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Thursday, August 13, 2020

Deals: Amazon Begins Discounting 2020 iMacs by Up to $99

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Amazon has Apple's brand-new 27-inch iMac on sale this week in two configurations, representing some of the first notable discounts on the 2020 desktop computer.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Sales start with the Retina 5K 27-inch iMac with a 3.1GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD for $1,699.93, down from $1,799.00. This model is being sold by Expercom on Amazon.

$99 OFF

New 27-Inch iMac (256GB) For $1,699.93

Secondly, the Retina 5K 27-inch iMac with a 3.8GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD is on sale for $2,251.88, down from $2,299.00.

$47 OFF

New 27-Inch iMac (512GB) For $2,251.88

Both of these discounts are Amazon all-time-lows, and they're currently beating the prices seen at retailers like B&H Photo and Best Buy. Apple launched the new iMacs earlier this month, introducing 10th-generation Intel processors, more RAM, more SSD storage, faster AMD GPUs, and True Tone support for the Retina displays.

You can keep track of ongoing sales on Apple's iMac line by visiting our Best iMac Deals guide. There, we note the best iMac offers from Amazon, Adorama, B&H Photo, and other retailers, so be sure to check back often if you're shopping for an iMac for the first time, or thinking of upgrading.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

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Fortnite Introduces Direct Payment Option on iOS Despite Apple's App Store Review Guidelines

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Epic Games today announced that it has introduced a new direct payment option in the Fortnite app for iPhone and iPad, allowing players to purchase 1000 V-Bucks for $7.99 rather than $9.99 through Apple's in-app purchase mechanism.

It is unclear how Epic Games is managing to offer this option, as Apple's App Store Review Guidelines indicate that apps offering in-game currencies must use Apple's in-app purchase mechanism. Apps are also not allowed to include buttons, links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase:

3.1.1 In-App Purchase:
- If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, etc. Apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.

The direct payment option is available in the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and many other countries.

This is a very exciting standoff: Fortnite’s owner directly challenging Apple’s rules about in-app payments. https://t.co/LfP4UrpUpU
— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) August 13, 2020

Tags: Epic Games, Fortnite

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Apple Plans to Launch Fitness Subscription Service

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Apple plans to launch a fitness subscription service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, as part of an upcoming "Apple One" subscription service bundle.

Icons representing some of the exercises in the fitness subscription service

The service would offer virtual fitness and workout classes via an app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. This would rival existing virtual classes services provided by Nike and Peloton. Peloton shares reportedly dipped 4.7 percent in early Thursday trading after the report was published, while Apple was up just less than one percent. The fitness service is expected to be bundled with other Apple subscription services in Apple One.

In March, MacRumors discovered a new fitness app hidden within iOS 14 code for ‌iPhone‌, Apple Watch, and ‌Apple TV‌, titled with the codename "Seymour." The app was found to be separate from the existing Activity app. Gurman has today confirmed the identity of the "Seymour" app discovered by MacRumors as the upcoming fitness subscription service. The app may be named "Fit" or "Fitness" when released.

MacRumors found that the app will offer a wide range of activity types, including indoor running, cycling, rowing, stretching, core training, strength training, outdoor walking, dance, and yoga. The app is designed to let users download guided fitness-related videos that will walk them through various workouts and activities. ‌Apple Watch‌ appears to be used in the app to track progress through each workout routine, similar to how ‌Apple Watch‌ can track existing fitness activities through the Activity app.

The new fitness subscription service and accompanying app is likely to launch alongside Apple One in October.

Tags: subscription, Activity, Apple One

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Apple to Launch Bundled Subscription Services Called 'Apple One'

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Apple will launch a new range of bundled subscription services called "Apple One" as soon as October, according to a new report by Bloomberg.

The series of bundles would allow customers to subscribe to several Apple digital services together. This is expected to result in a lower monthly price than when the services are subscribed to individually. Bloomberg reports that the Apple One subscription bundles are planned to launch in October alongside new iPhone models.

The motivation behind bundling subscription services would be to encourage customers to subscribe to multiple Apple services, generating more recurring revenue. Apple News+ and Apple TV+ in particular has not seen substantial growth, so bundling subscriptions would help to drive subscriber numbers. In late 2019, Apple experimented with creating a bundle of Apple Music and ‌Apple TV‌+ for students, with the latter being freely included.

Files found in iOS 13.5.5 referred to a "bundle offer" and a "bundle subscription." These files were not present in earlier versions of iOS. The files were said to be related to the "management system of Apple's own services subscriptions like ‌Apple News‌+." Apple has been rumored to be working on some kind of services bundle since 2018, and most of the rumors have indicated that the company may include ‌‌Apple Music‌‌, ‌‌Apple TV‌‌+, and ‌‌Apple News‌‌+ in the bundle offering.

Tags: Apple Music, Apple News, subscription, Apple TV Plus, Apple One

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Apple releases bug fixes for iOS 13.6 and iPad OS 13.6

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iOS 13.6.1 and iPad OS 13.6.1 focus exclusively on bug fixes

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Apple Shipped 15 Million iPhones in the U.S. in Q2 2020, a New Domestic Record

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Apple shipped approximately 15 million iPhones in the United States in the second quarter of 2020, according to a new report shared by Canalys, setting a new domestic record.

Apple shipped 15 percent more iPhone 11 devices than last year's equivalent, iPhone XR. Most strikingly, iPhone SE was responsible for growing Apple's quarterly market share to 47 percent. Overall, Apple shipped 10 percent more devices compared to the same quarter of last year.

Vendors shipped 31.9 million smartphones in the United States in total. This represents a 5 percent year-on-year decline, but an 11 percent quarter-on-quarter increase. The reopening of manufacturing facilities in China at the end of March and retail stores reopening in May and June were key contributors to growth. Around 70 percent of smartphones shipped in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2020 were made in China, up 60 percent from the last quarter.

5G adoption was low in the second quarter of 2020, but is expected to increase as more 5G-connected devices come to market in the coming months. Apple is expected to contribute to this drive for 5G adoption with the release of 5G-enabled iPhones this fall.

"As the coronavirus pandemic forced consumers to stay at home, 5G adoption in the U.S. failed to take off. Store closures and virus fears limited interaction with demonstration models, tight consumer budgets further constrained spending power, and with scarce 5G network coverage in American suburbia, consumers saw plenty of reasons to buy a 4G device instead," Canalys Analyst Vincent Thielke said. "Despite the lackluster 5G roll-out so far, strong carrier marketing in coming quarters will be instrumental in catalyzing a multi-year transition period from LTE to 5G."

Canalys also noted the "perpetual state of uncertainty" hanging over smartphone vendors due to an escalation of tensions between the U.S. and China, but explained that this largely does not affect Samsung and LG.

"The worsening relationship has resulted in extreme instability that has global onlookers eagerly awaiting November's presidential election. This may guide the U.S.-China trade war into a new phase of détente – or reignite flare-ups," Thielke explained.

Apple and Samsung together account for seven out of every 10 devices sold. The average price of a smartphone in the U.S. dropped 10 percent compared to last year, down to $503. Canalys found that distributors are increasing orders for ultra-low-end Android smartphones from lesser-known brands, such as Unimax and Wiko. Google and other Android brands are increasing their exposure to the low-end and mid-range segments, and in addition to the success of ‌iPhone SE‌, it appears that the sub-$400 segment is poised to gain more prominence.

Tags: China, 5G, Canalys

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