Apple Promotes iTunes Credit Reload Feature with 10% Bonus

Apple is offering a deal to compete with the constant sale of iTunes gift cards available at retailers. If you reload your credit using Apple's interface, you will receive a 10% bonus to whatever you reload. You can receive up to $20 for a $200 reload. It should be noted that you can often find 15-20% discounts on iTunes Gift cards at certain retailers, so take this offer with a grain of salt. To take advantage of this offer, go to Settings, tap your name, tap the iTunes and App Store section, select your Apple ID, and finally tap "Add Funds to Apple ID."

Apple Music Subscribers Getting Referral Links to Send to Friends

The Apple Music social features have been something Apple has been pushing lately. And I'm sure that Apple wants to attract potential subscribers to the service, so it seems only natural Apple would want to do something like this. Apple is sending notifications to Apple Music subscribers asking them to send a referral link to one of their friends who doesn't have Apple Music yet. It's a one month free trial of the service. Because Apple Music has a three month free trial to new subscribers, this bumps it up to four free months (only if the three month trial hasn't been used yet). If the three month trial has been used already, it's just a one month free trial. Apple seems to be rolling this out, so if you're a subscriber and haven't gotten the notification yet, it may come in the next few days.

Apple Offers Free Next-Day Delivery for Last Minute Gifts

Apple is offering free next-day delivery on all items in their online store ordered by December 21 at 3 p.m. local time. Next-day delivery includes weekends. Obviously, only in-stock items apply for this offer. While Apple has been branching out to new retailers as of late, it is nice to see little things like free next-day shipping to make shopping at Apple a more premium experience.

Costco Selling Macs Online

Apple may be responding to lackluster sales with new retailers. Earlier, we saw Apple start selling more products on Amazon and now the same is going for Costco's online store. Both Amazon and Costco have had major deals on Apple products since they've had the new listings. The deals put Apple's Black Friday sale to shame. The base 2018 MacBook Air is $200 cheaper on Costco than Apple. Before buying Apple products be sure to check the websites of Costco (if you have a membership) and Amazon.

HomePod Discounted to Apple Music Subscribers in the U.K.

HomePod's biggest problem is the ridiculous price of $350. Target had an offer on HomePods that made it $250 this week, which would be a more appropriate regular price, at least for Apple. Now, Apple is offering those in the U.K. £50 off of HomePod. That's roughly $60 in the U.S., which could eventually translate to a $50 discount. Apple Music subscribers definitely should have a discount on HomePod. Either that, or HomePod comes with three months of Apple Music. The offer lasts until December 16, and there's no work if this discount will expand to other countries.

Apple's Black Friday Shopping Event

As I have mentioned earlier this week, Apple is not known for great Black Friday deals. Now, their Black Friday shopping event is taking place. You can get various Apple gift cards depending on which product you get. This is a horrible deal, especially when considering the deals available from major retailers this year. I think, at the very least, we should get gift cards on price tier. But instead, Apple uses gift cards as incentive to clear out their products taking up too much stock. The iPhone XS has sold horribly, but there is no gift card available. Gift cards would be great for newer products because you can use the gift cards to buy accessories for the product right on the spot. Older products typically have less accessories, depending on the product. I hope we can get better deals in future years.

Black Friday Deals 2018

Apple is notorious for not having great Black Friday deals, but at least we can look to other retail giants for great deals on Apple's latest products. If you're looking for an exhaustive list, I recommend checking out MacRumors' article on them. That being said, there are a few deals I wanted to point out.

The regular iPad is getting cheaper and cheaper, which makes it a steal when it goes on sale. The 32 GB 9.7-inch iPad will be available starting at just $249.99 (usually $329.99) at Target and Walmart. For 128 GB, Best Buy has it available for $329.99 instead of $429.99. The 9.7-inch iPad is great in that it just works. It gets the job done. A lightweight, portable device that does everything you expect from an iPad. And it's still well supported, despite being thrown in the shadow with the new iPad Pro.

The HomePod is getting a much needed discount at Best Buy. It will be just $249.99 instead of $349.99. While this is still relatively expensive for a smart speaker today, it certainly looks way better by comparison to the MSRP. I did mention earlier that I don't recommend HomePod in its current state, but for anyone who really wants HomePod and can't hold out until a cheaper model is released, this is certainly the time to buy it.

Overall, you can't expect too many great deals for Black Friday after Apple announced so many products just now. Unless they're older deals, you'll have to pay full price for the shiny new gadgets that have hype around them. 

Spotify + Hulu + Showtime

Last year, Hulu and Spotify teamed up to make a college student bundle that gave subscriptions for both of their services for just $4.99 a month. They are now adding Showtime to that bundle for the same price [Source: The Verge]. Showtime will be available through the Hulu add-on network, but it will also work with the Showtime app. All of this is available exclusively to college students who sign up here.

Apple Music and Verizon

Apple Music is no stranger to free trials. Apple is now giving six months of Apple Music for free to new and existing Verizon Wireless customers with an unlimited plan. In addition, new and existing Apple Music users are eligible. Existing users will have to cancel and reactivate to take advantage. Definitely a nice perk to get in on if you're an unlimited Verizon customer.

Ring Smart Doorbell Price Drop

Ring was recently acquired by Amazon and, as a result, Amazon has discounted the entry-level Ring Video Doorbell. Down from $149, the video doorbell is now just $99. Ring Video Doorbells allow the user to get notifications when your doorbell has been rung and lets you see and talk to whoever is at the door. These doorbells are often used as a crime deterrent. In addition, Ring is still promising HomeKit support for Apple users. The entry-level Ring Video Doorbell is available from Amazon for $99 [Affiliate Link].

Free Apple Music Trial with Select Car Purchase

By purchasing a Chrysler, Dodge, FIAT, Jeep, or Ram vehicle with CarPlay support, customers will receive six months of Apple Music for free. This runs until April 2019. While that may not sound like a big deal at first, I find it interesting because I remember so long ago, many dealers would offer a month of Sirius XM for free with a car purchase. I think this represents a big change with the large acceptance of CarPlay among cars today. Sirius XM hasn't been doing as well lately while streaming music has become more and more dominant. The fact that dealers are giving them out is an important point in this transition. 

Apple Discounts Select Beats Products

With the release of HomePod, Apple is temporarily discounting some of their Beats products. BeatsX are normally $149.95, now just $119.95. Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless are usually $199.95, now $159.95. Finally, Beats Solo3 Wireless are regularly $299.95, and now cost $239.95. If you've been looking for any deals on Beats products, Apple is finally discounting them, however, be sure to check out Amazon, as they often give greater discounts.

HomePod is Half Off for Apple Employees

I’ve had a lot of gripes about HomePod’s price. I’m not a fan of the $349 price tag, especially when Apple (and many reporters) say the experience is best with two. But it looks like Apple employees will be getting the HomePod at a steal, according to their claims on Twitter. Around $175 each. That seems much more worth it. It’s just over the price of AirPods. It also makes it $350 for two, instead of $700 for two. Let that sink in. It makes me want to work for Apple before I buy a HomePod. 

Black Friday 2017

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope you've all had time to spend with your families and had the chance to relax a bit. But, it is my duty to remind you that we as humans living in 2017 thrive on one thing, and that's buying stuff. And what better day to do so on Black Friday. That being said, here's my routine for Black Friday. First, check your iTunes Wish List for any discounts or sales. I have an iPad still running iOS 10 that let's me see my App Store Wish List. The Wish List was removed in iOS 11 unfortunately. Next, check for software that has an annual update. For me, that would be VMWare Fusion or MacFamilyTree. They typically have great deals on Black Friday, making this the best time to upgrade. Finally, if you like video games, check sites for good deals. Steam has great deals as always. The Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch is celebrating it's first Black Friday, and there are some nice deals, particularly from Indies. Regardless, make up your own routine that fits your lifestyle and see if you can find any good deals.

Spotify Holiday Sale

If you're looking for some affordable holiday music streaming, Spotify has you covered. For just 99¢, you can get three months of Spotify Premium. That's a screaming deal. You can get this until December 31, 2017. Note that you can not get this deal if you have provided a credit card or used a free trial, this does not apply to you. You have to be a new user. To sign up, go to Spotify's website.

4K HDR Movies On Sale

With the release of the iPhone X, which features an HDR screen, and the 4K Apple TV, Apple has some great 4K movies discounted to just $9.99 on iTunes. If you want to future-proof some great movies, I highly recommend checking out some of these films. Right now, you can see them by going to the iTunes Store, going to the Movies section, and you should see a banner in the carousel at the top.

Apple Launches Back to School Promotion for 2017

After leaving many to question the promotion's return, Apple has finally launched their annual Back to School promotion. Similar to last year, with the purchase of a MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Pro, or iPad Pro, you are eligible to pick from a pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless, Powerbeats3, or BeatsX headphones. For a Mac, any pair is free, but for an iPad Pro, only the BeatsX are free. It's an additional $50 for Powerbeats3 and an additional $150 for Beats Solo3 Wireless.

Apple USB-C Cable Deals Expiring March 31

A quick reminder: Apple's sale of USB-C cables and adapters will be ending on March 31. This lowers the price of so many USB-C cables and adapters, including the LG UltraFine Displays. Now is a great time to stock up, even if you don't have a USB-C computer. If you're planning on getting a new computer within the next year, I would recommend buying an adapter you might need. The deals are available from the Apple Online Store and in Apple Retail Stores.

LG UltraFine 5K Display Swooping In and Out of Stock

The LG UltraFine 5K Display announced alongside the new MacBook Pros have gone in and out of stock today. Whether this is because of short stock or an accidental store listing has yet to be seen. However, if you are in need of this display, definitely jump at the chance if you find it in stock at the sale price of $974. The 4K version of this display is still in steady stock, although will take over a month to ship. Both of these displays use the new P3 color gamut found in the new MacBook Pros and USB-C.

Apple Announces Black Friday 2016

This Friday will mark another Black Friday and Apple has some deals planned. For those who don't remember, Apple didn't have any Black Friday deals last year because they wanted to phase them out and let third-party retail stores handle them. However, Apple will have their own deals this year. We don't know what they are yet though. Apple has put more of an effort this year in advertising their products as gifts, so that may be part of this. Black Friday starts at midnight after Thanksgiving, November 25, 2016.