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This week’s top stories: HomePod and iMac Pro discontinued, iOS 14.4.1 released, and more

Chance Miller | Mar 14 2021 - 12:00 pm PT

In this week’s top stories: iOS 14.4.1 brings important security fixes for iPhone users, the future of the iMac Pro and HomePod, Apple event rumored for March 28, and more. Read on for all of this week’s top Apple stories.

March 23 Apple Event

Apple is rumored to have plans to hold its first event of the year on March 23. According to multiple leakers this week, the event will include the introduction of new products such as 2021 iPad Pros, AirTags, and more.

If Apple’s plans for a March 23 event come to fruition, we’d expect invites to go out to the press sometime over the next few days.

iMac Pro and HomePod discontinued

Apple has officially discontinued the iMac Pro, noting that the current stock is only available “while supplies last” and no future production is planned. All build to order configurations are no longer available.

Apple is believed to be introducing an all-new range of iMacs soon, featuring next-generation Apple silicon CPUs and GPUs. It’s unclear why exactly Apple has chosen to discontinue the iMac Pro right now, but it could be due to the availability of certain parts or supplies.

Second, Apple has also discontinued the full-size original HomePod without a replacement. The company now says it will focus on the HomePod mini going forward.

iOS 14.4.1 released

Apple this week released iOS 14.4.1 to the general public, bringing an important security fix. The company said that iOS 14.4.1 patches a vulnerability in WebKit, the browser engine that powers Safari and third-party browsers on iOS.

Apple explained that processing maliciously crafted web content may have lead to arbitrary code execution. The issue has been patched by addressing a memory corruption bug with improved validation.

Apple has also released iPadOS 14.4.1, watchOS 7.3.2, and macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 to address the same vulnerability.

MacBook Pro

Finally, a new supply chain report this week indicated that the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will not begin mass production until the second half of the year.

These models were originally planned to enter mass production in May/June timeframe, but that has been delayed. So while an announcement at WWDC had once seemed possible, this weeks report means we’ll likely be waiting a bit longer until sometime in the fall.

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

iOS |

iPhone |

Apple Watch |

Mac and iPad |

AirPods |

Apple Car |

Apps |

AR/VR Headset |

AAPL Company |

This week’s top videos |

30+ Mac tips for new setups that everyone should know [Video]

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.

Sponsored by Pillow: Pillow is an all-in-one sleep tracking solution to help you get a better night’s sleep. Download it from the App Store today.

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.

Sponsored by LinkedIn Jobs: Go to LinkedIn.com/HAPPYHOUR and get $50 OFF toward your first job post!

Sponsored by TextExpander: Visit textexpander.com/podcast and select 9to5Mac Happy Hour to save 20% off your first year!

Apple earnings, universal clipboard interoperability, iPhone event chatter – 9to5Mac Happy Hour

Benjamin and Chance return for another episode recapping the week in Apple news, including the interesting details of Apple’s most recent earnings calls, the last of the Tim Cook era. Also, Apple complies with Microsoft’s Interoperability request for universal clipboard support on Windows, and John Ternus recruits an employee out of retirement to help lead his new company regime. And in Happy Hour Plus, Chance is battling with HomeKit reliability woes, and ponders whether Benjamin's messaging habits. 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 Notion: Learn more about how Notion can support your business, at notion.com/happyhour. Sponsored by Square: Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at square.com/go/happyhour. Sponsored by NordStellar: Get an exclusive offer: Unlock your 10% discount on NordStellar with the coupon code: nordhappyhour-10-NORDSTELLAR – just mention it to NordStellar!

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.

Sponsored by Pillow: Pillow is an all-in-one sleep tracking solution to help you get a better night’s sleep. Download it from the App Store today.

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.

Sponsored by DEVONthink 3: Manage documents the smart way on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Apple @ Work listeners get 10% off with this link.

300 devices later – thoughts on ChromeOS vs macOS – 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, I go solo as I talk through the good and bad of ChromeOS and macOS deployments after spending a lot of time with each.