MacRumors

Just ahead of Thanksgiving and the busy Black Friday shopping holiday in the U.S., some app developers have discounted their iOS and Mac apps for a limited time.

We have been tracking App Store price drops on our sister website AppShopper and found early deals on popular apps Pixelmator, Linky, Lost Within and more.

Pixelmator for iOS [Direct Link] has been discounted from $4.99 to $1.99, which is 60% off and the image editing app's lowest price since it went on sale for 99 cents in July 2015.

Pixelmator is a powerful, full-featured, layer-based image editor that lets you touch up and enhance images, sketch and paint, as well as create advanced image compositions on iPad and iPhone alike.

Pixelmator for Mac [Direct Link] is also on sale for $14.99, which is 50% off its regular price of $29.99. The OS X image editing app last went on sale for $14.99 in April 2015.

Pixelmator takes full advantage of the latest Mac technologies, giving you speedy, powerful tools that let you touch up and enhance images, draw or paint, apply dazzling effects, or create advanced compositions amazingly simple. Once your images are ready, access them anywhere with iCloud, send them to iPhoto or Aperture, email, print, share, or save them to popular image formats–all right from Pixelmator.

Linky for iOS [Direct Link] is on sale for 50% off during Black Friday week, lowering the app's price to $1.99 from $3.99. The popular link, text and sharing app was last discounted to $1.99 in November 2014.

Linky lets you easily share webpage links, images and text extracts to Twitter, Facebook and App.net from your iPhone and iPad.

Write your post, choose which preferred social networks and Linky will do the rest! You can connect Linky to Twitter, Facebook (Profiles and Pages) and App.net.

Amazon Game Studios has discounted Lost Within for iOS [Direct Link] to $1.99, which is over 70% off its regular $6.99 price and the app's lowest price ever.

The high-rated iPhone and iPad survival game, an Editors' Choice on the App Store, last went on sale for $2.99 in October 2015. Read our Lost Within review on TouchArcade.

From the developer of Prey -- Survive a haunted asylum and its monstrous Inhabitants. Confront a legendary killer who prowls the abandoned wards. Scavenge and create makeshift weapons or conserve your resources and employ stealth tactics to sneak past the lurking horrors. When all else fails, run for your life or find a place to hide. To escape, you must uncover the asylum's dark mystery: the shattering secret that led to its condemnation. There are many doors, but there is only one way out.

Todo - The ORIGINAL To-Do and Task List is the world's first, and one of the most popular, powerful, and award-winning to-do list and task manager iOS apps ever—now on Apple Watch! Todo is used by millions of individuals, families and teams for GETTING THINGS DONE.

Also on Sale

- Door Kickers: $4.99 → $1.99
- AG Drive: $3.99 → $1.99
- The Cursed Ship, Collector’s Edition (iPhone): $4.99 → Free
- The Cursed Ship, Collector’s Edition (iPad): $6.99 → Free

Though not an App Store deal, four developers have teamed up to offer a a software package containing movie-related apps, which is available at a discount for Black Friday. The Blockbuster Kit includes Boom 2, Beamer 3, Waltr, and Elmedia Player Pro for $29.90 through Cyber Monday, at which point the price will go up to $50. A description of the included apps is below.

- Boom 2 - World’s most advanced app for sound boosting.
- Beamer 3 - The first and the easiest way to stream any movie to Apple TV.
- WALTR - World’s fastest way to get any movie into your iPhone & iPad.
- Elmedia Player PRO - One of the best ways to watch movies on your Mac.

Follow our Black Friday roundup to keep track of the best deals on Apple products and accessories.

A day before Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States, Apple this morning shared a new Christmas-themed ad for 2015, starring artists Stevie Wonder and Andra Day. The 90-second ad centers on Wonder performing his 1967 holiday classic "Someday At Christmas" with family members.

T-Mobile has announced a second "Un-carrier Unwrapped" promotion that offers Sprint customers a $200 bill credit for each line switched to a T-Mobile Simple Choice postpaid plan starting Thursday, November 26.

The offer is valid for Sprint, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile postpaid and prepaid customers, with no device trade-in required for the bill credit.

Sprint customers can still take advantage of T-Mobile's Carrier Freedom offer, which provides up to $650 towards a balance owing or to pay off early termination fees (ETFs) with an eligible device trade-in.

Just switch any Sprint number – including postpaid, prepaid, Boost and Virgin Mobile – over to a T-Mobile Simple Choice postpaid plan starting this Thursday, November 26 and you’ll automatically get a $200 credit on your bill. That’s $200 multiplied by as many lines as you switch. For a family of four, that could mean $800 extra, and for a business with 10 employees, we’re talking about a $2,000 credit!

This limited time offer is part of T-Mobile's monthlong "Un-carrier Unwrapped" holiday promotion that began with three months of free unlimited LTE data for all Simple Choice postpaid customers earlier this week.

T-Mobile plans to unveil additional "gifts" over the next month, with a new gift coming at least once per week. T-Mobile CEO John Legere confirmed on Twitter that gifts are coming soon for AT&T and Verizon customers.

Earlier this year, MacRumors uncovered some evidence suggesting Zurich-based real-time motion capture firm Faceshift was acquired by Apple, and as of today, that acquisition has been confirmed by Apple in a statement given to TechCrunch.

"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

Prior to being acquired by Apple, Faceshift worked with game and animation studios on technology designed to quickly and accurately capture facial expressions using 3D sensors, including Faceshift Studio software with plugins for Maya and Unity. The company was also working toward consumer-facing software like a Skype plugin that would support real-time avatars for video chat.

Based on Swiss company registry filings discovered by MacRumors, Faceshift was acquired by Apple in mid-August. Several Faceshift employees have now joined Apple and are working out of the company's European offices. Apple is also hiring additional employees to work on related technology in Switzerland, including a senior software engineer that would focus on "cutting-edge imaging algorithms for both mobile and desktop photographic applications."

Faceshift launched in 2011 out of the Computer Graphics and Geometry Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and in mid-2013, the company expanded and brought on industry veteran Doug Griffin, formerly of Industrial Light & Magic and Electronic Arts, to head up a San Francisco office. Faceshift has demonstrated its motion capture technology multiple times in the past few years, most recently demoing it at GDC 2015.

Best Buy is hosting an early access online-only sale today that includes significant discounts on the Apple Watch and the iPad Air 2 ahead of the traditional Black Friday shopping holiday.

Customers can get $50 off the Apple Watch Sport and $100 off the stainless steel Apple Watch, dropping entry-level prices to $299 and $449, respectively. The discount applies to all Apple Watch models that Best Buy sells and is available online only.

To get the discount, enter the code AWSPORTDEAL when checking out with an Apple Watch Sport or AWDEAL when checking out with the stainless steel Apple Watch.

Best Buy is also offering up to $125 off iPad Air 2 models. The 16 and 64GB iPad Air 2 models can be purchased at a $100 discount when using the promo code IPADAIR2DEAL at checkout, while 128GB models can be purchased at a $125 discount with the promocode IPADSAVE125DEAL.

Best Buy's Early Access sale will end on 11/24/15 at 11:59 p.m. Central Time. That translates to 9:59 p.m. Pacific Time and 12:59 a.m. Eastern Time.

When Black Friday rolls around, Best Buy will be offering additional discounts on the Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and a selection of MacBooks. Several other retailers are also offering similar deals, all of which can be found in our dedicated Black Friday roundup.

Following teardowns of the Apple Pencil and the iPad Pro itself, iFixit today completed a disassembly of Apple's new first party Smart Keyboard accessory. The teardown of the keyboard doesn't provide much in the way of surprising internal revelations, but does give those interested a closer look at the accessory's conductive fabric, dome switches underneath the keys, and underlying circuit board powering the device.

iFixit first noted the "high tech fabric" lining the outside of the Smart Keyboard, guessing that the fabric could be nylon due to its tactile similarities to a windbreaker. Once peeled back, the stripped away fabric reveals a row of dome switches beneath, along with a stiffening weight placed in the spacebar for a more reliable return each time a user hits the rectangular key.

Once the Smart Keyboard is cracked open, iFixit discovered the circuit board at the center of the device, but with no added flourishes like LEDs, batteries, or cooling fans due to the accessory's slim size. Once the keyboard frame was pulled away, the site noticed "intestinal squiggles" lining the plastic casing that direct toward small vents on the topside of the keyboard, most likely used to release air pressure each time a key is pressed, according to iFixit.

Lastly the teardown revealed the "brains of the operation" in the form of an ARM-based microcontroller from STMicroelectronics, along with a final layer of three fabric strips at the base of the keyboard. Made of Apple's "conductive fabric" that connects the accessory's smart connector (where the iPad Pro is placed) with the actual keyboard, the fabric allows for a "two-way flow of power and data" that should be able to withstand a lifetime of unfolding the Smart Keyboard.

Overall, iFixit gave the iPad Pro's Smart Keyboard a repairability score of 0 out of 10, meaning once it was torn down the accessory is impossible to repair. The site noted that while the Apple-made accessory is quite durable, it must be damaged to gain entry and none of its internal components can be removed and replaced without causing fatal harm to the device.

Mitsubishi has announced that the 2017 Mirage will feature both CarPlay and Android Auto, becoming the first Mitsubishi vehicle in the U.S. to support Apple's in-dash system. The new subcompact hatchback, introduced at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, is positioned as Mitsubishi's entry-level vehicle in its current lineup.

Mitsubishi joins several other CarPlay partners, including Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Honda, Porsche and Volkswagen. Apple says several other automakers are committed to the platform, including BMW, Dodge, Ford, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Toyota, but few have disclosed their plans.

Apple plans to launch Apple Pay in mainland China before the weeklong Spring Festival starting February 8, 2016, also known as the Chinese New Year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The report claims Apple recently reached deals with China's big four state-run banks to launch Apple Pay, but the iPhone maker could still face regulatory hurdles in the country.

China's big four state-run commercial banks include the Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China.

Alipay and Tenpay are currently the two largest electronic payment platforms in China, with nearly 64% combined market share, according to the report, citing research firm Analysys.

China's only interbank network UnionPay holds a monopoly on the country's credit and debit card processing, effectively blocking MasterCard and Visa. The state-run organization does offer some credit cards affiliated with American Express, MasterCard or Visa for use abroad.

One Chinese developer who has seen the latest beta version of Apple’s mobile-operating system said logos for China’s UnionPay can be found within the package. China UnionPay Co. press officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Apple is committed to an international expansion of Apple Pay, having launched the mobile payments service in Australia and Canada last week in partnership with American Express. Apple Pay is also coming to Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain in 2016.

China has also been an oft-rumored candidate for Apple Pay. Apple CEO Tim Cook told Chinese news agency Xinhua in May that Apple "very much want to get Apple Pay in China," adding that he is "very bullish on Apple Pay in China."

Apple has registered an entity in the Shanghai free-trade zone to prepare for the launch of Apple Pay in China, the WSJ previously reported. Apple Technology Service (Shanghai) Ltd. was registered on June 10, per the Shanghai government's company registry.

Apple has launched (via AppleInsider) a brand new outdoor ad campaign for the Apple TV a week after debuting its first TV commercials for the new set-top box. The new ads feature a variation of the SMPTE color bars, a television test pattern, as a backdrop to the simple Apple TV logo.

The ads appear to have gone up in the last 24 hours, with Instagram user Courtney Cerruti noting that she saw workers tugging the image into place and that they went up "in unison." Additionally, every current picture of the new billboards have appeared within the last 11 hours or so. The ads also come in different formats, with some ads in a vertical orientation on buildings and others in a more traditional horizontal format.

T-Mobile today announced a new holiday promotion it's calling "Un-carrier Unwrapped," offering free unlimited LTE data for all of its Simple Choice customers for the next three months. All existing Simple Choice postpaid customers as of the end of the day on November 23 will get the unlimited data.

T-Mobile also plans to unveil additional "gifts" for the next month, with a new gift coming each week. The company is teasing a "special holiday gift" for Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon customers, with one gift per carrier per week.

"We've had a fantastic year, and we're going to spread that T-Mobile cheer by starting with the most important people first... our existing customers! Now you get Unlimited LTE data on our blazing fast network for three full months as a gift from the Un-carrier to you," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. "But that's not all....we know that Verizon, AT&T and Sprint customers need some holiday cheer, too - so we've got presents coming for them. Just wait!"

The unlimited data offering for Simple Choice customers will begin on December 1, 2015 and will last through March 1, 2016. Unlimited data will kick in once all existing data and Data Stash data has been used up. T-Mobile does require its Binge On video streaming service to be activated.

Unveiled earlier this month, Binge On provides T-Mobile customers with video streaming that does not eat into data plans, but it uses a data compression algorithm that streams video at a reduced 480p quality.

T-Mobile is also offering Black Friday deals on Samsung smartphones and discounting the UE Boom Bluetooth speaker by $100, dropping the price to $99.

Mobile payments company Square today announced the launch of its new NFC reader within 100 small businesses around the country, letting stores who previously were unable to accept Apple Pay -- due to the lack of a required contactless reader -- begin supporting the service (via USA Today). The small square-shaped reader will act like all other Apple Pay-accepting terminals, letting users wave an iPhone or Apple Watch near the device to complete a purchase.

"Until now, technology like our new reader has been out of reach for local businesses," said Jesse Dorogusker, head of hardware at Square, told USA TODAY via email. "Now Square sellers across the country can quickly and easily accept the new forms of payment that are crossing their counter tops."

Business owners can buy the Square reader for $49 to begin allowing customers the option to use Apple Pay in their storefronts. With the recent surge in popularity of chip cards, touted as being a safer and more secure physical payment alternative, the reader also has the option to accept chip cards in a small slot located on the side of the device.

Square initially announced incoming support for Apple Pay last November, with no real hint as to what the device would be. The company then announced the Square reader during WWDC earlier this summer, confirming its NFC and chip-reading capabilities would bring the success of Apple Pay to businesses and merchants who as of yet hadn't had the chance to support the service. Merchants interested in adopting Apple Pay can visit Square's official website to reserve their own NFC reader.