This rechargeable iPhone X / XS battery case is a great budget-friendly alternative to Apple’s new Smart Battery case, and it’s being offered for just $37.95 shipped after clipping the on-page coupon, today only. Both iPhone XS and XS MAX Apple Smart Battery Case have just a 1369 mAh capacity, but this one has a 4000mAh capacity, good for at least double the usage. Best of all, you can still use the original Lightning cable to charge the phone / case as well as use it to sync data. When not in use, the case is off by default, but simply press the back button for 3-seconds, and it starts charging. Product page. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Verizon announced today that starting on January 17th, Apple Music will be offered for free to “Beyond Unlimited” and “Above Unlimited” plan subscribers. Previously, the company offered six-month subscriptions to Apple Music with its unlimited plans, but now, that is given to the lower “Go Unlimited” plans at no additional cost. Just to be clear, that this is not for a isngle Apple Music subscription per account, but rather one for each line that has either the “Beyond” or “Above” unlimited plans. Read more for another Apple Music video and additional information.
Apple’s HomePod smart speaker is officially launching in Mainland China ($414) and Hong Kong ($357) on January 18th. It will support both Mandarin and Cantonese right out of the box, giving it an edge over its competitors by Alibaba, Baidu and Xiaomi. For those who haven’t seen one in person, the device sports a small touchscreen up top, and has seven tweeters in its base, a four-inch woofer, as well as six microphones used for voice control and acoustic optimization. Read more for a review of this smart speaker and additional information.
Photo credit: Engadget
Apple may not have its own booth at CES 2019, but it has found a way to catch the attention of the tradeshow goers this week by plastering a massive privacy bill board on the side of a SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel, which overlooks the Las Vegas Convention Center. The “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone” Apple used is a play on the famous “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” slogan. The company may also have sent a few undercover employees to see how people react to the ad and / or what people are saying about their current “bendgate” iPad Pro controversy. Read more for more interesting images from around the web.
Photo credit: Pocket-Lint
Apple Watch Series 3 refurbs are available today at a great discount, and if you don’t need the slightly larger display and electronic heart rate sensor, it could be the perfect smartwatch. The Series 3 sports a solid rectangular body with the Digital Crown and separate button on the right, along with a speaker and microphone on the left. It’s water-resistant up to 50-meters and it features ultra durable Ion-X glass on the display. Product page. Read more for another Series 3 vs. Series 4 video comparison and additional information.
Why bother with a Touch Bar, when you could have a laptop that boasts a built-in “Infinite Pad”? Meet the Epsilon Laptop. This touchscreen display of sorts can be used either as a traditional trackpad, a touch bar, or as a tablet for drawing, memos, and lots more. As you can see in the image above, it’s a great tool for musicians as there’s just enough room to use it as a MIDI controller, complete with keys. Read more for additional pictures.
Apple cut guidance yesterday, but CEO Tim Cook revealed in an internal memo to employees that the company saw record Christmas Day iPhone activations in the United States and Canada, as well as inviting them to an all-hands meeting at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time at Apple’s Town Hall auditorium on its Infinite Loop campus to discuss the first fiscal quarter of 2019. He also mentioned record revenue in “Services,” “Wearables” and “Mac” categories as well as “all-time revenue” in “key markets.” Read more for another video and additional information.
In a rare move, Apple unexpectedly cuts its revenue forecast for the fiscal first quarter of 2019 due to weakness in China and lower-than-anticipated iPhone revenue. The company now sees first quarter revenue of $84 billion, from the $91.3 billion anticipated previously. “While we anticipated some challenges in key emerging markets, we did not foresee the magnitude of the economic deceleration, particularly in Greater China. In fact, most of our revenue shortfall to our guidance, and over 100 percent of our year-over-year worldwide revenue decline, occurred in Greater China across iPhone, Mac and iPad,” said CEO Tim Cook. Read more for a video explaining what one popular YouTuber would like to see Apple change this year and additional information.
Xiao Wang, a then 17-year-old teen from China, wanted to obtain a brand new iPad 2 and iPhone 4 back in 2011 at any cost. So, he agreed to sell one of his kidneys on the black market. Unfortunately, the underground hospital where the operation took place wasn’t quite up to par to say the least. He received $3,200 for the kidney, which was more than enough for both devices, but it came at a hefty price. “Unfortunately, the operating environment wasn’t sanitized properly, which led to an infection on his wound. Worse still, his parents were kept in the dark about this major operation and only found out when the teen became terribly sick from the infection,” said the report. Read more for a video news report and additional information.
Apple’s latest Mac Mini is perfect for anyone who wants a simple desktop solution, without the bulky tower, and the base model is being offered for just $699 shipped, this week only, originally $799. Featuring a quad-core i3 8th-generation Intel Core processor, Intel UHD graphics 630, 8GB of 2666MHz DDR4 RAM (upgradeable up to 32GB), ultrafast 128GB of internal SSD storage, four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, one HDMI 2.0 port, two USB 3 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and macOS Mojave. Product page. Read more to see one incredible Mac Mini setup that you could replicate.