MacRumors

Apple released the iPad Pro online and in stores earlier today, and the embargo has now lifted for hands-on reviews of the new 12.9-inch tablet.

The consensus opinion is that the iPad Pro is an excellent device for content creation, with powerful hardware for intensive apps and multitasking, but not quite a PC replacement due to its iOS limitations. The tablet's experience will be better realized once more developers update their apps to take advantage of the larger canvas.

iPad Pro reviews praised its large display, which at 2,732×2,048 pixels has a higher resolution than the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, and most early adopters claim the tablet meets or exceeds its advertised 10-hour battery life. The new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard also received positive reviews.

Ars Technica - Andrew Cunningham

It's best to think of the iPad Pro as a starting point, especially for iOS 9. These multitasking features are still brand-new, and there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit to pick in future iOS 9 revisions and into iOS 10. My biggest gripes with the iPad Pro are with the software rather than the hardware, and that means that most of them can be fixed given enough time and enough feature requests. It took Microsoft three tries to really nail down the Surface Pro concept, and given a couple of iOS updates the iPad Pro has room to grow into a more versatile laptop replacement without necessarily giving up the things that people like about iOS.

For the rest of us, there's still the Mac.

CNET - Scott Stein

I want the iPad to eat the Mac, the way the iPhone ate the iPod. This iPad has already crept up to become as large as a Mac. But iOS needs to fully change with it. I need to connect to my old files and Web tools better, because that's what I need as a pro. I want it to become as flexible as a computer should be. The iPad needs to bridge the gap.

The iPad Pro feels like the top half of a new futuristic superpowered laptop. I want the bottom half, too.

MacStories - Federico Viticci

The iPad Pro is positioned as a more productive take on the iPad for those who need to get work done on it. My recommendation couldn't be more straightforward: if iOS is your main computing platform, or if you plan to turn an iPad into your primary computer, you'll want an iPad Pro. Its powerful hardware, multitasking interface, and extensible nature are superior to every other iPad. I don't see myself using a Mac as my primary computer ever again.

Mashable - Lance Ulanoff

It certainly has some impressive benchmark numbers. Its Geekbench single-core (3,218) and multi-core (5,455) numbers blew away virtually everything else (in the mobile space), including the A9 chip in the iPhone 6S/6S Plus. It even outperforms the new MacBook's Intel Core M processor (2,367 and 4,489 for single-core and multi-core, respectively). What’s more, the iPad Pro’s single-core score rivaled desktop performance on the Microsoft Surface Book (beating the sixth-gen Intel Core i5 and coming close to a sixth-gen Intel Core i7). The multi-core scores lagged behind both systems, but not by the margin you might expect.

TechCrunch - Matthew Panzarino

…iPad Pro absolutely, 100% could be the central computing device for a home. […] But there is a certain (sorry) norm-core computing demographic that could very well end up with an iPad Pro as the ’enhanced’ component to their smartphone, which is their real computer. Somewhere on the same level as other use-case-based devices like wearables and an interconnected home.

TouchArcade - Eli Hodapp

I'm not sure how anyone can walk away with a first impression that's any different from, "Wow, this is comically large." Unboxing my iPad Pro and getting it in my hands for the first time brought all the memories of the original Xbox rushing back, as everything about that console (particularly the launch day unit) from the size of the Xbox itself to how huge the controller is just felt absurdly huge. […]

If you want a good size comparison without leaving the house, look around for a normal sized magazine. For whatever reason I've got an issue of People on my coffee table, and the screen of the iPad Pro is basically the exact same size. Add in a little extra around the edge for the bezel, and there you go.

The Verge - Lauren Goode

But even this split-screen mode isn’t enough for lots of the "laptop" things I need to do on a daily basis. This is still a mobile OS we’re talking about. It’s nice that it’s at least familiar feeling, unlike the foreign hybrid OS that Microsoft introduced with the first Surfaces. But I can’t manipulate more than two app windows at a time on the iPad Pro. I can’t control things with a trackpad. I can’t run Final Cut Pro on the iPad Pro. Entering data into cells in the Google Sheets app on the iPad Pro is still onerous. There’s no way to hand over the iPad to someone else and let them quickly log in as a "guest" user.

The Verge - Walt Mossberg

You can get a lot more done with iPad apps than with the paltry selection of tablet / touch-first apps available for the Surface. But, because Apple hasn’t made a great keyboard, the iPad Pro isn’t a complete replacement for a great laptop like the MacBook Air — even for a tablet guy like me.

The iPad Pro will no doubt make a lot of Apple users happy, especially if they use it for graphics. But I won’t be buying one, and I don’t recommend that average users do so either.

The Wall Street Journal - Joanna Stern

The Pro may seem wedged between iPads and MacBooks, but it will be your main computer in the future. As our phablets push smaller tablets into retirement, the big tablet and its accessories will do the same for our traditional computers. For now, however, it may be easiest to step back and see the Pro as a… really good, really big iPad.

More Reviews: Bloomberg, Daring Fireball, Fast Company, TechRadar, The Telegraph, Wired and Yahoo Tech

Apple is now accepting orders for the iPad Pro, both through its online storefront and through the Apple Store app. The first iPad Pro online orders will arrive on Friday, November 13 when one-day shipping is selected, and Apple's site is also listing the tablet as available for purchase in many retail stores beginning today.

The Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard will not be arriving until late next week and are not available for in-store pickup at the current time.

Logitech's CREATE Backlit Keyboard Case for the iPad Pro is available in stores beginning today, however, for $149.95. Apple is advertising the keyboard right alongside the Apple Pencil and its own Smart Keyboard. Logitech's keyboard was designed with input from Apple and it is the first third-party product to use the device's Smart Connector port.

The iPad Pro is Apple's new flagship tablet, measuring in at 12.9 inches diagonally. It includes a Retina display, a four speaker audio system, 4GB RAM, and a set of dedicated accessories, the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard.

Apple's iPad Pro is priced at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model, $949 for the 128GB Wi-Fi only model, and $1,079 for the 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The iPad Pro is available for purchase in Gold, Silver, and Space Gray.

The Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard are being sold alongside the iPad Pro. The Apple Pencil is priced at $99, while the Smart Keyboard is priced at $169.

The iPad Pro is available in a long list of countries at launch, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greenland, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, UAE, U.S., U.K., Uruguay, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

InstaAgent, an app that connects to Instagram and promises to track the people that have visited a user's Instagram account, appears to be storing the usernames and passwords of Instagram users, sending them to a suspicious remote server.

An app developer from Peppersoft downloaded InstaAgent -- full name "Who Viewed Your Profile - InstaAgent" -- and discovered it's reading Instagram account usernames and passwords, sending them via clear text to a remote server - instagram.zunamedia.com.

InstaAgent is also using the credentials to log into accounts and post unauthorized images. Instagram does not permit third-party apps to upload photos to user accounts.

While InstaAgent isn't particularly popular in the United States, it is currently the number one free app in both the United Kingdom and Canada, with thousands of downloads that puts a huge number of Instagram users at risk of having their information stolen. In the Google Play store, the app had between 100k and 500k users, and the install numbers could be similar for iOS.

Google has removed the InstaAgent Android app from the Google Play store, but InstaAgent is still available in the iOS App Store for the time being. Anyone who has downloaded InstaAgent should delete the app immediately and change their Instagram password.

Passwords for other sites and accounts that were the same as the Instagram password should also be changed as a precaution. We also highly recommend a password management app like 1Password, which can generate unique complex passwords for each and every site or service. Instagram also advises against installing third-party apps that don't follow its Community Guidelines.

There are dozens if not hundreds of third-party apps that promise to provide Instagram users with followers and other perks, and these kind of apps should be avoided. According to Instagram, these apps are "likely an attempt to use your account in an inappropriate way" as InstaAgent does.

Update 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time: InstaAgent has now been removed from the iOS App Store.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere today hosted an Un-Carrier X event, where he announced T-Mobile's latest offering, free video streaming. Going forward, T-Mobile customers who watch streaming video will not have the video data count towards their monthly data usage.

That means services like Netflix and Hulu will no longer eat up data, making T-Mobile's data plans go further. T-Mobile's lowest-priced plan costs $50 per month and includes just 2GB of data, but T-Mobile is now the only company that excludes video streaming data from data usage. T-Mobile also allows for free streaming music, a perk introduced at an earlier event.

With the new Binge-On free video streaming service, there are 24 current partners, and the program is open to any video streaming product that wants to participate. Binge-On uses a proprietary data compression algorithm to stream 480p "DVD quality" video that uses a smaller amount of data to a T-Mobile device. For those who don't want to use the compression service, it can be toggled off. Binge-On is available to customers with a 3GB plan or higher.

Binge-On partners at launch include Netflix, HBO Now, HBO Go, Hulu, WatchESPN, Showtime, Starz Play, Encore Play, Vevo, MLB.tv, NBC Sports, Movieplex Play, Vessel, Sling TV, Sling Box, T-Mobile TV, Go90, DirecTV, Univision Sports, Crackle, FOX Sports, FOX Sports Go, Vudu, and Ustream.

T-Mobile has also doubled the amount of data available to its Simple Choice customers. Rather than offering data in 1GB, 3GB, and 5GB increments, T-Mobile is now offering 2GB, 6GB, 10GB, and unlimited plans.

Customer plans are being doubled at no cost and a new Family Match promotion doubles the amount of data available to each family member. A family of four can now get 6GB of data each for a total of $120 per month using Family Match. Family Match includes a free fourth line for all customers as part of a limited time promotion.

Over the course of the last two years, T-Mobile has aimed to disrupt traditional mobile service with its 10 "Un-carrier" initiatives. The company began with uncoupling device costs from service costs in 2013, and then went on to offer several additional incentives to encourage customers to switch to the carrier, including paying early termination fees, offering a JUMP! upgrade plan, unlimited texting and 2G data in 100 countries, free streaming music from Spotify, Rdio, iTunes Radio, and Pandora, one week free trials to test the T-Mobile service, Wi-Fi calling, data rollovers, and low-cost plans for businesses.

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming update to tvOS, the new operating system that runs on the fourth-generation Apple TV. Today's tvOS beta marks the first major software update to tvOS 9.0, a final version of which was released alongside the new Apple TV. The first beta of tvOS 9.1 was seeded to developers last week.

The second tvOS beta is available as an over-the-air update to those who have installed the first beta. Installing an initial tvOS beta is a more involved process than installing a beta update for iOS or OS X. The update requires the Apple TV to be connected to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, with the software downloaded and installed via iTunes.

We don't yet know exactly what is included in the new version of tvOS, as most changes thus far appear to be under-the-hood updates. Apple's release notes for the update include references to networking and scrolling tweaks, and it's likely tvOS 9.1 will include fixes for bugs and issues that have been discovered in the software since the Apple TV's official launch.

We will include any other external facing changes below.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan update to developers, just one week after seeding the second beta and three weeks after releasing the first OS X El Capitan update to the public, OS X 10.11.1.

The new beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store and can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center.

We don't know exactly what improvements the second update to OS X El Capitan will introduce, as many of the changes seem to be under-the-hood upgrades. It’s likely to focus on bug fixes, security enhancements, and performance improvements to address problems that have popped up since the release of OS X 10.11.1.

Apple's release notes for OS X 10.11.2 have asked developers to focus on Networking, Graphics, Mail, Wi-Fi, Calendar, USB, Notes, Photos, and Spotlight.

Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 9.2 to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the second iOS 9.2 beta and three weeks after releasing iOS 9.1 to the public. As a .1 upgrade, iOS 9.2 will mark the second major update to iOS 9.

The new iOS 9.2 beta is available as an over-the-air update and through the Apple Developer Center. Today's beta is also available to public beta testers, and there's also a new version of the Xcode 7.2 beta available.

Earlier betas of iOS 9.2 introduced changes for the Safari View Controller, which is what allows a pop-up Safari window to be used in third-party apps. Safari View Controller now supports third-party Action Extensions, allowing apps like 1Password to be accessed in the Safari view of other apps like Tweetbot.

Safari View Controller has also been updated with the ability to long tap on the Reload button to reload content without content blockers and it now supports the request desktop site function. iOS 9.2 beta 2 improved Safari View Controller further, introducing support for dismissing it with an edge swipe.

Along with improvements to Safari View Controller, iOS 9.2 also introduces support for AT&T's NumberSync Wi-Fi Calling feature and includes bug fixes for iCloud Keychain, Apple Watch syncing and pairing, audio quality when streaming to stereo systems, and more.

Apple is launching its first major app for Android devices today, expanding its Apple Music platform to Android-based smartphones and tablets. With the introduction of a beta Apple Music app for the Google Play Store, Android users will be able to subscribe to the Apple Music streaming service, listen to Beats 1 radio, and access the Apple Connect artist-based social network.

The new Apple Music app is available from the Google Play store and requires Android 4.3 or later. It's available in all of the countries where Apple Music for iOS is available, with the exception of China. Apple Music includes the same three-month trial for Android users and it is priced the same - $9.99 for an individual plan and $14.99 for a family plan.

TechCrunch spoke with Eddy Cue about the launch of the new Android app for Apple Music, who said Apple's decision to create an Apple Music Android app was based on a desire to let people enjoy music "no matter where you were and what products you were using." Apple wants "everyone in the world" to be able to try Apple Music, including those in areas where Android devices remain more popular than iOS devices.

Apple Music for Android offers a design that's similar to the iOS version, but as it's a beta, it does not yet include Music Videos or the ability to sign up for a family membership within the app. Family memberships will need to be purchased on an iOS device. According to Cue, Apple Music is "a full native app" that will "feel very much like an Android app."

"We wanted customers on Android to naturally be able to use it -- what they've learned and how they interact is common. Things as simple as [that] the share icon looks like an Android share icon; the menu structure being where it is; these are things that most Android customers are familiar with. We wanted to make sure that they felt very familiar with Apple Music when they sat down to use it."

Apple Music is not Apple's first app for Android, but it is the most significant. Apple previously released a "Move to iOS" app that helps Android users transition to the iPhone, and it's launched an Android app for controlling the Beats Pill+ speaker. All of Apple's Android apps have come in the last few months, signaling its willingness to expand beyond the iOS ecosystem for the first time.

Apple is unlikely to adopt AMOLED displays for next-generation iPhones in the foreseeable future, according to often-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst believes Apple will continue using TFT-LCD display technology for at least the next three years -- and likely beyond.

Kuo claims that Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, is preparing to invest in advanced TFT-LCD production lines in China for mass production in 2018, and coupled with recent comments made by iPhone backlight supplier Minebea, the analyst believes iPhones will continue using TFT-LCD displays in the future.

Based on recent comments by Minebea, one of the main iPhone backlight unit suppliers, we believe AMOLED will not penetrate iPhone for the next three years. Moreover, Hon Hai is preparing to invest in Gen-6 LTPS TFT-LCD production lines in Zhengzhou, China for mass production in 2018, suggesting the iPhone line will likely stick with TFT-LCD technology in 2018 and thereafter. […]

Minebea, major BLU supplier of iPhone, stated to investors on November 5 that it does not foresee risk of TFT-LCD share loss to AMOLED in high-end smartphone market in next three years & guides growth in TFT-LCD going forward. As Apple and Samsung are the only two brands that currently offer premium smartphones, we think Minebea’s statements imply it does not expect iPhone to adopt AMOLED in the coming three years, given that Samsung’s models are already being equipped with it.

Taiwanese website DigiTimes, citing a report in the Korea-based ET News, said in late October that Samsung may supply Apple with OLED panels for upcoming iPhone models, and past rumors have suggested an AMOLED-based iPhone could arrive in 2017 or later, but Kuo believes there is "sufficient evidence indicating otherwise."

Samsung's popular Galaxy-branded smartphones are equipped with AMOLED displays, as is the Apple Watch, but Apple has always used various LCD display technologies since the original iPhone launched over eight years ago. Geek provides a good comparison of AMOLED vs. LCD display technologies.

Best Buy has shared its Black Friday ad for 2015, revealing several deals on Apple products and accessories. The discounts and promotions include up to $125 off select iPad Air 2 models, up to $200 off select Macs, up to $100 off select Apple Watch models, up to $50 off all iPods and more.

Best Buy stores in the U.S. will open at 5:00 PM on Thursday, November 26, close at 1:00 AM on Friday, November 27, then reopen at 8:00 AM on Friday, November 27 and remain open until 10:00 PM on Friday, November 27. All times are local and may vary at select locations. Most deals are also available online between November 26-28.

Doorbusters

Best Buy will be offering limited doorbuster deals on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday in stores and online. Thanksgiving Day doorbusters will be available at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 26. Black Friday doorbusters will be available at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, November 27. All times are local and may vary.

Tickets are required for in-store Black Friday doorbuster shopping, which grants the customer the ability to buy a discounted item for a limited time. Best Buy stores will determine when to distribute tickets in the two hours prior to opening for select store-opening doorbusters on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

- $100 off iPad Air 2 (16GB/Wi-Fi)
- $100 off iPad Air 2 (64GB/Wi-Fi)
- $125 off iPad Air 2 (128GB/Wi-Fi)
- $200 off MacBook Pro (13-inch/Mid-2012)
- $200 off iMac (21.5-inch/1.6 GHz/Late-2015)
- $120 off MacBook Air (11-inch/Early-2015)
- Up to $50 off all iPods

Black Friday Deals

- $100 off iPad mini 4 (64GB or 128GB/Wi-Fi)
- $150 off MacBook Pro (13-inch/Early-2015)
- $150 off iMac (27-inch/Retina 5K/Late-2015)
- Up to $100 off select Apple Watch models
- Up to 50% off select Apple Watch accessories
- Up to $60 off ZAGGfolio keyboards for iPads
- Buy one, get one 40% off on iTunes gift cards
- $200 Best Buy gift card with purchase or lease and activation of any new iPhone plus trade-in of iPhone 5 or newer

Follow our Black Friday roundup to keep track of all the best Apple deals at Walmart, Sam's Club, Staples, Target and other retailers as announced. See Best Buy's Black Friday FAQ for more details about the above deals.