Category: News

  • The best Apple Black Friday 2021 deals

    The best Apple Black Friday 2021 deals

    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)
    • New AirPods Pro for $169.99 on Amazon ($79 off)
    • AirPods 3 for $149.99 at checkout on Amazon ($30 off)
    • AirPods Max for $439.99 on Amazon ($110 off)

    Or get a $75 gift card when you buy from Apple.

    Apple TV

    • Apple TV HD 32GB for $139.95 on Amazon ($9 off)
    • Apple TV 4K 32GB for $169.95 on Amazon ($9 off)
    • Apple TV 4K 64GB for $189.95 on Amazon ($9 off)

    Or get a $50 gift card when you buy from Apple.

    Apple Watch

    Series 7 (newest model)

    • 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:

    Mac

    • 2020 Apple MacBook Air (M1 Chip, 13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) – Gold for $849.99 on Amazon ($149 off)
    • 2020 Apple MacBook Pro (M1 Chip, 13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) – Silver for $1199 on Amazon ($100 off)
    • New Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, Apple M1 Pro chip with 8‑core CPU and 14‑core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) – Silver for $1949.99 on Amazon ($50 off)
    • 2020 Apple Mac Mini with Apple M1 Chip (8GB RAM, 512GB SSD Storage) for $779 on Amazon ($120 off)
    • 2021 Apple iMac (24-inch, Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU and 7‑core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB) – Pink for $1249 on Amazon ($50 off)
    • 2020 Apple iMac with Retina 5K Display (27-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) for $1699 on Amazon ($100 off)

    Or get a $100 gift card when you buy an eligible Mac notebook or Mac mini or $200 gift card with a 27‑inch iMac when you buy from Apple.

    This post contains affiliate links and we may earn a commission from some purchases.

  • This is why you can’t run Windows on Apple’s M1 chips

    This is why you can’t run Windows on Apple’s M1 chips

    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)
    • This could explain why Windows (via Boot Camp) has been unavailable on Apple Silicon Macs thus far

    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.

  • Apple announces Black Friday deals for 2021

    Apple announces Black Friday deals for 2021

    The news: Apple’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals for 2021 are official, with buyers of select products getting Apple Store gift cards valued between $50 and $200.

    Here’s the breakdown…

    • $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.

  • Apple releases iOS 15.1.1 update for iPhone 12 & iPhone 13 only

    Apple releases iOS 15.1.1 update for iPhone 12 & iPhone 13 only

    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.

  • New ‘iMac Pro’ concept shows gorgeous Space Gray returning alongside new ports

    New ‘iMac Pro’ concept shows gorgeous Space Gray returning alongside new ports

    The concept: A new concept for the redesigned 27-inch iMac has just been shared by artist Ian Zelbo (@RendersByIan).

    • Space Gray and Silver color options are shown in a redesigned body similar to that of the 24-inch iMac with the M1 processor inside
    • New I/O, including a SD card slot and HDMI port are shown alongside multiple USB-C ports as rumors have suggested

    Our take: This is almost the exact design I am expecting to see from Apple when the new 27-inch iMac drops in 2022. And I can’t wait.

  • Apple’s VR headset said to cost around $2,000

    Apple’s VR headset said to cost around $2,000

    The rumor: Apple’s first serious step into virtual reality will have a hefty cost of entry, according to Mark Gurman (87% accurate, via Power On).

    • In his weekly newsletter, Gurman described the competition between Apple and Meta (Facebook) and their attempts to dominate the virtual world…
    • “Apple’s offering will probably be in the $2,000 range, whereas I expect Meta’s to be quite a bit cheaper” Gurman says

    Our take: This number is actually a bit cheaper than The Information’s previous prediction of a $3,000 starting price for Apple’s VR headset that is set to launch sometime in 2022. Still prohibitively expensive for most people, but I can’t wait to see Apple’s take on the product category.

  • ‘World’s first USB-C iPhone’ sells for more than $85k

    ‘World’s first USB-C iPhone’ sells for more than $85k

    The news: A custom iPhone with USB-C (instead of Lightning) has been purchased after days of intense bidding on eBay.

    • 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.

  • Leaderboard update: Apple October 2021 ‘Unleashed’ event

    Leaderboard update: Apple October 2021 ‘Unleashed’ event

    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)
    • 🛠 Dylandkt: 75 ⮕ 77.5% accurate for 40 rumors
    • 📉 Trendforce: 75.9 ⮕ 77.4% accurate for 31 rumors
    • 👨‍💻 Ming-Chi Kuo: 74.6 ⮕ 75.9% accurate for 195 rumors
    • 🍍 Max Weinbach: 66.7% accurate for 126 rumors (same score)
    • 🔢 DigiTimes: 57.9 ⮕ 58.3% accurate for 115 rumors

    Sources that got less accurate

    • 🏀 Mark Gurman: 87.3 ⮕ 87% accurate for 508 rumors
    • 🎧 52audio: 100 ⮕ 83.3% accurate for 12 rumors
    • 🍏 AppleTrack: 100 ⮕ 85.7% accurate for 6 rumors
    • 🧻 Jon Prosser: 74.6 ⮕ 73.9% accurate for 207 rumors
    • 📱 Jeff Pu: 53.8 ⮕ 53.3% accurate for 15 rumors

    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.

  • YouTube will stop showing dislikes on videos

    YouTube will stop showing dislikes on videos

    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.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxOuG8jMIgI
  • Apple releases new Business Essentials beta with ‘device management, 24/7 support, and cloud storage’

    Apple releases new Business Essentials beta with ‘device management, 24/7 support, and cloud storage’

    The news: On Wednesday morning Apple debuted a new suite of tools geared toward small business owners with up to 500 employees.

    • Apple Business Essentials aims to simplify businesses IT needs by offering easy-to-use tools necessary to setup and manage devices, while offering storage, 24/7 support, and security alongside on-site repairs when necessary
    • The service is available for free in beta right now and will officially launch in Spring 2022…and it starts at $2.99/user/month

    Our take: I think it’s brilliant to let business owners go hands-on with this for free ahead of launch, and I really wish Apple took this beta approach for other products too. It’s always fascinating to get a look inside what the company has been working on, and these business essentials tools look to be a really solid option for small business owners who need to manage up to 500 employees and their devices.

    https://youtu.be/OushE7mq0Ak
  • What’s new in iOS 15.2 beta 2? Legacy contacts, updated TV app & more

    What’s new in iOS 15.2 beta 2? Legacy contacts, updated TV app & more

    The news: Apple released the second beta of iOS 15.2 to developers on Tuesday morning. Included in this update are a slew of changes…including some features that Apple had announced historically but not yet implemented. Here’s the latest.

    What’s new?

    • New Macro icon in Camera when macro mode is activated (via Zollotech)
    • Communication Safety will automatically blur nudity received or sent in the Messages app if you are a child for accounts set up as families in iCloud
    • iCloud+ subscribers can now use the Hide My Email feature directly in the Mail app
    • Code found in iOS 15.2 beta 2 suggests that a fix for Face ID breaking after swapping displays (even genuine ones) on iPhone 13 models will be included in the update (via MacRumors)
    • The TV app gets new sidebar on iPadOS 15.2 and there’s a new Store tab, too
    • New “Help Return Lost Items” and “Items That Can Track Me” buttons in Find My to scan lost items near you or locate AirTags that could be following you around respectively
    • Legacy Contacts feature announced at WWDC 2021 is here and allows you to add a trusted person that can access your data when you pass away