Apple and Amazon are set to face antitrust scrutiny in Germany over a policy that forbids independent sellers from retailing Apple products on Amazon, Bloomberg reports.
Germany's antitrust regulator, the Federal Cartel Office, has launched a probe into Apple and Amazon over the policy of "brandgating." The policy allows the makers of branded products, such as the iPhone, to have independent sellers removed from the retail platform, providing Amazon can sell the items instead.
"Brandgating agreements can help to protect against product piracy," the Cartel Office said in a statement. "But such measures must be proportionate to be in line with antitrust rules and may not result in eliminating competition."
Amazon responded, saying it never removes the sales permissions of sellers without sound reasons, and it invests heavily to protect customers from the illegal distribution of goods. The company has agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
The Cartel Office said that Apple is a "prominent" example of how Amazon conducts brandgating, which can purportedly take various forms. Amazon has only permitted Apple authorized vendors to sell Apple products on its platform since 2019. Amazon simultaneously became an Apple authorized vendor.
"The safety of our customers is our first priority, and our teams are constantly working with law enforcement, resellers, and e-commerce sites around the world to remove counterfeit products from the market," Apple said in a statement. "We work with Amazon to protect our customers from counterfeit products and provide confidence they are receiving a genuine Apple product out of the box."
The two companies have been investigated for similar accusations in the past, such as allegedly blocking the sale of Apple and Beats devices from resellers in order to stifle competition and fix prices.
Apple and Amazon are among the big tech companies under scrutiny around the world, particularly in the European Union, where a new Digital Services Act is poised to hit big tech with wide-reaching regulations.
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.
Apple Maps now provides transit directions in many populous regions of Italy, expanding upon existing support in Rome. The feature can be accessed by selecting the Transit tab or button in Apple Maps on iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch.
Supported modes of transportation include trains, buses, trams, and more in and between cities such as Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Genoa, Florence, and Venice.
Google Maps has supported transit directions for several years now, but Apple Maps is steadily catching up with detailed routing information. Apple maintains a list of regions where transit directions are available on its website.
Amazon is back today with a discount on Apple's brand new iPad Air. You can purchase the 64GB Wi-Fi model for $559.00, down from $599.00. This same deal appeared before the tablet even launched last week, and disappeared fast, so be sure to head to Amazon soon if you're interested.
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.
This sale price is only available in the silver and green colors, and the tablet won't ship for between two to four weeks due to high demand. Still, if you order today you can lock in the $40 discount price and Amazon will ship the tablet once it's available in November.
The iPad Air was announced last month, and it has an edge-to-edge 10.9-inch display, Touch ID power button, a brand-new A14 Bionic chip, new color options, and more. For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.
Analysts for Morgan Stanley have said that air quality reports in some Chinese cities suggest an increase in industrial activity linked to iPhone 12 demand (via CNBC).
Morgan Stanley analysts led by Katy Huberty used tracked air quality data from cities such as Zhengzhou, which is a major production location for Apple, to aid iPhone 12 sales projections.
Using air quality data from a non-profit platform that collects and publishes air quality data in China, we track nitrogen dioxide levels (controlling for temperature, humidity, wind, etc.), which, according to the European Space Agency, is a first-level indicator of industrial activity, in four Chinese cities where Apple's manufacturing partners have a large manufacturing presence.
As of October 26th, air quality data from Zhengzhou, also known as "iPhone City," shows that industrial production levels have spiked higher recently, about a month later than historical seasonality, which we believe coincides with the ramp in iPhone 12 mass production.
In the city of Shenzhen, Morgan Stanley believes industrial production first spiked in early September, but remained below its usual levels for the same time last year. In Chengdu, the analysts found that industrial activity has increased in recent days. Likewise, in Chongqing, industrial production has ramped significantly higher in recent days, after an initial uptick and pullback in September.
The data suggests that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro is performing better than expected since Apple appears to be increasing orders. Earlier today, a DigiTimes report speculated that demand for iPhone 12 Pro has been so strong among consumers that Apple's delivery lead time from manufacturers has had to be extended.
Apple is set to report its fourth fiscal quarter earnings later today, although since this reporting period ends in September, it will not include iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro sales.
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.
Demand for iPhone 12 Pro has been so strong among consumers that Apple's delivery lead time from manufacturers has had to be extended, according to Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes.
As a result of increased demand for iPhone 12 Pro, particularly in the U.S., Apple is reportedly set to increase its orders of VCSEL chips for the LiDAR scanners that feature in the model.
Apple is placing more orders for VCSEL chips as delivery lead-time for pre-orders of the iPhone 12 Pro has now extended to 2-3 weeks compared 2-3 days for the iPhone 12, said the sources.
The popularity for the Pro model appears to have caught Apple by surprise, as the company had reportedly prepared more stocks for the more affordable iPhone 12 on the assumption that demand would be higher for the entry-level 6.1-inch model.
Based on the sales of iPhone 12 Pro, some supply chain manufacturers are now said to be confident that demand momentum for VCSEL chips as well as Face ID 3D sensors will continue for a while after Apple starts shipping the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max on Friday, November 13.
Taiwan-based GaAs foundry Win Semiconductor, which is reportedly engaged in production of VCSEL chips for the iPhone 12 Pro, now says its business prospects for the fourth-quarter 2020 will be brighter than those seen in the previous quarter, thanks to the strong demand.
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro became available for pre-order on Friday, October 16 with a launch following on Friday, October 23. The iPhone 12 is priced starting at $799 for 64GB of storage, with 128 and 256GB available for an extra fee. Meanwhile the Pro model is priced starting at $999 for 128GB of storage, with 256 and 512GB of storage available for $1,099 or $1,299, respectively.
With the end of the year approaching, we're getting closer to the launch of the first Mac with an Apple Silicon chip. Apple has been allowing Mac developers to prepare for the transition to Apple Silicon through the Universal Quick Start Program, and now Apple is sending invites to testers to invite them to get one-on-one code-level guidance from an Apple engineer.
Participants in the Quick Start Program, which provided developers with a loaner Mac mini equipped with an A12Z chip and resources for developing Apple Silicon apps, can now sign up for an appointment with an Apple engineer.
Apple is scheduling lab appointments for November 4 and November 5, which suggests that we could perhaps soon be seeing the launch of the first Apple Silicon Mac.
When announcing Apple Silicon Macs earlier this year, Apple promised the first Mac with an Apple-designed Arm-based chip would launch before the end of 2020. Events in September and October have come and gone with no announcements, but there is a possibility we'll see a November event that could be held on November 17.
Apple's iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max aren't set to be available until November 13, but a Romanian YouTuber got his hands on the iPhone 12 mini and showed it off today, offering a size comparison between the iPhone 12 and the 12 mini along with going over some of the device's features.
The iPhone 12 mini is identical to the iPhone 12 in design and functionality, but it has a 5.4-inch display size instead of a 6.1-inch display size and it has a smaller battery inside. All of the other features, including processor, camera setup, and 5G connectivity are the same.
The video is in Romanian and no subtitles are available, but it does offer a look at the iPhone 12 mini in hand so those planning to purchase can see it out in the real world.
Apple will begin accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 12 mini on Friday, November 6 at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time, with the first of those orders set to ship out on Friday, November 13.
Update: It appears that the original video has been removed from YouTube at this time, but a comparison photo is still embedded at the top of this article.
iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models boast a neat feature that allows you to measure the height of someone using just the Measure app and the iPhone's camera and LiDAR Scanner. This article and video shows you how.
The capability comes courtesy of the LiDAR scanner that's exclusive to Apple's Pro line of smartphones as well as iPad Pro models released in 2020 and later. LiDAR is intended for enhanced augmented reality experiences, but the measuring feature is just one unexpected yet highly practical advantage of the scanner.
Locate the person whose height you want to measure within the camera's viewfinder. They can be either seated or standing – just make sure their whole body is visible from head to toe within the frame.
Wait a moment, and a line should appear at the top of the person's head with their height measurement.
To take a photo of the measurement, tap the shutter button located immediately right of the central plus (+) button.
To save the photo, tap the screenshot in the bottom-left corner of the screen, tap Done, then choose Save to Photos or Save to Files.
To take the measurement again, simply turn your iPhone away for a moment to reset the height.
That's all there is to it. Note that you can switch the measurement between imperial and metric by going to Settings -> Measure, and selecting your preference under "Measure Units."
When Apple in October 2020 unveiled the iPhone 12 series – the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max – it revived the MagSafe brand to describe a brand-new magnetic charging system that's integrated into its latest handsets. All of the iPhone 12 models have a ring of magnets built into the back and surrounding a wireless charging coil that affixes the handsets to MagSafe-compatible accessories.
MagSafe accessories include Apple's own cases and chargers, but there are also an increasing number of third-party accessories that support MagSafe which are becoming available. In this regularly updated article, we round up all the current MagSafe options for iPhone 12 owners looking to take advantage of Apple's MagSafe technology. Read on to learn what's out there.
1. Apple MagSafe Charger
Apple unveiled this proprietary MagSafe Charger during its iPhone 12 event. Priced at $39, it comes with an integrated one-meter USB-C cable and charges iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro up to 15W, which is double the power outage of a standard Qi-based wireless charging pad, meaning it can charge twice as fast.
There are a couple of caveats to consider before buying Apple's MagSafe Charger though. For one, it doesn't come with a power adapter, and it only charges at a full 15W if you use it with Apple's own 20W power adapter, which will set you back another $19. Second, while it's technically compatible with older iPhones, it's not a good idea to get one if you don't intend to use it with iPhone 12, because the charging speed with non-iPhone 12 devices is so slow.
Following the announcement of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, Apple introduced a new collection of cases with built-in magnets for MagSafe, starting with this Silicone case. Priced at $49.00, it features a soft-touch finish and fits snugly over the volume buttons, side button and curves of the device without adding heft. Available for all iPhone 12 models in Plum, Deep Navy, Kumquat, Cyprus Green, Pink Citrus, White, Black, and (PRODUCT)RED.
Apple offers its traditional clear case with magnets built-in to align your device with a MagSafe charger. It comes with a scratch-resistant coating on the interior and the exterior, and only the magnets are hidden behind the circular white imprint on the back of the case so as not to conceal the color and look of your new iPhone 12. Costs $49.
Apple offers this leather Wallet with built-in magnets for MagSafe compatibility, priced at $59.00. It comes in Baltic Blue, California Poppy, Saddle Brown, and Black. It holds your ID and credit cards on the back of your iPhone 12, plus it's shielded so as to avoid affecting your bank cards.
Belkin's BOOST↑CHARGE PRO MagSafe 3-in-1 Wireless Charger includes a flat base with a 5-watt wireless charging spot for AirPods or AirPods Pro, and a chrome stand portion with two arms for charging an iPhone and an Apple Watch.
As with other MagSafe chargers, up to 15 watts of power can be delivered to an iPhone 12, which is twice that supported through regular Qi charging. Belkin says the 3-in-1 charger will be available "winter 2020" for $149.99, and it will come in black and white versions.
For traveling in your car, Belkin is introducing MagSafe Car Vent PRO, which offers a slim profile and multiple orientations to easily snap your iPhone into place.
The Car Vent PRO is just a mount and doesn't include any charging capabilities of its own, but Belkin says it offers convenient cable management in the back so your charging cable can be kept close at hand. As with the 3-in-1 desktop charger, the car mount will be available this winter, and will be priced at $39.95.
Otterbox was one of the first third-party manufacturers to announce iPhone 12 cases with MagSafe support. Priced at $49.95, the Figura case comes in several watercolor-inspired designs and each one is made from a soft-touch material for a comfortable grip.
Otterbox's Aneu series of slim cases for iPhone 12 come in more muted color options compared to the Figura, but they have raised screen bumpers with a grippy edge for added protection. Priced at $49.95. Available in Marsupial Beige/Teal, Pink Robin, Black Licorice, and Blue Heeler.
Like the Aneu and Figura, the Series+ from Otterbox are slim MagSafe-compatible cases, but they feature in addition a more protective design with DROP+ technology. They are also infused with a silver-based additive that blocks microbial growth and protects against common bacteria. The Series+ cases cost $59.95 and are available in Black, Navy Captain Blue, Spring Snow Beige, and Tea Petal Pink.
Apple unveiled MagSafe leather cases during its iPhone 12 event, and released them later in November on November 6. The new Leather cases are basically Apple's traditional offering with the addition of built-in MagSafe magnets, and they're priced at $59.
In addition to the MagSafe variant of its traditional leather iPhone case, Apple also launched a new Leather Sleeve for iPhone 12 that has a screen window for the time to show through. The Leather Sleeve is priced at $129.
Apple has also designed the MagSafe Duo Charger, which combines a MagSafe charger with an Apple Watch charging puck. The charger is foldable, making it ideal for travel, and costs $129.
The MagSafe Duo Charger is not able to charge an iPhone 12 at the full 15W. With Apple's 20W charger, the MagSafe Duo chargers at a maximum of 11W, and with a 27W or higher USB-C power adapter, it charges at up to 14W. The MagSafe Duo does not come with a power adapter and a charger must be purchased separately. Note that the 29W charger from Apple is not compatible, but the 30W version is.
The Rise Dock from Native Union is designed to house your Apple MagSafe charger, providing an upright platform for charging. It's weighty so it'll keep the dock on your desk, and it's handy for providing a useful viewing angle for FaceTiming, watching videos, and more.
Native Union's Clic Canvas iPhone cases, priced at $40, are stylish and protective, with MagSafe compatibility so you can use them with Apple's MagSafe charger. The cases come in black or a sage green colorway.
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.
Apple has renewedApple TV+ show "Ted Lasso" for a third season due to its popularity with both viewers and critics. According to Apple, critics have called the series "terrific," "hilarious," "heart-swelling" and "infectious," with the show earning an 86 percent on ratings site Rotten Tomatoes.
"Ted Lasso" is a comedy series that stars actor and Saturday Night Live alumnus Jason Sudeikis. Sudeikis originally played the Ted Lasso character for the 2013 NBC Sports English Premier League coverage.
The Apple TV+ series revives the original Ted Lasso character, with Sudeikis playing a small-time college football coach from Kansas who's hired to coach a professional soccer team in England even though he has no experience coaching soccer.
Apple renewed "Ted Lasso" for a second season just a week after the series initially premiered, and 10 episodes of the first season are now available. The second season, which will also include 10 episodes, is set to begin filming in London in early January.
A few years ago, Eight Sleep launched its first iPhone-connected mattress called "The Pod." The central feature of this bed is that it allows you to adjust the temperature of the mattress from your iPhone (or Android smartphone), accomplished through hydro-cooling technology that disperses water through a small grid on the surface of the mattress.
This year, the company updated its original mattress with the launch of the "Pod Pro." This version, which I've been testing for the past month, has a new Comfort Blend foam topper for enhanced contouring and pressure point relief, new ambient sensors that can measure the temperature and humidity of a bedroom to adjust bed temperature, and a few other added features.
According to Eight Sleep, being able to choose whether your bed is cool or warm is a major advantage to achieving quality sleep. Undoubtedly, if you are either a warm or cold sleeper, having the ability to open your iPhone and instantly cool or warm your mattress should be very enticing. As a person who has always slept very hot with barely any covers, I've come to appreciate the Pod Pro's cooling features over the past few weeks, but as with most connected smart products, there are some annoying hiccups with the experience.
Design and Setup
The Pod Pro comes packaged like most other mattress-in-a-box products, but the smart features add more steps to the setup process. There are three total pieces to the Pod Pro: the foam mattress (made up of five layers of CertiPUR-US-certified foam), the Active Grid cover, and the hub.
First, you'll unroll the foam mattress and let it expand over your bed frame, followed by zipping the Active Grid cover onto the top of the foam. This Active Grid also comes with an additional layer of foam in the Pod Pro, called the "Comfort Blend" layer. One of the biggest complaints of the original Pod mattress was being able to detect the Active Grid underneath your body as you laid on the mattress, so this Comfort Blend layer of foam helps alleviate that issue somewhat.
With the mattress rolled out and the Active Grid zipped up on top, setup is continued by connecting a hose that extends from the top of the mattress to the hub, which houses the central technology of the Pod Pro. Given the hose's length, the hub can essentially only be in two locations: to the immediate left or right of your bed.
Finally, setup is finished by turning on the hub, filling the reservoir with water (and a little hydrogen peroxide), and syncing it with the Eight Sleep app on iOS or Android. This is where I ran into my first major issue with the Pod Pro. I placed the hub on the far side of my room, to the left of my bed, and this was too far from my router in the living room. I have a mesh network, with a node in my bedroom, and have never had any issues with other networked devices in my apartment (which is about 1,000 sq ft).
At first, I moved the hub to the right side of my bed, closer to the entrance to my bedroom, and it connected. Although the hub isn't exactly large, it still looked strange to see what looks like a computer tower sitting next to my bedside table when you walked into the room, which is why I preferred to have it a bit more hidden on the far side of my bed.
The Hub and connecting hose
To troubleshoot this issue, I moved my bedroom mesh node to the far side of the room and returned the hub to the hidden area on the left of my bed where I had it originally placed. Placing the node closer to the hub still didn't help connect it to my network, so I forced my mesh network to give the Pod Pro bandwidth priority.
Only after this did the Pod Pro find a stable connection, and everything has been connected and working well since I made this change. If you're interested in the Pod Pro, you should be aware of the signal strength you have in your bedroom, whether you have a mesh network, and whether your mesh device lets you create a priority for individual devices (if you're far away from the router).
If the position to the left or right of your bed doesn't work and you can't connect the hub to your network, you won't be able to control the mattress from your iPhone. Since that's the only way to control the Pod Pro (there is no screen or any buttons on the hub, just a simple on/off switch and status indicator light), the quality of your network connection is extremely important.
Eight Sleep App
Thankfully, the day-to-day experience with the Eight Sleep Pod Pro causes far less friction. The app opens up to the temperature control screen, where you choose four time intervals for temperature change across the night: bedtime, initial, final, and wake up. Once your bedtime and wake time are set, the Pod Pro will automatically turn on at nighttime and off when you wake up.
Temperature settings aren't measured in degrees, and instead use a 10-point scale: -10 for extremely cold to -1 for cool, 0 for neutral, +1 for warm to +10 for extremely hot. The actual range for these temperatures is 55-110°F. In my experience, these "extremes" are essentially useless, and I never ventured past +2 or -2 temps, with my average actually being a consistent -1 throughout the entire night for sleeping cool.
Eight Sleep provides some guidance on what settings you might find best
The first tab also lets you set a morning alarm, which has turned into my favorite feature of the Pod Pro. There are two alarm styles: waking up via temperature change or via subtle vibration. You can set the Pod Pro to either become colder or hotter to nudge you from sleep, but I've come to use the vibration feature far more often.
This feature gives you another 10-point scale to choose from, with 1 being a subtle vibration and 10 being a more noticeable vibration. Upon the time of your choosing, the Pod Pro vibrates at chest level to wake you up, and the app sends a notification to your phone, from which you can hit a snooze button to extend your sleep by intervals of eight minutes. I love this way of waking up, as it feels more natural and far less irritating than a traditional noisy alarm.
The meat of the Eight Sleep app lies in the second tab, which compiles all of your sleep tracking data. This includes time slept, wake up consistency, time to fall asleep, time to leave bed, the full timeline of your sleep, tosses and turns, heart rate, respiratory rate, and sleep stages.
If you're into sleep tracking, having a dedicated mattress directly monitoring and tracking your sleep can be really helpful. There's less room for error than adding a sleep tracker under your mattress (like Withings Sleep or Beddit) or from a wearable (like the new Apple Watch sleep tracking features).
Because of this, I've found Eight Sleep's sleep tracking data to be very accurate, for most types of data. In particular, the measurements for time slept, wake up consistency, time to fall asleep, and my in-bed timeline were consistently correct as I monitored them week-by-week.
In regards to the less accurate data points, there are simply things that in-home sleep tracking can't do well, no matter the quality of the product. Namely, the sleep stages and REM tracking features aren't a reliable or accurate representation of what my night's sleep looks like. Without professional equipment, no smart home devices can really do this accurately yet, so it's not a specific flaw of Eight Sleep, but it is cool to look at as long as you remember it's not scientific data. Additionally, the measurement for the time it takes me to leave the bed has never been accurate, and I am prone to snoozing my alarm and staying in bed after I wake up.
Also, if you enjoy reading or watching TV in your bed before you go to sleep, expect some incorrect data readings the next day, and lower sleep fitness scores because of it. It'd be nice if I could tell the Pod Pro that I'm in my bed but not trying to sleep, but as of yet the mattress simply registers all data as sleep data.
All of these pieces of data are compiled and generated into a daily "Sleep Fitness" score, on a 100-point scale. Certain sleep categories are weighted far more heavily than others, with sleep time consistency making one of the most important categories. This means that Eight Sleep wants you to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, so my weekend Sleep Fitness scores were always far lower, because I always stay up later on these days.
Eight Sleep also takes into account where your strengths and weaknesses are, and some days will push out personalized data snippets to give you an idea of where you could use some help. For example, one day the app told me I had gone to sleep 46 percent faster on average the past week, while another day it told me I was tossing and turning more often that week.
One of my favorite snippets came after a particularly stressful day; upon waking up the next day, the Eight Sleep app notified me that my heart rate variability was below my typical average, "indicating that your body was responding to or recovering from stress." I wasn't expecting the app to call me out on what was in reality a poor night's sleep after a hard day, so it was interesting to be made aware of that.
Of course, the entire purpose of sleep tracking is to try to take measures to address any issues you might have. In this regard, Eight Sleep isn't all that different from most other sleep tracking companies. If you toss and turn a lot, the app will prompt you to visit the right-most tab for meditation, breathing, and listening practices aimed at soothing your mind before bed. If your sleep schedule is wonky, Eight Sleep will suggest adjusting your bedtime or wake-up time.
Weekly, monthly, and yearly charts show your sleep trends over time
In general, being shown how well or how poorly you sleep could be a good enough reason to start tracking your sleep, even if the methods Eight Sleep provides to solve these issues aren't exactly as in-depth as the actual tracking.
As a note on the overall reliability and speed of the app, Eight Sleep excelled. The app is nice to look at and easy to understand, even with all of the data thrown at you each day. Temperature controls are simple and reactive, and the dark hues of the design are also welcome, considering you'll most often be opening it while in bed.
There was only one instance when I was unable to access the controls of the mattress when I wanted to, and I'm still unsure what caused the issue. My Internet was performing normally, and the app wasn't showing me the typical connection issue, but was barring me from entering the app at all, so it appears to have been a direct Eight Sleep issue. This happened as I was trying to go to bed, but thankfully the mattress still remembered to cool to my desired temperature, so it didn't completely hamper the usefulness of the Pod Pro.
Sleep Comfort
Determining the comfort of a mattress is a personal experience, but I will say that the Eight Sleep Pod Pro has provided me with a very comfortable few weeks of sleep over the past month. Eight Sleep describes it as medium-firm (the only option available), and there's definitely a bit of give in the top layer of foam, making it good for side and back sleepers.
Despite the Pod Pro including more foam to cover up the Active Grid, I did still feel it, which was weird on the first few nights but I did eventually get used to it and essentially forgot that it was there.
In regards to the temperature features, in just under a month I've already grown accustomed to having a cool surface under me as I sleep. In the past I've had to resort to pushing my duvet to the other side of the bed and sleeping under thin sheets to hit a cool temperature, so simply having my bed cool for me ahead of bedtime is fantastic.
Bottom Line
The Pod Pro is expensive. The model I tested (queen size) is normally priced at $3,095, although there are frequent sales and discounts. The full size is $2,795 and the king rises to $3,495. In terms of modern mattress-in-a-box options, this is on the high end. Purple's mattresses max out at $2,000, while Casper has a few options that reach the $3,000 mark.
Of course, if you want an all-around good mattress, spending about $1,000 or more is expected. The Pod Pro's price spikes because of its connected and temperature control features, which are essentially unrivaled at this time. Purple offers a mattress that has increased airflow thanks to its unique grid design, and TempurPedic sells a mattress that boasts cooler surface temperatures, the Tempur-Breeze, and it starts at $4,000. But no other mattress actively cools or heats as you sleep like Eight Sleep.
There are other factors to consider as well, like a limited two-year warranty on the hub (the mattress itself has a 10-year warranty), and understandable concern over what will happen if you have issues with the hub's technology. Given I only had a month to test, I can't comment on the Pod Pro's longevity and life span.
If you're a hot or cold sleeper who thinks they could benefit from subtly controlling the temperature of the surface of your mattress, the luxury of the Pod Pro is worth looking into. That being said, emphasis should be put on the luxury of the mattress, and for anyone who simply wants a quality mattress for sound sleep, and cares less about iPhone-connected features, should look elsewhere.
Apple today seeded a new macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 beta to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta replacing the existing macOS Big Sur 11 beta 10 update that was released two weeks ago.
The macOS Big Sur beta can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center and once the appropriate profile is installed, subsequent betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences. It is unclear why Apple has released a new beta rather than continuing on and releasing macOS Big Sur 11 beta 11.
macOS Big Sur introduces a refreshed design to the Mac operating system, overhauling the entire look from the curvature of the window corners to the dock icons to the system sounds. Everything features a lighter and more modern appearance. There's a new customizable Control Center that mirrors the Control Center on iOS devices, putting key system controls right at your fingertips.
The Notification Center has been redesigned with iOS-style widgets that are available in multiple sizes, plus there are more interactive notifications that are now grouped by app to make it easier to see what's going on. Safari is faster and more battery efficient, plus there's a new start page that can be customized with wallpapers and sections that include Reading List and iCloud Tabs, which makes Safari more tailored to your individual usage needs.
Tabs now support webpage previews, there's a built-in language translation feature, Chrome and Firefox Extensions can be ported to Safari, and YouTube supports 4K video playback. There's also an option to choose which sites an extension works with for greater privacy. Speaking of privacy, a new Privacy Report feature lets users know the trackers Safari is blocking when you visit websites.
Messages has been brought in line with the Messages app on iOS with support for pinned conversations, mentions, inline replies, and Memoji creation, plus the built-in search feature has been overhauled to make it easier to find links, photos, and conversations in the app.
Apple redesigned the Maps app to add support for Look Around, indoor maps, and Guides, which are lists of notable attractions, restaurants, and more created by trusted sources. Maps can also be used to generate directions for cycling routes and electric vehicle trips that can be sent to iPhone, and shared ETA updates are now viewable on the Mac.
For more on everything that's new in macOS Big Sur, make sure to check out our roundup.
Update: The macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 beta is also available for public beta testers.
Apple today announced a major update to its video creation app Clips for iPhone and iPad, with key new features including a refreshed interface, support for both vertical and horizontal video, HDR recording with iPhone 12, and more.
Clips 3.0, available today on the App Store, features a streamlined interface with faster access to effects. On the iPad, Clips now supports landscape orientation, Scribble with Apple Pencil, and the use of a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad. The new version of the app also lets users make videos in multiple aspect ratios, including horizontal and vertical.
Clips on iPhone automatically opens to a new 16:9 vertical project, while on the iPad it opens to a new 4:3 landscape project.
Clips 3.0 has been optimized for HDR video recording using the rear cameras on all iPhone 12 models, resulting in higher contrast and more vibrant colors. These videos can be augmented with eight new stickers, six additional arrows and shapes, and 25 new soundtracks that automatically adjust to match the length of videos.
Starting early next year, iOS 14 will require apps to get opt-in permission from users to collect their random advertising identifier, which advertisers use to deliver personalized ads and track how effective their campaigns were.
Ahead of this change, The Wall Street Journal reports that advertising companies and publishers have filed a complaint against Apple with France's competition authority, arguing that the enhanced privacy measures would be anticompetitive.
According to the report, the complaint alleges that the wording of Apple's permission prompt will lead most users to decline tracking of their device's advertising identifier, which could result in lost revenue. In August, Facebook warned advertisers that the prompt could lead to a more than 50 percent drop in Audience Network publisher revenue.
In a statement, Apple reiterated its belief that "privacy is a fundamental right," adding that "a user's data belongs to them and they should get to decide whether to share their data and with whom." Apple said that its own data collection doesn't count as tracking because it doesn't share the data with other companies.
Apple already delayed the introduction of the prompt until early 2021 to provide developers with more time to make the necessary changes. In a statement in September, Apple said the prompt will be displayed on an app-by-app basis:
We believe technology should protect users' fundamental right to privacy, and that means giving users tools to understand which apps and websites may be sharing their data with other companies for advertising or advertising measurement purposes, as well as the tools to revoke permission for this tracking. When enabled, a system prompt will give users the ability to allow or reject that tracking on an app-by-app basis. We want to give developers the time they need to make the necessary changes, and as a result, the requirement to use this tracking permission will go into effect early next year.
In the meantime, users who do not want apps to be able to access their device's advertising identifier can go to Settings > Privacy > Tracking and toggle off Allow Apps to Request to Track.
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.
Warp Speed features an innovative teleport gameplay mechanic that allows players to instantly traverse the racetrack to find shortcuts and hidden routes.
The warp teleport feature is fundamental to how the game operates, allowing players to easily jump enormous gaps, drive upside down, and overtake opponents in unexpected ways. Players can creatively plan a unique route, optimize their shortcut selection, and chain together pickups to be the fastest.
Drive on the ceiling, jump huge canyons and race up waterfalls in an epic inverted racing battle!
Compete in a series of dynamically generated tournaments, with random options providing a different experience every time you play! Upgrade your car between races, gradually adding more capabilities to Drift, Boost, or Warp your way to victory. Follow the advice of your outspoken manager, Lenny, or just ignore whatever he says... what do aliens know about racing, anyway?!
With a series of high-speed tournaments, a 2D art-style, and creative driving abilities, Warp Drive aims to offer a new racing game experience.
Although the exact release date is not yet known, Warp Drive is set to come to Apple Arcade in the near future.
iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models feature a new Ceramic Shield front cover that is "tougher than any smartphone glass," according to Apple, but the displays on the devices still have similar scratch resistance as previous iPhones based on a new test.
Zack Nelson today shared his much-anticipated iPhone 12 Pro durability test on his YouTube channel JerryRigEverything, and based on the Mohs hardness scale, he found that the device's display is "still scratching at a level six, with deeper grooves at a level seven," in line with dozens of other smartphones he has tested over the years.
Nelson did find that the scratches with the level six Mohs pick appear to be slightly fainter compared to previous iPhones, but there is no dramatic improvement.
JerryRigEverything's results differ from a similar test by YouTube channel MobileReviewsEh, which found that the iPhone 12 stood up to the six point and saw some faint scratches with the seven point on the Mohs hardness scale.
In fairness to Apple, it advertises the Ceramic Shield as providing 4x the drop performance, rather than improved scratch resistance. Earlier this week, insurance company Allstate conducted a series of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro drop tests and found that the devices are indeed more durable than the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro in similar tests.
Insta360, known for its line of cameras that are able to capture 360-degree photos and videos, today announced the launch of the next-generation Insta360 ONE X2, a followup to the Insta360 ONE X.
The Insta360 ONE X2 features the same familiar rectangular shape with 360-degree lens, but there are several additions, including a small preview screen that lets you see what the camera sees while also offering touch gestures.
The ONE X2 captures 5.7K 360-degree video, there's a larger 1630mAh battery, four microphones for better voice capture, and IPX8 waterproofing, so it can be used for capturing underwater content.
There are multiple shooting modes, including 360, Steady Cam for making flat videos, InstaPano for creating panoramas, and MultiView for displaying two angles at once. 360-degree video can also be edited using the Insta360 iPhone app to pull out the most interesting parts of videos.
FlowState stabilization is designed to keep the Insta360 ONE X2 steady, with new stabilization and horizon leveling algorithms for smooth video even without a gimbal. Like prior Insta360 cameras, the ONE X2 comes with a selfie stick that the Insta360 intelligently edits out.
Other features include built-in app templates for adding cinematic video effects, subject tracking, AI-based video recommendations, and TimeShift hyperlapse videos where playback is adjusted.
As the European Union increasingly targets big tech companies, top antitrust enforcer Margrethe Vestager has warned against the structural break up of big tech companies (via The Information).
The comments were somewhat surprising, as Vestager has aggressively pursued antitrust investigations against the likes of Apple, Google, and Amazon in recent years. For example, it was Vestager who led the EU's appeal against a court ruling that overturned its demand that Apple pay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in tax to the Irish government.
During a debate on the future of internet regulation within the EU, she cautioned that although it would be "doable" to force a breakup of big tech companies under current EU law, it could lead to a range of unintended consequences. Foremost among these, she said, are potentially lengthy court battles between European regulators and the tech companies themselves.
"I don't think it is something that should be introduced in this legislation and I think one should be very careful with that type of remedy because one should be very sure how it would actually work," Vestager said. "It would tie you up in court for a very very long time. I think it's important we try these routes first with the platforms."
Vestager is among the top European bureaucrats currently drafting the wide-reaching Digital Services Act. The legislation is set to bring a range of aggressive regulations on big tech companies, such as obligations to share data with competitors and give no preference to a company's own apps and services.
The comments have put Vestager at odds with many other senior European officials, including EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who have strongly hinted at their desire to force a break up of big tech companies under certain circumstances.
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.
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.
