Apple TV with Zoom means it’s finally time to call your mother | Digital Trends
Zoom on Apple TV uses your iPhone as a camera (sweet dog blanket not included).Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
Zoom is now available on Apple TV, complete with Continuity Camera. That means you can use your iPhone camera as, well, the camera and your TV as the screen on which to see the folks on the other side of the call. And because Zoom is a cross-platform app, it means you don’t have anymore excuses for your Android-wielding family.
All of which means: it’s time to call your mother.
OK, so there have been other ways to call home via video, of course, even using your iPhone in conjunction with Apple TV. FaceTime has worked on tvOS with Continuity Camera with the rollout of tvOS 17. And it’s very cool. But if you’re looking to talk with someone who isn’t on an iPhone, or who just prefers a different app for this sort of thing? Zoom is going to be a very cool option.
And because we’re talking about Continuity Camera and not just static lens that’s pointed in your general direction, it’ll zoom in on most important face (or faces, if you’ve got the family on the couch with you), and even track your ugly mug if and when you start to drift a little bit.
There’s not much you have to do to get things going. It just requires Zoom on your Apple TV — which, by the way, is our pick for the best streaming device — and then a few taps to get things going (you don’t even have to log in if you don’t want to). Then you approve using your phone as the camera, and Bob’s your uncle.
One strong recommendation, though: If you’re at all serious about this sort of thing — whether using Zoom or any other video calling app with Apple TV, and whether you’re alone or with family — spend a few bucks and invest in a basic tripod that’ll hold your phone. Nobody wants motion sickness because you’re weaving all over the place. And going hands-free lets you pay more attention to what’s really important — the family on the other side of the call.
Google Pixel Watch 2 just got its first proper discount | Digital Trends
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
If you’re on the hunt for smartwatch deals, here’s an offer that you should definitely consider — the Google Pixel Watch 2 for $300, down from $350 at Best Buy We think there’s a lot of shoppers who have been waiting for the wearable device’s first proper discount since its October 2023 release, so if you want to pocket the $50 in savings, you’re going to have to be quick with your purchase.
Why you should buy the Google Pixel Watch 2
The Google Pixel Watch 2, Google’s follow-up to the Google Pixel Watch, lets you access your favorite Google apps like Google Maps and Google Calendar on your wrist, on a 1.2-inch screen with a 320 pixel-per-inch density and a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits. It comes with Fitbit as its fitness platform, and emergency features such as fall detection and real-time location sharing. The Google Pixel Watch 2 just received an update to enable notifications to your Android phone when it’s fully charged, which is a sign that owners can look forward to more additions in the future.
Between the Google Pixel Watch 2 and Google Pixel Watch, we recommend going for the second generation of the smartwatch despite no visible changes between the two models. That’s because the improvements are mostly under the hood, with a processor upgrade to the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 for faster performance and better battery efficiency, an entire ensemble of new and improved sensors for fitness tracking, and Google’s Wear OS 4 pre-installed.
The Google Pixel Watch is just nearly two months old, but you can already get this new piece of tech with a $50 discount from Amazon, Best Buy, or Target. It’s down to its lowest price so far of $300 from $350, but probably not for long as we expect a lot of demand for the smartwatch. There’s a chance that stocks are already running low, so if you’re already looking forward to wearing the Google Pixel Watch 2 on your wrist, there’s no time to waste — lock the price in as soon as possible.
Don’t Miss These Deals on the Meta Quest 2 & Meta Quest Pro | Digital Trends
Meta isn’t just the parent company of Facebook, it’s also become a pioneer in the new wave of virtual reality. It has a lineup of virtual reality headsets to shop, and a couple of them are seeing deals today. Both the Meta Quest 2 and the Meta Quest Pro have their price dropped at Best Buy, with the more affordable Quest 2 seeing a sale price of $250 and the high-end Quest Pro discounted to $924. Best Buy is including free shipping with a purchase of either VR headset.
Meta Quest 2 VR headset — $250, was $300
Meta
The Meta Quest 2 isn’t the newest Meta Quest on the market, but it holds up really well when it comes to offering an immersive virtual experience. It has a super fast process and a high resolution display, both of which manage to handle the strains of virtual reality processing. The experience remains seamless and smooth even with more current software. If you want something brand new, the Meta Quest 3 is on the market, but both the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 2 offer total immersion with 3D positional audio, hand tracking, and haptic feedback that makes virtual worlds feel real. With the Meta Quest 2 you can explore more than 250 software titles across categories like gaming, fitness, socials and entertainment.
Meta Quest Pro VR headset — $926, was $1,000
Meta
You’ll need to be a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total member to claim this deal, and it’s worth it, as the Meta Quest Pro is the most powerful Meta VR headset on the market. This is something you should consider if you’ve got your eye on the forthcoming Apple Vision Pro and don’t want to wait. The Quest Pro offers more premium ergonomics than its more affordable models. In short, it’s a more comfortable headset that can be worn longer. It has a Mixed Reality mode that uses high resolution passthrough to let you see and engage with the real world around you even as you connect work, and play in virtual spaces. The Quest Pro also features advanced optics and high performance hardware that produce an immersive experience utilizing technologies such as Spatial Audio. This makes it as much fun for watching movies as it is capable in maximizing productivity at work.
Lucid Gravity: Range, charging, price, release date, more | Digital Trends
Lucid Group
There’s finally another option in the world of electric SUVs. The Lucid Air has long been known as the electric car with the longest range, but Lucid is finally branching out with a bigger option — the Lucid Gravity. It offers a similar design sensibility as the Air, with more room on the inside and pretty great performance.
The Lucid Air could well be the go-to electric SUV, at least when it comes to luxury options. Curious to learn more? Here’s everything you need to know.
Lucid Gravity design
If you’ve seen the Lucid Air, you have an idea about the overall design of the Lucid Gravity. The car is sleek and stylish, and while it’s not the most unique-looking car out there, it’s clearly a premium car overall.
Lucid Group
On the front of the Gravity can be found two slim headlights and a swooping hood that arcs across the front. The side profile of the car slopes down toward the back, where you’ll find a rear light bar. In most color options, there’s a two-tone look, which some will love and others won’t.
In some ways, the Gravity looks simply like a taller version of the Air — but again, that’s not a bad thing. It’s not the most revolutionary design, but it still looks quite good.
Lucid Gravity interior
The interior of the Lucid Gravity is premium too. There’s a nice stitched leather that in most of the images is a saddle brown.
Like in the Lucid Air, there are two displays at the front of the car. There’s one super-wide display that stretches along the front for lights and wipers, instrument monitoring, and mapping, and a secondary display that can be used for climate controls, driving modes, and other settings. This particular dual-display setup is somewhat unique to the Lucid Gravity and Lucid Air, and having driven the Air, I can say it’s relatively intuitive and easy to get used to.
Lucid Group
The Gravity is, of course, more roomy than the Air — to the point where it offers three rows of seats. There’s also a center console for storage in between the two front seats, and a pair of tables can fold out from the front seats for the second-row passengers.
Lucid Gravity models
The Lucid Air came in a number of different models, and it’s entirely possible that the Gravity will eventually be available in a multiple trim levels too. Lucid has yet to announce the trim levels for the car, so we can only speculate.
If the Gravity is like the Air, it could come in a base “Pure” trim, ranging up to the Touring, Grand Touring, Dream Edition, and Sapphire packages. If those trims are planned, it’s unlikely they’ll all be released at launch — after all, Lucid only just recently launched the Lucid Air Sapphire.
Lucid Gravity range and charging speed
The Lucid Air is known for its excellent range, and thankfully, that continues with the Lucid Gravity. The Lucid Gravity, according to Lucid, will have a range of more than 440 miles — and while we do expect that figure to be for the highest-range models, even the base model will likely have a better range than most other electric cars out there. We’ll have to wait and see, though.
Lucid Group
The charging speed will be excellent too. Lucid says that the Gravity will get up to 200 miles of range in 15 minutes via a 350-kilowatt charging station. That means that the Gravity will be one of the fastest-charging cars out there today, and will be able to take full advantage of the faster charging stations.
Lucid Gravity performance
The Lucid Gravity doesn’t just offer an excellent range — it’s super quick too. The Gravity will come with dual electric motors, with all-wheel drive being standard, at least at the beginning.
Exact numbers for the performance of the Gravity have yet to be revealed, but it’s likely that the Gravity will offer similar performance to the Lucid Air. That means that it’ll get around 480 horsepower in the base Pure model, 620 horsepower in the Touring trim, and 1,050 horsepower in the Grand Touring trim.
Lucid / Lucid Motors
We’ll have to wait and see exactly how well the Lucid Gravity performs in the real world. But, if the Gravity is anything like the Air, it could end up being one of the fastest electric cars out there — the Lucid Air Dream Edition currently sits only behind the Tesla Model S Plaid on the list of fastest production cars.
Lucid Gravity price
Don’t expect the Lucid Gravity to save us from a lack of affordable electric SUVs — the Lucid Air starts at $74,900, and the Gravity will be in the same neighborhood. Lucid has said that the car will have a starting price of “under $80,000,” but we don’t expect it to be much under that.
Of course, that price will be for the base trim of the car, and higher-end models will certainly cost more. Just look at the Sapphire edition of the Lucid Air, which had a starting price of around $249,000. It’s hard to imagine that Lucid won’t eventually offer a similarly priced version of the Gravity.
Lucid Gravity release date
So when will you be able to get your hands on the Lucid Gravity for yourself? Unfortunately, you’ll still have to wait a while. Lucid has said that the Gravity will be available starting in late 2024, so it may still be a year out from consumer availability. You can order it now though, if you so choose — but again, it’ll be some time before you actually get it.
Last Chance to Get the Dell XPS 17 Laptop at $500 Off | Digital Trends
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
If you want to buy a thin and light laptop but don’t want to go for something like the MacBook Air, which is both expensive and puts you into the Apple ecosystem, the Dell XPS lineup is a great alternative. The XPS laptops are Dell’s answer to the need for thin laptops that aren’t from Apple, and, even better, there are a lot more configurations and sizes you can pick from. While this XPS 17 is bigger than a MacBook Air, there’s a great deal on it from Dell that brings it down to $1,699 from $2,199, which is a significant $500 discount and well worth grabbing if you want a thin and light laptop with a large screen.
Why you should buy the Dell XPS 17
This configuration of the Dell XPS 17 has a lot of standout features, the most interesting of which is likely the inclusion of the RTX 4050 graphics card. While the XPS 17 is not really meant as a thin gaming laptop, the fact that it includes an entry-level GPU means you can certainly get a bit of gaming out of it, although don’t expect to be playing the latest AAA games. More importantly, it comes with a mid-to-high end 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700H processor, which will easily handle most productivity and day-to-day tasks without an issue, and you might even be able to get some editing done.
The screen is 17 inches big and runs an FHD+ resolution, which is perfectly fine for this price tag and size of the screen, while the 500nits of peak brightness means you can essentially use this anywhere there isn’t direct sunlight. The 16GB of DDR5 RAM also gives you a lot of leeway when having open apps and tabs on your computer, so it’s a great quality-of-life addition. As for storage, you get 512GB which should be more than enough for most folks, even when taking gaming into account since you’ll mostly be playing smaller casual and indie games.
All in all, the Dell XPS 17 is a versatile thin, and light laptop that doesn’t require you to enter Apple’s ecosystem, and for the $1,699 price tag from Dell, it’s a lot cheaper too. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, then check out some of these other excellent laptop deals for alternatives.
Latest Apple TV beta adds search via the remote’s Siri button | Digital Trends
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
Apple TV 4K is still the best streaming device you can buy, but there’s also one button the remote I almost never press on purpose. But that may finally be about to change.
In the latest developer beta for the tvOS platform, Apple has added a wee bit of functionality to the Siri button on the side of the Siri Voice remote. (That’s the little button on the right-hand side that has a microphone on it.) In the production software — that is, what most folks are running today — clicking the button activates Siri, basically the same as if she were on your phone. Say “Ted Lasso” and it’ll take you straight into the Ted Lasso show on Apple TV+ in the Apple TV app on your Apple TV 4K. Say “Opeth,” and it’ll start playing Opeth on Apple Music.
(That wording, by the way, is my repeated reminder to Apple that using the same name for a premium streaming service, and the same name for the app in which that service resides, and the same name for the hardware on which you will find both of those things, is particularly silly.)
Pressing the Siri button on the remote now opens a search box in some apps.Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
But in the latest developer beta — which is not final software by any means and is subject to change — pressing the button once opens up a search box on your television screen, and activates the microphone. You’re encouraged to speak your query, which will then look up results across supported apps, and then you choose where to go from there.
For now, unsurprisingly, things seem to be pretty contained within Apple’s apps. This all works from the home screen and appears to search across multiple apps — “Search Movies, Shows and More,” it says. It works within the Apple TV app and invites you to “Search TV.” Pressing it within the Apple Music app invites you to “Search music.” Pressing it in YouTube TV or Hulu … does nothing. That’s not a surprise, given that this feature is part of the developer beta and not in release software. (It also doesn’t yet work in Photos, Podcasts, or Arcade.)
Long-pressing the microphone button, by the way, still activates Siri as before, throughout all apps.
Again, this is all subject to change. (And in the back of my head it has me wondering if Apple will change the microphone button on the remote to a search button instead.) But for now? It’s a fun little addition, alongside the beta changes to the Apple TV app itself.
These were the laptop trends that dominated 2023 | Digital Trends
In some ways, 2023 was a quiet year when it came to laptops. After coming off the high of PC sales during the peak of the pandemic, 2023 was the year of the correction. Many of the most popular lines received minor upgrades, and there weren’t many significant technological innovations that pushed laptops forward.
Even so, there were five trends in 2023 that are worth looking back on and that point toward what’s coming in the future.
Some prominent lines remained largely unchanged
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
Manufacturers tend to perform major updates to their lines every few years. Sometimes, as in 2023, things line up in such a way that a number of prominent laptops receive only minor upgrades.
Dell’s XPS line is an important example. The XPS 15 and XPS 17 received CPU and GPU upgrades in 2023, but their designs remained exactly the same as we’ve seen for several years now. Even the webcam remains at 720p and the wireless connectivity is at Wi-Fi 6, not Wi-Fi 6E, demonstrating that Dell wasn’t interested in pushing their largest XPS machines forward this year. The newer XPS 13 Plus received minor CPU upgrades and still uses a 720p webcam and Wi-Fi 6, while the new near-budget XPS 13 design, introduced in 2022, wasn’t updated at all and still runs Intel 12th-gen processors with older components.
HP’s Spectre line also received minor CPU updates. The Spectre x360 13.5, for example, is unchanged from 2022 except for an upgrade to 13th-gen processors. Note that HP did introduce the Spectre Foldable PC, which is incredibly innovative and incredibly expensive at $5,000. But otherwise, the Spectre line hasn’t changed much.
HP Spectre x360 13.5Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
Going through the list, Lenovo’s ThinkPad line is another example, with its flagship ThinkPad X1 Carbon hitting its 11th generation with only moderate updates from the 10th-gen machine. And Microsoft’s Surface line had just two budget upgrades in the Surface Laptop Go 3 and Surface Go 4, along with a minor spec bump to the Surface Laptop Studio 2.
We’ll see if any of these lineups receive more meaningful updates in 2024. So far, though, they’re treading water.
Performance and battery life increases were incremental
Apple
For most users, Intel’s 13th-gen CPUs offered only incremental performance and efficiency improvements over their 12th-gen predecessors. AMD’s latest Ryzen processors are fast, but not game-changers. Both chipmakers have very fast CPUs at the high end, but that’s mostly of interest to gamers and creators. For mainstream productivity users, there’s been no real discernable improvement in either performance or battery life.
The same held true for GPUs. Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4000 series were improvements for sure, but the increase over the RTX 3000 series was only incremental. AMD wasn’t much of a player at all in mobile GPUs in 2023.
Probably the most exciting laptop CPU and GPU update came from Apple. Its new M3 chips are a real jump in performance, particularly at the high end. The base M3 offers a meaningful improvement over the M2 that’s greater for typical users than Intel achieved with its 13th-gen CPUs. However, the M3 Max we tested provides a massive jump over the previous generation, particularly in GPU performance. Apple also increased memory capacity and performance, making the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 among the most powerful laptops creators can buy today. When you factor in the line’s phenomenal battery life, Apple made the most significant advances in 2023.
Displays kept getting better
Lenovo Legion 9iJacob Roach / Digital Trends
One trend in 2023 that was great to see was a continued improvement in displays. We saw several Windows laptops introduced with Mini-LED displays, and while most of them didn’t demonstrate the same performance as Apple achieved in its MacBook Pros, the Lenovo Legion 9i‘s mini-LED panel was spectacular.
In addition, we saw OLED displays make their way to several laptops priced at $1,000 or less. The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED was our favorite affordable laptop, offering an OLED panel running at 90Hz for just $700. As of 2023, you no longer have to spend premium prices to get a great display.
Speaking of refresh rates, a significant percentage of the laptops I reviewed in 2023 ran at 90Hz or faster. Apple started the trend in 2020 with the original M1 MacBook Pros, and the industry has just started to catch up. Windows 11 is a much smoother experience with a display that runs faster than 60Hz.
Excellent laptops were more affordable
Asus ZenBook 14X OLEDMark Coppock / Digital Trends
The Zenbook 14 OLED wasn’t the only laptop I reviewed that offered more value than we’ve seen in previous years. In fact, I’d say that 2023 redefined the midrange laptop, with more excellent options showing up in the $800 to $1,200 range.
The Zenbook 14X OLED is a faster and slightly larger laptop than its sibling, starting at just $800 with a fast 45-watt Intel Core i5-13500H and a superior OLED display. That’s an incredible price for a laptop that will handle the most demanding productivity workflows.
Another great option is the HP Pavilion Plus 14, costing $850 and boasting a Ryzen 5 7540U and a high-resolution IPS display. Even when upgraded to a Ryzen 7 7840U and an OLED display, the laptop remains affordable at $900.
Those are just a few of the laptops introduced in 2023 that offer better performance, displays, and built quality than we usually see for less than $1,000. It’s perhaps the most important trend we saw in 2023.
A middling year in laptops
More affordable laptops with excellent displays is a nice trend. But otherwise, 2023 was a pretty boring year in laptop design. We didn’t see any groundbreaking new technologies that significantly advanced how we use laptops.
It’s looking like 2024 might be a little more exciting, especially in terms of performance and efficiency with Intel’s new Meteor Lake CPUs and potentially more competitive Windows laptops built around efficient ARM processors.
iOS 17: How to share contacts using Apple’s NameDrop feature | Digital Trends
If you’re like most Apple fans, you likely have your whole life stored on your iPhone, from significant events in your calendar and photos to a long list of friends, family, and co-workers with whom you’ve made those memories.
However, as useful as the Contacts and Phone apps on your iPhone 15 are for keeping track of everyone in your life, they also make it really easy to share that contact information with others when you need to. Whether that’s your own digital business card or the details of your favorite restaurant, you can beam an entire contact record over to somebody with only a few taps, which is much faster and easier than manually copying and pasting phone numbers, emails, and street address information one field at a time.
What’s more, with iOS 17, you can now share your personal details more easily than ever, thanks to Apple’s new NameDrop feature, which lets you swap contact info simply by holding two iPhones near each other. It’s never been easier to exchange some digits.
Nadeem Sarwar / DigitalTrends
How to share contacts from an iPhone with iOS 17’s NameDrop feature
NameDrop is one of those features that seems so obvious in retrospect that it makes us wonder what took Apple so long to come up with it. After all, AirDrop has been around since iOS 7 was released 10 years ago, and it’s long been possible to use that to share contact information manually. NameDrop is simply an extension of AirDrop that automates the process.
With NameDrop, you can initiate an AirDrop session to share your personal contact card simply by holding your iPhone near somebody else’s; as long as they’re both running iOS 17.1 or later, they’ll recognize each other and offer to swap contact info. This also works with an Apple Watch running watchOS 10.1 or later, although in this case, it’s limited to Apple Watch models released in the last two years — that’s the Apple Watch Series 7, second-generation Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra and newer models in each of those lineups. Also note that NameDrop can only be used to share new contact information; it won’t update an existing contact card.
NameDrop is very simple to use, but contrary to a bit of fearmongering that’s been going around since iOS 17.1 was released, it’s also very secure. You can only start a NameDrop session when your iPhone is unlocked, which means you’ll have to authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID (or enter your passcode) before anything happens, and then you still need to confirm that you actually want to share your contact information. Nothing is ever sent out with your express authorization. Here’s how it works:
Step 1: First, make sure that NameDrop and AirDrop proximity sharing are enabled by opening the Settings app, selecting General > AirDrop, and checking that Bringing Devices Together is toggled on. This should be on by default.
Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends
Step 2: Hold your iPhone within a few centimeters of someone else’s iPhone or Apple Watch. After a few seconds, each person’s contact card should appear in a full-screen view on both devices. If this doesn’t happen, confirm the other person also has the Bringing Devices Together setting enabled.
Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends
Step 3: Below your name, you’ll see a summary of what information will be shared. By default, this is just your phone number, but you can choose to share additional fields from your contact record — such as your email or physical address — by selecting the fields you want to include. When you’re done, tap Done.
Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends
Step 4: When you’re ready, choose Share to share your contact information with the other person. Alternatively, you can choose Receive Only if you only want to receive the other person’s contact card without sharing your own.
Step 5: If you change your mind at any time and decide you don’t want to share contact info, move your iPhone away from the other person’s iPhone or Apple Watch, swipe up to return to the home screen, or simply press the side button to lock your device. Doing any of these things will cancel the NameDrop session.
Apple
How to share contacts from an Apple Watch with NameDrop
You can also start a NameDrop session from an Apple Watch Series 7 or later (including the second-generation Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2) as long as you have at least watchOS 10.1 installed. However, since your Apple Watch is always unlocked whenever you’re wearing it, using NameDrop from an Apple Watch requires an extra step to prevent it from being triggered accidentally. Here’s how to start a NameDrop session from your wearable:
Step 1: Open the Contacts app on your Apple Watch.
Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends
Step 2: Select your picture in the top-right corner.
Step 3: Choose Share.
Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends
Step 4: Place your Apple Watch near another compatible Apple Watch or iPhone, as shown in the on-screen illustration.
Step 5: Wait for NameDrop to appear on both devices.
Step 6: Choose Share to share your contact information with the other person or Receive Only if you only want to receive the other person’s contact card without sharing your own.
Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends
How to share contacts in iOS 17 the old-fashioned way
As cool as NameDrop is, it’s not the only way to share contact information. You can still initiate an AirDrop session manually, which can be handy if you don’t want to hold your iPhones near each other or the other person is using an older iPhone that hasn’t been (or can’t be) updated to iOS 17.
While NameDrop is designed to share your own contact information — the card you’ve designated as the “Me” card in the Contacts app — you can manually share any contact in your address book, and choose what fields you want to share when doing so. For example, you might want to share only a business phone number and email address without including other information like a street address or personal contact info.
You can also share contact information via other channels, such as Messages or Mail. This attaches a vCard that can be opened directly in the Contacts app on the other person’s iPhone or imported into third-party contact apps like Microsoft Outlook.
Step 1: Open the Contacts app on your iPhone. You can also open the Phone app and select the Contacts button at the bottom.
Step 2: Your My Card contact information should be shown at the top. Select this to share your own details or locate another contact on you want to share.
Step 3: Scroll down to the bottom of the contact screen and choose Share Contact.
Step 4: Select the fields you would like to include. By default, this includes first and last name and job title, plus all phone numbers, email addresses, and social media handles. Deselect any items you don’t want to share and choose any additional fields you’d like to include. You can also choose Select All Fields at the bottom if you want to share the entire card.
Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends
Step 5: When you’ve made your selections, choose Done in the top-right corner.
Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends
Step 6: The standard iOS share sheet should appear. Choose a method for sharing, such as AirDrop, Messages, Mail or a third-party app and follow the instructions to send out the contact info.
Best Apple Deals: AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, and MacBook | Digital Trends
Saad Chaudhry/Unsplash / Saad Chaudhry/Unsplash
Apple products are praised for their high quality and interconnectivity, but that quality does come with a price. This is one large reason why we look for great Apple deals to shop, as it sometimes really is worth the wait. To help you out, we’ve compiled some of our favorite deals on all of the major categories of Apple products. Try these deals first next time you’re looking to expand or upgrade your Apple collection.
Best iPad deals
Andy Boxall / .Digital Trends
Whether you’re wanting to get a standard iPad, an iPad Air, or an iPad Mini, their is a sale on for you at the moment. If, however, one of the iPad Pro models is among the best iPads for you, don’t worry too much about holding off. These deals are small, typically taking off around 10% of the price, and are more of a bonus if you already wanted the model rather than an incentive to choose it over something you really wanted. Meanwhile, if you’re willing to go refurbished, our larger collection of the best iPad deals has larger deals and you can find an iPad Pro.
Apple iPad 10th Generation (WiFi, 64GB) —
Apple iPad 9th Generation (WiFi + Cellular, 256GB) —
Apple iPad Air 5th Generation (WiFi, 64GB) —
Apple iPad Mini 6th Generation (WiFi, 256GB) —
Apple iPad Air 5th Generation (WiFi, 256GB) —
Best AirTag deals
Digital Trends
Here, we found great deals on both Apple’s AirTags and third party accessories meant to hold and carry them. If you haven’t used one of these tracking devices before, be sure to check out our AirTag review.
If you aren’t willing to go refurbished, you won’t find many good deals on an iPhone. In some ways, that’s a good thing, as it signifies that the product is good and that Apple doesn’t need to discount the phones to get them to sell. If you’re concerned about the quality of what you’re purchasing, be sure to check out our refurbished product guide, which will lead you through the standards companies use for renewed and refurbished products, as well as what to look for. Otherwise, check out these iPhone deals:
Apple iPhone XS (64GB, Unlocked, Renewed) —
Apple iPhone 12 Mini (64GB, Unlocked, Renewed) —
Apple iPhone 12 Pro (256GB, Unlocked, Renewed) —
Apple iPhone 13 (128GB, Unlocked, Renewed) —
Apple iPhone 13 Pro (256GB, Unlocked, Renewed) —
Best AirPods deals
Zeke Jones / Digital Trends
Once again, there aren’t a ton of deals out there if you aren’t looking to head refurbished. There are, however, quite a few good deals out there in the AirPods category. We’re also highlighting the EarPods (while not techincally AirPods, they are legitimate Apple earbuds) as well as some accessories that you might want to pick up with the whole migration to USB-C going on right now.
Apple EarPods —
Apple AirPods 2nd Generation —
Apple AirPods Max —
Apple USB-C to Lightning Cable —
Apple Wireless Charging Case for AirPods —
Best MacBook deals
Luke Larsen / Digital Trends
MacBooks are some of the most popular laptops around. MacBook Air and MacBook Pros are currently on sale with good discounts, plus they come with three months of Apple TV+ for free. Check them out here:
MacBook Air 13.6-inch (M2, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) —
MacBook Air 15-inch (M2, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) —
MacBook Air 15-inch (M2, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) —
MacBook Pro 14-inch (M1, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) —
MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3, 8GB RAM, 1TB SSD) —
Best Apple Watch deals
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Apple’s products consistently rank near the top of the best smartwatches for their feature-rich and easy-to-use design. Right now you can get up to 28% off on these fitness trackers with the following deals:
Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation (GPS, 40mm) —
Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation (GPS + Cellular, 44mm) —
The thinnest laptops of today are paper-thin compared to their predecessors, and though they aren’t literally that trim, they’re getting pretty close. In recent several years, one of the biggest advances made to the modern laptop is that the chassis continues to shrink. Best of all, battery life and performance continue to improve. It’s a no-compromise situation — and we love it.
One of the thinnest laptops around is the Apple MacBook Air M2 at just 0.44 inches thick. It’s incredibly thin but provides awesome performance and battery life thanks to Apple’s excellent M2 CPUs. There are some other excellent laptops that are also incredibly thin. Here are some of our favorites.
Apple MacBook Air M2
One of the thinnest laptops ever, and it’s a MacBook
One of the thinnest laptops ever, and it’s a MacBook
Pros
Incredibly thin
Upgraded webcam and speakers
Shockingly good performance
Battery life stomps the competition
Screen and keyboard are world-class
Cons
Worryingly hot internal temperatures
Still only supports one monitor
Why should you buy this: It’s an incredibly powerful laptop packed into an incredibly thin chassis.
Who’s it for: Anyone looking for an incredibly portable MacBook without compromises.
What we thought of the Apple MacBook Air M2:
Apple’s MacBook Air M2 is a complete redesign of the venerable MacBook Air, incorporating the blockier chassis of the larger MacBook Pro machines and dropping the iconic MacBook Air wedge shape. But now it’s super-thin throughout at just 0.44 inches while weighing just 2.7 pounds.
Even though it’s incredibly thin, it’s a fast laptop sporting the Apple M2 CPU that’s a step up from the original M1 and considerably faster. It’s fanless, and so completely silent in operation, and it still manages to be an ultrafast thin and light machine. Its 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display is excellent, with a ton of brightness, wide and accurate colors, and excellent contrast. The MacBook Air M2 sports the same outstanding Magic Keyboard as its predecessor and a large haptic touchpad.
Just make sure you opt for a larger solid-state drive (SSD) than the entry-level 256GB version. You’ll get faster storage that maximizes overall performance.
Apple MacBook Air M2
One of the thinnest laptops ever, and it’s a MacBook
Arif Bacchus/ Digital Trends
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 (0.50 inches)
An ultra-thin convertible 2-in-1
Pros
Incredibly thin and light
OLED display
Intel 13th-generation CPUs
Up to 32GB RAM
Full HD webcam
Why should you buy this: It’s one of the thinnest laptops around and offers the Windows 11 2-in-1 experience.
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a super-thin 2-in-1 with pen support.
What we thought of the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360:
Next to the MacBook Air M2, one of the thinnest laptops available today is the Samsung Galaxy Book3 360. It’s a 16-inch-inch convertible 2-in-1 with a spectacular 16.0-inch 16:10 2880 x 1800 OLED display and an Intel 13th-gen CPU that’s just 0.50 inches thick and weighs just 3.66 pounds. Some bold color options and a minimalist design provide a laptop that’s as good-looking as it is well-built.
You still get a solid build and Samsung’s S-Pen support. If you’re a Samsung phone and tablet user, then you can integrate the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 into Samsung’s excellent ecosystem. Ports are a decent, with two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, an HDMI port, a USB-C 3.2 port, and a microSD card reader.
A Full HD webcam with Auto Framing and Face Effect round out the niceties. Performance is provided by 28-watt Intel 13th-gen CPUs such as the 12-core/16-thread Core i7-1360P.
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 (0.50 inches)
An ultra-thin convertible 2-in-1
Luke Larsen / Digital Trends
Apple MacBook Air 15 (0.45 inches)
The thinnest 15-inch laptop
Pros
More screen!
Excellent speakers
Long lasting battery
Shockingly thin
Extra performance is welcome
Cons
Only supports one external display
Why should you buy this: It’s an incredible thin large-screen laptop.
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants extensive battery life and capable performance in a trim design.
What we thought of the Apple MacBook Air 15:
Apple introduced a new MacBook Air in 2023, a 15-inch model that takes the excellent build of the 13-inch version and blows it up. Somehow, while fitting in a 15.2-inch Liquid Retina display, Apple managed to keep the MacBook Air 15 an incredibly thin 0.45 inches. It’s the thinnest 15-inch laptop around, and it makes no compromises.
Performance is excellent thanks to its 8-core CPU/10-core GPU M2 processor. It’s not fast enough for serious creators, but for everyone else it will churn through the most demanding workflows. The display has wide and accurate colors, plenty of brightness, and deep contrast, and it’s sharp at 2880 x 1864 pixels.
And to top it all off, battery life is exceptional. It will keep you running for a day and a half, with at least twice as much longevity as you’ll find with most 15-inch machines.
Apple MacBook Air 15 (0.45 inches)
The thinnest 15-inch laptop
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Alienware x14 R2 (0.57 inches)
A gaming laptop that’s both extremely thin and surprisingly fast
Pros
Thinnest 14-inch gaming laptop
Fantastic battery life
Solid performance
USB-C charging
Comfortable keyboard
Cons
Tiny trackpad
Only one USB-A port
Middling screen
Why should you buy this: It’s one of the thinnest gaming laptops around, and it’s plenty fast.
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a gaming laptop without the usual thickness.
What we thought of the Alienware x14 R2:
Imagine packing a 45-watt Intel Core i7-13620H and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 into a 0.57-inch chassis that weighs just 4.22 pounds, and you’ll have the Alienware x14 R2. It’s an incredible accomplishment, providing excellent gaming performance in a laptop that’s thinner and lighter than many mainstream ultrabooks.
It’s not the fastest gaming laptop, but that’s not the point. It manages to compete with some thicker and heavier laptops and, in fact, is among the fastest RTX 4060 laptops we’ve tested. That’s a testament to the excellent thermal design that manages to keep the CPU and GPU cool without the usual space inside.
The 14.0-inch 2560 x 1600 display provides surprisingly wide and accurate colors and tons of contrast, making it a great display for gaming and productivity work. If you’re looking for solid 1080p gaming in an incredibly thin and light laptop, then the Alienware x14 is the best option.
Alienware x14 R2 (0.57 inches)
A gaming laptop that’s both extremely thin and surprisingly fast
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Dell XPS 13 (0.55 inches)
A redesigned classic that’s extremely thin
Pros
Thin and light chassis
Edge-to-edge keyboard
Modern, sleek aesthetic
Affordable
Cons
No 3.5mm audio jack
Limited to Intel 12th-gen CPUs
Why should you buy this: It’s a gorgeous redesign of one of the best laptops ever.
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a great-looking, well-built 13-inch laptop.
What we thought of the Dell XPS 13:
The Dell XPS 13 has been one of the best laptops for several years, with its iconic aluminum and carbon fiber design. Dell mixed things up in the latest generation, creating an all-aluminum design that’s thinner and lighter than before. It’s just 0.55 inches thick and weighs 2.59 pounds.
You’ll find 15-watt Intel 12th-gen CPUs inside that balance performance and efficiency, along with an excellent Full HD+ display that offers wide and accurate colors and excellent contrast. Larger internal speakers promise improved bass and increased volume, making for an outstanding media-consumption device. Up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD offer plenty of memory and storage for the most demanding productivity users.
Dell XPS 13 (0.55 inches)
A redesigned classic that’s extremely thin
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED (0.46 inches)
A 13-inch laptop that’s surprisingly powerful
Pros
Solid productivity performance
Above-average battery life
Attractive and solid design
Excellent keyboard and touchpad
Thin and light
Cons
Performance dropped from previous generation
Speakers are lackluster
Why should you buy this: It’s an incredibly speedy 13-inch laptop that’s still thin and light.
Who’s it for: Anyone who wants an easy-to-carry laptop that’s fast enough for real work.
What we thought of the Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED:
The latest version of the Zenbook S 13 OLED uses Intel’s Core i7-1355U, a CPU that blends performance and efficiency. Asus also trimmed the laptops thickness to 0.43 inches in front and 0.46 inches in back. That gives the MacBook Air M2 a run for its money.
The ZenBook S 13 OLED is a sleek and trim laptop that looks great and is just as well built. Its 13.3-inch 16:10 2.8K OLED display is spectacular and enables a tiny chassis, thanks to slim bezels. Even so, it manages to perform well in multithreaded applications like Handbrake and Cinebench R23, promising relatively strong performance in creative applications.
The laptop’s keyboard is outstanding, and the touchpad is surprisingly large and incorporates Asus’s NumberPad 2.0, which embeds an LED numeric keyboard for fast data entry. The Full HD webcam rounds out the modern features, and battery life is long for a thin and light laptop with such fast performance.
