MacRumors

Tesla CEO Elon Musk today said on Twitter that he once reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook about the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla, but Cook "refused to take the meeting." Musk says that he attempted to contact Apple during the "darkest days of the Model 3 program," offering Tesla for 1/10 of its value.

Musk's tweet came in response to Reuters' recent report about Apple's work on an upcoming Apple Car.

According to Reuters, Apple is aiming to begin production on an Apple Car by 2024, using "next-level" battery technology that involves a "monocell" design that bulks up individual battery cells and frees up space inside the battery pack by removing pouches and modules that hold battery materials. Apple is also planning to use lithium iron phosphate battery technology.

Musk in a separate tweet said that the Apple Car rumors are "strange if true" and that a monocell design is "electrochemically impossible."

There have been rumors that Apple once considered a purchase of Tesla and made a "serious bid" of $240 per share back in 2013, but given Musk's comments, that may not be accurate.

Apple and Tesla have been at odds since Apple started working on the Apple Car project and have notoriously poached employees from one another. In 2015, in fact, Musk said that he calls Apple the "Tesla Graveyard." "If you don't make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple," he said.

If and when Apple does start manufacturing a car aimed at consumers, Tesla and Apple will be direct competitors. That could happen as early as 2024 or 2025 if Apple's work on an Apple Car stays on track.

In his Fully Charged newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today briefly reiterated that Apple plans to release a new Apple TV with a stronger gaming focus, an updated remote, and a new processor at some point next year.

Gurman has previously indicated that Apple is working on a new remote with Find My-like capabilities, which would make it easier to find when misplaced. As part of the gaming focus, there have also been rumors that Apple may introduce a dedicated gaming controller for the Apple TV, but it remains unclear what it would look like.

Earlier this year, an anonymous leaker known as "Fudge" on Twitter indicated that Apple has prototyped new Apple TV models with variants of the A12 and A14 chips for faster performance; if true, it's unclear if Apple will ultimately settle on one chip or release two different models. Fudge added that Apple is planning to bring console-quality games to its Apple Arcade service that may not work with existing Apple TV models.

The new Apple TV is also rumored to have higher 64GB and 128GB storage capacity options, compared to 32GB and 64GB for the current Apple TV 4K model.

All of these potential features have been rumored several times by now, and the Apple TV 4K was released over three years ago, so odds are looking good for a new Apple TV next year. Keep an eye on our Apple TV roundup linked below for the latest rumors.

Earlier this week, a developer using the pseudonym Sera Tonin Brocious on Twitter successfully managed to emulate Nintendo Switch games on Apple silicon, which they demonstrated by running Super Mario Odyssey on an M1 Mac.

As noted by The 8-Bit, the developer was able to achieve this feat with the open source Yuzu emulator, which uses Vulkan, a high-performance 3D graphics API. The implementation is not perfect due to limitations of MoltenVK, a runtime library that maps Vulkan to Apple's Metal graphics framework on macOS and iOS.

The screenshots show Super Mario Odyssey running on a 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 chip running macOS 11.0.1. This is possible because the processors in the Nintendo Switch and M1 Macs are both based on Arm architecture.

In a follow-up tweet, the developer said the "big hurdle" is proper Metal support, noting that the current MoltenVK implementation results in "middling performance." And while there are no instructions for the public to try this out yet, it's an exciting accomplishment, and one more example of the new capabilities unleashed by Apple silicon.

French accessory maker Netatmo today announced that its Smart Video Doorbell with HomeKit support is now available to pre-order for $299.99 in the United States and $399.99 in Canada. The doorbell will begin shipping to customers in these countries starting January 6, 2021, as noted by the blog HomeKit News.

As with other video doorbells, the Smart Video Doorbell lets you see and speak to visitors at your door, even when you're not home. HomeKit support allows the doorbell to be managed in the Home app and with Siri. HomeKit also allows the doorbell to work with automation scenes; for example, when the Smart Video Doorbell detects a person, the home's outdoor lights can switch on automatically to deter a potential intruder.

In addition to the Home app, the doorbell works with the free Netatmo Security app. Netatmo previously said that it is working to implement HomeKit Secure Video and will make the feature available in a free software update in the future.

Key features of the Smart Video Doorbell include a 1080p camera with a 140-degree wide-angle lens, infrared night vision, a built-in microphone and speaker for two-way communication, customizable settings like people detection zones, and IP44-rated water and dust resistance. Netatmo does not charge any subscription fees; instead, the doorbell is equipped with an 8GB microSD card for local video storage.

First introduced at CES 2019, the Smart Video Doorbell launched in Europe in September.

As Epic Games' dispute with Apple continues on, the gaming company has teamed up with Samsung to send "Free Fortnite" swag out to influencers.

The gift package, which was shared by Kinda Funny's Greg Miller, includes a "Free Fortnite" jacket with a rainbow-colored llama logo and a Galaxy Tab S7 tablet from Samsung. A note included with package has a reminder that Fortnite is available from the ‌Epic Games‌ app on the Galaxy Store.

Fortnite was named the Samsung Galaxy Store Game of the Year for 2020. In celebration, we've teamed up with Samsung to send you a special box of #freefortnite gear.

While Fortnite may not currently be available on the App Store or Google Play, you can still get the latest Fornite updates directly from the Epic Games app on the Galaxy Store. Spread the word, #freefortnite.

Fortnite was pulled from the App Store on iOS devices back in August after ‌Epic Games‌ decided it would no longer pay Apple's fees for in-app purchases. ‌Epic Games‌ added a direct purchase option for Fortnite currency in the app, breaking Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules and resulting in Apple removing the app from the ‌App Store‌.

Fortnite then launched an anti-Apple PR campaign and filed a lawsuit against Apple accusing Apple of imposing "anti-competitive restraints" on apps, and employing "monopolistic practices in markets" to "block competition and stifle innovation."

Since then, the two companies have been embroiled in a legal battle and Fortnite has refused to comply with the ‌App Store‌ terms to get the app back in the ‌App Store‌ while the lawsuit plays out. Fortnite is no longer available on the ‌App Store‌, and players who had the app downloaded before are unable to get updates. Google too is facing a lawsuit with ‌Epic Games‌ and has also removed Fortnite from the Play Store.

‌Epic Games‌ and Apple are set to face off in court in July 2021, and it's unlikely Fortnite will return to the ‌App Store‌ before then. The Fortnite app is also unavailable on macOS, but can be played on PCs, consoles, and Android-based mobile devices, and it will soon be available on iOS through GeForce NOW.

Apple is aiming to begin production on an Apple-branded self-driving vehicle starting in 2024, according to a new report shared today by Reuters.

Apple has been working on some kind of car project since 2014, and there was a point when it seemed like the company's efforts could be scaled back to autonomous vehicle software, but after several management changes and shifts in hiring, Apple's work on a car has progressed and the company now feels that it is able to build a vehicle for consumers.

Unnamed sources told Reuters that Apple is developing a new battery design that has the potential to "radically" reduce the cost of batteries and increase the vehicle's range.

Apple is building a "monocell" design that will bulk up the individual battery cells and free up space inside the battery pack by removing pouches and modules that hold battery materials. This will allow for more active material in a smaller package.

Apple's design means that more active material can be packed inside the battery, giving the car a potentially longer range. Apple is also examining a chemistry for the battery called LFP, or lithium iron phosphate, the person said, which is inherently less likely to overheat and is thus safer than other types of lithium-ion batteries.

One person who spoke to Reuters described Apple's battery technology as "next level" and said that it's similar to "the first time you saw the iPhone."

Apple will need to tap into a whole new supply chain to produce a car. Apple is said to be planning to rely on a manufacturing partner to build the vehicles. Apple is working with outside partners for car components, such as LiDAR sensors.

The Apple Car could feature multiple LiDAR sensors for scanning different distances, and some of those could be created from Apple's internally developed LiDAR units.

Apple was in talks with Magna International about manufacturing a car, but the talks ended when Apple's plans became unclear. To enter into a contract, Apple may need to commit to high volume sales, as many as 100,000 vehicles annually.

There are years to go before Apple begins production on an Apple Car, and Reuters warns that the company could still choose to scale back the project and reduce the scope of its efforts to an autonomous driving system that would be integrated into a car made by a traditional automaker. Delays caused by the ongoing global health crisis could also push production to 2025 or beyond.

Samsung is gearing up to launch new Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds, which are likely set to debut in January alongside the new Galaxy S21 smartphones. The new headphones have a feature that's quite similar to the Spatial Audio function available in the AirPods Max and AirPods Pro.

Though the earbuds aren't coming out for a few weeks, we already know what to expect because Samsung accidentally leaked them in the Galaxy Wearable app, and 9to5Google shared details on the feature set.

The earbuds look similar to the original Galaxy Buds and have much of the same feature set, but there's a new "3D audio for videos" function that sounds a lot like the Spatial Audio option that Apple brought to the ‌AirPods Pro‌ and then the ‌AirPods Max‌.

Spatial Audio is designed to provide a theater-like surround sound listening experience on iPhone and iPad using dynamic head tracking capabilities that make it seem like sound is coming from all around you.

Samsung's "3d audio for videos" feature describes a similar experience. "Hear vivid, immersive sound coming from all directions so you feel like you're right in the scene when you watch videos," reads a toggle for the feature. "To get the best experience, keep your earbuds near your phone."

The Galaxy Buds Pro also feature an equalizer with multiple presets, customizable touch controls, and a Find My Earbuds option. A new Voice Detect feature listens for when a person is speaking and lowers the volume of media, and there's an Ambient Sound option for noise cancellation that lets in outside sound much like Transparency mode on the ‌AirPods Pro‌.

We'll see the official unveiling of the Galaxy Buds Pro in January, and while pricing has not yet been announced, they'll likely be priced similarly to the ‌AirPods Pro‌. 9to5Google speculates that they could be priced at around $200, $50 more expensive than the Galaxy Buds+.

A new report published today by Counterpoint Research finds that the iPhone 12 became the world's bestselling 5G smartphone in October, in spite of its delayed launch.

Although the ‌iPhone‌ 12 was only sold for two weeks in October, it was still able to top the rankings. These two weeks' worth of sales allowed the ‌iPhone‌ 12 to become the seventh-bestselling 5G device sold between January and October of 2020.

The ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro was the second-bestselling 5G smartphone, followed by the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G. Together, the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and 12 Pro captured almost one-fourth of total 5G smartphone sales in October.

Counterpoint credits a number of factors for the explosive success of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro compared to other existing 5G devices. For example, it is believed that there was significant pent-up demand for a 5G upgrade within the iOS user base. The uptick was also caused by strong carrier promotions within the United States, which accounted for over one-third of ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro sales for the month. Compared to most other 5G devices, the ‌iPhone‌ generally has a wider market coverage with availability in over 140 countries.

The ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro have also given a "much-needed" boost to the 5G smartphone market, which achieved its highest ever share of 24 percent in the global smartphone sales in October.

Sales of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro have more than doubled the penetration of mmWave-capable smartphones from five percent in September to 12 percent in October. Counterpoint highlights how this is likely to impact the telecoms industry, and speculates that it may facilitate Apple's future push into other sectors such as augmented reality or virtual reality:

This is important because it gives operators an incentive to deploy mmWave infrastructure rapidly. The high throughput and low latency provided by mmWave will help unlock the true potential of 5G. With the mmWave network and devices in place, it would lay a solid foundation for Apple to leverage the power of mmWave in segments like AR/VR.

Counterpoint expects demand for the ‌iPhone‌ 12 series to remain strong through the fourth quarter of 2020, particularly during the holiday season. The late launch of the devices is likely to push sales into subsequent months, thereby maintaining the momentum of sales into early 2021.

Today only, you can get the 256GB Wi-Fi 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020) for $949.00 on B&H Photo, down from an original price of $1,099.00. This sale is available in both silver and space gray colors, and it will expire later tonight at midnight.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

B&H Photo's sale is a match of the lowest-ever price seen on this version of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. You can also get the same price on Amazon with a matching sale, but that retailer is only offering the iPad Pro in space gray at this price.

Apple refreshed its iPad Pro lineup back in March, introducing a faster A12Z Bionic processor, dual rear cameras, a new LiDAR scanner for improved augmented reality capabilities, improved audio, and an optional Magic Keyboard accessory that adds a trackpad to the iPad for the first time.

For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.

Philips Hue is set to release an updated dimmer switch and a brand new "Wave Linear" outdoor lighting system in early 2021, according to hueblog.com and smartlights.de.

The popular Philips Hue dimmer switch, which has been around for some years and is often included in Philips Hue kits, is to see an update that brings a refreshed design. Instead of having four buttons like the current model, the new version is set to have only three buttons, with the middle two dimmer buttons being combined into a single rocker button. The "on" button is also gaining a small tactile marking so that users can find the correct button in the dark.

The general design has been updated to be more curvaceous and subtle, with matte white plastic being used instead of the current glossy white plastic. The base plate is also due to increase in size to 80mm by 125mm, in order to completely cover EU in-wall outlets. The current dimmer switch base plate is too narrow for this.

Moreover, Philips Hue will reportedly introduce a new "Wave Linear" outdoors lighting system. Wave Linear will integrate with existing Hue low-voltage outdoors products such as the Hue Lily, Hue Calla, or Hue Outdoor Lightstrip.

Designed to illuminate large outdoor spaces evenly with color, such as an exterior house wall, it will be able to produce up to 1,400 lumens of brightness and 16 million colors. The Philips Hue Wave Linear system will supposedly become available in Spring 2021.

Popular videoconferencing app Zoom is due to be updated with native support for Apple Silicon Macs today.

A Zoom support document, spotted by 9to5Mac, contains release notes for an update scheduled to be released today. The most notable update is support for ‌Apple Silicon‌ processors, and Zoom will release a separate installer for the app on ‌Apple Silicon‌ Macs.

The update also includes enhanced cloud contact integration for chat and call features, enhanced nonverbal feedback and reactions, "raise hand" for host and co-host, poll report availability during live session, and more.

Although native support for ‌Apple Silicon‌ will undoubtedly please users with an M1 MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or Mac mini, the Intel version of Zoom running under Rosetta 2 emulation performed surprisingly well.

Versions of Adobe Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush, and Audition that run natively on M1 Macs are now available for public beta testers.

According to an Adobe Support Community document, spotted by The 8-Bit, Adobe will launch native ‌M1‌ support for all features within Premiere Pro in phases, and many parts have not yet been ported.

The first phase, included in this public beta release of Premiere Pro, features core editing functions and workflows like color, graphics, and audio, as well as Productions and multicam. Adobe has also prioritized support for the most widely used codecs, such as H.264, HEVC, and ProRes.

Adobe says that beta testers will need to initially upgrade their project files to make them compatible with the new captions workflow, and it is advised that users create extra copies of projects to use within the beta version.

Beta testers should also be aware that Adobe has released a list of known issues in the beta. For example, tapping the Tool Selector on a MacBook Pro's Touch Bar can cause the app to crash, and estimated file sizes while exporting may show incorrect values by an "order of magnitude."

While Adobe completes its M1-native version of Premiere Pro, it urges most users to run the current release version of Premiere Pro using Rosetta 2 emulation on Macs with an ‌M1‌ chip.

Even when Adobe Premiere Pro is fully updated for Apple Silicon, it should be noted that third-party integrations such as panels, plugins, effects, and drivers will need to be updated by developers to run natively on ‌Apple Silicon‌ and may not work reliably under Rosetta 2 emulation.

In addition to Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush and Audition have also been updated to run natively on ‌M1‌ Macs for public beta testers.

In November, Adobe made the M1-native version of Photoshop available in beta. Adobe Lightroom CC was updated to run natively on Apple Silicon earlier this month. The company appears to be on track to update most of its apps to support ‌Apple Silicon‌ in 2021.

Apple has placed supplier Wistron on probation following unrest at its plant in southern India (via Reuters).

An audit conducted by Apple found that Wistron's Bangalore plant, which manufactures the iPhone SE, showed violations of its "Supplier Code of Conduct." According to Apple, Wistron failed to implement proper working hour management processes which "led to payment delays for some workers in October and November."

Workers contracted by Wistron, angry over unpaid wages, destroyed property, equipment, and stock on December 12, resulting in millions of dollars in losses and the forced closure of the plant. Wistron has now admitted that some workers had not been paid correctly or on time, pledged to restructure its teams, and said it has removed a senior executive overseeing its business in India.

The plant in Bangalore was reportedly set to hire up to 20,000 more workers to manufacture an additional iPhone model, but these plans have now been abandoned. Apple commented that it will not award Wistron any new business until it addressed how workers are treated. The company will, however, continue to monitor Wistron's progress on corrective action.

The Apple probation is expected to delay the company's manufacturing push into India, where it has pledged to invest one billion dollars as it seeks to diversify its global supply chains. The only remaining Apple suppliers with operations in India are Foxconn and Pegatron.

Elsewhere, another labor dispute broke out at an iPhone-manufacturing Pegatron plant in Shanghai, according to United Daily News. Thousands of temporary workers were reportedly unhappy with the announcement that they needed to transfer to Pegatron's Kunshan plant, resulting in "chaotic" mass gatherings as workers demanded reimbursement.

It is now believed that the events in Bangalore and Shanghai have put significantly more demand on Zhengzhou, which contains the largest ‌iPhone‌ assembly plant.

Update: A report from the Economic Times is now citing legal expertise suggesting that Apple may also be held responsible for the labor violations in Bangalore.

"According to the Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, the contractor is responsible for payment of wages and the principal employer is ultimately responsible for it," said legal experts speaking to Economic Times.

This means that Indian authorities are able to seek explanations from both Apple and Wistron, legally implicating Apple in the causes of the unrest.

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's long-rumored electric vehicle is running at least two years ahead of schedule and will be released in the third quarter of 2021, according to Taiwan's Economic Daily News, which cites unnamed executives at Taiwanese manufacturers.

The report claims that Taiwanese manufacturers are preparing to ramp up for production of "Apple Car" components as early as the second quarter of next year, adding that Apple has been secretly testing dozens of prototype vehicles on the road in California. Apple received a permit from California's DMV to test self-driving vehicles in 2017, and it was spotted using Lexus SUVs rigged with LiDAR equipment that year.

While many sources have claimed the Apple Car will be released between 2023 and 2025, including analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the report cites an unnamed director at a major Taiwanese manufacturer who said Apple is targeting a September 2021 launch.

While anything is possible, the earlier timeframe is questionable, especially due to the impact of the pandemic. Earlier this month, a DigiTimes report claimed that Apple was in "preliminary" negotiations with automotive electronics suppliers, suggesting that its vehicle project still remains in the fairly early stages. The report added that Apple's chipmaking partner TSMC is reportedly working with Apple on a "self-driving chip."

Over the years, reports have flip flopped on whether Apple is developing a full-fledged vehicle or working on artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technologies for vehicles in general. Apple's artificial intelligence chief John Giannandrea recently took over leadership of the project, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Given that automakers often announce all-new vehicles years in advance, one possibility is that the Apple Car will be previewed in late 2021, but not released. For now, though, the report should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Economic Daily News has a mixed track record with Apple rumors. The publication accurately revealed that Apple would be releasing a repurposed iPhone 8 in March 2020, nearly a year before the second-generation iPhone SE was unveiled, and it also nailed down the 11-inch iPad Pro. On the contrary, the publication inaccurately reported that a high-end gaming Mac would debut at WWDC 2020 and that AirPods Pro would come in several colors.

Apple this weekend shut down all of its stores in California, including those in the San Francisco Bay Area, after beginning to shutter stores in Los Angeles on Friday.

All retail locations in California have a notice letting customers know that the stores are temporarily closed, though some are allowing for order pickups and genius bar appointments through December 22. There's no word on when the stores will reopen, but they will remain closed through the holidays.

Apple has shuttered stores in California as COVID cases in the state have continued to rise, and stores in other places around the world are also closed down right now. According to 9to5Mac, there are nearly 100 Apple Stores that are non-operational at this time.

Stores in Tennessee were closed this weekend, and stores that are located in the UK's Tier 4 restrictions are shutting down as of today. 18 stores in Germany and the Netherlands were closed last week, and stores in Mexico and Brazil are closing this weekend.

In most stores that are still open in the United States, Apple is operating in a limited "Express" capacity, allowing for pickups and genius bar appointments but not in-store shopping and browsing.

Apple began closing retail locations earlier this year and many of its stores were shut down for months in the spring. Apple began reopening stores in June, but said that stores could close again depending on local guidelines and conditions. 400 stores are still open.

In all stores, Apple is requiring face masks, limiting store occupancy, conducting temperature checks, implementing social distancing measures, and deep cleaning regularly.

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.