MacRumors

In a research note focused on how the Apple Watch Series 7 will still be released in September despite a minor two-week delay in mass production, reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also briefly commented on the Apple Watch Series 8 and AirPods.

Kuo said he is optimistic about demand for the Apple Watch in 2022 given that next year's Apple Watch Series 8 will offer new health management features, and he predicted this will include body temperature measurement. This feature would conveniently turn the Apple Watch into a thermometer on your wrist, which could be especially useful for detecting a fever, a common symptom of many illnesses.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Debby Wu previously reported that the Apple Watch would likely gain a body temperature sensor in 2022, and The Wall Street Journal's Rolfe Winkler said the function would help with fertility planning.

Apple has gradually expanded the health features available on the Apple Watch over the years to include heart rate tracking, irregular heart rhythm notifications, the ECG app, blood oxygen measuring, fall detection, and more. In an interview with Outside Magazine last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the Apple Watch is still in "the early innings" in regards to the amount of sensors that could be built into the device.

"Think about the amount of sensors in your car," said Cook. "And arguably, your body is much more important than your car."

Kuo also predicted that future AirPods will provide health management functions, but he did not provide any specific details. In May 2020, DigiTimes reported that future AirPods would adopt new system-in-package technology with embedded AI, allowing the AirPods to "monitor heart rates, step counts, and health conditions."

Chinese supplier Luxshare Precision will be the "largest beneficiary" of Apple's health management hardware products, according to Kuo.

Apple has announced the creation of a process to properly identify and compensate individual creators involved in making DJ mixes that are streamed on Apple Music (via TechCrunch).

The process reportedly uses technology from Shazam, and Apple is working with major and independent labels to work out a system whereby streaming royalties are fairly divided among DJs, labels, and artists who feature in the mixes.

Since the rise of streaming services, the job of paying rights holders whose music is used in a DJ mix has been a lingering issue. The rise in popularity of the EDM genre has also resulted in an increasing number of remixes, mash-ups, and DJ mixes that incorporate samples from other songs, making working out who should be compensated even harder.

‌Apple Music‌ originally introduced DJ mixes and mash-ups in 2016 through a partnership with Dubset Media Holdings to identify and pay for licensed music within mixes. Now, Apple is using the Shazam technology it acquired in 2018 to identify and compensate everyone whose content appears in a mix.

"Apple Music is the first platform that offers continuous mixes where there's a fair fee involved for the artists whose tracks are included in the mixes and for the artist making those mixes," DJ Charlotte de Witte told TechCrunch on behalf of Apple. "It's a step in the right direction where everyone gets treated fairly. I'm beyond excited to have the chance to provide online mixes again."

As part of the rollout, Apple is showcasing the thousands of mixes already available on the service within its dedicated genre section for DJ mixes within the ‌Apple Music‌ app. Studio K7!'s DJ Kicks archive of mixes will also start rolling out on ‌Apple Music‌, giving users access to mixes that haven't been on the market in over 15 years.

The new technology will also let ‌Apple Music‌ subscribers see the names of individual tracks within a streamed mix, as well as give them the ability to skip or save the songs for listening offline.

In July of this year, Apple began testing its revamped Maps experience across Italy, following rollouts in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. Apple has now officially launched those Maps improvements in Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, and Andorra, according to MacStories.

The update brings a raft of previously unavailable Maps features to the regions, including Look Around, lane guidance, speed camera data, 3D buildings, Siri Natural Language Guidance, and improved navigation. The update also adds more detailed road coverage, and faster and more accurate navigation.

Regarding the rollout, Apple's senior VP of services Eddy Cue provided MacStories with the following statement:

"Apple Maps is the best way to explore and navigate the world, all while protecting your privacy, and we're excited to bring this experience to even more users with today's rollout. We have rebuilt the map from the ground up, with better navigation, richer detail, more accurate information for places, and remarkable features that only Apple can deliver, including Look Around, Siri Natural Language Guidance, and more. Now it is easier than ever for users in Italy to find the places they love and get to where they're going even faster and easier."

Apple Maps received a major overhaul in iOS 15 and in addition to new details in cities, an interactive globe, and enhanced driving directions, there are a handful of other smaller features that will be available.

Other new Maps features include 3D road level perspectives for complex interchanges, step-by-step augmented reality directions when walking, a redesigned transit experience, new place cards with updated info about businesses, improved search functionality, and a dedicated Maps user profile for reporting issues, selecting favorites, and choosing a preferred mode of transit.

At WWDC 2021 last month, Apple announced that its revamped Maps experience would be expanded to all users in Italy and Australia later this year.

In early 2020, Apple said it would begin rolling out the revamped Maps experience across Europe in the coming months, so other countries should soon follow. The updated maps provide more comprehensive views of roads, buildings, parks, airports, shopping malls, sports venues like baseball fields and tennis courts, and other details.

Several Apple products, including recently launched devices, are currently experiencing delayed shipping times, a possible sign that the ongoing chip shortage could be more significantly impacting Apple and its products.

During the company's third-quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook warned that the chip shortage that has plagued the industry for the last few months would impact iPhone shipments this year. While Cook was likely referencing constraints with the upcoming ‌iPhone‌ 13, the shortage could be creeping onto existing models.

Ahead of an expected refresh or update, the current and soon-to-be last generation devices can be expected to be depleted in stock as Apple makes room for the newer models. As a result, select configurations of the ‌iPhone‌ 11 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 are showing up to two weeks for shipments at the time of writing.

Similarly, across the Apple Watch lineup, some models of the aluminum case of the Series 6 are at least three to four weeks out, while stainless steel models are entirely sold out or at least three weeks away. Next Tuesday, September 14, Apple is expected to release the ‌iPhone‌ 13 and Apple Watch Series 7 to replace the existing models.

While the ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch are soon getting updated, likely resulting in the delayed shipments, other products are less certain. For example, the 24-inch iMac, powered with the M1 Apple silicon chip, is currently at least three to four weeks out. As a matter of fact, all products with the ‌M1‌ Apple silicon chip are currently experiencing some form of delay.

For instance, depending on configuration, the ‌M1‌ 13-inch MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro are listing three days or up to a week for shipments, though specific timeframes will fluctuate. Under normal circumstances, depending on location, products may be available for same-day delivery.

The ‌M1‌ Apple silicon chip was announced in November of last year, and since its announcement, Apple has expanded it to more products, including the ‌iPad Pro‌. The out-of-normal shipping times for multiple ‌M1‌ products could act as further proof that the chip shortage is directly limiting ‌M1‌ production, hindering shipping times and general availability.

In the last several months, several reports have suggested that Apple's suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand. Specifically, the company's suppliers for mini-LED displays to be used in upcoming MacBook Pros have reportedly struggled to reach satisfactory output levels, possibly pushing Apple to invest in procuring additional suppliers.

Apple today added the 16GB fifth-generation iPod touch, released in 2013, to its list of obsolete products.

This specific variation of the iPod touch was released as a lower-end option to the fifth-generation iPod touch released a year earlier. Compared to its 32GB and 64GB companions, the 16GB model was only offered in a single silver color and lacked a rear camera or loop.

Apple followed up the fifth-generation iPod touch with the sixth-generation in the summer of 2015. Compared to the previous generation, the newer model featured improved performance and the removal of the wrist strap. Since the seventh-generation iPod touch released in 2019, Apple has not yet updated its iconic product.

Apple classifies products that have been discontinued for at least seven years as "obsolete," meaning that they cannot receive any hardware service from Apple or its service providers.

Apple has resolved its Apple Watch Series 7 production issues and will start mass producing the new model in mid to late September, with a launch later the same month still on schedule, according to a new investor note by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo seen by MacRumors.

The production issue of the Apple Watch 7 is mainly related to the panel side. However, it has been resolved, and mass production of panel modules will begin in mid-September.

The Apple Watch Series 7 will feature a new design with a flat-edged look that's similar to the flat edges used for the iPhone 12 and iPad Pro. According to Kuo, the new Apple Watch had to go through more production processes than previous models because of this "dramatic" change in the design.

Specifically, the new more durable display panel uses a contact design instead of the old cable design, and also requires a low injection pressure overmolding (LIPO) process for the first time. Apple is also using a new OLED production line that can improve efficiency and reduce panel costs, but that required new suppliers like LG Display, Young Poong, and Jabil to come on board, which in itself could have contributed to the delays.

Due to the adoption of many new panel-related production processes for the first time, the Apple Watch 7 panel module encountered reliability issues during the risk-ramp phase before Jabil started mass production, mainly including blinking panel and touch insensitivity. This complicated production issue may be related to LGD, Jabil, or Young Poong.

The good news is Apple has solved the panel module reliability issues by going through different designs of experiments (DOE) to find the best production configuration and adjusting the qualification standards on the panel and assembly sides.

"We expect Jabil to start mass production of Apple Watch 7 panel modules in mid-September," said Kuo in the note. Based on this new schedule, the analyst says the end product will start mass shipments in late September.

Both Nikkei Asia and Bloomberg previously reported that production issues due to the more complicated design meant the launch of the Apple Watch Series 7 was likely to be delayed. Separately, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman recently reported that the device could be available in limited quantities at launch. Gurman reiterated has this in a tweet following Kuo's latest investor note.

In his note, Kuo also mentions his optimism for 2022 Apple Watch shipments, due to the Series 8 offering "new health management features (e.g., temperature measurement, etc.)" – a reference to the recently reported thermometer function that Apple is said to be considering adding to the device as soon as next year.

Apple plans to unveil the redesigned watch alongside its new ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup at next week's digital-only event on Tuesday, September 14. We have a full rundown on everything that we expect to see from the Apple Watch Series 7 in our dedicated guide.

Epic Games today said that it has asked Apple to reinstate its Fortnite developer account because it intends to release Fortnite in South Korea.

South Korea in late August passed a bill that bans Apple from requiring developers to use its in-app purchase system. The bill forces Apple (and Google) to let developers use third-party payment methods to make purchases.

‌Epic Games‌ now says that it intends to release Fornite in Korea and offer both Epic payment and Apple payment options side-by-side "in compliance with the new Korean law."

Fortnite has been unavailable on iOS devices since Apple pulled the app in August 2020. Apple removed the app from the App Store after ‌Epic Games‌ added a direct payment option that skirted Apple's in-app purchase requirements, and since then, the two have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle.

‌Epic Games‌ attempted to get a judge to require Apple to allow Fortnite on the ‌App Store‌ while the lawsuit played out, but the judge refused because the situation that caused Fortnite to be banned was of ‌Epic Games‌' own making.

When South Korea passed its updated Telecommunications Business Act banning Apple from requiring in-app purchases, Apple said that it would put users at risk of fraud and undermine privacy protections.

The Telecommunications Business Act will put users who purchase digital goods from other sources at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protections, make it difficult to manage their purchases, and features like "Ask to Buy" and Parental Controls will become less effective. We believe user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this legislation -- leading to fewer opportunities for the over 482,000 registered developers in Korea who have earned more than KRW8.55 trillion to date with Apple.

Apple and ‌Epic Games‌ faced off in a trial that took place earlier this year, and we are still awaiting a final ruling from the judge overseeing the case. ‌Epic Games‌ argued that iOS should be opened up to competing app stores, but it is unlikely that Apple will be required to implement such a drastic change.

Update: In a statement to MacRumors, Apple said there is no basis for the reinstatement of the ‌Epic Games‌ developer account.

As we've said all along, we would welcome Epic’s return to the App Store if they agree to play by the same rules as everyone else. Epic has admitted to breach of contract and as of now, there’s no legitimate basis for the reinstatement of their developer account.

Apple says that to be added back to the ‌App Store‌, ‌Epic Games‌ would need to comply with all of Apple's ‌App Store‌ review guidelines, which the company has thus far declined to do.

Apple also points out that the legislation in South Korea is has not yet gone into effect and even if it had, Apple would have no obligation to reinstate a developer account that was terminated prior to when it became law.

Apple VP of technology Kevin Lynch is taking over the Apple Car project and will be replacing Doug Field, who is moving to Ford, reports Bloomberg.

Lynch first joined the Apple Car team in July, with reports suggesting he had been called on to help lead Apple Car development. Now that Field has left the company, Lynch will be taking over his role and will be in charge of the Apple Car. Lynch will oversee hardware engineering and work on self-driving car sensors.

Known for his work on the Apple Watch, Lynch has been at Apple since 2013, and before that, he worked at Adobe and helped create Adobe's Creative Cloud platform. In addition to working on the Apple Car, Lynch is expected to continue to be involved with the Apple Watch and Apple's health initiatives.

Apple Car leadership has undergone several changes over the course of the last several years, which has caused development issues and internal strife. According to Bloomberg, the departure of former Apple Car leader Doug Field has been seen as a sign that the Apple Car isn't coming in the near future, with product development still in the early stages.

The choice of Lynch to head the car project indicates much of the company's focus still remains on underlying software and self-driving technology - rather than the vehicle's physical mechanics. Lynch has been a software executive for decades, not someone who oversees hardware teams. He's also never worked at a car company.

Ford on Tuesday announced that it hired Field to work on AI, software, and hardware projects. Field had been at Apple since 2018, and prior to that, he worked at Tesla and oversaw the production of the Model 3.

Rumors have suggested that we're not going to see an Apple Car until the mid to late 2020s at the earliest, and it's not clear how the most recent leadership changes might impact that launch timeline.

Facebook today launched its first smart glasses, which were created in collaboration with Ray-Ban. The Ray-Ban Stories are priced starting at $299 and come in 20 style combinations.

Smart glasses might suggest augmented reality capabilities, but Facebook's Ray-Ban Stories are similar to other connected sunglasses on the market and are limited to making phone calls, snapping photos, and listening to music.

The Ray-Ban Stories are equipped with a set of 5-megapixel cameras built into each side of the frame, which can record photos and 30-second videos using a button or hands-free with the Facebook Assistant.

There's a hard-wired LED light that comes on whenever you're taking a photo or a video so other people aren't caught unaware.

For listening to music, the Ray-Ban Stories have open-ear speakers, and there's a three microphone array for calls. The Ray-Ban Stories have a built-in battery that lasts for up to six hours and a portable charging case, which Facebook claims will provide up to three consecutive days of glasses use, but some reviewers have said that the battery drains quickly if the glasses aren't turned off while not in use.

Facebook's smart glasses work with the Facebook View app, which is designed to allow users to share point of view stories, photos, and more on social media. According to Facebook, the app is designed to make it easy to share content on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat.

The Ray-Ban Stories come in several iconic Ray-Ban styles like Wayfarer, and there are five color options. Lenses include clear, sun, transition, and prescription. There is no Facebook branding on the glasses as the design and distribution has been handled by Ray-Ban parent company Luxottica with Facebook providing internals.

Those interested in purchasing a set of Facebook's Ray-Ban Stories can do so from the Ray-Ban website starting today. The Ray-Ban Stories are also available in some retail stores in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the UK.

Apple offers a bug bounty program that's designed to pay security researchers for discovering and reporting critical bugs in Apple operating systems, but researchers are not happy with how it operates or Apple's payouts in comparison to other major tech companies, reports The Washington Post.

In interviews with more than two dozen security researchers, The Washington Post collected a number of complaints. Apple is slow to fix bugs, and doesn't always pay out what's owed.

Apple in 2020 paid out $3.7 million, about half of the $6.7 million that Google paid to researchers, and far less than the $13.6 million Microsoft paid. While other companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google highlight security researchers that find major bugs and hold conferences and provide resources to encourage a wide range of participants, Apple does not do so.

Security researchers said that Apple limits feedback on which bugs will receive a bounty, and former and current Apple employees said there's a "massive backlog" of bugs that have yet to be addressed.

Apple's reluctance to be more open with security researchers has discouraged some researchers from providing flaws to Apple, with those researchers instead selling them to customers like government agencies or companies that offer up hacking services.

Apple's Head of Security Engineering and Architecture, Ivan Krstić, told The Washington Post that Apple feels the program has been a success, and that Apple has doubled the amount that it paid in bug bounties in 2020 compared to 2019. Apple is, however, still working to scale the program, and will offer new rewards in the future.

"We are also planning to introduce new rewards for researchers to keep expanding participation in the program, and we are continuing to investigate paths to offer new and even better research tools that meet our rigorous, industry-leading platform security model."

Luta Security founder Katie Moussouris told The Washington Post that Apple's poor reputation with the security community could in the future lead to "less secure products" and "more cost."

Apple's bug bounty program promises rewards ranging from $100,000 to $1,000,000, and Apple also provides some researchers with special iPhones dedicated to security research. These iPhones are less locked down than consumer devices and are designed to make it easier for security vulnerabilities and weaknesses to be unearthed.

Sam Curry, a security researcher that worked with Apple in 2020, said that he offered feedback to Apple and that he feels like the company is aware of how it's seen and "trying to move forward." According to The Washington Post, Apple this year hired a new leader for the bug bounty program, so it could soon see some improvements.

VMware Fusion is now available as a private tech preview for M1 Macs, with users able to request access through an online form. A public tech preview will follow in around two weeks, according to a tweet from VMware Fusion manager Michael Roy.

VMware Fusion for M1 Macs will be quite limited in scope, with a focus on virtualizing Arm-based Linux distributions. VMware Fusion will not officially support Windows 10 on M1 Macs at launch, as Microsoft has yet to offer licensing for the Arm version of Windows 10. In a tweet, Roy said Windows 10 should still run when selecting the "other" operating system type, but VMware will not be shipping drivers or VMware Tools.

VMware Fusion will also not be able to virtualize Intel-based Windows or Linux distributions, while support for virtualizing macOS is not ready yet. In a blog post last April, Roy said "there isn't exactly much business value relative to the engineering effort that is required" to support Intel-based operating systems on M1 Macs, adding that VMware is "laser focused on making Arm Linux VMs on Apple silicon a delight to use."

Microsoft does not yet offer a retail version of Arm-based Windows, but a preview version is available to Windows Insider program members. Earlier this year, VMware competitor Parallels boasted about the ability to run the Arm-based Windows preview on an M1 Mac with Parallels Desktop 16.5, but fine print notes that customers are responsible for making sure they are compliant with an operating system's licensing agreement.

No timeframe has been provided for the public release of VMware Fusion for M1 Macs, and pricing and upgrade options remain to be seen.

The iPhone 13 lineup will offer new Pink, Black, and Bronze colors and storage options will remain the same as the ‌iPhone‌ 12, other than there being no 256GB storage option for the 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch standard models, according to the Ukrainian e-commerce website "KTC," spotted by 91mobiles, that purports to have revealed the upcoming devices' configuration options.

The iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 will apparently continue to be available in six color options: Black, Blue, Purple, Pink, White, and PRODUCT(RED). This means that Pink would replace Green from the ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup.

On the other hand, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will purportedly continue to be available in four color options: Black, Silver, Gold, and Bronze. This means that Black would replace Graphite from the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro lineup, while Bronze would replace Pacific Blue.

Matte black and bronze ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro color options were rumored earlier this year, and there were also very sketchy reports of a pink ‌iPhone‌ 13 model, so it is possible that this is the origin of these listed color options.

Apple also reportedly intends to offer the following storage options for each model size in the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup:

• iPhone 13 mini: 64GB and 128GB
• iPhone 13: 64GB and 128GB
• iPhone 13 Pro: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
• iPhone 13 Pro Max: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB

This would mean that the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup storage configurations would be largely the same as the ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup, but with no 256GB option for the 5.4-inch "mini" model and the standard 6.1-inch model, which seems like a very peculiar move that would reduce the variety of options and top amount of storage for customers of both entry-level ‌iPhone‌ 13 models.

Other Ukrainian e-commerce sites appear to be listing slightly different storage options for each model, with some showing no 64GB option for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini but a new 512GB option instead, and others showing options all the way up to 1TB. As a result, KTC's information should be taken with a pinch of salt. It is also worth noting that KTC shows no sign of the rumored 1TB storage option for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro models.

Apple is developing its electric vehicle independently without the assistance of another automaker and is currently selecting final parts suppliers, according to sources said to be familiar with Apple's plans speaking to Korea's Maeil Economic Daily.

In line with a previous report from Reuters, the report explains that the company has had its own automobile hardware research and development unit since 2014, but due to development challenges, it contacted BMW, Hyundai, Nissan, and Toyota to explore joint development and contract production agreements.

During this period, its own department for vehicle hardware research and development is believed to have virtually stopped operating around 2016. Separately, software research on self-driving continued.

The talks with automakers apparently fell apart due to repeated delays and the wider industry transformation toward electric vehicles slowing down the progress of any joint development and production agreement. There was also reluctance from some large automakers about becoming a manufacturing subcontractor for Apple. Apple is believed to have decided that it could not delay the launch of its car any further.

With these talks stalling, Apple has entirely turned once again to its own development and restored the full operation of its vehicle research unit. Although Doug Field, Apple's vice president of special projects, recently left the project to join Ford, the company is still believed to have hundreds of engineers working on the vehicle.

Apple has now gone through the process of sending a Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP), and Request for Quotation (RFQ) to global automobile part manufacturers, which is understood to be a signal that the final parts suppliers for Apple's car are now being selected for outsourced production.

Mirroring the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the report places the launch of the vehicle around 2025 to 2027.

Three has become the latest UK mobile network to reintroduce EU roaming fees, in another post-Brexit setback for customers traveling abroad.

A flat £2 daily charge when roaming within an EU country will apply to customers who are new or upgrading from October 1. The changes will not come into effect until May 23 2022.

The operator joins EE and Vodafone who have recently announced the return of roaming charges. O2 will continue to offer free roaming across the EU and in the United States, but only on some "Plus Plans" as an extra add-on.

Before the U.K. formally exited the European Union, mobile customers generally didn't have to worry about roaming charges when using their phone in the EU, with most phone tariffs counting calls, texts, and data used in EU countries as equivalent to domestic use since 2017.

However, when the EU trade deal was signed in December 2020, mobile operators were once again able to charge customers when traveling in Europe with "transparent and reasonable rates."

Originally, EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone, representing the largest mobile operators in the U.K., stated they had no plans to reintroduce roaming charges after Brexit, but all have since announced changes, some under a "fair use" clause.

WarnerMedia's HBO Max is coming to Europe next month, the streaming service has announced. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, and Andorra will be the first to get access from October 26.

Next year, another wave of territories will be added to that list: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Additional territory launches are also planned for next year, but there are currently no plans to launch HBO Max in France, Italy, Germany, and the U.K. This is said to be partly due to WarnerMedia having deals in place with other partners in these countries, where HBO programming is available on services such as Sky Atlantic and Now TV.

HBO Max was officially launched in the U.S. in May 2020, and has since expanded to 39 territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. Like those regions, the above European countries will gain access to content from HBO, Warner Bros., DC, and Cartoon Network.

"This is a historic moment as HBO Max lands in Europe," said Johannes Larcher, Head of HBO Max International. "WarnerMedia movies and series like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and The Big Bang Theory are passionately consumed by fans all across Europe, and HBO Max has been created to provide them with the most intuitive and convenient viewing experience to watch these and a diverse range of other amazing titles."

HBO has yet to say what the cost of the streaming service will be in Europe, but it will make that announcement in a virtual launch scheduled for October.