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 released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.
Safari Technology Preview release 122 includes bug fixes and performance improvements for Web Inspector, Animations, CSS, CSS Color, CSS Aspect Ratio, JavaScript, WebAssembly, Web API, Media, WebRTC, and Accessibility.
The current Safari Technology Preview release is the built on the new Safari 14 update included in macOS Big Sur with support for Safari Web Extensions imported from other browsers, tab previews, password breach notifications, web authentication with Touch ID, and more.
The new Safari Technology Preview update is available for both macOS Catalina and macOS Big Sur, the newest version of the Mac operating system.
Apple's aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.
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.
AirPods Max in Pink are now shipping on Amazon, for the regular price of $549.00. This is the first time AirPods Max have been in stock and available to ship from a major Apple reseller in March, and we are only seeing availability in Pink at this time. You can also get Pink AirPods Max on AT&T with a March 16 shipping estimate.
Before today's restock, Silver and Space Gray were the most popular versions of the AirPods Max to reappear on Amazon and Verizon. Sky Blue was also available once in early February, but today's Pink restock is one of the rare times we've seen immediate availability for this color.
We've been keeping track of AirPods Max stock at third-party retailers because the headphones still have shipping estimates delayed as far as late March to early April on Apple's website. If you're interested in getting the over-ear headphones as soon as possible, one of these retailers will be your best bet for the foreseeable future.
AirPods Max feature Active Noise Cancellation technology and the same Transparency mode, Adaptive EQ, and spatial audio features that are in the AirPods Pro. If you're hunting for even more AirPods deals, we track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide.
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.
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.
There's a new road editing tool available on the desktop, accessible by going to maps.google.com. Users can click on the side menu button and select the "Edit the map" option to get to the a "Missing Road" entry.
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.
Apple today updated its privacy website with a new "Labels" section that brings privacy labels for all of Apple's apps together in one place, making it easier for users to learn about how Apple apps handle their personal data.
Apple already provided privacy labels for its apps since the feature launched last year, but on individual support pages, so this new "Labels" section makes it easier to view the labels all in one place, and in alphabetical order. Privacy labels are available for Apple's apps across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, so some apps like GarageBand appear more than once. Apple has also included labels for developer tools like Xcode and even the App Store itself, providing a very comprehensive level of privacy information.
Apple emphasizes that users will not find any data under "Data Used to Track You" for its apps, as Apple does not track users. Apple says it holds itself to a higher standard than it does for all other developers, who will be permitted to track users if they obtain their permission via the App Tracking Transparency framework that will be enforced as of iOS 14.5.
Apple introduced privacy labels on the App Store in December, providing users with a broad overview of the data types an app may collect, and whether the information is used to track them or is linked to their identity or device. These labels appear in App Store listings for third-party apps and downloadable Apple apps like Apple Podcasts, while built-in apps that cannot be removed like Messages have labels on Apple's website.
Apple has required developers to fill out the privacy labels when submitting new apps and app updates to the App Store since early December, but the labels function on an honor system. Apple previously said it "conducts routine and ongoing audits of the information provided" and works with developers to correct any inaccuracies, adding that apps that fail to come into compliance may ultimately face removal from the App Store.
Apple's custom-designed 5G cellular modem will likely debut in all 2023 iPhone models, according to Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Thomas O'Malley. In a supplier-focused research note shared with MacRumors, the analysts said chipmakers Qorvo and Broadcom should be among the companies that benefit from the shift to Apple's in-house solution.
Apple currently uses Qualcomm modems, including the Snapdragon X55 modem in iPhone 12 models. In 2019, a legal settlement between Apple and Qualcomm revealed that Apple will likely use the Snapdragon X60 modem in 2021 iPhones, followed by the Snapdragon X65 modem in 2022 iPhones. The roadmap did mention the possibility of 2023 iPhones using an unannounced Snapdragon X70 modem, but this now appears less likely.
Apple's modem would likely be manufactured by its longtime chipmaking partner TSMC.
Amazon today is discounting a wide collection of official iPhone cases, now including markdowns on the iPhone 12 mini Silicone and Leather Cases. Additionally, we're tracking quite a few notable discounts across the iPhone 11 family of Apple cases.
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.
Prices start at $15.99 for iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max Clear Cases, and at $19.99 for the iPhone 12 mini Clear Case. Across the board there are solid discounts on the Silicone Case and Leather Case for iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 11 Pro/Pro Max, as well as new lows on the Leather Folio for iPhone 11 Pro/Pro Max.
Lastly, if you own an iPhone XR, there's a new all-time low price on the Smart Battery Case for that version of the iPhone. It's priced at $51.99, down from $129.00. You can find all of these sales listed in the sales below.
The developers behind the popular note-taking app Notability today announced a brand-new version of Notability for macOS, based on Apple's Mac Catalyst technology.
The latest version will bring popular features from Notability on the iPad to the Mac. Now, Notability on macOS supports shape detection, paper backgrounds, Apple Pencil for iPad when using Sidecar, and more. Marc Provost, the apps team director, calls the update "especially useful for students who take notes on iPad and also use a Mac for studying."
Mac Catalyst enables us to maintain feature parity across Apple devices, something we've wanted to offer for a long time. This can be especially useful for students who take notes on iPad and also use a Mac for studying. They can easily pick up where they left off with the same functionality and experience.
Existing customers of Notability for iPhone and Pad can download the new Mac version of the app for free from the Mac App Store. New customers can purchase the new app for a discounted price of $3.99, compared to its regular $8.99 price tag.
The full-size Space Gray HomePod is currently unavailable from Apple in the United States for purchase and delivery, as first spotted by French site Consomac.
The White model of the HomePod remains available for purchase and delivery, indicating this is likely simply a shortage of the Space Gray model, rather than an indication of an imminent product refresh. Furthermore, the Space Gray HomePod is fully available on Apple's website in the UK, France, Australia, and several other countries.
For customers in the United States looking for a Space Gray HomePod, Best Buy currently has them listed as in stock. As a complete alternative, both the White and Space Gray models of the smaller and cheaper HomePod mini are available for purchase on Apple's website in the United States.
Apple's MagSafe Duo Charger has dropped to $99.99 today at Best Buy, down from $129.00. This is the first time we've ever seen the new MagSafe Duo Charger receive a notable discount at one of the major Apple resellers, with Amazon only offering between $2 and $3 off in the form of coupons over the past few weeks.
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.
MagSafe Duo launched in December 2020 and offers a MagSafe charging puck for the iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, and 12 mini, along with an Apple Watch charger. The MagSafe Duo features a foldable design for easier portability, and it ships with a USB-C to Lightning cable.
If you're on the hunt for the regular MagSafe Charger, Amazon has this accessory for $34.00, down from $39.00. Although just $5 off, this is another lowest-ever price on the Apple first-party accessory. MagSafe maintains compatibility with Qi charging, so it can be used to wirelessly charge an iPhone 8 or later, and even AirPods.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission watchdog is eyeing a potential probe into pre-installed software and pre-defined "default" choices on mobile devices, including Google being set as the default search engine on Apple devices.
In a press release (via ZDNet), the agency is asking for consumer and industry feedback on the state of default settings, pre-installed web browsers, and how it impacts consumer choice, freedom, and competition. On Apple devices, Google is the default search engine in Apple's Safari browser, and while users can change it, there has been concern over how it hinders competition.
Earlier last year, the United States Department of Justice launched an antitrust lawsuit against Google, accusing it of anticompetitive behavior. As part of the case, it was revealed that Apple receives anywhere between $8 billion and $12 billion per year from Google in exchange to make it the default search engine for Safari. The lawsuit claims that the lucrative deal makes it significantly harder for competing search engines such as DuckDuckGo to grow and compete, given the massive advantage Google has.
ACCC Chair Rod Sims says that while users can change the search engine to other providers besides Google, the default option "increases the likelihood that consumers and businesses will stick with that option." Sims says that the agency wants to hear directly from consumers and businesses about how these default choices and pre-installed software impact how they use those services.
We would like to hear from consumers and businesses about the impact of the pre-installation of services and default settings on devices on their use of these services. We're also interested in how the design of user interfaces on devices, such as widgets, search bars, and the steps required for a consumer to change a default search service can affect how consumers use these services.
The agency has not formally launched an investigation into the situation. However, it is requesting feedback as part of an upcoming report "on the impact of default settings and pre-installation of search services and web browsers on consumer choice and competition."
Apple supplier Wistron has reportedly restarted operations at its iPhone manufacturing facility in India, where workers caused widespread damage late last year over claims of unpaid wages.
In a machine translation from Chinese-language paper United Daily News:
Indian media reported that the local Minister of Industry, Jagadish Shettar, stated that Wistron had resumed production at the factory in accordance with relevant licensing conditions. In the future, relevant departments will pay attention to labor issues and do not hope that similar incidents will happen again.
In December 2020, disgruntled staff went on a rampage at the plant, upturning cars and destroying equipment and furniture.
Wistron initially claimed that the incident was caused by people of unknown identities from outside who intruded into and damaged its facility with unclear intentions.
However, local media reported that many of the 2,000 employees were involved in the violence, with many claiming that they had not been fully paid for four months and were being forced to do extra shifts.
Following the unrest, Apple placed Wistron on probation while it conducted an audit, which found that the plant showed violations of its "Supplier Code of Conduct."
According to Apple, Wistron had failed to implement proper working hour management processes, which "led to payment delays for some workers in October and November."
The plant was set to hire up to 20,000 more workers to manufacture more iPhone SE devices, but the plan was put on ice and Apple said it would not award Wistron any new business until it addressed how its workers are treated.
According to today's report, Wistron's iPhone manufacturing team has cooperated with independent auditors and Wistron in the past three months to ensure that the plant has established the necessary systems required to resume production.
Apple said in February that workers at the plant would receive a new training program to ensure they understood their rights and how to raise questions. According to Wistron, all employees have now received full salaries and a new recruitment and salary system has been implemented to ensure that everyone gets the correct salary and provides the correct documentation.
Amid rumors that Apple is working on an Apple-branded car that will come out in the next decade, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has published an article about Apple's troubled search for an existing automaker partner to build the vehicle, and how the company's more traditional approach to launching new products could better work in its favor.
Reports first surfaced in January suggesting that Apple was eyeing an existing car manufacturer to be its official partner for Apple Car. Several carmakers are said to have been approached by Apple, including Hyundai and Nissan, but these talks don't appear to have come to anything, and have only served to highlight a general reluctance among automakers to dilute their own brands.
As Apple has recently learned, its strategy of partnering with an existing carmaker invites problems related to brand image that tech giant isn't used to, largely because of its dependence on long-term contract manufacturers that are more than happy to assemble its iPhones, iPads, and Macs in their factories, where public-facing brand image often takes a back seat. Not so with established carmakers, notes Gurman:
In this scenario, Apple would develop an autonomous system for the vehicle, the interior and external design, and on-board technology, while leaving the final production to the carmaker. Such a deal would essentially ask an existing car company to shed its brand and become a contract assembler for a new rival.
A longtime manager at both Apple and Tesla Inc. said this would be like Apple asking bitter smartphone rival Samsung Electronics Co. to manufacture the iPhone. Apple wants to challenge the assumptions of how a car works -- how the seats are made, how the body looks, the person said. A traditional automaker would be reluctant to help such a potentially disruptive competitor, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
The article goes on to note that Apple reaps high profits by focusing on product and development while outsourcing manufacturing, which is generally a low-margin business. This in turn allows it to avoid spending billions of dollars on constructing its own factories, not to mention staff pay and training, along with additional liabilities.
By contrast, the auto industry runs on a different model which includes carmakers running their own high-volume factories and tightly controlling their supply chains at considerable expense – a business model that has lower profit margins than Apple is used to.
According to industry insiders, this is why Apple is more likely to go with a contract manufacturer like Foxconn, which has an existing relationship with the Cupertino company. Foxconn is the main assembler of iPhones, and also recently unveiled an electric vehicle chassis and a software platform to help carmakers bring models to market faster. According to Gurman's report:
An Apple employee involved in manufacturing said Foxconn is used to having Apple engineers tell it what to do and that the company’s factories are already filled with Apple-designed equipment. The person asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters.
Contract manufacturer Magna is another possibility. Apple was in talks with the assembler about building a car when it first began making inquiries into the possibility of developing an electric vehicle about five years ago. Gurman notes that Magna is also a lot more experienced at making cars, having assembled luxury models for companies like BMW, Daimler AG and Jaguar Land Rover.
"Magna is the most logical choice," said Eric Noble, president of consulting firm the CarLab, speaking to Gurman. Noble has worked with the "amazingly good" Canadian auto supplier, and believes that an Apple-Magna partnership would prove far more stable than one where Apple worked with an existing carmaker, which would be more likely to invite power struggles.
That said, a recent job listing suggests Apple could be eyeing its own production, notes Gurman. Apple is seeking a "senior hands on manufacturing engineer" for its special projects group, which is leading its work on a car. The successful candidate will be responsible for growing a team of engineers focused on manufacturing strategy and the supply chain, drawing on their experience working with aluminum, steel and composites, which are key materials in cars.
Apple today introduced a new "iPhone Carrier Offers" website in the United States, with the site more prominently highlighting carrier deals offered by AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
A banner on Apple's iPhone purchase pages also points out various carrier discounts that are available, with "Special Offers Available" wording also included when choosing a carrier during the purchase process.
Apple previously highlighted carrier deals on its Financing website, but the new page specific to carrier deals is more noticeable and the deals are more heavily advertised on the iPhone product pages.
Carrier deals can be obtained when purchasing an iPhone from Apple, with the company highlighting up to $700 in savings from AT&T, up to $320 in savings from T-Mobile/Sprint, and up to $440 in savings from Verizon, with all of these deals related to trade-in bonuses.
Apple's carrier deal site breaks down the bonuses that are available from each carrier for each iPhone 12 model, and it provides links to the iPhone purchase pages and options to chat with an iPhone specialist for more info.
Apple relies on carrier deals and trade-in offers to make iPhone pricing more attractive for consumers, so it makes sense for the company to put more emphasis on the price drops that customers can get when using a carrier trade-in option. Apple also has its own trade-in deals that are available separately.