MacRumors

Ahead of the debut of AirTags and support for locating third-party Bluetooth items through Find My in iOS 14.5, a team of security researchers from the Secure Mobile Networking Lab at the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany has reverse engineered the ‌Find My‌ protocol and developed an app that's designed to let anyone create an "AirTag" based on a Bluetooth-capable device.

Called OpenHaystack, the app and the source code are available on GitHub for those who are interested in taking a look. The app allows users to create their own Bluetooth tags based on the ‌Find My‌ network by installing an "‌AirTag‌" firmware image on a Bluetooth dongle.

The app displays the most recent location of a created Bluetooth tag reported by any iPhone using Apple's ‌Find My‌ network that was implemented in iOS 13, plus it shows the location of the tag on a map.

According to the security researchers, the created tags send out Bluetooth beacons, which are picked up by nearby iPhones that interpret the sending device as lost. The current geolocation is end-to-end encrypted and then uploaded to Apple, with the OpenHaystack app then downloading the encrypted report from Apple and decrypting it locally on the Mac.

In the process of developing this tool, the Secure Mobile Networking Lab researchers also identified a macOS Catalina ‌Find My‌ vulnerability that was reported to Apple and addressed in a 10.15.7 update released back in November. The vulnerability allowed a malicious app to access iCloud decryption keys to download and decrypt location reports submitted by the ‌Find My‌ network.

Apple's iOS 14.5 update includes support for tracking third-party Bluetooth devices in the ‌Find My‌ app using a new "Items" tab, which takes advantage of the same ‌Find My‌ protocol used for the Mac app.

At the current time, in-app tracking is limited to Beats headphones and upcoming Belkin wireless earbuds, but in the future, many third-party Bluetooth devices may include ‌Find My‌ integration, making it easier to keep track of them. This system will also be used by Apple's own rumored AirTags, which have yet to be released.

Apple plans to begin enforcing its App Tracking Transparency changes following the release of iOS 14.5, and all apps that access an iPhone's ad identifier or IDFA will need to ask a user's permission before tracking is allowed.

LinkedIn today said that with Apple's proposed changes, it will no longer be accessing the IDFA so LinkedIn users will not be presented with an ad tracking popup.

On its Marketing Solutions blog, LinkedIn says that it won't use the IDFA "for now," a change that will result in "limited impact" to campaign performance for advertisers.

We've always kept ourselves to a higher standard by putting our members first. And we work hard daily to provide reliable and resilient solutions for our customers that evolve with the industry's requirements, while providing a trusted, quality experience for our members. One of the bigger industry shifts is Apple's upcoming changes to Identifier for Advertising (IDFA), which companies use for tracking and ad targeting.

We want to share an update on our plans and guidance to help you prepare for these changes. We have decided to stop our iOS apps' collection of IDFA data for now. Although this change affects the LinkedIn Audience Network (LAN), Conversion Tracking and Matched Audiences, we expect limited impact to your campaign performance, and don't foresee major changes required for your campaign set-up.

LinkedIn plans to "regularly reevaluate" the usage of the advertising identifier, but the company says it is committed to "privacy-by-design principles" that "provide a trusted experience" for LinkedIn users. Rather than using the IDFA, LinkedIn says that it will leverage its first-party data to help marketers reach buyer groups.

LinkedIn's message that abandoning the IDFA will have a limited impact to campaign performance for LinkedIn advertisers is a different message than other major social networking sites like Facebook have been sharing. Facebook has claimed that Apple's App Tracking Transparency changes will have a major impact on the small businesses that use Facebook advertising tools.

Twitter this week also said that it is not concerned about Apple's ad tracking changes because Twitter does not heavily rely on the IDFA. Twitter CFO Ned Segal said that Apple's IDFA restrictions will actually "level the playing field" by giving all advertisers new challenges to face. Twitter has, however, said that App Tracking Transparency will have a "modest" impact on revenue.

Facebook and other advertisers that have spoken out against App Tracking Transparency are concerned about Apple's changes because many do not believe that users will consent to being tracked across apps for ad personalization purposes.

All of the App Tracking Transparency code is in iOS 14 at the current time, but starting with the release of iOS 14.5, all apps that access the IDFA will need to implement the ad tracking popup that allows users to give or deny permission to use the IDFA.

Over on our YouTube channel, MacRumors videographer Dan has a new video up where he shares his Home Screen, wallpaper, and all of his current favorite widgets.

Check out Dan's video to see his setup, and then comment below and show us your own Home Screens. It's always fun to see other peoples' Home Screens, and with widgets and customization options now available, there are more possibilities than ever before.

Plex today confirmed that it now supports Apple's TV app, allowing you to keep track of what you've watched using the built-in "Up Next" feature.

When you watch one of Plex's ad-supported video on demand offerings, which includes both TV shows and movies, you'll be prompted to allow Plex to share what you've watched with the TV app.

From there, Plex content will be visible in Up Next right alongside all other data sources, letting you keep tabs on the Plex content you're viewing.

With the integration, anyone using the TV app or Siri is able to search for a title, and if the show or movie is available as part of the ad-supported video on demand library, Plex will come up as an option where it can be viewed.

All of Plex's ad-supported content is available to watch for free. The Apple TV app integration applies only to video on demand content sourced from Plex and it is not compatible with personal media content, live TV, or other Plex features.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 7.4 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta coming two weeks release of the second beta and over a month after the launch of watchOS 7.3 with "Time to Walk" functionality, expanded ECG availability, and a new Unity watch face.

To install the ‌watchOS 7.4 beta, developers need to download the proper configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 7.4 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated ‌Apple Watch‌ app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.

To update to the new software, the ‌Apple Watch‌ needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌‌‌‌.

Alongside iOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4 introduces a new "Unlock with Apple Watch" feature that lets an ‌iPhone‌ with Face ID use an unlocked and authenticated Apple Watch as a secondary authentication measure when you're wearing a mask, alleviating the need to enter a passcode to unlock the ‌iPhone‌.

‌Face ID‌ does not work when wearing a mask, but this new Apple Watch feature provides an easy but still secure way to access the ‌iPhone‌ without the hassle of a passcode. It's similar to the Apple Watch unlocking on Mac and can be enabled in the Settings app under ‌Face ID‌ & Passcode.

An unlocked Apple Watch paired with ‌Face ID‌ can unlock the ‌iPhone‌ when a mask is worn, but it's only for mask usage. The Apple Watch cannot be used to authenticate Apple Pay or App Store purchases, nor can it be used to unlock apps that require a ‌Face ID‌ scan. In these situations, the mask will need to be removed or a passcode/password will need to be used instead.

When the Apple Watch unlocks the ‌iPhone‌, you'll feel a haptic tap on the wrist and will receive a notification on the watch, similar to how it works when using the watch to unlock a Mac.

For those who use Apple Fitness+, the watchOS 7.4 update combined with iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 enables AirPlay 2 for Apple Fitness+, so workouts can be streamed to an ‌AirPlay‌ 2-enabled TV or set-top box. Apple Watch metrics do not show up on the screen when AirPlayed, however, and that feature is limited to ‌iPhone‌/iPad/Apple TV.

Apple has said that watchOS 7.4 will be released in the early spring, with spring set to start on March 20, so there are still a few weeks of beta testing expected.

iOS 14.5 includes a feature that lets users select a specific music service to use with Siri, with the options including third-party services like Spotify in addition to Apple Music.

Several reports have referred to this as a feature that allows a user to select a default streaming music service, including our own, but Apple today told TechCrunch that the option is a bit more nuanced than a simple default music toggle.

There is no option to choose a music service that will be selected every time, with Apple instead using ‌Siri‌ intelligence. ‌Siri‌ will learn from your listening habits and the music selection process will improve over time. If you always ask ‌Siri‌ to select Spotify, for example, Spotify will be the default, but you can also change it in the future.

To be clear, when asking ‌Siri‌ to play a song in Spotify in iOS 14.5, it is not setting it as the "default," with Apple clarifying because the company does not want users to be confused if ‌Siri‌ asks again for your preferences in the future.

‌Siri‌ will learn your preferences for all types of audio content rather than just music. It will let you open podcasts in Apple Podcasts or a third-party podcasts app, and let you choose a specific audiobook app if you listen to audiobooks.

‌Siri‌ offers up a list of audio apps that you have installed whenever you make a content request, and that choice will dictate ‌Siri‌'s behavior going forward, but ‌Siri‌ may ask again in the future and even when a preferred audio option has been selected, it can be changed by asking for a different app. If you've selected Spotify, for example, but want to swap to ‌Apple Music‌, you can say "Hey ‌Siri‌, play [song] in ‌Apple Music‌."

Apple has been improving the ‌Siri‌ audio request feature throughout the beta, and the third beta refines the dialogs for app selection. App developers are able to choose participate in the ‌Siri‌ app selection feature by making their apps available as an option.

The ‌Siri‌ app selection feature will be available to everyone when iOS 14.5 launches this spring.

EU regulators are in the process of finalizing a charge sheet against Apple, initiated by an antitrust complaint from Spotify (via Reuters).

In 2019, Spotify filed a complaint with the European Commission, alleging that Apple enforces App Store rules that "purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience," accusing the company of "acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers."

In particular, Spotify highlighted that Apple's 30 percent commission on ‌App Store‌ purchases, including in-app subscriptions, forces the music streaming service to charge existing subscribers $12.99 per month for its Premium plan on the ‌App Store‌, just to collect the $9.99 per month it usually charges.

It is proposed that this gives Apple an "unfair advantage," since Spotify is unable to fairly compete with Apple Music's standard $9.99 per month price within the ‌‌App Store‌‌. If Spotify chooses not to collect payments via the ‌‌App Store‌‌, Apple purportedly "applies a series of technical and experience-limiting restrictions" on the company. It is also said that Apple was "locking Spotify and other competitors out of Apple services such as Siri, HomePod, and Apple Watch," thereby making ‌Apple Music‌ a more attractive option for subscribers.

In what appears to be a significant advancement in the antitrust case, Apple looks to be hit with charges by the European Commission, suggesting that the company has likely been found to have conducted itself anti-competitively and violated the EU's antitrust rules. The EU is now actively preparing a charge sheet against Apple, according to sources speaking to Reuters, which may be sent to the company before the summer.

The Spotify antitrust case is one of several opened by the European Commission into Apple's business practices last year in June last year, including similar cases from the likes of Kobo-owner Rakuten. It is not yet known what exactly the EU's charges could involve, but it has been suggested that Apple could be forced to pay a fine or make changes to its ‌App Store‌ business model in Europe to foster greater competition.

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 plans to release new iPad and MacBook models with OLED displays in 2022, according to industry sources cited by Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes. The information was shared in the site's paywalled "Before Going to Press" section, so there are no further details yet, but the full report should be released by tomorrow.

Apple has gradually increased its adoption of OLED displays, starting with the Apple Watch in 2015. Two years later, the iPhone X became the first iPhone with an OLED display, and Apple has since expanded the display technology across the entire iPhone 12 lineup. OLED displays have several benefits over LCDs, including higher brightness, improved contrast with deeper blacks, wider viewing angles, and more.

Macs and iPads still use LCDs, perhaps due in part to large OLED displays being expensive to manufacture. High-end OLED TVs often cost thousands of dollars, for example, with LCD versions at equal screen sizes typically priced far cheaper.

In November, Korean website The Elec reported that Apple planned to release new iPad Pro models featuring OLED displays in the second half of 2021, and claimed that Samsung and LG were already in the process of developing the displays. However, this rumor was soon followed up by a research note from Barclays analysts that said an iPad with an OLED display does not appear to be in the works for this year.

In a research note shared with MacRumors in December, the Barclays analysts said an iPad with an OLED display is unlikely to launch until 2022 at the earliest, based on their conversations with Apple supplier sources in Asia.

Assuming that Apple actually plans to release iPad and MacBook models with OLED displays, 2022 certainly sounds like a more likely timeframe, as Apple is widely expected to release iPad and MacBook models with Mini-LED-backlit LCD displays this year, and it would certainly be quick for Apple to switch display technologies twice within the same year.

Given that Mini-LED backlit displays offer many of the same advantages as OLED, such as high brightness and high contrast, one possibility is that Apple will eventually use a mix of both display technologies across its iPad and Mac lineups based on price points. Apple's exact plans remain to be seen, but there is mounting evidence that OLED displays will be involved in some capacity within the next year or two.

Satechi, known for its lineup of accessories designed for Apple's Macs, today announced the launch of the USB-C On-the-Go Multiport Adapter that's compatible with the Mac lineup and the iPad Air and iPad Pro.

With the USB-C On-the-Go Multiport Adapter, Satechi aimed to fit in as many ports as possible into a package that's still portable. It includes a built-in USB-C PD charging port that provides up to 100W power for charging a MacBook, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a USB-C data port, two USB-A ports for peripherals, a 4K HDMI port, a VGA port, and micro/SD card reader slots.

Satechi's USB-C On-the-Go Multiport Adapter can be purchased from the Satechi website or from Amazon.com for $99.99. Through March 15, Satechi is offering new customers 20 percent off of the adapter both on the Satechi website and on Amazon. Just enter the promo code MULTIPORT20 when checking out.

iOS and iPadOS 14.5 beta 3 includes a new "Item Safety Feature" that helps prevent someone from stalking or tracking you with item trackers such as AirTags.

The new toggle was higlighted by 9to5Mac contributor and developer Benjamin Mayo, who explains that with the feature toggled on, your iPhone will notice that someone has placed an AirTag or other Find My-compatible item tracker in your possession and prevent your location from being shared. If you attempt to turn the toggle off, the Find My app warns you that by doing so, "the owner of an unknown item will be able to see your location."

The prompt states that with the toggle off, your ‌iPhone‌ will no longer send you notifications if an unknown item is found moving with you. iOS 14.5 beta 3, released this week, includes a new Items tab within the ‌Find My‌ app, which is primarily expected to be the home of Apple's upcoming AirTags item tracker.

MacRumors contributor Steve Moser last year discovered code within iOS 14.3 beta 1 that states, "If you feel your safety is at risk due to this item, contact your local law enforcement. You may need the serial number of this item." Additionally, iOS code says that users should learn how to disable an item, which in AirTags' case may involve removing the battery, in order to stop it from transmitting your location.

AirTags have been rumored to be launching for months now, and the most recent hope is that a launch will take place during a virtual event this month. Initial speculation pointed to an event taking place on March 16, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that an event on March 16 won't happen.

A date for the potential event is unknown, but March 23 and March 30 appear to be reasonable guesses based on Apple's preference for Tuesday events and Apple's comments that its App Tracking Transparency requirement that's being finalized in iOS 14.5 will launch in "early spring."

Eve today announced that it is bringing its popular Thread-enabled version of the Eve Energy to the United States, debuting the new Eve Weather with Thread and introducing Thread firmware for the second-generation Eve Aqua. Eve has been investing in Thread like other HomeKit accessory makers, and has now unveiled several Thread-powered devices.

As an always-on device, the Eve Energy US with Thread can serve as a router within a Thread network, adding stability and improved reach throughout the home. For those unfamiliar with Thread, it's a mesh network that lets smart home products better communicate with one another.

Eve's Thread devices integrate with other Thread products like the HomePod mini, and each one strengthens and improves a connected home network. The Eve Energy will launch on April 6 and it will be priced at $40.

The Eve Weather with Thread is designed to track local outdoor temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure, either on the iPhone or on the device itself, which has a small display to relay weather information. The Eve app aggregates current and past climate data, and it is ‌HomeKit‌ compatible so the weather data can be relayed via Siri. The Eve Weather will launch on March 25 and it will be priced at $70.

Eve is also bringing Thread support to the second-generation Eve Aqua smart water controller, which is priced at $100. As an accessory meant to operate outside the home to monitor yard water usage, the Eve Aqua will benefit from the increased range added through Thread. Eve Aqua will gain Thread support in April 2021.

Apple today added a new "Apple for Kids" portal to its support website, offering parents and guardians a one-stop hub for getting their children set up on Apple's devices, services, and platforms, and managing their usage.

The section includes quick links at the top for managing your family group and resolving common issues, such as what to do if your child forgot their passcode, or if they bought something from Apple's stores or services by accident.

Further down the page is a set-up sub-section, pointing adults in the right direction if they want to set up Family Sharing or get a child set up on an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac. Also included are details about how to set up an Apple Watch for a family member who doesn't have their own ‌iPhone‌, using Family Setup.

In the U.S., users over 13 can also find links showing them how to update their Apple ID birth date. Apple advises that if a child is under 13 and their ‌Apple ID‌ birth date is wrong, a parent or guardian will need to contact Apple Support on their behalf. The age cut-off for both actions varies by country or region.

Further down the page, adults can learn how "Ask to Buy" works. With Ask to Buy enabled, kids get permission from the designated "family organizer" before making a purchase. There are also links explaining how to locate missing devices with Find My, and how to send Apple Cash to your children so they can use Apple Pay.

The last sub-section introduces ways to prevent kids from making in-app purchases, set limits with Screen Time, and use parental controls on a child's device.

Today the United Kingdom's Competition and Market Authority (CMA) launched an official investigation into the distribution of apps on iOS and iPadOS devices in the U.K. and the terms and conditions governing the platform.

In September of last year, the authority launched an initial inquiry into developers' complaints about Apple's App Store and so-called "anti-competitive" practices. CMA is now wrapping up its initial inquiry to launch an official investigation under Chapter II of the 1998 Competition Act.

Chapter II relates to a specific company or organization using its domain position within a particular market or industry to limit competition and further enhance its position. In recent months, developers, motivated mainly by Epic Games, have accused Apple of using its dominant position on its platforms and the platform to hinder competition.

The authority says that it has "reasonable grounds" to believe that Apple has broken competition law in some form under the Competition Act of 1998.

The CMA says that its investigation will determine whether or not Apple has a dominant position in "connection with the distribution of apps on Apple devices in the UK – and, if so, whether Apple imposes unfair or anti-competitive terms on developers using the ‌App Store‌." Andrea Coseclli, the Chief Executive of CMA, says that as the world relies on apps every day, a complaint that Apple is using its position to limit competition and choice calls for "careful scrutiny."

As part of its investigation, the CMA will probe into Apple's 30% commission for in-app purchases. Apple requires developers to use its own ‌App Store‌ in-app purchasing system for purchases made within apps. As part of the system, Apple gets a 30% commission for any purchase made. Developers have voiced concern that the commission is too high, and as a result, Apple announced a lower 15% commission for qualifying, small-indie developers.

Update: Apple provided MacRumors with the following statement regarding the CMA's investigation:

We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place for customers to download the apps they love and a great business opportunity for developers everywhere. In the UK alone, the iOS app economy supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, and any developer with a great idea is able to reach Apple customers around the world.

We believe in thriving and competitive markets where any great idea can flourish. The App Store has been an engine of success for app developers, in part because of the rigorous standards we have in place — applied fairly and equally to all developers — to protect customers from malware and to prevent rampant data collection without their consent. We look forward to working with the UK Competition and Markets Authority to explain how our guidelines for privacy, security and content have made the App Store a trusted marketplace for both consumers and developers.

The animated Apple TV+ kids movie "Wolfwalkers" has been nominated for 10 Annie Awards, while Apple's "Stillwater" animated series also received a nomination for "Best Pre-School" episode. Overall, Apple came in second place for nominations with 11 in all, but Netflix took the crown with a total of 40.

Nominations for "Wolfwalkers" are as follows:

• Wolfwalkers - Best Indie Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best FX for Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Character Design - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Character Animation - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Direction - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Music - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Production Design - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Storyboarding - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Voice Acting - Feature
• Wolfwalkers - Best Writing - Feature

The 48th Annual Annie Awards will take place via a virtual, live-streamed event on April 16 at 7 pm PST. Apple's new nominations come on the heels of ‌Apple TV‌'s hit show, "Ted Lasso," having been nominated for a Golden Globe award. Jason Sudeikis won a Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series" for his role in "Ted Lasso."

"Wolfwalkers" and "Ted Lasso" are both available to watch on ‌Apple TV‌+, which costs $4.99 per month. ‌Apple TV‌+ also comes as part of a series of services in the Apple One bundle.

WhatsApp is today updating its desktop app for Mac and PC with voice and video calling support, the company announced.

Like WhatsApp's mobile app, voice and video calls on the desktop equivalent are end-to-end encrypted, ensuring only the people conversing have access to the contents of a call.

WhatsApp has been in the process of testing the new desktop call functions over the last few months, so today marks the full rollout of what were previously only experimental features accessible by a select few.

As it stands, one important difference on desktop from the mobile experience is that it isn't yet possible to participate in group calls. Only one-to-one calling is currently supported, although WhatsApp says it intends to add group voice and video calling to desktop in the future.

To use the new video and voice calling features on WhatsApp Desktop, users need to have a mobile WhatsApp account. To learn how to set up WhatsApp on your Mac, be sure to check out our step-by-step guide.

Twitter is not concerned about the upcoming ad tracking changes that Apple plans to implement in iOS 14.5, Twitter CFO Ned Segal said today at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference.

Segal said that Twitter does not heavily rely on the device ID or IDFA, which is what Apple will be restricting through a new prompt that will require developers to get user permission before the IDFA can be used for ad tracking purposes.

We look at the unique signal that Twitter has with a growing audience, with better formats and more relevance and the ability to better leverage that signal, much of which isn't tied to a device ID. We feel really good about our ability to leverage that combination.

Segal went on to explain that he expects Apple's IDFA restrictions to "level the playing field." Other companies have been better at leveraging the data made available to them, but now everyone will have the same challenges to face, giving Twitter an opportunity to better compete with giants like Facebook.

We're in an industry where many were much better than Twitter historically at leveraging all of the data that was available to them, from the device ID to what people were doing on other websites. When we all have the same set of new challenges that we have to face, leveling the playing field will be a really interesting impact on the broader industry.

Twitter plans to wait rather than immediately ask its users if they want to opt into IDFA tracking through a popup. "We don't want to be in a rush around IDFA," said Segal, explaining that app developers only get one chance to ask for access to the device ID. "You want to ask in a really thoughtful way" and "take time to learn" before you "ask a question like that," he said.

Apple's App Tracking Transparency changes are baked into iOS 14 and are implemented now, but starting in iOS 14.5, Apple will enforce the rules. All app developers will need to ask permission before using the IDFA to track a user across websites and apps, and if a user declines, developers must respect that choice and not engage in other cross-app tracking methods.

Facebook has been fighting Apple's planned privacy changes and claims that small businesses will be unfairly impacted, but Apple has not budged on plans to implement the IDFA prompt and Facebook and other developers will be forced to use it following the launch of iOS 14.5 in the spring.