MacRumors

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming watchOS 8.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the release of the fourth watchOS 8.5 beta.

To install ‌‌‌watchOS 8.5, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, ‌‌‌watchOS 8.5‌‌‌ can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update.

To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌‌. You'll also need the accompanying iOS 15.4 update before you can install watchOS 8.5.

watchOS 8.5 introduces support for Emoji 14 characters, with new additions including melting face, biting lip, heart hands, bubbles, beans, face with diagonal mouth, palm up hand, eggs, troll, low battery, coral, lotus, and more.

Nomad today announced the launch of the Base One, its first official MagSafe wireless charger. For a long time, Belkin has had the only official ‌MagSafe‌ charging options, but that's starting to change now that third-party accessory companies are able to get Apple's Made for iPhone-certified hardware.

The Base One is using ‌MagSafe‌ components sourced directly from Apple, so it is able to charge a MagSafe-compatible iPhone at up to 15W (except for the iPhone 12 mini and ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini, which max out at 12W). Non-MagSafe magnetic charging options are limited to 7.5W, much like any other Qi charger.

At 15W, the Base One can charge at the same speed as Apple's official ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, so what Nomad is bringing to the table is it own spin on design. The Base One is priced at $130, so it's $90 more expensive than the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, making it a premium option. It's worth noting that some of that cost comes from Apple's own hardware fees, as this is using ‌MagSafe‌ technology sourced from Apple.

The Base One has a shiny glass surface and a heavy aluminum body that you can get in either silver or gray. It undoubtedly feels like a high-quality product, weighing in at 515 grams, which is more than a pound. On top of the glass surface, there's the soft-coated ‌MagSafe‌ charger, and a set of feet on the bottom lift it up slightly and add protection for whatever surface it's placed on.

You might think that at the heavier weight it would able to remain on the desk without lifting when you want to pull your ‌iPhone‌ off the charger, but magnets are strong and that's not the case. You need to do the same tilt lift or lift with a finger under the ‌iPhone‌ that you need to do with other ‌MagSafe‌ charging options. The glass surface does collect some fingerprints and dust, but it's easy to clean off.

According to Nomad, the Base One is designed to look great on a desk, which it does, but at this price point it's as expensive as multi-device chargers from Belkin, Mophie, and others, so it may not be worth the high cost for some users. The Base One is a single-device charger, so it only works with one ‌iPhone‌ at a time.

It can be used to charge any MagSafe-compatible ‌iPhone‌ at the supported wireless charging speed, plus it can also charge AirPods or an older non-MagSafe ‌iPhone‌, though the magnets won't work. It connects over USB-C and comes with a braided USB-C cable, but there is no power adapter included so you'll need to supply your own 30W+ charger.

Bottom Line

The Base One for Nomad will likely appeal to those who want a high quality charging accessory for their ‌iPhone‌, but at $90 more than a $40 ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, I find it hard to justify the price.

Yes, it looks nice on a desk, it's more attractive than a plain ‌MagSafe‌ Charger, and the USB-C connectivity is great, but for that kind of money, I'd rather shell out for a more versatile multi-device charger.

How to Buy

The Base One can be purchased from the Nomad website for $130.

Oppo has announced a record-breaking fast charging technology that is around twelve times faster than the iPhone 13 lineup.

On the first day of 2022's Mobile World Congress (MWC) yesterday, Oppo showcased a range of technologies, including its latest Find X5 series of smartphones, the MariSilicon X custom image processor, a retractable camera system, the Air Glass extended reality monocle, and more. Among the announcements and spotlights, Oppo announced two new fast charging technologies.

The first, which Oppo calls "150W SUPERVOOC flash charge," features charge pumps and can charge a device with a 4,500 mAh battery to 50 percent in five minutes and deliver a full charge in just 15 minutes. 150W SUPERVOOC includes Oppo's Battery Health Engine, which recently debuted in the Find X5 lineup, to keep the battery at 80 percent of its original capacity after as many as 1,600 charge cycles – double the industry standard of just 800 cycles. Oppo will introduce 150W SUPERVOOC on selected OnePlus devices in the second quarter of 2022.

The company also revealed "240W SUPERVOOC flash charge" technology, which can charge a 4,500mAh battery to 100 percent in just nine minutes. 240W SUPERVOOC is the fastest-ever charging technology of its kind, surpassing Realme's 150W charging.

Oppo says that the 240W SUPERVOOC charging system contains five safety protection measures, including a custom-designed control chip that monitors voltage, current, and temperature, and conforms to standards for heat dissipation despite the very high power output. Oppo did not say when the first devices with 240W SUPERVOOC will be released.

Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini and ‌iPhone‌ 13 support wired 20W fast charging, while the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro is able to support up to 23W and the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max is able to support up to 27W. The ‌iPhone‌ 13 models do not sustain peak power for their entire charging cycle due to thermal considerations.

With a 20W power adapter and a Lightning to USB-C cable, users can charge an ‌iPhone‌ 13 from zero to 50 percent in half an hour, and fully charge in about two hours, which is significantly slower than either of Oppo's new charging technologies. Last week, Oppo announced plans to directly compete with Apple on a global scale with a wave of premium devices, starting with the Find X5 models.

Today you can get Apple's 21.5-inch iMac (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $799.99, down from its original price of $1,099.00. This is another Amazon sale price that will not be seen until you head to the checkout screen, at which point a coupon worth $229.01 will be applied.

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.

Compared to past sales, this is a second-best price on the mid-2020 21.5-inch iMac. In January, the iMac hit $599.99, but that sale was extremely limited and did not last long. If you're looking to purchase an iMac for someone who isn't a power user, this is still a solid deal.

You can keep track of ongoing sales on Apple's iMac line by visiting our Best iMac Deals guide. There, we keep track of the best iMac offers from Amazon, Adorama, B&H Photo, and other retailers, so be sure to check back often if you're shopping for an iMac for the first time, or thinking of upgrading.

Apple appears to be working on an upcoming Safari feature that will introduce a Dark mode user preference for individual websites, based on references found in open-source WebKit code.

WebKit is Apple's browser engine that powers all browsers on iOS, and the new option, spotted by 9to5Mac, is referred in the GitHub-hosted WebKit code as "overriding the system color-scheme with a per-website preference." This should, for example, let users always view a particular website in Dark mode, even if the system's Light mode is enabled.

Since Apple introduced Dark mode for iPhone and iPad with iOS 13, developers have updated their app interfaces to match the system setting or allow users to override it. The new per-website preference in Safari would extend this option to browsing sites, and also let users correct for sites that don't display properly in either Light or Dark modes.

In addition to the per-website display setting, Apple is developing another option to block modal popups on specific websites viewed in Safari. Modal popups must be dismissed by tapping a Cancel or other button, and can look like system alerts. Apple also has a new API in the works to manage the process of cookie consent that many websites use.

The new WebKit features are labelled as "TBA," or to be announced, so it's unclear whether they will become available to use in Safari via future iOS 15 and macOS 12 updates or later in the year when the new operating system versions are released.

Qualcomm has unveiled its new 5G Snapdragon X70 modem, which is likely to be the last Qualcomm modem to be used by Apple in its iPhones before it switches to in-house custom-designed chips.

Qualcomm says its latest 5G modem for smartphones includes "the world's first 5G AI processor integrated in a 5G Modem-RF System," which is supposed to increase the average download and uplink speeds on mmWave and sub-6GHz bands. From the company's press release:

Snapdragon X70 inherits the unrivaled 10 Gigabit 5G peak download speed of its predecessor and packs in new, advanced capabilities such as Qualcomm 5G AI Suite, Qualcomm 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite and 4X carrier aggregation to achieve unmatched 5G speeds, coverage, signal quality and low latency. The Qualcomm 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite in Snapdragon X70 allows OEMs and operators to minimize latency for hyper-responsive 5G user experiences and applications.

"Our 5th generation modem-RF system extends our global 5G leadership and the introduction of native 5G AI processing creates a platform and inflection point for performance-enhancing innovations," said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, 5G, Mobile Broadband and Infrastructure, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Snapdragon X70 is an example of how we're realizing the full potential of 5G and making an intelligently connected world possible."

According to the company, the Snapdragon X70 can reach up to 10Gbps downlink speed and a peak 3.5Gbps upload speed, and yet it is up to 60% more power efficient, due to its 5G PowerSave Gen 3 technology. The modem also includes support for global 5G multi-SIM and Dual-SIM Dual Active.

The Snapdragon X70 modem is expected to launch in 5G devices by the end of this year, although that doesn't necessarily mean it will appear in the iPhone 14, or indeed any future ‌iPhone‌.

In a 2020 agreement to dismiss a long-running legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm, a settlement filing revealed that Apple has committed to using X65 and X70 modems in products launched between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2024, which would seem to suggest the X65 will be used in the ‌iPhone‌ 14, while the just-announced X70 modem will be in Apple's 2023 ‌iPhone‌ series.

However, other reports have suggested Apple will have its own custom-designed 5G modem ready for use in 2023 iPhone models, so it's not entirely clear where the X70 fits in. Apple could end up using its own chips in most regions, and rely on Qualcomm for X70 chips in certain areas (or certain models), which could explain why Qualcomm says it is expecting to supply just 20% of Apple's ‌iPhone‌ modems in 2023. When Apple's agreement with Qualcomm ends, Apple will switch to its own custom-designed cellular modem for all future devices.

Rumors in early 2019 suggested that Apple was planning to design a modem in-house, and in mid-2019, Apple purchased the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business to accelerate its own development efforts. Apple took over Intel's modem-related intellectual property and hired 2,200 Intel employees, and it has already lined up its main chip manufacturing partner TSMC to begin producing the majority of its new in-house modem chips.

Honor has announced Earbuds 3 Pro that come with integrated temperature monitoring technology, a feature that has also reportedly been tested by Apple in AirPods prototypes.

Market interest in building temperature measuring functions into earbuds has been mooted for some time now, as it could be useful for fertility tracking, keeping track of sleep, and in the future, it could also detect when a user has a fever.

Honor's $199 buds include a temperature sensor that combines with an AI temperature algorithm and can take a measurement that has about an 80% chance of achieving a ±0.3 degrees Celcius or less error, according to the company.

Tapping three times on the earbud can start a measurement, and a continuous measurement function is available. The Earbuds 3 Pro also feature an "abnormal temperature alert," although Honor's marketing materials stress that they are not for any medical purpose and still need to pass regulatory hurdles.

The earbuds hark back to an October 2021 report by The Wall Street Journal that claimed Apple is developing prototypes of AirPods with temperature sensors for monitoring a wearer's core body temperature from inside the ear.

The report noted that these in-ear temperature sensors could work in tandem with a rumored temperature sensor that could be included in this year's Apple Watch Series 8. However, individuals said to be familiar with Apple's plans told the The ‌Wall Street Journal‌ that AirPods with said health features are not expected to launch in 2022, and may never be released.

Honor unveiled its new noise-canceling Earbuds 3 Pro at MWC 2022 alongside its Magic 4 series of smartphones, "Pro" variants of which can be fast-charged wirelessly at 100W, allowing the phones to be charged to 50% in just 15 minutes. The Chinese company said it hoped to release its new products globally, but whether they will actually arrive in the US anytime is unknown.

Microsoft has been testing a pre-release Apple silicon version of OneDrive since last year, and now the native version of the app is available for all OneDrive users.

"We're excited to announce that OneDrive sync for macOS will now run natively on Apple silicon. This means that OneDrive will take full advantage of the performance improvements of Apple silicon," Microsoft said in an announcement on the OneDrive blog that was first spotted by XDA Developers.

Microsoft said that the long-awaited feature is generally available starting with build 22.022.

With official support for the M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips, the OneDrive app will run faster and more efficiently on the latest Macs as the Rosetta 2 translation software will no longer be required.

Apple is rumored to be introducing an upgraded version of the iPhone SE as soon as March 8, the prospective date of the company's first event of 2022. The new ‌iPhone‌ SE is expected to be priced at $399 and it will be replacing the current ‌iPhone‌ SE, but will Apple keep the older model around and drop the price as it sometimes does when new iPhones come out?

In his most recent "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggested that Apple could potentially keep the 2020 ‌iPhone‌ SE around, dropping the price to somewhere around $199. At this price point, Apple would be able to capture market share in places like Africa, India, and South America, where people gravitate toward lower-cost Android devices.

Apple has never had a sub-$200 ‌iPhone‌ before, with the entry-level $399 ‌iPhone‌ SE positioned as the cheapest ‌iPhone‌ that's been released to date, but as Gurman suggests, component costs are low enough that Apple might be willing to consider an even more affordable ‌iPhone‌ option.

Bill-of-material estimates from two years ago pegged the hardware cost of the iPhone SE at around $200, meaning a $199 price tag would be a money-loser. But time and economies of scale have probably made that cost much lower by now. Would the cost be low enough for Apple to earn its typical profit margins? No, but the chance to sell services and other products to big new markets could make up for that.

Most of Apple's focus is on its flagship devices, with Apple never seriously targeting the low-end smartphone market, but Apple is known for keeping older iPhones around and offering them at more affordable price points when introducing new devices. With the ‌iPhone‌ 13, for example, Apple dropped the price of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and kept it around. 2019's ‌iPhone‌ 11 is also still available for purchase, and at $499, is Apple's most affordable device next to the ‌iPhone‌ SE.

Gurman argues that if Apple does end up keeping the old ‌iPhone‌ SE around and selling it for a ~$199 price point, Apple could see notable sales in developing markets and create long-term services revenue while growing the iOS ecosystem.

Such a device would also allow Apple to replace the long outdated iPod touch, which has gone several years without an update. The iPod touch has seen no updates since 2019 and is still using an A10 Fusion chip. Apple sells the 32GB iPod touch for $199, so a $199 ‌iPhone‌ SE would be a solid replacement.

Gurman has confirmed that there is no sign that Apple actually plans to keep the older ‌iPhone‌ SE around as a lower cost alternative, but it's clear there's incentive. Either way, Apple is poised to bring us a new ‌iPhone‌ SE that features the same general design but chip upgrades and 5G connectivity.

Well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that the 2022 ‌iPhone‌ SE will be Apple's cheapest 5G iPhone to date, bringing faster connectivity to millions of people at an affordable price point.

Samsung's Galaxy S22 devices appear to be more prone to damage when dropped than Apple's iPhone 13 models, according to drop tests conducted by Allstate Protection Plans. With major new smartphone releases, Allstate does the same set of drop tests to determine the degree of front, back, and side damage when a device hits the ground, and the testing indicates the ‌iPhone‌'s design is more durable.

When dropped face-down, the S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra displays shattered on the first six-foot drop onto the sidewalk, and two of the three were unusable due to the severity of the damage. The middle tier device, the S22, was usable, but had notable damage at the corners.

Comparatively, when Allstate Protection Plans drop tested the ‌iPhone‌ 13 models back in September, they fared better. In the face-down drop, the ‌iPhone‌ 13 survived a single drop with minor damage, cracking in the second drop test. The ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro cracked along the bottom, but both phones were largely usable.

In the back-down test, the Galaxy S22 devices all had their back panel shattered, and while all three phones continued to work normally and the camera housing remained intact, it was not possible to safely handle the phones bare-handed because of the glass damage.

The comparable test on the ‌iPhone‌ 13 models saw the ‌iPhone‌ 13 survive two drops, ending up with minor cracks along the camera and the corner after the third drop, while the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro back glass shattered more similarly to the S22 devices.

Allstate did a side-down test for the S22 models that saw the S22 and S22+ survive with minor damage, while the curved glass S22 Ultra shattered at the corners and along the display. All of the smartphones remained functional.

A comparable test was not done for the ‌iPhone‌ 13, but back in 2020, the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models were dropped on their side in the same test and survived intact with minor scuffing because of the aluminum steel edges, similar to the S22 and S22+, which also use an "Armor Aluminum" frame.

The S22 Ultra has a curved display and thus takes more damage at the sides than Apple's iPhones. All in all, it seems the S22 may be more vulnerable to breakage than Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 13 models, which use Apple's "Ceramic Shield," purported to be more durable than traditional glass. Samsung's S22 devices are using Gorilla Glass Victus+, Corning's most durable glass.

In addition to being more prone to damage than the ‌iPhone‌ 13 models in Allstate's testing, the Galaxy S22 devices are also more vulnerable than the prior-generation Galaxy S21 smartphones, which used a plastic backing. Allstate Protection Plan vice president Jason Siciliano said that the design upgrades in the S22 and the S22 Ultra models have "resulted in durability downgrades when compared to their Galaxy S21 predecessors," increasing the need for smartphone cases and screen protectors.

As always, drop tests are variable and the results will depend on the angle that the smartphone happens to fall at. Allstate Protection Plans uses the same variables for all of its tests, but there's always an element of unpredictability, and even if the ‌iPhone‌ fares better controlled tests, that may not reflect real-world results.

With every all-glass smartphone like the Galaxy S22 and the ‌iPhone‌ 13, caution should be used to avoid drops and protective cases should be employed because neither Apple's Ceramic Shield and Samsung's Gorilla Glass Victus+ are reliable solutions against breakage.

Amid an ongoing dispute with the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) in the Netherlands over the App Store, Apple has defended its plan to require app developers to submit an additional app binary for the Dutch storefront if they wish to use a third-party payment processing method.

The ACM has ruled that Apple must allow dating apps in the Netherlands to use third-party payment processing systems. This differs from developers elsewhere in the world who must use Apple's in-app purchasing system built into the ‌App Store‌. Apple has announced plans to comply with the ruling, giving developers the ability to use a third-party method in the app itself or redirect users to a website for purchase.

Apple's plan to comply with the ruling, however, has faced some criticism over its requirement that developers submit an additional app binary for their dating app in the Netherlands if they wish to use a third-party payment method. The requirement has caused the ACM to deem Apple's plan as not complying with its ruling and consequently has levied weekly fines for the Cupertino tech giant. The penalties have now accumulated to €30 million.

In a letter obtained by MacRumors, Apple's head of compliance, Kyle Andeer, has defended Apple's plan and said it believes it is fully compliant with the ACM ruling and that Apple has a "consistent and longstanding commitment to compliance in each and every country in which we do business." In the letter, Andeer explained that the ‌App Store‌ operates under one set of core rules applied to all developers and all apps, irrespective of country.

"To ensure the best experience for users, Apple does not operate multiple versions of the ‌App Store‌, there is just one store with many different storefronts. That has proven to be an incredible opportunity for developers," Apple said. In some cases, Apple noted that some developers might want to offer a different app binary for specific storefronts, possibly to comply with local law and regulation.

Apple's requirement that dating apps submit a different app binary if they wish to use a third-party payment method or redirect users to the web for in-app purchases is "a straightforward prerequisite," according to Apple. The additional app binary ensures "that Apple complies with its legal obligations in the Netherlands while at the same time having the ability to maintain its standard terms and conditions in the rest of the world," Apple added.

Apple emphasized in the letter that the practice of employing an additional app binary is not complicated or costly for developers to do. "Dating apps are familiar with this process and in fact engage in it voluntarily," Apple noted. To prove its point that the practice is not an out of the ordinary requirement for it to enforce, Apple highlighted several apps made by Match Group, a developer which led the ACM to investigate Apple's ‌App Store‌, that have different app binaries for different storefronts, including "Our Time" and "Match."

Dating app developers in the Netherlands would only need to conduct "minor technical" changes to their existing app binary if they wish to use third-party payment methods or websites.

Dating app developers need to update their binary in order to take advantage of the new alternatives ordered by the ACM as the existing binaries of apps in the App Store do not contain third party processor or linking out capabilities. Apple's requirement therefore does not add any additional coding obligation on the developers but simply requires them to maintain the old binary for use outside of the Dutch storefront. With the changes Apple has implemented to comply with the ACM order, developers of dating apps in the Netherlands may update their binary now.

The ACM has been blunt in its denial of Apple's plans, saying that Apple has "refused to put forward any serious proposals" for its concerns over the company's compliance plan.

Andeer admitted in the letter that Apple and the ACM "have a difference of opinion" that may eventually need to be resolved by a court. Nonetheless, Andeer said that Apple is committed to working with the ACM in finding a solution both parties can agree to that benefits both Dutch developers and consumers.

Woot today has Apple's previous generation Apple TV 4K (32GB) in new condition, priced at $99.99 for Amazon Prime members and at $109.99 for everyone else. When this device originally launched in 2017 it was priced at $179.00.

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

If you're a Prime member, you can sign into your account on Woot by clicking "sign in with Amazon" on the Account tab. At checkout, you'll get an additional $10 off. This deal lasts for one day only.

This version of the Apple TV 4K is the previous generation model that launched in 2017, and as such it has the older Siri Remote model. It is in new condition, and Woot limits one per customer during this sale.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has penned an open letter for the first issue of Login, a new magazine from Italian publication Corriere della Sera. In the letter, Cook reflects on Apple's commitment to innovation, humanity, the environment, and more.

Cook believes that the world is currently facing a crucial moment in history and that technology will have a profound influence on the future:

As the world emerges from a pandemic that has taken so much away from us in the past two years, we have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the future we want to live in.. The decisions we make today about how to rebuild and where to focus our resources will leave their mark for many decades to come. And while technology will clearly have a profound influence on the future we build, it is important to remember that technology is not inherently good or bad. Its impact will depend on the values ​​and intentions we place at the heart of our innovations.

Cook challenged "innovators" from across Italy to join Apple in using technology to change the world for the better:

We believe everyone has the potential to innovate when they have access to the right tools, especially in a vibrant place like Italy, full of passion and creativity. And we want to help more and more people realize that potential. For this we have collaborated with the University of Naples Federico II and created the Apple Developer Academy, which provides aspiring developers and entrepreneurs with the coding skills necessary to shape their ideas.

The letter reiterates many of Apple's common talking points, including its belief that privacy is a fundamental human right and that it is committed to tackling climate change. In 2020, Apple unveiled a plan to ​become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030.

The full letter can be read in Italian on Corriere della Sera's website.

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.

TikTok is rolling out the ability for users to upload videos that are up to 10 minutes long, an increase from the previous 3-minute time limit imposed on the app, the company has confirmed to TechCrunch.

TikTok has been testing out the feature for several months and is now slowly rolling it out to all users. TikTok has had a history of increasing the maximum time length for videos on the app in an effort to keep pace with the changing dynamics of the content created.

Initially, videos were limited to just 15 seconds, before they were increased to 60 seconds, then 3 minutes, and now 10 minutes. The 10-minute option aims to "unleash even more creative possibilities for our creators around the world," TikTok said.

TikTok users will be notified when they're able to upload 10-minute-long videos, as long as they're running the latest app version.

Meross makes a wide range of HomeKit-compatible smart home devices for multiple regions around the world, including garage door openers, air purifiers, smart plugs, and more. With Meross's smart LED bulb, LED light strip, ambient light, and desk lamp, I was able to create a HomeKit lighting setup to put the company's smart home accessories to the test.

Compared to its direct competitors, Meross's smart lighting products are among the most affordable HomeKit-compatible devices on the market and set themselves apart with no need for a hub or a third-party app. It is possible to add, control, automate, and manage Meross's devices entirely through Apple's Home app, providing a more streamlined ‌HomeKit‌ experience.

Setup

Meross's smart home offerings differ from many other brands in the same space, such as Philips Hue smart lighting, because they do not require a hub or use of a third-party app. In theory, you need only open the Home app on your iPhone, tap Add Accessory, and scan the code on the device. Accumulatively, this significantly eases the setup process compared to the clunky hubs and apps that many other smart home brands demand.

While this is the ideal scenario for most smart home accessories, I had issues setting up some of Meross's devices on my network, where they repeatedly failed to connect with the Home app. Some users may need to temporarily disable their router's firewall and the 5GHz portion of their network during pairing to get around these potential problems. This may not be necessary in your case, and Meross's setup experience is generally very good, but prospective customers should be prepared to troubleshoot their network in the event of any problems.

Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb

The Meross Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb features an all-white enclosure and a frosted diffuser, with a ‌HomeKit‌ pairing code on the side. The bulb is a standard size and can be purchased with a range of bases for different light fittings, including the E26, E27, and B22. It is not weatherproof or suitable for outdoors use.

The bulb can emit up to 810 Lumens, which means it can be as bright as a 60W bulb, and can display up to 16 million colors, with color temperature adjustments from 2,700K to 6,500K. The bulb handles small adjustments in color temperature well and color reproduction is good, particularly for blues, reds, and pinks. The greens, yellows, and oranges are a little flat, with more faint, pastel tones, but overall vibrancy and dynamic range is good for a low-cost bulb of its type.

Meross's bulb is bright and vibrant enough for most uses, but more expensive competitors are slightly more dynamic in terms of brightness and and color reproduction. That being said, it is vital to remember that Meross's Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb is one of the cheapest HomeKit-enabled bulbs available starting at just $18.99 each, and is more than sufficient for most ‌HomeKit‌ setups. The company also offers multi-packs, with two-bulbs available for $27.99.

Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip

Retailing for $34.99, the Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip looks fairly standard for products in its category, featuring a series of LEDs evenly spaced along its length. The strip is 16.4ft long and comes wrapped around a plastic reel, and it comes with a control module, power adapter, and a range of mounting clips and adhesive pads.

Setting up the strip was easy, simply needing to connect the strip to the controller module, and the controller module to the power adapter. A button on the module functions as a manual control and can be used to reset the strip, and Meross includes an adhesive pad specifically to help keep it out of the way.

The strip delivers up to 16 million different colors and lights up evenly across different brightness levels. Red tones are very rich, and blues are also quite good. Yellows and purples are not reproduced very well, but the overall range of colors is more than serviceable.

The light strip can be mounted with the adhesive mounting clips included in the box, but the strip itself also has an adhesive back if that is more suitable for your implementation. The strip is also easy to cut down to size thanks to guides along its length.

Meross's light strip is ideal for accent lighting, such as running along the underside edge of furniture, rather than as a room's sole light source. The strip's even glow along its length makes for a great, understated lighting addition to any room.

Smart Wi-Fi Ambient Light

The Meross Smart Wi-Fi Ambient Light is a lamp with a sleek, cylindrical design, featuring white glossy plastic at the base and transparent plastic extending over the rest of the device. The top of the lamp contains a touch-sensitive capacitive area embedded below the plastic enclosure.

The lamp is just under eight-inches tall and four-inches wide, making it the perfect size for small side tables or nightstands. The design looks good, even when it is turned off, and its cylindrical shape puts the hues of the lamp at the forefront since it can emit light around its entire circumference. The light inside the diffuser is distributed fairly well, even though you can tell that the actual light source is at the bottom of the enclosure, but it doesn't negatively affect the overall look.

The lamp features touch-sensitive controls for added convenience, working to turn the lamp on and off, adjust brightness, and cycle through colors. The manual control option is definitely a worthwhile feature. For example, simply double tapping of the top control area turns the lamp off, which is perfect for when you don't have a device with the Home app or Siri nearby.

The lamp is powered by a barrel connector port on the back, which is not as convenient, secure, or easily replaceable as a USB connection. Strangely, there is also a superfluous small LED power indicator light at the back, which doesn't seem very useful since it is very small, obscured from view, and unnecessary for determining if the lamp is powered.

In terms of lighting, the lamp can emit up to 400 lumens, which is respectable for its size. With its small design, the lamp does not really provide enough lighting to be used as a sole light source in a room and works better as an accent piece depending on the other lighting conditions in the environment. I would have appreciated greater peak brightness to make the lamp more useful, but positioned as an accent, it is still a worthwhile part of virtually any ‌HomeKit‌ lighting setup.

Colors were much the same as Meross's other offerings, with white, red, and blue looking rich and vivid, while greens and yellows look a little washed out in darker shades. The lamp seems to be priced very fairly at $42.99, offering plenty of versatility with its design, controls, and ‌HomeKit‌ functionality.

Smart LED Desk Lamp

At $68.99, the Smart LED Desk Lamp is one of Meross's pricier smart lighting items. The lamp features an ultra-slim matte-black design that is perfect for minimalist desk setups. The base is made of plastic, but the top two sections of the lamp are made from aluminium for better heat dissipation and durability. The design seems to dissipate heat well in daily use, and while it gets warm at full brightness, it is never uncomfortably hot.

The top arm articulates easily and holds its position well, and there is a magnet toward the base of the lamp to keep it closed shut when desired. There is also a set screw that you have to screw in to attach the light to the base, but there is no stop for the screw and it is very easy to accidentally screw it in too far, which seemed like a small design oversight.

Unfortunately, I feel that the hollow plastic base let down the lamp's design significantly. The matte plastic looks considerably less premium than the top of the lamp and shows any scuffs and scratches very easily, with my lamp already having plenty of scuffs straight out of the box. The base looks and feels cheap, which stands in stark contrast to the premium, solid aluminium design of the rest of the accessory. Moreover, it feels as if there is not enough weight in the plastic base, making the lamp a little more precarious and wobbly than it should be.

The arm houses 46 LEDs that can produce up to 400 lumens of brightness. The light has no flicker, even on lower brightness settings, which is essential for avoiding eye strain with a desk lamp. While it cannot display colors, the Meross desk lamp supports white color temperature adjustments ranging from 2,700K to 6,000K.

The base features touch-sensitive controls for added convenience, allowing the lamp to be turned on and off and brightness to be changed with just a tap, which is often more convenient than calling out to ‌Siri‌ or using the Home app at a desk.

The desk lamp is excellent at lighting for a specific task since it is concentrated in a small area, but not great for lighting an entire desk. It works very well, offering practical functionality with a premium feel, but it is a shame that the design is let down by the plastic base.

Connectivity and HomeKit Support

Once the devices were paired, they had good responsiveness and provided a reliable connection to the Home app, and worked well with automations. Unlike some of the other ‌HomeKit‌ devices I use, the Meross offerings are consistently connected to my network, with no "no response" alerts. Meross's smart lighting is also quick to respond to app and voice commands, including toggling on and off, switching colors, and adjusting brightness, which all takes place within seconds.

Colors were not always accurately translated from the Home app to the accessory, so it can occasionally take a little longer to find your preferred shade in the app. This is due to the slight issue with color reproduction with some shades on some devices, but this is fairly normal for LED smart lighting, particularly for shades such as green and purple, and most users are unlikely to notice it.

The devices work over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi only, directly connecting to the router rather than via a hub. As a result, the Meross devices can be slow or refuse to reconnect to the network when Wi-Fi is temporarily unavailable, but this is a random occurrence and cycling power seems to fix the problem.

The Bottom Line

Overall, Meross's ‌HomeKit‌ accessories are good, cost-effective smart lighting solutions. The company's devices are well-designed, with practical benefits such as intuitive manual controls and no need for a hub or third-party app. Occasional problems with my network during setup and slight oversights such as the plastic base of the desk lamp are easy to overlook and I would not hesitate to grow my ‌HomeKit‌ setup with more Meross devices.

If you are looking for smart lighting with the best possible color reproduction, high brightness output, or weather-resistance, then Meross's devices may not be for you, but they are excellent for their price point and are worthy rivals to many of their competitors. For users looking to kickstart a ‌HomeKit‌ setup on a budget, Meross's smart lighting is a very good place to start.

How to Buy

In the U.S., Meross's range of devices are available from Amazon as well as the company's own website:

• Meross Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb (two-pack) – $27.99
• Meross Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip – $34.99
• Meross Smart Wi-Fi Ambient Light – $42.99
• Meross Smart LED Desk Lamp – $68.99

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner of Meross. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Meross provided MacRumors with a Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb, Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip, Smart Wi-Fi Ambient Light, and Smart LED Desk Lamp for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.

When Phil Schiller introduced the Lightning connector at the unveiling of the iPhone 5 in September 2012, he called it "a modern connector for the next decade," and with that 10-year mark coming up later this year, questions remain over what the future of the ‌iPhone‌ looks like and whether or not that future will include a Lightning port, or perhaps no port at all.

Every ‌iPhone‌ since the ‌iPhone‌ 5 has featured a Lightning port, which Apple touted in 2012 as a "smaller, smarter and more durable" port compared to the previous 30-pin connector. Even as the majority of the company's iPad line and the entire Mac line now feature USB-C, the ‌iPhone‌ has become the odd one out with its inclusion of Lightning.

The smartphone industry has rapidly transitioned to USB-C, with the vast majority of handsets on the market featuring the more versatile port. Apple's reluctance to follow the industry in adopting USB-C has annoyed many customers, but it appears Apple is sticking with Lightning on ‌iPhone‌ for the considerable future.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who frequently shares accurate insights into Apple's product plans, has said the company believes the adoption of USB-C would negatively impact its Made for ‌‌iPhone‌‌ (MFi) program and notes that Apple is concerned about lower standards of water resistance for USB-C compared to Lightning. Given those two points, Kuo says the ‌iPhone‌ will continue to feature Lightning for the "foreseeable future."

Apple's ultimate goal for the ‌iPhone‌ is to go completely portless, relying on MagSafe and wireless connections for charging and data transfer needs. ‌MagSafe‌ on the ‌iPhone‌, which first debuted on the ‌iPhone‌ 12, is still not fully matured and is so far limited to charging. Apple is highly unlikely to abandon Lightning and adopt USB-C for only a few years before going portless. Instead, it's more likely to use Lightning while continuing to ‌MagSafe‌ matures for a future portless ‌iPhone‌.

The European Commission could, however, impact how soon we get a portless ‌iPhone‌. The EC has proposed a directive that would require all consumer electronic devices, including smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers, and handheld videogame consoles, to feature a "common port," aka, USB-C. If the directive does pass in 2022, companies such as Apple will have two years to transition their devices to USB-C.

There are some caveats, though. On paper, the directive would constitute a significant change for the ‌iPhone‌ as it would be forced to include USB-C, but the directive only applies to devices that charge via cable.

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

A spokesperson for the EC confirmed to The Verge that if a device exclusively charges via wireless charging, it isn't required to include a USB-C port. That, alongside the two-year transition period that the directive would allocate to companies to transition to USB-C, gives Apple ample time to mature ‌MagSafe‌ and abandon Lightning in favor of an all-wireless future.

Apple's confusing port lineup has not gone unnoticed. Across the latest ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, and AirPods models, Apple offers customers four completely different types of chargers to juice up their devices. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman highlighted the inconsistency in his Power On newsletter this past August. As Gurman noted at the time, "Lightning served Apple well since 2012, but USB-C has clearly won out across the industry and has become the default connector for new devices."