Customers who order Apple's newly announced $549 AirPods Max over-ear headphones can add AppleCare+ coverage for $59 when they buy through the Apple store.
Every AirPods Max comes with one year of hardware repair coverage through its limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary tech support, but additional AppleCare+ coverage gets up to two years of tech support and accidental damage coverage for the over-ear headphones from the purchase date.
AppleCare+ for AirPods Max adds up to two incidents of accidental damage protection every 12 months, each subject to a service fee of $29, plus applicable tax, and includes battery service coverage. In addition, customers get 24/7 priority access to Apple experts via chat or phone.
AirPods Max come with an included Smart Case and Lightning to USB-C Cable, and the headphones are compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.
Apple today introduced new wireless over-ear headphones called AirPods Max, with key features including high-fidelity audio, Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio. Priced at $549, the headphones can be ordered starting today on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app, with availability beginning December 15.
AirPods Max come in five colors, including space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink. Apple says the headphones feature a "breathable knit mesh" spanning the headband that distributes weight to reduce on-head pressure.
Apple says the ear cups have acoustically engineered memory foam to create an effective seal, and the telescoping stainless steel headband arms smoothly extend and then stay in place to maintain the desired fit on your head.
AirPods Max feature a 40-mm Apple-designed dynamic driver that is said to provide "rich, deep bass, accurate mid-ranges, and crisp, clean high-frequency extension." Each ear cup is equipped with Apple's H1 chip for "computational audio" to deliver the "highest quality listening experience possible," according to Apple.
Similar to the Apple Watch, AirPods Max feature a Digital Crown on one ear cup for precise volume control and the ability to play or pause audio, skip tracks, answer or end phone calls, and activate Siri voice control. There's also a noise control button for switching between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode, which lets some outside sound in so you can interact naturally with your surroundings.
AirPods Max feature up to 20 hours of battery life with Active Noise Cancellation and spatial audio enabled — fine print reveals that Apple had volume set to 50% during its testing. Apple says a five-minute charge delivers 1.5 hours of listening time.
As with other AirPods models, AirPods Max have one-tap setup and automatic pairing with all the devices signed in to a user's iCloud account, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. AirPods Max have built-in optical and position sensors that automatically detect when the headphones are on someone's head. Once in place, AirPods Max play audio and can pause once removed, or when the user lifts one ear cup.
Apple's announcement provides more details on audio features:
- Adaptive EQ: AirPods Max use Adaptive EQ to adjust the sound to the fit and seal of the ear cushions by measuring the sound signal delivered to a user and adjusting the low and mid-frequencies in real time — bringing rich audio that captures every detail.
- Active Noise Cancellation: AirPods Max deliver immersive sound through Active Noise Cancellation so users can focus on what they are listening to. Each ear cup features three outward-facing microphones to detect environmental noise, while one microphone inside the ear cup monitors the sound reaching the listener's ear. Using computational audio, noise cancellation continuously adapts to the headphone fit and movement in real time.
- Transparency Mode: With AirPods Max, users can switch to Transparency mode to simultaneously listen to music while hearing the environment around them — ensuring everything, including a user's own voice, sounds natural while audio plays perfectly. Switching between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode can be done with a single press using the noise control button.
- Spatial Audio: AirPods Max use spatial audio with dynamic head tracking to place sounds virtually anywhere in a space — delivering an immersive, theaterlike experience for content recorded in 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos. Using the gyroscope and accelerometer in AirPods Max and iPhone or iPad, spatial audio tracks the motion of a user's head as well as the device, compares the motion data, then remaps the sound field so it stays anchored to the device, even as the user's head moves.
For phone calls and Siri commands, beam-forming microphones help to block out ambient noise and focus on the user's voice.
AirPods Max come with a carrying case called the "Smart Case" and a Lightning to USB-C cable in the box. Apple says the Smart Case puts the AirPods Max in an ultra-low power state that helps to preserve battery charge when not in use.
AirPods Max are launching in the United States and more than 25 other countries and regions, with shipments set to begin arriving to customers on Tuesday, December 15. AirPods Max can be ordered on Apple.com starting today.
Apple has today announced that its fitness subcription service, Apple Fitness+, is set to launch on Monday, December 14.
Apple Fitness+ syncs information from your Apple Watch with the workout video on an Apple TV, iPad, or iPhone. This allows users to see their heart rate, calories burned, and activity rings as they follow the moves from the instructors on screen.
Fitness+ includes workouts for yoga, cycling, dance, strength, core, HIIT, rowing, and more. Apple noted that many of the workouts do not need any equipment, and at most just require a set of dumbbells.
The service will be refreshed with new workouts every week. Users will also be able to choose custom music while exercising, with options that sync with Apple Music.
Fitness+ will be located in the Fitness app on iOS, and there will be a new app for the Apple TV. The service costs $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Apple is offering three free months of Apple Fitness+ with new Apple Watch purchases. It is also part of the Apple One Premier bundle for $29.99.
Apple Fitness+ will launch in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand on Monday, December 14.
Cloudflare has today announced that it has developed a new internet protocol, in collaboration with engineers from Apple and Fastly, focused on privacy (via TechCrunch).
The protocol, dubbed "Oblivious DNS-over-HTTPS," or "ODoH," makes it more difficult for internet service providers to know which websites users have visited.
When visiting a website, browsers use a DNS resolver to convert web addresses into machine-readable IP addresses to locate where the page is located. However, this is an unencrypted process and ISPs can see the DNS query and conclude which websites their users have visited. Internet service providers are also able to sell this information to advertisers.
Innovations such as DNS-over-HTTPS, or DoH, have added encryption to DNS queries. While this may dissuade bad actors who may wish to hijack DNS queries to point victims to malicious websites, DNS resolvers are still able to see which websites are being visited.
ODoH decouples DNS queries from individual users, so the DNS resolver cannot know which websites have been visited. This is achieved by encrypting the DNS query before passing it through a proxy server. This way, the proxy cannot see the query and the DNS resolver cannot see who originally sent it.
"What ODoH is meant to do is separate the information about who is making the query and what the query is," said Cloudflare's head of research, Nick Sullivan.
Page loading times and browsing speeds are said to be "practically indistinguishable" when using the ODoH protocol, according to Sullivan.
However, ODoH is only able to ensure privacy when the proxy and the DNS resolver are not controlled by the same entity. This means that ODoH will depend on companies offering to run proxies, otherwise the "separation of knowledge is broken."
While a few unnamed partner organizations are already running proxies, allowing early adopters to use ODoH using Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver, the vast majority of users will have to wait until the technology is directly baked into browsers and operating systems.
Though it will likely first need to be certified as a standard by the Internet Engineering Task Force, considering that Apple was directly involved in developing the technology, it is not unreasonable to expect Apple to be among the first to integrate it in the future.
Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi has warned developers to "play by the rules" as they relate to Apple's upcoming anti-tracking policy for iOS 14, or their apps could be removed from the App Store.
Starting early next year, iOS 14 will require apps to get opt-in permission from users to collect their random advertising identifier, which advertisers use to deliver personalized ads and track how effective their campaigns were. While it was originally supposed to arrive with iOS 14 earlier this year, Apple postponed the feature until early 2021 to give developers more time to accommodate it.
Major app developers and ad networks like Facebook have since spoken out against the feature, claiming that Apple's anti-tracking efforts are anticompetitive and will impact small businesses. Apple says that it is concerned about users being tracked without their consent and having their data bundled and resold by advertising networks. Tracking across apps and websites owned by multiple companies and data sold by data brokers can be "invasive and "creepy," according to Apple.
Although Apple has delayed introduction of the new policy, all apps will be expected to abide by Apple's App Tracking Transparency Rules once they come into effect. Speaking to The Telegraph, Federighi said:
"There will be policy enforcement. Any form or mechanism of tracking a user for advertising or for providing information to data brokers will have to ask for permissions. Failure to do so is a violation of App Store policy… and are grounds for having an app removed."
Federighi also emphasized that Apple expects advertisers to adapt to the change, and suggested that social media platforms had no choice but to conform to the new policy: "The largest players understand they have to play by the rules here," he told The Telegraph, adding that despite inevitable "spirited debate," he believed they would work to find a solution.
Adobe has been working to bring its Creative Cloud apps to Apple's new Macs. Adobe announced the release of Photoshop Beta for Apple silicon last month and says it is working on a native version of Lightroom Classic for Apple silicon that will be released next year.
Earlier versions of the photo-editing app worked on M1 Macs, but had to be run via Apple's Rosetta software, which translates made-for-Intel x86 code to allow it to work on machines powered by Apple silicon.
The professional photo editing software is free to download, but requires a $9.99 monthly subscription via Apple's in-app purchase system after a one-week trial. 1TB of cloud storage is included with a subscription.
In addition, Adobe Photoshop for iPadOS got a quick update today that fixes a critical bug that caused file import and brush problems.
Adobe on Monday also updated Lightroom for iPad. Version 6.1.0 of the app allows users to access to new Discover edits and Learn tutorials through widgets.
A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration's attempt to ban new downloads of TikTok in the United States, the latest defeat in the White House's efforts to outlaw the app in the country (via TechCrunch).
President Trump in August signed an executive order that would officially ban any U.S. transactions with TikTok if its Chinese parent ByteDance did not reach a deal to divest it to a U.S. company. Commerce Department officials later said they were taking the unprecedented step of banning the app because of the risks posed by its data collection practices and Chinese ownership.
On Monday, however, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington concluded that President Trump had overstepped his authority in using his emergency economic powers to try to put the wildly popular app out of business.
Nichols wrote that the government "likely exceeded IEEPA's [the International Emergency Economic Powers Act] express limitations as part of an agency action that was arbitrary and capricious." Nichols is a Trump appointee and the second federal judge to rule against the president's ban.
Should the order have gone into effect, Apple and Google could have been forced to remove TikTok from their respective app stores, and users who already have the app installed would no longer receive updates. However, in October, a federal judge granted TikTok a preliminary injunction that temporarily halted the banning order while TikTok owner ByteDance sought a way to divest the app's U.S. operations to an American-based company.
ByteDance's deadline to divest itself of the social media app TikTok elapsed on Monday, but talks are set to continue with the U.S. government about a sale without another deadline extension. ByteDance has reached a proposed deal with Oracle and Walmart that would divest it of the social media app and create a new U.S.-based company called TikTok Global.
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.
Last week, MacRumorsshared details on an Apple internal memo informing Apple Authorized Service Providers about potential AppleCare-related changes planned for Tuesday, December 8, which hints at a new product release on that day.
A mockup of what the AirPods Studio headphones might look like
Since then, there's been speculation about what product Apple could be announcing, and today, there are hints that Apple could perhaps be planning to unveil the long-awaited over-ear high-end "AirPods Studio" headphones.
The AppleTrack website claims to have "exclusive" information from "multiple sources familiar with the matter" that Apple will be launching the AirPods Studio tomorrow morning. AppleTrack doesn't have an established track record for rumors as of yet and it is not clear if the information is accurate.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today also reminded users about an October article he wrote that said "Apple is still planning to announce high-end, noise-canceling over-ear headphones," which perhaps suggests an upcoming launch. Leaker L0vetodream said earlier in November that Apple is planning to launch an unspecified "Christmas surprise" that's "good for winter" in December, but he did not clarify what product he was talking about.
An icon found in the iOS 14.3 beta features a design that resembles how the AirPods Studio headphones have been described, and that's also perhaps a hint that Apple is gearing up for a launch. There's still no clear evidence that AirPods Studio are coming before the end of the year, however, and Apple could also hold them until 2021.
Rumors suggested Apple would release the AirPods Studio earlier in the year, but the fall 2020 production date was allegedly pushed back because of problems with the headband, which some testers found to be too tight.
It's possible that Apple has been able to overcome the issues that delayed the launch of the AirPods Studio, and the headphones could be ready for release. The AirPods Studio are expected to feature Active Noise Cancellation functionality, removable ear cups, a retro-style design, and more, with details available in our AirPods Studio roundup.
macOS Big Sur has been out for about a month now, but macOS releases never get quite as much attention as iOS releases, so there may still be some features that you're not aware of. In our latest YouTube video, we rounded up some useful but lesser known macOS Big Sur tips that are worth checking out.
AirPods Auto Switching - With macOS Big Sur and iOS/iPadOS 14, your AirPods will swap automatically to the device that you're using at the current time, with no need to manually change the device you're using them with. AirPods will work with iPhone, iPad, or Mac you're actively using and listening to audio on. It mostly works, but this feature seems to sometimes be buggy.
Drag and Drop Menu Bar Icons - If you open up the Control Center, you can click and drag on any of the options to add it to the menu bar. So if you want Do Not Disturb to have a one-click menu bar toggle, just drag it to the menu bar from Control Center. This works for Now Playing, AirDrop, DND, and more.
Enhanced Voice Memos - When you use Voice Memos in Big Sur, there's a new option to automatically reduce background noise and echo with a single click, useful when you're recording lectures or meetings. You can also use Smart Folders for improved organization.
4K YouTube Videos - YouTube videos can be watched in 4K HDR in macOS Big Sur because the OS supports YouTube's VP9 codec. Note that 4K YouTube options are going to be limited to newer Macs by default, but there's a trick to enable them on older Macs. Enable the Develop menu in Safari settings, select Experimental Features, and make sure both VP9 Decoder and VP9 SW Decoder on Battery are enabled.
Resize Widgets - macOS Big Sur has a new widget interface, and if you right click on any widget that has sizing options, you can choose a new size.
Silent Notifications - On any incoming notification in the Today center, if you right click you can select "Deliver Quietly." This setting will prevent future notifications from that app from popping up on your screen, but you'll see them in the notifications list.
Message Effects - Messages in Big Sur is a lot more like the Messages app on iOS devices. You can use Message Effects to enhance messages, find GIFs and insert photos. Just click on the little "A" on the left of the text bar to see a dropdown list of the options.
Disable Tinting - Want a Dark Mode that's even darker or a Light Mode that's brighter? That's possible if you turn off window tinting. Open up System Preferences, choose General, and uncheck "allow wallpaper tinting in windows." With this disabled, windows won't be affected by the wallpaper that you're using.
Shortly after the new iPhone 12 models launched without power adapters, Samsung shared an ad mocking Apple for not including a charging accessory. That commentary hasn't aged well, however, as there's more proof that Samsung too is planning to ditch power adapters for its next-generation smartphones.
Rumors in June and October suggested the upcoming Galaxy S21 devices would not include a power adapter or headphones in the box, which has apparently been confirmed through regulatory information.
A filing with Brazilian regulatory agency ANATEL that was discovered by Tecnoblog (via 9to5Mac) approves the new Galaxy smartphone models for sale. The documentation has few details about the new devices, but it apparently confirms that none of the three new smartphones that are coming will be sold with charger or headphones.
By removing the power adapter and headphones, Samsung will be following in the footsteps of Apple. None of the iPhone 12 models come with a power adapter or EarPods in the box, instead shipping with just a USB-C to Lightning cable. Apple said that the accessories were eliminated for environmental reasons, but there has been speculation suggesting Apple removed the power adapter and EarPods to cut costs due to the expense of the 5G chips used in the new iPhones.
Samsung too may be planning to stop selling headphones and power adapters alongside new Galaxy smartphones in order to save some cash, offering the accessories as a standalone purchase like Apple does.
In the past, Samsung has mocked Apple's design and product decisions before doing the exact same thing. When Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 in 2016, for example, Samsung made fun of the iPhone before eliminating the headphone jack from the Galaxy S8.
Samsung's new smartphones are expected to debut in January with new camera modules with up to four rear cameras, higher capacity batteries, faster chips, and more.
Apple and Google's Exposure Notification system has been rolling out to many states and countries across the world, and starting this Thursday, California, the most populous state in the U.S., will get access to Exposure Notifications.
CA Notify takes advantage of the Exposure Notification Express system that Apple implemented in September with the release of iOS 13.7. Californians with an iPhone can go to the Settings app, tap on Exposure Notifications, select the United States, and then choose California to opt in with no need to download an accompanying app. On Android, users need to download an app that's launching on December 10.
The Exposure Notification system for California was developed by UC San Diego Health, which will provide infrastructure, education, and support that includes a call center and public website.
As with all Exposure Notification apps, California's implementation requires users to opt in to the program and no one will be signed up without consent. When activated, the app uses Bluetooth to interact with the smartphones of the people you come into contact with, monitoring who you're near.
If one of those people is later diagnosed with COVID-19 and shares that diagnosis through the Exposure Notification system, you'll receive an alert letting you know about possible exposure so you can follow the next steps as directed by California's health department.
As TechCrunch points out, Californians will receive a notification when they're within six feet of a confirmed COVID positive individual for a period of 15 minutes or more. Apple and Google's Exposure Notification system was designed with privacy in mind. GPS data and personal identifiers are not collected, and only anonymous keys are transmitted and shared with others.
Your privacy is protected. The California COVID Notify Privacy Policy is available at https://covid19.ca.gov/notify/#privacy. Your GPS location data and personal identifiers are never collected or shared with other users. Your phone shares anonymous keys (randomly generated strings of numbers) with other users via Bluetooth. The only data collected by the app are the anonymous keys, Bluetooth signal strength, date, and duration of proximity. This information is not linked to your identity or location.
On iPhone, enabling Exposure Notifications in California requires iOS 13.7 or later, and the program will be active starting on December 10.
At this point, many states have implemented Exposure Notifications, including Virginia, North Dakota, Arizona, Delaware, Nevada, Alabama, Colorado, Wyoming, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, Washington, Connecticut, Nevada, and the District of Columbia.
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 released new 14.2.1 software designed for the HomePod and the HomePod mini, with the software coming a month after the release of the 14.2 HomePod software.
There's no word yet on what's included in the new 14.2.1 software, but we'll update this article should it offer anything notable. According to Apple's release notes for the update, it adds "general performance and stability improvements." The prior update, 14.2, added support for new Siri and Intercom functionality.
HomePod software is installed automatically on the HomePod, but the HomePod can also be manually updated by following the instructions in our HomePod update how to.
Google today announced that Apple Music will begin rolling out today on Google Assistant-enabled smart speakers and displays in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. This includes the Nest Audio, Nest Hub Max, Nest Mini, and more.
To play music from Apple Music on Google Assistant devices, users first need to link their Apple Music account in the Google Home app. It is also possible to select Apple Music as the default music streaming service. Then, users can use voice commands like "Hey Google, play New Music Daily playlist," or "Hey Google, play Rap Life playlist."
From the announcement:
You can ask Google Assistant to play any specific song, artist or playlist available on Apple Music, and you can play music based on genre, mood, or activity. You can also play your liked songs from your Apple Music library by saying, "Hey Google, play my songs" or "Hey Google, play my library." If you have more than one compatible smart speaker or display, you can use our multi-room control feature in the Google Home app or on a Nest smart display to dynamically move your music from one device to the other, and even play music on all of the devices in your home by saying, "Hey Google, play music on all my speakers."
Apple Music is also available on Sonos and Amazon Echo speakers.
Apple is positioning itself to launch a combined hardware and software subscription, according to Loup Ventures analysts.
The report makes a compelling argument, based on a range of industry trends, aggregated data, and existing infrastructure, that Apple is in a prime position to launch an all-in-one hardware and software subscription.
Similar to the iPhone upgrade program, we believe, over time, Apple's delightful hardware trade-in experience for Mac, iPad, and Watch will evolve into hardware subscription offerings for these devices. Eventually, we envision the company merging its services offerings, alongside hardware subscriptions, to create a 360° bundle. Think of this as paying a monthly fee to Apple for most of your tech needs.
The conclusion is partly based upon industry macro trends, including "an ongoing digital transformation" and "changing consumer buying preferences." This is supported by the fact that Apple is said to be the only company that could create such a subscription, given its service and maintenance logistics, as well as its unique hardware and software integration.
Offering a combined hardware and software subscription would allow Apple to markedly increase revenue and earnings visibility, and in turn, expand its earnings multiple. Loup Ventures also demonstrates the likelihood of significant consumer demand for such a subscription, as well as corporate viability.
The iPhone trade-in program, AppleCare, Apple One, and the iPhone Upgrade Program are said to be key building blocks in the journey toward launching a combined hardware and software subscription. The entire internal infrastructure for such a scheme appears to already be in place through these services.
For hardware subscriptions and ultimately a 360° bundle to gain wide adoption, the product family must work seamlessly together, the infrastructure to service and maintain those products must exist, and the products must hold their value over time. Apple is the only company that can bring all three of those together.
The report also notes that rivals such as Google and Samsung will struggle to compete with a potential all-in-one Apple subscription. Google, for example, suffers from fast declines in device value, making the trade-in market much less commercially feasible. Samsung, on the other hand, has poor hardware and software integration, so while it could offer hardware subscriptions, it would be unable to create an attractive package including integrated software services.
Apple may use components made by Samsung for a "folded" telephoto lens on at least some iPhone models released in 2022, allowing for significantly increased optical zoom, according to unnamed sources cited by Korean website The Elec.
The report claims that Samsung's Electro-Mechanics subsidiary would supply components such as actuators and lenses to LG, which in turn would use the components to manufacture the folded camera module to supply to Apple. This move would supposedly prevent Apple from hurting its relationship with LG, and address issues related to patents.
The possibility of a folded or "periscope" lens on 2022 iPhones was first mentioned by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in March, and there have been several rumors since. The technology would allow for significantly increased optical zoom on iPhones, well beyond the current 2x and 2.5x limits on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, respectively. Huawei's P40 Pro+ smartphone, for example, features a periscope lens with up to 10x optical zoom.
With folded camera optics, light absorbed by the image sensor is bent or "folded," allowing for increased optical zoom and improved image quality while maintaining a compact lens design appropriate for smartphones. Earlier this year, we shared a more detailed overview of what a periscope lens could mean for future iPhones.
Amazon today is discounting the Magic Keyboard for both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, providing a $49 discount in both cases. Amazon introduced the discount on the 12.9-inch Magic Keyboard last Friday, and that deal is still happening.
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.
You can get the 12.9-inch Magic Keyboard for $299.99, down from $349.00, after a $29.01 discount is automatically applied at the checkout screen. Similarly, the 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $249.99, down from $299.00, after a $39.01 discount is automatically applied at checkout.
These sales offer the lowest prices that we've ever tracked for Apple's Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro. This accessory includes a trackpad, USB-C port, backlit keys, and a floating cantilever design. When closed, the Magic Keyboard also acts as a form of protection for your iPad Pro.
Apple is working on a series of new custom Apple silicon processors to power upgraded versions of the MacBook Pro, new iMacs, and a new Mac Pro for introduction as early as next year, according to a new report by Bloomberg.
Apple is said to be working on several successors to the M1 custom chip, its first Mac main processor that debuted in November in a new Mac mini, MacBook Air, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. If they live up to expectations, they will significantly outpace the performance of the latest machines running Intel chips, according to Bloomberg's sources.
Chip engineers at the Cupertino, California-based technology giant are working on several successors to the M1 custom chip, Apple's first Mac main processor that debuted in November. If they live up to expectations, they will significantly outpace the performance of the latest machines running Intel chips, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the plans aren’t yet public.
Apple's M1 chip was unveiled in a new entry-level MacBook Pro laptop, a refreshed Mac mini desktop and across the MacBook Air range. The company's next series of chips, planned for release as early as the spring and later in the fall, are destined to be placed across upgraded versions of the MacBook Pro, both entry-level and high-end iMac desktops, and later a new Mac Pro workstation, the people said.
The next two lines of Apple chips are said to be "more ambitious" than some industry watchers expected for next year, according to the report. Apple expects to finish the transition away from Intel and to its own silicon in 2022.
The current M1 chip has four high-performance processing cores and four power-saving cores. For its next generation chip targeting MacBook Pro and iMac models, Apple is said to be working on designs with as many as 16 power cores and four efficiency cores.
Apple is also reportedly testing a chip design with as many as 32 high-performance cores for higher-end desktop computers planned for later in 2021, as well as a new half-sized Mac Pro planned to launch by 2022.
In addition, Apple is said to be developing more ambitious graphics processors. The current M1 chip has an Apple graphics engine that comes in either 7- or 8-core variations. For Apple's future high-end laptops and mid-range desktops, the company is reportedly testing 16-core and 32-core graphics parts, with even more powerful custom graphics on the horizon:
For later in 2021 or potentially 2022, Apple is working on pricier graphics upgrades with 64 and 128 dedicated cores aimed at its highest-end machines, the people said. Those graphics chips would be several times faster than the current graphics modules Apple uses from Nvidia and AMD in its Intel-powered hardware.
Apple could still choose to hold back these more powerful chips in favor of lesser versions for next year's Macs, according to Bloomberg's sources. For example, Apple could choose to first release variations with only eight or 12 of the high-performance cores enabled depending on production. The report notes that chipmakers are sometimes forced to offer some models with lower specifications than they originally intended because of problems that emerge during fabrication.
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is transitioning to mini-LED displays for its Mac lineups next year, meaning some or all of the machines mentioned in today's report could come with the more advanced screens.
Kuo says Apple has six mini-LED products in the works that are set to debut in 2021, with Macs including a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, a 16-inch MacBook Pro, and a 27-inch iMac.
ByteDance's deadline to divest itself of social media app TikTok has elapsed, but talks are set to continue with the U.S. government about a sale without another deadline extension, according to reports.
Last month, ByteDance was granted a seven-day extension on an order from the Trump administration to sell the short-form video sharing platform.
The deadline passed on December 5, but the Trump administration opted not to grant a new extension of an order requiring the Chinese company to divest TikTok's U.S. assets. However, talks will continue over the app's fate, reports Reuters.
A Treasury Department representative said late on Friday the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) "is engaging with ByteDance to complete the divestment and other steps necessary to resolve the national security risks."
Trump was said to have personally made the decision not to approve any additional extensions at a meeting of senior U.S. officials, according to a person briefed on the meeting. The government had previously issued a 15-day and seven-day extension of the initial 90-day deadline, which was Nov. 12, in Trump's order.
ByteDance remains in protracted talks with Walmart and Oracle on a deal that would divest it of the social media app and create a new U.S.-based company called TikTok Global.
In September, a federal judge granted TikTok a preliminary injunction that temporarily halted an order from the Trump Administration that would have banned new downloads of the app in the United States because of the perceived risks posed by their data collection practices and Chinese ownership.
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.
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.
