MacRumors

HBO Max parent company AT&T today unveiled plans to introduce a more affordable version of HBO Max that will include ads to drive the cost down.

A full ad-free HBO Max subscription is priced at $14.99 per month, and it's not yet clear what the price of the ad-supported version will be.

In addition to including ads, the ad-supported version of HBO Max will not include Warner Bros. theatrical releases. Earlier this year, AT&T said that all Warner Bros. movies in 2021 would debut on HBO Max and theaters at the same time.

HBO Max subscribers will get access to titles like "The Matrix 4," "Dune," "In the Heights," "The Suicide Squad," and more on the same day that those films premiere in theaters.

All other HBO Max content, including HBO Max Originals, will be included in the ad-supported tier. HBO Max Original TV shows will not have ads, but ads will be included for other kinds of content.

AT&T expects to have between 120 and 150 million HBO Max and HBO subscribers by the end of 2025. By the end of 2021, AT&T expects to have between 67 and 70 million subscribers worldwide, up from 61 million at the end of 2020.

AT&T plans to make the ad-supported version of HBO Max available sometime in June.

Apple on Tuesday released new 3C39 firmware for the AirPods Max, and there was speculation that the new software was meant to address a battery life problem that users had been experiencing. Some ‌AirPods Max‌ headphones were seeing excessive battery drain while in the Smart Case, and now there's evidence that the update does indeed fix the problem.

Developer Guilherme Rambo tested ‌AirPods Max‌ battery drain before and after the firmware update to see how much battery life was being lost while the ‌AirPods Max‌ were in the Smart Case. Battery drain was measured in half hour intervals, and as the charts show, the ‌AirPods Max‌ lost more battery life in the Smart Case prior to the firmware update.

Updated yesterday. 24 hours later, they did NOT lose a single percent. Still at 97% after 24 hours in the case. On previous software version i would lose 10%+ overnight consistently.

Other MacRumors readers have noted improvements to automatic switching when using the ‌AirPods Max‌, and a fix for a bug that could sometimes cause them to disconnect between devices. From MacRumors reader TechKris:

I can report a 6% battery drop with the new FW after about 8h overnight placed in the case. Automatic switching between M1 MacBook Air and iPhone seems to be much better now. It was unusable before and just had in manual on the Mac.

According to 9to5Mac, the firmware update appears to put the ‌AirPods Max‌ into an ultralow power mode after 30 minutes. Prior to the firmware update, ‌AirPods Max‌ would go into a low power mode when placed in the case, and an ultralow power mode after 18 hours. If this is the case, though, Apple has yet to update its support document to reflect the charging changes.

There's no clear cut way to update firmware for the ‌AirPods Max‌ like there is for devices like the iPhone, but connecting the ‌AirPods Max‌ to a power source and then listening to music for a few seconds to connect them to an ‌iPhone‌ or iPad typically forces the update.

You can check the firmware on your ‌AirPods Max‌ by following these steps:

1. Connect your ‌‌AirPods Max‌‌‌ to your iOS device.
2. Open the Settings app.
3. Tap General.
4. Tap About.
5. Tap ‌‌‌‌‌AirPods‌‌‌‌‌.
6. Look at the number next to "Firmware Version."

Have you noticed better battery life since upgrading to the 3C39 firmware? Let us know in the comments.

iPhone 13 models slated for release later this year will "likely" feature a fingerprint scanner embedded under the display for authentication, in addition to Face ID, according to Barclays analyst Andrew Gardiner and three of his colleagues.

In a research note shared with MacRumors today, the analysts added that iPhone 13 models will feature a smaller notch and that the LiDAR Scanner will remain limited to iPhone 13 Pro models this year, which lines up with information shared by well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this month. Barclays said its research is at least partly based on "extensive industry conversations" with suppliers in recent weeks.

The analysts believe that a smaller notch on iPhone 13 models will be the result of a "more tightly integrated version of the current structured light system" for Face ID, adding that a "bigger shift" is likely to come in 2022, with Apple apparently aiming to adopt time-of-flight architecture for Face ID that would allow for an "even smaller footprint." This lines up with Kuo's prediction that at least some 2022 iPhones could feature a hole-punch display, with only a small hole visible on the screen, like many of Samsung's recent smartphones.

Here's the excerpt from the research note, with emphasis added:

For the coming iPhone 13 cycle in 2H21, we foresee a more tightly integrated version of the existing structured light system, which will enable the long awaited reduction in the notch. On the rear, we do not anticipate Apple to broaden the adoption of the Lidar 3D sensor beyond the Pro models.

For the 2H22 product cycle, we anticipate an architectural shift from structured light to time-of-flight, allowing for an even smaller footprint. Based on our industry conversations, we do not think structured light beneath the screen is likely to be ready for mass deployment in 2H22. We also view the adoption of fingerprint-under-glass, that likely is added in the 2H21 iPhones, as a structural headwind for additional 3D sensing content at Apple and could be the security feature of the future.

The return of Touch ID with a fingerprint scanner under the display has been rumored several times. Back in August 2019, Kuo said Apple planned to launch an iPhone equipped with both Face ID and a fingerprint scanner under the display in 2021, but in his research note earlier this month, he did not mention this feature coming to iPhone 13 models.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern have also claimed that Apple is at least testing an under-display fingerprint scanner for iPhone 13 models, so time will tell whether the feature makes the cut.

Barclays analysts were the first to claim that Apple was planning to stop including a charger with iPhones. In the past, they also accurately revealed True Tone coming to the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, the removal of the headphone jack adapter with iPhone XS and iPhone XR models, and the removal of 3D Touch on all iPhone 11 models.

Disney today announced MagicBand support for iPhone and Apple Watch in a service called "Disney MagicMobile," which uses the Wallet app.

Disney's MagicBand is a colorful wristband that guests can wear at Walt Disney World to enter the theme parks, unlock their hotel room, and buy food and merchandise. MagicMobile brings a contactless way to access many MagicBand features using only an ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch.

Guests will be able to create a Disney MagicMobile pass through the My Disney Experience app and add it to the Wallet app. The user's ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch can then be used at the same contactless access points as with a MagicBand. There is also the option to use a MagicBand alongside a MagicMobile mobile pass, so guests do not need to choose one over the other.

Initially, MagicMobile will be exclusive to Apple devices only, but the service is expected to come to Android devices at a later date.

Apple's next-generation AirPods are "ready to ship," and the second-generation AirPods will be discontinued this month as a result, a proven leaker known as "Kang" said today on Chinese social media website Weibo.

Apple is widely rumored to be working on third-generation AirPods, with leaked images and renders suggesting that the new earphones will have a similar design as the AirPods Pro, including shorter stems. While the new AirPods may look similar to the AirPods Pro, they are not expected to feature Active Noise Cancellation.

"Kang" also shared their belief that the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will outsell the 11-inch model in 2021, suggesting that the next-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro could have at least one exclusive feature compared to the 11-inch model. Apple is widely rumored to have a new iPad Pro with a Mini-LED display in the pipeline, but most rumors have only mentioned the 12.9-inch model, so perhaps Mini-LED will be exclusive to the 12.9-inch model.

The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro is also expected to feature a faster A14X chip and support for 5G networks on models with cellular connectivity. It's possible these two features could extend to a new 11-inch model, but it's unclear.

"Kang" recently suggested that Apple plans to host an event on Tuesday, March 23, where the new AirPods and new iPad Pro could be announced. Other products rumored to be in Apple's pipeline include the long-awaited AirTags item trackers, a new Apple TV with more of a gaming focus, and a redesigned iMac powered by Apple silicon, but it's unclear if any of those products will be unveiled this month.

"Kang" has a nearly perfect track record with Apple rumors, having previously leaked accurate details about iPhone 12 models, Apple Watch Series 6 models, the fourth-generation iPad Air, the HomePod mini, and many other devices in recent months.

Google's Chrome browser has been criticized for years for being a system resource hog, but Chromium developers are making some loud claims about how much smarter the latest version is at using and freeing up memory on macOS.

According to a new post on Google's Chromium blog, Chrome developers recently managed to shrink the memory footprint of background tabs on Mac by up to 8%, or just over 1GB on some systems in version 89 of the browser.

Tab Throttling, which acts on pages that are not currently active, is also said to have led to significant improvements by reducing JavaScript Timer wake-ups. Background tabs no longer wake up the CPU as often and preserve battery life, and as a result, Chrome uses up to 5x less CPU, while battery life is up to 1.25 hours better, says Google.

According to the developers, since its introduction in Chrome 87 and wider rollout in Chrome 88, the feature has been responsible for a 65% improvement on Chrome's Apple Energy Impact score for pages in the background.

The highlighted improvements are in stark contrast to recently reported independent measurements which claimed to demonstrate that Google Chrome uses 10x more RAM than Safari on macOS Big Sur.

The interpretation of those measurements has since been contested, but separately Apple still claims that Safari on ‌macOS Big Sur‌ is "50% faster on average at loading frequently visited websites than Chrome." Apple also says Safari can stream video for up to one and a half hours longer, and can keep users browsing normally on a single charge for up to one hour longer, compared to Chrome and Firefox.

Google Chrome for Mac is a free download available directly from Google's servers. Google Chrome for iOS is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

In its latest emailed Apple Pay promotion, Apple is offering deals on three different grocery and meal plan delivery services from now until March 17 when using the company's digital payments service.

The first deal partners with Instacart to offer new subscribers a two-month Express membership for free. People who sign up for the offer also get $5 off their first order when they use ‌Apple Pay‌ at checkout.

The second deal is for meal plan and delivery service HelloFresh. New customers can get 50% off their first box and 25% off the next three boxes they order when using the code APPLEPAY at checkout.

The third and final deal is for Daily Harvest, another meal plan delivery company. New customers can get $30 off their first box by using the code APPLEPAY at checkout.

‌Apple Pay‌ users can still take advantage of Apple's last emailed promotion, which runs until March 18 and offers Bed Bath & Beyond customers 10% back on purchases in the form of My Funds rewards.

T-Mobile has plans to rapidly expand the availability of 5G across the United States, with the company aiming to offer "Ultra Capacity 5G" to 90 percent of Americans by the end of 2023.

"Ultra Capacity 5G" includes T-Mobile's mid-band and millimeter wave 5G connectivity, with the company also planning to offer slower "Extended Range 5G" across 97 percent of the U.S. by the end of 2022.

As highlighted by The Verge, T-Mobile shared the forecast during a virtual analyst event that took place today. At the current time, 125 million people have access to T-Mobile's Ultra Capacity 5G, a number that will expand to 200 million by the end of 2021.

According to T-Mobile, those who have access to Ultra Capacity 5G can expect an increase in speed from 300Mb/s to 400Mb/s as T-Mobile builds out its 5G network with spectrum acquired during its merger with Sprint.

T-Mobile recently purchased C-band spectrum (which was also made available to Verizon and AT&T) that will become usable in 2023 and will help the company reach its availability goals.

As Apple prepares to implement App Tracking Transparency changes in iOS 14.5, CNBC spoke with several former Facebook employees to get details on why Facebook has been so heavily against the planned privacy updates.

Starting this spring, Facebook and other app developers will need to get express permission to access a user's advertising identifier, or IDFA, which is used to track usage across apps and websites for ad targeting purposes. Facebook has campaigned heavily against App Tracking Transparency, taking out full page newspaper ads and attempting to position Apple as an enemy of small businesses.

One of Facebook's main arguments is that Apple's changes will hurt businesses that use Facebook's advertising tools, but former Facebook employee Henry Love told CNBC that for many businesses, the change might not even be noticeable.

Less ad tracking data will prevent Facebook and its clients from targeting ads as effectively as they can now, but a lot of businesses may not need much data for effective ad targeting. A small coffee shop in Texas, for example, likely uses broad targeting categories like zip code and age range for ads, which is data that Facebook can collect from its own apps without the need for the IDFA.

"If you talked to any restaurant owner anywhere and asked them what IDFA is, I don't think any of them would know what that is," Love said. "It's affecting Facebook at scale. Not the small business owners."

Among the few "small business owners" who might feel the effects of the IDFA change are start-ups backed by venture capital money who have hired professionals with the skills to target users with sniper precision, Love said.

People who are targeting users across mobile, web, and the Facebook Audience Network with the IDFA are "not small businesses," with Love calling such companies "sophisticated, VC-backed startups."

App Tracking Transparency will threaten Facebook's view-through conversion tracking, a metric that lets ad companies figure out how many people saw an ad, didn't click it, but later made a purchase related to the ad. Retailers can record the info of the person who bought an item and then share it with Facebook, with Facebook able to determine whether that person's IDFA matches with a user who saw an ad for the product purchased.

CNBC says that the loss of this info could heavily impact Facebook because if advertisers can't accurately measure the effectiveness of Instagram and Facebook ads, they might shift more of their budget to other apps and services.

Facebook's Audience Network, which provides advertisements in non-Facebook apps, will also be impacted because it uses IDFA data to choose the best ads to show to users based on Facebook data. If users opt out of sharing the IDFA, Facebook's ad personalization efforts will be rendered useless outside of its own apps.

Facebook is planning to ask users for permission to access the IDFA, and is testing wording that suggests the tracking will provide a better ad experience. Facebook test prompts encourage customers to allow IDFA usage to "support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers."

Netflix may be cracking down on those who share passwords between separate households, according to a test found by The Streamable. Some Netflix subscribers have been getting a message about not living with the account holder when attempting to stream content.

"If you don't live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching," reads the warning message. From there, users are prompted to verify the account with an email or text verification code, or to sign up for a separate Netflix account.

Netflix told The Streamable that the test is "designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so." It's not clear if the warning is popping up based on IP address or another metric.

Netflix's terms of service do prohibit subscribers from sharing their passwords with people outside of their households, but many people do so anyway. Back in 2020, Netflix chief product officer Greg Peters told The Wall Street Journal that Netflix monitors password sharing, but at the time, had no plans to announce on the topic.

There are built-in limits to the number of devices that can simultaneously stream content from Netflix. The $8.99 basic plan is limits streaming to a single device, while the $13.99 standard plan allows for streaming on two devices. The $17.99 plan allows for streaming on up to four devices.

The MagPad by Cozy is a soft, silicone pad that's designed to fit over Apple's MagSafe Charger. Priced at around $7, the MagPad comes in a range of colors and patterns.

Size wise, the MagPad adds about an inch of additional space to the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, and it's about the size of a standard Qi-based wireless charger. The silicone material is textured and the bright colors are more attractive than the standard white ‌MagSafe‌ color.

The back of the MagPad has a cutout for the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger where it fits in tightly, with a space for routing the cord. There's a bit of a lip that fits over the MagPad to hold it in place, so it won't go anywhere when attached to a ‌MagSafe‌ Charger.

The silicone surface where the MagPad covers the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger is thin, but it does weaken the magnetic connection, something that I found to be a plus. When I'm using the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger on my desk, detaching it from my iPhone is a hassle.

I tend to use a gesture where I use a thumb or my fingers to detach it and slide it off so I don't have to pick it up with my ‌iPhone‌, and that's made easier with the MagPad on. I have a lot more surface area so it just takes the tips of my fingers to pull my ‌iPhone‌ up, leaving the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger in the MagPad on my desk without disturbing it.

At the same time, there's still enough of a magnetic connection that I can set my ‌iPhone‌ down and have it attach in just the right place for charging, so the actual quick magnetic adherence isn't impacted, nor is the charging speed. The ‌iPhone‌ aligns perfectly through the silicone layer, so charging isn't impacted anymore than it is when you use a case.

In my testing, my ‌iPhone‌ 12 charged to 67 percent from dead in an hour with the MagPad and a ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, which is even faster than I've seen the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger charge on its own in some situations.

If you have a ‌MagSafe‌ Duo, the MagPad functionality is similar. It's a lot easier to detach an ‌iPhone‌ from a ‌MagSafe‌ Duo than from a standard ‌MagSafe‌ Charger just because of that extra bit of material that lets you get your fingers in the right spot to pry the ‌iPhone‌ off of the charger quickly and easily.

With the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger as a desk charger, the MagPad works great to make it easier to use. Cozy says that it's also able to prevent the rings that can be imprinted into the Leather Cases from Apple, but I don't own a leather case to test this out. The premise makes sense, though, because the MagPad is adding a silicone layer that makes the magnetic connection weaker to lessen the force of the charger.

Someone who uses the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger as a charging option while the ‌iPhone‌ is in use may not prefer the MagPad, but if you use it in multiple ways, it's worth noting that it's easy to pull off when needed. It works with a naked ‌iPhone‌ and with an ‌iPhone‌ in a MagSafe-compatible case.

Bottom Line

If you want an accessory to make the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger look better on a desk, or if you want a simple solution to make your ‌iPhone‌ 12 model easier to pick up, the MagPad is well worth checking out. It's affordable, functional, and overall a great little add-on option to improve Apple's ‌MagSafe‌ Charger for desktop use.

How to Buy

The MagPad can be purchased from Amazon for $6.91, with a two-pack also available for $9.87. Those outside of the United States or who don't use Amazon can buy the MagPad directly from Cozy's website.

Apple today filed a lawsuit against Simon Lancaster, a former employee who allegedly used his position within the company to steal "sensitive trade secret information" from Apple that was then leaked to a journalist and published in rumor articles.

Lancaster worked at Apple for more than a decade, using his seniority to attend internal meetings and access documents that Apple says were "outside the scope of his job's responsibilities." Details he obtained were published in media articles that "cited a 'source' at Apple."

In exchange for the leaked information, Lancaster asked the media person he was in contact with for favors, such as providing favorable coverage of a startup company that Lancaster invested in.

Until November 1, 2019, Lancaster was employed as an Advanced Materials Lead and Product Design Architect involved with multiple hardware projects. His role was evaluating materials and prototyping innovations for future hardware devices. He began leaking details to the media contact on November 29, 2018 through text messages, emails, and phone calls.

After resigning from Apple, Lancaster "deepened" his relationship with the media correspondent he was speaking to, and Apple's internal investigation of Apple-owned devices that Lancaster returned after employment suggested that he communicated about "specific Apple trade secrets" while also taking "specific steps" to seek out additional information. On his last day, Lancaster downloaded a "substantial number" of confidential Apple documents.

Further, forensic review of the devices Apple provided to Lancaster for his work at Apple shows Lancaster and the Correspondent coordinated to pilfer specific documents and product information from Apple. On numerous occasions, the Correspondent had requested Lancaster obtain specific Apple trade secret documents and information. On multiple occasions, Lancaster then sent the Correspondent certain of the requested confidential materials using Apple-owned devices. On other occasions, Lancaster met with the Correspondent in person to provide them with the requested confidential Apple information.

According to Apple, the information that Lancaster shared included details of "unreleased Apple hardware products, unannounced feature changes to existing hardware products, and future product announcements." He also took on a new role at Arris Composites, a vendor serving under Apple, and Apple says that he accessed confidential information that would assist Arris in addition to leaking Apple documents to the media.

Apple does not provide detail on which products were leaked by Lancaster, but many of the leaks happened right around October and November of 2019, and concerned what Apple calls "Project X." Just after Lancaster left, in fact, he spoke with the journalist that he leaked details to, congratulating the person on the success of an article that contained details he had leaked.

Like all Apple employees, Lancaster signed a "Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Agreement" prior to being hired by Apple that prohibits them from sharing secret and proprietary information, plus he attended "security trainings" and "Business Conduct" events centered on preventing theft of secret documents.

Apple is now seeking damages that were incurred as a result of the trade secrets that Lancaster stole, with Apple planning to determine the amount at trial. Apple also wants to recover from Lancaster all gains, profits, and advantages that he obtained through the document theft.

The lawsuit was first shared by AppleInsider this afternoon. We've uploaded the full document, and it's a fascinating read that covers leak culture within Apple and the lengths the company will go to in order to put a stop to it.

Google today announced a number of improvements that are coming to the Google Maps app in the near future, including a tool that makes it easier to highlight missing roads and transportation errors.

Choosing the Missing Road option lets users add missing roads by drawing lines, which is an upgrade from the prior tool that was pin based. Users could drop a pin where there was an error, but the new road drawing tool allows for better accuracy.

In addition to drawing lines to add missing roads, the tool lets users rename roads, change the direction of a road, and realign or delete incorrect roads. There are also tools for informing Google about road closures with specific dates, reasons, and routes.

Google is vetting all contributed road updates before publishing them to maps. The new editing feature is rolling out over the coming months to more than 80 countries.

Along with new road editing tools, Google is adding a photos update option to Google Maps. In the coming weeks, Google plans to add a tool that will let users "share experiences and highlights" with their recent photos.

Photo updates can be added by going to the "Updates" tab when viewing a specific place in Google Maps and tapping the "upload a photo update" button. The tool will also display photos shared by others.