In this week’s top stories: Everything you need to know about Black Friday 2018, Google Assistant integration with Siri, Tumblr’s removal from the App Store, and more. Read on for all of this week’s top Apple news.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are bringing a slew of deals to the latest and greatest Apple products. Our friends over at 9to5Toys have been doing an excellent job of rounding up everything you need to know, read their continuing coverage right here.
Last weekend, Tumblr was silently removed from the App Store without reason. This week, however, we learned more about why Apple pulled the app, with Tumblr announcing in a statement that its content filters failed to identify child pornography. While the offending content has been removed, Tumblr is still not available in the App Store.
The Google Assistant app for iOS was updated this week with Siri Shortcuts integration. This means you can now say, “Hey Siri, OK Google” to access Google Assistant commands. It’s not a perfect system, but by far one of the cleanest integrations we’ve seen of a third-party voice assistant with iOS.
Meanwhile, reports of iPhone production cuts continued this week. One report this week suggested that Apple has cut production orders for the iPhone XS and iPhone XR, citing difficulties predicting demand with a three-tier lineup. Additionally, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is lowering iPhone XR prices in Japan and restarting some iPhone X production in certain markets.
These and the rest of this week’s top Apple stories below…
Black Friday 2018 |
- [Update: Even more deals!] Apple Black Friday Deal Hub: Save on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, more
- Apple Black Friday 4-day ‘shopping event’ offers gift cards with iPhones, iPads, Macs and more
- Apple holding ‘four days of special offers’ event for Black Friday through Cyber Monday
- Apple Black Friday sale live in the US: Apple Store gift cards when buying iPhone, Mac, iPad and Apple Watch
iOS | macOS | tvOS | watchOS |
- Tumblr was removed from the App Store after it was found to be serving child pornography
- You can now say ‘Hey Siri, Ok Google’ to use Google Assistant on the iPhone …
- NBA 2K Mobile update seen at iPad Pro event with ‘console level graphics’ now available
iPhone |
- Poll: Would you accept a slightly thicker 2019 iPhone in return for three benefits?
- Apple reportedly cuts production orders for iPhone XS and iPhone XR
- Report: Apple to lower iPhone XR prices in Japan, restarts some iPhone X production
- Laughable report suggests most iPhones in China bought by the ‘invisible poor’
- Apple in talks w/ Department of Veterans Affairs to offer veterans medical records access on iPhone
- Korean smartphone retailers threaten legal action against Apple over display models
iPad Pro |
- iPad Pro Diary: The 12.9-inch iPad is so good my advice to friends has changed …
- OtterBox unveils Symmetry Series 360 cases for 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro as an Apple store exclusive
- Latest iPad Pro ad touts five reasons it should be ‘your next computer’
- Writing with iPad Pro: Doing real work on a portable, LTE-enabled computer
- Comment: The new iPad Pro Smart Folio cases are great, but I miss the classic Smart Cover
- Comment: It’s a myth that the 12.9-inch iPad can’t justify itself as a media consumption device
Mac |
- Mac market share crashed in Q3, likely in part due to new MacBook Air
- Once considered forgotten, Apple’s pro customers find reward in recent hardware and software
Apple Watch |
- Traditional watchmakers banking on hybrid watches to compete with the Apple Watch
- Nostalgic concept imagines case that turns your Apple Watch into an original iPod [Gallery]
Top Apple news, retail |
- Gallery: Apple Champs-Élysées makes a grand debut in Paris
- Third Street Promenade and Alderwood Apple stores reopen with Today at Apple upgrades
Accessories |
- Review: Bose SoundSport Free versus AirPods — sport-ready without the magic
- Mazda announces promised CarPlay retrofit option for some existing cars
- Apple TV grows in popularity and passes more affordable Google & Roku options, data shows
- Apple reportedly mulls Chromecast-like dongle to help spread adoption of upcoming TV show service
Top Apple news, company |
- Tim Cook talks search deals w/ Google, privacy in tech, and his daily routine in HBO interview
- Apple Authorized Reseller store goes live on Amazon․com ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- Independent Apple resellers will be hurt by Amazon deal, say reports
- Apple reportedly acquires privacy-focused artificial intelligence startup ‘Silk Labs’
- Apple shares new Pixar-like animated ‘Share Your Gifts’ holiday ad
- AAPL officially enters bear market, stock down >20% since last month
- Jony Ive discusses the importance and absurdity between leveraging ‘curiosity’ and the focus to ‘solve problems’
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This week’s top videos |
9to5Mac Daily |
Listen to a recap of the top Apple news of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
- 9to5Mac Daily: November 19, 2018
- 9to5Mac Daily: November 20, 2018
- 9to5Mac Daily: November 21, 2018
- 9to5Mac Daily: November 23, 2018
Happy Hour Podcast #200 |
This week Benjamin and Zac discuss Apple’s 2018 holiday ad and how it was created, the four-day ‘shopping event’ that Apple is hyping this year, Siri’s unfortunate Thanksgiving Day blunder, a new rumored Apple TV HDMI stick, iPhone XS and iPhone XR sales concerns and how Apple is responding, and more.
9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Making The Grade |
Making The Grade is a weekly series from Bradley Chambers covering Apple in education. Bradley has been managing Apple devices in an education environment since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing 100s of Macs and 100s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple’s products work at scale, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for students.
- Teacher gift guide for 2018
- Is the Mac dead in K-12 education?
- What is the iPad mini’s role in the iPad lineup?
- Thoughts on iPad apps, web apps, and the move to subscriptions
- The laptop I hope Apple announces at its upcoming event
Black Friday at 9to5Toys |
As always, we’ll have all of this year’s best Black Friday deals, news and ad leaks right here at 9to5Toys. If you’re not yet following us on Twitter, be sure to lock that in.
We also have a new 9to5Toys iOS app that’s now available for FREE. Customizable alerts, Apple Watch compatibility and more ensure that you’ll be up to date on all of the best deals throughout the holiday shopping season.
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Featured in top image: Dell 38-inch UltraSharp Curved Monitors, Grovemade’s Desk Shelf System, Nixie Tube Clock, Apogee Quartet, KRK VXT6 Studio Monitor speakers, Classicbot Classic Vintage Mac Toy. Read about the setup over on 9to5Toys as part of the ‘Behind the Screens’ series.
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