MacRumors

Apple plans to release second-generation AirPods Pro within the first half of 2021, according to unnamed industry sources cited by Taiwanese publication DigiTimes in a report focused on flash memory supplier Winbond.

From the report:

Winbond is also expected to be among the NOR flash suppliers for Apple's next-generation AirPods Pro slated for launch later in the first half of this year, the sources indicated. The Taiwan-based chipmaker will be running its NOR flash production lines at nearly full capacity utilization during the six-month period.

This follows a report from Japanese blog Mac Otakara that claimed the new AirPods Pro will be released in April alongside a third-generation iPhone SE. That report did not offer any details about the new AirPods Pro beyond claiming that the wireless charging case will have slightly tweaked dimensions compared to the original.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has previously reported that Apple is aiming to make the AirPods Pro more compact by eliminating the stem that sticks out from the bottom of the earphones, but it's unclear if Apple will achieve this feat. Gurman said Apple had a design in testing with a rounder shape that fills more of the ear, similar to Google's Pixel Buds or Samsung's Galaxy Buds. That report likewise mentioned a 2021 release date.

• AirPods Pro 2: Everything We Know So Far

Introduced in November 2019, the current AirPods Pro feature an in-ear design with three sizes of soft, flexible silicone tips included in the box, along with shorter stems below the ear. AirPods Pro have several upgraded features over regular AirPods, including active noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and water and sweat resistance.

Previous rumors have suggested that Apple also plans to update the standard AirPods in the first half of 2021 with a similar design as the AirPods Pro, but without active noise cancellation, allowing for a lower price point. The current lineup includes the standard AirPods with either a wired charging case for $159 or a wireless charging case for $199, and the AirPods Pro with a wireless charging case for $249.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at the EU Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection (CPDP) conference later this week (via Macerkopf).

CPDP is a Brussels-based non-profit platform founded in 2007 by a group of European universities. The conference offers an insight into legal, regulatory, academic, and technological development in privacy and data protection, and seeks to discuss emerging issues and trends. This year, the conference has moved online and is being sponsored by Apple.

Cook's speech is reportedly set to focus on "enforcement of rights in a changing world," as part of the topic "a way to strengthen user selection and strengthen user trust in advertising." Apple's Senior Director for Privacy, Jane Horvath, is also due to speak.

Other guests include New Zealand Privacy Commissioner John Edwards, Vice President of the European Parliament Marcel Kolaja, Policy Director of Privacy International Lucy Purdon, and Mozilla's Chief Security Officer, Marshall Erwin.

The conference takes place on Thursday, January 28. Cook's speech will be streamed live on the CPDP Conferences YouTube channel and is due to start at 5:15 p.m. CET (11:15 a.m. ET and 8:15 a.m. PT).

In its Black History Month announcement this morning, Apple has confirmed that iOS 14.4 and watchOS 7.3 will be released later today.

watchOS 7.3 expands the ECG app on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer to Japan, Mayotte, Thailand, and the Philippines, while iOS 14.4 introduces a notification on iPhone 12 models with non-genuine cameras. Both software updates also add support for a new "Unity" watch face based on the Pan-African flag and contain several bug fixes.

iOS 14.4 Release Candidate notes:

iOS 14.4 includes the following improvements for your ‌iPhone‌:
- Smaller QR codes can be recognized by Camera
- Option to classify Bluetooth device type in Settings for correct identification of headphones for audio notifications
- Notifications for when the camera on your ‌iPhone‌ is unable to be verified as a new, genuine Apple camera in ‌iPhone 12‌, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max

This release also fixes the following issues:
- Image artifacts could appear in HDR photos taken with ‌iPhone 12 Pro‌
- Fitness widget may not display updated Activity data
- Typing may be delayed and word suggestions may not appear in the keyboard
- The keyboard may not come up in the correct language in Messages
- Audio stories from the News app in CarPlay may not resume after being paused for spoken directions or Siri
- Enabling Switch Control in Accessibility may prevent phone calls from being answered from the Lock Screen

watchOS 7.3 Release Candidate notes:

watchOS 7.3 includes new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:
- Unity watch face—inspired by the colors of the Pan-African Flag, the shapes change throughout the day as you move creating a face that's unique to you
- Time to Walk for Apple Fitness+ subscribers—an audio experience in the Workout app where guests share inspiring stories as you walk
- ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 or later in Japan, Mayotte, Philippines, and Thailand
- Irregular heart rhythm notifications in Japan, Mayotte, Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand
- Fix for an issue where Control Center and Notification Center may be unresponsive when Zoom is enabled

iPadOS 14.4 should be released later today as well. Apple typically releases software updates around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

Apple is researching the use of processed titanium with unique properties for future MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones, according to a newly-granted patent application.

In a filing titled "Titanium parts having a blasted surface texture," granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and spotted by Patently Apple, Apple explains how various devices could adopt titanium casings with a distinctive textured finish.

The patent explains that anodized aluminum, used on current MacBooks and iPads, is not as hard or durable as titanium. However, the hardness of titanium makes it "very difficult to etch," meaning that it can be "aesthetically unattractive." The patent seeks to present a solution to this problem by outlining a blasting, etching, and chemical process to give a titanium enclosure a more attractive appearance.

Apple describes the textured surface as including "peaks separated by valleys," with specific micrometer measurements and gloss units. The process involves various techniques to impart "the blasted and etched titanium part with a fine-scale roughness," which allows it to retain "a high-gloss surface finish."

The "distinctive surface finish" is described as one "that both diffusely and specularly reflects visible light," and this is said to be structurally and aesthetically unlike any other conventional titanium part.

The patent also notes that this textured titanium casing would be appropriate for MacBooks, iPads, iPhones, and Apple Watches. Apple has used titanium cases for a small number of products, such as the PowerBook G4 that was available from 2001 to 2003. Apple's first foray into titanium casings was hampered by issues such as brittleness resulting in breakages, as well as paint that easily flaked off.

Today, the only Apple product to use a titanium casing is the Apple Watch Edition, which appears to be much closer to the unique finish described by the patent than the titanium PowerBook G4.

Devices with titanium enclosures would be considerably more durable, but potentially also lighter if the weight of the metal could be offset by manufacturing stronger, thinner parts.

Last month, Apple was granted a patent for a matte black MacBook Pro finish, as the company continues to research ways to move beyond standard anodized aluminum casings.

Patent applications cannot be taken as proof of what Apple is intending to bring to market and many patented concepts never reach consumer products. Nonetheless, they provide an interesting insight into what Apple is researching and developing behind the scene, and hint at what we could see in the future.

Apple today announced that it will be celebrating Black History Month with curated content that highlights and amplifies Black creators, artists, developers, and businesses across the App Store, Apple Music, the Apple TV app, Apple Books, Apple Podcasts, and more. The content will be featured throughout the month of February.

Apple also introduced a limited-edition Apple Watch Series 6 inscribed with "Black Unity" and a "Black Unity" Sport Band, both of which will be available online and in store from Apple and Target beginning February 1 in the United States and 38 other countries. Apple says the Watch will be available in February, with pricing starting at $399, while the Sport Band will be priced at $49 and will remain available throughout the year.

The limited-edition Apple Watch is complemented by the new "Unity" watch face in watchOS 7.3, which Apple confirmed will be released later today. Both the Black Unity Sport Band and Unity watch face are based on the colors of the Pan-African flag.

An overview of some of Apple's other plans:

• App Store: A new Black History Month Hub will spotlight Black-owned businesses and Black developers. Apple will also feature stories with Black developers discussing the importance of representation in apps and games.
• Apple Music: Apple will feature curated playlists, essays, original videos, and more from Black influencers, musicians, authors, and directors.
• Apple Maps: Apple will feature curated Apple Maps Guides created in collaboration with EatOkra, a Black-owned business directory app based in Brooklyn.
• Apple TV app: This month's theme for "Essential Stories" on the Apple TV app will "spotlight the multidimensionality of the Black family and its representation onscreen," according to Apple. There will also be new content from Oprah Winfrey.
• Apple News: Apple will feature curated topic groups that highlight the "best journalism around race in America," while Apple News+ will offer audio articles that celebrate the Black experience.

Apple's press release provides a detailed look at what is in store across Apple's products and services throughout February.

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.

MacPaw, the developers behind the Setapp store, have released a major update to their award-winning duplicate finder app, Gemini 2, in the form of a real-time duplicates monitor.

The Duplicates Monitor, which appears as a menu bar item and runs in the background, identifies identical files as they're added to macOS, including pictures, videos, documents, and audio files.

When a duplicate is recognized, Duplicates Monitor immediately notifies users about the new unwanted copy, presenting them with an option to remove the duplicate files, before they start cluttering Mac disk space.

If the user skips the alert, they still have the opportunity to go back to the last three instances when the duplicates were created via the Gemini 2 app, since the Duplicates Monitor only watches for unwanted copies in the locations that have been cleaned with Gemini 2.

"Duplicate files not only occupy valuable disk space but also make the system slow. For large amounts of duplicates, the scanning process can be time-consuming and resource-demanding," says Oleksandr Kosovan, CEO of MacPaw. "With the Duplicates Monitor, users will now be able to keep the duplicate files to a minimum, making their Macs faster and more organized and sparing disk space for things that really matter."

The Duplicates Monitor is a free update for existing Gemini 2 users and will be available starting today. Gemini 2 is available on the Mac App Store and the MacPaw website, and is also available in Setapp, the subscription-based service for macOS applications, which has plans starting at $9.99 a month.

Facebook News today launched in the United Kingdom, the first country outside of the U.S. to receive the curated news portal.

Accessed via a dedicated tab in the mobile Facebook app, the portal features licensed content from hundreds of local and national media organizations including The Guardian, The Economist, The Independent, Channel 4 News, Sky News, Daily Mail Group, and Financial Times, amongst others.

Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that it will be working with a service called Upday to curate the stories that appear on News:

"The product is a mix of curated, top stories and personalized links chosen by algorithm," a spokesperson said. Upday appears to be a joint collaboration between German publisher Axel Springer and Samsung, which also runs a news service on its phones powered by it.

It is not clear what the financial terms of the deal is between Facebook and Upday, but reportedly, the licensing deals Facebook is cutting with publishers to place their content in News collectively run into the tens of millions of pounds, with the biggest publishers making millions a year from the the agreements. While those figures might pale to what Facebook makes in ad revenues globally — that reaches into the tens of billions of dollars quarterly — they represent significant sums for the beleaguered U.K. media industry.

Like the U.S. version, Facebook News works by combining editorially curated stories and articles based on what users read, share, and follow on the social network. Users will also get controls that allow them to hide topics or publishers from their feed, according to Facebook.

The company says it is currently negotiating with partners to launch the feature in France and Germany, with Brazil and India also in its sights.

Spotify has started releasing audiobook recordings on its streaming platform, indicating the company's intention to further broaden its library of non-music content (via The Hollywood Reporter).

The collection of nine audiobooks are in the public domain, but are original recordings that are exclusive to Spotify. The titles include Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, narrated by David Dobrik, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, read by Forest Whitaker, and Kate Chopin's The Awakening, read by Hilary Swank, amongst other classics. From the report:

The other titles that Spotify is releasing as part of the collection are Jean Toomer's Cane, narrated by Audra McDonald; Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, narrated by James Langton; Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, narrated by Sarah Coombs; Nella Larsen's Passing, narrated by Bahni Turpin; and Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage, narrated by Santino Fontana.

To accompany the audiobooks, Spotify has commissioned series Sitting with the Classics on Spotify, in which Harvard professor Glenda Carpio offers a deep-dive on each book, exploring the history and breaking down the narratives and themes for a modern audience.

The classic audiobooks will be available for free globally but promoted only to English-speaking markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany.

Spotify says the collection is a test to see if the audiobooks gain traction on its streaming service, but if it takes off like podcasts have done on the platform, the company's dive into audiobooks could see it take on rivals like Amazon's Audible and Apple Books in a market that was valued at nearly $2.7 billion in 2019, according to a report from Grand View Research.

Over the past few years Spotify has spent $800 million buying podcasting companies like Gimlet Media and The Ringer, as well as acquiring the rights to popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience. According to today's report, Spotify now has 1.9 million podcasts on its platform and says 22 percent of its 320 million monthly active users engaged with that content during the third quarter of 2020.

Apple today announced that current Apple hardware engineering SVP Dan Riccio is transitioning to a new role where he will focus on an unspecified project, with John Ternus set to take over as Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering.

In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Riccio made Apple a better and more innovative company, and that Ternus will bring a deep expertise and breadth of experience to the Hardware Engineering teams.

"Every innovation Dan has helped Apple bring to life has made us a better and more innovative company, and we're thrilled that he'll continue to be part of the team," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "John's deep expertise and wide breadth of experience make him a bold and visionary leader of our Hardware Engineering teams. I want to congratulate them both on these exciting new steps, and I'm looking forward to many more innovations they'll help bring to the world."

There is no word on what project Riccio will be working on, but Apple has an Apple Car and various augmented reality and virtual reality devices in the works. The Apple Car project was recently taken over by Apple AI chief John Giannandrea, so Riccio's role is a mystery.

Going forward, Riccio will be a vice president of engineering, which seems to be a title downgrade, so it's possible that he is aiming to take a step back from Apple. Riccio has been with Apple since 1998, when he joined the product design team.

Riccio became vice president of iPad Hardware Engineering in 2010, and in 2012, took over the Hardware Engineering team. Apple says that Riccio will "continue to play an instrumental role in shaping the future of Apple's products."

In a statement, Riccio said that working at Apple has been "the opportunity of a lifetime" and that it is now the right time for a change.

"Working at Apple has been the opportunity of a lifetime, spent making the world's best products with the most talented people you could imagine," said Riccio. "After 23 years of leading our Product Design or Hardware Engineering teams -- culminating with our biggest and most ambitious product year ever -- it's the right time for a change. Next up, I'm looking forward to doing what I love most -- focusing all my time and energy at Apple on creating something new and wonderful that I couldn't be more excited about."

John Ternus initially joined Apple as part of the Product Design team in 2001, and in 2013 took on a role as vice president of Hardware Engineering. He has overseen the launch of products that include the first-generation AirPods, every ‌iPad‌, and the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro.

Designer Arun Venkatesan today shared an interesting deep dive into some of the classic watch designs that inspired various watch faces for the Apple Watch, detailing how Apple took design cues from well-known watches from companies like Rolex, Breitling, Heuer, and others.

Venkatesan delves into the California watch face, the Chronograph and Chronograph Pro watch faces, the Count Up watch face, and the GMT watch face.

The California watch face, for example, was inspired by a dial design that originated in World War II. The mix of Roman and Arabic numerals was thought to make the watch face more readable in low visibility.

Originally called the "error proof" or "high visibility" dial, it adorned the fronts of "bubble back" Rolexes -- so-called because of the bubble-shaped back that gave the watches a thin appearance. Strikingly, the indices are set both in Roman and Arabic numerals where other watches would stick to one or the other. It's thought that mixing numerals aids both the wearer and his brothers-in-arms in reading the watch in low visibility conditions.

The GMT watch face, meanwhile, was based on classic watches able to track two time zones at one time, while Count Up is based on classic dive watches.

Unlike the previous faces, the name Count Up, refers to a type of bezel, not a dial or complication. Also known as the diving bezel, this rotating bezel, when coupled with the minute hand, helps measure elapsed time in minutes.

The count up bezel can be traced back to a monumental year in the history of the dive watch -- 1953.

Apple's Chronograph watch faces are built on a long history of chronograph watches that date back to the early 1800s and have become some of the most popular watch face types. Venkatesan says that his research led him to be impressed with Apple's dedication to design, as it's clear that Apple took the time to study the history of many of the classic watch faces that are available in a digital format on the Apple Watch.

As I researched and wrote this essay, my respect only increased. With the watch faces, Apple could have taken the easy way out by merely mimicking existing watch archetypes at a surface level. Instead, they intensely studied each one's history. When designing each face, they took into account that history and the constraints and opportunities afforded by modern technology.

For those interested in the history of the Apple Watch and those who want to know more about the classic watches that have inspired Apple's designers, Venkatesan's article is well worth reading through.

Verizon today unveiled a new unlimited plan designed to allow prepaid customers to access Verizon's fastest 5G network for $75 per month.

As noted by The Verge, the plan is priced at $10 more than the standard unlimited prepaid plan and provides access to Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network, which is the fastest available 5G that can be accessed in a limited number of cities. It also includes unlimited 5G Ultra Wideband Mobile Hotspot data.

Prior to now, access to the mmWave Ultra Wideband network was limited to Verizon postpaid customers on eligible unlimited plans, but all of Verizon's prepaid plans previously had access to the slower sub-6GHz 5G network that's not much faster than LTE.

Verizon's standard 5G nationwide connectivity is available in more than 2,700 cities, but the faster mmWave Ultra Wideband 5G is limited to select parts of 64 cities across the United States, so those who subscribe to the higher-priced prepaid plan may not find widespread availability of the faster 5G speeds.

All of Apple's iPhone 12 models in the United States are compatible with mmWave 5G networks such as Verizon's Ultra Wideband 5G.

Apple today announced the launch of a new "Time to Walk" feature that's available to Apple Watch owners who are also Fitness+ subscribers, with the service offering up audio stories from celebrities.

We took a quick look at Time to Walk in our latest YouTube video to see what it's all about and whether it's a worthwhile addition to the Fitness+ service.

Time to Walk is technically a watchOS 7.3 feature and will be announced in the watchOS 7.3 release notes, but it is accessible now in watchOS 7.2 as Apple released it as an over-the-air server side update.

Designed specifically for outdoor walks done while wearing an Apple Watch, Time to Walk features stories from musicians, actors, and athletes, with each story lasting from 25 to 40 minutes. Right now, there are four audio stories available from country music star Dolly Parton, NBA player Draymond Green, musician Shawn Mendes, and actress Uzo Aduba.

Each audio story is meant to focus on the guest's "personal, life-shaping moments," and Apple has designed these workouts to feel like you're walking alongside the celebrity that's speaking. The person telling the story is also on a walk, and will describe their surroundings before jumping into a personal discussion.

Shawn Mendes, for example, describes his walk in Griffith Park in Los Angeles before he delves into a discussion on the anxiety he faced when he went viral as a 15 year old, and the mindfulness techniques that he uses to achieve a sense of calm. Each of the Time to Walk stories is accompanied by photos at key intervals in the story, with Apple designing the discussions to feel like an intimate one-on-one experience.

Apple Watch owners are meant to feel like they're walking right alongside the celebrity sharing their Time to Walk story, and stories are punctuated by the ambient sounds like birds, footsteps, breathing, and other people in the area. After a story has finished, each speaker provides three songs to listen to that are related.

Time to Walk workouts are available to all Apple Fitness+ subscribers and can be accessed in the Workout app as a unique workout type. Since the audio is coming from the Apple Watch, AirPods or other Bluetooth headphones are required to listen. Time to Walk episodes can also be found in the Fitness+ section on the iPhone.

Time to Walk episodes download automatically as long as you have the setting enabled on the ‌iPhone‌, and it's turned on by default. It can be found if you open the Apple Watch app, scroll down to Workout, and make sure "Add Newest Workouts to Watch" is enabled. Apple plans to release new Time to Walk episodes every Monday through April.

Apple is hoping that Time to Walk might serve as a gateway to getting people more involved with Apple Fitness+, which has been designed to be welcoming to people of all skill levels. Apple launched Apple Fitness+ last month, and the service offers workouts across a wide range of categories from dance and yoga to cycling, running, and HIIT.

A Fitness+ subscription is required for Time to Walk, and Fitness+ is priced at $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year, though those who purchased a new Apple Watch this year can get a free three month trial.

Italian consumer association Altroconsumo today announced that it has launched a class action lawsuit [PDF] against Apple for planned obsolescence (via Reuters).

Altroconsumo is seeking damages of 60 million euros on behalf of Italian consumers who were "tricked" by the practice, with the lawsuit covering the iPhone 6, ‌iPhone‌ 6 Plus, ‌iPhone‌ 6s, and ‌iPhone‌ 6s Plus.

"When consumers buy Apple iPhones, they expect sustainable quality products. Unfortunately, that is not what happened with the iPhone 6 series. Not only were consumers defrauded, and did they have to face frustration and financial harm, from an environmental point of view it is also utterly irresponsible" said ​Els Bruggeman, Head of Policy and Enforcement at Euroconsumers. "This new lawsuit is the latest front in our fight against planned obsolescence in Europe. Our ask is simple: American consumers received compensation, European consumers want to be treated with the same fairness and respect."

These claims date back to the 2017 release of iOS 10.2.1, which included a feature that throttled the performance of older iPhones with degrading batteries to prevent device shutdowns at peak usage points. Apple did not make it clear that avoiding shutdowns would require device performance to be scaled down, which led to a huge consumer outcry and blowback that's ongoing today.

Italy in 2018 fined Apple 10 million euros for "dishonest commercial practices" for implementing an update that "caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance, thus accelerating phones' substitution."

Apple has maintained that the idea of planned obsolescence is absurd, with the iOS 10.2.1 update designed to make iPhones last longer by preventing interruptions in usage. Following the fiasco, Apple implemented battery health features in iOS and debuted a $29 battery replacement program, but it has still faced multiple legal issues related to planned obsolescence claims.

The prior Italian lawsuit and fine were levied by regulators, while the current lawsuit seeks damages for consumers. Altroconsumo is seeking 60 euros on average for all owners of affected iPhones.

Apple is facing similar lawsuits in Belgium and Spain, and a fourth class action lawsuit is set to launch in the near future. Italy is also currently investigating Apple for improper commercial practices in regard to cloud computing services and recently fined Apple 10 million euros for misleading water resistance claims.

Apple today seeded a second RC version of an upcoming macOS Big Sur 11.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new update coming a week after the first RC and two months after initial macOS Big Sur release.

Developers can download the updated ‌‌macOS Big Sur‌‌ 11.2 release candidate using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper profile from the Apple Developer Center.

macOS Big Sur 11.2 eliminates a feature that allowed Apple apps bypass third-party firewalls, security tools, and VPN apps. macOS Big Sur 11 included a ContentFilterExclusionList that let Apple's apps like the App Store, Maps, iCloud, and more to avoid firewall and VPN apps that users had installed. These apps were not able to filter or inspect traffic for some built-in Apple apps. That functionality has been removed in macOS Big Sur 11.2.

When macOS Big Sur 11.2 sees a release, Apple apps will be compatible with VPN apps and will no longer be able to bypass firewalls and other security tools.

According to Apple's release notes, the update also improves Bluetooth reliability and includes multiple bug fixes.

macOS Big Sur 11.2 improves Bluetooth reliability and fixes the following issues:
- External displays may show a black screen when connected to a Mac mini (M1, 2020) using an HDMI to DVI converter
- Edits to Apple ProRAW photos in the Photos app may not save
- iCloud Drive could turn off after disabling the iCloud Drive Desktop & Documents Folders option
- System Preferences may not unlock when entering your administrator password
- Globe key may not display the Emoji & Symbols pane when pressed

The update addresses a bug that could cause external displays to show a black screen when connected to an M1 Mac mini using an HDMI to DVI converter, and it fixes an issue that resulted in edits to Apple ProRaw photos in the Photos app not to save. It also includes fixes for iCloud Drive, System Preferences, and more.