12.2-inch 'iPad Air Plus' May Launch Between June and April 2015 With A9 Processor

Japanese magazine Mac Fan has published some possible schematics depicting the design of the larger-screened "iPad Pro" or "iPad Air Plus" in its January issue, which have been shared by Mac Otakara [Google Translate] along with some information about the upcoming device.



The schematics suggest the tablet will include a 12.2-inch LCD display, and it points towards dimensions of 305.31mm x 220.8mm x 7mm, or 12 inches x 8.7 inches x 0.28 inches, which is in line with previous rumors about the larger tablet. Many rumors have suggested a size of 12.9-inches for the larger tablet, but this is the second report from Mac Otakara that has suggested the device will have a 12.2-inch display.



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The "iPad Pro" or "iPad Air Plus" as Mac Fan calls it, is said to include a new A9 processor that's an upgrade from the A8X processor in the iPad Air 2, which is a bit of a deviation from previous rumors that have indicated the larger-screened tablet will use the same A8X processor introduced in the iPad Air 2.



Along with an upgraded processor, the tablet is said to have dual top and bottom speakers to allow for improved stereo audio, and design wise, the iPad Pro may look similar to the existing iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini.



Mac Fan also believes that Apple is working on an iPad mini 4, which will be equipped with the same A8X processor found in the iPad Air 2 and a thinner design that more closely resembles Apple's latest iPad Air. With the launch of the iPad mini 4, Mac Fan says both the iPad mini and the iPad mini 3 will be discontinued.



According to the report, both of these tablets may launch between April and June of 2015, which is in line with previous iPad Pro rumors. Earlier this month, reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested the iPad Pro may not enter mass production until the second quarter of 2015, following rumors that Apple had pushed back production to focus its attention on improving iPhone 6 Plus supply.















'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trailer Now Available [Mac Blog]

As previously reported, Apple's iTunes Trailers website now features the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer.





Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the seventh film in the Star Wars series and is set 30 years after Return of the Jedi. Directed by J.J. Abrams, the movie features actors like Andy Serkis, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Lupita Nyong'o, and Oscar Issac, along with stars from the original films including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher.



In addition to being featured by Apple, the teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be shown in a selection of theaters across the United States on Friday.



The trailer was initially overwhelmed by traffic and should also appear on Apple TV, and through the iTunes Movie Trailers app for iOS. The iTunes Movie Trailers app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]















Black Friday 2014: $100 iTunes Gift Cards for $75 (US Only) [Mac Blog]

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Paypal Digital Gifts is offering $100 iTunes Gift Cards for $75 via eBay - a 25% discount, for Black Friday. The codes are delivered digitally to PayPal registered email addresses. The offer is only available to U.S. customers and expires tonight at midnight (Eastern).



Black Friday sales kicked off last night and officially continue through today. Some sales may last the weekend. We've previously provided a comprehensive list of sales on Mac, iPhone, and iPad products.















Black Friday 2014: Best Deals on Macs, iPads, iPhones, Apps, and Apple Accessories

While you can see a massive list of all the Black Friday discounts being offered on Apple products and accessories in our comprehensive Black Friday roundup, we've gathered up some of the most enticing Black Friday deals below. Many of the deals listed below are available now, with limited supplies.



Apple Online and Retail






Apple kicked off its deals for its one day Black Friday shopping event in the United States, and the company is offering special Product (RED)-branded iTunes gift cards with the purchase of an iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, or Beats by Dr. Dre headphones.



Gift card amounts for products vary and include $100 on select Macs, $50 on iPhones (6, 6 Plus, 5s, 5c), $50 on qualifying iPads, and $25 each on qualifying Apple TV, iPods, and Beats hardware, as noted below:



- iPhone ($50): iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c

- iPad ($50): iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2, iPad mini

- Mac ($100): iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Retina iMac, Retina MacBook Pro

- iPod ($25): iPod touch, iPod nano

- Apple TV ($25)

- Beats by Dr. Dre ($25): headphones and speakers



Gift cards available both on Apple's online store and in retail locations



iPhone Deals




Sam's Club is currently offering a $100 discount on the iPhone 6 in all capacities, which is one of the best deals available on the device. Best Buy is also offering a $100 discount on the device, but the deal is limited to the 16GB model.



Frequent Walmart shoppers may want to purchase an iPhone there, as Walmart will be selling the 16GB iPhone 6 for $179 and including a $75 Walmart gift card. The store will also be selling the 16GB iPhone 5s for $79, and that device also comes with a $75 gift card.



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iPhones purchased directly from Apple, including the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c, will come with a $50 iTunes gift card.



iPad Deals




Best Buy is discounting its entire stock of iPad Air 2 tablets by $100, which is the best deal available on Apple's newest iPad. The $100 discount applies to all colors and capacities, and brings the price of the 16GB WiFi-only iPad Air 2 down to $399.



Best Buy is also discounting all of its iPad mini 3 stock by $75, dropping the price of the 16GB entry-level WiFi-only model to $324. Shoppers looking for an especially good deal may want to check out Best Buy's supply of iPad mini 2 tablets, some of which are discounted by $75 to $100.



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For those unable to shop at Best Buy, Target is also offering a solid deal on the iPad Air 2, providing a $140 Target gift card with any iPad Air 2 purchase (prices start at $499). Target is also offering $100 gift cards with the purchase of the iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and original iPad Air in all colors and capacities.



Mac Deals




Mac deals are a bit more limited than iPhone and iPad deals, but both Best Buy and MacMall are offering solid deals on Apple's range of MacBooks, iMacs, and Mac minis, and Mac Pros.



Best Buy, for example, is selling the low-end 21.5-inch 1.4Ghz/8GB/500GB iMac for $899, a $200 discount and the lowest price we've seen on the machine. The retailer also has select MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro computers for $150 off.



Best Buy:



- 13.3-inch Non-Retina MacBook Pro - $899.99, $200 off

- 21.5-inch 1.4GHz/8GB/500GB iMac - $899.99, $200 off

- 11.6-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB MacBook Air - $779.99, $120 off

- 13.3-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/256GB MacBook Air - $1,049.99, $150 off

- 13.3-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/256GB Retina MacBook Pro - $1,349.99, $150 off

- 27-inch 3.2GHz/8GB/1TB iMac - $1,649.99, $150 off



MacMall is discounting its stock of MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro computers by $50 to $200, depending on configuration. MacMall is also offering the Mac Pro for up to $600 off, the Mac mini for up to $60 off, and the iMac for up to $120 off.



Unlike many resellers, MacMall offers Apple machines with a variety of custom configurations, much like the online Apple Store, so the site's Black Friday section has a huge range of Macs at low prices.



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Notable deals from MacMall include the 15-inch 2.5Ghz/16GB/512GB Retina MacBook Pro for $2,298, a discount of $201, and the entry-level 13.3-inch 1.4Ghz/4GB/128GB MacBook Air for $898, a discount of $101.



MacMall:



2014 Retina MacBook Pro

- 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB128GB - $1,197, $102 off

- 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/256GB - $1,397, $102 off

- 13-inch 2.8GHz/8GB/512GB - $1,697, $102 off

- 15-inch 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB - $1,829, $170 off

- 15-inch 2.5GHz/16GB/512GB - $2,298, $201 off



2014 MacBook Air

- 11.6-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB - $798, $101 off

- 11.6-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/256GB - $998, $101 off

- 13.3-inch 1.4GHz/4GBGB/128GB - $898, $101 off

- 13.3-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/256GB - $1,098, $101 off

- 13.3-inch 1.7GHz/8GB/256GB - $1,368, $81 off



iPad Air 2

- 16GB Wi-Fi (Gray) - $459, $40 off

- 16GB Wi-Fi + Cellular (Gray) - $589, $40 off

- 64GB Wi-Fi (Gray) - $559, $40 off

- 64GB Wi-Fi + Cellular (Gray) - $679, $50 off

- 128GB Wi-Fi (Gray) - $649, $50 off

- 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular (Gray) - $754, $75 off



2013/2014 iMac

- 21.5-inch 1.4GHz/8GB/500GB - $998, $101 off

- 21.5-inch 2.7Ghz/8GB/1TB - $1,198, $101 off

- 21.5-inch 2.9Ghz/8GB/1TB - $1,398, $101 off

- 27-inch 3.2Ghz/8GB/1TB - $1,698, $101 off

- 27-inch 3.4Ghz/8GB/1TB - $1,878, $121 off

- 27-Inch Retina 3.5 GHz/8 GB RAM/1 TB - $2,348, $151 off



2013 Mac Pro

- 6-core 3.5GHz/16GB/256GB - $3,698, $301 off

- 4-core 3.7GHz/12GB/256GB - $2,798, $201 off



2014 Mac mini

- 1.4GHz/4GB/500GB - $468, $31 off

- 2.6GHz/8GB/1TB - $658, $41 off

- 2.8GHz/8GB/1TB - $948, $51 off



B&H Photo has a $200 discount on the new 3.5GHz/8GB/1TB 5K Retina iMac, dropping the cost down to $2,299, the lowest price we've seen yet. The site also has the 6-core 3.5GHz/16GB/256GB Mac Pro for $3,499, a discount of $500, and the 15-inch 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB Retina MacBook Pro for $1,699.99, a discount of $300.



Other Deals




Many retailers are also offering deals on an array of Apple products, with Beats headphones being a popular discount item. Many stores are also offering iPod touches, Apple TVs, fitness accessories, and more at low prices, and a list of deals is located in the roundup.



Online Retailers



- Twelve South - 50 percent off BookArc Mod for Mac, GhostStand for Mac, and HoverBar 3 for iPad

- Speck - 25 percent off many of its iPhone cases

- Casetify - exclusive 25 percent off discount site wide with the discount code MACRUMORS.

- Ten One Design - 50 percent off site wide plus free shipping



iTunes Gift Cards



- $100 iTunes Gift Card Multipack - $79.47, $20.53 off

- $50 iTunes Gift Card - $39.98, $10 off



Software



- Fantastical for the iPad, iPhone, and iPad are available at the lowest prices of the year,

- Adobe Elements 13 discounted by 40 percent.

- WALTR - exclusive 49 percent off discount for MacRumors readers

- Pixelmator - 50 percent off ($14.99)



- AppShopper - running of discounts on iOS and Mac apps



Our Black Friday roundup will be updated throughout Thursday and Friday, so make sure to keep an eye on it for the best Apple deals this holiday season.



MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these retailers.















Apple Kicks Off Black Friday Sale With iTunes Gift Card Deals

Apple has just kicked off its deals for its one day Black Friday shopping event in the United States, and as previously announced, the company is offering special Product (RED)-branded iTunes gift cards with the purchase of an iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, or Beats by Dr. Dre headphones.



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Gift card amounts for products vary and include $100 on select Macs, $50 on iPhones (6, 6 Plus, 5s, 5c), $50 on qualifying iPads, and $25 each on qualifying Apple TV, iPods, and Beats hardware, as noted below:



- iPhone ($50): iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c

- iPad ($50): iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2, iPad mini

- Mac ($100): iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Retina iMac, Retina MacBook Pro

- iPod ($25): iPod touch, iPod nano

- Apple TV ($25)

- Beats by Dr. Dre ($25): headphones and speakers



Apple's (RED) Black Friday shopping promotion will last for a single day and the deals are available both in-store and online. Along with (RED) gift cards, Apple also plans to donate a portion of retail sales on Friday, November 28 and Monday, December 1 to the Global Fund to fight AIDS.



Alongside Apple, many other retailers are offering significant discounts on Apple products and accessories. While some of the deals began yesterday ahead of Black Friday, many of the discounts are still available and will be valid through the end of the day.



Best Buy and MacMall are offering significant discounts on a range of different Macs, with prices up to $200 off, and Best Buy is also discounting its entire iPad stock by up to $100.



Target is offering gift cards up to $140 on the iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, and iPad mini 3, while Sam's Club has the best deal on the iPhone 6, offering it for $100 off. Online only stores are also offering deals, with Twelve South, for example, discounting several products and Speck offering 25 percent off many of its iPhone cases.



Following in the footsteps of retailers, app developers are discounting their apps in the iOS and Mac App Stores, and a list of popular discounted apps can be found at our sister site AppShopper .



A full list of all the Black Friday deals on Apple products and accessories is located in our comprehensive Black Friday roundup, which is being updated throughout the day with new deals.