The holiday shopping season is now upon us, with this week's news being dominated by Black Friday deals that started popping up early in the week and will carry on into next week, so make sure to check out our coverage to find the best prices on gear for Apple fans.
Black Friday wasn't the only topic of discussion this week, however, as other popular stories including Apple revealing that it's pushed back the launch of digital IDs in the Wallet app to early 2022, Android users getting an update to improve the handling of iMessage reactions, and Tim Cook discussing Apple's recently announced self-service repair program. Read on for details on these stories and more!
Best Black Friday Deals on Apple Watch, AirPods Pro, MacBook Pro, and More
Black Friday has unofficially kicked off the holiday shopping season with many discounts on Apple products available from resellers like Amazon and Target. We've rounded up noteworthy sales on the AirPods, AirPods Pro, iPad Pro, Apple Watch, Macs, Apple gift cards, accessories, and more. For additional deals, make sure to check out our Black Friday deals roundup.
Apple is also running its annual four-day shopping event on Black Friday through Cyber Monday in the United States and several other countries, with customers able to receive a free Apple gift card with the purchase of select products through November 29.
Apple Delays iOS 15 Feature for Adding Your Driver's License to Your iPhone Until Early 2022
Apple has revealed that an upcoming iOS 15 and watchOS 8 feature that will let you add your driver's license or state ID to your iPhone and Apple Watch has been delayed until early 2022.
The feature will be available in the U.S. only at launch, with Apple having previously announced the first states that plan to support the feature. Our story covers everything we know about Apple's digital ID feature so far.
iMessage Reactions Will No Longer Annoy Android Users Thanks to Emoji Change
Android users will finally be able to see iMessage reactions like a heart or thumbs up properly thanks to a recent change to Google's Messages app that displays the reactions as emoji.
Prior to the change, iMessage reactions would appear as a subsequent text message on Android devices, such as [Contact Name] "Loved" [Text of the Original Message], which was both confusing and repetitive.
Tim Cook Discusses Apple's New Do-It-Yourself Repair Program and More
Apple recently announced a new self-service repair program that will provide customers with access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals for completing their own repairs of select devices, starting with iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models early next year.
Apple's self-service repair program will include repair manuals on the Apple Support website and an online parts and tools store for customers that will be operated by a third party.
Apple CEO Tim Cook shared his thoughts on the self-service repair program in an interview with KTLA's Rich DeMuro.
Spotify Users Growing Impatient and Canceling Subscriptions Over Lack of Native HomePod Support
Spotify users are growing impatient with the streaming music service over its lack of native HomePod support, pushing several customers to the brink of canceling their subscriptions entirely and moving to alternative platforms, such as Apple Music.
Apple has allowed third-party streaming music services to natively support the HomePod since 2020, but Spotify has yet to enable the feature, which would allow users to use Siri to play Spotify content from their HomePod without opening the app.
Apple Sues NSO Group Over State-Sponsored Spyware Targeting iOS Users
Apple this week filed a lawsuit against NSO Group to "hold it accountable" for state-sponsored spyware targeting Apple users. Apple said it is also contributing $10 million to organizations pursuing cybersurveillance research and advocacy.
Apple said it is notifying the "small number of users" worldwide that it discovered may have been targeted. Apple has shared a support document outlining how it will notify those users "in accordance with industry best practices."
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