MacRumors

iOS and iPadOS 14.5 beta 3 includes a new "Item Safety Feature" that helps prevent someone from stalking or tracking you with item trackers such as AirTags.

The new toggle was higlighted by 9to5Mac contributor and developer Benjamin Mayo, who explains that with the feature toggled on, your iPhone will notice that someone has placed an AirTag or other Find My-compatible item tracker in your possession and prevent your location from being shared. If you attempt to turn the toggle off, the Find My app warns you that by doing so, "the owner of an unknown item will be able to see your location."

The prompt states that with the toggle off, your ‌iPhone‌ will no longer send you notifications if an unknown item is found moving with you. iOS 14.5 beta 3, released this week, includes a new Items tab within the ‌Find My‌ app, which is primarily expected to be the home of Apple's upcoming AirTags item tracker.

MacRumors contributor Steve Moser last year discovered code within iOS 14.3 beta 1 that states, "If you feel your safety is at risk due to this item, contact your local law enforcement. You may need the serial number of this item." Additionally, iOS code says that users should learn how to disable an item, which in AirTags' case may involve removing the battery, in order to stop it from transmitting your location.

AirTags have been rumored to be launching for months now, and the most recent hope is that a launch will take place during a virtual event this month. Initial speculation pointed to an event taking place on March 16, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that an event on March 16 won't happen.

A date for the potential event is unknown, but March 23 and March 30 appear to be reasonable guesses based on Apple's preference for Tuesday events and Apple's comments that its App Tracking Transparency requirement that's being finalized in iOS 14.5 will launch in "early spring."

Eve today announced that it is bringing its popular Thread-enabled version of the Eve Energy to the United States, debuting the new Eve Weather with Thread and introducing Thread firmware for the second-generation Eve Aqua. Eve has been investing in Thread like other HomeKit accessory makers, and has now unveiled several Thread-powered devices.

As an always-on device, the Eve Energy US with Thread can serve as a router within a Thread network, adding stability and improved reach throughout the home. For those unfamiliar with Thread, it's a mesh network that lets smart home products better communicate with one another.

Eve's Thread devices integrate with other Thread products like the HomePod mini, and each one strengthens and improves a connected home network. The Eve Energy will launch on April 6 and it will be priced at $40.

The Eve Weather with Thread is designed to track local outdoor temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure, either on the iPhone or on the device itself, which has a small display to relay weather information. The Eve app aggregates current and past climate data, and it is ‌HomeKit‌ compatible so the weather data can be relayed via Siri. The Eve Weather will launch on March 25 and it will be priced at $70.

Eve is also bringing Thread support to the second-generation Eve Aqua smart water controller, which is priced at $100. As an accessory meant to operate outside the home to monitor yard water usage, the Eve Aqua will benefit from the increased range added through Thread. Eve Aqua will gain Thread support in April 2021.

Apple today added a new "Apple for Kids" portal to its support website, offering parents and guardians a one-stop hub for getting their children set up on Apple's devices, services, and platforms, and managing their usage.

The section includes quick links at the top for managing your family group and resolving common issues, such as what to do if your child forgot their passcode, or if they bought something from Apple's stores or services by accident.

Further down the page is a set-up sub-section, pointing adults in the right direction if they want to set up Family Sharing or get a child set up on an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac. Also included are details about how to set up an Apple Watch for a family member who doesn't have their own ‌iPhone‌, using Family Setup.

In the U.S., users over 13 can also find links showing them how to update their Apple ID birth date. Apple advises that if a child is under 13 and their ‌Apple ID‌ birth date is wrong, a parent or guardian will need to contact Apple Support on their behalf. The age cut-off for both actions varies by country or region.

Further down the page, adults can learn how "Ask to Buy" works. With Ask to Buy enabled, kids get permission from the designated "family organizer" before making a purchase. There are also links explaining how to locate missing devices with Find My, and how to send Apple Cash to your children so they can use Apple Pay.

The last sub-section introduces ways to prevent kids from making in-app purchases, set limits with Screen Time, and use parental controls on a child's device.

Today the United Kingdom's Competition and Market Authority (CMA) launched an official investigation into the distribution of apps on iOS and iPadOS devices in the U.K. and the terms and conditions governing the platform.

In September of last year, the authority launched an initial inquiry into developers' complaints about Apple's App Store and so-called "anti-competitive" practices. CMA is now wrapping up its initial inquiry to launch an official investigation under Chapter II of the 1998 Competition Act.

Chapter II relates to a specific company or organization using its domain position within a particular market or industry to limit competition and further enhance its position. In recent months, developers, motivated mainly by Epic Games, have accused Apple of using its dominant position on its platforms and the platform to hinder competition.

The authority says that it has "reasonable grounds" to believe that Apple has broken competition law in some form under the Competition Act of 1998.

The CMA says that its investigation will determine whether or not Apple has a dominant position in "connection with the distribution of apps on Apple devices in the UK – and, if so, whether Apple imposes unfair or anti-competitive terms on developers using the ‌App Store‌." Andrea Coseclli, the Chief Executive of CMA, says that as the world relies on apps every day, a complaint that Apple is using its position to limit competition and choice calls for "careful scrutiny."

As part of its investigation, the CMA will probe into Apple's 30% commission for in-app purchases. Apple requires developers to use its own ‌App Store‌ in-app purchasing system for purchases made within apps. As part of the system, Apple gets a 30% commission for any purchase made. Developers have voiced concern that the commission is too high, and as a result, Apple announced a lower 15% commission for qualifying, small-indie developers.

Update: Apple provided MacRumors with the following statement regarding the CMA's investigation:

We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place for customers to download the apps they love and a great business opportunity for developers everywhere. In the UK alone, the iOS app economy supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, and any developer with a great idea is able to reach Apple customers around the world.

We believe in thriving and competitive markets where any great idea can flourish. The App Store has been an engine of success for app developers, in part because of the rigorous standards we have in place — applied fairly and equally to all developers — to protect customers from malware and to prevent rampant data collection without their consent. We look forward to working with the UK Competition and Markets Authority to explain how our guidelines for privacy, security and content have made the App Store a trusted marketplace for both consumers and developers.

The animated Apple TV+ kids movie "Wolfwalkers" has been nominated for 10 Annie Awards, while Apple's "Stillwater" animated series also received a nomination for "Best Pre-School" episode. Overall, Apple came in second place for nominations with 11 in all, but Netflix took the crown with a total of 40.

Nominations for "Wolfwalkers" are as follows:

• Wolfwalkers - Best Indie Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best FX for Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Character Design - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Character Animation - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Direction - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Music - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Production Design - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Storyboarding - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Voice Acting - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Writing - Feature

The 48th Annual Annie Awards will take place via a virtual, live-streamed event on April 16 at 7 pm PST. Apple's new nominations come on the heels of ‌Apple TV‌'s hit show, "Ted Lasso," having been nominated for a Golden Globe award. Jason Sudeikis won a Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series" for his role in "Ted Lasso."

"Wolfwalkers" and "Ted Lasso" are both available to watch on ‌Apple TV‌+, which costs $4.99 per month. ‌Apple TV‌+ also comes as part of a series of services in the Apple One bundle.

WhatsApp is today updating its desktop app for Mac and PC with voice and video calling support, the company announced.

Like WhatsApp's mobile app, voice and video calls on the desktop equivalent are end-to-end encrypted, ensuring only the people conversing have access to the contents of a call.

WhatsApp has been in the process of testing the new desktop call functions over the last few months, so today marks the full rollout of what were previously only experimental features accessible by a select few.

As it stands, one important difference on desktop from the mobile experience is that it isn't yet possible to participate in group calls. Only one-to-one calling is currently supported, although WhatsApp says it intends to add group voice and video calling to desktop in the future.

To use the new video and voice calling features on WhatsApp Desktop, users need to have a mobile WhatsApp account. To learn how to set up WhatsApp on your Mac, be sure to check out our step-by-step guide.

Twitter is not concerned about the upcoming ad tracking changes that Apple plans to implement in iOS 14.5, Twitter CFO Ned Segal said today at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference.

Segal said that Twitter does not heavily rely on the device ID or IDFA, which is what Apple will be restricting through a new prompt that will require developers to get user permission before the IDFA can be used for ad tracking purposes.

We look at the unique signal that Twitter has with a growing audience, with better formats and more relevance and the ability to better leverage that signal, much of which isn't tied to a device ID. We feel really good about our ability to leverage that combination.

Segal went on to explain that he expects Apple's IDFA restrictions to "level the playing field." Other companies have been better at leveraging the data made available to them, but now everyone will have the same challenges to face, giving Twitter an opportunity to better compete with giants like Facebook.

We're in an industry where many were much better than Twitter historically at leveraging all of the data that was available to them, from the device ID to what people were doing on other websites. When we all have the same set of new challenges that we have to face, leveling the playing field will be a really interesting impact on the broader industry.

Twitter plans to wait rather than immediately ask its users if they want to opt into IDFA tracking through a popup. "We don't want to be in a rush around IDFA," said Segal, explaining that app developers only get one chance to ask for access to the device ID. "You want to ask in a really thoughtful way" and "take time to learn" before you "ask a question like that," he said.

Apple's App Tracking Transparency changes are baked into iOS 14 and are implemented now, but starting in iOS 14.5, Apple will enforce the rules. All app developers will need to ask permission before using the IDFA to track a user across websites and apps, and if a user declines, developers must respect that choice and not engage in other cross-app tracking methods.

Facebook has been fighting Apple's planned privacy changes and claims that small businesses will be unfairly impacted, but Apple has not budged on plans to implement the IDFA prompt and Facebook and other developers will be forced to use it following the launch of iOS 14.5 in the spring.

With the world largely shut down in June 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic, Apple held its 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference digitally for the first time, allowing developers from all over the world to attend for free.

Apple's digital WWDC was a success, with the company offering online labs, developer sessions, and more, and the digital format continued for the rest of Apple's 2020 events.

Prior to when Apple cancelled the in-person component of WWDC 2020 and opted for a digital event, other major events were forced to cancel ahead of time, including E3, NAB, and others, giving us insight into Apple's plans at the time.

While there's now a vaccine, it does not appear that there will be a path to a large in-person event by the time June 2021 rolls around. As The Verge points out, San Diego Comic Con, Anime Expo, and E3 have all decided not to host physical events this year. Comic Con and Anime Expo are July events and often take place after WWDC, while E3 is a June event.

For those who were hoping that things might be back to normal enough to allow for a traditional WWDC event, 2021 will not be the year that happens, and Apple is likely to once again go with the same digital format that it used last year.

In many ways, Apple's digital format is more accessible because no one has to pay $1,599 for a ticket or travel to San Jose, California for the event itself, so it's quite possible that the digital format will continue on in some way even when physical gatherings are once again possible in the future.

It will probably be some time yet before we hear about Apple's official WWDC plans. Apple last year in March announced that WWDC would be a digital-only event, but it's not clear if we'll get the same early heads up this year. WWDC info last year went out on May 5, so we could see a similar timeline this year.

Designer Dustin Curtis yesterday shared a story about an unusual series of events that led to him missing an Apple Card payment and Apple then opting to freeze his Apple ID, leading to fears that missing an ‌Apple Card‌ payment could cause Apple to lock an ‌Apple ID‌.

In a statement provided today to 9to5Mac, Apple said that's not the case and clarified what had happened in Curtis' specific situation.

We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience we may have caused for this customer. The issue in question involved a restriction on the customer's Apple ID that disabled App Store and iTunes purchases and subscription services, excluding iCloud. Apple provided an instant credit for the purchase of a new MacBook Pro, and as part of that agreement, the customer was to return their current unit to us. No matter what payment method was used, the ability to transact on the associated Apple ID was disabled because Apple could not collect funds. This is entirely unrelated to Apple Card.

Apple Card and the ‌Apple ID‌ are not linked in a way that would allow the ‌Apple ID‌ to be disabled in the event of a missed payment, and there was a trade-in issue that led to Curtis' problem. He purchased an M1 Mac and at that time, opted to trade-in an older Mac, getting an instant discount.

Curtis says that Apple did not send him the trade-in box for his older Mac and he forgot about it, so he essentially got the trade-in discount without providing the Mac back to Apple. He overlooked several emails from Apple and investigated only when his ‌Apple ID‌ became locked.

The ‌Apple Card‌ was involved because Curtis made the purchase with an ‌Apple Card‌, but when Apple went to charge Curtis for the full amount of the ‌M1‌ Mac, it could not get payment, leading to the ‌Apple ID‌ freeze.

Apple will freeze an ‌Apple ID‌ for a trade-in that goes south. In this case, Curtis received a discount on his ‌M1‌ Mac without sending in his older Mac, and because Apple was unable to collect the full payment for the ‌M1‌ Mac, the ‌Apple ID‌ was restricted until Curtis paid in full.

Customers who have an ‌Apple Card‌ and miss a payment do not need to worry about having their Apple IDs frozen in the same manner.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 14.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta software coming two weeks after Apple released the second tvOS 14.5 beta.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV, the tvOS 14.5 developer beta can be downloaded onto the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ via a profile that's installed using Xcode.

tvOS 14.5 brings support for the latest PlayStation 5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers, which can be used to play games from the tvOS App Store and Apple Arcade.

Support for the new controllers has also been included in iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, so the latest gaming controller options from Sony and Microsoft are now compatible with Apple's product lineup.

We don't yet know if there's anything else included in tvOS 14.5 in terms of features because tvOS updates are often minor in scale, but the release of tvOS will see Apple begin enforcing its new App Tracking Transparency rules, with developers now required to ask for and receive a user's permission to access their random advertising identifier (known as the IDFA) to track user activity across apps and websites for ad customization purposes.

Going forward, when an app wants to access a person's advertising identifier on tvOS, users will have a prompt with options to "Allow Tracking" or "Ask App Not to Track." Selecting "Ask App Not to Track" will prevent the app's developer from accessing the user's IDFA, and developers will also have to respect the user's tracking preference and refrain from using other invasive cross-app tracking methods.

The main tvOS 14 update released in September brought expanded Picture in Picture support, new HomeKit integration with HomeKit Secure Video cameras, support for multiple ‌Apple Arcade‌ profiles, and more, with details available in our tvOS 14 roundup.

As of today, YouTube has stopped supporting the YouTube app on third-generation Apple TV models, which means the YouTube channel is no longer available as a native option for watching YouTube on this ‌Apple TV‌ model.

Now that the app is defunct, third-generation ‌Apple TV‌ users will need to AirPlay YouTube content from a compatible Apple device like an iPhone or iPad to watch YouTube on the big screen.

The app's removal is limited to the third-generation ‌Apple TV‌ models. YouTube stopped supporting the second-generation ‌Apple TV‌ models back in 2015. The fourth and fifth-generation ‌Apple TV‌ models are not impacted as they have access to the tvOS App Store and the tvOS YouTube app.

• How to Watch YouTube on a Third-Generation Apple TV

Various app developers have slowly been phasing out support for the third-generation ‌Apple TV‌. In May 2020, HBO's apps were removed, and last week, the MLB app was pulled.

Those who have a third-generation ‌Apple TV‌ that are thinking of upgrading might want to hold off, as there is a refresh rumored to be coming later this year.

The new ‌Apple TV‌ is expected to feature a faster processor and more storage space, plus there could be a new remote control and U1 chip integration to allow it to better interface with other Apple devices. There could also be a gaming focus, with Apple rumored to be working on hardware that would support console-level games.

Apple this week introduced a new service that's designed to make it quick and easy for iCloud users to transfer their stored photos and videos to Google Photos.

As outlined in an Apple support document, you can go to Apple's privacy website and sign in to see the "Transfer a copy of your data" option. If you select this and go through all the steps, Apple will transfer your ‌iCloud‌ photos and videos to Google ‌Photos‌.

Transferring photos and videos from iCloud Photos does not remove the content you have stored with Apple, but it provides a backup method and stores a copy of the content on Google ‌Photos‌.

The transfer process takes between three and seven days, with Apple verifying that the request was made by you. To do the transfer, you must have two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple ID account and you must have a Google ‌Photos‌ account with enough storage to complete the transfer.

Smart Albums, Live Photos, photo stream content, some metadata, and some RAW photos are not able to be transferred, but formats including .jpg, .png, .webp, .gif, some RAW files, .mpg, .mod, .mmv, .tod, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .divx, .mov, .m4v, .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .m2t, .m2ts, .mts, and .mkv are compatible.

Only the most recent edit of a photo is transferred rather than the original version, and duplicates appear as just one photo. Images are transferred in their albums whenever possible, but videos are transferred separately.

Apple's transfer service is available to customers in Australia, Canada, the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States at this time.

The Arizona House of Representatives today passed HB2005, a state bill that would provide developers with an alternative to Google and Apple's in-app purchase options by allowing developers to use their own payment solutions within apps.

Last week, the Arizona House Committee advanced the bill, and now it has also been approved by the House of Representatives. It will next be heard by the Arizona Senate.

Apple and Google have been lobbying aggressively against the bill for weeks now because it would let developers use third-party payment options to avoid the 15 to 30 percent cut that Apple takes from app purchases an in-app payments.

In a hearing last week, Apple chief compliance officer Kyle Andeer called HB2005 a "government mandate that Apple give away the App Store."

"This would allow billion-dollar developers to take all of the app store's value for free, even if they're selling digital goods, even if they're making millions or billions of dollars doing it. The bill is a government mandate that Apple give away the app store."

Apple last month successfully fought back against a similar bill in North Dakota, which would have paved the way for third-party app store options.

Like the North Dakota bill, the Arizona bill was backed by the Coalition for App Fairness, a group that includes companies like Epic Games, Spotify, Basecamp, and Tile, all of whom have had significant issues with Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules. There's a similar bill in Minnesota that Apple is also battling against.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

When the iPhone first launched in 2007, then Apple CEO Steve Jobs had no plans to allow developers to create native apps for the ‌iPhone‌, instead suggesting they rely on web apps. Developers weren't happy with the decision, and by October 2007, Apple decided that it would make a software developer kit and a full App Store available to developers by February 2008.

In the lead up to the launch of native ‌iPhone‌ apps, popular music streaming app Pandora was growing rapidly and was eager to be the first to get an app on the ‌iPhone‌ by any means necessary, according to an in-depth look at Pandora's history shared today by Vice's Tyler Hayes.

Ahead of the ‌iPhone‌'s debut, Pandora had been working to get its streaming radio service on flip phones with carriers like Sprint and AT&T, an effort that wasn't particularly successful. Once the ‌iPhone‌ was announced, Pandora knew it was the new big "music player" device and the company's mobile development resources needed to be focused on the ‌iPhone‌.

Then Apple Senior Vice President Scott Forstall invited Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren and his CTO, Tom Conrad, to lunch in Cupertino. After an hours-long talk over what Pandora had learned putting streaming audio apps on flip phones, Conrad asked Forstall what Pandora could do to get a head start on a mobile app. Forstall's response was surprising - jailbreak an ‌iPhone‌.

"What, if anything, can we do at Pandora to get ready for the next generation of iPhone that includes an app store and native APIs?" asked Conrad. "Forstall said, it wouldn't be a waste of your time to jailbreak some iPhones and use the kind of back door toolkits that were being distributed by other people to build a native Pandora app while we get our act together at Apple on something more formal."

Pandora's engineers did just what Forstall suggested, jailbreaking a series of iPhones and getting to work on a Pandora ‌iPhone‌ app ahead of when Apple released official support for native apps. When the ‌App Store‌ launched in 2008, Pandora was the first radio app that was available, and the work paid off - nine months later, Pandora was installed on 21 percent of iPhones.

The full Vice piece from Tyler Hayes is well worth a read for those who are interested in Pandora's early days, early battles over royalty rates, and its efforts to remain relevant as music services like Spotify and Apple Music dominate the market.

Apple today seeded the third betas of new iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 updates to public beta testers, with the new betas coming two weeks after the release of the second betas and just a day after Apple provided the third beta software to developers.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS and iPadOS‌ 14.5 updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website on an iOS device.

iOS 14.5 adds a new feature that lets you unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch when you're wearing a mask, alleviating the need to use a passcode to get into an ‌iPhone‌ with Face ID when you have a mask on. Using this feature requires both iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4, and it is opt-in. It can be activated in the Settings app under ‌Face ID‌ & Passcode.

Dual-SIM 5G support is now available globally on ‌iPhone‌ 12 devices, so if you have more than one phone number associated with your ‌iPhone‌, both lines can now take advantage of 5G networks. Previously, Dual-SIM functionality was limited to LTE in all countries except for China.

With iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and watchOS 7.4, AirPlay 2 support is available for Apple Fitness+, which lets a workout played on the ‌iPhone‌ or the iPad to be AirPlayed to an ‌AirPlay‌ 2-compatible smart TV or set-top box.

The latest PlayStation 5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers are compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ and the ‌iPad‌ after updating, and there's a new feature that lets Siri make an emergency call for you.

iOS 14.5 includes a Waze-like crowdsourcing feature for reporting accidents, hazards, and speed checks along a route in Maps when getting directions.

There's a new "Report" button available in the Apple Maps app that lets you tap to report an accident, hazard, or speed trap at your location in the ‌Apple Maps‌ app, which is a feature that mapping app Waze offers. This is available directly on the ‌iPhone‌ and in CarPlay.

iOS and iPadOS 14.5 add a new feature for choosing a default streaming music service to use with ‌Siri‌. So if you prefer Spotify over Apple Music, for example, you can now choose Spotify as the default app to use with ‌Siri‌ and all ‌Siri‌ song requests will go through Spotify without the need to add "on Spotify" to the end of ‌Siri‌ requests.

Though not in the update as of yet, iOS 14.5 has code that suggests Apple is adding Family Sharing functionality for the Apple Card, allowing multiple users to share a single card. iOS 14.5 is the update where Apple will officially enable App Tracking Transparency, so developers will need to ask for and receive a user's permission to track their activity across apps and websites for ad targeting purposes.

There are new emoji characters, new Shortcuts, ‌Apple Music‌ tweaks, and more, with a full list of changes coming in iOS 14.5 available in our iOS 14.5 guide.

The iOS 14.5 beta addresses the green tint issue that some ‌iPhone‌ owners have been experiencing, with Apple confirming that the beta has "optimizations" to help with the issue.

"iOS and iPadOS 14.5 beta 2 includes an optimization to reduce the appearance of a dim glow that might appear at reduced brightness levels with black backgrounds," reads Apple's iOS 14.5 beta notes.

Some ‌iPhone‌ 11 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 models exhibit a gray or green glow when viewing black backgrounds, an issue that Apple said it was investigating back in November. For some users, there are improvements thanks to the optimizations, but for others, the issue still appears to exist, so Apple may have some further work to do.

Apple has said that iOS 14.5 will be released to the public in the early spring, so we can expect to see a launch at some point in March, with the spring season officially starting on March 20. Apple has also seeded a new beta of tvOS 14.5 to fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV users who are signed up for the public beta.