During the new year in Japan, retailers often offer a Fukubukuro, or "mystery bag," which is a grab bag that is filled with a random assortment of products sold at a steep discount.
Apple has participated in this tradition for several years, and will once again be offering its "Lucky Bag" in seven different Japanese Apple stores on January 2.
Lucky Bags, which Apple sells for 33,000 yen or $390, traditionally contain items like iPods, headphones, and t-shirts. A few fortunate folks, however, have received big ticket items in previous years, like MacBook Airs or iPads, which have made Lucky Bags ultra popular in Japan.
Apple's grab bags are sold as is, and returns are not accepted unless a product is defective. Still, the bags have been quick sellers in previous years.
According to Tech in Asia, people begin to line up the night before in order to get their hands on a bag, as the sale is similar to Black Friday.
Unfortunately, you'll have to get in line very early if want one of these Lucky Bags. People typically begin lining up at the Apple store on the night before, so if you show up in the morning, and still manage to secure a bag — well, consider yourself lucky. I tried a couple of years ago, but walked away disappointed.
Like Apple's 12 Days of Christmas, this promotion is regionally limited to Japanese customers, though other countries, like China, may see the same traditional Apple Store sales during the new year.
Thursday December 5, 2024 11:48 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.2 today, which means it's going to see a public launch imminently. Release candidates represent the final version of new software that will be provided to the public should no last minute bugs be found, and Apple includes release notes with the RC launch.
The iOS 18.2 release notes provide a look at all of the new features that are coming...
Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March.
The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
Friday December 6, 2024 4:07 pm PST by Juli Clover
In 2025, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the iPhone that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. This iPhone 17 "Air" will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick, so an iPhone 17 that is 2mm thinner would come in at around 6.25mm. At 6.25mm,...
Friday December 6, 2024 5:14 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 lineup may bring some of the most significant display improvements we've seen in recent years. While the iPhone 17 series isn't expected until late 2025, multiple rumors suggest Apple is working on substantial screen upgrades across its entire smartphone range.
From enhanced refresh rates to advanced materials and improved power efficiency, these display...
Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Thursday December 5, 2024 10:03 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the fourth betas. Alongside the release candidate versions of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating system updates, Apple has also seeded the watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and HomePod Software 18.2 RCs....
Thursday December 5, 2024 4:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
OpenAI today announced the launch of ChatGPT Pro, a $200 per month subscription service that provides unlimited access to OpenAI o1, the company's newest and most advanced large language model.
The plan includes unlimited use of OpenAI o1, o1-mini, GPT-4o, and Advanced Voice, along with o1 pro mode, an o1 version that uses more compute to provide better answers to the hardest problems. In...
Crazy people are crazy anywhere. Can't really pin that on the US. If that kid had been in Europe when he went nuts, I wouldn't be pinning that on Europe. It's just a rare circumstance creating a rare horror, that wasn't dealt with in time to prevent the disaster.
Europe is a continent and the US a country. Please don't be so small minded
----------
Wait, are you talking about the attack in Norway that left some 69 kids dead? Terrible regardless of where it happens....which unfortunately is the world over.
... whereas mass shootings occur weekly in the US.
or our US troops kill tons of people in the Middle East every day, including women and children, but that doesn't make the news over here, because that's not what they want us to see. The US is likely responsible for millions of innocent lives, from invading foreign countries. But hey, it's not on Fox, or MSNBC, so it's not real, right?