Tag - UK
Apple Stores open summer camp registrations in US, other countries
Apple has opened registrations for its annual summer camp for kids in the US, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, allowing children ages 8 to 12 who are accompanied by a parent or guardian to attend a series of workshops at a local Apple Store focused on iMovie, iBooks Author, and in some countries, basic programming. The sign-ups are on a first-come, first-served basis, and tend to fill up quickly.
Politico site using Apple's Wallet to deliver news on Brexit vote
As the UK prepares to vote on whether to remain or leave the European Union -- a question that has already brought out US-political-style racial divides and even gun violence -- American political site Politico is testing an unusual way of delivering breaking news on the hotly-debated referendum through a nearly-unique use of Apple's Wallet technology. The premise of the experiment is to use a "pass" in Wallet (normally used for boarding passes, event tickets, coupons, loyalty cards, or credit/debit cards for a single-issue news feed -- giving users access to the latest polls or breaking news directly on the lock screen, if desired.
Apple debuts soccer-themed 'Shot on iPhone' TV ad
On Friday, Apple added one more commercial to its recent spate of new "Shot on iPhone" campaign advertisements with a new one coming from Apple UK that ties into the UEFA European Football Championships. The 30-second spot is longer than the last eight 15-second ads Apple has posted to the campaign, but like the others it uses photography and slow-motion video shot by actual users to showcase the iPhone's ability as a camera and video camera. The footage is accompanied by a rap piece entitled "Wings" by Little Simz.
UK crests one billion contactless payments, Apple Pay well-positioned
The latest data from the UK finance sector shows that over one billion transactions were made with contactless technologies, reports The Guardian. As the country edges towards becoming a cashless society, 2015 marks the first time that cash was used for less than half of all payments. If the trend continues, cash usage will be overtaken by debit cards and contactless payment systems like Apple Pay by the year 2021, suggesting that Apple has made the right move by integrating contactless payments into its iPhone and Apple Watch.
Apple Pay page adds 26 more US banks, more UK support
On Tuesday, Apple updated its partner page for Apple Pay, adding another 26 US banks and credit unions to a list that now extends to at least 1,240 financial institutions (not including two "loyalty card" issuers, BJ's Wholesale and Kohl's). Along with the new banks, a new prepaid "digital MasterCard" program has launched in the UK with Apple Pay support from a company called Wirecard, with the service known as "boon." Users will be able to transfer money into a prepaid account, and then use the digital card with merchants who support various virtual wallet technologies.
Living with: Netflix
You can't believe the amount of time I spent pondering whether to subscribe to Apple Music or not. Must've been many hours, though spread out over the whole three months trial; I'm not daft. Yet perhaps because I've become more decisive, perhaps because Netflix is more compelling, or perhaps because I just carried over all that pondering. For when it came time to make my choice and pay for Netflix or give it up, I didn't hesitate -- and I've now been using it for a quarter of the year.
MacNN Podcast One More Thing Episode 23: Dollars and Nonsense
Is Tim Cook happy? If you listen to analysts and financial experts then no, as Apple is doomed, but in One More Thing's simple, homespun way, we think he might be. There is the small matter of Apple making some excellent products that we all love: it's got to be nice being the ones to make them. Then there's also the tiny matter of the extraordinary amount of profit and the sheer number of iPhones that have been sold since you started reading this.
Father accidentally allows son to rack up $5,800 bill with iOS game
A UK father was surprised to discover that his seven-year-old son, Faisall, had managed to spend nearly £4,000 (almost $5,800 US) on in-app upgrades for the game Jurassic World over a five-day period just prior to Christmas. The Crowley resident, 32-year-old Mohamed Shugaa, blamed Apple for the fiasco, despite the fact that his son would have had to have access to the Shugaa's iTunes password, as well as ignoring dialogs that warned that the purchases would cost real money.
Briefly: Visa Apple Pay UK, 27th China store to open
On the heels of a new promotion from Mastercard that allows Apple Pay users to ride free on the London Underground, Visa Europe is kicking off a two-month ad campaign that intends to show users why using Apple Pay in the UK is safer, faster, and easier than the current EMV (chip and PIN) card-based payment system. Titled "Anticipation," the first ad very elegantly communicates the ease, speed and yes, thrill of using Apple Pay.
Apple CEO talks diversity, health products, UK Apple Pay
On a European tour ostensibly to promote the new iPad Pro, Apple CEO Tim Cook has had a variety of meetings -- ranging from his usual unannounced appearances at Apple Stores to meeting with the finance chief of the UK to a speech to students at an Italian university. With the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Cook wanted the government to help speed up adoption of mobile payments; in various UK newspaper interviews, he hinted at further health products, and in Italy, he waxed reminiscent on his own schooldays.
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Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit
Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj
Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket
The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]
Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera
Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94
Apple employees testing wheelchair features
New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa
SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards
SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If
Apple's third-quarter results due July 26
Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm
Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users
Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE
