Top Stories: Black Friday Deals, Apple Delays Digital IDs, Tim Cook Talks DIY Repairs, and More

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.

top stories 27nov2021
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.

General black friday 20 sale feature 2
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.

apple wallet drivers license feature
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.

android imessage reactions
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 self service repair text
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.

wrap up 3 homepod spotify 1
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 security banner
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."

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Top Rated Comments

mallow Avatar
27 months ago
I canceled Spotify for this very reason. Prefer Apple Music now.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
27 months ago
Nice week for Apple. Hope everyone is enjoying after thanksgiving
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsareveryinteresting Avatar
27 months ago
I’m glad that Apple participated in Black Friday sales. I also love how they give you gift card, and they also give you a discount if you have an eligible product.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kesenwangs Avatar
27 months ago

Nice week for Apple. Hope everyone is enjoying after thanksgiving
Right? Good lord I can literally hear the mini office fans blowing in the distance. Macrumors, go camp out on the lawn at Apple Park or just do something. No beta updates either the silence is deafening haha
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
airpods pro 2 pink

Apple Releases New AirPods Pro 2 Firmware

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware update for both the Lightning and USB-C versions of the AirPods Pro 2. The new firmware is version 6B34, up from the 6B32 firmware introduced in November. Apple does not provide details on what features might be included in the refreshed firmware beyond "bug fixes and other improvements," so it is unclear what's new in the update, but prior software releases ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

'All-Screen' iPhone Under-Display Camera Enters Development

Wednesday December 6, 2023 2:03 am PST by
Apple's Korean suppliers have begun developing smartphone under-display cameras (UDC), paving the way for the first iPhone with a true "all-screen" appearance. According to The Elec, LG Innotek has entered the preliminary development of the UDC, which sits under the display and does not result in a visible hole in the panel when the camera is not in use. A UDC differs from a typical front ...
magsafe blue 2

iOS 17.2 Brings Qi2 Support to iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 Models

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:04 am PST by
The iOS 17.2 update that Apple is set to release to the public in the near future will bring support for the next-generation Qi2 wireless charging standard to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models. Qi2 was mentioned in the release notes for the RC version of the update that came out today. With the addition of support for the new standard, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models will work with Qi2...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
airpods pro bulbs

Black Friday Prices Return for AirPods Pro 2 With USB-C, iPad, and More

Tuesday December 5, 2023 7:30 am PST by
Today we're tracking a collection of deals that are matching - or nearly matching - the same all-time low discounts we saw during Black Friday. This includes the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C, 9th generation iPad, and M1 MacBook Air. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the ...
instagram messenger

Instagram and Facebook Messenger Chats to Disconnect This Month

Tuesday December 5, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Meta has revealed plans to end Instagram users' ability to chat with Facebook accounts later this month, rolling back a feature that it introduced over three years ago. In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced it was merging its Facebook Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, allowing Instagram users to chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform....