Over the weekend 9to5Mac reported that the long-awaited Apple TV 4 hardware will be priced under $200 with executives deciding between a “starting price point of either $149 or $199”, and today Buzzfeed’s John Paczkowski has corroborated that information. Apple is said to have settled on the $149 price point for Apple TV 4, which is higher than Apple TV 2 and 3’s original $99 price point but lower than Apple TV 1’s original $299 price. Apple TV 3, which we reported will remain in the lineup, was lowered to $69 (with an even lower street price) earlier this year. expand full story

Rough mockup of fourth Apple TV vs. third Apple TV by Michael Steeber

With the official debut of the next-generation Apple TV less than two weeks away, sources have provided additional details on Apple’s pricing, availability, and product lineup plans for its set-top devices. According to sources, the fourth-generation Apple TV will be priced below $200, and is on track to become available in October. Apple executives are apparently still finalizing the price of the revamped living room device, but the latest options call for a starting price point of either $149 or $199, both higher than the third-generation Apple TV…

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Two months after the initial launch of the Apple Watch, and only a day following the device’s debut at Apple Stores, sources have revealed Apple’s considerations for the 2016 release of a second-generation model. According to multiple sources familiar with Apple’s plans, the Apple Watch 2 is planned to gain a video camera, a new wireless system for greater iPhone independence, and new premium-priced models. Interestingly, it will also feature similar battery life to its predecessor…

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Here’s a thought: Assume that the 18k gold Apple Watch Edition is several thousand dollars, as some people are currently predicting. How will Apple deliver that piece of news — which hasn’t officially been confirmed before, and remains the subject of increasingly wild speculation — to the public?

Depending on your perspective, a high price won’t be bad news for people who expect their jewelry to carry four- or five-digit price tags. But it’s going to be hard to explain why the Apple Watch Edition is priced so far apart from the entry level Apple Watch Sport… or most of Apple’s other products for that matter. Fake gold or not, golden iPhones starts at $99, and iPads at $399 or $499, just like non-gold ones.

While Apple has already started telling the story of what the Apple Watch will do for people that wear it, it has barely told the story on its own of how much it will cost and why. I believe that detail alone is worthy of a second Apple Watch event led by Tim Cook before the Watch hits the market in April. expand full story

In a poll of 9to5Mac readers, nearly 80% of people think Apple’s 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition will cost under $4500. Only 16% expect the gold Apple Watch Edition to cost between $5000-$10,000, and 3.8% expect a price tag over $10,000. The biggest group at 29.68% expect the gold model to cost between $1500-$2500. But how much will the gold Apple Watch really cost? expand full story

Update: It appears subscriptions through iTunes (like magazines) that saw price increases have seen the auto-renew function disabled, a 9to5Mac reader reports, likely to avoid a higher subscription rate being charged, although users have not yet been notified of the change.

Apple has increased the prices of apps in all countries in the European Union in line with the email sent to developers a couple of days ago. Apple has made the move in response to shifts in currency exchange rates and varying tax rules.

Prices are also being increased in Norway and Russia, though Icelandic residents will see a price cut …  expand full story

Click to enlarge, note Mac interface for scale

Update: The monitor doesn’t actually cost $2,499—that is the Australian price. In the U.S., the monitor will be shipping for a much more reasonable $1,399.

LG Electronics on Tuesday unveiled its new 31-inch Digital Cinema 4K monitor (4096×2160 px) for $1,399. Apple users will be pleased to hear that the monitor is compatible with both Mac and Thunderbolt. The monitor includes a Mini DisplayPort (in addition to 2 HDMI ports and 1 DisplayPort), which uses the same physical port as Thunderbolt enabling Mac users to drive the 4K display over a single Mini DisplayPort 1.2 cable.

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Credit Suisse analysts have estimated that Apple is making a smaller margin on the iPhone 6 than on any previous model – but predicts that the impact will be offset by year-on-year revenue growth of 14 percent, reports Quartz.

The iPhone 6 costs Apple $350.60 to produce, all in. Apple typically receives $599 on the retail price of $649, leaving it with $248.40 in gross profit. That’s 41.5%. Still very healthy, but not at the levels of previous models.

In contrast, the iPhone 5s left Apple with $274.30, giving it a 45.8% margin. The two-year-old iPhone 5 gave Apple $293.70 per unit, or 49% …

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Earlier today Apple made a significant change to the iPod touch lineup. Aside from a few small hardware improvements to the lowest-end model, the company has—for the first time—started to close the price gap between storage tiers.

When the iPod touch first launched, there was a $70 gap between the 8 GB and 16 GB models. Jumping from 16 GB to 32 GB would cost an extra $100. However, with the launch of the second-generation iPod touch, the gap between the lowest two tiers increased to $100, and it’s stayed there ever since.

Until today, that is. Now, for the first time since the debut of the first iPhone in 2007, there is a mere $50 gap between all three capacities of an iOS device. Is this a sign that Apple is ready to give in and drop the ridiculous $100 pricing tiers on future big ticket premium devices when the actual Flash storage and controllers only cost Apple a few bucks? Or will we continue to see a $100 price gap between iPhones when the next-gen model is revealed this fall?

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Apple’s new MFi game controller program offers a lot of promise for gaming on iOS— the top mobile gaming platform around could also soon be a serious platform for hardcore gamers. But the first crop of controllers have been met with much criticism from developers, reviewers and consumers alike. The consensus so far: flimsy buttons and joysticks, lack of support from developers, and a $99 price tag make them far overpriced compared to your standard Bluetooth game controller.

The launch for the first few controllers to hit the market was rushed, developers are disappointed and still trying to catch up, and manufacturers are limited in pricing, features, and quality due to Apple’s MFi program requirements. What does Apple have to do to overcome a rocky start to its game controller program which is supposed to control quality? And how are manufacturers limited by Apple in building better controllers at a fair price? We’ve dug into Apple’s MFi program and talked to developers and companies building the controllers to find out… expand full story

Update: Best Buy is currently taking $75 off all iPhone 5s models.

Update 2:  Starting today MacMall Retail Stores will offer the iPhone 5c for $19.99 and the iPhone 5s at $119.99.

The holiday deals just keep getting better for Apple fans. Wal-Mart shoppers will be able to get the new iPhone 5c for only $27 with a new two-year contract starting this Friday. The phone typically goes for $99, putting the total discount at $72. Following the 5c’s launch earlier this year, we noted that its higher-end counterpart, the 5s, was outselling it two-to-one. It seems Wal-Mart is quite interested in moving some stock to try to even those numbers out.

Special deals on other Apple devices will be available the same day, including the iPhone 5s at $127 with a contract, a savings of—you guessed it—$72. The retailer is also planning to offer a $50 gift card with the purchase of a new iPad mini. And of course no Apple sale would be complete without discounted iTunes gift cards. A $30 card will only set you back $25 during the sale.

To keep up with all of the latest holiday sales on Apple gear and more, be sure to check out our sister site 9to5Toys, and subscribe to the new Safari push notifications feature to make sure you’re always up-to-date with the latest deals.

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From 9to5toys.com:

Best Buy is having a significant College Student sale this week on MacBook Airs, Retina/Pros and iMacs and Students or anyone with a .edu email address get another $100 off the sale prices signing up here. For instance, the entry level Haswell MacBook Air is now $949 and another $100 drops it down to $849, the lowest price we’ve seen by $100.

Haswell MacBook Air prices:

• MacBook Air – 11.6″ Display/4GB Memory/128GB Flash Storage:$949.99-$100 students=$849.99 ($150 off)
• MacBook Air – 11.6″ Display/4GB Memory/256GB Flash Storage:$1139.99-$100 students=$1039.99 ($170 off)
• MacBook Air – 13.3″ Display/4GB Memory/128GB Flash Storage:$1,044.99-$100 students=$944.99 ($155 off)
• MacBook Air – 13.3″ Display/4GB Memory/256GB Flash Storage:$1,234.99-$100 students=$1134.99 ($165 off)

Retina MacBook Pro prices:

• MacBook Pro Retina 13.3″/8GB Memory/128GB Flash Storage:$1399.99-$100 students=$1299.99 ($200 off)
• MacBook Pro Retina 15.4″/8GB Memory/256GB Flash Storage:$2044.99-$100 students=$1944.99 ($255 off)

iMac Prices save $100 across the board and another $100 for students = $200 savings starting at $1100

The MacBook Student $100 off promotion starts today, and will end July 27. expand full story

From 9to5Toys.com:

Apple this morning dropped prices across the board on iPads in its refurbished section of the online Apple Store as noted by MacRumors. We’ve recently seen quite a bit of iPad price reductions at 9to5Toys, some even steeper than this. For instance, Walmart has a new iPad mini for $80 off and refurb iPad Mini 16GB for $250. The new Apple Store prices:

iPad mini

– 16 GB Wi-Fi: $279, down from $299 previously and $329 brand-new – 32 GB Wi-Fi: $359, down from $389 previously and $429 brand-new – 64 GB Wi-Fi: $439, down from $489 previously and $529 brand-new

– 16 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $389, down from $429 previously and $459 brand-new – 32 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $469, down from $519 previously and $559 brand-new – 64 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $549, down from $619 previously and $659 brand-new

Fourth-generation iPad

– 16 GB Wi-Fi: $419, down from $449 previously and $499 brand-new – 32 GB Wi-Fi: $499, down from $549 previously and $599 brand-new – 64 GB Wi-Fi: $579, down from $649 previously and $699 brand-new

– 16 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $529, down from $579 previously and $629 brand-new – 32 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $609, down from $679 previously and $729 brand-new – 64 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $689, down from $779 previously and $829 brand-new

Good news for those interested in displays too: Thunderbolt and Cinema Displays are down to $799 (a $30 drop).You know what this usually means…

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Former Apple Retail Chief Ron Johnson is out at JCPenney after his radical retail redesign failed to ignite sales in the same manner in which Apple Stores had grown accustomed. Ron Johnson left Apple in 2011 for the JCP job after a decade at Apple.  He helped design the original Apple Store concept after being lured away from Target by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. He pioneered concepts like the Genius Bar which was unheard of at the time but still a growing trend in the industry.

We know more than a few folks who would like to see him back at Apple which meanwhile has found him difficult to replace. One such attempt was the hiring and subsequent firing of John Browett, a former Dixon’s UK CEO.

Johnson continued to live in the Bay area during his stint at JCP commuting to Plano Texas via Jet so…

We’ve reached out to JCP and Apple for comment and will update as appropriate. Press release follows: expand full story