MacRumors

Amazon today introduced some of the first discounts on the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, providing up to $15 off select models.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Starting with the 40mm GPS Apple Watch Series 6, you can get this model in Silver Aluminum with a White Sport Band for $384.99, down from $399.00. Similarly, the Space Gray Aluminum model is on sale.

If you're looking for a cellular model, Amazon has the 40mm cellular Apple Watch Series 6 in Space Gray Aluminum with a Black Sport Band for $484.99, down from $499.00. You can get the same Apple Watch in 44mm for $514.99, down from $529.00.

Moving to the Apple Watch SE, you'll find the 44mm GPS model in Space Gray Aluminum at a slight discount of $299.99, down from $309.00.

For the cellular model, Amazon has the 40mm Gold Aluminum Case with a Plum Sport Loop for $319.99, down from $329.00.

Given the popularity of the new models and the introduction of their first discounts, shipping estimates for every Series 6 and SE are seeing lengthy waits of up to four weeks. If you purchase today at a discount, however, you can lock in the savings before they expire.

A few of the major carriers also have some early offers on Apple Watch Series 6 and SE. You can find all the details about those deals in our post, and be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Apple's Macs and iPads continue to have the highest satisfaction score among PC and tablet makers in 2020, according to new data shared today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

In the 2020 Household Appliance and Electronics Report, Apple earned an ACSI score of 82, a one point drop from the score that it earned in 2019. Apple's satisfaction score beat out Samsung (81), Acer (78), Amazon (78), ASUS (77), Dell (77), HP (77), and others.

The score includes laptops, tablets, and desktop machines, but when splitting them out, Samsung and Apple are tied for customer satisfaction when it comes to tablets, according to the ACSI. Apple and Samsung also dominate laptop rankings, while there are narrower margins for desktop machines.

When it comes to overall customer satisfaction ratings across all manufacturers, desktop PCs, notebooks, and tablets still lag behind overall smartphone satisfaction, with desktops continuing to have the highest average satisfaction ratings.

The overall industry rankings mimic results from the cell phone industry, where Apple and Samsung have long been locked in a two-way battle at the top for customer satisfaction. Despite slipping 1%, Apple leads the PC industry with an ACSI score of 82 that matches its rating in the cell phone industry. Samsung again holds second place, just a point lower at 81--a score that also matches its cell phone rating.

Both Apple and Samsung have shown high and stable customer satisfaction for the past five years--separated by just a point in all but one of those years. Apple continues to beat the field across the entire customer experience, receiving its highest mark for design. Samsung shines when it comes to value, rating best in class among all PC makers.

Factors that influence customer satisfaction ratings include design, graphics and sound quality, availability of accessories, software and apps, ease of operation, system crashes, and processor speed.

To create its scoring system and compile device scores, the ACSI uses data from interviews with 14,698 customers to analyze customer satisfaction with personal computers, computer software, household appliances, TVs, and more. Customers surveyed were asked to evaluate their experiences with recently purchased products of the largest manufacturers.

AppleCare+ is now available in Norway, according to Apple's Norwegian website. Previously, ‌AppleCare‌ was the only option in Norway for Apple devices. ‌AppleCare‌ essentially only extends the standard warranty on Apple products, but ‌AppleCare‌+ includes two instances of accidental damage with a deductible.

‌AppleCare‌+ is supported on Mac, iPhone, iPad, ‌iPad‌, Apple Displays, iPod, and Headphones in Norway. The Apple TV retains standard ‌AppleCare‌, as has been the case in other regions, and is not eligible for ‌AppleCare‌+. The HomePod does not seem to be supported by either ‌AppleCare‌ plan in Norway at this time.

Apple has recently been making a number of changes to ‌AppleCare‌ worldwide, including extending AppleCare eligibility to one year in the U.S. and Canada, changing accidental damage cover, and the lowering cost of theft and loss deductables.

Apple has also expanded ‌AppleCare‌+ monthly payments to Canada, Australia, and Japan, as well as the UK and Germany.

Update: ‌AppleCare‌+ is also now available in Finland and Denmark. The expansion to all three countries seems to have occurred alongside Apple's September 15 event.

Prior to September 15, ‌AppleCare‌+ was only available in Scandinavia in Sweden, likely because the country has physical Apple Stores.

The team behind the "Checkra1n" jailbreaking tool for iOS has released version 0.11.0 of its software with support added for iOS 14, but only on a limited number of devices.

In a statement accompanying the announcement of the software release, the team said that it needed "more time to work around a new security mitigation" added by Apple before it could support jailbreaking iOS 14 on newer devices.

In iOS 14, Apple added a new mitigation to SEPOS on A10 and above (except on Apple TVs and iBridge): if the device was booted from DFU mode and the Secure Enclave receives a request to decrypt user data, it will panic the device. Since checkm8 does not give us control over the Secure Enclave, this is not trivial to workaround. However, with the recently published blackbird vulnerability, we are able to get control of the Secure Enclave on A10 and A10X and disable this mitigation. Support for A10 and A10X devices is being worked on and is expected to be ready in the coming weeks.

As a result of the security mitigation, the new version of "Checkra1n" works for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 on the following devices.

• iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and SE
• iPad (5th generation)
• iPad Air 2
• iPad mini 4
• iPad Pro (1st generation)
• Apple TV 4 and 4K

The team said it hoped to support newer devices in the coming weeks, with support for iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X to "be addressed in a future statement."

"Checkra1n" is made by the same security researchers responsible for last year's "checkm8" exploit, which was found on nearly every chip made by Apple and paved the way for a permanent, non-patchable jailbreak on hundreds of millions of affected iOS devices.

"Checkm8" was the first publicly available boot room exploit for iOS devices since the iPhone 4 in 2010.

Apple CEO Tim Cook this evening spoke at The Atlantic Festival where he discussed privacy, antitrust issues, remote work, and his relationship with United States President Donald Trump.

Cook's interview starts at about 15 minutes into the video

On the topic of the ongoing U.S. antitrust investigation into Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon, Cook said that "big companies deserve scrutiny," something that's "fair but important" for the American government. He said he has "no issue" with Apple being investigated, and that he hopes people will ultimately hear Apple's story and come to see that the company is not a monopoly.

I think that big companies deserve scrutiny. And I think that's not only fair but important for the system that we have in America. And so I have no issue at all in Apple being put underneath the microscope and people looking and probing. My hope is that as people heard our story and as they continue to hear our story that it will become as apparent to them as it is to us that we have no monopoly. There is no monopoly here.

We're in very, very competitive markets like smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets and personal computers. These things are fiercely competitive. They're basically street fights for market share. Our core strategy as a company to make the best not the most... that basic strategy will never produce a monopoly. It's very rare, almost impossible for the best to become the most as well. Somebody will choose a commodity product and there's enough people that will buy the commodity product that it will have more share. And that's true in all of the different fields we're in.

I'm hoping people heard that and heard how we conduct ourselves because this is very important to us. We always do what we believe is right and conduct ourselves with the utmost integrity and professionalism. I hope that that came across and that we can unpeel from this investigation.

On his relationship with Trump and what it's like interacting with the President, Cook said that he views the specific conversations he's had with Trump as "private conversations" and wouldn't get into what's been discussed, but he did reiterate something he's said several times before: that it's better to be involved than not to be part of the conversation.

I believe that it's much better to be involved, whether you're in agreement on an issue or I think it's even more important to engage when you disagree on something. And so what we do at Apple is we focus on policy. We don't focus on the politics. And so it keeps us out of the sort of the daily scrum of politics and keeps us very focused on the things that are very important to us.

As for the shift to working from home for many Apple employees, Cook said "it's not like being together physically" and that he can't wait for "everybody to be able to come back," confirming that Apple is not going to be one of those companies that lets employees work from home long term.

Cook did, however, say that "some things" work really well virtually, and so that things aren't going to return to just how they were.

In all candor, it's not like being together physically. And so I can't wait for everybody to be able to come back into the office. I don't believe that we'll return to the way we were, because we found that there are some things that actually work really well virtually. But things like creativity and the serendipity that you talk about, these things, you depend on people kind of running into each other over the course of a day. We have designed our entire office such that there are common areas where people congregate and talk about different things. And you can't schedule those times.

And so I think the vast majority of us can't wait until we can be back in the office again. You know, hopefully that occurs sometime next year, who knows exactly what the date may be. We've got about 10-15 percent working today in the office. I'm in the office at different points during the week as well, but the vast majority, 85 to 90 percent of the company is still working remotely.

Cook's full interview, which also goes into detail on Apple's view of how the United States has responded to COVID-19, climate change and the California wildfires, privacy, international policy, his future plans, and more can be watched through the YouTube video up above from The Atlantic.

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.

With the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple introduced two new band options, the Solo Loop and the Braided Solo Loop. These new bands are unique because they have no clasps, buckles, or other fasteners, and instead use a stretch design to allow them to pull onto the wrist over the hand.

Because these bands are not adjustable, Apple sells each one in nine different sizes to make sure each person gets a snug fit. To get the right sizing, Apple offers a printable tool [PDF] and also measurement comparisons so you can estimate size, but as it turns out, that sizing isn't always accurate and Apple's returns for ill-fitting bands ordered with one of the new Apple Watches are a hassle.

Customers who chose a Solo Loop or a Braided Solo Loop along with an Apple Watch Series 6 or SE and have a poor fit can't just return the band for a new size -- the entire Apple Watch has to be returned since it's considered a set.

Unfortunately, there are limited supplies of the new Apple Watch Series 6 models and the new bands, so customers forced to make a return are now having to wait from late October to late November for a new Apple Watch, depending on the model chosen.

There are complaints about Apple's return policy for the Apple Watch bands on Twitter and on a long discussion of the Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop bands on the MacRumors forums. Apple Watch models that are not fitting properly must be returned in full, and Apple's online support staff has been offering no alternative.

Some MacRumors readers appear to have had luck getting a different-sized band without exchanging the entire watch in an Apple retail store, but it's not clear if that's going to be an option for all users, especially as most Apple Stores seem to have limited band stock. From the MacRumors forums:

I assumed if you ordered the incorrect size, you could keep the watch and just return/exchange the band. But Apple support through chat said you have to return the watch and the band. That's so wasteful. And frustrating. I'm selling my S4 watch and the buyer will have to keep waiting until it's all sorted out.

For those who haven't ordered yet, it's worth reading through the Solo Loop discussion on the MacRumors forums because it's filled with anecdotal fit tips from people who have already been able to try a Solo Loop or Braided Solo Loop. Several people have found Apple's printable measurement tool to be inaccurate, as some have even found measurement comparisons incorrect.

There seems to be a preference for a slightly snugger Braided Solo Loop due to stretch, while people have had less trouble with the Solo Loop, but it varies by person. A snug fit is also required for the Blood Oxygen monitoring feature to work properly. The best way to get a good fitting watch is to visit an Apple Store, but of course, that is difficult in some places where Apple Stores haven't reopened, and in others where the pandemic is continues to be a concern.

At the current time, there seems to be no clear option for people who have an ill-fitting band beyond waiting, but hopefully Apple Watch stock will improve and shipment estimates won't be quite as long as Apple's current November estimates.

Apple in iOS and iPadOS 14 is allowing third-party apps to be set as alternatives to the default browser apps on the iPhone and the iPad, and now one of the most popular third-party email apps, Gmail, can be set as the default email app on your iOS devices.

With the latest Gmail for iOS update available in the App Store as of today, Gmail can serve as a replacement for the Mail app.

You can set Gmail as the default email app on your iPhone or ‌iPad‌ by downloading it from the ‌App Store‌, opening up the Settings app, scrolling down to Gmail in the apps list and then tapping on Default Mail App.

Google previously updated Chrome with the default browser function so it can be set to replace Safari on the iPhone and ‌iPad‌. Those who prefer Google's apps can now have a mostly Google-centric experience on the iPhone, at least when it comes to browser and email.

It's worth noting that there is currently a bug that resets the default apps that have been set to replace Safari and Mail every time a device is rebooted, so Gmail may have to be updated as the default email app whenever you restart your iPhone until Apple fixes the issue.

iFixit today did one of its traditional teardowns on the new Apple Watch Series 6 with GPS and LTE, which became available for purchase last Friday. While the new Series 6 models look quite similar to the Series 5 models externally, it turns out there are quite a few internal tweaks and modifications to support new features like Blood Oxygen Monitoring.

The new Apple Watch models open up like a book much like the iPhone rather than from the top down like prior Apple Watch models. Since Force Touch has been removed, there is no Force Touch gasket component, which makes it easier to tear into the new Apple Watch models. iFixit also found fewer cables for a more streamlined design that offers easier repairs.

Apple is using a 1.17Wh battery in the 44mm Apple Watch Series 6, which is just a slight increase (3.5 percent) over the battery used in the prior-generation Apple Watch Series 5. That should come as no surprise as the Series 6 continues to offer the same 18-hour "all-day" battery life as prior models. The 40mm model, which iFixit also took a look at, has a 1.024Wh capacity, an 8.5 percent increase over the 40mm Series 5.

There's a larger Taptic Engine in the Apple Watch Series 6, and the frame has been slightly modified with a narrower lip for adhesive. This tweak, along with the removal of Force Touch, may be why this years's models are just a bit thinner (10.4mm vs 10.74mm).

The display is fused to the top of the casing and the sensor array, updated with new sensors for Blood Oxygen monitoring, is fused to the bottom.

All in all, iFixit was impressed with Apple's ability to pack new sensors, a larger capacity battery, and a bigger Taptic Engine into a thinner casing.

They just keep polishing this thing to a higher and higher gloss and it's almost sneaky how much of it they don't tell you about, keeping all the focus on the whiz-bang health features.

The 2020 Apple Watch Series 6 ultimately earned a repairability score of 6 out of 10 thanks to the easier screen replacements and battery replacements, but there are still tiny tri-point screws to manage and the flex cables mounted directly to the S6 package require skilled microsoldering if an accidental tear occurs.

MacRumors and Anker have partnered up this month to offer our readers new discounts on useful products like USB-C charging accessories compatible with a MacBook Pro or the new iPad Air, and portable batteries perfect for charging up an iPhone, Apple Watch, or iPad. All of the devices in this sale can be found on Amazon.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You can find the full list of discounted accessories below. To see the sale prices, add the Anker products you want to your cart, then enter the relevant coupon codes during the checkout screen on Amazon. These discount codes will be live from today through Friday, September 25.

Anker September Sale

• PowerPort III 65W USB-C Wall Charger - $25.99 with code MRAKPP13, down from $39.99
• PowerPort Atom USB-C Charging Station - $68.99 with code MKAKPPAC, down from $99.99
• PowerExtend USB-C Desktop Surge Protector - $44.99 with code MRAK9232 + on-page coupon, down from $69.99
• Powercore 10,000 mAh Portable Battery - $26.99 with code MRAK1615, down from $35.99
• Powercore Slim 10,000 mAh Portable Charger (USB-C cable and wall charger included) - $32.99 with code MRAK1231, down from $43.99

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Apple today seeded the first public betas of upcoming iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 updates to its public beta testing group, a few days after seeding the first betas to developers and a little less than a week after releasing the iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 updates.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS and iPadOS‌ 14.2 updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website on an iOS device.

iOS 14.2 introduces a new Music Recognition control for the Control Center, deepening 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.

The new update brings a redesigned Now Playing widget for the Control Center that lists recently played albums that you might want to 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's upcoming launch of 5G iPhones might not be a "massive event" due to economic uncertainty amid the global health crisis, AT&T Communications CEO Jeff McElfresh said in a paywalled interview published by CNBC.

"I do believe that you will see many of the iPhone subscribers move to upgrade to the device," said McElfresh. "But I wouldn't forecast that it's going to be a massive event. I also don't think it's going to be a nonevent. I think customers, based on the pressures of the economy that we're all facing today, will make a calculated decision as to what they want to do. And we're going to be there to offer them any device that Apple launches here shortly."

McElfresh added that AT&T already has engineers working on next-generation 6G networking, noting that it will take years before the technology fully materializes. No further details were shared about these efforts.

Apple is widely expected to unveil four new iPhones later this year, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model. While flagship iPhones have started at $999 in recent years, Apple still has an opportunity for success in a price-conscious market this year if the 5.4-inch "iPhone 12 mini" starts around $749, as this device is expected to have an OLED display and 5G support just like higher-end models in the lineup.

Despite the global health crisis, Apple posted a June quarter revenue record of $59.7 billion. The results were boosted by strong iPad and Mac sales as more customers work, learn, and connect with family and friends from home.

Five days after Apple released iOS 14, adoption of the software update has reached approximately 26 percent of active iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices, according to mobile analytics company Mixpanel. This includes iPadOS 14.

iOS 14 adoption appears to be outpacing iOS 13, which was installed on approximately 20 percent of active devices one week after its release last year, according to Mixpanel. Home Screen widgets have proven especially popular so far, perhaps compelling more users to update, while other features like picture-in-picture videos and the ability to set third-party browser and email apps as default have also been well received.

Mixpanel measures iOS adoption based on visits to websites and apps that use its mobile analytics SDKs, so its data is not official, but it is usually within the ballpark of Apple's own figures. Apple typically waits up to a month after a major release to publish its own adoption numbers, so no data is available for iOS 14 yet.

If you have recently updated to iOS 14, read our comprehensive roundup of all of the new features. We've also shared a series of how-tos and guides to take advantage of everything that the software update offers.

After expanding AppleCare+ monthly payments to a number of new territories in July, Apple has now made the scheme available to customers in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Monthly payments for ‌AppleCare‌+ are now available for iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, and Germany, according to an AppleCare+ support document. The option to pay upfront for ‌AppleCare‌+ remains.

In these countries and regions, when you purchase AppleCare+ coverage for your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you can choose to pay monthly or pay upfront for 24 months of coverage. For Apple Watch Edition and Hermes, you can pay upfront for 36 months.

If you paid upfront, you can purchase coverage on a monthly basis after the 24 or 36 months is over. To purchase the new coverage, go to mysupport.apple.com. Or on your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About, then tap AppleCare+ Coverage Available and follow the onscreen instructions. This monthly plan automatically renews until canceled. You can't pay upfront for an additional 24 or 36 months.

In Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, you can purchase the new coverage within 60 days of the end date of your original coverage. In Japan, you can purchase the new coverage within 30 days of the end date of your original coverage.

The option to pay monthly rolled out in September 2019 for the United States. Monthly payment plans continue to renew each month until canceled, and ‌‌AppleCare‌‌+ coverage on a monthly plan continues beyond the standard 24 or 36 month (for the Apple Watch Hermes) period as long as monthly payments are continued.

Customers who purchase ‌‌AppleCare‌‌+ upfront and pay the full price for a standard ‌‌AppleCare‌‌+ plan can later upgrade to a monthly plan to continue ‌‌AppleCare‌‌+ support beyond 24 months. Monthly payments for ‌‌AppleCare‌‌+ vary based on device and country.

Leaker known as "L0vetodream" has today shared the alleged naming for the upcoming iPhone 12 lineup on Twitter. The tweet proposes that the upcoming iPhone 12 models will be titled "iPhone 12 mini," "iPhone 12," "iPhone 12 Pro," and "iPhone 12 Pro Max."

The names likely correspond to the three expected sizes of iPhone 12, with the 5.4-inch model being the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌, the 6.7-inch model being the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌, and the two 6.1-inch models being the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro.

The naming of the "Pro" models follows the precedent established in previous years, and the speculated titles would be a logical naming system for the iPhone 12 lineup. With there being four new iPhones in this year's lineup, the use of four different names would help to differentiate the models significantly.

The ‌iPhone 12 mini‌ would be the first iPhone with the "mini" moniker, which has otherwise been seen on the iPad mini, Mac mini, and iPod mini. At 5.4-inches, the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌ would earn its name being smaller than 2019's smallest iPhone, the iPhone 11 Pro, which stands at 5.8-inches.

Increased competition among Apple's suppliers for mini-LED display chips will accelerate the company's adoption of the advanced technology in its iPad and MacBook lineups, according to a new research note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo seen by MacRumors.

Kuo says that while Epistar had been predicted to be the exclusive supplier of mini-LED chips for Apple products in 2021, Sanan Optoelectronics has experienced better than expected development on the technology and will also begin supplying Apple in 2021 rather than the previously estimated timeframe of 2022.

The increased supply capacity and competition among suppliers will reportedly drive Apple's cost for mini-LED display dies from $75–$85 down to around $45. As a result, Kuo expects that mini-LED technology will appear in roughly 30–40% of ‌iPad‌ shipments and 20–30% of MacBook shipments in 2021, up from previous estimates of 10–20% shipment share for both product lines.

Although Epistar has met Apple's mass production requirements, we believe that Apple continues to look for new suppliers in order to reduce supply risks and costs. Among the second supplier candidates, Sanan Optoelectronics' development schedule and cost are superior to competitors (including Osram and Seoul Semiconductor). We predict that Sanan Optoelectronics will have 20–30% and 45–55% of Apple’s mini LED market share in 2021 and 2022, respectively (vs. our previous estimates of 0% and 10–20%), plus non-Apple. The demand for mini LEDs in China has grown, so we believe that Sanan Optoelectronics will significantly benefit from the mini LED business in the next 3-5 years.

Apple has been rumored for some time to be looking to introduce mini-LED display technology to its iPad Pro and Mac notebook lineups, and Kuo said roughly six months ago that Apple has six mini-LED products in its pipeline planned to launch though the end of 2021. The products include a 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, a 27-inch iMac Pro, a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, a 16-inch ‌‌MacBook Pro‌‌, a 10.2.-inch ‌iPad‌, and a 7.9-inch ‌‌iPad‌‌ mini.

As we've outlined in our guide on mini-LED technology, the displays use on the order of 1,000 to 10,000 individual LEDs that offer a number of improvements over traditional LED-backlit displays, coming close to performance of OLED displays without some of the drawbacks of that technology.

Mini-LED displays can offer deeper, darker blacks, brighter brights, richer colors, and better contrast compared to traditional LED-based displays, though the technology comes at a significant increase in cost for the time being.

Updated on September 22nd with hands on video.

In iOS 14, Apple introduced ‌the concept of Home Screen‌ widgets, which provide information from apps at a glance. Widgets can be pinned to the Home Screen in various spots and sizes, allowing for many different layouts.

Despite the relative lack of 3rd party widgets at launch, iOS users around the world have been busy customizing their home screens and sharing their work with others.

(Besides using iOS 14 Widgets, Twitter user Ben Zhu also used Shortcuts to change the look of the icons in the screenshot above.)

On Twitter, the hashtag #iOS14HomeScreen started trending this weekend with users showing off their latest creations. MacRumors followers also shared their creations on Twitter and in this forum thread.

Some bigger brands have already released widget support, including IMDB, Google, and Twitch. Spotify is notably absent from the early supporting apps, though TuneTrack already offers Spotify "Playing Now" widget support in the meanwhile.

Hands On Video

We grabbed some of the tools we describe later in this article and shot this video which shows how you too can customize your iOS 14 home screen. Our videographer shows how to use Widgetsmith amongst other tools to create custom configurations as well as replacing the standard icons with your own images. There are some limitations to be aware of however.

We even tried to create a special Mac OS X Aqua themed home screen just to see how it would go. Bottom line, it took a while and wasn't quite functional.

Widgetsmith

One of the early Widget apps that has seen a lot of popularity is Widgetsmith [Free] which offers the ability to create widgets alongside styling customizations. Widgetsmith allows you to create customized small, medium or large widgets with Time, Date, Photos, Custom Text, Upcoming Events, Reminders, and Health and Activity. Widgetsmith also offers Weather and Tide widgets as part of their premium subscription package which costs $1.99/month or $19.99/year.

The flexibility of the tool has made it popular with iOS 14 Home Screen screenshots that have been circulating around the web. Taken to the extreme, you can see highly stylized home screens:

Update: Widgetsmith has been updated to version 1.0.4 and includes a new custom color picker and a new Battery icon widget.

ColorWidgets

Another popular choice we've seen is ColorWidgets [Free] which offers a free Time and Battery widget with a lot of colorful styles. Some premium styles are also offered for a $3.99 one time purchase.

Weather Widgets

Weather is a popular widget type that has already seen a number of supporting apps. There are certainly more that we missed, but notably, Apple's own Dark Sky doesn't have widget support yet.

• Weather Line - 20 weather themes, Free with IAP
• CARROT Weather - $4.99
• Forecast Bar - Weather + Radar - Free with IAP
• Mooncast - $2.99
• The Weather Network
• Weather - The Weather Channel - Free with IAP
• Weather Widget & Radar - Free with IAP
• Night Sky - Guide to the sky. Free with IAP

Other Widgets

Beyond that, there are a number of early widgets that we've run across, and here is a short list.

Fitness and Nutrition Widgets

• Fitbod - Workout tracking. Free with IAP
• FoodNoms - Food and calorie tracking. Free with IAP
• Streaks - Forming habits on a daily basis. $4.99
• Zones - Workout tracking. Free with IAP
• Hour Blocks - Dayplanner that shows you what's next. $3.99
  

Finance Widgets

• Acorns - Invest spare change. Free
• Coinbase - Buy and sell cryptocurrency. Free.
• Copilot: The Smart Money App - Net worth and expense tracker. Free with IAP
• Debit & Credit - Personal finance manager. Free with IAP
• Robinhood: Invest. Save. Earn. - Stock trading platform. Free
• Spend Stack - Budget tracker. $2.99
• VectorVest Stock Advisory - Stock / investing app. Free with IAP

Travel Widgets

• Flighty - Flight tracking app. Free with IAP
• App in the Air - Travel assistant. Free with IAP
• KAYAK - Book flights, hotels and cars. Free
• Tripit - Travel planner. Free with IAP
• World Clock - Time zone widget. Free with IAP

We will continue to cover notable Widgets as they are released. For a deeper dive, please visit our Twitter thread where we asked for widget recommendations and follow along in the 3rd Party Widgets Thread in our iOS 14 forum.

Additional Widgets

Additional interesting widgets that have launched:

• Parcel - Delivery tracking. Free
• WaterMinder - Daily water reminder. $4.99
• Clatters - Social media monitoring. Free with IAP
• Launcher - Launch apps from widgets. Free but Limited. $7.99 IAP.

Proven leaker known as "L0vetodream" has today shared a range of information about the ultra-wideband U1 chip in Apple's upcoming AirTags item trackers and AirPods Studio headphones.

The first of a series of tweets shared today simply stated that AirPods Studio will contain an ultra-wideband U1 chip. It seems likely that the U1 chip would be used in AirPods Studio to track the location of the headphones in the Find My app, but it could also have other functions such as directional detection of other in-range U1 devices.

Apple says that the U1 chip will "enable short-range wireless location to support new experiences, such as next-generation digital car keys," but other than directional AirDrop, much of its functionality has yet to be realized.

The distance between two devices that support ultra-wideband can be measured precisely by calculating the time that it takes for a radio wave to pass between the two devices, with much more accuracy than Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi. The leaker went on to state that "The Internet of Everything starts with U1."

The U1 chip had only appeared in the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro. The lack of a U1 in the 2020 iPad Pro and the second iPhone SE cast doubt over the future of the chip until its recent inclusion in the Apple Watch Series 6.

A further tweet, translated from Chinese, explained more about the utility of the U1 chip in AirPods Studio and its wider significance. The leaker believes that the expansion of the U1 chip to the Apple Watch Series 6 proves Apple's ongoing commitment to the technology and serves as an indication that the chip will go on to be much more important within Apple's ecosystem in the future.

I said this point a few months ago. With the launch of S6 and the U1 chip, it has confirmed my prediction that the ecosystem in the future will use U1 to determine distance and direction, similar to AirPods' spatial audio function in iOS 14. It is likely that the new headset with the U1 chip should be able to automatically recognize the left and right positioning of the headset.

The U1 chip will reportedly facilitate automatic recognition of the headphone's orientation, meaning that it would not matter which way around users would wear the headphones. There would be no static left or right side, and users could simply put on the headphones and the audio channels would switch as needed without user intervention.

With the release of spatial audio for AirPods Pro and the introduction of directional AirDrop for iPhone 11 with iOS 13, Apple appears to be increasingly interested in directional and location-centric technology.

A final translated tweet described how Apple's upcoming AirTags will have more nuanced importance than simply item tracking.

The tag is a node that interconnects everything. The node acts as a bridge to connect various devices. U1 is the most important part of the realization of this bridge. The privacy function of iOS 14 is created to make the tag better used in a private environment. A good solution to the problem of privacy violations involved in use.

The idea of AirTags being a key part of a larger U1 network to "bridge" different devices, with privacy at the forefront, may explain what makes AirTags different from existing item trackers and why Apple has seemingly waited so long to unveil them. Not only does this have potential for more private, accurate, and widespread item tracking capabilities, but also close-range data transfer between devices with supplementary directional information.

AirTags are believed to be arriving alongside the iPhone 12 in October. AirTags and AirPods Studio have reportedly been in production for some time.

As supposed renders and images, and videos of both products have been shared over the last week, it seems that the announcement of both products is not far away.