Ports! Port! Ports as far as the eye can see! 

As Mac users, we've traditionally been a bit starved of ports over the years, as Apple has favored slimness over utility. Though it's got better with recent Mac generations, the sight of a good port selection still gets us excited. That’s why whenever Apple decides to add a Thunderbolt port here, or an SD card slot there on its latest MacBooks and desktop computers, we hail it like it’s the second coming.

Thankfully, there are loads of docking stations designed to up the port count on our computers, and this Prime Day the absolute best one has got a discount: the CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 docking station. Usually priced at $449.95, it’s been knocked down to $319.99 — a tidy $130 saving.

How do I know it’s the best of the best? Because I use it every day — and have done for nearly two years.

Why pick the CalDigit TS4?

So what’s special about the CalDigit TS4?

In a nutshell, if there’s a port you need, the TS4 almost certainly has it. There’s a whopping 18 ports on the CalDigit TS4, including 3x speedy Thunderbolt 4 ports and 5x USB-A. There’s also support for 8K video output, 98W fast-charging, and more. Whether I’m popping in my high-impedance wired headphones into the dock, or digging an SD card out of a camera and into my MacBook Air through the TS4, the TS4 has me covered. It’s become a mainstay of my professional life.

This image does a great job of wrapping up what’s so special about the TS4 — just look at all the features it offers!

In my full CalDigit TS4 review, I wrapped up with these words:

“If your desk and workload demands many connection options, there’s no better docking device on the market than the CalDigit TS4. Its port selection is near perfect, its port placement is convenient, and its performance is top-notch, whether in data transfer speeds or power supplies. Of course, it’s expensive, but its convenience makes it the finishing touch to any self-respecting workstation and a great companion to the best MacBooks.”

That ‘expensive’ comment gets a little easier to bear thanks to the Prime Day sales — the last time we highlighted a deal on the CalDigit TS4, it was a mere $50 saving, so this is a massive saving by comparison. I can’t recommend the TS4 highly enough, and it would boost any Mac-lover's workspace that chooses to grab it. 

Reader, it is that time of year again. I am once again asking you to consider an e-reader over a tablet. And this one is an e-reader with a difference!

The iPad Pro is the best tablet in the world — no question. With its ProMotion screen, top-of-the-line M4 Apple silicon chip and tandem OLED display, excellent iPadOS apps, and versatile Apple Pencil Pro support, it’s a do-everything device. It’s a genuine laptop replacement these days, and even my last-gen model never leaves my side.

But I can't help but love Amazon's Kindle Scribe. 

In many ways, it’s Amazon’s answer to the iPad Pro. With a 10.2-inch screen, its core experience also revolves around stylus support. But, as anyone familiar with the Kindle range might have spotted by the name, there’s one key difference — an e-ink, rather than LCD display.

It instantly makes the Kindle Scribe a less versatile device. Its grayscale, low-refresh rate display isn’t cut out for video, gaming or photo editing. And that’s before you talk about the other commissions, such as a camera or App Store.

But that’s kind of the appeal. Kindle Scribe is attractive because of its limitations, and its specialization. It’s all about reading and note taking, and not much else. That screen is very easy on the eye, just like a large-scale dedicated e-reader — it avoids being reflective, and is back-lit, letting you read for hours without fatigue. And that screen/pen combo is, in my opinion, more natural feeling than with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil — there’s more drag and friction, just like with a lead pencil, than you get with an iPad’s glass screen (unless you put an artist-friendly screen protector on it). 

It’s a limited device then, focusing on reading and writing, but that distraction-free purposefulness actually appeals to me. When I’m reading, it’s so easy to lose focus on the words in front of me while using an iPad, with notifications and the entire internet at my fingertips. [Note the Scribe can access a browser, but it’s a ropey experience that you’ll likely want to avoid]. Likewise, when I’m jotting down notes and sketches, I want as few distractions as possible too, and want to feel as ‘close’ to the page as possible. Like other Kindles, the Scribe feels closer to an actual book or notepad, and that’s still something I miss as we continue the march toward an all-digital future.

With a $105 dollar discount currently on the Kindle Scribe, that trade-off between focus and capabilities feels a bit more stomachable. Usually priced at $339.99, it’s currently down to $234.99. Just a few months ago I was recommending this slate at a $264.99 price — saving another $30 makes it a no-brainer now if you're in the market.

There is the Premium Pen version as well, which adds a few features to the pencil-like stylus that comes in the box — although, unfortunately, that model is still full price at $369. Shame.

Kindle Scribe and iPad Deals

Still want an iPad? Try these deals...

If you're excited about watchOS 11 features like Training Load or the new Vitals app but need to upgrade your smartwatch, or are looking to buy your first, the Apple Watch Series 9 is very easy to recommend. 

The Series 9 is the best Apple Watch yet, and while many criticized the lack of innovation when it debuted, the addition of the smarter chipset and on-device Siri are likely to be shown to be excellent future-proofing decisions from Apple.

In our review, we dubbed it "the one you've been waiting for", praising the new processor, the arrival of the Double Tap gesture (which is the closest many of us will get to using a Vision Pro) and more.

Better yet, you can save big money on the Apple Watch Series 9 right now at Amazon.

The retailer is offering $100 off of the Cellular 41mm model in a variety of color options, bringing it down to just $399.99.

That means if you have a data plan, you can stream music, send messages, or even answer calls while your phone is at home - ideal for fitness enthusiasts that don't want to carry a hefty device in their pocket.

I've done some digging and this matches Amazon's previous lowest price for this model, too, making it a deal well worth looking into.

While the Apple Watch X (or Series 10) is expected in a few months time, this is still an excellent option.

More from iMore

• Samsung Galaxy Watch leak reveals the next release is an Apple Watch Ultra rip-off
• What is Training Load on watchOS 11?
• Apple Watch Ultra 3: Everything you need to know

We have reached the final day of Prime Day. With the sales even confusing split over two days, you have less than 24 hours to take advantage of the best Prime Day Apple deals before they disappear until next year. Luckily, if you happen to be looking for a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or AirPods, there are some pretty phenomenal deals out there this year. 

A few standout offers include the Apple Watch Series 9 down $120 to $279 and AirPods 3 at just $119. 

We at iMore have been keeping an eye on all the deals this year and here are the best Amazon Prime Apple deals right now. 

Prime Day Apple deals at a glance

• MacBook Air M1 |$649 at Walmart
• MacBook Air M2 13-inch| $999 $799 at Amazon
• MacBook Air M3 | $1,099 $899 at Amazon
• iPhone 15 Pro Max | $0.1 at via Boost Infinite at Amazon
• Apple Watch Series 9 | $399 $279 at Amazon
• AirPods 3 | $169 $119 at Amazon
• MacBook Pro M3 Pro 16-inch| $2,499 $1,999 at Amazon
• iPad mini | $499 $379 at Amazon
• Shop all Apple deals

Best Prime Day Mac deals

Best Prime Day iPhone deals

Best Prime Day iPad deals

Best Prime Day Apple Watch deals

Best Prime Day AirPods deals

Best Prime Day HomeKit deals

The best of the rest

Q&A

As the second day of Prime Day gets underway, we're watching some great savings on Apple Watches on Amazon. We've watched the lowest-ever prices on almost every single model of Apple Watch, for some massive wearable savings.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2, for example, has a mega $100 discount for the fresh lowest price, while the Series 9 gets a good saving to take it lower than it's ever been. As the sale moves into its final hours, it's still looking like a great time to pick up an Apple Watch — and the really good news is that they're all still in stock!

There are now less than 24 hours of Prime Day left, and we're going to continue tracking all the best Apple Watch deals as they happen. There's only a few hours left now, so stick with us.

Prime Day Apple Watch deals at a glance

• $80 off Apple Watch Ultra 2 | $799 $699 at Amazon
• $100 off Apple Watch Series 9 GPS | $399 $279 at Amazon
• $100 off Apple Watch Series 9 GPS + Cellular | $499 $379 at Amazon
• $60 off Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) GPS | $249 $169 at Amazon
• $60 off Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) GPS + Cellular | $299 $219 at Amazon

Best Prime Day Apple Watch Ultra deals

Best Prime Day Apple Watch Series 9 deals

Best Prime Day Apple Watch SE deals

Q&A

The roster of Amazon sales events grows once again, as the online shopping giant announces its Spring Deals Days, a five-day long event that will reduce the price of thousands of items in the Amazon store.

The sale is going to start on March 20, and then it’s going to go all the way to March 25 for what will be one of the longest online sales of the year — so here’s hoping there are some incredible deals!

Spring Deals Days

Unlike the majority of Amazon’s yearly sales events, the Spring Deals Days are not Prime exclusive, which means that anyone can find an epic deal over the five days. We don’t know at the moment what products will be in the sales, but we will be covering the event over its course so that we can find you the best prices possible.

We’re hoping for some epic HomeKit device deals this time around, as well as some drops on the likes of the best MacBooks, some great AirPods deals, and more. Sales like these are some of the best times to find the lowest prices on the most desirable devices, and we’re hoping for more of the same with the Spring Deals Days.

While you don’t need a Prime account to get the deals over the sale, there are other benefits to Amazon’s premium membership. One of our favorites is the free next-day delivery, getting you your purchases much quicker than the standard delivery option. You also get access to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon’s TV and movie streaming service which shows the likes of Reacher, The Boys, and more. It’ll also gain you access to some of Amazon’s exclusive deals events, like Amazon Prime Day which occurs later in the year.

The Spring Deals Days are only a few days away, and we’ll be covering the whole thing — so stick with us, and let's save you some money!

More from iMore

• Best iPhone in 2024: Tested, Reviewed and Rated
• The Best iPad in 2024: from mini to Pro and every Apple tablet in between
• Best MacBook: Air, Pro, M1, M2, and M3 compared

Now that the holiday season is underway and we are approaching the end of the year, a few excellent deals have gone live on Amazon, making it the perfect time to get all those devices and accessories to complement your 2024 resolutions. 

Some of these deals will be at their lowest-ever price, whereas others are just solid reductions well worth considering. Given this is one of the last major sales events for a few months, it’s the perfect time to pick up some deals. 

New year, new you

• MacBook deals: Amazon | B&H Photo | Best Buy
• Laptop deals: Dell | Best Buy | Walmart | Lenovo | HP | Newegg | Amazon
• Gaming laptop deals: Dell | Walmart | Lenovo | Best Buy | HP | Amazon | Razer
  

• Headphone deals: Walmart | Best Buy | Amazon | Dell
• Earbuds deals: Best Buy | Walmart | Amazon | Samsung | Dell

• TV deals: Walmart | Samsung | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 

Amazon is finally letting you use Apple passkeys alongside TouchID and FaceID to sign into your account, just before the Black Friday sales begin on November 23.

According to a news post from Amazon, the shopping site is slowly rolling out these features over the next few weeks on its iOS app, saving you the hassle of typing in your password.

While you could previously autofill your password from iCloud Keychain, which stores all of your passwords behind FaceID or TouchID, there's been no other way of signing in to your Amazon account other than manually typing it all out.

To enable this on your Amazon account, go to Your Account on Amazon’s app, Login & Security, select Set Up next to Passkeys, then follow the step-by-step instructions.

With Black Friday fast approaching, there’s sure to be those moments where you’re having trouble signing in. Thankfully, these new features should make signing in much easier.

A long time coming — iMore’s Take

Passkeys were introduced to Apple devices in 2022, as a way of signing in with TouchID or FaceID only, without the need for an alphanumeric password. Sites such as PayPal, Adobe, and more have used these to help you sign in quickly and securely. But Amazon has been lagging behind in this respect for so long.

The process previously had you sign into your account, and then be sent a text message (for those signed up to two-step authentication), that would include a code that you’d need to fill in to then log in, for years.

I’ve always configured Safari to clear my history and cookies after two weeks. And for some reason, Amazon would be one of the few sites to sign me out, and have me do the above process all over again.

So I’m glad to finally see this feature that I’ve been able to use on other sites come to Amazon. I’ve already got plans to pick up an iPad Black Friday deal when the sale begins. So if the app or the site decides to sign me out, I only need to use FaceID on my iPhone 15 Pro Max to sign back in and grab a deal as quickly as I can.

More from iMore

• How to set up two-factor authentication for your Amazon account
• Best Black Friday iPhone deals: All the early price drops
• Best AirPods Black Friday deals

Every year, Amazon has held some massive deals events in the form of Prime Day, and last year it added an extra one — Amazon Prime Early Access Deals. Despite it having the most irritating name possible, Amazon has brought the event back for another year, although this year it looks and sounds a little different.

That horrible name has been changed, for one, as the two-day sale is now called “Amazon Prime Big Deal Days”, which, we imagine, will mean lots of… big deals. You’ll need a Prime account to make sure that you can get all the best deals, so you should probably get one of those sorted. It also sounds like there will be more ‘Big Deals’ over the course of the two days; which is good, the Early Access Sale last year was slightly underwhelming, to say the least.

We also have a date: October 10-11.

It’s Prime Day, Jim, but not as we know it

The easiest comparison to make will of course be Prime Day which comes around every July, where this year we saw some epic lowest prices on Apple devices from iPads and Apple Watches to MacBooks and AirPods. While the Early Access sale wasn’t as good for that kind of deal in 2022, we’re holding out hope for some better deals this year so that we can save some money on the latest Apple gadgets.

We’ll be covering the entirety of the event, making sure that we find the best deals for you over the course of the two days. So get the 10-11 October bookmarked, brush off that Prime Account (Or set a reminder to start a free trial the day before), and get ready to save some money on some top Apple products — and more. Although perhaps not the just-released iPhone 15.

Apple is set to get some new competition in the mapping space following the news that a group formed by Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon intends to add a new option to the market.

The trio will join forces with former sat nav heavyweight TomTom to give others the tools needed to build their own map and navigation apps.

Currently, Google Maps and Apple Maps are the two big players in the app-based mapping market, but that could be about to change.

Points of interest

CNBC reports that the Overture Maps Foundation, which has been around since late 2022, has now captured 59 million different points of interest including restaurants, streets, landmarks, and more. That data has now been formatted in such a way that it can be used as a free option for anyone else looking to build their own maps.

The data is often difficult to collect and has now been handed over to Overture by Meta and Microsoft, and it can be used for free. By contrast, app makers have to pay Google per thousand lookups using its own Maps API. And that isn't always a cost that can be carried by apps or their developers.

However, the only question now is whether the map data provided will be kept up to date at a reasonable enough pace to ensure it remains useful in the future.

"One big challenge is keeping the map data up to date, as businesses close and roads change," CNBC notes. "The foundation hopes its members can contribute enough real-time information to enable the regular release of accurate updates instead of a one-time data dump." It's also thought that AI could be used to help there, too.

It's important to remember that not that long ago Google Maps was the only real option for people wanting to use such an app but Apple has improved its own mapping data considerably in recent years. It's now a very real option, but there could soon be more alternatives.

Apple and Amazon colluded to increase the price of products sold to customers in the United Kingdom, according to a new lawsuit lodged with the Competition Appeals Tribunal.

It's said that Apple products now cost more than they might otherwise have done if the two companies hadn't worked together to limit competition on Amazon's marketplace. It's said that the pair struck a deal in 2018, in secret, that would impact third-party sellers that could otherwise have helped drive down prices.

Amazon says that its agreement with Apple simply means that "customers can find the latest Apple and Beats products on our store, and they benefit from an expanded range with better deals and faster shipping."

No more independent merchants

TechCrunch reports that the lawsuit is seeking at least £500 million ($645 million) on behalf of Apple-buying customers across the United Kingdom. It relates to Apple products as well as those branded as Beats that have been sold on Amazon since October 2018 including AirPods, all of Apple's best iPhones, and other products.

“The claim alleges that, by January 2019, almost all independent merchants of Apple and Beats products disappeared from the Amazon marketplace as a result of Apple and Amazon’s collusion,” a press release says. “This led to a decrease in the discounts provided to customers by the limited number of independent merchants remaining, and a significant increase in the sales of Apple and Beats products at undiscounted prices.”

Apple is yet to publicly comment on the lawsuit and told TechCrunch that it was yet to see it. However, it did argue that its agreements with Amazon were designed to battle counterfeit products previously sold on its marketplace.  This is the same argument it put forth when faced with a similar situation in Spain earlier this month.

Apple and Amazon have been fined a combined 194.1 million euros ($218.03 million) in Spain over claims that the two colluded to limit the availability of devices sold online in the country.

The two companies signed a contract in October of 2018 that would make Amazon an authorized Apple dealer but that deal included clauses that went on to affect other companies selling Apple devices via Amazon's marketplace.

Both Apple and Amazon say that they intend to appeal the fine, with Apple stuck with the majority — a whopping 143.6 million euros or $161.3 million.

Collusion with Amazon

Reuters reports that "more than 90% of the existing retailers who were using Amazon's marketplace to sell Apple devices were blocked as a result" of the deal signed between the two companies. "Amazon also reduced the capacity of retailers in the European Union based outside Spain to access Spanish customers, and restricted the advertising Apple's competitors were allowed to place on its website when users searched for Apple products," Spanish antitrust watchdog CNMC said.

Countering the claim, Amazon says that Apple device buyers actually came out the winners here, claiming that "the number of discounts on iPads and iPhones increased."

Apple said that the agreement with Amazon was supposed to help prevent the number of fake devices being sold, ensuring that fewer devices that were delivered to customers turned out to be counterfeit. Apple was reportedly spending time and money sending hundreds of thousands of take-down notices to try and stop those devices from being sold.

However, the CNMC says that the deal actually resulted in the price of Apple devices being sold in Spain increasing. That means that anyone buying Apple's best iPhones or Macs could wind up paying more than if they'd been allowed to buy using a third party.

With Amazon and Apple set to appeal this is unlikely to be the end of this story.

While our best Prime Day iPad deals list has been showcasing how you could save some gold coins on Apple's best tablet, sometimes it could be too much power for a child, which is where some alternatives can come in, before they ascend to owning an iPad.

Prime Day doesn't officially begin until July 11, but you can already save an impressive $100 on an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet, which is perfect for your kid to watch some movies, TV shows, and play some games while you get some errands done.

Featuring a 10-hour battery and a bright 1080p screen, you can also add a microSD card to the tablet to expand the storage, all the way up to 1TB. But do keep in mind, you can only get this great discount as long as you're signed up to Amazon Prime.

An Optimus Prime discount

• Tablet deals: Best Buy | Walmart | Samsung | Amazon | Dell

Granted, the best tablet you can currently buy for Prime Day will be an iPad - but that could be overkill for a situation where you just want to keep your child distracted for a half hour while you hoover up the front room, or an important work meeting is calling.

Amazon has been making great tablets for years now, and this $100 discount for its Fire HD 10 tablet only sweetens the deal further as a 'starter tablet'.

Combine this with Amazon Kids, where parents can create child profiles to limit screen time, set educational goals, and manage content, it's a tablet that's almost tailor-made for kids.

Usually, we would tell you to wait until Black Friday to buy a TV, but it's hard to imagine a better TV deal than the one Amazon has on the LG OLED C2. With stunning HDR performance, Dolby Atmos support, and low input lag for gaming, it's the best TV to upgrade the picture quality in your home.

Right now, you can save 25% as Amazon has lowered the price of LG OLED C2 (55-inch) down to $1,347 — it's never been cheaper. 

OLED TVs have the most authentic black, making The LG C2 OLED one of the best TVs for watching HDR content. Movies will pop with vibrance and contrast to give you the punchy picture you usually can only experience in a cinema.

On top of its picture quality, the gaming capabilities of the LG C2 OLED are phenomenal. It doesn't matter what console you have; the four HDMI 2.1 ports are perfect for ensuring you can gaming in 4K at 120 FPS as much as you want. Plus, the LG C2 OLED has extremely low input lag, meaning you won't have to worry about lagging out during your online gaming matches.

It also supports Dolby Atmos, giving you the most decadent sound experience that any TV set can provide. 

We've never seen the 55-inch LG C2 at this price before, and it's worth every penny for anyone who loves excellent picture quality. Plus, if you're looking for bigger (or smaller) sizes, those are all one sale now too. We think $1350(ish) for the 55-inch model hits the sweet spot for most living spaces. Not too big, not too small, and not too expensive for the quality you receive. 

Next week, Amazon's holding a rare October sales event, the Prime Early Access sale. The two-day discount spectacle is being held three months after the company's Prime Day event ended and weeks before Black Friday and the start of the traditional holiday shopping season. 

The July event wasn't exciting for anyone looking for deep discounts on Apple products. So should fans of all things Apple get excited about the October 11-12 Prime Early Access sale shopping event? Perhaps, if only because of the calendar and recent moves made by Apple. 

Here's what Amazon needs to do for Apple fans this Prime Day

Amazon's summer event occurred at an odd time on the Apple product launch calendar. One month earlier, Apple held its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where it revealed a next-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Usually, new Apple product launches lead to significant discounts on earlier models. However, due to early supply issues, Apple delayed the launch of the 2022 MacBook Air and also decided to continue to sell the earlier model. The result was few discounts on either product, new, old, or otherwise, at the largest online retailer in the world. 

Instead, Amazon's previous Prime Day event featured small discounts on the more expensive 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and better ones on products from the Apple AirPods family, including the AirPods Max, AirPods (third-generation), and first-generation AirPods Pro. 

Since that event, some significant changes have been made on the Apple front. First, new iPhones arrived. Second, it's likely Apple will soon announce all-new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models should  — perhaps even before next week's event. Finally, a second-generation AirPods Pro is also available, which could lead to steep discounts on the earlier model, which Apple no longer sells. Apple's also expected to announce new iPad models in the coming weeks. 

What should be discounted next week

All these changes suggest there should be more Apple product discounts at next week's Prime Early Access sale. Among the products most likely to get deep discounts during Prime Day are:

• iPhone 13 Pro/iPhone 13 Pro Max: Apple replaces its iPhone Pro lineup yearly, which means the previous model is eventually sent to the discount racks. With the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max now available, Amazon could spend next week trying to eliminate its inventory of previous iPhone Pro models. This could include the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro series. 
• Ninth-generation iPad: It's not the sexist Apple tablet anymore, but the singularly named iPad remains a winner because of its low price, which sits below the iPad Air and iPad Pro. The current iPad is 13 months old, which is the perfect time for retailers to slash costs. Watch for more of the same during Prime Day. 
• AirPods Pro (first-generation): From a design perspective, nothing distinguishes the first AirPods Pro from the newest version. This non-distinct distinction, coupled with substantial discounts, could make the older pair a top seller during Prime Day and the rest of the holiday buying season, assuming there are still a lot of units available to sell. 
• AirPods (second-generation) and AirPods (third-generation): It's a given Amazon will heavily discount these best-sellers next week. Come back to iMore often to see just how big those discounts become. 
• Case, cases, and more cases: Perhaps you aren't in the market for a new iPhone, but you are one to like iPhone accessory discounts. With Prime Day, you've come to the right place. Watch for substantial discounts on cases for iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 models. However, you might have to wait until Black Friday to find discounts on the best iPhone 14 cases. 

It's now the second day of Prime Day, which means you've got less than 24 hours to get yourself one of the best Prime Day MacBook deals! We've already seen some great prices on MacBooks over the course of the sale, and they've all stuck around for the second day of the event — including some lowest-ever prices for some very desirable laptops.

Take the MacBook Air models for example, where you'll find some of the lowest prices ever on the likes of the M2 and M3 MacBook Airs. There are some great prices on desktops too, like the M2 Mac mini, and the M3 iMac. This is one of the best times we've seen this year to grab yourself a new Mac, thanks to those low Prime Day prices.

We'll be tracking all the deals as they go live, and then putting them here so that you can find them more easily.

• MacBook deals: Amazon | B&H Photo | Best Buy

Prime Day Mac and MacBook deals live right now

• $200 off MacBook Air M2 13-inch | $999 $799 at Amazon
• $201 off MacBook Air M3 13-inch | $1,099 $898 at Amazon
• $200 off MacBook Air M3 15-inch | $1,299 $1,099 at Amazon
• $200 off MacBook Pro M3 14-inch | $1599 $1,399 at Amazon
• $300 off MacBook Pro M3 Pro 14-inch | $1999 $1,699 at Amazon 
• $400 off MacBook Pro M3 Pro 16-inch | $2499 $1,999 at Amazon
• $120 off Mac mini M2 | $599 $479 at Amazon
• $85 off Mac mini M2 Pro | $1,299 $1,149 at Amazon
• $150 off M3 iMac | $1,299 $1,149 at Amazon
• $100 off Apple Studio Display | $1,599 $1,299 at Amazon

Best Prime Day MacBook Air deals

Best Prime Day MacBook Pro deals 2024

Best Mac mini Prime Day deals 2024

Best iMac Prime Day deals

Best Prime Day Mac accessories

You can find a wide variety of bands for your Apple Watch Series 7 (or any other model) on Amazon that look great and don't cost a lot. We're here to help you sort through the many Apple Watch band options. Here are 18 great-looking Apple Watch bands fresh from Amazon that are bound to catch your eye and save you a bit of cash.

The most affordable Apple Watch band is in your grasp

Finding the perfect and affordable Apple Watch band can be tough, but with leather, nylon, and silicone options on the market, there's bound to be one that fits your lifestyle. Whether you love leather Apple Watch bands, stainless steel, or something more feminine, we've got you covered.

We love the look and style of the WFEAGL Apple Watch Band — plus, you get a bunch of bang for your buck. These bands are top-grain, genuine leather bands. A leather watchband is a classic, classy look that never goes out of style. There are 45 different leather and hardware color combinations, including some bands that have a little sparkle. This band is available in both the larger and the smaller Apple Watch size, suitable for any generation.

However, if you're looking for something even more affordable, the TOYOUTHS Elastic Apple Watch Band is ideal for people who want to be comfortable during their day-to-day activities and shenanigans. It's available in both Apple Watch sizes and fits any generation Apple Watch. Choose from a variety of beautiful and colorful shades.

Two-factor authentication adds an extra factor (a generated code, in this case) to your Amazon login process, so even if your account's password is somehow discovered, your account stays locked without the code. It's a good idea to get two-factor authentication locked and loaded on any account that offers it. Amazon offers two types of two-factor authentication: you can either receive a text message containing a two-factor code or you can use an authenticator app to generate two-factor codes for you.

Follow along to learn the ins and outs of setting up two-factor authentication for your Amazon account.

• How to set up SMS-based two-factor authentication
• How to set up two-factor authentication with an authenticator app
• How to disable two-factor authentication

How to set up SMS-based two-factor authentication

If you'd prefer to receive your two-factor authentication codes via text message, you'll want to use this method. Keep in mind you'll need a second phone number or an authentication app if you use this method — Amazon requires a backup authentication method in the event your primary method is unavailable.

1. Visit the Amazon Website and log in to your account.
2. Hover over Account & Lists in the upper right portion of the site.

3. Click Your Account.

4. Click Login & Security Settings in the Settings section.

5. Click Edit next to the Two-Step Verification (2SV) Settings section.

6. Click Get Started to begin setting up two-factor authentication.
7. Enter your phone number and click continue.Source: Jeramy Johnson / iMore

8. Enter the One Time Password and click Continue.
9. Click Got it. Turn on Two-Step Verification after reading about Amazon's alternate sign-in method.Source: Jeramy Johnson / iMore

Note: Some devices and browsers may suppress the One Time Password settings automatically, or they may allow you to choose to do so. This will vary from browser to browser, and you will still be required to enter your Amazon.com password.

How to set up two-factor authentication with an authenticator app

If you'd prefer to get your two-factor authentication codes from an authenticator app, like Google Authenticator or Authy, you'll want to use this method. Keep in mind you'll also need to enter a phone number if you use this method — Amazon requires a backup authentication method in the event your primary method is unavailable.

1. Visit the Amazon Website and log in to your account.
2. Hover over Account & Lists in the top right portion of the site.

3. Click Your Account.

4. Click Login & Security Settings in the Settings section.

5. Click Edit next to the Two-Step Verification (2SV) Settings section.

6. Click Get Started to begin setting up Two-Step Verification.
7. Click on the radio button (looks like a circle) next to Authenticator App.Source: Jeramy Johnson / iMore

8. Scan the QR code with your Authenticator App. (I use Authy to generate my two-factor authentication codes.)
9. Enter the two-factor authentication code generated by your Authenticator App.
10. Click Verify OTP and continue.

11. Choose a backup method by entering a phone number.
12. Click Got it. Turn on Two-Step Verification after reading about Amazon's alternate sign-in method.Note: Some devices and browsers may suppress the One Time Password settings automatically, or they may allow you to choose to do so. This will vary from browser to browser, and you will still be required to enter your Amazon.com password.

How to disable two-factor authentication

If you decide you no longer want to use two-factor authentication on your account, you can disable it.

1. Visit the Amazon Website and log in to your account.
2. Hover over Account & Lists in the top right portion of the site.

3. Click Your Account.

4. Click Login & Security Settings in the Settings section.

5. Click Edit next to the Two-Step Verification (2SV) Settings section.

6. At the top of the screen where it says Two-Step Verification, click Disable. A prompt will come up warning you that this is not the most secure decision.
7. Click Disable, and the Two-Step Verification will be turned off.Source: Jeramy Johnson / iMore

Questions?

Run into any problems along the way? Let me know in the comments below or over on Twitter and we'll try to troubleshoot the problem!

Lego is the perennial favorite toy of both kids and adults, with a rabid fanbase that might not mind shelling out upwards of $900 for the Millennium Falcon. Sometimes certain retailers, like Amazon and Target, will get exclusive Lego sets, and you won't be able to find them anywhere else. So Lego fans, here are the Amazon- and Target-exclusive Lego sets you can get right now!

Amazon exclusives

Target exclusives

Go exclusive

Lego's a world phenomenon, and there are so many sets, characters, and themes to choose from. Whether it is Star Wars, Harry Potter, trains, or beginner DUPLO sets for young builders, there is a LEGO set for just about everyone.

If you're looking for exclusives, then be sure to check out Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Razor Crest from Amazon. Star Wars brought Lego back from the brink of collapse, so it's only fitting to grab all the Star Wars blocks you can get your hands on!

Ever want to build out an epic Quidditch stadium of your own? Then check out the Target exclusive Harry Potter Quidditch Match. This set includes not only Harry himself, but also three other favorites like Snape, as well as the towers from all of the houses.

There are plenty of deals to be had on batteries, but the best way to save is by investing in rechargeable versions. You can reuse them again and again, which means they're kinder to your wallet and the planet. Today, select AmazonBasics Rechargeable Batteries are even on sale at up to 15% off so you can save a bit extra on the purchase. You can choose between AA and AAA batteries in various quantities while supplies last.

The most important thing to have once you have a set of rechargeable batteries is a battery charger, and luckily, AmazonBasics sells those affordably as well. You can pick up this AmazonBasics Rechargeable Battery Charger for just $16.49, and since it works with both AA and AAA batteries, you'll only need one no matter which set you pick out today.

Choosing Subscribe & Save on the Amazon product page can usually save you a little bit extra as well. That sets up the product to be re-ordered at a monthly interval of your choosing, though you can cancel the future subscriptions at any time with no penalty.

The most affordable pick in today's sale is this 4-pack of Rechargeable AA batteries for $8.47, while an 8-pack of the same batteries is now down to $14.02. The final option for AA batteries is a 16-pack for $20.39 which is the best value of them all.

Meanwhile, the only rechargeable AAA batteries in this sale is this 12-pack of AAA batteries for $10.19. Both options are built to be recharged up to 1000 times and have a long-lasting shelf life. Even after keeping them on the shelf for two years, they retain 80% of their power. Plus, they come pre-charged so you can start using them right when your order arrives.

Shipping at Amazon is free on orders totaling $25 or more, or with an Amazon Prime membership. If you've never been a member before, you can start a free 30-day trial to score free two-day shipping with no order minimum, along with access to perks such as the Prime Video streaming service, exclusive members-only discounts, and more.

If there's a Disney fan on your shopping list, we've found the last-minute perfect gift. Amazon is now selling an Echo Wall Clock with Mickey Mouse. The easy-to-read special edition analog clock is available now on Amazon.com. No doubt, it would look perfect in a kitchen or any room in a home.

The Mickey Mouse Echo Wall Clock pairs and syncs the time with an Echo device. With 60 LEDs, it displays one or multiple timers, which are controllable with your voice. To get started, you must have a compatible Echo device, including an Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Show 5, Echo Plus, Echo Spot, Echo Input, Echo Studio, or Echo Flex.

With easy setup and use, the wall clock features a metallic finish and a clear cover that protects it against dust. It ships with mounting hardware and 4 AA batteries. Just say, "Alexa, set up my Echo Wall Clock" to get started.

You can find the Echo Wall Clock - Disney Mickey Mouse Edition on Amazon.com.

Not a member of Kindle Unlimited yet? Here's your chance to change that. For a limited time, you can get two months of Amazon's all-you-can-read service for free. The subscription service normally costs $9.99 a month, so you're saving $20 with this deal. Back in July, Amazon gave away three months of the service to its Prime members but unlike that offer, this deal does not require you to be a Prime subscriber so anyone can get in on it. This deal also doesn't specifiy that it is for first-time users only, so it's worth giving it a shot even if you have had a previous Kindle Unlimited trial.

Kindle Unlimited gives you access to over a million titles, spanning from technical documents to cookbooks to fantasy novels to nonfiction. Even some audiobooks are included. Need a self-help book? Want to re-read the Harry Potter books for the seventeenth time? It's all there, and it's all free with your membership. You don't need a Kindle or Fire tablet to read, either. Amazon makes it easy to read thanks to its free Kindle reading apps for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac.

With its myriad of titles, Kindle Unlimited could keep you reading non-stop if you wished. You can keep up to ten titles at a time, and when you feel like swapping them out, the process is seamless. After the two months are up, it will renew automatically for the normal rate. You can cancel at any time with no penalties for doing so, though you might find that $10 per month is a great value for all that Kindle Unlimited offers.

Amazon hasn't stated an end date for this offer, but it's not likely to hang around for long so don't miss your chance to explore Kindle Unlimited for yourself!

You're probably well aware of Alexa even if you're yet to add a smart speaker to your home. Whether you're just getting started with smart home stuff or want to have access to Alexa's smarts in more rooms, this one-day sale on Amazon Echo devices at Woot is for you. The devices are offered in used condition so may have some cosmetic blemishes, but they have all been inspected and tested by Amazon to ensure they are in full working order. Shipping is free if you use your Amazon Prime account, otherwise it's $6.

$64.99 $139.98 Save $75 1624266233

The Ring Video Doorbell is bundled with Amazon's Echo Show 5 at over 50% off exclusively for Prime Day. You'll be able to see who's at your door using the Ring app on a myriad of devices, including the Echo Show 5.

Limited Time Only 1624261022

Exclusively during Prime Day, Amazon is offering Prime members three free months of 'The Disney Bundle' with the purchase of a new Fire TV Stick or Fire Tablet. The Disney Bundle gives subscribers access to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.

Limited Time Only 1624126477

Amazon Prime Video lets you add other streaming services as 'channels' to your Prime subscription, and right now select options are down to just $1 per month ahead of Prime Day!

Prices Vary 1623665369

Featuring the Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show 5, Echo Auto, Echo Frames, and more, this sale lets you snap up some Amazon hardware without breaking the bank. These are some of the best prices ever, tough they are just for Prime members.

$0.99 $29.99 Save $29 1622747114

One of the best deals to come to Amazon Kids+ is now available exclusively for Prime members! Your family can score three months of access for only $1 by signing up before Prime Day begins on June 21.

The sale features the 1st-gen Amazon Echo in black or white for just $29.99. That's less than the price of the current Echo Dot and it features the same Alexa smarts with improvements to both volume and sound quality when compared to the smaller device. That means you can enjoy music and podcasts with a little added oomph and generally interact with it more easily. You can't argue with the 60,000 reviewers that gave the original Echo an average rating of 4.3 stars.

The Amazon Echo Show is also on sale at $49.99. With its 7-inch screen, the 1st-gen Echo Show allows you to access Amazon Video content, song lyrics, security cameras, photos, weather forecasts, Audible audiobooks, and more. What's really cool about it is you can do all of that hands-free, and even make calls to family or friends who have an Echo Spot, Echo Show, or the Alexa App. Amazon's Alexa allows for voice control over all of the Echo Show's features, and with its eight microphones, it can hear you from any direction.

Both devices give you access to all of Alexa's great features, like the ability to answer questions, control smart home accessories, and more. If you already own a more modern Echo device, these would be a good compliment to it if you add to the kitchen, a bedroom or kids play room. Alternatively, if you're just getting started with smart home gear these make for an affordable entry point. You may also want to add a discounted Amazon Smart Plug to your order. To use it, all you have to do is plug it in and hook it up to the same Wi-Fi network as your Echo device and then it's as simple as talking to Alexa to get it to turn on and off. You'll be able to set scheduled times or routines as well.

When we've seen these products hit these prices in the past, they have sold out quickly so you don't want to wait on it. If you don't want a dedicated smart speaker in another room, you could pick up the $8.99 Alexa Voice Remote for Echo Devices which connects to your Echo device via Bluetooth and includes an integrated microphone for when you are too far away or it's too noisy for Echo to hear you.

Prime members get all the best deals in July, like today's offer of three free months of Kindle Unlimited. This is a subscription service that usually costs $9.99 a month, but thanks to Amazon's offer, you'll be able to use it for three months at no charge, after which it will renew at that $10 rate each month. You can cancel at any time with no penalties for doing so. The deal is supposed to be restricted to people signing up for the first time, but the miles seem to vary on that.

If you aren't a member of Amazon Prime yet, you should be! You'd gain access to today's deal on Kindle Unlimited as well as all the Prime Day deals that we'll see next week. You can also start a free 30-day trial to make your account eligible for all Prime-exclusive offers and see if you like the service.

Kindle Unlimited gives you access to over a million titles, spanning from technical documents to cookbooks to fantasy novels to nonfiction. Need a self-help book? Want to re-read Harry Potter for the seventeenth time? It's all there, and it's all free with your membership. You don't need a Kindle to read, either. Amazon makes it easy to read thanks to its free Kindle reading apps for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac.

On the other hand, you could jump right into a longer Kindle Unlimited membership at up to 40% off, which is a deal that's good not just for new members but returning subscribers too. The offer won't last forever though.

You can keep up to ten titles at a time, and when you feel like swapping them out, the process is seamless. I'm always shocked at the wide variety of available options. More than a dozen times, I've gone to purchase a Thrifter Kindle book deal, only to find that the title in question is already free thanks to Kindle Unlimited. You can take advantage of thousands of audiobooks, too, if you want to spice up your commute or listen while you cook and clean. The options are almost endless.

Need more awesome ways to save using your Prime membership? Check out our Prime Day hub and be on the lookout for all of Amazon's big deals coming before the big day.

Calling all bibliophiles: version 6.6 of Amazon's Kindle app is rolling out today, providing a few new features that will hopefully make your reading experience easier and more fulfilling than ever.

Perhaps most useful of all the update's offerings is the ability to return Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited books without ever needing to leave the app. For those unfamiliar, Kindle Unlimited is essentially a book-centric version of Netflix in which you pay $9.99 monthly for a subscription that gives you unlimited access to a sizable catalog of books, magazines, and audiobooks. On the other hand, Prime Reading is a service that comes along with an Amazon Prime subscription, and offers free access to a slightly smaller library of titles than Kindle Unlimited. Prior to now, Kindle for iOS users had to return books by opening a web browser and doing it on Amazon. With this update, however, all you need to do to return your book once you're finished is long press on a book cover and select "Return book." Easy peasy!

In addition to the returns feature, Amazon has also added a new mobile-friendly magazine format, complete with popular magazine titles like Food Network, Life and Style, and US Weekly. It's possible that Amazon created this feature in an attempt to compete with Apple, which recently acquired magazine subscription service Texture. Amazon will only offer a total of about 19 titles to start with, but will likely offer more at some point in the future.

Finally, the Kindle app now boasts a new setting that lets you enable the highlight menu so it shows up when you select text.

If you'd like to try the Kindle app for yourself, you can get it free by clicking the link below. Even if you don't have any cash to purchase a new book at the moment, Amazon also offers tons of free books you can grab, ranging from W.E.B. DuBois' "The Souls of Black Folk" to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" to Homer's "The Odyssey."

• Amazon Kindle - Free - Download now

Thoughts?

Are you a Kindle Unlimited or Prime user? If so, are you excited about the new return feature? What do you think about Amazon offering magazines? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

According to a support document recently added by Amazon, Amazon Logistics — the company's shipping service — may now take a photo of your front door, porch, or other location when a package is left unattended as proof of delivery. The photo will focus specifically on the placement of the package, so not only will you know that your stuff was delivered, you'll also be able to discern where exactly it has been placed. That way, you'll be able to find it more easily and you'll be able to tell if it's been moved, tampered with, or stolen.

Though this won't happen for every Amazon delivery, if a photo is captured by AMZL, it may show up when you track a package from Your Orders on the desktop site or app. To access it, you'll need to either sign in with or re-input your username and password like you usually would to get to your personal information. Outside of you, the account holder, the only parties able to access delivery photos are Customer Service representatives, who may look at delivery photos to troubleshoot if you report a package missing, and individuals responsible for quality assurance, who may audit the photos to make sure everything is running smoothly.

If an order is marked confidential — for instance, if it's a gift you're sending to someone from their Amazon Wishlist — the company won't post a delivery photo on the order in order to protect the privacy of the recipient.

Not down with AMZL taking a photo of your residence? You can choose to opt out of the Photo on Delivery feature pretty easily. When you view a photo on delivery in Your Orders, all you have to do is click on the "Don't take delivery photos" option to halt the service from that point forward.

iMore Deputy Site Manager Lory Gil recently had a positive experience with Photo on Delivery, in which she was able to track down a package after it was delivered to the incorrect address:

Thoughts?

Do you like the idea of receiving a photo of your package upon its delivery, or do you find the whole thing unnecessary (or maybe even unsettling)? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Some people say that gift cards are impersonal, but isn't the freedom to choose what you want the greatest gift of all?

If you have an Amazon gift card burning a hole in your pocket, we have some awesome ideas on how you can spend it. The best part? You don't have to buy items that fit within the limit of your gift card; you can put, say, a $25 gift card toward a $100 item.

Let's go shopping!

• Braven Stryde 360
• B&O Play H8
• Prynt Pocket
• Apple Smart Battery Case
• Cable Matters USB-C multiport adapter
• iDevices Switch
• RhinoShield Crashguard

Braven Stryde 360

This is my favorite Bluetooth speaker of the year. It has an IP67 water resistance rating, meaning it can be submerged in up to 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. It has a stellar low end for a Bluetooth speaker, great range, long battery life, and a cool-looking design. It's perfect as a shower speaker. Plus, it's only about $100.

See at Amazon

B&O Play H8

You could carry Lightning and USB-C to 3.5mm adapters, but why not just go wireless? The B&O Play H8s are phenomenal headphones, especially if you're picky about your sound.

These have active noise cancellation, so you can concentrate on the task at hand or simply enjoy your music without distractions, and Bluetooth connectivity means you don't have to fiddle with dongles or cords; just connect and enjoy. A $330 starting price is a bit of a doozy, but that gift card should make a dent!

See at Amazon

Prynt Pocket case

The Prynt Pocket is a portable photo printer that lets you take and then print awesome photos wherever you are. You just load up the proprietary paper, and away you go! The coolest part is that the app can bring your photos to life just like in Harry Potter. At $150, this might be a bit steep, but not bad considering you have a little portable photo development kit.

See at Amazon

Apple Smart Battery Case

The iPhones aren't at the top of the food chain when it comes to battery life, but they're not at the bottom either. That being said we could all use a little more battery life and Apple's Smart Battery Case is just what the doctor ordered.

It extends talk time about 22 hours and LTE internet use to about 26. The intelligent battery status is displayed on your iPhone's screens so you get a picture of the total battery life you have left instead of watching your iPhone's percentage decline and then guessing with the case.

Comes in black, white, and red, so it goes with everything! Starts at $85.

See at Amazon

Cable Matters USB-C multiport adapter

If you've just been gifted a new iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, or a new MacBook Pro, you're gonna need some dongles. Trust me.

The Cable Matters multiport adapter lets you go from USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) to 4K HDMI, VGA, USB-A, and Gigabit Ethernet, which hopefully covers most of your bases. Check it out for $45.

See at Amazon

iDevices Switch

Turn any device into a smart device with this Wi-Fi enabled switch. Wanna turn your lamp on with your phone? Or your coffee maker or TV or anything? Yup, this does it. At $27, you can grab a few of these and make a smart home out of them. Of course, you won't get total control like you would a full-on smart device, but hey, on and off is better than nothing.

See at Amazon

RhinoShield Crashguard for iPhone X

I'm not normally one for minimalist cases, but somehow RhinoShield gets the job done incredibly well. I've had friends with these cases and have looked at these cases on and off through the years, and I might have to say that these are the best simple bumper cases on the marker. It's literally just a bumper around the edges of your iPhone, but it's super protective in the event of a drop or a bump. Get it in a few different colors for around $18.

See at Amazon

What'd ya get?

What did you spend your Amazon gift card on? Let us know in the comments below!

Amazon is shutting down its music storage subscription service, which has allowed users to upload their existing music library's to their Amazon Music library. Effective January 15, 2018, customers will no longer be able to sign up for a paid subscription to the service, while the free tier, which allowed for 250 songs to be uploaded, has already been discontinued.

These changes were detailed in a support document from Amazon. Here's what paid subscribers to the service can expect:

• While you remain a paid member, you retain the ability to upload music and renew your subscription.
• You can view and manage your Amazon Music storage subscription from Your Amazon Music Settings.
• If your current storage plan expires without being renewed, you won't have the option to re-start your subscription.
• Once expired, your Amazon music purchases will remain securely stored for free, but you will not be able to upload music.
• If you have more than 250 imported songs when your subscription period is over, you won't be able to access the additional songs.
• All songs that exceed the 250 song limit are removed.
• You can download and play the remaining 250 songs for one (1) year after your subscription expires, when the remaining 250 songs will be removed.

Amazon hasn't offered any reason for the cancellation. Subscribers will still be able to listen to at least part of their collections through January 2019.

Amazon's virtual assistant, Alexa, is at its most useful when activated from one of the supported home speakers, the Echo, Dot, or Tap. When you connect the Alexa app, you can enable skills, connect smart home gadgets, and sync your email and calendar apps. Then, just ask Alexa to turn off your lights, play a game with you, or read your new emails. It's kind of like a physical version of Siri, but with less support for Apple services and more support for non-Apple services.

If you've got questions about Amazon's Echo, Dot, or Tap, we have the answer you're looking for.

What's new with the Amazon Echo family?

We don't blame you if you never thought of pairing Alexa with Activision's Call of Duty: WWII, but someone apparently did and made a skill just for that.

The new Call of Duty Alexa Skill can connect to your Call of Duty account, and after doing so, you can ask your Echo about how to improve your game based on the last match you just played, get updates on new Contracts you should complete, see which friends are playing, and more. Activison says the skill allows for personalized responses to over 2,500 questions and can dish out 250,000 responses using a custom "solider" voice.

Although it's still in beta, you can start using the skill right now by enabling it and then saying "Alexa, Ask Call of Duty ___"

Oh, Canada! Amazon has finally decided to grace the True North with support for its virtual assistant, Alexa. The Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Plus are all now available in the Canadian Amazon retail store and on sale for CDN $99.99, $49.99, and $169.99 respectively. Retail price for the Echo is CDN $129.99, the Dot is $69.99, and the Plus is $199.99.

Additionally, Amazon Prime Music is now available in Canada to Prime members for no additional cost.

Canadians can pre-order an Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Plus today with a shipping date of December 5, just in time for the holidays. You'll also be able to pick one up in-person at Best Buy, The Source, Staples, TELUS, Bell, Bed Bath & Beyond, and TSC: Today's Shopping Choice.

Which Amazon Echo is right for you? We'll help you pick!

Amazon's flagship personal assistant/stand-alone speaker, the Echo, is no longer available for sale on Amazon. It's not just out of stock. It's currently unavailable, with a note that, "We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock" [emphasis added].

It's likely that Amazon is gearing up for an Echo update in time for the holiday shopping season. Engadget reported that Amazon is working on a new and improved version that will be shorter, slimer, and have a slightly different design.

To further support evidence that Amazon may be trying to get rid of current Echo stock, TechCrunch also noted that Echo devices are being stocked up at Whole Foods retail stores at a heavily discounted price of only $99.99, which is $70 off the original price.

Amazon Echo devices now feature rumored multi-room audio.

According to AFTVNews, Amazon may soon announce whole-home audio for its Echo devices. The company has reportedly been testing whole-home audio for some time and tests have been going well. The feature is said to be ready for prime time, and could be released "any day."

How would Amazon Echo whole-home audio work? Well, the feature is rumored to be called "Synchronized Audio" and would play media across Alexa devices throughout your home. Uttering the phrase, "Alexa, play music everywhere," would get things started. Users would be able to make adjustments to the Synchronized Audio feature in the Alexa app, where they could choose which devices to include in the whole-home audio experience.

The site claims you may even be able to address multiple Alexa devices at once:

A feature like this could make the Amazon Echo a serious competitor for the Google Home smart speaker, Sonos speakers, and even Apple's HomePod. All three competing devices offer whole-home audio options, so it's no surprise Amazon is looking to bring the feature to its smart speaker lineup.

Amazon is reportedly working on a new and improved Echo that brings the company's smart speaker more in line with Apple's upcoming HomePod. Engadget cites a a source who says the next Echo will get both a visual redesign and tech upgrade.

Making it shorter, slimmer, rounded, and covered in cloth will, indeed, make it look a whole lot like Apple's upcoming HomePod. It'll also bring it more in line with the Google Home smart speaker which features a fabric base and a softer design. There's no doubting Amazon Echo's popularity or usefulness as a smart speaker, but speaker quality is something the tall tower (and its shorter Echo Dot sibling) will need to improve if it wants to take on Apple's HomePod. With more tweeters and an upgraded microphone system, Amazon may do just that! It's unclear at this point how much the device will cost, but Engadget reports Amazon is planning to release the device this fall.

Curious how the current Amazon Echo compares to Apple's HomePod and the Google Home smart speaker? Check out our comparison guide:

HomePod vs. Google Home vs. Amazon Echo: What's the difference?

Amazon added support for iCloud Calendar. You can now sign into iCloud using an app-specific password in the Alexa app and add your iCloud Calendar. Once connected, you can ask Alexa about your upcoming schedule.

How to add your iCloud Calendar to Amazon Echo

What is an Amazon Echo device?

Echo is a home hub speaker that connects to supported smart devices in the home. It also supports Amazon's virtual assistant, Alexa, which can connect to supported media services, productivity apps, and more. You can use it to listen to music from a separate device or directly from one of the supported connected services, like Pandora, Spotify, or Amazon Music.

It is always listening for its wake word, which by default is "Alexa." Anything you say before or after saying the wake word is not sent to Amazon's servers or stored in any way, but things you say when you trigger Alexa, whether intentional or accidental, is sent to Amazon's servers and stored. Wired has a great article about always listening devices that explains more. If you prefer, you can turn off the always listening feature and instead use a manual button on the device to trigger Alexa.

What's the difference between Echo, Tap, Dot, and Plus?

Echo comes in three different formats. The standard Echo is just under 10-inches tall and has a built-in 360-degree speaker and microphone array. It has to be plugged into a power source and connected to wi-fi in order to work to its full potential, though it can be used as a Bluetooth speaker outside of wi-fi. It's perfect for people that want to keep their device at home and also listen to music through it.

The Tap is a outdoorsy version of the standard Echo. It is about six inches tall and has a built-in 360-degree speaker and microphone array. It needs to be connected to wi-fi in order to use with Alexa, but works great as a battery-powered Bluetooth speaker. It's called the Tap because, when it first launched, you had to tap the wake button in order to trigger Alexa. The Tap has since received a firmware update that makes it possible for you to wake Alexa with voice activation, so it's basically just a smaller, more rugged version of the Echo. It's perfect for anyone that wants Alexa in the home, but likes to listen to music on the go.

The Dot is the smallest and least expensive in the Echo family. it has a built-in speaker and microphone array, but the speaker is very small. The entire device is only about an inch-and-a-half tall. It needs to be connected to a power source and connected to wi-fi in order to work to its full potential. Because the speaker is so small, I wouldn't recommend using it solely for music listening. You can, however, connect it to a more robust Bluetooth speaker. It's perfect for those who will use it primarily for the Alexa feature, or who have a solid Bluetooth speaker they'd rather use instead.

The Plus takes it to the next level with a built-in ZigBee smart home hub so you can connect your lights and other devices directly to it, instead of through a separate hub. It's also got 360° audio, seven microphones, beamforming technology, and noise cancellation.

How do I get one?

From Amazon, of course.

• Echo - $179.99 - Buy on Amazon
• Tap - $129.99 - Buy on Amazon
• Dot - $49.99 - Buy on Amazon
• Plus - $149.99 - Buy on Amazon

How do I set up an Echo, Tap, Plus, or Dot?

Once you get your Echo, Plus, Tap, or Dot, you'll need to connect it to your smartphone. Download the Alexa app and then sign in to your Amazon account to get started. You'll be able to manage all of your connected devices and services from the Alexa app.

Then, plug in the Echo, Plus, or Dot (or make sure the Tap is charged up). The light ring around the top will light up and turn blue to let you know it's powered. It will then turn orange and greet you.

Connect your Echo, Plus, Tap, or Dot to your wi-fi network inside the Alexa app. When you're done, just say, "Alexa" to start talking.

The Alexa app is where all of your devices and services are connected. It's also where you complete your Echo set up. Open the Alexa app, tap the menu icon in the upper left corner of the screen, tap Settings, then select your Echo device.

You can change your wi-fi connection, connect a Bluetooth device, or pair a remote device in the device section. You can also schedule Do Not Disturb, change the alarm, timer, and notification sounds, rename your Echo device, manually add your location, change the language, temperature, and distance units, and change your wake word.

You can trigger Alexa by selecting a different wake word than the default. You can change it to Amazon, Echo, or Computer. Let me just warn you that you'll probably say "computer" more often than you'll ever say "Alexa" in casual conversation, which means you'll be more likely to accidentally wake Alexa. Just keep that in mind when you change the wake word.

How do I connect all the things to my Echo, Plus, Tap, or Dot?

One of the best things about having an Echo around the house is all the things you can connect to it, including apps, services, and smart home gadgets. Services you can connect to are listed in the Menu. Tap the menu icon in the upper left corner of the Alexa app to get started.

In the Menu section, tap Music, Video, & Books to see what services are supported.

Currently, the cable provider Dish is the only video service compatible with Echo and you'll need a Dish Hopper or Wally in order to connect it. If you have all the required equipment and subscriptions, tap Dish TV under the video section, then tap Enable Skill at the bottom of the page. Once connected, you can just ask Alexa to play a movie, change the channel, search for content with specific actors, pause, fast forward, and rewind through content, and more.

Alexa is most compatible with music streaming services. You can stream music from Amazon Music, listen to tunes you've added to Amazon Prime Music, play content from your Spotify Premium account, stream stations from your Pandora or iHeartRadio account, or listen to local radio stations with TuneIn.

You can also connect your Audible or Kindle account to listen to audiobooks.

You can add your calendar to Alexa and have it tell you your schedule by day, date, time, day of the week, or weekend. The Alexa app supports Apple iCloud, Gmail, G Suite, Office 365, and Outlook. To connect a calendar, select Settings from the Menu list, then tap Calendars. Then select which calendar you want to add.

If you want to connect your iCloud Calendar, you'll have to follow a few security-based steps.

How to connect your iCloud Calendar to your Echo

Any smart home gadget that is supported by Alexa can be set up in the Smart Home section of the Alexa app. You can group devices and trigger them all together or create scenes that you can enable with a single word. For example, you could set your Hue lights to red, your thermostat to 90, and the water heater connected to your smart plug to on, and call the scene "hot."

In order to group your smart home devices and create scenes, you'll need to connect them to Alexa using smart home skills, found in the Alexa Skills Store.

How do I get skills for Alexa?

The Alexa Skills Store is where you find all kinds of services that make Alexa and the Echo family more interesting. You can download skills to connect your smart home devices, your email account, and your finance apps. You can add skills that let you play trivia games, make funny songs out of just your voice, and tell Alexa to talk to your cat. There are hundreds of skills created by a variety of developers. Some skills work great, others not so much. It's like an app store for your Echo.

To find skills for Alexa, tap the Menu icon in the upper left corner of the Alexa app, then tap Skills. Browse the content and add whatever you'd like.

How do I buy stuff on Amazon using my Echo, Plus, Tap, or Dot?

When you create an Alexa shopping list, you can access it from the app or from the Amazon website when you sign in. Add simple things, like "tea" or "sugar," and when you are ready to buy something, ask Alexa for help. You can ask Alexa to buy something from your shopping list. It will offer suggestions based on your request and you can say, "buy" to purchase it.

Amazon has daily deals that offer deep discounts on specific items for 24-hours. You can ask Alexa to tell you what the daily deals are. If you want something on sale, say "yes" when Alexa asks if you want to buy it.

You can also ask Alexa to find something by name. For example, if you know you want to buy Star Wars on DVD, you can tell Alexa to order it for you. The virtual assistant will run through your available purchasing options, one at a time, and let you choose the one you want. When you're ready, Alexa will ask if you are sure you want to buy an item and you'll say "yes" to confirm.

If you worry that someone in your family will purchase items from Amazon without your permission, you can enable a passcode or disable Amazon purchases from Alexa entirely.

How to stop Alexa from ordering stuff without your permission

How do I create a shopping or to-do list?

You can create a shopping or to-do list either by asking Alexa to "open a list" or by creating one in the Alexa app. Add items by telling Alexa to add them, or by typing them into the Alexa app. Say, "Alexa, add clean the bathroom to my to-do list" or "Alexa, add sugar to my shopping list."

To access your shopping and to-do lists from the Alexa app, tap the Menu icon in the upper left corner, then tap Lists.

How do I set a timer or alarm?

Just like setting an alarm or timer with the help of Siri, you can add one to your Echo services by asking Alexa. Say, "Alexa, set a timer for 10 minutes," or "Alexa, set an alarm for 6:00 am on weekdays." You can access and edit timers and alarms from the Menu list under Timers and Alarms.

How do I call someone from my Echo, Plus, Tap, or Dot?

You can use the Alexa app to call anyone else that also has the Alexa app and has enabled the calling and messaging feature. You'll have to register for Alexa calling-to-calling in order to enable the feature, and your contacts will need to do so, as well. Not many people even know about the feature right now, so you'll probably have to ask your friends and family to register if you want to talk to them via Alexa. Once you register your account, you can make a call by asking Alexa to call the person in your contacts. Just say, "Alexa, call Mikah."

If you don't want to talk directly to a person, you can also leave a voice message that he or she can listen to from the Alexa app or from an Echo device. Just say, "Alexa, send a message to Serenity." If you receive a message from someone, you can say, "Alexa, play my message" to hear it played back.

There have been some privacy concerns about signing up with Alexa's calling-to-calling feature. At the moment, you can't block anyone from calling you, even if you've previously blocked them on your smart phone. All they need is your phone number. Hopefully, Amazon will allow users to block or edit their contact list

Questions?

If you have any questions about Amazon's Echo family of Alexa supported speakers, put them in the comments and we'll help you out.

Can you hear that? It's the beautiful sound of Goombas being hopped upon and coins being greedily tucked into pairs of blue overalls. That's right. A brand new Mario adventure is nearly upon us.

Super Mario Odyssey releases at the end of the week and throughout the world, folks are shoring up their preorders and affixing their fake mustaches. However, most of these people will be paying $60 for the chance to once again rescue Princess Peach from the evil clutches of Bowser. You, maybe, won't have to.

Amazon is selling the game for $48 up until release day.

That's 20% off! The $12 you save can be spent on caffeine and pizza as part of a Friday night marathon session. There are some caveats, of course. This deal is only available to Amazon Prime members and it is being offered on a first come, first served basis. Amazon has a tendency to sell out of hot Nintendo titles so speed may be of the essence.

Super Mario Odyssey.

All you have to do is head to Amazon and put the game in your cart. If you are a Prime member, the discount will automatically be applied. After taxes, it'll come out to $52.25. Not bad, right?

Also, psst. If you are shopping for the console itself, Amazon currently has them in stock. Other places do too! Has our long national nightmare finally come to an end? Maybe. Hopefully.

Amazon announced in a press release today that its Kindle app is getting a complete overhaul in an over-the-air update starting this week. With the update, users will be able to more seamlessly control their reading experience as well as record, chat about, and rate their current reads with their friends.

The Kindle app's new look is clean and minimal, and inspired by exactly what you'd think it would be inspired by — books. The covers are larger, there are all-new fonts, and even the app icon got a redesign. Best of all, there's now a light mode and a dark mode so you can reduce eye strain while browsing your library and recommendations. The improved interface is really distraction-free and intuitive to control, too — the menu bar at the bottom of the screen allows you to hop effortlessly between Kindle's most popular features and shows a little icon of the book you're currently reading so you can dive back into it at a moment's notice (a feature that I'll no doubt use as a tactic to quickly avoid unwanted social interaction). Amazon has also made the search bar available at the top of the app no matter what section you're in, making it simpler than ever to find the literature you crave.

The coolest part of the update, however, is probably the new "Community" tab (exclusive to Kindle for iOS). Using full Goodreads integration, you will now be able to connect with your friends to talk about the books you're reading as well as do awesome things like curate a "to-read" list and rate and review books once you finish them. In order to use this feature you'll need to create a Goodreads account, but luckily you can do that in just a few minutes without ever needing to leave the Kindle app. CEO and co-founder of Goodreads Otis Chandler expressed his excitement regarding the app's new social aspect:

The update will be rolling out to all Kindle app users over the next few days, so if you aren't seeing the revamped version just yet, don't fret. If you've yet to use the Kindle app but think it sounds pretty great, you can get it here:

• Amazon Kindle - Free - Download now

Now put on a pair of those cozy fuzzy socks, curl up with the softest blanket you've got, and start taking advantage of reading weather.

By the way, our pals at Thrifter have unearthed a huge sale on Kindle Unlimited subscriptions and Kindle bundles … get to reading!

Amazon wants you to read more with a huge sale on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle bundles

Thoughts? Questions?

What do you think of the redesigned Kindle app? Give us a shout in the comments!

Is this deal for me?

Amazon is celebrating the tenth anniversary of Kindle Unlimited with a big discount on Kindle Unlimited and huge sales on several Kindle products. The Kindle Unlimited sale is 33% off a one-year subscription or 40% off a two-year subscription. Those prices bring 12-months down to $80.32 (from $120) and 24-months down to $143.86 (from $240).

This is a match for a deal on Kindle Unlimited that Amazon ran in the lead up to Prime Day earlier this summer but actually excludes the six month deal from back then.

The service includes access to more than one million titles. The list includes great books like Slaughterhouse Five or The Handmaid's Tale, and novels you've always said you read but never actually did like 1984. With your subscription, you can read whatever you want covered under the Unlimited banner for free. You also get access to any available audio books, which has the nifty feature of taking over wherever you stopped reading so you can go from the couch to the car without losing your place.

Here are all the Kindles on sale:

• Kindle E-reader for $49.99 (from $80) - This is a match from November 2016
• Kindle Paperwhite for $89.99 (from $120)
• Kindle Voyage for $169.99 (from $200) - This is also a match for lowest price since November 2016

Here are all the Kindle bundles on sale:

• Kindle 6-inch Essentials Bundle for $84.97 (from $115) - The previous low for this bundle was $95
• Kindle Paperwhite Essentials Bundle for $129.97 (from $160) - The previous low for this bundle was $140
• Kindle Voyage Essentials Bundle for $224.97 (from $255) - The previous low for this bundle was $230
• Kindle for Kids Bundle for $69.99 (from $100) - Kindles for Kids come with worry-free guarantees

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? - If you've ever wanted to keep that promise to yourself that you should read more, this is your chance. The Kindles are down to some of the lowest prices we've ever seen, and Kindle Unlimited has matched a deal we've only ever seen once before.
• Things to know before you buy! - Remember to check out Kindle First, which releases brand new reads each month for Amazon Prime members. Use your Amazon Prime membership to your advantage with Kindle, too.

See at Amazon

Happy thrifting!

In a press release today Amazon introduced the newest version of its high-end Kindle model, the Oasis. Not only is it more cost effective than its predecessor, but it also got a really sweet overhaul.

Like the original Oasis (which launched early last year), the revamped Oasis has an ergonomic design meant for multi-hour reading sessions. It's got an asymmetrical bezel with page-turning buttons as well as a large grip on the back side, so it feels natural to hold one-handed and you can rest your thumb comfortably without obscuring any of the page. However, the glass the screen is made of on the all-new version is stronger, and the back is aluminum instead of electroplated metal alloy over plastic. Even with the increased size it's still pretty light at 194 grams — 10 grams lighter than the popular Kindle Paperwhite.

The revamped Oasis also boasts a 7-inch 300 ppi display, which the company says results in fewer page turns as it can fit approximately 30% more words per page. The ultra-crisp text is meant to read like paper, which means you won't get a glare if you're reading in bright sunlight.

Perhaps the most exciting change to the new Oasis, though, is that it's finally waterproof. There have been waterproof e-Readers on the market for years now, so it only makes sense that one of the most notable and popular join the crowd. Its IPX8 waterproofing means that it should survive under about five feet of water for 30 minutes, and unlike many waterproof devices, it's resistant to both freshwater and saltwater.

Aside from all that, there are a ton of other smaller features that make the new Oasis seem great:

• More storage: The Oasis comes with 8 GB of storage standard, which is twice as much as much as the old Oasis. You can also opt for the 32 GB option.
• Audible built right in: The new Oasis has built-in support for Audible audiobooks, which will arrive through an update after the e-Reader ships. Unfortunately, you'll have to purchase both the Audible and Kindle versions of a book to be able to switch between reading it and hearing it, and because the Oasis has no speaker or headphone jack, you'll have to use a Bluetooth-enabled audio device to listen.
• New font and accessibility options: In addition to the OpenDyslexic font, the Oasis now offers an invert feature that turns the text white and the page black if you have light sensitivity. There are also more font sizes and boldness options to choose from, so you can make reading as comfortable as possible for yourself.
• Super long battery life: A single charge on the Kindle Oasis lasts up to eight weeks, so you can spend more time reading than ever.

Senior Vice President of Amazon Devices and Services Dave Limp commented on Kindle's journey from its conception to now:

The all-new Oasis is actually a bit cheaper than the original, and is priced at $250 for the standard 8 GB model (the 32 GB will cost $280). You can also get it bundled with a cover and power adaptor for $310. If you use a cover with the Oasis, it will wake your device when opened and put it to sleep when closed.

See at Amazon

Thoughts? Questions?

What do you think about the all-new Kindle Oasis? Give us a shout in the comments!

Today AFTVNews confirmed in an exclusive article that the releases will consist of a mid-tier model and a new flagship model, and both will be capable of 4K HDR video at 60 fps. For consumers unfamiliar with the terminology, that means increased sharpness and clarity and more lush, vivid colors. However, there will be quite a few differences between the two devices.

The new mid-range model will be a compact device similar to the Google Chromecast, with a permanently attached HDMI cable and a micro USB port for attaching a power cord. In a leaked benchmark, it was also discovered that the device will have a 1.5 GHz quad core CPU and 2 GB of RAM, and it is speculated that it will also feature the same 8 GB of internal storage as the Fire TV models that have come before it. This makes it a bit more powerful than the most recent Amazon Fire TV Stick, but still less powerful than the current Amazon Fire TV.

The new flagship model is even more exciting: according to AFTVNews, "it essentially combines the functionality of a Fire TV, an Echo Dot, and an IR emitter, like the Harmony Hub, into a single device." Sure, Amazon has already made it possible to control the current line of Fire TV models using an external Alexa-enabled device (like the Echo Dot), but this one will have Alexa built right in - blue LED light bar, mute button, far-field microphones and all - so no additional external device will be necessary. Users will be able to change the input, control the volume and much more with their voice and Fire TV alone. On top of all that, the IR emitter Amazon is adding to the device will allow you to control most other televisions and A/V equipment in your home as well.

As for price, it's uncertain what either of the devices will cost as they haven't officially been announced yet. However, AFTVNews speculates the mid-range device will set you back between $60 and $80, and the new flagship device will cost upwards of $100. Both will likely be released before 2017 is over, though the release date for the more feature-heavy model may be pushed into early 2018.

Thoughts?

How do you feel about the features Amazon is adding to its Fire TV products? Let us know in the comments!

The iAVS16 may seem to follow the good old-fashioned clock radio format - LCD display, snooze button and all - but it is so much more: it can do pretty much anything that an Amazon Echo can do (no additional smart speakers necessary). You can ask for everything from the weather forecast to traffic conditions, and because the iAVS16 supports many streaming music services, you can listen to all your favorite songs as well. The company claimed in a press release that the clock is the first voice-activated Alexa-enabled clock radio from a major brand.

The alarm clock offers a plethora of cool features. It boasts far-field listening capabilities (the better to hear you with, my dear) as well as Smart Plug compatibility, so you can control all your favorite iHome Smart Plug devices. In addition to supporting streaming music services like Spotify, Amazon Music and Pandora, the iAVS16 also includes programmable presets so you can play your favorite playlists or radio stations with a single touch.

iHome says that along with the LCD display, the clock will have LED lighting with unique patterns for different Alexa functions - much like Amazon Echo speakers do. However, instead of a slim light ring, the entire bottom of the device will glow. The company refers to this as "mood lighting," but some users might find it bothersome.

The iAV16 will set you back about $150, and is available for preorder on Amazon and on iHome's website.

See at Amazon

Thoughts?

How do you feel about the iAV16? Would you like to see more Alexa-enabled products from iHome? Give us a shout in the comments!

Do you trust online influencers — even if they're getting a cut of what they're promoting? Or do you think online influencer and affiliate programs are designed more for people's convenience rather than making a quick buck?

It's no surprise that big YouTubers like Nikkie Tutorials and Jaclyn Hill get a bit of revenue from whatever beauty products they're pushing on their massive YouTube channels, with everything from affiliate codes from high-end brands like Sephora to smaller, indie companies like Colourpop and Morphe.

Now, Amazon has decided to throw its hat in the ring with its own Influencer Program, with its sights set not only social media celebs, but prominent YouTubers.

Why would Amazon set up a program like this?

Long story short, online influencers and YouTubers with big followings mean big money for companies like Amazon and other companies that use Amazon to get their products out there.

How does it work?

Once you click Get Started, applicants link up and verify their social media accounts to see if they're eligible to join the program. Not all YouTubers will be approved — you'll need a certain (unknown) number of subscribers, and your channel must first be vetted by Amazon.

Which YouTubers will be involved?

Right off the hop, Youtube is saying that popular YouTube channels like What's Up Moms, Mark Cuban, And Felicia Day will be included; it's worth noting, however, that Amazon will not disclose how many beta participants the program has signed up to date.

So will YouTubers be making a ton of money off of this?

Amazon has also noted that it's "especially useful when promoted verbally or in an environment where linking is not possible" — like when a product is casually mentioned in a YouTube video.

What do you think?

Are you someone who's hesitant about trusting affiliate codes and online influencer's recommendations, or are you excited that this might be a brand new way to effortlessly shop your favorite YouTuber's favorite products?

As a friend of mine pointed out:

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

The Amazon Echo Show is significantly more versatile than its speaker-based Echo siblings for no other reason than it has a camera and a screen. This adds a lot of features that you can't get on the Echo, Dot, or Tap. One interesting thing you can do is take a picture using the front-facing camera on the Echo Show. It may only be 5 megapixels, but if the lighting's right, your Echo Show selfie might be even better than your iPhone's. Here's how to take one.

• How to take a picture on the Echo Show
• How to view your pictures on the Echo Show
• How to delete a picture on the Echo Show

How to take a picture on the Echo Show

It's easier than you'd think. All you have to do is ask Alexa. You can say, "Alexa, take my picture," or "Alexa, take a picture." The camera options will appear.

You'll be asked to select a camera type before the picture is taken. Single Shot is a standard picture. Sticker Mode puts a colorful sticker filter on top. Four Shot takes four pictures, one second apart, and displays them as a square grid.

When Alexa asks you to pick a camera, choose one of the three options. You can say the name of the camera or just the number.

A five-second timer will begin. After the countdown is over, Alexa will snap your picture. All Photo Booth pictures will automatically be sent to your Amazon Photos library.

How to view your pictures on the Echo Show

If you only want to see the pictures you've taken on your Echo Show, you can ask Alexa to "Take a picture." You'll be directed to the camera options, where you can choose to view your Photo Booth album instead. It's number four on the list of camera options.

If you'd like to check out pictures you've taken on your Echo Show, and also other pictures you have stored in Amazon Prime Photos, say "Alexa, show me my photo albums" to have Alexa show you all of your Prime Photos albums. You can then select the Photo Booth album to see the ones you've taken on your Echo Show.

How to delete a picture you took on the Echo Show

Unfortunately, you can't just ask Alexa to delete a photo. Instead, you'll have to go to your Amazon Prime Photos account to delete it directly. You can access your photos from Amazon.com or from the Prime Photos app. These steps are for deleting a photo in the Prime Photos app.

1. Launch the Prime Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Albums at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap Photo Booth.
4. Select the photo you want to delete.

5. Tap the More button in the upper right corner of the screen. It looks like three dots.
6. Tap Delete.
7. Tap Move to Trash to confirm that you want to delete the photo.

Do this for any and all photos you've taken on the Echo Show that you'd like to get rid of.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about taking a selfie on the Echo Show? Put them in the comments and we'll help you out.

The Amazon app is your one-stop shop (pun sorta intended) for buying stuff from Amazon, viewing and tracking orders, and accessing your Amazon account settings. You can do just about everything in the Amazon app that you can do on Amazon's website, so it's well worth the download! We'll be keeping this article updated with the latest updates and new features to hit the Amazon app so be sure to check back!

• Free - Download Now

What's the latest?

Amazon has just introduced a social feature called Amazon Spark that's accessible via the Amazon app. You can learn everything you need to know in our full guide to Amazon Spark!

Amazon Spark: Everything you need to know

What, exactly, is the Amazon app?

Amazon is an online store that's filled to the brim with just about everything you could ever possibly need or want. The Amazon app gives you access to Amazon's online store via your smartphone of choice. You can search for stuff to buy, see recommendations, control Alexa, look up products, check on your orders, manage subscriptions, and loads more!

Gimme the basics — how do I use the Amazon app?

Let's take a look at the screen you'll see when you first launch the app. This screen displays a long list of recommendations, products worth checking out, deals, and other announcements from Amazon.

Just below the Amazon logo at the top of the screen you'll see a search bar. You can use the search bar to — as you may have already guessed — search for products. Type in the name of the product you're looking for and Amazon will offer up suggestions based on what you type and what you've viewed previously.

In the top left corner you'll see three horizontal bars. Tapping it will open the sidebar (more on this in a bit).

In the top right corner you'll see four icons: a bell, a shopping cart, a camera, and a microphone.

Tapping the bell will show you a list of notifications, including shipping alerts, recommendations, deals, and in-stock notifications.

Tapping the shopping cart will show you the items in your shopping cart (i.e. items you plan to buy).

Tapping the camera will open a camera view which you can use to scan barcodes, search for products, and figure out what's inside your Amazon packages.

Tapping the microphone will launch the Alexa voice assistant. You can learn more about Amazon's Alexa voice assistant for iOS here:

Amazon's Alexa assistant comes to iOS

OK, you promised to tell me more about the sidebar … can ya?

Tapping the button in the top left corner of the screen (three horizontal lines) will open the sidebar. Let's go through the list to explain where each option leads.

Tapping Home will take you back to the home page in the Amazon app (the page you see when you first launch the app).

Tapping Your Orders will show you a list of items you've ordered as well as the current status of those items.

Tapping Your Lists will show you your various shopping lists with the items you've stored there.

Tapping Your Account will take you to a page where you can adjust the settings related to your account (password, 1-Click settings, Prime Membership, etc.)

Tapping Shop by Department allows you to browse the Amazon store by department as opposed to search terms.

Tapping Programs and Features shows you a list of Amazon Programs and Features available to you (Amazon Spark, Amazon Launchpad, credit cards, and more)

Tapping Today's Deals shows you all the hot deals Amazon has available at any given moment. You can find deals that are taking place currently and plan for upcoming deals, as well.

Tapping Gift Cards & Registry will take you to a page where you can purchase Amazon gift cards and sign up for baby and wedding registries.

Tapping Prime takes you to the Prime Membership page where you can manage your Prime subscription, find deals exclusive to Prime members, and discover music and other entertainment available to Prime members. If you'd like to learn more about Amazon Prime, check out our guide!

Amazon Prime: Everything you need to know!

Tapping Your Dash Buttons will show you a list of your Amazon Dash Buttons and lets you organize them and adjust their settings. If you'd like to learn more about Amazon Dash Buttons, check out our guide:

How to set up and use Amazon Dash Buttons

Tapping Your Alexa Shopping List will show you a shopping list specifically created using the Alexa voice assistant.

Tapping Settings will take you to app-specific settings like notifications, app rating, language, and more.

Tapping Customer Service helps you contact Amazon's customer service for issues related to the app, ordering, shipping, etc.

Quite a bit to absorb! Can you walk me through placing an order?

Placing an order in the Amazon app is very simple. Let's say you want to order a stuffed toy for your dog. Here's how you'd go about buying it!

1. Launch the Amazon app.
2. Search for the stuffed toy you want to buy by tapping in the search bar at the top of the screen.
3. Scroll through the results and tap the one you want. You can scroll down the product page to read more about the item, check reviews, and see related items.

4. Tap Add to Cart when you've confirmed that this is the toy you want.
5. Tap the button that says Proceed to checkout that appears at the top of the screen.

6. Scroll down to confirm your payment and shipping information and tap Place your order to place your order.

Note: You can change your shipping address and payment information by tapping in the area beneath either Shipping address or Payment information.

Excellent! Anything else I should know?

As we mentioned previously, the Amazon app is capable of doing just about everything the site does. If there's a feature or function you use on the site, chances are good you'll be able to find it in the app.

Amazon also maintains an extensive help and support database. If you've got more specific support needs, you might check out the company's support page for using the Amazon Shopping app.

Questions?

Did we miss anything you'd like to know more about? Give us a shout in the comments below and we'll try to get your question answered!

We're used to companies like Facebook and Snapchat matching each other feature for feature, one "inventing" something for its app not long after the other. (I'd say Facebook's winning that war, but that's another thing for another time.)

Now we've got Amazon unceremoniously entering the ring as well with Amazon Spark.

Here's everything you need to know ... for now.

What is Amazon Spark?

Spark looks and feels a lot like what you'd get if Amazon tried to make Instagram. You've got pictures flowing by in a waterfall sort of feed. You've got a lot of pretty people and pretty products. You've got comments and "likes" — OK, they're called "smiles," for the obvious reason. (If it's not obvious, have a look at Amazon's logo.) And you have view counts, so you can see how many people are checking out your posts.

And you have links to product listings on Amazon.

It's like Instagram, only with even more shilling. But minus the pretense.

Where do you find Amazon Spark?

This is sort of the weird part. It's launched within the Amazon app itself. And only for iOS, for now. Android is coming. It's only available in the United States, and you must have a subscription to Amazon Prime. (Don't have one? Hit this link (And you have to imagine at some point you'll be able to find it on the Echo Show.)

Some more fine print from Amazon:

You can find Amazon Spark by opening the drawer (or hamburger menu, if you prefer) on the left, then hitting "Programs and Features." I also now see an option to "Explore your interests on spark" in the menu as well, which scrolls over to more information.

The Spark section is broken into three parts. There's the main "Feed," where you see everything from what I assume (for now) is everyone. This isn't like Twitter or Instagram, where you only see things from people you follow first. Then there's the "Explore" section, which has a search box and categories like "Posts we love," "Popular in Food & Drink," and "Popular in Style & Fashion."

What do you post on Amazon Spark?

Anything you want, really. Pictures, individual products, links or polls. Some folks get more artistic with their pics, with products in the background, or at least not as the main focus. Others look like pretty typical product shots. Your call.

This is still a sort of social media, in a way, so figure the usual rules apply. Pretty people and pretty things perform better. You can follow people to see the things they post.

There are plenty of hashtags (though they're not clickable, so whatever) and plenty of #sponsored going on. You give your posts tags, which are clickable, giving you a way to dive on down the rabbit hole.

How do you order things on Amazon Spark?

This part's easy. Really easy. So easy you kind of wonder how Instagram took so long to be so bad at it.

Tap a picture and it clears everything else off the screen. You then get a sort of banner listing at the bottom. Tap that, and you're taken to the product. (Remember that you're still in the Amazon app.)

After that, you just buy.

Can you really post anything on Amazon Spark?

Pretty much. And I didn't have to look very long before I ran across some porn spam. I'm not really sure what the product was supposed to be, and I didn't stick around long enough to find out.

What sort of information can people see about me on Amazon Spark?

If you post on Amazon Spark, folks can see that, of course. (And everything you post is public, so far.) If you leave a comment on someone else's post, that's fair game, too. Same for the interests that you follow.

Products that you've searched for and your purchase history remain private, though. (Thank God.)

Does Amazon Spark have any parental controls?

Erm, not really. So maybe don't sign your kid up just yet. (Or at all.) There is the ability to report posts, though, should you deem them inappropriate, harassment, violent, promoting self-harm, hate speech, spam, or a scam. I've only run across one example of that so far, though.

When you report a post it's hidden from your feed. But you also can just hide posts you simply don't want to see.

What do I — a regular person and not a #sponsored celebrity — get out of Amazon Spark?

The short answer? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

For now, you get to post pictures and links and earn smiles and get comments. Which, uh, is great, if you're into that sort of thing. That might change at some point, though.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is paying some folks to post on Spark, which isn't unusual for this sort of thing, especially early in the game. But for us normal folks, there's not really any incentive yet. Websites (such as this one) earn affiliate revenue whenever you click on an Amazon link from one of our stories. Presumably Amazon will do the same sort of thing through Spark (perhaps in the form of Amazon credit?) for us regular folks, too. The WSJ piece alludes to this, but Amazon didn't confirm anything.

Amazon Spark sounds like a horrible #hashtag #brand #hellscape — right?

Sort of. But it's actually a rather good-looking feed from an app standpoint. Think of it maybe like Pinterest with easy access to buy things.

It's not going to be in my top 5 apps or anything, but it's done well, even if it's currently a little buried within the Amazon app. And the fact that you go into it knowing that the idea is to get you to buy things takes away a little bit of the stick of the usual social media shills.

In any event, it's early days. Things will change. At some point it might make sense for Spark to be broken out into its own app.

For now? Happy shilling.

If you're loving your Amazon Echo, Dot, or Tap, you're ready to commit to the relationship even further. It's time to think about meeting in person. That is, it's time to see Alexa and allow it to see you. That's what the Echo Show is all about. It is pretty much the same thing as Amazon's other Echo family, but with a screen and a camera so you can see your query results and video chat with friends and family. Here's everything there is to know about the Amazon Echo Show.

See at Amazon

Looking for information about Amazon's other Echo family?

• Amazon Echo: Everything you need to know
• Amazon Echo Look: Everything you need to know

What's new with the Echo Show?

As of June 28, Echo Show is officially available for sale. You can now purchase the 7-inch touch screen device in black or white for $180. If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, it'll be on your doorstep in two days. Have fun!

So, what is the Echo Show all about?

The Echo Show is a screen and speaker device that is outfitted with Amazon's virtual assistant, Alexa. With it, you can play music, watch videos, control smart home gadgets, video chat with friends and family, and a whole lot more.

It sports a 7-inch touch-sensitive screen and two Dolby front-facing speakers, as well as an eight-microphone array, which can hear your query from across the room, even while you're listening to music or watching a video.

The Show also includes a 5MP front-facing camera so you can make video calls to friends and family with the Echo Show, or who have the Alexa app on a video supported device, like an iPhone or iPad.

Similar to the Echo family of speakers, the Show supports Skills, which adds a plethora of possible features, like getting stock market updates, finding out the weather forecast, and viewing your week's schedule. At this time, skills are limited, but developers are currently working on Show-specific apps so you can take advantage of the addition of the screen and camera.

How much is this Show going to set me back?

The Echo Show costs $180. You can buy it outright or pay it off in five-month installments of $36 per month.

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How is the Echo Show different from the other Echo products?

The obvious difference is the screen. The Echo, Dot, and Tap are only a speaker with an always-on microphone. The Show has a 7-inch touch sensitive screen and a 5MP always-on front-facing camera.

According to initial reviews, the Show also has a better audio experience than the flagship Echo speaker.

Wait, did you say always-on camera? So it watches me?

Well ... yes. Just like the way the Echo microphone is always listening, the camera is always watching. It doesn't mean there is someone sitting in a room at Amazon's headquarters watching you on a surveillance screen. Similar to the way the microphone works, anything you say before or after saying the wake word, which is Alexa by default, is not sent to Amazon's servers or stored in any way, but things you say when you trigger Alexa, whether intentional or accidental, is sent to Amazon's servers and stored. Wired has a great article about always listening devices that explains more. If you prefer, you can turn off the microphone and camera feature and instead use a manual button on the device to trigger Alexa.

The Echo Show has one additional feature that takes advantage of the always-on camera, and that's Drop In. Drop In is a feature that allows you to set up contacts that you can drop in on or can drop in on you without anyone having to accept the video call. It happens automatically.

So I can remotely check in with my grandparents without needing them to answer the phone?

Exactly. When you set up permissions for Drop In (which is off by default) with specific contacts, you are allowing those contacts the ability to appear on your screen automatically when they call. You don't have to actually answer the call. Your friends and family can enable Drop In on their Echo Show or with the Alexa app. Voice Drop In calling is supported on the Echo, Dot, and Tap, too.

When someone Drops In on you, you'll hear a tone, which lets you know that someone is coming through. The person on the other end will hear audio right away, but the video will slowly fade in. If you're available to talk, just start talking. But, if you're unavailable for some reason, you can say, "Alexa, hang up." and the Drop In call will end.

It might seem a little disturbing for someone to have the ability to just show up in your living room whenever the mood strikes, but it's actually a fantastic feature for very specific circumstances. For example, if your parents are elderly, and you'd like to be able to keep track of them without them having to get up and answer a phone call every time you want to see how they are doing, you can enable Drop In and just pop in to say hi whenever you feel like it. If something is wrong with Pops, you'll be able to see or hear him and respond if he needs help.

It's also a great monitor when your kids come home and you want to make sure they're doing their homework. Drop In from the office and find out, for sure, whether they're watching cartoons or finishing their chores.

Of course, Drop In isn't going to be for everyone, nor will the always-on camera, but these features can be disabled at any time. You're in control of what you allow or don't allow in your home.

Do my friends and family need an Echo Show to have a video chat with me?

Nope! In fact, they don't need any type of Echo device. All they will need is the free Alexa app on their mobile devices, like an iPhone or iPad. You and your friends will need to register for Alexa calling, which puts your phone number into the database. Then, anyone with your phone number can call you via Alexa, including video chatting.

There have been some privacy concerns about signing up with Alexa's calling-to-calling feature. When it first launched, you weren't able to block anyone from calling you. However, Amazon has since added the ability to block contacts.

Do I need to have another Echo device to use it?

You do not. The Echo Show is a stand-alone device and does not require any other Echo device to work. It does need wi-fi connectivity, though. So be sure your local network has wi-fi.

Is it portable? Do I have to keep it plugged in?

Unfortunately, you do have to keep it plugged in. You can take it with you, but it won't work while it's disengaged from its power source and you'll need to plug it back into a power source in order for it to work again.

What about my smart home gadgets, does it work with my camera doorbell?

The Echo Show is compatible with some smart gadgets right out of the box and there are likely to be more smart gadgets that will support Alexa and the Echo Show in the near future.

The popular Ring Video Doorbell Pro is also compatible with the Echo Show. There will likely be more smart home gadgets getting Alexa and Show compatibility soon.

Can I watch movies and TV shows on it?

You can! However, currently, the only video streaming services available on the Echo Show are Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. Hopefully, Amazon can strike deals with other streaming services so you can watch content from Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, and others.

Right now, though, you're stuck with Amazon Prime Video or YouTube.

What other Amazon account connected services does it support?

The Echo Show connects to your Amazon account to provide a very easy shopping experience with the online retailer. Since the Show has a screen, you can now see what you want before you buy it.

The Show also connects to your Prime Music account so you can listen to your tunes, and your Prime Photos account so you can set your screen as a photo slideshow.

It is unclear at this time whether you can connect to Prime Reading for reading ebooks and listening to audio books.

What about other third-party apps like Skype, Hulu, or Spotify?

At this time, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube are the only video streaming services. Skype is not yet supported. But, you can listen to music via Prime Music, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Sirius XM. You can also find recipes via AllRecipes and connect your iCloud calendar. Many (if not all) of the skills you can use with the Echo, Dot, and Tap also work with the Show You can discover a lot of interesting content in the Skills Store in the Alexa app.

Additionally, there will probably be Echo Show-specific skills heading our way in the near future that take advantage of the screen and camera.

Can I connect the Echo Show to a bigger speaker or monitor?

The Echo Show is Bluetooth-enabled, so you can connect to a supported Bluetooth speaker for a bigger sound (though the built-in speakers are pretty good).

It does not, however, have any other ports. There is no HDMI port, no headphone jack, and no USB port. So, you won't be able to connect the Show to your TV set or computer monitor.

The Echo Show is not AirPlay compatible, either. So you won't be able to stream content from your Show to your TV via Apple TV.

Because it's Bluetooth compatible, though, you can connect your iPhone or iPad and stream music from your iTunes library or Apple Music.

Does it work with my Echo Remote?

Yes, but you'll have to unpair it from the current Echo device before you can pair it with the Echo Show.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about the Amazon Echo Show or how it works? Put them in the comments and we'll help you out.

See at Amazon

Do you remember the good ol' days where you could go into almost any gaming store and trade in your old games for money? It seems like so long ago. While there are plenty of game shops that still take trade-ins, there are usually some pretty strict rules as to what you can actually spend the trade-in value on.

For example, in some places, you can only trade games for games, accessories for accessories, or consoles for consoles. It's limits on transactions like this that have me — and lots of other people — turning to Amazon for all my trade-in needs.

How to trade in your old games for Amazon gift cards

Before you get started, make sure you are logged in to your Amazon account; it'll make things easier down the road.

1. Go to the trade-in gaming section of Amazon.
2. Type in the name of the game you want to sell into the search bar.
3. Click the trade-in button.

4. Answer the questions about the game's condition.
5. Click continue.

6. Enter your shipping address.
7. Click Continue.

From here, you'll need to print your free shipping label from Amazon and send your game via mail. After Amazon has received the game, you will be emailed an Amazon gift card in the amount you were quoted, which you can use to buy anything on Amazon!

Anything else you need to know?

Let us know in the comments below.

So you've tried Amazon Music Unlimited, and while it's great for getting almost any song through your Echo, in the end, the service just isn't for you. Fortunately, canceling your subscription is fairly straightforward.

Here's how you cancel your Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

How to cancel Amazon Music Unlimited subscription

To cancel your Amazon Music Unlimited subscription, you're going to need to head to Amazon on the web.

1. Open Safari or the web browser of your choice from your dock or Applications folder.
2. Head to Amazon.com.

3. Hover your cursor over Account & Lists.
4. Click Your Music Subscriptions.

5. Click Cancel subscription.
6. Click Confirm cancellation.

Unfortunately, this is the only way to cancel an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. While you can cancel your subscription in the mobile app on an Android device, currently, you cannot do so on your iPhone.

Questions?

If you have any other questions about canceling your Amazon Music Unlimited subscription, let us know in the comments.

Don't forget about the food!

These days I'd be shocked to see an intelligent assistant demo without some sort of food-ordering demonstration. If your virtual assistant hits the market and it can't order takeout for me, you're doing it wrong.

Because the main players in the virtual assistant space have this functionality (in some shape or form), it's a good means of comparison for the different platforms. Joseph Rosensteel took to his Unauthoritative Pronouncements blog to compare the various assistants.

This kind of stuff excites me. Much like a human assistant flipping furiously through a Rolodex to find the right person for your request, I want my virtual assistant plugged into all the things. But that's only going to happen if Google allows for third-party integrations with competitors. As Joe points out, "Amazon Prime Now seems like a stretch!"

Because Amazon's focus is less about competing with other tech companies by means of hardware, it's pretty easy to see a lot of integrations for all of Amazon's Alexa products. In fact, there are already loads of integrations, and the list keeps growing.

Where Amazon fails to compete with the machine-learning power of Google, it makes up for that in its universal, open nature. Almost anyone can submit an Alexa Skill, and Amazon continues to form partnerships with companies that make home automation products. The joy of "Alexa, turn on my lights and set them to 25-percent" knows no bounds.

Yeah, Siri could use some work when it comes to third-party integrations. OK, a lot of work, but lucky for us, it's rumored that's exactly what Apple's working on. The company might open up Siri to developers, finally giving us the ability to use Siri as our maestro for all things iOS.

Err, fingers crossed it doesn't end up like that did.

Are you looking forward to third-party integrations? What virtual assistant do you use? Oh! One more question: What's your favorite kind of pizza?

Associate is a new tool for iPhone and iPad from the developers behind the Blink affiliate link generation app. The app is specifically targeted at the Amazon Associates program, and can be used to generate Amazon affiliate links with just one tap. You can even generate three different Markdown link formats, and product names can be automatically added as link titles.

While you can browse Amazon and create links directly within the app itself, that's not your only option. Associate also features an extension, which you can use with Safari or even Amazon's own app to create affiliate links without even having to open Associate. The app also supports Split Screen and Slide Over multitasking on iPads running iOS 9 or later.

Amazon Associates program members should check Associate out on the App Store now.

• $4.99 - Download Now

I love books. I love to read. Back when there were bookstores, I'd spend every Friday afternoon browsing the shelves, checking for anything new from my favorite authors, walking the aisles for new writers and genres. I rarely left without at least three or four new books. When I traveled, I never wanted to be with less than three unread books; that's how I killed time flying in the days before Wi-Fi in the sky.

When Kindle came out, I was totally into the idea. The notion of traveling not with a few books but with a whole library in a form lighter and easier to carry than even a single book? That was a dream come true. At least mostly. While more convenient, even its e-ink display wasn't as enjoyable a reading experience as a real, paper book.

That's what the new Kindle Oasis hopes to achieve.

E-book readers have been around for a long time. I bought my first one from a friend in Tokyo—the original Sony Libre. It was mediocre but hinted at the future. The Oasis is most of the way there. The hardware is beautiful. It's small, it's light. In a world where there's a race for thinnest gadget, the Kindle Oasis wins hands down. The balance and ergonomics feel great. There's virtually nothing about the hardware I don't like. It also has a beautiful leather cover with integrated battery for topping off.

The screen is a beautiful 300dpi e-ink display (Amazon says it's improved from last year's model, but I can't see the difference). Page turn lag is a thing of the past and the Kindle handles all of Amazon's titles, of course, as well as any other .Mobi or PDF file.

Now, I already have an iPhone and an iPad, which have Retina displays and offer great reading experiences, so why bother with a Kindle or any e-reader? Why bother with a uni-tasker that would make Alton Brown cringe?

For the sheer joy of reading.

• The soft, always-on LED-lit display that makes reading electronically more like reading paper.
• The feather-light weight of just a few ounces that make such a difference when reading for more than fifteen minutes.
• The immersive experience, where the device truly does disappear.

Those are things that simply aren't replicated on any tablet. Because sometimes, the all in one, converged device doesn't offer the optimal experience.

Ask a photography enthusiast about their cameras or a watch enthusiast about the mechanical marvel on their wrist. Both are ultimate uni-taskers.

The Kindle Oasis is an e-book reader par-excellence—an ultimate uni-tasker like the camera or watch.

It does have a few downsides, though.

• It costs way too much (part of that is the leather cover and battery).
• It's still a niche device that, if you don't want to read, is useless to you.

For anyone who loves—loves—to read, though, it might become your favorite gadget. It's already become a permanent fixture on my night table and in my carry bag.

If you've been reading ebooks on your iPhone or iPad with the Kindle app, you may have noticed all of those little tool icons at the bottom of the screen, but maybe haven't taken the time to figure out what they are all about. We did take the time and are here to fill you in on how to use each of them.

• How to share info about an ebook in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to use highlight tools in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to share a passage of text in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to add a note to a passage of text in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to look up definitions, translations, or Wikipedia entries in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to use X-Ray in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

How to share info about an ebook in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

If you are reading a book that you just know someone would love, why not send them a link to it?

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a book to open it.
3. Tap the screen to call up the page tools.

4. Tap the Share icon at the bottom center of the screen. This will open the share sheet at the bottom of the screen.
5. In the top row of icons, tap the app icon you wish to share the book info with.

How to use highlight tools in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

Just like the way your mom may have highlighted interesting lines in her favorite books when you were a kid, you can highlight passages of text in ebooks when you are using the Kindle app for iOS. But, there are even more tools available to you than just highlighting.

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a book to open it.

3. Find the text you wish to highlight.
4. Touch and hold the word you wish to highlight.
5. If you want to highlight a phrase or paragraph, drag the highlight posts at the beginning and end to where you want them to be.The highlighting tools will appear as soon as you lift your finger from the screen.
6. To add a highlight, tap the color you wish to use.
7. To copy the selection of text, tap the Copy icon next to the colors. It looks like two sheets of paper.

How to share a passage of text in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

You can also share a highlighted selection of text along with the link.

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a book to open it.
3. Tap the screen to call up the page tools.

4. To share a selection of text along with the book info, highlight the text you wish to share.
5. The highlight tools appear automatically. Tap the Share icon to the far right of the tool selection. This will open the share sheet at the bottom of the screen, as well.

When you share a book's info, with our without a selection of text, you will be sending a link to read a free sample and purchase the book on Amazon.

How to add a note to a passage of text in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

You can add an annotation to a word or sentence in the Kindle app for iOS. It is sort of like writing in the margins of a book.

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a book to open it.

3. Find the text you wish to add a note to.
4. Touch and hold the text to call up the highlight tools.
5. Tap the Note icon. It looks like a box with a pencil inside of it.
6. When the note window appears, start typing.
7. When you have finished writing your note, tap Save.
8. Tap the X in the upper right corner of the screen to cancel or delete the note.

How to look up definitions, translations, or Wikipedia entries in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

To find a definition, Wikipedia entry, or language translation of a word or phrase, highlight the passage of text. A window will automatically pop out with a definition window.

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a book to open it.

3. Find the text you wish to see the definition, Wikipedia entry, or translation for.
4. Touch and hold the text to call up the information window. It will automatically open to the dictionary.
5. To find a Wikipedia entry, swipe across the window to the left.
6. To find a translation, swipe across the window to the left again.
   1. Tap the language button you wish to translate to or from.
   2. Select the language.
   3. Tap the audio button in the upper right corner of the window to hear the translation

How to use X-Ray in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

X-Ray is a reading enhancement feature to help you find out more about what Amazon calls the "bones of a book." It includes Wikipedia and Shelfari information, which is the company's community-content encyclopedia. When in X-Ray the bar next to a person or term shows all of the locations in the book where it can be found.

Not all books support X-Ray. If a book does not support the feature, the X-Ray icon will be grayed out.

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a book to open it.
3. Tap the screen to call up the page tools.

4. Tap the X-Ray icon, it looks like a solid box with an X inside. The X-Ray feature will open with All references on display.
   1. Swipe to the left to filter People only.
   2. Swipe to the left to filter Terms only.

5. Tap a selection to find out more.
   1. Tap a page location to go directly to the point in the book that the person or term is mentioned.
   2. Tap Full Wikipedia Article when available to read more about the term or person.
6. Tap the X in the upper right corner of the screen to exit X-Ray.

With the enhanced reading tools and sharing features, reading in the Kindle app is a much different experience than it used to be before there were ebooks.

Once you've downloaded ebooks to the Kindle app, it's time to start reading. The Kindle app is fairly easy to navigate, but there are a few features you may not already know about. We've got some tips to make your reading experience easier.

• How to turn pages in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to jump to a specific page in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to sync to the furthest page read in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to bookmark a location in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to access bookmarks in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad
• How to change fonts, text size, and colors in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

How to turn pages in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

You may already know how to turn a page in the reading app, but you can also jump to a specific page, or scrub through pages, as well.

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a a book to open it.
3. To turn a single page: swipe your finger from the left or right side of the screen.

How to jump to a specific page in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a a book to open it.

3. Tap the screen to call up the page tools.
4. To jump to a specific page on the screen, tap the Menu icon in the upper left corner of the screen.

5. Tap Cover to go to the cover, Beginning to go to page one, or Location to go to a specific page.
   1. When you tap Location, enter the page number you wish to go to.
   2. Tap Go.
6. To scrub through pages, touch and hold the progress bar at the bottom of the screen and drag it to the left or right until you've reached the page you want to go to.

These various page-finding tools make it easier for you to get to the section you want in any way that works best for different situations.

How to sync to the furthest page read in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

Nothing is worse than losing your spot when you are reading a book. luckily, the Kindle app always knows what the furthest page you've read is, so you can quickly go to it, even if you forget to bookmark it.

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a a book to open it.
3. Tap the screen to call up the page tools.

4. Tap the Menu icon in the upper left corner of the screen.
5. Select Sync from the menu options. The app will begin syncing to the furthest read page
6. When the message window pops up, tap Yes to go to that page.

The sync feature takes you to the furthest page that has been opened in the book, even if you are only reading the first chapter. So, remember to add a bookmark if you want to save your place.

How to bookmark a location in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

The best way to ensure that you don't lose your place in a book is to add a bookmark. You can add bookmarks to multiple pages and access them from the My Notebook section.

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a a book to open it.

3. Tap the screen to call up the page tools.
4. Tap the Bookmark icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

How to access bookmarks in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a a book to open it.

3. Tap the screen to call up the page tools.
4. To access bookmarks, tap the My Notebook icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.

5. Tap Filter in the upper left corner of the screen to filter the notebook by bookmarks only.
6. Tap Bookmarks to filter by bookmarks.

7. Swipe upward on the screen to scroll through bookmarks and tap one to go to that page in the book.
8. Tap the X in the upper right corner of the screen to close the Filter window.

You can delete a bookmark by tapping the trashcan icon or mark one as a favorite by tapping the star icon. Add as many bookmarks as you like.

How to change fonts, text size, and colors in the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad

Reading on a small screen can be tough on the eyes. The Kindle app has a variety of tools to help you get just the right setting for a comfortable reading experience.

1. Open the Kindle app.
2. Tap on a a book to open it.
3. Tap the screen to call up the page tools.

4. Tap the Font icon in the lower right corner of the screen. It looks like a capital and lowercase A (Aa).
5. To decrease the font size, tap the Aa on the left side of the screen.
6. To increase the font size, tap the Aa on the right side of the screen.

7. To change the font style:
   1. Tap the current font selection (i.e., Helvetica).
   2. Select the font you wish to change to.
   3. Tap anywhere outside of the font window to close it.

8. To change the background theme, tap White, Black, or Sepia.
9. To adjust the line spacing, tap one three spacing options at the bottom of the screen.
10. To adjust the brightness of the screen, drag the brightness slider to the left or right.
11. Tap anywhere outside of the font window to close it.

Once you've got your font size and style, color theme, and brightness adjusted, you can enjoy a pleasant afternoon of reading.

Amazon has updated its Video app, adding support for a number of features in iOS 9, along with support for 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. The app is also now ready for the iPad Pro.

The major additions with this release include Amazon's X-Ray, auto-play for TV shows, and Picture-in-Picture support on supported iPads. Check the list below for all of the changes.

• With X-Ray you're one tap away from IMDB information on actors, songs, and trivia as you watch videos.
• Can't wait to watch the next episode of your favorite TV show? With Next Up, when the current episode you're watching ends, the next episode automatically plays.
• 3D touch quick actions let you access your favorite features faster and in fewer steps (only available on iPhone 6s and 6s Plus)
• Multitask while you watch videos with Picture in Picture and Slide Over (on supported devices)
• This version of the app adds support for iPad Pro

You can grab Amazon Video from the App Store now.

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According to a new report, Amazon is looking into building out its own live online TV service. The report comes from Bloomberg, and while it doesn't contain much in the way of details, it seems that the service would be distinctly different from its current on-demand Amazon Prime Video streaming service. From Bloomberg:

The report is quick to point out that the talks with networks are preliminary, and Amazon may not opt to enter the live TV space at all. However, it would definitely be an interesting move for the online retail giant, which has already notched its cap with video and music streaming efforts. Perhaps even more interesting is how such a service would compete with a rumored similar outing by Apple.

Source: Bloomberg

Today iOS 8 launches, and along with it, a whoooooole bunch of apps are being updated to support the new software. It's a veritable avalanche of updates, but we're going to dig up the very best ones for you. Give us a shout in the comments if you find any more!

iOS 8 app updates

• TextExpander - Set custom shortcuts (snippets) which expand to full phrases with this custom keyboard.
• Screens VNC - Use Touch ID and 1Password to unlock, and send rich text through a shared clipboard between devices.
• Transmit - Share files directly from your iPhone or iPad to your Amazon S3, FTP, SFTP, or WebDAV server.
• Epic Zen Garden - See what Metal graphics rendering can do with the tech demo.
• Slack - Share items directly to Slack channels and fellow collaborators from outside apps thanks to Extensions. Also gets 1Password integration.
• 1Password - Log into websites securely with a mere touch. Free for a limited time.
• Clear - View your latest tasks in the Today view.
• Camera Plus: Family Share pictures to other devices, haul in pictures for editing via Extensions, hop between devices for editing with Handoff.
• Instapaper: Read anything in a clutter-free environment thanks to Extensions. Saved articles show in Notification Center.
• TouchPal - A theme-friendly custom keyboard.
• Mint - Use Touch ID to access your personal finances.
• EyeEm - Follow friends and reply to comments on shared photos directly from notifications, and share pics for editing directly from the Photos app.
• OmniFocus 2 - Task manager lets you see what's next in the Notification Center. Also, shoot new tasks to the app through sharing Extensions.
• Facebook - Ubiquitous social networking app optimized for the iPhone 6's bigger screen.
• Color Keyboards - Stick close to the original keyboards, but add in your favorite colors.
• KuaiBoard - Use this custom keyboard to drop in chunks of preset text easily for those really repetitive e-mails and form letters.
• Yahoo Weather - Access the latest forecast from the Today widget.
• Dropbox - See latest activity in Today widget, plus new sharing controls for Pro and Business users.
• Minuum - A resizable keyboard perfect for those sticking with the smaller screen.
• Finish - Complete or stall tasks from the Notification Center.
• Swype - Another fantastic custom keyboard that focuses on gestures.
• Wdgts - A whole collection of useful notification tray widgets.
• Pocket - Handoff support lets you keep reading where you left between devices, and add new stories directly through Safari thanks to Extensions.
• Simple - Get access to your banking information through Touch ID.
• Find my Friends - Apple's location-sharing app can now move your friends list to iCloud.
• Find my iPhone - Now ties in with iOS 8 Family Sharing.
• iTunes U - Automatically add assignment due dates to calendar.
• Retro - Instagram viewer for iPad adds Today widget for keeping tabs on timeline and adds 1Password integration thanks to Extensions.
• Day One - Today widget offers flashback to previous entries, Extensions allow for easy importing from other apps, and Touch ID enabled to unlock.
• Evernote - Save notes with Notification Center widget, and clip content from all over with Extensions. Touch ID unlock for premium users.
• Badland - Visual optimizations for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen size.
• Vimeo - Easier uploading and sharing thanks to Extension support.
• Asphalt 8 - Exclusive iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus season plus switch to Metal graphics engine.
• SwiftKey - Hugely popular custom keyboard finally on iOS.
• Fleksy - One of the first custom keyboards for iPhone.
• OpenTable - Notification Center widget to let you know about upcoming reservations.
• Fragment - Resume editing between devices using Handoff.
• Endomondo - HealthKit integration and interactive notifications for challenge requests.
• Microsoft OneNote - Clip all sorts of content to the cloud with new Share Extension.
• Buzzfeed - Catch the latest from the Today widget and bookmark from notifications.
• Box - Access Box files in other apps thanks to new Document Provider extension.
• Duolingo - Lesson progress widget added to language-learning app.
• pCalc - Quick calculation widget added.
• Snapguide - Recipe and home decor app adds iCloud Drive integration.
• Redfin - Real estate reference adds Today widgets.
• MyFitnessPal - Fitness tracker adds HealthKit integration.
• App in the Air - Flight tracker adds widgets.
• Amazon - Online shopping app adds Touch ID signin option.
• Carrot Fit - Fitness tracker adds HealthKit integration and iPad support.
• Pinterest - Pin to your collections from Safari, support bigger iPhone screens.
• Calendars 5 - Check your schedule with a new Today View widget.
• Scanner Pro - Can now scan photos directly from the photo library thanks to Extensions.
• PDF Expert - Zoom Writing, AirTurn support, bookmarks management and iOS 8 exclusive features.
• Documents 5 - Open, view, and edit files stored in iCloud Drive.
• Printer Pro - Wirelessly print documents from your iCloud Drive.
• PDF Converter - Save iCloud Drive files in other formats as a PDF locally.
• LastPass - Safari extension for remembering passwords and Touch ID integration.
• Sky Guide - Sunrise, sunset, and lots of other information available in a Today widget.

New iOS apps

• Goat Simulator: Achieve a trans-species nirvana in the greatest sim game of all time. - $4.99 - Download now

Discounted iOS apps

• Numerics: Business statistic visualizer. $19.99 Free - Download now

Other iOS app updates

• Ascension: New Darkness Unleashed expansion available for this dark fantasy card game. - Free, IAPs - Download now
• Rules!: Two new game modes added to this memory-testing puzzle game. - $1.99 - Download now
• Real Racing 3: Classic Lamorghinis added in this beautiful racing gaming. - Free, IAPs - Download now
• Snipp3t: Catch celebrity Tweets and Instagram pictures from within the app. - Free - Download now
• Twitch: Chromecast support added to help you watch live video gameplay on the big screen. - Free - Download now