Some of the advanced features of Apple AirPods are in Beats Flex, wireless earphones that come in at a much lower price. Apple’s Beats division built in 12-hour battery life, a new acoustic driver and USB-C charging. All for $49.
Beats Flex are scheduled to reach customers’ hands on Wednesday.
iPhone 12 has seen twice as many preorders as last year’s iPhone 11, while iPhone 12 Pro is proving more popular than iPhone 11 Pro, according to new estimates from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple’s newest smartphone lineup — the first with 5G connectivity — is thought to have attracted between 1.7 million and 2 million orders during the first 24 hours of availability.
A concept artist dreamed up an introduction video for Apple AirTags. These item trackers could debut as early as November, and pictures have leaked out already. But this is the first video they’ve starred in.
Watch the concept video now:
Apple Music TV is now available in the United States, streaming live music videos 24 hours a day. The surprise new channel, which is free to all, promises “exclusive new music videos … live shows” and more.
iPhone 12 users will have to cough up more cash should they need to replace the handset’s new Ceramic Shield display. The price of a new screen has risen by $80 compared to that for last year’s iPhone 11.
However, it should be more difficult to break iPhone 12’s screen, thanks to tougher glass. And you do get a lot more for your money.
Apple has begun shipping iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro preorders ahead of Friday’s launch. Many customers — though not all — can now track their shipments through UPS.
That doesn’t mean you can expect to receive your new handset early, however.
New iPhones (both “regular” and mini, as well as Pro and Pro Max). A new, pint-size HomePod mini. And the triumphant return of MagSafe … this week’s “Hi, Speed” event delivered the goods.
Read up on all the new Apple gear, and find out why we’re totally psyched about the iPhone 12 mini (and a bit less so about 5G), in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on your iOS device.
Oh, and don’t worry — we’ve got plenty of post-show analysis (and some even fresher Apple news and rumors, too) …
Incoming! Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds is a documentary movie scheduled to debut on Apple TV+ in November. It’s from acclaimed directors Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer.
The Collage Atlas could be a temporary escape from 2020. It’s “a journey through an entirely hand-drawn picture-book dream-world,” according to the creator of the game, John William Evelyn.
This title launched Friday on Apple Arcade, and is available for a range of devices.
A rumored Apple TV with more of a focus on gaming allegedly won’t be out before the end of 2020. It’ll be a significant upgrade, with new features beyond a performance bump.
But it’s probably not on the list of devices to expect at an anticipated Apple November product launch event.
There are already plenty of iPhone 12 cases to choose from, even though Apple’s newest handset hasn’t yet reached customers hands. When this product arrives on October 23, they can have a case waiting.
Here’re are descriptions of a wide range of options already up for sale, along with lots more coming soon.
The two Product(Red) bands for Apple Watch Series 6 that suffered a late launch became available in the Apple Online Store Friday. The red variants of the Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop bands cost $49 and $99 respectively, and will ship in 1-2 weeks. Both are available in 40mm and 44mm sizes.
Politicians in the UK are opening an investigation into the streaming music giants to find out whether the likes of Apple and Spotify pay artists fairly when it comes to streaming.
Apple lowered the price of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini for T-Mobile/Sprint customers on Friday. These handsets are no longer cheaper for customers of rival telecoms.
The change happened just in time for launch day for part of the iPhone 12 series.
As rumored, Apple’s iPad Air 4 is now available for preorder on the Apple Online Store. The fourth-gen iPad Air was shown off by Apple at last month’s “Time Flies” event, but Apple declined to announce a preorder date — beyond simply “October.”
Because both the iPad Air 4 and new iPhone 12 handsets feature Apple’s A14 chip, Apple reportedly wanted to hold back the iPad Air 4 until the first iPhone 12 handsets were available to preorder.
On your marks, get set, go, go, go! Apple preorders went live Friday at 5am Pacific time, giving customers the chance to order their new iPhone 12 handsets.
For the first time in history, Apple is this year offering four different iPhone models. The 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini are Apple’s two “regular” iPhones, while the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and monster 6.7-inch iPhone Pro Max are its premium handsets.
You can only order the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models today, though. The iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max, this year’s two size extremes, will be available for preorder November 6. Phones available for preorder today will ship October 23.
One of the biggest reasons to upgrade to iPhone 12 this year is for its 5G connectivity. It promises to be significantly faster than the 4G networks we’ve become accustomed to, making things like mobile gaming, content streaming, web browsing — basically everything you do online — better than ever.
You should be excited, but not too excited. 5G can be as spectacular as Apple led us to believe during this week’s iPhone 12 unveiling … but only if you can get good 5G coverage — and the right kind of 5G connection.
Allow us to explain what you need to know about 5G.
Friday means, among other things, new shows on Apple TV+. This week, Apple debuted a new episode of both its hit spy drama Tehran and Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman-fronted travelogue Long Way Up. There’s also a new series of kids show Helpsters.
Here’s what to expect from this week’s new shows.
If rumors are to be believed, Apple is set to host yet another virtual event in November, making three in a row after September’s “Time Flies” iPad and Apple Watch event and October’s “Hi, Time” HomePod mini and iPhone 12 unveiling.
While the November event has yet to be officially announced, notorious Apple leaker Jon Prosser thinks he knows when it will be — and we don’t have long to wait.
Apple execs uttered the term “5G” so many times during Tuesday’s iPhone 12 unveiling that they could have triggered semantic satiation. (That’s when you hear something so many times that it starts to sound … really weird.)
If their repetition of the word didn’t burn 5G into your brain — or turn your gray matter into mush — the 5G supercuts that followed certainly will.
Nike offers a bonus for new users of Apple’s credit card. Sign up for an Apple Card, buy $75 or more from Nike in the first 30 days, and get $75 in Daily Cash.
Plus, Nike offers unlimited 3% back at Nike when Apple Card with Apple Pay is used.
Recurring subscriptions have changed how we pay for digital content. And, while each service might only demand a couple of our hard-earned bucks at a time, the costs can quickly add up.
According to a report citing data from mobile measurement firm Adjust, the average person in the U.S. spends $20.78 a month on app subscriptions. And, given that this just an average, many spend a whole lot more than that.
If Spotify remains your main streaming music listening platform, there’s some good news: the streaming giant has finally released an iOS 14 widget that lets you quickly access recently played artists, podcasts, and albums in a single tap.
There are both small and medium-sized versions of the widget. The smaller of these shows your most recently listened to item. Meanwhile, the medium-sized widget offers a more luxurious, five most recent items array.
Beyond saying it would be available in October, Apple didn’t announce a precise launch date for the iPad Air 4 when it showed it off at last month’s “Time Flies” event.
Eagle-eyed Apple watchers may have uncovered the official release date, with Best Buy’s Canadian website listing October 23 as the date it will go on sale. While that’s not conclusive on its own, it coincides with a previous date suggested by Apple tipster Jon Prosser.
While it’s long been considered a fundamental spec for computers, Apple doesn’t publicize the amount of RAM its iPhones ship with. But newly published AnTuTu scores, referring to a popular Chinese benchmarking tool, appears to shed some light on this year’s iPhone 12 handsets.
They suggest that the iPhone 12 comes with 4GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the iPhone 12 Pro model comes with 6GB of RAM. If accurate, that would be an increase for the Pro models from the 4GB used for both variants of iPhone 11 last year.