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

Though it's not quite Friday, and many of you are still waiting to dig in to Thanksgiving dinners with family, many retailers are kicking off their Black Friday sales early this year. Stores like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart, where some of the best deals are to be had, will be opening their doors to shoppers as early as 5 p.m. local time.



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. Some of the deals won't be available until Black Friday actually rolls around, and details on exact sale times can be found in the roundup.

iPhone

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.





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

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, which are discounted by $75 to $100. At $75 off, the 16GB entry-level WiFi-only iPad mini 2 is just $224.99, the lowest price we've seen on it yet.



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.

Macs

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.





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.





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.



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.



Alongside brick and mortar retailers, many online only shops are offering site-wide deals. Twelve South, for example, is planning to offer deep discounts on its products, Speck is offering 25 percent off many of its iPhone cases, and Casetify is offering an exclusive 25 percent off discount site wide for MacRumors readers with the discount code MACRUMORS.



App developers are also discounting their products, and highly popular apps like Fantastical for the iPad, iPhone, and iPad are available at the lowest prices of the year, and Adobe's cutting the price of Elements 13 by 40 percent.



Softorino, the company behind the WALTR app that makes it easy to upload and convert any music or video file to an iOS device, is offering an exclusive 49 percent off discount for MacRumors readers, and Pixelmator is offering its popular image editing app for 50 percent off, dropping the price to $14.99 for a limited time.



A full list of discounts in the iOS and Mac App Stores can be found through our sister site AppShopper , which lists all apps that have seen recent price drops.



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.

President Obama Signs E-Label Act, Companies No Longer Required to Etch FCC Labels on Devices [iOS Blog]

Earlier this year, U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) introduced the E-Label Act, which would allow for companies to meet the FCC's demands for certification labels by placing digital stamps on a device's software as opposed to etching information on hardware. The senators argued that the changes would allow manufacturers to save money and pass savings onto consumers. This was followed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) loosening its rules for labeling, stating that manufacturers could bypass etching FCC labels on their devices in favor of labeling by alternative means.



Now, The Hill reports that U.S. President Barack Obama has officially signed the E-Label act into law, which will now allow for companies like Apple to drop FCC labeling from their devices. Instead of being etched on hardware, it is likely that the required information will now be inside of a settings menu. However, it is also likely that the certification labels representing the European Commission (EC) and its Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) initiative will still be seen on devices.




Verizon iPhone 4 without FCC logos on left, GSM iPhone 4 with FCC logos on right.


The slight design change could come to Apple's lineup of devices for next year, although it remains unclear as to how exactly the company will take advantage of the new rules and regulations.

Apple Releases New iPhone 6 Ad: 'Voice Text'

Just a couple days after releasing the fifth and sixth iPhone 6 ads starring Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake, Apple has released a seventh called "Voice Text". The new ad focuses on one of the new features introduced to iMessage in iOS 8, the ability to instantly send audio messages quickly and easily.






The ad humorously highlights how voice messages can be used to better communication with friends, with examples pointing out how voice messages are good for sarcastic comments, singing and saying hard-to-spell words instead of typing them.



Apple, so far, has released two new iPhone 6 ads at a time, releasing "Duo" and "Health" during the iPhone 6 event in September, "Huge" and "Cameras" in late September and "Reservations" and "Gamers" a couple days ago. "Voice Text" marks the first time Apple has released an iPhone 6 ad by itself.

Apple Watch Marketing Page Updated With 'Timekeeping', 'New Ways to Connect', 'Health and Fitness' Pages

The marketing website for the Apple Watch has been updated (via 9to5Mac ) with additional details about how it functions as a watch, new ways that wearers will communicate, as well as more about the watch's health and fitness features.



Apple's marketing team has also added new animations to the site, showing how the Apple Watch will move between screens and how some of the apps will work. Much of the basic information was already located on the Apple Watch site, but lots of it has been broken out with more information and detail.





The new Timekeeping page reveals more about some of the watch faces that are included with the Apple Watch, including details about Complications -- specialized functions on a watch face like moon phases, sunrise and sunset, or, for the Apple Watch, stock quotes and weather.

Apple Watch is first and foremost an incredibly accurate timepiece. It does everything a watch should, but in ways no other watch ever has. It's also connected to your calendar, your contacts, and your schedule. So in addition to showing you the time, Apple Watch actually understands what time means to you. It helps you be more productive and efficient. So you get more out of every moment.

The New Ways to Connect page talks about the Friends feature that makes it easy to send messages, make a call, or reach out to other Apple Watch users. Wearers can send a tap, draw a picture, or share their heartbeat with other Apple Watch wearers, but they can also send and receive text messages, audio snippets, share a location, make phone calls and email right from the watch. Wearers can also use Handoff to start a call or email message from the Apple Watch and seamlessly transfer it to the iPhone.

You won't just send and receive messages, calls, and mail more easily and efficiently. You'll express yourself in new, fun, and more personal ways. With Apple Watch, every exchange is less about reading words on a screen and more about making a genuine connection.

Finally, the new Health and Fitness page talks about the different ways Apple Watch measures movement, as well as additional details on the included Workout app. The watch tracks movement, exercise and how often the wearer stands up throughout the day, giving subtle reminders as needed to encourage more movement.



The watch uses its accelerometer, heart rate sensor, as well as Wi-Fi and GPS locations from the iPhone to follow movement as well. The Workout app shows real-time stats including time, distance, calories burned, pace and speed for running, walking and cycling. All data is tracked over time, making it easy for wearers to track their improvement.

Apple Watch is our most personal device ever, and there's nothing more personal than your health. Just as Apple Watch is designed to keep you more efficient, organized, and productive, it's also made to keep you moving. Because being active is vital to living a healthy life.

The Apple Watch is scheduled to go on sale early next year, though Apple has not gotten any more specific than that.

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Teaser to Be Featured on iTunes Trailers This Friday [iOS Blog]

Earlier this week, news hit that the teaser for the much-anticipated movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens would be shown in a selection of theaters on Friday, November 28, and but it turns out the trailer will also be featured online, on Apple's iTunes Trailers website, on the Apple TV, and through the iTunes Movie Trailers app for iOS.





According to tweets from both the iTunes Trailers and Star Wars Twitter accounts, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser will be shared online by Apple this Friday, on November 28, at an unspecified time.

The Force will be with @iTunesTrailers this Friday. #StarWars #TheForceAwakens

— iTunes Trailers (@iTunesTrailers) November 26, 2014

Apple's iTunes Trailers website, accompanying Apple TV channel, and iOS app feature hundreds of HD movie trailers, clips, images, and behind-the-scenes content. The new Star Wars movie trailer being shown on Friday will represent one of the first times Apple has leveraged its movie trailer site to provide exclusive content.



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 iTunes Movie Trailers app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]