MacRumors

MacRumors readers have a chance to save some money on a collection of Twelve South products this month, all of which should help prepare students who are going back to school soon. The sale includes accessories like the BookBook vol. 2 for MacBook, SurfacePad, BookBook CaddySack, ParcSlope, and HiRise Duet.

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

You can get 15 percent off these items by heading to TwelveSouth.com, adding any to your cart, and then entering the coupon code 12SchoolDays at checkout. You can check out more information on each product below, and note that the exclusive coupon code will expire on August 11 at 11:59 pm. ET.

SurfacePad

Promo Price: $17.99 - $84.99, down from $19.99 - $99.99
Compatible Products: iPhone 6 to recent, iPad Air, iPad mini, iPad Pro
Description: Twelve South's case provides protection to the back and front of your iPhone or iPad thanks to a durable front-flip cover design, making it ideal for students who tend to toss their Apple devices into crowded backpacks. Some models include slots for credit cards and IDs.

BookBook CaddySack

Promo Price: $51, down from $59.99
Compatible Products: Apple's cables, dongles, and chargers; Apple Pencil; Apple Watch bands
Description: The CaddySack case carries all of your Apple-related adapters and cables in your backpack, with velco straps, elastic bands, and a pouch to keep everything tidy and organized.

ParcSlope

Promo Price: $51, down from $59.99
Colors: Black and Silver
Compatible Products: MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro; 12.9-inch iPad Pro
Description: The ParcSlope provides the perfect angle for elevating your MacBook to a more comfortable height, while keeping your keyboard within reach for long note-taking sessions. Similarly, artists can use the stand to get a nice drawing angle on their iPad Pro.

BookBook Vol. 2 for MacBook

Promo Price: $68 - $85, down from $79.99 - $99.99
Colors: Brown and Rutledge
Compatible Products: MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro
Description: With six-sided protection, an interior hidden document for school papers, and versatility to use as a case or sleeve, Twelve South's new BookBook Vol. 2 for MacBook is an ideal case companion for Apple's MacBook.

HiRise Duet

Promo Price: $85, down from $99.99
Compatible Products: iPhone and Apple Watch
Description: The HiRise Duet is a combo Apple Watch and iPhone charger that's perfect for small spaces like dorm rooms and cluttered desks.

Head over to our Deals Roundup for even more of the latest offers happening this week, and remember to use the exclusive Twelve South promo code before it expires on August 11.

Fossil today announced its latest smartwatch, the Gen 5, which will let users make calls from the watch itself when connected to an iPhone (via The Verge). This has been possible with Android smartphones previously, but as of yet ‌iPhone‌ users who own a Fossil smartwatch have only been able to receive alerts about an incoming call.

Now, the Gen 5 will act similarly to the Apple Watch, and users will be able to talk into the smartwatch's speaker to make phone calls. The new smartwatch is launching today, but this feature for iPhones won't launch until sometime in the fall. As a note, it was confirmed that the Gen 5 watch still doesn't support Apple iMessages.

According to a Fossil spokesperson, “No action is required from your iPhone. The watch becomes another way to take your call via Bluetooth.”

Otherwise, the Gen 5 smartwatch has a longer battery life than the previous version, and can last for multiple days on a single charge. The device comes in six colors, all of which include a 1.28-inch AMOLED screen inside of a 44mm case that's 12mm thick.

It also has 8GB of storage, 1GB RAM, NFC, a heart rate sensor, GPS, and a speaker. Fossil said that the watch is waterproof up to 30 meters deep. The smartwatch runs on Google's Wear OS platform, and supports Google features like Google Fit, Google Pay, and the Google Assistant.

Fossil's Gen 5 smartwatch is available today starting at $295.

After partnering with Hulu, Spotify today announced that it will bundle its Premium plan with AT&T's most expensive wireless offering. Specifically, if you pay for AT&T's Unlimited &More Premium plan, you'll have the option to get a Spotify Premium monthly subscription at no extra cost (via Variety).

AT&T's Unlimited &More Premium plans start at $80 monthly per line, and if you are an existing Spotify Premium customer who has &More Premium, you'll be able to keep your current Spotify account when signing up for the offer.

Spotify is one of seven options in AT&T's entertainment bundle, and customers can also choose one of the following as their free add-on: HBO, Cinemax, VRV, Showtime, Starz, or Pandora.

“We continue to build relationships with world-class partners like AT&T to bring our Spotify Premium product to new audiences in the U.S. and across the globe,” Marc Hazan, Spotify’s VP of premium partnerships, said in a statement.

AT&T will also offer select wireless customers a six-month free trial of Spotify Premium. According to AT&T, this is the beginning of an "ongoing collaboration" with Spotify, which just reached 108 million paid subscribers around the world as of June.

The new AT&T entertainment bundle with Spotify Premium will be available from tomorrow, August 6.

Amazon is discounting a few models of the 11-inch iPad Pro this week, including a new low price on the 64GB Wi-Fi model.

Note: 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.

You can get this version of the 2018 11-inch iPad Pro for $649, down from $799. There are also a few 12.9.-inch models on sale, which we've rounded up below.

2018 iPad Pro Sale

• Wi-Fi, 64 GB - $649, down from $799 ($150 off, lowest ever)
• Wi-Fi, 1 TB - $1,299.99, down from $1,549 ($249 off)
• Cellular, 64 GB - $799.99, down from $949 ($149 off)
• Cellular, 256 GB - $1,099, down from $1,299 ($200 off, lowest ever)
• Cellular, 512 GB - $1,249.99, down from $1,499 ($249 off, lowest ever)

Head to our full Deals Roundup to check out all of the latest sales happening this week.

Following Apple's decision last week to suspend a Siri program that allows employees to listen to audio recordings for quality control purposes, Amazon and Google have both chosen to make their policies on human reviews of voice assistant audio more clear.

Late last month, Apple confirmed that a small number of anonymized ‌Siri‌ requests are analyzed for the purpose of improving ‌Siri‌, after a Guardian report revealed that contractors regularly hear private conversations recorded by Apple's voice assistant.

To allay privacy concerns, Apple said it was temporarily stopping the program while it reviewed the process that's currently used. It also said it plans to release a software update that will let ‌Siri‌ users opt out.

On Friday, Google said it had also suspended its policy of reviewing Google Assistant audio. The company actually suspended the practice across the EU on July 10 when a German privacy regulator started investigating it following a Belgian media report, but this is the first time Google has confirmed the fact publicly.

According to Bloomberg, Amazon will let Alexa users opt out of human review of their voice recordings. The new policy took effect Friday, and adds an option in the settings menu of the Alexa mobile app for removing recordings from analysis by Amazon employees.

All of the tech companies employ staff to review a small subset of voice recordings while claiming to anonymize the source. For example, Google distorts the recording before it is listened to, so as to disguise the user's voice, while Apple strips them of identifiable information and assigns each one a random device identifier.

However, Bloomberg revealed that some of Amazon's audio reviewers had access to the home addresses of Amazon customers, before the company moved to restrict the level of access. Many members of the public were unaware the practice even existed until Bloomberg reported on it earlier this year.

We're undoubtedly only a little over a month away from Apple's big September event, and the company is continuing to make headway on polishing up its next major operating system versions. This week saw a fresh round of betas with some more tweaks and improvements, and we expect things should begin firming up soon as Apple finalizes things and focuses on squashing any final bugs.

This week also saw official word that Apple Card will launch this month as well as rumors about a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad, and the 2020 iPhone lineup, while Apple began selling an updated version of LG's 27-inch 5K display. Read on for all of the details on those stories and more.

iOS 13 Beta 5 is Out: Here's What's New!

Another week, another iOS 13 beta release! The latest beta for developers and public testers includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes. We've rounded up everything new, including a customizable iPad home screen, more precise volume control, and more.

Apple also seeded the fifth betas of macOS Catalina, watchOS 6, and tvOS 13 to developers for testing, and there's a macOS Mojave Supplemental Update out that addresses a wake-from-sleep bug.

Tim Cook Confirms Apple Card Will Launch in August

Speaking on Apple's earnings call this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the Apple Card will launch in the United States at some point in August.

iPhone users will be able to sign up for Apple's credit card in the Wallet app within minutes and take advantage of features such as up to 3% in daily cash back, color-coded spending summaries, and no fees. It appears there will be a dedicated iPad app for managing Apple Card, as Apple's tablet lacks the centralized Wallet app where the card will be managed on iPhone.

There will also be a physical, titanium Apple Card for use at stores that do not accept contactless payments like Apple Pay. Finally, Apple's partner for Apple Card, Goldman Sachs, has posted the complete customer agreement with full details on how the card will work, so a launch certainly appears imminent.

Apple Begins Selling New 27" LG UltraFine 5K Display

LG this week released a new version of its UltraFine 5K Display with USB-C connectivity, allowing it to be used with the 2018 iPad Pro for the first time.

In a support document, however, Apple says the display is limited to 4K at 60Hz when connected to a 2018 iPad Pro via USB-C. The full 5K resolution requires a 2016 or newer MacBook Pro, a 2018 or newer MacBook Air, a 2017 or newer iMac or iMac Pro, or a 2018 Mac mini.

All Three 2020 iPhones Now Expected to Support 5G

2020 iPhone rumors continue to surface. The latest comes from Ming-Chi Kuo, who now expects all three iPhones coming next year to support 5G networks, not just the higher-end models.

On our YouTube channel this week, we tested Verizon's 5G network in Chicago, providing us with a glimpse of what is to come on the iPhone. Be sure to subscribe to MacRumors on YouTube for new Apple videos every week!

We also once again heard that 2020 iPhones will feature 3D-sensing time-of-flight sensors added to the rear camera system as Apple continues to dive deeper into augmented reality technology.

16-Inch MacBook Pro Said to Feature Narrow Bezels and Launch in Fall

A report this week claimed that Apple's rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro will feature ultra-narrow bezels, suggesting that the notebook could have a similar overall size as the existing 15-inch model.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is expected to launch in the fall, but rumors have been conflicting about a September or October release date. Rumors suggest the notebook will sport an all-new design and (finally) a scissor mechanism keyboard.

10.2" iPad Said to Launch in Fall as Successor to 9.7" iPad

The 16-inch MacBook Pro isn't the only new product expected to launch this fall. Apple is also widely rumored to release a new 10.2-inch iPad that will succeed its $329 entry-level 9.7-inch iPad.

As with the 16-inch MacBook Pro, there is still some debate as to whether the tablet will be released in September or October.

Tim Cook: We Want to Continue Making the Mac Pro in the United States

Multiple reports have indicated that the new Mac Pro will be manufactured in China, and while that might end up being the case at least initially, Apple CEO Tim Cook this week said that Apple wants to continue making the computer in the United States.

Apple filed import tariff exclusion requests for various Mac Pro parts and accessories with the U.S. government last month. In a tweet, President Trump said Apple would not be granted any relief, saying "make them in the USA, no tariffs!"

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

For this week's giveaway, we've once again teamed up with Throwboy to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a plush Mac, iPhone, or iPod from the Iconic Pillow Collection, which features soft pillow versions of classic Apple products.

The Iconic Pillow Collection includes five pillows that mimic the following Apple Macs and devices: the Apple II, released in 1977; the first Macintosh, released in 1984; the iMac G3, which was released in 1998; the iPod, released in 2001; and the ‌iPhone‌, released in 2007.

After launching successfully on Kickstarter in 2018, all of the pillows are now available on the Throwboy website for $39.99.

Each pillow features embroidered detailing to ensure they look like their hardware counterparts, and in a review we did earlier this year, we were impressed with the plushiness, the softness, and the intricate design.

The design details include the iPod's iconic click wheel on the iPod pillow, a rainbow logo and floppy disk drive on the 1984 pillow, a disk drive, speakers, and paneling on the ‌iMac‌ G3, a Home button and speaker for the ‌iPhone‌, and a full embroidered keyboard for the Apple II.

All of the pillows are also made in the correct colors for each machine, so there's no mistaking what each one is meant to be. The Apple II and the Macintosh are a light beige color, while the ‌iMac‌ G3 is in white and aqua. The iPod is white with a gray click wheel, and the ‌iPhone‌ is silver and black like the original model.

When it comes to size, these are ideal throw pillows for a couch or chair, and they also fit well on a shelf, making them the perfect decoration for Apple fans. Each pillow is soft, squishy, and comfortable to hold or lean against.

The Mac versions of the pillows are larger than the iPod and the ‌iPhone‌, though all work well as an alternative to a standard throw pillow on a couch or chair.

We have 10 of the Iconic Pillows to give away to MacRumors readers. Each winner will be able to pick their favorite Iconic pillow at the conclusion of the giveaway.

To enter to win, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

Best Buy has kicked off a few new discounts on the Apple Watch Series 3 and Series 4, with as much as $100 off select models. Series 4 discounts expire on August 4 while Series 3 sales will last through August 10.

Note: 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.

For the Apple Watch Series 3, Best Buy is offering $100 off a variety of models, including both aluminum and stainless steel. Prices start at $279 for 38mm aluminum and $309 for 42mm aluminum. The Apple Watch discounts are part of Best Buy's newest 3-Day weekend discount event.

Apple Watch Series 3: $100 Off

• Nike+ (GPS + Cellular) 38mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Anthracite/Black Nike Sport Band - $279, down from $379
• (GPS + Cellular) 38mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Dark Olive Sport Loop - $279, down from $379
• Nike+ (GPS + Cellular) 42mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Anthracite/Black Nike Sport Band - $309, down from $409
• (GPS + Cellular) 38mm Space Black Stainless Steel Case with Black Sport Band - $479, down from $579

Apple Watch Series 4: $50 Off

• (GPS) 40mm Gold Aluminum Case with Pink Sand Sport Band - $349, down from $399
• (GPS) 40mm Silver Aluminum Case with White Sport Band - $349, down from $399
• Nike+ (GPS) 44mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Anthracite/Black Nike Sport Band - $379, down from $429
• (GPS + Cellular) 44mm Gold Stainless Steel Case with Stone Sport Band - $699, down from $749

Head to our full Deals Roundup to stay up to date on all of the latest and greatest sales.

Apple Music today released a new playlist called "ALT CTRL," which is a rebranded version of its previous "The A-List: Alternative" playlist. This list of songs includes alternative bands and is currently headlined by HAIM's new single, "Summer Girl" (via Billboard).

ALT CTRL's playlist art will showcase a new artist each week, starting with HAIM. The playlist includes artists like Twenty One Pilots, The Black Keys, Dominic Fike, Lana Del Rey, and Vampire Weekend.

"Alternative is more an attitude than a sound -- music that colors just a bit outside the lines. ALT CTRL, formerly known as The A-List: Alternative, is where you'll find the best of those new left-of-center tunes."

Apple has slowly been rebranding its "The A-List" playlists, which now also includes "The A-List: Hip-Hop" changing to "Rap Life" in July and "The A-List: Dance" changing to "danceXL" in March. Other playlists still categorized as "The A-List" include genres like Pop, Country, R&B, Christian, Classical, Bollywood, African, K-Pop, Telugu, Khaleeji, Mandopop, J-Pop, Russian Hip-Hop, and more.

Amid the ongoing rebranding of its A-List playlists, Apple has also updated a few "Essentials" playlists with new Shot on iPhone cover art. Artists include Lizzo; Travis Scott; Kacey Musgraves; Tyler, The Creator; Tierra Whack; IDLES; Leon Bridges; Skrillex; and CHAI.

Each playlist showcases an image of the artist shot on an ‌iPhone‌ on their tour, and some artist's profile images have also been updated with similar Shot on ‌iPhone‌ iconography, including Lizzo and Kacey Musgraves. Apple has highlighted a few artists in a similar fashion with its "Shot on iPhone on Tour" video series, including artists like Florence Welch and FKA Twigs.

‌Apple Music‌ has continued to grow over the years, and in June the streaming music service was reported to have just over 60 million paid subscribers. Earlier this week Spotify reported on its own paid subscriber count, which broke 108 million globally in Q2 2019.

Amazon is discounting Apple's new 10.5-inch iPad Air by $50 across numerous models, including both W-Fi and cellular configurations.

Note: 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.

Prices start at $449.99 for the 64GB Wi-Fi model and rise from there. Across the board, these are the lowest prices ever seen on each iPad Air, which was just updated in March.

2019 iPad Air Sale

• Wi-Fi, 64GB - $449.99, down from $499.00 ($49 off, lowest ever)
• Wi-Fi, 256GB - $599.00, down from $649.00 ($50 off, lowest ever)
• Cellular, 64GB - $579.99, down from $629.00 ($49 off, lowest ever)
• Cellular, 256GB - $729.00, down from $779.00 ($50 off, lowest ever)

The new iPad Air has a 10.5-inch display with Touch ID, a headphone jack, A12 Bionic processor, Apple Pencil support, and Smart Keyboard support.

Our full Deals Roundup has even more information on the latest sales and bargains going on this week.

Apple has started rolling out new categories in its iOS Podcasts app to help improve the browsing experience and aid content discovery.

Listeners can now scroll right along a horizontal strip of podcast categories, which appear in the Browse tab under a section labeled "Browse by Category."

The classifications include Arts, Business, Comedy, Education, Fiction, Government, Health & Fitness, History, Kids & Family, Leisure, Music, News, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports, Technology, True Crime, and TV & Film.

When a category is selected, users can browse through Top Shows and New Shows. Some of the category listings also break down into additional subsections. For example, the Science category includes sections like Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Mathematics.

Category pages without subcategories have curated rows instead, such as Long-Running Shows in the Technology category.

At this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple mentioned that its Podcasts app would be getting new top-level categories and enhanced curation. Mac users should also be able to see the new categories in iTunes when the rollout is complete.