Apple’s sleek and pricey iPads aren’t the only tablets on the market these days. Amazon also has its own lineup of versatile Fire tablets that are designed for a variety of needs and budgets, and right now, you can pick one up at a discount. The online retailer is currently offering up to 47% off a wide range of tablets for both kids and adults, with prices starting at just $60. There’s no set expiration for these deals, so there’s no guaranteeing how long they’ll be available. We’d recommend getting your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out on these savings.
Though it was released back in 2021, the Fire HD 10 is still one of the most advanced tablets in Amazon’s lineup, and earned a spot on our list of the best tablets overall for 2023. It features a 10.1-inch full HD display, an octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and boasts an impressive 12-hour battery life on a single charge. Right now you can snag the 32GB model for $120, which is $30 off, or upgrade to the 64GB model for just $10 more and save $60.
Amazon also makes a variety of durable kid-friendly tablets that have a built-in case and are designed for fun and educational content. The most affordable model is the Fire 7 Kids, which is designed for ages three to seven, has 16GB of storage and is currently on sale for just $60, saving you $50 compared to the usual price. There’s also the Fire HD 8 Kids, which has a larger HD display and is on sale for $90, which is $60 off the usual price. And for older kids, there’s the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro which is currently $50 off, dropping the price down to $150. It has a 10.1-inch HD display, 32GB of storage and supports limited web browsing. All Fire Kids tablets come with a free one-year subscription to Amazon Kids Plus, which gives you access to tons of kid-friendly shows, books, educational games and more. And all models support easy-to-use parental controls so you can easily restrict access to inappropriate sites or content.
Apple’s software update changes the game for Messages. With iOS 17, you’ll be able to turn pictures into stickers, transcribe voice memos, keep your friends and family notified on your way home and more.
News about the Messages update came Monday at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, held at its Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California. Apple traditionally uses the annual event to unveil new devices, such as its mixed reality headset Apple Vision Pro, and give developers a preview of upcoming additions to its desktop and mobile software.
The update to Messages will be part of iOS 17 and include new sticker experiences, where people can take their photos and turn them into stickers they use in text conversations, alongside standard emojis, which can also be used as stickers. People can customize their stickers with effects, like shiny, puffy, comic and outline, and keep them in a new drawer in the keyboard for streamlined access, Apple said in a press release. Stickers will be available systemwide, including in third-party apps. Apple said iOS 17 will be shipped later this fall. Here’s which iPhones will be able to run the update.
To make a photo into a sticker, touch and hold an object in a photo. Then you can style your object with various effects, outline it or create animated Live Stickers with Live Photos. To use the sticker in Messages, add them in the bubble from the Tapback menu.
Watch this: Apple Reveals iOS 17
16:43
Search in Messages, Check In and more
Apple also debuted a refined search feature for what it called a more “powerful and precise” Messages search experience. People can apply additional filters to their Messages search to more quickly find the exact conversation they were looking for. Plus, when you’ve received lots of texts in a group chat, you can now use the catch-up arrow to locate where the conversation left off last.
iOS 17 Messages will also transcribe voice memos you receive, if you don’t have the time to listen to them. Apple additionally announced a new location sharing feature that lets you keep track of your friends by viewing their location in your text conversation.
Apple’s Check In feature through iOS 17.
Screenshot by CNET
Another location sharing feature Apple debuted is Check In. If you want to keep a friend or family member updated on your journey home, for example, you can use Check In, which notifies the person of your whereabouts and lets them know if you’re having trouble getting home. “If they are not making progress toward their destination, useful information will be temporarily shared with the selected contact, such as the device’s location, battery level, and cell service status,” Apple said in the press release. Check In will be end-to-end encrypted, so only you and the person you’re sharing this information with is privy to your location.
Developers can try out iOS 17 today, and everyone can try out the public beta in a month.
The app, simply called Journal, is coming to iOS 17, the next version of Apple’s mobile software. The app uses on-device machine learning to create personalized suggestions to inspire writing. Suggestions are curated from information on your phone, such as photos, location, music and workouts.
Apple
In a look at the app given by Apple during the event, it provides the option to select a moment, like “morning visit, Ocean Beach,” and get writing. You can schedule notifications to remind you to write and let you know about new suggestions.
Journal is designed to keep entries private, with on-device processing, end-to-end encryption and the ability to lock the journal, according to Apple.
iOS 17 is the latest software update coming to iPhones, Apple announced and previewed at its WWDC event Monday. The major revision will be available to download this fall, but not all iPhone owners will have access. As with all of the annual, major Apple software updates, some iPhones are getting left behind, including the iPhone X.
If you’re not sure which iPhone you’ve got, a quick check in your settings can show you. Open your Settings app and tap General > About. Next to Model Name, you’ll see which iPhone you have.
We’ll tell you how to find out whether your iPhone will be compatible with iOS 17. If you’d like to try out the iOS 17 beta, the public beta will be available in July. Want to know more about iOS 17? Apple will turn your photos into stickers with Messages.
What if your iPhone isn’t on the compatibility list?
If your iPhone isn’t listed above, it won’t support iOS 17 and you won’t get a notification to download the newest software. For instance, if you have an iPhone X or older, the latest software you’ll ever be able to use on that phone is iOS 16.
You’ll soon be able to dress up your iPhone calls by setting a customized image that shows up on the receiver’s screen when you place a call.
The feature, unveiled during Apple’s WWDC keynote address on Monday, is called personalized contact posters and it’s part of iOS 17, Apple’s next major update for the iPhone.
Personalized contact posters allow you to customize how you’re represented on someone else’s phone when you’re calling them. You can use photos or emoji, paired with typography.
You can choose your own image, font and color, customizing your contact poster much as you might your phone lock screen, Apple said. The images show up not only in calls, but also as part of the your contact card, creating a consistent look.
iOS 17 Messages will also transcribe voice memos you receive. A new location sharing feature will allow you to keep track of your friends by seeing their location in your text conversation. And the new Check In feature is aimed at keeping a friend or family member updated on your journey home, notifying them of where you are, and letting them know if you’re having trouble getting home.
iOS 17 is expected to be available as a public beta sometime next month, with the general release in September alongside the rumored iPhone 15 series.
Apple just introduced WatchOS 10, its next major operating system update for the Apple Watch. The announcement came during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday. As with previous updates, health, fitness and personalization are among the biggest themes in WatchOS 10.
Apple is updating the Apple Watch’s software with new widgets and redesigned apps to show more information at a glance. Widgets will be able to surface contextual information throughout the day, such as medication reminders or calendar alerts, similar to how they function on the iPhone. This should make it easier to get bits of information without having to launch a full app.
The Apple Watch is also getting two new watch faces: one that’s color-palette themed, and another featuring the Peanuts characters Snoopy and Woodstock.
The new Palette watch face in WatchOS 10
Apple (screenshot)
There will also be more metrics and workout views for cycling, including the ability to show extra statistics when connecting to other Bluetooth-enabled bike sensors. Apple is adding new perks for hikers, too, such as the ability for the Compass app to show the last area where you had cell reception and more details about the topography of hiking trails.
Health is also a focus for WatchOS 10. Apple is adding new mood logging features to the Mindfulness app, which you can access on both the watch and the phone. Apple also says you’ll be able to take standardized assessments often used in clinics to understand more about how you’re feeling.
Apps in WatchOS 10 are getting a new look.
Apple (screenshot)
Apple is also using the Apple Watch to help users track eye health, signaling a new type of health measurement for the watch. The Apple Watch’s ambient light sensor can be used measure the amount of time spent in daylight in WatchOS 10, which the company is positioning as a way to maintain eye health and potentially prevent myopia, or nearsightedness caused by physical changes in the eye.
Software updates like these are critical because they bring significant new features to Apple’s smartwatch that expand its functionality without requiring new hardware. Last year in WatchOS 9, for example, Apple introduced new running metrics, the ability to track specific stages of sleep and low power mode. These additions helped the Apple Watch catch up to other sleep tracking wearables and dedicated running watches.
With WatchOS 10, Apple is also the latest smartwatch maker to focus more closely on mental wellness. Fitbit, for example, has added sensors to its Sense smartwatches that can look for signs of stress throughout the day. Watch maker Citizen launched a new smartwatch this year that it says can assess fatigue and alertness levels. The new Mindfulness features in WatchOS 10 suggest Apple is also thinking more deeply about the correlation between physical and mental wellness, too.
Apple typically previews new software for major products like the Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad and Mac at its annual conference before debuting them in the fall.
Watch this: Apple’s WWDC 2023: What We Expect
06:55
The Apple Watch is the most popular smartwatch in the world with 26% of the global market as of the first quarter of 2023, according to Counterpoint Research. Over the last several years, Apple has introduced new features and hardware meant to make its watch more competitive with dedicated running watches from companies like Garmin. Last year, for example, it debuted the Apple Watch Ultra, its first rugged watch designed with athletes and adventurers in mind. The updates to hiking and cycling seem to fit nicely with that theme.
This advertising widget is powered by Navi and contains advertisements that Navi may be paid for in different ways. You will not be charged for engaging with this advertisement. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, this advertising widget does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that information in the featured advertisements is up to date, each advertiser featured in this widget is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its offer details. It is possible that your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms in this advertising widget and the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser which will be presented to you prior to making a purchase. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.
Not wanting to lose any time, Apple has just released the first developer beta for iOS 17, shortly after announcing the latest iPhone update at WWDC on Monday.
Before you go on and install iOS 17, you should know that developer beta versions like this aren’t intended for general use, especially because they may have unfinished features and issues that can make the iPhone difficult to use. These early beta releases are, instead, for developers, to help them keep their apps up to date and get early access to the upcoming features.
In short, you probably shouldn’t install the developer beta on your primary iPhone. If you really want to get iOS 17 right now, try to find a spare iPhone that is new enough (iPhone XS or later) to work with the latest software.
For those who still want to dive in, we’ll show you how to install the iOS 17 developer version on your iPhone, as well as what to do in case you want to revert to iOS 16.
If you want to learn more about what was announced at WWDC, here’s what you need to know about Vision Pro, Apple’s new augmented reality headset, the new 15-inch MacBook Air and MacOS Sonoma.
Watch this: Apple Reveals iOS 17
16:43
What to know before you download the iOS 17 developer beta
Because the iOS 17 developer beta is an early prerelease version, the software could have bugs and other issues.
Again, if you’re thinking about downloading iOS 17, do it on a backup or secondary phone, if available. The iOS 17 developer beta’s issues could cripple your iPhone and make it difficult to use, disabling phone calls or text messages or making it extremely laggy. However, if you only have your main phone or tablet available, make sure toback up your iPhone on iOS 16.5 (the latest version of iOS 16) before updating to iOS 17. That way you have the option to return to iOS 16 if there are too many issues on the new OS.
Also, you must have an iPhone XS or later to run iOS 17. iOS 17 is not supported on the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X, all of which supported the iOS 16 developer beta last year.
You can download iOS 17 on the iPhone XS and later.
To download the iOS 17 developer beta, you must be enrolled in the Apple Developer Program, which costs $99 a year. If you don’t want pay for the developer beta release, you can join the Apple Beta Software program and wait to download the public beta version for free when it’s available in July.
How to enroll in the Apple Developer Program
The first step to get the iOS 17 developer beta on your iPhone is to enroll in the Apple Developer Program, if you aren’t already a member. If you’re on your iPhone, here’s how you can enroll:
1. Download the Apple Developer app from the App Store, launch the app, go to Account and tap Enroll Now.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID credentials, read through the various benefits and instructions, enter your personal information and scan your ID to verify your identity.
3. Once this information is submitted, you must choose your entity (individual for most people) and agree to the program license agreement.
4. Finally, pay the Apple Developer membership fee (with Apple Pay), which is $99 (about 80 or AU$140) a year.
The Apple Developer app is free to download from the App Store.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET
After you successfully make the payment, you’ll be redirected to your Account page in the Apple Developer app. Here you can verify that you’re now enrolled, and you can also check out the date of your membership’s expiration next year.
You can install iOS 17 with an over-the-air update on your iPhone
The easiest way to download the iOS 17 developer beta is with an over-the-air update — the way you would update to any other new software release on your device. Here’s how:
1. On your iPhone or iPad, go to the Settings > General > Software Update.
2. Next, go into Beta Updates and tap iOS 17 Developer Beta.
3. Go back and tap Download and Install under the new iOS 17 Developer Beta option that appears.
All subsequent iOS 17 developer beta updates will appear as over-the-air updates here on your iPhone.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET
You’ll need to then enter your passcode, agree to the terms and conditions and wait for the update to be installed. The process can take over 20 minutes, depending on your internet connection. Once your phone reboots, you should have access to the iOS 17 developer beta.
Or download the iOS 17 developer beta using your Mac
Over-the-air updates require a certain amount of storage, and if you don’t have that available, your computer is really the only way to update to iOS 17 beta without manually clearing out space.
1. On your Mac, go to the Apple Developer Program download page, find iOS 17 beta, click Download Restore Images and download the iOS beta software restore image for your specific device.
2. Connect your device to your computer and enter your device passcode or hit Trust This Computer if prompted.
3. Next, open Finder, click your device in the sidebar under Locations.
4. Hold down the Option key, click Check forUpdate and choose the iOS 17 beta software restore image you just downloaded from the Apple Developer page.
If you don’t have space on your iPhone, download and install the iOS 17 developer beta from your Mac.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET
The iOS 17 beta software will install on your device. Wait for a few minutes and when your phone reboots, you should have access.
With Apple announcing its new 15-inch MacBook Air with M2 Chip ($1,299) at WWDC 2023, there’s some good news for people looking for a deal on the smaller, 13-inch M2 MacBook Air: The company is officially dropping its price from $1,199 to $1,099 for its base configuration. That could mean we see its price dip further at Apple authorized retailers like B&H Photo, where it’s already down to $999, matching its lowest price to date. (The M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Air, with the previous chassis, remains in the lineup for a list price of $999, and has sold for as low as $800.)
Except for offering discounts to students, educators and people who serve, or have served, in the military, Apple generally doesn’t put its products on sale through its own online or brick and mortar stores. However, it allows authorized Apple resellers like Best Buy to offer discounts, with the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air regularly on sale for $100-$150 of its list price.
Iger discussed a partnership between the companies during the reveal of Apple’s new $3,499 headset that’s expected to be available in 2024. The portion included a teaser video from the lens of a headset-wearer and the announcement that the device will offer the Disney Plus streaming service from the start.
“We’re constantly in search of new ways to entertain, inform and inspire our fans by combining extraordinary creativity with groundbreaking technology to create truly remarkable experiences,” Iger said. “And we believe Apple Vision Pro is a revolutionary platform that can make our vision a reality.”
Watch this: Apple, Disney Partner on Vision Pro Entertainment
03:59
The video (seen here around the 1 hour, 43 minute mark), teases watching The Mandalorian from another planet and a Mickey Mouse cartoon hopping around a living room.
“We’re so proud to yet again be partnering the greatest storytelling company in the world with the most innovative technology company in the world to bring you real-life magic,” Iger said.
Apple and Disney have a good, long-standing relationship. Iger and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs were close friends, and Iger has said he believes if Jobs were still alive, the two companies would have merged.
