Apple today shared the official trailer for "Cherry," an upcoming Apple TV+ film starring Tom Holland. Cherry is premiering in theaters on February 26, and will then launch on Apple TV+ on March 12.
Apple paid more than $40 million for the worldwide rights to "Cherry," which is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. "Cherry" is a crime drama that's an adaptation of a novel by Nico Walker.
In "Cherry," actor Tom Holland plays a Cleveland man named Walker who joins the army after being spurned by a girlfriend. He becomes an Army medic in Iraq and is traumatized from the experience, suffering from PTSD.
Walker is prescribed Oxycontin to treat his PTSD, and that eventually leads to a heroin addiction. To pay for drugs, Walker begins robbing banks.
"Cherry" joins several other Apple TV+ movies including "Hala," "The Banker," and "Greyhound."
In other Apple TV+ news, Apple has ordered a two-part documentary that will focus on the like of Oprah Winfrey. The documentary will chronicle 25 years of American history through the lens of Oprah Winfrey's talk show.
Apple today also revamped the layout of the Apple TV+ website, bringing the design in line with the design of the Apple TV+ section of the Apple TV app for a more streamlined viewing experience when using the web.
Accessory maker Scosche today announced the launch of a new range of vehicle mounts that are designed to work with Apple's MagSafe Wireless Charger. These mounts are not standalone and have been created as mounting enclosures to allow the MagSafe Charger to be used in the car.
Scosche's range of mounts are able to securely hold and power the MagSafe Charger from Apple, as each one is equipped with a Scosche PowerVolt 20W USB-C Power Delivery Car adapter that Scosche says has enough power to enable the MagSafe Charger to charge an iPhone 12 model at 15W (12W for iPhone 12 mini).
There are several MagicMount MSC mount options that are available, including a Window/Dash mount, a Cup Holder mount, and a 4-in-1 kit that includes Swing-Arm Dash and Vent mounts and Lock-Nut Vent and Dash mounts. According to Scosche, the Window/Dash model is also ideal for in-home use.
The new MagSafe-compatible MagicMount options are launching in the spring.
Samsung has today announced a range of new devices at its Galaxy Unpacked event, including the Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra, as well as Galaxy Buds Pro earphones and Galaxy SmartTag item trackers.
Samsung's latest Galaxy S21 series of smartphones feature a new design, edge-to-edge Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O display with adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, and 8K video recording. The Galaxy S21 has a lightweight design and a compact 6.2-inch display, while the Galaxy S21+ has a 6.7-inch display and a larger battery.
The Galaxy S21 series espouses a new Contour Cut Camera housing that blends into the device's metal frame, and the AI-powered triple-lens camera system itself also sees a number of improvements, with the ability to intuitively assess scenes and adjust the camera settings accordingly.
For customers who need the most from their Galaxy device, there is the S21 Ultra, which delivers an "intelligent pro-grade camera system," improved display, Wi-Fi 6E9, ultra-wideband capabilities, and better performance. The S21 Ultra also brings the popular S Pen experience to the Galaxy S series for the first time.
With a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the largest device in the Galaxy S21 series. For the first time, users can enable a 120Hz refresh rate and Quad HD+ at the same time, and the display is 25 percent brighter and has a 50 percent improved contrast ratio.
The S21 Ultra features a quad rear camera system with ultra-wide, wide, and dual tele-lenses, 100x Space Zoom, improved Night Mode, and an upgraded 108MP pro sensor that can capture 12-bit HDR photos. All lenses, including the front camera, can shoot video in 4K at 60fps.
The S21 and S21+ are available in 128GB and 256GB storage configurations and a range of colors, including Phantom Violet, Phantom Gold, Phantom Red, Phantom Gray, Phantom Pink, and Phantom White, with pre-orders starting today. The S21 Ultra also offers a 512GB model, with Phantom Silver, Phantom Black, Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy, and Phantom Brown color options, starting at $1,199.99. The Galaxy S21 starts at $799.99 and Galaxy S21+ starts at $999.99. Devices will begin arriving with customers on January 29.
In addition to the S21 series of smartphones, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Buds Pro, with "immersive sound," improved call quality, intelligent ANC, IPX7 water resistance, and enhanced connectivity. With an 11-millimeter woofer for deeper bass and a 6.5-millimeter tweeter for a crisp treble with minimum distortion, the Galaxy Buds Pro achieve what Samsung says is its "best audio experience yet."
The Galaxy Buds Pro feature three microphones, a Voice Pickup Unit, Wind Shield technology, Ambient Sound amplification, automatic ANC, and automatic device switching. When used with a Galaxy S21 series smartphone, the Buds Pro offer 360 Audio with Dolby Head Tracking technology, similar to Apple's Spatial Audio feature on AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.
The Galaxy Buds Pro can deliver up to eight hours of continuous playback, with an additional 20 hours of reserve power available via the wireless charging case. Galaxy Buds Pro are available for pre-order now in Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, and Phantom Violet for $199.99.
The company also introduced the Galaxy SmartTag, a low energy Bluetooth item tracker. The Galaxy SmartTag enables users to quickly and easily locate items based on the strength of the Bluetooth signal in the SmartThings Find app, and users can emit a chime from the tag. The SmartTag is believed to be Samsung's competitor to Apple's long-awaited AirTags item trackers.
The Galaxy SmartTag retails for $29.99 and all pre-orders of the Galaxy S21, S21+, or S21 Ultra will also include a free Galaxy SmartTag. An ultra-wideband variant called Tag+ will arrive later in 2021 for $39.99.
Apple has committed to financing and producing "Kitbag," an epic film directed by Ridley Scott that will star Joaquin Phoenix as French emperor and military leader Napoleon, according to Deadline. Phoenix is well known for his Oscar-winning performance as "Joker" in 2019, and he also played Roman emperor Commodus in Scott's epic film "Gladiator" in 2000. Production of the film is expected to begin in early 2022.
"Napoleon is a man I've always been fascinated by," Scott told Deadline. "He came out of nowhere to rule everything — but all the while he was waging a romantic war with his adulterous wife Josephine. He conquered the world to try to win her love, and when he couldn't, he conquered it to destroy her, and destroyed himself in the process."
"No actor could ever embody Napoleon like Joaquin," added Scott. "He created one of movie history's most complex Emperors in Gladiator, and we'll create another with his Napoleon. It's a brilliant script written by David Scarpa, and today there's no better partner than Apple to bring a story like this to a global audience."
In the second beta of iOS 14.4 seeded to developers and public testers this week, MacRumors contributor Steve Moser has discovered code indicating that Apple will be introducing a new warning on iPhones that have had their camera repaired or replaced with aftermarket components rather than genuine Apple components.
"Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple camera," the message will read. As with a similar warning for non-genuine iPhone displays, the message will likely appear in the Settings app under General > About as necessary, and the warning may also appear as a notification on the Lock screen for a short period.
Apple's similar display-related warning does not affect the ability to use the iPhone or display in any way, so this will presumably be the case with the camera-related warning as well, but it remains to be seen. Apple also displays a similar message for non-genuine iPhone batteries that likewise does not impact use of the device beyond disabling a battery health feature that displays the battery's maximum capacity remaining.
The non-genuine camera message will likely direct users towards a future Apple support document emphasizing the importance of iPhone repairs being completed by authorized, trained technicians using genuine Apple parts, including Apple, Apple Authorized Service Providers, and those part of Apple's Independent Repair Provider Program.
Last year, repair website iFixit reported that authorized technicians are required to run Apple's proprietary, cloud-based System Configuration app to complete camera and display repairs on all iPhone 12 models, citing internal Apple documentation. Failure to complete this step can result in the camera experiencing issues or becoming completely unresponsive in a short amount of time, according to iFixit's testing.
Update: Apple has publicly confirmed this feature in the iOS 14.4 Release Candidate notes ("Notifications for when the camera on your iPhone is unable to be verified as a new, genuine Apple camera in iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max").
iOS does not utilize built-in encryption measures as much as it could do, allowing for potentially unnecessary security vulnerabilities, according to cryptographers at Johns Hopkins University (via Wired).
Using publicly available documentation from Apple and Google, law enforcement reports about bypassing mobile security features, and their own analysis, the cryptographers assessed the robustness of iOS and Android encryption. The research found that while encryption infrastructure on iOS "sounds really good," it is largely left unused:
"On iOS in particular, the infrastructure is in place for this hierarchical encryption that sounds really good," said Maximilian Zinkus, lead iOS researcher. "But I was definitely surprised to see then how much of it is unused."
When an iPhone boots up, all stored data is in a state of "Complete Protection," and the user must unlock the device before anything can be decrypted. While this is extremely secure, the researchers highlighted that once the device has been unlocked for the first time after a reboot, a large amount of data moves into a state Apple calls "Protected Until First User Authentication."
Since devices are rarely restarted, most data is in a state of "Protected Until First User Authentication" rather than "Complete Protection" most of the time. The advantage of this less secure state is that decryption keys are stored in quick access memory, where they can be swiftly accessed by applications.
In theory, an attacker could find and exploit certain types of security vulnerabilities in iOS to obtain encryption keys in the quick access memory, enabling them to decrypt large amounts of data from the device. It is believed that this is how many smartphone access tools work, such as those from the forensic access company Grayshift.
While it is true that attackers require a specific operating system vulnerability to access the keys, and both Apple and Google patch many of these flaws as they are noticed, it may be avoidable by hiding encryption keys more deeply.
"It just really shocked me, because I came into this project thinking that these phones are really protecting user data well," says Johns Hopkins cryptographer Matthew Green. "Now I've come out of the project thinking almost nothing is protected as much as it could be. So why do we need a backdoor for law enforcement when the protections that these phones actually offer are so bad?"
The researchers also shared their findings and a number of technical recommendations with Apple directly. A spokesperson for Apple offered a public statement in response:
"Apple devices are designed with multiple layers of security in order to protect against a wide range of potential threats, and we work constantly to add new protections for our users' data. As customers continue to increase the amount of sensitive information they store on their devices, we will continue to develop additional protections in both hardware and software to protect their data."
The spokesperson also told Wired that Apple's security work is primarily focused on protecting users from hackers, thieves, and criminals looking to steal personal information. They also noted that the types of attacks the researchers highlighted are very costly to develop, require physical access to the target device, and only work until Apple releases a patch. Apple also emphasized that its objective with iOS is to balance security and convenience.
Microsoft is raising the upload file size limit of its OneDrive file storage service to 250GB, up from the previous 100GB limit, the company has announced.
Microsoft says it is making the change to acknowledge the increase in remote working and learning, where users need to reliably and securely share large files like 4K or 8K video files, 3D models, CAD files, or large scientific data sets with co-workers, clients, and peers.
We are pleased to announce that we're making it easier than ever for you to store, sync, and share large files in Microsoft 365. Our latest improvement will help increase the upload file size limit for Microsoft 365 from 100 GB to 250 GB—which includes uploads of files into SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive. So now, you will be able to easily share large files like a 3D model of a new building, a client commercial shot in 8K video, a large dataset for a vaccine trial or research projects or large videos for educational projects.
Microsoft explained that the change isn't limited to business and school users – anyone who uses OneDrive can now take advantage of the new 250GB file size limit for uploading things like video albums and large game files.
The company says it has managed to raise the upload limit by splitting each file into chunks, with each piece encrypted with a unique key. In addition, syncing large files has been optimized with the help of differential sync, which only uploads the changes that users make to the stored file.
Support for the new 250GB file size upload will roll out by the end of January, and Microsoft expects general availability of the new limit by end of this quarter.
Philips Hue has announced a new wireless dimmer switch module that lets Hue bridge owners directly control the smart lighting from their standard wall switches.
The new Philips Hue wall switch module is the ideal addition to any Philips Hue set up. Installed behind existing light switches, it allows users to turn their existing switch into a smart switch and ensures their smart lighting is always reachable. Whether it is via the app or via voice control: no more getting up from the couch to turn on the switches that a family member or house guest might have turned off.
The company has also announced a new version of its Wireless Dimmer Switch featuring a more curvaceous design. Instead of having four buttons like the switch module it replaces, the new model has only three buttons, with the middle two dimmer buttons combined into a single rocker button. The "on" button also now has a small tactile marking so that users can find the correct button in the dark.
Users can select light scenes in the Hue app and customize how the switch functions to personalize the ambience of their home. The module includes power on and off switches, dimmer controls, and a button that lets users cycle through their favorite scenes. Like the module it replaces, the new dimmer switch also includes a removable remote.
In addition, Philips Hue has launched a new outdoors lighting system: The Amarant is an ambient LED strip for use on blank walls in gardens or on balconies. It features a wall washing effect with a vibrant light that's intensified by the metal shield. The Amarant also integrates with existing Hue low-voltage outdoors products such as the Hue Lily, Hue Calla, or Hue Outdoor Lightstrip. Philips Hue is also updating its Appear outdoor wall light with a brushed stainless steel finish and easier installation.
There's no U.S. pricing yet for the Appear, but the new wall module will be available in the summer costing $40, the new dimmer switch will be available for $24.99 from February 23, and the Amarant costs $169.99 and will be available from March 2.
Popular note-taking app Evernote today unveiled a major redesign to its interface that it's calling Home, a dashboard interface that aims to keep users organized by putting the information they need each day in one easily accessible place.
Home is a brand-new way to start your day in Evernote; a one-stop dashboard that puts the information you need front and center—neatly organized and instantly available—so you can stay on top of your day without feeling overwhelmed.
The Home dashboard includes widgets that present important notes, tags, documents, and shortcuts in a unified UI, with intelligent suggestions of useful content to start each day.
Users with an Evernote Basic or Plus account are presented with several widgets each day, including Notes, Scratch Pad, Recently Captured, Notebooks, Pinned Note, Tags, and Shortcuts.
Evernote Premium and Business subscribers also have the ability to resize, reorder, and remove widgets to customize their Home dashboard, and have access to options that allow them to change the background image.
Evernote's developers say they will be introducing additional widgets that reach deeper into Evernote and explore new capabilities that make Home more powerful. Evernote's basic plan is free, while Premium ($4.99 a month) and Business ($10.99 a month) plans are available to trial for 30 days for free. The company is also currently offering a 40% discount on the Premium subscription, available until February 4.
Denon today debuted its latest home audio offering, the Home Sound Bar 550, with a key feature for Apple users being AirPlay 2 support for wirelessly streaming music to the sound bar from devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
In addition to AirPlay 2, users can wirelessly stream music to the Home Sound Bar 550 via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, allowing for music to be streamed from services like Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, TIDAL, and others. The sound bar can be connected to a TV with a single HDMI cable, and it is "Roku TV Ready" to work seamlessly with Roku TVs.
With a six-driver array and "expertly tuned" digital signal processing, Denon says the Home Sound Bar 550 is built to deliver "best-in-class audio quality." The sound bar supports both the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound formats, and a feature known as HEOS allows for wireless multi-room audio with other Denon speakers.
The Home Sound Bar 550 can be controlled with the included remote or most universal remotes, the HEOS app for iPhone and iPad, or the built-in illuminated control panel that lights up automatically as an outstretched hand approaches. Denon says users will also have the option to enable Alexa voice control on the sound bar starting in spring 2021, and states that the built-in microphones will not be enabled without explicit user permission.
Denon says the Home Sound Bar 550 will be available for purchase at authorized retailers starting February 2021, priced at $599 in the United States.
BMW today announced future plans to roll out Digital Key Plus, an enhanced version of Apple's Car Keys feature that incorporates Ultra Wideband technology, enabling drivers to unlock and start their vehicle without needing to take their iPhone out of their pocket or bag. BMW says the feature will first launch in its new iX electric vehicle, slated to launch in Europe in late 2021 and in North America in early 2022.
Apple introduced support for digital car keys in iOS 13.6 and later last year, and BMW was the first and to date only automaker to roll out the feature, starting with the 2021 5 Series and later to a wider range of BMW models manufactured after July 1, 2020. BMW's current Digital Key feature is based on NFC technology and requires drivers to hold their iPhone near the driver's side door to unlock their vehicle.
Ultra Wideband is a short-range, high-bandwidth wireless communication protocol with precise spatial awareness, meaning that an iPhone will only need to be in the vicinity of the vehicle in order to unlock and start it. BMW says Ultra Wideband's precision also ensures that relay attacks, where the radio signal is jammed or intercepted, are not possible.
Apple started rolling out Ultra Wideband support to some of its devices in 2019 with the U1 chip in iPhone 11 models, followed by iPhone 12 models last year. Apple Watch Series 6 models are also equipped with a U1 chip, and given that Apple's car key feature is available on watchOS 6.2.8 and later, BMW's Digital Key Plus feature could extend to the Apple Watch.
As announced last year, BMW's press release confirms that Apple and BMW have been working closely with the Car Connectivity Consortium to establish the Digital Key 3.0 specification with Ultra Wideband, providing a global standard for the automotive industry.
In related news, Business Korea today claimed that Hyundai plans to adopt Apple's digital car key feature later this year, but the report did not indicate whether Hyundai plans to roll out the NFC or Ultra Wideband version of the feature. Similar to credit cards and boarding passes, digital car keys are stored in the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch.
Apple today sent out emails highlighting a new U.S. Apple Pay promotion, which will see Panera Bread offering four months of unlimited free coffee to those who sign up for a MyPanera+ Coffee subscription and use Apple Pay to check out.
New subscribers who sign up for a MyPanera+ subscription by January 27, 2021 can get the first four months free. After that, the subscription is priced at $8.99 per month. Using Apple Pay for the subscription is a requirement.
MyPanera+ subscribers who swap their payment method to Apple Pay are eligible to get a free cookie. The MyPanera+ program offers unlimited premium coffee (up to every two hours) in any size. Hot tea and iced coffee are included, as are unlimited refills, but espresso, iced cold brew coffee, iced tea, and cappuccino are excluded.
Panera Bread is also an Apple Card partner that offers three percent Daily Cash back on Apple Card purchases made at Panera Bread locations.
Developer Giulio Zompetti, who often shows off prototype versions of Apple devices, today highlighted a prototype version of the iPhone 12 Pro.
The iPhone 12 Pro is running an operating system called SwitchBoard, a nonUI version of the iOS 14 update that Apple uses internally. We've seen SwitchBoard on prototype devices before, as Apple uses it to test new features.
Zompetti's prototype iPhone is in Pacific Blue, which was one of the most popular iPhone 12 Pro colors. Given the lighting in the photo, the color looks particularly dark, but it's likely the same shade as the final version that released.
The phone also appears to have no visible engravings, which is likely not a surprise as an earlier test version, but it otherwise appears to be similar to the iPhone 12 Pro that launched in October.
CES 2021 is taking place digitally this year, and it hasn't been as exciting as in past years because many vendors have opted out. That said, some companies are still showing off some interesting Apple-related accessories that are coming out this year and that will be of interest to Mac, iPad, and iPhone users.
Wireless CarPlay is catching on, and Pioneer debuted its new DMH-WC5700NEX receiver with support for both wired and wireless CarPlay. The updated receiver features a 6.8-inch touchscreen and a hideaway control unit for installation flexibility. It's coming this summer, and pricing hasn't yet been detailed.
LG showed off a new UltraFine Display OLED Pro with a 31.5-inch display, more than 8 million pixels, and HDR individual pixel dimming. It's the first OLED monitor from LG, and like other UltraFine displays, it will be compatible with Apple's Macs. LG also showed off a new 39.7-inch 5K2K UltraWide monitor. Pricing and availability have yet to be announced.
Satechi's Dock5 is a simple charging station that can accommodate up to five devices at one time with two 20W USB-C ports, two 12W USB-A ports, and a Qi-based wireless charger that supports up to 10W. It's priced affordably at $60, and can be purchased from the Satechi website.
The StudioDock is an iPad Pro docking station that includes built-in iPhone and AirPods wireless charging, along with an optional Apple Watch charger for charging up a multitude of Apple devices all at once. It has three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, an HDMI 2.0 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an SD card reader, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. Kensington has not yet shared pricing or a release date.
Dell showed off the UltraSharp 40 Curved WUHD Monitor, which features a 40-inch curved display with a 5120x2160 resolution. It has a 21:9 aspect ratio and built-in Thunderbolt 3 connectivity so it's able to work with Apple's Macs. The UltraSharp 40 will be available on January 28 at pricing starting at $2,100.
JBL debuted the JBL Bar 5.0 Multibeam, a soundbar with AirPlay 2 that makes it ideal for Apple users. With AirPlay 2 support, sound can be streamed wirelessly right to the sound bar from the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. JBL is releasing the sound bar in the Spring of 2021 and it will be priced at $400.
Belkin debuted another MagSafe charging option, the Boost Charge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand with MagSafe, which works with Apple's iPhone 12 lineup. It can charge an iPhone 12 and another device through its wireless charging base, and it's more affordably priced than the 3-in-1 version at $99.95. It will be available in March or April.
Belkin's wire-free Freedom True Wireless Earbuds under its Soundform brand are the first third-party earbuds to offer integration with the Find My app. These headphones can be tracked right alongside your Apple devices, plus they offer eight hours of play time, environmental noise cancellation, and Qi-based wireless charging. Pricing is unknown, but Belkin plans to release the earbuds in March or April.
Do you have other favorite Apple-related accessories that were announced at CES 2021? Let us know in the comments.
A manufacturing defect with the power supply unit can cause the charger to malfunction and overheat, leading to a fire risk. Belkin says that no injuries or property damage have been reported, and no other wireless chargers are affected by the recall.
Belkin is offering a full refund to all customers who purchased the charger, and recommends that customers who own the charger stop using it immediately and contact the company for further instructions.
The Boost Charge Portable Wireless Charger + Stand Special Edition was sold by Apple and Belkin from July 2020 through October 2020, and it was priced at $80. It features a removable 10,000mAh power bank that can be charged at the same time as an iPhone.
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the new betas coming a month after Apple released the first betas.
iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or over the air after the proper profile has been installed on an iPhone or iPad.
Paired with the HomePod 14.4 beta that is only available to a limited number of testers, iOS 14.4 adds new HomePod mini functionality that takes advantage of the mini's U1 chip.
There are now visual, audio, and haptic effects when songs are transferred from a HomePod mini to a U1-enabled iPhone 11 or iPhone 12. When an iPhone is near the HomePod mini it begins a soft haptic touch rhythm that gets faster and faster as the iPhone gets closer until the interface to transfer a song between the HomePod mini and the iPhone opens.
This functionality will make handoff quicker and more reliable on a HomePod mini and an iPhone 11 or iPhone 12, all of which are equipped with U1 chips that let the devices better understand where they are in relation to one another.
In the Workout section of the Apple Watch app on iPhone there's a new "Time to Walk" feature that includes a toggle to "Add Newest Workouts to Watch." This suggests that Apple could be planning to add guided walking workouts in the watchOS 7.3 beta. "Time to Walk Workouts are downloaded when Apple Watch is connected to power and near your iPhone. Completed workouts are deleted automatically," reads the setting. This is not functional in the first beta of watchOS 7.3 and iOS 14.4, but could be activated later.
No other new features or changes were discovered in the first beta. The update likely focuses on performance improvements and bug fixes that weren't able to be addressed in the iOS 14.3 update, but it's also possible there are additional features that will be unlocked at a later date.
Update: iOS 14.4 includes a new setting to specify a device type for third-party Bluetooth-connected audio devices so that Headphone Audio Level measurements can be taken correctly. Apple tracks headphone audio levels to send alerts if music is playing at a level that has the potential to damage hearing health over time.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS Big Sur 11.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta coming a month after the first beta and two months after the initial macOS Big Sur release.
Developers can download the macOS Big Sur 11.2 beta using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper profile from the Apple Developer Center.
It's not yet clear what's included in macOS Big Sur 11.2, and no new features were discovered in the first beta. It likely includes performance improvements, security updates, and fixes for bugs that weren't able to be addressed in the release version of macOS Big Sur.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 7.3 beta to developers for testing purposes, with the beta available a month after the release of the first beta and over a month after the launch of watchOS 7.2 with support for Fitness+, cardio fitness notifications, ECG updates, and more.
To install the watchOS 7.3 beta, developers need to download the proper configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 7.3 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.
To update to the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.
There's a new Apple Watch setting labeled "Time to Walk," which suggests that Apple could be planning to add guided walking workouts in the watchOS 7.3 beta. The feature is not functional at this time, but it could be introduced in a later beta. "Time to Walk Workouts are downloaded when Apple Watch is connected to power and near your iPhone. Completed workouts are deleted automatically," reads the setting.
There's no word yet on what else might be new in watchOS 7.3, but it likely includes bug fixes for issues that weren't able to be addressed in the watchOS 7.2 update.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.