Apple today shared a Christmas-themed "Ted Lasso" short featuring animated versions of popular characters like Roy Kent, Rebecca Welton, Leslie Higgins, Jamie Tartt, Keeley Jones, and Ted Lasso himself.
Called "The Missing Christmas Mustache," the short is voiced by "Ted Lasso" actors and it features a humorous storyline where Ted Lasso's mustache goes missing.
"Ted Lasso" is one of Apple's most popular TV shows to date, and it has won a number of awards. Two seasons have aired so far, and the series has been renewed for a third season, which could be its last.
Apple employees are no longer going to be returning to corporate offices in February as planned due to the continued spread of COVID-19 and the newly emerging omicron variant, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a memo sent out today.
Back in November, Apple sent out a letter telling employees that Apple would expect them to start returning to the office on February 1, but that return date has now been pushed back indefinitely.
BREAKING: Tim Cook just sent out an email delaying Apple’s return to work to a date “yet to be determined.” He also said the company is giving every corporate employee $1,000 to spend on home office equipment.
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) December 15, 2021
There is no word on when employees will be expected to go back to work, and for now, those who are able to do so will continue to work from home.
The delay will be welcome news to Apple employees who have been dreading the return to corporate offices, but Apple does plan to have employees come back at some point. Cook said that the return date is "yet to be determined" at this time.
Apple executives have made it clear since the beginning of the pandemic that employees will eventually need to return work. "Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate," Cook said back in June.
When it is safe for employees to return to the office, Apple is planning for a hybrid work schedule. Employees will be expected to be in the office three days a week, but will have the option of working from home for two days a week. Apple also plans to allow employees to work remotely for up to one month per year, giving them more time to travel and be closer to loved ones.
Because employees will need to continue to work from home, Cook said that Apple is giving every corporate employee $1,000 to spend on home office equipment.
A year ago today, Apple's AirPods Maxlaunched, marking the company's first push into the high-end over-ear headphones market under its own brand name. One year later, rumors about a successor are thin on the ground, but there have been some indications about what customers can expect from AirPods Max 2.
A report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that AirPods Max, thought at the time to be called "AirPods Studio," had suffered from several development challenges, such as problems with the headband being too tight, leading to multiple delays and scaling back of functionality.
It was initially believed that AirPods Max would offer unique customizability with interchangeable headbands and earcups, repeating the concept behind Apple Watch bands. Amid these delays and development issues, Bloomberg predicted that Apple would drop the concept of a replaceable headband to accelerate production.
Evidence of this concept can be seen in the final AirPods Max design. Users can easily remove the headband from AirPods Max without any disassembly of the headphones. To do this, users simply need to remove the magnetic ear cushions, fold the earcups flat, and insert a SIM card ejector tool into a small hole above the speaker.
Once the earcups are removed, the spokes on either side of the headband reveal a small Lightning-style connector for transferring power, and potentially data, between the earcups. It is possible that this system for removing the headband is a remnant of the original, more modular approach to AirPods Max.
Moreover, it was believed that AirPods Max would have left and right ear detection so users could reverse the headphones' orientation, as well as touch pads on the earcups for controls. This appears to have been replaced by the Digital Crown from the Apple Watch in the final product. It seems plausible that some of these features, including greater customization, could come to the second iteration of AirPods Max.
Rumors also suggested that the AirPods Max would be available in two varieties, including a more affordable sports-oriented model. Mixed-record leaker Jon Prosserrepeatedly said that AirPods Max would come in a "sport-like variant" for $350 and a "luxury variant" for $599. While Prosser's $599 was not far off the final $549 AirPods Max price tag, the cheaper $350 "sport variant" has yet to emerge. Apple could still launch this lower-end version of the AirPods Max at some time in the future.
AirPods Max in Silver, Space Gray, Pink, Green, and Blue
The last we heard about the next-generation AirPods Max was a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in May of this year, which explained that Apple was not actively working on a new model, but had considered launching new colors.
With the AirPods Max now being a year old, Apple could choose to refresh the device with new color options. The company has chosen to do this with other products, such as the iPhone 12 and the HomePod mini, and it would now be particularly fitting for the AirPods Max given the general disarray of Apple's current offering of colors across its devices.
We're still months away from the launch of the iPhone 14 models, which we're expecting in September 2022, but we've already heard enough rumors about the new devices that we have a clear picture of what to expect.
Rumors for upcoming products can sometimes be hard to follow, so we thought we'd do an at-a-glance rumor summary for the iPhone 14 so our readers can get a quick overview of what we might see without having to delve into tons of reading. We've separated the info into iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro lists, as these models are expected to be quite different in 2022.
Note that these are early rumors, and some of these features might not pan out or might have to be scrapped if there are manufacturing issues. What we get in September might ultimately look different than what we're expecting in December, but in past years, most early iPhone rumors we've heard have turned out to be accurate.
If you want to read more about the iPhone 14, we have an in-depth roundup that's regularly updated with all of the new rumors.
LG is developing three new standalone displays that may end up being for Apple, including one based on the current 24-inch iMac, one based on the upcoming 27-inch iMac, and a 32-inch model that may be a new Pro Display XDR with an Apple silicon chip, according to Twitter account @dylandkt, who has a mostly accurate track record with Apple-related rumors.
In a Twitter thread, the leaker said the displays are currently encased in unbranded enclosures, but he believes the displays might be for Apple given that they have similar specifications as iMac and Pro Display XDR models.
🧵Thread 1/4: There are three LG made Displays encased in unbranded enclosures for usage as external monitors that are in early development. Two of which have the same specifications as the upcoming 27 inch and current 24 inch iMac displays.
— Dylan (@dylandkt) December 15, 2021
The leaker added that the 27-inch and 32-inch displays seem to have mini-LED displays with a 120Hz variable refresh rate for ProMotion, and he said the 32-inch display appears to be equipped with an unspecified Apple silicon chip.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman was first to report that Apple was working on a consumer-level standalone display that is more affordable than the $4,999 Pro Display XDR, and if today's information proves to be accurate, the display could be available in both 24-inch and 27-inch sizes. These would be the first Apple-branded consumer-level external displays since Apple stopped selling the Thunderbolt Display in 2016.
Most of the information shared by @dylandkt today lines up with previous rumors from display industry analyst Ross Young, who just this week said that Apple is planning to release a new 27-inch iMac with a mini-LED display in the first half of 2022. 9to5Mac also reported that Apple was working on a new Pro Display XDR with an A13 chip.
Apple today released Swift Playgrounds 4, an update to the Swift Playgrounds app that's been in the works for some time. The newest version of the app allows iPhone and iPad apps to be created directly on an iPad without the need for a Mac.
Swift Playgrounds 4 includes App Store Connect integration for uploading a finished app to the App Store, plus there is an App Preview feature that shows live updates as you make changes. Apple's release notes for the update are below:
Swift Playgrounds 4.0 features: - Build iPhone and iPad apps with SwiftUI right on your iPad (requires iPadOS 15.2 or later) - App Store Connect integration lets you upload your finished app to the App Store - App Preview shows live updates as you make changes to your app - Full-screen preview lets you see your app edge-to-edge - Smart, inline code suggestions help you write code quickly and accurately - App Projects make it easy to move projects to Xcode and back - Project-wide search finds results across multiple files - Snippets Library provides hundreds of SwiftUI controls, symbols, and colors - Swift Package support lets you include publicly-available code to enhance your apps
Designing and uploading an app on the iPad requires the iPadOS 15.2 update that was released earlier this week. Swift Playgrounds can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Apple Fitness+, Apple's paid fitness subscription service, officially turned one year old this week. The service was announced in September 2020 and launched on December 14, 2020.
Fitness+ was initially only available to customers in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, but last month Apple expanded the service to many more countries. Apple Fitness+ is centered around the Apple Watch, which tracks critical metrics during workouts and displays them alongside the workout on the iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. New workouts are added every week.
There are currently 11 categories, including meditation, HIT (High-Intensity Training), yoga, core, strength, pilates, dance, cycling, treadmill, rowing, and mindful Cooldown. Each category includes its own set of trainers, with some types requiring equipment, such as dumbells, while others require no equipment at all. Depending on the category, workouts can be as short as 5 minutes long, with other ones being up to 45 minutes.
In October, Apple added new capabilities to Fitness+, including allowing friends and family to work out together using SharePlay. Since its launch, Apple has also introduced "Time to Walk," a new offering of Fitness+ which features audio stories from influential people that Apple Watch users can listen to with AirPods or other wireless headphones while walking.
In celebration of the service's one-year birthday, Fitness+ is offering a "Best of 2021" section within the Fitness app. Fitness+ is also celebrating the milestone on its Instagram. "Thank you for an incredible year. Here's to all that we've accomplished, and how far we've come together. Ready for Year 2? Let's Go!," the post reads.
We're just four days away from Christmas, placing us firmly in the last-minute holiday shopping season. Over the past few weeks MacRumors has been tracking all of the best Apple-related deals going on this season, and although many have now expired, there are a few left that you still have a chance of receiving before the 25th.
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.
Shoppers should note that most of the deals listed below are available from third-party retailers like Amazon and B&H Photo. The deadlines for ordering directly from Apple have come and gone for many products due to demand and supply shortages. You can see the full list of items still offering Christmas delivery on Apple.com.
In regards to the deals listed below, also take note that while these are all discounted, they may not be the best sales we've ever seen. However, if you missed Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals on these products and need them in time for Christmas, these are the absolute best deals you'll find right now.
Lastly, in regards to shipping and delivery dates, remember that these are constantly shifting and being updated across every retailer. What was in stock and delivering before the 25th when this article goes live may be pushed past a Christmas delivery mere hours later. If you see something you want, now is the time to buy. Also remember that the closer we get to the 25th, the more you may have to pay in shipping to guarantee a good delivery date.
AirPods Pro
Apple's AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case are available for $179.00 on Amazon, down from $249.00. Although not a record low price, this is only a $20 difference from the Black Friday sale we saw this year, and $70 off is still a great deal for the updated AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case.
These can currently be delivered as fast as Friday, December 17, and regular delivery will see them arrive on Tuesday, December 21 for most places in the United States. This is one of only two pairs of AirPods that currently have a delivery window before Christmas.
AirPods Max
The second model available to deliver before the 25th is the AirPods Max, available for $479.00, down from $549.00. Amazon has every color at this price, and all will arrive before Christmas.
Most colors are showing a delivery date between December 21 and December 24, so estimates are beginning to close in on the 25th.
MagSafe Accessories
You'll find a large number of MagSafe accessories discounted on Amazon this week, including iPhone 13 Silicone and Leather Cases, as well as the MagSafe Charger and MagSafe Battery Pack.
Amazon has been discounting numerous models of the Apple Watch Series 7 over the past few days, taking $50 off these devices and introducing new record low prices across the board. Starting with the 41mm GPS Apple Watch Series 7 in Green Aluminum with a Clover Sport Band, this model is available for $339.00, down from $399.00. The only other 41mm GPS model on sale at this price is the Blue Aluminum with an Abyss Blue Sport Band.
Lastly, there is only one Cellular device being discounted this week on Amazon. You can get the 41mm Cellular Apple Watch Series 7 for $439.00, down from $499.00. As with the GPS models, only a few colors are available for Christmas delivery.
Apple TV 4K
Amazon has the 32GB Apple TV 4K for $169.99, down from $179.00. The only way you can currently ensure that this one arrives before Christmas is to pay for the fastest delivery option (free for Prime members).
Amazon and B&H Photo have the 128GB Wi-Fi 12.9-inch iPad Pro for $999.00, down from $1,099.00 and with Christmas delivery. Although there are some other iPad Pro models being discounted, few others will arrive before the 25th.
You can also pair your new iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil 2, available for $99.00, down from $129.00. This continues to be one of the best deals we've seen this year on the accessory.
AirPods Max are Apple's first AirPods branded over-ear headphones and are undoubtedly a premium option for customers looking for over-ear headphones in the market. Rumors had initially indicated the headphones would be called "AirPods Studio," and their launch was deemed "imminent" for the majority of 2020.
AirPods Max feature a knit mesh canopy that's flexible to fit various head sizes. The headphones themselves are entirely metal, resulting in a heavy overall footprint. AirPods Max come in five colors: silver, space gray, pink, green, and sky blue.
Borrowing innovations from the Apple Watch, AirPods Max feature a Digital Crown for volume adjustment and a press to invoke Siri, as well as a Side Button for toggling on or off Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode. Like all AirPods and select Beats headphones, AirPods Max feature Apple's H1 chip, which powers tight integration with Apple devices, such as easy pairing and automatic device switching.
Priced at $549, AirPods Max are not an inexpensive purchase for customers, and other options such as Apple's own Beats line offer significantly more affordable over-ear headphones. Along with their hefty price tag, however, reviews of AirPods Max have been favorable, applauding the headphones for being "more than enough to compete with other high-end headphones."
AirPods Max initially saw very high demand that saw shipping estimates stretch out into months, but since the initial backlog was cleared, they've become much more readily available with third-party retailers sometimes even offering even discounts of $100 or more.
Amazon currently has Apple's 2020 27-inch iMac (3.1GHz 6-Core, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $1,399.99, down from $1,799.00. You'll see this sale price after an automatic coupon worth $299.01 is applied at checkout.
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.
This is now the best price we've ever seen on this model of the 27-inch iMac, and it's likely your last chance to get the iMac shipped in time for Christmas. Amazon currently has an estimate of December 21 for most places in the United States.
Final price includes $299.01 taken off at checkout.
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.
Disney today announced that it has updated its Disney+ app with support for SharePlay across the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, as reported by TechCrunch.
SharePlay allows users running iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, tvOS 15.1, or later to watch Disney+ series and movies in sync with friends and family while on a FaceTime call together. Disney said SharePlay is available globally for the entire Disney+ catalog of content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and more.
Once everyone has joined the FaceTime call, any user can start SharePlay by opening the Disney+ app and tapping play on the content that you want to watch. SharePlay sessions offer shared playback controls like play, pause, fast forward, and rewind.
SharePlay sessions can include up to 32 people and offer each participant in the FaceTime call the ability to choose audio and subtitles in their preferred language, Disney said in a press release announcing the update. Disney also said its native GroupWatch co-viewing feature will continue to be available globally to subscribers.
SharePlay support requires the latest version of the Disney+ app that is rolling out now on the App Store for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. SharePlay is also available on the Mac starting with macOS 12.1, but Disney+ does not offer a Mac app.
Other apps that support SharePlay include Apple TV+, Apple Music, TikTok, Twitch, Paramount+, SHOWTIME, the NBA app, and more. Last month, Apple said SharePlay support was also coming to BET+, ESPN, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, Pantaya, Pluto TV, and Starz.
The free and open source 3D creation tool Blender this week began testing Metal GPU rendering for its Cycles renderer on M1 Macs running macOS Monterey. Blender said Metal support for Macs with Intel and AMD GPUs is under development.
Blender said Metal GPU rendering in the Alpha build "is in an early state" and no timeframe was provided for the final release of Blender 3.1.
Apple's support for Blender has been praised by users of the 3D creation tool, as it marks the return of macOS as a completely supported Blender platform. Blender had not supported GPU rendering on Macs since Apple implemented its Metal framework.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with 1Password. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This offer is only available to new customers of 1Password. To redeem it, you'll just need to create an account on this landing page, no coupon code is needed for the deal. This offer is only for a 1Password Families subscription; there is no discount for the individual 1Password subscription. Our exclusive deal with 1Password expires on December 31.
When your first year of 1Password Families ends, it'll renew at the regular price, or you can cancel before that time. This version of 1Password supports five family members on unlimited devices, shared vaults among members, advanced security with authenticated encryption, and alerts for compromised websites and vulnerable passwords. It's available on Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, Chrome OS, and Linux.
There are a few of our exclusive sales still happening this month, including offers from Twelve South and Pad & Quill. 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.
With the release of tvOS 15.2 earlier this week, Apple added nine new high-resolution screen savers to Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K, including three featuring Scotland's Isle of Skye and Loch Moidart, and six offering various views of Iceland's stunning landscapes.
Traveling along the coast of the Isle of Skye, Scotland
Apple TV downloads new screen savers on a regular basis depending on your Apple TV settings (daily, weekly, or monthly via Settings -> General -> Screen Saver -> Download New Video), so you may not see them immediately. But when you do, and if you like them, you'll be happy to learn that you can get them on your Mac, too.
Created by developer John Coates and maintained by Guillaume Louel, Aerial is a free and open source app for macOS 10.12 and later (including Monterey and Apple silicon) that lets you view the same high-quality Apple TV screen savers on your Mac.
The app periodically scrapes the screen savers from Apple's servers and lets you choose your favorite videos so that they play more often. So while it's not possible to choose a specific screensaver on Apple TV once it's downloaded, you can on your Mac, thanks to Aerial.
In addition, Aerial has some additional options, including the ability to filter video themes, overlay weather data, and adapt the videos that are played to the time of day, plus it offers an additional library of over 100 different videos.
The easiest way to get it on your Mac is to download the Aerial Companion from Coates' GitHub page, drag the app to your Applications folder, launch it, and then follow the quick setup process.
You can choose whether updates should happen automatically in the background, or if you prefer to be notified. You can also pick whether you want an icon in the menu bar to notify you or not.
Aerial 2 also introduced Community Videos, including 20 screen savers donated at no charge by Joshua Michaels and Hal Bergman. And if you like the Aerial app, you can always buy the developers a coffee.
iOS 15.2, released this week, introduces the ability for customers to reset and erase their locked iPhone or iPad without needing to connect to a Mac or Windows PC.
As outlined in a support document (via 9to5Mac), iOS and iPadOS 15.2 add a new "Erase Device" option for when a device is locked out as a result of multiple failed attempts to enter the device's password. By pressing "Erase Device," users are prompted to confirm their identity with their Apple ID password, which results in the device being entirely erased and reset.
The new option is a welcome addition and a departure from the previous method, which required customers to put their iPhone or iPad into DFU mode and restore via Finder on the Mac or iTunes on Windows.
One caveat is that under the new method in iOS 15.2, the device must already have an active Wi-Fi or cellular connection before it is locked out. If not, users cannot connect to a network and will be forced to revert to the prior technique.
iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2 include a host of new features, including a new App Privacy Report, the Apple Music Voice Plan, Legacy Contacts, and more. Catch up on all the latest features and additions with our round-up.
Apple has 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 may hang in the balance following significant criticism of its methods.
Apple in August announced a planned suite of new child safety features, including scanning users' iCloud Photos libraries for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), Communication Safety to warn children and their parents when receiving or sending sexually explicit photos, and expanded CSAM guidance in Siri and Search.
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.
However, despite Apple's efforts, the controversy didn't go away. Apple eventually went ahead with the Communication Safety features rollout for Messages, which went live earlier this week with the release of iOS 15.2, but Apple decided to delay the rollout of CSAM following the torrent of criticism that it clearly hadn't anticipated.
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."
The above statement was added to Apple's Child Safety page, but it has now gone, along with all mentions of CSAM, which raises the possibility that Apple could have kicked it into the long grass and abandoned the plan altogether. We've reached out to Apple for comment and will update this article if we hear back.
Update: Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer told The Verge that though the CSAM detection feature is no longer mentioned on its website, plans for CSAM detection have not changed since September, which means CSAM detection is still coming in the future.
"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," Apple said in September.
Over the course of the last 10 years, the Apple Employee Giving donation program has raised more than $725 million for various organizations, Apple said today.
With the Employee Giving program, Apple workers can volunteer their time or donate money to a cause, and Apple matches the donation. Apple provides money for every hour an employee volunteers and matches monetary donations dollar for dollar.
The Employee Giving program is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and the $725 million that's been raised has been provided to 39,000 organizations around the world. Over 68,000 employees have logged close to two million volunteer hours since 2011, and more than $120 million was raised in 2021 alone.
In addition to the Employee Giving program, Apple has a Community Investment team that provides donations to nonprofit organizations worldwide, and the company donates through the Strengthen Local Communities grant program. Apple also regularly provides donations to communities impacted by natural disasters.
Third-party apps are continuing to adopt support for Apple's SharePlay FaceTime feature on iOS devices and Macs, and as of this week, MasterClass is offering SharePlay integration.
For those unfamiliar with MasterClass, it is an online subscription platform that provides tutorials and lectures from a range of people considered to be experts in their fields, including best-selling authors, celebrities, musicians, scholars, politicians, athletes, fashion designers, directors, business executives, and more.
With SharePlay integration, two or more people who subscribe to MasterClass can watch lessons together. As with other apps that offer SharePlay, participants need to be subscribed to the MasterClass service, which is priced at $30/month, though there is a 2-for-1 discount at the current time.
As with all SharePlay apps, all MasterClass participants will have media controls to play content, pause, and skip forward/backward as needed, with playback synced for everyone in real time. Participants will be able to watch the video playback and discuss the content with one another.
MasterClass was one of the apps that Apple announced as planning integration when SharePlay first debuted as part of iOS 15.1, and the feature is now available for those who want to use it.
Image via 
AirPods Max in Silver, Space Gray, Pink, Green, and Blue
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.
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.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with 1Password. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
