MacRumors

Apple's next-generation MacBook Air will feature a mini-LED display and launch in 2022, according to DigiTimes.

DigiTimes previously said that the ‌MacBook Air‌ is set to get a mini-LED display in the future, but the Taiwanese publication has now doubled-down on the claim.

Citing industry sources, the latest report says that Apple is "likely" to adopt mini-LED backlighting for a ‌MacBook Air‌ with a 13.3-inch display. The device is rumored to launch in 2022.

The new mini-LED model is expected to boost ‌MacBook Air‌ shipments by around two million units next year. The report added that the 11-inch iPad Pro is also likely to adopt a mini-LED display in 2022.

The claim comes after the launch of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, which both feature the first mini-LED displays on a MacBook, stylised by Apple as "Liquid Retina XDR" displays. Rumors of a mini-LED ‌MacBook Air‌ have been floating around for some time, with the reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo repeatedly saying that the 2022 ‌MacBook Air‌ will feature a mini-LED display.

Apple now uses mini-LED technology for a range of its high-end devices, including the Pro Display XDR, 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, and the 14- and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. Mini-LED on the ‌MacBook Air‌ would be a significant development in Apple's product lineup because the technology has been reserved only for "Pro" products thus far.

‌Mini-LED‌ display technology brings a significant improvement display quality, allowing for thinner, lighter designs while offering benefits like improved wide color gamut, high contrast and dynamic range, and truer blacks. Several reports have suggested that MacBooks will be the main driver of mini-LED panel shipments going forward as Apple transitions to the technology across many of its products with displays.

Back in April, ransomware group REvil attacked Apple supplier Quanta Computer and was able to steal schematics outlining the design of the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that were announced earlier this week.

The schematics did indeed leak the design of the new machines, and at the time, REvil threatened to release other documents should Apple not pay a ransom fee of $50 million by May 1. The situation fizzled out just days later, and REvil mysteriously removed all documents and extortion threats related to Apple from its website.

We've heard nothing further about REvil's attack on Apple since then, but it turns out there was a multi-country operation underway to take down the ransomware group. According to Reuters, several government agencies teamed up to hack REvil and take it offline this week.

One person familiar with the events said that a foreign partner of the U.S. government carried out the hacking operation that penetrated REvil's computer architecture. A former U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the operation is still active.

REvil's "Happy Blog" that was used to leak stolen documents has been taken offline and is no longer available. The hacker group went offline back in July as well after law enforcement and intelligence specialists were able to hack into REvil's computer network, but it returned last month and servers previously compromised by the government were again used for this second takedown.

REvil was also responsible for a May cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline that caused gas shortages on the East Coast of the United States.

Apple is facing yet another investigation by U.S. regulators, this time from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB, which is investigating the business practices of companies operating payment systems, today announced that it has asked Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal, and Square to provide details on their consumer data practices.

The CFPB is seeking information that will help it better understand how the tech companies "use personal payments data and manage data access to users" to make sure consumers are protected.

"Big Tech companies are eagerly expanding their empires to gain greater control and insight into our spending habits," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. "We have ordered them to produce information about their business plans and practices."

According to the CFPB, tech companies have developed "new products and business models" during the ongoing global health crisis, which "present new risks to consumers and to a fair, transparent, and competitive marketplace."

As an example, the CFPB says that "Apple and Google have sought to integrate payments services into their operating systems," though there have been no changes on that front to iOS and the iOS App Store during the pandemic.

The CFPB is specifically concerned with data harvesting and monetization and "access restrictions and user choice," which seems to be aimed at Apple and Google.

When payment systems gain scale and network effects, merchants and other partners feel obligated to participate, and the risk increases that payment systems operators will limit consumer choice and stifle innovation by anticompetitively excluding certain businesses. The orders seek to understand any such restrictive access policies and how they affect the choices available to families and businesses.

According to a sample letter [PDF], Apple will need to offer up quite a bit of information, including details on all products, all product features, all product operating manuals, fees to use products, discounts and promotions for each product, and more.

Responses to the CFPB's request must be submitted bu December 15, 2021, so Apple will need to provide the relevant data by that date.

With the Apple event this week and the imminent launch of new MacBook Pro models, it's easy to forget that the Apple Watch Series 7 just came out last Friday. iFixit didn't forget, though, and has done one of its traditional teardowns on Apple's newest wrist-worn device.

Today's teardown features both the 41 and 45mm versions of the watch, and it unveils some secrets we weren't previously aware of. The 45mm Apple Watch Series 7 has a 1.189Wh battery inside (309 mAh), which is a 1.6 percent increase over the 1.17Wh battery in the 44mm Series 6.

The 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 features a 1.094Wh battery, a 6.8 percent increase over the 1.024Wh battery in the prior-generation 40mm model. Both batteries have slightly wider dimensions, but iFixit says the increase likely goes to the new, brighter displays rather than adding battery life.

The internals of the Series 7 are similar to the Series 6, but there are small differences, such as the removal of a bracket where the diagnostic port was once located.

Apple has touted IP6X dust resistance for the Series 7, which older models may have had too, but Apple just didn't do the specific test for the certification. There are, however, some new ingress-protection measures such as a mesh covering the speaker grille. The removal of the diagnostic port may also contribute to the dust resistance, and removing this port saves some internal space.

iFixit teamed up with former Apple engineers who work at Instrumental for the teardown, giving us some additional context into why the Apple Watch may have seen delays prior to its October launch.

According to iFixit, the Apple Watch Series 7 has new display technology that was likely a "huge pain to manufacture at scale." The new Apple Watch appears to be equipped with a touch-integrated OLED panel, or an "on-cell touch," which is also used in the iPhone 13. Apple is also using just one flex cable for the display instead of two, which iFixit says is "not a trivial change."

Every teardown comes with a repair score, and the Series 7 earned a 6 out of 10. iFixit says that display and Taptic Engine swaps "worked great" in its testing, as did changing out the battery.

The next-generation MacBook Air will have several features that are adopted from the upcoming MacBook Pro models, according to leaker Dylandkt, who has a track record of providing accurate details about Apple's plans.

Upcoming ‌MacBook Air‌ models will have a design that's "quite similar" to the new MacBook Pros, but with a thinner body, off-white bezels, and no wedge shape. It will come in color options that are similar to the 24-inch iMac, which we've heard rumored before. According to the leaker, the keyboard will be the same off-white shade as the bezels, and it will feature full-size function keys and a 1080p webcam.

The machine will have no SD card slot or HDMI port, which, along with the design, will distinguish it from the ‌MacBook Pro‌ models. The ‌MacBook Air‌ will use a next-generation M2 chip, a followup to the M1. It is not expected to be as powerful as the M1 Pro and M1 Max as it will be aimed at lower-power devices.

Prior rumors have indicated that the ‌M2‌ chip will have the same number of computing cores (eight) but nine or 10 graphics cores instead of seven or eight. Apple is said to be designing a 30W power adapter for the new machine, and it is said to have no fans inside, much like the current ‌M1‌ ‌MacBook Air‌.

Other leaks have suggested that the new MacBook will include a notch at the front like the ‌MacBook Pro‌, which perhaps makes sense if it's going to have a 1080p webcam and MacBook Pro-style design. At the same time, it would be an unusual design choice with white bezels. The ‌MacBook Air‌ may include a mini-LED display, but Dylandkt says that ProMotion technology will not be included. A name change could also potentially be in the works, with Apple allegedly considering just "MacBook."

Rumors suggest the next-generation ‌MacBook Air‌ will be released in mid to late 2022.

Apple unveiled new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models earlier this week, and we've since confirmed some additional details about the notebooks.

• 16-inch MacBook Pro models configured with the M1 Max chip feature a new High Power Mode to maximize performance for intensive, sustained workloads, according to Apple. High Power Mode is not available on other models.
• Like the Pro Display XDR, the new MacBook Pro displays have a peak brightness of 500 nits for standard aka SDR content, according to Apple. The new MacBook Pro's advertised 1,600 nits of peak full-screen brightness is for HDR content only.
• In regards to Face ID, Apple said customers love the experience of using Touch ID on the Mac for everything from unlocking their Mac, to filling in passwords online, changing accounts, and making secure purchases with Apple Pay, but the company unsurprisingly said it has nothing to announce about its plans for Face ID on Mac.
• The SD card reader in the new MacBook Pro models supports up to 250MB/s of data transfer with the latest UHS-II SD cards and up to 90MB/s with UHS-I SD cards, according to Apple.
• Like other Macs with Apple silicon, the new MacBook Pro models still do not support external GPUs (eGPUs). The new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips have the most powerful GPUs that Apple has ever built and offer massive amounts of unified memory that enables completely new workflows, according to Apple.
• The new MacBook Pro models have the same trackpad as previous-generation models, according to Apple.
• Apple said it is invested in dedicated ProRes hardware in its silicon to enable quality, performance, and power efficiency across its platforms for pro video workflows.

The new MacBook Pro models have been available to order since Monday and will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, October 26. Pricing starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch model and at $2,499 for the 16-inch model.

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Max Apple Silicon chip will feature a new High Power Mode for intensive, sustained workloads, according to Apple.

MacRumors contributor Steve Moser discovered references to High Power Mode in the macOS Monterey beta, and we've now confirmed with Apple that this feature will indeed be included on the highest-end configurations of the new machine.

This new setting is the opposite of "Low Power Mode," which aims to decrease system performance to prolong battery life. The new mode will only be available on the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Max chip, not the 14-inch model or models with the M1 Pro.

Text within the macOS Monterey beta reads, "Your Mac will optimize performance to better support resource-intensive tasks. This may result in louder fan noise." The new mode is not likely to be used in typical work cases, but instead when users may be rendering larger files or graphically intensive tasks that require an added boost of performance.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros both include improved thermal architecture, but Apple says the new and improved fans are not likely to be used by most users in day-to-day use. Geekbench scores of Apple's newest high-end M1 Max Apple Silicon chip show that it's over 3x times faster than the M1 chip in the MacBook Pro in GPU tasks. In multi-core performance, the M1 Max is up to 2x faster than M1.

With the launch of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Apple introduced a new App Store feature that's designed to highlight in-app events, allowing customers to keep up with new happenings in their favorite apps.

Apple is preparing to implement in-app events, and today called on developers to start creating in-app events in ‌App Store‌ Connect.

In-app events can highlight in-game competitions, movie premieres, livestream experiences, fitness challenges, and more. Apple says that in-app events can encourage people to try out apps, provide existing users with new ways to enjoy an app, and give former users a reason to return.

Events will start appearing in the ‌App Store‌ on devices running iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 on Wednesday, October 27.

The update could be timed to the iOS and iPadOS 15.1 release, which is coming next week. Apple has confirmed that macOS Monterey is coming on Monday, October 25, but it is not yet clear if the iOS and iPadOS 15.1 updates will come on the same day or later in the week, such as on the 27th.

Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of macOS Monterey, the newest version of the macOS operating system. The release candidate represents the final version of macOS Monterey that will be released to the public, and it comes just a few days after the first RC.

The release candidate is listed as version 12.0.1, presumably because Apple has made a few tweaks since 12.0 started being loaded onto the new MacBook Pro models, so the official release version made available to everyone on Monday and as an update for new ‌MacBook Pro‌ owners will be 12.0.1.

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

With the first RC, Apple introduced sweeping changes to Safari, undoing many of the design tweaks that were implemented in the Monterey beta testing process. Safari by default now looks like Safari did in macOS Big Sur, but there is a "Compact" toggle to turn on the new Monterey design for those who prefer it.

Though the Safari changes have been undone, macOS Monterey introduces quite a few new features. There's a new AirPlay to Mac feature, and Safari still has support for Tab Groups for organizing tabs.

FaceTime has gained spatial audio, a Portrait Mode on M1 Macs, and Voice Isolation for cutting out background noise. Shared With You keeps track of the music, links, podcasts, news, and photos that people are sent in Messages, highlighting it in the relevant apps. Notes has a new Quick Note feature for jotting down thoughts, and collaboration is easier with mentions and an Activity View.

The Shortcuts app from iOS is now available on the Mac, and Focus helps people stay on task by cutting out background distractions. There's an updated Maps app with a whole slew of new features, and with Live Text, Macs can now detect text in photos or provide details on animals, art, landmarks, plants, and more in images.

Mail Privacy Protection hides IP and prevents tracking through invisible pixels, and iCloud Private Relay keeps Safari browsing protected.

In the future, Apple plans to add SharePlay to macOS Monterey for ‌FaceTime‌ users, and there's a new Universal Control feature coming, which is designed to allow multiple Macs and iPads to be controlled with a single mouse and keyboard. SharePlay and ‌Universal Control‌ will not be available in the launch version of macOS Monterey.

There are many other new features in macOS Monterey, with a full rundown available in our macOS Monterey roundup. macOS Monterey is set to be released next Monday.

Apple today seeded a second release candidate version of iPadOS 15.1 to developers for testing purposes, with the update coming just a few days released the first RC. This RC is only available to those who have an iPad mini 6, and there is no accompanying iOS 15.1 RC 2.

Registered developers can download the iPadOS 15 RC from the Apple Developer Center, and once the profile is installed, beta updates will be available over the air.

The release candidate version of iPadOS 15.1 is are the versions that will be provided to the public when iPadOS 15.1 sees an official release next week.

After lowering its Play Store commission from 30 percent to 15 percent in March, Google today announced that it is making the same change to subscription fees, an update applicable to all app developers, reports The Verge.

At the current time, Google's subscription policy works like Apple's. Google collects 30 percent from a subscription during the first year, and then drops that to 15 percent for each subsequent year if customers keep a continuous subscription going.

Google recognizes that many businesses are unable to benefit from the fee cut because of the continuous rule that it has, so Google is dropping all subscription fees to 15 percent "from day one," effectively removing prior year-long subscription requirement. The fee cut was also previously limited to the first $1 million in revenue.

Apple also offers reduced 15 percent subscription fees from day one, but that's limited to developers who are part of its App Store Small Business Program, which is available to those who earn up to but don’t exceed to $1 million in a calendar year. For other developers that are not part of that program, Apple takes a 30 percent cut until a subscriber has been subscribed to a service for 12 months.

All apps in the Google Play Store will pay 15 percent instead of 30 percent for all subscriptions, but Google also plans to lower the fee even further for some ebooks and on-demand streaming music service apps. Fees could be as low as 10 percent for apps that fall into these categories.

Google is making the change to subscription fees as it faces increased regulatory pressure much like Apple. It too is in the same legal battle over in-app purchases as Apple with Epic Games, and it is under the same scrutiny in the United States and other countries.

Apple today continued with its long-running "Shot on iPhone" series, uploading another "Experiments" video that focuses on the camera capabilities of the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro.

The "Movie Magic" video features Dong Hoon Jun and visual artist James Thornton explaining how they shot a short sci-fi film. The video highlights various effects that can be captured with the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro and a set of props like hyperspeed, an outer space look, anti-gravity, a cloudscape, and more.

Apple is seemingly offering Apple Card customers 6% cashback for purchases made from Apple instead of the regular 3% cashback usually offered to ‌Apple Card‌ customers.

Apple has yet to announce the promotion, but Apple is giving customers 6% cashback for purchases made from the Apple Store instead of 3%, according to several posts across social media and the MacRumors Forum. Apple ran a similar offer in 2019 and another in March of this year for new ‌Apple Card‌ customers, but this new yet-to-be-announced promotion seems to apply for all ‌Apple Card‌ customers making ‌Apple Store‌ purchases.

Pre-orders for the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros opened this week, and Apple could possibly be running the promotion as a way to incentivize customers with the pre-ordering the latest MacBook Pros, and other products and accessories. We've contacted Apple for more information and will update if we hear back.

Update: There appears to be significant confusion over the situation, with only some users seeing 6% while others are seeing 3%. Apple has not announced a promotion, and customer support representatives are generally saying the 6% mentions were an error. We're also hearing mixed responses about whether Apple is honoring the 6% as Daily Cash is being credited to users' accounts.

T-Mobile today announced that, starting October 22, it will pay off a qualifying customer's remaining eligible smartphone payments up to $1,000 via virtual prepaid MasterCard when they switch to the carrier in the United States.

The limited time offer is designed to allow customers to switch from their current carrier to T-Mobile and continue using their existing smartphone without cost. T-Mobile has more details available on its website, including instructions for customers looking to switch from Verizon, AT&T, U.S. Cellular, and select other carriers.

The steps on T-Mobile's website include verifying your smartphone is an eligible device, submitting screenshot proof of your current device payment plan balance, ordering a T-Mobile SIM card and choosing a plan, and submitting a rebate claim. The prepaid MasterCard can then be used to pay off the remaining device balance at your previous carrier.

Fine print indicates that a credit check and an eligible T-Mobile plan is required. The smartphone must be unlocked before being ported in to T-Mobile.

Today we're tracking a few offers from carriers on cellular models of the new Apple Watch Series 7, which just launched last week. Many of the initial deals on these Series 7 models are still around today, from carriers like AT&T and Verizon.

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.

AT&T

Starting with AT&T, you can get $200 in bill credits put towards a second Apple Watch after you purchase one. Both Apple Watches must be purchased on a qualifying installment plan and there's a $30 activation/upgrade fee, and at least one new line must be added.

Models eligible under this sale include Series 3 (up to $289.99), Series 4 (up to $699.99), Series 5 (up to $749.99), Series 6 (up to $799.99), SE (up to $359.99), and Series 7 (up to $799.99). You can pick any two models from these Apple Watch generations.

AT&T currently has most Apple Watch Series 7 models for an estimated delivery date in early to mid November, but there are some models that can be delivered sooner. The 41mm Green Aluminum Series 7 model has an October 25 estimate, for example.

For most other Series 7 models, you'll see an estimated delivery between November 5 and November 19. Head to AT&T for more information on the sale.

Verizon

Verizon is offering $200 off the Apple Watch Series 7 when you trade in your old Apple Watch within 30 days of purchase. New and current customers can also get Beats Studio Buds for free when purchasing an Apple Watch and iPhone together.

The $200 off deal is available for all Series 7 models, and the credit will be applied over 24 monthly bills. Currently, two Series 7 models have shipping estimates in October and November on Verizon: 41mm Midnight Aluminum (November 11) and 41mm Blue Aluminum (October 28).

You can also save on previous generation Apple Watch models, including the Series 6 and SE. Head to Verizon for more information on the sale.

T-Mobile/Sprint

Similar to AT&T, T-Mobile is offering $200 off when you purchase two Apple Watch Series 7 models. For this deal, you'll need to add two new lines as well, on an Apple DIGITS or Apple Standalone plan.

T-Mobile has some of the best stock among the carriers, with most ready to ship between today and October 25. Once you purchase both models and activate the new lines, you'll receive $200 back via 24 monthly bill credits.

Retailers

• Best Buy - Get up to $200 off when trading in an eligible Apple Watch

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

Shipments of the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are now "Preparing to Ship" for some customers ahead of when the first delivery is expected to arrive at customers next week.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro became available for pre-order earlier this week and it quickly became clear demand for the new laptops is high. Shortly after pre-orders opened, estimated shipments dates for the new MacBook Pros quickly began slipping, with some configurations being up to a month away from delivery.

The new ‌MacBook Pro‌ starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch model featuring an M1 Pro chip and can go as high as $6,099 for the 16-inch model with a maxed-out M1 Max chip, 64GB of unified memory, and 8TB of storage.

The new MacBook Pros are the first major redesign to the ‌MacBook Pro‌ since 2016 and include an expanded array of ports, a brand new mini-LED display featuring a notch, and the ‌M1 Pro‌ or ‌M1 Max‌ chips. Learn more about the new laptops using our roundups.

Apple has confirmed to The Verge's Dan Seifert that the SD card slot built into the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models supports UHS-II, and while this could theoretically allow for read and write speeds of up to 312MB/s with USH-II SD cards, Apple has since confirmed that the reader supports up to 250MB/s of data transfer.

Some people had hoped that the SD card slot would support UHS-III with read and write speeds up to 624 MB/s, but this is not the case.

Users can take advantage of the SD card slot for additional storage space, with UHS-II-compliant SD cards available in capacities such as 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. The return of the SD card slot will be particularly useful for professional users like photographers and video producers, allowing them to quickly transfer files without needing to use an adapter.

The SD card slot is one of three ports that returned to the new MacBook Pro models after being removed in 2016, alongside an HDMI 2.0 port and MagSafe. The notebooks also have three Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

In addition to the expanded connectivity, key features of the new MacBook Pro models include Apple's next-generation M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, mini-LED displays with ProMotion for up to a 120Hz refresh rate, up to 10 hours longer battery life per charge, full-size physical function keys instead of a Touch Bar, and more.

The new MacBook Pro models have been available to order since Monday and will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, October 26. Pricing starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch model and at $2,499 for the 16-inch model.

Update: The SD card slot on the new MacBook Pros supports up to 250MB/s of data transfer with UHS-II SD cards and up to 90MB/s with UHS-I SD cards, according to information shared by Apple after this story was published.

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

Nvidia today announced the launch of a new higher-tier membership for its streaming gaming platform GeForce NOW, allowing gamers to get access to improved performance.

According to Nvidia, the GeForce NOW RTX 3080 membership provides gamers with access to the "greatest-ever generational leap in GeForce history," offering up the highest resolutions and fastest frame rates, plus low latency. Nvidia says the new gaming experience rivals the latest game consoles.

Each GeForce NOW cloud SuperPOD includes more than 1000 GPUs that deliver over 39 petaflops of graphics horsepower. Nvidia says each instance is 35 teraflops of performance, nearly 3x that of an Xbox Series X.

With the new membership tier, games can run at up to 1440p on Macs and PCs, and at up to 120 frames per second.

Access to the GeForce NOW RTX 3080 membership is priced at $99.99 for six months, which is introductory pricing. GeForce NOW founders and Priority members have early access to pre-order starting today, and pre-orders will open more broadly to all gamers later in the month. Quantities are limited.

At $99.99 for six months, access to the RTX 3080 rigs costs twice as much as the $49.99 priority membership. Those who choose the highest-tier plan get longer session allowances in addition to the higher quality streaming.

GeForce NOW offers several free games, but for the most part, titles need to be purchased to be played. GeForce NOW provides the gaming platform, but gamers need to supply their own games.