MacRumors

Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 15.2 updates to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the second betas and three weeks 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.

iOS and iPadOS 15.2 add support for App Privacy Report, a feature that Apple first highlighted back at WWDC. With App Privacy Report, you can see how often apps are accessing sensitive info granted to them through privacy permissions, such as location, camera, microphone, and contacts.

The feature also gives you details on the various domains that apps and websites are contacting, so you can keep an eye on what your apps are doing behind the scenes and where your data might be going.

App Privacy Report can be enabled by opening up the Settings app, selecting the Privacy section, and choosing App Privacy Report. From there, you can toggle it on. After you start using apps, data will begin showing up in this spot. Apple shows seven days worth of data.

iOS 15.2 introduces an updated version of Apple's Messages Communication Safety feature for kids, and it adds a Legacy Contacts feature that lets you set a person who can access your Apple content like photos in the event of your death.

Apple added a new "Items That Can Track Me" option in the Find My app for scanning for nearby items, and the TV app on ‌iPad‌ has a new sidebar to make navigation simpler. In the Mail app, there's also a new option to use the Hide My Email feature when composing or replying to an email.

There's a tweaked Notification Summary that gives summaries more of a card-style look, a toggle in the Camera app for Macro mode on ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro models, and an update to Emergency SOS. The Auto Call feature can now be enabled by pressing on the side button rapidly or holding down the side button and the volume button together. Apple has added a longer eight-second countdown (up from three seconds) to give you more time to cancel an accidental dial.

For a full list of features that have been added with each beta, we have dedicated guides for the initial beta and the second beta.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 8.3 beta to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming a week after the launch of the second beta and three weeks 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 8.3‌‌‌ 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.

No new features were found in the first two betas of watchOS 8.3, so we don't yet know what's included in the update.

Qualcomm is preparing for the launch of Apple's own modem chips, which will cut into Qualcomm's modem business starting in 2023. At today's Investor Day event, Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkhiwala said that Qualcomm expects to supply just 20 percent of Apple's modem chips in 2023.

If that's an accurate estimate, it means that 2022 will be the last year that Qualcomm enjoys a modem monopoly in iPhone devices. Apple has been working on in-house modem chips for years now, and prior rumors have indeed suggested that Apple's chips will be ready to launch in 2023.

Back in May, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple's 5G baseband chips could debut in the 2023 ‌iPhone‌ models, which is in line with Qualcomm's expectations. Should this occur, Apple will likely use its own chips in most regions, but rely on Qualcomm for chips in certain areas. Qualcomm said that this is just a "planning assumption for forecast purposes," but it appears the company is counting on a 2023 launch.

The assumption we use for this forecast is that for Apple 2023 launch, our share is down to 20%. This is a planning assumption for the forecast purposes. Just to be clear, there is no new data point that makes us do this forecast versus our discussions in the past. We just wanted to set a base for this forecast, and so we've used that as a planning assumption.

Apple tried to transition away from Qualcomm chips once before following a heated legal battle between the two companies. Apple wanted Intel to supply its 5G chips for the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models, but Intel could not meet Apple's expectations.

In 2019, Apple and Qualcomm settled their legal issues and Apple agreed to a multi-year partnership because it had no other place to get the appropriate chips it needed for its devices. Apple also began work on its own in-house modem chips with the aim of eventually getting away from Qualcomm, with Apple purchasing Intel's modem chip business to get a head start.

Qualcomm today announced plans for next-generation Arm-based System on Chips (SoC) designed to rival Apple's M-series chips in the PC space (via The Verge).

At Qualcomm's 2021 investor day event, chief technology officer Dr. James Thompson announced the plans for the new generation of chips. The chips are "designed to set the performance benchmark for Windows PCs" and are being developed by the Nuvia team. Qualcomm acquired Nuvia, a chip startup company founded by former Apple chip designers, for $1.4 billion earlier this year.

Qualcomm said that it will directly compete with Apple's M-series chips, including the M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max, and hopes to lead the industry for "sustained performance and battery life." Moreover, the company promised that it would be scaling up its Adreno GPUs to offer desktop-class gaming capabilities in future PCs. Qualcomm hopes to be able to send samples to clients in around nine months, ahead of the first products containing the chips launching in 2023.

Apple's development of its rumored augmented reality (AR) headset is beginning to mirror the period before the launch of the Apple Watch, according to Morgan Stanley analysts.

In a note to investors, seen by Investor's Business Daily, Morgan Stanley analysts explained that after years of building expertise and a number of setbacks, Apple's long-awaited AR headset is "approaching liftoff." This is evidenced by the fact that Apple's AR project is purportedly beginning to match the development of the Apple Watch before its announcement in late 2014.

The company has published a huge number of patents related to augmented reality and virtual reality, including hardware, input mechanisms, and user interfaces. Now, "Apple's patent portfolio is beginning to mirror the period prior to the Watch launch."

Ahead of the Apple Watch's unveiling in 2014, Apple heavily patented the technology behind the device, including iPhone connectivity and sensors, pedometer functionality and step detection, low-power Bluetooth, and more. While MacRumors has been covering many of Apple's patents over a decade, there has been a noticeable uptick in patent filings related to head-mounted displays in recent times.

• Apple's Work on Mixed Reality Headsets Revealed in New Patent Filings

For example, today, Apple was granted a patent for wrist-based devices, such as the Apple Watch, "to produce a virtual representation of the hands or otherwise be used to receive and interpret gestures as user input" in a head-mounted display.

Morgan Stanley highlighted that while Apple has faced difficulties with the development of its AR technology, the project is steadily nearing launch:

The enormity of the technical challenge — compressing daylong battery, 5G, compute, cameras, lidar, projectors and wave guide lenses into a lightweight, attractive pair of glasses — is hard to overstate, but we are approaching liftoff.

The note added that "Apple's entry into the eyewear market will be the game changer for all participants as the technology gets normalized and popularized."

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple's "mixed reality" headset will launch in late 2022 to early 2023, with a separate smart glasses device following between 2023 and 2025.

The security provided by Apple's Mail Privacy Protection feature is seemingly undermined by a lack of Apple Watch support, security researchers have found.

Mail Privacy Protection is a new feature introduced with iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey that hides your IP address so senders are not able to determine your location or link email habits to your other online activity. It also prevents senders from tracking whether you opened an email, how many times you viewed an email, and whether you forwarded the email.

• iOS 15: How to Prevent Emails From Tracking You With Mail Privacy Protection

The feature works by routing all content downloaded by the Mail app through multiple proxy servers to strip your IP address, and then it assigns a random IP address that corresponds to your general region, making email senders see generic information rather than specific information about you.

Apple's legal documentation on Mail Privacy Protection indicates that the feature is available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac only, but security researchers and developers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk have discovered that since the Apple Watch does not hide a recipient's IP address, it can compromise the overall security provided by Mail Privacy Protection.

The Apple Watch downloads remote content, such as images, using the recipient's real IP address, both when receiving a Mail notification and when opening an email, meaning that even for users who have enabled Mail Privacy Protection on their ‌iPhone‌, their IP address is exposed.

While Mail Privacy Protection is a feature exclusive to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey, the fact that simply receiving a Mail notification on the Apple Watch can reveal a user's IP address and bypass Mail Privacy Protection on other devices seems to be an oversight and we have reached out to Apple for comment.

Update: The same security researchers have now highlighted that iCloud Private Relay is also unavailable on the Apple Watch, meaning that a user's IP address can be exposed when opening links in the Messages app.

‌iCloud‌ Private Relay is an Apple service that ensures Safari traffic leaving an ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, or Mac is encrypted. It uses two separate internet relays to ensure that companies cannot access personal information like IP address, location, and browsing information to create a detailed profile about you.

Users who have ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay enabled on their other devices should be aware that their IP address is still discoverable from Apple Watch activity.

Amazon is offering a match of previous record low prices on Apple's 2020 M1 Mac mini, for both the 256GB and 512GB storage options. For both models, you won't see the sale price until you reach the checkout screen and receive an automatic coupon on your order.

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.

Starting with the 256GB M1 Mac mini, you can get this version for $599.99, down from $699.00. This is beating the previous Amazon low price of $639.00, and it's in stock and ready to ship today.

Amazon is offering an even steeper discount on the 512GB M1 Mac mini, available for $749.99, down from $899.00. This is another all-time low price on the M1 Mac mini, beating the previous record low of $779.00 on Amazon and other retailers.

This model will be in stock soon on Amazon, and has a late November shipping estimate. You can still lock in the $149 off sale price today and Amazon will charge you once the Mac mini ships around November 29.

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

WhatsApp is working on an app for iPadOS, and thanks to Mac Catalyst, an app for macOS too, according to WABetaInfo.

WhatsApp's rumored app for iPad will be a Catalyst app, enabling it to run seamlessly on macOS. This effectively allows the same app to share code while running on separate platforms.

The new WhatsApp app for macOS apparently looks very similar to the app for iPadOS, featuring the same basic interface, but there are some minor UI changes to accommodate a desktop experience. Presumably, this new Mac app will replace the existing macOS WhatsApp app and no longer rely on a connected smartphone.

The new apps will be supported by multi-device capability, allowing users to use their WhatsApp account on up to four different linked devices even when their main smartphone is not connected to the internet. WABetaInfo said that WhatsApp will enable support for macOS at a later date, suggesting that the iPad app may be released first.

Apple is not doing enough to comply with South Korean legislation that forbids app store operators from forcing developers to use their payment systems, according to lawmaker Jo Seoung-lae, Reuters reports.

Via an amendment to the Telecommunication Business Act, South Korea is the first country endeavouring to stop developers from being forced to use a single payment system offered by app store operators. The law came into effect in September, but the exact details of what companies need to do to comply with it had not yet been fully drafted.

This month, Apple reportedly told the South Korean government that it was already complying with the new law and did not need to change its App Store policies. Jo Seoung-lae, the lawmaker who spearheaded the amendment, told Reuters:

Frankly, we are not satisfied... Apple's claim that it's already complying is nonsensical. Excessive fees take away developers' chances for innovation ... parliament is to be closely informed as the government drafts detailed regulations to make sure there is accountability.

It is as yet unclear how platform operators will be sanctioned if the regulations are breached, but according to a draft seen by Reuters, it could involve fines of up to two percent of revenue.

The initial details of what Apple will need to do to meet its new obligations in South Korea are expected to be made public by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) tomorrow, ahead of them coming into full effect by March 2022.

In an interview at the Global Conference for Mobile Application Ecosystem Fairness in Seoul today, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney renewed his ongoing attack on Apple and called for a single, universal app store.

Elsewhere, Law Street reports that an antitrust lawsuit has been filed against Apple in Northern District of California, accusing the company of charging supracompetitive prices on the ‌App Store‌.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has today renewed his attack on Apple and called for a single, universal app store that works across all platforms (via Bloomberg).

Last year, Epic's popular game "Fortnite" became the subject of heated litigation with Apple and Google over the rate of commission on in-app purchases. After Epic broke App Store rules by implementing a direct payment option, the game was removed from the App Store and Epic's developer account was terminated.

A lengthy legal battle ensued, resulting in the verdict while that Apple's anti-steering conduct is anti-competitive, Apple was correct on on all other counts. ‌Epic Games‌ paid Apple $6,000,000 in lost royalties but has appealed the verdict.

In an interview at the Global Conference for Mobile Application Ecosystem Fairness in Seoul, South Korea, Sweeney said:

What the world really needs now is a single store that works with all platforms. Right now software ownership is fragmented between the iOS App Store, the Android Google Play marketplace, different stores on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, and then Microsoft Store and the Mac App Store.

Sweeney added that ‌Epic Games‌ is working with developers and service providers to create a system to allow users to "to buy software in one place, knowing that they'd have it on all devices and all platforms." ‌Epic Games‌ already offers the ‌Epic Games‌ Store, aimed at PC gamers, which also charges a commission.

There's a store market, there's a payments market, and there are many other related markets. And it's critical that antitrust enforcement not allow a monopolist in one market to use their control of that market to impose control over unrelated markets.

Earlier this year, South Korea passed a bill that prohibits app distribution platforms from forcing developers to use their payment method alone and. Apple will be required to offer multiple in-app payment methods in South Korea, but the company has not yet made any changes to facilitate this.

Sweeney praised the legislation and accused Apple of complying "with oppressive foreign laws" while "ignoring laws passed by Korea's democracy." "Apple must be stopped," he added.

T-Mobile today announced that its high-speed "Ultra Capacity 5G" is now available to 200 million people across the United States, with the carrier hitting the milestone weeks ahead of schedule.

Ultra Capacity 5G is T-Mobile's higher-speed 5G network that's faster than the Extended Range 5G network that covers 308 million T-Mobile customers. While Extended Range 5G offers LTE-like speeds, Ultra Capacity 5G is more capable.

T-Mobile initially planned to cover 200 million people by the end of 2021, and has met that goal early. As noted by The Verge, this is a theoretical maximum based on the coverage that T-Mobile offers. In reality, T-Mobile has just over 100 million subscribers, not all of whom will be able to access the 5G speeds due to location or device limitations.

T-Mobile's Ultra Capacity 5G largely relies on mid-band 2.5GHz spectrum rather than the mmWave 5G spectrum used by other carriers like AT&T and Verizon. As T-Mobile explains in the press release announcing the coverage, the company aimed for mid-band spectrum to bring 5G speeds to the maximum number of people, and T-Mobile has been rolling out the 2.5GHz spectrum since it acquired Sprint.

Faster mmWave 5G speeds from AT&T and Verizon are largely limited to select areas in major cities, though both carriers have slower sub-6GHz 5G coverage available as well. AT&T and Verizon were planning on rolling out mid-band spectrum starting this year, but their plans have been delayed due to the FAA's concerns about aircraft interference.

T-Mobile's focus on mid-band spectrum is the reason why T-Mobile was the fastest 5G carrier in the United States in PCMag's annual test. T-Mobile's wider coverage allowed the carrier to achieve the highest average speeds of 162.3Mb/s, beating out AT&T and Verizon. Verizon had the fastest speeds overall, but its coverage was much more limited due to the current lack of mid-band spectrum and the limited availability of its mmWave speeds.

Sam Jadallah, Apple's head of Home Services, left the company last week after two years leading some of Apple's work on smart home initiatives.

Jadallah announced his departure on LinkedIn, where he said that it was "a treat to be an entrepreneur within Apple and to create products at scale." Based on some of his tweets, Jadallah worked on digital key-related projects, such as Apple's recent iOS 15 effort to add keys for HomeKit-enabled locks to the Wallet app.

Apple hired Jadallah back in 2019, and his hiring made headlines because he was brought on from Microsoft to improve Apple's work on HomeKit-enabled devices. Jadallah formerly worked at Microsoft, and before joining Apple, he headed up luxury smart lock company Otto.

When Jadallah was hired, many saw it as a sign of Apple's effort to push further into the home space. Apple has been developing its HomeKit protocol and working on home devices like the HomePod for many years now, but it continues to lag behind companies like Amazon and Google, especially in the smart speaker department.

In the two years since Jadallah's hiring, Apple has introduced several new ‌HomeKit‌ initiatives. In addition to expanding the functionality of the digital Wallet app, Apple has also added support for Thread, worked on introducing Matter, and introduced new ‌HomeKit‌ features like HomeKit Secure Video.

It is not clear why Jadallah is leaving Apple or what he plans to do in the future, nor how his departure will impact Apple's home services team. Apple seems to be in the middle of a refocus on its home efforts, and with the launch of the new MacBook Pro models, Apple redesigned its website to group the TV & Home categories together.

Apple is aiming for a total living room strategy that will ultimately see the ‌HomePod‌ and Apple TV combined into a single device that will be able to be used for controlling smart home devices, entertainment, communication, and more.

Recent reports have suggested that Apple is struggling with its hardware strategy, which could impact home services going forward. Apple's engineering team is pessimistic about the future of the ‌Apple TV‌, a key component in Apple's current smart home ecosystem. Like the ‌HomePod‌, Apple struggles to get people interested in the ‌Apple TV‌, with many consumers choosing more affordable set-top boxes from companies like Roku and Amazon.

Apple's plan to combine the ‌HomePod‌ and the ‌Apple TV‌ into one device as a single point of home control could turn things around, but we'll have to wait to see how the strategy pans out following the product's planned 2023 launch.

Following allegations that Apple secretively buys ads for subscription-based apps to collect more commission, Apple has now said that this is a mischaracterization and developers are fully aware of the ads it runs on their behalf.

Earlier today, we reported on an article by Forbes which claimed that the company "secretly" or "quietly" places ads for subscription-based apps without their consent to bolster its collection of commission on in-app purchases in "a form of ad arbitrage."

Apple has now clarified that it has placed ads to promote products it distributes for five years now, and these ads are clearly marked as being from the App Store.

Apple indicated that this is no different from retailers running ads for the products they sell, and is a very standard business model. Apple is granted conventional legal rights to advertise in this way in the agreements it has with developers.

Apple says that the allegation that it is "secretly" or "quietly" purchasing ads for developers without their knowledge or consent is an overt mischaracterization. On the contrary, the company says that it regularly engages in conversation with developers about the ads it places and many developers express their appreciation for this support.

Apple says that it is committed to providing developers with the resources they need to be successful on the ‌App Store‌. These resources include compilers, testing and debugging tools, technical support, SDKs, libraries, APIs and more, but they also include advertising both inside and outside the ‌App Store‌.

Apple's advertising for developers' apps, such as via email, online ads, and social media, achieved over 70 billion impressions in 2020. The company has also featured over 130,000 apps on the ‌App Store‌ and across various Apple channels, and is currently spending to support more than 100 apps across platforms such as Google, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter, and TikTok.

HYPER today announced the launch of its latest dock, a 15-port version that is designed for the 13, 14, 15 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. The HyperDrive 4K Multi-Display Docking Station supports up to three 4K displays on larger Mac machines.

There are three HDMI ports and three DisplayPorts, all of which support 4K displays at up to 60Hz, along with a Gigabit Ethernet port, a 100W USB-C PD port for charging purposes. two USB-C ports that support 10Gb/s transfer speeds, a USB-A port that supports 10Gb/s transfer speeds, two additional 5Gb/s USB-A ports, and an SD/micro SD card slot that supports transfer speeds of 104MB/s.

With the trio of HDMI ports and DisplayPort ports, dock users can create a three-display setup using any combination of ports. The HyperDrive Dock connects to the MacBook with three USB-C cable. One cable connects to 11 ports, including an HDMI/DisplayPort, while connecting an additional one to two cables enables one to two more HDMI/DisplayPort ports. For all 15 ports to be active, all three cables must be connected.

The dock itself is made from an aluminum material and it is sized to fit underneath the chassis of a ‌MacBook Pro‌. HYPER says that this design offers ergonomic benefits and dissipates excess heat from the laptop.

HYPER is actually using a two-part modular approach for the HyperDrive. For 13 and 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models, the main part of the dock comes with 13 ports, including two HDMI and DisplayPort ports.

For 15 and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models, there is a magnetic extension that adds an additional DisplayPort and HDMI port for triple display functionality. According to HYPER, the complete 15 ports and support for three full 4K displays is limited to the larger 15 and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models that have the bandwidth to support it, with more information available through the Indiegogo campaign.

HYPER says that the HyperDrive works with any version of the USB-C ‌MacBook Pro‌, supporting models from 2016 to 2021, as well as Windows PCs, Chromebooks, and more.

The HyperDrive 4K Multi-Display Docking Station is available on Indiegogo at the current time, and it is priced starting at $124 with various early bird purchasing options. That price is for the 13 and 14-inch version, while the full dock is priced starting at $149.

According to HYPER, the docks are expected to ship out in December 2021. At launch, the 13/14-inch version will retail for $249.99, and the full version will retail for $299.99.

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

Amazon today introduced a native macOS app for its Amazon Prime Video service, with the app now available from the Mac App Store.

Prime Video subscribers can stream content using the new app, or download content on Macs for offline viewing. All Amazon Prime content is available through the Mac app.

Picture-in-Picture and AirPlay are both supported features that work with Amazon's new app, and it supports in-app purchases for TV rentals and on-demand content as well as payment with an Amazon credit card that's already on file. Users can also take advantage of Amazon's Thursday Night Football and English Premier League where available.

There is a feature that will keep track of what users are watching and where they are in a TV series or movie so a show can be watched on one device and then picked up on another.

The Amazon Prime Video app is free to and it is compatible with macOS Big Sur 11.4 and later. An Amazon Prime subscription is required to use the video service. [Direct Link]

Update: Apple has now said that the suggestion that it "secretly" or "quietly" buys ads for third-party apps is a mischaracterization. The company says that it regularly communicates with developers about the ads it runs on their behalf. See Apple's full clarification for more information.

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Apple allegedly buys Google ads for popular subscription-based third-party apps to bolster its collection of commission on in-app purchases, according to an article by Forbes.

Apple has purportedly been buying Google ads for subscription-based third-party apps, including HBO, Masterclass, Babbel, Tinder, Plenty of Fish, and Bumble, for at least two years. A marketer speaking to Forbes suggested that many of the brands Apple appears to be advertising for have been assertive about attempting to circumvent App Store policies. The ads are said to be placed without the developer's consent and Google apparently refuses to remove them.

The ads do not disclose that they are paid for by Apple, but redirect to the ‌App Store‌ rather than subscription sign-up pages on the brand's website. One source, speaking to Forbes, explained:

Apple is trying maximize the money they're making by driving in-app purchases that people buy through the Apple Store. Apple has figured out that they can make more money off these developers if they push people to the App Store to purchase there versus a web flow.

Ads encouraging users to subscribe to a service usually lead to pages that encourage users to sign up online, bypassing Apple's 15 or 30 percent in-app purchase fee and allowing the business to collect all of the subscription's revenue.

Google claims that it is not responsible for who buys ads on its platform. Google's ad policies allow companies to use another company's trademark if "primarily dedicated to selling (or clearly facilitating the sale of) products or services, components, replacement parts, or compatible products or services corresponding to the trademark."

There are apparently indications that Apple is hiring a single agency to place the ads since they each have "similar tracking links with near-identical parameters."

Forbes speculates that Apple's unsolicited ads are potentially losing some third-party apps millions of dollars in revenue and resulting in high customer acquisition and advertising costs for their own campaigns, since prices rise when multiple parties bid on the same ad slots. The practice amounts to "a form of ad arbitrage," according to Forbes.