MacRumors

Tears of Joy continued to be one of the most popular emoji used worldwide in 2021, according to the Unicode Consortium's list of the top emoji used throughout the year.

The 😂 emoji accounts for over five percent of all emoji use, and the only other emoji that comes close is the heart emoji (❤️).

Other top emoji in 2021 included rolling on the floor laughing face, thumbs up, loudly crying face, hands pressed together, face blowing kiss, face with hearts, face with heart eyes, and smiling face, or in emoji: 😂 ❤️ 🤣 👍 😭 🙏 😘 🥰 😍 😊.

The most popular emoji haven't changed much over the past couple of years, and in fact, crying laughing face and red heart were also the top two emoji in 2019, which was the last time that the Unicode Consortium shared emoji data. Other emoji on the list have shifted position and there are a few that are new to the top 10 list, such as thumbs up and face with hearts.

The Unicode Consortium also broke emoji down by category to discover the top used smileys, people emoji, symbols, clothing, animals, travel emoji, objects, and food emoji, with graphs of the frequency of use available on the Unicode Consortium website.

Party popper is the most popular event emoji, for example, followed by balloon and gift. Fire is the most popular weather emoji, unsurprisingly, and the most popular plant emoji is the rose. The butterfly is the most used bug emoji, and rabbit face is the most used mammal emoji.

Of the clothing emoji, the crown is the most popular, and the birthday cake is by far the most popular sweet food emoji. Hot beverage is the most popular drink emoji, and in the fruit category, strawberry takes the top spot.

More on the most popular emoji in 2021 can be found through the Unicode Consortium's full 2021 emoji breakdown.

Amazon today announced that its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) service is now offering a "preview" of M1 Mac mini instances in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) regions of U.S. East and U.S. West, with other regions to be available when the instances are fully released.

An "instance" is a virtual server available for rent through Amazon's EC2 service for running apps on AWS infrastructure. Intel-based Mac mini instances were already available since last year, but M1 models will provide improved performance, allowing developers building apps for the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV to benefit from faster builds.

From the announcement:

If you are a Mac developer and re-architecting your apps to natively support Macs with Apple silicon, you may now build and test your apps and take advantage of all the benefits of AWS. Developers building for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV will also benefit from faster builds. EC2 M1 Mac instances deliver up to 60% better price performance over the x86-based EC2 Mac instances for iPhone and Mac app build workloads.

More details are available on the Amazon Web Services website and there is also a sign-up form for the M1 Mac mini instances preview.

Apple's chipmaking partner TSMC has kicked off pilot production of chips built on its 3nm process, known as N3, according to Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes.

The report, citing unnamed industry sources, claims that TSMC will move the process to volume production by the fourth quarter of 2022 and start shipping 3nm chips to customers like Apple and Intel in the first quarter of 2023.

As usual, this process advancement should allow for performance and power efficiency improvements, which can lead to faster speeds and/or longer battery life on future iPhones and Macs. The first series of Apple silicon Macs powered by M1 chips already deliver industry-leading performance per watt while running impressively quiet and cool.

The first Apple devices with 3nm chips will likely debut in 2023, including iPhone 15 models with an A17 chip and Apple silicon Macs with M3 chips — all names are tentative. The Information's Wayne Ma last month reported that some of the M3 chips will have up to four dies, which the report said could translate into those chips having up to a 40-core CPU, compared to the 8-core M1 chip and 10-core M1 Pro and M1 Max chips.

In the meantime, Macs with M2 chips and iPhone 14 models are expected to use chips based on TSMC's N4 process, which is another iteration of its 5nm process.

We've been keeping an eye on AirPods deals in the wake of Black Friday, and before today only the AirPods 3 have seen a return of Black Friday pricing. However, Amazon now has the AirPods Max at their best price of the year of $429.00 in Sky Blue and Space Gray, down from $549.00.

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

If you missed this deal last week, today could very well be one of the last times in 2021 that you'll be able to order the AirPods Max at this price in time for the holidays. Space Gray is in stock and will arrive by December 8 for users in the United States, but Sky Blue's availability is quickly dwindling and may not ship to your location in time for the 24th. Order now if you're interested.

Amazon's pricing on the AirPods 3 is at $149.99, down from $179.00, and this model is in stock and will also arrive sometime next week. 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.

Update: This deal has now expired for both Space Gray and Sky Blue AirPods Max models.

Along with naming its editorial picks for the top apps and games of 2021, Apple today shared charts for the most downloaded free and paid apps and games in the United States across 2021.

The number one most downloaded free iPhone app was TikTok, followed by YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. The top paid iPhone apps included Procreate Pocket, HotSchedules, The Wonder Weeks, and TouchRetouch.

Popular free iPad apps included Netflix, Disney+, and Zoom, while GoodNotes 5, Notability, Duet Display, and Procreate were popular paid iPad apps.

Top games on iPhone and iPad included Among Us!, Roblox, Project Makeover, Minecraft, and Heads Up. Apple this year also highlighted the top Apple Arcade games, which included The Oregon Trail, NBA 2K21, and Sneaky Sasquatch. Apple's top 10 lists for each category are listed below.

iPhone

iPad

Apple Arcade

Top Apple Arcade Games:

• The Oregon Trail
• NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition
• Sneaky Sasquatch
• Sonic Racing
• SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit
• Skate City
• PAC-MAN Party Royale
• Cut the Rope Remastered
• Hot Lava
• Angry Birds Reloaded

The top charts can also be viewed in the Today section of the App Store on the iPhone and the iPad.

Apple today shared its 2021 App Store Award winners, highlighting the 15 best apps and games selected by Apple's global App Store editorial team. The top apps were chosen for their quality, innovative technology, creative design, and positive cultural impact.

"The developers who won App Store Awards in 2021 harnessed their own drive and vision to deliver the best apps and games of the year -- sparking the creativity and passion of millions of users around the world," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "From self-taught indie coders to inspiring leaders building global businesses, these standout developers innovated with Apple technology, with many helping to foster the profound sense of togetherness we needed this year."

Toca Life World, from Toca Boca, was named Apple's iPhone App of the Year. Designed for children, the app allows players to create their own worlds and bring their stories to life.

Apple's iPad App of the Year is LumaFusion, a popular mobile video editing app. It is recognized as one of the best ways to edit video on an iPhone or an iPad, with a wide range of editing tools and effects.

Multiplayer online battle arena game League of Legends: Wild Rift won the title of iPhone Game of the Year for its online play, and MARVEL Future Revolution was Apple's pick for iPad Game of the Year.

Apple picked a Mac app and game of the year, an Apple TV app of the year, and an Apple Arcade game of the year, with details below.

• Mac App of the Year: Craft Docs and Notes Editor, from Luki Labs Limited.
• Mac Game of the Year: Myst, from Cyan.
• Apple TV App of the Year: DAZN Sports Streaming, from DAZN Group.
• Apple TV Game of the Year: Space Marshals 3, from Pixelbite.
• Apple Watch App of the Year: Carrot Weather, from Grailr.
• Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Fantasian, from Mistwalker.

Apple also highlighted "Connection" as the trend of the year, recognizing a selection of apps and games that brought people together in meaningful ways. Apps acknowledged in this category include Among Us!, Bumble, Canva, EatOkra, and Peanut.

Each App or Game of the Year winner will receive a physical App Store award that's modeled after the design of the App Store logo. Each award is created from 100 percent recycled aluminum and it has the name of the winner engraved on the side.

Apple has informed some of its component suppliers that demand for the iPhone 13 models is slowing ahead of the holidays, reports Bloomberg. Reports of weakening demand come as delivery estimates for the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro have started to improve, with the devices available to ship before Christmas.

Apple in October cut 2021 iPhone 13 production by as many as 10 million units because of industry wide chip shortages. Apple was planning to produce 90 million iPhone 13 models in 2021, but Broadcom and Texas Instruments were unable to deliver enough components.

According to Bloomberg, Apple was aiming to make up the shortfall in 2022 when supplies improve, but Apple has now informed vendors that it may not end up getting the necessary orders from customers.

During Apple's fourth quarter earnings call in October, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the supply constraints on iPhones, iPads, and Macs had already cost Apple around $6 billion, and that the supply issues would continue into December.

At launch, available iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro models sold out quickly, and for a good month after launch, there were long lead times on shipments. Cook said during the call that Apple was "working feverishly" to boost iPhone 13 supplies, and it appears that stock is now catching up with demand.

Apple's newest store in Berlin, Germany is set to open on Thursday, December 2, Apple announced today. Apple Rosenthaler Straße is the first Apple Store in the Mitte borough of Berlin, and it joins Apple Kurfürstendamm in the city.

"We're excited to open our second store in Berlin, right in the heart of Mitte," said Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's senior vice president of Retail + People. "Blending Apple's exceptional technology and tools with the creative passion we share with this community gives us the opportunity to create something really special for our customers in Germany."

Located near the Hackesche Höfe, Apple Rosenthaler Straße is located in a historic part of the city that's surrounded by design firms and art studios. The store features the same general ‌Apple Store‌ design that Apple has deployed worldwide with dedicated tables that highlight product options, a Forum and video wall, and a dedicated area for product pickups. There are seven-meter high floor-to-ceiling windows and towering trees inside to complete the look.

To celebrate the store's opening, Apple plans to host Berlin artists from illustrator collective Parallel Universe. Each artist will draw their take on Mitte's creative spirit using an iPad Pro, and customers can also start signing up for Today at Apple classes.

Next year, the Berlin store will offer Today at Apple Creative Studios, an initiative that provides career-building mentorship, industry skills training, tools, and creative resources to underrepresented communities.

Apple Rosenthaler Straße is set to open on Thursday, December 2, at 10 a.m. CET in Berlin. Customers will be able to book appointments for an introduction to the store and shopping, with limited capacity and social distancing measures in place. Starting on December 3, the location will offer walk-ins, pickups, and Genius Bar support.

Amazon today has the MagSafe Battery Pack for $74.99, down from $99.00. The accessory is in stock and ready to ship today, and it's sold by Amazon.

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

This sale has been applied automatically, so you won't need a discount code. The best price we've ever seen on this accessory was at $74.24 at Verizon, so today's deal is nearly a match of the lowest-ever price on the MagSafe Battery Pack.

The MagSafe Battery Pack magnetically attaches to the iPhone 12 or iPhone 13, providing wireless charging while traveling. In total, the accessory is compatible with the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

You can also visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Apple's Car project recently lost one of its engineering directors, with Michael Schwekutsch departing the company to join air taxi startup Archer Aviation.

As discovered by CNBC, Schwekutsch updated his LinkedIn profile to note that he has taken on a role of senior vice president of engineering at Archer. Archer is an aerospace company that is developing an all-electric aircraft that supports vertical takeoff and landing for navigation within cities.

Schwekutsch first joined the Apple Car project in March of 2019, and he served as a senior director of engineering on the special project group, aka the Apple Car team. Prior to that, he was Tesla's vice president of engineering.

Apple's car development has seen continual management shifts over the course of the last few years. Back in September, special projects vice president Doug Field left Apple for Ford after a three-year stint heading up Apple Car development alongside Bob Mansfield and John Giannandrea.

AI chief John Giannandrea is still overseeing Apple Car development, but with Field's departure, Apple recently brought on Apple Watch chief Kevin Lynch to pitch in. Under Lynch's leadership, the Apple Car project is moving ahead, with Apple aiming to produce a fully autonomous electric vehicle. Apple wants to design a self-driving car that does not require human intervention, a goal that car manufacturers have yet to achieve.

Apple is planning to launch a self-driving car within four years with an aggressive launch timeline around 2025, but whether Apple can achieve that goal remains to be seen.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of macOS Monterey 12.1 to developers for testing, and while the much-anticipated Universal Control feature is still not enabled, the latest beta does appear to resolve an issue with the "Tap to Click" trackpad gesture.

Since the release of macOS Monterey earlier this year, some users have reported that the "Tap to Click" trackpad gesture would intermittently fail to work. The issue appears to have affected a variety of Macs, ranging from the M1 MacBook Air with a built-in trackpad to an Intel-based iMac paired with a standalone Magic Trackpad.

Following the release of the fourth macOS 12.1 beta today, several users across the MacRumors Forums and Reddit have indicated that they are no longer experiencing issues with "Tap to Click" after updating to this version.

"Tap to Click" can be enabled in System Preferences under Trackpad > Point & Click, allowing users to tap with one finger to click.

macOS 12.1 should be publicly released before the end of the year, with a key new feature being SharePlay, which will allow users to watch movies and TV shows, listen to music, and share their screen with friends and family on FaceTime calls. SharePlay is already available on iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, and tvOS 15.1.

At the end of each year, streaming music service Spotify provides a "Spotify Wrapped" recap of each user's listening habits and favorite songs. Spotify Wrapped is a highly anticipated year-end feature that Spotify users love, and Apple Music listeners may be wondering how to get their own "Wrapped" rundown.

Apple does not have a year-end wrap up that's equivalent to what Spotify has, but the streaming music service does offer "Apple Music Replay," a feature that ranks all of your top songs for the year.

‌Apple Music‌ Replay is refreshed on a yearly basis, usually during February, and it updates each week to provide an ever-changing playlist of your favorite songs. The best ‌Apple Music‌ Replay experience is on the web, and you can get to it by navigating to the Apple Music Replay website and signing in to ‌Apple Music‌.

On the Replay website, you can see details like the number of hours you've listened to music during the year and your top albums and artists. If you want to share these statistics on social media, you'll need to take screenshots.

You can listen to the ‌Apple Music‌ Replay playlists on iPhone or iPad, but you'll need to sign in on the web to see the more detailed statistics mentioned above.

1. In the ‌Apple Music‌ app, navigate to the "Listen Now" tab.
2. Scroll down to "‌Apple Music‌ Replay."
3. Select one of your replay lists. Apple offers playlists for every year that you've been subscribed to ‌Apple Music‌, so you can see how your tastes have changed over time.

One of the best parts about Spotify Wrapped is that it packages up all of your year-end statistics into neat little graphics that are shareable on social media, and unfortunately, there's no ‌Apple Music‌ equivalent.

‌Apple Music‌ Replay is also not as in-depth as Spotify Wrapped, which provides information on top artists, genres, songs, podcasts, and minutes listened. Spotify also does add-ons like "The Movie" that pairs top songs with classic scenes from movies and "2021 Wrapped Blend," comparing each user's listening taste with friends.

Spotify's year-end feature is much more comprehensive than anything Apple offers, and so far Apple has declined to make a true year-end highlight reel so Replay is the best ‌Apple Music‌ users are going to get for now.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming macOS Monterey 12.1 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming two weeks after the third beta and a month after the official release of macOS Monterey.

Registered developers can download macOS Monterey 12.1 beta profile through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, the beta will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences.

macOS Monterey 12.1 brings SharePlay to Macs for the first time. SharePlay is a new feature that's designed to let you watch TV, listen to music, and play games with friends and family members over FaceTime.

SharePlay allows all kinds of apps to work with ‌FaceTime‌, with content synced for all people who are part of the ‌FaceTime‌ call. You can listen to music with Apple Music and access shared playlists, watch synced TV shows and movies together, work out together, and even share your screen for things like group trip planning or device troubleshooting.

Apple designed SharePlay to work with first-party app options like Apple TV, Apple Fitness+, and ‌Apple Music‌, but there's also an API for developers so third-party apps can also use SharePlay ‌FaceTime‌ features for games and other experiences.

SharePlay is already available in the release versions of iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, and tvOS 15.1, so the Monterey 12.1 update brings Macs in line with other Apple devices.

The Luna Display dongle that's meant to turn an iPad or Mac into a secondary display for a primary machine today received a major 5.1 software update, introducing new features.

With the new PC-to-Mac Mode, Luna Display owners can turn a Mac into a secondary display for a PC. PC-to-Mac mode follows PC-to-iPad mode, which was introduced in October. Thanks to the updated software, any old Mac or ‌iPad‌ can now be used as a secondary display with either a PC or a Mac.

Along with PC-to-Mac mode, the update introduces support for 4K and 5K resolutions. Computers that have a 4K or 5K display can be used as a secondary display at their full resolution, with the USB-C Luna Display required for this functionality.

There's also a new Teleprompter Mode for the PC, Office Mode for PC users, and Magic Keyboard Support for iPhone owners. The Magic Keyboard and trackpad can now be used with an ‌iPad‌ when using Luna Display.

The USB-C Luna Display that works interchangeably with Macs and PCs can be purchased for $129.99, though there is a discount for the next two days that drops the price to $97.50. The discount will show up when the Luna Display is added to the cart for purchase.

Apple released macOS Monterey in late October, but we are still waiting on several promised features such as SharePlay and Universal Control to be made available through subsequent software updates like macOS 12.1, which is currently in beta testing.

The first macOS 12.1 beta enabled SharePlay on the Mac, allowing developers to prepare their apps to support the feature. SharePlay, which is already available in iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, and tvOS 15.1, will allow users to watch movies and TV shows with friends and family while on a FaceTime call, and even share their screens.

When Will macOS 12.1 Be Released?

Apple has released several previous macOS updates in early-to-mid December:

• macOS Big Sur 11.1: December 14, 2020
• macOS Catalina 10.15.2: December 10, 2019
• macOS Mojave 10.14.2: December 5, 2018
• macOS High Sierra 10.13.2: December 6, 2017
• macOS Sierra 10.12.2: December 13, 2016
• OS X El Capitan 10.11.2: December 8, 2015

In mid-November, Apple shared a press release stating that SharePlay is coming to the Mac later this fall, and given that SharePlay was enabled in the macOS 12.1 beta, this altogether implies that macOS 12.1 will be released before the end of the year.

From the press release:

SharePlay, a powerful set of features for shared experiences while on a FaceTime call, has introduced new ways for Apple users to stay connected. With SharePlay support in Apple TV+, Apple Music, and Apple Fitness+ — as well as many of the most popular apps like NBA, TikTok, Twitch, Paramount+, and SHOWTIME — users can watch movies and TV shows, listen to music, or complete a workout with friends together on a FaceTime call. SharePlay extends to Apple TV so users can watch on the big screen while using FaceTime on iPhone or iPad. With screen sharing support, users can also browse the web together, look at photos, or show their friends something in a favorite app. SharePlay is available with the release of iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, and tvOS 15.1, and is coming to Mac later this fall.

It remains unclear if macOS 12.1 will include Universal Control, which will allow for a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard to be used across multiple Macs and/or iPads side by side. Apple's website continues to list Universal Control as "available later this fall," but the feature has still not been enabled as of the latest macOS 12.1 beta. Universal Control settings can be force enabled with a feature flag, however, so it is clear that Apple is working on the feature behind the scenes and so it could still launch this year.

Other new macOS Monterey features include AirPlay to Mac, Quick Note, Live Text, a Shortcuts app, spatial audio in FaceTime, and more.

Nomad today announced a pair of new products, including a new USB-C PD wall charger and new Sport Cables. These accessories are both available to order and ship out today on Nomad's website.

The 30W USB-C GaN AC Adapter is a small, minimalist wall charger with a 30W power output that supports iPhone fast charging. This accessory costs $29.95 and does not come with a USB-C cable. In terms of size, Nomad's charger is only marginally larger than Apple's 5W USB-A charger.

Secondly, Nomad has a new collection of Sport Cables, which it says are similar to its existing kevlar cables but come in at a cheaper price and with a nylon braid. There are three versions available: USB-A to Lightning, USB-C to Lightning, and USB-C to USB-C. The Lightning cables are MFi certified and cost $24.95 each.

With both the 30W AC Adapter and one of the USB-C Sport Cables, you'll be able to fast charge an iPhone. With this feature, you can get up to 50 percent charge in under 30 minutes on modern iPhones. The 30W AC Adapter can also be used to power Apple accessories like the MagSafe Charger.

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

Spotify today made its annual recap feature "Spotify Wrapped" available to users on the iOS and Android app. This feature tracks your top artists, genres, songs, podcasts, and minutes listened, and generates graphics that are easily shareable on social media.

There are a few new additions to Spotify Wrapped 2021, including "2021: The Movie," which pairs your top songs with classic scenes from movies; "Your Audio Aura," which visualizes your audio aura based on top music moods; "Playing Cards," which is an interactive quiz game about your listening habits; and "2021 Wrapped Blend," which compares your listening tastes with friends.

Spotify Wrapped can now be shared on TikTok as well as the usual platforms like Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You can generate these custom graphics and find all of your personalized Spotify Wrapped 2021 data in the 2021 Wrapped Hub, which also has the overall top songs, podcasts, and artists of 2021.

Apple Music users looking for a similar year-end recap feature will have to rely on the Replay 2021 playlist, which has been tracking subscribers' most-listened-to songs since February. ‌Apple Music‌ for the web also has a few more pieces of data, like top albums and artists of the year, but Apple has yet to compete with Spotify's deep dive into niche user listening habits and shareable social media graphics.

The ‌Apple Music‌ Replay 2021 playlist can be found on your "Listen Now" tab in the ‌Apple Music‌ app, and once you add it to your library there is a "Made For You" section in the Library tab that makes the playlist more easily accessible. You'll find a Replay playlist for every year you've held an ‌Apple Music‌ subscription, dating back to the service's launch in 2015.

In an internal memo obtained by MacRumors, Apple said it will be adding the iPhone 6 Plus to its vintage products list on December 31, meaning that more than five years have passed since Apple stopped distributing the device for sale.

Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers continue to offer repairs for vintage products for up to seven years, subject to parts availability.

Introduced in September 2014, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were two of the most popular smartphones that Apple has ever sold, with the devices featuring larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays that customers had long desired. While the iPhone 6 Plus was discontinued in 2016, the smaller iPhone 6 remained available through select retailers in select regions until at least 2018 and will not become a vintage product until later.

On the software side, Apple already dropped support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with the release of iOS 13 a few years ago.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were the first devices to feature support for Apple Pay, with other key features including an A8 chip and improved cameras. Pricing started at $649 for the iPhone 6 with a now-paltry 16GB of storage.