Verizon today has announced the return of its popular promo that offers users an extra 24GB of data per year for free. The deal is available to users who activate or upgrade to a new phone with a device payment plan on XL or larger Verizon agreements. Verizon’s XL plan starts at $80 per month with 12GB of data (14GB if you include the promo), while the XXL plan runs $100 per month for 18GB of data (20GB with the promo).

Every line on the account is eligible for the deal, which means that if you have four lines on your account, you’ll be getting an extra 96GB of data per year. Verizon touts that the promo runs “for life,” so there’s no need to worry about the carrier abruptly ending the deal and having to worry about managing with less data every month.

The added data is applied on a per-month basis, so you’ll get 2GB of extra usage per line every month. The data simply goes into the pool of data that you already get for your account, meaning that all devices can use the added data.

Whether you’re an existing customer or switching over from another provider with a poor network, you’ll receive 24 GB of bonus data every year when you upgrade or activate a new phone with device payment on XL or larger Verizon Plans. Available for a limited time, the 24 GB of bonus data is added as 2 GB of monthly bonus data and is shareable.

Furthermore, AT&T announced this week that it is offering up to $650 in credits per line to help you switch from a competing carrier. The company details the process in its blog post, noting that you have to switch your line to AT&T, trade-in your current smartphone, and purchase a new one on AT&T Next. Verizon announced a similar deal back in December.

AT&T also continues to push that it is offering a buy-one-get-one-free promo for iPhone purchases. For a limited time, customers who purchase one iPhone can get another one free when adding a second line. The company originally revealed this deal in December, but only now has it started advertising that the iPhone is eligible.

Filed under: iOS Devices, Tips and Tricks Tagged: AT&T, deal, promo, Verizon

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TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

Bestek Apple-certified MFi 3,100mAh 4.7 Inch iPhone 6/6s Battery Case w/2 Color Frames: $15 Prime Shipped

Nomad Apple Watch accessories: aluminum stand from $36 (Reg. $50), Pod Pro 6000mAh battery $60 (Reg. $80), more

Leo’s Fortune on iOS is now available for just $1 (Reg. $5)

Apple Deals:

The latest iPad Pro deal nets you a 128GB Wi-Fi model for the price of a 32GB: $799 shipped (Reg. $949)

Apple iPad Air Wi-Fi 16GB $299 or 64GB $349 shipped (Reg. $399/$449)

Apple iPhone 6s/Plus (Verizon + Sprint) on-contract pricing gets slashed by $200, 64GB now just $100

Many Apple Watch models now $100 off: 38mm Sport $249 w/ free shipping (Reg. $349), more

App Store Free App of the Week: The Mesh puzzler goes free for the first time (Reg. $2)

Download Lara Croft Go, Apple’s Game of the Year 2015, for just $2 (Reg. $5)

Heroes Reborn: Enigma for iOS goes free for the first time as IGN’s Game of the Month (Reg. $5)

Final Fantasy IX is now available for download on iOS/Android

The Martian official iOS/Apple Watch game goes free (up to $3 value)

Apple offering popular iOS video editing app ‘Videoshop’ for free ($2 value)

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

USB Power: KMASHI 20,000mAh Quick Charge 2.0 Battery $25 (Reg. $40), 10-ft. Braided MFi Lightning Cable $11, more

• Daily Deals: D-Link AV2000 Gigabit Powerline Starter Kit $60, more
• Aukey 2-in-1 Mini Clip-on SmartPhone Camera Lens Kit $9 Prime shipped (Reg. $15)
• Warhammer 40,000 Deathwatch Tyranid Invasion for iOS goes free for the first time (Reg. $2)
• Games/Apps: Street Fighter V (Prime only) $48, God of War 3 Remaster $20, iOS freebies, more
• Media: Straight Outta Compton HD download $10, Weeds Complete Collection $45, much more
• The popular ad-free version of the Trivia Crack app for Android drops to just $0.10 (Reg. $3)

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Wrap your iPhone 6/s in this minimal leather wallet case for $15 Prime shipped (Reg. $25), more

Apple iPad Air 2 Smart Cover in 5 colors $15 shipped (Reg. $35), Smart Case $20 shipped (Reg. $70)

iPhone 6/s/Plus Cases from $3 Prime shipped: Dual-Layer w/ Screen Protector $8, more

Beats by Dr. Dre Solo 2 On-Ear Headphones now half off: $100 w/ free shipping (Reg. $200)

Beats by Dr. Dre Solo2 Wireless Headphones Active Collection: $230 (Reg. $300)

Beats Studio 2.0 Over-Ear headphones (multiple colors) $150 (Orig. $300)

• AirPrint 3-in-1 Wireless Color Printers: Epson InkJet $150 (Reg. $200), more
• Prime: 3 months/books of Audible for free ($45 value, new Audible members only)
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50x + FiiO A3 Portable Amp $180 shipped (up to $229 value)
• Enjoy the best of Google Cardboard Virtual Reality Headset: $25 (Orig. $30, CA Tax only)
• Pad & Quill’s leather Lowry Cuff Apple Watch band offers Hermès style for $104 (Reg. $130)
• SanDisk 64GB Wi-Fi Flash Drive for iOS/Android: $35 Prime shipped (Orig. $60), more
• Mackie CR4 speakers (pair) + AT ATH-M40x headphones $170 ($240+ value)
• Google Play Music 1-month subscription w/ YouTube Red access: $5 (Reg. $10)
• Amazon offers rare 25% discount on Kindle Unlimited : 6-months $45 (Reg. $60), more
• Sharp 50-inch 1080p 3x HDMI Smart LED HDTV w/ built-in Roku: $380 (Reg. $500)
• Everything you need to know to get the most out of Amazon’s Prime Pantry service
• RAVPower USB-C/A Charger $38 (Reg. $56), uNu w/ Lightning Cable $12 (Reg. $20)
• QNAP 4-Bay NAS w/ AirPlay: $354 shipped (Orig. $480)
• Microsoft’s new Quantum Break Cirrus White Xbox One Bundle, pre-order now
• Luminid Touch light-up charging cable: $10 (Orig. $20, CA Tax only)
• Get your engines ready: Rocket League is coming to Xbox One next week
• Watch ‘Southpaw’ starring Jake Gyllenhaal & Forest Whitaker for just $0.99 (Reg. $5)
• SizeUp for Mac offers instant window control via keyboard shortcuts: $5 (Orig. $13)
• Sam’s Club Membership + $20 gift card + $21 food credits for $45 ($180 value)

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

The new Assault on Hoth LEGO Star Wars kit recreates every detail with flawless execution

The latest Monopoly goes digital with an ATM to manage properties & bank accounts

• Square Enix announces Hitman Go: Definitive Edition for PS4, Vita and PC
• Immersit wants to turn your family room into an IMAX theatre
• Review: Anker’s PowerCore+ gear is some of the best money can buy
• PowerEgg Drone has a unique design w/ a 4K camera
• OMBEE’s modular standing desk turns any table into a upright workstation
• The new Andy Warhol Where’s Waldo book is perfect for any Pop Art connoisseur
• 3Doodler Start reimagines the popular Kickstarter project with a focus on children
• BearTek’s new Smart Gloves offer iPhone/Android controls + GoPro support
• Review: Incase and surfer Kelly Slater team up for the ultimate GoPro-focused backpack
• Review: $13 GRDE Explorer Rugged 10,000mAh Solar dual USB Battery w/ 2 USB lamps
• LEGO strikes gold again w/ its latest Ghostbusters set based on the upcoming film

Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Apple watch, Best Buy, Bestek, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, iPhone battery case, Nomad, video games

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Elgato already makes several smart sensors for the home, and today it’s adding the Eve Energy accessory for U.S. customers to its lineup. Eve Energy works similarly to other smart plugs: connect it to the wall socket, then power appliances on and off using your smartphone. Eve Energy also doubles as a power meter, however, and there’s HomeKit support as well …

That means you can use Siri on the iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch to power connected appliances on or off when using Eve Energy. And HomeKit lets you automate actions too using triggers like location and time. Or you can automate actions based on data gathered by other Elgato Eve accessories or HomeKit gear from any brand.

Even without HomeKit, Eve Energy is setup and can be controlled from the Elgato Eve app for iPhone and iPad. I’ve used this app to test other Elgato accessories; it has a nice look and feel plus you can see HomeKit accessories from other brands in it as well.

If you’re looking to gain new insights on exactly how much energy a certain appliance is using, Eve Energy adds a power meter function to the connected switch setup too. This means you can actually see, not just guess, how much power what you have connected to Eve Energy is using. If you automate power on and off based on when you actually need to use the connected appliance, you can hopefully see a real energy savings over time.

The Elgato Eve app lets you visualize energy consumption by day, week, or month. Siri and HomeKit make automating and controlling connected accessories and even creating scenes and triggers possible.

Aside from including a power meter, Eve Energy also varies from other HomeKit switches by using Bluetooth, not Wi-Fi, to connect to your iPhone or iPad. This is a first for HomeKit-enabled plugs.

Wi-Fi networks tend to have greater range than Bluetooth, which caps between 30-60 feet, but the pitch here is that using low-energy Bluetooth frees up network bandwidth as we add more and more Wi-Fi devices to our networks.

For testing, I have Elgato’s Eve Weather and Eve Room HomeKit sensors, which also rely on Bluetooth, and don’t experience any range issues when on Wi-Fi, which may be thanks to the presence of an Apple TV in the mix. Elgato’s Eve Energy likely works similarly which alleviates any concern over range.

You can find Elgato’s Eve Energy accessory for $49.95 and other HomeKit sensors on Amazon and Elgato.com.

Filed under: HomeKit Tagged: Elgato, Eve Energy, homekit, sensor

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After earlier reports claiming that Apple was planning to open a new office of sorts in Hyderabad, India, today the company has confirmed to local publications that it will indeed expand in the area with a new development office planned for later this year. Apple’s statement via a report from The Economic Times is below:

“We’ve been investing to expand our operations in India and are thrilled to have passionate customers and a vibrant developer community across the country,” a spokesperson said.

The project itself will see Apple invest around $25 million and, according to the report from The Economic Times, employ around 4,500 people during construction. The new office will ultimately be home to approximately 150 employees, according to Apple’s statement, most of which will be working on the company’s Maps team.

“We are looking forward to opening a new development office in Hyderabad that will be home to over 150 Apple employees supporting maps development.”

Apple added that the new building will include “space for many contractors who will support our ambitious efforts locally.” The location is said to take up around 250,000 square feet at the Tishman Speyer’s WaveRock properties (pictured above).

Apple is set to start work on the new offices later this year, around the same time it will begin preparations for moving employees into its new Campus 2 headquarters in Cupertino.

In recent months the company has expanded with new facilities in many parts of the world including a number of smaller satellite offices in Sweden, Seattle, and Cambridge, England, to name a few. 

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, campus 2, hyderabad, India, iOS, iPad, iPhone, local, maps, Office, satellite, tishman speyer, waverock

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An SEC filing reported by ZeroHedge reveals that Apple has announced plans for a series of new bond issues to raise money for further stock buybacks and dividend payments in what could be a 10-part deal.

General corporate purposes, including repurchases of Apple’s common stock and payment of dividends under the company’s program to return capital to shareholders, funding for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and repayment of debt.

MarketWatch adds that the notes will offer floating-rates maturing in 2018 and 2019, and fixed-rates maturing at a range of dates from 2018 all the way through to 2046. Apple has not yet revealed either the rates to be offered or the total sum it plans to raise, but previous issuances suggest we can expect the amount Apple is borrowing to be substantial …

Earlier U.S. bond sales raised $17B in 2013, $12B in 2014 and $8B last year. Apple advised during last month’s earnings report that it had so far executed $153B of its planned $200B stock buyback program.

For those confused about why Apple needs to borrow money when it has $200B in the bank, it’s because most of that money is held overseas, and the company would have to pay hefty taxes in order to repatriate it. It’s far cheaper for it to borrow the money, especially given that its Aa1/AA+ credit rating means that it can afford to offer very low returns.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: AAPL, AAPL bonds, Apple Inc, Bond issue, Bonds, Dividends, Share buyback, stock buyback

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A report from Korea’s ETnews claims that Apple will be applying Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) shielding to a number of individual chips in the iPhone 7, to reduce electromagnetic interference. This would be a step up from Apple’s current approach of applying shielding to the circuit board as a whole, though it did apply shielding to the S1 chip used in the Apple Watch.

“As clock signals of digital chips have increased and as diverse functions such as 3D-touch and others have recently added, reduction of electromagnetic waves have emerged as major topic of this industry.” said a representative of this industry.

While unattributed, the report appears to originate from one of the Korean companies said to be in line to carry out the shielding work, StatsChipPac and Amkor. Given that the piece talks-up prospects for companies involved in the business, we’re chalking it up as an unverified claim.

Taiwan’s TSMC is said to be in line to be the sole supplier of A10 chips for the iPhone 7, while a report today claims that Wistron will be added to Apple’s existing assembler roster of Foxconn and Pegatron.

Via Patently Apple

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: A10, EMI, iPhone 7

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While an upcoming software update should soon eliminate the 1970 date bug, that doesn’t help if you currently have a bricked phone. There have been varying reports of fixes that do or don’t work, but experiments by Macnn suggest that two approaches do the trick – both of which are apparently being done by Genius bar staff when people take in their bricked phones.

The ‘simple but not easy’ approach is to remove and replace the battery. This forces a full reset of the phone, but is not for the faint-hearted.

This is either just hard, or very difficult, and may require tools not generally found in the home. Yanking the battery for even a short period of time will force a reset of the phone. Sound scary? It can be, and if you mess something up in the disassembly, or tear a ribbon cable, you’re out of luck.

Obviously don’t do that on any phone still covered by warranty, and then only if you know what you’re doing.

Method 2 is to put the phone into DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) mode. While some people have reported that this doesn’t work, Macnn reckons this is because they didn’t wait long enough.

This is where the recovery time has varied for us. We’ve done the restoration ten times. Three times, iTunes recognized the need for a recovery right away, and times on the other seven varied somewhat up to an hour. So, the moral of the story is, as long as the phone is in DFU mode, be patient. Also, if the recovery doesn’t work, wait an amount of time after your clock was set to Jan 1, 1970, and your deviation from Greenwich Mean Time (also sometimes referred to as Zulu time). Eastern time is currently five hours off of GMT, then try again.

Either way, you’ll need to restore from backup afterwards.

You can take the phone into an Apple Store, but don’t expect much sympathy. A friend reports that when his son did so after one of his mates thought it would be amusing to brick his phone, the Genius was rather unfriendly – probably because he’d been spending most of his time fixing this problem.

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: 1970, 1970 date bug, bricked iPhone, DFU, How to fix 1970 date bug, How to recover from 1970 date bug

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9to5Mac most recently reported Apple is planning to launch its new addition to the iPhone lineup on March 18th, a 4-inch ‘iPhone 5se’. Foxconn is leading production of the phone, as it does with most iPhone units. Digitimes is reporting that Apple is adding a new supplier to the mix to aid supply: Wistron.

Naturally, Wistron declined comment as 4-inch iPhone production is still a supposed secret. According to Digitimes, Apple is aiming to lower supply channel yield risks by contracting with multiple suppliers for iPhone models. This strategy will continue with iPhone 7 ….

Apple is moving to a supply chain setup where two manufacturers will be responsible for a particular phone size. The report indicates that the 4.7 inch iPhone 7 supply will be shared between Pegatron and Foxconn.

This matches the current iPhone 6s supply chain for the 4.7 inch screen size. For iPhone 7 Plus, Digitimes says the 5.5 inch phone will be made by both Wistron and Foxconn. The iPhone 5se assembly contract will help ramp Wistron for the millions of units demanded for the flagship iPhone 7 Plus later in the year.

Having two suppliers for each phone type increases competition for units (no doubt helping Apple’s profit margins) and reduces Apple’s supply-side risk. If one manufacturer encounters problems in production, the other company could step up to the plate. Although not much is known about the iPhone 7 yet, we expect to see it debut in the fall. The iPhone 7 is widely rumored to lose the 3.5mm headphone jack, replaced by Bluetooth wireless tech or Lightning headphones.

As usual, take some liberty with what you take from Digitimes. The accuracy of the publication is often sketchy, although it is generally more reliable on rumors relating directly to supply chain matters — like this story.

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: DigiTimes, Foxconn, iPhone 5se, iPhone 7, suppliers, wistron

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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has confirmed earlier reports that Apple Pay would launch in China this week, social media posts stating that its service will go live on Thursday 18 February. A further 18 lenders are signed up to the service, Reuters reporting that two of them – China Guangfa Bank Co and China Construction Bank Corp – will launch on the same day as ICBC.

Apple has been working on bringing its mobile payment service to China for some time, creating a Shanghai-based company to manage the rollout back in September of last year, with this month long rumored to be the target launch date. China will be the fifth company to go live, after the USA, UK, Canada and Australia.

As Reuters notes, however, Apple may face something of an uphill battle in signing up users in China …

Unlike the U.S., China already has well-established mobile payment services, giving people less reason to adopt Apple’s version.

In China, Apple Pay’s issue will be how to compete with dominant and entrenched players, serving shoppers well used to paying for goods and services with their handsets […]

Dominating those payments are China’s two biggest Internet companies: social networking and gaming firm Tencent Holdings and e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding[…] Tencent operates WeChat Payment, while Ant Financial runs Alipay.

Apple has also been busy with its Chinese retail store roll-out, last month increasing the total number of Apple Stores in the country to 33.

Apple hasn’t forgotten its home market, however, adding 30 more U.S. banks earlier this month. The full list of supported banks can be found here.

Filed under: Apple Pay Tagged: Apple China, Apple pay, china, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, UnionPay

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Free streaming music came under attack at last night’s Grammys, as Apple and Sonos aired a new Apple Music ad during the break.

Recording Academy President Neil Portnow and Common said that free tiers on streaming music services threaten the viability of music as a career, reports The Verge.

“Isn’t a song worth more than a penny?” Portnow asked the audience at the Staples Center, referring to the minuscule profits artists earn from ad-supported streaming. “Listen, we all love the convenience, and we support technologies like streaming, which connect us to that music. But we also have to make sure that artists grow up in a world where music is a viable career” …

Common went on to thank those who support music by taking out paid subscriptions to streaming music services.

Apple originally planned to pay musicians and labels nothing during the three-month free trial of Apple Music offered to new users, but did a u-turn after Taylor Swift publicly criticized the plan.

Apple partnered with Sonos on an Apple Music ad featured during the break with the tagline ‘Music makes it home.’ The ad – which stars Killer Mike, Matt Berninger, and St. Vincent – conveys the message that music makes for a happier home, and features the streaming service being played through Sonos speakers.

Sonos began a beta trial of Apple Music support back in December before the official launch last week.

Filed under: Apple Music Tagged: Apple Music, Grammy Award, Grammys, Sonos

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