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Apple iPhone is not a monopoly – and you really don’t want the US Government to win

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Apple‘s iPhone business is not a monopoly. It’s not even close to one, and it’s almost comical that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is trying to build a shaky case around how Apple manages its software and third-party product integration.

First, there’s the obvious argument: iPhone has just 57% of the US market share (though I’ve also seen numbers closer to 70%), and globally, it has roughly 20%. You don’t need to be a math major to know that, by any measure, those are not “monopoly” numbers.

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Why the Apple antitrust case is weak

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The Department of Justice’s monumental Apple antitrust case appears weak.

Still, the civil lawsuit, filed Thursday, represents the biggest legal challenge to Apple’s power in the company’s 47-year history. If successful, the lawsuit could force Apple to fundamentally change the way it makes products and conducts business. A similar action against Microsoft in the 1990s significantly curtailed that company’s reach and power.

But the DOJ’s lawsuit against Apple appears to be based on old and outdated information, and Apple has already — or is about to — address most of the major concerns.

Why the Apple antitrust case is weak

In the United States, most antitrust lawsuits stem from the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act, enacted in the Gilded Age, when railroad robber barons and predatory oil and electricity giants dominated the American economy. Since then, antitrust lawsuits have remade entire industries, as with the breakup of the Bell telephone monopoly in the early 1980s.

In the tech sector, giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Intel have all been targeted for antitrust action, often resulting in big changes to how they do business. Most famously, Microsoft had its wings clipped after the DOJ sued the company for abusing its monopoly power in operating systems to stifle the emerging market for web browsers. The company suffered a couple of decades of diminished power until recently recovering its mojo under CEO Satya Nadella.

Apple mostly skirted antitrust action until recently, as its growing power and dominance of the smartphone sector attracted attention from regulators. In recent years, Apple has faced lawsuits from lawmakers in Europe, Korea and now the United States.

The DOJ’s case against Apple hinges on five major areas where Apple is accused of blocking competition:

  • Messaging apps.
  • Digital wallets.
  • Cloud streaming apps.
  • So-called “super apps.”
  • Smartwatches.

The DOJ alleges that Apple illegally stifles competition in these areas, allowing it to maintain an illegal smartphone monopoly that harms consumers.

The department launched its investigation in 2019 under the Trump administration, as Apple grew into one of the biggest companies in the world. A big antitrust lawsuit against Apple has been anticipated for years.

In anticipation, Apple already took steps to address three out of five of the main issues in the DOJ’s lawsuit. And the two remaining — smartwatches and super apps — remain contentious.

Messaging apps

The DOJ accuses Apple of harming consumers by “undermining” messaging apps, either with iMessage’s infamous green bubbles on Android or by delivering degraded audio and video in third-party messaging apps.

“Apple makes third-party messaging apps on the iPhone worse generally and relative to Apple Messages, Apple’s own messaging app, by prohibiting third-party apps from sending or receiving carrier-based messages,” the lawsuit alleges. “By doing so, Apple is knowingly and deliberately degrading quality, privacy, and security for its users and others who do not have iPhones.”

This paragraph refers to Android users in group messaging chats getting scaled-down images and video. But this is a limitation of SMS and MMS, which makes it a carrier problem, not Apple’s. (Apple’s Messages app uses those protocols instead of iMessage when sending messages to non-Apple devices.)

In addition, there’s no shortage of competition among messaging apps. There are dozens of third-party messaging apps available on iPhone, from FaceBook messages to WhatsApp, the most popular messaging service in the world. These apps can be freely installed without restriction, and have access to key iPhone features like notifications.

With regard to Apple’s own messaging service, Messages, it’s true that Apple uses green bubbles for messages from non Apple-devices, a source of shame and embarrassment for some users. However, Apple already committed to adding the Rich Communications Services, the messaging protocol used on Android devices, to its Messages app in the next big update of iOS 18, due later this year.

It’s not clear whether Apple’s support for RCS will kill off the notorious green bubbles. But the company’s support of RCS is clearly spurred by regulatory scrutiny, so Apple will likely address it in some way. Plus, adding RCS should improve images and videos sent between iPhone and Android devices, making the DOJ’s accusations moot.

Digital wallets

The DOJ’s antitrust case also accuses Apple of limiting third-party digital wallets’ access to the iPhone’s near-field NFC chip, which cripples third-party tap-to-pay services.

It’s true that when Apple launched contactless payments in 2014 with iOS 8.1, the feature was initially restricted to Apple’s own Wallet app. Apple allowed other financial institutions to offer contactless payments, but only through its app.

However, two years ago, in June 2022, Apple opened up the iPhone’s NFC with Tap to Pay. The feature is being used by several financial companies, including PayPal, Chase Bank, Square, Stripe and Mastercard.

It’s unclear why the DOJ would accuse Apple of abusing this feature when the company opened it up two years ago.

Attorney General Merrick Garland at. press conference announcing a major antitrust lawsuit against Apple for monopolizing smartphone markets.
Attorney General Merrick Garland at. press conference announcing a major antitrust lawsuit against Apple for monopolizing smartphone markets.
Photo: Department of Justice

Cloud streaming apps for gaming

The same holds true for cloud streaming apps. The DOJ accuses Apple of stifling the gaming market by forbidding cloud streaming game apps, which allegedly harms consumers by forcing them to buy expensive gaming hardware instead of streaming games to their iPhones.

“Cloud streaming games … can improve smartphone competition by decreasing the importance of expensive hardware for accomplishing high compute tasks on a smartphone,” the lawsuit says. “Suppressing cloud streaming games harms users by denying them the ability to play high-compute games, and it harms developers by preventing them from selling such games to users.”

Apple initially forbade game streaming services in the App Store. But in 2020, as game streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming, Facebook Gaming and GeForce Now took off, Apple relaxed its App Store rules to allow them. Apple simply insisted that developers submit games individually, rather than as a hub that could stream multiple titles.

But Apple changed even that policy earlier this year — again, likely because of regulatory scrutiny — to allow game streaming services to run through a single app “with the capability to stream all of the games offered in their catalog.”

Again, the DOJ’s complaint stems from previously restrictive practices that Apple has since loosened up.

Smartwatches

The DOJ also alleges Apple limits the functionality of third-party smartwatches on iPhone. That makes Apple Watch more attractive to iPhone owners. And once they buy an Apple Watch, they become less likely to switch away from Apple’s platform.

“Apple uses smartwatches, a costly accessory, to prevent iPhone customers from choosing other phones,” the suit alleges. “Apple’s smartwatch — Apple Watch — is only compatible with the iPhone. So, if Apple can steer a user towards buying an Apple Watch, it becomes more costly for that user to purchase a different kind of smartphone because doing so requires the user to abandon their costly Apple Watch and purchase a new, Android-compatible smartwatch.”

The DOJ is right that Apple Watch requires an iPhone. Apple Watch is basically an iPhone accessory. You need an iPhone to set up your Apple Watch and use it. Anybody who buys an iPhone knows this, or quickly finds out.

If you willingly buy an accessory for any other item, like a lawnmower or car, must you be able to use it with a competing brand? Plus, the DoJ’s argument that Apple Watch users would switch to Android if they were compatible is dubious at best.

Cross-platform ‘super apps’

The DOJ alleges that Apple limits so-called super apps, which are all-encompassing apps (like China’s WeChat) that offer multiple services in a single app, like calls, messaging, payments, shopping and social media.

The DOJ argues that super apps are good for consumers because users get everything they want under one roof. Plus, they’re good for developers, who don’t need to create separate apps for iOS or Android. Everything runs inside a cross-platform super app.

This is a threat to Apple, the DOJ says, because super apps lower switching costs. The DOJ cites an Apple boardroom presentation where super apps were described as a threat.

“Apple recognizes that super apps with mini programs would threaten its monopoly,” the suit says. “As one Apple manager put it, allowing super apps to become ‘the main gateway where people play games, book a car, make payments, etc.’ would ‘let the barbarians in at the gate.’”

But once again, Apple is relaxing its rules about super apps. In January, Apple said it would start allowing mini-apps and games in super apps, although it will impose some restrictions, such as not allowing mini-apps to use Apple’s in-app purchase system.

DOJ’s weak antitrust lawsuit targets Apple’s past behavior

Apple already appears to be obviating many of the DOJ’s complaints by relaxing rules regarding contactless payments, streaming game services and super apps. Some of these changes, like RCS, have yet to be implemented, but Apple appears to be trying to head off the DOJ at the pass.

Whether Apple’s concessions will satisfy the DOJ remains to be seen — and likely will be litigated in court, possibly for years to come. But on the face of it, the DOJ’s lawsuit seems weak because it’s based on Apple’s past behavior, not the current reality.



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Apple Silicon Vulnerability Allows Hackers to Extract Encryption Keys

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An unpatchable vulnerability has been discovered in Apple’s M-series chips that allows attackers to extract secret encryption keys from Macs under certain conditions, according to a newly published academic research paper.

m1 vs m2 air feature toned down
Named “GoFetch,” the type of cyber attack described involves Data Memory-Dependent Prefetchers (DMPs), which try to predict what data the computer will need next and retrieve it in advance. This is meant to make processing faster, but it can unintentionally reveal information about what the computer is doing.

The paper finds that DMPs, especially the ones in Apple’s processors, pose a significant threat to the security provided by constant-time programming models, which are used to write programs so that they take the same amount of time to run, no matter what data they’re dealing with.

The constant-time programming model is meant to protect against side-channel attacks, or types of attacks where someone can gain sensitive information from a computer system without directly accessing it (by observing certain patterns, for example). The idea is that if all operations take the same amount of time, there’s less for an attacker to observe and exploit.

However, the paper finds that DMPs, particularly in Apple silicon, can leak information even if the program is designed not to reveal any patterns in how it accesses memory. The new research finds that the DMPs can sometimes confuse memory content, which causes it to treat the data as an address to perform memory access, which goes against the constant-time model.

The authors present GoFetch as a new type of attack that can exploit this vulnerability in DMPs to extract encryption keys from secure software. The attack works against some popular encryption algorithms that are thought to be resistant to side-channel attacks, including both traditional (e.g. OpenSSL Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange, Go RSA decryption) and post-quantum (e.g. CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium) cryptographic methods.

In an email to ArsTechnica, the authors explained:

Prefetchers usually look at addresses of accessed data (ignoring values of accessed data) and try to guess future addresses that might be useful. The DMP is different in this sense as in addition to addresses it also uses the data values in order to make predictions (predict addresses to go to and prefetch). In particular, if a data value “looks like” a pointer, it will be treated as an “address” (where in fact it’s actually not!) and the data from this “address” will be brought to the cache. The arrival of this address into the cache is visible, leaking over cache side channels.

Our attack exploits this fact. We cannot leak encryption keys directly, but what we can do is manipulate intermediate data inside the encryption algorithm to look like a pointer via a chosen input attack. The DMP then sees that the data value “looks like” an address, and brings the data from this “address” into the cache, which leaks the “address.” We don’t care about the data value being prefetched, but the fact that the intermediate data looked like an address is visible via a cache channel and is sufficient to reveal the secret key over time.

In summary, the paper shows that the DMP feature in Apple silicon CPUs could be used to bypass security measures in cryptography software that were thought to protect against such leaks, potentially allowing attackers to access sensitive information, such as a 2048-bit RSA key, in some cases in less than an hour.

According to the authors, the flaw in Apple’s chips cannot be patched directly. Instead, the attack vector can only be reduced by building defenses into third-party cryptographic software that could result in an extreme performance degradation when executing the cryptographic operations, particularly on the earlier M1 and M2 chips. The DMP on the M3, Apple’s latest chip, has a special bit that developers can invoke to disable it, but the researchers aren’t yet sure what kind of penalty will occur when this performance optimization is turned off.

As ArsTechnica notes, this isn’t the first time researchers have identified threats in Apple DMPs. Research documented in 2022 discovered one such threat in both the ‌M1‌ and Apple’s A14 Bionic chip for iPhones, which resulted in the “Augury” attack. However, this attack was ultimately unable to extract the sensitive data when constant-time practices were used.

“GoFetch shows that the DMP is significantly more aggressive than previously thought and thus poses a much greater security risk,” the researchers claim on their website. “Specifically, we find that any value loaded from memory is a candidate for being dereferenced (literally!). This allows us to sidestep many of Augury’s limitations and demonstrate end-to-end attacks on real constant-time code.”

Users concerned about the vulnerability are advised to check for GoFetch mitigation updates that become available in future macOS updates for any of the encryption protocols known to be vulnerable. Apple representatives declined to comment on the record when ArsTechnica asked about the research.

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Justice Department files antitrust lawsuit against Apple

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The Department of Justice and more than a dozen states have filed a lawsuit against Apple in the US federal court, accusing the company of violating antitrust laws. It says Apple’s hardware and software products are largely inaccessible to competitors, making it difficult for rivals to compete and for customers to switch to other companies’ products.

The lawsuit comes after the European Commission fined Apple €1.8 billion ($1.95 billion) for stopping music-streaming developers from “informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available” outside the App Store. And all this while US lawmakers chase another tech company, TikTok, with a lot of enthusiasm.

The DOJ suggests Apple used its control over iOS to block innovative apps and cloud streaming services from the public. (Look at cloud gaming services, like Google’s now-gone Stadia and Microsoft’s xCloud). The suit also suggests Apple has obstructed rival payment platforms, made it harder for Android messages to appear on iPhones and restricted how competing smartphones integrated with iOS devices.

You could compare Apple’s antitrust suit to Microsoft’s antitrust suit brought against Windows in the late ’90s — even Attorney General Merrick Garland noted those in the suit. But Microsoft truly dominated PC software back then, with over 90 percent of all PCs running some flavor of Windows.

The DOJ says Apple claims 70 percent of all smartphones, which is already less. Step outside the US, which is a bit academic here, and Apple has the same market share as Samsung, with many other phone makers jostling for a percentage point or two. It’s not quite the same grip as Microsoft had on PCs.

— Mat Smith

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Microsoft

Two devices conspicuously missing from Microsoft’s Surface and AI event last fall are finally here — and they’re what we expected and a bit surprising. Today, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, sporting the same designs as the previous models but now with the AI smarts of Intel’s new Core Ultra CPU. Alas, both have the foreboding words “for business” attached to their names, so you’ll only be able to buy them from Microsoft’s website or commercial resellers. But why? We don’t really know.

Continue reading.

It’s in partnership with Alphabet’s Wing.

DoorDash just announced the launch of a new drone delivery pilot program in Christiansburg, Virginia, with an approximate population of 22,000. The company says orders should arrive in 30 minutes or less, making high-flying drones about as fast as a standard pizza delivery. However, it’s limited to only “eligible items.” And, alas, only items from fast-food chain Wendy’s.

Wendy’s? Wendy’s.

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The social media stalwart wants to raise around $631 million in its IPO.

Nearly two decades after its debut, Reddit is now a publicly traded company. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange as RDDT on Thursday, with mascot Snoo on hand to ring the opening bell. One interesting aspect of Reddit going public is it offered shares at the IPO pricing to long-term users of good standing over the last few weeks. It’s not all good news for Reddit, though. It recently signed a deal with Google, reportedly worth $60 million a year, to train the latter’s AI models on user-generated content. The Federal Trade Commission is looking into that arrangement.

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Apple Jing’an store opens to huge crowds in Shanghai

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Apple Jing'an Shanghai, China, opening day
Many customers looked psyched to have the new store.
Photo: Apple

The newest Apple Store, Apple Jing’An, opened to crowds of appreciative customers Thursday in Shanghai, China. Apple called it a “one-of-a-kind” shopping destination.

The expansive new store is surrounded by a plaza next to the landmark Jing’an Temple. See the stunning photographs below.

New ‘one-of-a-kind’ Apple Jing’an store draws crowds in Shanghai

Apple previewed the new Apple Jing’an store in Shangai with plenty of photographs on Monday, preparing for customers to discover its goods and services with the Thursday opening. And as a raft of new photographs showed, the new store drew crowds.

In addition, the store also offers various festivities and programs. Cupertino described one of the special programs unique to the store:

Apple Jing’an will host a special six-week Today at Apple program that pays homage to the local community and its creatives. The series, Let Diverse Creativity Bloom in Jing’an, showcases Shanghai’s next generation of creators and how they use the groundbreaking capabilities of iPhone.

And as Apple’s eighth store in Shanghai, Apple Jing’an employs 150 team members. Apple said it has served customers in China for more than 30 years, supporting more than 5 million jobs through direct employment, its supply chain and “the iOS app economy.”

The first Apple Store opened in China in 2008 with Apple Sanlitun. Now the iPhone giant runs 57 stores in greater China.

Enjoy opening-day photos

Apple Jing'an Shanghai opening day with Dierdre O'Brien and Tim Cook
Apple Senior VP of Retail Deirdre O’Brien and CEO Tim Cook greet customers at Apple Jing’an.
Photo: Apple

Apple Jing'an next to Jing'an Temple in Shanghai
The landmark Jing’an Temple and Jing’an Park in Shanghai provide a dramatic backdrop to the new store.
Photo: Apple

New Apple Store in Shanghai, China
Crowds formed in the plaza out front to see the new store.
Photo: Apple
Team members at new Apple Jing'an store in Shanghai
Apple Jing’an team members celebrate the opening.
Photo: Apple

Customers at new Apple Jing'an store in Shanghai
Excited customers check out the iPhone lineup at Apple Jing’an.
Photo: Apple
Apple Jing'an opening includes classical music performance
The store’s opening festivities included a special performance by the youngest members of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
Photo: Apple

Store opening giveaway
Customers display the special giveway planned as part of the store-opening festivities.
Photo: Apple

Source: Apple



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Apple Releases visionOS 1.1.1 With Bug Fixes

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Apple today released visionOS 1.1.1, a minor update to the ‌visionOS‌ operating system that came out in February. ‌visionOS‌ 1.1.1 comes two weeks after the launch of visionOS 1.1.

visionOS Home Screen
‌visionOS‌ updates can be installed by going to the Settings app on the Vision Pro, selecting the General section, and choosing Software Update. The Vision Pro headset will need to be removed to install new software, with a progress bar available on the front EyeSight display.

According to Apple’s release notes for the update, ‌visionOS‌ 1.1.1 introduces “important bug fixes and security updates.” The software is recommended for all users.

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Apple TV launch fails to impress: Today in Apple history

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March 21: Today in Apple history: Apple launches the Apple TV March 21, 2007: Apple launches the Apple TV, a gleaming white set-top box with a remote control, for bringing iTunes media to the living room.

Unfortunately, the device lacks key features needed to make it a killer entertainment system. It’s something of a missed opportunity for Apple.

Apple TV builds on a solid foundation

A bit like Apple’s move into music with the iPod and iTunes Music Store, producing a streaming video device made perfect sense. Given Apple’s history — and Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ Hollywood contacts, courtesy of his position as The Walt Disney Company’s largest shareholder — the company seemed perfectly poised to straddle the high-tech and entertainment worlds.

Even in the years that Jobs worked outside Apple, Cupertino innovated in this area. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Apple pioneered software for playing video on a personal computer. In the mid-1990s, the company launched the bold-but-unsuccessful Macintosh TV. That weird hybrid machine melded a Performa 520 Mac and a 14-inch Sony Trinitron CRT television.

After Jobs’ return, Apple launched its enormously successful movie trailer website, which became the place to download high-quality teasers for movies like Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, The Lord of the Rings and Spider-Man. Following this, Apple started selling TV shows through iTunes.

With that success in the rearview mirror, a standalone Apple TV seemed primed to take the world’s living rooms by storm.

First look at Apple TV

Right from Apple TV launch, however, it became clear that the device wasn’t Apple’s primary focus. Despite the company’s well-deserved reputation for secrecy and not releasing products until absolutely ready, Cupertino showed off Apple TV as a work in progress at a special event on September 12, 2006. (The company initially referred to the device as the “iTV,” but changed the name later after legal threats from the British broadcaster of the same name.)

Apple didn’t start shipping Apple TV units until March 21 the following year, however. By that time, any excitement had been eclipsed by a little device called the iPhone.

By contrast, the first-gen Apple TV wasn’t a revolutionary product so much as a Mac accessory for slinging downloaded content to your TV. Initially, owners could not order a movie for Apple TV directly through their TV sets, despite the device’s internet connectivity. Instead, users had to download movies to their Macs, then send them to their Apple TVs.

Worse, despite insisting that you own an HDTV to use it, the video played by Apple TV was, in the words of Fortune‘s review, “so low-res that it looks as fuzzy as plain old broadcast TV.”

Apple works to improve its set-top box

Apple quickly improved the Apple TV interface. On January 15, 2008, a major software update transformed the device into a stand-alone gadget. Finally, Apple TV owners no longer needed a computer running iTunes to stream and sync content to it.

A later update let customers use their iPhones, iPods and iPads as remote controls for Apple TV. And subsequent versions of the set-top box continued to head in the right direction.

For the most part, though, observers initially called the Apple TV launch a rare “miss” for Apple. Within the device’s first six months, Apple sold only 250,000 Apple TV units. Even Jobs admitted the product was more “a hobby” than a serious undertaking.

By late 2008, Forbes called it a notable misstep — and labeled it “The iFlop.”

Later versions of Apple TV

A second-generation Apple TV, launched in September 2010, sported a much smaller black enclosure and supported video up to 720p resolution. The third-gen model, which arrived in March 2012, looked the same as its predecessor but bumped up video resolution to 1080p (and added HomeKit support for home automation).

The fourth-gen Apple TV added key features in 2015, including an App Store and Siri voice commands. Plus, it ran on a new operating system, dubbed tvOS, which was based on iOS.

It also came with a sleek, touch-sensitive remote control that looked great but infuriated many users. Two years later, the Apple TV 4K boosted the device’s video capabilities and made the remote slightly more user-friendly.

With the launch of the Apple TV+ streaming service in late 2019, Cupertino finally may have cracked the television formula. And in 2021, the sixth-gen Apple TV 4K arrived, upgraded with a speedier A14 chip and a redesigned Siri Remote.



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Apple Releases iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Bug Fixes and Security Improvements

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Apple today released iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems. The new software comes a couple of weeks after Apple released iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 with app changes in the European Union, new emoji, and more.

iOS 17
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

According to Apple’s release notes, the iOS 17.4.1 update includes important security updates and bug fixes.

Apple will likely begin testing iOS 17.5 in the near future, with betas expected to come out in the next two weeks.

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Apple Responds to Being Sued by U.S. Department of Justice

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The U.S. Department of Justice today filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of having an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market with the iPhone and its ecosystem, as reported by The Verge.

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In a statement shared with MacRumors, Apple said the lawsuit is “wrong” and that it will “vigorously defend” against it:

At Apple, we innovate every day to make technology people love—designing products that work seamlessly together, protect people’s privacy and security, and create a magical experience for our users. This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets. If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple—where hardware, software, and services intersect. It would also set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology. We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it.

More details to follow…

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The best deals on AirPods, Apple Watches, MacBooks, iPads and more

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Amazon’s latest multi-day deals event, the Big Spring Sale, is going on right now. While not as heavy on tech deals as regular Prime Day is, there are some good discounts available on tech we recommend, including a number of Apple devices. In truth, the pickings are pretty slim — and most Apple deals are not explicitly tied to the spring sale — but they’re still worth noting as some of the best tech deals we found amongst all of the other discounts available on Amazon right now. Here are the best Apple deals we could find in the Amazon Spring Sale. As a reminder, Amazon says this sale will run through March 25 and isn’t exclusive to Prime subscribers.

Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget

The AirPods Pro are still on sale for $180, which is a new record low for the model with a USB-C charging case. The AirPods Pro are the “best for iOS” pick in our guide to the best wireless earbuds: They sound nice, their active noise cancellation (ANC) is strong enough for most situations and, most notably, they provide several unique perks when connected to another Apple device, from faster pairing to hands-free Siri to an adaptive EQ. The built-in mic isn’t the best for calls, and the six-ish-hour battery life is just OK, but this is still a good buy if you’re all-in on Apple. We gave the second-gen AirPods Pro a score of 88 in our review. It’s worth noting that new noise-canceling AirPods may arrive later this year, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, but an updated version of the AirPods Pro specifically isn’t expected until 2025. 

$180 at Amazon

Photo by Valentina Palladino / Engadget

The second-gen Apple Pencil is back down to $79, which is another deal we’ve seen a couple of times in recent months but still matches the stylus’ all-time low. Apple normally sells this model for $129, though it often goes for less at third-party retailers. The discount is also available at Walmart and Best Buy. We recommend the second-gen Pencil in our guide to the best iPad accessories. It’s the only stylus to support pressure sensitivity across iPadOS, so it’s consistently accurate for drawing and note-taking. Since it can attach to the side of an iPad magnetically, it’s easy to connect and charge as well. Just make sure your tablet is compatible first.

Do note, though, that Apple is reportedly planning to release a new Pencil imminently, possibly as soon as next week. Exactly what upgrades this new model will include are unclear, but if you want the latest and greatest, it’s worth waiting. That said, we’d expect any next-gen Pencil to start at a higher price than this discount, so this is still a decent chance to save.

$79 at Amazon

Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget

You can pick up an Apple Watch Series 9 for as low as $330 right now during the Amazon Spring Sale. While that’s not a record low for the 41mm model, it’s a decent sale price for this time of year. Note that not all colors and sizes are on sale, and some of them require you to clip an on-page coupon to get the final sale price. The Series 9 is the best smartwatch you can get today thanks to its solid performance, spacious and responsive screen, handy Double Tap gesture control and its plethora of workout tracking features.

$330 at Amazon

Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget

The newest MacBook Airs were only announced two weeks ago, so we haven’t seen any massive discounts just yet. However, if you’re looking to make the upgrade early, the entry-level 13- and 15-inch models are each $50 off at Amazon. That drops the former to $1,050 and the latter to $1,250 — nothing huge, clearly, but still a bit better than buying from Apple.

We gave the new MacBook Airs a review score of 90 and now call them the top pick in our laptop buying guide. Neither model is a radical departure from its predecessor, but that’s not a bad thing: This design was already thin, light and well-made, with an accurate display, comfortable keyboard and trackpad, long battery life and enough performance for mainstream use. Now, they’re a little bit more powerful with upgraded M3 chips; they support faster Wi-Fi 6E connections; and they can output to two external displays (albeit only when the laptop lid is closed). Just remember that these entry-level models only have 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, so you should only buy one if you’ll stick to less demanding tasks.

We’ll note that the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air is also on sale for $899 at B&H. That’s $100 off Apple’s list price. This model won’t be quite as fast or futureproof as the latest version, but it’s very similar otherwise, so it remains worth considering if you really want to save cash. The now-discontinued M1 MacBook Air, meanwhile, is now going for $699 at Walmart. That one is a more noticeable drop-off from the M2 or M3 models, but at that price it’s still fast and reliable enough that it could make sense for those desperate to buy a MacBook for as little as possible.

$1,050 at Amazon

Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget

The Beats Studio Buds + are back on sale for $130 in various colors, which is roughly $20 off the true wireless earbuds’ average street price and $40 off Beats’ list price. The only time we’ve seen them go for less was a brief drop to $120 around Black Friday. This deal is also available at other retailers, including Target, Best Buy and B&H.

We gave the Studio Buds + a review score of 84 last year. As Beats is an Apple subsidiary, this pair provides many of the iOS-friendly perks you’d get from a set of AirPods, such as faster pairing, Find My tracking, hands-free Siri and Control Center integration. Unlike AirPods, they offer similar features on Android as well. A comfy fit, decent ANC and a mostly neutral sound profile also help. However, other AirPods features like audio sharing and automatic device switching (with Apple gear) aren’t supported, nor is wireless charging or wear detection. And the ANC and audio quality are a step down from the AirPods Pro. Still, if you dig the style and want to save some cash, the Studio Buds + are worth considering.

$130 at Amazon

A quick PSA on iPad deals

Most people should hold off on buying a new iPad right now. Apple is widely expected to announce new tablets in the coming weeks, with past reports suggesting that we’ll see two new iPad Pros, a refreshed iPad Air and an all-new Air model with a 12.9-inch display. That said, neither the 10th-gen iPad nor the iPad mini are expected to be updated until later in 2024, so if one of those slates suit your needs and you absolutely must buy a new tablet today, both should be a little safer to buy than the iPad Air or iPad Pro. (Or the older 10.2-inch iPad, which is likely to be discontinued with the next round of refreshes.) We’ll highlight a couple of decent prices on those devices below.

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

As of this writing, the 10th-gen iPad is available for $349 at Amazon and Best Buy. That ties the 10.9-inch slate’s all-time low and comes in $100 below Apple’s list price. We wouldn’t be surprised if this device received a permanent price cut when the new Air and Pro models are announced, but it’s a solid value with this discount either way. We gave 10th-gen iPad a review score of 85 back in 2022. It lacks the laminated display, M-series chip and second-gen Pencil support of the iPad Air, but its design is mostly similar, it’s plenty fast for reading and streaming and it gets the same 10-ish hours of battery life. Its front-facing camera is also located on the landscape edge, which is a more natural spot for FaceTime calls.

$349 at Amazon

Photo by Valentina Palladino / Engadget

The iPad mini, meanwhile, is available for $400 at Amazon and Target. This is another discount we’ve seen for much of the last few months, but it still represents a $100 drop from Apple’s MSRP. This one was released way back in September 2021 and is past due for an update, but it remains the only compact tablet in Apple’s lineup. It’d make the most sense if you want to treat your iPad like a high-end e-reader, as it’s the easiest model to hold with one hand and tuck away in a bag. It’s still durable and fast enough for the basics beyond that, plus it works with the second-gen Apple Pencil. You probably wouldn’t want to use an 8.3-inch tablet for any serious work, though. You can read our review for a full breakdown.

$400 at Amazon

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

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