Incipio and Incase Offering 15% Off Sitewide Sales on iPhone X Cases, Qi Mats, MacBook Sleeves, and More

Accessory makers Incipio and Incase are offering 15 percent off sales across each of their respective online storefronts, so if you’re still on the hunt for holiday tech gifts this could be the right time to make a purchase. Incipio and Incase offer a variety of items, including iPhone X and iPhone 8 cases, wireless chargers, battery packs, MacBook bags and sleeves, Apple Watch bands, and more.

On both sites, enter the promo code AFF151 during checkout to apply the discount to your order. Incipio is offering free USPS shipping on all orders placed within the United States, and Incase has a similar holiday offer with free shipping and returns on all U.S. orders.

We’ve listed a few ideas below, all of which represent the best prices for each accessory when compared to retailers like Amazon. For many other accessories, Incipio’s and Incase’s Amazon stores typically have solid deals that could beat out the 15 percent off discount price, depending on the product.

Incipio

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

iPhone X Cases

• Slim Case, Esquire Series – $21.24, down from $24.99
• Octane Lux – $38.24, down from $44.99
• Carnaby Folio – $42.49, down from $49.99

Accessories

• Ghost 110 Qi Wireless Charging Base – $33.99, down from $39.99

Incase

iPhone X Cases

• Protective Lattice Cover – $21.21, down from $24.95
• Lite Case – $25.46, down from $29.95
• Pop Case – $29.70, down from $34.95
• Textured Snap Case – $33.96, down from $39.95

Accessories

• ICON Sleeve with Diamond Ripstop for 13-inch MacBook Pro – $59.46, down from $69.95
• ICON Lite Pack – $84.96, down from $99.95

If you’re planning on spending a lot on Apple accessories for the holidays, Pad & Quill has a deal going on through December 17 where you can get gift codes to use on the site after you first make a purchase of over $125. Specifically, purchases over $125 get a $25 special gift code; purchases over $250 get a $50 code; and purchases over $400 get a $100 code. Pad & Quill will automatically email a code to you if your order qualifies for the promotion, and all codes must be redeemed before January 31, 2018.

For those keeping track of ongoing iTunes gift card discounts, the latest is a $50 card for $42.50 over at Amazon. One card is available per customer, and they will be delivered via email — simply enter the promo code ITUNES during the checkout process. Amazon had a similar deal yesterday, but that one was for the physical version of Apple’s App Store & iTunes gift card.

For more on the latest sales, be sure to visit our Deals Roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Slate Color or Pilot LapDesk for Your MacBook From iSkelter

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with iSkelter to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win either a Pilot LapDesk or a Slate Color LapDesk, both of which are designed to be mobile workspaces that can hold an iPad, MacBook, iPhone, and more.

Priced at $100, the Pilot LapDesk is made from either a light bamboo or a darker walnut bamboo, and it’s roomy enough to hold up to a 15-inch MacBook Pro while also providing additional workspace.

On one side of the Pilot LapDesk, there’s a whiteboard and a cutout that can hold an iPhone or an iPad as big as the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, while the middle area features a cutout for ventilation along with a grip to keep your MacBook secured on the surface. The other side of the Pilot has a built-in mousepad and a second slot to hold another iOS device.

The Pilot LapDesk, which can be configured with the whiteboard and mousepad on whichever side you prefer, is able to rest hands-free on the arm of a chair, on a lap, or on a bed.

iSkelter’s Slate Color LapDesk, also priced at $100, is more compact than the Pilot LapDesk, but it’s still able to hold a MacBook Pro up to 15 inches in size and a 12.9-inch iPad Pro or smaller.

Most of the Slate Color, which is made from a light wood with a colored accent area, features a series of ventilation holes to dissipate heat from your laptop. At the right side, there’s a flat workspace for writing or using a mouse, which can be customized in walnut, blue, green, orange, or pink. The cutout across the top holds your iOS devices.

The Slate Color and Pilot LapDesks can be purchased from the iSkelter website, but we also have four to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

a Rafflecopter giveawayThe contest will run from today (December 8) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on December 15. The winners will be chosen randomly on December 15 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Tags: iSkelter, giveaway
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Apple’s Phil Schiller: Facial Recognition Techniques in Competing Smartphones ‘All Stink’

Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller recently sat down with Dutch website Bright.nl, where he covered topics like Face ID and augmented reality, which he’s discussed several times in interviews over the past few months.

According to Schiller, one of Apple’s goals with Face ID is to make security easy enough “that we all want to do it.” Apple believes its implementation of Face ID is superior to the facial recognition techniques available in Android phones, which Schiller says “all stink.”

“They don’t work in all the ways we need Face ID to work. We’re very aware that through the years the simple thing, this Home button, that started as the way you click to get to the Home screen, grew into doing so many things for us. We added Touch ID, it took you to the multitasking screen, paged Siri, activated Apple Pay. All through this one mechanical button.

So for Face ID we needed the best way we know of to enable us to easily unlock our device with our face, in a protected way with the Secure Enclave, and support all these other things. We had to solve all of that. Other things that people have tried with face haven’t been anything like that. Face ID is a very unique implementation.”

Schiller reiterated Apple’s Face ID privacy policies, pointing out that developers have no third-party access to Face ID data. As with Touch ID, the facial scan and data points used to unlock your iPhone are stored in the Secure Enclave on the iPhone X. Developers do have access to facial map data through the TrueDepth camera for AR effects, but Schiller says “that’s different than Face ID.”

According to Schiller, Apple spent a lot of time studying augmented and virtual reality and the ultimate benefit to users. Schiller, like Apple CEO Tim Cook, says VR is a “great solution for specific use cases” while AR has “incredible broad mainstream applications.”

Schiller also had a little bit to say about the HomePod delay. HomePod was originally set to launch in December, but in November, Apple said it would be delayed until 2018. “We feel bad we aren’t able to deliver HomePod for the holidays,” said Schiller. “We’re going to take the time to do it right and make sure it’s great when it comes out.”

Bright.nl asked Schiller if Apple’s “Think Different” motto still applies to Apple today, and Schiller took the opportunity to highlight the AirPods, which are a product that have been lauded as one of Apple’s best.

They’re really two separate computers that you put in your ear. That’s quintessential Apple. We tapped into an eternal truth for Apple. It’s about as core to the DNA of Apple as you can get. Think Different should stay very close to true for a long time.”

Phil Schiller’s interview, which goes into more detail on Face ID and HomePod and delves deeper into Apple’s core philosophies, can be read in its entirety over at Bright.nl.
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Apple Design Chief Jony Ive Retaking Direct Control of Design Team [Updated]

Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive is once again taking over management of the design team at Apple according to changes made to Apple’s official “Apple Leadership” website.

The site was updated this morning to remove the profiles of Richard Howarth and Alan Dye, who were managing the day-to-day operations at Apple while Ive oversaw all of Apple’s design projects, and Bloomberg has confirmed that Ive is once again in direct control of the team as shared by Mark Gurman.

Ive first stepped back from day-to-day management of Apple’s design teams in 2015, when he took on the role of “Chief Design Officer.” Alan Dye and Richard Howarth were elevated to vice president positions at that time, with Howarth responsible for industrial design and Dye responsible for user interface design.

For the last several years, Ive has been overseeing the design work at Apple Park and at Apple retail stores around the world, which have undergone a transformation under the leadership of Angela Ahrendts. With Apple Park now complete and the retail store design largely established, Ive now has the time to return to his original managerial duties.

Update: An Apple spokesperson has confirmed to Bloomberg that Jony Ive has returned to his management role following the completion of Apple Park: “With the completion of Apple Park, Apple’s design leaders and teams are again reporting directly to Jony Ive, who remains focused purely on design.”

Tags: Jonathan Ive, Alan Dye, Richard Howarth
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Apple May Acquire Music Recognition Service Shazam

Apple may be planning to acquire music recognition service Shazam, reports TechCrunch, which would be one of the most high-profile acquisitions Apple has made since it purchased Beats in 2014.

Shazam is a well-known music service that uses machine learning techniques to identify short audio clips from songs, television shows, and more. Shazam operates a standalone app for iOS, macOS, and watchOS, but also has a close relationship with Apple.

Since iOS 8, Shazam has been integrated into Siri, and it’s what powers the feature that lets Siri identify songs that are playing aloud. If, for example, there’s a specific song on television and you ask Siri “What song is this?” Siri uses Shazam to identify it.

Shazam is integrated with Apple Music, and Apple Music subscribers who Shazam a song can then tap to play it directly in Apple Music and can add it to a Shazam playlist. Shazam also has an augmented reality feature that allows you to find content based on pictures captured with the Shazam app.

One of TechCrunch’s sources said the deal could be worth nine figures, while another says Apple may shell out somewhere around $401 million. Both numbers are lower than the $1.02 billion valuation Shazam received during its last funding round in 2015.

Apple and Shazam could sign a deal as soon as this week, with an announcement planned for Monday.

Tags: techcrunch.com, Shazam
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