MacRumors

Apple has lost its position as the world's most valuable company, after a broad sell-off of technology stocks and a rise in the price of oil.

Apple stock fell by around 5% on Wednesday to $146.50, down nearly 20% since the start of the year. Apple's market capitalization dropped to $2.37 trillion.

Oil giant Saudi Arabian Aramco regained the top spot from Apple, a position it lost to the iPhone maker in 2020. Aramco's stock has risen by more than 27% this year and profits doubled last year due to soaring oil prices. Aramco's stock market valuation is now just under $2.43 trillion.

Investors have been selling shares in technology companies and cryptocurrency for less risky assets, following a move by central banks to increase interest rates in an attempt to offset the impact of rising prices.

Apple's demotion to second most valuable company comes two weeks after it reported second quarter revenue of $97.3 billion, a new all-time record for the month of March. Apple saw growth across its ‌iPhone‌, Mac, Wearables, and Services product categories, but iPad revenue experienced around a 2% decline compared to the year-ago quarter.

Sonos today unveiled its lowest-priced soundbar, the Sonos Ray. Priced at $279 in the U.S., the compact soundbar is said to utilize "advanced processing" to create a "surprisingly wide soundstage," and AirPlay 2 support allows for audio to be wirelessly streamed to the soundbar from Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

The soundbar will be available starting June 7 in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and select other countries and regions.

The complete Sonos soundbar lineup now consists of the Ray for $279, the second-generation Beam for $449, and the Arc for $899.

Sonos also announced that it will be launching its own voice control system for its speakers, allowing users to say "Hey Sonos" to control compatible music services, including Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Pandora, and Sonos Radio.

Sonos speakers already support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and now users will have access to Sonos voice control as a third option.

Sonos said the voice control feature will be available in the U.S. starting June 1, and in France later this year, with additional markets to follow. The company ensures that all "Hey Sonos" voice requests will be processed entirely on device, with no audio or transcripts sent to the cloud, listened to, or read by any party.

Last, the portable Sonos Roam speaker with AirPlay 2 support is now available in three new color options: Olive, Wave, and Sunset.

Google today kicked off its annual I/O developer conference at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, where it unveiled a wide range of new Pixel devices that are launching this summer and beyond. Ahead, we've summarized five highlights from the keynote to give Apple users a quick overview of the announcements.

Key takeaways from the Google I/O keynote:

1. Google provided a sneak peek at the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro coming this fall. The smartphones will feature a slight redesign with the camera bar gaining an aluminum finish, and both devices will be powered by Google's next-generation Tensor chip. The standard Pixel 7 will have a dual camera setup, while the Pixel 7 Pro will have a triple camera array. The devices will ship with Android 13.
2. Google also previewed the Pixel Watch, the first smartwatch that it fully built. Launching this fall, the Pixel Watch will feature a circular, domed design with a tactile crown, a side button, and customizable bands. The watch will be powered by an "improved" Wear OS interface with "more fluid" navigation, smart notifications, built-in Fitbit functionality for fitness tracking, Apple Pay-like tap-to-pay functionality, and more. Pixel Watch will require a smartphone running Android 8.0 or later, making it incompatible with the iPhone.
3. Google unveiled the Pixel 6a, a new mid-range smartphone priced from $449, which places it between the iPhone SE and the iPhone 11. Pixel 6a has the same Google Tensor chip and a similar design as the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.
4. Pixel Buds Pro are Google's new premium wireless earbuds with similar features as AirPods Pro, including active noise cancellation, a Transparency mode that lets ambient noise in, hands-free "Hey Google" voice control, automatic switching between previously paired Bluetooth devices, integration with Google's Find My Device app, and spatial audio support starting later this year. Pricing is set at $199, compared to AirPods Pro at $249.
5. Android tablets have continuously failed to gain popularity compared to iPads, but Google is planning to reenter the tablet market once again with the Pixel Tablet, coming in 2023. The tablet will be powered by a Tensor chip.

A replay of the Google I/O keynote is available on YouTube.

Google today at its I/O developer conference unveiled a range of new Pixel devices that will compete with Apple products, including Pixel Buds Pro.

Pixel Buds Pro are Google's new premium wireless earbuds with similar features as AirPods Pro, including active noise cancellation, a Transparency mode that lets ambient noise in, hands-free "Hey Google" voice control, automatic switching between previously paired Bluetooth devices, integration with Google's Find My Device app for tracking their location when misplaced, and spatial audio support starting later this year.

Pixel Buds Pro adapt to your ear with a Silent Seal feature that maximizes noise cancellation, while built-in sensors measure the pressure in your ear canal to make sure they are comfortable to wear during long listening sessions, according to Google.

Pixel Buds Pro can be paired with any Bluetooth 4.0+ device, making them compatible with devices like the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. They charge wirelessly in a case and offer up to 11 hours of listening time per charge, or up to seven hours with active noise cancellation enabled. The case can also be charged via USB-C.

Pixel Buds Pro will be available to pre-order on July 21, with pricing set at $199 in the U.S., compared to $249 for AirPods Pro. The earbuds are designed with a soft matte finish and are available in four color options: Coral, Lemongrass, Fog, and Charcoal.

AirPods Pro have not received any hardware updates since they were first released in October 2019. Rumors suggest that second-generation AirPods Pro will be released later this year with an upgraded wireless chip, motion sensors for fitness tracking capabilities, and potentially a more compact design similar to the Beats Studio Buds.

It's been over 200 days since Apple debuted its redesigned MacBook Pro lineup. Offered in 14-inch and 16-inch display sizes, the new-look MacBooks wowed Apple fans and creative pros alike with their powerful custom Apple silicon, mini-LED screen, and multiple connectivity options. But there are still some things you can't do with a ‌MacBook Pro‌. Here are five features some Mac users are still waiting for.

1. Support for 120Hz 4K Displays

Five years after it removed the HDMI port on the ‌MacBook Pro‌, Apple in 2021 brought back the much-used multimedia interface to its top-of-the-line notebook. Unfortunately, the HDMI port that returned isn't so top-of-the-line – it's an HDMI 2.0 port instead of an HDMI 2.1 port.

HDMI 2.1 technology would have allowed the port to run a 4K display with a 120Hz refresh rate. As it stands, the HDMI 2.0 port on the current ‌MacBook Pro‌ supports only a 4K display with a refresh rate of up to 60Hz.

Apple's decision not to support 4K at 120Hz may well have been based on bandwidth limitations, but connecting Thunderbolt/USB-C displays results in a similar maximum refresh rate. According to Apple, the M1 Pro ‌MacBook Pro‌ models support up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, while the M1 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ models support up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz.

2. Support for UHS-III SD Cards

In its bid to placate photographers and video producers, Apple reintroduced the SD card slot, not seen in a ‌MacBook Pro‌ model since 2015. What it didn't explicitly advertise is that the slot doesn't support UHS-III cards, which offer read and write speeds up to 624 MB/s. (That wasn't the only disappointment: The SD card slot on the new MacBook Pros supports UHS-II cards, but only up to 250MB/s of data transfer, not the 312MB/s speeds that the standard is theoretically capable of.)

There may not be many UHS-III cameras out there yet, but future-proofing the connectivity on a notebook that costs upwards of $2,000 is always going to be a welcome measure.

3. Ethernet Port

There's a simple enough reason why Apple didn't add Ethernet connectivity to its latest ‌MacBook Pro‌: A standard Ethernet port is actually thicker than the notebook's chassis. So why should this even be considered a glaring omission?

In fact, Apple faced the same challenge with the thin design of the latest 24-inch iMac, which unlike the ‌MacBook Pro‌ has traditionally included an Ethernet port. Apple's solution was to place the Ethernet port in the power adapter. Apple says this "cool new innovation" allows users to keep their desks less cluttered, while still enjoying the benefits of Ethernet, which makes the lack of a similar port on the ‌MacBook Pro‌ power brick all the more surprising.

4. 5G Network Connectivity

Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, Dell, and HP all offer laptops with 5G connectivity, yet no Mac in Apple's notebook lineup currently supports the cellular standard. The same can't be said for Apple's iPad range, with LTE versions of both the iPad Pro and iPad mini readily available.

Should we expect the situation to change anytime soon? Perhaps so, if a report from January 2021 by well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman is anything to go by. Apple has developed "underlying Mac support" for cellular connectivity, according to Gurman, and given that we know Apple is working on its own custom modem set to appear in iPhones as soon as 2023, here's hoping that it makes an appearance in next year's ‌MacBook Pro‌.

5. Wi-Fi 6E Support

Some say Wi-Fi 6E is still too new for it to be worth Apple's support yet. The counterargument is that the Google Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra already comply with the standard, and users typically upgrade their smartphone far more frequently than their notebook.

Wi-Fi 6E offers the features and capabilities of Wi-Fi 6, including higher performance, lower latency, and faster data rates, extended into the 6 GHz band. The additional spectrum provides more airspace beyond existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, resulting in increased bandwidth and less interference for devices that support Wi-Fi 6E.

Since early 2021 – months before the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ was launched – half a dozen routers and mesh systems have included the latest Wi-Fi 6E band. There will be more as time goes by. All of these reasons speak to why Apple is expected to support the standard in its first mixed reality headset, which is expected later this year or next. That it could feature in the next-generation of ‌MacBook Pro‌ is by no means outside the realms of possibility.

If you hate cord clutter, then you're going to want to watch our latest YouTube video, which highlights Mission's USB Power Cable for the Apple TV because it lets you plug Apple's set-top box right into a USB port on your TV.

Priced at $24.99, the USB Power Cable from Mission is a neat little accessory that lets you do away with your ‌Apple TV‌ power cable. If you have a modern TV set that has USB ports, you can get away with plugging your ‌Apple TV‌ into your TV set rather than having a separate power adapter.

If you're thinking that there's no way a USB port can power an ‌Apple TV‌ continuously, you're partially correct. The USB Power Cable is actually a 2000mAh battery pack that is powered by the TV's USB port. It stores excess power from the USB port and then releases it when the ‌Apple TV‌ requires more power than the USB port can source.

So by default, the Mission Power Cable is using passthrough energy to power the ‌Apple TV‌, and then backup battery power when power demands are higher. Mission says that it's able to run an ‌Apple TV‌ for hours without issue, and that was true in our testing.

The cable and the battery pack can be mounted on the back of the television set for a no-mess cordless look that's ideal for streamlining your entertainment setup, and it is universally compatible with TVs that have a USB port.

What do you think of this ‌Apple TV‌ cord management solution? Let us know in the comments.

Starting with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Apple introduced a new "Personalized Ads" toggle during the setup process that makes it easier for users to turn off personalized ads in Apple apps such as the App Store, Apple News, and Stocks.

In a presentation shared with advertisers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple cited internal data showing that, in the first quarter of 2022, 78% of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 search volume on the App Store was from devices with Personalized Ads turned off across all countries and regions where Apple's Search Ads business is available.

Apple's presentation emphasizes that advertisers can reach interested users without applying audience targeting to their search results campaign. In the first quarter of 2022, Apple's internal data shows that Search Ads had a 62.1% average conversion rate for iOS 15 users with Personalized Ads turned on versus 62.5% for iOS 15 users with Personalized Ads turned off across all countries and regions where Search Ads are available.

Apple said search terms are a direct signal of intent, with the presentation stating that 70% of App Store visitors use search to find their next app.

Apple's personalized ads rely solely on first-party data. In the App Store and Apple News, for example, Apple says a user's search and download history may be used to serve them relevant search ads. In Apple News and Stocks, ads are served based partly on what a user reads or follows, including publishers they have enabled notifications for.

It's worth noting that this data is unrelated to the App Tracking Transparency privacy feature, which only applies to apps using third-party data to track users.

AURA Devices today announced its second-generation AURA Strap, which is a follow up to the original AURA Strap that came out back in 2020. The redesigned and reengineered AURA Strap 2 is meant to augment the Apple Watch's health and fitness capabilities by adding bioelectrical impedance analysis.

The strap attaches to an Apple Watch and has sensors that rest against the wrist to take regular measurements. AURA says that it is able to measure body changes as a result of exercise, offering up fat, muscle, and water balance measurements on Apple Watch.

Compared to the original AURA Strap, the AURA Strap 2 is 20 percent slimmer and five percent narrower for a better fit. The stretchable band comes in multiple size options and is similar to one of Apple's Solo Loops with no clasp.

Taking a measurement can be done with a single touch, and the updated design captures 16 times more data points, according to AURA. AURA says that this improvement brings the AURA Strap 2 to 95% of the accuracy of a DEXA-scan.

Using the collected metrics, the accompanying AURA app provides users with personalized recommendations and goals to help them optimize their fitness performance.

Alongside the AURA 2 Strap, AURA is introducing an AURA Plus subscription service that offers up monthly fitness and nutrition reports, deep analytics of body composition, fitness content, and in the future, live chats. Six months of AURA Plus is included with the AURA Strap 2, and after that, it is priced at $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.

The AURA Strap 2 is available in black and it is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 3 or later. It is priced at $149 and can be purchased from the AURA website.

Apple has robustly defended its ecosystem in a submission to Australia's competition watchdog, amid growing global scrutiny of the power of big tech companies and "gatekeeping."

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has scrutinized Apple's ecosystem in a series of investigations since last year and encouraged the company to give users more control over preinstalled apps and services. In a detailed response to the ACCC's Digital Platform Services Inquiry Discussion Paper, Apple argued that proposed changes to its ecosystem "would reduce incentives for dynamic firms like Apple to innovate and develop new and differentiated products" and expose users to a "far less secure and private environment."

Apple is puzzled that the competition and consumer protection agency would prioritise purported competition concerns which lack cogent evidence of harm, over clear and present severe damage to users that they experience every day. That is not what consumers want to see as outcomes of legislative reform - they want stronger, not weaker, protection - from the unlawful conduct which affects the hundreds of thousands of Australians every year whose information is stolen, scammed, traded and exploited to their detriment.

Apple highlighted confidential data that it submitted to the ACCC that shows there is "a meaningful, consistent, and upward-trending willingness of users to switch between devices and platforms, and an ongoing capacity for them to do so." The company also argued that it competes with "other software distribution platforms to attract developers to the App Store," citing web apps as an example of "an alternative means for developers to distribute apps to iOS users."

Australia is among the many countries now heavily scrutinizing Apple's ecosystem and threatening pervasive legislation in an attempt to force changes, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, and more, with a clear appetite from global regulators to explore requirements around app store policies, app sideloading, and interoperability.

See Apple's full response to the ACCC for more information.

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.

Just one day after Apple announced it is discontinuing the iPod touch, which remains available "while supplies last," the portable music player is now listed as "sold out" in some configurations on Apple's online store in the United States.

For example, the iPod touch can no longer be ordered with 256GB of storage in any color on Apple.com in the United States, and the (PRODUCT)RED model with 128GB of storage is also listed as "sold out" in the country. Stock may fluctuate over the coming days, but it is clear that Apple's remaining iPod touch inventory is quickly depleting.

First introduced in October 2001, the iPod is one of Apple's most iconic products, but the device's discontinuation became inevitable given the wide array of Apple products that can play music, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod mini, and more.

"Today, the spirit of iPod lives on," Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak said Tuesday. "We've integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and across Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. And Apple Music delivers industry-leading sound quality with support for spatial audio — there's no better way to enjoy, discover, and experience music."

While stock is depleting on Apple's online store, the iPod touch may still be found at select Apple Store locations and at Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last. The seventh-generation iPod touch was released in May 2019 and features a 4-inch Retina display, an A10 chip, and a classic Home button without Touch ID.

Once the iPod touch is fully sold out, Apple will no longer sell any iPod, marking the end of an era.

Amazon has an all-time low price on Apple's M1 Mac mini (256GB SSD), available for $569.99, down from $699.00. You won't see this deal price until you add the Mac mini to your cart and an automatic coupon worth $99.01 is applied to the order.

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.

Amazon's sale price today on the Mac mini is a match of the same record low discount that we tracked last month on the same model. The Mac mini is shipped and sold directly by Amazon, with delivery as soon as May 13-18 for most places in the United States. The 512GB configuration is not on sale

The M1 Mac mini was introduced in November 2020, and is the first Mac mini to include Apple's M1 chip. The M1 in the Mac mini has an 8-core CPU with four high-efficiency cores and four high-performance cores along with an integrated GPU that has 8 cores.

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Mophie today announced the release of two new ultra-compact USB-C chargers designed for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, with 30W and 67W options available.

Designed with GaN (gallium nitride) material, the chargers are smaller, lighter, and more power efficient than traditional silicon-based chargers, including Apple's own 30W and 67W chargers. Both chargers feature foldable prongs, a single USB-C port with fast charging capabilities, and a two-meter USB-C to USB-C cable included in the box.

The 30W charger is ideal for use with iPhones, iPads, and the M1 MacBook Air, while the 67W charger is suitable for the 14-inch MacBook Pro and more.

The only GaN charger that Apple has released to date is its 140W USB-C power adapter, included with the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro and sold separately. Apple is also rumored to be planning a new 35W charger with dual USB-C ports that could utilize GaN material, with leaked images suggesting the charger will feature foldable prongs.

Mophie's new chargers can be ordered through Apple's online store, with the 30W option priced at $44.95 and the 67W option priced at $69.95. The chargers can also be ordered from Mophie's parent company ZAGG (30W here and 67W here), which is currently offering customers 30% off when they buy two or more products during the same transaction.

Note: Mophie's press release as originally published indicated that the 67W charger had two USB-C ports, but we've received confirmation from Mophie that this was an error and that the charger only has one port.

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

A pair of discounts on the AirPods and AirPods Pro are available right now on Amazon, offering the best prices of the year so far on each model.

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 site running.

AirPods 2

Apple's AirPods 2 have returned to $99.99 on Amazon, down from $129.00. This is still the best discount that we've tracked in 2022, and overall it's a solid second-best price on this version of the AirPods.

This is the model of AirPods that comes with the Wired Charging Case. Apple discontinued the AirPods 2 with the Wireless Charging Case so we haven't seen any notable deals on that accessory in months.

AirPods Pro with MagSafe

Secondly, Amazon is discounting the AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case to $174.99, down from $249.00. This is another 2022 low price, and overall a second-best price on the AirPods Pro.

The headphones are in stock today, and they are shipped and sold directly by Amazon. The new AirPods Pro launched in 2021, and are essentially the same as the 2019 model with the addition of the new MagSafe Charging Case.

We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.

E-ink tablet maker "reMarkable" has now sold more than one million devices since 2017 and raised money at a valuation of $1 billion, indicating that its unusual minimalist reading- and writing-focused tablet is growing its market share despite competition with fully-fledged tablets like the iPad (via TechCrunch).

The Norway-based startup company, which employs more than 300 people, has announced that it achieved investment from multiple international investors at its $1 billion valuation last year. The company's valuation comes after making revenues of $300 million and operating profits of $31 million in 2021. Founder and CEO Magnus Wanberg said that the company was now closing the investment as a "good indication, a signal out to the world."

The reMarkable 2 launched in 2020, priced at $299, just $30 less than Apple's ninth-generation iPad. While both devices tout their e-reading capabilities and can be used with a stylus accessory for notetaking and annotating PDFs, the reMarkable effectively only allows for reading and writing, with no other functionality. The reMarkable 2 includes features such as handwriting conversion, screen sharing, Wi-Fi connectivity, integration with cloud storage services, and more. Wanberg said:

The future of the tablet as we see it is in the direction that Apple and others are heading, a fusion of laptop and tablet forms... But our offering is a third device, a focussed space for books, drawing, and notes, where you can really avoid distractions and procrastination. That is our positioning.

With these specific purposes in mind, the reMarkable features an e-ink display that is gentler on the eyes than a display that directly emits light, a textured screen for a paper-like feel, and an ultra-slim design. The company claims that customers do not need to buy a new device for at least 10 years after purchasing a reMarkable tablet.

With an E-reader and you own and use it for quite a long time. In our business, it's not a new-model-every-year dynamic. There is no emphasis on new model ownership. We don't want to force our company to slap on some iteration for the sake of it. There is true innovation, major steps in terms of what we can offer the customer. We also think it's great from a sustainability perspective [to move away from] pushing out new hardware.

The company says that its devices bridge the gap between pen and paper, and digital devices. While the reMarkable 2 is not a like-for-like ‌iPad‌ rival, the company's rapid growth may indicate the emergence of a new mass market of e-ink "distraction-free" tablets dedicated to specific tasks.

Apple has launched a special limited-time offer for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad trade-in that offers customers additional credit when trading in their only device for a new one.

The offer is being run in several countries including the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, India, and France. In the UK, Apple is offering up to £50 of extra trade-in credit for specific ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ models and up to £30 for certain Mac and Apple Watch models. Apple is automatically applying for the additional trade-in credit during the process.

As always, exact trade-in values will depend on the model of the device and other factors like its condition. Apple earlier this week cut down on the base trade-in value of some its devices, but with the offer that runs until May 31, the losses should be less for customers trading devices.

Update 7:15 a.m.: The bonus is now also showing as available in the United States with bonuses of up to $50 on ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌, up to $40 on Apple Watch, and just $10 on Mac.

(Via The Apple Post)

Apple will ditch its proprietary Lightning port and switch to USB-C on all or possibly some models of the iPhone 15 lineup destined to launch in the second half of 2023, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today.

Since the iPhone 5, Apple has kept the Lightning port on the ‌iPhone‌, despite much of the industry moving to USB-C. In a tweet today, Kuo said that the latest supply chain survey indicates that Apple will ditch Lightning in favor of USB-C in 2023. Kuo noted that USB-C would improve transfer speeds on the ‌iPhone‌ and improve charging speeds.

Kuo had previously said that Apple would be sticking with Lightning on the ‌iPhone‌ for the "foreseeable future," saying that switching to USB-C would be harmful to Apple's MiFi business and has lesser waterproof specification. Now, Apple has reportedly changed its tone. One possible reason for Apple's change in heart is pressure being placed upon it by the EU.

The EU continues to move forward with passing new legislation that would force Apple to adopt USB-C on all iPhones, iPads, and AirPods sold in Europe. Such legislation, if passed, would require Apple to either ship specially designed USB-C equipped models of its products to Europe while keeping the rest of the world stuck with Lightning or adopt USB-C for all of its products globally.

• The EU Wants All Phones to Work With Interoperable Chargers, Here's What That Means for Apple's Lightning Port

Most of Apple's iPad lineup already features USB-C for faster transfer speeds from accessories such as cameras. For photographers and cinematographers, a demographic Apple has been keen to target with its high-end iPhones, the Lightning port represents a bottleneck for transferring large video and photo files. A move to USB-C would ease that workflow, make it easier to transfer files and be supported by a broader ecosystem of USB-C accessories.

Initial speculation was that Apple would keep the Lightning port on the ‌iPhone‌ until it's ready to go entirely port-less, relying simply on MagSafe to charge and transfer files. ‌MagSafe‌ was first introduced on the ‌iPhone‌ with the ‌iPhone‌ 12 in 2020, so it's still a relatively new technology to the ‌iPhone‌. The pressure being placed by the EU may have forced Apple to reconsider its timeline for moving entirely portless, requiring it to comply with possible upcoming regulations and move the ‌iPhone‌ to USB-C.

The European Commission is set to release a draft law this week that could require tech companies like Apple and Google to identify, remove and report to law enforcement illegal images of child abuse on their platforms, claims a new report out today.

According to a leak of the proposal obtained by Politico, the EC believes voluntary measures taken by some digital companies have thus far "proven insufficient" in addressing the increasing misuse of online services for the purposes of sharing child sexual abuse content, which is why the commission wants to make detection of such material mandatory.

After months of lobbying, groups representing tech companies and children's rights organizations are said to be waiting to see how stringent the rules could be, and how they will work without tech companies having to scan the gamut of user content – a practice deemed illegal by the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2016.

Apart from how identification of illegal material would operate within the law, privacy groups and tech companies are worried that the EU executive could result in the creation of backdoors to end-to-end encrypted messaging services, the contents of which cannot be accessed by the hosting platform.

The EC's Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson has said technical solutions exist to keep conversations safe while finding illegal content, but cybersecurity experts disagree.

"The EU shouldn't be proposing things that are technologically impossible," said Ella Jakubowska, speaking to Politico. Jakubowska is policy adviser at European Digital Rights (EDRi), a network of 45 non-governmental organizations (NGOs.)

"The idea that all the hundreds of millions of people in the EU would have their intimate private communications, where they have a reasonable expectation that that is private, to instead be kind of indiscriminately and generally scanned 24/7 is unprecedented," said Jakubowska.

MEPs are far from aligned on the issue, however. Reacting to the leak of the proposal, centrist Renew Europe MEP Moritz Körner told Politico the Commission's proposal would mean "the privacy of digital correspondence would be dead."

The heated debate mirrors last year's controversy surrounding Apple's plan to search for CSAM (child sexual abuse material) on iPhones and iPads.

Apple in August 2021 announced a planned suite of new child safety features, including scanning users' iCloud Photos libraries for CSAM and Communication Safety to warn children and their parents when receiving or sending sexually explicit photos. The latter, and arguably less controversial, feature is already live on Apple's iMessage platform. Apple's method of scanning for CSAM has yet to have been deployed.

Following Apple's announcement, the features were criticized by a wide range of individuals and organizations, including security researchers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Facebook's former security chief, politicians, policy groups, university researchers, and even some Apple employees.

The majority of criticism was leveled at Apple's planned on-device CSAM detection, which was lambasted by researchers for relying on dangerous technology that bordered on surveillance, and derided for being ineffective at identifying images of child sexual abuse.

Apple initially attempted to dispel some misunderstandings and reassure users by releasing detailed information and sharing interviews with company executives in order to allay concerns. However, despite Apple's efforts, the controversy didn't go away, and Apple decided to delay the rollout of CSAM following the torrent of criticism.

Apple said its decision to delay was "based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers and others... we have decided to take additional time over the coming months to collect input and make improvements before releasing these critically important child safety features."

In December 2021, Apple quietly nixed all mentions of CSAM from its Child Safety webpage, suggesting its controversial plan to detect child sexual abuse images on iPhones and iPads hanged in the balance following significant criticism of its methods.

However, Apple says its plans for CSAM detection have not changed since September, which suggests CSAM detection in some form is still coming in the future.

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.