MacRumors

iCloud Mail has been experiencing an outage that began a few hours ago, and some users may be experiencing intermittent issues with accessing their inbox as a result, according to Apple's system status page.

Only some users are affected by the outage, according to Apple, so your mileage may vary. We'll update this story once the issue is marked as resolved.

There was also an iCloud Keychain outage over the weekend that is now resolved.

Update: Apple says the iCloud Mail outage is resolved.

Last week Apple announced brand new updates to its 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the faster M1 processor and a brand new mini-LED 12.9-inch display. Both models will become available for pre-order starting on April 30, and Apple says they'll be shipping in the second half of May.

Now, according to Apple leaker Jon Prosser, the 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, which features a faster ‌M1‌ processor and improved cameras compared to the previous model, will be shipping on May 22. The larger 12.9-inch model, which features the ‌M1‌ chip, better cameras, and a new mini-LED display, will ship a day earlier, on May 21.

It is worth noting that May 22, which is when Prosser claims the 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ will be shipping, is on a Saturday. Apple typically refrains from product launches during the weekend.

Before Apple's product announcement last week, reports had suggested that Apple was suffering from considerable supply restraints. The ongoing chip shortage is reportedly impacting several of Apple's suppliers, and the delay between the announcement and shipments of the new devices has appears to back up these reports.

Apple has in the past announced products only to ship them weeks later, so the situation is not entirely peculiar. While we know the dates for the new iPad Pros, we're still in the dark on the redesigned 24-inch iMac, which Apple also says will begin shipping in the second half of May.

A ransomware group that last week stole schematics from Apple supplier Quanta Computer and threatened to release the trove of documents has mysteriously removed all references related to the extortion attempt from its dark web blog, MacRumors can confirm.

The ransomware group known as REvil claimed last Tuesday that it had accessed the internal computers of Taiwan-based Quanta and managed to obtain several images and schematics of unreleased Apple products.

BleepingComputer reported that the group initially demanded Quanta pay $50 million for recovery of the files. However, according to an April 20 statement posted on the hacker group's site, Quanta refused to pay the ransom, which led the criminals to go after Apple for the money instead.

To prove it had hacked into Quanta's servers and in order to turn up the pressure on Apple, the hackers publicly posted a handful of images depicting unreleased product schematics, including details on Apple's unreleased next-generation MacBooks.

The group threatened to publish new data every day leading up to May 1, unless Apple paid the $50 million ransom demand in exchange for deleting the files.

The extortion attempt was timed to coincide with Apple's April 20 "Spring Loaded" digital event, where Apple announced AirTag item trackers, new iPad Pro models, and new iMacs. Despite the threat, however, no additional stolen documents have been leaked online since the original demand was made public.

Historically, REvil isn't known for bluffing and routinely posts stolen documents if its victims don't pay up, so it's unclear why the group has failed to follow through on this occasion, and Apple has so far not commented on the breach. The group actively continues to extort other companies, so what has prompted it to remove all content linked to the Quanta hack remains unknown. We'll update this article if we learn more.

Apple today reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to create jobs and opportunities in the United States by announcing a $430 billion investment over the next five years.

The new investment will help create more than 20,000 new jobs across the country and beats its previous investment of $350 billion announced in 2018. The new round of job creation will focus on innovations from 5G, next-generation silicon, and AI. CEO Tim Cook says that as countries slowly recover from the global health crisis, Apple is doubling down on its own responsibility to build a better tomorrow.

"At this moment of recovery and rebuilding, Apple is doubling down on our commitment to US innovation and manufacturing with a generational investment reaching communities across all 50 states," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We're creating jobs in cutting-edge fields — from 5G to silicon engineering to artificial intelligence — investing in the next generation of innovative new businesses, and in all our work, building toward a greener and more equitable future.

As part of today's announcement, Apple also unveiled its plan to invest over $1 billion in North Carolina and build a new engineering and research center in the Research Triangle area. This investment alone will create at least 3,000 new jobs, in addition to a $100 million support fund for local schools and communities.

Apple will also establish a $100 million fund to support schools and community initiatives in the greater Raleigh-Durham area and across the state, and will be contributing over $110 million in infrastructure spending to the 80 North Carolina counties with the greatest need — funds that will go toward broadband, roads and bridges, and public schools. When up and running, Apple’s investments are expected to generate over $1.5 billion in economic benefits annually for North Carolina.

At a private meeting on the sidelines of an informal gathering of tech and social media executives in July of 2019 in Sun Valley, Idaho, Apple CEO Tim Cook urged Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg to delete all user information his company has collected from third-party apps, according to The New York Times.

According to the Times, the executives met annually at the conference organized by investment bank Allen & Company to "catch up" and attempt to "repair their fraying relationship."

In particular, this meeting in the summer of 2019 came as Facebook was embroiled in a massive scandal involving Cambridge Analytica. Facebook had come under intense scrutiny for sharing the information of more than 50 million users, without their consent, with voter-profiling firm Cambridge Analytica to use for political ads during the 2016 Presidental election.

During their meeting, Zuckerberg reportedly asked Cook how he would deal with the situation. He responded that Facebook should delete user information it has collected from third-party apps.

At the meeting, Mr. Zuckerberg asked Mr. Cook how he would handle the fallout from the controversy, people with knowledge of the conversation said. Mr. Cook responded acidly that Facebook should delete any information that it had collected about people outside of its core apps.

According to people with direct knowledge of the meeting, Zuckerberg was "stunned" by Cook's answer given the fact that Facebook's business model consists of user data and using the data to provide more personalized ads. Zuckerberg interpreted Cook's answer as the CEO saying his business was "untenable."

During a TV interview with MSNBC in 2018, Cook was pressed on how he would deal with the situation Zuckerberg found himself in. "I wouldn't be in this situation," Cook responded.

The two executives and companies have rarely seen eye-to-eye, and the tension between the two is likely to reach its peak this week. In the coming days, Apple will release iOS and iPadOS 14.5 with ATT or App Tracking Transparency, which will crack down on apps tracking users across other apps and websites without their consent.

Once the iOS update is released, all apps, including Facebook, will be required to ask for a user's permission before tracking them across apps and websites owned by other companies. Users can accept to be tracked or not. If the latter, Apple will block that app from collecting data about the users from other apps and services.

Facebook has blasted the new change as unfair, calling it a severe blow to small businesses which use the Facebook platform and its accompanying ad business to run personalized ads for users. Facebook expects the majority of users to opt-out of tracking, which will, in turn, lead to less effective data for the social media giant to use to deliver tailored, personalized ads.

Despite his initial rejection of ATT, Mark Zuckerberg has recently changed tones on Apple's upcoming change. In a Clubhouse meeting earlier last month, the CEO says that Facebook may "be in a stronger position" due to the upcoming change possibly encouraging more businesses to "conduct more commerce on our platforms by making it harder for them to use their data in order to find the customers that would want to use their products outside of our platforms."

In public appearances and interviews in the run-up to the launch of ATT, Cook has said Apple is looking to provide users a choice about whether they wished to be tracked or not. In a recent speech at a privacy conference, Cook indirectly called out social media companies, including Facebook, that fuel disinformation and conspiracy theories with their algorithms.

Apple has yet to start testing the second prototype of its rumored AR glasses, bucking the expectations of its supply partners who expected testing to commence in the first quarter of this year, according to a new report.

Apple is known to be working on a set of augmented reality glasses that look like regular glasses, but which feature lenses with built-in displays that can be interacted with using gestures. The current prototype is said to resemble high-end sunglasses with thick frames that house the battery and chips.

According to a DigiTimes report from January, Apple was about to enter the second phase of development of the glasses, with a focus on improving the device's weight and battery life, suggesting they could move into volume production as early as the first quarter of 2022.

However, a new report from the Taiwanese publication claims that P2 testing has yet to begin, therefore the chance of volume production in Q1 2022 is now unlikely.

The sources pointed out that after P2, the AR glasses prototype may still need to go through P3 testing, followed by another 2-3 phases of engineering testing before standing a chance of entering volume production.

The supply chain originally estimated that the Apple wearable could start volume production as early as first-quarter 2022, the sources said. But as the P2 testing has yet to begin, the chance of volume production in first-quarter 2022 is looking unlikely, the sources added.

A Bloomberg report in January described the glasses as "several years away," though Apple had initially been planning to release them as early as 2023. A previous report from ‌DigiTimes‌ suggested Apple's AR glasses would launch in 2021, while Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said he expects a 2022 launch at the earliest.

Apple is believed to be working on multiple AR/VR projects, including a headset with an App Store. In an internal meeting, Apple reportedly said the headset may be announced in 2021 and released in 2022, so it sounds like the headset will launch before the glasses. According to today's ‌DigiTimes‌ report, Samsung is still on track to launch a pair of rival AR glasses next year.

Apple TV has received the proper and needed regulatory approval to officially launch in mainland China, according to sources across Chinese social media platform Weibo and popular local tech blogger @Voooolks.

According to the blogger, who has more than 1.4 million followers on Weibo, Apple TV has received approval from China's State Administration of Press and Publication, Radio, Film, and Television to launch in the country. A rumor earlier this month indicated that Apple TV was under review by the state agency.

The news of a possible imminent launch of Apple TV in China comes almost a week following the announcement of a new, more powerful Apple TV. Last week Apple unveiled an updated Apple TV with the more powerful A12 Bionic chip and a redesigned Apple TV remote.

China adheres to a strict set of rules regarding the flow of content within its borders. Like all international companies wishing to operate with Chinese customers, Apple must abide by and follow the local law.

Even with current services and products in China, such as the App Store, content is regulated to a strict set of standards. If Apple TV were to launch in China, it would likely be limited in functionality besides basic features such as AirPlay 2 and other native Apple features. Content availability with popular channels and apps such as Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and others won't be available, under current local law.

Even in a limited scope, an Apple TV launch in China would play to Apple's growing role in the country. CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives often call China an increasingly important market where competition is fierce with local companies such as Huwaei. In conjunction with a loyal consumer base, China contuines to serve as Apple's major production hub.

Update: The leaker has posted saying he apologizes for "exposing" the information about Apple TV. A launch is always possible, but the blogger seems to have backed down from his original claim.

AirTag pre-orders only went live on Friday, but some customers who placed orders have already seen those orders shift over to "preparing to ship" status over the course of the weekend.

Orders that are preparing to ship are no longer able to be canceled, and soon those orders should be able to be tracked using methods like UPS My Choice and track by reference number in the United States. The first customers who ordered on Friday will see their devices arriving on Friday, April 30.

Priced at $29 each or $99 for a four pack, users can attach an AirTag to things like a wallet, keys, purse, or backpack and then keep track of the item's location in the Find My app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Initial supplies of AirTags‌ began to dwindle in the first hours that pre-orders opened on Apple's website – shipping estimates for single AirTags quickly slipped into May, while engraved ‌AirTags‌ won't deliver until late May or early June.

As of writing, 1-pack AirTag orders without engraving are listed as shipping within five to seven business days in the U.S., while engraved AirTags ship within five to six weeks. Meanwhile, a 4-pack of AirTags ships within five to six weeks with or without engraving.

Third-party retailers are also offering ‌AirTags‌ and it's possible orders could ship out close to the ‌AirTag‌ release date. Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini in a new purple color also began on Friday. Many configurations still remain available for April 30 delivery.

Apple's "Spring Loaded" media event this week was certainly loaded with announcements, headlined by colorful all-new iMac models, AirTags item trackers, and a new M1-powered iPad Pro, but there were lots of other announcements during the jam-packed event.

We also saw an updated Apple TV 4K set-top box with an all-new remote, a new purple color option for the iPhone 12 and 12 mini, new podcast subscriptions, and an Apple Card Family feature, just to name a few, so read on for all of the details from a busy week!

Everything Announced at Apple's Spring Event in Just 6 Minutes

We've condensed Apple's fast-paced, one-hour presentation into a six-minute video that recaps all of the major announcements, or the event can be replayed in its entirety on YouTube or on Apple's website. Check out our full April 2021 event coverage as well.

Apple also announced that iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5 will be available starting "next week." The software updates are packed with new features, including the ability for iPhone users who are wearing an Apple Watch to unlock the iPhone with Face ID while wearing a mask. iOS 14.5 is also the minimum software version required for the AirTag.

We've recapped other news from the Apple Event in the stories below.

Apple Announces Redesigned iMac With M1 Chip and Seven Color Options

For the first time in over a decade, the iMac has received a substantial redesign. The new iMac is just 11.5mm thick and will be available in up to seven vibrant colors depending on the configuration, including green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver.

The front of the new iMac has white bezels with a color-matched metal chin below the 24-inch display, and notably, there is no more Apple logo on the front of the machine. For video calls, the new iMac has a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, "studio-quality" microphones, and a six-speaker sound system.

Powered by Apple's custom M1 chip with an 8-core CPU and up to an 8-core GPU, the new iMac can be configured with up to 16GB of unified memory and up to 2TB of SSD storage. There's also a minimum of two combo Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports, with an additional two USB 3 ports on higher-end models. The headphone jack has been repositioned to the side of the computer.

The new iMac comes with a new color-matched Magic Keyboard that is available with Touch ID for the first time, and there are now color-matched Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad accessories too.

The new iMac will be available to order on Apple.com starting Friday, April 30, and it will begin arriving to customers in the second half of May. Pricing starts at $1,299 in the United States. Apple also continues to sell an Intel-based 27-inch iMac, which was released in August 2020.

Apple Announces AirTag Item Tracker Starting at $29 Each

Following just over two years of rumors, the AirTag is finally an official product. The small Tile-like accessory lets you easily track things like your keys, wallet, purse, backpack, luggage, and more in the Find My app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

AirTag is equipped with the Apple-designed U1 chip using Ultra Wideband technology, enabling Precision Finding for iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 users. This technology can more accurately determine the distance and direction to a lost AirTag when it is in range.

AirTags have a white side and a polished stainless steel side, with IP67-rated water and dust resistance. Apple says the AirTag is designed for over a year's worth of battery life with everyday use, and it uses a widely available CR2032 watch battery that is user-replaceable.

AirTag is designed with privacy and security in mind, with no location data or location history physically stored inside the AirTag and built-in features that discourage unwanted tracking, according to Apple.

AirTags can be purchased individually for $29 each or in a four-pack for $99, and they went on sale on Friday, April 23 ahead of an April 30 launch. Shipping dates through Apple quickly began to slip, however, so you may want to also look at third-party retailers.

Apple Introduces Next-Generation iPad Pro With M1 Chip, Thunderbolt, 5G, XDR Display, and More

Following months of rumors, a new iPad Pro is finally here, and it's powered by the same M1 chip as the latest Macs for up to 50 percent faster performance than the A12Z chip in the previous iPad Pro.

Exclusive to the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro is an all-new Liquid Retina XDR display, with up to 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness, up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The display uses mini-LED backlighting with over 10,000 LEDs to deliver true-to-life HDR content.

The new iPad Pro is available with up to 2TB of storage, which is double the previous limit, and up to 16GB of RAM.

Newly added support for Thunderbolt and USB4 provides up to 40Gbps total bandwidth. Thunderbolt supports 10Gbps Ethernet, high-performance accessories, and high-resolution displays like Apple's Pro Display XDR. And on cellular models, Apple has added support for 5G.

Pricing starts at $799 for the new 11-inch iPad Pro, while the new 12.9-inch model with the XDR display starts at $1,099. Orders begin Friday, April 30, with availability in the second half of May.

Apple has also made the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro available in a white color. Current 12.9-inch iPad Pro users who own a Magic Keyboard should be aware that the new model is officially not compatible with last year's Magic Keyboard model due to the increase in thickness of the device.

New Apple TV 4K Announced With A12 Bionic Chip and Redesigned Siri Remote

The Apple TV 4K received a spec bump this week, with the updated model sporting a faster A12 chip that enables high frame rate HDR and Dolby Vision video.

There's also a completely redesigned Siri Remote with a physical clickpad that offers five-way navigation, and the clickpad is touch enabled for users who prefer to navigate tvOS with swipe gestures. The remote also has power and mute buttons for a TV, while the Siri button has been moved to the right side of the remote, consistent with modern iPhones.

Apple TV is also getting a new Color Balance feature. Starting with tvOS 14.5 and iOS 14.5, users will be able to hold an iPhone with Face ID near their TV and the front-facing camera and ambient light sensor will begin color measurements and automatically tailor the Apple TV's video output to deliver more accurate colors and improved contrast. Apple says this process will result in improved picture quality without adjusting the TV's settings.

The new Apple TV 4K can be ordered beginning Friday, April 30, with availability beginning in the second half of May. The new Siri Remote is included in the box, and it will also be sold separately for $59 for use with any Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD model released in 2015 or later.

Apple Launches iPhone 12 and 12 Mini in New Purple Color

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are now available to order in a new purple color, with the first orders arriving on April 30.

Another smaller announcement at this week's Apple Event was the introduction of Apple Podcast subscriptions, allowing users to unlock additional podcast benefits such as ad-free listening, access to additional content, and early or exclusive access to new series, with pricing starting as low as 49 cents per month.

There's also a new Apple Card Family feature that will be available in May, allowing spouses to share accounts and build credit together, and enabling families with members over thirteen years old to share a single ‌Apple Card‌. Apple's credit card remains limited to the United States.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

In April, Apple introduced an iPhone-based color balance feature for Apple TV that can improve the overall picture quality of your television set when you're using Apple's set-top box.

Using the iPhone's light sensor, the feature compares the color balance to industry-standard specifications, and automatically adjusts your ‌Apple TV‌'s video output to deliver more accurate colors and improved contrast.

Follow the steps below to try it out. For best results, Apple suggests avoiding the use of bright or highly saturated picture modes on your TV like "vivid" or "sports."

What You'll Need

• ‌Apple TV‌ HD (2015) or later
• ‌iPhone‌ with Face ID (‌iPhone‌ X or later)
• tvOS 14.5 or later
• iOS 14.5 or later

How to Color Balance Apple TV With iPhone

1. With your ‌iPhone‌ unlocked and nearby, launch the Settings app on your ‌Apple TV‌.
2. Select the Video and Audio menu.
   
   

3. Under "Calibration," select Color Balance. If the option says "Not Required," your smart TV doesn't need adjusting. It also is unavailable with Dolby Vision.
4. When the notification appears on your ‌iPhone‌, follow the onscreen instructions: Turn your ‌iPhone‌ around so the front-facing camera is pointing at your TV, hold it centered inside the displayed frame within one inch of the screen, and keep it there until the progress icon fills up (it should only take a few seconds).
   
   

5. Select View Results to see how your TV has been adjusted.

The results show you a side-by-side comparison of the original colors that your TV was displaying and the balance-adjusted colors. The calibrated version should look more natural and perhaps warmer.

FCC filings for Apple's newly released AirTags have revealed that the Cupertino tech giant began regulatory testing and preparing to seek regulatory approval for the product nearly two years before they were officially announced.

A series of documents submitted to the Federal Communications Commission indicate that AirTag underwent testing for official certification between July and November of 2019. Despite testing being conducted in mid-2019, official reports for regulatory certification were only issued in September and October of last year.

Like all consumer products, Apple devices must undergo extensive and rigorous testing with the FCC in the United States and regulatory agencies of countries where the device will be sold before they can reach the market. What makes this case particularly interesting is that AirTags were the subject of rumors for a full two years, with a launch seemingly imminent for much of that time.

With the FCC filings indicating that AirTags were far enough along that they were undergoing regulatory testing in 2019, it suggests that Apple may indeed have pushed back the AirTags launch by as much as a year. While the exact reasoning behind Apple's delay for AirTags remains a point of mystery, an educated guess could be that the company wanted to build out its Find My network before its launch to avoid accusations of anti-competitive behavior.

As AirTags were rumored to be in development, Tile, which creates a line of similar item trackers, began to ring the alarm bells that certain features in iOS would make it harder to compete with the eventual Apple item tracker. At the time, companies such as Tile had no real platform or network on Apple devices that would render their item trackers mainstream or particularly easy to use compared to an Apple-made accessory.

That all changed earlier this month when Apple announced it's opening up the Find My network to third-party accessory makers. ‌AirTag‌ is built off of the ‌Find My‌ network that consists of more than a billion Apple devices that use encrypted signals to crowdsource the location of other ‌Find My‌ compatible devices and items.

By opening up the network to third-party companies ahead of the launch of AirTags, Apple may have felt it would be avoiding scrutiny and anti-competitive accusations given that its own item tracker would no longer have an advantage on Apple devices compared to those made by other companies.

Tile doesn't use Apple's ‌Find My‌ ecosystem, and it's unclear if the company plans to adopt the network in the future. Others, however, such as Belkin, VanMoof, and Chipolo, have announced plans to adopt the ‌Find My‌ network for their own products, including wireless earbuds, bikes, and an item tracker, respectively.

Apple's own AirTags became available for pre-order earlier today and will begin arriving to customers on April 30.

Apple is launching a program that will provide COVID-19 vaccinations to its employees at Apple offices, reports Bloomberg. Apple is teaming up with Walgreens Boots Alliance to provide the shots, and employees will be able to sign up on a website that Apple will soon roll out.

Apple in March promised time off for employees who need to recover from getting vaccinated, but at the time said that it did not have a way to provide vaccinations. With vaccine availability expanding widely in the United States, Apple is now able to provide additional help to employees who still need the vaccine.

In California, where Apple's main corporate campuses are located, all individuals over the age of 16 have been eligible for a vaccine since April 15. Demand in the Bay Area is high, however, and it can be difficult for individuals living in and around Cupertino to conveniently get vaccinated.

Apple's vaccination program is voluntary, and Apple is offering sick leave for employees who need time to recover from symptoms after receiving the vaccine.

With employees able to be vaccinated, Apple may also be able to get them back in offices sooner, though Bloomberg says the company has not asked employees to return nor has it set a firm date for employees to return after getting vaccinated. Apple CEO Tim Cook has, however, told employees that a large number of them will begin returning in June.

Back in March, Cook said that he "can't wait" for employees to return to the office as person-to-person interactions are essential for generating new ideas. "Innovation isn't always a planned activity," Cook said. "It's bumping into each other over the course of the day and advancing an idea that you just had. And you really need to be together to do that."

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 today seeded the first betas of new iOS and iPadOS 14.6 updates to public beta testers for testing purposes, with the new software coming one day after the the betas were provided to developers and just ahead of when Apple plans to release iOS and iPadOS 14.5.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS and iPadOS‌ 14.6 updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website on an iOS device.

If you're already on the release candidate version of iOS 14.5, Apple has added a new feature that makes it easy to choose to upgrade to the new beta or stay with the release track, and you'll see the update listed under a new "Also Available" section.

We don't yet know what's included in the iOS and iPadOS 14.6 updates, and there were no new features discovered in the developer beta that went out yesterday. Apple may add new features to iOS 14.6 in a later beta, or it may focus on under-the-hood improvements and bug fixes for issues unable to be addressed in iOS 14.5.

Apple has also seeded a new public beta of tvOS 14.6 to public beta testers, which can be downloaded by opening up the Settings app on the Apple TV, navigating to the Software Updates section under "System" and then toggling on "Get Public Beta Updates" after signing up to beta test on Apple's public beta website.

Shipping estimates for Apple's AirTags are already slipping in to May directly from Apple's site, but third-party retailers are also offering AirTags and it's possible orders could ship out close to the AirTags release date.

AirTags can be preordered on Amazon, and while it mentions the AirTags release date of April 30, it does not seem to guarantee a delivery date. "Order now and we'll notify you by email when we have an estimated delivery date for this item," the site reads.

Best Buy also has AirTag preorders and the Best Buy listings do say that the AirTags will "ship by release day," which is not a release day delivery guarantee.

B&H Photo and Adorama are accepting preorders, but do not list release or shipping dates. On Target's website, AirTags are available to preorder but there's no release date listed.

In the UK, AirTags will be available from John Lewis and Currys PC World.

AirTags purchased from third-party retailers are plain, and those hoping for an engraved AirTag will need to order directly from Apple. Unengraved AirTags from Apple ship out in May, while engraved AirTags won't deliver until late May or early June.

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's new AirTag item trackers are ideal for attaching to things like bags and luggage cases, which makes it likely they'll become popular with travelers and backpackers who want to keep tabs on their personal possessions abroad.

For this reason, it's worth remembering which AirTag features work wherever you are, which ones depend on you being nearby the ‌AirTag‌, and which functions aren't supported in certain countries and regions.

Locating AirTags Using Precision Finding

AirTags can be tracked in Apple's Find My app, which uses Bluetooth signals from a lost ‌AirTag‌ to relay its location back to its owner. Apart from Bluetooth, each ‌AirTag‌ is also equipped with a U1 Ultra Wideband chip, and on devices that also have U1 chips, there's a Precision Finding feature that enables you to more accurately determine the distance and direction of a lost ‌AirTag‌ when it's in range, when compared to Bluetooth alone.

If you're aiming to find a lost item and you have an ‌iPhone 11‌ or 12, Precision Finding will direct you to the exact location of your lost ‌AirTag‌ using input from the camera, accelerometer, and gyroscope, with guidance provided through sound, haptics, and visual feedback. However, Ultra Wideband isn't universally supported worldwide, therefore Precision Finding won't work in the following countries:

Finding Nearby AirTags Using Bluetooth

In countries where Precision Finding isn't available, ‌AirTag‌ owners can still fall back on Bluetooth to locate a missing item if it is approximately 30-40 feet within range. There are built-in speakers to play a sound to find a lost ‌AirTag‌, and you can either play a sound through the ‌‌Find My‌‌ app or ask Siri to find an ‌AirTag‌ with a sound.

However, if your ‌AirTag‌ is out of that proximate range, then you won't be able to find it via your own device's Bluetooth signal. Instead, you'll have to rely on the wider ‌Find My‌ Network of Apple devices.

Finding AirTags using the Find My Network

You can still track the location of an out-of-range ‌AirTag‌ in Apple's ‌Find My‌ app, but you won't be relying on the Bluetooth signals of your own device. Instead, the ‌‌Find My‌‌ Network takes advantage of nearly a billion Apple devices out in the world to help you locate your ‌AirTag‌, with the associated item showing up on the map when it's located by someone else's device.

However, if you're traveling in a remote region, be aware that if an ‌AirTag‌ isn't nearby and there are no Apple devices in the area in which it's located, ‌Find My‌ will only be able to tell you where it was last seen on the map.

AirTags are available to pre-order now and the first orders are estimated to arrive Friday, April 30. For more information about Apple's ‌AirTag‌ item trackers, be sure to check out our dedicated guide.

The brand new 12.9-inch iPad Pro will not be compatible with the older generation Magic Keyboard due to a marginal increase in device thickness, according to iGeneration.

Citing a document given to Apple Stores, the report notes that the new ‌iPad Pro‌ is 0.5mm thicker than the previous 12.9-inch model. Due to the increase in thickness, the new iPad will not work with the older generation Magic Keyboard. While a 0.5mm increase in thickness is small, it is enough for the new ‌iPad Pro‌ not to close properly when put with an older generation keyboard.

The new 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ remains compatible with previous generation Magic Keyboards.

With the new ‌iPad Pro‌, Apple is selling a compatible Magic Keyboard, and besides compatibility with the newer and thicker ‌iPad‌, and the availability of a new white option, the new keyboard is believed to be the same as the previous generation.

The new 11 and 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ which comes with a faster M1 processor, 5G, and the new 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display will be available for order on April 30, but will not begin shipping until the second half of May.