If you’ve been having problems syncing data across your Apple devices, you’re not alone. Apple is reporting (via 9to5Mac) outages across several of its iCloud services, including backups, calendars, Find My, photos and even sign-ins. The company only noted on its status page that “some users” were affected, but the failures appear to have started around 9AM Eastern and were still ongoing as of 1PM.
We’ve asked Apple for comment. Other major services like Apple Music, FaceTime and Siri were still working properly as we wrote this.
The issue comes weeks after an outage that affected both iCloud and Apple’s media services. It also follows mere days after the debut of Apple One, where iCloud storage (also affected by the outage) plays an important role. The timing is less than ideal, to put it mildly, even if this is likely to be a small interruption in the grander scheme of things.
Update 11/1 5PM ET: The outages appear to have been resolved later in the afternoon.
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The beginning of this week brought a number of solid deals on headphones, tablets and other gadgets. And then Best Buy began its first early Black Friday sale and we saw a bunch of our favorite devices receive steep discounts. Best Buy’s sale lasts through November 1st and Amazon has matched a couple of the best prices. We gathered some of the highlights below, including others from the week including Apple’s AirPods Pro for $200 and Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet with extra storage for $230. Here are the best deals from this week that you can still get today.
AirPods Pro
AirPods Pro are back down to $200 at Amazon and Walmart. We’re starting to see this sale price more often now that we’re basically in the thick of the holiday shopping season. We gave the AirPods Pro a score of 87 for their improved fit, IPX4-rated design, good ANC and hands-free Siri capabilities.
The new Apple Watch SE is down to $259 at Amazon and Best Buy, which is the lowest price we’ve seen since the wearable debuted last month. It’s a good starter wearable if you’re new to smartwatches, or if you’re keen on an Apple Watch but don’t want to drop $400 or more on the new Series 6. We gave the SE a score of 88 for its solid performance, comfortable design and slew of features that comes with watchOS 7. The biggest thing you won’t get with this watch? An always-on display.
Our favorite pair of wireless ANC headphones is down to a new low. Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphones are $278 right now, which is $72 off their normal price. We gave these cans a score of 94 for improving upon the already stellar XM3s — the XM4s have great sound quality with even better noise-cancellation chops, multi-device connectivity and a feature that automatically pauses sound when you start speaking.
Lenovo’s surprisingly capable Chromebook Duet is down to $230 for the 128GB model, which is $70 off its normal price. This two-in-one Chromebook isn’t for everyone, but it’ll make a great daily driver for those that primarily work in a browser or those who just want a lightweight, versatile secondary device. We gave the Duet a score of 79 for its solid performance, good display and formidable battery life.
Jabra’s solid flagship wireless headphones, the Elite 85h, are down to $150 at Amazon and Best Buy. That’s $100 off their normal price and close to the lowest we’ve seen them. We gave these cans a score of 85 for their solid ANC quality, customizable EQ presets and insane battery life that will probably last you over a week (with multiple hours of use each day) on a single charge.
Jabra's Elite Active 75t earbuds are some of the best you can get if you’re an athlete or someone who exercises regularly. They’re compact, lightweight, compatible with a number of virtual assistants and long-lasting with at least 7.5 hours of battery life — and that’s before employing the extra juice in its carrying case. This sale drops them to $150, which is $50 off their normal price.
Bose’s excellent headphones, the QuietComfort 35 IIs, are discounted to $199, which is a new all-time low. These are the wireless version of the much-loved QuietComfort headphones and they provide quality sound and active noise-cancellation that’s up there with Sony.
Sony’s solid ZV-1 vlogging camera is $100 off, bringing it down to $700. We gave this camera a score of 88 for its compact design, fast autofocus, fully articulating screen and its solid build-in microphone. It’s a good option for those interesting in giving it a go as a YouTuber, or just those who want a step up from their smartphone’s camera.
Amazon knocked the price of the Beats Solo Pro headphones down to $170, which is $130 off their normal price and a new all-time low. If you prefer on-ear style headphones and want the convenience of Apple’s H1 chip, these are the pair for you. We gave them a score of 81 for their solid sound quality, good ANC and improved design.
This Google Assistant-powered smart clock is on sale for $35, which is an all-time low. We’ve often seen it drop to $40 in the past, but this is the best deal we’ve seen in months. We gave Lenovo’s Smart Clock a score of 87 for its minimalist design, sunrise alarm, smart home controls and extra privacy due to the lack of a built-in camera.
The high-end Roomba 960 normally costs $500 but you can get it for only $300 during this sale. It has all of the features you’d expect out of a robot vacuum including WiFi connectivity, a companion app and the ability to find its way back to its home base after a cleaning. This model also has dual rubber brushes, which will make it even better for homes with pets.
Logitech’s UE Megaboom 3 portable speaker is on sale for $100, which is 50 percent off its normal price. This IP67-rated speaker can withstand a dunk in the pool and it has solid sound quality with a pretty punchy bass. We also like the convenience of its “magic button,” which lets you play, pause and skip audio with just a couple of presses.
AeroGarden devices are great if you’ve wanted to try your hand at gardening but don’t have the outdoor space to make it happen. The Slim is one of our favorites not only because it’s compact enough to fit on a countertop (and not totally overwhelm it) but it also lets you grow up to six plants indoors — regardless of the time of year. We’ve seen the Slim drop to $130 before, but this $100 sale is one of the best we’ve seen in a couple months.
Two of Vizio’s top 4K TVs are discounted by hundreds at Best Buy. The 65-inch P-Series Quantum smart set is down to $999 (roughly $200 off its normal price) while the 65-inch OLED smart TV is $500 off, bringing it down to $1,499. Both sets support Dolby Vision, HDR and voice controls via Alexa, Siri and the Google Assistant — and they both have 120Hz refresh rates. Also, Vizio’s latest Elevate soundbar (it was just came out a few days ago) is already $300 off, dropping it to $699.
Eufy’s smart baby monitor with two cameras is down to $200, which is $40 off its normal price. The pack with just one camera is also on sale for $120. This device is a bit smarter than the baby monitors you’re probably used to, featuring a 5-inch 720p screen with which you can watch your kids from anywhere in your home. The camera can pan 330 degrees to give you a full view of the nursery, and since this pack has two cameras, you can get double the visibility in one room or put one in a separate play room or your living room.
If you’re looking for a USB-C charger for all of your devices, this one from Aukey should fit the bill. With 60W of power, it can charge laptops like Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro at top speed, and its gallium nitride technology means it’ll stay much cooler than other adapters. To get the sale price, clip the 20 percent coupon on the product screen and, just below that, there’s an addition 25-percent off offer that you can redeem as well (or you can use the code ZIPXB4W4 at checkout).
A new iPhone must be viewed through the lens of your current handset – how you see the iPhone 12 is quite different if you’re holding, say, an 11 Pro compared to how you see it compared to something like the XR or even older. And if you have an Android, Apple’s phones may be a preview of what’s to come in 2021.
The new vanilla model represents a fairly major upgrade over its predecessors, the iPhone 11 and XR. The first thing you’ll see is the OLED display – it’s the same size (6.1”), but is sharper, supports HDR10 and has that excellent contrast native to OLED panels.
There’s also 5G connectivity (including mmWave in the US), so your phone is future-proof. We know that coverage is spotty or even non-existent in some regions, but Apple provides 5 years of major iOS updates and the coverage map will look quite different in 2025.
MagSafe is another way the new model is future-proof. With new accessories from Apple and others already unveiled, the future of iPhone’s add-on ecosystem seems strongly tied with the magnetic wireless charging system. If nothing else, it’s faster than Qi (15W vs. 7.5W) and enables new use cases (e.g. Belkin’s in-car mount).
This is a good time to segue into the topic of in-box accessories. Or should we say “accessory” as you’re only really getting a USB cable (the SIM ejector doesn’t really count). It’s a USB-C to Lighting cable, meaning you finally get a cable that can connect your iPhone and your MacBook. Also, a cable that can’t be plugged into your old chargers without an adapter (which you have to buy separately).
And since we’re talking about money, the iPhone 12 is more expensive than before. The mini took over the iPhone 11 price point, the vanilla model now starts at $800.
While you can use the charger and cable from your old iPhone, you can upgrade your charging speed to 20W by spending just $20 for the new USB-C charger. A MagSafe charger is $40 and requires a USB-C charger, anyway. Reasonable prices, but they do add up, especially considering that you’re starting $100 higher in the first place.
We did buy a MagSafe charger, as you can see, so we will be testing the charging speed. Actually, we received our iPhone 12 last Friday so we’ve already begun the testing procedures and will have results to share with you soon.
Moving on from the accessory situation, even that $100 price bump isn’t enough to get 128 GB, base storage is still 64 GB. And telephoto cameras remain exclusive to the flagship models.
But this year the hardware gap between the vanilla and small Pro models seems smaller than it did last year. The price gap is smaller too as the vanilla got pricier, but $200 is not easy to overlook. We also have an iPhone 12 Pro on the way, so we will be able to compare them head to head.
Apple made much ado over the iPhone 12’s more resilient Ceramic Shield screen, but does it really help? The answer is apparently yes, although you probably won’t want to depend on it too heavily. Allstate Protection Plans has conducted drop tests that show the iPhone 12 family’s improved display surface helped it withstand a six-foot drop to the sidewalk “significantly” better than the iPhone 11 and Galaxy S20 lineups, but with some visible damage. The standard iPhone 12 was relatively safe with small cracks and scuffs at the edges, while the slightly heavier 12 Pro had a crack down its lower half.
The flatter design might also help both devices if they land back-first, Allstate said. The base iPhone 12’s rear glass was “virtually unscathed” during the sidewalk test. The 12 Pro’s glass shattered (including for the wide-angle camera), unfortunately, but it was “not catastrophic.”
A drop on the side produced scuffs and sharp edges for both iPhones, but nothing else.
This is a not-so-subtle bid to drive Allstate’s phone protection plan sales. However, it also shows that Apple’s mix of glass and nano-sized ceramic crystals only goes so far. It might save you from rushing to repair your phone the same day, but it won’t keep your phone looking pristine after a tumble.
