MacRumors

ProtonVPN, a popular VPN choice for iOS users, claims that Apple is blocking "important updates" to its iOS app following a United Nations recommendation for the app to be used amid an internet crackdown in Myanmar.

In a blog post today, the app says that Apple is blocking updates for the app due to an excerpt from the app's description. In the App Store, ProtonVPN says:

Whether it is challenging governments, educating the public, or training journalists, we have a long history of helping bring online freedom to more people around the world.

In an email to the developers, Apple says that the app needs to revise the description to exclude any action that "encourages users to bypass geo-restrictions or content limitations." ‌App Store‌ rule 5.4, which outlines policies for VPN apps on the platform, says that all apps must "not violate local laws," and ProtonVPN makes the connection to the current ongoing situation in Myanmar, in which a military-led coup has shut down internet access for millions.

On March 17, the United Nations advised people to document the ongoing situation as evidence for "crimes against humanity." The UN specifically recommended that users use ProtonMail and/or Signal to share the information. Proton says, however, that users have also turned to ProtonVPN.

ProtonMail is not the only Proton app being used by activists and protesters in Myanmar. For the past month, the Myanmar military has forced the national telecom companies to regularly shut down the internet and block access to social media to prevent damaging evidence from getting out.

The people of Myanmar have also turned to ProtonVPN to get around these internet blocks, seek accurate news to stay safe, and report on the killings. In the days immediately after the coup, the sign-ups for ProtonVPN in Myanmar spiked to 250 times the previous average daily rate.

On the same day the UN recommended Proton apps, Apple suddenly rejected important updates to our ProtonVPN iOS app. These updates include security enhancements designed to further improve safeguards against account takeover attempts which could compromise privacy.

Apple claims that one reason for rejection is the reference to "challenging governments" in its description. It's not clear when the app decided to add that excerpt, as the app has received plenty of app updates in the past without any rejections. It is plausible that the app added the description as part of a recent update, triggering Apple's rejection, which just so happens to line up with the situation in Myanmar.

We've reached out to Apple to clarify the situation and we'll update the article if we hear back.

Update: Proton has informed MacRumors that the excerpt in its app description on the ‌App Store‌, which triggered Apple's rejection, has been in place "for months," without any prior issue. Proton says the rejection "came completely out of the blue."

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 is researching a potential radical redesign for the Apple Watch, including a rounded watch face, wrap-around flexible display, and digitally-customizable watch bands, according to a newly-granted patent filing.

The patent, spotted by MacRumors earlier today, is titled "Display Module and System Applications" and was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The document outlines how a flexible display could span the entire watch face and the band of a smartwatch for a transformational new Apple Watch design. The elongated display itself is said to be flexible enough to contour to the shape of a user's arm to fit like a normal watch band.

In one application, embodiments of the invention describe a wearable electronic device, such as a smartwatch, including a flexible display panel and flexible display module. In this manner, the display area of the smartwatch is not limited to a rigid watch face area. In an embodiment, a smartwatch includes a flexible display panel that is integrated into a flexible watch band. Accordingly, curvature of the flexible display panel in both the watch face area and band may be adjusted to conform to the wrist size of the user... the display area of the flexible display panel can cover more available space on the watch face area and band of the smartwatch.

Apple explains that the design includes a display with a "plurality of interconnects" that extend "through the display substrate from the front surface to the back surface, and an array of LEDs are in the display area and electrically connected with the plurality of interconnects." A battery, processor, ambient light sensor, and other vital smartwatch components can be fixed within an enclosure to the rear of the large display unit.

While the filing explains that an OLED display may be sensitive to air and moisture degradation without a protective rigid glass cover, as well be "problematic" with the use of "interconnects," some OLED display technologies may still be appropriate for the radical new design.

Apple also notes that the design could facilitate a "minimized" bezel around the display for a more aesthetically pleasing appearance, and could even "eliminate" the bezel entirely:

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, a bezel width surrounding the display panel can be minimized, for example below 4-5 mm or even less than 1 mm, less than 0.5 mm, or eliminated. Thus, the bezel design of the smartwatch can be designed for aesthetic concerns rather than as a requirement for allocating space for a contact ledge.

As well as being able to select a watch face design, as on current Apple Watch models, the patent explains that users could similarly select a digital band design to be shown on the band segment of the wrap-around display using an "accessory manager" to create a unique look. The filing describes a very similar system for selecting band designs as is currently in place for selecting and customizing watch faces, with the option to do so both on the Apple Watch itself or on a connected iPhone.

The input is parsed to derive the data for display, and the derived data is displayed on the display area, where the display area is on a flexible display substrate spanning a face and band of the wearable electronic device. For example, the wearable electronic device may be a smartwatch. In an embodiment, the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores additional instructions to perform additional operations including receiving a configuration of the display area of the watch face and band, receiving a design from the derived data, the design including a watch face and watch band, and updating the display area with the received design.

Although the Apple Watch's Digital Crown does not appear to be depicted in the design, a separate patent has today been published with the title "Capacitive gap sensor ring for an input device," explaining how the Digital Crown could use two "nested" capacitive rings that move against each other to gain a wider range of input information.

While Apple has yet to release a device with a flexible display, the company is believed to be working on an iPhone with a foldable display. Patents cannot be taken as evidence of Apple's specific intentions, but they do provide valuable insight into what the company is researching and developing behind the scenes.

Moreover, the depiction of an alternative Apple Watch design in a patent is very unusual since Apple is usually conscientious to mirror the current design of the Apple Watch in patent illustrations. Patents focusing on the Apple Watch's physical design itself are even rarer, and may well hint at the future of the device.

The Apple Watch has effectively had the same design since its launch in 2016, other than a minor refresh with the Apple Watch Series 4, and we are yet to see a substantial re-imagining of the wearable's form factor. Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously hinted that the Apple Watch Series 7 may feature "improved form factor design," but there is as yet no indication of what the final device may look like. The Apple Watch Series 7 is expected to launch later this year, but there have been few rumors so far about what the new model may feature other than blood glucose monitoring.

Spotify has announced new features coming to its mobile app this month that aim to provide new ways for users to access their recently played history and discover new music.

The upcoming update adds a new History icon to the top of the Home screen. Tapping the icon (which looks like Apple's Time Machine icon) displays a screen containing up to three months of listening history in the form of individual tracks. These also include links to the playlists, albums, or shows that the songs were played from.

The History section will be available to both free-plan members and Premium subscribers.

Coming exclusively to Premium users, a new section of six tiles at the top of the Home Screen will show new and relevant podcast episodes. New episodes will be marked with a blue dot, and episodes already started by users will display a progress bar indicating how far into the episode they are.

Lastly, another Premium-exclusive feature is a new section that will sit under these six tiles to highlight new releases from followed artists. Spotify says this section will be "personalized, timely, and reactive to your taste."

Spotify says the redesigned Home interface will begin rolling out to both Android and iOS users globally this month.

Steam Link, which allows users to stream Steam games from a computer to another device, has officially launched on the Mac App Store.

Steam users have been able to stream games from within the Steam Mac app for sometime. However, with the availability of Steam Link on macOS, users now have the option of choosing a lightweight download (29.8MB) to stream games to their Mac, rather than having to install the Steam app proper, which requires 1GB of drive space.

Steam Link launched on iOS and tvOS in 2019, however, until now it's been unavailable for Mac customers. As spotted by eagle-eyed Reddit users, the Steam Link has been quietly released by Valve on the ‌Mac App Store‌.

The Steam Link app allows you to play your Steam games across all your computers. Just pair an MFI or Steam controller to your Mac, connect to a computer running Steam on the same local network, and start playing your existing Steam games.

To run Steam Link, users must have a Mac running macOS 10.13 or higher and another Windows, Mac, or Linux computer running Steam. Additionally, both computers must be on the same local network. Steam Link for macOS is available on the Mac App Store.

Apple is likely to reimburse Samsung Display over a shortfall in OLED panel orders owing to lower-than-expected demand for iPhone 12 mini models, according to The Korea Herald.

Samsung's small OLED shipments dropped globally in January by 9 percent month-on-month to 45 million units, according to market data gathered by Omdia, which pins the decline on sluggish iPhone 12 mini sales. Apple is likely to compensate Samsung for the missed OLED panel purchase targets as a result, an industry source told the Herald:

"It is uncertain whether Apple would pay a penalty to Samsung Display, but considering its contract history and sluggish sales of the iPhone 12 mini, it is likely that Apple will compensate Samsung," an industry official said on condition of anonymity.

Samsung is the sole supplier of the 5.4-inch panel used in the iPhone 12 mini, the smallest model of Apple's 5G-supporting iPhone 12 series.

If the prediction turns out to be accurate, it would be the third time that Apple has had to reimburse Samsung for missing OLED display targets after saying it would buy a certain number of the panels from the South Korean company.

Apple reportedly paid Samsung an estimated $683 million in 2019 and approximately $950 million in 2020 for similarly below-par OLED panel orders.

Samsung remains the world's leading smartphone display panel vendor, and has provided the overwhelming majority of OLED panels for Apple's iPhones over the last few years.

According to Omdia, global OLED panel shipments reached 53 million units in January, and Samsung Display accounted for 85 percent of them.

Despite a barrage of reports this year suggesting lackluster iPhone 12 mini sales, Apple is expected to retain its smallest 5.4-inch iPhone model size in its forthcoming iPhone 13 lineup.

Apple has told an Australian court that Epic Games' legal challenge against the App Store is "self-serving," and that all the software company aims to do is "redefine the terms of access" that it's always been subject to on Apple's platforms.

As reported by The Guardian, Apple and ‌Epic Games‌ on Tuesday went head-to-head in a federal court in Sydney, Australia, following Epic's decision to expand its legal battle into the country. Epic's case in Australia follows much of the same argument in the United States, claiming that Apple is a monopoly and that the ‌App Store‌ and in-app purchasing system are unfair.

During the tense court hearing, Apple's lawyer, Stephen Free SC, told the court that the legal battle is between "two Goliaths," referencing that Epic is valued at more than $17 billion. Free went on to say that Epic has obtained a significant amount of information on Apple's ‌App Store‌ and highlighted that some of ‌Epic Games‌' success can be attributed to Apple's hardware and software.

You have a sophisticated commercial entity that sought and obtained access to Apple's intellectual property and all of the benefits of access to Apple's software and hardware, exploited that opportunity to great effect for many years, and the essence of the dispute … is that Epic wants to redefine the terms of access in quite fundamental and self-serving ways.

‌Epic Games‌ is looking to give iPhone and iPad users more freedom as to where they choose to download their apps by offering an alternative app store. Currently, downloads are limited only to Apple's ‌App Store‌, in which case apps are subject to Apple's guidelines. Free says that any other method for downloading apps would fundamentally rewrite Apple's business model.

Free says that the current business model is built around "prioritizing quality, security, and privacy of these operating systems." Free says that Apple can only live up to those priorities by ensuring that all developers play by the same set of rules for building and operating apps.

Epic's barrister, Neil Young QC, fought back, saying that Apple's actions go against Australian competition law and that the country's parliament intended for the rules to "be enforced in Australia and not be overridden by private agreements between companies like Apple and Epic," according to The Guardian's report.

"The issue is the impact on Australian markets and whether the requirements of our law are satisfied," Young said. "It is a pretty straightforward case, and we would think the evidence is clear this conduct is going to substantially impact these markets in the way we allege.

Justice Nye Perram has reserved his decision on whether the case can go ahead in Australia, but has said he will deliver it "pretty promptly."

In related news this week, thousands of miles away, Apple submitted a list of witnesses who will testify as part of the Apple vs. ‌Epic Games‌ case in California. Amongst the list includes CEO Tim Cook, Apple Fellow Phill Schiller, and senior VP of software Craig Federighi. The trial is set to begin on Monday, May 3.

Apple is planning to adopt a hybrid Fresnel lens design for its mixed reality headset, a move that will improve optical performance while allowing for a broad field of view and keeping the headset's weight under 150 grams (a third of a pound), according to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo seen by MacRumors.

Kuo notes that most virtual reality headsets use Fresnel lenses, first invented some 200 years ago to focus lighthouse beams, to enable ultra-short focal lengths, but that these headsets typically weigh 300–400 grams or more with bulky form factors.

Mixed-reality headsets like the one Apple is rumored to be developing for a launch next year can get away with thinner and lighter designs, as the lenses can be simpler with a smaller field of view (FOV) due to the less immersive experience compared to true virtual reality.

Balancing these requirements of field of view, form factor, and weight is "one of the critical design issues" in the complicated optical design of these headsets.

Kuo says that Apple is aiming to use a hybrid Fresnel lens composed of three stacked Fresnel lenses to achieve a thin and light design with enhanced optical performance. With each headset using a total of six Fresnel lenses (one stack of three per eye), Kuo says Apple will use lightweight plastic lenses with customized materials and coatings to match the light transmission of glass.

The purpose of this design is to improve FOV and reduce weight and thickness. We believe that Apple will use a hybrid Fresnel lens design further to enhance the Fresnel lens's optical performance (e.g., improve vignetting and optical artifacts), and each hybrid Fresnel lens comprises three stacked Fresnel lenses.

We believe that Apple's design will achieve a better balance between HMD’s FOV and form factor.

The lightweight lenses are said to be primarily supplied by Young Optics with Genius Electronic Optical also pitching in, but they won't come cheaply and will contribute to a high overall price for the headset that some rumors have pegged as in the $3,000 range.

Kuo and other sources have claimed that Apple has multiple mixed-reality products in its pipeline, starting with this initial headset rumored for a mid-2022 debut. A much smaller and lighter set of augmented reality glasses is rumored for around 2025.

Niantic and Nintendo today announced the upcoming debut of a new augmented reality game based on Nintendo's "Pikmin" franchise, with the title set to launch later in 2021.

Nintendo's Pikmin franchise features a series of strategy and puzzle games where players direct a variety of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to destroy obstacles, fight enemies, and avoid hazards while exploring an Earth-style planet.

There are few details available about the Pikmin AR game at this time, but Niantic says that it will allow you to "explore the world" alongside Pikmin friends, with a focus on gameplay activities that will "make walking more delightful."

Today, we are thrilled to announce a new partnership with Nintendo to jointly develop mobile titles built on Niantic's real-world AR technology, bringing Nintendo's beloved characters to life in new ways. We're honored that Nintendo has chosen Niantic to be its publisher of real-world AR applications.

To kick off the partnership, Niantic and Nintendo are developing an app based on the Pikmin franchise. The app will include gameplay activities to encourage walking and make walking more delightful. Slated to launch later this year, this will be the first title created by our Tokyo Studio since it was established in April 2018.

Niantic is allowing people to sign up to get more information about the title, and says more details will be available in the coming months.

In a statement, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto said that Niantic's AR tech will make it possible to experience the world as if we're living with Pikmin all around us.

Niantic's AR technology has made it possible for us to experience the world as if Pikmin are secretly living all around us. Based on the theme of making walking fun, our mission is to provide people a new experience that's different from traditional games. We hope that the Pikmin and this app will become a partner in your life.

Niantic developed hit game "Pokémon Go," an augmented reality title where players are tasked with catching Pokémon while out and about. Pokémon Go has remained popular since its 2016 launch, and Niantic has also since come out with "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite." Like Pokémon Go and other Niantic titles, the upcoming Pikmin game will be a mobile title that will presumably be available on iOS and Android devices.

Pikmin is a strategy and puzzle video game where players direct plant-like creatures called Pikmin to destroy obstacles, fight enemies, and avoid hazards while exploring an Earth-style planet.

Samsung is planning to begin making low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin-film transistor (TFT) OLED displays for Apple beginning in the first half of 2021, according to a new note by research firm UBI Research shared by The Elec.

Samsung plans to convert its current low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) TFT OLED display manufacturing for the new technology as Apple prepares to incorporate LTPO into its iPhone 13 displays.

LTPO displays use less power than standard OLED displays and will allow Apple to implement the 120Hz refresh rates that are rumored for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup.

The Elec says that Apple will use LTPO TFT OLED panels for the higher-tier ‌iPhone‌ models launching in 2021, which will be provided by Samsung. LG Display will be providing standard LTPS TFT OLED panels for the lower-end models.

This is in line with rumors that suggest Apple's higher-end ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro and Pro Max will feature faster 120Hz refresh rates, enabling iPad Pro-like ProMotion technology.

There were rumors that suggested 120Hz refresh rates could be introduced in the 2020 ‌iPhone‌ models, but display analyst Ross Young said that Apple would not be able to introduce the feature until it was able to use LTPO displays to allow for a variable refresh rate while also preserving battery life.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today revealed that Apple has been developing new speakers that are equipped with "screens and cameras," suggesting we could see a future HomePod-like device that has a built-in display and camera feature for FaceTiming and other functions.

Ahead of these rumors, MacRumors contributor Steve Moser was combing through the tvOS 14.5 beta code and found that Apple has added FaceTime and iMessage frameworks, along with a new AVFCapture framework related to capturing images.

You might be wondering what tvOS code has to do with the HomePod, but in April 2020 Apple began using tvOS as the basis for the software that runs on the ‌HomePod‌ rather than iOS. watchOS, tvOS, and the software that runs on the ‌HomePod‌ are all variants of iOS, but each one is differentiated by the device the software is intended to run on with unique interfaces, APIs, and more.

That means features included in tvOS are also included in the ‌HomePod‌ software since they have the same base code. Therefore, the ‌FaceTime‌, iMessage, and image capture frameworks added to tvOS in tvOS 14.5 could actually be designed for a future ‌HomePod‌ that has a screen and a camera, as described by Gurman.

The ‌HomePod‌ and HomePod mini are able to use ‌FaceTime‌ audio already, but the ‌FaceTime‌ framework discovered in the 14.5 beta is distinct from any code related to the existing audio ‌FaceTime‌ feature. The frameworks are in the tvOS 14.5 beta and the 14.5 ‌HomePod‌ software beta available to select testers.

Gurman says there is no "imminent launch" planned for the camera-equipped speaker, so it's possible no such product will make an appearance. It's also entirely possible that the iMessage, ‌FaceTime‌, and AVFCapture frameworks introduced in tvOS 14.5 have an entirely different purpose that may be entirely unrelated to a ‌HomePod‌ and could remain hidden in the code or used for an unspecified feature coming to the Apple TV or the ‌HomePod‌ in the future.

In semi-related news, the 14.5 beta also suggests that Apple could potentially be developing some kind of trivia game for Siri, where ‌Siri‌ could provide trivia questions for users to answer. This is labeled as "‌Siri‌ Edutainment" in the code, but it is not clear if it will be a built-in ‌Siri‌ feature or support for a third-party product.

Ron Okamoto, who has been working as the App Store's developer relations head since 2001, has retired this year, reports Bloomberg.

Okamoto was responsible for overseeing the ‌App Store‌ review process and policies, distributing tools to allow developers to build and sell apps, developer support, developer communications, developer awards, and he also handled the annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple marketing executive Susan Prescott will be taking over Okamoto's role as vice president of developer relations. Prescott is Apple's vice president of product marketing and has been at Apple since 2003.

Okamoto will be testifying in Apple's upcoming legal battle against Epic Games, and that court filing is where it was noted that he has since retired from the company. Okamoto will talk about Apple's ‌App Store‌ policies, developer tools, and agreements between Apple and third-party developers.

Over the course of the macOS Big Sur 11.3 beta, Apple has been refining and improving the way that iPad and iPhone apps run on M1 Macs. In the latest beta, Apple has added game controller emulation for ‌M1‌ devices, allowing a keyboard or a keyboard and mouse combo to function as a game controller.

The new game controller feature was discovered by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser. When running an ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ app, opening up the preferences brings up a Touch Alternatives and Game Control interface that can be used to make touch-based ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ apps run better with Mac controls.

With Controller Emulation toggled on, common game controller buttons are mapped to keyboard keys and mouse buttons. X, for example, is mapped to Q, the direction stick is mapped to WASD, and Y is mapped to E. L1 and L2 can be accessed by pressing Tab and Shift, respectively, and the Space Bar is the A button.

Controller Emulation will allow ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ games that have controller support built in to be accurately controlled with a keyboard and/or mouse when those games are played on an ‌M1‌ Mac. This feature is designed for those who don't have a game controller, as those who do can just connect a controller to play.

The macOS 11.3 Big Sur beta also includes the aforementioned Touch Alternatives panel for mapping touch-based features like tap, swipe, drag, and tilt to keyboard keys, and it has a feature for making ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ app windows larger.

Controller Emulation and Touch Alternatives work independently of one another, and only one of these features can be enabled at a time.

As for game controller support, many current controllers from Sony and Microsoft are compatible with ‌M1‌ Macs, and the beta adds support for the latest PlayStation 5 and Xbox One X controllers.

Apple customers unhappy with the butterfly keyboards used in MacBook models from 2015 on will be able to proceed with a lawsuit against the Cupertino company, as the judge overseeing the case has given it class action status [PDF]. The suit covers anyone who purchased a MacBook with a butterfly keyboard in California, New York, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, and Michigan.

As noted by The Verge, Judge Edward Davila certified the case on March 8, but the order was sealed until last week. This lawsuit will include those who bought a MacBook between 2015 and 2017, a MacBook Pro between 2016 and 2019, or a MacBook Air between 2018 and 2019.

The lawsuit was first filed in 2018, accusing Apple of concealing the fact that its 2015 and later MacBook models had keyboards prone to failure. Apple launched a repair program for all Macs with butterfly keyboards, but the complainants believe that the repair program does not serve as an effective fix because the replacement keyboards also use butterfly mechanisms that can fail again.

Apple attempted to get the lawsuit dismissed in 2019, but was unsuccessful. At the time, the judge said that Apple must face the claims that the repair program is inadequate or compensate customers for out-of-pocket repair expenses.

First introduced in 2015, Apple's butterfly keyboards were a huge failure. There were countless complaints from MacBook, ‌MacBook Pro‌, and ‌MacBook Air‌ owners who saw their keyboards break, sometimes more than once. There were issues with stuck and repeating keys or keys that refused to work at all, with the problem caused by key failure after exposure to dust and other small particulates.

Apple attempted to revise the butterfly keyboard several times to make it more durable and launched an extensive repair program for MacBook owners with faulty keyboards, but ultimately replaced the butterfly keyboard with a scissor switch keyboard starting with the 16-inch MacBook Pro introduced in 2019.

The butterfly keyboard is no longer in use in any Mac product in Apple's lineup, but there are still plenty of people who are stuck with a MacBook manufactured from 2015 to 2019 that has a keyboard prone to failure. The lawsuit is seeking damages for violations of consumer protection laws in the seven included states, and while the plaintiffs are not yet asking for a nationwide certification, the law firm behind the lawsuit is running a survey to determine how many people might be affected.

In recent days, some Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD users have been receiving a "something went wrong" error message when attempting to load videos using the YouTube app on tvOS. The issue does not appear to be widespread, and it seems to arise only when a user is signed into their YouTube account on the Apple TV.

YouTube has confirmed on Twitter that it is investigating the issue and working on a fix, but in the meantime, some users in the Apple Support Communities have found success with a workaround that involves deleting and reinstalling the YouTube app on the Apple TV and then signing in with the "using my phone" option.

YouTube has not provided a timeframe for when the issue will be resolved.

In a report today focused on an unactivated temperature/humidity sensor in the HomePod mini, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman briefly mentioned that Apple has "been developing new speakers with screens and cameras."

This reporting suggests that Apple could be at least exploring the idea of new HomePod models with a display and camera to compete with the likes of Google's Nest Hub Max, Amazon's Echo Show, and Facebook's Portal, but Gurman cautions that "a launch isn't imminent," so there is no guarantee that Apple will release such a product.

Google's Nest Hub Max, for example, is equipped with a 10-inch touchscreen that can also be controlled by voice with Google Assistant. The Nest Hub Max allows users to view daily info like the weather and calendar appointments, stream video from Netflix and other sources with built-in Chromecast, play music through the stereo speaker system, make video calls using the built-in 6.5-megapixel camera, control smart home accessories, and more.

The Nest Hub Max also functions as a "smart digital picture frame" for photo albums, and it can display a live video feed from Nest cameras and video doorbells, making it suitable for a kitchen countertop or bedside table.

Apple's camera-equipped HomePod would presumably offer similar functionality like FaceTime video calling and HomeKit integration if it ever comes to market.

Earlier this month, Apple announced that it is discontinuing the full-size HomePod and shifting its focus to the HomePod mini. Gurman said that Apple still lacks a "unifying strategy" for the smart home market, with some people within the company apparently blaming the lack of progress on Siri's shortcomings compared to Google Assistant and Alexa. Whether new HomePod models with screens and cameras come to fruition remains to be seen.

MacRumors videographer Dan is regularly trying out new accessories for the iPhone, and in the latest MacRumors YouTube video, Dan highlights some of the latest ‌iPhone‌ accessories he’s been testing, many of which focus on ‌iPhone‌ photography and videography. There's a high-end microphone option, a new flash drive from SanDisk, mounts from Moment, and more.

• Belkin 3-in-1 MagSafe Charger ($140) - If you have an ‌iPhone‌ 12, an Apple Watch, and AirPods or another Qi smartphone, the Belkin 3-in-1 MagSafe Charger is a compact and functional charging option for all of your devices. It's expensive, but it's also one of the only Apple-certified ‌MagSafe‌ accessories.
• Rode Wireless Go II ($300) - If you need a high-quality microphone for vlogging or filming videos on your ‌iPhone‌, the Rode Wireless Go II is worth checking out. It's a wireless microphone that can record two sound sources simultaneously, and it interfaces with Macs and iOS devices. It has enough internal memory for more than 24 hours of recording, and up to seven hours of battery life.
• SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe ($45) - Available in 64, 128, and 256GB capacities, the new SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe has a Lightning connector and a USB-C connector to make it easy to transfer large files between your iOS devices, Macs, and PCs.
• Moment MagSafe Accessories ($19.99+) - Moment recently came out with a whole range of ‌MagSafe‌ cases and mounts, including the ProTripod mount and the Multi-Threaded mount, both of which are ideal for ‌iPhone‌ photographers and videographers. The Tripod mount, for example, has a cold shoe mount that works with microphones and other accessories. With the threaded mount, you can attach any accessory to an ‌iPhone‌, and Moment is using some seriously strong magnets to make sure your accessories stay attached.
• Labodet MagSafe Wallet ($327) - If you like the ‌MagSafe‌ Wallet from Apple but want a seriously higher end version, Labodet has ‌MagSafe‌ wallet options made from exotic leathers. At this price point, the wallet isn't an accessory for most people, but it does have a stronger magnet than Apple's option.
• Grovemade MagSafe Stand ($120) - If you have a standard $39 ‌MagSafe‌ charger from Apple, you might want to look into the Grovemade ‌MagSafe‌ Stand if you're looking for something to hold it up. At $120 it's super expensive, but it is a unique wood design you're not going to get with other charging options. You also need to supply your own ‌MagSafe‌ charging puck.

What are your favorite accessories for the ‌iPhone‌? Let us know in the comments and we may feature some of your suggestions in a future accessory video.