9to5Toys Lunch Break: 15″ MacBook Pro $1,600, 50-mile HDTV Antenna $17, Automatic iOS Driving Asst. $70, more

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TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

15-inch-macbook-pro-with-force-touch-trackpad

Upgrade to Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB for $1,600 shipped (Reg. $1,999)

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Amazon’s best-selling high-power, super-thin 50-mile amplified HDTV Antenna is somehow just $17 shipped

Indoor HDTV 25-mile Antenna w/17-ft cable: $8 Prime shipped (24″ Vizio HDTV for $90)

automatic-ios-diagnostic

Hook Dad up with Automatic’s smartphone-connected car diagnostic system: $70 shipped (Reg. $100)

apple-watch-best-buy-deals

Best Buy is taking up to $200 off Apple Watch Stainless Steel: 38mm from $349, 42mm starts at $399

ipad-mini-4

Start your week with a $100 discount on iPad mini 4 & Air 2, priced from $300 shipped

Apple’s 12.9″ 128GB iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular is all the way down to $800 (Reg. $1,079)

Save $200 on Apple’s 27-inch iMac w/ 5K Retina Display 3.2GHz/8GB/1TB: $1,599 (Reg. $1,799), more

itunes-gift-card-21Get a $100 iTunes Gift Card with email delivery from PayPal for just $85 (15% off)

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Rovio’s Bad Piggies for iPhone/iPad goes free for the first time in years (Reg. $1)

App Store Free App of the Week: Sago Mini Road Trip goes free for the first time in over a year ($3 value)

9to5toys-fathers-day-gift-guide

Here are our favorite Father’s Day gifts for the outdoorsman, chef and car aficionado in your life

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

idevices-switch-wi-fi-and-homekit-with-siri-enabled-plug-sale-01

Use Siri voice commands to control any of your electronics w/ the iDevices smart switch: $35 Prime shipped (Orig. $50)

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

ue-boom-2-black

Two UE BOOM 2 Bluetooth speakers: $300 shipped ($150/ea, save $100)

otterbox-iphone-plus-protector-01

Cover your iPhone 6/s Plus with OtterBox’s Alpha screen protector for $11.50 (Orig. $40)

pelican-ba22-review-01

Review: Pelican’s impressive Elite Luggage is built like a tank, but is it worth the price tag?

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

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The Super 73 Electric Bike has an old-school design and hits speeds up to 30mph

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Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 15-inch MacBook Pro, 50-mile amplified HDTV Antenna, 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Automatic, Best Buy, car diagnostic system, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, smartphone-connected, video games

Apple Pay rumored to launch in Switzerland on WWDC keynote day after promise to rapidly expand

Apple Pay may be about to launch in its seventh region as soon as next week, according to Swiss finance website Finews.ch. The report believes Apple will bring its mobile payment service to customers in Switzerland on Monday, June 13th, which happens to be the date of Apple’s next keynote event at the start of WWDC. Apple Pay potentially reaching Switzerland follows a recent promise from the company to rapidly expand into more markets across Europe and Asia as well as reports of slow adoption outside of the US.

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Filed under: Apple Pay Tagged: Apple pay

Microsoft offers new Planner app to ‘eligible’ Office 365 subscribers [Video]

Microsoft has announced a new project management app for premium, business and educational subscribers to Office 365, simply known as Microsoft Planner. The company says that access to the new app will roll out over the ‘next several weeks.’

The addition of Planner to the Office 365 lineup introduces a new and improved way for businesses, schools and organizations to structure teamwork easily and get more done. With Planner, teams can create new plans; organize, assign and collaborate on tasks; set due dates; update statuses and share files, while visual dashboards and email notifications keep everyone informed on progress.

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Filed under: Apps Tagged: Microsoft

Review: BookBook for iPad Pro integrates kickstand and Apple Pencil holder into a stylish leather protective case

In my continuing quest to find a great iPad Pro case, I’ve been testing out the new BookBook case for iPad Pro 12.9-inch ($99) … and I really like it. Don’t judge a book by its cover; the cute design hides a lot of utility. There’s a display mode for watching movies, an integrated kickstand perfect for typing and sketching as well as a fantastic Apple Pencil holder hidden in the ‘spine’.

As the whole thing zips up, it’s one of few cases that completely protects the iPad whilst in transit. Read on for my full review of the BookBook for iPad Pro after the jump …

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Filed under: Apple Pencil, iOS, iOS Devices, Reviews Tagged: Apple Pencil, big case, BookBook, case, cookbook, iPad, ipad case, iPad Pro

Opinion: More thoughts on how the new MacBook Pro’s rumored touch-panel could work

In an opinion piece a couple of weeks ago, I described the way I hope the rumored touch-panel will be used: dynamic content available to app developers to create one-touch shortcuts. Effectively you’d get similar benefits to a physical keyboard skin but for every app. Check out that piece first if you haven’t already read it so I don’t need to repeat the same points here.

Of course, there are potential downsides to that too. At present, I’m used to being able to adjust the volume or play/pause music, for example, just by pressing a key. My fingers know where those keys are, so it’s very easy to do. If the standard functions were overwritten by apps, it would become a fiddlier process to do things we currently take for granted.

So here are a few thoughts about how Apple might give us the best of both worlds – and the somewhat provocative view that the touch-panel might still be a good thing even if it turns out to be nothing more than a gimmick …

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Filed under: Opinion Tagged: 2016 MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro, OLED, Opinion

Apple partners with designer Alexander Wang for fashion channel on Apple Music

Apple has long talked about blurring the line between technology and fashion, especially with the launch of the Apple Watch, and today it partnered with fashion guru Alexander Wang to launch a fashion channel on Apple Music. As reported by Vogue, Wang has partnered with Apple to launch a series of three playlists: Chill, Hype, and Vibe.

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Filed under: Apple Music Tagged: Alexander Wang, Apple Music, Fashion

Some users reporting issues signing in with Apple ID on iOS, accessing iTunes & App Store

Following a prolonged outage last week that affected iTunes, iCloud, and various other services, users are again reporting issues with Apple’s cloud services. According to a variety of reports on Twitter, some users are unable to sign in to the App Store and iTunes Store on their iOS device, while others are unable to access either store at all. Apple yes to acknowledge these issues on its System Status page, but its support account on Twitter has replied to some users.

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Filed under: iOS