Almost all of Apple's stores in the United States have stopped offering the HomePod for in-store purchase and pickup, with the speaker listed as unavailable in nearly all retail locations.
In the Bay Area, for example, there are no HomePods available for purchase, and the same goes for New York City, Los Angeles, and other major cities. There are a couple of stores, such as the San Diego store at UTC that still have stock available, but for the most part, Apple appears to be ceasing HomePod sales in its retail locations.
Note that this applies to the white version of the HomePod only, because the Space Gray HomePod has been sold out for months now.
It is not clear when Apple made this change, but the HomePod is still widely available for next-day delivery in many areas, and it is still available in stores in other countries outside of the United States, such as Australia.
Apple officially discontinued the HomePod in March in order to focus its efforts on the development of the HomePod mini. At the time, Apple said that the HomePod would continue to be available through the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers "while supplies last."
With the HomePod disappearing from retail stores in the United States, it's possible that supplies of the white version are now dwindling, but Apple may have also simply decided to limit the sales of a discontinued product to the online store.
There are rumors that Apple is working on new HomePod products to accompany the HomePod mini, including a HomePod with a display and a camera and a version that combines an Apple TV with a HomePod.
Apple in April unveiled a new version of the 4K Apple TV, but on the surface, it's hard to tell it apart from its predecessor because it looks the same as the 2017 model. There are, however, a few internal changes, but are those changes worth upgrading for? That's what we're aiming to find out in our Apple TV 4K hands-on video.
Compared to the original Apple TV 4K, there are no design changes to the second-generation Apple TV 4K with one peripheral exception -- the Siri Remote. The Siri Remote has been overhauled with a new clickpad and updated buttons that make it more intuitive to use.
There's a dedicated power button for the first time, along with a mute button, and the Siri button has been moved to the side. There's no touchpad anymore, and the clickpad that replaces it is easier to use, making it simple to scrub through content with a swipe around the wheel. It's also much thicker and heftier, and Apple believes this will make it harder to lose.
Without a doubt, the Siri Remote is a major upgrade that's worth it, but you don't need a whole new Apple TV just for the remote -- Apple is selling it on a standalone basis for $60. That's pricey, but if you're fed up with the current remote and want something better, it's worth considering.
As for the rest of the Apple TV, upgrades include support for high frame rate 4K HDR and Dolby Vision content, which is useful for sports and other fast-paced action. There's not a lot of support right now, but you can check it out on YouTube or on videos recorded with the iPhone.
The Apple TV does have HDMI 2.1, but it doesn't have 120Hz frame rate support, so it's not a reason to upgrade. What is new, however, is eARC support, a feature that lets all TV audio be routed through HomePods. With eARC, audio from game consoles, cable boxes, and other peripherals can be routed through the HomePod when you have a compatible TV.
There's an upgraded A12 Bionic chip in the second-generation Apple TV 4K, which is a good deal faster than the A10X Fusion chip that was in the prior model, but unless you're playing a system-intensive game on the Apple TV, you're probably not really going to notice the upgrade.
If you have a 2017 Apple TV 4K, there's generally no reason to upgrade at this time unless one of the included features is particularly appealing to you. If you have an Apple TV HD or are considering an Apple TV purchase for the first time, the new 2021 model makes much more sense and is worth the $179 purchase price.
Apple today seeded the second betas of new iOS and iPadOS 14.7 updates to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the first iOS and iPadOS 14.7 updates.
iOS and iPadOS 14.7 can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or over the air after the proper profile has been installed on an iPhone or iPad.
The new iOS and iPadOS 14.7 updates may be focused on under-the-hood bug performance improvements and bug fixes for issues that weren't able to be addressed in iOS 14.6, but a few minor features have been found.
Apple in iOS 14.7 will expand the Air Quality Index feature to additional countries that include the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, and Canada.
When paired with the accompanying HomePod 14.7 software, iOS 14.7 will allow the Home app to set multiple timers on a HomePod or a HomePod mini.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS Big Sur 11.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta coming two weeks after the release of the first macOS Big Sur 11.5 beta.
Developers can download the macOS Big Sur 11.5 beta using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper profile from the Apple Developer Center.
macOS Big Sur 11.5 may be a more minor update focusing on under-the-hood performance improvements and bug fixes for issues that weren't able to be addressed in the macOS Big Sur 11.4 update. No new features were found in the first beta.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 7.6 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta coming one week after the release of the first beta.
To install the watchOS 7.6 beta, developers need to download the proper configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 7.5 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.
To update to the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.
We don't know what's included in the watchOS 7.6 update, and no new features were discovered in the first beta.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 14.7 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta coming one week after Apple seeded the first tvOS 14.7 beta.
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the tvOS 14.7 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode.
Other than new releases, tvOS updates are often minor in scale, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes and improvements rather than major outward-facing changes. There's no word yet on what's included in tvOS 14.7 update, but we'll update this article should anything new be found.
Though we don't often know what's new in tvOS during the beta testing process, we let MacRumors readers know when new updates are available so those who are developers can download it upon release.
If your Apple Card has not been working today, you are not alone. Apple's credit card has been suffering from a widespread outage that has persisted for several hours, according to Apple's system status page.
"Users may not be able to manage their Apple Card, make payments, and may not see recent transactions," the page reads.
Launched in the United States in August 2019, the Apple Card's key features include Wallet app integration with color-coded spending summaries, no fees, and up to three percent cashback on purchases, paid out daily. A physical, titanium Apple Card is also available for use at retail locations that do not accept contactless payments.
Update: Apple's system status page says the outage has been resolved.
The App Store ecosystem facilitated an estimated $643 billion in billings and sales in 2020, an increase of 24 percent year-over-year, according to an Apple-commissioned study done by Analysis Group economists. [PDF]
The study, "A Global Perspective on the Apple App Store Ecosystem," comes as Apple awaits a decision in its ongoing trial with Epic Games, much of which focused on App Store policies and fees. Epic Games and other developers have been unhappy with Apple's 30 percent cut, with Epic Games lobbying for alternative app store options while Apple fights to prove the value of the App Store as it exists now.
Analysis Group's research looked at how the App Store ecosystem shifted amid the pandemic in 2020, highlighting the ways Apple's platform helped small developers (those with less than one million downloads and less than $1 million in earnings), as well as exploring how the App Store has benefitted developers over the course of the last five years.
The $643 billion total estimate for 2020 takes into account various app monetization strategies, and 90 percent of the $643 billion comes from sales outside of the App Store, which Apple says it collected no commission on. These sales include general retail, travel, food delivery and pickup, ride hailing, and grocery store orders, with physical goods and services representing the biggest category. Basically, when you shop in an app, purchase food delivery, or order a Lyft ride on your iPhone, the study counts that as commerce facilitated by the App Store.
Analysis Group suggests that sales enabled by the App Store increased by $124 billion compared to 2019, marking 24 percent growth. Much of this growth came as people shifted to staying inside and doing more business online because of the pandemic. Billings and sales of digital goods and services was up 40 percent, for example, while sales in the travel and ride hailing sectors were down more than 30 percent.
According to the study, small developers make up 90 percent of all App Store developers, and more than 1 in 4 small developers that sell digital goods and services on the App Store have increased their earnings by an average of 25 percent each year for the past five years, including 2020. The number of small developers has has increased 40 percent between 2015 and 2020, and earnings have nearly tripled between 2015 and 2020.
Almost 80 percent of small developers are active across multiple countries' storefronts and have earnings from users in more than 40 countries, with Apple pointing out how the App Store facilitates secure international transactions, localized storefronts, and payment processing. 40 percent of app downloads from small developers came from users outside of the developers' home countries, and nearly 80 percent of small developers are active in multiple storefronts.
As for larger developers, a conservative estimate suggests that more than 75 app-based companies in the U.S. and Europe have gone public or been acquired, with a total valuation of more than $510 billion at the time of their offering or sale. Apple says that these are all companies for whom iOS apps are central to their businesses. Dating app Bumble, for example, started out on the iPhone in 2014 and IPO'd in 2021, raising $2.2 billion.
In the announcement highlighting the study, Apple also pointed out that it helps developers create apps with more than 250,000 APIs in 40 software development kits (SDKs), as well as helping budding developers with Developer Academies and other app development courses and educational offerings. Apple says more than 10,000 people have graduated from a Developer Academy and have launched more than 1,500 apps, and its educational efforts reached more than two million students and teachers in 2020.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement that the App Store brings jobs, opportunity, and "untold innovation."
Developers on the App Store prove every day that there is no more innovative, resilient or dynamic marketplace on earth than the app economy. The apps we've relied on through the pandemic have been life-changing in so many ways -- from groceries delivered to our homes, to teaching tools for parents and educators, to an imaginative and ever-expanding universe of games and entertainment. The result isn't just incredible apps for users: it's jobs, it's opportunity, and it's untold innovation that will power global economies for many years to come.
Apple's full Newsroom article has additional detail on the study as well as anecdotes from developers on how various App Store features and functions have helped them grow their businesses, and the full study is also available in PDF format.
Apple previously worked with Analysis Group on a study that demonstrated how similar Apple's App Store fees and practices are to those of other digital marketplaces like the Amazon Appstore and the Google Play app. That study, published in July 2020, came ahead of when Apple CEO Tim Cook testified in an App Store antitrust hearing.
Earlier this month, WarnerMedia announced the upcoming launch of a new ad-supported tier for HBO Max, which has debuted today. Priced at $9.99 per month, the ad-supported tier is $5 less than the $14.99 monthly cost of the standard HBO Max subscription.
HBO Max is designed to feature the "lightest ad load in the streaming industry" for its ad-supported tier, and it will include access to all HBO Max original programming plus the back catalog of content from HBO, Warner Bros., DC, Turner Classic Movies, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and more.
The ad-supported tier does not include access to same-day premiere film releases from Warner Bros., which will require a full $14.99 subscription. Content is also limited to 1080p HD instead of 4K, and the ad-supported tier does not allow shows to be downloaded to watch offline.
In addition to monthly pricing options, the ad-supported tier can be purchased for $99.99 per year, dropping the price to $8.30 per month. The $15 per month tier is priced at $149.99 per year, which equates to $13 per month.
Prospective HBO Max customers who want to subscribe to the ad-supported tier can do so on the HBO Max website.
Apple Watch users with an irregular heartbeat are not visiting doctors more often, but they are more likely to be treated with a heart procedure, a study has found (via The Verge).
The study examined 125 people with atrial fibrillation and a heart-monitoring wearable, such as the Apple Watch, who visited the University of Utah Health during a 90-day period, and compared them to a group of 500 people with the same condition and similar characteristics, but no wearable.
The results of the study showed that users with heart-monitoring wearables are not more likely to visit a doctor about a health condition with their heart. In spite of this, users with a wearable and a heart condition such as atrial fibrillation are more likely to undergo medical procedures.
Specifically, this group of wearable users was more likely to undergo an ablation, which is a medical procedure that seeks to restore a normal heartbeat.
It is not clear if the people in the study who wore wearables and had ablations had worse symptoms than the control group and so needed the treatment as a result, or if the wearables encouraged them to see a doctor and have the procedure sooner.
It may simply be the case that people with heart conditions who decide to wear an Apple Watch do so due to general concerns about monitoring their health. It is also possible that wearable users could see their device detecting an abnormal heartbeat more often and therefore they worry that their atrial fibrillation is getting worse, even when it is not.
The Apple Watch and similar health-monitoring wearables are the focus of a growing number of studies in the medical field, where they have been used to investigate COVID-19, frailty, cognitive health, heart failure, asthma, and more.
Spotify today announced a new collaborative playlist and a collection of new stat tracking features for users. The company is referring to the stat tracking updates, called "Only You," as a way to see your Spotify Wrapped stats earlier in the year.
In total, there are six new ways to break down your Spotify listening history, including finding out which artist most aligns with your astrological birth chart, what songs you listen to the most at certain times of the day, and more.
1) Your Audio Birth Chart - Spotify aligns your Sun, Moon, and Rising signs to match you with some of your favorite artists. Sun shows the artist you listened to the most over the last six months; Moon matches you with an artist that best shows your emotional side; and Rising ties it all up with an artist that you've connected with recently.
2) Your Dream Dinner Party - Spotify generates a personalized dinner party mix after you select your dream dinner party guests.
3) Your Artist Pairs - Spotify pair two disparate artists together that you've listened to recently, showing your range of musical interests.
4) Your Song Year - Spotify shows off the most popular year of the music you listen to.
5) Your Time of Day - Spotify tells you the songs and podcasts you listen to the most in the morning and at night.
6) Your Genres/Topics - The last category brings everything together by combining music and podcasts that "set your listening apart."
In addition to Only You, Spotify is launching a new personalized feature called "Blend" in beta. With this, two friends can merge their musical tastes into one curated playlist that they can both listen to.
Blend playlists will be updated daily, and will grow over time based on how each user changes their listening habits. To start a Blend, tap "Create Blend" in the Made For You hub on mobile, tap "invite," and select a friend to share the playlist with.
Currently, Blend is only available on iOS and Android mobile devices. To read more about Spotify's announcements today, check out the company's blog post.
In an attempt to rival the iPad Pro and iPadOS, Huawei today launched three new tablets as part of its "MatePad" tablet lineup, including a new 10.8-inch and 12.6-inch MatePad Pro and the MatePad 11.
Image Credit: The Verge
As The Vergereports, all three devices are the first Huawei tablets to run its own "HarmonyOS" operating system, announced earlier in 2019. In addition, the smaller 10.8-inch MatePad Pro and MatePad 11 also feature Huawei's own custom-designed Kirin processor, rather than processors made by Snapdragon.
Due to political tensions, Huawei devices are stripped of privileges usually accustomed to Android devices, such as Google apps for users. HarmonyOS includes Huawei's "AppGallery," the equivalent of Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store for finding, distributing, and downloading apps and games.
In terms of specific end-user features, HarmonyOS borrows many ideas from Apple's iPadOS. Alongside the new tablets, Huawei also offers the "M-Pencil" stylus, drawing stark similarities to the Apple Pencil. HarmonyOS and M-Pencil are integrated software side by a feature called "FreeNote," which automatically translates written text in any text filed across the system into typed text. The feature is identical to Scribble, introduced in iPadOS 14 last year.
Screenshots of HarmonyOS shared on Twitter by leaker Evan Blass also showcase visual similarities to Apple's iPadOS.
Alongside the new tablets, Huawei also updated the M-Pencil stylus with improved and lower latency of 9ms, matching improvements made to the Apple Pencil with iPadOS 13. The new tablets have yet to be given a release date in Europe, but the 12.6-inch MatePad Pro will launch in China on June 10 for around $790.
Apple today announced it has renewed "The Mosquito Coast" for a second season, just two days prior to the first season's conclusion.
Starring Justin Theroux, Melissa George, Logan Polish, and Gabriel Bateman, the acclaimed Apple TV+ drama series follows the dangerous journey of a radical idealist and brilliant inventor, Allie Fox (played by Theroux), who uproots his family for Mexico when they suddenly find themselves on the run from the U.S. government.
The series comes from award-winning novelist Neil Cross, and is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Paul Theroux.
"'The Mosquito Coast' has captured the imagination of viewers all over the world, not only because of its adrenaline-fueled action and adventure, but also for the engaging family story and captivating performances at its heart," said Matt Cherniss, Apple's head of programming. "We can't wait to find out what comes next for the Fox family, and for audiences to continue to experience the thrill ride."
The renewal comes ahead of the first season finale, which debuts this Friday.
Amazon is offering up to $52 in savings on Apple's AirPods, including the regular model and the AirPods Pro. If you're shopping for the AirPods Pro, you can get these for $197.00 on Amazon, down from $249.00.
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 price is beating the typical Amazon sale by $2, and it's the best sale currently available at a major Apple reseller online this week. We've seen the AirPods Pro drop to a price of $189.99 on Woot every now and then in 2021, but Amazon's markdown today is a solid second-best option.
For the lower-cost model, Amazon also has the AirPods with Wired Charging Case for $119.99, down from $159.00. We've seen this model drop to $109 in the past, but this is another example of rare sales that haven't reemerged very often since their popularity earlier in 2021.
Amazon has also been offering a small $30 discount on the AirPods Max, with a few colors available at $519.99. We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.
Apple has regained its third-place position in the annual Fortune 500 rankings of the largest companies in the United States by revenue.
Apple earned $274.5 billion in revenue in the last fiscal year, an increase of 5.5 percent, and made $57.4 billion in profit, a 3.9 percent increase.
Last year, Apple fell to fourth place, but now the company returned to third place, only surpassed by Walmart in first place and Amazon in second place.
The pandemic created challenges and opportunities for Apple. CEO Tim Cook had to close stores and send home engineers. But with Apple customers worldwide working and learning from home, iPad and Macintosh computer sales skyrocketed to their highest levels ever. And fiscal-year revenue hit an all-time record too, of $275 billion. That helped Apple's stock price soar; it gained 80.7% in 2020. As that year wound down, regulators fixed their sights on Apple for potentially abusing its power over the iOS app store. A House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee report in October concluded that Apple "exerts monopoly power" in its app store to harm competition and increase prices for consumers. Meanwhile, testimony in an antitrust lawsuit filed by Fortnite developer Epic Games will likely increase pressure on legislators to limit Apple’s power.
Apple has now ranked in the top five for eight consecutive years. Other notable tech companies in this year's list include Google parent Alphabet in ninth, Microsoft in 15th, and Facebook in 34th.
The annual Swift Student Challenge is a coding challenge that tasks students with creating an interactive scene in the Swift Playgrounds app. Apple said winners would receive exclusive WWDC 2021 outerwear, which appears to consist of a beanie and a pullover sweater.
Winners also received a set of WWDC 2021 pins, including the Finder icon on Mac, a "Make it beta" message bubble, and others, plus a one-year Apple Developer Program membership if they have reached the age of majority in their country.
WWDC 2021 begins next Monday, June 7 with a Keynote at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Apple is expected to unveil major new software updates, including iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15. Read our WWDC 2021 roundup for more details.
The new Nomad case is compatible with Apple MagSafe and is made of Horween leather, available in Rustic Brown and Black. A Moment M-Series Lens is not included, but the case does come with the Moment drop-in lens mount, standard camera ring, and Moment lens interface.
The full list of Moment lenses that are compatible with the new case are the Wide 18mm lens, Tele 58mm lens, Anamorphic lens, 14mm Fisheye lens, and Macro lens. There are also two lanyard attachment points on the case, but it does not come with a lanyard.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Nomad. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
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.
