MacRumors

Best Buy today opened up another pre-Black Friday sale, calling this one its "Beat the Rush" sale and offering customers savings on iPhone XS and XS Max, 4K TVs, Beats headphones, Philips Hue lights, certified refurbished AirPods, and more. This sale will last through Saturday, November 17 at 11:59 p.m. CT, so if you see anything you're interested in be sure to make your purchase before the discounts expire.

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

Some of the deals in the Beat the Rush sale -- like the iPhone offers -- are matching Best Buy's upcoming savings for Black Friday, offering shoppers the chance to get access to the doorbusters at an early date. Check out some of the discounts in the list below, and head to Best Buy to see the full sale.

Black Friday prices and doorbusters

• iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR - Save $150 with qualified activation on Sprint
• iPhone X - Save $200 with qualified activation on Sprint
• Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit - $119.99, down from $189.99
• LG 65-inch LED 4K UHD TV - $599.99, down from $799.99
• Samsung 43-inch LED 4K UHD TV - $277.99, down from $379.99
• Samsung 50-inch LED 4K UHD TV - $327.99, down from $449.99

Other Sales

• AirPods, Geek Squad Certified Refurbished - $119.99, down from $159.99
• Select smartphone cases - save up to 70 percent
• Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones (Porcelain Rose) - $199.99, down from $349.99
• urBeats3 - $39.99, down from $79.99
• GoPro HERO HD Waterproof Camera - $149.99, down from $199.99
• Insignia Wi-Fi Garage Door Controller, HomeKit Compatible - $44.99, down from $69.99

In another sale, Amazon is also discounting Philips Hue today, but this one is aimed at certified refurbished products. You can save 30 percent or more in the sale, including the Philips Hue Lightstrip for $45.47, Philips Hue White A19 Bulb 2-Pack for $18.90, and the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 Starter Kit for $115.47. Amazon also offers an unlocked and refurbished iPhone X for as low as $725.00 today only.

For more on the latest sales, visit our full Deals Roundup. We also have ongoing coverage of upcoming Black Friday sales in our Black Friday Roundup, so be sure to read that over before next week's big event.

Apple's latest Apple Pay promotion is offering $45 off your next purchase from Ray-Ban, as long as you spend $180 or more on your current order. The offer is available on Ray-Ban.com through November 20, and customers who participate will receive the $45 as a gift voucher via email within two weeks of their order, which can be put towards their next order of $100 or more.

To receive your credit, browse the company's website, add items worth $180 or more to your cart, and check out using Apple Pay. The offer is limited to one per customer, and the credit must be redeemed before December 31, 2018. Additionally, it can only be used on full-priced items and not sale items.

Apple's promo email also encourages shoppers to look their best by shopping for the latest fashions and more at Bonobos, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Zara. All three iOS apps support payments through Apple Pay. The company also reminds users that they can split gift payments for the holidays by using Apple Pay Cash in Messages.

The Ray-Ban promo follows a few weeks after Apple Pay offered similar savings from Oakley, where customers received a $25 Oakley coupon after they spent $100 at Oakley.com. Throughout the past year, previous Apple Pay promos have targeted retail partners like Under Armour, Postmates, Nike, and StubHub, and shoppers can expect more holiday-themed promotions to be coming in the next few weeks.

Twitter has changed the way the Explore tab works in its official iOS app, with entries now organized based on topic and divided up into separate navigable sections.

Twitter says the update should make exploring the platform easier than ever, with users able to find trending tweets on specific topics by tapping the designated tabs for news, sports, fun, and entertainment.

The searchable Explore section, introduced early last year, gives users one-stop access to trends, search, Moments, and live video, with ads also showing up there in the last few months.

Users in the United States can start accessing the new Explore tabs today, with availability likely to roll out gradually to other regions and territories, all being well.

Earlier this month, Twitter added a new compose button to its official mobile app for iOS, with the aim of enabling one-handed scrolling and tweet composing. Twitter is also testing an option to quickly access a classic reverse chronological timeline, as promised back in September.

A new feature rolling out for Google Maps will allow iOS and Android users to message local businesses with their queries without having to leave the GPS-based navigation app.

The feature is an extension of Google's real-time business-to-customer messaging service that the company introduced in select countries last year.

Businesses that signed up to the service include a Message button on their Business Profiles on Google Search allowing people to get in touch, and those same messages are set to appear in the side menu of Google Maps. This from the Google blog:

Sending messages to businesses gives you the opportunity to ask questions without having to make a phone call so that you can order a cake for your mom's birthday while on the bus or find out if a shoe store has your size without having to wait on hold.

Now you'll see your messages with the businesses you connect with via Business Profiles within the Google Maps app, where you're already looking for things to do and places to go or shop.

As part of the rollout, Google is also releasing a revamped Google My Business mobile app for iOS and Android that lets businesses browse their followers, reviews and messages, as well as create content for their business profile on Google.

The dual changes follow a recent update to Google Maps that introduced a new "Follow" button to let users track businesses and learn about promotions, events and, other news. The features are Google's attempt to rival Facebook Pages, which have been the more popular go-to for companies seeking to broadcast their outward-facing business activities online.

Google Maps can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

At the annual Never is Now Summit on Anti-Semitism and Hate, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) will present Apple CEO Tim Cook with its inaugural Courage Against Hate Award.

Cook, says the ADL, has been "led by a strong moral compass" and has demonstrated that the business community has a responsibility to make the world better for all people.

He recently said, "We advocate for human rights because Apple has always been about making products for everyone. And, arguably, if people are treated as second-class citizens in any part of the world, then it's kind of hard to accomplish that objective."

Tim has been led by a strong moral compass. In his role as Apple CEO, Tim is committed to leading by example in tackling critical social issues that are also core to ADL's mission including immigration and refugee rights, LGBTQ rights, cyberhate and civil rights.

The ADL also highlighted Apple's donations to ADL and other civil rights groups, along with Cook's inspiring letter to employees following the events of Charlottesville, where he wrote: "We've seen the terror of white supremacy and racist violence before. It's a moral issue -- an affront to America. We must all stand against it."

For all of the reasons listed above, the ADL chose Cook as its award recipient.

Cook will be in attendance at the Never is Now Summit in New York City on December 3, where he will speak after receiving his award.

Tickets for the event are available for $150.

Update: Tim Cook's keynote speech at the ADL "Never is Now" summit will be available via a livestream that starts at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, December 3. Cook is set to receive his award and speak at 3:20 p.m. Eastern Time.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Microsoft today released an updated Cortana app for iOS, which features an overhauled interface and new features like music and podcasts support.

For those unfamiliar with Cortana, it is Microsoft's version of Siri or Alexa, an AI-based personal assistant that can answer questions and complete small tasks.

Microsoft has been testing the revamped version of Cortana since October. The new interface is focused on conversational experiences with Cortana, plus it includes support for music and podcast suggestions, and a focus on setting reminders, timers, and meetings.

Cortana 3.0 offers up a new conversational experience when asking questions, and there is a new dedicated spot for setting up and managing Cortana devices. Microsoft's full release notes for the update are below:

What's new:
· A new conversational experience for answers
· A new place to manage and set up your Cortana devices
· Listen to music and podcasts on the go
· Stay on top of your tasks managing meetings, emails, reminders and To Do on the go
· Join your next Skype or Teams meeting by simply asking Cortana

Microsoft's Cortana app for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Instagram parent company Facebook said in August said that it would introduce tools to let users know how much time they're spending in the Instagram app, and as of today, that feature is rolling out to Instagram users.

As noted by The Verge, Instagram has a new "Your Activity" section accessible by tapping the hamburger button on your profile page.

"Your Activity" displays the time that you've spent in the Instagram app over the course of the last week, providing a daily average.

There are options to set a daily time limit with a reminder to be sent when that time limit is reached, useful for those who want to cut down on their social media usage. This section also allows includes controls for managing notifications, with toggles for customizing the notifications that you receive.

Apple also natively monitors time spent in various apps like Instagram through the Screen Time feature that was introduced in iOS 12. Screen Time info can be accessed in the Settings app on iPhones and iPads.

Facebook, like Instagram, is supposed to be gaining an activity monitoring feature, but it hasn't yet been introduced.

Richard Zhu and Amat Cama, two white hat hackers, recently teamed up at the Mobile Pwn2Own contest in Tokyo and ended up earning a $60,000 prize after finding an iPhone exploit, according to a blog post on the Zero Day Initiative website.

The duo used a Safari weakness on an iPhone X running iOS 12.1 to retrieve a photo that had recently been deleted from the device. The hackers used a malicious Wi-Fi access point to exploit a just-in-time (JIT) compiler vulnerability.

The exploit the two hackers discovered can also be used to access additional files beyond deleted photos; the deleted photo just happened to be the first file the two came across and so it was used as a demonstration.

Next up, Amat and Richard returned to the Short Distance category. This time, they were targeting the iPhone X over Wi-Fi. They used a pair of bugs – a JIT vulnerability in the web browser followed by an Out-Of-Bounds write for the sandbox escape and escalation. The successful demonstration earned them $60,000 USD more and 10 additional Master of Pwn points. This ends their first day of competition with $140,000 USD and a commanding lead for the Master of Pwn with 31 points.

With the prize money and points awarded from the iPhone vulnerability along with other exploits shown off at the event, Zhu and Cama won the "Master of Pwn" title.

Apple has been informed of the vulnerability and will likely address it in an upcoming iOS update.

Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts today accepted the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Stop Slavery Award on behalf of Apple at the Trust Conference, an annual human rights gathering.

Apple received the award for its efforts to stop forced labor in its supply chain. Apple has long banned suppliers from requiring workers to pay off debt or withholding passports.

Ahrendts told attendees that Apple is teaming up with the UN's International Organization for Migration for an initiative that may eventually help victims of human trafficking to get jobs behind-the-scenes at Apple retail locations.

Apple will not know which individuals are being hired through the program, with participating people set to be hired by Apple suppliers rather than Apple directly to start with.

Apple will, however, monitor the initiative, and the company may eventually extend the program to allow human trafficking victims to be hired in Apple retail locations, according to the BBC.

"Though we have only just started, we see huge opportunity to be a beacon of hope for trafficking survivors integrating them into our retail team," Ms Ahrendts said in her acceptance speech.

"These efforts are just a part of a broader set of initiatives to eliminate modern slavery from every part of our company, in every part of the world."

Apple conducts ongoing audits of its supply chain partners and punishes those who are found to be defying the protections put in place for workers. Suppliers who repay fees are put on probation, and those that do not are banned.

More information on Apple's human rights efforts can be found on the company's Supplier Responsibility website.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, has been developing a new Harry Potter augmented reality game in partnership with Warner Bros, which is called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.

Today, Niantic shared some new details on the upcoming game in the form of a teaser trailer that gives a first look at gameplay.

Niantic first announced Wizards Unite in November 2017, but we've heard little word on the game since then. In today's trailer, Niantic clarifies that we won't be seeing Wizards Unite until sometime in 2019.

In Wizards Unite, players will learn spells, explore real world neighborhoods turned magical through augmented reality, fight legendary beasts, and team up with others to take down enemies.

On the Wizards Unite website, it appears the plot will deal with traces of magic showing up in the muggle world, which will require witches and wizards to contain the threat by joining the Statute of Secrecy Task Force.

Please resist the urge to panic. Traces of magic are appearing across the Muggle world without warning and in a rather chaotic manner. We worry it is only a matter of time before even the most incurious Muggles catch wind of it. We call on all witches and wizards to help contain the Calamity or risk the worst of times since You Know Who. Brush up on your spells, get your wand ready, and enlist immediately.

Players who are looking forward to Niantic's new game can sign up for email updates on the Wizards Unite website.

Nomad, a company that makes various cables, chargers, cases, and other accessories for Apple devices, recently came out with an updated version of its Base Station charger.

While the original Base Station is designed to wirelessly charge two iPhones at once, the updated Apple Watch version is able to charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch.

The Base Station Apple Watch Edition features a flat, leather covered aluminum wireless charging pad that has an elevated Apple Watch magnetic charging puck on the left side to accommodate an Apple Watch. The positioning of the Apple Watch charger allows for the Apple Watch to be placed into nightstand mode, ideal for charging on a bedside table.

Design wise, the Base Station is a sleek black color, which will fit well into any modern office or room setup. The bottom features two non-slip rubber strips to keep it in place, and the leather pad keeps the iPhone from moving around while charging while also offering a soft place to put it.

When it comes to size, because this is a flat charger, it takes up more space than an upright charger might. It measures in at a little over six inches long and about 4 inches wide, so it's not huge, but it's definitely bigger than some other combined Apple Watch/iPhone chargers. I'd like to see Nomad make one of these with a smaller footprint that has an upright charger option and an Apple Watch charging option.

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