Category: Apple Insider

By Christine McKee
Saturday, December 01, 2018, 03:08 pm PT (06:08 pm ET)

For two days only, B&H is knocking $40 to $100 off Apple’s new 2018 iPad Pro. Both 11-inch and 12.9-inch models are discounted, with free expedited shipping and no tax in many states. These holiday deals end soon, so grab the savings while you can.

Now through Dec. 3, B&H Photo is discounting both 11-inch iPad Pros and 12.9-inch iPad Pros. These 2018 models are brand-new with support for Apple’s updated second generation Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folios. The gorgeous, edge-to-edge Liquid Retina display and Face ID functionality make these iPad Pros a pleasure to use, according to our 11-inch iPad Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro reviews.

What’s more, each iPad Pro qualifies for free expedited shipping within the contiguous U.S. when shopping at B&H — and the electronics retailer will not collect sales tax on orders shipped outside AL, HI, IL, IN, KY, MD, ME, MI, MN, MS, NJ, NY, ND, OK, VT, WA and WI. For many shoppers outside of those states, this can equate to $100 to $160 in savings compared to shopping at Apple. Top discounts can be found below, while a full list of deals is available 24/7 in our iPad Price Guide.

2018 11″ iPad Pros

2018 12.9″ iPad Pros

• 64GB 12.9″ iPad Pro (Wi-Fi) Space Gray or Silver: $949* ($50 off)
• 256GB 12.9″ iPad Pro (Wi-Fi) Silver: $1,089* ($60 off)
• 256GB 12.9″ iPad Pro (Wi-Fi) Space Gray: $1,099* ($50 off)
• 512GB 11″ iPad Pro (Wi-Fi + Cellular) Space Gray: $1,299* ($50 off)
  *B&H will not collect sales tax on orders shipped outside AL, HI, IL, IN, KY, MD, ME, MI, MN, MS, NJ, NY, ND, OK, VT, WA and WI.

For discounts on other Mac and iPad hardware, including deals on 2018 MacBook Airs and Mac minis, please visit our Apple Price Guide.

Additional Apple Deals

AppleInsider and Apple authorized resellers are also running a handful of additional exclusive promotions this month on Apple hardware that will not only deliver the lowest prices on many of the items, but also throw in discounts on AppleCare, software and accessories. These deals are as follows:

By Roger Fingas
Thursday, November 29, 2018, 06:48 pm PT (09:48 pm ET)

One of the biggest U.S. retail holdouts for Apple Pay, Target, may be preparing to launch official support at its stores in the near future.

The technology is already working at the Metreon location in San Francisco, some posters on Twitter have claimed. Another noted that while they didn’t try Apple Pay, they were able to use a contactless card, which only works with NFC-enabled terminals.

Target has so far resisted not just Apple Pay but any NFC-based mobile payment option for its stores. Shoppers can use Apple Pay in the Target iOS app, but at retail the closest equivalent is a scannable barcode in the app.

The Twitter anecdotes were first highlighted by 9to5Mac.

It is possible that the Metreon store has simply enabled NFC by accident, but merchants will often test Apple Pay on a small scale before official rollouts. Target has also been under public pressure to support the platform, given the popularity of the iPhone and Apple Watch in the U.S.

Target has some 1,850 stores nationwide, and is where many Americans do weekly shopping for clothes, groceries, and other necessities. It also sells some Apple products, such as iPhones.

Apple’s Animoji may provide more ways to interact with the face-tracking animated characters, by playing appropriate sound effects for each avatar triggered when users either make specific expressions or say certain words during a recording session.

Launched alongside the iPhone X as a demonstration of what people can do with the TrueDepth camera system, Animoji quickly became a popular addition to iOS that spawned commercials and “Animoji Karaoke” videos across the Internet. While Apple has added more interactivity to the face-tracked creations, including tongue detection and user-created Memoji, it seems that Apple has more ideas of where Animoji can go.

A patent application filed on February 28 and published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on November 22 for “Voice effects based on facial expressions” is all about how a video clip of a virtual avatar is created, but can be altered with special effects that the user can trigger. In short, Animoji but with added extra features.

During the recording phase of the Animoji message, the software captures the facial movements and audio from the subject. Usually, the face tracking is mapped directly to the character, with the user’s movements mirrored as closely as possible, while the audio track is exactly what was picked up by the iPhone during the period.

According to the patent application, both the visual and audio elements are monitored for specific states, which can then be changed during the playback phase to something else. These states can include detected facial expressions, such as frowning, or even trigger words, which could trigger an effect.

Once triggered, the expression creates an effect that is applied to the character’s visuals or the audio section. The character could go through a predefined animation or be altered in certain ways while the expression is being made, while accompanying speech could be pitch shifted or replaced entirely.

An illustrated basic example of changing a user’s ‘woof’ speech to a recording of a dog bark

For example, a person using a dog avatar could say the word “bark,” resulting in the playing of an audio file of a dog barking and altered mouth shapes on the character to match. A user frowning and growling could transform a pleasant dog character into an angry version, with a pitch-shifted or replaced growling sound.

The voice recording in its entirety could be replaced by a synthesized voice in some cases, with voice recognition detecting individual words, pitch, and cadence that can then be reproduced in a character-specific voice.

While the filing of a patent application is not a guarantee that it will appear in a future Apple product or service, while also serving as an indicator of where Apple’s interests lie, in this case the concept has a good chance of being implemented in a future iOS update.

In the case of Animoji, it already takes advantage of the facial tracking elements of TrueDepth camera-equipped iPhones, making it feasible for Apple to add in emotion recognition. The voice recognition capabilities, as already demonstrated by the existence of Siri, also lends itself to the audio-tampering elements of the patent application.

By Christine McKee
Friday, November 23, 2018, 12:44 pm PT (03:44 pm ET)

To celebrate the holiday weekend, AppleInsider is giving away an RX 580 Gaming Box, complete with an AMD 8GB Radeon 580 video card. This portable eGPU solution features Thunderbolt 3 plug and play connectivity for use with USB-C Macs, including current MacBook Pros.

Valued at $420, we’re giving away one RX 580 Gaming Box that was gently used for testing purposes only. Entering the giveaway is quick and easy. Simply retweet this tweet or subscribe to our YouTube channel using the widget below. You can also gain additional entries by following us on Instagram to view exclusive photos from Apple events.

The entry period for this giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Nov. 29, and the winner will be announced here on Nov. 30. Definitely check back to see if you’ve won. No purchase is necessary to enter, and the sweepstakes is open to U.S. residents aged 18 years and older. Please note, contest entries will be verified upon selecting a winner. Best of luck!

Gigabyte RX 580 Gaming Box Giveaway

Apple Black Friday deals

AppleInsider and Apple authorized resellers are also running a handful of additional exclusive promotions this weekend on Apple hardware that will not only deliver the lowest prices on many of the items, but also throw in discounts on AppleCare, software and accessories. These deals are as follows:

By Christine McKee
Thursday, November 22, 2018, 11:19 pm PT (02:19 am ET)

Price wars are going on now, resulting in the lowest prices ever seen on Apple’s new hardware with our exclusive coupon. Eligible items include Apple’s 2018 MacBook Air, 2017 13″ MacBook Pro with function keys, Apple Pencil 2, 27″ iMac 5K, Smart Keyboard Folios and more. Plus, load up on accessories with rock bottom prices on OWC docks. Only at AppleInsider.

Kicking off Black Friday, Adorama has slashed the price of Apple’s standard 2018 MacBook Air in Space Gray to just $1,049 with promo code APINSIDER (the lowest price seen to date). Apple’s current 13-inch MacBook Pro with function keys is also marked down to $1,099, while the 256GB config is on sale for $1,249, an all-time low. Need accessories? OWC Thunderbolt 3 docks are marked down with coupon, along with the Apple Pencil 2 and Smart Keyboard Folio.

Each offer comes with free shipping within the contiguous U.S. Adorama also will not collect sales tax on orders shipped outside New York and New Jersey, potentially saving shoppers another $100+.

These are the best deals on the models below, with even more exclusive offers available in our Apple Price Guides and in our Black Friday roundups.

2018 MacBook Airs

2017 13″ MacBook Pros with function keys

Add a multitude of ports to your MacBook Pro with OWC’s 12-port Thunderbolt 3 docking station.

OWC docking stations

27-inch iMac 5K

2018 11″ iPad Pro

2018 iPad Pro accessories

Additional Apple Deals

AppleInsider and Apple authorized resellers are also running a handful of additional exclusive promotions this month on Apple hardware that will not only deliver the lowest prices on many of the items, but also throw in discounts on AppleCare, software and accessories. These deals are as follows: