MacRumors

Apple today continued with its ongoing "Shot on iPhone" series, sharing a 30-minute film from Indian film director Vishal Bhardwaj. The movie was shot entirely on Apple's latest flagship smartphone, the iPhone 14 Pro.

The short film, called "Fursat," is described as a "magical story about a man so obsessed with controlling the future that he risks losing what he holds most precious in the present." It stars Ishaan and Wamiqa Gabbi, two popular Indian actors.

Apple has partnered with film directors in the past to showcase the capabilities of its smartphones in professional film settings. The iPhone 14 Pro models feature a 48-megapixel Wide lens and offer a new Action Mode with smooth-looking video that ignores shaking, motion, and vibrations.

Apple does not plan to name a replacement for vice president of industrial design Evans Hankey when she departs the company in the coming months, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Instead, the report claims that Apple's product design team will report directly to the company's operations chief Jeff Williams, in what is a major internal shift.

Apple plans to give key product designers larger roles within the team, but the new arrangement has still "irked" some of the employees, according to the report. Alan Dye will continue to lead Apple's software design team, the report adds.

A spokesperson for Apple confirmed that Hankey would be leaving the company in a statement shared with Bloomberg last October.

"Apple's design team brings together expert creatives from around the world and across many disciplines to imagine products that are undeniably Apple," the statement said. "The senior design team has strong leaders with decades of experience. Evans plans to stay on as we work through the transition, and we'd like to thank her for her leadership and contributions."

Hankey succeeded Jony Ive as Apple's de-facto design chief after he left the company in 2019, reporting to Williams. The report notes that Apple could eventually choose to hire a new industrial design chief, but as of now the company has no such plans.

Apple has placed more of an emphasis on function over form since Ive left the company, although it's unclear if his departure directly led to such a change. For example, Apple brought back ports like MagSafe, HDMI, and an SD card reader on the high-end MacBook Pro, and Apple also revamped the Siri Remote with a more traditional touchpad and layout after some Apple TV users complained about the previous remote's design.

Numerous Mac users are repeatedly encountering a bug in macOS Ventura that throws up Login Items notifications for various background app processes every time they start up their machine, even when the processes in question have been disabled.

If notification previews are disabled (via System Settings -> Notifications -> Show Previews) the annoying notifications appear as "Login Items." If previews are enabled, the notifications are labelled "Background Items Added" and contain the message "[app/process name] added items that can run in the background. You can manage this in Login Items Settings."

Curiously, there is no option in System Settings -> General -> Login Items to remove background items added to macOS by installed apps. Users can only disable listed items by toggling switches. Doing this however seems to have no impact on the notifications, and in some cases can cause more to appear.

Complaints across Reddit, Twitter, Apple Support Community discussions, and various other app-specific forums repeatedly cite app processes such as Google Updater, Adobe CC Helper, and Dropbox as culprits, but these only appear to be referenced more often because they are popular apps with background processes. Almost any third-party background process can seemingly be referenced in the persistent Login Items notifications.

In all but a minority of cases, trashing or uninstalling the related apps does not fix the problem, and if the notifications do subsequently disappear, reinstalling the app usually brings them back. Some users have even erased their Mac and reinstalled macOS Ventura to defeat the bug, but are then hesitant to install the associated apps.

Only a few users have been successful at ridding their Mac of the notifications by carrying out the following actions, although caution should be applied and users do so at their own risk.

1. Open Finder, then select Go -> Go to Folder... in the menu bar.
2. Copy and paste the following address into the input field and press Enter: ~/Library/LaunchAgents
3. A Finder window will open at the LaunchAgents folder. Show the items as a list organized by name, then search for the app or developer name associated with the process that's causing the Login Items notifications.
4. Delete the .plist file, then empty the Trash.
5. Restart your Mac.
6. If the above steps don't work, look in the ~/Library/LaunchDaemons folder. If there are launch daemons in there associated with the app/developer, delete those too, empty Trash, and restart.

Based on reports, the bug has been around since early beta versions of macOS Ventura, but there have been more frequent incidences reported on Macs running macOS 13.1 and later. Apple is seemingly aware of the problem, but has not commented.

Have you been affected by the Login Items notifications bug? If so, have you found a solution that worked for you? Let us know in the comments.

Apple's VP of hardware engineering Matthew Costello and product marketing employee Alice Chan recently spoke with Men's Journal and TechCrunch about the new second-generation HomePod in wide-ranging interviews about the smart speaker.

Apple discontinued the original full-size HomePod in March 2021 after multiple reports indicated that sales of the speaker were lackluster, but Chan told Men's Journal that Apple has since "heard more interest than ever for the acoustics of a richer larger speaker," leading the company to release another larger HomePod.

The new HomePod looks virtually identical to the original, although it is 0.2 inches shorter and has a larger edge-to-edge LED touchscreen on top. Costello told TechCrunch that Apple's teams "really love" this shape and form for the full-size HomePod and "were able to create a wonderful system within that structure."

Costello explained why the new HomePod is limited to the older Wi-Fi 4 standard, compared to Wi-Fi 6 on other modern Apple devices:

"HomePod features Wi-Fi 4 connectivity that allows us to target exactly what works best in the entire system," Costello tells TechCrunch, "making sure Siri requests are responsive, and ensuring a consistent experience for all you are listening to, controlling your smart home accessories and more — all while being energy efficient."

He also elaborated on the inability to pair a new HomePod with an original HomePod:

"When creating a stereo pair, it's important that the audio characteristics match for an optimal, balanced experience," says Costello of the lack of compatibility. "The new HomePod delivers immersive, room-filling sound users love — with even more detail, clarity and layers than the original HomePod — so we wanted the acoustical imaging to be as pure and consistent as possible from generation to generation. The principle of having audio characteristics match in a stereo pair applies to HomePod mini, the original HomePod and the new HomePod."

Apple told both media publications that the HomePod mini is "popular," but did not provide any additional details or comment on the future of the smaller speaker.

In his interview with Men's Journal, Costello provides additional details about the new HomePod's hardware and technologies, including the four-inch high-excursion woofer, tweeters, beamforming microphones, room-sensing capabilities, and more.

The new HomePod is available to pre-order for $299 and launches this Friday in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K., Japan, Australia, and select other countries. Check out our HomePod review roundup for a hands-on look at the speaker, which many reviewers found to have largely the same sound quality as the original.

Popular memory and Mac accessory retailer OWC today introduced a new sale on its Thunderbolt docks, which is set to last through February 9. In this sale you'll find up to $50 off select Thunderbolt docks.

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

In total, there are four docks on sale. Starting with the OWC Thunderbolt Hub, this is the cheapest of all the docks on sale and it has 4x Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports, 1x USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) Type-A port, and supports 60W of charging to a connected laptop. It's $99.99, which is $30 in savings.

Next up is the OWC Thunderbolt Dock with 11 ports, including 4x Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports, 3x USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) Type-A ports, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A port, 1 Gigabit Ethernet, 1 SD Card reader, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, and 96W of charging to a connected laptop. It's $199.99, which is $50 in savings.

The sale also includes the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock with 14 ports, including 2x Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports, 1x USB-C (10gb/s) Type-C port, 5x USB (5Gb/s) Type-A ports, 1x Mini DisplayPort, 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x SD Card reader, 1x Micro SD Card reader, 1 S/PDIF digital audio, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, and 85W of charging to a connected laptop. It's $249.99, which is $30 in savings.

Lastly, there's the OWC Thunderbolt Pro Dock with 10 ports, including 2x Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports, 1x USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) Type-C port, 3x USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) Type-A ports, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 1x SD Card reader, 1x CFExpress Card reader, and 85W of charging to a connected laptop. It's $329.99, which is $50 in savings.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Apple appears to be preparing an iOS 16.3.1 update for the iPhone, based on evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs this week. It's unclear when the update will be released, but it will likely be available at some point in February.

The same logs have accurately foreshadowed the release of several previous updates, including iOS 16.0.3 and iOS 16.1.1 most recently, so they have proven to be a reliable indicator of Apple's upcoming software releases. Minor updates like iOS 16.3.1 are typically focused on bug fixes, stability improvements, and security patches.

In the meantime, the wait continues for the first beta of iOS 16.4, which will likely be a more significant update with some new features. Previously-announced iOS features that have still yet to launch include Apple Pay Later for financing purchases, an Apple Card savings account option for Daily Cash, opt-in web push notifications via Safari, and more, but it's unclear if any of these features will be included in iOS 16.4.

Apple released iOS 16.3 in late January with support for physical security keys as a two-factor authentication option for Apple ID accounts, worldwide availability of Advanced Data Protection for expanded iCloud encryption, a new Black Unity wallpaper in celebration of Black History Month, Emergency SOS tweaks, and second-generation HomePod support.

Evidence of both iOS 16.4 and iOS 17 have also shown up in our website's analytics logs in recent weeks, as Apple employees test the updates internally. iOS 17 is expected to be announced at Apple's annual developers conference WWDC in June.

United States Senator Michael Bennet today penned a letter to the chief executives of Apple and Google demanding that they ban Chinese-owned TikTok from their app stores on national security grounds (via The New York Times).

Bennet, a Democrat of Colorado and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent the letter to Apple's Tim Cook and Google's Sundar Pichai, saying that no company subject to "Chinese Communist Party dictates should have the power to accumulate such extensive data on the American people or curate content to nearly a third of our population."

"TikTok's vast influence and aggressive data collection pose a specific threat to US national security because of its parent company's obligations under Chinese law," wrote Bennet. "Article 7 of China's National Intelligence Law decrees that 'any organization or citizen shall support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work.' Article 14 provides Chinese state security agencies the authority to demand cooperation from companies like ByteDance, while Articles 16 and 17 allow intelligence agents to access relevant materials and files and make use of its communication tools and facilities."

Bennet goes on to cite a BuzzFeed News report from June last year that suggested TikTok engineers in China had access to the data of U.S. users between September 2021 and January 2022. "Everything is seen in China," said one TikTok employee in recordings reviewed by BuzzFeed, with the recordings also referencing a "Master Admin" engineer in China who "has access to everything."

Bennet's letter concludes: "Given these grave and growing concerns, I ask that you remove TikTok from your respective app stores immediately."

TikTok has been in the cross-hairs of U.S. regulators for years now, going back to the Trump administration's failed attempt to bar the app from U.S. app stores in September 2020. However, concerns over the app have heightened in the last few weeks after both Republicans and Democrats called for officials to impose stricter data collection restrictions or ban the app from the U.S. entirely.

For its part, TikTok's parent company ByteDance submitted a plan in August detailing how it plans to prevent the Chinese government from having access to data on U.S. users, and how it will offer the U.S. government oversight of the platform. The Biden administration has yet to respond to the company's plan.

In the meantime, at least 27 state governments have passed full or partial bans on the app, while a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress in December would ban the app for everyone in the United States. The House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to hold a vote on the bill this month.

Senator Bennet's full letter to Apple and Google can be read on Scribd.

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.

A South Korean court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit seeking compensation from Apple over allegations the company deliberately slowed down the performance of older iPhones in order to compel customers to buy new models (via The Korea Herald).

"The lawsuit is dismissed," a court judge briefly said, without elaborating as to the reason for the ruling, denying the case brought by some 9,800 Korean smartphone buyers who were seeking 2 billion won ($1.64 million) against Apple.

The ruling comes five years after a group of consumers filed a civil lawsuit demanding damages of 200,000 won ($163) each. Initially brought by some 64,000 plaintiffs, the lawsuit claimed that Apple had induced some iPhone users to install a software upgrade that caused a performance slowdown so that users would consider replacing their devices with new ones.

The case relates to Apple's introduction in early 2017 of power management features for older iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns during times of peak power draw on devices with degraded batteries. These power management features throttle the processor on older iPhones with less than optimal batteries, resulting in slower performance.

The power management features were not widely publicized until late 2017, leading many customers to feel deceived by Apple.

Apple denied that it misled users, but later admitted that it slowed down some older iPhones with degraded batteries during times of peak power usage in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns. The company subsequently accepted that it should have provided a clearer explanation when it introduced the power management feature in iOS 10.2.1.

Following an apology, Apple implemented a battery replacement program that allowed all customers with an iPhone 6, 6s, 7, 6 Plus, 6s Plus, 7 Plus, and SE to replace their batteries for a reduced fee through the end of 2018.

Apple also introduced better battery monitoring features in a later iOS update, including the ability for customers to turn off the power management feature it introduced in iOS 10.2.1.

The Korean ruling stands in contrast with similar lawsuits brought against Apple in other countries. Apple in 2020 agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit in the United States that accused the company of "secretly throttling" older ‌‌iPhone‌‌ models. Apple faced similar lawsuits in Belgium, Chile, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

The second-generation HomePod is set to be released on Friday, February 3, which is the day that pre-orders will be delivered and when the speakers will be available for purchase in retail stores. One lucky MacRumors reader received his HomePod days early, with the device delivered today.

The ‌HomePod‌ in question was ordered from Best Buy and was mistakenly delivered early by the Canada Post.

Apple's second-generation ‌HomePod‌ is almost identical to the now-discontinued original ‌HomePod‌, coming in at just a bit shorter. The major external design difference is the revamped display, which is edge-to-edge, larger, and improves the overall look of the speaker.

The internal components have also been changed with Apple tweaking the number of tweeters and microphones, but reviewers have found that the speaker largely sounds the same as the original model. As with the first ‌HomePod‌, the new version comes in two colors, white and a new midnight shade.

Apple is selling the ‌HomePod‌ for $299, and it can be purchased from the Apple website. It will be in stores on Friday.

Amazon today introduced a deal on Apple's AirPods 2, available for $99.00, down from $129.00. Amazon is expecting a delivery estimate of early February for most locations in the United States as of writing.

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.

This is an overall second-best price on the AirPods 2, but we of course haven't tracked record low deals since the holidays. If you're shopping for a cheaper pair of AirPods in 2023, this will be your best bet, and only Amazon has the sale.

This model of the AirPods comes with the Lightning 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.

It's been more than a week since Apple released the iOS 16.3 update, and typically, new iOS betas follow launches within a day or so. We were expecting Apple to provide the first beta iOS 16.4 on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, but that hasn't happened.

Tuesdays are the days that we most often see betas, though Monday and Wednesday happen now and then, and most often betas come out at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. We're now past the most likely beta release timelines for this week, which means we may be waiting until Tuesday, February 7 for the first beta of iOS 16.4.

That said, Apple very rarely releases new beta updates at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time so there is still a slim chance we could get a beta today, and even more rarely, betas come on Thursday, so tomorrow isn't 100 percent ruled out either. It is earnings day on Thursday, with details set to come out at 1:30 p.m., so we may not see a Thursday beta.

Next week is the most likely iOS 16.4 beta launch scenario, based on when betas normally come out and past launch timelines.

Last year, iOS 15.4's first beta came on January 27, one day after the launch of iOS 15.3, and in 2021, there was a 14.5 beta that came in February as the timelines were accelerated that year. In 2020, we did get iOS 13.4 on February 5, which was a full week after the launch of iOS 13.3.1.

Possible iOS 16.4 Features

There wasn't a lot in iOS 16.3 as it primarily focused on Security Keys and then under-the-hood bug fixes, but there is a solid chance that iOS 16.4 will be more exciting, especially given the launch delay.

• New Emoji - Apple has not yet added the Unicode 15 emoji, which include pink heart, moose, black bird, jellyfish, flute, hyacinth, ginger, goose, donkey, and more, so we could see them in the 16.4 beta.
• Apple Music Classical - Apple is working on some kind of revamped classical music experience with a dedicated app. It was supposed to come in 2022, but that didn't happen, so it could launch any time.
• Web-Based Push Notifications on iOS - We're still waiting on an iOS 16 update that adds web-based push notifications on the iPhone and the iPad, a feature that will let websites send notifications through Safari, just like on Macs.
• Apple Pay Later - With Apple Pay Later, qualifying customers in the United States will be able to split their purchases into four equal payments that will be made over six weeks, with no added interest. The feature will be built into the Wallet app and is similar to the PayPal buy now, pay later functionality. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously said ‌Apple Pay‌ Later could be introduced in iOS 16.4.
• Apple Card Savings Accounts - Apple is planning to allow Apple Card customers to open a high-yield savings account through Goldman Sachs, where Daily Cash accumulated through purchases can be saved. There is no word on when this is launching, and like Apple Music Classical, it could come any time.

When the initial beta of iOS 16.4 comes, it will be limited to developers to begin with, with Apple likely providing the software to public beta testers a week later. If we get the first developer beta on the 7th of February, a public beta could come on the 14th, and a launch could happen somewhere around the second to third week of March at the earliest, or in early April if there are features that require more extensive testing.

Samsung today announced the launch of its latest flagship smartphones, the 6.1-inch Galaxy S23, the 6.6-inch Galaxy S23+, and the 6.8-inch Galaxy S23 Ultra.

All three devices feature AMOLED displays with 120Hz refresh rates, and the Ultra has an edge-to-edge display similar to prior-generation models. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is equipped with a new 200-megapixel wide-angle camera, while the other two models use 50-megapixel cameras. There is also a 10-megapixel zoom camera, 12-megapixel ultra wide camera, and 12-megapixel front-facing selfie camera on each device.

At 200 megapixels, the S23 Ultra surpasses the 48-megapixel camera in Apple's iPhone 14 Pro models, and it supports 8K video capture. As with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the S23 Ultra includes 10x optical zoom through periscope lens technology, which Apple is rumored to be implementing with the iPhone 15 lineup.

Samsung says that the camera in the Ultra is tailored for "nearly any lighting conditions," and is designed to provide "incredible detail." Nightography has been improved for sharper images and videos that have less noise in low-light conditions, and there is a new image signal processing algorithm that enhances color and detail.

The selfie camera on the device includes fast autofocus, with Samsung referring to it as a "Super HDR selfie camera" with 60 frames per second video recording. Other camera features include doubled optical image stabilization, 360 audio recording, and object-based AI that analyzes each detail in a frame to "carefully reflect a person's dynamic characteristics.

Up to 1TB of storage is available, and the battery in the S23 Ultra comes in at 5,000mAh. Other Galaxy S23 Ultra features include IP68 water resistance, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for the display, an accompanying S Pen, Wi-Fi 6E support, a fingerprint sensor, and facial recognition.

The smartphones use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform from Qualcomm, which means they will be compatible with the satellite connectivity feature that Qualcomm announced last year.

Colors this year include Phantom Black, Cream, Green, and Lavender, with pre-orders available on Samsung's website, with Samsung offering free storage upgrades and bonus Samsung Credit for use on additional purchases for those who pre-order. Best Buy is also offering special carrier promotions on the new phones.

Pricing on the S23 Ultra starts at $1,200, pricing on the S23+ starts at $1,000, and pricing on the S23 starts at $800.

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

Alongside new Galaxy smartphones, Samsung today introduced the Galaxy Book3 Ultra, a new premium PC with a 2-in-1 convertible form factor and included S Pen. Samsung says the Book3 Ultra is the thinnest clamshell device in its class, featuring a lightweight aluminum frame.

The Galaxy Book3 Ultra includes a 13th-generation Intel Core i9 processor and an NVIDIA RTX Geforce 4070 GPU, and it features Samsung's Dynamic OLED 2x display, previously used for Galaxy smartphones. The display has a 3K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, and it is available in a 16-inch size.

There's an AI Noise Canceling feature to reduce background noise on calls and Samsung's Studio Mode offers lighting correction, auto framing, and eye contact correction for video meetings. The notebook also features a quad speaker system.

Samsung is also introducing the Book3 Pro 360 and the Book3 Pro, two more affordable PC options. The Galaxy Book3 Pro also includes the same OLED display technology, and it is available in 14 and 16-inch sizes, while the Book3 Pro 360 has a 360 display and a 16-inch display size.

The new notebooks include Samsung Multi Control, a feature that is designed to allow Samsung users to control a PC, Galaxy Tab, and Galaxy smartphone with the Galaxy Book3 keyboard and trackpad, similar to the multi-device control that Apple offers between the iPad and the Mac.

The new Galaxy Book3 Ultra, Book3 Pro, and Book3 Pro 360 are available for pre-order starting today, with Samsung set to launch the new machines on February 17.

Pricing on the Galaxy Book3 Pro will start at $1,450, while pricing on the Book3 Pro 360 will start at $1,700. The high-end Ultra model is priced starting at $2,200. If you're also purchasing a phone from the Galaxy S23 lineup, you can use your bonus Samsung Credit from that purchase an apply it to a Galaxy Book3 order while earning additional Samsung Credit for the Book3 purchase.

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

While many of Apple's product lines have been updated recently, a handful of devices and accessories have not received hardware updates in recent years.

Below, we have put together a list of five products that Apple sells that have not been updated in over two years, aside from new software features. The list excludes previous-generation products that remain available, such as the iPhone 12.

Apple Pencil

Released alongside new iPad Pro models in October 2018, the second-generation Apple Pencil will soon be four and a half years old.

A key feature of the second-generation Apple Pencil compared to the original one is that it can be magnetically attached to select iPads for wireless charging. Users can also switch between drawing tools and brushes within apps like Notes by double tapping on the second-generation Apple Pencil's built-in touch sensor.

There haven't been any credible rumors about a new Apple Pencil, so it's unclear when the $129 accessory will be updated.

Mac Pro

Available since December 2019, the Mac Pro is now over three years old and is the final Intel-based Mac that Apple sells. The high-end desktop tower is expected to be updated this year with Apple's M2 Ultra chip, which will make it the fastest Mac ever.

The new Mac Pro could be released this spring alongside macOS 13.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the new Mac Pro will have the same design as the 2019 model, but lack user-upgradeable RAM and likely won't support external GPUs. It's unclear if Apple will continue to sell a rack-mountable version of the computer.

Pro Display XDR

Apple released the Pro Display XDR alongside the Mac Pro in December 2019, making it over three years old. The monitor starts at $4,999 and features a 32-inch screen size with 6K resolution, but it lacks a camera and a stand costs $999 extra.

In December, Gurman said Apple was working on multiple new external monitors, including an updated version of the Pro Display XDR that will be equipped with an Apple silicon chip, just like the cheaper Studio Display has an A13 chip. However, it's unclear when the new Pro Display XDR will be released or other new features it will have.

AirPods Max

Released in December 2020, the AirPods Max are now over two years old. Apple's over-ear headphones have not received any hardware updates since and remain priced at $549 in the U.S., with green, pink, silver, sky blue, and space gray color options.

Last month, well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said mass shipments of second-generation AirPods Max would likely begin in the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025, but there's always a chance that new color options could be introduced sooner.

The new AirPods Max could adopt several features from the second-generation AirPods Pro, such as an H2 chip, improved active noise cancellation, Adaptive Transparency mode, Conversation Boost, skin-detect sensors, longer battery life, and more, but it remains to be seen exactly what improvements are introduced with the new AirPods Max.

HomePod mini

Released in November 2020, the HomePod mini is now among the list of current-generation Apple devices that are over two years old. The smaller Siri-enabled smart speaker remains available for $99 and has not received any hardware updates since launching, although it did get new blue, orange, and yellow color options in November 2021.

Apple is not currently working on a new HomePod mini, according to Gurman, but it did recently enable the temperature and humidity sensor in the speaker.

Apple recently introduced a new full-size HomePod that launches this Friday.

Apple is set to report its earnings results for the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri will discuss the results on a conference call for investors a half hour later.

Keep reading for some key things to know about the quarter, including a recap of products announced, revenue expectations, and more.

New Products During Quarter

Apple's first quarter ran from September 25 through December 31, according to the company's 2023 fiscal calendar. Apple released a handful of new products during this period, including updated iPad and Apple TV models:

• 11-inch iPad Pro (4th generation) and 12.9-inch iPad Pro (6th generation)
• iPad (10th generation)
• Apple TV 4K (3rd generation)
• iPhone 14 Plus (pre-orders began in September)

First Revenue Decline Since 2019?

On average, Apple is estimated to report revenue of $121.2 billion for the quarter, according to Yahoo Finance. This would be down around 2% from $123.9 billion in the year-ago quarter and represent Apple's first revenue decline since 2019.

In November, Apple issued a rare warning to investors about iPhone 14 Pro supply constraints:

COVID-19 restrictions have temporarily impacted the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly facility located in Zhengzhou, China. The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity. As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prioritizing the health and safety of the workers in our supply chain.

We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. However, we now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.

We are working closely with our supplier to return to normal production levels while ensuring the health and safety of every worker.

Conference Call

Apple's CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will hold a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time tomorrow to discuss the company's first quarter earnings results. The call should be around one hour long and will include a Q&A segment with analysts.

A live audio stream of the conference call will be available on Apple's Investor Relations page, and a recording will be available at a later time for replay.

Investors will be listening for any potential commentary surrounding the economy as concerns persist about a recession in the U.S. and other countries.

What's Next

Apple's second quarter of fiscal 2023 began January 1 and runs through April 1. The quarter has already included orders for updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, updated Mac mini models, and a new HomePod.

Apple has not provided guidance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but analysts currently expect Apple to post sub-1% year-over-year growth in Q2 2023.

AAPL is currently trading slightly below $143, down around 20% from a 52-week high of $179.61.

A new Apple Watch Ultra with a larger 2.1-inch display will be released in 2024, according to a report today from Taiwanese publication DigiTimes, citing industry sources. This lines up with information shared last month by Jeff Pu, a tech analyst at Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities.

The current Apple Watch Ultra has around a 1.93-inch display, so the 2024 model would have nearly a 10% larger screen and would likely become the first Apple Watch with over a 50mm case size. The new Ultra is also expected to be the first Apple Watch to adopt microLED display technology, resulting in higher brightness, decreased power consumption, and improved contrast ratio compared to current models with OLED displays.

It's unclear if an Apple Watch Ultra update is planned for 2023.

Taiwanese research firm TrendForce today reported that microLED technology could allow for Apple to offer future products with "game-changing product innovations," ranging from foldable and rollable iPhone models to fully transparent AR glasses.

microLED display production costs are currently high, so Apple's transition to the technology will likely take many years to be completed.

In the meantime, Apple is still completing a transition to OLED displays across its product lineup. The first Apple device with an OLED display was the Apple Watch in 2015, while the iPhone started moving to OLED in 2017. Rumors suggest the first MacBook Air and iPad Pro models with OLED displays will be released in 2024.

Amazon is kicking off February with a fresh discount on the Apple Watch Series 8. You can get the 41mm GPS (PRODUCT)RED Aluminum version of the wearable for $349.00, down from $399.00.

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.

Only the M/L band size is on sale at this price, which is a match of the all-time low price on this version of the Apple Watch Series 8. As of writing, Amazon estimates free delivery to arrive between February 15 and 18.

If you're shopping for a cellular model, Amazon also has the 45mm cellular Apple Watch Series 8 for $479.00, down from $529.00. This one is available in three colors, with delivery estimates as soon as February 5 for the Midnight Aluminum model.

The Apple Watch Series 8 features an Always-On display that lets users see their watch face and complications at all times, as well as crack-resistant front glass, IP6X dust resistance, and a WR50 water resistance rating. Heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen detection, ECG readings, sleep tracking, fall detection, and loud noise monitoring are also available, plus a built-in temperature sensor that's used for giving women additional insights into their health.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Apple today launched the new MLS Season Pass, with the new subscription service available to Major League Soccer fans in more than 100 countries and regions.

Available in the Apple TV app, the MLS Season Pass can be accessed on Apple devices, Smart TVs, consoles, set-top boxes, and on the web with the tv.apple.com website.

You don't need an ‌Apple TV‌+ subscription to purchase the MLS Season Pass, but it's cheaper if you have one. Non-TV+ subscribers can pay $14.99 per month or $99 per season, whereas TV+ subscribers pay $12.99 per month or $79 per season.

MLS season ticket holders automatically get access to the MLS Season Pass on ‌Apple TV‌. Through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share the subscription using their own Apple ID and password, and fans can ask Siri a wide variety of questions related to MLS, including schedules, scores, standings, club rosters, and player stats.

The Season Pass includes every live MLS regular-season match, the playoffs, and the Leagues Cup, with no blackouts. There is also a free selection of pre-season on-demand content to get fans hyped up for the new season.

The MLS 2023 regular season begins on February 25, with the 2022 MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC to face off against the LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl Stadium. All matches during the opening weekend will be free to watch through the ‌‌Apple TV‌‌ app. More information on free matches can be found by visiting the full 2023 MLS season schedule.

From Apple's press release:

"Having accessibility is huge for the sport. It's going to help grow MLS not only domestically, but internationally. You'll have eyes all over watching our games," said Kellyn Acosta, Los Angeles Football Club's midfielder. "We talk about how we want the league to continue to grow and bridge the gap in comparison with other leagues, and I think having this Apple partnership is a step in the right direction. Leading into the World Cup in 2026, you want to build momentum and gain more exposure, and I think this partnership is going to truly be beautiful. I know my family is excited to have all the games in one place, and I think it’s going to be huge for the league and for the sport in the US."

When the season kicks off, fans can visit Apple Maps to explore dedicated Match Day Guides created by MLS clubs, including Atlanta United, Nashville SC, and Toronto FC, and find recommendations for local bars and restaurants to catch a game, detailed information about their stadiums, and more.

‌Apple Maps‌ is also launching several new custom-designed three-dimensional landmarks of MLS Stadiums in time for the season openers, including Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey; Lumen Field in Seattle; and Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

The Season Pass is the result of a deal between Apple and Major League Soccer for a 10-year partnership. All 29 MLS clubs now have an ‌‌Apple TV‌‌ patch in a different color to mark the agreement.