A planned new service will give you more options to pay over time. Photo: Apple
Apple and its Apple Card partner, Goldman Sachs, plan to launch a new pay-in-installments service for all Apple Pay purchases reportedly known internally as “Apple Pay Later.” It resembles other “buy now, pay later” offerings from companies like Affirm Holdings and PayPal.
The Wallet app will soon let you board a plane with your iPhone rather than a physical drivers license. Photo: Apple
During its WWDC keynote presentation Monday, Apple showed off updates to the iPhone Wallet app in iOS 15 that may finally let it replace your actual wallet.
In addition to securely storing credit cards and discount codes, soon it will serve as a key to many locks as well as a virtual driver’s license.
Apple is exploring alternative payment systems, and the magic word “cryptocurrency” came up. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
A job opening at Apple for an “Alternative Payments” business manager set off a wave of speculation that the iPhone-maker is getting into cryptocurrency.
It’s apparently a change of heart by CEO Tim Cook, who’s on the record as being opposed to privately controlled currencies.
No room for doubt. iOS 13.6 Beta 2 flat out says Apple Wallet is getting virtual car keys. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple inadvertently confirmed rumors that iPhones will soon function as car keys. Buried in the privacy information for Apple Wallet in the iOS 13.6 Beta is a lengthy description of the upcoming feature.
Called “Adding and Managing Car Keys,” the verbiage details how wireless keys can be added to Wallet and how they can be shared.
Keeping your Apple Wallet passes as souvenirs? Don't bother. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
My real wallet is a shrine to minimalism. A bit of cash, a few cards, and zero old receipts or spent metro tickets. I keep it slimline, even with the aggressively European coin pocket included therein. My Apple Wallet, on the other hand, is as cluttered as the horizontal surfaces in my mother’s house, covered as they are with crystal animals, photo frames and lace doilies.
The problem is twofold. First, Apple Wallet never gets thicker, no matter how many cinema tickets and boarding passes you stuff in there. Second, how do you remove all those passes anyway? One at a time, with a swipe and a tap and a confirmation for each? No thanks.
Everything about the Apple Card is well designed, even the package it comes in. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
A credit card is a departure from Apple’s usual computers and accessories, but the Apple Card is just as gorgeous and the associated software every bit as easy to use as an iPhone or Mac.
I’m among the first cardholders, so here’s what it’s like to carry an Apple Card.
Apple Pay NFC tags could be a game changer. Photo: Scott HarleyTwitter
NFC support on the iPhone is about to get a lot more advanced real soon.
Apple revealed today that it is adding support for NFC stickers and tags that trigger Apple Pay for payment even if you don’t have the vendor’s app installed.
The Apple TV app gets a raft of new features in iOS 12.3. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple seeded the fourth beta of iOS 12.3 to developers this morning, just one week after the last beta was released. iOS 12.3 beta 4 brings with it a number of changes for iPhone and iPad, including changes to the Apple TV app, Wallet app tweaks and tons of bug fixes.
Update: The public can now also download iOS 12.3 beta 4, allowing anyone to test out the new features.
Did you know you could pick a single frame out of a Live Photo? Photo: Apple
Apple’s latest iPhone tutorials showcase features users should find convenient, like using Face ID instead of a password, picking the best image from a Live Photo, and chatting with an Apple expert to solve problems.
Target hasn't quite gone all-in on Apple Pay. Photo: Target
Target has started rolling out Apple Pay in stores throughout the United States, but it’s not all good news for frequent shoppers. The retailer today confirmed that it’s not possible to add its own REDcard debit and credit cards to your Apple Wallet.
Students no longer need to take their physical campus ID cards with them. Photo: Apple
Starting today, students at three U.S. universities — including Tim Cook’s alma mater, Duke University — can use their Apple Watch or iPhone for their campus ID.
The feature, also available at the Universities of Alabama and Oklahoma, lets students add their ID cards to their Apple Wallet app. This can then be used by campus ID holders to pay for laundry, lunch, book supplies and more, along with accessing dorms, the gym, or the school library.
The number of Apple Pay users almost equals the entire population of the US. But most users live somewhere else. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Most people are still leery about giving up their wallet. Only a small percentage of smartphone owners use their mobile to make purchases at brick-and-mortar stores. But attitudes are starting to change.
As a result, Apple Pay is growing strongly. Surprisingly, most of that growth is outside of the U.S.
Apple Pay has been a key service for Apple. Photo: Apple
Apple Pay Cash lets people send money to each other using iMessage. You can send up to $3,000 — certainly enough to cover your share of lunch — and the transaction is free if you use a debit card registered in your Apple Wallet.
All you need is to have a card in Apple Pay, and be running iOS 11.2 or newer, and you’re good to go. Here’s how to use it.
If you know where to look, getting the boarding pass off your lock screen is easy. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Picture the scene: You’re on a plane, and your iPhone is your entertainment hub. You may be listening to podcasts, or music, or audiobooks. You may be playing a game, or reading Instapaper, or just checking and editing your vacation photos. Whatever you’re trying to do, it will be interrupted every time you unlock your iPhone, because your stupid boarding pass is right there on the lock screen. Even hours into a transatlantic fight, the boarding pass you already used hangs around, blocking things like the now-playing feature, and lock-screen controls for any music or audio apps.
Thankfully, it’s easy to get rid of — if you know where to look.
iOS 9 is going to shift your mobile life into the fast lane. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
iOS 9 won’t shock you with a bunch of whiz-bang new features or a drastic new look, but in many ways, Apple’s latest mobile operating system is more important than its two immediate predecessors. While iOS 7 and iOS 8 laid a foundation that embraced the future of mobile design, iOS 9 is making all those changes worth a damn.
Apple drops iOS 9 today, bringing a more intelligent UI, better built-in apps, a smarter Siri and much more. Our iOS 9 review shows how the new software makes everything you do on your iPhone or iPad easier — and far faster — than ever before.
Apple talked up iOS 9 at the WWDC keynote this morning. Photo: Apple
Apple spilled all the details on iOS 9 at its WWDC keynote today. The new operating system will be rolling out to iPhones and iPads this fall — here’s what you have to look forward.