In this week’s top stories: iOS 14.3 released to everyone, Apple vs Facebook, new features for the Apple Watch, additional AirPods Max tidbits, and more. Read on for all of this week’s top stories.
AirPods Max
Apple’s new AirPods Max over-ear headphones are officially available. Over the last week, we’ve learned more about the headphones, including the controversial Smart Case. Nonetheless, AirPods Max are back-ordered until well into 2021, and availability at Apple Stores is starting to dry up.
For the Smart Case, Apple published a new support document that makes more details clear about the battery life ramifications of not using it. When you place AirPods Max in the Smart Case, they go into low power mode immediately and into ultra-low power mode after 18 hours. When not in the smart case, they go into low power mode after 5 minutes, then into ultra low power after 72 hours.
iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2
Apple this week released iOS 14.3 to the general public, bringing new features such as ProRAW support on iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. iOS 14.3 also makes it easier to set custom app icons thanks to the ability to run shortcuts from the Home screen without launching the Shortcuts app first.
watchOS 7.2 was also released to the public, and it includes support for new Cardio Fitness notifications. You can learn more about this new feature in our full coverage right here.
Finally, iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2 also bring support for Apple Fitness+, Apple’s new subscription service that offers a library of on-demand workouts across 10 different categories. Here’s how to get started with the new service .
Apple Silicon rumors
This week also brought the introduction of the first developer and public betas of iOS 14.4. The update appears to focus primarily on bug fixes and performance improvements, but it also includes new features for HomePod mini.
With iOS 14.4 and a new HomePod mini beta, the $99 smart speaker now includes a much-improved Handoff experience. Check out it in our hands-on video right here.
Holiday buying guides
Finally, we continue to offer holiday gift guides and buying guides at 9to5Mac. So far we’ve offered detailed advice on Apple Watch gifts, AirPods vs AirPods Pro, and more.
- Gift Guide: Last-minute gifts for tech fans under $100
- Gift Guide: Best iPhone wallets and smart wallets
- Gift Guide: Smart health/fitness devices for beginners and fanatics
- Gift Guide: Gadget gifts for all budgets
- Gift Guide: The best HomeKit gifts in 2020 for safety and security
- Gift Guide: AirPods vs AirPods Pro buying guide and the best accessories
These and the rest of this week’s top stories below.
iOS | tvOS |
- Apple releases iOS 14.3 with ProRAW for iPhone 12 Pro, AirPods Max and Fitness+ support, more
- iOS 14.4 beta changes and features – HomePod mini gets new U1-assisted Handoff experience
- How to give your iOS 14 home screen a custom aesthetic with unique app icons
- Here’s where to find custom app icon packs you can use with iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3
- Apple releasing first iOS 14.4 developer beta today
- Apple rebuffs Facebook criticism, says iOS anti-tracking features are about ’standing up for our users’
- Apple releases iOS 12.5 for older iPhones with support for COVID-19 exposure notifications
- How to check iOS app privacy details for iPhone and iPad
iPhone |
- iPhone 6s falls out of a plane and survives, with all the action recorded
- How to check who can access your iPhone, iPad, and Apple accounts
- How to up your photography game with ProRAW on iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max cameras
- iPhone 12 Pro Max outshines unreleased Samsung Galaxy S21+ in early camera test
- Mujjo’s leather iPhone 12 cases are a great alternative to Apple’s official cases
- iPhone 12 supercycle: analyst says ‘reality is matching the hype’
- Apple’s A13 and A14 chips beat Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 in first benchmarks
- iPhone 12 Diary: Surprisingly, I find myself a fan of the MagSafe wallet
- Travel photographer Austin Mann says Apple’s ProRAW photo format is a ‘massive leap forward’
- 2021 iPhones could have ProMotion as well as always-on display
Apple Watch |
- Here’s how and why you should set up Cardio Fitness on iPhone and Apple Watch
- How to use Apple Fitness+: Apple Watch requirement, sign up, start workouts, more
- watchOS 7.2 now available with Apple Fitness+ and new cardio fitness notifications
- Apple Watch ‘Ring in the New Year’ Activity Challenge officially set for January 2021
- Concept: With Fitness+, Apple should expand its Apple Watch lineup with a true Fitbit killer
Mac and iPad |
- Benchmarks show how far behind Windows ARM machines are compared to M1 Macs
- Apple releases macOS Big Sur 11.1 with AirPods Max support and App Store privacy labels
- Google Chrome might be bad, but it’s not slowing down your Mac
- Microsoft updates Office apps for Mac with Apple Silicon support, iCloud accounts in Outlook, more
- Technical preview version of Parallels 16 now available for M1 Macs with support for Windows
- Apple no longer offers delta and combo macOS updates as standalone downloads
Top Apple stories, retail |
- Discover art and design around the world this holiday season with The 12 Days of Apple Stores widget
- How to shop at an Apple Store this holiday season
- COVID-19: Which Apple Stores have reopened?
AirPods |
- AirPods Max Smart Case makes little difference to battery life, says Apple
- iFixit shares AirPods Max teardown, says Apple’s headphones are hard to take apart
- PSA: How to switch off AirPods Max without Apple ‘bra’ case
- Apple design team talks AirPods Max creation, controversial Smart Case in new interview
- AirPods supplier backs reports of ‘AirPods Pro Lite’; $199 pricing expected
Apps |
- ‘Flex Widgets’ lets you create and customize your own widgets for the iOS home screen
- Facebook now warning users about impacts on ads due to new iOS 14 privacy features
- Concept: With so many new products, Apple should replace the ‘Watch’ app with an ‘Accessories’ app
- Tested: Canvas app uses iPhone 12 Pro LiDAR to create 3D scans of your home
Top Apple stories, company |
- New Apple trade-in values: Macs worth less, iPads and Watches worth more
- Facebook attacks Apple in full-page newspaper ads over ad-tracking
- iPhone assembly suspended at Indian plant following $60M riot on Saturday [U]
- Apple Fitness+ for Apple Watch users now available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV
- Report: Tim Cook intervened to kill Apple TV+ original series about Gawker
- Apple Fitness+ tidbits: Apple Watch requirement details, sharing, UHC deal, more
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This week’s top videos |
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Toning down the Apple Watch: Tips and feature requests to avoid being overwhelmed Apple releases watchOS 7.4.1 with security improvements Apple Watch blood sugar and blood pressure measurement could be a step closer watchOS 7.4 brings iPhone mask unlock feature for Apple Watch
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Read More WWDC
Roundup: Here are six things Apple didn’t announce during WWDC 2021 Apple reveals 12 winners of the 2021 Apple Design Awards, including Carrot Weather, Pok Pok Playroom, and League of Legends M1X MacBook Pro referenced in metadata for Apple’s WWDC YouTube video
watchOS 8
Hands-on: watchOS 8 brings major always-on display upgrades for third-party and Apple apps Apple sets Apple Watch Activity Challenge for International Day of Yoga later this month Apple releases watchOS 8 beta 1 to developers watchOS 8 for Apple Watch brings Photos improvements, mindfulness features, multiple timers, more
iOS 15
Hands-on: iOS 15 brings an all-new Weather app with maps, animations, and more Hands-on: Here’s how iPhone’s Live Text OCR works in iOS 15 iOS 15 tidbits: AirPrint overhaul, live locations in Find My, more iOS 15: Here’s everything new in FaceTime Hands-on: Here’s how the new iPhone Focus mode works in iOS 15
iPadOS 15
How to install the iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 developer betas iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey bring Low Power Mode to iPad and Mac, here’s how to enable it iPadOS 15 coming to all iPads supported by iPadOS 14 this fall, here’s the full list Translate app coming to iPadOS 15 with system-wide translations
macOS Monterey
Here’s how to install the macOS Monterey developer beta Apple exec goes in-depth on Shortcuts for Mac in ‘Mac Power Users’ podcast interview Hands-on: macOS 12 brings new ‘Object Capture’ API for creating 3D models using iPhone camera macOS Monterey enhances iPhone and iPad apps on M1 Macs with full-screen video, Apple Pay, more
tvOS
Apple details how Spatial Audio works on Apple TV with tvOS 15 Comment: Apple almost forgot about tvOS 15, but here’s everything new Apple announces updates to tvOS: SharePlay, “Hey Siri”, more
Swift/xCode
Apple engineer talks new Swift features and more in podcast interview following WWDC21 Apple to begin releasing AirPods Pro firmware betas to developers Potential evidence of updated Intel-powered Mac Pro surfaces in Xcode beta tvOS 15 lets you sign in to apps using Face ID on your iPhone
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