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Apple readying new external 5K Display as current model goes out of stock, may feature integrated GPU

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Update: No new Apple display at WWDC … timing unclear but integrated GPU next-gen Apple Display is still in development.

The current $999 (!) Thunderbolt Display is showing its age to put it mildly, now significantly overshadowed by Retina MacBooks and iMacs in terms of screen resolution and quality. Reaffirming earlier reports, we have heard that stock of the Thunderbolt Display at Apple Stores is quickly running out with no indications of more units on the way to replenish availability. This is often a good indicator that a refresh is imminent. We are led to believe that WWDC will be very light on new hardware. However, given the opportunity for cheers in the audience, perhaps Apple could announce the new display at the keynote with a release pencilled in for later in the year.

Independently, we have heard some rumblings about what the new display might offer. Finally bringing it up to speed with its Retina display Mac cousins, the new ‘Thunderbolt Display’ will likely feature a 5K resolution display 5120×2880 pixels. Moreover, sources indicate that Apple will take the display in a surprising direction, specifically suggesting that Apple plans to integrate a dedicated external GPU into the display itself


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10 reasons to seriously consider the 2016 Retina MacBook

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10 Awesome MacBook Features

Yesterday, I bought a 12″ MacBook, and after playing with it for 10 minutes, I immediately knew that I made the right decision. 24 hours later, I’m convinced that this is the best laptop for me, and a much better portable workhorse than something like a 12.9″ iPad Pro. Here are 10 reasons why you should consider going with a MacBook if you’re in the market for something powerful, yet portable.
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Opinion: MacBook Pro owners, it’s time to consider a 4K display

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If you own a MacBook Pro with Retina Display and desire extra screen real estate, then a 4K monitor can be a good investment, especially as the price of such monitors continue to dwindle.

Why should you consider a 4K display instead of a cheaper monitor with lesser resolution? It all boils down to clarity.
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Apple now performing free repairs for ‘Staingate’ Retina MacBook screens with anti-reflective coating issues

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Earlier in the year, a small-but-not-insignificant number of Apple customers complained about screen issues with their new Retina MacBooks and Retina MacBook Pros, specifically cases where the anti-reflective display coating leaves marks and stains on the screen, ranging from small corner blobs to large patches.

Several months later, Apple seems to have acknowledged the issue and launched a Quality Program to replace affected users’  hardware. The Staingate Facebook page now includes many reports of people successfully sending their MacBooks in for repair at Apple Stores. The existence of the program was first reported by MacRumors.


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iPhone 6s to have ‘3D Touch’ three-level, next-gen Force Touch interface

One of the cornerstone features of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, to be announced next Wednesday, is a screen based on the Force Touch technology from the latest MacBook trackpads and the Apple Watch. However, as we noted in previous articles such as our event expectations roundup from yesterday, the Force Touch feature in the new iPhones will actually be a next-generation version of the technology. According to sources familiar with the new iPhones, the new pressure-sensitive screen will likely be called the “3D Touch Display”…


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Apple planning to bring 4K screen to 21.5-inch iMac in October

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Apple is indeed planning to release a new version of its 21.5-inch iMac with a 4K display this fall, according to reliable sources. The current plan is to announce the refreshed version of the smaller iMac by the end of October alongside OS X El Capitan and begin shipping the product by the beginning of November. As indicated by references inside of El Capitan, the new 21.5 inch iMac’s 4K display will come with a resolution of 4096 x 2304, which is up from the current model’s screen resolution of 1920 x 1080. Faster processors and improved color saturation can also be expected. The higher-resolution screen will likely raise the price of the new iMac, much like the 5K display raised the price of the 27-inch iMac last fall. Apple may keep around the current 1080P models, much like the lower-resolution 27-inch iMac is still available for sale.


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9to5Toys Last Call: 15″ Retina MacBook Pro (2014) 2.5GHz/16GB/512GB $1,749, Canon WiFi printer/scanner $68, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals

Last Call Updates:

vizio-4k-uhdtv-dealVIZIO 49-inch 120Hz 4K LED Smart HDTV $600 (Reg. $720), 43-inch $548 or $528 w/ Prime (Reg. $599)

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15-inch Retina MacBook Pro (mid 2014) 2.5GHz/16GB/512GB: $1,749 shipped (Orig. $2,499)

13-inch Retina MacBook Pro (newest) 2.7GHz/8GB/128GB: $1,100 shipped (Reg. $1,299)

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Amazon Gold Box – Canon PIXMA Wireless Color Photo Printer w/ Scanner & AirPrint $68 shipped (Reg. $95)

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Daily Deals: TDK Life on Record TREK 360 Wireless Speaker $50, M-Audio Studiophile Active Studio Monitors $99, more

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Back to school gift guide: essential tech gear every student should be using

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Get a free download of the AirPano Travel Book iOS app courtesy of Apple ($3 value)

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Giveaway: Jaybird’s new X2 Bluetooth earbuds are the ultimate workout counterpart ($180 value)

More new gear from today:

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Bluetooth Headphones: SoundPEATS In-Ear $17 Prime shipped (Reg. $30), MEElectronics Over-Ear $38 shipped (Reg. $62), more

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More deals still alive:

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Free Xbox Live Gold Games for September: Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, Battlestations Pacific, more

Free PS Plus Games for September: Grow Home, Super Time Force Ultra, Twisted Metal, more

New products & more:

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Sensel’s Morph is an ultra sensitive Force Touch Trackpad look-alike

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The new limited edition BIT.TRIP vinyl LP comes with free game download codes

9to5Toys Last Call: 12-inch 512GB MacBook $1,500, 9-ft. MFi Lightning cable $11, Samsung Portable SSD $180, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

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Mpow 3-in-1 Lens Photography Kit for iPhone and Android devices: $12 shipped (Orig. $29)

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 Apple 12-inch MacBook w/ Retina display 1.2GHz/8GB/512GB in all colors: $1,500 shipped (Reg. $1,599)

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Anker 9-foot Apple Certified MFi Lightning to USB cable (black or white): $11 shipped (Orig. $16), more

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Samsung T1 500GB USB 3.0 Portable Solid-State Drive: $180 shipped (Reg. $200+)

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iTunes gift cards 20% off: $100 for $80, $50 for $40, $25 for $20 shipped

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Giveaway: Blackbox Case gives your iPad or MacBook a cozy bamboo home, multiple winners

More new gear from today:

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Mackie CR3 powered speakers + Audio-Technica ATH-M40x Pro Headphones: $130 shipped ($199 value)

More deals still alive:

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Apple iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi 16GB in Gold or Silver: $380 shipped (Reg. $499)

iPad Air 2 w/ Retina display 64GB in Silver (open-box) $440 shipped (Reg. $600)

Apple iPad mini 2 Wi-Fi 32GB in Silver (open-box): $270 shipped (Reg. $349)

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App Store Free App of the Week: Time Surfer – Endless Arcade Magic ($1 value)

Apple’s Handpicked iOS app sale from 50% off: Day One, Terraria, djay 2, Notability, many more

New products & more:

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The “world’s first flexible display product” is set to wrap a screen all the way around your wrist

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Review: The Turtle Beach 800X Elite headset brings Xbox One games to life but lacks in one key area

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The coolest Apple-certified MFI Lightning cables you can buy for your iPhone, iPad and iPod

Latest iOS 9 beta adds beautiful, trippy new wallpapers to show off Retina displays

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Although early beta releases of iOS 9 featured relatively little new eye candy for potential upgraders, today’s release of iOS 9 beta 5 includes a welcome surprise: a large collection of colorful new wallpapers. The images range from colorful desert dunes to several different colors of feathers, plants, planets, and multi-colored explosions. They’re all packed with detail, showing off the photorealistic rendering abilities and vivid color palettes of Retina displays. Many (but not all) of iOS 8’s wallpaper images have been removed from the collection, and the blue/green tidal wave image originally included with iOS 9 betas has disappeared.

A gallery with some of the new wallpapers is below…
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9to5Toys Last Call: high-end 5K iMac $2,100 or $2,050 w/ .edu, iPhone car mount $7, $1 app deals, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

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Apple’s high-end 5K iMac w/ 1TB Fusion Drive drops to $2,100 or $2,050 for anyone w/ .edu email (Reg. $2,299)

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Anker Car Mounts for iPhone and Android starting at $7 Prime shipped

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App Store Amazing Apps & Games for $1 ea: Living Earth, Cut the Rope 2, Alto’s Adventure, TMNT Rooftop Run, more

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1Password secure password manager app for Mac drops down even further to $28 (Reg. $50)

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App Store Free App of the Week: Magnetized abstract puzzle game ($3 value)

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$100 iTunes gift card for $80 w/ email delivery from PayPal (20% savings)

More new gear from today:

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Daily Deals: ViewSonic HD home theater projector $500, magnetic iPhone air vent mounts from $6, more

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Memorial Day Fashion: Save an extra 30% at Ralph Lauren, up to 50% off at Banana Republic, J.Crew, Lucky, many more

Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale up to 40% off Burberry, Lacoste, Under Armour, more

More deals still alive:

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Refurbished 5K iMac pricing down to lowest ever

Apple is now selling various refurbished iPad Air 2 models on its online store

Apple has reduced pricing on many of its refurbished 15” MacBook Pro w/ Retina display models

New products & more:

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Retro Freak plays original game cartridges from 11 throwback consoles

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Phree stylus works on nearly any surface & doubles as a headset for phone calls

12-inch MacBook month review: A great new Mac if you manage your expectations (Video)

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For the last month, I’ve been using Apple’s new 12-inch Retina MacBook almost exclusively. There’s no denying that’s it’s underpowered when compared to other models on the market, but is its portability worth the performance sacrifice? Can you really get anything done with a relatively small display, an Intel Core M processor, and more importantly, zero traditional USB ports?

This won’t be an in-depth review of features and performance (check out Zac’s take on the MacBook for an in-depth look), but instead, I’ve mainly focused on my personal experiences over the month I’ve been using it. Does the Retina MacBook live up to the hype? Let’s go ahead and find out…


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1.3 GHz, built-to-order MacBooks begin preparing to ship following charges

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Apple has started to charge the credit cards of customers who ordered the highest-end 1.3GHz version of the 12-inch MacBook, according to emails from 9to5Mac readers. The customized, built-to-order MacBook went on sale earlier this month with 3-4 week shipping times for even the earliest orders, and Apple originally promised a delivery timeframe of May 8th to May 15th. As we saw with Apple Watch credit card charges earlier this week, it seems plausible that Apple already charging customers for the 1.3 GHz MacBook could indicate that shipments of the new laptop will begin occurring sooner than originally expected. However, readers have yet to report any signs of UPS or FedEx tracking numbers, or their Apple Online Store status pages moving from “Processing” to “Preparing for Shipment.”

Update: Several readers reporting that their MacBooks are now preparing to ship, several weeks early:


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Review: Can you actually use the new 12-inch MacBook for work?

MacBook 2015

Early reviews of Apple’s MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015) have framed it as an expensive prototype from the future — a notebook that will someday be the standard, but one most people aren’t ready for yet. Despite that classification, the new MacBook is extremely tempting if you’re in the market for a new computer: it’s more portable than even the MacBook Air, it’s the first Mac available in gold and space gray finishes, and it has a trackpad with a new feature called Force Touch.

But can you actually do work on the 12-inch MacBook? That’s the $1300 question everyone is asking. I’ll unpack my experience below …


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Apple releases OS X 10.10.3 build 14D127 for public and developer betas

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Apple today released yet another build of OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 to both the developer and public beta programs. This version is labeled as 14D127, which is several builds newer than the previous release of 14D113. As always, this new release includes various bug fixes.

As we’ve previously highlighted, 10.10.3 will bring a new, more diverse Emojis keyboard to the Mac, improved login for Google services, and APIs for the new Force Touch Trackpad on the new 12-inch MacBook and 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. Apple has not yet announced when 10.10.3 will be released, but perhaps a launch will come in line with the upcoming MacBook in April.


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Apple’s 2015 MacBook Pro and Air models now at US retailers Amazon, Best Buy, MacMall, B&H and others

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Refreshed 2015 MacBook Air and Pro models are now available at major US retailers following their announcement at Apple’s Spring Forward event on March 9th.

Currently, Amazon has all of the new MacBook Air models in stock and ready to ship, from $899. The new MacBook Pro models are also listed on Amazon as well, although supply is currently more limited. 2014 versions are discounted.

B&H offers $5 off and no tax at the time of purchase outside of New York on the new MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros as well as a free copy of Parallels. 2014 versions are discounted.

MacMall also offers $5 off the new MacBook Airs and Pros and tax only in a few states. 2014 models discounted.

Meanwhile if you want to get your hands on one today, Best Buy offers free site to store on the new MacBook Pro/Airs which will have stock varied by location. 2014 models discounted.

If you want to save some real money, 2014 models are seeing deep discounts at 9to5toys. At the Apple Refurb store you can pick up some heavy discounts on previous models while extraordinary savings are available at B&H and Best Buy on 2014 models including a student deal that chops the 2014 models down to $750 .


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USB-C cable gallery, compare to Lightning and Micro-USB, specs and Apple’s future

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Lightning USB-C

Lightning vs. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Aukey-Hi-speed-Reversible-Connector-Supported/dp/B00RGNJXD4/ref=sr_1_1?amp;amp;qid=1421386415&amp;amp;sr=8-1&tag=thepartim-20&ie=UTF8&amp;amp;peasin=B00RGNJXD4&amp;amp;keywords=B00RGNJXD4&amp;amp;pebp=1421386732649">USB-C cable from Aukey</a>

We’ve been poring over Apple’s change to the 8.4mm by 2.6mm USB Type C standard since we got tipped the design of the new MacBook late last year. It is a big change for Apple and puts the future of longstanding technologies like Thunderbolt and MagSafe into questionable status.  Even Lightning seems a whole lot more vulnerable when an adapter that is marginally bigger, but has the whole industry behind it, shows up in Apple’s future flagship laptop.

Some quick, fun facts on USB Type C that make it pretty amazing:
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Opinion: Why I’m not the target for the new ultra-portable MacBook, but most MacBook Air owners are

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Mark Gurman nailed it, so there were few surprises for 9to5Mac readers in yesterday’s launch of Apple’s new, ultra-portable 12-inch MacBook. But one thing we didn’t know for sure then was whether the new machine would be a cut-down, entry-level MacBook or a high-spec premium one.

The answer, we now know, is neither–or both. It’s cut-down in some respects, specced-up in others. A lower-spec CPU, but more RAM and SSD storage. A lower-spec GPU, but a higher-res screen. It loses Thunderbolt, but gains USB C. Clever things done with battery space and power-efficiency, but potential gains in battery-life wiped out by the smaller, thinner form-factor.

It makes for a slightly odd positioning in the line-up … 
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News Hub: Apple’s ‘Spring Forward’ Apple Watch event

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Today’s the day: Apple is holding its “Spring Forward” event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California. This article contains the latest updates from the event in live blog style; all of our detailed individual stories from the event are now summarized at this link. The event officially began at 10 AM Pacific/ 1PM Eastern time, and our live coverage is below.


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9to5Toys Last Call: 13″ Retina MacBook Pro late 2013 $1000 w/MIR, Seagate 5TB HDD $130, iPhone 6/Plus case $2, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the brand new 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

apple-macbook-pro-me864ll-a-13-3-inch-laptop-with-retina-display-newest-version

Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro w/ Retina display 2.4GHz/4GB/128GB (late 2013) $1,000 w/ MIR (Reg. $1,300)

seagate-backup-plus-5tb-black

Seagate 5TB Backup Plus USB 3.0 External Desktop Hard Drive $130 shipped (Reg. $160)

Ultra Thin Soft TPU Transparent Clear Skin Case Cover for iPhone 6:Plus (multiple colors)-sale-01

iPhone 6/Plus Ultra Thin TPU Case (multiple colors) for $2 shipped

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Review: SmartThings offers an open and flexible home automation experience with a few caveats

More new deals:

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More deals still alive:

New products/ongoing promos/info:

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Apple’s next major Mac revealed: the radically new 12-inch MacBook Air

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Apple is preparing an all-new MacBook Air for 2015 with a radically new design that jettisons standards such as full-sized USB ports, MagSafe connectors, and SD card slots in favor of a markedly thinner and lighter body with a higher-resolution display. Sources within Apple, who have used internal prototype versions of the upcoming computer, have provided in-depth details about the machine, and our exclusive artist renditions of the revamped MacBook Air provide the first close look at Apple’s first major step in mobile Mac computing since the Retina MacBook Pro launch in 2012.


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9to5Toys Last Call: 15″ Retina MacBook Pro $300 off, Logitech K480 Keyboard $40, Free App of the Week, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the brand new 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

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Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro w/ Retina display (newest version) 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB: $1,699 (Reg. $1,999)

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Logitech K480 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard and iPad/iPhone stand: $40 shipped (20% off)

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iTunes Free App of the Week: Space Qube ($2.99 value)

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Walmart readies the best iPhone 6/Plus discounts since Black Friday

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Giveaway: iDevices iGrill Mini Bluetooth Grilling Thermometer for iOS/Android ($40 value)

More new deals:

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More deals still alive:

Holiday Gift Guides:

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New products/ongoing promos:

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Apple files patent for flexible display that deforms to provide tactile feedback, builds on Apple Watch feature

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The USPTO has today published an Apple patent application for a flexible display which deforms when touched to provide tactile feedback. Actuators beneath the display would create bumps or ridges in the display to simulate buttons and other virtual objects. The patent also describes a speaker and microphone that could work through the display, potentially making for sleeker and more water-resistant devices.

Electronic devices may be provided that contain flexible displays and internal components. An internal component may be positioned under the flexible display. The internal component may be an output device such as a speaker that transmits sound through the flexible display or an actuator that deforms the display in a way that is sensed by a user. The internal component may also be a microphone or pressure sensor that receives sound or pressure information through the flexible display. Structural components may be used to permanently or temporarily deform the flexible display to provide tactile feedback to a user of the device.

The display described would be sensitive to both touch and pressure … 
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