Telegram now supports video calls with up to 1,000 viewers

What you need to know

• Popular messaging app Telegram now supports video calls with up to 1,000 viewers.
• The new feature is designed for online lectures and more.

The update is now live.

Popular messaging app Telegram now supports video calls with up to 1,000 viewers. Designed to make it easier for people to join online lectures and more, the feature is part of an update that focuses on video as a whole, including improved video messaging.

Announced via blog post, the changes begin with the group video call improvements. Telegram says it won't be stopping at 1,000 as well, with more coming.

Group video calls allow up to 30 users broadcast video from both their camera and screen – and now 1000 people can watch anything from online lectures to live rap battles.

Video messages are now getting an increase in resolution, while those receiving messages can now also watch them full-screen, too. Telegram has also added the ability to watch video in 0.5x, 1.5x, and 2x playback speeds as well.

Other improvements include timestamp linking, screen sharing with audio, and more. You can read all about what's new in the latest Telegram over on the Telegram blog, too.

The newly updated Telegram is available for download now. Everyone else can grab it via the App Store — it's completely free and is a great option for those who want to talk to people over in the world of Android. Telegram was already one of the best iPhone apps for staying in touch with people and these new changes just drive that point home further.

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Slimmer components could make iPhone batteries bigger from 2023

What you need to know

• Apple's suppliers are working on making key iPhone components slimmer.
• The move could make space for larger batteries.

Bigger batteries without making devices thicker? Yes please!

Apple's component suppliers are working to make some of the key iPhone parts slimmer from 2023, allowing for larger batteries to be included without also having to make the devices themselves any thicker.

As Patently Apple reports based on DigiTimes information, Apple's suppliers are already working to make components slimmer — and not just for use in iPhones, either. iPads and MacBooks could also benefit from the move, too.

It's being reported today by DigiTimes (paywall report) that Apple is expected to significantly increase the adoption of IPD (Integrated Passive Device) in new iPhones and other iOS products, providing manufacturing partners TSMC and Amkor with strong business opportunities.

The report further added that peripheral chips for iPhones, iPad and MacBook series are going slimmer with higher performance to allow more space for larger-capacity battery solutions for the devices, with the demand for IPDs to grow sharply in line with the trend, the sources said.

The report goes on to say that it's thought that the move to slimmer components could happen alongside the switch to TSMC's 3nm manufacturing process — something that was recently rumored to be read for the 2023 iPhones. The iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 will miss out, but we could see big changes by the time iPhone 15 rolls around.

The prospect of putting more battery capacity into an iPhone has always meant making them thicker at the same time. By making the other components slimmer, Apple could avoid that problem in the future. Many people believe the iPhone 12 Pro Max to be the best iPhone thanks to its larger battery and people do buy devices based on that metric.

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YouTube tests Premium Lite, a cut-down ad-free tier that ditches the extras

What you need to know

• YouTube is testing a new Premium Lite subscription tier that includes ad-free viewing without the other extras that YouTube Premium offers.
• The new tier is being tested in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.

The new tier is around 60% of the price of the full-fat option.

YouTube is testing a new ad-free tier that sits below the Premium subscription offering. Premium Lite still brings ad-free viewing to YouTube apps on all devices, but it does away with some of the extras that people might not want. It's also around 60% cheaper.

The new tier was first spied by a user on ResetEra and has since been confirmed by The Verge. YouTube says that the tier is being tested in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden right now.

"In Nordics and Benelux (except for Iceland), we're testing a new offering to give users even more choice: Premium Lite costs €6.99/month (or local equivalent per month) and it includes ad-free videos on YouTube," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. In comparison, YouTube's existing Premium plan costs around €11.99 a month in Europe.

The new tier doesn't include most of the features associated with YouTube Premium, with background playback and downloads being two of the most notable omissions. YouTube Premium Lite also doesn't include the YouTube Music benefits of its more costly alternative, either. YouTube is already one of the best iPhone video-watching experiences out there, even without those options.

It remains to be seen when — or if — YouTube Premiums Lite will come to the masses but it could be a great option for people who just want to be rid of YouTube's ads but don't need all of the bells and whistles that come with YouTube Premium.

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Australians can now put their COVID-19 vaccination certs into Apple Wallet

What you need to know

• The Australian government has now begun to allow iPhone users to put their COVID-19 vaccination certificates in Apple Wallet.
• Users will be able to show their certificate without opening any apps.

Quicker and easier to show your vaccination status.

Australians who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 now have a new way to show people after the government enabled a feature that puts their certificate into Apple Wallet. With the certificate added, people can show officials their vaccination status without having to launch an app. What's more, they can even do it without unlocking their iPhone, too.

First reported by Tap Down Under, the move also means that Android users can add their certificate to the Google Pay interface — but we don't care about that, do we?

As of today, it's now possible to add a copy of your COVID-19 digital certificate to your digital wallet of choice – Apple Wallet or Google Pay – making it easier to show proof of vaccination for which will undoubtedly become required sometime in the future.

Adding your vaccination certificate to the Wallet app is as simple as heading to a website and signing in, although people with the Medicare app installed can also add the certificate that way if they prefer. Tap Down Under has all the deets.

The move comes just a few days after the UK's NHS did the same, too.

There is of course another type of Apple Wallet — the MagSafe Leather Wallet. At $59 it isn't cheap, but there are tons of options on the market. Check out our collection of the best MagSafe iPhone wallets before placing any orders of your own.

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You can't buy a titanium Apple Watch Series 6 and this is probably why

What you need to know

• Apple Watch Series 6 is currently unavailable in its titanium finish.
• It's likely Apple simply ran out and refuses to make more as Apple Watch Series 7 nears.

Apple Watch Series 7 is just around the corner.

Anyone wanting to buy a titanium Apple Watch Series 6 is out of luck right now, with Apple Stores the world over showing the wearable as unavailable. They also seem to be very difficult to find on-store, too. Why? It's a simple case of economics.

With Apple getting ready to launch the Apple Watch Series 7 in just a couple of months, it's likely the company stopped making the titanium Apple Watch Series 6 a good long while ago. It was never the most popular version of Apple's smartwatch thanks to its relatively high price, and Apple presumably only made a limited number to begin with. As we near Apple Watch Series 7 time, it seems foolhardy to build more of the outgoing product — especially when it's likely you'll be lumbered with stock once the new model arrives.

That's the line coming out of Mark Gurman's Power On newsletter, too. As he notes, we'll just have to hope titanium makes a return in the new lineup.

Apple hasn't said that the Apple Watch Edition is discontinued, so here's my theory. With just weeks to go until the next version of the Apple Watch, Apple has nearly run out of the titanium models. Given the high price point, Apple probably only made a small amount expecting they wouldn't sell very well. They likely stopped manufacturing them months ago and are finally running out of supply.

Still hoping to bag an Apple Watch Series 6 before the rest of the lineup's gone? Check out these Apple Watch deals before it's too late!

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Gurman: A new MacBook Air is coming next year, bringing MagSafe with it

What you need to know

• Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says a redesigned MacBook Air is coming next year.
• The refresh will see the return of a feature that's been missing for far too long — MagSafe.

Apple's putting magnets everywhere.

Apple is heavily rumored to have a big MacBook Air refresh incoming, and a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has that happening at some point next year. But more importantly, it's going to see the return of a feature that should probably have never gone away in the first place — MagSafe.

Writing in this weekend's issue of the Power On newsletter, Gurman said that the new MacBook Air will arrive at some point in 2022, adding that it will include support for MagSafe as well. While we don't know for sure what that will actually look like, it does sound very much like we're going to get a magnetic charging solution for Apple's notebooks once again. I'd also expect that to be brought to other Mac portables in due course, too.

Apple's original MagSafe implementation, long before the arrival of iPhone 12, was a game-changer. It allowed people to charge their Macs without fear of them being dragged across the room when someone caught the cable with a foot — often a child or an animal. USB-C, the current charging solution, doesn't offer the same level of protection and it's no doubt broken more than a few notebooks as a result.

The current MacBook Air is the best Mac for most people and a refreshed model will surely be no different. Existing rumors have that machine ditching the tapered design for something more squared-off, although the same impossibly thin shape is expected to be part of the new look.

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Gurman: A smaller Mac Pro using Apple silicon is coming 'later next year'

What you need to know

• Apple's Mac Pro looks set to get a smaller sibling running Apple silicon.
• Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the new, smaller Apple silicon Mac Pro will arrive towards the end of 2022.

A big boy Intel Mac Pro is still coming, too.

Apple is set to bring Apple silicon to the Mac Pro "later next year" according to a new report, but it won't be the main Mac Pro that we've come to love. Instead, it'll be a new, smaller version of the powerhouse machine.

According to Gurman's latest Power On newsletter, Apple plans to have a "revamped, smaller Mac Pro with Apple silicon" ready for "later next year," although that could presumably change as the months wind on.

Despite Apple's intention to launch a Mac Pro mini — Mac mini Pro? — machine, the traditional Mac Pro is still set to get an Inte-powered refresh. We recently heard rumors around that and Gurman again pointed to a traditional Mac Pro update coming at some point.

The Apple silicon Mac Pro looks set to be around half the size of a traditional Mac Pro, but with some serious power. As many as 40 cores are being rumored for what will surely become the go-to Mac for creatives and developers. While an Intel Mac may still be the best Mac to some who have very specific workflows, most will surely lean towards the Apple silicon option. Especially if it's a smaller form factor to boot.

While we shouldn't expect Apple to bring any of this to market this year, we still have a ton to look forward to before 2021 comes to a close. New iPhones, Apple Watches, and even some Macs are thought to be on the horizon before Santa comes calling.

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