Apple Watch Sales Estimated at 3 Million Through First 3 Months
Apple Watch online sales in the United States are estimated to have totaled 3,039,353 at an average price of $505 through July 10, exactly three months after Apple began accepting pre-orders for the wrist-worn device, according to the latest data from market research firm Slice Intelligence obtained exclusively by MacRumors.
The entry-level Apple Watch Sport has been the most popular model among early adopters by almost a two-to-one margin, with an estimated 1,950,909 units sold at an average price of $381 since April 10. Meanwhile, stainless steel Apple Watch sales are estimated at 1,086,569 units to date, at an average price of $695.
Apple has also sold 1,875 Apple Watch Edition models to date, at an average price of $13,700, according to Slice Intelligence. The 18-karat gold Apple Watch models, seen on the wrists of celebrities such as Beyonce, Drake, Kanye West, Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams, cost between $10,000 and $17,000 in the U.S.
Slice Intelligence’s data does not include Apple Watch sales in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, nor does it account for walk-in purchases made through the Apple Store.
A Recap of Slice Intelligence’s Previous Estimates
Last week, Slice Intelligence released new data that showed Apple Watch online sales in the U.S. steadily declined throughout June. Specifically, the survey revealed that Apple Watch sales in the U.S. remained consistent at around 20,000 per day in May before dropping to less than 10,000 per day last month.
The research firm previously estimated that Apple received 1 million Apple Watch pre-orders at launch, averaged 30,000 Apple Watch sales per day in late May and had topped 2.8 million total Apple Watch sales as of mid June. It also found that around 17% of online shoppers buy at least one extra band for the Apple Watch.
A Closer Look at Slice Intelligence’s Methodology
Given that Apple has not publicly disclosed any official Apple Watch sales figures, and will be grouping the wrist-worn device under its “Other Products” category in quarterly earnings reports, the accuracy and methodology behind the Slice Intelligence data has been called into question — so we went looking for answers.
MacRumors spoke with Slice Intelligence’s Chief Data Officer Kanishka Agarwal and VP of Marketing and PR Jaimee Minney to learn more about Slice Intelligence’s methodology. The details below should provide a better understanding of how its Apple Watch sales estimates were calculated over the past three months.
Slice Intelligence tracks e-receipts from 2.5 million online shoppers in the U.S., which it claims is the largest panel anywhere, that sign up for the company’s value-added services such as Slice and Unroll.me. Slice, for example, is a free app for tracking packages, receipts, price drops, product recall alerts and more.
The research firm had a sample size of about 22,000 Apple Watch customers among its panel of 2.5 million online shoppers in the U.S. through July 10, more than double the sample size of about 9,000 shoppers it had when it estimated Apple Watch pre-orders reached nearly 1 million on launch day in the U.S. on April 10.
Slice Intelligence also offers an API for developers to provide users with their purchase history and can aggregate e-receipt data through some of these third-party apps and services. The research firm claims to be the only one to provide direct measurement of all digital commerce activity and customer loyalty.
Slice Intelligence says it is “very confident” that its Apple Watch sales estimates are within proximity to what Apple has actually sold, noting that its data is measured against third-party sources such as Amazon and the U.S. Department of Commerce with between 97% and 99% accuracy. Slice and Apple have not been in contact.
The research firm claims to have a diversified pool of consumers that is highly representative of the online shopping population and balanced to eliminate biases. Agarwal says that his firm’s panel lines up nicely with the overall market and is supplemented by detailed competitive insight and data from clients.
Apple’s Q3 FY 2015 results are scheduled to be released on July 21 at 2:00 PM Pacific.
WSJ: Apple had 92% of smartphone industry’s profits in Q1 2015
Despite the countless advantages of Android, Apple has absolute control over smartphone profits.
According to The Wall Street Journal, there are now approximately a thousand different companies producing smartphones. That number is absolutely staggering, and should without a doubt infer that there are OEMs above and beyond the scope of knowledge of just about anyone.
But Apple it seems, receives almost all of the profits from the industry according to Mike Walkley, Canaccord Genuity managing director. Specifically, in the first quarter of 2015, it earned 92% of the total operating income from the world’s leading 8 OEMs, an impressive 65% increase over the same period last year. Samsung, on the other hand, received only 15%. (Because many companies actually lose money in the smartphone business, the total share of those who profit is bigger than 100%.) In light of all those other manufactures who aren’t mentioned, Canaccord estimates that they are essentially irrelevant (from this perspective) given that they “broke even or lost money.”
Apple’s market
The report explains that Apple “sells less than 20% of smartphones, in terms of unit sales” and that “the disparity reflects its ability to command much higher prices for its phones”, something that is no longer true of Android OEMs as they face an increasingly crowded marketplace. The result is a lack of core differentiation which has forced many companies to slash prices in order to appeal to consumers. This trend is totally alien from Apple’s attention, as last year the iPhone “sold for a global average of $624, compared with $185 for smartphones running Android, according to Strategy Analytics.”
It should be note that Canaccord’s data “doesn’t include privately held companies including Xiaomi and India’s Micromax Informatics Ltd.” however, “Mr. Walkley said those companies’ profits—if any—are unlikely to alter the industry-wide profit picture.” While some might be eager to speak otherwise, given the extremely low retail prices for these OEM’s products, it is basically assumed they are selling them at-or-around production costs, and thus what little profit to be had comes from selling massive numbers of product, or even from value-added services, offers, or accessories.
Google’s gain (as OEMs feel the pain)
While this report may enrage Android fans, especially those with more antagonistic views of Apple, this is little more than a reinforcement of just how profitable Cupertino’s business model is, and exactly why companies like Samsung are so eager to try and break free of Android. Indeed there is a certain element of irony at play here: many view Google’s “open” OS as pro-choice, yet Google’s overall business strategy is largely self serving. In other words, Google makes a lot of money of Android, even if actual most phone makers don’t.
It matters very little who makes Android phones, as long as the phones being made are running Google Play Services
Google wants Android on as many devices as possible, because each one is a potential profit center for the company’s main business: advertising. To Google, it matters very little who makes their phones, as long as the phones being made are running Google Play Services. This fractured reality is exactly why the “China situation” is such a pain in Mountain View’s side, and why it’s looking more likely 2015 will see the release of a Huawei Nexus.
Indeed as Android has gradually matured, Google has sought to exercise tighter control over the OS. Likewise, the once-flourishing sales of Samsung are ultimately of little concern now that Android has achieved its absolute market share dominance. Whereas the Galaxy series was once – arguably – the sole contender against Apple’s iPhone, the tables have turned and now any random would-be OEM can make a pretty decent smartphone.
Each Android phone is a potential profit center for Google’s main business: advertising.
Notice, however, just how rare it is to find any given one (or tablet for that matter) that doesn’t run Google Play Services, something that used to happen on a somewhat frequent basis in the early days of Android and budget-friendly products. This is not to say they don’t exist, not at all, but rather there are just so many smaller-scale tablets that do support Play Services, the problem is nowhere near as pressing as it might once have been.
Profit pictures
Had HTC released the One M9+ as its flagship, perhaps the financial fall-out would have been somewhat lessened…or even staved-off entirely.
As far as key Android OEMs go and their potential for profits, the sad reality is that things don’t look good at all. Samsung had an extremely favorable reception when the Galaxy S6 was announced which prompted almost unreasonable projections of potential sales. Reports began to come in that painted a different picture, and in the more recent past it’s become quite clear that the Korean smartphone manufacturer will ultimately fail to live up to the lofty expectations many had set up. HTC is in a similar boat, largely due to its decision to release the One M9 as its flagship, despite an absolute menagerie of other prime products exclusively available in Asia. LG is also facing scrutiny given that the G4 has, by all accounts so far, failed to live up to its sales potential.
Meanwhile, over in Apple-land, rumblings of rumors couldn’t be more rosy. The WSJ points out that “events last week highlighted the lopsided financial picture [with] Apple…asking suppliers to make a record number of new iPhone models.” Given that the products expected to launch this year, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus are – based on past releases – going to retain the same design but instead offer upgraded internals, it truly just shows how much power Apple has when it comes to products, purchases, and profits.
Unlike Apple, HTC or Sony can’t get away with releasing iterative products.
HTC by all accounts, did the exact same thing with its One M9 and yet has met with disastrous results. Even Sony has faced intense scrutiny for this strategy given that the Xperia Z4 is basically a retread of the Z3, a reality that has literally forced the company to re-brand it as the Z3+ outside of Japan. How the tables might have turned had HTC at least had the foresight to release the One M9+ as its flagship, or had Sony deemed it fit to launch the Verizon-exclusive Z4v on a global scale.
Forecasting the future
Even were it to feature a teleportation beam, it’s unlikely the upcoming Galaxy Note 5 would ever be able to transport Samsung back to its former finances.
It is unlikely that things will improve for legacy Android OEMs in the future. New rumors are suggesting that Samsung will launch its upcoming Galaxy Note 5 earlier than in the past, simply because it doesn’t want to compete with the iPhone’s juggernaut-strong offensive. Likewise, the company is expected to bring to market a super-sized Galaxy S6 Edge as clear competition for the new iPhone. The Note series has always been a less mainstream affair, and thus it is unlikely to move massive numbers enough to bring Samsung back to positive growth on a mass-scale, the likes of which it used to enjoy on a quarterly basis for year-upon-year in the past.
With even Android’s largest OEM facing slowing sales, the potential for smaller players is all the more marred, baring a major upturning of strategy. In their place will be dozens of companies from China, such as Huawei, Xiaomi, ZTE, who will be the ones to truly take advantage of the world’s emerging markets. These companies are not hell-bent on mass profits, nor do many of them have speculators or investors governing the decisions that go on behind the scenes the way that publicly traded companies do.
Why the Apple Watch is flopping
The Apple Watch, despite years of hype before it was even announced, appears to be flopping after all.
It wasn’t a good sign when Apple announced shortly before the Watch release that they weren’t going to be breaking out sales numbers. Now, a new report from third-party analysts Slice Intelligence not only show that Apple Watch sales are down 90% since launch-a big deal, since it implies early adopters aren’t regaling more cautious buyers with glowing word-of-mouth-but also that Fitbit is outselling Apple in the wearables space. Apple may have already crushed small time smartwatch companies like Pebble, but the Watch has failed to disrupt the larger wearable marketplace.
Imagine if months after the iPad release, we learned it still hadn’t outsold some model of Windows tablet. A couple of million units sold sounds okay, but hardly the sort of smash hit we’ve come to expect from Apple. A precipitous decline in sales after just a couple of months? Not a good sign.
The watch has failed to become the status quo object in wearables. For Apple, that’s a flop.
Will the Apple Watch recover, and sell 100 million units in two years, like the iPad, or three years, like the iPhone? There’s still time-but not at these rates. (Which, to be fair, are projections based on email receipts hoovered up by Slice, not from Apple itself.) Even with generous rounding errors, the Watch has failed to become the status quo object in wearables. And for Apple, that’s a flop.
So how did this happen? The answer may sound like heresy to those who canonize-or even merely admire-Apple’s designers. What if the Apple Watch, for all its its milled and woven metals, all its appearances on the catwalk, isn’t actually all that well-designed? So far, the Apple Watch doesn’t seem very useful, and it hasn’t proven that fashionable.
It Just Doesn’t Work That Well
Early reviews were filled with tentative criticism, and convoluted explanations about why you might want an Apple Watch in the first place. The New York Times needed “three long, often confusing and frustrating days” to learn how to use it. Others pointed to poor technical performance and a lack of meaningful apps. Many reviews contained the caveat, “it’s not for everyone…” One influential review by TechCrunch pointed to what became a rallying cry for the Apple Watch’s utility: the time saved by using a screen at a glance-as if teens and grandmas everywhere would relish the option to spend $500 to save the equivalent a few seconds each day. (Seconds that, more often than not, are consumed by a watch alert instructing its wearer to check their phone.)
Apple is not immune to fashion’s whim, and fashion’s whim is a lot faster than your two-year iPhone upgrade cycle.
Major developers complained to us before release that Apple had constrained Watch functions too tightly to create rich, meaningful experiences. Presumably to preserve the Watch’s limited battery life, apps ran on the iPhone, the sensors and Taptic Engine were off-limits, and many graphical elements had to be streamed to the Watch instead of being generated natively. Apple has since released a new SDK to remedy some of these limitations, which will certainly improve the app experience, however un-killer they all, so far, have been.
From a user-experience standpoint, it’s unclear that Apple ever figured out how people were really supposed to interact with the Watch. Consider that it contains four different types of notifications: a “glance,” a short look notification, a long look notification, and another style of notification that pops up only inside a digital watchface. Sometimes they’ll have the information you need. Sometimes they’ll prompt you to open an app on your iPhone. Never do they indicate that Apple figured out one perfect way to use a tool of their own invention. And despite having three different types of touch interface-basic touch-screen interaction, Force Touch, and the Digital Crown-the watch still leans heavily on Siri, Apple’s voice recognition agent, who remains fairly dense and hard of hearing.
It’s Not That Fashionable
Where did your Apple Watch go, Drake?
What about yours, Karl Lagerfeld? Is it hiding under those cuffs?
Say it ain’t so, Bey!
Though at least Beyoncé, who made headlines for wearing her gold-band Apple Watch Edition (backwards, by the way; in what, let’s all be honest, must be an under-the-table sponsorship we’ll read about in a memoir 40 years from now), still Instagrams in it every once in a while.
via Beyonce.com
You can view this in two ways, and neither bodes well for the Watch. Waning celebrity support could mark a cooling cool factor. Not because there’s anything wrong with the Watch, but because Apple is not immune to fashion’s whim-and fashion’s whim is a lot faster than your two-year iPhone upgrade cycle. Maybe the Apple Watch had a moment of limelight, but now seems, if not tacky, at least pedestrian.
And let’s ignore the challenge of auguring Yoncé’s daily technology and fashion choices solely from images on a highly curated Instagram feed. So she doesn’t wear the same watch every day; she’s a fashionista who changes her look on a daily basis. When does she wear it?
A nice watch for a normal, non-celebrity fits somewhere between a wedding ring and your go-to black leather shoes. You’ll wear it a lot, but not all the time.
But the Apple Watch isn’t just another piece of jewelry. If you don’t wear a Rolex every day, it’s not a big deal. If you don’t wear an Apple Watch every day, how is it ever going to become an integral part of how you pay for things, identify yourself, and check your emails? For the Apple Watch to replace the functionality of our phones, even in part, it has to be worn all the time. And it’s looking like-at least according to my highly scientific celebrity Instagram analysis, cross-indexed with the upturned noses of many of my otherwise perfectly gadget-prone friends-Apple Watch just doesn’t fit into every context. (And we’re talking about gifted $17,000+ version here, which at least brings the cachet of excess. The entry-level models may be more innocuous, but they’re still smartwatches, and smartwatches are still Segways for your wrist.)
Apple Is Still Thinking In ID, Not UX
All of this culminates to the Apple Watch’s fundamental flaw: it’s a myopic masterpiece of industrial design, with microchips under curved glass held firm by Velcro-elegant magnetic clasps, so focused on fit and finish that it forgot about the software experience. And it’s the software experience that, ironically, could solve the disappointing UX, along with the stale problem of wearing the same old watch every day.
Look at the Apple Watch page and you’ll see the pornographic macros of the digital crown and woven metal band; yet ultimately, the Apple Watch hardware you purchase has just one look. Software barely shapes its aesthetic. Apple hasn’t even opened up digital watch faces to third party developers, and even if they do, they won’t stop the watch hardware from looking like a dead screen that’s too afraid to fire up its own battery, lest it die.
The Apple Watch is so focused on fit and finish, it forgot about the software experience.
The Apple Watch is flopping because it’s very well executed, but not very well designed. In terms of utility, it’s hard to use, and not solving meaningful problems. In terms of fashion, it’s a piece of technology that inherently falls short of timelessness, and yet doesn’t keep up with fast fashion, either.
I’m not sure that the Apple Watch needs to rectify all of these problems to be a monster hit, but it certainly needs to solve one of them. Until then, the Apple Watch still “isn’t for everyone.” And apparently not as many someones as had been expected.
Apple Music faces scrutiny from the FTC
It’s been reported even before Apple launched its Music streaming service that the company’s facing antitrust probes in the US. Now, Reuters says the FTC has begun looking into Cupertino’s “treatment of rival streaming music apps” to make sure it’s not violating any antitrust law. See, iTunes also offers those competitor apps for download, and Apple gets a 30 percent cut per subscription paid through the program. That forces the companies to choose between charging extra on top of their $9.99 per month service (making the total $12.99) and accepting the loss to match Apple Music’s pricing.
In addition, the FTC’s reportedly looking into the App Store’s numerous restrictions, as well. These include prohibiting companies from mentioning that their apps are also available on other platforms and from pointing customers to their websites to purchase goods and services. That’s the reason why Spotify recently decided to send an email blast to subscribers with instructions on how to sign up directly on its website instead of paying $3 more through iTunes. To be clear, though, this isn’t an official investigation yet — the FTC has merely been examining if it has to launch one and meeting with concerned parties, such as the reps of Apple Music’s rivals.
Filed under: Misc, Mobile, Apple
Source: Reuters
Apple Gives iCloud Customers in Greece 30 Extra Days of Storage Amid Fiscal Crisis
Due to capital controls in Greece that prevent residents from making payments abroad due to the country’s ongoing financial crisis, many Greek customers have been unable to make purchases through online services such as iTunes and Paypal. The emergency measure has created a problem for iCloud users in Greece, who have been unable to renew their premium storage plan subscriptions since late June.
Bloomberg News shared Apple’s email received by its Athens-based staff earlier this week:
“On June 30, we tried to charge your account for your iCloud space of 20GB, but there is a problem with your payment details,” said one e-mail received by Bloomberg News staff based in Athens. “If we don’t manage to renew your subscription, your account will be downgraded to the free 5GB space program.” The user has a standing monthly payment for a 0.99-euro-cent ($1.11) payment for the storage service.
Fortunately, Apple has now sent an email to iCloud customers in Greece (via iPhoneHellas) to inform them that their iCloud storage plans have been extended by an extra 30 days at no additional cost. Apple will not attempt to charge iCloud customers in Greece until 30 days after their original renewal date, which buys some much-needed time for Greek customers while the country attempts to sort out its financial situation.
Dear iCloud customer,
To prevent interruption in your iCloud service during the current fiscal crisis, and to make sure you have access to your content, we’ve extended your iCloud storage plan for an extra 30 days at no additional cost.
We won’t attempt to charge you for your plan until 30 days after your original renewal date. If we are unable to renew your plan, you may need to reduce the amount of iCloud storage you use.
The iCloud Team
Greek customers can also use an iTunes gift card to renew their iCloud storage plans in the meantime.
FTC Looking Into App Store Rules Regarding Subscription Services
On Wednesday, Spotify sent emails to subscribers asking them to cancel their App Store subscriptions to the service to resubscribe on the web to avoid a $3 surcharge because of Apple’s App Store policies. The Federal Trade Commission is now looking into Apple’s policies, which include a 30 percent fee that it collects on all app and subscription revenue routed through the App Store, reports Reuters.
U.S. government antitrust regulators are looking into claims about whether Apple’s treatment of rival streaming music apps is illegal under antitrust law, according to three industry sources.
The antitrust concerns stem from certain App Store restrictions placed on streaming companies, which include a prohibition that the company is on other platforms, a ban on advertising how users can subscribe on a company’s website and the ban on links to the company’s website. While users can still subscribe to the service of their choice outside of the App Store, avoiding the 30 percent fee for the respective companies, sources tell Reuters that many users do not realize its an option.
That 30 percent fee reduces margins for those streaming companies in an industry with already thin margins and makes it difficult for them to compete, Deezer CEO Tyler Goldman tells the news organization. The news also comes after the FTC and other government bodies began looking into Apple’s efforts to set up deals with music labels.
While the FTC is looking into the App Store rules, there’s no guarantee they launch a formal investigation as antitrust lawyers that spoke to Reuters were split on whether Apple is breaking the law. This isn’t the first time Apple has gotten in trouble for its 30 percent subscription cut, as it landed in hot water with the Department of Justice during the e-book price fixing case. In June, it was reported that Apple was considering changing the 30 percent cut for media apps like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify and more.
Apple May Be Producing Exclusive Apple Music Content In-House
Earlier today Apple Music exclusively debuted a new music video from Drake, titled “Energy” from his latest album “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”. Previously, Apple has exclusively debuted the music videos for Pharrell’s “Freedom” and Eminem’s “Phenomenal“. These music videos may be developed in-house at Apple, reports Pitchfork.
The launch of Apple Music hasn’t only included a new radio station, social network, and streaming service. Apple have also started creating their own original content. The company made Drake’s amazing “Energy” video in-house, as well as Pharrell’s “Freedom” and Eminem’s “Phenomenal”. Next up: M.I.A.’s “Matahdatah Scroll 01 Broader Than a Border”, coming to Apple Music on Monday, July 13.
In addition to M.I.A.’s forthcoming music video, Pitchfork, which is an Apple Music Curation Partner, says rumors indicate that Apple Music has projects in the works with artists like Purity Ring, Diddy and James Bay. However, M.I.A.’s music video has been in the works since before May, when the artist insinuated that her label was holding up her “Matahdatah” music video because of potential controversy around its cultural appropriation of African culture.
Pitchfork claims that when they reached out to Larry Jackson, Apple Music’s head of content, for comment he responded with a tweet consisting of a dig at Spotify CEO Daniel Elk’s “Oh ok” tweet when Apple Music was announced in addition to the hashtags “Content”, “Curation”, “Culture” and a link to Drake’s music video on Apple Music.
Apple has been trying to secure exclusive content for its new streaming service in an effort to lure customers away from rival services like Spotify and Tidal. That effort continues with Drake, who today announced he’ll have a radio show on Beats 1 that’ll start on Saturday, July 11 at 6 PM EST.
Barclays Anticipating ‘Imminent’ Support for Apple Pay in United Kingdom
MacRumors has learned that a high-level executive at Barclays, one of the largest banks in the United Kingdom, anticipates “imminent” support of Apple Pay in the country. Apple Pay in the U.K. is expected to go live on Tuesday, although it remains unclear if Barclays will be a first wave launch partner because of its delayed negotiations with Apple about the mobile payments service.
Apple confirmed at WWDC last month that Apple Pay will be available in the U.K. in July, but stopped short of providing a specific launch date. Recently released employee training documents have suggested the launch could come next week, on July 14, and some Santander customers were able to add their cards to Passbook for use with Apple Pay and make purchases ahead of that date.
Barclays was notably absent from Apple’s list of banks that will support Apple Pay in the U.K. at launch or soon after, which presently includes HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, M&S Bank, MBNA, NatWest, Nationwide, Santander, TSB and Ulster Bank. The bank’s subsidiary Barclaycard has offered an Apple Rewards Visa Card for several years.
Barclaycard recently expanded its “bPay” lineup of wearable solutions for contactless payments to include a wristband, key fob and sticker, leading to speculation that Barclays may be electing to use its own mobile payments services as opposed to Apple Pay, similar to how some retailers maintained exclusivity to the CurrentC platform last year. Today’s confirmation, however, indicates otherwise.
MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Think Tank Photo Backpack That’ll Hold Your MacBook and Camera Gear
For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with Think Tank Photo to give away an Urban Approach 15 Mirrorless Backpack that’s designed to hold an iPad, a laptop, camera gear, and tons more. Think Tank Photo is actually a site that specializes in photography gear, so this is a giveaway oriented at those of you who need to lug around a camera, a MacBook, and all the relevant accessories.
Think Tank Photo sells a whole range of backpacks and messenger bags that can accommodate cameras and equipment of different sizes. The Urban Approach 15 Mirrorless Backpack is specifically designed for mirrorless cameras like the Sony a7r or the Olympus OM-D line.
It comes with a bunch of customizable compartments to hold your camera and lenses, with removable foam dividers so it can also be used to store other gear. There’s a dedicated zipper pocket in the back that can hold an iPad and a 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro or smaller. As you can see in the photos, it’s able to hold multiple cameras with lenses attached plus extra lenses.
The fabric is water-resistant thanks to a water repellant coating, and it’s made of ballistic nylon with leather accents for maximum durability. There’s a holder for a tripod and a pass-through handle so it can be attached to luggage when traveling. It includes several internal organizer pockets for cables, memory cards, and batteries, there’s a lockable zipper to prevent theft, and a rain cover.
To enter to win the Urban Approach 15 Mirrorless Backpack from Think Tank Photo, use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter your email address. Your email address will not be given to any third party and is used solely for contact purposes. 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 of age or older are eligible to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This contest will run from today (July 10) at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time through 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time on July 17. The winner will be chosen randomly on July 3 and will be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address or a new winner will be chosen.
Buyer’s Guide: Discounts on Retina MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Apple Accessories, and More
Heading towards the middle of the month and following the Fourth of July, deals are mediocre, so if you’re in search of an iPad or a Mac, you might want to hold off for better sales. That said, there are a few select deals that are worth checking out this week, including a sale on the new 2015 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air and some discounts on older MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro models.
As we first mentioned last week, there’s a new feature in the Buyer’s Guide, which will let you know when a product is available at the lowest price we’ve seen. Look for the products that are tagged with “Lowest Price Ever” to see some of the best discounts available.
We’ve rounded up deals on quite a few Apple accessories, including an exclusive discount on AppleCare with an iPad purchased from MacMall. As always, we’ve also included a great list of apps and games that are on sale this week.
iPad Air 2
B&H Photo is offering a small discount on most of its iPad Air 2 models, dropping prices by $30 to $50. With the discount, 64GB model Wi-Fi only model in Space Gray is priced at $564 and the 128GB model in Gold is priced at $659. Prices vary somewhat by model, but there are slight discounts to be had on all of the site’s iPads.
iPad Air
Best Buy, Amazon, and B&H Photo have deep discounts on some remaining stock of now-discontinued higher-capacity iPad Air models, as listed below.
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