Apple’s taking the right-to-repair movement seriously as it plans to sell parts to customers, Mophie’s got stocking stuffers, and connecting the Sonos Beam to Fire TV devices.

Apple’s making it easier for you to fix your own iPhone

Starting next year, Apple will start selling parts and tools to individuals who want to repair their own Apple products.

The rollout will begin in the U.S. only but will expand in 2022 to include other countries (presumably Canada will be on that list).

At first, Self Service Repair will be available for people looking to repair models of iPhone 12 and iPhone 13, but will ultimately include the line of computers that are built with Apple’s M1 chips.

Apple is clear that people should review a repair manual before ordering any parts to be sure that they’re capable of doing the work. If they end up placing an order for parts and tools, they can return their used parts for recycling and Apple will issue a credit.

The new Self Service Repair option adds to Apple’s expansion of retail repair options which includes a number of professional, third-party service outlets.

Power solutions from Mophie for your wireless devices

Mophie’s got a new portable power product that’s a great stocking stuffer.

The Mophie Snap+ powerstation and stand ($70 USD) is not just a provider of power for your smartphone, it also has a magnetic connector, so you can make sure that your magsafe iPhone is lined up properly for wireless charging. If you don’t have an iPhone it comes with an adhesive magnetic ring that you can affix to your smartphone.

And it comes with a stand, so you can perch it on your desk and have your phone titled so you can easily see it.

And it’s got a quarter-inch socket on the bottom so you can screw the power brick into a tripod, and you can use the portable power when you’re shooting video.

The other great Mophie gift is the Mophie 3-in-1 wireless stand for Apple products ($90 USD) which is perfect for the person in your life who has a Magsafe-enabled iPhone, and Airpods, and an Apple Watch, because they can have this on their nightstand and charge all three items at the same time.

Nothing better than Mophie for Christmas.

Answering some listener questions about the Sonos Beam soundbar

A listener called with some questions about the Sonos Beam soundbar that I talked about on the Shift last week.

They’ve got a 60-inch Amazon Fire TV (circa 2018) and was concerned about a note on the Sonos Beam product page that suggests the soundbar is “for TVs up to 55 inches”.

That’s misleading. I suspect that Sonos suggests that the Beam is best for smaller TVs because smaller TVs tend to be used in smaller rooms.

But it’s the size of your room that will dictate whether the Beam is sufficient of if you want to consider upgrading to the Sonos Arc ($1,099).

Where the Beam has five amplifiers, one tweeter, and four woofers, the Arc has eleven amplifiers, three tweeters, and eight woofers.

So the Arc will fill a larger room with sound better than a Beam.

But my family has a 65-inch screen in a smaller living space, and the Beam delivers more than enough sound.

The other question from the listener was whether Amazon’s upgraded Fire Stick Max would deliver better sound through the Sonos Beam and the answer to that is no.

The Fire TV Sticks provide streaming audio and video but the sticks themselves don’t provide any sound. The sound comes from the source, so if you’re watching a video with Dolby encoding the Sonos will be able to play it.

What the new Max version does provide, however, is a better Wi-Fi connection so you can stream larger files – like those that come with 4K experiences – without slowdowns and hiccups.

I will note that to use a Sonos Beam you will need to be able to connect to your TV with an HDMI cable or an optical cable. If you’re looking for Dolby Atmos surround sound, you’ll need to have an ARC or eARC HDMI port.

One final note about connecting a Sonos Beam to Amazon devices is that Sonos has Alexa built into all of its newer components. Google Assistant is also built-in.

This week on The Shift, Shane Hewitt and I talked about the surprise release of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer, other Xbox 20th anniversary moments, the release of Battlefield 2042, the Sonos Beam soundbar, two new Kindle Paperwhite digital readers, and how Mercedes-Benz mechanics have started fixing vehicles using Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 headsets.

The free multiplayer experience that is part of Halo Infinite is now available, weeks ahead of the game’s full release, Xbox celebrates by dropping more than 70 games into the backwards compatible catalogue, and the battle is on between Battlefield 2042, Call of Duty: Vanguard, and Halo Infinite.

Halo Infinite multiplayer gets a surprise early release

On Monday, 343 Industries, the developers of Halo Infinite, announced the release of the multiplayer mode of the game.

It’s free to play on Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and is a part of the larger Halo Infinite game that will be released on December 8.

The multiplayer experience is being called a beta, but any time players put into the game now will carry over when Halo Infinite officially releases.

The November 15 surprise was significant because on that day, 20 years ago, the first Halo game, Halo: Combat Evolved, was released as a launch title for the original Xbox game console.

Xbox celebrates 20 years of awesome

In a 30-minute livestream on the internet Monday, Xbox celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of Microsoft’s first game console. On November 15, 2001, the Xbox was put into the hands of gamers who lined up at midnight events for their chance to see what the business solutions company could do for video games.

During the presentation, Xbox announced that more than 70 original Xbox and Xbox 360 games were being made playable on the Xbox Series X/S through backwards compatibility (and a number of them are part of the Game Pass subscription).

This includes the entire Max Payne and F.E.A.R. series, Advent Rising, and Red Dead Revolver.

While the games are old, they are getting visual improvements across the board, and the better your system and display, the better the bump.

Power On: The Story of Xbox is a six-part documentary series about the conception and development of the Xbox that releases on December 13.

You can watch the entire Xbox Anniversary Celebration here.

Battlefield 2042 releases Friday

Battlefield 2042, published by Electronic Arts, is now available for gamers with early access. The first-person shooter experience, available for PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, officially releases on Friday, November 19.

The game is multiplayer only; there’s no single-player narrative campaign. But that doesn’t mean there’s no story here. The game is built around the story of our near-future in which climate shifts have dramatically impacted the political landscape.

Up to 128 players can play on next-gen consoles and Windows computers in the Conquest sandbox. Other modes include Breakthrough, with two teams battling for supremacy, and Hazard Zone, which has four-person squads scrambling for collectibles scattered around a map in a race against the clock.

There’s also the Battlefield Portal which provides fans with the chance to build their own Battlefield experiences and play in those created by others. EA has prebuilt levels based on classic Battlefield games including Battlefield 1942 and Bad Company 2.

The Sonos Beam soundbar is slick, the new Paperwhite Kindles are amazing, and Mercedes-Benz mechanics level up with HoloLens 2 headsets.

Sonos Beam soundbar is a compact home theatre sound solution

The second generation version of the Sonos Beam soundbar ($560) is not just more compact, it brings with it additional functionality that replaces larger sound systems that you may have used in your home entertainment system before.

The tech on this soundbar is seriously superb, with Dolby Atmos surround sound that really creates the sensation that you’ve got speakers all around you.

Of course you can add surround speakers if you want, because the Beam is part of the Sonos ecosystem. You can go all out by adding a couple of Ones and even a Sub.

But you don’t need to. And in our smaller family room space, the Beam is more than enough for us to get a premium theatre or gaming experience.

And you can cast to it from your Bluetooth-enabled mobile device, too.

Two new Kindle devices released in Canada just in time for the holidays

Amazon’s Kindles are fantastic for your digital book collection, and there are now two new models that take the experience up a notch.

One of the things that I like about the Kindles is the digital ink experience that feel more like reading a book than reading a computer screen.

The new Kindle Paperwhite is $150 and has a larger, 6.8-inch display, and adjustable light, and a battery that will give you up to 10 weeks of reading before you need to charge again.

And it turns pages more quickly, which has been my major complaint about the Kindles in the past.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is $210 but gives you wireless charging, an adjustable light, and 32 GB of storage, good for more than 15,000 books.

Mercedes-Benz Canada equipping service techs with HoloLens 2 headsets

Mercedes-Benz Canada dealerships are using augmented reality to repair vehicles.

The company announced that mechanics will be using Microsoft HoloLens 2 headsets when they are inspecting and repairing Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

The on-site work being done by the service technicians is supported by remote specialists who may have unique knowledge and expertise.

The company expects that the investment will speed up some complex repairs and reduce the need for specialists to travel to dealerships to do their work.

This week on The Shift, Shane Hewitt and I talked about the amazing video game Forza Horizon 5, the launch of Netflix Games, the release of Call of Duty: Vanguard, the removal of Metal Gear Solid games, the new features for Twitter Blue subscribers, enhanced aspect ratios for Marvel films on Disney+, and buyer be aware this holiday season.

I’m in at 14:43.