Top Stories

This week’s top stories: Apple Car news, iPhone 13 rumors begin, Apple AR headset, more

Chance Miller | Jan 10 2021 - 6:58 am PT

In this week’s top stories: Even more details on Apple Car, rumors about what to expect from the iPad in 2021, WhatsApp tightens its integration Facebook, and more. Read on for all of this week’s top Apple Stories.

Apple Car

A new report from Bloomberg this week offered new details on what to expect from Apple Car. The report indicated that Apple has continued to poach more ex-Tesla executives, but that a release is at least 5-7 years away.

But perhaps more notably on Thursday evening, Hyundai Motor confirmed that it’s having early discussions with Apple about producing its new car. A spokesperson for the company told CNBC that Apple is in discussions “with a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motor.”

WhatsApp changes

WhatsApp will soon start sharing your data with Facebook whether you like it or not. WhatsApp began sharing data with Facebook by default in 2016, but the company provided a way to opt-out. That will change soon, however, as WhatsApp is making changes to its privacy to remove the opt-out option completely, at least outside of Europe.

If you’re looking to ditch Facebook completely, you can find details on the best WhatsApp alternatives in our full coverage right here.

2021 16-inch MacBook Pro

A new supply chain report this week echoed claims that we can expect a 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro with a miniLED screen. It’s of course a no-brainer that the next 16-inch MacBook Pro will be powered by Apple Silicon, whether that’s an M1 chip or a later variant. It’s also a near-certainty that we can expect slimmer bezels.

Apple AR headset

Finally, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo published a new investor note this week focused on what to expect from Apple in 2021. The analyst says that Apple will release its first augmented reality device in 2021, alongside AirTag item trackers and much more.

Details on the augmented reality device are still unclear. Kuo has previously said that Apple’s first generation of AR glasses will be heavily dependent on the iPhone. Kuo has reported in the past that the AR glasses will essentially act as a display only with the actual computing, rendering, internet connectivity, and location services coming from the iPhone in the user’s pocket.

These and the rest of this week’s top stories below.

iPhone |

Apple Watch |

Mac and iPad |

Apps |

Apple Car |

This week’s top videos |

9to5Mac Daily |

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

9to5Mac Watch Time |

Jeff Benjamin joins Zac Hall to give Apple Watch Series 3 and Series 5 an exit interview before new models are announced. 9to5Mac Watch Time is a podcast series hosted by Zac Hall. In this series, we talk to real people about how Apple Watch is affecting their lives.

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Week 6 – 9to5Mac Watch Time

This week on Watch Time join 9to5Mac's Zac Hall and Tempo developer Rahul Matta in the final episode of this podcast "season". 9to5Mac Watch Time is a podcast series hosted by Zac Hall. In this series, we talk to real people about how Apple Watch is affecting their lives. Subscribe now to catch up with each episode and automatically hear new episodes as soon as they’re released every two weeks: 🟣 Apple Podcasts | 🟠 Overcast | 🟢 Spotify Follow Zac Instagram @apollozac Twitter @apollozac SpaceExplored.com Follow Rahul Matta Twitter @rmatta Twitter @TempoLog Blog indie.sh Follow 9to5Mac Instagram @9to5mac Twitter @9to5mac Facebook YouTube.com/9to5Mac Listen & Subscribe Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast RSS Read More 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 Enjoy the podcast? Shop Apple at Amazon to support 9to5Mac Watch Time!

9to5Mac Happy Hour Podcast |

9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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AirPods with camera leak, iOS 27 beta 6, iPhone 18 Pro cases – 9to5Mac Happy Hour

Benjamin and Chance talk about the crazy leak by Apple depicting the new AirPods with cameras in a video demo, the changes in iOS 27 beta 6, their latest experiences with Siri AI, whether iPhone 18 Pro will fit iPhone 17 Pro cases, and perhaps some final resolution in the Apple vs EU App Store commission battle. And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin talks about some of the leaks for the upcoming HomePod with a screen. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join. Sponsored by Bitwarden: Check out Bitwarden, featuring secure password management, passkey support, end-to-end encryption, and seamless autofill across all devices. Sponsored by Keeper: Get 60% off personal and family plans at keepersecurity.com/HAPPYHOUR. Sponsored by Copilot Money: Get two months free with code 9TO5MAC at copilot.money/9to5mac. Sponsored by Framer: The only free design tool that brings your ideas to the web. Visit framer.com/happyhour for 30% off a Framer Pro annual plan.

Stacktrace Podcast |

Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Stacktrace has moved! – Stacktrace

As we've mentioned in the last episode, the Stacktrace podcast is no longer a part of the 9to5Mac network. If you're seeing this entry in your podcast player, then you probably need to unfollow Stacktrace and follow the podcast again. Start by unfollowing the show in your podcast player, then just search for "Stacktrace" and follow the show again. You'll notice that the updated show has a new artwork and that episode 179 has already been released there. To learn more about how to listen to Stacktrace, check out our new website. Thanks for listening!

Apple @ Work Podcast |

Apple @ Work by 9to5Mac is available on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and via RSS for other podcast players.

Agentic networking actions – Apple @ Work

Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple. In this episode of Apple @ Work, Shirish Nimgaonkar from eBlissAI joins the show to talk about AI’s future in enterprise around endpoint management, agentic solutions, and more. Shirish supports the next generation as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School, and serves on the Board of TiE Boston and the Governing Council at AIF.