Buyer’s Guide: Discounts on Retina MacBook Pro, iPad mini, Beats Headphones, and More [Mac Blog]

There are some great deals on Apple-related accessories and services this week, as well as some decent discounts on the iPad mini and the 13 and 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro.

Beats Studio over-ear headphones can be purchased (in six colors) for $180 through Groupon, which is $89 off the price when purchased directly from Beats. Target is also offering 25 percent off Beats Music gift cards, dropping the $50 card to $37.50 and the $25 card to $18.75, essentially dropping the price of a yearly subscription from $99 to $75.

Speck’s CandyShell Case for the iPad mini/Retina iPad mini can be purchased through Groupon for $14,99, a discount of $30. The iHealth Blood Pressure Monitor for iOS devices can also be purchased from Groupon for $30, a discount of $70.

Best Buy is offering the 16GB non-Retina iPad mini for $199, a discount of $100 from the standard $299 price. It’s available in both white and space gray. Best Buy is also offering a $25 iTunes gift card with the purchase of a $99 Apple TV.

The higher-end 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM is available for $1,399 from Amazon, which is a $100 discount and one of the lowest prices we’ve seen on that configuration.

The lower-end 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 8GB of memory and 256GB of RAM can be purchased for $1,849.99 from Amazon, Adorama, and B&H, a $150 discount. The higher-end Retina MacBook Pro 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM can be purchased for $2,449 from Amazon, Adorama, and B&H, also a discount of $150.

Customers in many states may find it preferable to order from Adorama or B&H, as these sites only charge sales tax in New York/New Jersey and New York, respectively.

Before making a purchase of a Mac or iOS device, make sure to consult our Buyer’s Guide to find out if it’s a good time to buy. For example, while there are some good deals to be had on the current iMac, our Buyer’s Guide does not recommend a purchase at this time because an update is coming soon — and prices will drop even lower.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.

5.5-Inch iPhone 6 May Cost an Extra $100, but Consumers Willing to Pay

Over the past several months, there have been several rumors suggesting that a move to two different screen sizes on the iPhone 6 could come with a $100 price premium for the larger model. Rumors have indicated that Apple is planning to launch a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 around the September timeframe, with an even larger 5.5-inch model coming either at the same time or up to several months later.

Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt has now weighed in (via MarketWatch) with his own belief that the larger model will indeed include a $100 price premium. But according to McCourt’s survey data, consumers are showing an increasing willingness to pay that premium for a larger device.

“Our June consumer survey points to continued growth in the willingness of iPhone users to pay $100 more for a bigger screened iPhone, with now a full one-third of survey respondents willing to pay a $100 premium,” he added.

In fact, he added, “data seems to suggest meaningful demand for a larger screen, which should logically mean the iPhone 6-cycle will be strong for upgrade sales, which combined with modest contribution from wearables should cause a modest acceleration in revenue growth in fiscal 2015.”

Analysts and other observers unsurprisingly expect the iPhone 6 to generate a massive upgrade spike given the move to a larger screen size. The iPhone’s usual two-year design cycle typically sees stronger anticipation for new designs, and the significantly larger screen sizes appear to be boosting that excitement even more this year.

Apple Cracking Down on Fake App Store Reviews

Apple recently began cracking down on fake reviews in the App Store, a widespread problem that can affect both App Store rankings and Top Charts. According to research done by TechCrunch, Apple appears to have started removing false reviews earlier this year.

One app, Better Fonts Free, which is described by TechCrunch as “spammy,” saw thousands of its June ratings disappear overnight. While the app has just 4,000 reviews at the current point in time, it previously had more than 20,000. Developers have no way to remove reviews, which means the fake reviews were pulled by Apple.

Instead, what happened is that Apple did step in to remove this app’s ratings due to attempts by the developer to game the system. What’s more, this is not the first time the company has done this, we now understand.

In fact, any time Apple finds credible evidence of ratings fraud or manipulation, it can and “often” does take action to remove the ratings associated with that activity.

There are several websites and marketing services that allow developers to purchase fake five-star reviews in an attempt to game the App Store charts, improving their rankings and their downloads. Apple has warned against these practices in the past, suggesting that developers who utilize services to manipulate their App Store rankings could be banned from Apple’s developer program, so it is no surprise that the company has been quietly removing fake reviews.

It is unclear how Apple determines which reviews are false, but as anyone who has stumbled across a fake review in the App Store knows, they are often easy to spot. Most fake reviews use the same general wording, structure, and punctuation, in addition to being overly positive. The reviews below come from a low-quality highly-ranked app that has a perfect five star rating.

Apple has made several changes to the App Store in recent months with the aim of improving app discoverability. In late 2013, the App Store began compensating for small typos and misspellings and the company also implemented changes to the way apps are ranked for the Top Charts.

Just yesterday, Apple added a new ‘Browse by Category’ section ahead of major improvements being introduced to the App Store with iOS 8, including a new “Explore” tab and a search overhaul that includes trending and related searches.

Microsoft Considering Expanding Cortana Virtual Assistant to iOS and Android [iOS Blog]

Microsoft earlier this year introduced Cortana, an intelligent virtual assistant to compete with iOS’ Siri and Android’s Google Now. Cortana was launched as a Windows Phone 8.1 feature, but a new report from Search Engine Land suggests Microsoft may expand the service to iOS and Android.

Speaking at the SMX Advanced conference in Seattle yesterday, Windows Phone Group Program Manager Marcus Ash said the company wants Cortana to be “pervasive” both geographically and among mobile platforms.

We want to scale Cortana internationally and across devices. The Android/iOS question is interesting. We’re asking, would Cortana be as effective if she didn’t have access to the details on your phone? We’re still trying to get Cortana adopted on Windows Phone and figure out what it wants to become there. But we’re actively talking about this.

I think it’s natural to think that an assistant that only runs on one device … the idea that she will be very pervasive is important to us.

Cortana is powered by Microsoft’s Bing search engine and Tellme’s natural language processing and speech-recognition technology Microsoft acquired in 2009. The assistant is launching first on Windows Phone 8.1 and the Xbox One game console. It is named after the artificial intelligence in Microsoft’s popular Halo game series and has a female voice powered by actress Jen Taylor, who also provides the voiceovers for the video game.

iOS 8: Hidden Features

Last week, Apple publicly announced the major new features of iOS 8. Here is a list of unannounced features we’ve also discovered in iOS 8.

Google to Take on Apple in Health and Fitness Tracking with ‘Google Fit’

Just weeks after Apple announced its Health app for iOS 8 and corresponding HealthKit platform for allowing developers and accessory manufacturers to tie into the system, Google will apparently be making a similar announcement at its Google I/O conference. According to Forbes, Google’s new “Google Fit” service will perform a similar function to HealthKit, aggregating data from fitness trackers and apps in one place on the user’s device.

Google Fit will aggregate data through open APIs, instruction sets that allow apps to share information, and will also announce partnerships with wearable device makers at its I/O conference, Forbes understands. One source with knowledge of Google’s plans said Google Fit would allow a wearable device that measures data like steps or heart rate to interface with Google’s cloud-based services, and become part of the Google Fit ecosystem.

Forbes says it is unclear whether Google Fit will be integrated into Android by default or if it will be handled through a standalone app.

Earlier this year, Google announced its Android Wear project to bring Android to wearable devices such as smart watches, with a focus on health monitoring. As a result, Forbes speculates Google Fit could serve as a hub for integrating data from a variety of Android Wear devices, as well as other products tying into the platform.

Apple’s Health feature received only a few minutes of stage time at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference last week, although the company does have a feature page up on its site previewing the system. While Health will be able to tie into a variety of devices and apps as developers build in support, Apple’s iWatch is expected to be a major focus for the platform. Rumored for launch later this year around the time iOS 8 is released to the public, the iWatch will reportedly feature a number of biometric sensors to help monitor health and fitness. As a result, we can expect to hear much more about Apple’s Health initiative when the iWatch is ready to go.

Apple recalls older European iPhone chargers due to overheating risk

Apple recently launched a takeback program for faulty, third-party iPhone chargers, but should’ve looked inside its own glass house first. It has just issued an advisory that Apple-branded iPhone USB adapters sold between October 2009 and September 2012 could pose a safety risk by overheating. The affected model number “A1300″ came with European versions of the iPhone 3Gs, 4 and 4s. The good news is that you can get it replaced free of charge with a redesigned adapter (A1400) at an Apple Store, authorized service provider or through Apple technical support. Apple has a full list of the affected countries (including most of Europe but not the UK), along with information about how to swap it at a dedicated support page. In case you’ve already purchased a third-party replacement adapter, Apple will also give you a full refund.

Filed under: Cellphones, Apple

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Via: 9to5 Mac

Source: Apple

Apple Launches Exchange Program for 5W European USB Power Adapter

Apple today launched a exchange program in 36 countries for certain models of its 5W European USB power adapter, which the company says may overheat and pose a safety risk in some cases, reports German site iFun (Google Translate).

The affected adapters, which are identified as Model A1300, originally came with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S models that shipped from October 2009 to September 2012. Apple is allowing users to bring in the affected adapters to an Apple Retail Store or participating Apple Authorized Service Provider, and will give a new adapter after a corresponding iPhone serial number is verified.

The program differs from Apple’s third-party USB charger takeback program, which launched last year in over thirty countries. That program allows users to trade-in a third-party USB charger for a discount on an official Apple charger, and was created following the electrocution of a Chinese woman that may have been caused counterfeit iPhone charger.

Surge of iOS Game Controllers at E3 as Speculation Looks Towards Apple TV Gaming

TouchArcade has posted a roundup featuring a look at the surprising number of the new iOS gaming controllers shown off at this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) event in Los Angeles, California.

New products from gaming companies such as Mad Catz, Razer, SteelSeries, Hori, Signal, Phonejoy, and BigBen Interactive were all shown off at the event, with each company pushing various hardware styles and features to better cater to iOS users.

Mad Catz’s C.T.R.L.i controller was described as TouchArcade’s favorite of the various controllers shown. It features a full-sized design with console-style controls including face buttons, analog sticks, shoulder bumpers and triggers.

The controller can connect to any iOS 7 device through Bluetooth functionality, and also includes an optional clip for attaching an iPhone. Other controllers like BigBen Interactive’s GamePhone Controller Pro, Hori’s MFi controller, Signal’s RP-One, and Steelseries’ Stratus XL also showed off similar full-sized designs.

Meanwhile, controllers like BigBen Interactive’s GameGrip and PhoneJoy’s MFi controller showed off a design that wraps around an iOS device similar to the MOGA Ace Power and the Logitech Powershell.

Phonejoy’s controller in particular contains the ability to fully collapse while not in use, while BigBen’s GameGrip can wrap around an iPad mini and even a full-sized iPad. Razer also demoed its Junglecat controller, which contains a sliding mechanism with face buttons and a directional pad.

The introduction of all these new iOS controllers comes as rumors surrounding the next-generation Apple TV have ramped up, with some of that speculation focusing on the device’s gaming capabilities. To this point, some have speculated that Apple could utilize iOS gaming controllers, a set-top box, and an App Store ecosystem to become a major force in the console gaming industry. Original Xbox engineer Nat Brown and Steam founder Gabe Newell shared sentiments that Apple could take the lead in the games console market with such a system.

Iconfactory software engineer Sean Heber (via Daring Fireball) recently wrote a blog post on how Apple could use its new Metal and AirPlay peer-to-peer technologies introduced in iOS 8 to provide a new console gaming experience with the Apple TV and iOS gaming controllers. He explains that Apple could ultimately allow users to use their iOS devices as controllers with minimal input lag, as games would be playable on both the Apple TV and iOS devices:

The key difference is where the AirPlay extension app actually executes – the AirPlay extension app will be automatically uploaded to whatever AppleTV you are currently AirPlaying with and will run directly on the AppleTV natively instead. This means no video streaming lag and minimal controller lag. Your iPhone would then turn into a generic game controller with onscreen controls or, if you have a physical shell controller attached to your iPhone, it activates that instead.

…You can play without needing to purchase the game on that particular AppleTV, without needing to sign in with your iCloud account to access your purchases, without needing to get their wifi password, or indeed without there even needing to be a wifi network to join in the first place. All without any hassle. When you go home, you take the game and any earned progress along with you in your pocket.

In addition to gaming, Apple’s next-generation Apple may also feature cable-box capabilities and perhaps a streaming TV service through a partnership with Comcast. However, Apple’s iTunes Chief Eddy Cue said recently that Apple is continuing to work on a way to improve the television experience, but a fix is “complicated.”