Apple Store Openings This Month: The Westchester, Third Street Promenade, Bangkok, and Likely Champs-Élysées

Apple has announced that two of its retail stores in the United States will reopen over the next week following months of renovations, while two brand new locations are also expected to open in Paris and Bangkok.

Apple Third Street Promenade prior to renovations this year
Apple The Westchester in White Plains, New York is set to reopen Saturday, November 10 at 10 a.m. local time, while Apple Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California is slated to reopen Saturday, November 17 at 10 a.m. local time. Each store has received a facelift based on Apple’s latest retail design.

Apple is celebrating the reopening of its Third Street Promenade store with colorful artwork and Today at Apple sessions.

“We’re celebrating the vibrant creative minds that fill Santa Monica with color through a new wave of inspiring Today at Apple sessions,” the store listing on Apple.com says. “From snapping creative selfies to developing a unique sound — and an hour of discovery just for kids — it’s all happening at Apple.”

Apple Third Street Promenade first opened in 2003, before relocating in 2012 to a larger space with a glass rooftop. The Third Street Promenade is a pedestrian-only, outdoor shopping district in the downtown area of Santa Monica.

Apple The Westchester is located in an indoor shopping mall of the same name in downtown White Plains, New York, an affluent community in Westchester County, roughly 30 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. The store originally opened in September 2002 as one of Apple’s first 50 retail locations worldwide.

Elsewhere, Apple previously announced that its first retail store in Thailand will open at the Iconsiam shopping mall in Bangkok on Saturday, November 10 at 10 a.m. local time. Like the Third Street Promenade store, Apple is celebrating its first Thai store with special artwork and Today at Apple sessions.

And in Paris, France, a brand new Apple Store will “soon” open along The Avenue des Champs-Élysées, one of the city’s most iconic streets. The store will replace the nearby Apple Carrousel du Louvre, which permanently closed last month.

(Thanks, Akaba!)

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
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Apple Releases Updated Version of iOS 12.1 for iPhone XR

Apple today released an updated version of iOS 12.1 for the iPhone XR, one week after the initial launch of iOS 12.1 and a little over a week since the iPhone XR’s October 26 launch.

The new iOS 12.1 software for the iPhone XR carries a build number of 16B94, a slight change from the original 16B93 build number.

The update doesn’t appear to be showing up on devices that have already installed iOS 12.1, suggesting the new version of the software is designed for customers who have not yet upgraded their iPhone XR devices to the iOS 12.1 update. Why Apple released an updated version of iOS 12.1 for the XR is unknown, but it’s likely to include minor bug fixes.

iPhone XR owners who have not yet installed iOS 12.1 can do so over-the-air by going to Settings –> General –> Software Update.

iOS 12.1 is a major update that brings a host of new features to the iPhone XR. It brings support for the eSIM, a digital SIM that lets you activate a cellular plan from a carrier without the need to use a physical SIM card.

eSIM support is not yet available from U.S. carriers, but AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are working on implementing support before the end of the year. Other carriers around the world have begun introducing eSIM support.

iOS 12.1 also brings a new real-time Depth Control feature, which lets you adjust the depth of field of your Portrait Mode photos before you capture them, and it adds support for Group FaceTime calls with up to 32 people.

Other new features include more than 70 new emoji and several important bug fixes that should entice anyone who has not yet installed the update to do so.

Excessive skin-smoothing with the front-facing camera, for example, has been addressed, with Apple updating the Smart HDR feature of the iPhone XR’s camera to use a sharper base frame to preserve more detail.

The update also improves cellular connectivity on the iPhone XR and fixes bugs with voicemails, the phone app, Screen Time, Family Sharing, and more.

Related Roundup: iPhone XRBuyer’s Guide: iPhone XR (Buy Now)
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How Smart Homes Take Over The World (Infographic)

Read more

Mark your calendars for rolling Amazon device deals leading up to Black Friday

The day after we published a heads-up on what to expect from Amazon’s Black Friday deals, the online giant released a rolling schedule with special pricing for its own Amazon-branded devices.

The following Amazon device deals will be available for unspecified limited times starting on the dates below. It’s likely Amazon may offer additional deals on its own brand devices. We’ll cycle back to update this information as it changes.

Starting November 16:

Fire 7 Kids Edition tablet: $70, will be discounted $30

Amazon’s Fire 7 Kids Edition Tablet has a 7-inch display, 16-GB of storage, and comes in a blue, kid-proof case. The tablet has a kid-safe browser and easy-to-use parental controls.

All-New Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet: $90, will be discounted $40

The All-New Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet sports an 8-inch high-definition display and 32 GB of storage. The battery is rated to run up to 10 hours per charge.

Fire HD 10 tablet with Alexa Hands-Free: $100, will be discounted $50

With its 10.1-inch 1080p, full HD display and 32 GB of storage, the Fire HD 10 Tablet with Alexa Hands-Free also has Dolby Audio and dual-band Wi-Fi.

Fire HD 10 Kids Edition tablet: $150, will be discounted $50

Amazon’s largest made-for-kids model, the Fire HD 10 Kids Edition, has a 10.1-inch 1080p full HD display, 32 GB of storage, and the same blue kid-proof case found in smaller models.

Starting November 18:

Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote: $25, will be discounted $15

Amazon’s best-selling Fire TV Stick comes with a first-generation Alexa TV remote control.

Fire TV Stick 4K with all-new Alexa Voice Remote: $35, will be discounted $15

The Fire TV Stick 4K includes an all-new Alexa Voice Remote to launch and control 4K Ultra HD streaming with support for Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos.

Fire TV Cube with Far-Field Voice Control and 4K UDH/HDR: $60, will be discounted $60

Control your TV hands-free with the Fire TV Cube with Alexa built in plus support for 4K UHD and HDR. An all-new Alexa Voice remote is also included with this streaming media player.

Starting November 21:

Blink XT 1-cam system: $79, discounted $51; a 3-cam system for $230, will be discounted $90

The Blink XT Home Security Camera System includes motion detection. The system includes a wall mount, HD video, 2-year battery life, and cloud storage.

Starting November 22:

Echo Dot (2nd gen): $20, will be discounted $20

The second-generation Echo Dot smart speaker introduced millions of people to the Amazon Alexa voice assistant.

All-New Echo Dot: $24, discounted $26

The third-generation All-New Echo Dot has a fabric side cover and a larger, more powerful speaker. Pair two for stereo music.

Echo (2nd gen): $69, will discounted $31

The second-generation Echo includes Dolby sound processing and works with Alexa to play music, set alarms and times, control your smart home, or make digital phone calls.

All-New Echo Plus: $110, will be discounted $40

The All-New Echo Plus has a built-in Zigbee smart home hub plus updated Dolby speakers.

All-New Echo Show: $180, will be discounted $50

The second-generation, All-New Echo Show has a 10.1-inch HD display and premium sound. Stream HD video, make video calls, and monitor your smart home cameras with the Show.

Echo Spot: $90, discounted $40

Use the Echo Spot‘s display to view cameras, make video calls, or watch video flash briefings.

Amazon Smart Plug: $5 with the purchase of an Echo device

You can use the Amazon Smart Plug with Alexa to control lights, fans, appliances, and more in your home with your voice.

Fire 7 tablet with Alexa: $30, will be discounted $20

The Marine Blue Fire 7 Tablet has a 7-inch display, 8 GB of storage, and works with Alexa.

All-New Fire HD 8 tablet with Hands-Free Alexa: $50, will be discounted $30

The All-New Fire HD 8 tablet has an 8-inch HD display, 16 GB of storage, and works with Alexa hands free.

All-New Fire HD 8 tablet and Show Mode Dock bundle: $80, will be discounted $40

Bundle the All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet with the All-New Show Mode Charging Dock to hold your display for easy viewing while charging the tablet’s battery.

Fire HD 10 tablet and Show Mode Charging Dock bundle: $150, will be discounted $60

Featuring a 101080p full high-definition display, the Fire HD 10 Tablet and Show Mode Charging Dock bundle let you stream high-quality video to watch from across the room.

Kindle Paperwhite (7th gen): $80, will be discounted $40

Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite E-reader has a 6-inch high-resolution display with a built-in adjustable light. The battery lasts weeks on a charge.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and choose what we cover carefully and independently. If you find a better price for a product listed here, or want to suggest one of your own, email us at dealsteam@digitaltrends.com.Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Amazon slashes prices on Fire TVs, Kindles, and Fire Tablets
• Here’s how to pre-order everything Amazon announced this week
• Alexa can play smart home camera video recaps on Echo, Fire devices
• Amazon has an even dozen new smart devices. Here’s how to order
• Which Amazon Echo should you buy?

Want a GTX 1080 Ti? Buy one now before the stock runs out

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The flagship card from Nvidia’s Pascal generation, the GTX 1080 Ti, might have seen a jump in popularity after the somewhat lackluster launch of the RTX Turing series, but it wasn’t to last. Production of the cards has reportedly now stopped and supplies of the powerful GPU are running low. If you want one, waiting for Black Friday might mean missing out.

As powerful as the new 2080 Ti is, our review and many others found that the performance between the more conservative RTX 2080 and the last-generation 1080 Ti was pretty close. That led to a big upswing in purchases of the 1080 Ti, as its price came down a lot with the debut of the new cards. But that may not remain the case for long as supplies supposedly begin to dwindle.

Production for the GTX 1080 Ti reportedly stopped earlier this month, and GamersNexus reports that manufacturers are now running low on inventory. This is leading to shortages at retailers, who are presumably trying to source cards from other territories to try and keep some stock in the U.S. ahead of the planned tariffs that will come into play in early 2019, potentially raising prices for all manner of hardware, graphics cards included.

There hasn’t been much of an effect on the second-hand market as of yet, with lots of 1080 Ti’s that were once used for cryptocurrency mining still being sold. That does present a potential upgrade path for those who are keen to stick to last-generation hardware, but it is important to remember that such cards were likely run hard for long periods of time, which won’t have done much for their longevity. And they likely ship without any kind of warranty.

The question now arises as to what such dwindling stock will do to the price of RTX-series cards. Nvidia effectively stacked the new generation of GPUs on top of the Pascal generation, rather than replacing it, so there isn’t a clear, similarly priced alternative to the 1080 Ti just yet. Nvidia may adjust prices to fix that, especially with talk of new, affordable AMD cards on the horizon, but we’ll have to wait to find out.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 joins the ray tracing future on October 17 for $499
• RTX 2070 vs. GTX 1080
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile sighting hints at more powerful gaming laptops
• Alienware to offer Threadripper 2 CPUs in new Area-51 builds
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 vs. GTX 1080

Is Google Home Mini the best speaker for your bathroom?

Best answer: The Google Home Mini is made to blend into your home decor, but it’s not made to stand up to steamy showers and splashy sinks. For a waterproof Google Assistant speaker, you’ll need to look to third-party options, like the TicHome Mini.

• Amazon: TicHome Mini ($100)
• Best Buy: Google Home Mini

The Google Home Mini is made for dry land, not hot showers

It doesn’t take long to look at the Google Home Mini and see that this device was not made for wet environments. The “acoustically transparent” fabric that covers the top of the Google Home Mini may be durable, but the touch sensors below it — as well as the overall wiring and circuitry of this compact speaker — are not protected against water ingress from spills, splashes, and dunks.

The Google Home Mini is a $50 smart speaker with a slim profile; waterproofing it would likely have raised costs, required a size increase, or both. It’s understandable that Google omitted it in its pursuit of a compact and affordable speaker.

That has not stopped many users over the years from sticking one in their bathroom to control music while they shower — and it is an option — but long-term damage from the steam is possible, especially if your bathroom has poor ventilation. If you really want to use a Google Home Mini in the bathroom, there are wall mounts and outlet shelves available to keep it away from your splash-prone sink. You’ll still need to mount your Google Home Mini across the room from the shower, though, and that combined with an echo-y shower can make it hard for Google to make out your commands.

Why not buy a Google Assistant-powered speaker that’s made to be used in the shower? One that is not only IPX6 (resistant to powerful water jets) splash-proof, but portable?

The TicHome Mini was one of the first third-party Google Assistant speakers to hit the market, and it is still one of the smallest in both profile and price that has water resistance and an internal battery for portable listening. It has a handy leather strap for easy carrying and hanging from a shower curtain hook as I shower every morning. The internal battery also lets you keep your music streaming as you bring it from room to room without having to stop the music or reboot the device, allowing me to bring the Mini into the bathroom for my shower and then return it to a Micro-USB charger as I settle in the bedroom or in the living room.

The TicHome Mini is about the same size as the Google Home Mini, but since it packs water resistance and a 6-hour battery into that slightly larger chassis, it it more expensive. For a device that has actual water resistance and the portability to follow you from the kitchen to the backyard during barbecue cookouts and pool parties, I’m willing to pay a little more.

Shower Assistant

TicHome Mini

$100 at Mobvoi

Take Google Assistant from room to room during your morning routine

This stylish hockey puck of a speaker packs IPX6 “splashproof” water resistance, the glorious geekiness of Google Assistant, and a battery for up to 6 hours of portable playback into a petite package that’s easy to carry around the house.

Budget pick

Google Home Mini

$49 at Best Buy

You can’t quite beat Google for an affordable, stylish Google Assistant speaker.

The Google Home Mini is a little donut of sound, smarts, and style, and its color choices help it blend in or stand out with just about any decor in your home. It’s not waterproof, but it is a popular speaker with dozen of wall and ceiling mounts available for it.

Have you downloaded the November 2018 security patch?

The patch is steadily rolling out to users as we speak.

Yesterday was November 5, and in the Android world, that means it was a day for a new security patch.

The November 2018 patch was officially released yesterday afternoon, and with it comes the usual assortment of bug fixes and some Pixel-specific tweaks such as improved picture-in-picture performance and enhanced notification stability.

Looking through the Android Central forums, it looks like most people have already gotten the update.

ptkelly
11-05-2018 02:51 PM

“

Mine is downloading now, too. I don’t know if it matters but I’m in Mexico with a Telmex ISP.

Reply

RedCarp703
11-05-2018 04:15 PM

“

It was 91MB on Verizon. I have a Panda 2XL and it just finished. Took about 20 minutes total.

Reply

Ben_70
11-05-2018 07:13 PM

“

This update changed the look of my home screen just a bit. I use dark theme and the search bar at the bottom used to be a light gray “G”. Now it’s the colored one and the assistant button was added at the right of the bar. Also some old app icons that used to not be round are now in circle icons. (Stock launcher).

Reply

davidnc
11-05-2018 09:59 PM

“

Just started downloading a few minutes ago , on the Pixel 2 XL

This is the first I got the update(OTA) on the day released in a long time

Reply

What about you? Have you downloaded the November 2018 security patch?

Join the conversation in the forums!

These are the best Android phones for playing Fortnite

Fortnite is an intense game that needs a pretty capable Android phone run it properly. A multiplayer match involving up to 100 unique players is bound to be a bit glitchy at times, but for the
As of November 2018, the Galaxy Note 8 offers the best value for .

Our Pick

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

$513 at Amazon
$899 at Samsung

Best phone for Fortnite.

Sure, the Galaxy Note 8 has been dethroned by the Note 9, but if we’re looking at things from the perspective of an obsessive Fortnite player, it might not be really worth upgrading to a massively expensive new phone when last year’s model has got so much going on. It’s got more than enough RAM to give you top performance when playing Fortnite, and the big display and battery mean you can see more and play longer.

Why you should buy the Note 8

With 6GB of RAM, a brilliant 6.3-inch Infinity Display, and all-day battery life, the Note 8 has all the specs you need to get the most out of Fortnite. You won’t get much use out of the S-pen or the excellent dual-camera setup playing the game, but those uniquely awesome features simply make the Note 8 a great phone to use when you’re not gaming.

Of course, the reason the Note 8 is deeply discounted is that its successor, the Galaxy Note 9, is now available. If your wireless contract is up soon and you’re able to get the cost spread out over the length of your new contract, the Note 9 is a pretty compelling phone, which offers upgraded specs across the board along with a redesigned S-pen. The Note 9 was specifically launched alongside Fortnite for Android along with an exclusive skin and complimentary V-Bucks for preordering customers. If you missed out on that pre-order deal, getting the Note 8 at a lower price will be just as good for any Fortnite player.

Is it a good time to buy a Note 8?

Unless you’re keen to splurge on the Note 9, it’s still a great time to buy the Note 8. You can buy a Note 8 outright from carriers like T-Mobile for around $700, or on contract for $30 a month, and Amazon has Certified Refurbished Note 8 phones available for around $500

Reasons to buy

• Big, bright display is beautiful
• A great phone with plenty to offer
• 6GB of RAM is ample for Fortnite
• Cheaper than Note 9
• Headphone jack

Reasons not to buy

• Underwhelming speakers
• Somewhat disappointing battery life for size

Advertisement

The Next Note

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

$820 at Amazon

For those who want the best.

Is the Galaxy Note 9 Samsung’s best phone to date? It’s pretty easy to argue yes. Does the Note 9 have improved specs over the Note 8? Yep, pretty much across the board.

But is it worth spending a ton of extra money for the purposes of playing Fortnite? Probably not. Still, it’s obviously a great phone that might be worth getting if your wireless contract is up for renewal and you can snag a sweet trade-in deal with your wireless carrier.

This phone has great specs for gaming and the 6.4-inch display makes it a fantastic device for playing Fortnite, but it also includes some other great hardware features including a headphone jack, a microSD card slot, and support for wireless charging.

Gamer Phone V2.0

Razer Phone 2

$799 at Amazon

The best phone for gamers… for now…

For anyone who owned and loved the first Razer Phone, there’s a lot to love about the Razer Phone 2.

Razer went ahead and made the screen brighter and focused on improving the camera with better sensors and processing software, and added in water-resistance, wireless charging, and a customizable RGB logo on the back that can be set up for app notifications. Performance-wise, you get the top-end specs for the best gaming experience and the 120hz display refresh rate for buttery-smooth action like you’ve never seen before.

The Razer Phone is a powerful device with a Snapdragon 835 processor and 8GB of RAM. It also has good software features such as Game Booster which blocks notifications and lets you prioritize game performance or battery life when you’re gaming. And there’s something to be said about Razer’s decision to keep a light touch the on software side — The Razer Phone 2 ships running Android 8.1 Oreo with Nova Launcher as the default launcher.

Bottom line

Fortnite has proven to be one of the biggest Android releases of 2018 — but it’s not exactly a game that you need

But if you want the best of all worlds, the Galaxy Note 8 has everything you need to slay in Fortnite.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Marc Lagace is the Apps and Games Editor at Android Central. He’s been a gamer for most of his life and actually took a university course on Video Game Theory — which he aced! You can reach out to him on Twitter @spacelagace..

Save big on Logitech mice, keyboards, webcams, and more today only

Make the most of this one-day sale.

The early Black Friday deals from Amazon continue with Logitech offering a wide variety of its PC accessories, including keyboards, mice, webcams, and more with 35% or more off their regular prices.

The hugely popular MX Master 2S wireless mouse is down to a new all-time low price at $55.99. It usually sells for nearer $90 and features an ergonomic design, has the ability to connect to up to three Windows or Mac computers at once and can last for 70 days between charges.

You can also grab the Logitech K810 Wireless Multi-Device keyboard for $57 — around $13 off its average price. It features the same multi-device smarts and supports tablets and smartphones, too. It’s well-reviewed by existing users with an average rating of 4.1 stars from over 1,700 reviews.

Some of our favorite deals include:

• Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum Gaming Mouse – $38.75 (Was $85)
• Logitech MX Master 2S Wireless Mouse – $55.99 (Was $90)
• Logitech C310 HD Webcam – $19.36 (Was $50)
• Logitech Z625 THX 2.1 Speaker System – $109.99 (Was $170)
• Logitech K400 Plus Wireless Touch TV Keyboard – $17.98 (Was $40)

Most of the products included in the promotion are highly reviewed by existing users and we know from our own experience that Logitech tends to offer great value for money — especially so when its products are on sale. Be sure to check out the whole promotion and grab what you want now before the sale ends tonight.

See at Amazon

Nokia 9 renders showcase the phone’s five rear cameras

This is shaping up to be the most exciting Nokia Android phone yet.

As much as Nokia’s been killing it in regards to mid-to-low-range Android smartphones, the company’s flagship devices have been few and far between. The Nokia 8 Sirocco was the last real flagship we got from the company, but now thanks to @OnLeaks and 91 Mobiles, we have our first official look at the Nokia 9.

Without a doubt, the biggest draw to the Nokia 9 is going to be its rear camera package. Taking a look at the back of the phone, we can see five standalone camera sensors, a proximity detection sensor, and a dual-tone LED flash. The renders don’t show any “PureView” branding on the Nokia 9’s body, but it’s expected that the name will be revived with the phone considering its big focus on photography.

We don’t have any specifics as to what those five cameras will entail, but we’ll likely see the usual assortment of a main sensor, wide-angle lens, a telephoto one, and more.

Other reported specs for the Nokia 9 include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a large 4,150 mAh battery. We’re also looking at an 18:9 display, USB-C for charging, and no 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Nokia 9 is expected to launch in early 2019, and at this time, there’s no word on expected pricing.

Are you excited for the Nokia 9?

Nokia 6.1 Plus review: HMD’s best budget phone yet