MacRumors

Apple today shared an updated Personal Safety User Guide that serves as a resource for anyone who is concerned about or experiencing technology-enabled abuse, stalking, or harassment, the company said. The new guide is available on Apple's website, complete with a table of contents and a search tool, and as a downloadable PDF.

The guide outlines the personal safety features that are built into Apple devices, with a new section added for the AirTag following recent news stories about Apple's small item tracking accessory being used to track people without their permission.

While much of the information in the guide may be common knowledge to experienced Apple users, it is still a worthwhile read, with helpful tips for controlling who can access your location, blocking unknown sign-in attempts, avoiding fraudulent requests to share info, setting up two-factor authentication, managing privacy settings, and more.

Offering quick checklists and in-depth feature tasks, this resource is designed to help customers experiencing technology-enabled abuse, stalking, or harassment understand the options available across the Apple ecosystem that can help you protect your personal safety. It includes step-by-step instructions on how to remove someone's access to information you previously granted—like location data in the Find My app, meetings you've shared in Calendar, and more. It also highlights features You can use to enhance your personal safety—like how to automatically let a friend know when you've arrived home safely and how to quickly engage Emergency SOS.

Apple said the guide will continue to be updated on a regular basis, so it may be worth bookmarking to stay up to date with the latest personal safety tips.

Back in October, Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle an ongoing class action lawsuit that accused the company of violating various U.S. laws and regulations by providing customers with refurbished replacement devices instead of new devices when repairs were required under AppleCare.

Administrators handling the case have now updated the "Replacement Device Lawsuit" website with details on the settlement, and have started sending out emails to customers who might be eligible for a payment after the settlement is finalized.

Customers who purchased an ‌AppleCare‌ Protection Plan or ‌AppleCare‌+ for an iPhone or iPad between July 20, 2012 and September, 30, 2021 and who received a refurbished replacement device from Apple are included in the lawsuit.

Apple's Repair Terms and Conditions in the United States make it clear that the company might use "parts or products that are new or refurbished and equivalent to new in performance and reliability" when repairing or replacing a device, but the lawsuit claimed that refurbished devices are "not equivalent to new in performance and reliability."

The lawsuit was seeking compensation for iPhone, ‌iPad‌, and iPod owners who purchased ‌AppleCare‌ or ‌AppleCare‌+ coverage and were unhappy with receiving an "inferior" refurbished device instead of a device that works "like new."

Apple has opted to settle the lawsuit with a $95 million payment because it has already spanned six years and would only result in additional legal fees, but the company has admitted no wrong doing and "vigorously" denies that refurbished devices are inferior to new devices.

The $95 million settlement has already received preliminary approval, and Apple customers now have an option to exclude themselves from the settlement or object, which can be done on the lawsuit website. The website also includes a form for those who are interested in making sure that they're included in the settlement.

A final fairness hearing is set to take place on April 27, 2022, and after that is when class members can expect to begin receiving payments. After attorneys' fees and other expenses, the class members could receive somewhere between $63.4 million and $68.1 million, with that amount split up between those affected.

(Thanks, Daniel!)

iOS 15 and watchOS 8 introduce the ability to add hotel room keys to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, allowing you to gain access to your room, elevators, and other locked areas by simply tapping your iPhone or Apple Watch against a card reader. The feature eliminates the need for a traditional plastic room card.

Last month, hotel chain Hyatt became the first to adopt the feature at six U.S. locations, including Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa, Hyatt House Chicago/West Loop-Fulton Market, Hyatt House Dallas/Richardson, Hyatt Place Fremont/Silicon Valley, and Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

KTLA's Rich DeMuro recently visited the Long Beach location to test the feature, as seen in a video spotted by the blog Appleosophy.

Using the Hyatt app, hotel guests can add their room key to the Wallet app after completing a reservation, and they will be notified when check-in time arrives. Once a guest is checked in and the room is ready, the room key in the Wallet app will be activated for immediate use and display the guest's room number and reservation length.

DeMuro tested the feature with Express Mode enabled, meaning that the iPhone does not need to be unlocked in order to be used as a hotel room key. The process was quick and seamless, allowing him to gain access to his room and the elevator in a split second. Express Mode can be disabled for users who prefer an added layer of security.

Should the ‌iPhone‌ run out of battery, an automatic Power Reserve feature allows the device to be used as a hotel key for up to five hours.

Hotel room keys in the Wallet app are both convenient and can provide for a contactless experience. If a Hyatt guest needs to change rooms, extend a stay, or request a late check out, the hotel can update the guest's room key in the Wallet app remotely, eliminating the need for the guest to visit the front desk. When it's time to check out, guests can do so through the Hyatt app, and the room key will be remotely deactivated.

Hyatt plans to roll out hotel room keys in the Wallet app globally over time, and other hotel chains will likely follow suit, but the feature remains limited for now.

Spotify has still not enabled AirPlay 2 in its iPhone and iPad app, nearly six months after last promising to support the feature.

"Spotify will support AirPlay 2 and we're working to make that a reality," a Spotify spokesperson informed MacRumors in early August, in response to a Spotify Community forum post that said the company had paused plans to support the feature.

The streaming music provider has not provided an update on its AirPlay 2 plans since, and it did not respond to requests for comment this week.

Apple launched AirPlay 2 in 2018 with several improvements over the original version of AirPlay, including support for multi-room audio, Siri voice control, and improved buffering. Apple is not preventing Spotify from supporting AirPlay 2 and offers documentation on its developer website for apps that wish to implement the feature.

Spotify also still does not natively support the HomePod or HomePod mini, despite Apple opening up the speakers to third-party music services in 2020. This is despite Spotify filing a complaint against Apple with the European Commission in March 2019 that accused the iPhone maker of locking Spotify out of platforms like the HomePod and Siri.

Amazon has dropped the price of the 2021 32GB Apple TV 4K, available for $159.99, down from $179.00. This discount will be seen after a $10 coupon is automatically applied at the checkout screen.

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

The Apple TV 4K is available for the usual free Prime shipping options, and it's in stock and ready to ship today. Amazon's sale is a solid second-best price on this Apple TV 4K, coming about $10 behind the record low price we saw over the holidays.

You can also get the 64GB Apple TV 4K for $189.98, down from $199.00. We've seen this Apple TV 4K discounted by an additional $10, so this sale is a second-best price. This model is also sold by Amazon, and it's in stock and ready to ship today.

Although the sales on these Apple TV models aren't particularly steep, they are the best offers around and worth checking out if you're still on the market for the newest Apple TV 4K. You can keep an eye out on Apple TV deals in our Best Apple TV 4K Deals guide.

Telsa car owners who have auto insurance through the electric vehicle company are now able to link their Tesla insurance cards directly to Apple Wallet, providing more accessible access to the cards on the iPhone and Apple Watch.

As part of an update to the Tesla app yesterday on the App Store, the company has introduced support for Apple Wallet into its app. Tesla car owners will be able to add their insurance card to Apple Wallet by heading into the app, tapping their profile photo, heading into Account, Insurance, Manage Tabs, and Documents.

Tesla launched its own insurance offerings in California several years ago, and began to expand to additional states late last year. Tesla insurance is now available in a handful of states, with the company saying it hopes to offer it in most U.S. states by the end of the year as it gains approval on a state-by-state basis.

In states other than California, Tesla offers insurance based on real-time collection of driving data, determining premiums by factoring in how much you drive and a Safety Score that incorporates five different factors to gauge how safely you drive.

The Tesla app can be found for free on the ‌App Store‌ [Direct Link].

Apple will report its earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2021 on Thursday, and it could be the best quarter in the company's history.

Wall Street analysts on average estimate that Apple will report revenue of $118.3 billion for the quarter, according to Yahoo Finance. This figure would be an all-time quarterly revenue record for Apple, topping the $111.4 billion that it earned in the year-ago quarter.

New products on sale during the fourth quarter included iPhone 13 models, Apple Watch Series 7 models, the sixth-generation iPad mini, the ninth-generation iPad, third-generation AirPods, and redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. Apple also made the HomePod mini available in three new colors and released a polishing cloth.

Apple has reported strong earnings results throughout the pandemic, as its devices and services have been in especially high demand as more people have worked, learned, and connected with others remotely over the last two years.

Apple will report its earnings results on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. A conference call with Apple's CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will follow at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. As usual during the pandemic, Apple did not provide its own guidance for the quarter.

Apple today announced the 2022 "Shot on iPhone" challenge, encouraging users to submit impressive photos shot with the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max's macro mode.

To enter, users must share their macro photos on Instagram, Twitter, or Weibo with the hashtags #ShotoniPhone and #iPhonemacrochallenge. In the caption, users should note which model they used to capture the image. Apple is also accepting entries via email at shotoniphone@apple.com.

Entrants can submit unedited macro photos straight from the camera app, but photos edited through Apple's Photos app or third-party software will also be accepted. Participants must be 18 years of age or older, and the challenge is not open to Apple employees or their immediate families.

• iPhone 13 Pro: How to Shoot Macro Photography

When submissions close, a panel of expert judges will review the photos from around the world and select 10 winning entries. Winning photos will be celebrated on Apple's Newsroom, website, Instagram account, and more. Apple also said that winning photos may appear in the company's digital campaigns, such as in Apple Stores or on advertising billboards.

Submissions are open from today until February 16, 2022. Winners will be notified on or close to April 12, 2022.

The Indian government is planning to incentivize the creation of an "indigenous" mobile operating system to rival iOS and Android, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has announced (via The Economic Times).

The proposal, announced on Monday by Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, will encourage the technology industry to create a homegrown Indian mobile OS. The new OS is explicitly intended to "create an alternative to iOS and Android" in India. Chandrasekhar noted that iOS and Android drive the development of hardware ecosystems, which is something that the government hopes the new platform will mirror, giving an Indian brand space to grow.

The Indian government is in the process of looking for suitable startups and academic institutions that are capable of developing a new OS. Detailed discussions are currently focusing on establishing clear goals for the project, which will be followed by legislation to target specific development aims. Chandrasekhar hinted that start-ups and companies working on an Indian OS may be attractive to domestic and foreign investment when raising capital.

The project fits in with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aim to create domestic leaders across multiple industries and product categories, as well as bolster the country's technology industry. The Indian government has unveiled a roadmap to achieve $300 billion worth of electronics manufacturing in the country by 2026, up from $75 billion currently. Likewise, the country hopes to achieve $120 billion in electronics exports, up from $15 billion at present.

India is an increasingly important market to Apple, but it continues to face fierce competition from Android devices in the country. Apple has steadily increased the number of its devices manufactured in India, with up to 70 percent of all iPhones sold in the country being made there.

Following the launch of the Apple's online store in India in 2020, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 were believed to be the bestselling smartphones in India. Mass production of the iPhone 13 in India is set to start next month and the country's first retail store is also on the way.

Twitter continues to work on a new feature that lets users post certain tweets to a limited number of close friends in a parallel timeline on the social media platform.

Previously floated in July 2021 as "Trusted Friends," the feature is now called "Flock," and will allow users to limit their audience for specific content to no more than 150 people, according to screens uncovered by mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi.

When a tweet is sent to your Flock, only people in the Flock can view and reply to it, and a label may appear beneath that tweet that reads: "You can see this Tweet because the author has added you to their Flock." However, if you decide you don't want someone in your Flock anymore, you can boot them out of it and they won't get a notification.

Before someone sends a tweet, Twitter will show an option to select its intended audience, allowing users to post it to all of Twitter or only to those in their Flock. In that sense it has similarities with Communities, a feature Twitter launched last year that lets people share discussions on a specific topic.

Flock is still in beta, so it's not clear when the feature will go live for all users, but Twitter has been working on it since at least July of last year. Flock shouldn't be confused with "Fleets," the ephemeral tweet option that was designed to compete with Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, Snapchat, and more. Fleets never caught on with Twitter users and the company canned the feature in August, less than a year after the feature launched.

A number of developers are upset with an increasingly problematic iCloud server issue that is causing some apps that have implemented ‌iCloud‌ support to fail to sync properly.

As outlined on the Developer Forums and on Twitter, there are CloudKit connectivity issues that have been occurring since November. Some users of apps that have ‌iCloud‌ support built in are seeing the following message: "Request failed with http status code 503."

The developers behind popular note taking app GoodNotes have been seeing the problem frequently enough that they wrote a support document for customers who are running into the error message. The GoodNotes team says that the app automatically retries to connect and thus the issue gets solved eventually, but they're not sure what's causing the connectivity error to begin with.

HTTP 503 is a temporary error code ("Service unavailable") indicating iCloud servers aren't responding correctly to requests from your devices. The error typically gets resolved as GoodNotes automatically retries, but we're getting many reports of the error lingering on, causing sync failures.

This issue is not apparent to us and we've escalated the case to Apple Technical Support team for investigation. It seems it's happening to other apps as well.

Some developers have noted that their apps have worked without issue for years prior to the sudden appearance of the ‌iCloud‌ server issue that is apparently causing the error message. From a developer on Apple's forums:

I have the same issue with a relatively small percentage of my users. They are getting 503 errors now, but last year did not. My code hasn't changed. I'm not even sure how to file a bug report because I cannot replicate the issue on my devices and it's occurring on a relatively small percentage of my users.

A handful of developers have been able to get help from Apple engineering, and one was able to change their ‌iCloud‌ container for their developer account to fix the issue, but there appear to be many developers who are still having issues.

Other developers have resorted to building ‌iCloud‌ status dashboard into their apps so customers can see when ‌iCloud‌ is non-functional.

‌iCloud‌ failures are a major problem for app developers because the end user of the app doesn't know that it's an Apple issue, so customers blame the app developers for a non-working sync feature that they have no control over.

Multiple developers have reported the ‌iCloud‌ syncing bug to Apple, but it has gone widely unaddressed based on the number of complaints and the fact that the issue has seemingly persisted for at least the last couple of months. It's likely that the problem popped up with the launch of iOS 15 and its sister updates, and it's not clear when a fix might be available.

Customers experiencing ‌iCloud‌ issues should be aware that it's likely an issue on Apple's end and not a bug that app developers can address at this time.

Amazon has Apple's 256GB M1 MacBook Air for $849.99, down from $999.00. This sale is only available in Gold, and it's sold directly from Amazon with delivery as soon as January 27 for most residences in the United States.

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.

In order to see the discount, you'll need to add the MacBook Air to your cart on Amazon. Once it's in your cart, you'll see a $49.01 coupon automatically applied to your order, resulting in a total of $149 off the 2020 notebook.

Amazon's sale is a solid second-best price for the 256GB M1 MacBook Air, and among the major Apple resellers online only Amazon is offering it at this price. You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you're shopping for a new Apple notebook.

AT&T today announced the launch of upgraded AT&T Fiber plans, which support speeds of up to 5 Gigabits for some customers. There are two separate plans, one "2 GIG" plan and one "5 GIG" plan, available to new and existing AT&T Fiber subscribers.

According to AT&T, the new plans are available to nearly 5.2 million customers across 70 metro areas including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Raleigh, Miami, and Dallas, with a full list available on AT&T's website.

AT&T Fiber 2 GIG is priced at $110 per month plus taxes, while the highest-speed AT&T Fiber 5 GIG plan is priced at $180 per month plus taxes.

AT&T is enacting a new "straightforward pricing" policy, which means there are no data limits, no equipment fees, no annual contract, and no "deals" that will see prices increase at 12 months. These high-end plans include AT&T ActiveArmor internet security, "next-gen WiFi support," and HBO Max access.

With the launch of these new multi-gigabit internet plans, AT&T is calling itself the "fastest major internet provider." AT&T intends to continue to expand its faster connection speeds to additional customers, with plans to cover 30 million customer locations by the end of 2025.

Apple's AirPods 2 have dropped to $99.99 on Amazon today, down from $129.00. This is the model with the Wired Charging Case, and they're sold directly from Amazon and are in stock today.

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

Compared to holiday sales, Amazon's discount today is just $9 off from the all-time low price that we tracked in 2021. If you missed out on any of those end-of-the-year deals, this is a great time to save on the AirPods 2.

In another AirPods-related sale, the AirPods Pro with MagSafe are available for $179.99, down from $249.00 on Amazon. This is a $10 drop from the price we tracked last week, and so far the best deal we've seen in 2022.

Lastly, Amazon has the AirPods Max in Sky Blue for $449.00, down from $549.00. This isn't quite the best price we've ever seen on the AirPods Max, but holiday prices are long gone and this is still a solid deal on the higher-end AirPods Max.

We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.

Three months after their launch, the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros continue to experience high demand and seemingly short supply, with shipping dates for both models stretching into multiple weeks in several of Apple's key markets.

In the United States, the baseline 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip is estimated to ship in three to four weeks, promising an arrival by at least mid-February. The 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with the higher-end ‌M1 Pro‌ configuration or the M1 Max chip faces an even longer wait, heading well into at least early March.

With the larger 16-inch model, the baseline configuration is seeing five to six weeks for estimated delivery, with higher configurations seeing shipping dates estimated to be in late February or early March. In the United Kingdom and Canada, the highest-end 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ shows shipping dates of between five and eight weeks on Apple's online store at the time of writing.

There are several reasons for the continued long wait that Apple customers are experiencing with Apple's latest MacBook Pros. Apple has continued to suffer the consequences of a global chip shortage that cost the company $6 billion last quarter, pandemic-related restrictions possibly limiting device production, on top of high demand for the latest laptops given their major redesign.

With the new MacBook Pros, Apple brought back many features highly requested by longtime Mac users, such as additional ports including HDMI, MagSafe, and an SD card slot. Apple also redesigned the MacBook Pros, making them heavier and thicker to accommodate the more powerful ‌M1 Pro‌ and ‌M1 Max‌ chips.

Apple will announce Q1 2022 earnings later this week where it's expected to provide insight on the sales of the iPhone 13, AirPods 3, the new MacBook Pros, and other new products it announced in the fall.

The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has ruled that Apple's plan to allow App Store dating apps to use third-party payment methods for in-app purchases does not sufficiently meet the requirements of a previous ruling. As a result, the ACM has hit Apple with an initial 5 million euro fine as a consequence, and fines will continue to be assessed at 5 million euros per week up to a maximum of 50 million euros until Apple complies.

Last week, following Apple's announcement that dating apps in the Dutch ‌App Store‌ would have the option to let users use third-party payments for in-app purchases, the ACM said it would assess whether those changes meet the requirements of a previous ruling. The ACM had previously ruled that Apple's ‌App Store‌ is unfair and Apple was engaging in anti-competitive business practices.

Apple's announced changes fail to "satisfy the requirements," the ACM said today in a press release. "At the moment, dating-app providers can merely express their 'interest'. In addition, Apple has raised several barriers for dating-app providers to the use of third-party payment systems," the ACM added, alluding to the fact that dating apps must first ask and receive approval for a special ‌App Store‌ entitlement to point users to third-party payment methods.

Apple's plan also appears to require developers to choose between offering a third-party in-app purchase option or being able to direct users to outside payment options, and the ACM says Apple must allow developers to offer both options.

Apple must adjust its conditions for access to the Dutch App Store for dating-app providers. In the App Store, dating-app providers must also be able to use payment systems other than Apple's payment system. In addition, dating-app providers must have the ability to refer to payment systems outside of the app. This had been laid down in an order subject to periodic penalty payments that ACM imposed on Apple in August 2021. On December 24, 2021, the court ruled that this part of the order could be published.

One major question about Apple's plans is its intent to continue to receive a commission for in-app purchases made with dating apps, even if the developer uses a third-party payment method. Apple has yet to reveal what the commission will be or how it plans to implement it.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook had previously said that even if developers were to use third-payment methods, Apple would continue to receive a cut for all in-app purchases made but noted that such a system does not yet exist. We've reached out to Apple for comment on the ACM's conclusion and the 5 million euro fine.

Beats Fit Pro will be available to pre-order worldwide starting today, including in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and more.

First released in the United States a few months ago, Beats Fit Pro are ideal for athletes, with flexible wingtips providing a more secure fit in the ear. The wireless earbuds have similar features as the AirPods Pro, including active noise cancellation with "Transparency" mode, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, an H1 chip for one-tap pairing and automatic switching between Apple devices, Hey Siri support, and more.

Beats Fit Pro will be available to pre-order through Apple's online store, with black, white, stone purple, and sage gray color options. Pre-orders will begin at 3 p.m. in the UK, according to Beats, with pricing set at £199.99 in that country.

Beats Fit Pro also feature up to six hours of listening time per charge, compatibility with Android devices, IPX4-rated water and sweat resistance, a USB-C charging case, customizable silicone ear tips with three size options, and more.

For more details about Beats Fit Pro, read our hands-on coverage of the earbuds from last year.

MediaTek has conducted the world's first live demo of Wi-Fi 7 for "key customers and industry collaborators," paving the way for the wireless network technology to enter mainstream consumer hardware as early as next year, according to the company.

Taiwan-based MediaTek said the demos demonstrated the ability of Wi-Fi 7 to achieve the maximum speed defined by IEEE 802.11be, the official name for the Wi-Fi 7 standard. The company said it also highlighted its multi-link operation (MLO) technology. MLO aggregates multiple channels on different frequency bands at the same time to allow network traffic to still flow seamlessly even if there is interference or congestion on the bands. "Filogic" simply refers to MediaTek's Wi-Fi 7 connectivity portfolio.

"The rollout of Wi-Fi 7 will mark the first time that Wi-Fi can be a true wireline/Ethernet replacement for super high-bandwidth applications," said Alan Hsu, corporate vice president and general manager of the Intelligent Connectivity business at MediaTek. "MediaTek’s Wi-Fi 7 technology will be the backbone of home, office and industrial networks and provide seamless connectivity for everything from multi-player AR/VR applications to cloud gaming and 4K calls to 8K streaming and beyond."

"Faster broadband Internet access and more demanding applications such as higher resolution video streaming and VR gaming are driving demand for Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, and soon Wi-Fi 7," said Mario Morales, group vice president, Semiconductors at IDC. "Wi-Fi 7's advances in channel width, QAM, and new features such as multi-link operation (MLO) will make Wi-Fi 7 very attractive for devices including flagship smartphones, PCs, consumer devices and vertical industries like retail and industrial; as service providers begin to deploy a wider spectrum of hotspots across these market segments."

Wi-Fi 7 is said to deliver 2.4x faster speeds than Wi-Fi 6, even with the same number of antennas, since Wi-Fi 7 can utilize 320Mhz channels and supports 4K quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) technology.

The Wi-FI Alliance says Wi-Fi 7 could provide speeds of "at least 30" gigabits per second (Gbps) and should exceed that to reach 40Gbps, which is the same speed as Thunderbolt 3. As noted by ArsTechnica, Wi-Fi 6 supports speeds up to 9.6Gbps, while its predecessor, WiFi 5, has a max output of 3.5Gbps. Wi-Fi 6 is the marketing name given to 802.11ax technology, which is supported by all iPhone 11 and later models, the newest iPad mini, iPad Air, iPad Pro, and all Macs powered by Apple silicon.

The next step up from Wi-Fi 6 is Wi-Fi 6E. Devices supporting Wi-Fi 6E use a dedicated 6E spectrum with up to seven additional 160MHz channels, while Wi-Fi 6 devices share the same spectrum as other Wi-Fi 4, 5, and 6 devices, and they only operate on two 160MHz channels. Some reports suggested Apple's iPhone 13 series would include Wi-Fi 6E, but the rumors never panned out. Looking ahead, this year's iPhone 14 is expected to adopt Wi-Fi 6E and Apple's forthcoming AR/VR headset is also expected to support it to meet the needs of the high-end, immersive experience it will deliver, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

MediaTek has been involved in the development of the Wi-Fi 7 standard since its inception and is eager to drum up excitement for its Wi-Fi 7 Filogic connectivity portfolio, but the protocol hasn't been finalized by the Wi-FI Alliance yet, so it's difficult to say when consumer devices will actually support it. MediaTek says products with Wi-Fi 7 are expected to hit the market starting in 2023. Regardless, given that Apple has yet to adopt Wi-Fi 6E in any of its devices, support for Wi-Fi 7 is likely to be some way away.