ models are equipped with the "best audio system in a notebook," according to Apple, thanks to upgrades to both the headphone jack and the speaker system.

Apple today shared a new support document that explains how users can ensure that an app's menu bar items do not appear hidden behind the notch, or the "camera housing" as Apple calls it, on the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

In the support document, Apple says users can turn on "scale to fit below built-in camera" for an app to adjust the active area of the display, ensuring that the app's menu bar items appear below the notch and are always visible.

Menu bar items appearing hidden behind the notch was demonstrated by Quinn Nelson, host of the YouTube channel Snazzy Labs.

To turn on "scale to fit below built-in camera" for an app on the new MacBook Pro models, open the Finder app and click on Applications in the sidebar. Then, right click on the desired app and select "Get Info." In the Info window that opens, check off the "scale to fit below built-in camera" box and the display will automatically adjust when the app is open.

The setting was demonstrated in a tweet by Joseph Angelo Todaro, a design advocate for Sketch.

Apple notes that developers can update their app to work better with the notch, in which case the "scale to fit below built-in camera" setting no longer appears.

Apple in the iOS 15.2 beta introduced App Privacy Report, a feature that was first shown off at WWDC. App Privacy Report is designed to provide users with information on how often apps are accessing sensitive info provided to them through privacy permissions, such as location, contacts, camera, microphone, and photos.

Apple also displays network activity, letting you know which domains apps are contacting in the background.

How to Turn on App Privacy Report

App Privacy Report can be enabled in the Settings app by following these instructions.

1. Open up the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on Privacy.
3. In the Privacy section of the Settings app, scroll down and tap on App Privacy Report.
4. Tap on Turn on App Privacy Report.

If you already had "Record App Activity" enabled in the iOS 15/iOS 15.1 updates, App Privacy Report will be automatically on and it will already be populated with data. If you did not, you may need to use apps and websites for a few minutes before you start seeing data.

Using App Privacy Report

Apple shows data from the last seven days, and the app is split up into several sections to make it easier to get to what you want to know.

Data & Sensor Access

In this section, Apple provides a list of apps that have accessed sensors and data granted to them through privacy permissions, so your most sensitive information.

Data & Sensor access will tell you when apps have accessed the following:

• Contacts
• Location
• Photos
• Camera
• Microphone
• Media Library

If you tap on an individual app and then tap on the permission that you want to view more about, App Privacy Report will give you a list of every time the app accessed the data in question.

App Network Activity

With App Network Activity, you can view a list of all of the different domains that your apps have contacted across the last seven days.

This includes various internal domains used by apps, but it also lets you see what third-party websites and services are accessed, such as tracking or analytics tools.

You can tap on any app in the list to see a rundown of all of the domains that have been contacted. If you have Instagram installed, for example, you'll see URLs for things like DoubleClock, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and more, along with internal Instagram and Facebook URLs.

At the bottom of each app's data, you can also get a list of the web sites that you visited within the app.

Website Network Activity

Website Network Activity is basically identical to App Network Activity, but it shows you all of the domains contacted by the websites that you visited in Safari and other apps.

This will show you all of the different trackers and analytics sites that websites are using.

Most Contacted Domains

Most Contacted Domains is an aggregated list of the domains that apps have contacted most often, and it is usually populated by various trackers and analytics domains.

In this section, you can tap on any of the domains in the list to see which apps or websites used that particular domain.

How to Turn Off App Privacy Report

If you don't want to use App Privacy Report, you can follow these steps:

1. Open up the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on Privacy.
3. In the Privacy section of the Settings app, scroll down and tap on App Privacy Report.
4. Tap on Turn Off App Privacy Report.

Note that turning off App Privacy Report will delete all collected data. Once it's turned on again, Apple will again begin aggregating data from apps.

Guide Feedback

Have questions about App Privacy Report, know of a feature we left out, or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Starting in late September, Apple began letting users rate pre-installed first-party apps in the App Store, putting them on par with third-party apps. Apple did not previously allow its own apps to be rated, even though the apps were listed in the ‌App Store‌.

At the time, Apple implemented the star ratings for a limited number of its apps like Mail, Podcasts, and Maps, and now Apple is allowing additional iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch apps to be rated. As noted by developer Kosta Eleftheriou, Apple is allowing ratings for Phone, Photos, Messages, Safari, Clock, Camera, Apple Health, World Clock, Workout, Heart Rate, and more.

Ratings for Apple's own apps let users provide feedback on pre-installed apps, and there are reviews available in addition to the one to five star options. Some Apple apps that have had reviews available for some time, such as Podcasts and Mail, have garnered negative reviews.

Phone, Messages, ‌Photos‌, Safari, and others have only been ratable since October 25, so there are few ratings to analyze at this time. Eleftheriou pointed out a curiosity with Safari -- it has an age rating of 4+, but other browsers are listed at 17+.

Apple may use these ratings to gather more targeted feedback for app improvements going forward, but many of these apps are only updated and tweaked as part of major software updates as they do not function like standard third-party apps.

At its "Unleashed" event last week, Apple announced that the HomePod mini will be available in three new colors starting in November, including yellow, orange, and blue. The new colors will be sold alongside the existing space gray and white options.

Apple has yet to provide a specific release date for the new colors, but in Europe and India, the timeframe is slightly narrowed down. Specifically, Apple's online store says the HomePod mini will be available in yellow, orange, and blue in "late November" in the U.K., Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and India.

In other countries where the new HomePod mini colors will be available, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Taiwan, Apple's online store simply mentions "November" availability.

AppleTrack's Sam Kohl today reported that he is "hearing" that the new HomePod mini colors will be available to order starting Monday, November 1, which is the same day that the Beats Fit Pro are rumored to launch. If this date is accurate, it would suggest that the new colors will be released first in countries like the U.S. and Canada, followed by European countries and India. We'll find out if this rumor is true in just five days.

Beyond the new colors, there are no hardware-related changes to the HomePod mini, and pricing will remain at $99 in the United States.

Apple today released Safari 15.1 for macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina, giving Mac users who do not have macOS Monterey installed access to the latest Safari features.

Safari 15.1 reintroduces the previous tab design that was available prior to Safari 15. With Monterey and Safari 15, Apple introduced a new "Compact" look that changed the design of the tabs and unified them with the URL bar, but many people were not fond of that design.

In Safari 15.1, Apple undid those design changes and returned Safari to its pre-Monterey look, doing away with the updated design and the feature that blended the top bar in Safari with the background color of websites. Those who liked the new design can still enable it in Safari preferences, but the old design is the default.

Safari can be downloaded on machines running macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina by going to System Preferences > Updates. If you have macOS Monterey 12.0.1 installed, you already have Safari 15.1.

Update: We've learned from Apple that the Communication Safety code found in the first iOS 15.2 beta is not a feature in that update and Apple does not plan to release the feature as it is described in the article.

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Apple this summer announced new Child Safety Features that are designed to keep children safer online. One of those features, Communication Safety, appears to be included in the iOS 15.2 beta that was released today. This feature is distinct from the controversial CSAM initiative, which has been delayed.

Based on code found in the iOS 15.2 beta by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, Communication Safety is being introduced in the update. The code is there, but we have not been able to confirm that the feature is active because it requires sensitive photos to be sent to or from a device set up for a child.

As Apple explained earlier this year, Communication Safety is built into the Messages app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It will warn children and their parents when sexually explicit photos are received or sent from a child's device, with Apple using on-device machine learning to analyze image attachments.

If a sexually explicit photo is flagged, it is automatically blurred and the child is warned against viewing it. For kids under 13, if the child taps the photo and views it anyway, the child's parents will be alerted.

Code in iOS 15.2 features some of the wording that children will see.

• You are not alone and can always get help from a grownup you trust or with trained professionals. You can also block this person.
• You are not alone and can always get help from a grownup you trust or with trained professionals. You can also leave this conversation or block contacts.
• Talk to someone you trust if you feel uncomfortable or need help.
• This photo will not be shared with Apple, and your feedback is helpful if it was incorrectly marked as sensitive.
• Message a Grownup You Trust.
• Hey, I would like to talk with you about a conversation that is bothering me.
• Sensitive photos and videos show the private body parts that you cover with bathing suits.
• It's not your fault, but sensitive photos can be used to hurt you.
• The person in this may not have given consent to share it. How would they feel knowing other people saw it?
• The person in this might not want it seen-it could have been shared without them knowing. It can also be against the law to share.
• Sharing nudes to anyone under 18 years old can lead to legal consequences.
• If you decide to view this, your parents will get a notification to make sure you're OK.
• Don't share anything you don't want to. Talk to someone you trust if you feel pressured.
• Do you feel OK? You're not alone and can always talk to someone who's trained to help here.

There are specific phrases for both children under 13 and children over 13, as the feature has different behaviors for each age group. As mentioned above, if a child over 13 views a nude photo, their parents will not be notified, but if a child under 13 does so, parents will be alerted. All of these Communication Safety features must be enabled by parents and are available for Family Sharing groups.

• Nude photos and videos can be used to hurt people. Once something's shared, it can't be taken back.
• It's not your fault, but sensitive photos and videos can be used to hurt you.
• Even if you trust who you send this to now, they can share it forever without your consent.
• Whoever gets this can share it with anyone-it may never go away. It can also be against the law to share.

Apple in August said that these Communication Safety features would be added in updates to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey later this year, and iMessage conversations remain end-to-end encrypted and are not readable by Apple.

Communication Safety was also announced alongside a new CSAM initiative that will see Apple scanning photos for Child Sexual Abuse Material. This has been highly controversial and heavily criticized, leading Apple to choose to "take additional time over the coming months" to make improvements before introducing the new functionality.

At the current time, there is no sign of CSAM wording in the iOS 15.2 beta, so Apple may first introduce Communication Safety before implementing the full suite of Child Safety Features.

Apple's long-awaited third-generation AirPods launched yesterday alongside new MacBook Pro models, and we picked up a pair to compare them to the AirPods Pro. If you're wondering whether you should choose the ‌AirPods Pro‌ or the AirPods 3 when buying AirPods for the first time or upgrading, this comparison video should help.

There are a couple of key differences between the AirPods 3 and the ‌AirPods Pro‌. The AirPods 3 have no silicone ear tips and they don't offer Active Noise Cancellation, so if you prefer the kind of fit you get with silicone tips or really want ANC, that rules the AirPods 3 out right away.

There's also price to consider. Apple is charging $179 for the AirPods 3 and $250 for the ‌AirPods Pro‌, so that's a $70 upgrade if you're going for ‌AirPods Pro‌ over AirPods 3. That sounds like a lot, but you can often get discounts on the AirPods Pro on Amazon and other sites, which makes price a bit less of a factor. Right now, AirPods are $220 (or $200 without the new MagSafe case), so if you score a deal, you can pick up ‌AirPods Pro‌ for around $40 more.

Some people will get a better fit with silicone tips, and some will prefer the tipless design of the AirPods 3. Apple introduced a new contoured shape for the AirPods 3 that's meant to better stay in the ears, and we've found that they fit well and provide a good seal for improved sound compared to prior-generation models. Reviewers with smaller ears have found the AirPods 3 to be a bit big, so if that's your situation, you might want to choose the ‌AirPods Pro‌.

Adaptive EQ customizes sound for each person's ears based on the fit of the AirPods 3, which also boosts sound. There's less difference in sound quality between the AirPods 3 and ‌AirPods Pro‌ than there was with the AirPods 2 and the ‌AirPods Pro‌ because of the new fit and the Adaptive EQ, but you're going to get the tightest fit and most noise blocking with the ‌AirPods Pro‌.

With the exception of the silicone tips and ANC, AirPods 3 and ‌AirPods Pro‌ share the same general feature set. Quick pairing, fast device switching, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and Hey Siri support are features of both models, and they share the same force sensor for controlling music and MagSafe Charging Case (so long as you get the upgraded ‌AirPods Pro‌ model).

As for battery life, if you're looking for the longest lasting earbuds, pick the AirPods 3. The case and AirPods combined offer up to 30 hours of listening time, while the ‌AirPods Pro‌ offer 24 hours.

The AirPods 3 and ‌AirPods Pro‌ have a lot in common, so it comes down to fit and sound preference. For ANC and the best quality sound among Apple's in-ear AirPods, choose the ‌AirPods Pro‌. For the best battery life and the best price, choose the AirPods.

Make sure to watch the video up above for our full comparison, and if you're still having trouble deciding, we have a more in-depth breakdown in our AirPods 3 vs. AirPods Buyer's Guide.

Just a few days after releasing iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1, Apple has seeded the first betas of iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2 to developers for testing purposes, with the update adding promised iOS 15 features like App Privacy Report.

App Privacy Report

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

It's also set up to show which apps have contacted other domains and how recently they've contacted them so you can keep an eye on what apps are doing behind the scenes.

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.

Emergency SOS

Auto Call, the feature that lets 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.

There's now a longer eight-second countdown before a call is placed, which is up from the prior three-second countdown.

Notification Summary

As noted on Reddit, Notification Summary has a new look with more of a card-style view that makes it easier to see at a glance what's included in the summary.

Communication Safety

According to iOS 15.2 code, the update adds the Communication Safety feature that Apple announced earlier this year. Communication Safety is built into the Messages app on
iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and it will warn children and their parents when sexually explicit photos are received or sent from a child's device, with Apple using on-device machine learning to analyze image attachments.

Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 15.2 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming one day after the launch of iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1.

iOS and iPadOS 15.2 can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or over the air after the proper profile has been installed on an iPhone or an iPad.

According to Apple's release notes for the update, iOS 15.2 introduces App Privacy Report, a feature that allows users to view App Activity in a new section of the Settings app. Go to Settings > Privacy > App Privacy Report > Turn on App Privacy Report. Data will begin showing up once apps are in use.

There are also some other iOS 15 features that have yet to be released, so we could perhaps also see those introduced in the new betas. Legacy Contact, the feature that allows users to choose a person to access their Apple ID in the event of their death, has not been added to iOS 15 as of yet, and Apple still hasn't implemented Universal Control in iPadOS or macOS Monterey, nor has it added support for keys and IDs in the Wallet app.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 8.3 beta to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming just a few days after the release of watchOS 8.1.

To install ‌‌‌watchOS 8‌‌‌.3, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, ‌‌‌watchOS 8‌‌‌ can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update.

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

We don't yet know what's new in the watchOS 8.3 update, but if new features are found, we'll update this article.

Apple Music is available on the PlayStation 5 from today, offering the first fully integrated ‌Apple Music‌ experience on a game console, Sony has announced.

The news comes after weeks of the ‌Apple Music‌ app intermittently appearing for PS5 users with no official word on the development from Apple or Sony. ‌Apple Music‌ on the PS5 allows subscribers to play more than 90 million songs, as well as a host of curated playlists and radio stations directly from their console. The app also supports music video playback in resolutions up to 4K.

‌Apple Music‌ allows users to listen in a variety of ways, including in the background or during gameplay. Music videos also support continuous playback when navigating to and from the ‌Apple Music‌ app.

In addition to opening the ‌Apple Music‌ app, users can access ‌Apple Music‌ during gameplay by pressing the PS button on the DualSense wireless controller to access Control Center and the Music Function card. The Music Function card can display ‌Apple Music‌ recommendations to match the game that is currently being played, present playlists from a user's library, or even offer options to play ‌Apple Music‌ playlists specifically curated for gaming.

PS5 users can download the ‌Apple Music‌ app from the Media space and simply need to follow the on-screen instructions to link their ‌Apple Music‌ account. The process involves either scanning a QR code from an Apple device or manually entering Apple ID credentials. Apple also today updated its support document for Apple Music on Smart TVs to include game consoles.

iFixit has shared a teaser of its 14-inch MacBook Pro teardown, and one noteworthy detail is the inclusion of pull tabs for the battery cells, which the repair website said will allow for easier do-it-yourself battery replacements.

The four outer battery cells have easily-noticeable iPhone-like pull tabs, and once the trackpad is removed, there are cutouts in the chassis to access the pull tabs that hold the middle two battery cells in place, according to iFixit. The pull tabs are likely in the new 16-inch MacBook Pro too given it has a similar internal layout as the 14-inch model.

Since the release of the first MacBook Pro with a Retina display in 2012, the battery cells have been glued into the "top case," a large part housing the keyboard and trackpad. When an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider needs to replace the battery in these previous MacBook Pro models, they must replace the entire top case, although the customer only pays a battery service fee of $129 to $199 out of warranty. It's unclear if the pull tabs will result in a change to this procedure, but they will certainly benefit do-it-yourself repairs by making the battery cells more easily accessible.

The new MacBook Pro models launched on Tuesday after being unveiled last week. iFixit said it will be sharing its full teardown of the new MacBook Pro soon, and in the meantime, some customers have already popped theirs open, giving us a first look inside.

2018 and newer MacBook Air models are also equipped with battery pull tabs.

Amazon's Omni and 4-Series Fire TVs will support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit in a future update, the company has announced (via The Verge).

Amazon's Omni and 4-Series Omni TVs launch today, featuring 4K HDR, voice controls with Amazon Alexa, and close integration with the Fire TV user experience. Upon the launch of the new TVs, Amazon today announced that it plans to add support for ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ "soon."

‌AirPlay‌ 2 will allow users to easily play content from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to an Amazon TV, while ‌HomeKit‌ integration allows some of the TV's functions to be controlled from the Home app or with Siri.

Amazon first expressed interest in ‌AirPlay‌ 2 and ‌HomeKit‌ when it enabled these features on its 2020 model year "Fire TV Edition" TVs made by Toshiba and Insignia, but they are unavailable on standalone plug-in Fire TV streaming devices. Progressively more brands have been adding AirPlay 2 and HomeKit functionality in recent months, but it is still unavailable on most TV sets.

Adorama today has further discounted Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro, beating the current Amazon sale on the 8-core 512GB model by about $50. You can get the 512GB 14-inch MacBook Pro for $1,899.00, down from $1,999.00.

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 is now the best deal we've ever tracked on this MacBook Pro model among the major Apple resellers online, and as of writing it's only available at Adorama. Adorama lists the notebook as "coming soon," so the MacBook Pro won't ship out immediately, but you can still lock in the sale price today ahead of a later shipping date.

You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you're shopping for a new Apple notebook.

Ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, Apple today announced that it is adding 10 new projects for its "Power for Impact" initiative, which looks to bring clean energy solutions to communities around the world, and has more than doubled the number of its suppliers committed to using 100 percent clean energy over the past year.

Apple announced its Power for Impact initiative in 2019, designed to provide communities with renewable energy while promoting economic and social growth. One of the 10 new Power for Impact projects involves working with the Oceti Sakowin Power Authority in the United States to collaboratively develop renewable energy resources for the wholesale market, with the objective of creating a large-scale wind power development in the Midwest. Apple CEO Tim Cook said:

Every company should be a part of the fight against climate change, and together with our suppliers and local communities, we're demonstrating all of the opportunity and equity green innovation can bring. We're acting with urgency, and we're acting together. But time is not a renewable resource, and we must act quickly to invest in a greener and more equitable future.

Other projects in South Africa, Nigeria, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Colombia, and Israel seek to provide renewable energy to healthcare and educational institutions, as well as surrounding households, using rooftop solar installations. Apple believes that this will create a source of local revenue and lower energy costs, freeing up funds for educational scholarships, equipment, and medication.

Apple added that 175 of its suppliers have now committed to using renewable energy. This includes 19 suppliers in the United States, 19 in Europe, 50 in China, and 31 in India, Japan, and South Korea. The company said that the suppliers are also scaling up their use of renewable energy across their operations, beyond their business with Apple alone. Apple and its suppliers will bring more than nine gigawatts on-grid around the world, avoiding over 18 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, the equivalent of taking over four million cars off of the road each year.

Apple has also expanded the amount of recycled material that it uses in its products, working with suppliers to move toward a "circular system" that attempts to reduce the need for carbon-intensive mining. This includes recycled sources of gold, cobalt, aluminum, rare earth elements, and more.

Related to its recycling efforts, Apple highlighted that the iPhone 13 Pro has an 11 percent smaller carbon footprint compared to the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro, while the new 16.2-inch MacBook Pro has an eight percent smaller carbon footprint compared to the previous model.

The efforts are part of Apple's goal to reach carbon neutrality across its business by 2030, meaning that every Apple device sold will have a net-zero climate impact. Apple has already reduced its carbon emissions by 40 percent over the past five years.