Monday, March 23, 2020

More custom Chromebook keyboard layouts are coming in future devices


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Apple Slaps Up to 10% Price Increase on Built-to-Order Mac Configurations in Many Countries

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Sometime during all the launch hype of last week's new MacBook Air and iPad Pro, Apple quietly increased the prices of almost all Mac build-to-order options on its regional online stores outside the United States.


In Canada, Europe, Australia, and many parts of Asia, customers configuring any new ‌MacBook Air‌, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro or Mac mini now face paying approximately 10 percent more for each component upgrade than they did prior to last Wednesday.

In the U.K. for example, when customizing a base configuration 2.3GHz 8-Core 16-inch MacBook Pro, upgrading to a 2.4GHz processor costs £200, where previously it cost £180.

Likewise, jumping from 16GB to 32GB of RAM now costs £400 (previously £360), bumping the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M GPU from 4GB to 8GB costs £100 (previously £90), and upgrading from 1TB storage to 2TB costs £400 (formerly £360).

Altogether, the hikes add an extra £110 to the price tag of this built-to-order 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ – a combined total of £3,899 rather than £3,789.

16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ BTO prices – March 16 compared to March 23

Apple didn't change the standard prices of its Mac base configurations, which is probably why the changes initially went under the radar. However, two eagle-eyed readers from the U.K. got in touch with MacRumors after the total cost of their custom Mac configs, which had been languishing in their online Apple Store bags for a time, suddenly changed overnight.

It's not clear what provoked Apple to raise BTO Mac prices for consumers outside the U.S., although fluctuations in exchange rates, supply constraints, and labor shortages can't be ruled out. Either way, the fact remains that processor, RAM, graphics, and storage upgrades selected during checkout cost around 10 percent more than they did this time last week.

(Thanks, Andy and Glen!)
This article, "Apple Slaps Up to 10% Price Increase on Built-to-Order Mac Configurations in Many Countries" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Deals: Anker Kicks Off New Sale With $18 USB-C Wall Chargers, $14 Portable Chargers, and More

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Anker is back this week with a new set of discounts on Amazon, providing low prices on wall chargers, wireless chargers, and portable chargers. Sales start with Anker's PowerPort Wireless Charging Stand at $13.99, down from $21.99, which represents the only wireless charger that's being discounted this time around.

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.

Otherwise, there are quite a few USB wall chargers and high-capacity portable chargers to choose from in the new sale. Anker has a 6-port PowerPort USB wall charger for $21.99, down from $25.99, as well as a 2-port PowerPort wall charger that includes USB-C for $18.20, down from $21.94. For the wireless chargers, prices start at just $14.06 for 5,000 mAh and also include 13,000 mAh ($25.49); 20,000 mAh ($31.99); and more.

Wall Chargers


Wireless Charger


Portable Chargers


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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ZTE Axon 11 5G with Snapdragon 765G SoC, 64MP Quad Camera Setup Launched in China: Price, Features


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Honor Play 9A Confirmed to Launch in China on March 30: Here’re the Expected Specs and Features


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How to watch Disney+ on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac

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With Disney+ launching here's how you can watch Disney, Pixar, Marvel and loads of other Disney shows - including The Mandalorian on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac.

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Disney+ to Launch Across Europe This Week With Reduced Streaming Quality, Launch in France Delayed

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Disney's premium streaming service, Disney+, will launch across Europe on Tuesday with temporarily degraded video quality, according to Reuters. The measure aims to reduce the burden on the continent's data networks as millions of people switch to working from home.


In a company statement, Disney said it had agreed to a European Union request for streaming-video providers to "ensure the smooth functioning of the broadband infrastructure."
Anticipating higher consumer demand, the company is instituting measures to "lower our overall bandwidth utilization by at least 25 percent in all of the markets launching Disney+ on March 24th," said Kevin Mayer, head of Disney's Direct-to-consumer and International business.
In addition, the launch of Disney+ has been delayed in France by two weeks on request of the French government. Disney+ will now launch in the country the week of April 7.

Facebook yesterday also committed to downgrade video streaming quality across its social media platforms, including Instagram.

Last week, the European Union asked streaming services to consider temporary reductions in streaming quality due to the abnormally large number of people working from home and taking advantage of streaming services amid the viral outbreak. Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV+, and Amazon all responded to the call.

Currently, streaming content providers have only been asked to lower streaming quality in Europe, so the lower streaming rates do not affect the United States and other countries. The United States has not called on streaming content providers to implement data reduction measures.

It's not clear how long Disney plans to stream with reduced quality and whether tweaks will be made for a better compromise between quality and data usage. Netflix said that it will continue using the lower quality stream for the next 30 days.
This article, "Disney+ to Launch Across Europe This Week With Reduced Streaming Quality, Launch in France Delayed" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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