Amazon and Walmart today introduced a new all-time low price on the AirPods 2, available for just $69.00, down from $129.00. This is $30 below the average $99.00 deal price we've been tracking all year, and a fantastic early Black Friday deal.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This model of the AirPods is from 2019 and it includes the Lightning Charging Case. Although a few years outdated at this point, the AirPods 2 are perfect for anyone on your list who isn't an audiophile and are asking for a nice pair of wireless earbuds, especially at this price.
If you're on the hunt for AirPods this holiday shopping season, definitely visit our dedicated guide highlighting all of The Best Early Black Friday AirPods Deals. You'll find great discounts on AirPods 3, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Max.
You can find all the Apple Black Friday Deals currently available in our dedicated post. For everything else, we're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2023.
Update: Amazon has ended this sale, but it remains at Walmart.
As the end of 2023 approaches, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year.
Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories.
Apple discontinued the iPhone 13 mini in September after introducing the iPhone 15 series, and this marked the end of the iPhone mini entirely, although a refurbished iPhone 12 mini remains available on Apple's online store in the U.S. for now.
Equipped with a 5.4-inch display with slim bezels, the iPhone mini was a favorite among fans of smaller smartphones, but market research firms said the model had low sales relative to other iPhone models. Apple decided not to release an iPhone 14 mini last year, but it had kept the iPhone 13 mini available as a lower-cost option.
The smallest iPhone that Apple sells brand new is now the iPhone SE with a 4.7-inch display, but it has a very outdated design with a Home button and thicker bezels, and the next iPhone SE is rumored to have a larger 6.1-inch display.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro was effectively replaced with the new entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with the standard M3 chip, although the former started at $1,299 and the latter starts at $1,599. The 14-inch model does offer several upgrades over the 13-inch model, such as the M3 chip, a 120Hz ProMotion display, a 1080p camera, and more ports.
Released in 2021, the MagSafe Battery Pack was priced at $99 and attaches magnetically to the back of the iPhone 12 and newer, providing hours of additional battery life. While all iPhone 15 models are now equipped with a USB-C port, the battery pack has a Lightning charging port, so it effectively became outdated.
Released in 2020, the MagSafe Duo Charger was a $129 foldable charging mat with both a MagSafe charger for iPhones and an Apple Watch magnetic charging puck. Like the MagSafe Battery Pack, it had a Lightning charging port.
Leather Accessories
Apple stopped selling leather accessories in September, including leather versions of iPhone cases, the MagSafe Wallet, Apple Watch bands, and more, as part of the company's environmental responsibility efforts. Apple introduced a new FineWoven fabric material for accessories that it says has a "significantly lower" carbon footprint than leather, but customers have complained about the new iPhone cases being prone to scratches and stains.
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that will expand to retail locations on Friday, November 10. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including all-time low prices on AirPods 2 and Apple Watch Series 9.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Walmart's Black Friday Schedule
Walmart's Black Friday sale has begun online for Walmart+ members, and this exclusivity window will last until 3 p.m. ET. After this time, anyone will be able to shop the sale on Walmart's website for the next two days, and then in stores on Friday.
This same pattern will be found during Black Friday week as well. New deals will appear online at 12 p.m. ET Wednesday, November 22, only for Walmart+ members. Then the sale will open up to everyone that afternoon, followed by in stores on Friday, November 24 - Black Friday.
Wednesday, November 8 - Deals start online at 12 p.m. ET for Walmart+ members and 3 p.m. ET for everyone else
Friday, November 10 - Deals start in stores
Wednesday, November 22 - Deals start online at 12 p.m. ET for Walmart+ members and 3 p.m. ET for everyone else
Friday, November 24 - Black Friday deals start in stores
Monday, November 27 - Cyber Monday deals start online
Walmart+ Membership
If you aren't a Walmart+ member, you can get 50 percent off a membership for a limited time during this event. You'll pay $49 for one year of Walmart+, and this offer is only running until later this afternoon at 2:59 p.m. ET.
Like many retailers, Walmart's Black Friday offerings are wide and varied. You'll find major markdowns on video games, appliances, TVs, smart home products, speakers, headphones, and more. We've divided up some of the major discount categories in the sections below, and remember that while many of these sales are live now, some won't appear until later in the day if you aren't a Walmart+ member.
Walmart is coming out of the gate with some heavy-hitter Apple deals, starting with the AirPods 2 at just $69.00, down from $129.00. This is a new all-time low price that's beating the typical sale that we see on this pair by about $30.
You can find all the Apple Black Friday Deals currently available in our dedicated post. For everything else, we're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2023.
Apple today announced that Taylor Swift has been named Apple Music's Artist of the Year for 2023 after reaching "a new realm of superstardom this year."
Swift released a new album last month called 1989 (Taylor's Version), and she has been on tour this year. Apple says in the first 10 months of 2023, Swift had 65 songs reach Apple Music's Global Daily Top 100, which was more than any other artist.
"I am so honored to be Apple Music's Artist of the Year," said Swift. "Thank you to every single one of you for making this year the most incredible, joyful, celebratory year ever. From streaming the music nonstop to screaming it together in real life at the shows, dancing chaotically in movie theaters, none of this would have been possible without you. Thank you so much."
"Taylor Swift's impact on music is absolutely undeniable — not just this record-breaking year, but throughout her entire career," said Oliver Schusser, Apple's vice president of Apple Music and Beats. "She is a generation-defining artist and a true change agent in the music industry, and there is no doubt that her impact and influence will be felt for years to come. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate her achievements."
Swift will receive a physical Apple Music Award featuring Apple's custom 12-inch silicon wafer.
WhatsApp has introduced a new privacy feature that lets you hide your IP address from whoever you call over the encrypted communications platform.
As it stands, one-to-one calls over WhatsApp are established as a direct peer-to-peer connection between users. While this ensures the best possible voice quality, it means the connected devices must reveal their IP addresses to each other.
According to WhatsApp, the new privacy setting introduced today works differently by relaying all of your calls through WhatsApp's servers to obfuscate your location, rather than connecting you directly to the person you are calling. Meta engineers elaborated on the feature in a blog post:
Most calling products people use today have peer-to-peer connections between participants. This direct connection allows for faster data transfers and better call quality, but it also means that participants need to know each other’s IP addresses so that call data packets can be delivered to the correct device – meaning that the IP addresses are visible to both callers on a 1:1 call. IP addresses may contain information that some of our most privacy-conscious users are mindful of, such as broad geographical location or internet provider.
To address this concern, we introduced a new feature on WhatsApp that allows you to protect your IP address during calls. With this feature enabled, all your calls will be relayed through WhatsApp’s servers, ensuring that other parties in the call cannot see your IP address and subsequently deduce your general geographical location.
At the same time, all relayed calls through WhatsApp's servers remain end-to-end encrypted, so no-one – not even WhatsApp – can listen to them.
Before you consider using the new call relay privacy setting, WhatsApp says to bear in mind that call quality might be reduced as a result. To enable the setting, make sure you have updated to the latest version of WhatsApp, then follow these steps.
In WhatsApp, tap Settings ➝ Privacy.
Tap Advanced.
Toggle on the switch next to Protect IP address in calls.
Note that group calls are always relayed through WhatsApp's servers by default.
In June, WhatsApp added a Silence Unknown Callers feature for the encrypted messaging platform. Like the similar option in iOS, the feature is designed to automatically screen out spam, scams, and calls from unknown people for increased protection.
Apple released macOS Sonoma 14.1.1 on Tuesday with "important bug fixes." While the release notes did not specify which bugs were fixed, we have confirmed that the update resolves a software update issue with M3 Macs and an Adobe Photoshop bug.
At least some 14-inch MacBook Pro and iMac models equipped with the standard M3 chip shipped with an unreleased build of macOS Ventura 13.5 installed, and macOS 14.1 was not showing up as an available software update in the System Settings app. Fortunately, it is now possible to update these Macs to macOS 14.1.1. MacBook Pro models with the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips were not affected by this issue.
Apple also released macOS Ventura 13.6.2 with bug fixes. The update resolves an issue where 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple silicon chips "start up to a black screen or circled exclamation point after the built-in display's default refresh rate is changed," according to an Apple support document.
Apple today announced that it plans to hold its next Swift Student Challenge in February 2024, marking the first time the company has provided advanced notice to give students time to prepare. The Swift Student Challenge tasks students with creating an innovative coding project using the Swift Playgrounds app.
This year's Swift Student Challenge will have 350 winners, and there will be a category that recognizes a total of 50 Distinguished Winners for standout submissions. All of the Distinguished Winners will be invited to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, where they will be able to connect with their peers and the Apple team, while all winners will be granted a free one-year membership in the Apple Developer program.
"At Apple, we believe that everyone can learn to code and build apps, and we're proud to support and recognize aspiring student developers with the Swift Student Challenge each year," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Education & Enterprise Marketing. "We know that students are eager to learn coding skills to solve challenges they care about -- whether it's building an app to help peers identify mental health resources or supporting sustainability efforts on campus -- and want to know how to get started. Apple is releasing new coding resources for students and educators, working with our community partners on dedicated Swift programming, and sharing advance notice of the Swift Student Challenge timeline for 2024. We can't wait to see the app playgrounds students submit next year."
Apple has been holding an annual Swift Student Challenge for several years now, but it is typically announced when the dates for WWDC are announced, and past winners have been invited to attend the Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple says that this year's 50 Distinguished Winners will be invited to Cupertino "next summer."
Starting in February 2024, students will have three weeks to submit their app playgrounds to Apple. Apple judges entries on technical accomplishment, creativity of ideas, and content of written responses explaining the project. Students can sign up on the Apple Developer website to be notified when submissions open.
Along with the Swift Student Challenge, Apple is launching for new Everyone Can Code projects that students can use to learn to create apps and refine their app development skills. The new projects task students with designing a simple app, building with stacks and shapes, building custom shapes, and designing an app icon.
Google and European telecom groups have urged EU regulators to designate iMessage a "core" service that would force Apple to make the communications platform interoperable with competing chat services, reports the Financial Times.
In a letter sent to the European Commission, the EU's executive body, the signatories including Google and some of Europe's largest telecoms operators claimed that Apple's service meets the qualitative thresholds of the act, and should therefore be captured by the rules to "benefit European consumers and businesses."
The "fundamental nature" of iMessage as "an important gateway between business users and their customers is without doubt justification for Apple’s designation as gatekeeper for its iMessage service," argued Google, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Orange in the letter. They said consumers would be better off as a result of the designation because "enriched messaging" is only available between Apple users, according to the report.
Apple declined to comment on the report, but pointed to an earlier statement that said:
"iMessage is a great service that Apple users love because it provides an easy way to communicate with friends and family while offering industry-leading privacy and security protections.
"Consumers today have access to a wide variety of messaging apps, and often use many at once, which reflects how easy it is to switch between them. iMessage is designed and marketed for personal consumer communications, and we look forward to explaining to the commission why iMessage is outside the scope of the DMA."
Apple in September contested the EU regulator labeling them as "gatekeepers" ahead of the publication of the first list of services to be regulated by the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The legislation introduces new rules that apply to services considered to be core platform services and forces them to open up their various services and platforms to other companies and developers. For example, Apple could be forced to allow third-party companies and rival apps like Meta's WhatsApp to integrate directly with iMessage.
However, Apple argued that iMessage does not meet the number of users required for the DMA's rules to apply, and should not be obliged to comply with it. "iMessage does not constitute an important gateway in the union for business users to reach end users due to its small scale relative to other messaging services," Apple reportedly told the commission.
Analysts estimate that iMessage has as many as one billion users around the world, but Apple has not disclosed any official numbers about the service for several years. Whether iMessage will be included on the EU's initial list of gatekeeper services will depend on how it defines the market in which it operates.
The EU's investigation into iMessage is ongoing, and the European Commission has until February to come to a decision.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Following the unveiling of new MacBook Pro models last week, Apple surprised some with the introduction of a base 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 chip, which replaced the discontinued M2 13-inch MacBook Pro in Apple's Mac lineup.
Starting at $1,599, the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro comes with 8GB of unified memory. That makes it $300 more expensive than the $1,299 starting price of the now-discontinued M2 13-inch MacBook Pro with 8GB. Users can opt for 16GB or 24GB at checkout, but these configuration options cost an extra $200 and $400 at purchase, respectively, and cannot be upgraded at a later date because of Apple's unified memory architecture.
This has left Apple open to criticism from users who argue that 8GB is not a sufficient amount of RAM for most creative professional workflows, and that 16GB should be the bare minimum for a machine that is marketed as "Pro," rather than an additional several hundred dollar outlay.
In a recent interview with Chinese ML engineer and content creator Lin YilYi, Apple's VP of worldwide product marketing Bob Borchers has directly responded to this criticism. After YilYi characterized the base M3 MacBook Pro coming with 8GB of RAM as the "one major concern" of prospective buyers, Borchers replied:
Comparing our memory to other system's memory actually isn't equivalent, because of the fact that we have such an efficient use of memory, and we use memory compression, and we have a unified memory architecture.
Actually, 8GB on an M3 MacBook Pro is probably analogous to 16GB on other systems. We just happen to be able to use it much more efficiently. And so what I would say is I would have people come in and try what they want to do on their systems, and they will I think see incredible performance. If you look at the raw data and capabilities of these systems, it really is phenomenal. And this is the place where I think people need to see beyond the specs, and actually go and look beyond the capabilities, and listen to trusted people like you who have actually used the systems.
People need to look beyond the specifications and actually go and understand how that technology is being used. That's the true test.
While the 14-inch MacBook Pro with 8GB of unified memory is $300 more expensive than the M2 13-inch MacBook Pro it replaces, there are a number of other benefits worth considering aside from the faster processor, such as the larger, brighter mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display, support for 120Hz ProMotion refresh rates, and better battery life. Other improvements include additional ports, a better 1080p FaceTime HD camera, a six-speaker sound system, Wi-Fi 6E support, and Bluetooth 5.3.
What do you think about the 8GB of unified memory supplied in the base configuration of M3 MacBook Pro? Does it suit your requirements, or make the "Pro" machine grossly underpowered for your use case? Let us know in the comments.
From November 8 through November 14, Apple is offering customers in India up to 50% off select AirPods with the purchase of an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Plus in celebration of Diwali, as first reported by Appleosophy's Pururaj Dutta.
Apple is offering ₹9950 off the third-generation AirPods with a Lightning case, third-generation AirPods with a MagSafe case, or second-generation AirPods Pro with a MagSafe case when the headphones are purchased alongside an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Plus. The offer is available through Apple's online store and two retail stores in India.
Full terms and conditions for the offer can be found on Apple's website.
The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today proposed new oversight requirements for technology companies like Apple that offer digital wallets and payment apps.
According to the CFPB, payment services like Apple Pay are growing in popularity, but the companies behind them are not subject to the same "supervisory examinations" that banks undergo.
The newly proposed rule would require companies that handle more than five million transactions per year to adhere to the same rules as large banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions that are supervised by the CFPB.
The CFPB claims that there have been an increasing number of complaints about tech companies in the consumer finance market, and it argues that examiners should be able to carefully scrutinize the activities of tech companies to ensure they are following the law.
Big Tech and other companies operating in consumer finance markets blur the traditional lines that have separated banking and payments from commercial activities. The CFPB has found that this blurring can put consumers at risk, especially when the same traditional banking safeguards, like deposit insurance, may not apply.
Despite their impact on consumer finance, Big Tech and other nonbank companies operating in the payments sphere do not receive the same regulatory scrutiny and oversight as banks and credit unions. While the CFPB has enforcement authority over these companies, the CFPB has not previously had, inside many of these firms, examiners carefully scrutinizing their activities to ensure they are following the law and monitoring their executives.
The CFPB wants to be able to conduct examinations of tech companies to make sure that they are following funds transfer, privacy, and consumer protection laws, and adhering to the same rules that banks must follow. If finalized, the proposed rule would give the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau more oversight into the financial services provided by companies like Apple and Google.
Apple today informed developers about a number of new developer activities that are taking place in November, including App Store activities, additional Vision Pro labs, technology consultations, and more.
Apple in September began offering a range of "Meet with the Apple Experts" resources for developers, and the labs that are available this month are a continuation of that effort.
There are a range of App Store activities where developers can learn about app discovery, engagement, custom product pages, subscription best practices, and more, plus opportunities for developers to try the Vision Pro at test labs in Cupertino, London, Munich, New York City, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, or Tokyo.
Apple is also offering activities focused on the Vision Pro, with the aim of helping developers learn to design and build apps and games for the headset. Developers can opt in to one-on-one consultations as well, getting advice on app design, new technologies, and other topics.
The sessions are held in multiple time zones around the world, with some of them online and some in person. Apple's full list of Expert sessions is available on its developer website.
Apple's latest 16-inch M3 MacBook Pro models are able to fast charge at 140W over USB-C with a 240W USB-C cable, according to a support document that was updated today.
2021 and 2022 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M-series chips are limited to faster 140W charging with the USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable that Apple provides due to USB-C limitations, with the USB-C ports offering only up to 100W.
The 2023 16-inch MacBook Pro can charge at the full 140W through MagSafe or through a USB-C port when a 140W+ power adapter is paired with a 240W cable, such as the 240W USB-C cable that Apple began selling in September.
This update is only applicable to 16-inch models as 14-inch models can fast charge with a 96W charger, which USB-C ports were already able to provide for older machines.
The option to fast charge a 16-inch M3 MacBook Pro at 140W over USB-C gives MacBook Pro owners more options when it comes to charging, though it is worth noting that the 240W cables are limited to USB 2.0 data transfer speeds.
MacBook Pro models with the M3 and M3 Pro chips are available starting today, and MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera was in New York so he popped over to the Grand Central station Apple Store to pick up a new machine to demo to MacRumors readers.
Dan purchased the M3 Pro MacBook Pro, which is a model that hasn't gotten a lot of attention. Apple provided reviewers with new Macs equipped with M3 and M3 Max chips, but we've heard little about the new M3 Pro. For context, the M3 Pro has 150GB/s memory bandwidth, while the M2 Pro had 200GB/s.
Apple also tweaked the 12-core M3 Pro to have six performance cores and six efficiency cores rather than the eight performance cores and four efficiency cores the M2 Pro chip has, which will impact overall performance. Dan's MacBook Pro is the 16-inch $2,499 version with a 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, 18GB Unified Memory, and a 512GB SSD.
On Geekbench 6, the M3 Pro earned a single-core score of 3085 and a multi-core score of 15155. Comparatively, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro chip that has a 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU earned a single core score of 2643 and a multi-core score of 14206.
The M3 Pro outperforms the M2 Pro, but not by a lot. Single-core speed is up 16.7 percent, while multi-core speed is up 6.7 percent. Note that this is one benchmark result so there could be some variance, but it is in line with what we expected.
GPU performance is nearly flat. The M3 Pro MacBook Pro earned an OpenCL score of 51093, while the equivalent M2 Pro version had a score of 50302 for a difference of 1.6 percent.
Other than the M3 chips, there's not much new with the MacBook Pro models. The M3 Pro and M3 Max come in a Space Black color, which is much darker than expected in person, and it is indeed resistant to fingerprints as Apple promised.
The only other new feature is a slight change to the brightness of the display, which is 600 nits for SDR content, up from 500 nits. You won't see any other changes, with the machine offering the same design and internal specs.
We'll have a video of the M3 Max MacBook Pro coming up in the future, as those machines will start delivering to customers later this week.
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.1.1, a minor update to the macOS Sonoma operating system that came out in September. macOS Sonoma 14.1.1 comes a few weeks after the release of macOS Sonoma 14.1.
The macOS Sonoma 14.1.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings.
Today's update includes bug fixes and security updates according to Apple.
This update provides important bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.
Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices. For detailed information about the security content of this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222
Alongside iOS 17.1.1, Apple released HomePod 17.1.1 software to fix a bug that could cause some HomePod speakers to respond slowly or fail to complete requests.
HomePod software is installed automatically on the HomePod unless the feature is disabled, but the HomePod can also be manually updated in the Home app by following the instructions in our HomePod update how to.
Apple today released new firmware for the Beats Fit Pro and Powerbeats Pro earbuds. The Beats Fit Pro and Powerbeats Pro can now be updated to firmware version 6B27, up from the prior 5B66 firmware that came out in May.
Apple does not provide details on what's included in firmware updates for the Beats Fit Pro and Powerbeats Pro, so we don't know what improvements or bug fixes the firmware offers.
There's no standard way to upgrade the Beats software, but firmware is generally installed over-the-air while the earbuds are connected to an iOS device. Putting the Beats in the case, connecting them to a power source, and then pairing them to an iPhone or an iPad should force the update after a short period of time.
If we find any notable changes after the firmware update is installed, we'll share details, but the software likely includes performance improvements and bug fixes rather than outward-facing changes.
Apple today released watchOS 10.1.1, a bug fix update for the watchOS 10 operating system that first came out in September. watchOS 10.1.1 comes two weeks after the launch of watchOS 10.1, an update that brought Double Tap and NameDrop support.
watchOS 10.1.1 can be downloaded for free through the Apple Watch app on an iPhone running iOS 17 or later by opening it up and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery and it needs to be placed on a charger.
Today's update addresses an issue that is causing some Apple Watch models to drain battery more quickly than expected. Complaints about Apple Watch battery started after the launch of watchOS 10.1, and Apple confirmed in a memo over the weekend that the battery problems would be fixed in a software release.
This update provides important bug fixes and addresses an issue that could cause the battery to drain more quickly for some users.
Apple is already testing watchOS 10.2, an update that is expected to be released alongside iOS 17.2 in December.
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Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
