9to5Toys Lunch Break: iPad Air 2 from $275, up to $200 off 12-inch MacBook, Amazon Echo Sale, more
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TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
Cross that iPad off your holiday shopping list: iPad Air 2 from $275 (Reg. $399), 9.7-inch iPad Pro from $450 (Reg. $599)
Apple’s 12-inch MacBook is up to $200 off right now at B&H (Tax NY only) and Amazon, prices start at $1,199 shipped
Amazon drops its entire Echo lineup back down to Black Friday pricing: Dot $40, Tap $90, Echo $140
DuckTales Remastered for iOS now matching its all-time low at $1 (Reg. up to $10)
- App Store Free App of the Week: Linia minimal puzzler goes free for the first time (Reg. $4)
- Apple Mac App of the Year Affinity Photo is now matching its lowest price: $40 (Reg. $50)
- The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2 for iOS get rare price drops: $1 ea. (Reg. $7)
9to5Toys Gift Guide: ideas for the Techie Traveler – best messenger bags, Bluetooth gear, accessories and more
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
SanDisk’s iXpand Lightning Flash Drive: $50 shipped (Reg. $60)
Get this stylish Asus ZenWatch 2 iOS and Android compatible Smartwatch for $95 shipped (Reg. $129)
- VIZIO 70-inch 4K UHDTV w/ Chromecast down to $875 shipped, more
- Brother’s Wireless AirPrint Monochrome Laser Printer: $100 (Reg. $130+)
- Tile Slim Tracker hits its Amazon all-time low from $25: 4-pack $70, more
- Install the Amazon Assistant browser extension and you’ll save $5 on your next $25+ order
- Logitech’s powerful Harmony Advanced touchscreen remote: $200 (Reg. $250)
- TiVo’s 4K BOLT DVR gets a holiday discount down to all-time low prices: 500GB $132, more
- Google’s Ebay store offers new Chromecast and Chromecast audio for $25 shipped
- CyberPower 12-outlet 900W Back-UPS for $95 (Reg. $140)
- Get Free Nationwide Calling with Ooma Telo plus a Wireless and Bluetooth Adapter for $80
- Games/Apps: Deus Ex Mankind Divided $20, Watch Dogs 2 $40, iOS freebies, more
- Get a free $60 gift card when you buy GoPro’s HERO5 Black action camera for $399
- Daily Deals: WD 3TB My Passport Hard Drive $76 w/ Visa Checkout, more
- Smartphone Accessories: Mpow CD Slot Car Mount Universal Phone Holder $8, more
- NETGEAR’s Nighthawk X4S 802.11ac Wi-Fi router has it all for $180
- Green Monday Fashion Deals – save up to 50% + free shipping
- Hey Beatles fans! That epic Yellow Submarine LEGO kit is already on sale: $50
- The highly-rated 6-Quart Instant Pot V3 Electric Pressure Cooker is down to $70
MORE DEALS STILL LIVE:
Don’t trust the i/Cloud yet? Have 3TB of Toshiba USB3 portable storage for $95 shipped
These QNAP NAS systems with AirPlay just dropped below Black Friday pricing: 2-Bay $139, 4-Bay $224
DODOcase has handmade accessories for iPhone 7/Plus and MacBook this holiday season, exclusive 20% discount
Get 20% off Pad & Quill’s hand-crafted iPad covers and cases just in time for the holidays
Filed under: Apple
Comment: AirPods delay highlights risk of Apple pre-announcing products, and it’s hardly the first time
It’s clear at this point that something totally unexpected has botched the launch of AirPods, Apple’s first truly wireless earphones. Apple pre-announced AirPods in September alongside the iPhone 7 (the first model without a headphone jack) and promised a launch in late October.
Then the end of October rolled around and Apple declared “we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers” which to me suggested a mid to late November release. Now it seems totally possible that AirPods could be held back until January or later.
Even if AirPods were released right now, the delayed launch has already highlighted the risk of Apple pre-announcing new products. There are benefits to this move that play well when it works out, but for Apple, the risk is high and can often backfire as we’ve seen before…
Filed under: Apple
Microsoft: Mac users switching to Surface more than ever before after new MacBook Pro ‘disappointment’
The new MacBook Pro has caused countless controversy over the last few weeks, from its lack of legacy I/O ports to graphics issues and battery life concerns, and Microsoft says this is leading to more Mac users than ever switching to Surface PCs and laptops.
In a yearly review on the Windows blog, the company said that more people are switching from Mac to Surface than ever before with Mac customers disappointed by Apple’s new MacBook Pro and enticed by Surface innovations.
Filed under: Apple
Bose quietly launches Hearphones: wireless earphones that help you hear in noisy environments
If you’re not quite at the stage of needing a hearing aid but sometimes find it difficult to follow conversations in noisy environments like bars, Bose seems to be soft-launching an iPhone-controlled device to help.
Hearphones look like a special version of the company’s QC30 wireless earphones equipped with directional microphones that allow you to listen selectively by focusing in on conversations and tuning out background noise …
Filed under: Apple
Report says ‘strong likelihood’ that Tim Cook will appear before EU hearing on Irish tax ruling
An Irish finance committee member has said that there is ‘a strong likelihood’ that Apple CEO Tim Cook will appear before a European Union hearing to discuss the ruling that the company must pay $13B ($15B) in additional taxes in the country – just as he did with a U.S. Senate hearing into the company’s tax affairs.
The Irish Times reports that an EU meeting has been scheduled in January to examine the background to the ruling and to discuss its implications, and that Cook is likely to accept an invitation to attend …
Filed under: Apple
Comment: Why does a company with Apple’s environmental credentials sell AppleCare as 92 pages of paper?
I noted a few weeks ago that, given the ultra-low repairability of the new MacBook Pro, I was buying AppleCare for the first time. Pretty much anything going wrong with the machine – RAM, SSD, Touch Bar, even the power switch – is likely to require a whole new motherboard. And given that the screen is bonded into the lid of the case, we can also forget about repairing that.
So I bit the bullet and handed over the cash for an AppleCare policy. What we need when buying AppleCare is the 15-character registration code. What we actually get is a cardboard box containing not just one but two separate booklets totalling 92 pages …
Filed under: Apple
After AirPods, B&H email suggests BeatsX wireless earphones also significantly delayed
Apple and its Beats subsidiary don’t seem to be having much luck with wireless in-ear headphone production. Following the continuing delay in bringing AirPods to market, an email from Apple authorized reseller B&H suggests that the BeatsX earphones will also be significantly delayed.
Filed under: Apple
‘Dongle Dangler’ Kickstarter project aims to help you keep track of your 3.5mm headphone adapter
Apple made the courageous decision to remove the headphone jack with the release of the iPhone 7, but in an effort to ease the transition, the company included a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter with every purchase. One issue people have suffered from, however, is keeping track of that adapter. A new Kickstarter project aims to solve that problem…
Filed under: Apple
Apple shares four holiday-themed ads for Apple Watch Series 2 on YouTube
Over the weekend, Apple shared four new ads holiday-themed ads for the Apple Watch. The ads originally debuted last month, but only hit Apple’s YouTube channel this weekend. The ads are shorter in style, coming in at between 10 to 15 seconds in length.
Filed under: Apple
Apple reiterates plans for Swift 3.1 release in Spring 2017, offers new details on changes
As it originally announced back in July, Apple has confirmed that it plans to release Swift 3.1 sometime during the Spring of 2017. Following the Swift 3.1 release, focus will shift to Swift 4.
Swift 3.1 is intended to be source compatible with Swift 3.0. It will contain a few additive enhancements to the core language as well as improvements to the Swift Package Manager, Swift on Linux, and general quality improvements to the compiler and Standard Library.
Swift 3.1 is intended to be released in the spring of 2017.
Filed under: Apple