Technologies

iPhone 13 launch is happening Sept. 14 at the biggest Apple event of 2021

The tech giant’s highest-profile event of the year will remain virtual, with a potentially sizable portfolio of products to show off.

This story is part of Apple Event, our full coverage of the latest news from Apple headquarters.

Apple’s next event, during which it will likely unveil its next slate of devices, including the Apple Watch Series 7 and the iPhone 13, is happening Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. BST), the company confirmed Tuesday. The event, like all previous ones over the last year and a half, will be held entirely online amid continued concerns about the pandemic. (Here’s what we now know about the iPhone 13 release date and what else to expect from Apple’s September event.)

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Apple’s invite includes the phrase «California streaming.» It features a neon outline of the Apple logo set against a silhouette of a mountain range.

The company’s flashy September event is its most important of the year, setting its product lineup for the holiday shopping season. Last year, Apple held three major product releases in the second half, separating out announcements for its latest Apple Watches, iPads, iPhones and Mac computers. The releases helped propel Apple’s sales and profit to their highest levels, setting revenue records for the company’s iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.

It’s unclear just what products Apple will announce and whether the company will repeat last year’s tactic of holding multiple events throughout the second half. The iPhone 13 is almost assuredly going to make an appearance. The rumored Apple Watch 7 could as well.

But the product launches all got their own time to shine last year. The iPhone 12, in particular, touched off a wave of upgrade purchases, driven in part by its new 5G wireless connection and its revamped physical appearance. In his review before its release last year, CNET’s Patrick Holland called the iPhone 12 one of our highest-rated phones of all time. The «5G support, a new striking design, improved cameras and four different models all add up to make the iPhone 12 an absolute unit,» he wrote.

The other standout for Apple last year was its computers. Apple kicked off a major technology transition last fall, switching out the microprocessing brains for its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, as well as its Mac Mini desktops. Apple had decided to ditch chips made by industry giant Intel, and instead rely on technology designed by the teams that make the microprocessors for the iPhone. Apple’s new M1 chips, as they’re called, were praised by reviewers like CNET’s Dan Ackerman, who cited the device’s speed and battery life. Customers liked them too, Apple said, helping push Mac sales to record levels.

Apple’s expected to announce the next generation of its home-made chip this fall, rumored to be called the M1X. That new technology is expected to help Apple wean even more of its computers off the Intel chips they still rely on. Apple has said it expects to keep selling Intel-powered Mac computers alongside its newer technology for another year or so.

Apple may also talk about some of its new augmented reality tricks. As with previous invites, this one has an AR gimmick that creates a mixed reality portal.

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Check back in with CNET for all of the official details on Sept. 14.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Dec. 4

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 4.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? 1-Across stumped me until I filled in some more letters. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Butterfingers
Answer: KLUTZ

6A clue: Letter before beta
Answer: ALPHA

7A clue: Like «ad hoc» or «ad hominem»
Answer: LATIN

8A clue: Prestigious university in Atlanta
Answer: EMORY

9A clue: Word drawn out in speech before «… they’re off!»
Answer: AND

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Dinosaur ___, vegetable so-named for its bumpy green texture
Answer: KALE

2D clue: Animal in a Peruvian herd
Answer: LLAMA

3D clue: Sinclair who wrote «The Jungle»
Answer: UPTON

4D clue: Base that’s 90 feet from home
Answer: THIRD

5D clue: Wild and funny
Answer: ZANY

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Prices Set by Algorithms: New Yorkers Now See Warnings About Stores Using Personal Data to Set Costs

This new law, already subject to lawsuits, lets shoppers know when companies are quietly raising online prices for certain types of customers.

Online shoppers in New York are now seeing a new warning on product pages thanks to consumer protection legislation that took effect in early November. Particularly noticeable during Black Friday sales were messages that told shoppers: «This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data.»

This piece of legislation requires companies (with exceptions for rideshare apps) to show buyers when they use surveillance pricing to set online prices, potentially raising costs for some people while lowering them for others.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

So what data are these companies collecting to shift prices? Well, unlike surge pricing, this type of algorithm pricing calculates data related to the individual person or device. That could include the type of device (Android versus iPhone, etc.), your account’s browsing history, recent purchases made from that browser and — most importantly — your location.

In other words, reported examples have shown that items like eggs will increase in cost for wealthy neighborhoods while staying at lower standard costs for less prosperous zones. But it can get far more complicated than that: Some pricing algorithms study millions of online purchases to predict buyer patterns.

A representative for the New York Senate didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Is surveillance pricing legal?

So far, yes. What laws like this New York legislation do is enforce transparency about what may be affecting prices, instead of banning it. And even that was too much for business groups, which immediately sued to block the law in federal court, alleging that it violates the businesses’ First Amendment rights.

It’s not clear whether companies are complying with the law as directed, or what it fully entails, either. The bill requires «clear and conspicuous disclosure» near the price, but some companies appear to be putting the information in a harder-to-spot area behind an information icon at the bottom of a pop-up.

Efforts to control pricing via algorithm

New York isn’t the only state to tackle surveillance pricing. Other states and cities are entertaining similar legislation, as well as complete bans on the practice. But it’s an uphill battle due to the many details and strong pushback from, well, every industry that sells products online.

The most recent example was from September, when California’s congress went through its proposed ban on surveillance pricing and cut out nearly everything. In its current state, the California law would only apply to grocery prices, which is still not a common online purchase. Colorado, Illinois and other states are also working on their own versions of related laws.

The question of whether shoppers would appreciate transparency laws, or whether they’d be less likely to purchase products if they knew the price was based on their personal data, is tough to answer (what if the algorithms are giving you a lower price than other nearby shoppers?). But the privacy question has a more far-reaching impact: Once shoppers see how much of their personal data is being harvested for pricing, they may start to wonder what else it’s being used for.

Technologies

Spotify Wrapped Is Live, Try the Buzzy New Party Game

Wrapped Party and your listening age are the big new features of the music streamer’s yearly wrapper.

Music streaming service Spotify has unveiled new features in its 2025 Wrapped listener recap, including a party game and the most popular albums, at an event in New York City.

Spotify Wrapped is one of the biggest events in the year’s music calendar, and 2025 promises to be even bigger, thanks in part to the new game. Wrapped Party is Spotify’s first multiplayer game included in Wrapped, allowing you to compete against up to nine friends with questions based on your listening habits.

Also read: Best Music Streaming Services

Matthew Luhks, Spotify’s senior director of global marketing, said the new game is the Wrapped feature he’s most excited about.

«I think Wrapped Party is amazing, and it’s something we’ve been talking about for years. Wrapped is usually a solo experience, and now you can play Wrapped with your friends and your family,» Luhks said at the event.

Wrapped Party is one of almost a dozen new features for the company’s viral wrap-up, which also includes your Listening Age (giving this writer an age of 100!) and Top Artist Sprint, which shows your favorite artist listens «racing» over twelve months. This year is also the first time that the recap highlights a user’s most popular albums.

Read more: Spotify Says I Have the Music Taste of a 79-Year-Old: Is That Bad?

Meanwhile, the new Clubs feature assigns you, Harry Potter sorting hat-style, to one of six fan clubs based on your listening and designates you a role such as «Archivist.»

As with every year, the company also revealed its most popular content across all categories for 2025. After six years in a row, it was no surprise that Joe Rogan had the platform’s most popular podcast, but the biggest upset was when Bad Bunny pipped Taylor Swift for most popular global artist. However, Swift was the most popular artist in the US for 2025.

Other popular categories included:

Global top song: Die With A Smile by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
Global top album: DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny
Top Audiobook in Premium: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

To access Spotify Wrapped, look for the Wrapped feed on the Home tab. To find Wrapped Party, just search for it in Spotify or access it at the end of your personalized wrap.

In 2025, almost every streaming service has its own yearly stats roundup, including YouTube’s new Recap feature, but Spotify Wrapped is still arguably the most famous.

Spotify is the most popular music streaming service, with over 100 million tracks, and it currently costs $12 a month for Premium (including audiobooks). The company is rumored to be planning a price increase in early 2026, however.