the best of this Apple weeks news all in one blog with news on Apple Pay
Payments direct to your iPhone
One of the fantastic new features in the upcoming iOS 15 update will be payments direct to your phone with Apple Pay. That’s right, according to Mark Gurman, soon you’ll be able to accept credit card payments as your phone will act as a credit card terminal. Using the NFC feature which is already embedded in your phone, it should now do away with the traditional point of sale payments of the past.
More Money than sense?
Well, if you have, then this week saw the release of possibly the most useless Apple accessory I have ever heard of (polishing cloth apart, that is!). The AirPods Max themselves are a ridiculous £450-£550, well now for that tidy sum you can presently bag yourself the Ophidia Gucci case. It’s online only available and will cost you the princely sum of £645! Tempted?
The cost of privacy to Apple v Facebook
Apple’s latest iOS privacy measures have reportedly cost Facebook $10 billion as it is now far tougher for platforms, websites, and apps to track users habits. Whilst announcing revenue of $33.67 billion, earnings per share came up short of analysts expectations. My heart bleeds!
AirTags cited in a stalking case
In Connecticut, an arrest’s was made after a man was trying to use AirTags to track a car as part of an ongoing domestic incident case. The man has since been charged with both first-degree stalking and violation of a protective order. Both these offences are felonies, and he faces sentencing at the end of March. Not the last time we’ll be getting these headlines, I am certain…
iMessage reactions & Google Messages
Until now, if an iPhone friend added a ‘like’ or ‘laughing face’ emoji to his side, the Google Messages recipient would simply have the words “laughed at” or “liked” appear on their screen. Within the past week, however, the latest Google Messages beta has finally added the functionality to be able to natively see the actual emoji’s. Does this signify us moving closer to a uni-platform, cross device blue bubbles for all future?
Delays on the new 27” iMac Pro
According to screen analyst Ross Young, a delay is anticipated for the release of the much anticipated iMac Pro. Now pushed back from the spring event until at least WWDC at the earliest. When it does finally land, we can expect a 27” mini-LED panel and an upgraded iteration of the M1 Max & Pro chips in it. It will be Apple’s fastest desktop to date once released.
Apple’s grip on the App Store loosens
This Thursday, legislation was approved, that if passed, would force Apple to let iOS users to install apps from outside the App Store for the first time. The bipartisan 21-1 vote gives a strong indication that it may well get voted through. The bill seeks to loosen the duopoly that Apple and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have over mobile app distribution.
CarPlay upgrades
The popular in-car infotainment system is looking to get some more functionality including help in setting climate control, heated seats, radio and more. We may hear more at this year’s WWDC as well.
Apple’s new ‘trade-in tool’
Another featured rumoured to be in the soon-to-be released iOS update 15.4 is the trade-in tool. It’ll work using the phones’ camera making cosmetic scans of your current device such as screen damage or surface scratches, making the whole trade-in deal that much quicker and more transparent. It should mean that if Apple make an offer on your device, it should be far less likely to then receive said device and have to waste time in contacting you with a revised offer upon sight of your old iPhone. The timing of this is apt as their self-repair programme is due to launch soon as well.
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Originally published at https://www.talkingtechandaudio.com/blog on February 4, 2022.