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Woot this week has a massive sale on Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop bands for Apple Watch, with as much as 70 percent off these accessories.



You can get the Solo Loop for just $14.99 ($34 off) and the Braided Solo Loop for $29.99 ($69 off). All bands in this sale are in brand new condition and come with a one-year Apple limited warranty, and they will all be compatible with the new Apple Watch Series 11.



Shoppers should note that this sale is focused on colors of the Braided Solo Loop and Solo Loop that Apple has stopped selling, and it doesn't include any of the new band colors. That being said, all of the bands in this sale are in new condition.

The entire sale is focused on Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop Apple Watch bands, so you'll need to know the size that works best for you before you buy. Apple has a measurement tool on its website that you can use to determine your exact size.

Solo Loop

• Black/White Hues - $14.99, down from $49.00


• Blue Hues - $14.99, down from $49.00


• Green Hues - $14.99, down from $49.00


• Purple Hues - $14.99, down from $49.00


• Red/Orange/Yellow Hues - $14.99, down from $49.00

Braided Solo Loop

• Black/White Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00


• Blue Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00


• Green Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00


• Purple Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00


• Red/Orange/Yellow Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00


• Pride - $29.99, down from $99.00

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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This article, "Woot's Apple Watch Band Sale Has Solo/Braided Loops at Massive Discounts" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple TV debuted the new comedy The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin last year to critical praise, and a quick season 2 renewal. Reporting later indicated, however, that the new season had been canceled. Yet Apple just released a surprise new episode of Dick Turpin with no official announcement.

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The iPhone 18 is already driving major shifts deep in the semiconductor supply chain, as Samsung Electronics expands production of image sensors, prompting one of its key testing partners to invest over $120 million in new equipment, The Elec reports.


Doosan Tesna, a South Korean post-process semiconductor testing company, this week announced that it will spend $123 million on test systems from Japan's Advantest, Samsung subsidiary Semes, and Japan Interaction. The investment is equal to 21.77% of the company's total assets, and will be completed in stages between 2026 and March 2027.

The purchase is believed to be directly related to Samsung's new image sensor production line in Austin, Texas, which is expected to supply components for the ‌iPhone 18‌ in 2027. Samsung's return to Apple's camera image sensor supply chain marks its first in roughly a decade and could alter the long-standing dominance of Sony, which has provided nearly all iPhone sensors to date. Apple reportedly sought to diversify suppliers after delays in Sony's deliveries between 2023 and 2024.

Doosan Tesna specializes in electrical testing of wafers after fabrication, a process that identifies defective chips before packaging and improves manufacturing yield. More than 90% of its revenue comes from Samsung's Foundry and System LSI divisions.

Doosan Tesna's decision to diversify away from Teradyne equipment toward Advantest is also notable. Advantest systems are widely used for high-performance chips such as GPUs, memory, and AI processors, suggesting Samsung's new sensors for Apple may demand more advanced verification processes.

Samsung's production line in Austin is a key element in Apple's effort to reduce reliance on Japanese suppliers and to expand production within the United States. If Samsung's sensors meet Apple's performance and reliability standards, the move could make it the company's second major image sensor supplier.

Doosan Tesna's major financial commitment represents over one-fifth of its total assets, reflecting how preparations for Apple's future iPhones are already reshaping global semiconductor investment over a year before production begins.
This article, "Suppliers Already Preparing for iPhone 18's Camera" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple just unleashed the all-new M5 MacBook Pro and iPad Pro, but we are taking a short break to scope out today’s best 9to5Toys Lunch Break deals. Amazon has now brought back Prime Day pricing on AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation at $119 shipped – matching the lowest price we have tracked. We also have 1TB iPhone 16 Pro at $400 less than 17 Pro today, a solid $50 price drop on the titanium Apple Watch Series 11 as well as the return of Prime Day pricing on the 4-pack of Apple AirTags ($16 each). All of that and more awaits after the jump. 

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Are you a Vision Pro early adopter looking to upgrade to the new M5 model? While trade-in is a common option for other Apple products, the company unfortunately doesn’t offer trade-in when buying its new Vision Pro.

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Unlike other Apple devices, the original Vision Pro with the M2 chip is not available for trade-in.


The original Vision Pro with the ‌M2‌ chip launched in February 2024 and was discontinued upon the announcement of a new version with the M5 chip earlier today. Most high-end Apple devices, such as the Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and Mac, become available for trade-in upon the release of a new model, allowing users to fund the purchase of the latest device while getting rid of their old one.

The absence of the Vision Pro from Apple's trade-in program is therefore peculiar, but likely reflects an unwillingness on the behalf of trade-in partners to accept it for now. Users of the original Vision Pro who want to upgrade to the new M5 version will need to sell their old device independently.
This article, "Discontinued M2 Vision Pro Not Available for Trade-In" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Following the rollout of one-on-one direct messages on Threads last July, Meta is now adding support for group DMs and expanding the messaging feature (including groups) to users in the EU. Here’s how it works.

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When Apple releases iPadOS 26.1 soon, iPad users will have access to the Apple Vision Pro app for the first time.

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In recent years, Apple has stopped including power adapters with products for environmental reasons. iPads and MacBooks still include power adapters in the US, but not with certain models in the EU and UK.

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Apple today started selling new accessories for its Vision Pro headset, including the Logitech Muse and Dual Knit Band, with more on the way.


The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the ‌Vision Pro‌. It was announced at WWDC earlier this year. The Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of freedom (6DoF) tracking, pressure-sensitive tips, and real-time haptic feedback to allow users to interact with digital environments through precise input and tactile realism.

Logitech Muse is a spatial accessory designed to enhance the way you work, create, and collaborate with Apple Vision Pro. Muse combines a familiar form factor with advanced technology, offering a precise, immersive workflow in both productivity and creativity apps.

Seamless motion tracking in six degrees of freedom with intuitive controls allows you to draw, annotate, and interact naturally in space. Real-time haptic responses add textural realism to create a truly engaging experience. A pressure-sensitive tip and force-sensing button allow you to vary line thickness whether drawing on a surface or in the air.

According to Logitech, Muse is intended for use across a wide range of spatial computing applications, including 3D design, collaborative workspaces, and immersive visualization tools. The device features both physical buttons and gesture controls. The Logitech Muse costs $129.95 and is now available from Apple.


Apple's new Dual Knit Band for the Vision Pro is also now available for $99. It comes with the new Vision Pro with the M5 chip, but is available separately and compatible with the M2 Vision Pro.

Designed for Apple Vision Pro, the Dual Knit Band provides lasting comfort and stability — with soft, breathable upper and lower straps and a counterbalanced design. Its dual-function Fit Dial makes it easy to adjust each strap independently for a personalized fit. The Dual Knit Band attaches to the Audio Straps with a simple and secure mechanism, and release tabs allow you to quickly detach it when needed.

In addition, Apple today confirmed that the PlayStation VR2 Sense controller and Controller Charging Station will be available for $249.95 from the Apple Store online in the U.S. beginning Tuesday, November 11.
This article, "Two New Accessories for Vision Pro Now Available, With More Coming" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store.


In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out.

Apple has gradually stopped including chargers with many products over the years — a decision it has attributed to its environmental goals. In addition, the European Union has implemented new regulations related to electronic waste.

Apple still includes a USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable in the box with the 14-inch MacBook Pro in Europe, so you only need to supply a charger if you need one.

In the U.K., the 70W USB-C Power Adapter costs £59.
This article, "New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Vision Pro is officially being upgraded from the M2 to the new M5, but existing customers don’t need an all-new Vision Pro to enhance the experience. Apple has shared release details for two previously announced accessories. Apple’s new Dual Knit Band that comes with the M5 Apple Vision Pro is also available to purchase separately.

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Apple today released a new version of the Magic Keyboard for iPad Air in black.


Previously, the Magic Keyboard for ‌iPad Air‌ was only available in white. It is based on the older Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro and ‌iPad Air‌, which was available in both black and white, and was replaced by a redesigned version with a aluminum top case, backlighting, and a trackpad with haptic feedback last year.

The Magic Keyboard for ‌iPad Air‌ continues to be priced at $269 for the 11-inch version and $319 for the 13-inch version.
This article, "Apple Releases Black Version of Magic Keyboard for iPad Air" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Today Apple launched its new M5 iPad Pro, which is available for pre-order now and ships next Wednesday, October 22. And just like last year’s M4 model, certain models have varying hardware specs you’ll want to be aware of.

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Amid the new M5 chip goodness, Apple quietly refreshed its Magic Keyboard accessory for iPad Air with a new look.

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Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips.


The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new ‌iPad Pro‌ to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing engine. A faster 16-core Neural Engine also delivers more energy-efficient performance. Apple says that performance gains and breakthrough improvements over iPads with the M1 chip are "staggering".

In addition to the M5 chip, the cellular versions of the new ‌iPad Pro‌ feature Apple's custom-designed C1X modem, which allows up to 50% faster cellular data performance than its predecessor, with much greater efficiency.


It also features the N1 chip, a new Apple-designed wireless networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. Apple says the N1 brings better performance when connected to 5GHz networks, and improves the overall performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.

The new ‌iPad Pro‌ features over 150GB/s of unified memory bandwidth, which is almost a 30% increase compared to the previous generation. It also offers up to 2x faster storage read and write speeds, and the 256GB and 512GB models start with 12GB of unified memory.

The new ‌iPad Pro‌ adds the ability to drive external displays at up to 120Hz and now supports Adaptive Sync, which provides the lowest possible latency in external display performance.

Fast charging is now supported, allowing the new ‌iPad Pro‌ to charge up to 50% in around 30 minutes with a 40W adapter or higher.

The new ‌iPad Pro‌ is available to pre-order starting today, and will be available in stores on Wednesday, October 22.
This article, "Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band.


The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine. Apple no longer lists how much RAM is in the Vision Pro, but it likely still has 16GB, given that is the maximum amount of RAM included in the new iPad Pro with the M5 chip.

With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared to the previous model with the M2 chip. Apple has not provided any overall performance figures, but its website says the Vision Pro now offers up to three hours of video playback per charge, compared to up to 2.5 hours for the previous model.

Apple says the M5 chip also enables the rendering of 10% more pixels on the displays compared to the previous model, which allows for sharper images and crisper text. And the Vision Pro can now ramp up to a 120Hz refresh rate, up from 100Hz.

With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro gains hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading, for improved graphics rendering. These capabilities were first introduced with the M3 chip, but the previous Vision Pro only had an M2 chip.

Apple says an enhanced 16-core Neural Engine makes Apple Intelligence and other AI-powered features run up to 50% faster, compared to the previous model.

The updated Vision Pro still has an R1 chip for input processing. The headset continues to support Wi-Fi 6, rather than Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.3.

There are no design changes or new color options, such as the rumored Space Black. There is still a tethered battery pack, rather than a built-in battery.


The updated Vision Pro comes with the Dual Knit Band, a Light Seal, two Light Seal Cushions, a cover for the front of the device, a polishing cloth, a battery, a USB-C charging cable, and Apple's new 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max.

The previous Vision Pro came with Apple's discontinued 30W USB-C Power Adapter.

The new Dual Knit Band comes in small, medium, and large sizes. It is available to purchase separately for $99, and it is compatible with the previous-generation Vision Pro. You can find your preferred size by using the Apple Store app on the iPhone.


Apple says the Dual Knit Band features two straps knitted into a single piece. The upper strap goes across the top of the head, and the lower strap goes across the back of the head. The lower strap has tungsten inserts that provide a counterweight for additional comfort, balance, and stability. You can adjust the fit of both of the straps with the Fit Dial.

Another new accessory is the Logitech Muse spatial stylus, and Apple will begin selling the PlayStation VR2 Sense controller starting Tuesday, November 11.

The updated Vision Pro is available to pre-order starting today, and it will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Wednesday, October 22.

In the U.S., the Vision Pro continues to start at $3,499, and it can be configured with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. The new model is also available in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the U.K., and the United Arab Emirates. Availability in South Korea and Taiwan will begin at a later date, according to Apple.

You can demo the new Vision Pro at an Apple Store starting October 22.

With the iPadOS 26.1 update, set to be released later this year, Apple says the Vision Pro app is expanding to iPad. It was previously on the iPhone only.
This article, "Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Today Apple unveiled its M5 chip alongside a trio of new M5-equipped products: the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and Vision Pro. Here are the details.

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Alongside the new iPad Pro and MacBook Pro with the M5 Apple silicon, Apple announced today a revised Apple Vision Pro, which also features the new M5 chip, as well as the anticipated Dual Knit Band. Here are the details.

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Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models.


In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB.

Like the M4 chip, Apple's next-generation M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine, but it is faster. Apple only offers specific performance claims, including that the M5 chip offers up to 20% faster performance for tasks such as "code compiling," and up to 1.6× faster graphics performance "in pro apps."

Memory bandwidth has increased from 120GB/s to 153GB/s.

There are no major design changes, with the base 14-inch MacBook Pro still having a Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1,000 nits (SDR) and up to 1,600 nits (HDR) of brightness, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, a headphone jack, a MagSafe 3 magnetic charging port, and a backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID.


The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip is available to pre-order starting today, and it will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Wednesday, October 22. In the U.S., pricing starts at $1,599, for a configuration with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. Available finishes include Silver and Space Black.

Apple says the 14-inch MacBook Pro continues to offer up to 24 hours of battery life, and it remains limited to Wi-Fi 6E, rather than Wi-Fi 7.

The new 14-inch MacBook Pro comes with a 70W USB-C Power Adapter, except in Europe.

Today's announcement does not include higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which are expected to launch in early 2026.
This article, "Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today refreshed the iPad Pro with an M5 chip, offering the next generation of Apple Silicon performance in its thinnest tablet form factor. The cellular models are also now powered by the Apple C1X modem.

Apple says the new iPad Pro with M5 delivers up to 3.5x the AI performance than is predecessor, thanks to the new Neural Accelerators in each GPU core. The new iPad Pro lineup is available to order starting today, with first deliveries shipping on October 22.

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Apple has officially announced the new 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip. The company touts that this delivers the “next big leap in AI for the Mac,” with up to 3.5x faster AI performance than M4.

Here’s everything you need to know…

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Apple today announced the M5 chip, its next-generation chip for the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro.


From Apple's press release:

Built using third-generation 3-nanometer technology, M5 introduces a next-generation 10-core GPU architecture with a Neural Accelerator in each core, enabling GPU-based AI workloads to run dramatically faster. The GPU also offers enhanced graphics capabilities and third-generation ray tracing that combined deliver a graphics performance that is up to 45 percent higher than M4. M5 features the world's fastest performance core, with up to a 10-core CPU made up of six efficiency cores and up to four performance cores. Together, they deliver up to 15 percent faster multithreaded performance over M4. M5 also features an improved 16-core Neural Engine, a powerful media engine, and a nearly 30 percent increase in unified memory bandwidth to 153GB/s.

The M5's next-generation GPU architecture is optimized for AI tasks. Each of its 10 cores features a dedicated Neural Accelerator, delivering over 4x peak GPU compute compared to the M4. The M5 also includes a third-generation ray-tracing engine, providing up to a 45% graphics uplift in apps using ray tracing.

Apple says the next-generation GPU, enhanced shader cores, second-generation dynamic caching, and third-generation ray-tracing engine on the M5 bring more realistic visuals, faster rendering times, and smoother performance. The faster 16-core Neural Engine also delivers more powerful AI performance with greater energy efficiency.

The M5 chip unified memory bandwidth of 153GB/s, providing a nearly 30% increase over the M4, offering higher multithreaded performance in apps, faster graphics performance, and faster AI performance running models on the Neural Accelerators in the GPU or the Neural Engine. It supports up to 32GB of unified memory.

The new ‌MacBook Pro‌, ‌iPad Pro‌, and Vision Pro with the M5 chip are available to pre-order today.
This article, "Apple Unveils M5 Chip With Next-Generation GPU" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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