MacRumors

Back in March, we noted that optical Thunderbolt 3 cables were starting to become available some four years after the standard's debut. Availability of these high-end optical cables has taken another step forward recently, as Corning has begun shipping out its cables in lengths ranging from 5 meters to 50 meters.

Compared to passive and active copper Thunderbolt 3 cables that support relatively short lengths most appropriate for a desktop setting, optical cables allow for much longer cable lengths needed by certain professional and corporate users. But for anyone who wants to be able to put their computer and/or accessories like external storage some distance away from their workspace, such as for heat, noise, or aesthetic reasons, these cables are certainly an option.

While optical Thunderbolt 3 cables allow for long cable runs, they do have some limitations compared to traditional copper cables, with one of the most significant being a lack of power capabilities. That means small accessories like external SSDs that need to draw bus power from the host devices they're attached to won't work with optical cables.

Optical Thunderbolt 3 cables also only support Thunderbolt 3 connections and can not fall back to USB modes running at slower speeds, so you won't be able to use one of these optical Thunderbolt 3 cables to directly connect USB-C devices that don't support Thunderbolt 3, for example.

They can, however, be used with Thunderbolt 3 docks that can in turn support a variety of other types of connections such as USB, displays, audio, and more, as the Thunderbolt controller in the dock handles converting everything to run over Thunderbolt. Daisy-chaining of multiple Thunderbolt 3 accessories is also supported with optical cables.

Connectors on optical Thunderbolt 3 cables are a little on the bulky side given the components needed to convert the electrical Thunderbolt 3 signal to an optical one and back. They are, however, only a bit larger than typical passive copper cable connectors and similar in size to active copper cable ones, so they shouldn't block adjacent ports. With only the fiber optic strands inside, the cable itself is also significantly thinner than most traditional USB and Thunderbolt cables.

Unsurprisingly, all of this optical technology comes at a cost that may put these cables out of reach for many consumers. The shortest Corning optical Thunderbolt 3 cable, the 5-meter version, is priced at $360 at vendors like B&H Photo. The price does not, however, rise significantly with cable length as the expensive parts are in the connectors, with 10-meter cables priced at $370, 15-meter cables at $390, 25-meter cables at $410, and, 50-meter cables at $480.

B&H is currently quoting special order status with availability in 7-14 business days for all but the 50-meter version, which is listed as in stock. Corning says significantly improved supplies will be available in just a couple of weeks.

As noted on Reddit, the second developer beta of iOS 14.2 introduces a new yearly spending history option for the Apple Card, allowing cardholders to see how much they have spent with the card within the current calendar year.

Apple Card spending activity was previously limited to weekly or monthly summaries. The new yearly option can be accessed by opening the Wallet app, tapping on the Apple Card, and tapping on the Activity bars below Card Balance. As of the second developer beta of iOS 14.2, there are now three tabs at the top for Week, Month, and Year overviews.

The yearly summary also shows how much Daily Cash a user has earned with the Apple Card within the current calendar year.

To apply for an ‌Apple Card‌, open the Wallet app on an iPhone running iOS 12.4 or later, tap the plus button in the top-right corner, and follow the on-screen steps. The process takes just a few minutes, and if approved, a virtual ‌Apple Card‌ will be ready for purchases immediately. A physical, titanium Apple Card can also be requested through the Wallet app for use at retail stores that do not accept contactless payments.

Apple Card's key features include color-coded spending summaries, no fees, and up to three percent cashback on purchases, paid out daily. The card remains limited to the United States, but an international expansion may be on the horizon.

Around a month after Facebook began quietly merging its Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, the transition has been officially launched, with a full rollout to all users soon to follow.

As a result of the merging of the chat services, Instagram users can chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform. Features previously only available on Facebook Messenger can now be accessed in Instagram, including colorful chats, more emoji reactions, and swipe-to-reply. In addition, the regular paper airplane DM icon in the top-right corner of the Instagram UI has been replaced by the Facebook Messenger logo.

The move is part of Facebook's long-term plan to merge Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp chat platforms. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly wants all the apps to incorporate WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption and put a new focus on user privacy.

The company hopes that unifying its messaging infrastructure will help to keep its billions of users engaged in the Facebook ecosystem, in an attempt to ward off rival messaging services such as Apple's iMessage.

Last week, Facebook began lobbying Apple for an option to make its Messenger service the default messaging app on iOS, arguing that now users can select a third-party app as the default browser and email app, it is unfair to exclude messaging apps.

Apple has reportedly removed two RSS feed reader apps from China's App Store to comply with Chinese law. Fiery Feeds and Reeder both tweeted that their iOS apps had been removed in China over content that is considered "illegal" in the country.

Fiery Feeds quoted a three-year-old tweet from Inoreader, a similar RRS service that was banned from Apple's Chinese ‌App Store‌ back in 2017 and had its entire service blocked in the country in April. Apple's original message to Inoreader read:

We are writing to notify you that your application will be removed from the China App Store because it includes content that it illegal in China, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines:

5. Legal
Apps must comply with all legal requirements in any location where you make them available (if you're not sure, check with a lawyer). We know this stuff is complicated, but it is your responsibility to understand and make sure your app conforms with all local laws, not just the guidelines below. And of course, apps that solicit, promote, or encourage criminal or clearly reckless behavior will be rejected.

It's not clear why Apple waited until now to block the additional feed readers, but the fact that it pulled these apps at all suggests RSS readers can sometimes circumvent China's Great Firewall and pull in content from third-party websites that are otherwise on its blocked list.

Apple has faced increasing pressure from investors and human rights activists about its relationship with China and its tendency to comply with Beijing's demands. Last year, for example, Apple removed the app of news outlet Quartz from China's ‌‌‌App Store‌‌‌ after complaints from the government that it included content that is illegal in the country. The app was covering the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement protests at the time.

Apple has also been forced to remove many VPN apps from the ‌‌‌App Store‌‌‌ in China due to the administration's regulations. Other apps affected in the past include WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and the New York Times app.

Earlier this month, Apple published a human rights policy document that commits to "freedom of information and expression," following years of criticism from investors that it shows too much deference to Beijing and accedes to China's censorship demands.

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.

Twitter says it's making its voice tweets feature available to more users on iOS. Launched in June for a limited number of users, voice tweets is designed to allow people to tweet with their voice, sending voice-based messages instead of text.

Voice tweets can be created by opening up the tweet composer and tapping the new wavelengths icon. A screen then opens with a user's Twitter icon, which can be tapped to begin a recording.

Twitter users can capture up to 140 seconds of audio, but continuous recording is possible and longer audio will create multiple voice tweets.

Listening to a voice tweet can be done by tapping on the image in the Twitter timeline. On iOS, playback starts in an audio player that's docked at the bottom of the timeline so users can continue to scroll through Twitter.

Since their arrival on iOS, voice tweets have been criticized for lacking accessibility in the form of audio transcriptions. That criticism led Twitter employees to reveal they'd been asked to volunteer their time on top of their usual work to focus on accessibility.

The ensuing flak led Twitter to tell The Verge that it was exploring how to build a "more dedicated group" to focus on accessibility, and the company has since announced new two teams in that vein. Twitter subsequently said it plans to add automated captions to audio and video on the platform by "early 2021."

Apple has officially retired Beats Updater, the software utility that lets users update the firmware of their Beats Wireless headphones, earphones, and speakers.

Beats Updater allows users to plug their Beats product directly into the USB port of their computer to check for firmware updates online, but with Apple's growing tendency to deliver over-the-air updates to wireless products via iOS and iPadOS, the company clearly feels the utility has reached the end of its life.

Beats Updater is still available to download for use with the following products, but Apple says no new versions will be available in future.

If you have one of the Beats headphones or earphones listed below, pairing them with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch will update them automatically. If you have an Android device, download the Beats app for Android from the Google Play store to update your firmware.

Apple recently released over-the-air firmware updates for AirPods (second generation), AirPods Pro, Powerbeats, ‌Powerbeats Pro‌, and Solo Pro. The new firmware adds automatic switching support to these models and requires iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, or later. In addition to automatic switching, AirPods Pro also gained a new spatial audio feature.

Several of Apple's services appear to be experiencing issues, with MacRumors readers reporting problems with Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+, the App Store, and more.

When attempting to access ‌Apple Music‌ or ‌Apple TV‌+, for example, the services refuse to load for some people and pop up a connection warning.

Apple's System Status page lists ‌App Store‌, Apple Arcade, ‌Apple Music‌, ‌Apple TV‌+, Radio, Apple Books, Find My, Game Center, iCloud Account, ‌iCloud‌ backup, ‌iCloud‌ Calendar, ‌iCloud‌ Contacts, Photos, ‌iCloud‌ Mail, and iWork outages.

We'll update this article when Apple's services come back online. Update: Apple has resolved the outages.

Apple and Epic Games do not want to have a jury trial in their ongoing legal dispute over Fortnite and Apple's App Store policies, according to a filing submitted to the Northern California court handling the case today.

The two companies said they have met and have agreed that both Epic's claims and Apple's counterclaims should be tried by the court with a bench trial at a date to be determined.

Epic and Apple have met and conferred, and the parties agree that Epic's claims and Apple's counterclaims should be tried by the Court, and not by a jury. Therefore, with Epic's consent, Apple hereby withdraws its demand for a jury trial pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 38(d). The parties respectfully request that the case (including any claims and counterclaims) proceed to a bench trial on a schedule determined by the Court.

In a counterclaim against ‌Epic Games‌, Apple had originally asked for a trial by jury, but given that the judge overseeing the court told the two companies that she does not want to try two separate cases, Apple has withdrawn the request.

There was a preliminary injunction hearing between ‌Epic Games‌ and Apple earlier this week, and during that hearing, the judge suggested that a jury trial might be appropriate to ensure a final judgement that's better able to stand up to appeal, but Apple and ‌Epic Games‌ have declined.

During the preliminary hearing, the judge was hard on ‌Epic Games‌, criticizing the company for the way that it initiated the lawsuit. ‌Epic Games‌ in August added a direct payment option in popular iOS game Fortnite, breaking Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules as the payment option skirted in-app purchases.

Apple then pulled the app from the App Store, and ‌Epic Games‌ filed a pre-prepared lawsuit against Apple, leading to a legal dispute that could take years to resolve. At the current time, Fortnite is not available on Apple devices and Epic's developer account has been terminated.

During Monday's hearing, the judge said that Epic was "not forthright" and had made a "calculated decision" to defy Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules. "There are people in the public who consider you guys heroes for what you did, but it's not honest," she said.

With Apple and Epic declining a jury trial, the case could be heard sometime in July 2021, with a specific date set to be determined by the court.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was this week awarded 667,974 restricted stock units or RSUs worth more than $76 million at Apple's current price, according to a filing with the SEC. The first half of the RSUs are set to vest in one-third increments in 2023, 2024, and 2025, so Cook will receive 111,329 shares every April starting in 2023.

The second half of the RSUs are performance-based awards and will vest on October 1, 2023, based on Apple's relative shareholder return. Cook can potentially receive up to 200% of the 333,987 RSUs awarded for performance.

These performance-based restricted stock units are scheduled to vest on October 1, 2023. The "target" number of restricted stock units is reported. Between 0% and 200% of the target number of units may vest based on Apple's relative total shareholder return from the first day of Apple's fiscal 2021 and ending with the last day of Apple's fiscal 2023.

Paired with the time-based stock awards, Cook can earn up to 1,001,961 shares worth more than $114 million today if Apple's performance in the S&P 500 is in the 85th percentile or higher relative to other companies.

This is the first stock grant that Cook has received since 2011, with the last of that grant set to vest in 2021. As noted by Reuters' Stephen Nellis, Apple's board of directors issued a statement on Cook's RSU award:

Tim has brought unparalleled innovation and focus to his role as CEO and demonstrated what it means to lead with values and integrity. For the first time in nearly a decade, we are awarding Tim a new stock grant that will vest over time in recognition of his outstanding leadership and with great optimism for Apple's future as he carries these efforts forward.

Several employees on Apple's executive team have also received stock awards, including Luca Maestri, Deirdre O'Brien, and Jeff Williams, all of whom have been awarded 178,128 shares. As with Cook's award, half of these RSUs will vest between 2023 and 2025, while the rest are performance based awards.

The RSUs serve as bonus compensation for Cook and Apple's executives, and will encourage employees to stay with the company through at least 2025, which is when everything will be fully vested. Cook has been Apple's CEO since August 2011, and there has been some speculation lately on how long he will continue to work for Apple. Cook in a recent interview said that he can't envision his life not working at Apple.

I consider it the privilege of a lifetime to be here in this role at this time. I love working with this team. I consider them family. It's hard to explain. It may sound like messaging or something, but it's not. It's that deep in my heart, I really love the people I work with and currently it's tough to envision my life without that. So we'll see. At some point, of course, we all do something different, but at the moment, there's no place I would rather be than right here.

When Cook does opt to retire at some point in the future, Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams could assume the role of CEO, according to a recent Bloomberg report. Williams is "primed" to take over for Cook if necessary and considered the "heir apparent" within Apple.

Rumors have suggested that Apple's iPhone 12 models will not include power adapters or EarPods in the box, and a minor code tweak in iOS 14.2 seemingly confirms Apple's plan to sell the new devices without EarPods.

In iOS 14 and earlier versions of iOS, there's a mention of reducing exposure to RF energy by using the "supplied headphones," which is the same wording that Apple has used for years now.

In iOS 14.2, this wording has been tweaked to say just "headphones," removing the "supplied" part of this statement. The full code reads as follows:

To reduce exposure to RF energy, use a hands-free option, such as the built-in speakerphone, headphones, or other similar accessories.

All prior mentions of headphones have included "supplied," and the deliberate elimination of the word in the new code strongly suggests Apple has no plans to "supply" headphones with the upcoming iPhone 12 models.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in May that the iPhone 12 models will not come with EarPods in the box, with Apple instead planning to introduce some kind of AirPods promotion to encourage iPhone buyers to purchase AirPods as well.

There have also been rumors that Apple is eliminating the power adapter from the iPhone 12 box, which means customers will get an iPhone 12 and a USB-C to Lightning cable with nothing else.

The removal of the power adapter was all but confirmed when Apple released the Apple Watch Series 6 models without a power adapter, but until now, we've heard little else about the potential removal of the EarPods.

Apple has long offered EarPods with new iPhone models to give customers a way to listen to music, make calls, and more, but Apple has been aiming to transition to Bluetooth-only headphones since the launch of the AirPods and the removal of the headphone jack from the iPhone lineup.

Current iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models ship with EarPods that have a Lightning connector to plug into the Lightning port, but it appears the iPhone 11 devices will be the last to come with headphones in the box.

Apple is said to be removing the power adapter and the EarPods from the iPhone 12 box in order to cut costs, as the 5G chips in the new devices are expensive. The change will also allow Apple to slim down the size of the iPhone box, reducing packaging and environmental waste.

Steve Moser contributed to this report.

Back in January, medical device company Masimo levied a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets and improperly using Masimo inventions related to health monitoring in the Apple Watch.

Masimo is known for its pulse oximetry devices, and Apple just recently debuted the Apple Watch Series 6 with blood oxygen monitoring capabilities. Following the launch of the Series 6, Masimo has accused Apple of attempting to delay the legal proceedings in order to sell more watches and gain a more dominant share of the smart watch market.

As highlighted by Bloomberg, Apple has not officially responded to the original January lawsuit, instead filing requests to dismiss the trade secret part of the case and to have Masimo patents invalidated. Apple has asked the trial court to put the case on hold until the patent issue is resolved, which could take a significant amount of time.

Apple told the court that delaying the case until a patent review will narrow the issues and "reduce wasted resources." With no hold, the first hearing on the case will take place in April 2021.

According to Masimo, the potential postponement would allow Apple to "seize on a critical window of opportunity to capture an emerging field," using its "considerable resources and ecosystem" to capture market share with no regard for Masimo patent technology.

Masimo CEO Joe Kiani said in the filing that Masimo believes Apple's customers see the Series 6 as a "medical product," which can "harm consumers" and "reduce [Masimo's] opportunities to sell truly clinical-grade products to consumers."

Masimo accused Apple of stealing secret information by pretending to have a working relationship with Masimo and then poaching Masimo employees. Masimo also believes that Apple is infringing on 10 Masimo patents, and says that Apple relied on Masimo technology when developing the light-based heart rate sensor used in the Apple Watch.

Apple allegedly contacted Masimo in 2013, ahead of the launch of the original Apple Watch, and asked to meet for a potential collaboration. Apple was aiming to "understand more" about Masimo's products and was allegedly seeking to add Masimo technology to future Apple devices. Masimo said that the two companies had productive meetings, but then Apple began hiring important employees. Apple ultimately hired several Masimo employees including Michael O'Reilly, who had served as Chief Medical Officer and EVP of Medical Affairs at Masimo. He has been working on Health Special Projects at Apple, and had a hand in the development of the Apple Watch.

Masimo in its original January lawsuit asked the court to block Apple from using Masimo's patented inventions and it asked the court for damages.

Apple today informed developers that it is making new App Store marketing tools available for use, providing developers with a simple way to create short links, embeddable code with app icon and product page, QR codes, and more.

Take advantage of new marketing resources to promote your apps around the world. You can now generate short links or embeddable code that lead to your App Store product page and display your app icon, a QR code, or an App Store badge. Download localized App Store badges, your app icon, and more.

Developers can enter the URL for their app on the marketing page, with Apple then providing tools to generate the aforementioned links and badges. QR codes in particular may be of interest to developers as these can be used to quickly find an app with a scan with an iPhone camera, and QR codes are also used for the App Clips feature introduced in iOS 14.

QR codes can be generated with different colors and with each app's icon for a unique, personalized look that takes seconds to create.

Developers can access the new tools on Apple's App Store Marketing site for developers.

Email aliases in the Mail app don't appear to be functioning correctly in the iOS 14 update, according to multiple customer complaints on the MacRumors forums and the Apple Support Communities.

Affected customers have set up aliases in the Mail app for subscriptions, account signups, and more, as aliases are useful for concealing a primary email address and limiting unwanted messages. Those aliases are not working as intended as of the iOS 14 update, with the Mail app on iPhone and iPad ignoring the preferred alias that's selected when sending an email.

There appears to be no way for affected users to successfully control which alias is selected, leading to emails sent from unwanted addresses. A member of the Apple Support Communities describes the problem:

I have an IMAP account (not gmail) with a few aliases. I have been using this for YEARS and it's always worked fine. Today, I sent my first email from iOS 14 and it changed my from address after I sent the email. Note, the correct address was selected in Mail - it was changed during sending. I then sent some mails from other aliases, and those were also all wrong - never the right address.

I then double checked on my iPad, and the same thing occurs. For now, I have just removed all aliases.

Many of the complaints are from iCloud users who are using aliases with Apple's ‌iCloud‌ mail service, including those who have an older @mac.com or @me.com alias available to use with their @iCloud.com email addresses. Apple's Mail app appears to default to the @iCloud.com email address instead of the properly selected @mac.com that some users prefer. From the MacRumors forums:

One of the few who still uses @mac.com for the email address. After the upgrade I am noticing that the from address defaults to @icloud.com even though the settings still points to @mac.com address. Not sure if anyone here is noticing that.

The problem also affects email aliases associated with non-iCloud accounts, including those set up with Gmail accounts, so there appears to be an issue with all email accounts that have an associated alias that causes the Mail app to pick a random "From" address.

There seems to be no fix or workaround at this time aside from disabling aliases, and as pointed out on the MacRumors forums, the problem continues to persist in the iOS 14.2 update that's in beta testing. We expect iOS 14.2 to be in beta for at least another few weeks (likely until the iPhone 12 models launch) so there's time for Apple to add additional bug fixes.

Update: Early reports suggest that the second iOS 14.2 beta provided to developers on September 29 fixes the email alias bug.

Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 updates to developers, two weeks after seeding the first betas and a little over two weeks after releasing the iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 updates.

iOS and iPadOS 14.2 can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or over the air after the proper developer profile has been installed.

The iOS 14.2 update brings a new Music Recognition control for the Control Center, which enhances the integration of the Apple-owned Shazam app in the iOS operating system. Music Recognition lets you discover music playing around you and it can recognize music playing in apps even when you're wearing AirPods.

The Shazam Music Recognition feature can be added to Control Center through the Control Center options in the Settings app. To use the feature, open up Control Center and then tap on the Shazam icon to initiate a single recognition. While Apple devices have been able to use Shazam through Siri or the Shazam app for some time, the Control Center option makes it easier to get to the music recognition tool.

The new update also includes a redesigned Now Playing widget for the Control Center, which lists recently played albums that you might want to tap into and listen to when you have no music playing. There's also a redesigned interface for AirPlay, making it easier to play music across multiple ‌AirPlay‌ 2-enabled devices in the home.

For those who have low vision, Apple added a "People Detection" feature in the Magnifier app that uses the camera to let iPhone users know how far away other people are, which can be useful for social distancing purposes.

The new iOS 14.2 beta will likely be in testing for some time as Apple works on releasing new iPhones, with the new iPhones expected to debut sometime in October.

Apple today seeded the Ninth beta of an upcoming macOS Big Sur update to developers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the eighth beta and more than two months after the new update was unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

The macOS Big Sur beta can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center and once the appropriate profile is installed, subsequent betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences.

macOS Big Sur introduces a refreshed design to the Mac operating system, overhauling the entire look from the curvature of the window corners to the dock icons to the system sounds. Everything feels fresh but familiar, with a lighter and more modern appearance. There's a new customizable Control Center that mirrors the Control Center on iOS devices, putting key system controls right at your fingertips.

The Notification Center has been redesigned with iOS-style widgets that are available in multiple sizes, plus there are more interactive notifications that are now grouped by app to make it easier to see what's going on. Safari is faster and more battery efficient, plus there's a new start page that can be customized with wallpapers and sections that include Reading List and iCloud Tabs, which makes Safari more tailored to your individual usage needs.

Tabs have been redesigned, there's a built-in language translation feature, Chrome and Firefox Extensions can be ported to Safari, and YouTube supports 4K video playback. There's also an option to choose which sites an extension works with for greater privacy. Speaking of privacy, a new Privacy Report feature lets users know the trackers Safari is blocking when you visit websites.

Messages is more similar to the Messages app on iOS with support for pinned conversations, mentions, inline replies, and Memoji creation, plus the built-in search feature has been overhauled to make it easier to find links, photos, and conversations in the app.

Apple redesigned the Maps app to add support for Look Around, indoor maps, and Guides, which are lists of notable attractions, restaurants, and more created by trusted sources. Maps can also be used to generate directions for cycling routes and electric vehicle trips that can be sent to iPhone, and shared ETA updates are now viewable on the Mac.

Photos includes a better Retouch tool, Apple Music's For You section has been replaced with a Listen Now section, HomeKit Secure Video cameras support Face Recognition and Activity zones, and Siri can answer a wider range of questions than before.

In the future, the macOS Big Sur App Store will help users better understand privacy practices with clear info on the information that an app collects, and after installing macOS Big Sur, you'll see faster updates that begin in the background and then finish more quickly to make it easier to keep your Mac up to date.

For more on everything that's new in macOS Big Sur, make sure to check out our roundup.

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 7.1 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first beta and a little over two weeks after releasing the watchOS 7 update.

To install the ‌watchOS 7‌ beta, developers need to download the proper configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the ‌‌‌watchOS 7‌‌‌ beta can be downloaded through the dedicated ‌Apple Watch‌ app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.

To update to the new software, the ‌Apple Watch‌ needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌.

There were no new features discovered in the first beta of watchOS 7.1, so we don't yet know what new additions may be included in the beta. It may focus on under-the-hood improvements and bug fixes for issues that weren't able to be addressed in the initial watchOS 7 release.

If new features are found in the second beta of watchOS 7.1, we'll update this article. watchOS 7.1, like watchOS 7, is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 3 and later.

Apple is hiring Siri Annotation Analysts with fluency in a number of languages that are not currently supported by the voice assistant, suggesting that a major expansion of Siri's availability is in the works.

Apple's office in Cork, Ireland is hiring people fluent in Ukrainian, Hungarian, Slovak, Czech, Croatian, Greek, Flemish, Romanian, and as ThinkApple points out, Polish. Apple is also hiring people fluent in Indonesian and Vietnamese out of a Singapore office.

As described in job listings, Annotation Analysts that work for Apple listen to and transcribe snippets of ‌Siri‌ conversations to evaluate ‌Siri‌'s responses.

As an Annotation Analyst, you'll listen and transcribe audio files and evaluate Siri's response and language usage, from customers who have opted in to the grading program. You'll use your language and cultural knowledge, along with analytical skills, to evaluate responses against guidelines.

These kinds of ‌Siri‌ evaluations were previously done by third-party contracting companies but Apple brought the work in-house following a mid-2019 uproar over the way Apple used ‌Siri‌ recordings for evaluation with little notice to customers. Apple overhauled its ‌Siri‌ grading program and added options for customers to both opt out of having their ‌Siri‌ recordings used for product improvement and to delete already collected ‌Siri‌ recordings.

Apple does not support ‌Siri‌ in the languages that it is hiring for, which indicates ‌Siri‌ may be coming to new countries in the not too distant future. If ‌Siri‌ is gaining additional language support, those languages could also be added to the Translate app that was released in iOS 14.

‌Siri‌ is currently in more than 37 countries, with a list available on Apple's website. The languages that work with the Translate app are more limited and include Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.