Amazon today introduced a few $50 markdowns on the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, with prices starting at $229.99 for the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE.
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Across the board, these are the lowest prices we've ever tracked for each of the models listed below. Some models may not ship until early December.
Apple has begun sending foldable iPhones to assembly partner Foxconn for testing purposes, with a projected release set for September 2022, claims a new Chinese report out today.
Citing supply chain sources, Economic Daily News says the testing involves evaluating the use of OLED or Micro-LED display technology, because the choice of either screen will affect the subsequent assembly methods.
Apple is also said to have asked Foxconn to evaluate the bearings (the folding component) of the devices with over 100,000 opening and closing tests. The report notes similar tests for regular laptops requires them to be opened and closed between 20,000 and 30,000 times.
The report offers no additional information on the design of the foldable device, but does note that Samsung will provide the panel for the screen, potentially corroborating rumors that Apple has ordered foldable display samples from the Korean company.
According to leaker Jon Prosser, Apple is working on a foldable iPhone prototype that features two separate display panels that are connected by a hinge rather than a single display like the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
Prosser says that the foldable iPhone has rounded, stainless steel edges similar to the iPhone 11 and no notch, but a "tiny forehead" on the outer display for Face ID.
Rumors about Apple working on a foldable iPhone date back to 2016, and there have been a number of foldable phone Apple patents, including one describing a device with two separate displays that could be brought together to create a single bendable device with a hinge. That said, foldable iPhone rumors offer no consensus on if or when such a device will come to market.
Following its iPhone 12 and 12 Pro teardowns, iFixit has shared its teardown of the iPhone 12 mini, providing a look at the similarities and differences between the small form factor smartphone and its larger siblings in Apple's iPhone 12 series.
iPhone 12 mini (left) compared to iPhone 12 on the right
The first thing that's evident from the iPhone 12 mini teardown is the smaller 8.57 Wh battery. iFixit notes that its capacity is actually more than the larger iPhone SE 2020, which has a 6.96 Wh battery. As expected, however, it's short of the 10.78 Wh battery found in the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro.
The teardown also reveals that Apple has included some iPhone 12 components in the iPhone 12 mini but in smaller versions to save space, including the Taptic Engine, speakers, and MagSafe ring. The cameras, on the other hand, are the same ƒ/1.6 wide-angle and ƒ/2.4 ultra wide-angle cameras found in the iPhone 12. The wide-angle module also features optical image stabilization.
Elsewhere, Apple does away with the plastic spacers found in the iPhone 12 due to the close quarters inside the camera shield, but otherwise the arrangement of components on the L-shaped logic board are very similar. Compared to the regular iPhone 12, the mini only has two displays cables instead of three, and iFixit also notes "increased grille asymmetry," which it says is likely because the device needs more space for the 5G antenna band.
Like the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, the iPhone 12 mini earned a repairability score of 6 out of 10. iFixit said that many components are modular and are easy to replace, but the site bemoaned Apple's continued use of proprietary screws, the devices' increases in waterproofing that can complicate repairs, and the increased chance of breakage due to glass on the front and back of the two devices.
Apple's device identifier service for advertisers is being targeted by privacy advocates in two complaints to Spanish and German authorities, reports Bloomberg.
A Vienna-based group called NOYB ("None Of Your Business") has filed complaints with data protection authorities in the two countries, calling for them to outlaw Apple's "Identifier for Advertisers" (IDFA) service.
Each iPhone that Apple sells comes with the unique identifier, which lets advertisers track the actions users take when they use apps. The group argues that the service allows Apple and various apps to track users and collect data on their web use without their consent.
"With our complaints we want to enforce a simple principle: trackers are illegal, unless a user freely consents," NOYB lawyer Stefano Rossetti said in a statement. "Smartphones are the most intimate device for most people and they must be tracker-free by default."
App developers have historically used IDFA to help target users with ads and track the performance of ads across different devices. Next year, however, Apple will require apps to seek customer consent before the IDFA can be used in iOS 14 to track user behavior and preference across apps and websites for ad targeting purposes.
The requirement was announced in June alongside iOS 14 and was originally expected to go into force with the release of Apple's latest mobile operating system, but Apple chose to delay the anti-tracking feature until 2021 to "give developers time to make the necessary changes."
The delay was announced only after major app developers and ad networks like Facebook spoke out against the feature, with Facebook warning advertisers on its platform that it could cause a more than 50 percent drop in Audience Network publisher revenue due to the loss of personalization from ads within apps. Apple is also facing an antitrust complaint from French advertisers who say it could force their revenue to plummet.
Last year, Mozilla launched a petition urging Apple to implement an automatic monthly reset on identifiers to make it harder for companies to build a profile about users over time. "It's like a salesperson following you from store to store while you shop and recording each thing you look at," argued the petition. "Not very private at all."
Following the release of macOS Big Sur on Thursday, Mac users began to experience issues with opening apps while connected to the internet. Apple's system status page attributed the situation to issues with its Developer ID notary service, with developer Jeff Johnson specifying that there were connection issues with Apple's OCSP server.
Shortly after, security researcher Jeffrey Paul shared a blog post titled "Your Computer Isn't Yours," in which he raised privacy and security concerns related to Macs "phoning home" to Apple's OCSP server. In short, Paul said that the OCSP traffic that macOS generates is not encrypted and could potentially be seen by ISPs or even the U.S. military.
Apple has since responded to the matter by updating its "Safely open apps on your Mac" support document with new information, as noted by iPhoneinCanada. Here's the new "Privacy protections" section of the support document in full:
macOS has been designed to keep users and their data safe while respecting their privacy.
Gatekeeper performs online checks to verify if an app contains known malware and whether the developer's signing certificate is revoked. We have never combined data from these checks with information about Apple users or their devices. We do not use data from these checks to learn what individual users are launching or running on their devices.
Notarization checks if the app contains known malware using an encrypted connection that is resilient to server failures.
These security checks have never included the user's Apple ID or the identity of their device. To further protect privacy, we have stopped logging IP addresses associated with Developer ID certificate checks, and we will ensure that any collected IP addresses are removed from logs.
Apple clarifies that user-specific data is not harvested during the security check and that it plans on removing all IP information from the logs. In addition, it plans on introducing several changes to the system over the next year, including:
a new encrypted protocol for Developer ID certificate revocation checks
strong protections against server failure
a new preference for users to opt out of these security protections
Some users have advocated blocking the traffic to Apple's authentication servers, but it appears that Apple will provide this option to end-users in the future as well.
HomePod mini launch day is officially underway in countries such as Australia and Japan, where the calendar has already turned to November 16, and the first orders are beginning to arrive to customers. Track your shipment in the MacRumors forums.
Instagram user shiology shared a photo of the white HomePod mini and its box.
Daniel Feodoroff was one of the first customers in the world to purchase a HomePod mini at an Apple Store in Miranda, Australia.
Priced at $99, the HomePod mini is a more budget friendly competitor to the Amazon Echo and Google Home, while still offering many features of the full-size HomePod, including Siri, HomeKit, Apple Music, Intercom voice messaging, and stereo pairing. HomePod mini is equipped with the same S5 chip as the Apple Watch Series 5, enabling "computational audio," and many reviewers have been impressed by the speaker's sound quality.
HomePod mini is also launching in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
The new Rosetta 2 Geekbench results uploaded show that the M1 chip running on a MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM has single-core and multi-core scores of 1,313 and 5,888 respectively. Since this version of Geekbench is running through Apple's translation layer Rosetta 2, an impact on performance is to be expected. Rosetta 2 running x86 code appears to be achieving 78%-79% of the performance of native Apple Silicon code.
Despite the impact on performance, the single-core Rosetta 2 score results still outperforms any other Intel Mac, including the 2020 27-inch iMac with Intel Core i9-10910 @ 3.6GHz.
Initial benchmarks for the MacBook Air running M1 natively featured a single-core score of 1,687 and multi-core score of 7,433. Additional benchmarks with M1 have since surfaced and are available on Geekbench.
Meanwhile, a full chart of Geekbench results is available that will let you compare these scores to any other Mac.
Apple today shared a new shot on iPhone video called "Everyday Experiments," which is designed to show off the photographic capabilities of the iPhone 12.
The video showcases water-filled balloons, liquid moving around, popsicles freezing, and more, before going into a tutorial on how to make "beautiful images with stuff you can find around the house."
Apple's tutorial teaches customers how to use water balloons and slo-mo to make slow motion animations and how to make psychedelic liquid formations using oil, water, and food coloring. There's also a tutorial on using glow sticks for night time shots.
iPhone 12 features showcase camera features that include slo-mo, Dolby Vision HDR recording, and Night Mode Time-Lapse, plus it highlights editing video in iMovie.
Apple has done several of these "Experiments" videos that take advantage of iPhone cameras in unique situations to get interesting photos, but this is the first that's included a tutorial for people to recreate the effects at home.
A large number of late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro owners are reporting that the macOS Big Sur update is bricking their machines. A MacRumors forum thread contains a significant number of users reporting the issue, and similar problems are being reported across Reddit and the Apple Support Communities, suggesting the problem is widespread.
Users are reporting that during the course of updating to macOS Big Sur, their machines are stuck displaying a black screen. Key reset combinations, including NVRAM, SMC, safe mode, and internet recovery, are all reportedly inaccessible after attempting to install the update, leaving no way to bypass the static black screen.
It appears that the overwhelming number of users experiencing problems are owners of the late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro, but it is unclear exactly how many users of these models have been affected. It is also of note that these are the oldest models supported by macOS Big Sur.
One commenter on Reddit said that they were told by Apple support to book their MacBook Pro in for a repair. Another on an Apple Support thread said that the issue has been escalated to Apple's engineering team, so Apple should now be aware of the problem.
Until it is clear what may be causing the issue and Apple releases a fix, late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro may wish to hold off on installing macOS Big Sur.
Apple TV+ subscribers who have paid for an annual or monthly plan have begun receiving emails from Apple letting them know that they'll be credited $4.99 for each month subscribed through January 2021. The amount varies based on Apple TV+ pricing in other countries, including $5.99 per month in Canada and $7.99 per month in Australia.
The credit will be applied to a subscriber's Apple ID and can be used for games, movies, and other Apple services. Apple says the credits are being provided as means of thanking users for subscribing to the service.
Last month, Apple TV+ subscribers who have free access to the service through an eligible device purchase beginning in September 2019 were sent emails by Apple letting them know that the one-year trial would be extended until February 2021. Apple says the trial extensions are being offered so Apple TV+ subscribers have more time to check out the latest Apple original content.
HomePod mini pre-orders are beginning to ship to customers around the world ahead of the speaker's launch next week.
While many orders remain in the "Processing" or "Preparing to Ship" stages in the United States, one MacRumors reader in Germany shared a screenshot of his HomePod mini marked as shipped on Apple's online store, with estimated November 17 delivery. HomePod mini orders are also starting to ship in Japan, some with November 16 delivery.
HomePod mini will be available starting the week of November 16 in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom, according to Apple. Pre-orders began November 6.
HomePod mini will also be available in Mexico, China, and Taiwan starting later this year.
Priced at $99, the HomePod mini is a smaller version of the HomePod with many of the same features, including Siri, HomeKit, Apple Music, Intercom voice messaging, and stereo pairing. Many reviewers have been impressed by the speaker's sound quality.
Apple is planning to introduce a "Christmas surprise" next month, according to reliable leaker L0vetodream.
In a usual enigmatic tweet, L0vetodream says that Apple's "surprise" will be "good for winter." It remains to be seen at the current time as to what the tweet may be referring to.
You'll get a Christmas surprise from Apple（PS：Winter exclusive、good for winter）
— 有没有搞措 (@L0vetodream) November 14, 2020
Last December, Apple announced a holiday promotion that allowed Apple Card customers to get up to 6% Daily Cash back on most Apple products purchased through the end of the year.
With a slew of product announcements from Apple over the past few months, two heavily-rumored products still have yet to be be released: AirPods Studio and AirTags. Code found in the recent iOS 14.3 beta suggests Apple is rolling out the groundwork to add support for third-party item trackers to the Find My app, as well as additional support for AirTags. There's also an icon in the beta that may hint at the design of the AirPods Studio.
Neither AirPods Studio nor AirTags are expected to be released before the end of the year, and it’s likely that the two products will be unveiled at some point in early 2021. Either of the accessories launching before the end of the year would certainly qualify as a surprise.
In a new support document, Apple has acknowledged that users might experience sound quality issues with some Made for iPhone hearing aids/devices. Apple says that it is aware of the issue and will provide a fix in a future software update.
Apple says some hearing aids/devices connected to the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, or iPhone 12 Pro Max may exhibit unexpected noises, including loud static, interrupted or intermittent audio, or garbled audio. These issues have been reported by users in various online forums, including the Apple Support Communities and Reddit.
Apple has not specified which software version will include a fix. The first beta of iOS 14.3 was seeded to developers and public testers earlier this week.
Specifically, the problem manifests for most users when swiping up from the bottom of the Lock Screen using their thumb to unlock the device, or when pressing the torch or camera buttons on the Lock Screen.
The display doesn't always recognize the press or the swipe up to unlock. Other fingers seem to have more luck and the sensitivity issues end once the iPhone 12 mini is unlocked.
Some users speculate that the lack of responsiveness could be a conductivity or grounding issue, because there are reports that it resolves itself when the handset is plugged into a wall charger, or when touching the frame without a case.
However, there's no consensus yet on what's causing the problem and whether it's hardware or software related, but hopefully it's the latter and Apple can release an update to resolve the issue soon.
Well that was quite the jam-packed week of Apple news, wasn't it? From a media event on Tuesday where Apple unveiled three new Macs based on the brand-new custom M1 chip to the release of macOS Big Sur on Thursday and the release of two new iPhones on Friday, this week had it all.
Next week is shaping up to be another busy one as well, with HomePod mini deliveries beginning and the new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models making their way into customers' hands, but before we get to that, take a breath and read on below for details on everything that happened this week.
Everything Announced at Tuesday's Apple Event in 6 Minutes
Apple on Tuesday held its third virtual media event in as many months, this time focusing on the Mac. As expected, Apple introduced the first Macs based on Apple Silicon in the form of the new M1 chip.
The M1 arrived in three different machines this week, including the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. All of the new machines are available to order now, with availability starting next Tuesday, November 17. Apple also continues to offer Intel-based configurations of the higher-end 13-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini.
Apple's event was an efficient one, clocking in at under an hour, but we also boiled it down to just a six-minute summary, so make sure to check out our video recap and links to all of our coverage from the event.
Apple Releases macOS Big Sur With Fresh Design, Control Center, Safari Privacy Report, Messages Updates, Maps Overhaul and More
In the wake of Tuesday's event, Apple on Thursday finally released macOS Big Sur to the public, bringing a new look and a host of new features to macOS.
Benchmark results have also surfaced for the new 13-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini, showing very similar performance, which is to be expected given that the M1 chip has virtually identical tech specs in all three machines beyond the lowest-end MacBook Air configuration having a 7-core rather than 8-core GPU.
Hands-On With the New iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini
It was easy to lose track given all of the news surrounding Apple's Mac event this week, but this week also saw the launch of two new iPhone models, the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Advance media reviews of both the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max have been positive, although some reviewers have some concerns about limited battery life on Apple's smallest flagship phone. We of course have our own hands-on overview of both of the new phones, and we'll have more coverage next week once we've some more time to spend with them.
What's New in iOS 14.3: ProRAW Support for iPhone 12 Pro, Cardio Fitness Features, and More
Apple released the first iOS 14.3 beta on Thursday, and MacRumors was able to dig into the software update and make some discoveries.
At WWDC 2020 in June, Apple also said that it still had exciting new Intel-based Macs in development in the interim, but it's unclear if that will extend beyond the updated 27-inch iMac released in August.
Watch: HomePod Mini Reviews, Sound Quality Tests, and Unboxing Videos
Amid a very busy week for Apple, the first reviews and unboxing videos have been shared for the HomePod mini, with many media outlets and YouTubers finding that the speaker delivers "big sound" despite its compact design.
Priced at $99, the speaker is available to order in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Spain, and the U.K. Orders will begin in China, Mexico, and Taiwan later this year.
HomePod mini will begin arriving to customers on Monday, November 16.
MacRumors Newsletter
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
Happy iPhone launch day part deux! Today is the official release day for the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 mini, which join the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 that were released last month. We picked up the new iPhone 12 mini and Pro Max for an unboxing, hands-on, and quick video comparison.
At 5.4-inches, the iPhone 12 mini is the smallest iPhone that Apple has released since the 2016 iPhone SE, and the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max is the largest iPhone to date, so seeing these two devices side-by-side is a bit comical. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is a dual-handed use phone, looks enormous next to the super tiny mini, which can be used one-handed.
For most people, MacRumors videographer Dan included, the 6.1-inch size of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro may be the sweet spot, but those who want light weight, one-handed use, and better pocketability will love the mini. For most screen real estate, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the device to choose, and many of us here at MacRumors are fans of Apple's largest phone.
The 12 Pro Max offers a lot more screen real estate when browsing the web and using apps than the iPhone 12 or 12 mini, but it is a good deal heavier than Apple's other iPhones. Weight wise, it's not too far off from the iPhone 11 Pro Max for those that have that iPhone, but it is much more hefty than the iPhone 12 or 12 mini.
We got the iPhone 12 Pro Max in silver and the color is almost a bright white, which looks fantastic. It has shiny silver edges, and the silver color seems to be better at concealing fingerprints than the blue iPhone with matching blue edges. Our iPhone 12 mini is red, and the red shade this year is brighter than usual like a shiny candy apple, and it too looks great.
The mini is so small that the Wallet accessory that Apple made goes right to the edges of the phone (it's the same width), which makes for an odd look. We also picked up a Leather case and the wallet attachment seems more slippery compared to the Silicone case, which is something to keep in mind.
The iPhone 12 mini has the same camera as the iPhone 12 and takes identical pictures, but the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a triple-lens camera with a sensor that's better than the sensor in the iPhone 12 Pro, giving it the best camera out of the bunch. Even though it has the best camera, the cameras in the other iPhones are quite good, and you may not see too much difference between them in standard lighting situations. You should, however, see some slightly better performance out of the 12 Pro Max in low lighting conditions.
We took some comparison shots with the new iPhones and shared them in the video, so make sure to give it a watch to see if you can tell the difference in photo quality.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max comes with an extra large Apple sticker
We're going to have more in-depth coverage of the new iPhones coming next week, including a camera comparison across the iPhone 12, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max, so make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors for all of your iPhone news.
Since the release of the new iPhone 12 models, many new iPhone owners have been running into problems with the Messages app. There are complaints from users who aren't seeing SMS messages from friends, are missing text messages in group chats, and who aren't getting notifications when text messages are incoming.
It's not clear if this is a problem that's related specifically to the iPhone 12 models or if it's a wider issue with iOS 14.1 and iOS 14.2, but the majority of complaints appear to be from iPhone 12 owners.
Those who are experiencing missed SMS messages are simply not seeing some text messages that are sent from Android devices, as MacRumors reader FraXis describes:
But I just upgraded to an iPhone 12 (coming from an iPhone 11 Max Pro), and I am in a group message with my kids. One of my kids is an Android user. Last night he came up to me and asked me why I didn't reply to his two text messages he sent to the group. I checked my iPhone, and I didn't receive any text messages from him in the group chat. He then showed me his phone, and sure enough, he had sent them to the group.
Most of the people who are missing SMS messages are not seeing them in group chats, but there are reports of some standalone messages not getting delivered. From MacRumors reader TheElmnt:
I'm having the exact same problem. It seems I'm having issues in group threads only when it has android users. I've been so confused in our messages the last few days. None of our conversations make sense. My friends and I just tested with iMessage and it doesn't seem to have any problems with just Apple users. I reported the bug to Apple. I just noticed this after upgrading to an iPhone 12 Pro from iPhone XS. Running iOS 14.1 on Verizon. I deleted every single text message on my phone and rebooted, turned iMessage off and back on. Hoping this helps.
There are also separate complaints of Messages being received, but no notification showing up. This is a problem that even pre-dates the iPhone 12 and iOS 14, as we've had earlier issues with it too. From MacRumors reader bmac4:
I am having the issue with just a single person and it's not SMS. Mine is iMessage. I was texting with my mom last night, and she updated to 14.2 on her XR in the process. Soon after, she stopped replying to my text. I sent her another one, and she said she never saw the text. Then I stopped receiving any alerts at all. I had to open the message app and check to see if a message was there. Sure enough the phone never alerted, and there was no badge, but there was a message. iOS 14 is a total mess.
Some Verizon users have been able to solve their SMS messages by downloading the Verizon Message+ app, but it's not a complete fix for everyone and it doesn't work for all non-Verizon users. One reader also had success resetting network settings (Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings), but that has not worked for others. Toggling off 5G also does not seem to be a solution.
This is likely a problem that carriers need to address with updated firmware or that Apple needs to fix in an upcoming software update. It appears to be a problem in both iOS 14.1 and iOS 14.2, and it's too soon yet to tell if iOS 14.3 is affected.
Are you having issues receiving some messages on iPhone 12 and 12 Pro models? Let us know in the comments.
Following the release of macOS Big Sur this week, a number of apps have received compatibility updates for the latest operating system. Many of the apps have also been updated with native support for Apple Silicon Macs with the M1 chip.
Launching on November 19, image editing app Pixelmator Pro 2.0 features an all-new design for macOS Big Sur, ranging from a simplified Effects Browser to new layouts for the sidebars and presets. A new Workspaces feature lets users customize the look of Pixelmator, with presets optimized for photo editing, design, illustration, and painting. The app is also universal now, with native support for both Apple Silicon Macs and Intel-based Macs.
Pixelmator Pro 2.0 takes advantage of the M1 chip's 16-core Neural Engine for accelerated machine learning. This allows features like Super Resolution, which intelligently increases the resolution of images while preserving details, to work up to 15x faster.
Writing app Ulysses has been updated with a new design and icon for macOS Big Sur, as well as native support for Apple Silicon Macs. There is also a refined Revision mode with a dedicated view outside of the dashboard, and a new "editor focus" mode that hides all chrome and presents sidebars as overlays. Version 21 of Ulysses for Mac is available now.
Blackmagic Design today announced that it has released a new beta of its popular filmmaking app DaVinci Resolve with native support for Apple Silicon Macs. The recently released DaVinci Resolve 17 is a major new release with over 300 new features and improvements, including HDR grading tools, redesigned primary color controls, and more.
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Apple's device identifier service for advertisers is being targeted by privacy advocates in two complaints to Spanish and German authorities, reports 
