Technologies

Limited-Time Woot Blowout Takes Hundreds Off New and Refurb iPad and MacBook Models

Upgrade to a more recent Apple device with up to $500 off retail prices.

Apple makes some of the best laptops and tablets on the market, but they certainly aren’t the cheapest. If you want to score a recent Apple device without breaking the bank, often refurbished sales are the way to go. For a limited time, Woot is heavily discounting several MacBook and iPad models with prices from as little as $125, making now the perfect time to upgrade your gear.

See at Woot

According to Woot, you should expect the majority of these refurbished models to show moderate signs of wear and tear, but all have been tested and ensured to be in full working condition. So if you can live with some dings and scrapes, this is a chance to snag a top-rated computer or tablet at a major discount. There are also a couple of brand new items in the sale which are clearly marked as such.

Though some of the devices in Woot’s sale are a little long in the tooth and best to avoid, there are plenty of recent models to choose from. On the Mac side of things, you’ll find the powerful MacBook Pro from 2019 with prices from just $520. It comes in both 13-inch and 16-inch sizes and there are a few different configurations to choose from to suit your needs and budget. A variety of ultraportable MacBook and MacBook Air devices are also available for less.

Those looking for a tablet are spoiled for choice, too. The sale offers brand new 2020 iPad and iPad Air models from $520, though the pick of the sale is the refurbished 2021 iPad Pro at $800 — close to $500 off its original retail price. Having only just been replaced by the M2 model, the M1-powered iPad Pro is still powerful enough for advanced workflows and it supports the Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard accessories. It’s 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED simply gorgeous, too.

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Apple’s New Smart Home Display Delayed Until Fall Over Siri Issues

It has been nearly a year and a half since the company announced the AI-powered product.

Your home could get smarter with Apple’s Siri, but it will have to wait a few more months. Bloomberg reported the iPad-shaped AI home hub won’t be ready until September, several months after the company was hoping to launch it this spring. Apple engineers first need to complete work on a new and improved Siri assistant for the home device, code-named J490, according to Bloomberg.

Apple was hoping to release J490 this month, along with a slew of other new devices, including the iPhone 17e, MacBook Neo, MacBook Air M5, new Pro models, and iPad Air M4. Apple first teased the smart home display in November 2024.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Siri is Apple’s virtual assistant that uses voice recognition and AI to fulfill a variety of tasks and commands, along with intriguing uses. You might use Siri to find your iPhone — «Hey Siri, where are you?» — or to hear the weather forecast — «Siri, what will the weather be today?» Siri is available on iPhones, MacBooks and iPads. It was launched in 2011 as a feature of the iPhone 4S.

As CNET reported last month, Apple engineers have struggled to push the upgraded Siri assistant out the door. It isn’t fast enough, gets confused by complex commands and doesn’t interact well with other Apple AI models. The company is also wrestling with how much personal data to access to inform the AI, and the new Siri is not yet able to complete in-app tasks, such as finding a photo and posting it to socials, all with one command.

It has been nearly two years since Apple announced that it would give Siri a major upgrade. In the meantime, competitors like Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home have entered the marketplace.

Tech tester Jon Rettinger, whose YouTube channel has 1.66 million subscribers, says the repeated delays in upgrading Siri can «erode» confidence in Apple’s ability to keep up in the AI race.

«Apple as a whole is still one of the strongest companies on the planet. But their AI play is clearly the weakest link in an otherwise very strong chain,» Rettinger told CNET.

Rettinger said he has had issues getting Siri to complete basic commands, such as setting two alarms at the same time, and that it’s a bit of «a mess» right now.

«Having said that, the iPhone has such massive market penetration that I’m not sure it will actually matter in the end. Which is kind of wild when you think about it,» Rettinger said.

Facial recognition for residents

The hardware for the forthcoming smart home display has already been finished. It resembles an iPad and can be either attached to a wall or rest on a half-domed-shaped base, the Bloomberg report said.

The device will be equipped with facial recognition, so when residents walk up to it, they will be shown personalized data such as music preferences, news headlines, appointments, reminders, tasks and so on.

The screen interface will include a bunch of circular app icons, similar to the display on an Apple Watch. The Bloomberg report said the smart home display will be the first of several home devices by Apple. Future products include a tabletop robotic limb with a 9-inch screen, a smart security camera and a Face ID-enabled smart doorbell.