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Apple Is Having a Banner Year—and Has the October Prime Day Deals to Match

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Apple Is Having a Banner Year—and Has the October Prime Day Deals to Match


It’s been a good year for Apple. The thin, light iPhone Air was the biggest redesign that the iPhone had in years, and the Apple Watch‘s extended battery life was a step forward on a feature that the company had been working on for years. Resizable and movable windows have turned the iPad into a much more usable work computer, and Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 are better than ever. If you’re an Apple fan, many of your everyday items have gotten easier and better to use. Even better, there are a handful of great October Prime Day Apple deals that will also make them more affordable.

Of course, that means if you haven’t upgraded your Apple devices in some time, it’s time to rotate in some fresh gear. (I myself am still holding on to an original iPad mini from 2012.) Here’s the best Apple gear that’s discounted on Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, with the caveat that you need Amazon Prime membership to buy it. If you’re on the fence, here’s our guide to the best Amazon Prime perks. Be sure to see the rest of our Prime Big Deal Days coverage.

Updated 3:41 AM EST: We’ve added a batch of fresh deals from day 2 of Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days.

WIRED Featured Deals

The Apple Watch Series 10 Is on Sale

  • Photograph: Adrienne So

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • Photograph: Adrienne So

Hear me out: I think the upgraded battery life on this year’s Watch Series 11 (from 18 hours to a full 24) is an important enough upgrade that you should just consider going straight to this year’s watch. It makes all of the health features in WatchOS 26 much more useful, especially this year’s Sleep Score. (Formerly, many people I knew would not sleep with their Apple Watches because it’s too annoying to wake up with a drained watch.) However, this is a not-inconsiderable discount on a watch that is still a slim, attractive, full-featured fitness tracker.

Almost the Lowest Price on the Best iPad

  • Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

  • Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Do you want an iPad this year? I’m almost convinced that this year’s iPad OS upgrades would make an iPad setup so much lighter and easier for travel. (I’d be able to work and watch movies in bed!) It’s important to note, however, this iPad does not support Apple Intelligence and only works with the first-generation Apple Pencil. In which case, you’ll want …

An Upgraded iPad

Front view of an Apple iPad Air M3 2025 propped up on a circular table with the screen showing app icons

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

The iPad Air is our upgrade pick that supports Apple Intelligence, has 5G connectivity, and supports some of the newest accessories. Perhaps it is expensive for an ancillary tablet; however, this is positively a bargain price for a brand-new work computer.

The Best Work Computer

Front view of an open Apple MacBook Air 13-inch 2025  laptop sitting on a couch with the screen showing the desktop

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Apple

MacBook Air (M4, 2025)

Or you could get the work computer that we all have. I’m writing this on a MacBook Air right now. It’s at the top of both our Best Laptops and Best MacBooks guides, and it has plenty of onboard RAM. Unless you edit video or produce music for a living, you probably don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on the M4 Pro or M4 Max chips. (Although you can always check our buying guide, just to be sure.)

A Couple of Headphones

Light grey AirPods Max headphones with black strap placed partially on a puzzle

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Pretty much the only thing that’s wrong with the AirPods Max is that they’re some of the more expensive wireless headphones that we’ve tried. But even though they came out in 2020, they’re still the best headphones for iPhone users, with a noticeably excellent build quality, and they very rarely go on sale.

Apple AirPods Pro 2, two white earbuds, in an open oval shaped case sitting on a wooden surface

Photograph: Christopher Null

Apple

AirPods Pro 2 (With USB-C)

The AirPods Pro 2 are also on a very steep discount. They don’t fit quite as well as the newest AirPods Pro 3, which I would say are the best-fitting AirPods that I’ve ever tried. But their performance and features are still better than plenty of the other earbuds we test.

More Apple Accessories

Apple

AirTags (4-pack)

Put ’em in your wallet! Your suitcase! Everywhere!

Logitech

Combo Touch

You need this for your new iPad!

Anker

MagGo Power Bank (10K) (Qi2)

I carry one of these in my purse. Battery life is still a persistent problem with the iPhone.

Anker

MagGo UFO 3-in-1 Qi2 Charger

Super cute and super portable, this folding 3-in-1 is a real space saver.

Belkin

2-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad

Belkin’s 2-in-1 charger is a good bridge between old and new phones and supports Qi2.


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The Best Cyber Monday Streaming Deals With a Convenient Roommate’s Email Address

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The Best Cyber Monday Streaming Deals With a Convenient Roommate’s Email Address


HBO knows you’re bored and cold. It wants you to Max and chill with Noah Wyle in scrubs. The company offers some of the best Cyber Monday streaming deals with a ridiculously low-priced $3/month offer for basic HBO Max (it’s the version with ads and 2K streaming, but still, super-cheap). Disney Plus and Hulu deals are bundled up for $5/month. Apple TV wants back in your life for $6.

Of course, this deal is only meant for new customers. Not boring ol’ existing customers. If you already have basic HBO Max, you’re already paying $11 for the same service, and HBO would like you to keep doing that. Streaming apps are banking on you being complacent and happy in your streaming life. Maybe they’re even taking you for granted.

Sometimes you can get the current deal just by threatening to cancel, or actually canceling, your account. Suddenly, you’re an exciting new customer again! Another method is by using an alternate email account (perhaps your spouse’s or roommate’s?) and alternate payment information as a new customer. If you do use a burner email (you did not hear this from me), check in on your favorite app’s terms of service to make sure you’re not in violation by re-enrolling with different emails. I’ll also issue the caveat that you lose all your viewing data and tailored suggestions if you sign up anew.

But times and wallets are tight! And $3 HBO Max sounds pretty good. After all, every middle-aged American man needs to rewatch The Wire once every five years or so—assuming he’s not the kind of middle-aged man who rewatches The Sopranos instead. Here are the current best streaming deals for Cyber Monday 2025.


Devon Maloney; ARCHIVE ID: 546772

Regular price: $80



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SAP user group chair warns of AI low-hanging fruit risks | Computer Weekly

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SAP user group chair warns of AI low-hanging fruit risks | Computer Weekly


The UK and Ireland SAP User Group (UKISUG) Connect 25 conference has opened in Birmingham with a keynote session recognising the challenges business face.

The user group itself has adapted to changes in the technology market such as the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in business applications and the economic climate that has a profound effect on its members’ ability to deliver value with enterprise technology.

In his keynote presentation, Conor Riordan, chair of UKISUG, said: “As an organisation, we have to change, to position ourselves as we move from the old to the new.”

The user group has a 2030 plan, recognising the shifts in enterprise software. For instance, there is the shift to no-code and low-code tooling, which has implications on the agility of enterprise software development. Riordan noted that the current business climate and geopolitical volatility means that there is a huge pressure to reduce costs, leading to cuts in training budgets and the challenge of delivering more with less, adding: “We need to have process change.”

Moving to a future where organisations are using data to make more dependable decisions, Riordan noted that SAP is moving to a dynamic ecosystem of applications and AI, but the challenge is how quickly businesses can start taking advantage of the AI now available in their business applications. “We see members say SAP AI will help them,” Riordan said.

But many are concerned how the new technology now available will deliver a return on investment (ROI). For Riordan, IT decision-makers need to be wary of tackling the so-called low-hanging fruit, the use cases that the industry sells to the executive team: “It is really complex work, and the low-hanging fruit is not that low hanging. It will take years, not months, to deliver value.”

A poll of delegates at the conference found that 78% of respondents are just getting started with AI, while 29% say their AI initiatives have under-delivered.

“This stuff is not easy,” Riordan said, adding that the challenge is one of process re-engineering and culture change, and that he believes humans need to be at the centre of decision-making. “We ask partners to be reasonable in their productivity claims so we can all succeed together.”

The Value of AI in the UK: Growth, people & data from SAP and Oxford Economics, which was published in October 2025, notes that customers are investing £16m in AI on average this year. The report’s authors predict this will increase by 40% within the next two years. However, the theme coming out of the keynote session at Connect25 is that few companies are really using AI.

Another big topic covered during the keynote is the end of support for SAP products. With SAP’s 2027 maintenance deadline for SAP ECC 6.0 fast approaching, many organisations are now embarking on their migration journey to SAP S/4Hana. More than half (54%) of respondents said that gaining access to SAP’s AI offerings will influence their future deployment of SAP.

Among attendees of Connect25, 49% said they are working towards the 2027 deadline. Riordan called on SAP to help customers to move to the cloud and build a tangible business case.

During her keynote speech, Leila Romane, managing director of SAP UK & Ireland, spoke about the AI opportunity, saying: “We are helping customers unleash new value with business AI.”

SAP’s strategy is to drive business value through the power of AI, data and its enterprise applications, with the SAP Cloud integral in SAP’s strategy to deliver AI-enablement across its enterprise software suite. Romane said SAP recognised that its customers were all at different stages of their cloud journey, adding: “Our commitment is to help you move.”



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Hong Kong FWA services market set for 9.6% growth | Computer Weekly

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Hong Kong FWA services market set for 9.6% growth | Computer Weekly


Analysis from GlobalData is forecasting that fixed wireless access (FWA) service revenue in Hong Kong is expected to increase at a “healthy” compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6% between 2025 and 2030.

The latest Hong Kong Total Fixed Communications Forecast set out to quantify current and future demand and spending on mobile services for the special administrative region of China. It noted that growth was being driven by Hong Kong’s extensive 5G network coverage and could also be attributed to local operators’ efforts to expand FWA services and position it as an alternative to traditional fibre broadband services for both residential and commercial sectors, meeting growing demand for high-speed connectivity in areas where extending fibre lines is challenging.

“High-density urban and suburban centres of Hong Kong create a strong business case for FWA services due to their cost-effective and rapid deployments without the complex infrastructure and civil work required for extending fibre-optic lines to such locations,” said Neha Misra, senior analyst at GlobalData.

“Competitive, feature-rich plans from the operators will also help drive its adoption over the forecast period. For instance, HKBN’s 5G Home Broadband Plan provides unlimited 5G broadband data (subject to a 300GB with a fair-usage policy) for HKD118 per month on a 24-month contract, along with a seven-day trial guarantee. The plan also includes a waiver of the HKD28 monthly administration fee and complimentary access to the basic HomeShield security plan.”

In addition to HKBN, the study noted that operators such as 3 Hong Kong and HKT are also using their extensive 5G networks to offer home broadband services, particularly in areas with limited fibre infrastructure. It cited HKT as recently having successfully deployed mmWave-based FWA to deliver ultra-high-speed internet to rural areas and outlying islands.

“Growing demand for FWA provides operators a strong revenue opportunity by expanding home and SME broadband without the high capital intensity of fibre roll-out,” Misra added. “By leveraging nationwide 5G coverage, introducing competitively priced service plans and bundling digital home services, operators can unlock higher ARPU [average revenue per user], accelerate market penetration in underserved areas and diversify beyond traditional revenues.”

GlobalData believes the Hong Kong government’s smart city initiatives will also open new opportunities for FWA, especially 5G FWA, which can deliver high-speed internet to power applications such as the digital economy, digital governance and e-health services, while supporting the city’s dense urban environment and digital transformation goals under the Smart City Blueprint 2.0.

The original blueprint was set out in December 2017, outlining 76 initiatives under six smart areas, namely Smart Mobility, Smart Living, Smart Environment, Smart People, Smart Government and Smart Economy. Blueprint 2.0 puts forth more than 130 initiatives that continue to enhance and expand existing city management measures and services. The new initiatives aim to bring benefits and convenience to the public so that residents can better perceive the benefits of smart city innovation and technology.



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