Best Buy Early Black Friday Sale: Up to $250 Off on MacBook Pro, $50 onApple Watch Series 3, $100 on iPad, More

Black Friday 2018 is exactly two weeks away from now. To celebrate the occasion, most retailers including Amazon and Best Buy have already made some of their deals live before the event itself. Amazon was the first to make its some of its Black Friday deals live and Best Buy has now followed it up.


Best Buy is offering some great deals on a variety of electronic devices including the Apple Watch Series 3, Beats headphones, Philips Hue, and more. Check out some notable deals from the retailer’s early Black Friday sale below. The deals last until stocks last or until this Sunday so you have plenty of time to pull the trigger on a deal you like.

Best Buy Early Black Friday Deals

MacBook Pro

The retailer is offering discounts of up to $250 on the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro. The discount is applicable on selected variants of the 2017 and 2017 MacBook Pro models. The cheapest non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro you can pick up as a part of this deal sports a Core i5 2.3GHz processor, 8GB RAM, and 128GB of storage space for $1,149 — down by $150.

➤ Buy Now

The cheapest Touch Bar MacBook Pro you can pick up as a part of this deal packs an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD. It usually retails for $1,799, though you can get it for $1,649 after a $150 discount.

➤ Buy Now

The bigger 15-inch MacBook Pro models are seeing a bigger discount of $250. The cheapest variant you can pick up as a part of this sale sports an Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, and 16GB RAM for $ 2,149 — down from its usual price of $2,399 ($250 off).

➤ Buy Now

You can find all the deals on MacBook Pro from Best Buy over here.

Apple Watch Series 3

Best Buy is offering a flat $50 discount on selected variants of the Apple Watch Series 3. This means you can pick up a 38mm Apple Watch Series 3 for as low as $229 after a $50 discount.

➤ Buy Now

You can find all the deals on various other Apple Watch Series 3 models right here.

iPad Pro

The 10.5-inch iPad Pro might be old but it still has enough grunt for day to day tasks. You can’t really go wrong with the 10.5-inch iPad Pro especially at its discounted price. The base Wi-Fi model with 64GB of storage space has been discounted by $125 to bring its price down to $524.99. The 256GB and 512GB variants have also been discounted by a similar amount.

➤ Buy Now

iPad

Best Buy is offering a flat $100 discount on the 128GB storage variant of the 6th generation iPad. This means you can pick it up for the same price as the 32GB model: $329.99.

➤ Buy Now

Other Deals

Best Buy is offering some tempting deals on other electronic items as well. Check them out below:

You can check out all the deals currently being offered by Best Buy ahead of Black Friday over here.

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Do you plan on taking advantage of this early Black Friday sale from Best Buy to buy anything? Drop a comment and let us know!
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Disney+ Streaming Service Launches in Late 2019

We have known for quite some time now that Disney is planning on launching its own streaming service, and now a few more key details have been revealed.

Disney+ is Disney's streaming platform

CNBC is reporting on Thursday that Disney’s planned streaming service will be called “Disney+”, and that it will be launching sometime in the latter half of 2019. The company hasn’t nailed down an exact launch date just yet, so we don’t have anything to circle on the calendar. These revelations were delivered by Disney CEO Bob Iger during the company’s latest earnings call.

The new streaming service will feature a ton of content. It will have the standard Disney fare on there, from animated movies to live action fare, and there will also be plenty of new, original content as well. The streaming service will also be home to Marvel content. And we will also see properties from Fox (which Disney acquired particular studios for the tune of $71.3 billion) as well.

That includes new spin-off shows from movies like Star Wars: Rogue One, which will see the return of Diego Luna’s character from that film, Cassian Andor, headline a standalone TV show. There will also new new episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, one of the most anticipated revivals for animated shows to date.

There’s plenty more, including a spin-off series starring Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as Loki within the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. And other ventures as well:

“Other original shows and movies include a rebooted version of The High School Musical franchise. It will also be a hub for animated content, including the next season of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and an new original animated series based on Pixar’s “Monsters Inc.” Exclusive movies include “Noel,” a Christmas movie about Santa’s daughter played by Anna Kendrick, and “Togo,” a movie about the 1925 Nome Serum Run starring William DaFoe.”

Something else interesting: It won’t be like Netflix insofar that Disney+ just dumps all the content into one place. Instead, it sounds like we’ll see five (or six) services in one, with each brand getting its own microsite within Disney+ as a whole, each with its own unique UI. So, if you want to find Star Wars content, there’s a dedicated place for that. Same with Marvel, Disney, Pixar, and National Geographic. Fox would more than likely get its own microsite as well. This info was shared on Twitter by TV reporter Josef Adalian:

Disney+ will do what Netflix doesn't: Its app will have microsites within it devoted to various brands: Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Nat Geo and Disney. And each of those brand sites will have different user interfaces. So: 5 services in 1?

— TVMoJoe (@TVMoJoe) November 8, 2018

Disney’s streaming service will also mean that the company is going to pull its content off what is obviously a major competitor, Netflix. We’ve reported previously that Netflix has been in talks with the streaming platform to keep content for Netflix subscribers, but that doesn’t appear to be what’s going to happen. Disney’s deal with Netflix to stream content ends in 2019, and with Disney+ launching at the same time, well, that content would help stock that library right out of the gate.

Now we just need to wait and see how much Disney+ is going to cost on a monthly basis.

[via CNBC]

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The Successor to Vine is Called Byte and it Launches in 2019

It has been a while now since Twitter acquired the looping video service Vine and then subsequently shut it down. But the co-creator of that original effort is back with a new app.

Byte is the Vine replacement you've been waiting forThe successor to Vine, what was one of the most popular apps out there before its untimely demise, is called Byte, and it is created by the co-creator of Vine, Dom Hofmann. This is actually not the first time we’ve heard about this new creation. What was formerly known as “Vine version 2”, or simply “v2”, is how this all started. However, back in November of last year it was reported that v2 had been delayed indefinitely, suggesting we may never see Hofmann’s new Vine replacement.

The reasons for that indefinite delay were many, including Hofmann’s day job, funding, and more. But it looks like funding, at the very least, has been figured out, because things are now moving forward. According to Hofmann we will see the new app, now called Byte, launch in the spring of next year.

Unfortunately that’s all we know about this upcoming app, as far as a release date is concerned. No specific date to circle on the calendar just yet. Still, as a successor to Vine, we should expect to see a platform that allows for short, looping videos.

It will be interesting to see how this impacts another super popular app right now, TikTok. As we reported recently, this app has been downloaded a lot of times. Though, it is worth noting that TikTok isn’t necessarily a Vine replacement, so maybe we can live in a time where both apps are wildly successful and popular.

[via The Verge; @dhof]

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Apple Releases macOS 10.14.1 Mojave Supplemental Update for MacBook Air(2018)

MacBook Air 2018 Features 1

Apple launched the brand new MacBook Air with Retina display earlier this week (the reviews are positive!), and now the company has followed that with a software update for the new hardware.

On Thursday, Apple released a supplemental update for macOS 10.14.1 Mojave, specifically for the new 13.3-inch MacBook Air (2018). It’s available as a direct download from the source link below, or it can be downloaded and installed as a free over-the-air (OTA) update on supported machines beginning today. Here is how Apple describes the update:

“The macOS Mojave 10.14.1 Supplemental Update improves the stability and reliability of MacBook Air (2018) computers and is recommended for all users.”

The new software measures in at 1.3GB, so it may take some time to download and install. As is par for the course with these supplemental updates for specific machines, this isn’t a broad update for all MacBooks out there. Apple released that update, macOS 10.14.1 Mojave, to the public not too long ago. And Apple is currently in the process of beta testing the desktop operating systems’ next (minor) update, macOS 10.14.2, right now

[via Apple]

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Listen, Sync, and Charge In a Variety of Ways With These Quality iPhoneDongles [Deals Hub]

Chances are if you’re an iPhone user, it’s at the center of your device life—always in your pocket or at arm’s length. Unfortunately, all its connection possibilities can’t be realized with a single cable or dongle, so it pays to diversify. This MFi-Certified 3-Pack provides the road to listen, sync, and charge in a larger variety of ways than you can with stock gear, allowing you to make more effective use of the device across different situations. And right now, the iPhoneHacks Deals Hub also has it on sale for $39.99 after 60% off.

MFi Certification is a great thing. Anyone who’s gone to the local convenience store to pick up a cheap cable or some earbuds in an emergency knows they aren’t all created equal. This system ensures the products are of a high quality and particularly designed for use with Apple devices. With this set, you can connect your Lightning devices to 3.5mm audio, or any USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 device for syncing or charging. Plus, there’s a standard Lightning charging cable thrown in for good measure.

Even after the 60% discount, $39.99 may seem like a lot to pay for some cables and dongles. But the reality is you’re shortchanging functionality on your great Apple devices if you don’t have the right accessories. Check out the 3-Pack today at the Deals Hub.

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iFixit Teardown of New MacBook Air Reveals ‘Straightforward to Access’Parts, but Repairability Score Remains Low

iFixit tears down the new MacBook Air

The fine folks over at iFixit have wrapped up their full teardown of the brand new 13.3-inch MacBook Air with Retina display, revealing all the nuts and bolts (and adhesive) putting together Apple’s newest laptop.

As is par for the course, the tear down process is not a guide to actually repair the device, even though a repair-ability score is provided by the end. Still, if you are curious how everything underneath the hood is put together, and whether or not you’ll have an easier job repairing the device yourself, these tear downs can be a fantastic resource. 

Some good news to start: Early reports that the battery can be replaced individually in the new MacBook Air are indeed true!

iFixit’s teardown reveals that many of the parts in the new MacBook Air are modular and pretty “straightforward to access”, which includes the speakers, the fan, and ports. As for that battery, the teardown revealed that it “is secured with a combination of screws and repair-friendly stretch-release adhesive”, but that the logic board and the speakers still need to be removed to access it. The logic board will also have to be removed if the Force Touch trackpad needs to be repaired or replaced, too:

“Unlike the newer MacBooks Pro, which have first-step replaceable trackpads, this trackpad shares a cable with the keyboard, which is pinned under the logic board.”

The new third-generation butterfly keyboard is integrated into the top case, which means there needs to be a full replacement if a repair is necessary. The RAM and built-in storage options are also soldered into place and non-serviceable. Whether or not that’s a deal breaker at this point, even for a laptop that starts at $1,200, will be wholly based on the individual’s preferences.

At the end of the day, the publication gave the new MacBook Air with Retina display a repairability score of 3 out of 10, with 10 being the easiest to repair. So, while Apple did make some changes to make things a bit easier, it’s still not a great score.

The full teardown can be found through the source link below, and, as usual, it’s definitely worth a look.

Are you planning on picking up the new MacBook Air? If you do, be sure to let us know in the comments what you think of the brand new laptop.

[via iFixit]

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How to Upgrade RAM on 2018 Mac mini in 11 Easy Steps

Mac mini RAM Upgrade

When Apple first unveiled its 2018 refreshed Mac mini lineup last month, it highlighted the fact that it came with SO-DIMM RAM. This meant that the RAM was not soldered on the mainboard and that user replacement/upgrade was possible.

The Mac mini uses DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM which one can easily get from Amazon or any other retailer. Upgrading the RAM manually is going to be a far cheaper route than asking Apple to do the same as the latter will charge users a premium of anywhere between $300 to $500 additional just for upgrading the RAM.

If you plan on buying the 2018 Mac mini and upgrading the RAM yourself, iFixit has now published an 11-step guide which shows how to upgrade the memory on it. The detailed guide should make it easier for anyone looking to upgrade the memory of their Mac mini now or down the line. The process is relatively easy, with iFixit ranking the difficulty as “Easy” and saying the time taken for the whole process will be around 10 minutes.

To upgrade the RAM on your 2018 Mac mini, you will have to slide out the logic board from the housing. This is a delicate process as it requires one to disconnect various antenna cables and connectors on the logic board. You will also have to remove the cooling fan during the process.

If you have ever upgraded the RAM or HDD/SSD of your previous Mac mini, you will find the steps to be remarkably similar. If you are new to the whole process though, follow the iFixit guide closely and make sure to have access to all the tools beforehand. And if you are still not confident enough of doing the job yourself, you can always take your Mac mini to a third-party repair shop who will charge you a small fee for the upgrade.

[Via iFixit]

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