MacRumors

At an event in Seattle, Amazon today unveiled a series of new Alexa-enabled Echo products, ranging from a new high-end speaker to a lamp.

Amazon's Echo Studio, a new higher-end version of its Echo smart speaker, is designed to compete with Apple's HomePod. The Alexa-equipped Echo Studio, which is priced at $199, supports 3D Dolby sound and, like the ‌HomePod‌, is designed to optimize sound based on the layout of a room.

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Image via The Verge

The Echo Studio features three mid-range speakers (left, right, and top) along with a directional tweeter and a 5.25-inch subwoofer for bass and improved sound. Amazon is working with record labels that include Sony, Universal, and Warner Music Group on music tracks that support Sony 360 audio.

The Echo Studio is able to connect to 4K Fire TV devices and when Atmos-encoded content is played, the speaker will be engaged to "fill the room with sound."

In addition to a ‌HomePod‌ competitor, Amazon also debuted a new product designed to compete with the AirPods. The Echo Buds, priced at $130, are Amazon's first Echo wearable that offers hands-free access to Alexa.

echobuds
Amazon says the earbuds deliver excellent sound with crisp, clear vocals and dynamic bass, plus they're equipped with Bose Active Noise Reduction technology. The Echo Buds last for five hours and have a case that adds additional battery life for up to 20 hours.

Amazon also unveiled a new version of its main Echo smart speaker today, which features improved sound quality with new Neodymium drivers and a 3-inch woofer. Priced at $100, the speaker is said to have stronger bass, and clearer mids and highs. The speaker looks similar to prior Echo speakers, but comes in a new dark blue color.

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There's a new version of the Echo Dot, the Echo Dot With Clock, which is priced at $60. The Echo Dot With Clock features an LED display at the front with options for displaying the time, alarms, timers, temperature, and more.

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The Echo Show 8, an upgraded version of the Echo Show 5, also debuted at Amazon's event. It features an 8-inch display, crisp audio, and a sleek form factor. It's priced at $129.99, and customers can now choose from three screen sizes: 5.5 inches, 10 inches, and the new 8-inch model.

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For kids, Amazon introduced the Echo Glow, a multi-color smart lamp that pairs with Alexa. Priced at $30, Echo Glow can light up with different colors, mimic a flickering campfire, offer a Sleep Timer, or work in "dance party" mode with music and lights (an option coming soon).

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A new Echo Flex device ($24.99) can be placed anywhere in the home, plugging right into a wall outlet. There's a small speaker that's optimized for Alexa's voice, and there's a USB charging port. Amazon is also allowing developers to customize the port, and accessories that include a motion sensor and nightlight are coming.

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Amazon even debuted a new Alexa-equipped Smart Oven that can cook common foods through Alexa voice commands. Priced at $250, it is a combination microwave, convection oven, air fryer, and food warmer.

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A new product, Echo Frames, is part of a program Amazon is calling "Day One Edition." Amazon is making a limited number of Day One Edition products, and if they prove popular, Amazon will make more.

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Echo Frames are Alexa-enabled glasses that look like regular prescription glasses. There's no camera, but they offer Alexa voice access.

Another Day One Edition product is the Echo Loop, an Alexa-enabled smart ring that has two microphones that can be activated with a tap.

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There's a built-in haptic engine that vibrates discreetly when there's a notification or an incoming call and a tiny speaker for responses. It's meant to be paired with a phone and can do things like turning out lights, calculating a tip, and more. Echo Frames and Echo Loop will be available in limited volumes by invite only. The Echo Frames will be available for $180 and Echo Loop will be available for $130.

Amazon is adding a Multilingual Mode to its devices that will let customers interact with Alexa in multiple languages at one time. Three pairs will be available at launch on October 7: in the United States - English and Spanish, in India - Indian English and Hindi, and in Canada - Canadian English and French.

Alexa is also becoming more emotive and expressive thanks to neural text to speech technology, and Alexa can recognize when a customer gets frustrated when something is wrong, resulting in adjustments to Alexa responses. This feature will be rolling out in early 2020.

There's also a new option to add celebrity voices to Amazon devices to change Alexa's voice. Celebrity voice options will be available for $0.99, and the first one, coming later this year, is going to be Samuel L. Jackson's voice.

Amazon customers can opt in to a new auto delete option that will see voice recordings older than three months or 18 months automatically deleted on an ongoing basis. The feature is accessible in the Privacy Hub for Amazon devices.

As for non-Echo Amazon-owned brands, Amazon unveiled a new version of the Eero mesh Wi-Fi system, a Ring alarm retrofit kit, an updated Ring Stick Up Cam ($99), and a new Ring Indoor Cam ($60).

Amazon is adding Wi-Fi specific skills that will let device users do things like pause the WiFi for dinner or turn on the guest WiFi, which will work with the new Eero and compatible ASUS and TP-Link routers (this fall). Starting next year, it will also support devices from Arris and Linksys.

Amazon is offering pre-orders for its newly announced devices starting today, with devices set to ship out in the near future.

Tag: Amazon

Fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV owners who have upgraded to tvOS 13 now have access to a series of under the sea themed screen savers on the device, which are a new addition in the latest update.

The screen savers were created in partnership with the BBC Natural History unit, the team behind "Blue Planet," showing off the deep ocean around the world with under the sea creatures and scenes that include fish, coral, kelp, jellyfish, and more.

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There is no way to download all of the screen savers at once, as the ‌Apple TV‌ only supports Daily, Weekly, or Monthly downloads. You can adjust how often screen savers download by opening up the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌, going to General, and selecting the "Screen Savers" option.

While there's no way to see all of the screen savers from Apple until they've been downloaded over a series of days, 9to5Mac's Benjamin Mayo maintains a website that showcases all of Apple's screen saver options.

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There are 10 new screen savers in total featuring these ocean creatures and scenes: barracuda, bumpheads, jacks, kelp, Palau coral, three Palau jellyfish options, sea stars, and seals.

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Screen savers are high resolution and are somewhere around 950MB in size. Apple has been offering its Aerial screen savers for years and has been adding to its collection with each tvOS update. Last year's tvOS 12 update brought screen savers created in collaboration with the International Space Station and NASA.

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Screen savers come on after a set period of time of idleness on the ‌Apple TV‌, but pressing the Menu button while on the Home screen of the ‌Apple TV‌ will cause a screen saver to start playing automatically.

A tap on the remote provides information on where a screen saver was filmed, while a swipe left or right will change the screen saver that's displayed if multiples are downloaded. Apple's support document on screen savers has further instructions on how they work.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

The internals of the Apple Watch Series 5 are almost identical to the internal components of the previous-generation Apple Watch Series 4, according to a new teardown conducted by repair site iFixit.

That should come as no surprise as the two devices are identical in design, with the major differentiating factor being the Always-On display in the newer model.

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iFixit hoped to get a look at the changes implemented to allow for the Always-On display, but much of what's new relates to display technology and is "invisible to the human eye."

The site did spot a new ambient light sensor embedded under the OLED panel, and Apple says there are more advanced display drivers and an improved power management chip in the Series 5 as well.

There's a new built-in compass and the battery is slightly bigger than the battery in the Series 4 (1.4% larger in the 44mm model). The Series 5 chip includes 32GB of storage, up from 16GB, and the new compass, but it features the same GPU and CPU as the Series 4 so there are no real performance improvements.

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Series 4 battery on left, Series 5 battery on right

iFixit says there are minor changes to connectors for the Taptic Engine, display, and battery, which means components are not generally interchangeable, but otherwise, the two devices are "very similar" on the inside.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Apple's iPhone 11, ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max will offer up a new warning if a repair technician ever uses a non-genuine Apple display when repairing a broken device.

"Unable to verify this ‌iPhone‌ has a genuine Apple display" will show up in the General > About section of the Settings app if a repair shop uses an unverified display component.

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The warning message was outlined by Apple in a new support document that says it will show up on ‌iPhone‌ 11, ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro, and ‌iPhone 11 Pro Max‌ devices. Details about the message were also included in the iOS 13.1 release notes, suggesting the feature was enabled with the iOS 13.1 update.

Apple says that the warning is informational only and will not affect the ability to use your ‌iPhone‌ or your display. A notification will be displayed on the Lock screen for the first four days a device is used following the repair, and in the Settings app for 15 days after that before being limited to General > About.

An additional notification may also be displayed, letting users know that Apple has "updated the device information" for the ‌iPhone‌ in question. The notification means that Apple has updated the device info maintained for the ‌iPhone‌ for "service needs, safety analysis, and to improve future products."

Given that the information is added to a device profile of some kind, Apple repair technicians will be able to see at a glance if a display is genuine or not.

Apple's support document warns of the dangers of getting a repair from a non-certified technician using a non-genuine repair part. Parts not provided by Apple could result in degraded multi-touch performance, broken True Tone functionality, unintentional battery drain, incorrect color correction, non-uniform brightness, and more.

"Only technicians who have completed Apple service training and who use Apple genuine parts and tools should replace ‌iPhone‌ displays," warns the support document. Apple says that this includes Apple itself, Apple Authorized Service Providers, and Independent Repair Providers using genuine Apple parts.

Apple in August launched a new Independent Repair Provider Program that's designed to provide independent repair shops with the same genuine parts, tools, training, repair manuals, and diagnostics provided to Apple Authorized Service Providers.

Apple last year implemented a similar warning about non-genuine batteries in ‌iPhone‌ XS, XS Max, and XR devices, letting customers know if an ‌iPhone‌ has been repaired with an Apple provided battery. That feature actually disables the battery health information of the ‌iPhone‌, which caused some controversy.

An updated battery support document released this week says that the battery warning has also been implemented for the ‌iPhone‌ 11, ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro, and ‌iPhone 11 Pro Max‌.

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On these devices, along with the 2018 iPhones, if a non-genuine Apple battery is used for a repair, users will see a warning about the battery not being able to be verified.

When it comes to batteries, the iPhones pop up the warning even if a non-certified repair shop uses a genuine Apple repair component, and the same could be true for display repairs. Even if a shop is using an actual Apple component, Apple's repair process requires calibration not available to all repair shops.

No functionality is impacted by using non-genuine parts (aside from battery health not working), but Apple could potentially change this in the future. In the past, Apple has disabled some devices that had non-genuine parts, such as the major Error 53 issue that bricked Touch ID iPhones that had been repaired by non-certified repair shops.

Related Forum: iPhone

Apple today previewed its new retail store in Mexico City's upscale Polanco district ahead of its grand opening later this week.

Apple Antara features a pavilion design with large 23-foot-tall sliding glass doors that create a 20-foot-wide entrance, complete with curved corner glass panels allowing natural light to flow into the store. Inside, there is also a Forum and 8K Video Wall for Today at Apple sessions, nestled among indoor trees.

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Apple Antara Pavilion Design 092519 big
Apple's retail chief Deirdre O'Brien:

We are thrilled to open our stunning new store in central Mexico City and now welcome even more customers to Apple across this bustling city. Our amazing team can't wait to welcome everyone to Apple Antara for the first time on Friday.

Apple Antara opens Friday, September 27 at 5:00 p.m. local time and will become Apple's second retail store in Mexico.

MacStories today released a set of 300 custom icons for use when adding Shortcuts to the home screen on iPhone and iPad.

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Apple already provides many default glyphs for Shortcuts icons, but the MacStories set provides users with hundreds of extra options across dozens of categories, ranging from documents and clipboard to media and task management.

MacStories editor-in-chief and Shortcuts power user Federico Viticci:

MacStories Shortcuts Icons were designed by our longtime designer Silvia Gatta in collaboration with me. After years of covering Workflow, then Shortcuts, and following the launch of the MacStories Shortcuts Archive, I decided it was time to provide a custom icon set for Shortcuts as well.

MacStories Shortcuts Icons were designed with the needs of Shortcuts users in mind. They're not just a random icon set: each icon was specifically created for a potential use case in the Shortcuts app.

Viticci adds:

We created the set to complement Apple's default glyphs and offer more options for Shortcuts power users. I personally went through my list in the MacStories Shortcuts Archive, as well as popular shortcuts from Reddit and the community, and tried to come up with icons that would better represent each shortcut. The icons were designed with a modern, rounded look and subtle drop shadows.

For the icons to work properly, iOS 13.1 or iPadOS 13.1 is required. In those latest software versions, you can now use custom glyphs such as the MacStories icons and still keep the original colors of your shortcut icons.

macstories shortcuts icons preview
How to use the custom icons:

  • Download the MacStories icon set directly on an iPhone or iPad and unzip the folder in the Files app

  • Open the Shortcuts app

  • Tap on the circle with three dots on a Shortcut

  • Tap on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner

  • Tap on "Add to Home Screen"

  • Tap on the icon outlined in blue and select "Choose File"

  • Choose a MacStories icon and save to the Home screen

The icon set is available today for $14.99 on the MacStories website. For a limited time, MacStories is offering MacRumors readers a 15 percent discount with promo code MACRUMORS15 at checkout.

Amazon this week has introduced the first major discount on Apple's latest iPod touch. You can get the 32GB iPod touch in Silver for $179.00, down from $199.00. At $20 off, this is the lowest price we've seen for the new iPod touch, and it beats the current $199.00 price tag found at other major Apple resellers like Best Buy and B&H Photo.

iPod touch colors 2015Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

After several years of waiting, Apple updated the iPod touch in May 2019 with an A10 Fusion chip that offers improved gameplay, support for Group FaceTime, and augmented reality abilities. Otherwise, the new iPod touch looks the same as its predecessor, with an aluminum shell, 4-inch display, and body that features a Home button but no Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Prices start at $199 for 32GB of storage, then increase to $299 for 128GB, and $399 for 256GB, the last of which is a new storage tier for the 2019 models. There are currently no sales on the larger storage capacities that can be found online.

Head to Amazon before the iPod touch deal expires, and then visit our own Deals Roundup to stay updated on all of the newest Apple-related bargains.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
Related Forum: iPod touch and iPod

Apple has shared four new videos on its Apple Support YouTube channel highlighting what users can do with iPadOS, Apple's version of iOS designed for the iPad that was released on Tuesday.


The first video introduces users to the new actions possible with Slide Over, like accessing recent files and favorite apps with a swipe.


Another video goes through the multitasking capabilities in iPadOS, including the ability to open two windows in the same application side by side using Split View.


A third video explains how to use the new text editing gestures on ‌iPad‌, including text selection, clipboard gestures like copy, cut, and paste, and undo/redo.


Lastly, a fourth video introduces users to the QuickPath keyboard that allows you to type a word without removing your finger from the keyboard when entering individual letters.

iPadOS features powerful new capabilities specifically designed for the larger display of the ‌iPad‌. They include an updated Home screen, improved multitasking functionality, new Apple Pencil features, new Slide Over features, and all of the other new changes in iOS 13.
If you want to learn more about iPadOS, be sure to check out our dedicated iPadOS guide.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Apple will unveil redesigned iPhones next year that boast a new metal frame structure reminiscent of the iPhone 4, according to a research note by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and seen by MacRumors.

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In his research note with TF International Securities, Kuo says Apple will change its flagship ‌iPhone‌ design "significantly" next year. Specifically, the new devices will feature a new metal frame with "a more complex segmentation design, new trenching and injection molding procedures, and sapphire or glass cover assembly to protect the trench injection molding structure."

We predict that the new 2H20 iPhone design will change significantly [...] The metal frame and the front and rear 2/2.5D glass are still used, but the metal frame surface will be changed to a similar design to the iPhone 4, replacing the current surface design.

Jony Ive's design for the ‌iPhone‌ 4 was the first smartphone to introduce the concept of an exposed squared-edged aluminum frame sandwiched between two panes of strengthened glass – a design that has been variously copied in the smartphone industry.

Apple's ‌iPhone‌ has undergone several changes since, with the latest ‌iPhone‌ 11 using an aluminum frame that wraps around the rounded corners of a display housed in an all-glass enclosure, and the ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro devices sharing a matte glass material encased in a durable stainless steel frame. Notably, Apple has adopted a different design for the iPad Pro, which features a more industrial band around the sides that's also reminiscent of the ‌iPhone‌ 4.

Kuo believes the grooving and injecting of the metal in next year's ‌iPhone‌ frame will reduce the negative impact of metal shielding on the high-frequency transmission efficiency of the internal antenna, while the use of sapphire or tempered glass on the groove will serve to protect the injection molded structure.

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The ‌iPhone‌ 4, released in 2010

As a result of the design change coming in next year's iPhones, Kuo believes the cost of the metal frame and glass case will rise significantly, with a maximum increase of 50-60 percent and 40 to 50 percent, respectively. If the grooved cover is made of tempered glass, Kuo sees the cost of the metal middle frame and chassis increasing by about 25–35 percent and 20–30 percent, respectively.

The report predicts that the new design will be a major selling point that will contribute to supplier revenue and profitability, and combined with 5G support, will increase Apple's smartphone shipments to 85 million units in 2020, compared to 75 million new ‌iPhone‌ shipments in 2019.

In a previous note, Kuo said the 2020 iPhones will be available in new sizes. He believes Apple is going to release 5.4 and 6.7-inch high-end iPhones with OLED displays, along with a 6.1-inch model with an OLED display. Two of the phones will also feature a rear-facing time-of-flight 3D camera that will support augmented reality and improve the camera experience.

Kuo also said all three of next year's iPhones will support 5G networks, for which Apple will use Qualcomm's 5G modem. Despite its acquisition of Intel's smartphone modem chip business, Apple will not use its own baseband until the launch of 2022 ‌iPhone‌. Instead, Kuo believes Apple will first test its own baseband products in a new Apple Watch and other future devices.

Related Forum: iPhone

Nintendo's newest game, Mario Kart Tour, got its global rollout today for iPhone and iPad, following a closed beta test in the United States and Japan.

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The kart racer title for mobile is set in the Mushroom Kingdom, where players are tasked with racing to beat their rivals to the finish line using drifts and items to gain an edge. Players slide their fingers across the screen to turn, while tapping the screen unleashes stored items.


For the first two weeks the tour takes place in a New York City-styled course, with other locations being rotated in every couple of weeks. Track shave been taken from prior versions of Mario Kart, including Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash, and Mario Kart 7. Nintendo has also included Grand Prix cups that offer a collection of tracks to race through.

Playable characters include Luigi, Toad, Shy Guy, Waluigi, Peach, Toadette, and others, and some characters are unlockable through in-app purchases. This is a freemium title that's free to download, which means Nintendo is monetizing it through in-game purchases.

The game also has an optional "Gold Pass" subscription, which introduces various in-game items and badges and also unlocks the faster 200cc mode. Nintendo is offering a two-week free trial, after which it costs $4.99 a month. The five-minute video embedded below explains how it all works.


Mario Kart is a free download from the App Store, requires iOS 10 or later to play, and officially supports ‌iPhone‌ 5s or iPad Air and later devices. A Nintendo Account is also required to play the game. [Direct Link]

Update: As of writing, the game's servers are currently experiencing heavy traffic and Nintendo is queueing login requests, so it might be a while yet before everyone can get racing.

Apple today updated both its Clips and iMovie apps for the iPhone and iPad, introducing support for features that debuted in the iOS 13 and iPadOS updates.

The two apps now support Dark Mode and the new Share Sheet in iOS 13, and iMovie also offers Files app support for content from external hard drives, SD card readers, and USB drives.

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Additionally, iMovie now adjusts soundtracks to match the length of a movie when adding theme music in project settings.

In Clips, along with support for ‌Dark Mode‌ and the Share Sheet, Apple has added 19 animated emoji stickers such as party poppers with confetti, revolving hearts, and bouncing musical notes.

There are also three new holiday-themed poster styles including an embossed snowflake card, a red envelope for Lunar New Year, and glowing candles.

Clips and iMovie can both be downloaded from the iOS App Store for free. [Direct Link: Clips] [Direct Link: iMovie]

In the iOS 13.1 update released this morning, Apple tweaked the designs of several emojis, updating inaccuracies in some cases and changing colors and designs for other emoji.

According to Emojipedia, Apple updated a total of 24 emoji designs in iOS 13.1, and several of the most important updates relate to tweaks to animals.

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The octopus, for example, now has suckers on its tentacles, which were missing before, and the squid emoji no longer has a siphon in the middle of its face, which was anatomically incorrect.

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The mosquito now has six legs instead of five legs as in the prior emoji, and the abacus now has its beads oriented vertically instead of horizontally, which is more historically accurate.

Apple changed the jigsaw puzzle piece from blue to green, and changed the hearts used for emojis like face with heart eyes. The mermaid emojis now feature the mermaid holding a trident, the cow is a slightly different color, shading on the mouse has been updated, and a few other emoji have also received smaller design tweaks.

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Later this year, Apple plans to bring a total of 59 new emojis to the iOS operating system, introducing characters like sloth, flamingo, waffle, falafel, skunk, orangutan, and more.

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New faces, gestures, and poses coming include yawning face, pinching hand, person kneeling, person standing, and new people holding hands options that are both gender and skin tone inclusive, plus there are a wide selection of other miscellaneous emoji.

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Apple earlier this year previewed all of the upcoming emoji characters, and they'll be added to iOS in an update to iOS 13 set to be released later this year. It's not entirely clear when we might see the new characters, but last year Apple released updated emoji in early October.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Apple today released a support document warning users about a security issue affecting third-party keyboards in iOS 13 and iPadOS.

Third-party keyboards can be set to run standalone without access to external services or can request "full access" to provide additional features. A bug in iOS 13 and iPadOS can cause keyboard extensions to be granted full access even if full access hasn't been approved.

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According to Apple, the bug does not affect Apple's built-in keyboards, nor does it impact keyboards that don't make use of full access.

Third-party keyboard extensions in iOS can be designed to run entirely standalone, without access to external services, or they can request "full access" to provide additional features through network access. Apple has discovered a bug in iOS 13 and iPadOS that can result in keyboard extensions being granted full access even if you haven't approved this access.

Apple says that the bug will be fixed in an upcoming software update. Third-party keyboards that you might have installed can be viewed by opening up the Settings app, and then going to General > Keyboard > Keyboards.

iOS users concerned about their data and the access granted to third-party keyboards can mitigate the issue by temporarily uninstalling third-party keyboards.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Alongside new iPhones, Apple at its September event also unveiled a new 10.2-inch iPad, which became available for pre-order on September 10 and is set to start shipping out tomorrow.

The updated ‌iPad‌, which continues to be Apple's most affordable at $329, is similar to the sixth-generation ‌iPad‌ but comes equipped with a larger 10.2-inch screen, an upgrade over the previous model.

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It features the same A10 Fusion chip that was used in the sixth-generation, along with Apple Pencil support, but new this year is a Smart Connector that allows it to work with a Smart Keyboard, which is sold separately for $159.

The new ‌iPad‌ continues to feature a 7-megapixel rear camera, a one-pound body, Touch ID, and thicker bezels than some of Apple's other more expensive iPads, but it's price can't be beat.

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Apple today released iPadOS, which is the version of iOS 13 that runs on the ‌iPad‌. New ‌iPad‌ models will come equipped with iPadOS, which includes improved multitasking features, a redesigned Home screen, ‌Apple Pencil‌ improvements, Apple Arcade, Dark Mode, and tons more.

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The new ‌iPad‌ begins shipping out to customers on Wednesday, September 25, and Apple says it will be in stores later this week with launch dates in retail locations varying by country and region.

Apple originally said the new ‌iPad‌ would be in stores on September 30, so it appears to be rolling out a bit earlier now that iPadOS has had an early release.

Pricing on the seventh-generation ‌iPad‌ starts at $329 for 32GB of storage, with 128GB of storage available as well as LTE options. Pricing for schools and educational customers is even lower, starting at $299.

Customers who purchase an ‌iPad‌ will get a free year of Apple TV+ when ‌Apple TV‌+ comes out this November.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Neutral)
Related Forum: iPad

Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 13.1, marking the first update to the iOS 13 operating system that launched in mid-September. The new iOS 13.1 update comes just days after the release of iOS 13 and coincides with the launch of new iPhones.

The iOS 13.1 update is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

iOS 13
Apple started beta testing iOS 13.1 prior to when iOS 13 even launched, which was a surprise move as the company has never before released a point update for new software before when the software has come out.

Given Apple's early testing, it's no surprise that iOS 13.1 is coming not too long after iOS 13 became available for download. It's worth noting that iOS 13.1 is the first version of iOS 13 that's available for the 7th-generation iPod touch.

iOS 13.1 is an update that brings back several of the features that were removed during the iOS 13 beta testing. Shortcuts Automations, for example, are back.

With Automations in the Shortcuts app, you can create personal and home automations using the Shortcuts app to have certain actions performed when specific conditions occur. It's a powerful tool that adds a lot of utility to the Shortcuts app.

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Share ETA, a feature removed during beta testing, lets users share their estimated time of arrival to a location with a friend or family member, allowing the friend or family member to follow along with the trip.

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The volume indicator has been tweaked in iOS 13.1. If you have certain headphones or audio devices connected (AirPods, Powerbeats Pro, HomePod, and Beats headphones) there are special indicators that feature a unique icon that matches your listening device. There's also a special icon for when two headphones are connected to an iPhone or iPad.

The update brings the audio sharing feature introduced in iOS 13 to all Beats headphones with an H1 and W1 chip, expanding the feature from just the AirPods and ‌Powerbeats Pro‌. Audio sharing, as the name suggests, allows multiple sets of headphones to be connected to a single ‌iPhone‌.

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HomeKit icons have been overhauled in iOS 13.1, with much more detailed, realistic designs. There are new Reading Goals options for PDF, a change to the Nike branding (it's no longer Nike+), and several other smaller tweaks outlined in our tidbits article.

Full release notes for the update are available below:

iOS 13.1 includes bug fixes and improvements, including AirDrop with Ultra Wideband technology on iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, suggested automations in the Shortcuts app, and the ability to share ETA in Maps.

AirDrop
- Ability to select who you want to AirDrop to by pointing from one iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max to another using the new U1 chip with Ultra Wideband technology for spatial awareness

Shortcuts
- Suggested automations in the Gallery personalized to your daily routine
- Personal and home automations for automatically running shortcuts based on triggers
- Home app support for shortcuts as advanced actions in the Automation tab

Maps
- Share ETA to send your estimated time of arrival while your route is in progress

Battery Health
- Optimized battery charging to slow the rate of battery aging by reducing the time your iPhone spends fully charged
- Performance management feature for iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down, including the option to disable this feature if an unexpected shutdown occurs
- Notifications for when Battery Health is unable to verify if a new, genuine Apple battery is in iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and later

This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements. This update:
- Adds a link to the Me tab in Find My to allow a guest to sign in and locate a missing device
- Includes notifications for when the display on your iPhone is unable to be verified as a new, genuine Apple display in iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max
- Addresses issues in Mail that could cause incorrect download counts, missing senders and subjects, difficulty selecting or flagging threads, duplicate notifications or overlapping fields
- Fixes an issue in Mail that may prevent background downloading of email messages
- Addresses an issue that could prevent Memoji from correctly tracking facial expressions in Messages
- Fixes an issue where photos might not display in the Messages details view
- Fixes an issue in Reminders that prevented some users from sharing iCloud lists
- Resolves an issue in Notes where Exchange notes may not show up in search results
- Addresses an issue in Calendar where birthday events could appear multiple times
- Addresses an issue that could prevent third-party sign in screens from appearing in the Files app
- Fixes an issue that could cause Camera orientation to appear rotated when swiping to it from the Lock screen
- Addresses an issue that could cause the display to sleep while interacting with the Lock screen
- Resolves issues where app icons could appear as blank or as a different app on the Home screen
- Resolves an issue that could prevent supported wallpapers from switching appearances when - changing between Light and Dark modes
- Addresses stability issues when signing out of iCloud from Passwords & Accounts in Settings
- Fixes an issue where signing in to update Apple ID settings could fail repeatedly
- Fixes an issue that could prevent the device from vibrating when connecting to a charger
- Addresses an issue that could cause people and groups in the Share Sheet to appear blurred
- Fixes an issue that could prevent alternate words from displaying when tapping on a misspelled word
- Resolves an issue where multilingual typing could stop working
- Addresses an issue that could prevent switching back to the QuickType keyboard after using a third-party keyboard
- Fixes an issue that could prevent the edit menu from appearing when selecting text
- Fixes an issue where Siri may not read Messages in CarPlay
- Addresses an issue that could prevent sending a message using third party messaging apps in CarPlay
For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

Related Forum: iOS 13

Apple today released iPadOS, which is the version of iOS that runs on the iPad. The first version of iPadOS is iPadOS 13.1, with Apple opting not to release a version of iOS 13 for the ‌iPad‌.

The iPadOS update is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

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With iOS 13, Apple split iOS and iPadOS into two different software updates, but iPadOS includes almost all of the features available in iOS 13 (and iOS 13.1) along with some capabilities built specifically for the larger display of the ‌iPad‌.

That means that all of the features in our iOS 13 roundup are available in iPadOS, along with the iOS 13.1 updates like Shortcut Automations, Share ETA, audio sharing improvements, and more. Apple alongside the release of iPadOS debuted a new video showing off some of the features:


Specific to the ‌iPad‌, iPadOS introduces a new Home screen that shrinks down the icon size so you can fit more apps on each page. There's also a new option to add the Today Widgets from the left side of the screen onto the Home screen itself for easier access.

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Split View and Slide Over, the ‌iPad‌'s multitasking features, now support multiple windows from the same app so you can do things like open two Safari windows side by side.

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When using the Slide Over view, there's also a new option to view and switch between multiple apps with a card-style interface, plus a new App Exposé feature lets you view all of the open windows from a particular app and then swap between them with a tap.

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Tapping on the ‌iPad‌'s display with Apple Pencil opens up Markup, which can be used for anything from webpages and documents to screenshots and emails. There's a redesigned tool palette for Markup that has quicker access to tools plus a new ruler option, an object eraser, and a pixel eraser.

‌Apple Pencil‌ latency has been reduced, dropping it from 20ms on the iPad Pro to 9ms, and as on the iPhone, iPadOS now supports connecting external drives to the Files app for the first time.

There are more than 30 new keyboard shortcuts in iPadOS, and when using Safari on ‌iPad‌, you'll always get the desktop version of a website instead of the mobile version.

Safari has a new download manager, and the ‌iPad‌ supports all of the new text editing gestures available on the ‌iPhone‌. A new swipe gesture lets you select text and there are new gestures for cut, copy, paste, and undo.

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A floating keyboard that supports the new QuickPath swipe feature allows you to type one handed, and there's support for installing fonts across the system. Apple's full release notes for the update are below:

iPadOS, the powerful operating system with a new name to recognize the distinctive experience of iPad. iPadOS builds on the same foundation as iOS, adding powerful new capabilities and intuitive features specific to the large display and versatility of iPad. This update features new ways to work with multiple apps, presents more information at a glance on a redesigned Home screen, makes using Apple Pencil feel even more responsive along with a new way to instantly mark up anything, provides a dramatic new Dark Mode, allows a simple way to sign in to websites that protects your privacy, and gives new tools to edit and view your photos. iPadOS is faster and more responsive with optimizations across the system.

Home Screen
- Today Widgets on the Home screen for at-a-glance information
- A new layout to put even more apps on each page

Multitasking
- Slide Over with support for multiple apps to access your favorite apps from anywhere in iPadOS and quickly switch between them
- Multiple windows from a single app in Split View to work with two documents, notes, or emails, side-by-side
- Enhanced Spaces to open the same app across multiple spaces
- App Exposé to quickly see all of the open windows for an app

Apple Pencil
- Lower latency with Apple Pencil, making it feel more responsive than ever
- Redesigned tool palette, with a fresh new look, new tools, and the ability to drag to any side of the screen
- A new gesture to mark up anything with a swipe from the bottom right or left corner of the screen with Apple Pencil
- A new full page option to mark up entire web pages, Mail messages, iWork documents, and Maps

Text Editing
- Scrollbar scrubbing to directly drag the scrollbar for quickly navigating long documents, web pages, and email conversations
- Faster and more precise cursor navigation—just pick it up and move it to where you want
- Text selection improvements for easier selection by just tapping and swiping on the text
- New gestures for cut, copy, paste—pinch in once with three fingers to copy, twice to cut, and pinch out with three fingers to paste
- Undo across iPadOS by just double tapping with three fingers

QuickType
- New floating keyboard leaving more room for your content—drag it anywhere you like
- QuickPath on the floating keyboard lets you slide to type for easy one-handed typing

Fonts
- Custom fonts are available from the App Store for use in your favorite apps
- Font management in Settings

Files
- External drives supported in Files to access and manage files on a USB drive, SD card, or hard drive
- SMB support to connect to a server at work or a home PC
- Local storage for creating folders on the local drive and adding your favorite files
- Column to drill down into nested folders
- Preview pane with high resolution file previews, rich metadata, and Quick Actions
- Zip and Unzip support for creating and expanding Zip files
- New keyboard shortcuts to manage your files even faster with an external keyboard

Safari
- Desktop-class browsing in Safari with websites automatically optimized for the large Multi-Touch display iPad display
- Web platforms like Squarespace, WordPress, and Google Docs now supported
- Download manager to access downloads quickly and check the status of a file you’re downloading
- Over 30 new keyboard shortcuts to navigate the web even faster with an external keyboard
- Updated start page with favorites, frequently visited, most recently visited websites, and Siri suggestions
- View options in the Smart Search field for quick access to text size controls, Reader view, and per‑site settings
- Per‑site settings to choose Reader view, and enable content blockers, camera, microphone, and location access for individual websites
- Option to resize when uploading photos

Dark Mode
- A beautiful new dark color scheme that delivers a great viewing experience especially in low-light environments
- Can be scheduled to turn on automatically at sunset, at a certain time, or turned on from Control Center
- Four new system wallpapers that automatically switch appearances with Light and Dark Mode

Photos
- An all-new Photos tab with a curated view of your library making it easy to find, relive, and share your photos and videos
- Powerful new photo editing tools that make it easier to edit, adjust, and review photos at a glance
- Video editing with over 30 new tools, including Rotate, Crop, and Enhance

Sign in with Apple
- A private way to sign in to participating apps and websites with the Apple ID you already have
- Simple account setup with only your name and email address
- Hide My Email to share a unique email address that is automatically forwarded to you
- Built-in two-factor authentication to protect your account
- No tracking or profiling by Apple as you use your favorite apps

App Store with Arcade
- Unlimited access to groundbreaking new games with one subscription, no ads or additional purchases
- An all-new Arcade tab in the App Store to browse the latest games, personalized recommendations, and exclusive editorial content
- Available to play across iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV
- Option to download large apps over your cellular connection
- Ability to view available app updates or delete apps from the Account page
- Support for Arabic and Hebrew

Maps
- An all-new map rolling out in the US featuring broader road coverage, improved address precision, better support for pedestrians, and more detailed land cover
- Look Around to explore cities in a high-resolution, interactive 3D experience
- Collections for the lists of places you love and can easily share with friends and family
- Favorites for quick and easy navigation to the places you visit daily

Reminders
- All-new design with more powerful and intelligent ways to create and organize reminders
- Quick toolbar to add dates, locations, flags, attachments and more to reminders
- New smart lists—Today, Scheduled, Flagged and All—to easily keep track of upcoming reminders
- Subtasks and grouped lists to organize your reminders

Siri
- More natural Siri voice, particularly while speaking longer phrases
- Personalized Siri Suggestions in Apple Podcasts, Safari, and Maps
- Over 100,000 live radio stations from around the world available with Siri

Shortcuts
- Shortcuts app now built-in
- Suggested automations in the Gallery personalized to your daily routine
- Personal and home automations for automatically running shortcuts based on triggers
- Home app support for shortcuts as advanced actions in the Automation tab

Memoji and Messages
- New Memoji customization options including new hairstyles, headwear, makeup, and piercings
- Memoji sticker packs in Messages, Mail, and third‑party apps and available on iPad mini 5, iPad (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation), and all iPad Pro models
- Your name and photo, or even Memoji, now optionally shared with your friends
- Search enhancements to easily find messages with intelligent suggestions and categorization of results

Augmented Reality
- People Occlusion for apps to place virtual objects naturally in front or behind people using iPad Pro (2018), iPad Air (2018), iPad mini 5
- Motion Capture for apps to understand the body position and movement of a person so you can animate a character or interact with virtual objects using iPad Pro (2018), iPad Air (2018), iPad mini 5
- Multiple face tracking for AR content on up to 3 faces at a time so you can have fun with your friends using iPad Pro (2018)
- AR Quick Look to view and interact with multiple AR objects at the same time

Mail
- Block sender to move all email messages from a blocked sender directly to the trash
- Mute thread to stop notifications from an overly active email thread
- Format bar with easy access to rich text formatting tools and attachments of all kinds
- Font support for all system fonts, as well as new fonts you download from the App Store

Notes
- Gallery view with your notes as visual thumbnails helping you find the note you need
- Shared folders to collaborate with others giving them access to entire folders of notes
- More powerful search for visual recognition of images inside your notes and text in items you’ve scanned
- New checklist options to easily reorder checklist items, indent them, or move checked items to the bottom of the list automatically

Apple Music
- Time-synced lyrics make listening more fun with perfectly timed lyrics
- Over 100,000 live radio stations from around the world

Screen Time
- 30-day usage data to compare Screen Time numbers over the previous weeks
- Combined limits to include multiple app categories, specific apps, or websites in one limit
- “One more minute” option to quickly save your work or log out of a game when a Screen Time limit is met

Privacy and Security
- Allow Once location permission with the option to share your locations with apps only once
- Background tracking alerts now notify you when an app is using your location in the background
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enhancements help prevent apps from accessing your location without your consent
- Location sharing controls give you the option to easily omit location data when sharing photos

System Experience
- Wi‑Fi networks and Bluetooth accessories selection in Control Center
- A redesigned, unobtrusive volume control in the top middle
- Full-page screenshots for web pages, Mail messages, iWork documents, and Maps
- Redesigned share sheet with intelligent suggestions to share content with just a few taps
- Audio Sharing for two sets of AirPods, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Solo3, BeatsX and Powerbeats3 to share a single stream of audio
- Dolby Atmos playback for a thrilling surround sound experience from content with Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, or Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks on iPad Pro (2018)

Language support
- Support for 38 new keyboard languages
- Predictive input in Cantonese, Dutch, Hindi (Devanagari), Hindi (Latin), Najdi Arabic, Swedish, and Vietnamese keyboards
- Separate emoji and globe keys make it easier to quickly switch between languages and select emoji
- Automatic language detection for dictation
- Bilingual dictionary support in Thai and English and Vietnamese and English

China
- A dedicated QR code mode in Camera, accessible from the Control Center, for improved QR code performance, a flashlight option, and enhanced privacy
- Junction View in Maps for drivers in China to more easily navigate complex roadways
- Adjustable handwriting area on the Chinese keyboard
- Cantonese predictions on the Cangjie, Sucheng, Stroke, and Handwriting keyboards

India
- All‑new Indian English male and female Siri voices
- Support for all 22 official Indian languages with the addition of 15 new keyboard languages
- Bilingual keyboard for Hindi (Latin) and English keyboard, including typing predictions
- Typing predictions on the Hindi (Devanagari) keyboard
- New Indian language system fonts for Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, and Odia for greater clarity and ease when reading in apps
- 30 new document fonts for Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu
- Contacts with hundreds of new relationship labels to help more accurately label your contacts

Voice Control
- A new way to control your iOS devices, entirely with your voice
- Comprehensive navigation with just your voice to open apps, search the web, tap, swipe, pinch, zoom, press the Home button and more
- Accurate dictation using the Siri speech recognition engine
- Rich text editing to make corrections using just your voice, or select from word and emoji suggestions
- Custom words, such as legal or medical terms, to ensure Voice Control recognizes words you commonly use
- Seamless transitions from text dictation to voice commands
- Attention Awareness to keep Voice Control off when you turn your head away from True Depth camera on supported iPhone models
- On‑device processing so your personal data is kept private

Performance
- Up to 2x faster app launch-
- Up to 30 percent faster Face ID unlocking on iPad Pro 11-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)--
- 60 percent smaller app updates on average-
- Up to 50 percent smaller apps from the App Store-

Other features and improvements
- Low Data Mode to reduce your data usage over your cellular network or specific Wi-Fi networks you select
- PlayStation 4 and Xbox Wireless Controller support
- Find My iPhone and Find My Friends combined into a single app with the ability to locate a missing device even if it can't connect to a Wi-Fi or cellular network
- Apple Books reading goals help make reading a daily habit
- Apple News+ options to remove downloaded issues, follow a title, or browse the back catalog from the More button in the My Magazines section
- Stocks app with business stories from Apple News+
- Calendar supports adding attachments to events
- Home app redesigned controls for HomeKit accessories with a combined view for ones with multiple services
- Pinch-to-zoom for more precision when editing recordings in Voice Memos

Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices, for more information visit:
https://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability and https://www.apple.com/ipados

For more on all of the new features that are available in iPadOS, make sure to check out our iPadOS roundup.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Apple today released tvOS 13, the latest operating system designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. tvOS 13 comes after several months of beta testing.

tvOS 13 can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌ by going to System -> Software Update. ‌Apple TV‌ owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to tvOS 13 automatically. Apple has also released an ‌Apple TV‌ Software 7.4 update (actually version 8.4.3) for the third-generation ‌Apple TV‌.

tvos13
The tvOS 13 update brings an updated Home screen aimed at making it easier to discover new content. Apps are now able to play full-screen video previews on the Home screen, similar to Netflix, once developers have implemented support.

Multiple users are supported for the first time, letting more than one profile exist on the ‌Apple TV‌ so each family member can have their own customized ‌Apple TV‌ interface with separate recommendations, music playlists, and Watch Now lists.

Switching between profiles can be done with the new Control Center, which offers up profiles, the time and date, search, a Now Playing widget, AirPlay controls, and a sleep option.

tvos13controlcenter
tvOS 13 brings Apple Arcade, Apple's new gaming service that's already available for the iPhone. ‌Apple Arcade‌ will offer unlimited access to more than 60 new and exclusive games, for one $4.99 per month subscription fee.

tvos13applearcade
For ‌Apple Arcade‌, Apple has implemented support for the Xbox Wireless Bluetooth Controller and the PlayStation DualShock 4 Controller, both of which can be connected to an ‌Apple TV‌ over Bluetooth.

game controllers ps4 xbox
Sign in with Apple, a feature also available on the ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and coming to Macs, is included in tvOS 13. With tvOS 13, apps that support Sign in with Apple will let you sign in with your Apple ID rather than requiring you to create a user name and password.

signinwithapple
Apple can even obscure your real email address and provide a fake one, which keeps your data and information safer than ever.

There are new under the sea themed screensavers created in partnership with the BBC Natural History Unit, which also created "Blue Planet."

tvos 13 underwater
With a new Picture-in-Picture feature, you can continue to watch TV shows or movies while using a different app, adjusting settings, or otherwise navigating through the tvOS 13 operating system.

For more on what's new in the tvOS 13 update, make sure to check out our tvOS 13 roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Best Buy has kicked off a new flash sale today, lasting for one day only and available exclusively to My Best Buy members. To see the sale, head to Best Buy, sign into your account, and browse the discounts before they expire tonight at 11:59 p.m. CT.

bb flash sale sept 2019Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Best Buy Flash Sale 9/24

Apple Watch

Best Buy has a few ongoing discounts on the Apple Watch Series 4, including both GPS and cellular models. Starting with GPS models, you can purchase the 40mm devices for $349.00 and the 44mm devices for $379.00 ($50 off). For cellular models, you'll see 40mm sizes priced at $399.00 and 44mm sizes for $429.00 ($50 off).

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In both cases, stock for the Apple Watch Series 4 at Best Buy is limited. The retailer does have discounts on Nike+ models as well, where you'll find the same prices listed above for the regular Series 4 models in both Nike+ GPS and Nike+ cellular editions. There aren't any sales on the Apple Watch Series 5 at Best Buy this week.

MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

Best Buy also has the latest MacBook Pro models from mid 2019 on sale, along with an older MacBook Air.

macbook pro 13 inch 2019

iPad Air + Smart Keyboard Offer

My Best Buy members can save $160 on the new iPad Air with a Smart Keyboard during the new event. If you log into your account, add one of the iPad Air models on this page to your cart, and then add Apple's 10.5-inch Smart Keyboard to your cart, you'll see $160 off the order. That's essentially getting the $159.99 Smart Keyboard for free.

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There are even more discounts during Best Buy's Flash Sale today, including discounts on PC laptops, 4K TVs, and wireless headphones. Visit Best Buy to browse the full sale, and head to our own Deals Roundup to check out even more Apple-related sales.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals