MacRumors

Apple produced 77.6 million iPhones units in the fourth quarter of 2020, 69.8 million of which were iPhone 12 models, helping the company overtake Samsung to become the top global smartphone brand, according to TrendForce.

The analysts' latest report says Apple sold 10 million more phones than its biggest rival over the quarter, with Samsung selling 67 million phones, a quarter-on-quarter decline of 14%. By contrast, Apple recorded an 85% increase QoQ, driven in part by Apple's support for 5G across its latest smartphone lineup and its adoption of an aggressive pricing strategy.

Even though the share of high-end models in global smartphone sales shrank in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple was able to push through the headwinds and capture market share by introducing 5G models and adopting an aggressive pricing strategy. Apple produced 77.6 million units of iPhones in 4Q20, an 85% increase QoQ, thereby overtaking Samsung and ranking first amongst all smartphone brands. It should also be pointed out that iPhone 12 devices accounted for about 90% of the iPhone production in 4Q20.

TrendForce foresees higher than expected sales for all manufacturers in the first quarter of this year. "Historically, smartphone production tends to experience a QoQ drop of around 20% for the first quarter as demand collapses from the peak-season level of the fourth quarter of the preceding year," say its analysts. "However, the performance of the first quarter of this year is expected to defy seasonality."

To that end, sales of ‌iPhone‌ 12 devices are likely to remain strong in the first quarter of 2021, and total ‌iPhone‌ production are expected to reach 54 million units, with ‌iPhone‌ 12 models again accounting for about 80% of this figure.

Despite Samsung losing ground on Apple in the last quarter, TrendForce expects Samsung to top the global smartphone production ranking for the whole of 2021, thanks to its new flagship Galaxy S21 lineup and the adoption of promotional pricing to boost sales of its latest high-end devices.

However, the analysts believe Samsung's ability to retain the leadership position will prove increasingly challenging as it continues to lose market share to Chinese brands like Oppo and Xiaomi, which have risen rapidly over the past few years thanks to devices that boast better price-performance ratio compared to Samsung's offerings.

Today's report lines up with the latest data gathered by Gartner, which found that Apple overtook Samsung to become the largest smartphone vendor worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2020, a feat not achieved by Apple since 2016.

Apple's advertising system for monetizing its apps and services is the target of a new complaint in France that has been brought against it by a lobby group representing startups and venture capital firms (via Bloomberg).

Submitted on Tuesday by France Digitale to the country's National Data Protection Commission (CNIL), the complaint focuses on an Apple feature called Personalized Advertising, which shows ads in the App Store, Apple News, and the Stocks app, based on a user's data.

The group said it had acted because Apple's system doesn't ask for the user's permission to receive the targeted ads, which are enabled by default. Users are "insufficiently informed about the use and the processing of its personal data," the association wrote in the complaint, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg.

"Apple keeps the right to choose who is a 'partner' and who is a 'third party' in an arbitrary manner, a quality which may change over time, without the user being informed of such a change," France Digitale wrote, claiming the company is seeking to use data it collects and uses.

The complaint comes ahead of Apple's planned rollout of a new App Tracking Transparency feature, which will limit how much data that third-party advertising systems can gather about users. Following the release of iOS 14.5, all apps that access an iPhone's ad identifier or IDFA will need to ask a user's permission before tracking is allowed.

The upcoming feature has drawn criticism from Facebook and other advertisers who are concerned that many users will not consent to being tracked across apps for ad personalization purposes. However, App Tracking Transparency is different from Apple's own personalized advertising system, which doesn't track users across apps and doesn't identify users to target its ads. Instead, it relies on the anonymous grouping of users' shared characteristics such as apps downloaded, age, country or city of residence, and gender.

However, that hasn't stopped France Digitale from claiming that it still gives Apple an advantage over third-parties when it comes to ‌iPhone‌ app-based advertising. Apple responded to the complaint in a statement given to Bloomberg:

"The allegations in the complaint are patently false and will be seen for what they are, a poor attempt by those who track users to distract from their own actions and mislead regulators and policymakers. Transparency and control for the user are fundamental pillars of our privacy philosophy, which is why we've made App Tracking Transparency equally applicable to all developers including Apple. Privacy is built into the ads we sell on our platform with no tracking."

French Digitale's legal action follows another complaint against Apple that was filed with France's competition authority by advertising companies and publishers in October 2020.

That complaint argued that the enhanced privacy measures brought about by Apple's Apple Tracking Transparency would be anticompetitive. A ruling by the French watchdog is expected soon, and depending on the outcome, Apple could be forced to leave out its enhanced privacy feature in iOS 14.5 for users in the country.

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 iPhones will adopt a "periscopic telephoto lens" in 2023, according to a research note shared this evening by well-respected TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo did not elaborate, but we've heard several prior rumors about Apple's work on a periscope lens, which would allow for significant improvements in optical zoom capabilities. Kuo previously said that he expected Apple to adopt a periscope lens in 2022 iPhone models, but it appears he now believes that won't happen until 2023.

Existing smartphones have already adopted periscope lens technology. Huawei's P30 Pro allows for 5x optical zoom, and an ‌iPhone‌ with a periscope lens could have similar capabilities. Current iPhones max out at 2.5x optical zoom and 12x digital zoom, but better zoom capabilities could let Apple's iPhones compete with smartphones that have focused on zoom functionality. Samsung's latest smartphones, for example, have a 100x zoom feature that Apple 's current iPhones can't match.

In addition to the prediction about periscopic lens technology coming in 2023, Kuo shared details on both the 2021 and 2022 iPhones.

For the 2021 iPhones, Kuo believes that Apple will adopt a new Face ID transmitter that's made from a plastic material instead of glass, which is now possible thanks to improved coating technologies. It's not clear if this will have end-user benefits for ‌iPhone‌ owners or if it will simply mean a reduction in production cost for Apple.

In the past, it was widely believed that the reason the Tx lens had to adopt glass material was to avoid distortion due to the heat generated by VCSEL operation. Our latest survey indicates that the Face ID TX lens for the new 2H21 iPhone will be made of plastic instead of glass, thanks to improved coating technologies and that the Tx plastic lens suppliers are Largan and Genius, with Largan being the primary beneficiary of this material change due to its higher supply share.

High-end iPhones releasing in 2021 will also feature an upgraded ultra wide lens, with Apple upgrading from a 5-element lens to a 6-element lens, which Kuo says is made possible through "design and production advantages."

Kuo said that rear-facing camera improvements coming to high-end iPhones in 2022 will focus on the telephoto lens, with Apple upgrading from a 6-element lens to a 7-element lens for the ‌iPhone‌ 14.

‌iPhone‌ models coming in 2022 are also expected to adopt a new "unibody lens design," which Kuo says Apple will use to reduce the size of the front camera module.

To reduce the front camera module's size, we predict that the new iPhone will adopt a unibody lens design in 2H22 at the earliest. This design requires the lens and VCM [voice coil motor] to be assembled before shipping to CCM. Since Largan will start shipping iPhone VCM for new iPhones in 2H21, we believe that if Apple adopts the unibody lens design in the future, Largan, a new VCM supplier, can integrate lens design production advantages and benefit from this new trend.

Kuo previously said that he believes 2022 ‌iPhone‌ models will transition from a notch to a hole punch-style display that some Android smartphones have previously adopted. Apple is expected to use this design for high-end iPhones coming in 2022, but if production yields are high enough, all 2022 iPhones could use the same hole punch design.

Apple's upcoming mixed reality headset will feature a total of 15 optical camera modules, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said this evening in a research note obtained by MacRumors.

Eight of the 15 camera modules will be used for see-through augmented reality experiences, six modules will be used for "innovative biometrics," and one camera module will be used for environmental detection. Largan will supply many of the 15 camera lenses.

Kuo's prediction of the number of cameras expected in the mixed reality headset comes following a report yesterday that shared several details on the device, which Kuo believes will launch in 2022.

The headset will be "portable" with independent computing power and storage, but not "mobile" like an iPhone. Current prototypes weigh in at 200 to 300 grams, but the final weight may be reduced to 100 to 200 grams should Apple be able to solve technical problems.

Kuo believes that Apple's mixed reality headset will be significantly lighter than many VR devices on the market, and that it will provide an "immersive experience that is significantly better than existing VR products." Kuo expects the headset to be priced at around $1000, and it will feature high-end micro-OLED displays.

For more on what we're expecting from the AR/VR headset that Apple has in development, we have a full roundup with all of the rumors we've heard so far. The roundup also has details on the smart glasses that Apple is working on, which will be released after the headset.

Amid rumors that Apple is working on an Apple-branded car that will come out in the next decade, BMW Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter today told Bloomberg that he's not concerned about the threat of an Apple vehicle.

"I sleep very peacefully," said Peter when Bloomberg asked for his opinion on Apple entering the car market. "Competition is a wonderful thing - it helps motivate the others."

He went on to explain that BMW is in a "very strong position" and wants to "remain in a leading position of the industry."

BMW executives have been similarly calm about Tesla's growing dominance in the car market. Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse in February said that "it won't be easy" for Tesla to continue growing at a rapid pace as traditional car makers come out with electric vehicles. "The rest of the industry is moving ahead big time," said Zipse.

Apple is said to be working on an Apple-designed and branded vehicle that will be fully autonomous and electric. Apple is rumored to be looking for manufacturing partners and at one point, was considering Hyundai/Kia. We're still many years away from an Apple vehicle, however, with rumors suggesting that work on the car is in the early stages with Apple planning for a launch in 2025 at the earliest.

In Safari 14, Apple introduced a new feature called tab previews, where hovering your mouse pointer over a non-active browser tab shows an image preview of the tab's contents.

Apple doesn't provide an option in preferences to disable tab previews, which isn't great if you find the feature less than useful or downright distracting. Fortunately, there's an undisclosed but fairly simple way to disable tab previews, which we're going to explain how to do here.

The following steps guide you through the process. Note that one of the steps involves inputting a simple Terminal command, so you'll need to be comfortable using Terminal command line interface to follow through to the end.

1. Quit Safari if it's running on your Mac.
2. Launch System Preferences ( menu -> System Preferences...) then click the Security & Privacy preference pane.
   
   

3. Select the Privacy tab, then click the padlock icon and enter your password or use Touch ID to make changes.
4. Select Full Disk Access in the sidebar.
5. Scroll to Terminal in the app list and check the box next to it to enable the app to have full disk access. (Note that you can disable this access later by unchecking the box after you've followed all the steps.)
   
   

6. Next, launch the Terminal app (found in /Applications/Utilities/Terminal).
   
   

7. Enter the following command and then hit Enter:
   defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugDisableTabHoverPreview 1
   

Launch Safari, and you should find that page previews no longer appear when you hover your mouse pointer over a non-active tab.

How to Re-Enable Safari Tab Previews

To revert the change at any time, simply repeat the steps, except in step 7 be sure to replace the "1" at the end of the Terminal command with "0". After hitting Enter and relaunching Safari, your tab previews will be re-instated.

Apple appears to have temporarily sold out of the iMac Pro just two days after the Cupertino company confirmed that the ‌iMac‌ Pro has been discontinued and will only be available "while supplies last."

The ‌iMac‌ Pro is now listed as "Currently Unavailable" in the Apple Online Store in the United States and Canada, which suggests available supply is running low.

"Currently Unavailable" can sometimes see a product come back in stock, so the ‌iMac‌ Pro may not be sold out for good at this time. The machine is still available in Europe and Asia-Pacific, for example, with two to three week shipping estimates.

Though the ‌iMac‌ Pro may not yet be gone at this point, the unavailable status confirms that there are not a limited number of the machines available for purchase, so those who want to pick one up before they're discontinued should do so soon. Apple is selling the ‌iMac‌ Pro for $4,999. It includes a 3.0GHz 10-core Xeon Intel W processor, 32GB RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a Radeon Pro Vega 56 GPU.

The ‌iMac‌ Pro was first released in December 2017 and has not received any significant updates since its debut. Apple recommends that people interested in a powerful desktop machine choose the 27-inch ‌iMac‌ that was introduced in August, or the 2019 Mac Pro.

Apple is rumored to be working on a redesigned version of the iMac with slimmer bezels and a design similar to the Pro Display XDR, plus an Apple silicon chip, with that machine set to be introduced sometime in 2021.

Update: The ‌iMac‌ Pro is back in stock for the time being, though it could soon disappear permanently.

Apple today released macOS Big Sur 11.2.3, the fifth update to the macOS Big Sur operating system that launched in November. macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 comes two weeks after the release of macOS 11.2.2, a bug fix update.

The new ‌‌‌‌‌macOS Big Sur‌‌‌‌ 11.2.3 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Preferences.

Apple says that macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 introduces important security updates and should be installed by all users, with an additional support document clarifying that the software addresses WebKit vulnerability that could allow maliciously crafted web content to execute code.

Apple has also released a new version of Safari (14.0.3) for macOS Catalina and macOS Mojave users.

Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1, minor security updates that comes more than a month after the release of the iOS 14.4 update.

The iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1 updates can be downloaded for free and the software is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the new software, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

According to Apple's release notes, the update provides important security updates and is recommended for all users. Apple's security support document says that the updates fix a WebKit bug that could allow maliciously crafted web content to execute code.

Apple today released watchOS 7.3.2, a minor update to the watchOS 7 operating system that was released in September. watchOS 7.3.s comes three weeks after the release of watchOS 7.3.1, a bug fix update.

‌‌The watchOS 7.3.2 update‌‌ can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.

To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌.

According to Apple's release notes, the software provides an important security fix to address a WebKit bug that could allow maliciously crafted web content to execute code.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, conferences and events such as WWDC that are typically held in-person were transformed into digital-only events in 2020. Now, a year later, one of the biggest technology conferences plans to return to a sense of normalcy, hosting an in-person conference this June.

As reported by Bloomberg, GSMA, the organizer of MWC Barcelona, says that it plans to hold the conference in-person between June 28 and July 1, with expectations of up to 50,000 attendees. In February, GSMA held a small-scale MWC in Shanghai with around 17,000 attendees and it was a success. There were no confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to the event, which ignited hope that a larger-scale conference in Barcelona could be conducted safely.

There will, however, be several strict measures in place for MWC Barcelona. Attendees will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test before entering the venue and have a test repeated every 72 hours. The venue will be equipped with improved air ventilation, contact tracing, on-site medical staff, and temperature checks across the conference. All attendees will also be required to wear a face mask and practice social distancing at all times.

While one of the largest technology conferences will go ahead with an in-person event, Apple is unlikely to follow suit. Apple opted for digital events for all of 2020, and WWDC 2021 expected to take place this June will likely also be fully digital. Already, many other major conferences have announced plans for digital events this year, including San Diego Comic-Con, Anime Expo, and E3.

Thanks to the online nature of WWDC 2020, Apple was able to offer online labs and sessions to anyone, anywhere around the world, for free. As for the WWDC keynote, Apple has already shown it can deliver that via a prerecorded presentation from Apple Park, and it will likely do the same for WWDC 2021 and potentially for a spring Apple event coming as soon as later this month. Last year, Apple announced details for WWDC in early May, so we could see a similar timeline this year.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple today announced it is launching a new Kids & Family experience in its Podcasts app, in partnership with Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization focused on age-appropriate content recommendations for families.

The new Kids & Family experience will make it easier for parents to find podcasts suitable for kids of all ages, with recommendations by age group. Thematic collections of podcasts will be available from creators such as Tinkercast, American Public Media, Gen-Z Media, Pinna, Tumble, Highlights, WNYC Studios, Rebel Girls, and Nickelodeon. Each show is selected by Common Sense Media, in collaboration with Apple Podcasts.

At launch, the experience includes four collections, as described by Apple:

• Common Sense Media Picks: All-time favorites that families are sure to find entertaining and informative.
• One More!: Mysterious tales and action-packed dramas that kids of all ages won't want to stop listening to.
• Kids Know Best: Popular shows for kids, selected by kids themselves.
• Story Time: Story-driven shows that transport kids into a world of imagination.

The Kids & Family experience is available in the Podcasts app and on Apple's website (page not live yet) in the United States. It will be updated monthly with new and popular podcasts, as well as additional collections tied to important historical and cultural moments, including Women's History Month and the Back to School season, according to Apple.

WhatsApp is working on a way to secure users' chat backups in iCloud using password-protected encryption, according to a new report from forthcoming-feature specialist WABetaInfo.

The Facebook-owned chat platform began early work on the security feature back in March 2020. Currently, WhatsApp on iPhone lets users back up their chat history to ‌iCloud‌, but messages and media that users back up are not protected by WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption while in ‌‌iCloud‌.

Apple holds the encryption keys to ‌iCloud‌, and does provide backed-up data to authorities when lawfully requested, as outlined in its semiannual Transparency Reports. The new WhatsApp feature, should it see the light of day, would resolve that security hole by allowing users to encrypt and password-protect their chat history before uploading it to Apple's cloud-based platform.

In screenshots posted by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp describes the password-protection like so:

"To prevent unauthorized access to your iCloud Drive backup, you can set a password that will be used to encrypt future backups. This password will be required when you restore from the backup."

The user is then asked to confirm their phone number and select a password of at least eight characters in length. Another screenshot forewarns users that "WhatsApp will not be able to help recover forgotten passwords."

It's unclear when the security feature will go live, but after the recent exodus from WhatsApp prompted by the service's poorly explained privacy policy update, sooner would be better than later.

Rival encrypted messaging services Telegram and Signal have both experienced a surge in signups following the controversy, which led WhatsApp to delay the privacy policy update until May while it attempts to deal with the fallout and clarify to users that the changes won't affect the privacy of their conversations.

Apple will hold its first event of the year on March 23, according to information provided by a reputable Chinese leaker (via DuanRui). Apple is expected to launch AirTags, new iPads, and possibly updated AirPods at a spring event, and leaker "Kang" believes that date will be March 23.

Initial speculation pointed to an event happening on March 16; however, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman shot down the possibility, leaving the door open for an event later on in the month. Kang says that Apple's event will be held on the same date as the OnePlus 9 reveal, which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 23.

Due to the global health crisis, Apple's event is expected to be held digitally and live-streamed via its website and official YouTube channel. March 23 and March 30 are both reasonable guesses for when Apple is set to hold an event. Apple tends to hold events on Tuesday and is also expected to hold an event in the "early spring" to coincide with the launch of App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14.5.

Official details about Apple's event remain unknown. However, mounting evidence of the imminent release of AirTags suggests Apple's Tile-like tracker could debut at the rumored March 23 event. DigiTimes, and others, have also suggested Apple will release updated iPad models with mini-LED displays and faster processors in the first half of the year.

Shortly after Kang suggested the March 23 date, YouTube personality and hit-or-miss Apple leaker Jon Prosser tweeted "23," in an apparent show of support for Kang and his event date prediction.

Last year, Kang was first to accurately reveal that Apple planned to revive the MagSafe brand for iPhone 12, and also leaked accurate details and launch dates for the full ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup and the rumored HomePod mini before they were officially announced.