MacRumors

Nearly three years after the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) was founded in August 2012, several U.S. retailers and restaurants belonging to the consortium will begin publicly testing their Apple Pay rival CurrentC in Columbus, Ohio over the coming weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal.

CurrentC is a mobile payments solution that requires scanning a QR code with a smartphone for contactless payment from a checking account, gift card or private label debit or credit card. The service does not currently accept major bank-issued credit cards such as Visa or MasterCard as retailers look to avoid costly fees.

Public testing of CurrentC is set to begin just as MCX's three-year exclusivity window expires this week, allowing retailers to explore other mobile payment solutions. Yesterday, MCX member Rite Aid reversed course and will begin accepting Apple Pay and Google Wallet on August 15, in addition to Android Pay when available.

Best Buy, a founding member of MCX, also began accepting Apple Pay for in-app purchases in April and announced that full Apple Pay support is coming to Best Buy stores in the U.S. later in 2015. The electronics retailer will be monitoring CurrentC's limited trial run but has not confirmed that it will be implementing the platform in stores.

Other MCX members include 7-Eleven, Alon Brands, CVS, Darden Restaurants, HMSHost, Hy-Vee, Lowe's, Michaels, Publix, Sears, Shell, Sunoco, Target and Walmart, some of which have confirmed plans to launch CurrentC in the future. Other retailers remain in the process of exploring contactless payment solutions or installing the necessary infrastructure to support smartphone-based transactions.

Update 7:10 AM: MCX CEO Brian Mooney tells Re/code that CurrentC may not see a broad launch until 2016, depending on how the early testing in Ohio proceeds.

Files within OS X El Capitan indicate the upcoming iPad mini 4 will support full Split View multitasking, suggesting its internal specs will be on par with the iPad Air 2. An OS X El Capitan resource file first located by developer Hamza Sood and 9to5Mac from the Safari 9 browser depicts an iPad mini with two apps side-by-side, which is how the Split View feature works.

Responsive design mode, which gives developers a way to test different layouts in Safari 9, also allows developers to simulate a Split View layout on an iPad mini 3. The iPad mini 3 does not support Split View, offering further proof that the iPad mini 4 is likely to be the tablet that uses Split View multitasking.

iOS 9 introduces multitasking for the iPad, and while two of the features, Picture-in-Picture and Slide Over, are available on the iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, and iPad mini 3, the true Split View multitasking feature is only available on the iPad Air 2 because it has 2GB of RAM and a robust A8X processor.

To support Split View, the upcoming iPad mini 4 will need to have internal specs that match or exceed those of the iPad Air 2. It's likely the device will include Apple's A8X processor or the A9 processor that's being used in its 2015 iOS devices, with 2GB of RAM also being a strong possibility.

Multitasking on the iPad in iOS 9

Specs for the iPad mini 4 have not yet been confirmed, as rumors have focused primarily on the external design of the device. It's expected to look like a smaller version of the iPad Air 2, with a much slimmer 6.1mm body and iPad Air 2-style design features.

Ahead of the launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, mobile app marketing platform Fiksu saw just two new iPhones in its data logs in July, casting doubt on this morning's rumors suggesting an iPhone 6c launch is still a possibility.

Last month, Fisku began seeing two unknown iPhone models in its logs, with the identifiers "iphone8,1" and "iphone8,2," which likely correspond to the next-generation 4.7-inch iPhone and the next-generation larger-screened 5.5-inch iPhone, expected to be called the "iPhone 6s" and the "iPhone 6s Plus," respectively. The current iPhone 6 Plus is "iphone7,1," while the iPhone 6 "iphone 7,2."

Fiksu's data includes 87 unique "iphone 8,1" devices and 67 unique "iPhone 8,2" devices, with no hints of a third unidentified model that might represent the rumored smaller-screened iPhone 6c, suggesting such a device is not being tested. While the absence of a third iPhone model in Fiksu's data does not entirely rule out the possibility of an iPhone 6c launch, when combined with previous rumors, the release of such a device alongside the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus seems unlikely.

Rumors indicate that while Apple did initially consider launching a 4-inch iPhone 6c in 2015, those plans were scrapped due to concerns the device could cannibalize sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which Apple wants to offer as a lower-cost solution when the next-generation iPhones are released. Other rumors have suggested the iPhone 6c was never intended for 2015, with Apple perhaps planning to launch a smaller-screened phone in 2016.

Despite rumors that have seemingly ruled out an iPhone 6c launch, well-known mobile phone leaker Evan Blass or @evleaks sent out a tweet last night hinting that Apple might still release an iPhone 6c. "Sounds like iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and 6c will all arrive concurrently," he wrote, without providing additional information.

According to Fiksu's data, the "iphone8,1" and "iphone8,2" in its logs are using a wide range of apps, including travel, games, and lifestyle apps. While the majority of usage is coming from the US, the site has also seen hits from Germany and Brazil.

Apple is expected to launch its next-generation iPhones in September, likely on September 9. The iPhone event may also see the debut of new iPads and it is said to include the new Apple TV.

Details on Intel's upcoming 15-watt 6200U - 6600U Skylake processor lineup were shared today by Fanless Tech, giving us a look at what we can expect from the processors that will likely be used in Apple's next MacBook Air update.

The 2.3GHz i5-6200U and the 2.4GHz i5-6300U chips are appropriate for the lower-end MacBook Air models, while the 2.5GHz i7-6500U and the 2.6GHz i7-6600U would be used in the higher-end MacBook Air models. All four chips include Intel HD 520 graphics. With Skylake, Intel has opted to simplify its graphics naming scheme, adopting 3-digit numbers instead of 4-digit numbers.

It is not clear when Intel plans to release the Skylake chips appropriate for the MacBook Air, but with full specs now available, it seems launch is imminent, perhaps planned for next week's Intel Developer Forum.

According to the information available, 28-watt chips appropriate for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro will not be launching until 2016. Launch dates are equally unclear for the rest of the Skylake lineup, as today's leak only covers chips that would be used in the MacBook Air.

Intel's Skylake processors are expected to offer a 10 to 20 percent boost in CPU performance over Broadwell, plus lower power consumption and improved Intel HD integrated graphics performance. Better energy efficiency will also lead to up to 30 percent longer battery life.

The most recent iOS 9 beta added WiFi calling options for AT&T subscribers, but when the beta was released last week, the feature was not functional.

As of today, some users in the MacRumors forums who are running iOS 9 noticed a different message when attempting to activate the feature, and just hours later, WiFi calling began working for a limited number of AT&T subscribers.

When attempting to activate WiFi calling in the Settings app, users who have access to the feature are receiving a welcome screen, a disclaimer, and a notice that WiFi calling has been activated and should be available within a few minutes. During the setup period, users are required to enter an address that emergency services will visit as a caller's location cannot be determined from a WiFi call.

Following a short waiting period, WiFi calling becomes ready for use with the "Wi-Fi calling on This iPhone" option toggled on. While a few of our readers have had success getting the WiFi calling feature working, several other users do not have access, suggesting AT&T may be testing the feature in a limited number of areas ahead of launch.

WiFi calling was first introduced with iOS 8, and shortly after the feature debuted, AT&T announced plans to support it. The company has not made any further announcements, but it is likely an official launch will come after iOS 9 is released to the public in September. An AT&T employee who is also a MacRumors reader says that his store has not received word on an upcoming launch, so official word on further availability of WiFi calling may still be a few weeks off.

WiFi calling is a feature that lets calls be placed over a wireless connection when cellular connectivity is poor. It is similar in function to Apple's own FaceTime audio feature, and has thus far been limited to T-Mobile and Sprint users.

The smartphone market is largely dominated by Android and iOS, dividing smartphone users into two camps: those who stick with the Android operating system and those who use Apple's iPhones.

Major players in the smartphone market like Apple, Google, and Samsung all aim to lure "switchers" with dedicated websites and tools for switching platforms, but new data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners [PDF] suggests getting loyal smartphone users to change operating systems is a tough task.

Over the course of the last two years, from 3Q 2013 to 2Q 2015, CIRP has learned that Android and Apple have both retained users at approximately the same rate, with Google having a slight edge. When choosing a new phone, 82 percent of Android users stuck with Android, and 78 percent of iOS users chose to continue using an iPhone.

The data also suggests that Apple users switched over to Android at a slightly higher rate. 20 percent of new Android users previously had an iPhone, while 16 percent of new iOS users previously had an Android device. Customers purchasing their first smartphone were more likely to choose Android devices, with 62 percent of first time buyers picking Android and 24 percent of picking iOS.

"The dynamic between Apple iOS and Google Android is not well-understood," said Josh Lowitz, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. "Even the basic loyalty rate, the measure of how each operating system retains its own users, is not widely known. Conventional wisdom says the Apple 'ecosystem' promotes loyalty, while Android readily gives up users to iOS. Our analysis has a more nuanced view on operating system selection, and indicates Android user loyalty has caught up and even exceeds that of iOS."

Among customers who switched to a new mobile carrier at the same time as switching smartphones, the numbers were in Android's favor. 79 percent of Android users stuck with Android, while only 51 percent of iPhone users who swapped carriers chose an iPhone.

According to CIRP, switching from Android to iOS is more common when customers switch to AT&T or Verizon, while switching from iOS to Android is associated with a switch to T-Mobile or Sprint. CIRP attributes the high number of iPhone to Android switchers to T-Mobile and Sprint's "aggressive contracts and pricing."

Apple often talks about the number of users switching from Android to iOS during its earnings calls and events, but Android vendors, like Google and Samsung, rarely mention the number of customers who switch from iOS to Android, so it often seems like Android customers are switching at a higher rate. CIRP's data, however, suggests the retainment rates and switching rates between iOS and Android are close, with customers largely remaining loyal to their platform of choice.

During the company's last earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company was seeing its highest switcher rate from Android that it had "ever measured."

CIRP's data was gathered from quarterly surveys of 4,000 U.S. subjects that activated a mobile phone from July 2013 to July 2015.

Apple aims to take on Google Now with the addition of several new intuitive features on iOS 9 for iPhone and iPad, including Proactive Suggestions, which provides contextually-aware recommendations for music, email, reminders, calendar events and more based on apps that you frequently open and the time of the day.

With iOS 9 currently available in beta, ahead of a public release in September, several readers have shared their real-world experiences with Proactive Suggestions within the MacRumors discussion forums, providing a closer look at the new-and-improved assistant that will be available to all users next month.

Music and Maps

When you connect your iPhone to your car via Bluetooth, iOS 9 can automatically make suggestions for you based on your common tasks while driving. For example, if you often listen to music while driving, it is likely that playback controls or a suggested playlist will be displayed on the Lock screen.

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Rite Aid today announced that its 4,600 stores across the United States will begin accepting Apple Pay and Google Wallet starting August 15, nearly one year after the drugstore chain and CVS infamously disabled support for the iPhone-based mobile payments service nationwide. Rite Aid will also support Google's forthcoming Android Pay service when available.

Rite Aid and CVS spurred a controversy last year after disabling Apple Pay and Google Wallet as payment methods last year, likely because both are members of the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) consortium, which has its own mobile payments service called CurrentC. MCX launched in August 2012 with a three-year exclusivity period for all members, which ends this month.

“Increasingly, consumers are actively seeking out and incorporating mobile technology into many facets of their life, including their shopping and purchasing decisions,” said Ken Martindale, CEO of Rite Aid stores and president of Rite Aid Corporation. “By accepting mobile payments, we’re able to offer Rite Aid customers an easy and convenient checkout process, which we know is important to them. Investing in mobile technologies is just one piece of Rite Aid’s evolving digital strategy and we will continue to explore, test and implement innovative technologies that will help us to better serve our valued customers.”

Apple responded to the Rite Aid-CVS situation last year by stating that Apple Pay feedback from customers and retailers was "overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic" at the time, and the mobile payments service is now available at over 750,000 locations in the United States and United Kingdom. Other MCX members that remain without Apple Pay support include Walmart, Target and Lowe's.