MacRumors

Amazon has today introduced its second-generation Echo Buds with a 21 percent smaller design and enhanced active noise cancellation.

The second-generation Echo Buds introduce a white color option, and it is difficult to see past the clear design cues that Amazon has taken from the AirPods Pro's charging case, which looks almost exactly the same with an elongated design, a single centered LED, and a long groove to open the lid.

Much like the ‌AirPods Pro‌, the Echo Buds now feature a vented design to reduce ear pressure. There are also other comfort improvements that have been made possible by reducing the size of each individual bud, such as a shortened in-ear tip and reduced external height for a more flush fit.

Noise cancellation is said to be twice as good as the previous model and the buds now feature an AirPods Pro-style sound passthrough mode. Sound quality has also been improved with extended dynamic range and increased bass and treble fidelity. The microphones are also improved for better call quality.

The second-gen Echo Buds are rated IPX4 for water and sweat resistance, and the earbuds can deliver five hours of listening with noise cancellation enabled, with two additional full charges in the case for a total of 15 hours. Like the original Echo Buds, the second-generation model comes with Alexa built-in.

The Echo Buds come with four sizes of oval-shaped ear tips and optional wing tips in two sizes for a more secure fit.

The second-generation Echo Buds are priced at $119.99 with the standard USB-C charging case, or $139.99 with the wireless charging case, undercutting the $249 price of ‌AirPods Pro‌ considerably. They will go on sale on May 13 and will be discounted for a limited time to $99.99 and $119.99.

Parallels today announced the release of Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac with full support for M1 Macs, allowing for the Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview and ARM-based Linux distributions to be run in a virtual machine at native speeds on M1 Macs.

Parallels says running a Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview virtual machine natively on an M1 Mac results in up to 30 percent better performance compared to a 2019 model 15-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. Parallels also indicates that on an M1 Mac, Parallels Desktop 16.5 uses 2.5x less energy than on the latest Intel-based MacBook Air.

Microsoft does not yet offer a retail version of ARM-based Windows, with the Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview available on Microsoft's website for Windows Insider program members. The ability to run macOS Big Sur in a virtual machine is a feature that Parallels hopes to add support for in Parallels Desktop later this year as well.

Anyone with a Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac license can get an automatic update to Parallels Desktop 16.5 at no additional cost. Otherwise, one-time or subscription-based pricing options are listed on the Parallels Desktop product page, with Parallels currently offering 10% off most license configurations with code 2KQ-PTG-DYZ.

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

Fans of smaller smartphones long hoped that Apple would introduce a smaller-sized iPhone with a modern design and features like Face ID. That wish came true with the iPhone 12 mini last year, and rumors suggest there will be an iPhone 13 mini this year as well, but the end of the line may be on the horizon for the 5.4-inch model.

In a research note shared with MacRumors today, reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the 2022 iPhone lineup will consist of four new models, including high-end 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch models and low-end 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch models.

"We predict that the new 2H22 iPhone will come in four models: the high-end 6.7" and 6.1", and the lower-end 6.7" and 6.1"," wrote Kuo.

If there is no so-called iPhone 14 mini next year, the iPhone SE would regain the title of smallest iPhone with its 4.7-inch display. However, the current iPhone SE is actually slightly larger than the 5.4-inch mini model due to having thicker bezels and a Touch ID home button. The iPhone SE also has only a single-lens rear camera and is equipped with an LCD screen, whereas the iPhone 12 mini has a superior OLED display.

In recent months, there have been numerous reports about the iPhone 12 mini experiencing lackluster sales relative to other iPhone 12 models, but there is no official data since Apple no longer reports iPhone unit sales. Apple retiring the 5.4-inch model next year would certainly suggest the device was not selling well enough to stick around.

Apple is launching a study into whether the Apple Watch can be used to detect respiratory illnesses such as coronavirus or flu, in partnership with the University of Washington and the Seattle Flu Study.

Apple initially announced the study at its Time Flies event in September last year, it but has only recently launched, as spotted by Apple Insider.

The goal of the study is to see if the information collected by the Apple Watch and iPhone can detect early signs of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19. If you are eligible and decide to participate, you will be provided an Apple Watch to wear. The watch will collect information about your health and activity. You will also be asked to answer simple survey questions in the Apple Research app on your iPhone about respiratory symptoms and lifestyle on a weekly and monthly basis.

If you get sick during the study, you will be provided with a free, at-home nasal swab to be tested for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, and you will be asked to take some additional health measurements using your Apple Watch.

The study is expected to take "up to six months" and participants accepted into the program will be provided with an Apple Watch for research purposes, which they will be expected to wear "throughout the study, both day and night." Enrolment is open now for individuals in the greater Seattle area who are age 22 or older and have an Apple iPhone 6s or newer.

A previous independent study by Mount Sinai researchers found that an Apple Watch can effectively predict a positive COVID-19 diagnosis up to a week before current PCR-based nasal swab tests, which may be reinforced by the findings of this new study.

Previous independent Apple Watch studies have shown that the smartwatch's heart sensors may be able to detect early signs of diabetes and provide early warning signs of atrial fibrillation.

Samsung has teased a new Galaxy Unpacked virtual event on April 28 that will see the company reveal "the most powerful Galaxy" device, which very likely means new laptops rather than new Samsung smartphones.

The next Galaxy phones aren't expected to surface for a while yet. According to a report by The Elec, the company is set to launch a Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 2 at a July event. Samsung has previously suggested it may skip releasing a new Galaxy Note device this year due to the fallout from the global semiconductor shortage.

However, Samsung's laptops are overdue an update, and according to reliable leaker Evan Blass, it could launch 11th-generation Intel Tiger Lake laptops under the Galaxy Book Pro line. The Intel chips include integrated Xe graphics, Thunderbolt 4, USB 4, PCIe Gen 4, and WiFi 6 support.

Rumors and recently unearthed Korean certifications also point to new Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 models running Microsoft Windows.

The notebooks are expected to sport nearly bezel-less 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch OLED displays, while the latter model is expected to feature a 360-degree hinge, as per the name, and possibly 5G connectivity. If you want to watch the Galaxy Unpacked launch event, tune into Samsung's YouTube channel at 10:00 a.m. ET on April 28.

Apple is expected to release new MacBook Pro models in the third quarter of 2021. For more on what to expect from the 2021 refresh, make sure to check out our dedicated MacBook Pro rumor guide, which has all the detail that we know about the new machines so far.

Apple is advising its authorized premium resellers and dealers to prepare for new products with 10 and 12 digital serial numbers, days ahead of when it's expected to reveal a slew of new products.

MacRumors previously reported that Apple plans to switch to randomized serial numbers for future products starting in early 2021. The company now seems to be preparing for that roll-out, telling authorized resellers and dealers in a memo obtained by MacRumors to ensure that their "systems, warehouses, and processes are in place and able to receive and ship the two serial number formats."

Apple currently utilizes a 12 digit serial number format for its products. That alphanumeric format, while on the surface may look random, actually holds key production information such as production date and time. With the new randomized serial number format, which Apple says will initially begin at 10 digits, such information will be harder to decipher.

The reminder from Apple to its authorized partners comes less than a week from when the company will hold its "Spring Loaded" event on Tuesday, April 20. That event is expected to headline the launch of new iPad Pros with mini-LED displays and possibly the company's AirTags tracker's long-awaited release.

A new leak from XDA Developer shows that with Android 12 slated for release later in the year, Google plans to introduce a new notification that's displayed to users when an app accesses their clipboard.

With iOS 14, Apple introduced a small banner at the top of iPhones and iPads that notifies users when an app accesses content from their clipboard. Clipboard access notification was one of several new privacy-centric features in iOS 14, and now Google is following in Apple's footsteps.

According to screenshots provided by XDA Developer, the new feature will be optional, unlike on iOS and iPadOS 14. Google says when enabled, "Show clipboard access" will "Show a message when apps access text, images, or other content you've copied." Clipboard access notification is one of a few iOS 14-style features coming to the next version of Android, including new notifications for when apps access the camera and microphone.

Clipboard access notification has proven to be beneficial to users since iOS 14 launched in September. After its debut, many users came to realize that many popular apps, including TikTok and Reddit, were secretly accessing user clipboard data. The majority of apps have since patched what they called "bugs."

Leaker known as "DuanRui" has today shared an image of two iPhone 13 "film samples," which show the same rumored smaller notch design coming to the iPhone 13 series that we've seen from other sources.

In past tweets, DuanRui has accurately leaked the correct names of the iPhone 12 models and an iPad Air 4 manual revealing its new design, so there's good reason to think this leak is credible, plus it matches up with previous rumors.

In the image, which appears to show screens for an iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 mini, the notch is visibly smaller, which is believed to be a result of the earpiece speaker being moved up into the top bezel, a design choice that was first rumored for iPhone 12 models last year but failed to materialize.

The alleged ‌iPhone 13‌ samples also show the front-facing camera moved to the left side of the notch, in contrast to its current location to the right side of the notch in previous iPhones with the TrueDepth camera.

According to a report from Japanese site Mac Otakara, the ‌iPhone 13‌'s TrueDepth camera array is "getting narrower" because the receiver at the top of the display will move to the edge of the case, as depicted in the images. DigiTimes also claimed in February that the ‌iPhone 13‌ will feature a redesigned Face ID system that will allow for a smaller notch at the top of the screen.

Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also said that the ‌iPhone 13‌ will have a smaller notch, although he did not mention the earpiece being repositioned.

The notch's design has gone unchanged since it debuted on the iPhone X in 2017. After the subtle tweaks to the notch in this year's upcoming iPhone series, Kuo believes Apple will abandon the notch for a "punch-hole" design for some of its 2022 iPhones, before it transitions to a real full-screen display in 2023 with the aid of an under-display Face ID system, which would remove the need for notches and holes entirely.

Other ‌‌iPhone 13‌‌ rumors have suggested that the device will feature 120Hz "ProMotion" displays, a faster A15 chip, larger batteries, and more.

Apple plans to include an under-display Face ID system starting with its 2023 iPhones, removing the need to house the facial recognition system in a notch, according to well-respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In an investors note obtained by MacRumors, Kuo says that the under-display ‌Face ID‌ system will debut alongside a new periscope telephoto lens in 2023. Kuo had previously stated that starting next year, Apple will plan to abandon the notch for a "punch-hole" design for some of its 2022 iPhones.

Since its debut with the iPhone X, the notch has served primarily to house the TrueDepth camera system which enables ‌Face ID‌. While Apple is rumored to be planning a smaller notch for the 2021 iPhones, presumably, if the tech giant is able to house the facial recognition system under the display, it would remove the need for a notch entirely.

Kuo had also previously stated that at least one high-end ‌iPhone‌ model in 2023 will feature an under-display fingerprint scanner with no notch and a real full-screen display. Kuo provides no specifics with today's note on whether Apple would offer both an under-display Touch ID and ‌Face ID‌ system, or whether under-display ‌Face ID‌ will remain exclusive to the higher-end iPhones.

Apple has widely been rumored to adopt an under-display fingerprint scanner, even possibly for the iPhone 13. However, this is the first time we've heard of a possible under-display ‌Face ID‌ system. From a technological standpoint, achieving an under-display facial recognition system requires more advanced tooling, given that the TrueDepth camera system must be able to read and recognize faces through the pixels of the display without distorting or interfering with the content.

Kuo also today shared details on the 2022 ‌iPhone‌ lineup, saying that Apple plans to abandon the 5.4-inch mini form factor.

The upcoming 2022 iPhone lineup will feature two 6.1-inch devices and two 6.7-inch devices, with no mini-sized 5.4-inch ‌iPhone‌, well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a note to investors that was seen by MacRumors. Two of the iPhones will be high-end models and two of the iPhones will be lower-end models, similar to the current ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup.

Apple introduced the 5.4-inch ‌iPhone‌ mini in the ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup and plans to continue to sell a 5.4-inch device in 2021, but it looks like the size will be discontinued after that, if Kuo's information is accurate. The iPhone 12 mini has not been selling as well as expected, according to multiple iPhone sales estimates.

Along with streamlining size options, Kuo believes that Apple will introduce significant camera upgrades in the 2022 iPhones, adding a 48-megapixel camera in the high-end ‌iPhone‌ 14 models. Kuo says that the upgraded camera lens will take ‌iPhone‌ camera photography "to a new level."

In terms of pixel size, the iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and new 2H22 iPhone are about 1.7um, 2um, and 1.25um, respectively. We believe that the new 2H22 iPhone may support direct 48MP output and 12MP (four cells merge output mode) output simultaneously. With 12MP output, the CIS pixel size of the new 2H22 iPhone increases to about 2.5um, which is significantly larger than the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13, and larger than existing Android phones, and close to the DSC level. We believe that the camera quality of the new 2H22 iPhone will elevate mobile phone camera photography to a new level.

Along with a 48-megapixel lens that will also be able to output in 12-megapixels, Kuo expects the high-end iPhones to be capable of recording 8K video, and he says that in the future, watching iPhone-recorded videos on an 8K display or TV will "offer a better user experience."

Because the best resolution for augmented and mixed reality is 8K to 16K, Kuo says that the 48-megapixel camera in the 2022 ‌iPhone‌ will create videos and images "more suitable for AR/MR devices" and that will "enhance the AR/MR user experience."

As for future iPhones, Kuo says that Apple will adopt a periscope telephoto lens in 2023, along with under-display Face ID, which would presumably see the elimination of the notch. Kuo previously said that Apple would introduce a hole-punch front camera in the 2022 iPhone and that at least one ‌iPhone‌ in 2023 would feature under-display Touch ID and a full-screen display with no notch or holes.

Following the overnight Siri leak and subsequent announcement that Apple will hold a media event on Tuesday, April 20, a new Twitter hashflag has appeared to help provide visibility for the event on the platform.

For the last several recent events, Apple has utilized hashflags, which are little icons next to hashtags on Twitter, as a way to market its events. The company first started the tradition with "#AppleEvent" during the September iPad Air and Apple Watch event and has maintained it since.

For its upcoming event on April 20, the hashflag mimics the colorful event logo used on Apple's invitations and other promotional materials for next week's event.

Bloomberg has reported that Apple plans to showcase a new high-end 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a mini-LED display, performance that is on-par with the M1 Apple silicon, and improved support for accessories such as external monitors. Apple is also rumored to be launching its long-awaited AirTags tracker, which could see its debut at the event.

Prior to its upcoming bench trial with Epic Games, Apple filed hundreds of pages of documents covering findings of fact, which include some interesting and previously unknown tidbits about ‌Epic Games‌.

‌Epic Games‌ planned its rebellion against Apple for at least two years ahead of when it opted to brazenly violate Apple's App Store rules, with Apple's ‌App Store‌ fees at the heart of the dispute. Epic is of the opinion that it should not have to pay Apple a 30 percent cut to distribute apps on iOS devices, but court filings show that Epic itself used to charge much higher fees.

Back in the 1990s, when Epic initially agreed to distribute games from other developers, it collected a 60 percent commission. According to Apple's documents, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said at the time that the 60 percent fee Epic collected was a "fairly favorable royalty," as most distributors at that time charged 70 percent commissions.

Prior to when digital distribution platforms like the ‌App Store‌ existed, Sweeney commented that it was "so daunting" trying to sell games through brick and mortar locations.

"See, you put a huge amount of effort into developing a program. If you have to release it, then that's basically doubling the effort, because of all the polish and documentation that's needed. And unless you're going to make serious money from that, then it's not worth it."

According to Apple, the ‌App Store‌ "upended the status quo" and introduced a "frictionless marketing, distribution, and transaction system" for both developers and users. Apple claimed that its model revolutionized payment for developers, who kept a 70 percent cut from the ‌App Store‌ instead of having to pay 70 percent to a distributor for typical retail sales.

In its filing, Apple pointed to Epic's own high fees that it charged are evidence that deals negotiated prior to the ‌App Store‌ were much inferior to the 30 percent cut that it takes, while also informing the court about the reduced 15 percent fee that small developers are now eligible for.

Though Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has spent a lot of time maligning Apple on Twitter, he is a fan of Apple's privacy practices. According to Apple's court filing, Sweeney said that he "found Apple's approach to privacy superior to Google's approach to customer privacy and customer data," and that Apple does a "great job."

Apple claims that Epic's lawsuit could have a direct impact on the security and privacy of the iPhone as customer privacy is one of the reasons that Apple wants to oversee apps that are allowed on iOS devices. Apple is planning to soon implement App Tracking Transparency rules that will limit the data that developers can collect from users. If alternate app stores were made possible, there would be no rules on the information that could be sourced from ‌iPhone‌ users.

Apple believes sideloading iOS apps would create "unacceptable vulnerabilities" that would risk exposing customers to viruses and malware. Epic at one point apparently considered disregarding Apple's Enterprise certificate policies to get apps on devices without the ‌App Store‌, but Epic's own engineers had previously expressed concerns about sideloading apps on Android devices.

There was a series of leaks in the binaries for the Fortnite installer after Epic launched it on Android devices via sideloading in August 2018, which led to malware and fraud. And as a programmer noted on another occasion, '[o]verall a bit worried about the security aspect of this all, a lot of malware already doing the rounds impersonating the Fortnite app.'

The court filings feature some clear indications why ‌Epic Games‌ wants lowered ‌App Store‌ fees - it's not making money from the ‌Epic Games‌ Store. Epic lost around $181 million in 2019, and was projected to lose $273 million in 2020. Epic committed $444 million in minimum guarantees to developers, but made only $401 million. Epic said that it will lose around $139 million in 2021, but Sweeney has said that it's an investment into growing the business.

Apple claims that Epic is funding the ‌Epic Games‌ Store through other parts of its business, such as Fortnite, which are more profitable.

There are plenty more details about how ‌Epic Games‌ planned its attack on Apple and Google, which can be found in the court filing embedded below. We're also sure to hear additional information when the two companies meet in court on May 3.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and several other Apple executives will testify, as will ‌Epic Games‌ CEO Tim Sweeney and executives from Facebook and Microsoft. Former Apple executive Scott Forstall will also be called as a witness by Epic.

Last week, Apple announced the launch of its Find My network accessory program, allowing compatible third-party accessories to be tracked in the ‌Find My‌ app right alongside Apple devices. The first products that work with the Find My app will include the new Chipolo item tracker, new Belkin earbuds, and two electric bikes from VanMoof.

Given that VanMoof is based in the Netherlands, Dutch website iCulture's editor-in-chief Gonny van der Zwaag was able to get some early hands-on time with the VanMoof S3 bike with Find My support. Van der Zwaag also had the opportunity to interview VanMoof's product design chief Job Stehmann about the company's collaboration with Apple.

Stehmann revealed that when Apple first announced its plans for the Find My network accessory program at WWDC 2020, a VanMoof engineer posted a message on an Apple developer forum, saying it was an interesting feature. Apple was apparently actively looking for partners to work with at the time, and the two companies soon started working together, with weekly meetings held remotely on Mondays.

VanMoof provided Apple with many prototypes of its bikes for evaluation, according to Stehmann. Given that VanMoof has an office in San Francisco, the company was able to deliver the bikes directly to Apple engineers' homes as necessary. Despite some hiccups in the development process, Stehmann said there was never too much pressure from Apple.

Stehmann said the Find My integration is purely a software feature, with no special chip inside the bike, adding that it took about nine months for Apple and VanMoof to tweak the software to be implemented properly.

All new VanMoof S3 and X3 e-bike models purchased after April 7 will be compatible with the Find My app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, allowing users to locate the bike on a map if it has gone missing. If you lose the bike and someone else with an ‌iPhone‌, iPad, or Mac comes close to it, the bike can communicate with their device, with the approximate location of the bike relayed securely and privately back to you.

• Everything You Need to Know About Apple's Find My Network Accessory Program

For those interested in purchasing a VanMoof bike, Van der Zwaag has shared some detailed hands-on impressions of the S3 model at iCulture.

Maxon is bringing its GPU-accelerated renderer Redshift to macOS, with support for Apple's line of M1 Macs and Apple's Metal Graphics API for speedy performance on Apple's machines.

Lunar Animation director James Rodgers says his company is seeing "crazy results" rendering with Redshift on a Mac Pro with Metal support. "A typical frame from the very effects heavy game cinematic we created for Mythic Legends, an action-packed strategy mobile game by Outfit7, previously took 26 minutes to render per frame," he said. "Now it's rendering in only 58 seconds!"

Redshift provides a wide range of features that include ray switches, flexible shading networks, motion blur, AOVs, deep output, and more. It is a biased renderer that allows artists to adjust each individual technique for the best performance and quality blend for production purposes.

Redshift is optimized for high-end performance on both Intel and ‌M1‌ Macs. Maxon says that Redshift for Intel-based Macs will be available this week, while Redshift for ‌M1‌ Macs will launch with the release of macOS Big Sur 11.3.

There's a curious bug in the Apple Maps app that's affecting Australians, which appears to be caused by a bad data set. Multiple complaints on Twitter suggest that ‌Apple Maps‌ is listing certain businesses incorrectly, directing Australians to residential areas rather than the actual business location.

‌Apple Maps‌ appears to be pulling in data from where business owners live, rather than where their businesses are located.

There are a long list of complaints on Twitter about the errors that Australians have experienced, with restaurants, hospitals, pharmacies, and more listed in the wrong place.

Twitter users John Cleary and Russell Ivanovic suggest that Apple has imported an Australian business database that lists the places that businesses are registered to, which is typically the business owner's home address.

The long list of Twitter complaints suggest that this problem has existed in Australia for quite some time, and at least one person confirmed that he had a business listed as located at his home address.

Some of the Twitter users have reported the errors, but Apple has yet to address the problem for Australians who are being misdirected.

Apple has had issues with the ‌Apple Maps‌ app in the past, but has worked hard to introduce improvements through acquisitions and its own mapping efforts with map vehicles. ‌Apple Maps‌ has gained multiple new features over the years like the street-level Look Around feature, but there are clearly still issues that need to be fixed.

With more and more car manufacturers starting to introduce support for wireless CarPlay, the convenience of having easy access to some of your iPhone's functionality in a dashboard-friendly interface without needing to deal with cables is becoming accessible to an increasing number of car buyers.

GM is one of those manufacturers that has started to embrace wireless ‌CarPlay‌, and I recently spent some time in a 2021 Buick Envision to check out how it fares and how it compares to the infotainment experience I tested a couple of years ago in a 2019 Buick Regal TourX.

Overall, the latest version of the Buick Infotainment System is quite similar to the previous generation, carrying over the same simple and clean design with round icons on the home screen and a dashboard view with widgets for audio, phone, and navigation functions all on one screen.

A strip along the bottom of the display while on any of the home screens or in the system's apps offers quick access to main functions like music, phone, navigation, and vehicle comfort controls, as well as the time and outdoor temperature. My Envision was also equipped with an ionizing air filter, and the status bar offers a glanceable air quality reading.

Something new on the infotainment system compared to the 2019 system I previously tested is a thin status bar at the top of the screen offering audio information like station, song name, and artist, along with a signal strength indicator for the vehicle's cellular connection.

The infotainment system's screen has a bit of a matte finish to help reduce glare and fingerprints, while a fairly significant dashboard overhang also helps minimize glare from potential direct sun exposure. The screen is also tilted toward the driver and back a bit under the overhang, another design choice that helps reduce the potential for glare.

In addition to the generously sized touchscreen, the Envision includes three hard controls to the left of the display within convenient reach of the driver: a power button that doubles as a volume knob, a home button for quickly jumping out of an app, and a select button that doubles as a scroll knob which can be used to navigate the system's interface, even in ‌CarPlay‌.

Speaking of ‌CarPlay‌, setup is incredibly simple as it on most vehicles, involving just a few steps to pair the phone via Bluetooth and then grant appropriate permissions for ‌CarPlay‌.

As I noted in my previous look at the 2019 model, I found the colors in ‌CarPlay‌ in particular on the 2021 Envision to look a little washed out. It's not bad, but definitely noticeable compared to other systems I've used.

The system is responsive in both native and ‌CarPlay‌ modes, and the 10-inch display offers plenty of room for the ‌CarPlay‌ interface without any elements feeling cramped.

While in ‌CarPlay‌ mode, the top status bar from the native infotainment system remains visible, which is a nice improvement over earlier versions where ‌CarPlay‌ took over the entire screen. Having song and artist information from SiriusXM, for example, conveniently visible even while in ‌CarPlay‌ is handy, although I wish the status bar had a bit more polished look and was a bit bigger to include more information or some icons to easily jump to other infotainment functions.

As with many other vehicles, audio information can also optionally be viewed in the center digital portion of the instrument cluster, although that means you won't be able to see other available screen options in that space.

As I've noted before, one of the key features to pair with wireless ‌CarPlay‌ is wireless phone charging, as that combination makes it super easy to stay connected even on longer trips where you don't want to run your battery down. Unfortunately, my test Envision in the Essence trim did not come equipped with a wireless charger. The feature is standard on the top-end Avenir trim, but isn't available even as an option or part of a package on the entry-level Preferred and mid-level Essence trims.

There's a convenient cubby at the front of the center console that's just about the perfect size for my iPhone 12 Pro Max, and that's where the wireless charger would be located on the Avenir trim. It's a shame that you have to move all the way up to the top trim in order to get the wireless charging, so hopefully that's something GM reconsiders in future model years.

When it comes to wired connectivity, the Envision includes a variety of options, including one USB-C port and one USB-A port up front at the base of the center stack for maximum compatibility. There are also USB-C and USB-A ports on the rear of the console for rear passengers, although these are charge-only ports that don't offer data connectivity to the infotainment system.

Overall, I like the infotainment and ‌CarPlay‌ experience in the 2021 Buick Envision. Wireless ‌CarPlay‌ connectivity is super convenient and I'm glad to see it becoming more and more common. The large 10-inch screen makes everything easy to see and interact with, although I do wish it was a bit easier to see information from both ‌CarPlay‌ and the Buick system simultaneously, whether it be through a split-screen widescreen format or more screen real estate devoted to the native infotainment system while in ‌CarPlay‌ such as a fatter top status bar or a persistent dock strip along the bottom.

The Buick Infotainment System itself is easy to use with a relatively clean look that's heavy on black backgrounds and a few bits of bright color scattered around to help make the system very glanceable.

As I mentioned, it's a shame that wireless phone charging is limited to the top-end Avenir trim on the Envision, as that's a feature I think many users would consider taking advantage of regardless of trim, presuming it was reasonably priced. The rapid shift to wireless ‌CarPlay‌ and Android Auto will only increase customer interest in wireless charging due to the convenience of combining those two features.