The rumor: Apple is still working on an AirPower-like charging device years after officially canceling the product, according to Mark Gurman (87% accurate, via Power On).
“I do think Apple is still working on some sort of multi-device charger that it intends to eventually release. There’s a reason why it planned to launch the device in the first place in 2017” Gurman says
Apple is also reportedly working on short and long-range wireless charging…like iPad being able to charge iPhone
Our take: We’ve been hearing about this AirPower follow-up for years…but still nothing palpable has come of the rumors. Not to mention that Apple sells MagSafe duo already. I would love a nice-looking 3-1 charger with Apple’s first-party tech: I’m just not convinced it’s happening.
The rumor: Apple’s first real AR product is set to launch late next year, according to Ming-Chi Kuo (75.9% accurate).
In the note obtained by AppleTrack, Kuo states that the AR headset will have “Mac level of computing power” and “can operate independently, without relying on a Mac…or iPhone”
Dual-4K Micro OLED displays may be included to support VR in addition to AR functionality
The device, which saw the design leak months ago, is rumored to release in the fourth quarter of 2022
Our take: Mac power, the ability to operate independently and 4K displays have me really starting to look forward to this device. I think the fourth quarter of next year is a very realistic launch timeframe.
The list: We scoured in the internet to bring you the best Black Friday deals for new Apple products in 2021. We’ve bolded our favorites in each category.
Here’s the lowdown…
AirPods
AirPods 2 for $100 at checkout on Amazon ($44 off)
Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS + Cellular, 41mm) – Green/Starlight Aluminum Case with Clover Sport Band for $479.99 on Amazon ($20 off)
Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS + Cellular, 45mm) – Green/Starlight Aluminum Case with Clover Sport Band for $509.99 on Amazon ($20 off)
Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS, 41mm) – RED Aluminum Case with (Product) RED Sport Band for $379.99 on Amazon ($19 off)
Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS, 45mm) – RED Aluminum Case with (Product) RED Sport Band for $409.99 on Amazon ($19 off)
SE (2020 model)
Apple Watch SE (GPS, 40mm) – Silver Aluminum Case with Abyss Blue Sport Band for $219 on Amazon ($60 off)
Apple Watch SE (GPS + Cellular, 40mm) – Space Grey Aluminum Case with Tornado/Grey Sport Loop for $319.98 on Amazon ($10 off)
Apple Watch SE (GPS + Cellular, 44mm) – Space Grey Aluminum Case with Tornado/Grey Sport Loop for $299.99 on Amazon ($60 off)
Or get a $50 gift card on SE and Series 3 when you buy from Apple.
HomePod
HomePod mini black/white for $89 at Staples ($10 off)
iPad
iPad Air Green 64GB for $589.99 at Adorama ($10 off)
11-inch iPad Pro (Wi‑Fi, 128GB) – Silver for $749.99 on Amazon ($49 off)
12.9-inch iPad Pro (Wi‑Fi, 128GB) – Silver/Space Gray for $999.99 on Amazon ($100 off)
iPhone
You would expect to see a lot of deals here…but there just aren’t that many this year. Apple is offering a $50 gift card when you buy iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini or iPhone SE. All the carrier deals below require a trade-in of your previous phone:
The rumor: An exclusivity deal between Microsoft and Qualcomm has prevented Windows from running on more ARM computers, according to XDA Developers.
Up until now, the only PCs that could run windows on ARM chips were powered by Qualcomm
Microsoft and Qualcomm have reportedly been in this exclusive deal for some time, but “that deal is set to expire soon” (an exact date is not currently known)
Our take: As someone who owns a MacBook Pro with M1 Max inside and also games, I was incredibly excited to install Windows on my new Mac…until I learned that Boot Camp and Windows support broadly just doesn’t exist right now. Sure, there are way to virtualize Windows…but performance is never as good as it could be. I really hope Microsoft and Apple work together so that Windows can run natively on M1 chips sometime next year.
$50 gift card: iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini and iPhone SE; Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD; 2nd-generation Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard Folio, MagSafe Duo Charger, AirTag four pack and Magic Keyboard; Beats Studio3 Wireless, Solo3 Wireless and more; Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 3
$75 gift card: AirPods (2nd and 3rd generation), AirPods Pro and AirPods Max
$100 gift card: 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro; MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini
$200 gift card: 27-inch iMac (Intel processor)
Our take: Some pretty decent deals this year, of course, if you’re cool with getting a gift card back instead of cash off directly. Best deal to me on the list? A $75 gift card for ANY AirPods purchase.
The news: Apple just dropped a fresh version of iOS 15…but only for iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 devices.
“iOS 15.1.1 improves call drop performance on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models” the release notes say
Apple has not apparently made any additional changes or fixed other bugs in this latest update
Our take: Hoping to see some additional bugs in iOS 15 addressed in the near future (ex. general stability and less app crashes), as this is an issue I wasn’t even familiar with until now.
You just missed your chance to own “the world’s first USB-C iPhone,” which is actually a modded iPhone X with a custom USB-C port instead of Lightning on the bottom…it could have been yours for just $86,001 USD
The project, which was done by Kenny Pi, has garnered widespread attention due to the fact that the iPhone remains the last major smartphone in the market without a standard USB port
Our take: Listen, I want a USB-C iPhone more than anyone else in the world. But paying $86k for a four year old phone that can be updated or restored or used in any serious capacity? That’s a whole different level.
Apple’s (likely) final event of 2021 took place on October 18 with the tagline ‘Unleashed,’ where new AirPods, MacBook Pro and HomePod mini models were unveiled. Now that the dust has settled, let’s see how the sources who reported on these products stack up post-event.
Sources that got more accurate
🐟 Ross Young: 100% accurate for 9 rumors (same score)
Note: As you may have noticed, no source is 100% accurate. That’s because all sources get some info right and some info wrong: do not harass anyone for their track record. The leaderboard functionality on AppleTrack is here only to help tech enthusiasts better understand how likely a rumor really is.
As always, if you notice a discrepancy on someone’s record, let us know.
The news: The video-hosting company announced on Wednesday morning that dislikes on YouTube videos will no longer be public.
While the dislike button while stay below videos, the count will no longer be publicly available…only video creators will be able to see the exact number in their analytics dashboard
“Earlier this year, we experimented with the dislike button to see whether or not changes could help better protect our creators from harassment, and reduce dislike attacks — where people work to drive up the number of dislikes on a creator’s videos. As part of this experiment, viewers could still see and use the dislike button. But because the count was not visible to them, we found that they were less likely to target a video’s dislike button to drive up the count. In short, our experiment data showed a reduction in dislike attacking behavior” YouTube says
YouTube says this change begins to gradually roll out today
Our take: Making videos on YouTube is my job. And I see where the company is coming from today. Online harassment is a major problem and the dislike button is gasoline on an already burning fire in many cases. But the like/dislike ratio is also an incredibly important way to hold creators accountable…and that metric will be hidden now.
I think a much better solution would be to allow creators to choose whether or not they would like to show the dislike count on their videos. This helps with targeted harassment (because if you do notice yourself being targeted, then you have the control to hide that from public view) while also allowing creators to decide what is best for their audience. I hope we see a change like this from YouTube, or at least some way to opt-in to public dislikes.
