MacRumors

Apple is widely expected to remove the notch on iPhone 14 Pro models, but there have been conflicting rumors about the new design. Early rumors suggested that Apple would adopt a hole-punch design with Face ID somehow moved completely under the display, and later it was rumored that there would be a pill-shaped cutout instead.

Now, display industry consultant Ross Young has claimed that iPhone 14 Pro models will feature both hole-punch and pill-shaped cutouts near the top of the display. Young said the hole is believed to be for the Face ID dot projector, while the pill-shaped cutout will supposedly house the front camera and Face ID infrared camera at a minimum.

This potential design was shared by Twitter account ShrimpApplePro in September, but the leaked image provides an inverse view of the display. The pill-shaped cutout is actually said to be on the left, with the circular cutout on the right.

With both hole-punch and pill-shaped cutouts, iPhone 14 Pro models are no longer expected to have Face ID under the display as some earlier rumors claimed.

The new design is rumored for the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro and the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max, which will likely be announced in September. Apple is also expected to release lower-end 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max models that continue to have a notch.

Young has proven to be a reliable source of display-related information for future Apple products. Last year, for example, he accurately claimed that the new iPad mini would feature an 8.3-inch display with the home button removed. He was also first to report that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro would feature ProMotion displays.

Cellular carriers in the United States routinely have solid offers on the latest iPhones, and today we're tracking a few deals that have appeared in January at AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. These discounts are focused on Apple's new smartphone lineup, including the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

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.

iPhone 13

Starting with the iPhone 13, there are a few solid offers from the three major cellular carriers in the United States. AT&T has one of the best discounts, offering the iPhone 13 at no cost with eligible trade in, while T-Mobile has a basic discount that takes up to $800 off the device when trading in and signing up for the carrier's Magenta MAX plan. If you're looking to purchase two iPhone 13 devices, Verizon has a BOGO up to $700 off on Verizon Unlimited plans.

• AT&T - Get iPhone 13 for $0 with eligible trade in
• Verizon - Buy one, get another up to $700 off on select Unlimited plans
• T-Mobile - Get up to $800 off with trade in on Magenta MAX plans

iPhone 13 mini

Across all carriers, iPhone 13 mini deals are matching the same offers seen on the iPhone 13. AT&T is again offering this device at no cost when you trade in an eligible older smartphone, T-Mobile has up to $800 off with trade ins on Magenta MAX plans, and Verizon is the place to look when purchasing multiple devices at once.

• AT&T - Get iPhone 13 mini for $0 with eligible trade in
• Verizon - Buy one, get another up to $700 off on select Unlimited plans
• T-Mobile - Get up to $800 off with trade in on Magenta MAX plans

iPhone 13 Pro

Moving to the Pro models, AT&T is offering the iPhone 13 Pro for up to $800 off with the usual eligible trade in requirement. Verizon is topping that offer by offering savings of up to $1,000 when trading in an old device and signing up for select Verizon Unlimited plans.

• AT&T - Get iPhone 13 Pro for up to $800 off with eligible trade in
• Verizon - Save up to $1,000 when trading in old device on select Unlimited plans
• T-Mobile - Get up to $800 off with trade in on Magenta MAX plans

iPhone 13 Pro Max

You'll find the same deals on the iPhone 13 Pro Max as you did on the iPhone 13 Pro, with AT&T offering up to $800 off and Verizon offering up to $1,000 off the smartphone. Both carriers require you to trade in an older device to see these savings, as well as sign up for their versions of unlimited cellular plans.

• AT&T - Get iPhone 13 Pro Max for up to $800 off with eligible trade in
• Verizon - Save up to $1,000 when trading in old device on select Unlimited plans
• T-Mobile - Get up to $800 off with trade in on Magenta MAX plans

Other Offers

• AT&T - Get iPhone 12 mini for up to 50% off
• AT&T - Save up to 50% on AT&T branded power accessories
• AT&T - Get $200 off Apple Watch
• Verizon - Buy one, get up to $460 off another iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, or iPad Pro
• Verizon - Get up to 40% off on five or more regularly priced accessories

If you're in the market for a new iPhone, we've begun tracking the latest carrier deals in our Best iPhone Deals guide. This includes discounts and offers from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and more.

iPhone 14 Pro models will feature a 48-megapixel camera, according to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce. Specifically, this refers to the rear-facing Wide camera, which is currently 12 megapixels on iPhone 13 Pro models.

The addition of a 48-megapixel Wide camera on iPhone 14 Pro models has already been mentioned by multiple sources, including analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who expects the upgraded camera to support 8K video recording.

Simply increasing a smartphone camera's megapixel count while maintaining the same image sensor size results in smaller pixels, which allows less light to be captured, resulting in lower-quality low-light photos. As a solution, Kuo has previously said that iPhone 14 Pro models will support both 48-megapixel and 12-megapixel output, which would likely be achieved with a process known as pixel binning.

Already in use on some Android phones like Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra, pixel binning merges data from multiple smaller pixels on the camera's image sensor into one "super-pixel" for improved low-light sensitivity. Pixel binning would allow iPhone 14 Pro models to shoot high-resolution 48-megapixel photos in bright conditions and 12-megapixel photos in low-light conditions that are still of higher quality.

iPhone 14 Pro models would likely shoot 12-megapixel photos by default given the large file size of 48-megapixel photos, but Apple's implementation remains to be seen.

Apple is expected to announce four new iPhone 14 models in September, including a 6.1-inch iPhone 14, 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max, 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max, with a 48-megapixel camera available on the latter two devices.

Apple is in the process of selecting suppliers for its long-rumored electric vehicle, according to a report from Korea's ETNews.

The report claims that Apple representatives visited South Korea in December last year to meet with local suppliers, following a preliminary visit in the summer of 2021. In particular, Apple is said to be looking for a number of vehicle electronic parts manufacturers with experience in mass production to provide core components for the vehicle.

Apple's interest in Korean manufacturers has purportedly led to a heated battle to secure a place in Apple's supply chain, and some suppliers are said to have formed a "Task Force" to actively respond to Apple's requests. Sources claim that Apple offered equity investment to at least one local electronic parts manufacturer in return for doubled production capacity.

Suppliers have purportedly not been given exact information about the vehicle's specifications due to discussions still being at an early stage. Even so, suppliers are said to be conscious of the need for confidentiality with Apple's vehicle project, with there being concern that leaks would likely lead to the company being removed as a supplier candidate.

Apple is reported to have a special interest in Korea's battery manufacturing capabilities and discussed electric vehicle batteries with LG and SK. Apple has allegedly insisted that it wants to develop and manufacture Apple car battery materials directly and requested intense secrecy. Some suppliers have refused the opportunity to work with Apple due to the high level of control it demanded.

After initiating face-to-face contact with some of the suppliers, Apple plans to continue discussions via online meetings. Apple is expected to complete the selection of suppliers for its vehicle by the end of 2022, followed by the initiation of full-scale development, public announcement, and mass production within the next two to three years.

WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature to users of its beta app that adds the ability to continue listening to a voice message after you've exited the chat thread it was received in.

WhatsApp has been working on a global voice note player for some time to let users listen to voice messages in the background while navigating around the app.

Currently, if you play a voice note and then exit the chat thread in which the note was received, playback stops. The idea of allowing playback to continue is so that you can still listen to long recordings while composing and reading other messages.

In the latest beta, if you play a voice note and then switch to the WhatsApp home screen or to a different chat thread, a new voice message playback interface appears at the top of the app with buttons to pause, resume, or dismiss the voice note, along with a progress bar.

According to WABetaInfo, the feature has been released to some iOS testers of WhatsApp Beta and WhatsApp Business Beta, but not all, so if you can't listen to voice notes when you exit a chat, sit tight and wait for the next beta update when it should roll out more fully.

It's not known when the global voice note player will go mainstream, but given the feature is now available to both Android and iOS users on the beta, it shouldn't be too long.

• How to Use WhatsApp on iPad

This is the second feature WhatsApp has trialed in 2022. Last week it began testing a feature that displays profile pictures in iOS system notifications when users receive new messages from chats and groups.

If you're a regular internet user you've probably heard of popular web-based daily guessing game Wordle, created by Josh Wardle. The game, which is entirely free to play, was introduced last fall and has been spreading like wildfire.

Wordle asks players to guess a five letter word by identifying which letters are in the word and are located in the right location. Players get six guesses per day, and there's a single daily puzzle for everyone.

The website for the game tracks each person's number of wins, and provides an easily shareable graphic, which has contributed to its popularity. Josh Wardle has said that Wordle will remain ad-free and unmonetized, but because it's a web app, shady iOS developers have decided to create app versions to capitalize on the game's success.

There is no official iOS-based version of Wordle available, as it exists solely on the web. Any Wordle option available through the App Store is a clone app copying the idea from Josh Wardle, and there are several clone apps climbing up the ‌App Store‌ charts at the current time.

"Wordle - The App" from developer Zach Shakked is one of the most egregious copycat Wordle apps. Shakked has created an app that uses the concepts and the design of the Wordle website, and he's charging a $30 per year subscription fee for it. Earlier today, Shakked took to Twitter to brag about how much revenue his clone app would make, and he has been buying ‌App Store‌ ads to promote it.

Shakked is not the only developer that has created a Wordle clone, but he appears to be the only one charging a $30 per year fee for access. Other Wordle clones are free or have much lower price tags, but again, there is no official version and Wordle players should be aware that downloading one of these apps does not support the original Wordle creator.

There have been previous Wordle-like games and the general concept is not new, but Shakked and other developers have stolen the Wordle name, interface, and design from Wardle rather than making a similar game with their own graphics and naming scheme.

It's unlikely that Apple is going to remove these clone apps as apps and games based on stolen ideas are nothing new for the ‌App Store‌. Many once-popular games have unfortunately been ripped off by other apps with no interference from Apple. Josh Wardle has not commented on the clone apps, and it's not clear if he'll try to get assistance from Apple.

Update: The Wordle clones have been removed from the ‌App Store‌, and the only "Wordle" apps are apps that were in the ‌App Store‌ prior to the launch of the Wordle website.

T-Mobile has not disabled iCloud Private Relay for its subscribers, in contrast to recent reports suggesting the carrier was preventing iPhone users from enabling the feature.

In a statement to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, T-Mobile said that iOS 15.2 device settings that default to the feature being toggled off, and that Apple has been contacted. T-Mobile explicitly says that ‌iCloud‌ relay has not been blocked.

Overnight our team identified that in the 15.2 iOS release, some device settings default to the feature being toggled off. We have shared this with Apple. This is not specific to T-Mobile. Again though, we have not broadly blocked iCloud Private

Yesterday morning, 9to5Mac published a story that said T-Mobile was preventing subscribers from enabling ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay in the United States, and this was a function that was rolling out to all ‌iPhone‌ users.

The article was based on a handful of reports from T-Mobile users who were unable to turn on ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay, and were receiving a message that it was disabled for their carrier.

T-Mobile has since informed 9to5Mac that some subscribers who are using plans and features with content filtering are not able to access ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay, though 9to5Mac claims that some of the users unable to access ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay do not have content filtering enabled.

Customers who chose plans and features with content filtering (e.g. parent controls) do not have access to the iCloud Private Relay to allow these services to work as designed. All other customers have no restrictions.

Based on what T-Mobile has said, it appears the issue is linked to content filtering and a problem with certain features being disabled by default, but the company has now made it clear that ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay is not being explicitly blocked for T-Mobile subscribers.

Apple today updated its iCloud Private Relay support document to clarify how users can make sure that ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay is enabled for a cellular network in iOS 15.2 by going to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options and ensuring that "Limit IP Address Tracking" is turned on.

There was instant concern about T-Mobile's intentions following the reports yesterday because European carriers banded together to call for ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay to be restricted because it prevents "networks and servers from accessing vital network data and metadata, including those operators in charge of the connectivity."

In the U.S., AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have not spoken out against ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay nor have they suggested U.S. networks won't support the feature.

Alongside the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in October, Apple introduced an Apple-branded microfiber Polishing Cloth priced at $19, which, like many overpriced Apple products, quickly turned into a joke.

The Polishing Cloth sold out within a day, and shipping estimates initially pushed into November as Apple fans didn't want to be the only one without a special Apple Polishing Cloth. Just days later, supplies of the Polishing Cloth were entirely exhausted and it became impossible to get one ahead of the holidays.

Since then, the Apple Cloth has been sold out, but as noted by 9to5Mac, it's now back in stock and ready to be delivered to customers within days. Polishing Cloths ordered today from the online Apple Store will deliver by the end of the week with free shipping.

There doesn't appear to be Polishing Cloth availability in Apple retail stores right now, but that could change in the coming days as supplies improve.

Apple's Polishing Cloth is made of a soft, nonabrasive material that Apple says can be used to clean any Apple display, including the Pro Display XDR with special nano-texture glass.

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS Monterey 12.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming three weeks after the first beta and a month after the release of macOS Monterey 12.1.

Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences. Apple has also released a macOS 11.6.3 release candidate version for Big Sur users.

We don't yet know what's included in macOS Monterey 12.2, and no new features were found in the first beta. We'll update this article should anything new come up in the second beta.

As of now, there's one major feature that Apple has yet to add to macOS Monterey -- Universal Control. ‌Universal Control‌ is designed to allow a single mouse and trackpad to be used with multiple Macs and iPads, and Apple has said it will be launching this spring.

Over the weekend, it was reported that Apple has been testing Swedish language support for Siri on the HomePod mini for at least two months, and now further reports claim that testing is also underway for Danish and Norwegian.

Based on these reports, it's likely that Apple is planning to launch the HomePod mini in several Nordic countries this year, including Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Siri already supports Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian on iOS, but Apple is still testing these languages on the HomePod mini to ensure it provides the best experience possible.

It's also likely that Apple will release the HomePod mini in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Russia this year, as the speaker gained support for languages spoken in those countries as part of a software update released in December.

The full list of countries where the HomePod mini is rumored to launch this year so far:

• Belgium
• The Netherlands
• Switzerland
• Russia
• Sweden
• Denmark
• Norway

First released in October 2020, the HomePod mini is currently available in the United States, Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Apple began offering the HomePod mini in yellow, orange, and blue colors in November 2021.

Apple is exploring new security measures for Apple retail stores in an attempt to discourage and prevent smash-and-grab robberies.

In a patent titled "Product-Display System" filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, spotted by Patently Apple, Apple details a number of mechanical systems for securing iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.

The proposal effectively involves fixing a "retainer body" and "display stem" to the large tables in Apple Stores that feature a "retainer bracket" to hold devices. Some devices may feature a retractable "retaining cable" attached to the bracket to provide power and allow customers to pick up devices. Magnets placed on the top of the display stem ensure that the device returns to a predetermined position.

To maintain security and be more aesthetically pleasing, "no fasteners of the retainer may be visible or accessible" in the mounting system. The stems and brackets are considerably more heavy-duty than the tethers currently used to secure devices in Apple Stores, and are intended to make it much harder for thieves to detach devices, thereby discouraging robbery attempts.

Apple has experimented with removing security tethers in some of its stores, but the company has been subject to a large number of smash and grab robberies in recent years. The patent is not a confirmation that Apple will implement the bulky security retainers in its retail stores, but it remains a possibility given the solution is fully developed. Apple devices already automatically enter a lost mode when they are stolen from a store, rendering the device useless, but the filing indicates that more basic robbery prevention is still an ongoing area of research for the company.

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Update: Apple store aficionado Michael Steeber has noted on Twitter that the mounting system outlined in this patent is already used by a number of Apple retail partners and authorized resellers:

Amazon today is offering a big selection of Apple Watch Series 7 at a discount, including both GPS and cellular models. Every model is shipped and sold directly by Amazon, with stock available for shipping today for most devices.

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.

Prices start at $369.00 for the 41mm GPS Apple Watch Series 7, down from $399.00. This sale price is available in five colors, and it's a second-best price and so far the best price we've seen in 2022.

41mm GPS Aluminum

• (Product)Red with (Product)Red Sport Band - $369.00, down from $399.00
• Blue with Abyss Blue Sport Band - $369.00, down from $399.00
• Green with Clover Sport Band - $369.00, down from $399.00
• Midnight with Midnight Sport Band - $369.00, down from $399.00
• Starlight with Starlight Sport Band - $369.00, down from $399.00

You can also get the 45mm GPS Apple Watch Series 7 on sale, available for $399.00, down from $429.00. Similar to the smaller model, this is a second-best price and one of the best prices that we've tracked on the wearable so far in 2022.

45mm GPS Aluminum

• (Product)Red with (Product)Red Sport Band - $399.00, down from $429.00
• Blue with Abyss Blue Sport Band - $399.00, down from $429.00
• Green with Clover Sport Band - $399.00, down from $429.00
• Midnight with Midnight Sport Band - $399.00, down from $429.00
• Starlight with Starlight Sport Band - $399.00, down from $429.00

Last is a group of cellular models, with both 41mm and 45mm devices getting discounts this week on Amazon. These sales aren't as extensive as the GPS Series 7 models, so you'll only find a few colors marked down for the 41mm cellular option.

41mm Cellular Aluminum

• Blue with Abyss Blue Sport Band - $459.00, down from $499.00
• Green with Clover Sport Band - $459.00, down from $499.00
• Midnight with Midnight Sport Band - $459.00, down from $499.00

However, all aluminum colors are available for the 45mm cellular Apple Watch Series 7. For all Apple Watch sales listed in this article, only Amazon is currently offering these discounts, so be sure to check out the offers soon if you're interested.

45mm Cellular Aluminum

• (Product)Red with (Product)Red Sport Band - $509.00, down from $529.00
• Blue with Abyss Blue Sport Band - $509.00, down from $529.00
• Green with Clover Sport Band - $509.00, down from $529.00
• Midnight with Midnight Sport Band - $509.00, down from $529.00
• Starlight with Starlight Sport Band - $509.00, down from $529.00

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Apple's Beats Fit Pro fitness-focused wireless earbuds are set to launch internationally later this month, with pre-orders to start on Monday, January 24. The earbuds will be released globally on January 28, according to a tweet from Beats.

Beats Fit Pro are Apple's newest Beats earbuds, featuring flexible wingtips to keep them in the ear, a charging case, silicone tips, Active Noise Cancellation, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and an H1 chip for "Hey Siri" support.

The $200 earbuds launched in the United States in November and in China in December of last year, and at the time Apple said an international release would follow sometime in early 2022.

Apple on Monday began listing Beats Fit Pro on its regional online stores outside the U.S. for the first time in advance of pre-orders.

Beats Fit Pro come in four colors: Stone Purple, Sage Gray, White, and Black. For a better idea of what Beats Fit Pro can do, check out our in-depth hands-on review.

Apple's rumored AR/VR headset will use the same 96W USB-C power adapter included with the higher-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a research note today with TF International Securities, obtained by MacRumors, Kuo said that Apple's headset using a 96W power adapter proves that it will have Mac-level computing power, as he has predicted previously.

Kuo also reiterated that Apple's headset will be equipped with two processors, including one 5nm chip and one 4nm chip, each manufactured by TSMC. In November, Kuo said the higher-end processor would have similar computing power as the M1 chip for the Mac, whereas the lower-end processor would manage sensor-related aspects of the headset.

Apple's headset will offer an innovative experience with seamless switching between AR and VR modes, according to Kuo, who added that Apple's headset will be two to three years ahead of competing products in terms of computing power.

Kuo has previously claimed that Apple's headset will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2022, with shipments ramping up in the first quarter of 2023.

Apple will let App Store developers offer alternative payment systems in South Korea after the country passed a law that bans app store operators from requiring developers to use their own in-app purchase systems, reports The Korea Herald.

Apple still plans to charge a reduced fee on purchases made through alternative payment systems, according to plans the company submitted to the Korea Communications Commission. Apple did not indicate when the new policy will take effect or what its commission structure will be for alternative payments, the report said.

"We look forward to working with the KCC and our developer community on a solution that benefits our Korean users," Apple said in a statement shared with The Korea Herald. "Apple has a great deal of respect for Korea's laws and a strong history of collaboration with the country's talented app developers. Our work will always be guided by keeping the App Store a safe and trusted place for our users to download the apps they love."

In November, Google announced it would also let developers offer alternative in-app billing systems in its Play Store in South Korea, and said it would reduce its fee for alternative payment systems by four percentage points. For the "vast majority" of developers, Google said its fee would drop from 15% for transactions through Google Play's billing system to 11% for transactions through an alternate billing system.

Apple might release an iPad with an OLED display provided by Samsung in 2024, according to a report from The Elec. Samsung is developing the necessary equipment to create the OLED panels that Apple wants for its iPads, but Apple will need to make a big enough order to make the project financially viable.

The Elec says that Apple and Samsung were working together to create a 10.86-inch OLED panel in 2021, but work on the display was halted in the third quarter. Apple asked for panels with a "two stack tandem structure," but the project was too expensive for Samsung and Samsung was not able to manufacture enough of the panels at the right price.

For the second collaboration, if Apple places a "large enough order," Samsung will be able to finalize its spending plans during the second quarter of 2022, ordering the necessary equipment during the third quarter. The equipment is expected to be delivered in 2023 for Samsung to manufacture displays destined for a 2024 OLED ‌iPad‌.

The report suggests that Samsung is working to expand its Gen 8.5 IT OLED panels to offer the technology that Apple wants at the price Apple wants, but it needs new machinery to do so as well as Apple's approval. Samsung's current Gen 5.5 and Gen 6 substrates make the panels too expensive because there are not enough units cut out per substrate.

The South Korean display panel maker's development of a vertical deposition machine, in collaboration with Japan's Ulvac, for use in Gen 8.5 IT OLED panel that started last year was ongoing as of January 2022, sources told TheElec.

The equipment, along with fine metal masks (FMM) used to deposit organic materials precisely on the substrate, is a key technology needed to commercialize Gen 8.5 IT OLED panels.

The launch of a 2024 OLED ‌iPad‌ may depend on whether Apple decides to order a substantial number of OLED display panels from Samsung, but Apple could also opt to go with panels from another display provider.

Recent rumors have suggested that Apple is working with BOE on larger-sized OLED panels destined for Macs and iPads, with BOE's recently converted factory able to manufacture OLED displays that are up to 15 inches in size.

At the current time, Apple uses OLED displays for the iPhone and the Apple Watch, but Macs and iPads are limited to LCD and mini-LED. There have been continuous rumors about Apple's interest in OLED panels for devices like Macs and iPads, but the technology may still be a few years away due to the high cost of OLED display panels.

Apple at the end of 2021 appears to have quietly released a new Shazam extension for Chrome users, which can be used to identify songs that are playing using the popular music recognition service.

Apple has owned Shazam since 2017, but even before that, Shazam was built into Apple devices at the operating system level. On an iPhone or a Mac, users can ask Siri to identify any song that's playing without the need for the Shazam app.

The same functionality is built into the ‌iPhone‌ as a Control Center option, and now it's also available as an easy-access option for Chrome users on PCs and Macs.

Once installed, the Shazam Chrome extension can be accessed next to the address bar, and it opens up a Shazam interface that's meant to listen to what's playing. When the extension recognizes a song, it opens up an option to play in Apple Music (subscribers can access full songs by logging in).

The Shazam extension offers up access to Shazam song history so Chrome users can keep track of songs they've identified, and it provides lyrics, music videos, and more for ‌Apple Music‌ subscribers.

Apple has not advertised the Shazam extension except on the Shazam website, and 9to5Google speculates that it might be because there are issues with the extension. For some users, the Shazam extension does not appear to be working at all. Multiple reviews suggest that the extension is unable to recognize any songs, though for others, it works as expected.

Apple may have updates to the Shazam Chrome extension coming soon, and once it's working well for all users, we may hear more about it.

Google for the last several years has been pushing a new communications protocol called Rich Communication Services, or RCS, which is designed to replace the current SMS standard. ‌RCS‌ offers support for higher resolution photos and videos, audio messages, bigger file size, improved encryption, and more.

For the last few months, Google's senior vice president of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer, has been publicly trying to persuade Apple to adopt support for ‌RCS‌, and over the weekend, he once again took to Twitter to speak out on Apple's lack of ‌RCS‌ support for iMessages.

On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal published an article about teens with iPhones ostracizing peers who have Android phones with "green bubble" chat messages. Lockheimer tweeted the story and accused Apple of using "peer pressure and bullying" to sell products, stating that Apple could implement ‌RCS‌ to solve some of the messaging issues that exist between iPhone and Android users.

Today, Lockheimer tweeted again to offer some clarification on the statement, which had sparked quite a bit of discussion on Twitter. According to Lockheimer, Google is "not asking Apple to make iMessage available on Android," the company simply wants Apple to "support the industry standard for modern messaging," aka ‌RCS‌.

Lockheimer's Twitter thread offers a list of reasons why Apple should adopt ‌RCS‌, such as cross-platform read receipts and typing indicators, secure 1:1 messages between Android and ‌iPhone‌ users, and improved group texting.

"Supporting ‌RCS‌ would improve the experience for both iOS and Android users alike," Lockheimer said. "That's right, ‌RCS‌ will also improve the experience and privacy for iOS users." By not adopting ‌RCS‌, Apple is "holding back the industry" and preventing both ‌iPhone‌ and Android customers from having the best possible messaging interactions.

Lockheimer ended his Twitter thread by stating that Google is happy to "work with Apple" to make ‌RCS‌ interoperability a reality, which is something that he's said before.

Apple is the last major ‌RCS‌ holdout, as U.S. carriers that include Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have already started adopting ‌RCS‌ support for Android devices. Apple has not commented either way on whether it plans to add ‌RCS‌ support in the future, so the company's position is still unknown.