Apple Stores across Japan have today begun selling different configurations of the Fukubukuro, or "lucky bag", giving customers the chance to purchase a random assortment of products sold at a steep discount, reports Japanese blog Mac Otakara [Google Translate].
Apple's grab bags are sold as is, and returns are not accepted unless a product is found to be defective. Still, the bags have been quick sellers on previous occasions, with many people lining up the night before to get their hands on a bag.
As with past years, Apple's Lucky Bag promotion is limited to customers of Apple retail locations in Japan, though other countries, like China, may see the same traditional Apple Store sales during the new year.
Apple's website continues to state that the first vehicle models with next-generation CarPlay will "arrive in 2024." With less than three days remaining in the year, however, that timeframe is looking more and more unlikely.
It would not be entirely Apple's fault if the stated 2024 target is missed, given that it is ultimately up to automakers to roll out the software in vehicles, but it is...
Friday December 27, 2024 2:43 pm PST by Juli Clover
Even though iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2 added multiple Apple Intelligence features like Image Playground, Genmoji, Writing Tools, and more, there are still new Apple Intelligence capabilities that we're waiting on. Apple has at least one more major Apple Intelligence update coming in 2025, and the functionality that we're expecting is outlined below.
Priority Notifications
Notification summaries...
Thursday December 26, 2024 10:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple this week began teasing some kind of upcoming Apple TV+ surprise that's set to happen on January 4 and January 5, telling customers to "stay tuned" and "save the date" in social media posts.
Apple's images have a tagline that says "See for yourself," but it isn't clear what Apple has planned. Some users on Reddit have speculated that Apple might be planning to launch a promotion that...
Monday December 23, 2024 6:30 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple released 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. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Saturday December 28, 2024 12:03 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Starting with iOS 18.2, released earlier this month, Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. have access to daily sudoku puzzles in the Apple News app.
There are easy, moderate, and challenging difficulty levels for the daily puzzles. A scoreboard tracks your sudoku stats, including your total number of puzzles solved, fastest completion times per difficulty level, and more.
Sudoku is the...
Tuesday December 24, 2024 8:35 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is expected to release an AirTag 2 next year, and a few new features and changes have already been rumored for the item tracker.
Below, we recap what to expect from the AirTag 2:
The new AirTag is expected to be equipped with Apple's second-generation Ultra Wideband chip for longer range. The chip debuted last year in the iPhone 15 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple said it...
Sunday December 22, 2024 8:09 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cites a source within Apple.
The report said that iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that is capable of running iOS 18, which would mean the following models:
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
...
Monday December 23, 2024 4:18 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...
There can be a huge amount of legal and other problems, depending where you are.
One: Obviously the store won't accept returns if you don't like the contents, just like you can't return a lottery ticket that didn't win. Not accepting returns might be illegal in some country.
Two: Not telling you exactly what you get in a sale might be illegal in some country.
Three: In some country, this might be considered to be a lottery, and a store would need a license to run a lottery which might be hard to get, or a lottery might be illegal.
Four: Depending on the attitude of customers, people who got less than they expected might get angry and cause the store more trouble than this is worth. Obviously culture dependent.
Fifth: Depending on the attitude of customers, they might deeply distrust an offer like this and expect to be ripped off, so very few would buy and many would think that the store attempted to rip them off, which is not good for business. Obviously culture dependent.
----------
As with past years, Apple's Lucky Bag promotion is limited to Japanese customers, ...
I suppose it is not limited to Japanese customers, but to customers who go to an Apple Store in Japan, right? Japanese customers turning up in a store in New York won't get a "Lucky Bag", and I won't be refused one in Tokyo because I'm not Japanese?
Four: Depending on the attitude of customers, people who got less than they expected might get angry and cause the store more trouble than this is worth. Obviously culture dependent.
totally a waste of money. the chance of getting a mac air is probably 1 in 10 or 20.
why would anyone spend $345 on belkin case.
----------
are you kidding me? none of the bags are worth it unless you get mac air
Oh really? An iPad mini that costs $299 isn't worth $345 including a $100 bag and a $60 battery? iPad Air at $499 plus a $50 smart cover not worth $345? $149 iPod nano with another $200 worth of stuff not worth $345? Math not your strong suit?
The US got the 12 days of apps this year and look what happened. :rolleyes: The App Store is a total mess and most are whining because they think they're entitled to more than they're being offered.
We're not culturally stable enough in the US to have something like this. Everyone has $345 to blow, especially when it mean they're getting $1,000+ worth of stuff. Look at what happens on Black Friday.
