Thursday, February 6, 2020

Deals: Carriers Offer New Valentine's Day Promos for BOGO iPhones, and Up to 50% Savings on Apple Watch

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A new slate of offers from popular U.S. cellular carriers has emerged this month, offering customers a chance to save money on their monthly cellular bill, smartphones, smart watches, and more. Because of the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday, some of the carriers are also offering special deals when purchasing two smartphones.

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AT&T


AT&T's central offer is $500 off eligible iPhones when you add a line and trade in a qualifying device. If you plan on switching to AT&T and porting in your existing number, you can get as much as $700 off eligible iPhones.

iPhones that can be purchased with these offers include: 128GB/256GB iPhone 8 Plus, 128GB/256GB XR, 64GB/256GB X, 256GB/512GB XS, XS Max, 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max (priced up to $1450). The 64GB iPhone 8, XR, and XS are not eligible.


Once you purchase the iPhone, trade in an eligible device, activate service on an eligible AT&T unlimited wireless plan, and pay a $30 activation fee, you'll receive up to $700 in bill credits over 30 months. This means you could get the 64GB iPhone 11 at no cost, or you can opt for a more expensive iPhone 11 and pay the difference.

AT&T also has a few internet and TV bundles for those shopping around for more than just smartphones. You can get up to $350 in reward cards if you bundle AT&T internet and TV together. This requires purchase of qualifying AT&T TV package (minimum $49.99/month for 12 months) and 25M or higher Internet plan (minimum $40/month).

Verizon


Verizon has a Valentine's Day offer for two users interested in purchasing new iPhones together. If you buy one iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max, you can get $700 off the second one.


Both smartphones will need to be added to a monthly device payment plan, and they'll need to be added as a new smartphone line to your account on any Verizon Unlimited plan. Afterwards, you'll get $700 credited to your account over 24 months. With these savings, you can get a second 64GB iPhone 11 at no extra cost.

You can also choose to get up to $300 off with a select trade-in on Unlimited. You can trade in the iPhone 8 through iPhone 11 and put the trade-in amount towards a new upgrade, which will be credited to your account over 24 months.

Verizon has a few other notable deals on older iPhones and other devices. You can get the iPhone 7 for $5/month for 24 months (online only, new line required), or the iPhone 7 Plus for $10/month for 24 months. You can also save $100 off the 10.2-inch cellular iPad when purchased on a payment plan, or $250 off an iPad + iPhone combo purchase, all of which will be applied to your account over 24 months.

Sprint


Sprint has quite a few Apple-related offers for its customers. Starting with older models of iPhone, if you buy the iPhone 6s for $99.99 on Sprint's Unlimited Kickstart plan, you can get unlimited data, talk, and texting for $35/month.

For Valentine's Day, if you lease a 64GB iPhone XS, you can get another at no extra cost with Sprint Flex lease. Sprint will apply $37.50/month to your account, and this offer requires two new lines or one new and one upgrade, along with 18 month leases.


If you plan to switch to Sprint, you can get the 64GB iPhone XR for $15/month after $10/month credit is applied to your account over 18 months. Sprint also has an instant discount on the 256GB iPhone XR, marking it down by $150 if purchased on an 18-month lease and on a new line of service or with an eligible upgrade.

For the newest iPhone models, you can get the 64GB iPhone 11 for $0/month ($29.17/month bill credit) with a trade-in on Sprint Flex lease if you switch to Sprint. This requires an 18-month lease, new line activation, and approved credit.

If you're an existing Sprint customer, you can get the 64GB iPhone 11 for $15/month ($14.17/month bill credit), and this also require a new line on an 18-month lease.

Sprint also has the new 32GB 10.2-inch iPad for $4.17/month after $15/month bill credit is applied. You'll need a 24-month billing agreement and a new line on a qualifying plan that has one active handset. This offer covers all three colors: Space Gray, Gold, and Silver.

Lastly, if you're looking for an Apple Watch deal at Sprint, you can get any Apple Watch for 50 percent off via monthly bill credits after you purchase an iPhone (7 and above). This requires a 24-month installment agreement, new watch plan activation, and one active handset on the account.

You can also get a straight discount on the Apple Watch Series 4, with Sprint offering $275 off this model. The 40mm Series 4 is $7.29/month after $11.46/month bill credit, and the 44mm is $8.54/month after $11.46/month bill credit. These also require 24-month installment agreements on a new watch line of service that's added to a qualifying plan, which needs one active handset.

T-Mobile


T-Mobile is offering the 64GB iPhone 11 at no cost when you bring your number from another carrier and switch to T-Mobile, along with a qualifying trade-in. Like other carriers, this credit will be applied over 24 months, and qualifying iPhones range from the iPhone 6s to the XS family.

In other deals, you can get a third T-Mobile line for free when you join with two qualifying lines. For existing single-line or new customers who have a Magenta or Magenta Plus plan, you'll be able to obtain this offer when adding new lines for a limited time.

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

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iOS 13.4 Beta Reveals 'CarKey' Feature That Would Turn Your iPhone or Apple Watch Into a Car Key

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Apple yesterday seeded the first beta of iOS 13.4 with several new features, such as iCloud folder sharing, new Memoji stickers, and a redesigned Mail toolbar. While not mentioned in the release notes, the update also includes early signs of an interesting feature that would turn an iPhone or Apple Watch into a car key.

As first reported by 9to5Mac, and confirmed by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, the iOS 13.4 beta contains strings of code that reference an unreleased "CarKey" framework that would enable an iPhone or Apple Watch to lock or unlock compatible vehicles and start the engine to drive.


The code indicates that "CarKey" would essentially be a digital car key stored in the Wallet app. This would allow you to approach your vehicle, hold your iPhone or Apple Watch near an NFC reader in the vehicle, authenticate with Face ID, and have the vehicle unlock automatically. Similar to Apple Pay for transit, Express Mode would be an option, eliminating the need to authenticate.
To use CarKey, hold iPhone or Apple Watch to reader. It will work automatically, without requiring Face ID. You can change express mode settings in Wallet.
To set up CarKey, you will need to place your iPhone on top of the NFC reader in your vehicle, according to the strings. Apple says the process may take several minutes to complete. Then, you will need to enter a pairing code provided by your local dealership, or connect using your vehicle brand's app.
Place this iPhone on top of the NFC reader in your car. Pairing process may take several minutes, do not remove it from the reader until pairing is done.
Enter the CarKey code provided by your car dealer or connect using the [Vehicle Brand's] app.
Conveniently, it will be possible to share a CarKey with others, giving them full or restricted unlocking and driving capabilities.
[Vehicle Owner] invited you to use their [Vehicle Model] with unlock & drive access. This allows you to use your iPhone and Apple Watch to unlock/lock the car, start the engine and drive.
Apple would be partnering with automakers on this initiative, suggesting that CarKey could become a factory-installed option like CarPlay. The feature would require an NFC-enabled vehicle, so it would likely be limited to newer models. It is unclear when CarKey may begin rolling out, but perhaps it is planned for the public release of iOS 13.4 within the next few months.

Notably, Apple is a member of the Car Connectivity Consortium, or CCC, which recently announced a new NFC-based Digital Key 2.0 specification that it said would be made available by the end of 2019. The CCC said this specification establishes a secure connection between mobile devices and vehicles using NFC, which continues to operate even when a compatible device's battery is low.

Next, the consortium is developing a Digital Key 3.0 specification based on both Bluetooth LE and Ultra Wideband to enable passive, location-aware keyless access. This would allow you to leave your iPhone in your pocket or backpack when accessing or starting your vehicle. Apple added Ultra Wideband support to its iPhone 11 lineup and promised it would lead to "amazing new capabilities."

The above evidence coupled with related patents is quite compelling evidence that Apple has big plans for digital car keys.

Related Roundups: iOS 13, iPadOS

This article, "iOS 13.4 Beta Reveals 'CarKey' Feature That Would Turn Your iPhone or Apple Watch Into a Car Key" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Latest Twitter for iPad Update Adds Option to Disable Multi-Column View

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Twitter has updated its official iPad app, introducing a change to the main interface that many users will welcome.

Twitter for ‌iPad‌ with multi-column view disabled (right)

The last major update to Twitter for ‌iPad‌ attempted to make better use of the iOS device's larger screen by introducing a multi-column view that placed the timeline on the left and the search bar with trending topics on the right.

That's become an optional layout in the latest update, and users can now hide the right-hand column altogether so that their attention is centered on the content of their timeline.

The new layout option can be activated in the Twitter app by going to "Settings and privacy" then toggling the "Show search column" switch under the "Display and sound" preferences.

Turning off the right-hand column does revert Twitter on ‌iPad‌ back to the same interface as on the iPhone, which means you're presented with a single timeline with two big unused spaces on either side of it.

Most users will agree that it's not an ideal use of screen space by any means, but at least the option now exists to turn off trending content if you find it distracting.

Version 8.7.1 of the Twitter for iOS app rolls out today, and also includes a fix for a bug that meant polls wouldn't appear for users on ‌iPhone‌.

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