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Save $220 on Microsoft Office for Mac.
Now through Black Friday, save 88% on a lifetime Microsoft Office for Mac Home & Business 2021 license. This special offer delivers the lowest price on record for the suite of Office tools.
Save 20% on select Sonos gear.
Sonos deals are rare, but the audio company is slashing 20% off popular soundbars and speakers during its 2022 Black Friday sale.
Now through Nov. 28, save 20% on the Sonos products below and improve your home theater audio for a fraction of the retail cost. These Black Friday offers deliver the cheapest prices available on the Sonos equipment, with Beam, Arc, Sub and One SL hardware up to $180 off.
And for additional Black Friday deals on Apple hardware, including the Apple TV 4K that pairs well with Sonos equipment, check out our Apple Price Guide for up-to-date discounts and bargains that can save you hundreds of dollars on your next purchase.
This Apple Watch Ultra is on sale at Amazon.
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The first major Apple Watch Ultra discounts have debuted at Amazon, with prices dipping to as low as $739.
Shoppers can save $60 on the Apple Watch Ultra this weekend at Amazon, with the ecommerce giant delivering the lowest prices anywhere on multiple band styles.
Choose the best Apple Watch color for you, with Starlight, Orange and Green Loop bands all on sale in the AppleInsider Apple Watch Ultra Price Guide.
In our hands-on Apple Watch Ultra review, we found the Apple Watch Ultra to have premium materials and an ultra-rugged design. It’s the biggest change to the Apple Watch since launch and the multi-day battery life is an asset.
There are plenty more deals going on leading up to Black Friday, including exclusive savings on 2022 MacBook Air models. Here’s an overview of the special offers running this week:
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Minutes after the deadline for Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s demand that engineers sign up for “extremely hardcore” working hours and conditions expired, offices are locked, access badges don’t work, and concerns grow that World Cup traffic will kill the service.
On Friday, Musk sent an email to the 3,700 employees that remained of nearly 7,600 pre-buy that to launch Twitter 2.0, there would need to be a new focus on work. Specifically, Musk was demanding “hardcore” devotion to work, and long hours from everybody.
He set a deadline of Monday evening to agree, or be laid off and take three months of severance pay on the way out the door. The deadline has passed, and the situation appears grim.
In multiple reports across the Internet, and ironically, Twitter, it appears that a large percentage of Twitter’s workforce have rejected Musk’s demand of longer, harder hours in service of the company.
In a report collated by The Verge, exiting employees are expecting the service to start breaking even more severely than it has as of late. The departures may be as high as 75% of the 3,700 remaining employees after two weeks of chaos.
What I’m hearing from Twitter employees; It looks like roughly 75% of the remaining 3,700ish Twitter employees have not opted to stay after the “hardcore” email.
Even though the deadline has passed, everyone still has access to their systems.
— Kylie Robison (@kyliebytes) November 17, 2022
If the 75% total is correct, that leaves about 900 employees remaining, versus the 7,600 that were working just two weeks ago.
Shortly after this was made public, Twitter locked the doors. AppleInsider has confirmed this with an employee who told us that they were staying only until they could pin down another development job.
NEW: Twitter just alerted employees that effective immediately, all office buildings are temporarily closed and badge access is suspended. No details given as to why.
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 17, 2022
The same employee told us that the action was initiated by Musk, to prevent sabotage to critical systems by disgruntled employees. Offices will re-open on November 21, and employees, both current and ex-, are being directed to not divulge critical information about the service.
Compounding the problem, the World Cup begins on November 20. Some of the service’s highest posting rate has happened during prior World Cup tournaments, specifically just after a goal was scored, and when the match ends. We’ve been told that that period has historically been incredibly challenging for the company to keep the service functioning well.
“It feels like all the people who made this place incredible are leaving,” one Twitter staffer told The Verge on Thursday evening. “It will be extremely hard for Twitter to recover from here, no matter how hardcore the people who remain try to be.”
On the evening of November 10, Twitter made the decision to activate the $8 Twitter Blue subscription that entitled purchasers to the same blue check mark that users that went through the verification sport. Overnight on Thursday into Friday, Twitter reinstated the “official” checkmark that it had previously launched and killed, and very shortly thereafter, disabled the ability to purchase Twitter Blue.
It’s still unknown whether people who paid their $8 for the first month will revert to the old-style Twitter blue for their next billing period. Also not clear is why Twitter didn’t retain the blue checkmark for verified accounts and implement a different color or shape for the paid subscriptions.
One day later, Musk sent his demand to employees about the extreme hours, and considerably more demanding working environment that he was mandating to make Twitter 2.0.
IPhone 15 might get a Thunderbolt port
As part of a larger move to the USB-C connector for the iPhone 15 lineup, Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting that the Pro models might get speedy Thunderbolt connectivity.
While the iPhone has been able to shoot 4K video for a while now, getting the giant files off requires a great deal of patience. That may all change if what Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting for the iPhone 15 pans out.
In a series of Tweets on Wednesday night, the analyst and prolific leaker from Apple’s supply chain says that his latest supply chain checks indicate that the entire iPhone 15 lineup will move to USB-C of some flavor or another.
If correct, a 2023 launch would mark the end of the Lightning connector as Apple’s primary charging cable, after 13 years. USB-C was launched shortly after Lightning in 2012, but it wasn’t until the 12-inch MacBook in 2015 that Apple used it in a shipping product.
‘Confidence Man’ cover and spine
A new report claims that Apple TV+ had optioned Maggie Haberman’s “Confidence Man” to turn into a series — but Apple has decided to not follow through on the deal.
While the provenance of details in the report are unclear on both ends of the deal-making process, a report on Tuesday alleges that Apple TV+ “quietly” picked up the rights to Donald Trump biography “Confidence Man” shortly after publication. The book, published in October, is chronicle of Donald Trump’s ascension since his early days as a New York City developer.
And, apparently, just as quietly, Apple has decided to not pick up the production for Apple TV+.
The book, researched and written by Maggie Haberman, sold over 100,000 copies in its first month of release. It has overall positive reviews by critics, and still remains in the third spot in books about the US government, and sits at number nine for political leader biographies on Amazon.
AppleInsider has reached out to Apple for comment, and is not expecting a response. The Ankler did not get a comment from Apple, Haberman, or Haberman’s agent.
Early Black Friday deals are live on Apple products.
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With Black Friday a mere 11 days away, discounts on Apple gear are hitting a fever pitch with deals on 2022 hardware — and even some closeout steals.
Many of the deals below offer record low prices on Apple products. But there’s no guarantee inventory will last or the prices will not change, because Apple product sales can fluctuate drastically during the holidays. If you’re in need of a new device now or want to ensure your holiday shopping is done ahead of the big rush, the offers below provide excellent gift ideas.
Retailer store cards like B&H’s Payboo Card and the Adorama Edge Card offer additional ways to save or spread payments out over time. With Adorama Edge, which knocks 5% off, and B&H Payboo, which offers an instant sales tax refund on qualifying orders, the savings can really add up, especially on a high-end purchase like a MacBook Pro or Mac Studio.
Jump to early Black Friday sales by store:
Apple AirPods Pro 2 have dropped to a record low price at Amazon.
AirPods are always a hot holiday gift idea, and retailers often slash the earbuds to record low levels for Black Friday. Amazon continues to offer the lowest price on AirPods Pro 2, with a $20 discount on the 2022 release, as well as up to 33% off Beats earbuds.
Not sure which model is right for you? Check out our AirPods buyers guide for insight into differences across the product range.
Even the new Apple TV 4K 2022 is on sale.
The Apple TV 4K received an upgrade for 2022, with the newest models eligible for a $5 discount at Amazon. If you’re open to a closeout model, though, prices have fallen to $99.99 for the 2021 4K streaming box.
MacBook Air M2 savings are in effect this week.
Apple’s M2 MacBook Air is also a great gift idea this holiday season. With upgrade options, including 24GB of memory and a bump up to the 10-core GPU, the laptop can be tricked out to meet your needs. Every model is discounted in our M2 MacBook Air Price Guide, with bonus savings on AppleCare at Apple Authorized Reseller Adorama. Click on the green price tag icon to bring up coupon details in our Price Guide.
Many MacBook Pro models are hundreds of dollars off.
The new Apple Watch Ultra is discounted ahead of Black Friday.
The newly released Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra are already discounted at Amazon leading up to the Thanksgiving weekend. Our Apple Watch Price Guide is tracking the latest Apple Watch deals all holiday season long.
M2 iPad Pro and 10th Gen iPads are on sale, along with closeout deals on M1 models.
Official Black Friday pricing is live on Adobe Creative Cloud.
Apple hardware isn’t the only thing that’s on sale. Early (and some running all the way through Nov. 25) Black Friday deals have launched at Adobe, where the Creative Cloud All Apps for Individuals plan is over 25% off for first-time subscribers.
Wireless carriers are offering aggressive incentives on the iPhone 14 line.
There are plenty more deals going on leading up to Black Friday, including exclusive discounts on MacBook Air models. Here’s an overview of the special offers running this week:
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Center Stage allows your iPad to use its Ultra Wide camera and follow you when you move around to keep you in the central frame, though it is not offered on all Apple devices. Here are the devices that support Center Stage.
“[Center Stage] makes you more productive on iPad,” said Melody Kuna, senior manager for iPad Product Design, at Apple’s September 2021 event. “And it’s simply more fun.”
Here are the devices that offer Center Stage, the apps that work with the feature, and how to turn the feature on and off.
Center Stage is featured on all iPad models but has yet to be expanded to iPhones and more Macs solely. Here are the devices that offer Center Stage.
Center Stage was first introduced in the iPad Pro in 2021, when the M1 chip was built right into it. The iPad Pro received a 12 MP Ultra Wide camera on the front that allowed the feature to be introduced.
While the iPad Pro was not the only device announced at Apple’s May 2021 event, it was the only device to receive the new feature.
The newest iPad Pro also features center Stage. The iPad Pro starts at $799.
At Apple’s September 2021, the company introduced the 9th generation entry-level iPad. With the additions of a faster processor and True Tone, the entry-level iPad got a 12 MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera (that was introduced in the iPad Pro 2021).
Being the cheapest iPad offered, the ninth-gen model is a great deal to be able to get a feature once only availabl on the iPad Pro but on a budget-friendly iPad.
One year later, the tenth-generation model was introduced, using the A14 SoC, a larger 10.9-inch display, and the removal of the Home button among other changes.
The camera on the rear’s now a 12-megapixel model, while the front-facing 12MP sensor is now a Landscape Ultra Wide front camera. It’s also mounted in a different location, on the side, so it sits at the top of the screen when used in landscape orientation.
The iPad Air can be seen as the middle child of the iPad lineup. Once thought to be discarded after the introduction of the iPad Pro and budget iPad, the iPad Air made a huge comeback in 2020.
In 2022, Apple updated the iPad Air once again with an M1 chip – the same found in the iPad Pro – and a 12 MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera on the front that allowed for Center Stage.
The iPad Air starts from $599.
The iPad mini never got a true redesign until 2021. Until then, it featured the same design since it was first introduced in 2012.
In 2021, Apple showcased the newly redesigned iPad mini with a full-screen display, Apple Pencil 2 support, and a 12 MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera. With that camera incorporated into the device, Center Stage had officially come to the iPad mini.
The iPad mini starts at $499.
While the Mac lineup has gotten better cameras – upgrading from 720p to 1080p – only one element of the Mac ecosystem has received the ability to offer Center Stage. With the introduction of Mac Studio, the Studio Display offers a camera similar to the ones on the iPad – which allows it to be able to conduct video calls with Center Stage.
Currently, Studio Display is the only item of the Mac family with Center Stage built-in. Macs themselves don’t have Center Stage support for their own cameras, but the feature becomes available once the Studio Display is connected.
The Studio Display starts at $1,599. You can choose from different stand-options when choosing the version you want.
While the iPhone and MacBooks don’t offer Center Stage solely, both of them together – called Continuity Camera – can offer the feature with a little help from Belkin. The Belkin iPhone Mount attaches to the back of your phone magnetically and sits on top of your MacBook.
When starting a video call – or using the camera on your MacBook – your iPhone will automatically detect it and become the main camera to use. The iPhone uses its rear camera when using it with your MacBook.
Currently, the accessory is only for MacBooks (MacBook Air (2018 – 2022) and MacBook Pro (2020 – 2022)). You can get it in white or black for $29.95.
However, while the Belkin iPhone Mount is a decent way to hold your iPhone in the perfect position to work as a webcam, it’s not needed for Continuity Camera to work.
You must have macOS Ventura installed on your MacBook and iOS 16 installed on your iPhone for Continuity Camera to work.
Multiple apps work with Center Stage when video conferencing or creating content. Here are the apps that can use the feature.
Center Stage is turned on automatically on your iPad, but if you want to turn it off, you can do that as well. Here is how to turn the feature on or off.
Center Stage can be turned on or off at any time when on a call.
Center Stage is a great tool to keep you in focus when moving around or when more people join. It allows the viewer to understand who is talking by the camera zooming in on the person making noise and zooming out when someone else joins in with the conversation.
While the feature is only available on iPads and the Studio Display, Apple has moved to make the feature more accessible with Continuity Camera in macOS Ventura and iOS 16.
Currently, there has been no indication from Apple of the feature spanning out to further devices, but it’s likely to do so at some point in the future.
Belkin’s new MagSafe charger
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Belkin introduced the world’s first — and only — Apple-certified MagSafe car charger, but while it certainly delivers on speed, its connection method and price may give users pause.
The aptly named BoostCharge Pro Wireless Car Charger with MagSafe is a simplistic device that delivers what it sets out to do. It’s a vent clip-style mount powered by a USB-C car adapter.
Its body is all plastic and has a silver finish that mimics Apple’s well-known anodized aluminum appearance. The puck and face of the charger are white, standing out quite brightly in your vehicle.
Belkin’s MagSafe mount versus charger
The design may look familiar because Belkin has borrowed most of it from its original MagSafe car mount. Launched alongside the iPhone 12, the Belkin Car Vent Mount Pro has an identical silver color and uses the same vent connector.
The original MagSafe accessory was just a mount, using Apple’s official MagSafe module. This version connects the same but can charge.
Cord on Belkin’s charger
The charger has an integrated power cable connecting to the device’s back. This does keep the device compact by not requiring the additional hardware to facilitate a removable cable, but it does limit you should the cabler ever need replacing.
Integrated cable tie
Belkin color-matched the cable with a light grey cable tie that’s built-in. That way, you can route the cable where you need it, and you can make sure it doesn’t float around your center console or steering column.
It uses a standard USB-C connector by default so you can connect it to your car’s USB-C port, if it has one that is. Otherwise, it isn’t permanently connected to the power supply, so you can change power sources if you want.
USB-C charger
Belkin bundles a compact 20W adapter in the box, enough to power the 15W maximum charging speed. It is grey, like the rest of the setup.
The one downside is that the included power adapter only has a single USB output.
We’ve found it helpful in our car to have a dual-output power adapter. Since the power adapter is part of the purchase, we have to pay for it regardless and then are on our own if we want to replace it with a dual-output one.
Belkin’s power adapter
It may have been better for Belkin to omit the power adapter and allow us to buy our own, decreasing the price by $20 or so in the process. This, of course, doesn’t matter if you’re rightly happy with a sole USB-C port.
It’s nearly impossible to believe that MagSafe has been on the market for more than two years. Apple had originally announced the new magnetic system with the launch of the iPhone 12 series, yet there have been no MagSafe car chargers in that time.
There have been magnetic Qi chargers that can interface with MagSafe, but no legitimate MagSafe devices existed. It wasn’t until Belkin quietly announced the Apple-exclusive Boost Charge Pro Wireless Car Charger with MagSafe that one became available.
Articulating vent mount
Belkin’s latest charger carries Apple’s seal of approval and has completed Apple’s Made for iPhone certification process, ensuring optimal compatibility with your iPhone.
Many had wondered why there was no official MagSafe car charger, and our best guess is that Apple’s stringent MFi certification for MagSafe did not allow for them. Apple has been conservative in what chargers were initially approved and it could have been worried about the heat while in the car.
Charge your AirPods Pro on Belkin’s MagSafe car charger
As of late, Apple has opened up the program, allowing for more devices to come to market including the option to cover the MagSafe module. Belkin’s charger already looks different and has an alternate style of puck that differs from most MagSafe chargers on the market, even if the differences are subtle.
Besides looks, the difference with a real MagSafe charger is speed.
A Qi charger, everything on the market to date, will only charge an iPhone at 7.5W of power. A MagSafe charger can safely deliver up to 15W of power.
Charging with CarPlay
Of course, this all depends on environmental factors. Running wireless CarPlay and navigating in Maps can heat your device which can yield reduced charging speeds, but at its peak, this can be up to twice as fast.
To make this a capable car charger, we needed to test the hold on the vent, the hold on your phone, and the charging speed. We evaluated each of these individually.
iPhone 14 Pro charging
Vent mounts are some of the most common car chargers available, though they aren’t always the most popular. They can often have issues staying in place.
Some vents are vertical and don’t hold as well, while others may not fit. In winter months, hot air from the vent also has the potential to cause your phone to get too warm.
BoostCharge Pro
So far in our tests, we haven’t run into any issues with the hold. It clipped into our Jeep’s vents relatively easily and has a secure grip.
We’re confident in its hold as we’ve been using Belkin’s existing MagSafe mount — non-charging — since it launched in 2020 without issue, and they share the same clip.
Similarly, the magnetic hold on the mount is plenty strong enough. It again uses Apple’s official component so you can be sure it is designed for optimal hold.
No matter how deep the potholes we hit here in Ohio, our iPhones never fell off.
Testing charging speds
For charging, we used a USB-C power meter to monitor how much power went into our phone. While it varied, we consistently got speeds of just over 14W.
As the temperature increased, we saw the speed drop, but it still hovered at roughly 8-10W — still more than a Qi charger. In the most extreme heat — while in the sun, running wireless CarPlay, and navigating — the speed dropped very low to just a couple of watts of power, as expected.
At this point, we wouldn’t be surprised if most people who needed a magnetic car mount didn’t already have one. It’s doubtful that users were waiting around for an official MagSafe option to come to market.
Belkin BoostCharge Pro with iPhone 14 Pro
With a price tag reaching a hair below three digits, it also isn’t a cheap device to own. There are other MagSafe chargers coming in at $99, but it is a hard pill to swallow for a device that is used less frequently than a charger on your desk or nightstand.
That said, it’s the best option for an iPhone charger, one delivering the highest possible charging speeds. It’s also well-designed and includes the power adapter and cable tie in the box.
Belkin’s new charger
If you can stomach the price tag and are OK with a vent mount, this is an excellent charger. But it also may be just the start and we’d expect to see other models arriving soon, even if they’re just as expensive.
You can pick up the new Belkin BoostCharge Pro Wireless Car Charger with MagSafe directly from Apple for $99 with availability starting on November 14th.
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In the wake of a report about App Store data collection by Apple, a suit has emerged alleging that the company is willfully violating user privacy and monetizing user data without permission.
Plaintiff Elliot Libman has filed what he hopes will become a class action suit against Apple. The lawsuit alleges that since Apple has some knowledge of what a user is browsing on the App Store, it is violating a right to privacy that the user holds.
The suit alleges that research published in November has exposed Apple in that it “records, tracks, collects and monetizes analytics data – including browsing history and activity information – regardless of what safeguards or “privacy settings” consumers undertake to protect their privacy.”
Specifically, the suit cites “Allow Apps to Request to Track” and “Share Analytics” settings as the main issues that they have with Apple.
“Apple’s practices infringe upon consumers’ privacy; intentionally deceive consumers; give Apple and its employees power to learn intimate details about individuals’ lives, interests, and app usage; and make Apple a potential target for “one-stop shopping” by any government, private, or criminal actor who wants to undermine individuals’ privacy, security, or freedom. Through its pervasive and unlawful data tracking and collection business, Apple knows even the most intimate and potentially embarrassing aspects of the user’s app usage— regardless of whether the user accepts Apple’s illusory offer to keep such activities private.”
Attorneys we spoke with on Friday evening believe that the filer has a tough hill to climb to win the suit. It’s unclear if the complainant or lawyers who filed the suit understand the distinction between server-side data collection, and how the settings at the core of the suit work.
It’s also likely that this data that is cited in the suit is collected server-side. For example, video streamer Netflix view history is stored server-side and tied to an account, and collected on the server, where the setting for the request not to track does not apply.
In the case of server-side data, “Allow Apps to Request to Track” and “Share Analytics” settings are irrelevant. The part about “Share Analytics” is also likely not relevant on its own, because app browsing history is user behavior, and is not tied to device analytics which are used to determine the state of a device and its internet service when a problem develops.
And there is prior precedent that “app developers” and an App Store hosting company, in this case, Apple, are not one and the same, despite the App Store being an app.
The research by Mysk that inspired the suit says under iOS 14.6 “detailed usage data is sent to Apple” from the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, and Books. Stocks sent less identifiable information than the other apps, the researchers claim.
The data sent is reportedly associated with an identifier that could identify a user. The behavior reportedly persists in iOS 16, but the researchers could not examine what data was sent because it was all sent encrypted.
The researchers did say to Gizmodo that similar data was not sent from Health and Wallet with any combination of privacy settings. All data is sent to different servers than iCloud‘s array.
The suit says there is a cash value to consumers’ personal information. The study cited in the suit is based on sales of data, some gathered by hacks and data thefts. Apple says it does not sell user data, and there is no evidence that it does.
Apple is also explicit about how it uses data in its advertising platforms. The company is on record saying that its ad platform does not connect user or device data with that data collected from third parties for targeted advertising. They also say they do not share user device or device identification with data collection firms.
The suit alleges that Apple has “invaded a zone of privacy protected by the Fourth Amendment” and “violated dozens of state criminal laws on wiretapping and invasion of privacy.” The Fourth Amendment does not seem to apply here.
It’s not clear why data collection by a company that you are doing business with and agreed to data collection in the terms of service of a product, in this case, both the App Store, and the iPhone itself, is a violation of wiretapping laws, especially if Apple anonymizes or aggregates any data collected by the App Store.
It goes on to cite “highly offensive” behavior as it pertains to “intentional intrusion” into internet communications and “secret monitoring of private app browsing.” For Apple or any app store to serve data across the internet to a customer as it pertains to App Store browsing and purchasing requires, at some level, the company to know what’s being browsed and what’s been purchased by any given user.
Much of this comes down to which tech or Internet company users trust. Apple’s technology, for instance, has prevented the filer’s ISP or wireless carrier from knowing what they’re browsing.
Identifiable user data is required for not just the internet to work but paid services like the App Store, Books, and Music to authenticate and function, and support to be given for said services. It’s clear that the filer does not trust Apple in this regard, based on the “highly offensive” color about Apple’s behavior in the filing.
As always, the suit seeks “restitution and all other forms of equitable monetary relief,” and injunctive relief as the court may see proper. A jury trial is demanded.
It’s not clear when or if the case will get heard.
Libman v. Apple, Inc is case number 5:2022cv07069 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Fisher & Fisher of Northeastern Pennsylvania filed the suit.
