Today’s best Apple deals usher in Thursday with a deep discount on the original Apple Watch Ultra at $649. It comes joined by the first chance to save on the just-released Satechi Mac mini Stand and Hub at 20% off, as well as some deals that finally make Apple’s FineWoven iPhone 15 cases worth a try from $31. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.
Save $150 on the original Apple Watch Ultra
Amazon is offering the second-best price yet on the original Apple Watch Ultra. This rugged wearable now drops to $649 from the original $799 price tag. It’s $150 off and matching the Amazon all-time low for only the second time. We have seen it sell for less in the past, with a discount to $600 going live for a single day to start off New Year’s Day. Otherwise, this is the lowest offer we’ve seen.
Apple Watch Ultra is the original version of Apple’s most capable wearable with an even more rugged design than its flagship Series 8 counterpart. Everything about that improved feature set is packed into a titanium case that encircles the larger 49mm screen that’s the brightest Always-On Retina display yet. Apple Watch Ultra also sports a more distinct side module that encompasses the usual Digital Crown, as well as a secondary, customizable action button to round out the form-factor adjustments. There’s also a 100-meter water-resistance rating, as well as 36-hour battery life, dual-frequency GPS, and everything else you can read about over in our first impressions coverage.
As for how it compares to the new Apple Watch Ultra 2, you’re not missing all too much. There is the new S9 chip at the center of the fitness tracking experience, as well as the new pinch gesture recognition, but you’re largely looking at the same wearable as the discounted model above.
Satechi refreshes Mac mini Stand and Hub at 20% off
Satechi today is keeping up its CES 2024 reveals with a new and improved version of its unqiue Stand and Hub for Mac Mini. The new version improves the experience with some quality of life updates for Apple’s latest Mac mini and Studio, all while keeping the same footprint. It’s also on sale at launch, dropping the usual $100 price tag down to $79.99 shipped with code CES20. That’s a 20% off launch discount and the first chance to save on this new release.
Satechi’s current Stand and Hub first hit the scene back in 2021 with the goal of adding some front-facing I/O to your Mac mini. It has a fun design that rests right underneath your desktop Mac, and is now also compatible with the newer Mac Studio. Now with the refreshed version, Satechi is merging all of that same focus with some more modern specs to match Apple’s latest M2 desktops. Oh, and the same aluminum design of course remains – it wouldn’t be Satechi without it!
One of the biggest issues with the previous version is that the internal SSD slot was only designed for M.2 SATA drives. It wasn’t the best choice a few years back, and is one of the bigger limitations in 2024. Now Satechi is refreshing it with proper NVMe support, so you can plug in your fancy new SSD and get better speeds. This should mean you’ll be able to actually edit footage off the companion drive, versus using it more for backups and storage. The Stand and Hub still features the same three USB-A slots and single USB-C port on the front, as well as micro and SD card readers and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Apple’s FineWoven iPhone 15 cases are finally worth a try
If you’ve been waiting for a chance to try out Apple’s new FineWoven cases without paying full price, Amazon has your back as savings roll out to various styles of the new iPhone 15 accessory. These cases launched last fall to provide an alternative to leather, and now start from $31. There’s quite a few different colors available, each of which drops from the usual $59 price tag to match previous best prices or mark entirely new all-time lows. We take a hands-on look at the whole experience over at 9to5Mac, but if there has ever been a time to try out the new material for yourself – it’s now.
Apple’s new FineWoven cases wrap your iPhone 15 in an entirely refreshed finish meant to replace leather. The microtwill material is made from 68% post-consumer recycled materials, and has a soft touch finish to it that comes in different colors. There’s MagSafe support as you’d expect from an official Apple case, as well. Today’s discount applies to three different styles. Each of these are at all-time lows as some of the first chances to save.
Upgrade your Siri setup to Matter with Nanoleaf’s $15 bulbs
Amazon is offering the Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Matter Light Bulb for $14.99. Shipping is free for Prime members or in orders over $25. It’s the second-best price to date as a $5 discount from the usual $20 price tag, and the best we’ve seen in over a month. There was only one time this has sold for less, and that was back over a 1-day sale for the holidays. We further breakdown the experience in our launch coverage, too.
The Nanoleaf Essentials Light Bulb arrives with some of the latest tech out there, centered around a Thread radio that ensures it can connect to Matter smart homes and HomeKit setups alike. It has a pretty typical light bulb form-factor that screws into any lamp or socket to offer multi-colored illumination, voice control, and automation support.
Logitech’s MX Anywhere 3S Mouse for Mac on sale
Amazon is now offering the Logitech MX Anywhere 3S Mouse for $63.74 shipped. This is 20% off the usual $80 price tag and marking a return to the all-time low. It’s only the third price cut since debuting last May, and helps you refresh your Mac setup with one of the more popular releases on the market. Logitech’s new MX Anywhere 3S packs new features into the same build as the previous model, updating its sensor with an 8K DPI sensor for smoother tracking. It comes outfitted with quiet switches for the buttons so that the S in its name can stand for silent.
Otherwise, the MX Anywhere 3S is still one of the best mice around for Mac setups both at-home and away from the desk. It has a compact, yet still ergonomic design with two side buttons, as well as all the other tech that Logitech normally packs into its MX series. There’s FLOW support for connecting to three devices at once via Bluetooth, as well as the option of copy and pasting across machines. There’s 70 days of battery life on a single charge, and plugging in with its USB-C port gets you 3 hours of use from just a minute of juice.
Best trade-in deals
9to5Mac also keeps tabs on all the best trade-in deals on iPhone, iPad, MacBook, Apple Watch, and more every month. Be sure to check out this month’s best trade-in deals when you decide it’s time to upgrade your device, or simply head over to our trade-in partner directly if you want to recycle, trade, or sell your used devices for cash and support 9to5Mac along the way!
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