Sami Fathi

Sami was an editor and news reporter at MacRumors from February 2021 until January 2023.

Sami Fathi's Articles

m1 ipad pro early customer

M1 iPad Pro Arrives Early for Lucky Customer

Saturday May 15, 2021 11:57 pm PDT by
Days ahead of their expected launch and seemingly before official review embargoes lift, one lucky customer has already gotten their hands on the brand new 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro. Reddit User PeterDragon50 Posted on Reddit, u/PeterDragon50 has already received their 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ through retailer Nebraska Furniture Mart. The Reddit user says they placed their order when pre-orders...
apple music album cover art

Apple Music Beta for Android Confirms Lossless Audio Streaming in the Works

Friday May 14, 2021 11:40 am PDT by
Following a report that Apple could announce a brand new HiFi Apple Music tier as soon as Tuesday, May 18, new warnings within the music streaming services app on Android have confirmed that lossless audio is in the works. As reported by 9to5Google, the ‌Apple Music‌ beta for Android has multiple warnings within the app that inform users that streaming audio at lossless, another term often...
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Rivalry Between Apple and Microsoft Heating Up Again Over Augmented Reality, Gaming, and More

Friday May 14, 2021 11:04 am PDT by
The iconic and industry-classic rivalry between Apple and Microsoft, which has arguably seen a slowdown in recent years, is poised to begin heating up as both companies target the future of augmented reality and renewed competition in the PC industry, according to an analysis from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Both Apple and Microsoft have strong ambitions for the future of augmented reality....
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Apple Says Tile Trackers Sold Poorly in Apple Stores

Friday May 14, 2021 4:53 am PDT by
Earlier last month, Spotify, Tile, and Match (owner of Tinder), testified at an app store antitrust hearing spearheaded by the U.S. Senate. During the hearing, Spotify called Apple's App Store "an abusive power grab," while Tile said Apple uses its platform to "unfairly limit competition for its products." Now, in response to their testimonies, Apple's vice president and chief compliance...
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Rumor: Apple to Announce Third-Generation AirPods and HiFi Apple Music Tier on May 18

Thursday May 13, 2021 10:32 pm PDT by
A new rumor suggests that Apple will announce the third-generation AirPods and the recently rumored HiFi, or high-fidelity Apple Music tier, on Tuesday, May 18, via a press release on its website. The new rumor comes from Apple YouTuber Luke Miani who shared the alleged exclusive news with the AppleTrack website. According to the YouTuber, Apple plans to release the next-generation AirPods...
m1 ipad pro magic keyboards

Some M1 iPad Pro Orders Start Switching to 'Shipped' Status With May 21 Delivery

Thursday May 13, 2021 2:23 am PDT by
Ahead of their expected launch on May 21, some brand new M1 iPad Pro orders have begun switching to a "Shipped" status. Multiple readers of MacRumors have shared with us their updated order for their brand new iPads which now shows a "Shipped" status, rather than "Preparing to ship." Interestingly, despite the new iPad Pros now shipping for a few customers, reviews and hands-on of the newest ...
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Apple Fires Newly Hired Ex-Facebook Product Manager Following Revelations of Past Misogynistic Comments

Thursday May 13, 2021 12:10 am PDT by
Apple has fired Antonio García Martínez, an ex-Facebook product manager and author of the controversial book "Chaos Monkeys," following public and internal calls for removal and investigation due to past misogynistic statements, The Verge reports. Apple hired Martínez earlier this week to join its ads team, however, comments that Martínez made in the past sparked condemnation from users...
AirTag in Envelope Feature 2

AirTag Used to Successfully Track a Mailed Package Across the UK

Wednesday May 12, 2021 8:44 am PDT by
An Apple customer in the United Kingdom has successfully used Apple's Find My network to track an AirTag as it was being sent by mail to a friend in a completely different city. Outlined in a blog post at Intego, Kirk McElhearn said he taped an ‌AirTag‌ to a piece of card, wrapped it inside a small bubble envelope, and then sent it on its way. Kirk lives in the small town of...
visa apple pay japan

Visa Launches Apple Pay Support in Japan

Tuesday May 11, 2021 4:55 am PDT by
Visa has announced that starting today, customers in Japan will be able to use their Visa debit or credit card with Apple Pay. Customers with Visa cards issued by Aplus, SMBC Finance Service, NTT DoCoMo, Credit Saison, JACCS, Mitsui Sumitomo Bank Card, and Rakuten cards will be able to add their card to their Wallet on iPhone and Apple Watch. Japan has set an ambitious goal of...
iphone12 lineup wide

Foxconn's iPhone 12 Output in India Hit By Local Lockdowns

Tuesday May 11, 2021 3:23 am PDT by
iPhone 12 production at a Foxconn factory in India has been cut by more than 50% amid a lockdown, and multiple reported cases of COVID-19 infections for workers at the plant, according to a new report from Reuters. The main factory located in Tamil Nadu, a state under extreme lockdown measures, has been forced to significantly cut back on production. According to sources who spoke to Reuters,...
macos big sur ios 14 iphone 12 pro macbook air icloud drive desktop documents hero

Apple Merging 'iCloud Documents and Data' Service With iCloud Drive in May 2022

Tuesday May 11, 2021 2:36 am PDT by
Apple plans to merge its iCloud Documents and Data service with iCloud Drive starting in May of 2022, according to a support document published late last week (via MacGeneration). ‌iCloud Drive‌ and ‌iCloud‌ Documents and Data share the fundamental ability to backup data from apps. However, ‌iCloud‌ Documents and Data was often a cumbersome, confusing experience. In contrast, ‌iCloud Drive‌ is more...
apple maps and look around

Apple Maps Begins Surveying Hong Kong for 'Look Around'

Monday May 10, 2021 6:29 am PDT by
As part of its continued push to expand the availability of features to more locations worldwide, Apple has begun to survey Hong Kong for Apple Maps' "Look Around" feature, which offers users a 360-degree immersive panoramic look of a city or location. Apple says that it is surveying all of Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong islands, Kowloon, New Territories, and the Macao Bridge. Image...
Apple 5G Modem Feature

Kuo: Apple-Designed 5G Modem May Debut in iPhones as Early as 2023

Sunday May 9, 2021 10:02 pm PDT by
Apple plans to adopt its own custom-designed 5G baseband chip starting with the 2023 iPhones, meaning it'll no longer need to rely on Qualcomm to supply the 5G cellular modem for the iPhone, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in an investors note obtained by MacRumors. According to Kuo, Apple plans to include its own custom-designed 5G baseband chip starting with the launch of the 2023...
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Apple Gave Zoom Access to Special API to Use iPad Camera During Split View Multitasking

Sunday May 9, 2021 2:00 am PDT by
Zoom, a hallmark platform used by millions during the global health crisis, has been given access to a special iPadOS API that allows the app to use the iPad camera while the app is in use in Split View multitasking mode. This case of special treatment was first brought to attention by app developer Jeremy Provost, who, in a blog post, explains that Zoom uses a special API that allows the...
macbook colors 3d black bezels

Prosser: Next MacBook Air Could Come in Colors Similar to iMac

Friday May 7, 2021 6:55 am PDT by
According to Apple leaker Jon Prosser, Apple's upcoming release of the MacBook Air will feature various colors, similar to the colors in the newly released 24-inch iMac. In the latest video of his YouTube channel Front Page Tech, Prosser says the same source who accurately provided him information on the first Apple silicon ‌iMac‌ coming in colors has told him that he recently saw a prototype...
apple app store page

Apple Exec: We Feature Competitors' Apps 'All The Time' on the App Store

Friday May 7, 2021 5:05 am PDT by
On May 3, the Epic Games vs. Apple trial got underway, and every day, new emails between Apple executives and employees continue to be shared by Epic as evidence for its case against Apple. In the latest batch of emails, the vice president of the App Store, Matt Fischer, claims that Apple features apps made by its competitors "all the time" on the store and rejects the sentiment that it...
iphone 13 yellow

Apple Supplier Foxconn Raises Employee Bonuses Ahead of iPhone 13 Production

Friday May 7, 2021 3:58 am PDT by
Apple supplier Foxconn, which serves as the main iPhone manufacturer, is taking measures to expand its workforce by offering increased bonus pay to new recruits in Zhengzhou, China, ahead of when production of the ‌iPhone‌ 13 is set to get underway. According to the South China Morning Post, the newest raise in bonus is the third instance this month where the supplier has attempted to attract ...
snapchat dark mode

Snapchat Rolls Out Dark Mode on iOS

Wednesday May 5, 2021 1:17 am PDT by
Nearly two years following the release of iOS and iPadOS 13, which included native, built-in, and systemwide dark mode, Snapchat, one of the world's most prominent social media networks, has finally rolled out a dark mode theme for iOS users. Snapchat began testing a dark mode theme of its app design late last year with a small group of iOS users. Now, Snapchat says that as of this week, it...
apple pay contactless terminal

Apple Pay Launches in Israel

Wednesday May 5, 2021 12:08 am PDT by
As reported by local outlet The Verifier, Apple Pay has officially launched in Israel following multiple reports suggesting an imminent launch sometime this year. Ever since its launch in the United States in 2014, ‌Apple Pay‌ has slowly expanded to more countries worldwide while at the same time expanding the list of financial institutions that support the feature. With ‌Apple Pay‌, users can...
airtag battery pry apart

AirTag Removable Battery Sparks Child Safety Concerns

Tuesday May 4, 2021 1:47 am PDT by
More than a week following their international debut, Apple's AirTag item tracker is now facing child safety concerns about its replaceable battery. AirTags feature a standard replaceable CR2032 coin-cell battery that Apple says can power an ‌AirTag‌ for an entire year. The battery in an ‌AirTag‌ can be removed by pushing down and twisting the ‌AirTag‌'s back-plate, a fairly straightforward and...