Today’s best deals include Apple’s M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro, plus you can save on various iPads, and Samsung storage. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Take $100 off Apple’s M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro Apple’s new MacBook Pros feature the brand’s first silicon chips, which promises a “giant leap in CPU, GPU, and machine learning performance.” This model offers up to 20 hours of battery life, the best ever for a MacBook Pro, 8GB worth of RAM, and 512GB worth of solid-state storage....

During its “Far Out” event, Apple announced its killing the SIM tray for eSIM-only iPhone 14 models. It’s been rumored for a while that Apple would eventually do that, and now this becomes a reality – at least in the United States. During the keynote, Apple explained the benefits of eSIM, such as more privacy – since there’s no physical SIM to be removed – alongside the possibility to add several numbers digitally....

Apple’s official MagSafe Battery Pack is down to a new low Serving as a perfect companion to your new iPhone 13 or existing iPhone 12, the Apple MagSafe Battery Pack arrives to dish out some extra power while on the go. It can refuel your handset at 5W speeds from the internal battery, though steps up to offer the full 15W MagSafe charging speeds when plugged into a USB-C cable. It has a slick white plastic shell that will work with everything from Apple’s mini handsets all the way up to its Pro Max releases....

Apple noted today that movies were coming to iTunes Japan. This follows Switzerland and other European countries last week. Press release follows: TOKYO—November 11, 2010—Apple® today announced that movies are now available on the iTunes Store® in Japan giving customers an incredible way to enjoy movies on their iPhone®, iPad™, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC, or with the new Apple TV® on their HD TV. Starting today, there are over 1,000 movies to rent or buy in high definition and standard definition from major international film studios including 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros....

After adding support for Apple TV+ back in 2019, Roku is expanding the availability of Apple services with the addition of Apple Music. The streaming company announced today that the full Apple Music experience is now available on Roku devices, including streaming players, Roku TV devices, and Roku premium audio devices. Apple Music comes to Roku In a press release, Roku detailed that the Apple Music experience on its devices includes full support for 90 million songs, playlists, and more....

Apple and others, like Google, LinkedIn, and Path, now know that privacy is synonymous with users’ information, and the iDevice-maker is finally attempting to rights its wrongs by requiring user permission in iOS 6 before apps can access any sensitive particulars. Congress, regulatory bodies, and consumer advocates alike became aware earlier this year that apps uploaded data—such as entire contact lists—to their servers without notifying or even asking for permission from users first....

Apple today has started selling the View-Master Virtual Reality Starter Pack on its online store. With all the news about the company building out and prototyping virtual reality tech, it’s interesting to see it offering a glimpse at what that future tech may be by selling the device on the online store. Harkening back to the classic ideals of the View-Masters from the past, the new View-Master allows users to go on exciting new adventures....

Update: KBC Bank has retracted its original statement, now saying in a second tweet that Apple Pay is “not yet in scope.” Apple Pay may be making its way to Belgium following WWDC, KBC Bank indicated on Twitter today. The bank recently added NFC support to its payment cards, prompting a customer to ask if the institution would ever add support for Apple Pay. The bank replied that the service would be available starting this summer, indicating a possible announcement at WWDC....

Apple Pay now supports dual-network debit cards in Australia. This enables users to avoid credit card fees at merchants that support eftpos (electronic funds transfer) at point of sale. For now, this feature only applies to Australia where dual-network cards are quite common. The default Visa payment often sees customers incurring fees that they could otherwise avoid using physical cards. The Choose Payment Option feature enables an Apple Pay user to select at time of purchase whether they want to use Visa or eftpos on their dual network cards....

Reuters reports that Apple is reducing orders from Samsung for internal iPhone 5 components. While Samsung is said to still supply some components for the next-generation Apple smartphone, Apple is still trying to lessen its reliance on the South Korean technology firm. It seems that Apple’s latest supply chain move is an effort to widen its supply chain as the Reuters report denies that the move is not in response to Apple and Samsung’s global patent disputes....

Following up on this morning’s release of iOS 7 beta 2 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to developers, Apple has released the second Developer Preview of OS X 10.9 Mavericks. The new seed is available as a Software Update via the Mac App Store. The build number is 13A497d. This compares to Preview 1’s version number of 13A476u. As always, if you find something new, you can reach us at tips@9to5mac....

Apple has released a new version of its beta software distribution app TestFlight. The new version includes a new design that fits in with iOS 11 (also just released) including a new app icon, 3D Touch features, and more. A new version of Swift Playgrounds for iPad is also now available. Here’s what’s new in TestFlight: What’s New in Version 2.0.0 This update includes a redesigned user interface for iOS 11 The app list displays apps currently being tested, previously tested apps (including expired and removed apps), and apps that are incompatible for the device being used A new welcome screen appears when opening the TestFlight for the first time after updating You can now use 3D Touch on the TestFlight app icon to redeem a code or update all apps Split view is supported And here’s the latest for Swift Playgrounds:...

Apple is apparently increasing production orders for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which will be officially unveiled at the company’s fall media event on Wednesday September 7, according to a new report by Digitimes. Although Digitimes makes often unreliable claims, it is more accurate with supply chain reporting like this one. The report says Apple has boosted production for iPhone 7 components by about 10%. A reason for the spike in production is not given but it implies Apple is more confident about iPhone 7 sales this year than it was initially....

Apple is seemingly getting out of the router accessory business, ‘disbanding’ the division inside the company according to Bloomberg. This means Apple will no longer develop its $99 AirPort Express, $199 AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule products. The report says Apple is reallocating employees to focus on its core consumer products that generate the vast majority of its revenue. The newest AirPort devices are more than three years old, so the future of the products has been in doubt for a while....

Apple’s Campus 2 project will also house a 1,000-person auditorium off the main R&D ‘Mothership’, though this structure looks even more other-worldly. The Norman Foster mockups from Cupertino.org, and dug up by Apple Gazette last week, show an auditorium entrance surrounded by glass and with a metal roof. The auditorium itself will be underground from the glass-surrounded auditorium. For its product launch events, Apple has typically either used its own Town Hall at its main Cupertino HQ or buildings in San Francisco such as Moscone West or the Yerba Buena Center....

Ahead of Apple’s entry into the mobile payment space next month with the release of Apple Pay for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users, Apple has joined the GlobalPlatform, the non-profit association focused on standards for secure chip technology across various industries, as a full member. Existing members of GlobalPlatform include various Apple partners and competitors alike with carriers AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon being members as well as handset makers Samsung and BlackBerry....

Recent 4.x iOS updates haven’t been too fabulous for the iPhone 3G. First it was slow as a dog, then Apple started peeling back some of the cooler features like Gamecenter. We’re afraid another new feature is getting cut from the iPhone 3G. AirPlay is gone from iOS 4.2 GM. Below is an iPhone 4 (bottom) and an iPhone 3G (top) showing AirPlay option on iPhone 4 but not on iPhone 3G...

Apple has launched a blog on its official developer website to promote the new Swift programming language. Swift, which was announced at WWDC 2014, is a successor to the Objective-C programming language for iOS and OS X, and it provides new, cleaner, and more robust tools for developing applications. The blog will be dedicated to Apple engineers working on Swift sharing tidbits behind the language’s development as well as hints. Here’s the first Swift blog post:...

Apple’s September event marked the introduction of the iPhone 13, a new entry-level iPad, and an all-new iPad mini. Apple still has quite a bit more in store for the rest of 2021, and it has officially scheduled an October 18 event to make these announcements. Head below for our full roundup of what Apple could announce at its October event, including M1X MacBook Pros, AirPods 3, and more. Last-minute rumors: Update October 17, 2021: We’re less than 24 hours until Apple’s “Unleashed” special event will kick-off, and the last-minute rumor mill is in full force....

The Apple Store is down, in preparation for announcements later today at Apple’s Spring Forward event. The store going down is a very strong indicator that something new will be available to buy after the event is over — but what products? The most likely answer is new MacBooks. There is also the potential of Apple Watch preorders, although these are more likely to take place in a couple of weeks, assuming an April launch....