MacRumors

Twitter Blue, Twitter's subscription service, is today launching in the United States and New Zealand after launching in Canada earlier this year. Available for $2.99 per month in the U.S., Twitter Blue adds additional features to Twitter. Since Twitter Blue's June debut, Twitter has been introducing new functionality, and a rundown of what you get for that $2.99 subscription price is below.

• Ad-free articles - Twitter Blue users can read ad-free content from sites that include The Washington Post, L.A. Times, USA TODAY, The Atlantic, Reuters, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, Insider and The Hollywood Reporter.
• Top Articles - Subscribers have access to the most-shared articles on Twitter in the last 24 hours.
• Customization - Twitter Blue users can access exclusive app icons and themes, and Twitter is adding Custom Navigation that will let users select what appears in their navigation bar.
• Bookmarks Folder - Adds a way to organize saved tweets.
• Undo Tweet - Twitter Blue users can preview tweets before they are sent, revising any mistakes. Users can set a customizable timer of up to 30 seconds to click "undo."
• Early Access - Twitter is letting Twitter Blue users have early access to new features that are in development. Right now, users can upload videos up to 10 minutes in length, while non-subscribers are still limited to two minutes. They can also pin their favorite DM conversations to the top of the DM interface.

Twitter users can subscribe by visiting Twitter's main menu in the Twitter app for iOS or accessing Twitter on desktop and selecting the subscribe option.

Amid a heightened amount of scrutiny and tension surrounding the App Store and how users download and install apps on the iPhone, Apple CEO Tim Cook said today that customers who wish to sideload apps should consider purchasing an Android device as the experience offered by the ‌iPhone‌ maximizes their security and privacy.

Speaking at The New York Times "DealBook" summit, Cook said that customers currently already have a choice between wanting a secure and protected platform or an ecosystem that allows for sideloading. "I think that people have that choice today, Andrew. If you want to sideload, you can buy an Android phone." Cook drew the comparison of sideloading to a carmaker selling a car without airbags or seatbelt, saying it would be "too risky."

I think that people have that choice today, Andrew, if you want to sideload, you can buy an Android phone. That choice exists when you go into the carrier shop. If that is important to you, then you should buy an Android phone. From our point of view, it would be like if I were an automobile manufacturer telling [a customer] not to put airbags and seat belts in the car. He would never think about doing this in today's time. It's just too risky to do that. And so it would not be an iPhone if it didn't maximize security and privacy.

Sideloading, which would allow users to download and install apps directly onto their ‌iPhone‌ from the open internet, has become a hot topic in recent months, with Cook now weighing in. Earlier this week, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said that sideloading is a "cybercriminal's best friend," highlighting the dangers that may be presented to customers if offered the freedom to install apps from anywhere on the web.

In a paper published in October, Apple shared some facts about the security and privacy of the ‌iPhone‌ compared to the Android ecosystem. In the paper, Apple said that studies have shown that Android smartphones have been attacked by mobile malware between 15 and 47 times more than malware targeting the ‌iPhone‌. "This is closely linked to sideloading," the paper added.

Speaking generally on privacy, Cook was questioned on recent reporting revealing that Facebook, Google, Snapchat, and others have lost almost $10 billion in revenue this year due to Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt, which requires developers to ask for a user's consent before tracking them. Declining to comment on the specific numbers, Cook did repeat that Apple believes privacy is a fundamental human right.

I don't know about the estimates, Andrew, so I can't testify to those kind of numbers, but I think that from our point of view, privacy is a basic human right. And the people that ought to be deciding whether to data share is the person themselves. And so what we have been all about is putting the power with the user. We are not making the decision, we are just simply prompting them to be asked if they want to be tracked across apps or not. And of course, many of them are deciding no and never wanted to be, it's just that they did not have a choice before. And so I feel really good and I'm getting great feedback from users about having the choice.

Apple is in multiple investigations and battles around the world regarding the ‌App Store‌, with the one most likely to produce drastic change being South Korea. Last month, the country passed new rules prohibiting platform owners from limiting developers to using only a single payment method for in-app purchases.

The ‌App Store‌'s in-app purchase method, which developers are required to use for digital purchases made within apps, gives Apple a 15-30% commission on all purchases made. Cook noted today that Apple has only ever lowered the commission, never increasing it. Nonetheless, the new law in South Korea would represent a significant turning point for the ‌App Store‌ if fully enacted. The ‌App Store‌ operates under a single global set of rules, and any change in one jurisdiction is applied globally for all developers.

Traditional mechanical keyboards have made a comeback in recent years. Generally known for being more hardy than today's more dominant membrane and scissor-switch keyboards, mechanical keys typically offer users faster, more satisfying feedback thanks to the highly detectable actuation and signature clicking sound.

However, mechanical keyboards are also often bigger, louder, and more tiring to type on, which is why their attraction has been limited to gamers and nostalgia-seekers. In an attempt to disrupt the market, however, US-based accessories maker Vissles set out to correct these disadvantages by offering the tactility and performance of a mechanical keyboard in a compact and less finger-fatiguing low-profile design.

Enter the LP85 Optical-Mechanical Keyboard, "crafted for speed, precision, and comfort." Except instead of mechanical switches, the LP85 uses optical switches, which break a beam of infrared light to activate the key press and are meant to reduce long-term wear. Can the technology faithfully recreate the feel and responsiveness offered by mechanical input? I spent a few weeks with the company's latest keyboard to find out.

Design and Features

The Mac version of the Vissles LP85 I received came nicely packaged in a black box containing a keyboard with black keys, and a gun-metal gray chassis that's closer in shade to the iMac Pro Magic Keyboard than a space gray MacBook Pro. Also included was a USB-C to USB-A charging cable, user manual, quick start guide with a map of key functions, and some Vissles stickers.

Upon handling the keyboard, the first thing I noticed about the LP85 is its heft. At 547 grams, it's over twice as heavy as Apple's Magic Keyboard (243 grams) and it's easy to see why. The extra weight is due to the chunky anodized chassis, a slab of aluminum that's 12mm high at its thickest point, which is almost equivalent to the raised level of the built-in keyboard on a 14-inch MacBook Pro. That makes it just 1mm higher than Apple's standalone Magic keyboard at the thicker end, and, combined with the weight, helps it feel extremely sturdy and stable, while two grippy silicone anti-slip strips underneath ensure it's going nowhere on your desk.

The chassis is nicely rounded at the corners and has an almost-flat two-degree angle that slopes down to 7.1mm at its thinnest section, which gives the 85 optical keys on the low-profile board a comfortable base to rest your wrists in front of. On the top edge of the chassis is a USB-C port for charging and wired connections, and a small round metal switch to swap between Bluetooth and wired. Between the two is an indicator light that displays the charge status of the built-in 2000mAh rechargeable battery with a red or green light.

Instead of using a membrane mechanism, Vissles has opted for X-Optical switches that deliver a light beam of 0.2ms, with a pre-travel actuation distance of 1.2mm, which is shorter than a regular mechanical keyboard, and 2.5mm total travel, which is similar to a membrane keyboard.

The Mac-style 85-key ANSI layout includes a top row of function keys with the expected macOS functions like Mission Control, LaunchPad, media, volume, and LED backlighting controls. It also fits in an additional Control key on the right of the spacebar and a column of home, end, and page up/down keys to the right of the Return key, which adds an extra inch to the layout compared to Apple's compact Magic Keyboard.

The keyboard supports Bluetooth pairing with up to three devices, and in terms of switching between them, device 1 is mapped to the Q key by default, while the second and third devices are mapped to W and E, respectively. There are also key combinations for backlight adjustment (more on that later).

Performance

I had no trouble pairing the keyboard with my 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and iPhone 13, and I didn't experience any dropouts when testing the keyboard within a reasonable range of these devices. Initial pairing to the first device involved a long press of the Fn and P keys for five seconds, after which macOS discovered the Bluetooth connection. Pressing Fn and W/E and then Fn and P pairs a second/third device. Switching between them was fast, ensuring responsiveness to initial keyboard input was almost immediate.

Despite being an 85-key layout, the individual keys are well spaced apart in a manner almost identical to a native Apple keyboard, which makes the keys under your fingers the ones you'd expect to find there, ensuring speed and accuracy of typing isn't an issue.

This performance is consolidated by the X-Optical mechanical switches, which, thanks to their unique pre-travel distance, feel highly responsive and emit a beautifully crisp clicky sound that's similar to Gateron blue switches but not as loud.

As a result, each key provides reassuring tactile feedback rather than the more muted spongy feel of typical low-profile keyboards. Typing on the LP85 is basically like using a much more durable and ergonomic version of a regular mechanical keyboard. Even after several hours of use, my fingers felt no more tired than usual, which is testament to Vissels' decision to use premium optical switches.

I also found the LP85's backlighting modes easy to use. The legend on each keycap is transparent so that the LED light shines through, making the keyboard great for typing in darker environments, and there's no potentially distracting light bleed around the keys like on some other backlit keyboards.

Pressing the Fn and Delete keys together cycles through 19 vibrant-looking dynamic backlighting effects, which really have to be seen to be fully appreciated. I had a lot of fun using the Fn+arrow keys to try out the various animated rainbow-color combinations, eight color monochrome modes, and adjustable directional "lightning" effects.

If the backlighting is too glaring you can dial down the intensity by choosing from three levels of brightness, or simply switch off the backlight altogether. To save battery, the light sleeps if you don't use the keyboard for five minutes, but they snap back on just as quickly with a tap. After 30 minutes of inactivity, the keyboard goes into hibernation mode.

The only problem I had with the LP85 during use was that it would occasionally fail to register a keystroke, but this turned out to be Bluetooth interference from a wireless TeckNet mouse. Removing the mouse solved the issue, but it's something to consider if you have lots of Bluetooth devices in your setup.

Wrap Up and How to Buy

Vissels' LP85 Optical-Mechanical keyboard is a unique wireless input device in its own right, thanks to the optical switches that Vissles has chosen to use, which have allowed it to successfully achieve the feel of mechanical input in the kind of low-profile design that's usually associated with a membrane keyboard.

For that reason alone, the LP85 is recommended for anyone looking for a compact key layout that's responsive, highly tactile, and very well built. Costing $99, it's a fine alternative to Apple's similarly priced Magic Keyboard, but with the variety of colorful backlit RGB modes available, it's decidedly more fun.

The LP85 keyboard is available in black or white. Pre-orders can be placed on the Vissels LP85 Optical-Mechanical Keyboard Kickstarter page, with shipping scheduled for late January 2022.

Note: Vissles supplied the keyboard to MacRumors for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received.

Two weeks after Apple's redesigned MacBook Pro models launched, some configurations of the notebooks remain in tight supply.

While standard configurations of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models ordered through Apple's online store are estimated for delivery in the first week of December, many custom configurations are shipping in late December, and some are even backordered into 2022. In the United States, for example, a 14-inch MacBook Pro configured with an M1 Max chip, 64GB of unified memory, and a 512GB SSD is estimated for delivery by January 3.

In-store availability is also scarce at the moment, with many MacBook Pro configurations unavailable for Apple Store pickup around the world.

There are likely several factors behind the lengthy shipping delays, including strong demand for the new MacBook Pro models, an industry-wide chip shortage, and pandemic-related manufacturing disruptions. On an earnings call last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said supply constraints had an estimated $6 billion impact on Apple's revenue last quarter, and he said he expected the supply constraints to continue through the holiday season.

Key features of the new MacBook Pro models include Apple's M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, mini-LED displays with ProMotion for up to a 120Hz refresh rate, longer battery life, and the return of ports like an SD card slot, HDMI, and MagSafe. Pricing starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch model and at $2,499 for the 16-inch model in the United States.

Apple today announced the launch of its Holiday Gift Guide and a range of personalized holiday cards through Today at Apple.

Starting today, Apple's annual Holiday Gift Guide is available via its website to help customers choose gifts more easily. The guide features specific recommendations for photographers and creatives, as well as those passionate about health, fitness, and entertainment.

Apple highlighted that it is providing order by dates for free home delivery to ensure customers can get their gifts in time for the holidays, its free engraving service for personalizing iPads, AirTags, AirPods, and Apple Pencils, personalized recommendations in the Apple Store app, self-checkout in retail stores, and the availability of same-day delivery in a number of locations.

In addition, Apple is offering personalized holiday cards via Today at Apple. In collaboration with artists around the world, including Jocelyn Tsaih, Antti Kalevi, and Hvass&Hannibal, Apple is making downloadable templates available for customers to create a range of personalized holiday cards in the Keynote app.

Amazon today has the Apple Pencil 2 on sale for $99.99, down from $129.00. This is a match of the lowest price that we've ever tracked for the Apple Pencil 2.

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.

The Apple Pencil 2 is compatible with the following iPads: iPad mini (6th generation), iPad Air (4th generation), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd, 4th, and 5th generations), and 11-inch iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations). The second generation Apple Pencil can also magnetically attach and pair to the iPad Pro, iPad mini, and iPad Air.

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly for the first time today revealed that he has personally invested in cryptocurrency and that he's been interested in it "for a while."

The comments came during Cook's appearance at The New York Times "DealBook" summit, where Cook was questioned on privacy, sideloading, and more.

Answering whether he owns any cryptocurrency, Cook replied, "I do," adding that "it's reasonable to own it as a part of a diversified portfolio. I'm not giving anybody investment advice, by the way." Cook said that Apple has no "immediate" plans to accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment for its products or within Apple Pay.

Despite the company's lack of "immediate" plans to get involved in the world of cryptocurrency, Cook did say that it's something Apple is "looking into." Cook said that Apple has no plans to invest in cryptocurrency given his belief that "people [don't] buy Apple stock to get exposure to crypto. So if they want to do that, they can you know, invest directly in crypto through other means."

Speaking on the growing popularity of NFTs, Cook says it too is also "interesting" but that it will "take a while to play out in a way that is for the mainstream person."

Instagram is preparing to launch in-app subscriptions, allowing users to pay for exclusive content from their favorite creators as the platform looks to move away from conventional ads for monetization, recent App Store listings have suggested.

In May of this year, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in an interview with The Information that the platform was exploring the idea of subscriptions, explaining there are "different ways to facilitate a financial relationship between a fan and a creator." "Being able to subscribe to some differentiated or unique or exclusive content actually feels more additive as a fan than seeing an ad," he added.

Now, Instagram seems to be preparing to put its ambitions into action. As reported by TechCrunch, Instagram's ‌App Store‌ listing has recently gained new in-app subscriptions, as first spotted by Sensor Tower. The new in-app purchases are listed as "Instagram Subscriptions" for $0.99 and $4.99. Previously, Instagram had only listed Instagram Badge as an in-app purchase.

In practice, the new subscription would let users pay their favorite creators for exclusive content not seen by non-paying users. According to screenshots shared by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, a subscription will include a "Member Badge," which gifts subscribers a "special badge" next to their username, and "Exclusive content."

Subscriptions are just one of the multiple features Instagram has in the pipeline to expand monetization opportunities for creators on the platform. As also revealed by Paluzzi, Instagram is working on "Exclusive Stories," which, as the name suggests, will offer paying followers access to exclusive stories.

The United States Justice Department today announced that it has arrested Ukrainian Yaroslav Vasinskyi for his involvement with REvil, a group that executed ransomware attacks against businesses and government entities in the United States.

REvil in April targeted Apple supplier Quanta Computer and stole schematics of the design of the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that were later released in October. The schematics unveiled ‌MacBook Pro‌ features like additional ports and the design of the notch, and REvil extorted Apple by threatening to release additional documents if the Cupertino company didn't pay a $50 million fee.

The ransom situation fizzled out just days after REvil made its demand, and the group mysteriously removed all documents and extortion threats related to Apple from its website.

REvil continued on with its illicit activities and in May, was responsible for a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline that caused gas shortages on the East Coast of the United States. In July, REvil took advantage of a vulnerability in management software designed for Kaseya, targeting between 800 and 1,500 businesses worldwide.

The DoJ says that Vasinskyi was involved in the Kaseya attack, and it's not clear if he was also part of the attack on Apple supplier Quanta Computer. He was arrested in Poland and is awaiting extradition to the United States.

Along with Vasinskyi's arrest, the Department of Justice has seized $6.1 million received by Yevgeniy Polyanin, who was also involved with REvil and was responsible for attacks against multiple victims. Two other arrests have been made in Romania, but details have not been shared.

"The arrest of Yaroslav Vasinskyi, the charges against Yevgeniy Polyanin and seizure of $6.1 million of his assets, and the arrests of two other Sodinokibi/REvil actors in Romania are the culmination of close collaboration with our international, U.S. government and especially our private sector partners," said FBI Director Christopher Wray. "The FBI has worked creatively and relentlessly to counter the criminal hackers behind Sodinokibi/REvil. Ransomware groups like them pose a serious, unacceptable threat to our safety and our economic well-being. We will continue to broadly target their actors and facilitators, their infrastructure, and their money, wherever in the world those might be."

Both Vasinskyi and Polyanin have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers, substantive counts of damage to protected computers, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Vasinskyi is facing a maximum of 115 years in prison if convicted, while Polyanin could be facing up to 145 years. Though Vasinskyi is in custody, Polyanin has not been arrested and is believed to be abroad.

The U.S. government has been working with allies in other countries to put a stop to REvil. In October, Reuters reported that multiple government agencies teamed up to hack REvil and take its "Happy Blog" website used to leak stolen documents offline.

Nanoleaf, known for its HomeKit-enabled accent lights, recently launched its most futuristic and modern looking lighting product yet - Lines. Lines are modular LED light bars that are illuminated at the back and can be arranged into different patterns and shapes for a unique design.

Prior Nanoleaf products have all been panels in various shapes with LED lights in the corners, but the Lines are something entirely different and may appeal to those who don't care for the panel look. Lines are priced starting at $200, so this is a high-end accent lighting product.

Lines are white plastic light bars that are 11 inches long and .78 inches thick, and the idea is to connect lines together with hexagon-shaped connectors, creating different patterns and designs. The Nanoleaf app can be used for designing a Lines setup, and once a favorite shape has been decided on, the Lines can be mounted to the wall.

Mounting Nanoleaf's Lines is hassle free. Just make your design, test out the lights, and then transfer the shape to the wall using the adhesive tape. There are detachable plastic plates that hold the adhesive and pull tabs so you can remove the Lines from the wall without damage. It's probably Nanoleaf's best setup in terms of relocating/removing the hardware. I took the Lines off of the wall a couple of times to move them and had no issues.

Nanoleaf's products are HomeKit-enabled, so setup is as simple as opening up the Nanoleaf app and then scanning a HomeKit code. You might run into a snag if you don't have a 2.4GHz WiFi network available, but for the most part, it should be a seamless experience.

Once set up, turned on, and connected, the Lines magic happens. Nanoleaf is using backlighting for the Lines, and it's a neat effect with millions of color options. Lines offer a unique look that's different from the other Nanoleaf products, and I can't get over how cool it is. Each Line can be set to two separate colors, and there's little blending, so you get these distinct shade mixes that are visually striking.

With Nanoleaf's Hexagons and Triangles, the lighting panels are bright enough to replace a traditional light, but that's not the case with Lines. Lines, like Nanoleaf's wood-colored Elements, are accent lighting and are not bright enough to work as a standard light. That said, at 100 percent brightness, they're still able to put out a decent amount of light and are bright enough that I prefer to run them at about 50 percent brightness since they're in my line of sight.

When not lit up, Nanoleaf's Lines suffer from a problem that plagues most of the other Nanoleaf products - they're not that attractive on the wall. I am not a fan of the look of the Lines when they're turned off. The Lines are made from a stark white plastic and when off, they really stand out. Nanoleaf is making covers for the Lines that turn them black or pink, and that might improve the look when they're deactivated. The skins are shipping sometime in the future, and Nanoleaf says more designs are coming.

I can forgive how the lines look when not lit just because of how vibrant and eye-catching they are when activated. You can choose from tons of different colors and pick a static look, or set up scenes with rotating colors in different patterns. Nanoleaf has some preset designs and an entire Nanoleaf gallery where you can download designs other people have created.

Nanoleaf's robust selection of lighting scenes is so convenient and one of my favorite parts of the Nanoleaf ecosystem. You can always find something fresh and interesting when browsing through the different looks that have been uploaded if you don't feel like putting the effort in to create your own designs. You can preview scenes or save them to your library and use them regularly.

The Lines are designed to be controlled through the Nanoleaf app, but you can also swap through your saved scenes using the hardware-based controller. Nanoleaf Lines support rhythm functionality as well, and you can use Rhythm scenes to set them to light up with music.

Lines are ‌HomeKit‌ compatible and can be assigned to Rooms and controlled alongside other ‌HomeKit‌ devices with Siri voice commands. The Home app offers little control functionality beyond activating/deactivating the Lines or setting them to a static color, so the Nanoleaf app is the primary control method. The Nanoleaf app incorporates all of your ‌HomeKit‌ products and the interface can be confusing, but the Nanoleaf section is straightforward and has the controls for the Lines.

I didn't have connectivity issues with the Lines during my time testing them, and I did spend about a month with them before writing my review, so they feel fairly reliable. I've also been using other Nanoleaf products for years with few connectivity problems beyond needing to reset the WiFi connection every so often.

Pricing is the major negative with the Lines. It's $200 for nine LED light bars, and another three costs $70, and that's not money that everyone is going to want to spend on accent lighting.

Bottom Line

If Nanoleaf's Lines fit your personal aesthetic and your budget, I don't think you're going to be disappointed picking them up. Lines are not the most attractive wall decor when not turned on, but when lit, they're colorful, futuristic, and fun.

I find the Lines to be a great addition to my home office, and I think they complement any kind of gaming room, PC setup, theater setup, or TV room, and I suspect kids would enjoy them too. I wish Nanoleaf could sell these at a more affordable price point, and I love everything about them but their high price tag.

How to Buy

Lines can be pre-ordered from the Nanoleaf website for $199. Each set includes nine Lines, with add-ons of three Lines available in expansion packs priced at $70. Nanoleaf says that pre-orders are expected to ship in late November.

Note: Nanoleaf provided MacRumors with set of Lines and a Lines expansion pack for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.

In macOS Monterey 12.1, which is available in a beta capacity right now, Apple introduced its new SharePlay feature to FaceTime. Previously only available on iPhone and iPad, SharePlay allows you to share your Mac's screen with other people on a FaceTime call, which opens up new possibilities for sharing experiences with friends, family, and co-workers.

Thanks to SharePlay, you and others on the same FaceTime call as you can listen to music or watch TV movies and shows together. You can even share your screen or a specific app window on your Mac's desktop with the people you're chatting with to discuss a piece of work or provide remote tech support, or simply to enjoy looking at a photo album together.

The following steps guide you through the new SharePlay screen sharing feature in FaceTime on macOS Monterey 12.1:

1. Launch FaceTime on your Mac.
2. Click New FaceTime and add the contacts that you want to share your screen with, then click the FaceTime button. Alternately, select a recent contact to initiate a video call.
   
   

3. When the call has connected, click the SharePlay button in the control overlay.
   
   

4. To share your entire screen or a specific window, click either Window or Screen in the FaceTime menu bar item dropdown. If you chose Window, click the window in question that you want to share.
   
   

5. To stop sharing the window or screen, click Stop Sharing Window/Screen in the FaceTime menu bar item dropdown, where you can also change the window being shared.
   
   

6. When sharing a window, you can also click the SharePlay button in the top-right corner of the window to reveal three options: Stop Sharing Window, Change Shared Window, and Share Entire Display.
   

The introduction of SharePlay on Mac also means you can listen to music or watch movies and TV together over FaceTime, and everyone on the call will see the same synced playback and controls.

In addition to first-party Apple experiences like Apple TV and Apple Music, SharePlay is also compatible with third-party app experiences. Developers have already been building SharePlay experiences for iOS devices, and now they can build SharePlay features into Mac apps as well. For more on what you can do with ‌FaceTime‌ in iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1, we have a dedicated guide that highlights all of the new features.

Note: The SharePlay feature in FaceTime requires macOS Monterey 12.1, which is only available to beta testers as of writing. Expect Monterey 12.1 to be released to all users in late fall 2021.

Apple today announced that developers will be able to submit new and updated app submissions via App Store Connect throughout the upcoming holiday season.

Apple notes that the app review process may take longer from November 24 to November 28 and from December 23 to December 27:

This year, we're pleased to continue accepting submissions in App Store Connect throughout the upcoming holidays. Make sure your apps are up to date and ready for the busiest season on the App Store. Due to anticipated high volume, plan to send time-sensitive submissions early. Please note that reviews may take longer to complete from November 24 to 28 and December 23 to 27.

This marks a change from previous years when App Store Connect would not accept submissions during the holiday season.

Amazon today has Apple's 512GB M1 MacBook Air for $1,049.99, down from $1,249.99. Only the Space Gray colorway is on sale today, and it's shipped and sold directly from Amazon.

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 introduced the M1 MacBook Air one year ago this month. Amazon's discount today is the lowest price we've tracked to date on the 512GB model, and we aren't currently seeing any matching discounts from other retailers.

You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you're shopping for a new Apple notebook.

Update: The MacBook Air deal has expired.

Twitter is deploying top-spec MacBook Pros with the M1 Max Apple silicon chip to all of its iOS and Android engineers for app development, representing yet another push for the adoption of Apple silicon Macs in the enterprise.

The news was shared by John Szumski, a senior staffer at Twitter for the company's mobile platforms. In a tweet, Szumski said that Twitter will be rolling out fully-maxed-out MacBook Pros to all of its iOS and Android engineers. Szumski added that the new Apple silicon Macs are showing significant improvements in top-line performance for Twitter's app development compared to currently used Intel Macs.

An engineer at Reddit also shared a similar sentiment. Jameson, a staff engineer at Reddit, said that the new MacBook Pros have cut Reddit's app build time by 50%, yielding improved productivity for engineers. Breaking down the cost of deploying new MacBook Pros to Reddit's engineers, Jameson said, "for a team of 9, $32k of laptops will actually save $100k in productivity over 2022."

Apple promises considerable improvements for developers with the new M1 Pro and ‌M1 Max‌ Apple silicon chips. According to tests done by Apple, the 10-core CPU ‌M1 Pro‌ and ‌M1 Max‌ chips in the large 16-inch MacBook Pro offer 3.7x faster Xcode build times than the 8-core Intel i9 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. In terms of power efficiency and battery life, Apple says the new chips allow developers to "compile up to four times as much code in Xcode" on a single battery charge.

Amazon today has introduced a new all-time low price on the AirPods Max, available at $429.98 in all colors except Space Gray. All models are in stock and ready to ship out today as well.

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.

With this $119 off discount, Amazon is now offering the best deal we've ever seen on Apple's high-end AirPods Max headphones. The previous best price was around $449, also offered by Amazon.

Additionally, we're still seeing a few solid deals on other AirPods models on Amazon, including the AirPods Pro with MagSafe for $189.99 ($59 off) and the AirPods 2 for $119.99 ($40 off). All models are in stock and sold directly from Amazon.

We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.

The availability of the iPhone 13 is expected to improve in the coming weeks as the holiday season approaches, possibly easing concerns from analysts and customers that product availability would have remained exceptionally tight as consumers begin holiday shopping.

Like many other products, the ‌iPhone‌ has been suffering the consequences of a global chip shortage that has impacted production and general product availability. Estimated shipping times for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 were spanning weeks, if not months, in some locations for specific configurations.

As the holiday season approaches, however, Apple's suppliers have managed to ease the shortage of certain components, allowing ‌iPhone‌ 13 production to accelerate, according to DigiTimes. Apple's supply chain partners are beginning to notice the gap between ‌iPhone‌ 13 demand and supply "gradually narrowing" thanks to the ramped-up production of integrated circuit boards embedded within the ‌iPhone‌.

Apple this past quarter said the chip shortage and complications hindering production due to the global health crisis cost it $6 billion. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, and the company's chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, warned investors that the impact of the chip shortage is expected to be greater than $6 billion for the upcoming holiday quarter.

All of Apple's product categories, from the AirPods to the Mac, have seen considerable upgrades over the past several months that are expected to appeal to customers looking for holiday shopping.

AirPods are a popular holiday gift, and Apple released its third-generation model last month. The new AirPods feature a smaller design from the previous generation while including new features such as Spatial Audio with head tracking, Adaptive EQ, and improved durability.

In preparation for the holiday season, Apple has extended its return policy until January 8, 2022, for all purchases between November 1 and December 25. The new policy applies to the ‌iPhone‌, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod mini, and more.

WhatsApp has rolled out multi-device support to all users on iOS and Android, allowing WhatsApp to be used on up to four linked devices without users needing to be connected via a smartphone.

To enable multi-device support, users need to join the multi-device beta. Launch WhatsApp on iPhone, then select Settings -> Linked Devices. Select Multi-Device Beta, then tap Join Beta. Once that's done, you'll be able to start linking devices.

After your devices are linked, messages can be sent and received using the WhatsApp desktop app or web-based service and your phone will no longer need to stay online, although it's not currently possible to delete messages or conversation threads from a linked device.

It's worth noting that you can't message or call from web, desktop, or Portal to users who have an outdated version of WhatsApp on their phone, and you can only have one phone connected to your WhatsApp account at one time. Personal calls and messages remain end-to-end encrypted across devices.

If you don't use your phone for over 14 days, your linked devices will be disconnected. Given the feature is still in beta, WhatsApp also cautions that the performance and quality of its service may be affected, although users can leave the beta at any time.

WhatsApp is reportedly working on an iPad version of its app, and the Meta-owned company has hinted that the rollout of multi-device support will bring the iPad version one step closer to release.

Netflix will be required to enlist each game offered via its gaming service through the App Store for users to download and install, instead of providing an all-in-one experience within the Netflix app, due to Apple's rules, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.

Last year, Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules on gaming services became a central issue following a public spat between the Cupertino tech giant and Microsoft. Microsoft was looking to release its cloud-based gaming service, Xbox Cloud Gaming, via the ‌App Store‌ and offer all of its games playable through its app. Microsoft, like others, has been forced to release its service as a web experience for users on iOS.

Apple's updated guidelines prevent such an app from making it onto the store, requiring that developers enlist every game that would be offered through its app as a separate app on the ‌App Store‌, subjecting them to the platform's guidelines.

Netflix's service, named Netflix Games, currently operates under similar parameters on Android. While users can browse the games it has to offer via the Netflix app itself, users are redirected to the Google Play Store to actually install and download them. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's ‌Mark Gurman‌ suggests that the same approach will come to iOS.

Because of Apple's ban on all-in-one services, the current individual app implementation on Android of the Netflix service gives us a preview of how the Netflix offering will function on iOS.

Netflix has been actively testing games on iOS, and—according to code discovered by developer Steve Moser and shared with Power On—Netflix will release all of its games on Apple's App Store individually and let users launch the games via the Netflix app. They won't all be downloadable and playable within the app itself.

From a user's perspective, the experience is not as seamless and intuitive as Netflix, Microsoft, or even Meta would like. Apple operates its own gaming service, Apple Arcade, which is offered directly within the ‌App Store‌. The platform's rules may make it harder for its own gaming platform to face competition from other services.

Gurman writes that while the solution will work, it's not an approach that will put Netflix Games "in the best position to succeed." Netflix's service isn't currently cloud-based on Android or iOS, but that's expected to change on Android, and whether a cloud-based move will be possible on iOS is up to whether Apple will alter its ‌App Store‌ rules.