Leander Kahney

Apple Black Friday deals: AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad and more [Held over!]

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Illustrative graphic with the text 'Best Apple Black Friday deals'
There are some great deals to be had on Apple gear and accessories during the 2023 Black Friday sales.
Photo: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

Update: Black Friday might be over but the deals certainly are not. Many of the best deals on Apple products are still live and you can score some hefty discounts on them this shopping season. In fact, some of these deals disappeared for a while on Black Friday — like the iPad (9th gen) for just $229 (save $100) — then reappeared at some point!

For starters, don’t miss this killer deal on AirPods Pro 2 (with USB-C) for just $189 (save $60) — this is the best price we’ve seen on the best AirPods you can get. Plus, Apple Watch SE (2nd gen., 2022) is down to just $179 (save $70) — the SE is a great gift for someone this Xmas. Or, if you are shopping for yourself, the latest Apple Watch Series 9 is just $329 (save $70).

There are lots of great Apple deals to be had on Black Friday 2023 — just not from Apple itself. Apple is usually pretty stingy when it comes to Black Friday (Tim Cook loves his margins!). This year, you can get an Apple gift card worth up to $200 when you splash out on select products, but the latest and greatest — iPhone 15, M3 MacBook Pros, iMac, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 — are not included.

However, there are great savings on Apple products from third-party retailers like Best Buy, B&H Photo, Target and Walmart. All these stores offer significant discounts on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPads, iPhones and more. Here are the best deals on Apple gear we’ve found.

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

Tame cord spaghetti with Function101’s Cable Blocks [Review]

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Function 101 Cable Blocks cord management
Function 101's rubbery magnetic Cable Blocks are my favorite cord management system.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Almost every day, our robot vacuum tangles itself in charging cables, which the kids toss cavalierly across the floor. Snaking from behind the couch, the cords wait like baited fishing lines to ensnare our unsuspecting Roomba. It’s an unmitigated cable management disaster.

Luckily, we just got some Cable Blocks from Function101. Cable Blocks are rubbery little magnetic blocks that sit on your desk or nightstand and hold cables out of the way. It’s a simple and clever design.

Here’s why Cable Blocks are my favorite cable management system.

Play ’80s synths, surf with a solid VPN, test hard drive for video and find great Italian food [Awesome Apps]

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iPhone ad in the style of vintage Works Progress Administration artwork
This week's awesome apps include a retro synthesizer, a solid VPN, a quick test for hard drives and a guide to Italian eateries.
Image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

Awesome AppsIn this week’s Awesome Apps roundup, we have a synthesizer app that brings back the sound of the ’80s, a solid VPN for safely surfing the Web, an app for testing external drives for recording high-res video, and a guide to the best eateries in Italy.

Add a calculator widget to your Home Screen [Awesome Apps]

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Calcullo is a simple calculator widget for your Home Screen.
Calcullo is a simple calculator widget for your Home Screen.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Awesome AppsNew in iOS 17 are interactive widgets on the Home Screen — that is, widgets that can do things, not just passively show information — and a handy one is Calcullo.

Calcullo is a $1.99 calculator widget for your Home Screen that makes it easy to tap out quick calculations on the fly.

Get in the habit of reading, track flights, and use iPad as a monitor [Awesome Apps]

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iPad screen showing three apps: Flighty, Reading Time and Orion.
This week’s Awesome Apps: Reading Time, Orion and Flighty.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Awesome AppsIn this week’s Awesome Apps roundup, we have a book-reading app that will help you make reading a habit; a free app that turns an iPad into an external monitor for game consoles or cameras; and a great travel app that puts critical flight information on your Apple Watch.

3 reasons you should buy an Apple Watch Ultra

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The Apple Watch Ultra has one standout feature that alone is worth the price of admission.
The Apple Watch Ultra has one standout feature that alone is worth the price of admission.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Although I go for almost daily bike rides for exercise, I used to always forget to record the rides on my Apple Watch. I’d always record the rides on my bike computer. But when it came to the watch, I’d never remember until halfway through the workout, if at all.

That’s until I got the Apple Watch Ultra, which boasts a bright orange Action button that I set to start an Outdoor Cycle workout.

Now, I remember every time, and it’s because of the button. It’s the strangest thing, and I have no explanation. But the act of hitting a physical button makes me remember.

The versatile Action button — which you can set to turn on the watch’s flashlight, start the stopwatch or run a shortcut, among other things — is reason enough to get the Apple Watch Ultra, which I’ve been wearing since its launch last year. But there’s another great reason. Actually, two.

Hit the slopes, amuse your dog, and run a freelance biz [Awesome Apps]

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Jolly Pet dog game running on an iPad with dog looking on.
Jolly Pet is popular iPad game for canines -- and some humans too.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Awesome AppsThis week’s Awesome Apps include a comprehensive skiing and snowboarding app with a ton of features, an app for running every aspect of a freelance business, a social network for photographers that isn’t Instagram, and a simple iPad game for dogs that also helps some humans with their anxiety.

The ultimate in pet entertainment: Jolly Dog [Awesome Apps]

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Jolly Pet dog game running on an iPad with dog looking on.
Jolly Pet is popular iPad game for canines -- and some humans too.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Awesome AppsJolly Dog, an iPad game for dogs, is rapidly climbing the App Store charts, thanks to viral gameplay clips on social media.

Originally released in 2016, the app currently ranks No. 27 on the top free iPad apps in the United States, according to App Figures, a market research firm that provides app analytics.

I couldn’t get our dog interested in it, but plenty of pet owners say it provides lots of gameplay fun — and not just for their furry friends. Some humans enjoy playing it, too.