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HomeKit Weekly: Give the gift of HomeKit this Christmas with these 2025 top picks

Thanksgiving is incredibly late this year, so Christmas shopping is already in full swing. HomeKit accessories make great gifts for any Apple fan. They are usually low-cost and add real value to any smart home setup. For this week’s HomeKit Weekly, I have updated my HomeKit gift guide for 2025 to help you find the perfect addition for your favorite Apple smart home fan.

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Apple Black Friday, AirDrop on Android, macOS Tahoe thoughts 

Benjamin and Chance give their opinion on the 2025 Apple holiday ad ‘A Critter Carol’, and talk about some of the Apple tech deals they’ve found this Black Friday. Also, there’s more clarity on the Apple Watch WiFi sync changes coming to the EU next month, and Google pulls off an impressive stunt to make AirDrop work on Android. Finally, Benjamin installed macOS Tahoe for the first time and has some thoughts to share.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman delivers the first details about what to expect from iOS 27. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join

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Roborock’s best-selling vacuums on sale for Black Friday starting at $199.99 [Up to 50% off]

This Black Friday, transform your home cleaning routine with Roborock’s best-selling vacuums at unbeatable prices. Whether you’re looking for cutting-edge robotic technology or powerful cordless convenience, Roborock has you covered with savings up to 50% across their entire lineup.

From pet-friendly models with zero-tangling technology to flagship vacuums featuring industry-first innovations, there’s a perfect solution for every home and budget, starting at just $199.99. Don’t miss these exclusive limited-time offers for 9to5Mac readers on the smart cleaning tools that will make your life easier all year long.

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There’s one big problem with the iPhone Fold, and it’s almost the obvious one

There's one big problem with the iPhone Fold (render shown), and it's almost the obvious one

The iPhone Air was arguably the biggest innovation in iPhone design since the iPhone X. The iPhone Fold we’re expecting to see launch next year will be an even bigger shift.

All the signs point to the iPhone Fold being the best foldable smartphone launched to date, but there is one big problem with it – and it’s almost the obvious one …

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Deals – Black Friday Edition: Apple Watch Ultra 3 $99 off, M5 MacBook Pro $250 off, M4 MacBook Air $300 off, Pencil, more

Apple Black Friday deals-apple Watch-M5-MacBook-AirPods

This is it folks…Black Friday 2025 is here and so are the best prices of the year on just all of Apple’s latest and greatest. We have already collected an updated list of everything on sale for you this morning, including the ongoing all-time lows on AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with ANC, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods Max, alongside a whole bunch more, but some brand new deals went live this morning. Firstly, Apple Watch Series 11 configurations have dropped even lower and we are now finally tracking $99 price drops on the new Apple Watch Ultra 3. On the Mac side of things, the brand new M5 MacBook Pro has now dropped to new lows at $250 off and we have a wild $300 price drop on select M4 MacBook Air configs. But there’s tons more below. 

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Review: ESR’s 3-in-1 charging stand delivers 25W MagSafe charging at a great price

Last year, Apple opened up its MagSafe standard to the Wireless Power Consortium, allowing third party companies to officially utilize MagSafe – at up to 15W. Earlier this year, the standard expanded with Qi2.2, making 25W MagSafe charging available to third party manufacturers.

Many manufacturers have come to market with fantastic 25W Qi2.2 chargers, and this ESR model is one of them. For Black Friday, you can get this ESR 3-in-1 for just $89.99, making it one of the more affordable Qi2.2 options on the market.

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Security Bite: The malware your Mac can detect and remove

apple security xprotect mac macos

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Updated on Nov. 28, 2025

Ever wonder what malware macOS can detect and remove without help from third-party software? Apple continuously adds new malware detection rules to Mac’s built-in XProtect suite. While most rule names (signatures) are obfuscated, with a bit of reversing engineering, security researchers can map them to their common industry names.

In this updated Thanksgiving edition of Security Bite, I revisit a story I started working on in May of 2024. Because Apple is continuously adding new modules to its XProtect suite to combat the latest malware trends, I suspect this column will continue to update over time. Here’s what malware your Mac can detect and remove on its own:

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Review: OWC Thunderbolt 5 dock is compact, fast and future-proofed (15% off for Black Friday)

While I don’t have a bunch of Thunderbolt 5 compatible gear yet, that transition is coming promising blisteringly-fast data transfer speeds and even more bandwidth for high-res external displays.

The 11-port OWC Thunderbolt 5 dock (on sale for 15% off for Black Friday) makes the convenient single cable desk lifestyle even better, with access to higher throughputs. By plugging in your MacBook Pro to the dock with a Thunderbolt 5 cable, you can connect to fast external storage, 2.5Gb Ethernet, up to two 6K displays, keep your laptop battery charged with 140 W power delivery, and access even more I/O peripherals …

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The EU may be about to increase regulation on Apple Maps and the company’s ads business

Apple EU

Regulation enforcement against Apple in the EU may be about to intensify. Under the Digital Markets Act rules, the company must notify the EU commission about services that reach the thresholds for so-called gatekeeper status, targeting big tech services with more than 45 million active users in Europe.

As it is obliged, Apple informed the EU that Apple Maps and Apple Ads meet that level. The commission now has 45 days to decide whether Maps and the company’s ad businesses are sufficiently monopolistic to warrant a step up in regulation.

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All of the best Black Friday Apple deals (still) live: AirPods, MacBook, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, more [Update #2]

Best Black Friday Apple deals-2025

We have now collected all of the best Black Friday Apple deals live for this year’s festivities. While loads of deals went live early than ever this year, the best prices tend to culminate on Thanksgiving Day and we are here to make sure everything is on your radar. From the best prices ever on AirPods 4 at $69 and AirPods 4 with ANC at $100 to a new all-time low on AirPods Pro 3, don’t let anyone convince you the Black Friday Apple deals aren’t seriously great this year. We also have new lows on M4 MacBook Air and $200 price drops on M5 MacBook Pro, as well deep discounts on M4 Mac mini from $479 and the best prices to date on Apple Watch 11, just to name a few highlights. Everything, along with a massive collection of accessories and deals across every major product category, awaits below.

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Thanksgiving Deals: 24GB M4 Mac mini all-time low $150 off, Apple Pencil $49, Apple Watch from $120, much more

Happy Thanksgiving Black Friday edition (as usual). Amazon’s Thanksgiving sale is now in full swing with Black Friday deals rolling through holiday Thursday and we have everything waiting for you right here. Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is here though to highlight some of the new and standout offers that went live overnight – the most affordable 24GB Mac mini you can buy just hit the best price ever at $150 off for today only and Apple Pencil (USB-C) is now sitting down at the $49 Black Friday Amazon all-time low. Those offers join the chance to land an Apple Watch today as low as $129, M4 MacBook Air at $250 off, and well about a thousand other things. Check em’ all out below. 

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Black Friday savings hit official iPhone 17 cases, Apple Watch bands, AirTag, and more

Let’s say you already have the latest and greatest Apple gear, maybe like yours truly. Well, the good news is we still have plenty of Black Friday deals on ways to accessorize your gear. We’re tracking huge savings on Apple’s entire lineup of official accessories for iPhone, Apple Watch, and more. Plus, deals on the best accessories from our favorite accessory makers like Nomad, Twelve South, and Satechi.

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EU backs down on CSAM scanning but Apple isn’t off the hook yet

EU backs down on CSAM scanning but Apple isn't off the hook yet | Image shows a pile of photographs on a table with a pair of eyeglasses

Apple has had quite the rollercoaster ride over plans to scan devices for the presence of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).

After announcing and then withdrawing its own plans for CSAM scanning, it appeared that it might be legally required to do it anyway. The EU has now backed down on this, but that doesn’t necessarily let Apple off the hook …

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