Briefly: Regent Street revamp, Apple Pay in Canada next month?

Calling the current Regent Street Apple Store's interior "tired and outdated," the City of Westminster has granted Apple authorization to make significant changes to the store, including a rare granting of permission to make some exterior modifications. The renovations are thought to be intended to bring the London store more in line with the latest design template, which has recently been showcased with a new Apple Store in Brussels. The company expects, according to plans put forth last May to remove double the size of the entrance, remove the front portion of the mezzanine, and change the current staircase from one into two, among other changes.

Hands On: Kit Precision Stylus

Before you read even a pixel further, know this: the Kit Precision Stylus is currently only available in the UK. Well, doubtlessly you can import it from Amazon UK, the way we over here regularly have to buy things from the US store. Officially, though, it is UK only for now. America and the rest of the world isn't missing out on a life-changing piece of engineering, but if you're looking for a stylus for your iPad, then this is a good piece of work, and it has certain advantages.

Briefly: UK banks add Apple Pay, Currys/PC World adds Apple Watch

Apple continues to expand its presence in the UK thanks to its partners. Three of the big banks have now added support for Apple Pay, allowing customers to register their credit and debit cards with their iOS devices. Cards from Lloyd's and Halifax are now supported, and Lloyd's subsidiary Bank of Scotland (not to be confused with Royal Bank of Scotland, commonly referred to simply as RBS) will add support for the mobile payment system on Friday.

Briefly: new Memphis store, VMA two-party Apple Music ad

Apple is planning to build one of its first "next-generation" standalone stores in the US in the Memphis suburb of Germantown, with the new design debuting overseas this fall, according to Apple Senior Director of Development Rick Millitello, who presented the plans for the new store to the Germantown Design Review Commission. The change will move the store slightly within its present Shops of Saddle Creek North location.

Apple Pay update: Lloyd's Bank says Apple Pay 'coming soon'

Lloyds bank on Friday became the latest of the dwindling holdouts to announce support for Apple Pay, telling customers in an email that the functionality will be enabled "very soon" and reminding them of what devices can be used with the service. This leaves only Bank of Scotland, Halifax, and Barclays as not having a clear window when support for Apple Pay will be offered. Barclays, which had initially declined to support Apple Pay, was forced to reverse course due to customer backlash.

Stanford ResearchKit heart health app expands internationally

A health study app based on Apple's ResearchKit API has now started collecting health date from outside the US for the first time. Stanford University's MyHeart Counts app has started including participants in the UK as well as Hong Kong, the first international expansion for apps created using ResearchKit, which makes it easier for medical professionals to create, deploy and recruit participants in health and medical studies.

Another 40 US institutions add support for Apple Pay

Another 43 US banks and credit unions are now supporting Apple Pay, according to the iPhone maker's partner website, with the total number of partners now at 465. The list does not include two new banks, HSBC and First Direct, that have recently activated support for Apple Pay with their systems, bringing the total of major UK bank chains to nine. Currently it is expected that the next country to gain Apple Pay support will be Canada, though negotiations with Chinese institutions continue.

Barclays UK reverses course, will 'imminently' support Apple Pay

After becoming best known for being the only major UK bank not to support the forthcoming rollout of Apple Pay support in the UK in favor of its own, much more awkward "bPay" solution, Barclays has apparently done an about-face and announced that it will provide "imminent" support of Apple Pay in the UK in the near future. The mobile payments system, anticipated to formally go live on Thursday, will still face some limitations.

Briefly: Apple Pay UK on July 14, Apple posts SF Pride video

A memo to supermarket chain Waitrose employees (and seemingly confirmed by Apple UK training documents) appears to reveal that Apple Pay in the UK will launch on July 14, albeit with varying restrictions on how much buyers can purchase without having to enter additional information. According to reports, most merchants will have a limit of £20 ($31.24 US) on any kind of contactless payment system, except some new POS terminals that are specifically designed to support Apple Pay.

Australian Apple Stores now stocking Apple Watch for in-store sales

Apple Stores in Australia and the UK are now preparing for in-store Apple Watch sales, which is likely foreshadowing the arrival of such sales in the US as well. Not all models are yet available, but Sport and regular (stainless steel) Watch models are showing as being in stock at most stores, while other models are still only available for online ordering. Customers must make a reservation online and then schedule an in-store pickup time.