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The Beats Solo 4 launched in late April and feature upgraded performance and fit, longer battery life, USB-C, 50 hours of playback, and more. All of the Beats deals at Best Buy this weekend do not require a My Best Buy Plus/Total membership, and are available to all shoppers.
These sales include a few all-time low prices, with the Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones getting a particularly steep discount. At $179.99, down from $349.99, this price is a match for the record low price we last tracked over the 2023 holiday season.
Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.
Developers who want to develop browsers for iOS with third-party engines can only test their apps on devices physically located in the EU, according to The Register.
This rule introduces a considerable barrier for developers outside the EU, who are now limited to using simulators instead of actual devices for testing their browsers. This restriction complicates the process of developing and supporting browsers with alternative engines, as on-device testing is essential to accurate performance assessment and troubleshooting. Apple's previous policy, which remains in place in other regions around the world, demands the use of WebKit for all iOS and iPadOS browsers, effectively making every browser on these platforms a variant of Safari.
Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple was designated as a gatekeeper in the European Union, compelling the company to make changes to its policies. With the release of iOS 17.4, Apple began allowing the use of alternative browser engines within the EU. However, it has now emerged that testing of browsers with third-party engines is strictly geofenced to the EU, potentially hindering the ability of developers around the world to address security issues or implement updates efficiently.
The requirements raise some practical concerns about the feasibility of supporting a separate EU browser. Some developers have pointed out that Apple's extensive list of conditions makes it challenging to comply while also ensuring that the browser remains competitive and secure.
The European Commission has launched an investigation into Apple's compliance with the DMA, focusing on the restrictive nature of its latest changes. The investigation seeks to determine whether Apple's requirements are designed to circumvent the spirit of the DMA by making it difficult for competitors to operate on a level playing field.
Some new M4 iPad Pro models are exhibiting a visible static grain pattern across the OLED display, according to several user reports on Reddit (1, 2, 3) and the MacRumors Forums.
Users who see the grain generally report that it is most noticeable in dark environments with the display set at a low to medium brightness while viewing content with gray or muted colors. Some have compared the effect to a photo taken on a high ISO setting that has visual noise.
Whether this is a genuine display defect is hard to say at this point. OLED displays in general can exhibit a visual grain or a "screen-door effect" due to several factors related to the design and manufacturing process.
The individual sub-pixels in OLED displays can vary in size and shape, contributing to an inconsistent, uneven texture or graininess. This is usually more noticeable on larger displays. Variations in the deposition of organic materials can also affect the uniformity of light emission.
OLED displays also control brightness at the pixel level, and power management techniques can lead to minor variations in brightness across the screen. This is sometimes noticeable as a grainy effect, particularly in low-light conditions or when displaying uniform colors.
Samsung supplies the displays for Apple's 11-inch M4 iPad Pro model, while LG Display supplies the panels for the 13-inch model. According to a March report out of Korea, Samsung faced poor yields of the 11-inch panels, and was unable to meet Apple's order quantity. The shortfall led Apple to transfer some orders for the smaller panel to LG Display.
So far most reports relate to the 11-inch iPad Pro, but there are one or two that reference the 13-inch model, so it is unclear if the potential defect – if it is indeed one – is specific to one OLED panel supplier. The reports appear to be limited to new iPad Pro models with the Standard glass option. Apple's latest iPad Pro models are also available with a matte nano-texture display option for 1TB and 2TB storage configurations at an additional cost of $100.
Apple in the iPhone 16 Pro Max will use battery cells with increased energy density, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, which will offer either longer battery life using the same battery size as that found in existing models, or equivalent battery life using a smaller battery.
In his latest supply chain survey, Kuo says the energy density (Wh/kg) of the battery cells in the iPhone 16 Pro Max will increase, which "has the benefit of longer battery life with the same battery size or lower battery size with the same battery life."
To avoid overheating the battery, Apple is using a stainless steel battery case for the first time as a thermal solution, according to Kuo.
Stainless steel is not as effective as aluminum in dissipating heat, but it is more robust and less susceptible to corrosion. The use of a stainless steel battery case also reduces the difficulty of removing the battery, which will help Apple comply with the European Union's requirements for mobile phone batteries' replaceability in the future.
Sunway will reportedly be a major supplier of the stainless steel battery cases. If the mass production of this new battery design goes well, Kuo believes the design will be adopted across all iPhone 17 models next year.
A rumor last June suggested that the iPhone 16 Pro models will use stacked batteries, which can result in higher capacity and a longer lifespan, but Kuo makes no mention of the technology in his survey. Apple is expected to release the upcoming iPhone 16 lineup in four months, likely around mid-September.
Apple has announced Tap to Pay on iPhone in Japan, allowing independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers in the country to use iPhones as a payment terminal.
Tap to Pay first arrived in February 2022 in the US, and allows iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets. All transactions are encrypted, and Apple has no information about what is purchased or the person who made the purchase.
No additional hardware or credit card machine is required to use Tap to Pay on iPhone. The feature uses NFC technology to securely authenticate the contactless payments, plus the feature also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.
"In Japan, a country where innovation and tradition merge, new payment methods have been introduced all over the country, and at the same time, the transition from cash payment to electronic payment is progressing rapidly on the consumer side," said Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "We are very pleased that through our new partnership with the payment platform, we can provide iPhone touch payment that can seamlessly support contactless payments for millions of businesses. This allows almost all iPhones in the country to be used as payment terminals without additional hardware, reducing the cost of responding to electronic payments by Japanese businesses, making it easy and secure for customers, and protecting their privacy. It will be possible to provide a contactless payment experience."
GMO Financial Gate's stera tap app, Recruit's Air Pay Touch app, and Square's Square POS register app will be the first payment platforms in Japan to offer touch payment with iPhone to businesses, according to Apple. Additionally, Adyen will support it in the coming months, and it will also be available at Apple Stores in Japan. iPhone's touch payment supports contactless credit and debit cards from the four major payment networks: American Express, JCB, Mastercard, and Visa.
Tap to Pay on iPhone requires iPhone XS or newer models, and works for customers as any normal Apple Pay transaction would. Sellers just need to open up the app, register the sale, and present their iPhone to the buyer, who can then use an appropriate contactless payment method.
Japan becomes the ninth region to support Tap to Pay, following similar rollouts in the U.K., Australia, Taiwan, Brazil, Ukraine, France, and the Netherlands last year.
Threads is working on a new web view that features the option to pin customized columns, similar to the TweetDeck feature that used to be available on Twitter. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared an image of the new web option, which he said is currently being tested.
The screenshot shows several custom columns, including a "For you" and several topic-based columns. Favorite searches, topics/keywords, accounts, saved posts, and notifications can be pinned at the current time, and there is an auto-refresh option to keep columns up to date with the newest posts.
Twitter, now renamed to X, has a similar "X Pro" feature that has the same format as the former TweetDeck option, but it requires an $8/month subscription to access. The Threads version would be free, and it could replicate much of the functionality that Twitter used to offer.
A column-based web view that's customizable could encourage more users to adopt Threads, and it prevents Threads users from being forced into the For you feed when opening Threads on the web. According to Bloomberg, Threads users that have the feature can pin up to 100 feeds to their homepage.
As of now, the multi-column view is being tested with a small number of users.
Earlier this week, Threads also added a new option to organize searches by recency, making it easier to find timely and relevant content on the social network.
The iMessage service that Apple users to send messages to one another appears to be down for some users, and messages are failing to go out or are taking an extra long time to send.
There are numerous reports about the issue on social networks and a spike of outage reports on Down Detector, but Apple's System Status page is not yet reporting an outage.
Update: Apple's status page says iMessage service has been restored, with the outage lasting approximately 45 minutes from 2:49 p.m. to 3:35 p.m. Pacific Time. Apple says FaceTime, HomeKit, and Apple Messages for Business were also affected.
Delta is a well-polished emulator for several Nintendo consoles, with beautiful on-screen controller skins, support for a wide range of physical controllers, and more. Developed by Riley Testut, Delta is the successor to the GBA4iOS emulator.
RetroArch is a frontend that provides all-in-one access to many different emulators for consoles from Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, SEGA, Sony, and others. The app offers RetroAchievements, which are essentially custom challenges added on top of classic games, such as "find and collect a Fire Flower" in Super Mario Bros. for NES.
Supported Devices:
iPhone
iPad
Apple TV
Supported Consoles:
Atari 2600
Commodore 64
PlayStation (PS1)
PlayStation Portable (PSP)
SEGA Genesis
SEGA Saturn
Game Boy (all models)
Nintendo DS
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
Nintendo 64 (N64)
RetroArch's full list of supported consoles is in the app's description on the App Store.
PlayStation Portable emulator PPSSPP is built into RetroArch, but it is also available as a standalone app for those who want a more distilled experience.
Gamma is an emulator for the original PlayStation. It is developed by ZodTTD, who has been creating emulators for jailbroken iPhones for around 15 years.
Provenance is another frontend with all-in-one access to emulators for consoles from Atari, Nintendo, SEGA, Sony, and others. The app is currently available in beta via TestFlight, and it will be launching on the App Store soon. Provenance has been in development since 2016, and it could already be sideloaded on the iPhone.
The popular GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin will not be available in the App Store, as its developers said Apple will not allow the emulator to use just-in-time (JIT) compilation, and PowerPC-based games are "basically unplayable" without it:
The GameCube and Wii have a PowerPC-based CPU inside them. All modern Apple devices use an ARM-based CPU. It isn't possible to directly run PowerPC code on an ARM CPU, and vice versa. Therefore, if we want to run a GameCube or Wii game on an iPhone, it is necessary to translate the game's PowerPC code to ARM so that the CPU can understand it.
Dolphin uses something called a Just-in-Time (JIT) recompiler to achieve this. Whenever the emulated console wants to run game code, Dolphin will use its JIT to translate the PowerPC code to ARM, and then execute the results.
Unfortunately, Apple generally does not allow apps to use JIT recompilers on iOS.
Production on displays destined for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models will start in June, according to display analyst Ross Young. In a tweet limited to subscribers, Young said that panel production will begin next month, with the smaller-sized iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro to have the highest volume production projected for June.
Apple suppliers will manufacture the displays and send them off to the factories that will start assembling the finished iPhone 16 models.
The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max are expected to come out in September, which is Apple's typical iPhone release month. The devices will look similar to the iPhone 15 models, but Apple is increasing the size of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The iPhone 16 Pro will have a 6.3-inch display (up from 6.1 inches) while the iPhone 16 Pro Max will have a 6.9-inch display (up from 6.7 inches). Display sizes for the standard iPhone 16 models will not change, and the iPhone 16 will measure in at 6.1 inches while the iPhone 16 Plus will have a 6.7-inch display.
Other new features rumored for the iPhone 16 lineup include a new "Capture" button for taking images and videos in landscape mode, faster A-series chips, camera updates, and Wi-Fi 7 and faster 5G modems for some models.
Amazon today has one of the first $99 discounts on Apple's AirPods Max since February, available for $449.99 in four colors, down from $549.00. Most models can deliver as soon as May 18 with Prime delivery, and May 21 for regular shipping.
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.
On Amazon, colors being discounted include Space Gray, Sky Blue, Silver, and Pink. AirPods Max deals above $50 have been very rare in 2024, with this deal being just the second time we've tracked a $99 discount so far this year. This isn't quite the all-time low price seen on the headphones, but it's still a solid discount if you've been waiting for something more notable to come along for the high-end AirPods.
Apple is rumored to be updating the AirPods Max sometime in 2024, and the new models should be getting a USB-C port and new color options. There is only one other AirPods deal happening right now on Amazon: you can get the the AirPods 2 for $79.99 ($49 off).
Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.
The program allowed university professors and other eligible instructors to create a development team with up to 200 students, who could create and test apps without needing to pay the usual $99 annual fee for Apple Developer Program membership.
Apple says accredited educational institutions can still enroll in the Apple Developer Program at no cost by submitting a fee waiver request.
The first M4 iPad Pro bend tests are in, and the initial consensus appears to be that Apple has managed to make its thinnest device ever just as durable as the previous generation M2 iPad Pro that it replaces.
Two approaches were taken in bend tests by prominent tech YouTubers. JerryRigEverything for example forcibly applied pressure by bending the new device with his hands, while MobileReviewsEh took a different tack by placing the iPad under a force meter and applying gym weights on top to exert pressure within a limited contact area.
When bending the iPad Pro from the back in the horizontal position, JerryRigEverything found that the device held up "surprisingly well," as if "suspicious levels of black magic structural integrity" were going on.
When forcibly bent from the back, the glass screen eventually rippled away from the frame, yet the display and operating system continued to function normally. When it came to putting pressure on the device vertically, however, it was a different story, and the iPad Pro quickly suffered a catastrophic split up the middle, originating from the USB-C port.
JerryRigEverything then removed the display to reveal and remove the internals, including the new metal cowling that runs down the middle of the device. "If Apple could add another more perpendicular spine running width-wise near the charging port, this thing probably would have survived," he added.
JerryRigEverything concluded that the central spine of the new iPad Pro is "definitely providing enough structure for horizontal bends," and should stand up to everyday use in a backpack or luggage. In his own AppleTrack test, Sam Kohl agreed: "Is [its thinness] a durability risk? The answer is no. The spine that Apple put along the logic board is very good unless you are bending the corners in."
After placing in excess of 70 pounds of weight on the center of the iPad Pro display until complete structural failure, MobileReviewsEh concluded that the new iPad Pro is "just as tough if not a little bit tougher" than the one it replaces, despite being 18-20% thinner than the M2 iPad Pro.
All in all, another "bendgate" looks unlikely. For those unfamiliar with the controversy, Apple in 2019 admitted to shipping its then-new models with a "very slight bend in the aluminum chassis," which it blamed on a "side effect of the manufacturing process."
Despite videos indicating that the 2018 iPad Pro models bent more easily than other models, Apple said the bend did not worsen over time or negatively affect the iPad's performance, and that concerns over the device's durability were unfounded. Nevertheless, some iPad owners were understandably upset to find defects in devices that cost hundreds of dollars.
iPhone users often find themselves toggling between different keyboard layouts to type messages, emails, or fill out forms. This can slow down communication and disrupt your flow. But there are ways to streamline the process. If this quick tip is new to you, it could revolutionize the way you type on your iPhone and save you precious time.
Switching away from the alphabetic keyboard layout when you need to type a number or symbol is an all-too-often occurrence on iPhone, so here's a quick tip for making the transition super-swift.
Rather than tap the "123" key in the bottom-left corner to switch to the number/symbol keyboard, hold down on the key and then slide your finger over to the number/symbol that you want to type, then let go.
This single action types the number/symbol and automatically switches you right back into the alphabetical layout, avoiding the need to perform three separate taps to achieve the same result.
So next time you find yourself needing to insert a number or symbol, remember this trick and you can type away without pause.
Samsung has sought to capitalize on the fallout of Apple's controversial "Crush!" ad for iPad Pro by releasing a Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra ad that includes the tagline "Creativity cannot be crushed."
When Apple last week introduced the new M4 iPad Pro models, it showed a video of a hydraulic press crushing creative tools, including musical instruments, electronic equipment, arcade games, paint and brushes, computers, cameras, and more, with the aim of demonstrating how the iPad represents all of the tools condensed into a single device.
This imagery sparked significant backlash from the creative community and the social media-using public, who interpreted it as a metaphor for Big Tech's destructive impact on creative industries and individual creativity.
The negative reception was so strong that Apple decided to cancel planned TV spots for the ad and publicly apologized, acknowledging that the ad "missed the mark" by not aligning with their intention to celebrate and empower creatives.
Seizing on a perceived marketing opportunity, Samsung has now released an ad of its own, in which a musician walks through the destructive wake of the hydraulic press and picks up a damaged guitar. The musician then sits beside an easel holding a Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra with musical notation on the screen, and proceeds to perform the piece of music. The video was shared on X (Twitter) by Samsung with the accompanying caption, "We would never crush creativity."
Apple has new Smart Folio cases for its latest M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air models that boast a wider range of viewing angles, and thanks to Marques Brownlee, we now know how it's done.
With the help of some magnet paper, MKBHD reveals that Apple has added bigger, more cubic magnets to the M4 iPad Pro that align with a new longer rail of stripe magnets in the Folio Case, thereby achieving a wider range of viewing angle adjustment.
The magnet paper also reveals that, because of how thin the new iPad Pro is compared to the previous generation model, Apple has had to use flatter, more circular speaker drivers, which appear to be closer to the top of the device.
Netflix's ad-supported streaming tier has 40 million global monthly active users, up 35 million from a year ago, Netflix said today at its Upfront advertising presentation. Netflix has 270 million total subscribers worldwide, so the majority of its users are still on the ad-free tiers.
Netflix resisted implementing an ad-supported tier for many years, but confirmed in 2022 that it had plans to implement a cheaper option in order to boost revenue. The Standard with ads plan launched in late 2022, and it has grown more popular as Netflix has increased the pricing of its ad-free tiers.
In the United States, the Standard with ads plan is priced at $6.99 per month for HD streaming on up to two devices at one time, with all but a "few movies and TV shows available." The basic ad-free plan is $15.49 per month, while the premium plan is $22.99 per month. Netflix's ad-supported plan does not include the option to download content for offline viewing, nor does it support spatial audio.
According to Netflix, more than 40 percent of all signups in the countries where the ad-supported plan is available are for the ads plan. More than 70 percent of Netflix's ad-supported members watch Netflix content for more than 10 hours per month, and Netflix says subscribers are twice as likely to respond to an ad compared to subscribers of other streaming services.
Since Netflix launched its ad-supported tier, it has partnered with Microsoft for ads, but in 2025, it will launch an in-house ad platform.
In addition to boosting revenue through a cheaper ad-supported option, Netflix has also cracked down on password sharing. After putting an end to multi-household account use, Netflix saw strong subscriber growth and an increase in revenue.
With Apple's decision to allow game emulators on the App Store, several popular emulators like Delta have now launched for iPhone and iPad. RetroArch is the latest emulator to come to the App Store, allowing gamers to play games from a wide range of systems.
RetroArch supports multiple versions of Atari and Commodore systems, as well as the Nintendo DS, Game Boy, NES, SNES, and Virtual Boy. Multiple Sega and Sony systems are also included, as are the NEC PC Engine and Neo Geo Pocket.
RetroArch is free to download, has no ads, and is open source. It supports save states, cheats, custom overlays, fast forward and rewind, AI translations, and RetroAchievements. RetroAchievements adds trophies to all manner of classic games, providing incentives to unlock new content and top leaderboards.
RetroArch is fairly well-known because it was previously available on PC and Mac, it just was not able to be released for iOS devices until Apple's rule change. RetroArch is also the first console emulator that works on the Apple TV, allowing games to be played with an MFi controller on a larger screen.
Popular note taking app Goodnotes today announced new features that are designed to work with the Apple Pencil Pro that launched alongside the 2024 iPad Pro models. The Apple Pencil Pro supports a squeeze gesture with haptic feedback, as well as a barrel roll for better control over shaped pen and brush tools.
Palette is a set of tools that pops up in Goodnotes with a squeeze of the Apple Pencil Pro. It allows users to swap between essential tools, undo, and change ink stroke, thickness, and color. Normally these features would need to be accessed through a tool panel, but the Palette makes it much quicker to swap between options without interrupting a workflow.
Goodnotes' Fountain Pen now includes Dynamic Ink with an ink flow that is able to respond to the rotation of the Apple Pencil. Instead of just responding to pressure sensitivity, the Fountain Pen is able to make thinner or thicker lines based on the orientation of the Apple Pencil, for a more natural pen-like feel.
Strokes will vary with calligraphic flourishes as a physical fountain pen would, which Goodnotes says can bring more personal expression to digital writing. Rolling the barrel of the Apple Pencil Pro can also provide more precise control over stroke thickness, and stroke preview is available using Apple Pencil hover.
Goodnotes 6 can be downloaded from the App Store for free, but it costs $9.99 per year after a free trial. [Direct Link]
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
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.
