Air Wick's New Scented Oil Diffuser Can Be Controlled With Your iPhone

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Reckitt Benckiser recently introduced a new Bluetooth-enabled Air Wick scented oil diffuser that can be controlled with your iPhone.

A diffuser transforms essential oils into a light, fragrant mist to give your home a nice scent. Air Wick's cordless, battery-powered device uses pre-mixed oil refills, eliminating the need to add water separately.


The free Air Wick app for iOS and Android can be used to create scent schedules, adjust scent intensity, set refill reminders, purchase refills, and more. Apple's smart home platform HomeKit is not currently supported.

A starter pack with the diffuser, batteries, and one refill is available for $20 at Walmart, Target, and select other U.S. retailers.

App-enabled diffusers are nothing new, with many options available on Amazon, but Air Wick is a well-known brand and $20 is a decent price. For those who prefer HomeKit, read our review of the VOCOlinc FlowerBud.


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Deals: 13-Inch MacBook Pro Discounted By Up to $299, Starting at $1,049.99 for 128GB

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A new collection of 13-inch MacBook Pro sales have hit Amazon and Best Buy this week, offering lowest-ever prices in a few cases. You'll find up to $299 off 13-inch MacBook Pro models from mid 2019, including a variety of storage capacities and colors.

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

The sale starts at $1,049.99 for the 13-inch MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM and a 128GB SSD, and rises to $1,699.99 for the 512GB SSD MacBook Pro. In the list below we've highlighted Amazon's deals on the notebooks, but you'll also find matching prices at Best Buy.

13-Inch MacBook Pro Sale

• 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD - $1,049.99, down from $1,299.00 ($249 off, lowest ever) [Best Buy]


• 1.4GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD - $1,249.99, down from $1,499.00 ($249 off) [Best Buy]


• 2.4GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD - $1,499.99, down from $1,799.00 ($299 off, lowest ever) [Best Buy]


• 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD - $1,699.99, down from $1,999.00 ($299 off) [Best Buy]

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

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Deals: HomePod Returns to Lowest-Ever Price of $199.99 at Best Buy ($100 Off)

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Best Buy has returned the HomePod to its Black Friday price of $199.99 this morning. You can get the HomePod at this price in both White and Space Gray, saving you $100 off the regular $299 price tag.

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

This is the lowest price ever tracked for a brand new HomePod. We've tracked solid deals at retailers like OWC over the past few months, but as of yet we haven't seen the HomePod return to holiday discounts in 2020, until today.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more discounts on Apple products and related accessories.

Related Roundups: Apple Deals, HomePod

Buyer's Guide: HomePod (Neutral)

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Apple Implicated in New Report on Chinese Forced Labor

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A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank has named Apple among 83 other major companies benefiting from the use of potentially abusive labor transfer programs.



The Chinese government has allegedly transferred thousands of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities from Xinjiang to factories across the country, implicating global supply chains.

The report estimates that at least 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, some of whom were sent directly from "detention camps".

Transferred workers typically undergo organized Mandarin and ideological training outside working hours, are subject to constant surveillance and are forbidden from participating in religious observances. The Washington Post has corroborated the report's claims.

China has attracted international condemnation for its network of extrajudicial "re-education" internment camps in Xinjiang.

The report identifies four Chinese factories in Apple's supply chain which use Uyghur labor to make parts for Apple and its suppliers.

O-Film Technology Co., which supplied camera modules for iPhone 8 and iPhone X, and BOE Technology Group, a company set to become Apple's second-largest OLED screen supplier by 2021, both reportedly use Uyghur labor, either directly or through contractors. AirPods supplier GoerTek is also listed.

As many as 560 Xinjiang workers were transferred to factories in central Henan province, including to Foxconn Technology's Zhengzhou facility, which reportedly makes half of the world's iPhones.

Over the past decade, Foxconn has been marred by allegations of worker exploitation and even suicides, including recently at its Zhengzhou facility.

In 2019, Apple released a supplier responsibility progress report, stating that "we hold ourselves and our suppliers to the highest standards to ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect".

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: China, Foxconn

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How to clear the cache on iPhone & iPad

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Clearing the cache is a great way to give your iPhone (or iPad) a speed boost. Here's how to delete unwanted files and get your device running like a dream

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Apple Hikes Price of Several iPhone Models in India to Offset Increased Import Duties

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Apple has raised the price of some iPhone models in India, following an increase in import duties that were recently announced in the country's federal budget.


The iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 8 and ‌iPhone 8‌ Plus will all see price increases of 2 percent effective Monday to offset the cost of the import duties. The hikes are in light of an increase in the basic customs duty rate and the withdrawal of an earlier exemption from the Social Welfare Surcharge.

According to The Hindu's Business Line, smartphones had been exempted from the 10 per cent social welfare surcharge, but this will now be reimposed for imported handsets. In addition, Apple will also be required to pay 20 per cent basic customs duty for the devices.

The Indian government has also increased import duty on printed circuit board assemblies (PCBs) from 10 percent to 20 percent, while import duty on chargers has increased from 15 percent to 20 percent.

The iPhone XR and ‌iPhone‌ 7 have escaped price increases, presumably because they are being manufactured locally in India by Apple partners Wistron and Foxconn. The iPhone 11 appears to have also escaped the price hikes, although it's not clear why.

Last month it was reported that Wistron's new plant in India plans to begin assembling printed circuit boards (PCBs) for iPhones by April, which could see some ‌iPhone‌ prices drop again. A PCB serves as a bed for key ‌‌iPhone‌‌ components like processors, storage, and memory, and usually accounts for about half the cost of a smartphone.

Apple has been working for years to establish a presence in India. In a recent shareholder meeting, CEO Tim Cook confirmed the company's plans to open an online store in India in 2020 and a retail store in 2021.

In August 2019, India eased the rules that had kept Apple from offering its products in first-party stores and an online Apple Store. So far, Apple device sales in India have only been available through third-party retailers, because foreign investment rules and regulations didn't permit Apple to sell devices in the country.

Tag: India

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Facebook Messenger iOS Update Ditches Discover Tab and Promotes Stories

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Facebook's Messenger app for iOS has been updated with a redesign that aims to simplifying the app with a focus on stories and friends, while relegating chat bots and games.


In a bid to make the Messenger app smaller and faster, the latest update gets rid of the Discover tab, which was home to chat bots, businesses and games. These features have been hidden rather than removed, and can still be accessed through the Messenger search bar if users look for them.

Meanwhile, Facebook continues to push Stories (the social media feature it aped from Snapchat) by splitting the People tab into screens and opening by default in a new sub-tab of friends' Stories. As a result, you now need to tap the Active sub-tab to see which friends are online.

Elsewhere, the Instant Games and Transportation options have gone from the chat composer bar. The latter enabled users to hail Uber and Lyft rides from within the app.

According to TechCrunch, the changes are the result of Facebook reversing its strategy to make chat bots central to the Messenger app. Now it wants users to spend time chatting with friends and consuming content rather than playing games and exploring chat bots for shopping and businesses.

Overall, with its reorientation around simple end-to-end encrypted chat rather than promotion of chat bots and businesses, the changes bring Messenger closer to the WhatsApp experience. Facebook says the update is currently rolling out and should be fully deployed by the end of the week.

Tag: Facebook Messenger

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