Tech Talk

Apple Music appears to be sparking serious privacy concerns for some users, with multiple complaints on Reddit about other people's playlists randomly appearing in their music libraries in the Music app. Redditor adh1003, who contacted MacRumors about the issue, has compiled several reports from users complaining about the appearance of strange playlists in the app that they do not recognize. MacRumors has since found other posts on Reddit from users reporting the same behavior . In some cases, unknown playlists have been merged with user's existing playlists. In other cases, user's playlists have gone missing/been replaced by unrecognized ones. Some users have expressed concerns that their Apple accounts have been hacked, but the more likely cause of the issue is an unspecified problem with Apple's iCloud server. Unsyncing and then re-syncing iCloud for the Music app (Settings -> Apple ID -> iCloud -> Show All) has worked for a handful of users, but

Amazon today has Apple's M1 iMac (7-Core GPU, 256GB) for the all-time low price of $1,099.99 in Green, Silver, and Pink, down from $1,299.00. Although stock on the Green and Silver colors is dwindling, the Pink option remains steadily available to deliver by March 26. 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. This is only the third time in 2023 that we've tracked an all-time low price on the entry-level M1 iMac. As of writing, only Amazon is offering this sale. $199 OFF M1 iMac (7-Core GPU, 256GB) for $1,099.99 Amazon also has the M1 iMac (8-Core GPU, 256GB) for $1,299.99 , down from $1,499.00. This is another match for an all-time low price on the M1 iMac, and it's available in four colors right now on Amazon: Pink, Orange, Purple, and Yellow. $199 OFF M1 iMac (8-Core GPU, 256GB) for $1,299.99 You can keep track of ongoing sales

Apple's iPhone 14 Plus appears to be selling better than the iPhone 13 mini it effectively replaced in the company's flagship lineup, based on display panel shipment data provided by Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC). According to the DSCC report , which compares iPhone panel shipment data from June 2022 through April 2023 (allocating a two-month forecast), shipments for the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Plus are 59% higher than they were for the 5.4-inch iPhone 13 mini over the equivalent period year-on-year. That's despite evidence suggesting that the iPhone 14 Plus is the least popular model in the current series. Although the iPhone 14 Plus appears to be doing a lot better than the iPhone 13 mini, it's far behind the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which takes a 36% share of overall panel shipments for the series. The iPhone 14 Pro accounts for 28% of shipments, while the iPhone 14 takes a 25% share. The iPhone 14 Plus meanwhile languishes behind the others with a 11% share.

A selection of controllers from gaming company 8BitDo are now compatible with Apple's product lineup, thanks to a firmware update that was released today. The 8BitDo SN30 Pro for Android, SN30 Pro, Pro+, Pro 2, Ultimate 2.4g and Lite SE can be used with iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TV devices that are running the latest Apple software. All 8BitDo controllers that are compatible with Apple devices can be used like any other Made for iPhone controller to play games that offer controller support, including Apple Arcade titles. Officially supported by Apple, 8BitDo SN30 Pro, SN30 Pro for Android, SN30 Pro+, Pro 2, Ultimate 2.4G and Lite SE are compatible with iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV now. pic.twitter.com/8E4zO0HAsx — 8BitDo (@8BitDo) March 20, 2023 iPads and Macs with USB-C ports can use a wired connection to a compatible 8BitDo controller, but otherwise Bluetooth connections are available. Up to four controllers can be connected at one time depending on dev

Amazon today has multiple discounts on Apple's 2022 iPad, offering the first markdowns on these tablets since early February. Below you'll find record low deals across both Wi-Fi and cellular models of the 10.9-inch iPad, as well as a new sale on AirTag. 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. iPad Starting with the 64GB Wi-Fi iPad, you can get this tablet for $399.00 , down from $449.00. It's available in Silver at this price, which is the best price we've ever tracked on the 2022 iPad. $50 OFF iPad (64GB Wi-Fi) for $399.00 The 256GB Wi-Fi iPad is on sale for $549.00 , down from $599.00, and it's available in every color except Silver. Just like the 64GB option, this is a match of the all-time low price on this version of the 2022 iPad. $50 OFF iPad (256GB Wi-Fi) for $549.00 Moving to the cellular optio

Apple will open its flagship India retail store in Mumbai next month, after several delays, soon to be followed by another store in New Delhi, reports The Economic Times , citing industry executives. Located in the Jim World Drive mall and covering 22,000 square foot, the Mumbai store will be a retail landmark similar to Apple stores in Los Angeles, New York, Beijing, and Singapore. The second, smaller 10,000 to 12,000-square-foot store in New Delhi's Select CityWalk mall is expected to launch in April-June, potentially just a few days after the Mumbai store opening, according to the paper's sources. Apple stared hiring for the stores in January . "Fitouts are completed for both the stores," the person said. "In fact, the fitout was completed for the Delhi store ahead of the Mumbai one." "But since Mumbai will be the flagship Apple Store in India, it will open first next month. The Delhi one will open soon after," said the industry executiv

Apple's project to design its first HomePod with a screen has been pushed back until next year at the earliest, as part of a series of cost-cutting measures and belt-tightening efforts to make its operations more efficient. In his latest Power On newsletter , well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman suggested that delaying the device will allow Apple to allocate its research and development budget to more pressing projects, like mixed reality headsets . The move is part of a strategy to contain costs that should enable the company to maintain an appearance of stability in an unstable economy and avoid the swingeing cutbacks and layoffs that have befallen other tech companies including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. Other moves to avoid layoffs are said to include delaying bonuses for corporate teams, pausing hiring on some teams, reining in budgets, and leaving roles open rather than filling them when people leave their positions. The revised timing for the r

Apple's high-end iPhone models have started at $999 in the U.S. since they first launched back in 2017 with the iPhone X, but could this finally be the year that starting price sees an increase? This week also saw some more rumors about Apple's upcoming headset and the company's explorations in the booming AI industry as well as the release of a new round of beta updates, so read on for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 15 Pro Predicted to See First Price Increase Since iPhone X Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models could be more expensive than existing models. In a research note this week, technology analyst Jeff Pu said he believes the iPhone 15 Pro models will see a price increase due to several rumored hardware upgrades , including a titanium frame, solid-state buttons with additional Taptic Engines for haptic feedback, camera improvements, increased RAM, a USB-C port, and more. The higher-end/Pro tier of the

The Apple Pencil 2 is on sale for its all-time low price today on Amazon, priced at $89.00 , down from $129.00. The accessory is in stock and available to deliver as soon as March 19 for Prime delivery. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. The Apple Pencil 2 is compatible with the following iPads: iPad mini (6th generation), iPad Air (4th generation and later), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation and later), and 11-inch iPad Pro (1st generation and later). The second generation Apple Pencil can also magnetically attach and pair to the iPad Pro, iPad mini, and iPad Air. $40 OFF Apple Pencil 2 for $89.00 If you have the newest iPad Pro models, the second-generation Apple Pencil can now be detected while hovering up to 12mm above the display. This allows users to see a preview of their drawing before they make it, and with Scribble, text fields autom

The Apple Watch can help treat a key symptom of sickle cell disease and changes to Apple's speech recognition algorithm could help people with a stutter, new studies propose. According to a study conducted by researchers at Duke University's Day Hospital (via MyHealthyApple ), the Apple Watch could help treat vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs), a key complication caused by sickle cell disease that often hospitalizes patients due to severe pain. The research indicates that machine learning using the Apple Watch's collected health data can discover trends to predict pain among people with sickle cell disease, which could provide an early warning signal and enable treatment via painkillers and saline hydration before it becomes more severe. Researchers enrolled patients with sickle cell disease to Day Hospital for a VOC between July 2021 and September 2021 into the study, providing them with an Apple Watch Series 3 for the duration of their visit. 15,683 data points from the A

The Biden administration is reportedly demanding that TikTok's Chinese owners ByteDance sell their stakes in the short-form video sharing app or it could face a possible U.S. ban. First reported by The Wall Street Journal , the demand is said to have come from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., a multiagency federal task force that oversees national-security risks in cross-border investments. It is the latest move in a crackdown on the ByteDance-owned app, which has already been the target of government restrictions. In February, the Biden administration ordered federal agencies to remove TikTok from government devices, and dozens of state governments have since passed similar bans on the app. TikTok has been in the cross-hairs of U.S. regulators for years, going back to the Trump administration's failed attempt to bar the app from U.S. app stores in September 2020 . Concerns over the app have heightened in recent months after both Republicans and Democrats

U.S. carrier T-Mobile today announced that it plans to acquire Mint Mobile, the affordable smartphone brand that is promoted by and backed by actor Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert teamed up for a video letting customers know about the coming acquisition. The deal is for Ka'ena Corporation, the parent company of Mint Mobile, Ultra Mobile, and Plum, with T-Mobile paying up to $1.35 billion, split into 39 percent cash and 61 percent stock. The final purchase price will be settled later this year after the deal closes. T-Mobile plans to continue Mint Mobile's $15 per month pricing option, which provides 4GB of high-speed 4G or 5G data along with unlimited text and talk. T-Mobile is purchasing Mint Mobile's sales, marketing, digital, and service operations, and says that it will use the T-Mobile supplier relationships and distribution scale to help Mint Mobile grow. Mint Mobile's "industry leading" marketing expertise will be incorpor

Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will likely be more expensive than previous Pro models, according to Jeff Pu, a tech analyst at Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities. In a research note this week, Pu predicted the iPhone 15 Pro models will see a price increase due to several rumored hardware upgrades , including a titanium frame, solid-state buttons with haptic feedback from extra Taptic Engines, an A17 Bionic chip, increased RAM, a periscope lens for increased optical zoom on the Pro Max model, and more. This is the second time that a price increase has been rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models, following an unverified claim on Chinese social media website Weibo in January, but whether Apple finally raises pricing for the devices remains to be seen. In the U.S., the Pro model has started at $999 since the iPhone X was released in 2017, while the Pro Max has started at $1,099 since the iPhone XS Max launched the following yea

Apple is testing generative AI concepts that could one day be destined for Siri , despite fundamental issues with the way the virtual assistant is built, the New York Times reports. Employees were apparently briefed on Apple's large language model and other AI tools at the company's annual AI summit last month. Apple engineers, including members of the ‌Siri‌ team, have reportedly been testing language-generation concepts "every week" in response to the rise of chatbots like ChatGPT. These next-generation AI technologies have highlighted how ‌Siri‌, Alexa, and other voice assistants have squandered their lead in the AI race, the report explains. ‌Siri‌, in particular, has faced multiple roadblocks to meaningful improvements. Speaking to the New York Times , former Apple engineer John Burkey, who worked on ‌Siri‌ and was made responsible for improving it in 2014, explained that the voice assistant is built on "clunky code that took weeks to update with basi

Apple today shared a new ad for the second-generation AirPods Pro on its YouTube channel. The one-minute video is focused on the second-generation AirPods Pro offering up to twice as much Active Noise Cancellation as the original AirPods Pro. Set to the song "Where is my Mind?" by Tkay Maidza, the ad shows a woman wearing AirPods Pro as she walks through a busy city. With Active Noise Cancellation mode enabled on her AirPods Pro, she is able to block out the loud noises surrounding her. Priced at $249, the second-generation AirPods Pro also feature improved audio quality, longer battery life, swipe-based volume control, an improved built-in skin-detect sensor that more accurately turns on or off audio playback, and an updated charging case with a built-in speaker and U1 chip for Find My support. In addition to Lightning and MagSafe, the AirPods Pro case can now be charged with an Apple Watch charger. Apple released the second-generation AirPods Pro in September 2022

Spotify says it still plans to launch a lossless music experience, although when that will be and what form it will take still appear undecided. It's been more than two years since Spotify announced it would introduce a "HiFi" premium tier that would give users access to a catalog of CD-quality music tracks. Originally it said the tier would go live by the end of 2021, but similar moves by rival streaming services upended Spotify's lossless strategy. Since then, Apple Music has included lossless listening options as part of its standard subscription price, and Amazon has stopped charging extra for its lossless music library. That's made the idea of Spotify asking users to pay more for a like-for-like service sound a lot less reasonable. "We announced it, but then the industry changed for a bunch of reasons," Spotify co-president Gustav Söderström said on Tuesday in an interview with The Verge . "We are going to do it, but we're going t

Apple's rumored 5G modem project has multiple suppliers interested in assisting with final assembly of the chip, according to a new report. While the custom-designed modem will likely be manufactured by Apple's chipmaking partner TSMC, the final packaging stage may be handled by other suppliers. Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes today reported that ASE Technology and Amkor Technology are "competing" to package the modem chips. The two companies already have experience packaging Qualcomm's modem chips, the report states. Qualcomm is currently the exclusive supplier of 5G modems for Apple devices, including the entire iPhone 14 lineup, but Apple has long been rumored to be designing its own 5G chip as an in-house replacement. Last month, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said he expected Apple's 5G modem to be ready in 2024 , but Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman reported that it could take up to three years for Apple to fully transition away from Qualco

Apple has shared a new "Hello Yellow" ad promoting the new Yellow finish that launched today for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. The ad features a mix of live action and animation and is set to the song "Le Banana Split" by Lio. The new color option gives the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus some renewed attention after the devices launched in September 2022. Pre-orders began on Friday, and the first deliveries to customers and in-store availability began today . There are no changes to the devices beyond the new Yellow finish, and pricing remains the same. As a refresher, the iPhone 14 is equipped with a 6.1-inch display, while the iPhone 14 Plus is a larger 6.7-inch model. Key new features of the devices include camera enhancements like Action mode, longer battery life, Crash Detection, and Emergency SOS via Satellite. In the U.S., the devices are compatible with eSIMs only. Other color options available include Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, and (PRODUC

Apple's 64GB Wi-Fi 10.2-inch iPad from 2021 has returned to its all-time low price of $249.99 today on Amazon, down from $329.00. Delivery dates for this iPad have slipped into late March, and as of now only Amazon has this record low price. 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. Although we've tracked sales on the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad model a few times this year, discounts on the 64GB Wi-Fi tablet have been more difficult to come by. As of writing, Amazon only has the Space Gray color on sale at this price. $79 OFF 64GB Wi-Fi iPad for $249.99 For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad . In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of th

Apple is developing OLED technology for the iPad , and the new displays are expected to come to the iPad Pro models as soon as next year. This guide aggregates everything we know about Apple's plans for the OLED ‌iPad‌. Sizing Apple is expected to offer the first OLED iPads in sizes that are similar to the current ‌iPad Pro‌ sizes, providing one smaller 10.9 to 11.1-inch model and a larger 12.9 to 13-inch model (rumors vary slightly on target display size). In the future, OLED ‌iPad‌ models could be as large as 15 inches . Rumors suggest that Apple supplier BOE is developing OLED displays as large as 15 inches, which could be used for a larger-sized ‌iPad‌. According to Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman , Apple is considering iPads that exceed 12.9 inches, and in 2021, he claimed that larger sizes were a "couple of years down the road, but could be scrapped all together. OLED Improvements Compared to the mini-LED technology that Apple uses for the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌