O'Grady's PowerPage

Category: Retail Store

  • Apple offers discounts for some iPhone models, other products for Chinese lunar new year

    Apple offers discounts for some iPhone models, other products for Chinese lunar new year

    If you’re over in China, you’re going to like this.

    Following reports of somewhat slowing sales in the Chinese marketplace, Apple has begun offering discounts of up to 1,000 yuan ($144) on some products in China in anticipation of a holiday shopping rush and competitive pricing from local vendors.

    According to the South China Morning Post, Apple’s mainland China website and official stores have begun offering limited-time discounts on products including the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and some MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPod models. The discounts will take effect between January 25 and January 27.

    The sale follows reports that while Apple led the Chinese smartphone market in Q4 2025 with a 22 percent share, thanks to strong iPhone 17 sales, sales numbers have been falling month after month. The promotions, in turn, are aimed at countering the decline.

    China’s smartphone market shrank 1.6 percent year on year in Q4 2025, while full-year shipments declined 0.6 percent. Counterpoint analysts have put the decline down to weak demand amid rising prices and global memory shortages.

    A series of Chinese government policies appears to have played a role as well. Under government subsidies, consumers of electronics get a 15 percent refund of products that are priced under 6,000 yuan ($820). Apple has partly missed out on the program given that its iPhone Pro models exceed the price cutoff point.

    If you’ve seen these discounts, please let us know in the comments.

    Via MacRumors and the South China Morning Post

  • Rumor: Apple developing wearable AI pin

    Rumor: Apple developing wearable AI pin

    “Big Mouth” parodied the idea of a high-end Apple broach, and this could be something that Apple is working on.

    According to The Information, Apple is working on an “AI wearable pin” that could be available sometime next year. The device is seen as a competitor to OpenAI’s wearable that is being designed by Jony Ive and slated to ship this year.

    It’s thought that the device would be similar in size to an AirTag, but thicker. The pin, which is currently in development, features an aluminum-and-glass shell, both wide and ultra-wide cameras for photos and video recording, three microphones, a speaker, a button along the edge, and a magnetic charge at its back. No information has been released as to how the device would fit within Apple’s ecosystem, its overall role, or how it would relate to Apple’s other wearables, including AirPods, the Apple Watch, and the Apple Vision Pro.

    The Information’s article pointed out that the pin is in early development, and there’s always a chance Apple could cancel the project.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via Macworld and The Information

  • Some Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro 90-day trial links are still active as Apple transitions to Creator Studio offerings

    Some Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro 90-day trial links are still active as Apple transitions to Creator Studio offerings

    Following up on Apple’s announcement last week about Apple Creator Studio becoming available for subscription, there may be a way to get a free 90-day trial for its Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro applications.

    Per 9to5Mac, while Apple has replaced standalone 3-month trials of Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro with Apple Creator Studio’s 1-month test period, Creator Studio offers Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro on Mac and iPad, along with Motion, Compressor, and MainStage on Mac.

    The $12.99/month or $129/year service will roll out on January 28, but Apple will still offer one-time purchases for Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage through the Mac App Store.

    According to Reddit and MacMagazine, Apple “has discontinued the trial versions of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro”. Where users could previously download 90-day trial versions of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro independently, you can still use trial links at https://www.apple.com/uk/final-cut-pro/trial/, or https://www.apple.com/it/logic-pro/trial/, which still allow users to download the trial versions of both apps, although it is very likely that Apple will also pull these links sooner rather than later.

    The trial links across several regions are rapdily changing, with some original trial pages still working, while others redirect to the new Apple Creator Studio landing pages or to the App Store.

    Still, there may be some time left to download and use the 90-day trials before the January launch date for Apple Creator Studio.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac, Reddit, and MacMagazine

  • Noted analyst Ross Young corroborates iPhone 18 Pro model front display/Face ID leak

    Noted analyst Ross Young corroborates iPhone 18 Pro model front display/Face ID leak

    Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro may have some interesting changes coming this way, the rumored changes having been corroborated by veteran display analyst Ross Young.

    In a new post on X/Twitter, the now-retired analyst said that Chinese leaker Instant Digital’s latest explanation of how Apple will shrink the Dynamic Island is what he was alluding to in a report last year.

    Last June, Young stated that while some parts of Apple’s Face ID system would move under the display of the iPhone 18 Pro model handsets, the devices would still retain visible Face ID elements. As such, the Dynamic Island feature would persist, albeit in a smaller form than on the iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 17 Pro.

    Young went on to explain in his post that only the IR flood illuminator component would move under the display to the top-left corner. Other components, such as the dot projector, infrared camera, and selfie camera, would remain housed in a reduced, centered Dynamic Island.

    Young’s corroboration directly contradicts a recent report by The Information’s Wayne Ma that said Apple would move the selfie camera to the top-left corner of the iPhone 18 Pro’s display, resulting in a hole-punch cutout and the removal of the pill-shaped Dynamic Island.

    Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro models in September.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors, @DSCCRoss, and The Information

  • Some MacBook Pro configurations see up to a two-month delay ahead of possible next-gen M5 MacBook Pro release

    Some MacBook Pro configurations see up to a two-month delay ahead of possible next-gen M5 MacBook Pro release

    If there’s one telltale sign of a forthcoming next generation of hardware, it’s usually supply constraints and how this affects shipping.

    Per MacRumors, the availability has recently tightened for the MacBook Pro on Apple’s online storefront, with select configurations facing up to a two-month delivery timeframe in the United States.

    A few 14-inch and 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pro notebooks are still available without any shipping delay. Still, the estimated delivery dates for many configurations with the M4 Max chip now extend from February 6 to February 24 or even later. At the most extreme end, all built-to-order 14-inch MacBook Pro configurations with a 16-core M4 Max chip and 128GB of RAM are estimated to be delivered as late as March 17 on Apple’s online store.

    In the case of the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro, which was updated to an M5 chip in October, the wait continues for configurations with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. These delays have historically indicated that a forthcoming generation is on the horizon, although ongoing RAM supply constraints could also be contributing to the shipping delays.

    Apple unveiled MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in January 2023, so there is precedent for a MacBook Pro refresh in January. Apple’s Creator Studio bundle of creative apps launches on Wednesday, January 28, and the company will be holding its next quarterly earnings call on Thursday, January 29.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and Apple