MacRumors

Apple's iPad shipments are expected remain stable in the second quarter of this year, despite the impact of global chip shortages, according to a new report.

The ongoing integrated chip shortage has been caused by supply chain issues that arose during the global health crisis and weather-related events like the freeze in Texas that shut down Austin chip plants.

As chip factories struggled to keep up with standard outputs during the pandemic, demand surged as people purchased devices for an at-home lifestyle, leading to higher prices. As a result, electronics companies bought up all available supply, leading chip makers to run at capacity.

So far, the shortage has only had minor impacts on the tablet market, which continues to follow its seasonal pattern. Global tablet shipments totaled 35.95 million units in the first quarter of 2021, down 22.7% sequentially, but 45.5% on year, according to DigiTimes.

However, the release of new iPad Pro models will help Apple buck declining trends in the global market, according to the report, with most non-Apple brands expected to witness sequential declines in second-quarter shipments.

The sequential shipment decline in the first quarter was due to slow-season effect and volumes in the second quarter are expected to continue suffering from seasonality, witnessing a sequential drop of 6.6%, Digitimes Research's figures show.

Unbranded or "white-box" tablet vendors are said to have been seriously hit by the shortages and have watched their market shares being taken over by inexpensive models by brand vendors. DigiTimes reports that white-box tablets could be at risk of disappearing from the market altogether in 2022.

Despite Apple's ability to remain unscathed by the chip shortage in Q2, Bloomberg reports that its 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ may be in short supply when it launches on May 21 due to production issues of the mini-LED display being used in the device.

Overall, Apple will seen an impact from the chip shortages and says it expects to see a sequential decline of approximately $3 to $4 billion revenue in the third-quarter of 2021 due to ‌‌iPad‌‌ and Mac supply constraints. Apple says a combination of the shortages and a very high level of demand for both ‌‌iPad‌‌ and Mac is expected to impact revenue in the second half of 2021.

More than a week following their international debut, Apple's AirTag item tracker is now facing child safety concerns about its replaceable battery.

AirTags feature a standard replaceable CR2032 coin-cell battery that Apple says can power an ‌AirTag‌ for an entire year. The battery in an ‌AirTag‌ can be removed by pushing down and twisting the ‌AirTag‌'s back-plate, a fairly straightforward and easy process.

However, the easy battery replacement process has prompted concerns that a child could access the battery and potentially pose a safety risk to themselves. As reported by Gizmodo, concerns are high enough to have caused major Australian retailer Officeworks to temporarily pull AirTags from its shelves.

The retailer hasn't confirmed the exact reason, although the report notes that multiple Reddit users have said that an Officeworks representative confirmed the retailer's concerns over child safety.

"Staff at the counter could see on their system that they had some in stock, and one staff member even remembered selling them on Friday, but they couldn’t find them today," the user wrote in a post.

They went onto say that an Officeworks representative told them that the AirTags were removed due to safety concerns, specifically regarding how easy it is for the button-cell battery to be removed by a child.

Furthermore, in a statement given to Gizmodo, Apple preemptively confirmed that the battery replacement process is at the center of the retail chain's decision to pull AirTags from its shelf temporarily.

"AirTag is designed to meet international child safety standards, including those in Australia, by requiring a two step push-and-turn mechanism to access the user-replaceable battery," an Apple representative said in an email to Gizmodo Australia.

"We are following the regulations closely and are working to ensure that our products will meet or exceed new standards, including those for package labelling, well ahead of the timeline required."

Officeworks says that AirTags will stay off its shelves until "further guidance is provided from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission," which happens to be the same authority currently investigating Apple over claims of anti-competitive market behavior.

Australian regulations require that any consumer good that features a battery compartment that's accessible to the consumer, whether or not the battery is intended to be replaced, must "be designed to ensure the compartment is resistant to being opened by young children." Regulations also state that the battery compartment must feature "screws or similar fasteners used to secure the door."

AirTags don't feature any screws visible to the consumer. However, to access the battery compartment, the user must first press down and twist the back plate. So, while there are definite concerns, it's unlikely AirTags violates any direct regulatory clause. Instead, it's likely that a lack of clarity regarding how Apple's AirTags fit with the existing regulations has caused the retailer to pull them.

The highly-anticipated Epic Games vs. Apple trial kicked off today in a federal court in Oakland, California, with lawyers for both companies delivering opening remarks before District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

Lawyers for Epic Games attempted to paint the App Store as anti-competitive and monopolistic, noting that developers are forced to use Apple's in-app purchase system, and thus pay Apple a 30% commission on sales. (The rate drops to 15% for subscriptions after the first year and for qualifying developers who sign up for Apple's new Small Business Program and earn less than $1 million per calendar year in net revenue.)

Epic Games described the App Store as a "walled garden" and presented emails from current and former Apple executives like Steve Jobs, Phil Schiller, Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue, and Scott Forstall in an attempt to prove this claim.

Epic Games wants Apple to be forced to allow third-party app stores on iOS and to let developers offer direct payment systems, but Apple argued that a single, highly-curated App Store is necessary to protect the security, privacy, reliability, and quality that customers have come to expect from the company.

"Epic wants us to be Android, but we don't want to be," said Apple lawyer Karen Dunn, referring to the ability to sideload apps outside of the Google Play store on Android devices. "Our consumers don't want that either," she added.

Epic Games is the creator of popular battle royale game Fortnite, which Apple removed from the App Store in August 2020, shortly after Epic Games slyly introduced a direct payment option in the app, in defiance of the App Store rules. Epic Games then filed an orchestrated lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of anti-competitive behavior.

At the time, Apple said Epic Games "took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users," adding that it would "make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store." Epic Games has refused to cooperate, however, and Fortnite remains unavailable on the App Store.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney testified at the trial today, saying that by introducing the direct payment option, he wanted consumers to see that Apple exercises "total control" over iOS and software available on the platform.

The trial is expected to continue for a total of three weeks, with Apple's CEO Tim Cook and other executives expected to testify.

Following today's release of iOS 14.5.1 and last week's release of iOS 14.5, Apple has stopped signing iOS 14.4.2, the previously available version of iOS 14 released on March 26. With iOS 14.4.2 no longer being signed, it is not possible to downgrade to iOS 14.4.2 from iOS 14.5 or iOS 14.5.1 if you've already updated your iPhone or iPad.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.

iOS 14.4.2 was a security update that addressed a vulnerability where processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to universal cross-site scripting. iOS 14.5 released last week addressed a number of security issues, and today's release of iOS 14.5.1 addresses another pair of WebKit issues that may have been actively exploited, so those who have not yet updated should do so.

Apple's Podcasts platform is experiencing an "outage" for some users, according to the company's system status page.

"Users are experiencing a problem with this service," wrote Apple. "We are investigating and will update the status as more information becomes available." Apple says the undisclosed problem began on April 29.

Only some users are affected by the outage, according to Apple. No further details were provided, and Apple has declined to comment at this time.

April 29 is the same day that MacRumors reported about a variety of complaints that users have made about the Podcasts app since it was redesigned in iOS 14.5, such as skipping during playback, inaccurate timestamps, unresponsive scrolling, episodes failing to sync across devices after being added to a library, and more.

Update: The outage has been marked as resolved on Apple's system status page.

(Thanks, Gustavo!)

Beginning on Monday, Twitter will enable anyone with at least 600 followers on its platform to host Spaces, its version of the audio room network Clubhouse.

Announced via a blog post, Twitter says that its decision to open up the functionality to users with at least 600 followers came following feedback from Twitter users and the community. Spaces originally launched last year, but so far only certain Twitter users have had access to the feature.

Today, we’re bringing the ability to host a Space to all accounts with 600 or more followers on Twitter. Based on what we’ve learned so far, these accounts are likely to have a good experience hosting live conversations because of their existing audience.

Twitter in March said that Spaces would be available to everyone by April, and with that timeframe now having passed, the company says it still wants to learn and hear more from users before it officially switches the feature on for all users.

Before bringing the ability to create a Space to everyone, we’re focused on learning more, making it easier to discover Spaces, and helping people enjoy them with a great audience.

Alongside the wider pool of users with access to Spaces, Twitter also revealed that it is working on the ability for users to pay for tickets to attend Spaces as a way to monetize the feature. Twitter says it will only take a "small amount" of commission from the ticket sales.

Alongside iOS 14.5.1 and watchOS 7.4.1, Apple today also released macOS Big Sur 11.3.1, which the company says "provides important security updates".

According to the full security notes for the release, it addresses a memory corruption issue and an integer overflow in WebKit that could both be exploited using maliciously crafted web content. Apple says it aware of a report that these issues may have been actively exploited, so users are advised to upgrade immediately.

Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 14.5.1, minor security updates that come just a week after the release of the iOS 14.5 update. There is also a companion watchOS 7.4.1 update for Apple Watch and an iOS 12.5.3 update for older iPhone and iPad devices that don't support Apple's latest operating system versions.

According to Apple's release notes, the update fixes a bug with App Tracking Transparency that may have prevented some users from receiving prompts from apps.

This update fixes an issue with App Tracking Transparency where some users who previously disabled Allow Apps to Request to Track in Settings may not receive prompts from apps after re-enabling it. This update also provides important security updates and is recommended for all users.

Security notes for the release indicate that it addresses a memory corruption issue and an integer overflow in WebKit that could both be exploited using maliciously crafted web content. Apple says it aware of a report that these issues may have been actively exploited, so users are advised to upgrade immediately.

The iOS and iPadOS 14.5.1 updates can be downloaded for free and the software is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the new software, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

The first day of the bench trial between Fortnite creator Epic Games and Apple is officially underway, with the companies delivering opening remarks before District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in a Northern California courtroom.

The saga dates back to August 2020, when Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store after Epic Games introduced a direct payment option in the app for its in-game currency V-Bucks, in defiance of the App Store rules. In what appears to have been an orchestrated move, Epic Games promptly filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of anti-competitive actions and describing the App Store as a monopoly.

• Epic Games v. Apple: Timeline of Events

Shortly after removing Fortnite from the App Store, Apple issued a statement saying that the App Store guidelines are applied equally to every developer, adding that Epic Games has benefitted from the App Store ecosystem for over a decade:

Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.

Epic has had apps on the App Store for a decade, and have benefited from the App Store ecosystem - including its tools, testing, and distribution that Apple provides to all developers. Epic agreed to the App Store terms and guidelines freely and we're glad they've built such a successful business on the App Store. The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users. We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was directing criticism at Apple for months before the lawsuit was filed. In June 2020, for example, he tweeted that "opening iOS and Android up as truly open platforms with a genuinely level playing field between first party and third party apps and stores is the only way to ensure a competitive, healthy, and fair app economy."

Sweeney has particularly taken issue with the 30% commission that Apple collects from sales of apps and select in-app purchases. Apple has since launched a Small Business Program that reduces the App Store's commission rate to 15% for developers earning up to $1 million per calendar year in net revenue from the sale of apps and in-app purchases. For developers exceeding this threshold, the 30% rate still applies.

We'll be updating this story as opening remarks from Epic Games and Apple and other notable details are shared during the trial. We'll also have continued coverage with highlights from the trial over the next few weeks.

Epic Games' Opening Remarks

Epic Games lawyers argued that the App Store and iOS as a whole are a "walled garden" and said that developers would not be interested in using Apple's in-app purchase system if it were optional. Epic Games lawyers then went through a series of emails from current and former Apple executives like Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Eddy Cue, and Steve Jobs that they believe supports this "walled garden" argument.

Epic Games lawyers argued that Apple's standard 30% commission on App Store purchases is monopolistic.

Apple's Opening Remarks

Apple lawyers argued that the App Store is curated, safe, reliable, and family friendly, and that the App Store ecosystem has served as an economic driver for over a decade, creating millions of jobs for developers.

Apple supplier TSMT, a key vendor involved in the production of mini-LED displays in the newly announced 12.9-inch iPad Pro, has been able to address technical challenges for the production of mini-LED displays to be used in the upcoming 14 and 16-inch redesigned MacBook Pro models.

As reported by DigiTimes, TSMT had initially been facing production constraints with the circuit board and adhesive materials in the mini-LED displays for the upcoming MacBook Pro models. However, after adjusting its techniques, TSMT has increased its production yield rates to over 95%.

TSMT is the exclusive provider of SMT services for the recently launched 12.9-inch iPad Pro's miniLED backlights and is expected to do the same for the two upcoming miniLED-backlit MacBook models, the sources said.

Due to issues with PCBs and adhesive materials, TSMT's yield rates for surface mounting for miniLED backlighting was not high enough originally, the sources noted. After changing PCB and adhesive material suppliers, TSMT has hiked yield rates to over 95% currently, the sources indicated.

The redesigned 14 and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models are expected to feature next-generation Apple silicon chips, the removal of the Touch Bar, the return of the MagSafe magnetic power cable, and an overall new design with an HDMI port and SD card slot.

Excitement around these new ‌MacBook Pro‌ models, which will target high-end professional customers, has been heightened ever since the reveal of the M1 chip in November. The next chip, possibly featuring M1X or M2 branding, can be expected to feature significantly faster performance and greatly improved energy efficiency.

Apple's upcoming iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max models are widely rumored to feature OLED displays with up to a 120Hz refresh rate, resulting in smoother content and scrolling, and additional reports continue to surface.

Korean website The Elec today reported that Samsung will be the exclusive supplier of 120Hz displays for iPhone 13 Pro models:

Meanwhile, the two higher tier iPhones this year that will use RFPCB will have low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin-film transistor (TFT) OLED panels.

LTPO OLED is needed for a 120Hz refresh rate screen. These panels will be supplied exclusively by Samsung Display.

Many sources have claimed that iPhone 13 Pro models will finally support a 120Hz refresh rate after years of rumors, including Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, display industry analyst Ross Young, leakers Jon Prosser and Max Weinbach, and others.

120Hz support will be made possible by Apple adopting low-power LTPO display technology, according to reports. LTPO technology would result in a more power efficient backplane, which is responsible for turning individual pixels on and off on the display, allowing for a 120Hz refresh rate without a significant impact on battery life.

Similar to recent Apple Watch models, LTPO could also enable iPhone 13 Pro models to have an always-on display with the clock visible.

iPad Pro models have supported up to a 120Hz refresh rate since 2017 as part of a feature called ProMotion, which automatically adjusts the refresh rate depending on the content. A wide variety of Android smartphones now have 120Hz displays as well, so support for the higher refresh rate on the iPhone is more than due.

The Apple Watch may gain the ability to measure blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood alcohol levels, according to newly-revealed information about one of Apple's chosen business partners.

Apple has been revealed to be the largest customer of the British electronics start-up Rockley Photonics, The Telegraph reports.

Rockley Photonics has developed non-invasive optical sensors for detecting multiple blood-related health metrics, including blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood alcohol levels, many of which are only normally detectable with more invasive dedicated medical equipment. Rockley's sensors beam infrared light through a user's skin, much like the existing sensors on the back of the Apple Watch for detecting heart rate and blood oxygen levels.

Rockley's disclosure that its biggest client is Apple came about as the company prepares to go public in New York. The company's filings said that Apple accounted for the majority of its revenue over the last two years and that it has an ongoing "supply and development agreement" with the company, under which it expects to continue to heavily rely on Apple for most of its revenue.

Given the growth of Rockley Photonics and the scale of Apple's partnership with the company, it seems to be virtually inevitable that the company's health sensor technology will be coming to the Apple Watch sooner rather than later.

The company has established an office in San Jose, in addition to facilities in Oxford, Cardiff, Cork, and Helsinki. Rockley has said that its next-generation sensors could be in consumer smartwatches and other electronics as soon as next year. This would presumably align with the launch of Apple Watch Series 8 models.

Until now, rumors had indicated that the upcoming Apple Watch Series 7 would be gaining blood glucose monitoring, but Rockley's comments may indicate that the feature has been delayed until 2022. It is also possible that blood glucose monitoring could still come to the Apple Watch Series 7 this year, followed by a significant expansion of Rockley's technology in the device next year with features like blood pressure and blood alcohol monitoring.

According to reliable supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple plans to release the sixth-generation iPad mini in the second half of this year, indicating an even more delayed launch for the small form-factor iPad.

In a note related to the launch of an 8-inch foldable iPhone in 2023, Kuo said that recent global changes have helped grow ‌iPad‌ sales and the newly released 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models are expected to bolster sales forward. In addition, Kuo said that the new ‌iPad mini‌ in the second half of this year will further help grow the ‌iPad‌ business.

Kuo and DigiTimes had previously indicated that the new ‌iPad mini‌ would launch in the first half of this year. Possibly due to supply restraints, the new low-cost ‌iPad‌ now seems to have been delayed to the second half of 2021.

The new ‌iPad mini‌ is expected to feature an 8.4-inch display with slimmer bezels and continue to feature a Touch ID Home Button and a Lightning port. The new ‌iPad‌ could be a disappointment for customers hoping the smallest form-factor ‌iPad‌ would benefit from a major redesign, such as the changes seen with the iPad Air and ‌iPad Pro‌.

More long-term, Kuo reports that Apple is working on an iPad mini with a mini-LED display, which recently debuted in the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌. Compared to the current LCD displays, mini-LED on the ‌iPad mini‌ would help deliver richer blacks, while providing improved contrast and HDR.

Apple is working to launch a foldable iPhone with an 8-inch QHD+ flexible OLED display in 2023, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a note to investors that was seen by MacRumors.

Based on our latest industry survey, we forecast that Apple will likely launch a foldable iPhone with an 8-inch QHD+ flexible OLED display in 2023, with SDC as the exclusive display supplier and Samsung Foundry as the exclusive DDI foundry provider. Based on Apple's requested capacity plan, we predict that the foldable iPhone shipments will reach 15-20 million units in 2023. We expect that the foldable iPhone will adopt TPK's silver nanowire touch solution because of its several advantages over SDC's Y-Octa technology.

Kuo predicts that foldable smartphones will become a "must-have" for all major smartphone brands and will boost the next "super replacement cycle" for high-end models, and he believes Apple is well positioned to be the "biggest winner" in the foldable device trend. Apple will ship 15 to 20 million foldable iPhones in 2023, according to Kuo.

At present, the product position of foldable smartphones is mainly to integrate the smartphone and tablet. But we believe that the foldable smartphone is only one of the applications of the foldable design. We predict that foldable devices will blur the product segmentations between smartphones, tablets, and laptops in the future. With its cross-product ecosystems and hardware design advantages, Apple will be the biggest winner in the new foldable device trend.

Kuo believes that the upcoming ‌iPhone‌ will adopt a silver nanowire touch solution for the device's display, which will create a "long-term competitive advantage" for Apple in the foldable device market. This display technology will be needed for future foldable devices that support more than a single fold.

Future foldable devices will require touch technology that supports multiple folds (vs. only a single fold in current foldable smartphones), rollable, medium to large size display, and durability. When comparing the advantages of the above specifications, the silver nanowire is similar or superior to SDC's Y-Octa.

Kuo says that Apple is already using silver nanowire for the touch interface of the HomePod, allowing Apple to "master the technology" at a lower cost using small volume production.

This is not the first time that we've heard rumors from Kuo about a foldable ‌iPhone‌. Back in March, Kuo said that Apple could be planning to launch a foldable ‌iPhone‌ with a 7.5 to 8-inch display in 2023, though at the time, Kuo said that this launch timeline would be dependent on Apple solving "key technology and mass production issues."

Kuo said in the same note that development on a foldable ‌iPhone‌ had "not yet officially kicked off," though Apple's plans may have progressed with Kuo now providing additional details about the display technology the company plans to use.

As a way to convince users to enable tracking across other apps and websites, Facebook is deploying the tactic of telling users that they must enable tracking as part of the App Tracking Transparency framework in iOS 14.5 if they want to help keep Facebook and Instagram "free of charge."

App Tracking Transparency or ATT is the newest privacy feature to come to iPhone and iPad devices as part of the iOS 14.5 update, released to the public last week. With the new update, apps are now required to show users a prompt asking for their consent before tracking them across other apps and websites.

A significant portion of Facebook's business model relies on selling ads across its apps and services. Small businesses, for example, can use Facebook's ad business to target ads to specific customers or demographics. However, if users on iOS 14.5 decide to opt out of tracking, Facebook may have less data to deliver those personalized ads to users.

The update was released to the public last week, and every day more and more apps are beginning to display the ATT prompt to users. Facebook had previously given a glimpse of what the prompt will look like, and now, with the update released, the social media giant is slowly starting to roll it out to users. As spotted by Ashkan Soltani on Twitter, Facebook has updated its prompt to include the notice "Help keep Facebook free of charge."

In an updated blog post, Facebook calls this updated prompt an "educational screen" that will "help people make an informed decision about how their information is used." Instagram, owned by Facebook, will show a similar prompt to users asking them to enable tracking to "Help keep Instagram free of charge."

As Apple has said that providing additional context is allowed, we will show an educational screen before presenting Apple’s prompt to help people make an informed decision about how their information is used. It provides more details about how we use data for personalized ads, as well as the ways we limit the use of activity other apps and websites send us if people don’t turn on this device setting. Our screen also lets people know that they’re seeing Apple’s prompt due to Apple’s requirements for iOS 14.5.

Facebook will be rolling out the prompt to more users in the coming days and weeks, so not everyone will see it right away. ATT was released as part of the iOS 14.5 update, which brought other notable features, including the ability to unlock an ‌iPhone‌ with a paired Apple Watch, major changes to Podcasts, and more. Check out our iOS 14.5 guide to see everything that's new.