MacRumors

Spotify users are growing impatient with the music streaming giant over its lack of HomePod support, pushing several customers to the brink of canceling their subscriptions entirely and moving to alternative platforms, such as Apple Music.

More than a year ago, at the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced that it would be adding third-party music service support to ‌HomePod‌. A few months later, Apple highlighted some of the apps that would take advantage of the new feature, including Amazon Music, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. A notable exclusion from the list - Spotify.

Whether Spotify opted not to be part of the initial batch of third-party music providers with ‌‌HomePod‌‌ support or Apple didn’t ask remains unknown. Nonetheless, a feature request was posted to the Spotify Community forum a few weeks later, kindly requesting that Spotify add support for ‌HomePod‌.

At the time in June of 2020, and more recently, Spotify said it plans to implement AirPlay 2 support into its iOS app. While ‌AirPlay‌ 2 support would allow users to play their Spotify content through their ‌HomePod‌, it is not native ‌HomePod‌ support. Native ‌HomePod‌ support would allow users to use Siri to play Spotify content from their ‌HomePod‌ without opening the app and selecting the speaker manually.

Customers are not holding back their frustrations, with one user writing that Spotify is exhibiting "childish behavior," while another said, "this is a total joke - how can they still not be offering it… how many people have come here, seen this and then just canceled. Why does Spotify make it so hard to support them."

"This is absolutely pathetic Spotify," another user wrote. Users are poised to turn their frustrations into action, with many saying that they have activated ‌Apple Music‌'s three-month trial and will renew their subscription unless Spotify adopts ‌HomePod‌ support before the trial ends. "Month with no information about the integration...why should I pay for Spotify when other Services are more interested in integrations," another user wrote, with many others saying they've moved to ‌Apple Music‌ (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

How many comments are needed to bring attention to this? More than 100 pages? Being a software engineer myself, I understand that such integration shouldn't take THAT MUCH time. Come on, it's hard not to conclude that Spotify has intentionally decided not to implement it. They haven't even said a simple "yes, we're on it."

It doesn't seem like Spotify cares about their users considering the number of votes on this.

Spotify has labeled the idea a "Live Idea" but has not provided any updates on where it stands. Spotify spokespeople have also declined to respond to several emails by MacRumors over the last several months regarding ‌HomePod‌ support.

The reasoning behind Spotify's refusal to adopt ‌HomePod‌ support remains unknown. Spotify has in the past called Apple "anti-competitive," accusing the tech giant of making it harder for other services to compete with ‌Apple Music‌. However, when given a chance to join a level playing field with Apple's service, Spotify seems less interested.

Left Spotify, this was a dealbreaker for me - Nothing happened and they don't care about the consumer - waited for a year, but nothing happened. I got 6 months free subscription with my AirPods, so it was time to leave. It's Time to Play Fair Spotify, you can't complain about not being on the HomePod, and then when they let you in you don't even bother to support it.

While the ‌HomePod‌ remained a rather niche product at the time third-party support was announced, the product has slowly grown more mainstream thanks to the smaller $99 HomePod mini which just recently launched in new colors.

Apple is offering new customers a free three-month trial to ‌Apple Music‌, which does include native ‌HomePod‌ support. New ‌Apple Music‌ customers who own select AirPods and Beats model headphones can get six months of Apple Music for free. We'll update this article if Spotify provides new information concerning ‌HomePod‌ support.

Last week, Apple announced a new self-service repair program that will provide customers with access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals for completing their own repairs of select devices, starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups and later Macs with M1 chips. Apple said the program will be available starting early next year in the United States and expand to additional countries throughout 2022.

In an internal memo obtained by MacRumors, Apple provided a few more details about the program, including that repair manuals will be made available on the Apple Support website, confirming the location of where customers will be able to review this information prior to ordering parts for a self-service repair.

Apple's memo also said that its online parts store will be operated by an unspecified third party. While no official reason was provided, it would certainly be logistically easier for Apple to outsource shipping and receiving of parts to and from customers. A similar system is already in place for Apple Authorized Service Providers.

When announcing the program last week, Apple said self-service repairs are intended for "individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices," adding that the initial phase of the program will focus on common repairs, such as replacing an iPhone's display, battery, or camera.

Apple's self-service repair program announcement has received praise from supporters of the "Right to Repair" movement, but there are still some question marks. In its memo, Apple said more details will be shared as the program's launch approaches.

Apple recently announced that it will soon be opening a second retail store in the heart of Berlin. The store will be located on the popular Rosenthaler Strasse shopping street in Mitte, the historic center of Germany's capital city.

Apple has yet to share a specific opening date for the Rosenthaler Strasse store, which will accompany Apple's existing Kurfürstendamm store in Berlin.

Twitter account Storeteller has shared some photos of the Rosenthaler Strasse store, which is covered in a colorful facade ahead of its grand opening. Apple is also offering matching wallpapers for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac on its website.

Apple operates over 500 retail stores worldwide, including a newly relocated store at The Grove in Los Angeles and a new store in Istanbul, Turkey.

While Apple maintained its dominant share of smartwatch shipments in the third quarter of 2021, the company's shipments fell as Samsung made significant gains, according to Counterpoint Research.

Global smartwatch shipments in the third quarter of this year increased by 16 percent overall compared to the same time in 2020, but Apple Watch shipments declined by 10 percent. The drop may be explained by the Apple Watch Series 7 shipping later than usual due to delays, pushing sales of the latest model into the fourth quarter. Customers may also have been reluctant to buy the Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 6 in the third quarter with the expectation of new models arriving soon, suppressing Apple's shipments further.

Meanwhile, Samsung saw its highest number of quarterly smartwatch shipments to date, reclaiming its position as the second biggest smartwatch brand from Huawei. Counterpoint credits the launch of the Galaxy Watch 4 series, Wear OS's expanding app ecosystem, a broader range of models, and well-received features for the company's significantly increased shipments.

Wear OS also made comparatively large gains in terms of operating system market share. watchOS's presence continues to decline with a share of just 22 percent, sustaining a progressive decline since a peak market share of 40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Data for the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, showing shipments of the Apple Watch Series 7, are likely to give a more accurate presentation of Samsung's growth in the smartwatch market.

Following in the wake of an AirPods Max deal earlier today, Amazon is now taking $24 off Apple's brand new AirPods 3. The wireless headphones are available for $154.99, down from $179.00. You'll see this price once you add the item to your cart and an automatic coupon is applied.

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.

The AirPods 3 are the newest version of Apple's AirPods lineup, and they feature spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, adaptive EQ, a new design, sweat and water resistance, and up to six hours of listening time on one charge. The included MagSafe Charging Case also provides up to 30 hours of listening time.

We're keeping track of all this season's best deals in our Black Friday 2021 Roundup. You can also find more of our daily deals and other offers in our Deals Roundup.

Facebook, now rebranded to "Meta," is delaying plans to use end-to-end encryption for Messenger and Instagram messages until at least 2023, a year later than the previous deadline promised by the social media behemoth.

Writing in The Telegraph, Meta's head of global safety, Antigone Davis, said that the company is pushing back its deadline to roll out end-to-end encryption as the default for billions of Messenger and Instagram users until "sometime in 2023." Meta claims this delay is meant to give it extra time to coordinate with experts in the field of combating online abuse while also protecting user privacy.

We're taking our time to get this right and we don't plan to finish the global rollout of end-to-end encryption by default across all our messaging services until sometime in 2023. As a company that connects billions of people around the world and has built industry-leading technology, we're determined to protect people's private communications and keep people safe online.

Facebook had previously set in motion a plan to fully encrypt all messages in Messenger and Instagram in 2022, but following that announcement, government officials, institutions, and others raised concerns. Concerns amount to whether end-to-end encryption will make it harder for law enforcement to protect public and child safety.

Davis said that a balance can be and must be accomplished. "We believe people shouldn't have to choose between privacy and safety," Davis wrote, adding that Meta is "engaging with privacy and safety experts, civil society and governments to make sure we get this right."

Instagram, owned by Meta, has introduced features and changes to improve the platform for younger users, including automatically defaulting the accounts of users under the age of 18 to private. Meta is also relying on people's goodwill to combat possible abuse on its platform.

Third, we're actively encouraging people to report harmful messages to us and will prompt them to do so when we think there could be a problem. Once they do, we can view the reported message, investigate the content, offer support where appropriate, and take action where necessary. Where we find abuse, we make referrals to the authorities and respond swiftly to valid requests for data to support law enforcement investigations – as we always will.

Davis is defended the need for end-to-end encryption, citing recent cases with data requests from law enforcement showing that the majority of user information requested is non-encrypted in the first place. "While no systems are perfect, this shows that we can continue to stop criminals and support law enforcement," Davis wrote.

Meta already utilizes end-to-end encryption on WhatsApp, but that privilege is not extended by default to all Facebook Messenger and Instagram DM users. In August, Instagram said it would be testing "opt-in" end-to-end encryption chats for a limited number of adult users in certain countries. Signal, Telegram, and iMessage are all end-to-end encrypted with no need to "opt-in" to the most secure form of mobile communication.

Amazon today has Apple's AirPods Max available at $439.99 in Silver, Sky Blue, and Space Gray. All models are in stock and ready to ship out 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.

Although this sale isn't a record low price, it's just about $10 off from the previous lowest price on the AirPods Max and still one of the steepest discounts we've tracked all year.

Additionally, we're seeing a few solid deals on other AirPods models on Amazon, including the AirPods Pro with MagSafe for $169.99 ($79 off) and the AirPods 2 for $114.99 ($44 off). All models are in stock and sold directly from Amazon.

We're keeping track of all this season's best deals in our Black Friday 2021 Roundup. You can also find more of our daily deals and other offers in our Deals Roundup.

A rare wearable Macintosh accessory from 1988 called the "WristMac" today goes up for auction at ComicConnect.

The WristMac is an early example of wearable technology made by Ex Machina, Inc. and Seiko. While it was not made by Apple, the device served as a programmable wristwatch that could be connected to a Macintosh and store phone numbers, execute one-time and recurring alarms, and take notes that could be exported to a disk as a text file.

In 1991, NASA astronauts were issued with a WristMac to communicate with the Macintosh Portable and Apple Link software aboard the space shuttle "Atlantis."

The WristMac is a very rare item and as such there are no recent confirmed sales to accurately determine its expected selling price. ComicConnect CEO Stephen Fishler expects the WristMac listing to sell for anywhere between $1,000 and $100,000, with a final selling price likely to be in the region of $25,000 to $50,000.

The never-worn WristMac available in the auction still comes in its original box and includes its dock, registration card, reference manual, and WristMac 1.2 software floppy disk. Bidding begins today from $1, with the online auction running through to December 18.

Apple will be offering customers up to a $200 Apple Store gift card alongside purchases of eligible products as part of its annual four-day shopping event that begins on Black Friday, November 26, until Cyber Monday on November 29.

The promotion will be valid for all customers who purchase eligible products either at an ‌Apple Store‌, by phone at 1-800-MY-APPLE, or online. See the eligible product purchases listed below

• $50 for iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone SE
• Up to $75 for second or third-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max
• $50 for Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 3
• $100 for 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro
• $100 for MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini
• $200 for 27-inch iMac
• $50 for Apple TV 4K and ‌Apple TV‌ HD
• Up to $50 for second-generation Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard Folio, MagSafe Duo Charger, AirTag four pack, and Magic Keyboard
• Up to $50 for Beats Studio3 Wireless, Solo3 Wireless, and more

As apparent from the list, in line with previous years, Apple is excluding newer iPhone, Apple Watch, and Mac models from its gift card promotion. Interestingly, Apple is offering double the gift card value specifically for purchases of the 27-inch ‌iMac‌ compared to other Mac models part of the promotion. Amid rumors of an imminent update early next year, Apple may be looking to clear out existing stock of its largest ‌iMac‌, using the higher gift card value as an incentive for customers.

As a reminder, ‌Apple Store‌ gift cards can be utilized for several purchases, including products, accessories, music, movies, TV shows, iCloud, and more. For the latest and greatest Black Friday deals, be sure to checkout our dedicated roundup.

The biggest news item this week was Apple's announcement of an upcoming Self Service Repair program that will allow users to obtain parts, tools, and manuals directly from Apple in a win for the Right to Repair movement.

That certainly wasn't the only news this week, with Apple also releasing iOS 15.1.1 for iPhone 12 and 13 users while continuing work on iOS 15.2 and other upcoming updates, and fresh rumors about the Apple's car and AR headset projects. Black Friday is also right around the corner, so read on for all of the details on our biggest stories of the week!

Apple Announces Self Service Repair Program, Starting With iPhone 12 and 13

Apple this week announced a new "Self Service Repair" program, allowing users to complete their own repairs via a new online store dedicated to parts and tools.

The Self Service Repair program will give customers who are comfortable with the idea of completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals, starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups in the U.S. in early 2022. The scheme will be introduced in phases, adding more repairs and supported devices over time.

The announcement is a win for the Right to Repair movement, and advocates like repair firm iFixit have lauded Apple for introducing the program, although some remain wary pending more details on costs and policies.

Apple Releases iOS 15.1.1 With Call Improvements for iPhone 12 and 13 Models

Apple this week released iOS 15.1.1, which improves call drop performance on iPhone 12 and 13 models. It appears to only be available for devices in the ‌iPhone 12‌ and iPhone 13 families, including Pro models, so users with other devices won't see the update.

Developers and public beta testers have also received a third round of betas for Apple's next major set of updates, including iOS 15.2. There are a number of new tweaks in the latest beta, such as the ability to search within Apple Music playlists and improvements for the new Macro camera mode settings introduced in the previous beta.

Apple Black Friday: Best Deals on iPhones, iPads, and Macs for 2021

We're less than a week away from Black Friday, and some retailers will be kicking off their major holiday sales even sooner, so keep a close eye on our Black Friday roundup where we're collecting the best deals we've seen so far.

We also have some spotlight coverage of major retailers like Walmart and Target, and we'll be sharing many more deals as we get closer to the big day.

Apple Working Toward Fully Autonomous Car With No Steering Wheel or Pedals, Aiming to Launch in 2025

Apple is picking up its work on an Apple-designed car and is aiming to create a fully autonomous vehicle, reports Bloomberg.

Apple is "refocusing" the project around full self-driving vehicles, a goal that other car manufacturers have not been able to achieve. The company is hoping to launch its first car in 2025, although even some insiders think that goal may be optimistic.

The report gave a boost to investors as Apple's stock popped immediately upon its publication, driving Apple shares to their first all-time high in over two months.

Apple AR Headset 'Approaching Liftoff' as Development Mirrors Period Before Apple Watch Launch

The long-rumored Apple augmented reality (AR) headset may be "approaching liftoff", with Morgan Stanley analysts noting that development appears to be mirroring what was seen just prior to the launch of the Apple Watch.

Apple has been applying for a number of patents across a variety of topics related to AR, and many expect Apple's entry to be a "game changer" for normalizing the technology.

Both Apple's AR headset and the iPhone 14 are expected to adopt Wi-Fi 6E, according to noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The technology offers the fast speeds and low latency of Wi-Fi 6 but extended into the 6 GHz band for even better performance with less interference.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

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With the launch of iOS 15.1, Apple introduced a new prompt for the Podcasts app that asks customers to rate it, and as it turns out, confusion over what's being rated has led to an artificially inflated App Store rating for the Podcasts app.

Prior to the October 25 launch of iOS 15.1, the Podcasts app had 1.8 stars and plenty of negative reviews from customers unhappy with the design of the app. Now that Apple is asking customers to rate the app, ‌App Store‌ ratings for the Podcast app have shot up to 4.7 stars, a stark difference.

Apple made no major changes to the Podcasts app so customers are not suddenly happier with its design and performance - instead, many people are leaving ratings for the podcasts themselves. As noted by Kosta Eleftheriou and highlighted today by The Verge, many of the reviews are for the podcasts that are available through the Podcasts app, and not for the app's functionality.

The top review in the ‌App Store‌ right now starts out with "Best Podcast Ever!", with the reviewer lauding the podcast they had been listening to at the time the review prompt popped up.

The rest of the reviews are a mix of one star comments about the design of the Podcasts app and positive reviews for podcast content.

With the review prompt, the Podcasts app is receiving thousands of reviews per day, and many of them are positive. Apple confirmed to The Verge that it is using a new prompt, the same one available to all developers. "With iOS 15.1 released last month, Apple Podcasts began prompting listeners to leave a rating and review just like most third-party apps -- using the standard Rating & Review prompt available to all developers," a spokesperson said.

As The Verge points out, Apple is breaking no rules using this prompt that is standard issue in third-party apps, but it's misleading for customers looking for an ideal podcast experience. The Podcasts app is the number one app that comes up when you search for "podcasts" even though unaltered ratings suggest that other podcast apps offer a better user interface.

Looking at the reviews of third-party podcast apps, the majority of the ratings are for the apps themselves, and customers do not seem to be accidentally offering reviews for podcast content as is happening with the Podcasts app. It is not clear if Apple plans to remove its confusing in-app rating prompt for the Podcasts app, but reviews for the Podcasts app certainly should not be trusted.

Customers have been increasingly unhappy with the Podcasts app since iOS 14.5, which is when Apple introduced a design change that brought with it multiple bugs ranging from problems with syncing to an issue causing huge numbers of podcast episodes to be re-downloaded at one time. There were a huge number of complaints, in fact, which led Apple to make some changes in iOS 14.6, but the app has continued to accumulate negative feedback.

Apple today opened a new retail location in the Los Angeles area with the official launch of Apple The Grove. Apple has had an Apple Store in The Grove shopping area for close to 20 years, but the recently opened store is in a new location.

To celebrate the relocation of Apple The Grove, Apple last night hosted a Q&A event with the cast of popular Apple TV+ show "Ted Lasso," including Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Juno Temple, and more. Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the event and shared a tweet about it.

Cook also spent today at Apple The Grove interacting with customers doing their holiday shopping.

Apple announced the reopening of Apple The Grove earlier this month and said that the store is twice the size of the original. It has been designed to serve as an "entirely reimagined destination for the LA community" to learn about Apple's product and services.

For the last several years, Apple has been making an effort to redesign and update some of its older stores, and locations like The Grove that have outgrown their original size have been revamped. Apple recently relocated Apple Valley Fair, a Bay Area location with higher traffic than could be accommodated at the original location, and it has expanded other flagship stores such as Apple Fifth Avenue and Apple Union Square in San Francisco.

The Google Messages app on Android devices may soon start showing iMessage reactions as emoji characters instead of text, according to some digging done by 9to5Google.

In the Messages app on iOS and Mac devices, users can add a reaction like a heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, a laugh, a question mark, or an exclamation, all of which show up as annotations to an iMessage. These reactions can also be used on "green bubble" messages from Android users, but Android doesn't interpret them correctly and it can lead to awkwardness.

If you heart a message on an iPhone, for example, a fellow iPhone user will see a little heart on the message. On Android, though, when you heart a message it shows it in text: [Person] "Loved" and then the text of the message. This is true of all of the iMessages reactions, Google turns them into text in a way that looks weird, especially if Android users aren't aware of iMessage reactions.

9to5Google looked at the code in the latest beta update to Google Messages and discovered that rather than showing iMessage reactions as text, Google Messages may soon translate them into emoji, which would be a much better solution for Android users.

"Show iPhone reactions as emoji," reads a line of the code, under the "ios_reaction_classification."

For now, it's not clear exactly how this "classification" would work, but one would imagine Google Messages would spot incoming messages that start with something like "Liked" and try to match it to a previous message. Once it's figured out what message is being reacted to, perhaps Google Message will hide the incoming iMessage fallback and instead show an emoji under the original message.

That said, iMessage has a different set of reactions than currently offered by Google Messages in RCS chats. Google may be accounting for this, as there is mention in the code of "mapping" the iMessage reactions, possibly mapping to the set of reactions available in Google Messages today, or perhaps just mapping to various emoji.

Displaying an emoji for an iMessage reaction could avoid some of the awkwardness in interactions between iOS and Android users going forward, should Google ultimately decide to implement this change.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Throwboy to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company's Apple-themed Throw Blankets. Introduced earlier this year, the blankets are modeled after classic Apple icons, machines, and operating systems.

The 1984 Throw Blanket, for example, is modeled after the first Macintosh that Apple released in 1984. It's made from a beige fabric that matches the color of the original Macintosh, plus it has a black screen, a disk drive, and a rainbow logo.

Throwboy's Icon Throw Blanket is designed to look like the original Mac Finder icon, sporting a two-tone design and a smile.

There are also a trio of blankets that are meant to resemble classic Apple operating systems, and they use colors that make them unmistakable. The 80s OS Blanket is meant to look like the Classic Mac OS with a menu bar that features File, Edit, View, and Special options on a gray background, along with floppy disk and trash icons.

The 90s Throw Blanket adopts the purple background of Mac OS 9, and the 2000s Throw Blanket features the popular aqua design introduced in Mac OS X 10.

For those who like Apple's software, there's a 2000s Text Editor Throw Blanket modeled after Apple's TextEdit app with Aqua-themed design.

All of Throwboy's blankets are unmistakably Apple-themed, and make fun additions to any Apple fan's home. Each blanket measures in at 50 inches by 60 inches and they're all priced at $46.99.

Blankets feature the Apple print on one side and a minky fleece material in a neutral color on the back, making them perfect to snuggle up with on a cold night.

We have 10 blankets to give away to MacRumors readers, with each winner able to choose their favorite design. To enter to win, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older, UK residents who are 18 years or older, and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. All federal, state, provincial, and/or local taxes, fees, and surcharges are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (November 19) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on November 26. The winners will be chosen randomly on November 26 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Very few iPhone users will repair their own iPhone to postpone their next smartphone purchase, despite the Self Service Repair program, according to research by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).

Earlier this week, Apple announced the Self Service Repair program, giving customers who are comfortable with the idea of completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals, starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups. While the scheme has been met with praise from Right to Repair advocates, it seems that few iPhone users will take advantage of it in practice.

CIRP's research suggests that almost all iPhones in use have a display in "useable" condition and most iPhones have a battery in "useable" condition. 12 percent of iPhone displays are cracked but useable, and just six percent are unusable and in need of replacement. 26 percent of iPhone batteries are said to provide battery life lasting half a day without charging, and 14 percent need to be charged every couple of hours. Battery replacements are therefore likely to be among the most common repairs, but comparatively few active devices are in need of replacing either of these parts that are subject to a high level of wear and tear.

The small number of active devices in need of replacement parts, combined with the fact that many users will not be comfortable completing their own repairs, indicates that very few iPhone users will actually take advantage of the ‌Self Service Repair‌ program. CIRP Partner and Co-Founder Mike Levin said:

It seems battery life affects consumers more than screen condition. 14 percent of iPhone buyers reported needing to charge a battery in their old iPhone every few hours. Only six percent of iPhone buyers said they had a cracked screen that made the old phone unusable, while another 12 percent had a cracked screen that was still useable. Of course, buyers have many reasons for upgrading from an old iPhone, including processor performance or storage capacity. So, at best a small fraction of buyers are likely to postpone a new iPhone purchase by repairing an old phone through the Self Service Repair program.

Since most new iPhone buyers already have "more than adequately usable phones," "few owners would use the ‌Self Service Repair‌ program to postpone their next iPhone purchase," according to CIRP's Josh Lowitz.

The ‌Self Service Repair‌ program will be available to users starting early next year in the United States and expand to additional countries throughout 2022.

CIRP's findings are based on a survey of 2,000 Apple customers in the U.S. that purchased an Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, or Mac between October 2020 and September 2021.

Amazon is offering numerous all-time low prices on Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro from 2021, starting at $999.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi tablet. These sales measure up to $150 off, and all models are in stock and ready to ship from Amazon 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.

We're also tracking a return of the best price we've ever seen on the Apple Pencil 2 on Amazon, available for $99.00, down from $129.00. All of these products are sold directly from Amazon.

12.9-Inch iPad Pro

• 128GB Wi-Fi - $999.00, down from $1,099.00 ($100 off, lowest ever)
• 256GB Wi-Fi - $1,099.00, down from $1,199.00 ($100 off)
• 512GB Wi-Fi - $1,249.00, down from $1,399.00 ($150 off, lowest ever)
• 1TB Wi-Fi - $1,649.00, down from $1,799.00 ($150 off, lowest ever)
• 2TB Wi-Fi - $2,049.99, down from $2,199.00 ($149 off, lowest ever)
• 128GB Cellular - $1,199.99, down from $1,299.00 ($99 off)
• 256GB Cellular - $1,299.99, down from $1,399.00 ($99 off, lowest ever)
• 512GB Cellular - $1,449.99, down from $1,599.00 ($149 off, lowest ever)
• 1TB Cellular - $1,899.99, down from $1,999.00 ($99 off)
• 2TB Cellular - $2,249.99, down from $2,399.00 ($149 off, lowest ever)

We're keeping track of all this season's best deals in our Black Friday 2021 Roundup. You can also find more of our daily deals and other offers in our Deals Roundup.

Amid rumors about Apple's custom-designed modem for its 2023 iPhone lineup, a new report today suggested that the display panels destined for these models could put substantial pressure on LG Display's market share.

According to research by UBI, seen by The Elec, BOE is converting three of its factories into facilities capable of manufacturing OLED panels for Apple. Until now, BOE has manufactured OLED panels for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 at two factories in China, accounting for just 10 percent of all iPhone displays in 2021, but the significant expansion will reportedly allow the company to overtake LG Display as one of Apple's main suppliers of iPhone displays in 2023.

By the fourth quarter of 2022, BOE will expand to reach a manufacturing capacity of 144,000 substrates per month, up from just 96,000 currently. This will exceed Samsung Display's current manufacturing capacity of 140,000 substrates per month, positioning BOE as a serious competitor.

BOE taking a larger share of the supply of iPhone displays could pose a particular threat to LG Display since Apple is its only client for Gen 6 OLED panels, unlike Samsung Display and BOE, which both have a range of other customers and are generally more competitive.

The expansion could spell more bad news for LG after it halted production of LCD displays for iPhones and shut down its own smartphone division entirely earlier this year.

This week, additional reports about Apple's custom-designed 5G modem emerged, explaining that it will be separate from the company's A-series chip and is set to debut in iPhones as soon as 2023. These models could also feature no notch or hole-punch out of the display, an under-display Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and a periscope camera system.

Apple today shared a new video in its ongoing "Shot on iPhone" series, this time commissioned from French film director Michel Gondry, known for movies like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Be Kind Rewind," "The Green Hornet," and "The Science of Sleep."

The video focuses on eggs in various fantasy settings and situations, ending with an iPhone shot of chickens. The entire short piece was filmed on the iPhone 13 Pro.

What happens when you take a dozen eggs, add iPhone 13 Pro and throw in the inventive mind of Michel Gondry? The simple becomes cinema.

Apple regularly shares "Shot on iPhone" videos and photos, and it is one of the company's longest running advertising campaigns. The "A Dozen Eggs" video may make its way to TV commercials and social media.

Update: Apple has also shared a "Behind the Scenes" look at how the video was created.