MacRumors

Johann JungwirthJohann Jungwirth has been appointed as the head of Volkswagen's new Digitalization Strategy Department in the company's Germany-based headquarters. In the past, Jungwirth worked for Mercedez-Benz and Apple, where he led the Mac Systems Engineering team.

More specifically, Jungwirth supported Apple's Special Projects Group, a tie that has connected him in the past to Apple's long-rumored Apple Car project. Although the German native could have left Apple solely for a job that brought him closer to home, it's still unclear exactly why he decided to leave the Cupertino-based company -- where he was allegedly working alongside the Apple Car team -- for Volkswagen.

Jungwirth was named Director, Mac Systems Engineering at Apple in Cupertino, CA (USA), in 2014. He was responsible for innovation in design and engineering in product development as well as hiring, growing and leading a multicultural research & development team and supporting the Special Projects Group.

According to Volkswagen's press release, Jungwirth will help the car manufacturer look towards the future with a focus on digitilization in the automotive industry. The hire comes on the heels of Volkswagen's big diesel scandal that's plagued the company for the past few weeks, in which it was discovered that it cheated on emissions tests in a number of its diesel cars.

Ahead of the launch of the iPad Pro, Apple executives have been doing a series of interviews to drum up excitement and interest in the device. Earlier today, The Independent published an interview with Tim Cook where he shared his thoughts on the Apple Pencil and the iPad Pro's target market.

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This afternoon, The Telegraph published a second interview where Tim Cook spoke further on his vision of the iPad Pro as a PC replacement and how tablets are subsuming the PC market. According to Cook, the iPad Pro will serve as a replacement for a notebook or desktop computer for "many, many people."

"I think if you're looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?" [...]

"Yes, the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones."

Cook also said the iPad Pro will be highly appealing to artists and other creatives, pointing towards the ease of use of the Apple Pencil and the iPad Pro's sound system, two features he also highlighted in his earlier interview with The Independent.

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According to Cook, sales of the new Apple TV were "very strong," a sentiment he echoed for the Apple Watch, which will "set a new record this quarter." Cook also said Apple doesn't have plans to introduce sensors or other health features that would cause the FDA to get involved with the device. He didn't rule out the possibility of other products that require FDA approval, like apps.

We don't want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process. I wouldn't mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but not the watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much, the cycles are too long. But you can begin to envision other things that might be adjacent to it -- maybe an app, maybe something else."

Tim Cook's interview, where he also speaks on the iPad mini 4 and device cannibalization, the health benefits of the Apple Watch, and the possibility of an Apple subscription service is well worth reading over at The Telegraph.

Apple's iPad Pro will go on sale online on Wednesday, November 11. Pricing for the iPad Pro starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Caution)

Apple today launched a new ad for the iPad Pro, entitled "A Great Big Universe." The ad depicts a gorgeous and detailed close up of the solar system, which zooms out to show that it's actually being displayed on the iPad Pro's Retina display. According to The Verge, the ad will premiere on TV tonight during Monday Night Football.

There's a great big universe in the new iPad Pro. It's the largest iPad ever and takes your creativity and productivity to an epic scale.

The new iPad Pro ad comes just two days before Apple will began accepting orders for the device. This morning, Apple announced orders would begin online on Wednesday, November 11, with the iPad Pro available in stores later in the week.

Pricing for the iPad Pro starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079. The iPad Pro is available in the three signature iPad colors: Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.

Apple will also be allowing customers to order the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard, the two accessories that are designed to be used with the iPad Pro. The Apple Pencil, a pressure-sensitive stylus, will be available for $99 while the Smart Keyboard is priced at $169.

Following today's announcement that iPad Pro online orders begin November 11, with in-store availability later this week, CNNMoney and The Independent have published interviews with Apple executives Eddy Cue and Tim Cook respectively about the new 12.9-inch tablet.


Cue described the iPad Pro as great for consuming content, such as emails, news and websites, and spoke in general terms about how Apple pushes itself to "create tools that let people solve incredible problems." He also praised the tablet's new four-speaker design that delivers stereo sound.

"One of the things with the iPad Pro that’s amazing is the sound — it’s got four speakers on it," said Cue. "And so the first time -- even myself as we were developing it -- I got my hands on it and I heard it, it changed the way I thought of the product even. I didn’t realize how much of a difference it was going to make that you have stereo sound coming out of a device like this."

Cook also said the iPad Pro delivers a "first-class audio experience," and called the tablet a capable "laptop replacement" when used with a Smart Keyboard. The chief executive further emphasized that the Apple Pencil is not a stylus, but rather a sketching tool that complements the iPad Pro's traditional multi-touch input.

Smart-Keyboard-Apple-Pencil“Well, we didn’t really do a stylus, we did a Pencil. The traditional stylus is fat, it has really bad latency so you’re sketching here and it’s filling the line in somewhere behind. You can’t sketch with something like that, you need something that mimics the look and feel of the pencil itself or you’re not going to replace it. We’re not trying to replace finger touch, we’re complementing it with the Pencil.”

Cook believes the iPad Pro's target market will consist of a lot of PC users, customers without Apple products and existing iPad users looking to upgrade to a "very different" device. The tablet also has value for creative companies like Touchpress, the makers of several interactive musical apps for Apple devices.

Where the iPad Pro is concerned, Alex Johnston, Chief Marketing Officer, told me: “For a business like Touchpress with the kind of content we like to produce, we value the more beautiful screen, the better audio. We re-imagine familiar music or text in a way to give you fresh perspectives on it. So having more screen real estate allows us to do that a lot.

“The thing that struck me the most,” Johnston went on, “is that it completely transformed the iPad experience when you use the Pencil or the Keyboard with it. It’s not just that I want it because it’s the best iPad, it’s that the tools that go with it allow me to do things that my finger won’t allow me to do.”

Adobe has also shared a video where visual designers, illustrators, educators and other creative professionals offer positive first impressions of the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, with a focus on Creative Cloud apps including Illustrator Draw, Photoshop Mix, Photoshop Sketch and Photoshop Fix.


iPad Pro pricing starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079. The 12.9-inch tablet is available in the three signature iPad colors: Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Caution)

Apple today released the first update to tvOS, the new operating system that runs on the fourth-generation Apple TV. tvOS 9.0.1 is a minor update that likely includes bug fixes and performance updates to address issues discovered since the launch of tvOS on October 30.

The new 9.0.1 update can be downloaded over-the-air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System --> Software Update.

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Apple has not provided release notes for the tvOS 9.0.1 update, so the exact details on what's new are not yet known. Any discoveries we make will be added to this post.

tvOS 9.0.1 comes as Apple is testing the first major update to the operating system, tvOS 9.1. Apple has thus far seeded one beta of tvOS 9.1 to developers, with release notes for that beta pointing towards improvements to networking and scrolling. tvOS 9.1 also appears to include support for Siri search for Apple Music.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Apple recently confirmed that Siri is coming to Apple Music on the new Apple TV at the beginning of next year, but iDownloadBlog has discovered the virtual assistant can now be used for certain music-related commands on the latest tvOS 9.1 beta ahead of time.

Jeff Benjamin shared a video demo of Siri being used to search for songs, albums, artists and playlists on Apple Music from the Home screen on the new Apple TV, without needing to open the Apple Music app. Siri can also be used to play and pause Beats 1 radio.


MacRumors was able to replicate this functionality on the new Apple TV running tvOS 9.1 beta in the United States, but Siri did not always handle requests properly. Siri was also unable to complete music-related commands on tvOS 9.0 in our testing.

Apple will likely continue testing limited Siri support for Apple Music before making the feature publicly available in 2016, so the functionality may be spotty or unavailable entirely for some users.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

The new Steve Jobs film faced another disappointing box office performance this past weekend, with the Danny Boyle-directed movie dropping more than 69 percent in profit from the previous weekend to a $823,000 weekend gross. Most surprising, however, is the movie's removal from 2,072 theaters across the country in one single weekend, after initially premiering in 2,411 just over three weeks ago (via Cult of Mac).

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When the film was in limited release and preparing to go wide on October 23, the projections for its debut box office weekend were between $15 and $19 million. According to Box Office Mojo, to date, the overall lifetime gross of Steve Jobs is just hitting the projections for its opening weekend: $16,684,073. In the two weeks the movie was in a limited run in Los Angeles and New York, it displayed impressive numbers, earning the fifteenth spot as the highest grossing per-theater average film in movie history.

Unfortunately, when Steve Jobs debuted wide, it earned only the 7th spot at the weekend box office with about a $7.3 million take in its first three days. The disappointment of the film's performance is in direct contradiction to a bevy of positive reviews, even ones that hinted at Oscar nominations for Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet over a month before the movie released.

Currently, Steve Jobs sits at 85 percent on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, with a total of 156 positive reviews to 27 negative. With the holiday movie season kicking into gear after a slow October at the box office, it seems that Universal has ditched its initial plan of a word-of-mouth build-up for the movie. If Oscar talk continues for its stars, there's a possibility it could return to a few more theaters closer to the awards show.

Apple today announced that its much-anticipated larger-screened iPad Pro will go on sale at Apple Stores, select carriers and Apple Authorized Resellers in the U.S. and over 40 countries starting later this week, with online orders set to begin on Wednesday, November 11.

ipad-pro
While Apple will not begin accepting online orders until Wednesday, November 11, other retailers have already begun allowing customers to place orders for the iPad Pro. Sam's Club was the first to accept pre-orders but quickly sold out, while MacMall and Staples are still accepting orders. Ordering from one of these sites will not guarantee delivery later this week - MacMall doesn't expect orders to ship until November 16, while Staples lists a launch date of November 25.

Apple's iPad Pro is its new flagship tablet with a 12.9-inch Retina display, a super powerful A9X processor, a four speaker audio system, 4GB RAM, and an 8-megapixel rear camera.

“The early response to iPad Pro from app developers and our customers has been incredible, and we’re excited to get iPad Pro into the hands of customers around the world this week,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPad Pro is the most powerful iPad we’ve ever made, giving users the ability to be even more creative and more productive with the epic 12.9-inch Retina display, powerful 64-bit A9X chip and groundbreaking Apple Pencil and new Smart Keyboard. We can’t wait to see what they do with iPad Pro.”

Pricing for the iPad Pro starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079. The iPad Pro is available in the three signature iPad colors: Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.

iPad Pro will be available in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greenland, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, UAE, U.S., U.K., Uruguay and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Apple will also be allowing customers to order the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard, the two accessories that are designed to be used with the iPad Pro. The Apple Pencil, a pressure-sensitive stylus, will be available for $99 while the Smart Keyboard is priced at $169.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Caution)

U.S. District Judge William Alsup today dismissed a lawsuit against Apple that had been brought by several retail employees over Apple's policy of conducting required security searches of personal bags without compensation after workers had clocked out for meal breaks or at the end of their shifts, reports Bloomberg. The class action lawsuit covered thousands of employees at Apple's California retail stores.

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(Photo via Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke)

The ruling by a San Francisco federal judge Saturday releases the company from having to compensate as many [as] 12,400 former and current employees from 52 stores throughout the state a few dollars a day for time spent over a six-year period having their bags and Apple devices searched at meal breaks and after their shifts. A law professor who reviewed filings in the case estimated Apple could have been be on the hook for as much as $60 million, plus penalties.

In his ruling, Alsup noted that employees could have avoided the searches, as some employees did, by not bringing personal bags to work. The lawsuit had been restricted to California as the U.S. Supreme Court had previously ruled workers are not entitled to compensation for time spent in post-shift bag searches under federal law.

An attorney for the plaintiffs in the case reports they are weighing their potential next steps, which could include an appeal of Alsup's ruling.

With Sam's Club having started taking pre-orders for the iPad Pro on Friday and selling out within hours and MacMall also moving to accept pre-orders ahead of an expected launch next week, Staples is the latest major U.S. retailer to allow customers to begin placing orders for the new device.

staples_ipad_pro
Staples is offering all Wi-Fi models of the iPad Pro for pre-order, as well as a number of accessories including the Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard, and both Smart Covers and Silicone Cases in charcoal gray and white. One catch for those looking to order through Staples is that the office supply retailer is quoting a launch of November 25, the day before Thanksgiving. With Apple and other retailers apparently anticipating a launch towards the end of next week, Staples customers wouldn't be among the first to get their hands on the new device.

Staples is also not offering any discounts on the iPad Pro at this time, selling the 32 GB models for $799 and 128 GB models for $949. The Apple Pencil is priced at $99 and the Smart Keyboard is available for $169, while the Smart Covers are priced at $59 and the Silicone Cases at $79.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tag: Staples
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Caution)

While game developer Blizzard has a long-standing history of bringing its games to OS X in addition to Windows, the developer today confirmed at its BlizzCon fan convention that it will not be bringing its new game, Overwatch, to OS X, according to Polygon.


Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan confirmed the news, acknowledging that the company has longstanding support for Apple's computers. However, Kaplan says the company focused its efforts on Windows due to the "technology behind Macs."

"Currently with the technology behind Macs and the way Overwatch runs it's just too challenging for us at this point to support it," Kaplan said. "Our focus right now is entirely on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4."

Kaplan didn't specify what Mac technology was making it challenging for Blizzard to make the game for OS X, but Apple's support for graphics technologies such as Metal and OpenGL may be part of the reason. Some of the early developers who committed to Metal, such as Adobe, have backpedaled a bit as they work with the new technology. Apple has also been criticized for not adopting the most recent versions of OpenGL, which is also heavily relied upon in modern game development

Most recently, Blizzard launched free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena game Heroes of the Storm for Mac OS X on June 2, 2015.

(Thanks, Teyla!)

The photographers who had their photos featured in an assortment of billboards and TV ads for the "Shot on iPhone 6" ad campaign Apple ran to promote its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have begun receiving a set of special coffee table photo books that include their artwork.

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Image via Brendan Ó Sé

Cult of Mac spoke to photographer Brendan Ó Sé, one of the lucky few to receive one of the books after having his photo featured as part of the campaign. He said the cloth-covered high-quality books came as a surprise and were even shipped with a set of white gloves for viewing.

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Image via Brendan Ó Sé

"It was totally out of the blue," photographer Brendan Ó Sé, of Cork, Ireland, told Cult of Mac. "Naturally, I looked for my own photo, but seeing those of the friends I've made over this campaign added to the surprise and thrill."

One of the books, "The Photographs" includes the photos that were used in the ad campaign, while the other, "The Gallery," features shots of the photographs on billboards around the world. With the billboards now largely replaced with new content for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the photo books serve as a memento for those who had their iPhone 6 images included in the campaign.

An Imgur album of some of the photos. Click this link to view the images on mobile devices.

Ó Sé's photograph was taken in Berlin, but the ads that went up around the world featured a wide assortment of images from places like United States, Canada, Japan, Iceland, South Korea, China, Scotland, Indonesia, Thailand and New Zealand. In total, more than 77 photographers across 70 cities and 40 countries were featured.

Apple executive Eddy Cue sat down with CNN senior correspondent Brian Stelter last week for a two-part interview about the new Apple TV, describing the fourth-generation device as an "add-on for most people," since content providers such as ABC, CNN and WatchESPN still require authenticating with a cable or satellite TV subscription.

Eddy Cue's interview with CNNMoney about the new Apple TV last week

CNNMoney has now shared a few additional comments Cue made about Apple's rumored streaming TV service. Specifically, Cue said the new Apple TV could support whole cable packages from content providers such as Comcast, but he refused to elaborate much further, beyond alluding that Apple wants customers to be "able to buy whatever they want, however they want."

But what about buying a whole cable package, including CBS, right through the TV?

"If Comcast or any other provider wants to do that, they'll be able to do that with the current Apple TV," Cue said.

When I asked directly if Apple wants to get to the point that Moonves has been describing, an Apple-branded TV package, Cue said, "We want to get to the point where customers are able to buy whatever they want, however they want. We're not fixed into 'There's only one way to buy it.' Just like we've done with the App Store, where there have been things that have been free; things that you subscribe to; things that you pay for; things that are in-app. All of those capabilities will be here and we want that market to be able to develop."

Apple's rumored streaming TV service is expected to deliver a lightweight package of about 25 channels for around $40 per month, anchored by popular networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, and could launch in 2016 following multiple delays in negotiations between Apple and content providers.

The new Apple TV launched last Friday and features an App Store, Siri, tvOS and more.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Earlier this week, Plex released its highly anticipated app for the tvOS App Store, making Plex officially available on the Apple TV for the first time. Given Plex's popularity, we decided to check out the new app and do a quick video overview for those who might be interested in getting a new Apple TV to use with Plex.

Plex is a media server and personal library that's able to organize the media stored on your computer, like videos, TV shows, music, and stream that content to iOS devices, the Apple TV, and other set-top boxes.

When you install Plex and let it organize your content, it'll add artwork to movies, TV shows, and music, along with information like cast members, plot summaries, and Rotten Tomatoes ratings. On the Apple TV, this turns into a nicely organized media library that largely resembles iTunes or Netflix.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

Plex has been available for a long time on set-top devices like the Chromecast and the Fire TV, but it has not previously been available on older versions of the Apple TV in an official capacity. Those who have jailbroken an Apple TV in the past have been able to unofficially install the Plex software.

The Plex app for the Apple TV can be downloaded from the tvOS App Store. The app is free to download, and unlike the iOS version does not require a $4.99 in-app purchase or Plex Pass subscription to unlock functionality. Apple TV and iOS App Store apps are universal, so if you've already downloaded the app for iOS, it can be found in the Purchases section of the tvOS App Store. [Direct Link]

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Tag: Plex
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

The Logi Circle, a home monitoring camera, is one of the first products Logitech is selling under its new Logi brand, which it's using for devices that are part of the Internet of Things. The Logi Circle is a palm-sized connected camera designed to let its users monitor their home and interact with pets, children, and other people when away.

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I've been using the Logi Circle in my home for the past few weeks to get a feel for how it works and how it compares to some of the other camera options on the market, and the major takeaway is that the Logi Circle is not a home security device. It's not meant to notify you of intruders, but it is a way to connect to the home and those inside of it at all times.

Hardware

The Logi Circle camera has an attractive, simple design that looks like a modernized version of a classic webcam. Made of black or white plastic, it's about the size of a tennis ball, with a circular base that fits magnetically into an included charging stand. A lot of companies don't pay attention to minor product details like cords, but that's not true of Logitech.

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Attached to the charging stand is a flat white USB cord that's able to plug into the included power brick or any other USB-based charger. I don't know about most people, but I hate ugly, bulky black cords that stand out, so it was nice to see an unobtrusive, clean white cord included with the Logi Circle. The cord is also quite long at 10 feet, so it will reach to plug in behind furniture.

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The front of the Logi Circle contains the camera, which has a 135 degree wide field of view. It's wide enough to capture most of a room, depending on the size of the room. Around the camera there's a ring-shaped speaker and a microphone for two-way communication. An activity light on the front indicates when the camera is turned on, and the light blinks when someone is viewing the feed.

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For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with ioSafe to give away one of their Solo G3 fireproof, waterproof external hard drives. The ioSafe Solo G3 is a rugged, heavy external hard drive that's made to hold up against disaster and look nice on a desk.

The Solo G3 is not a small hard drive, measuring in at 7.1 x 5 x 11 inches and weighing 15 pounds, but that's because of all of the equipment inside, which will keep a hard drive intact in the event of a house fire to save precious documents, photos, and more, making it an ideal in-home backup solution.

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It will protect data from loss for up to a half hour in a fire that's up to 1550 degrees Fahrenheit. It's also waterproof at up to 10 feet for 72 hours, so it's going to stay safe in wet conditions, too. All of ioSafe's hard drives ship with a year of data recovery service - if there's a fire or other damage to the Solo G3, ship the hard drive back to ioSafe and they'll pay to recover your data.

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This isn't the first time we've partnered with ioSafe. Earlier this year, they invited MacRumors to Seattle where we set one of the ioSafe Solo G3 hard drives on fire and then doused it in water. In the video below, you can see the hard drive inside the enclosure came out fully unscathed and kept our data safe. A non fireproof hard drive we burned alongside the Solo G3 was charred to a crisp.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

The ioSafe Solo G3 comes in several capacities and can be purchased directly from ioSafe, from the Apple Online Store, or from Amazon.com. ioSafe also sells a variety of other fireproof products for homes and businesses.

One lucky MacRumors reader will win a 2TB Solo G3 from ioSafe. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize.

You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter.

The contest will run from today (November 6) at 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time through 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time on November 13. The winner will be chosen randomly on November 13 and will be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen. The prize will be shipped to the winner for free.

wegmans_shoppers_club_apple_payFollowing yesterday's official launch of the first Apple Pay-enabled loyalty card from Walgreens with its Balance Rewards program, a number of MacRumors readers reported that their Shoppers Club loyalty cards from grocery store chain Wegmans were also showing up in Apple Pay.

Early testing has shown that card readers at Wegmans stores are not yet accepting Shoppers Club cards via Apple Pay, and Wegmans' June press release alongside Apple's WWDC announcements pointed only to a "fall" launch, so we contacted the company to ask for an update on Shoppers Club integration with Apple Pay.

"Wegmans will be testing loyalty card support via Apple Pay at one store later this year," a spokesperson told MacRumors. "If all goes well, we plan to roll that service out to all stores in 2016."

The spokesperson declined to identify the specific store where Apple Pay Shoppers Club will be tested, but did note it will be in the company's home market of Rochester, New York.

Wegmans is a popular grocery store chain that with a new store opening outside of Philadelphia this Sunday will have 88 locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. The chain is known for its large stores of up to 140,000 square feet with a focus on prepared foods, broad selection of items, and even in-store restaurants and childcare in some locations.

(Screenshot via forum member "deejaykorn")

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Wegmans

Apple yesterday quietly removed all mentions of PayPal Credit from its U.S. Online Store, signaling its decision to stop allowing customers to use PayPal Credit payment plans for purchases in the United States.

On the financing section of its website, where customers can get information about their payment options, Apple is now only offering financing through Barclaycard Visa, which allows users to make payments over 6 to 18 months depending on purchase price.

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Previous PayPal Credit options, which are no longer available.

The previous PayPal Credit option allowed customers to choose 6, 12, 18, or 24 month payment plans with a fixed APR of 12.99%, while the Barclaycard Visa maxes out at 18 months with an APR of 13.99%, 19.99% or 26.99% depending on credit.

Apple is continuing to offer rewards to customers who buy with the Barclaycard Visa, with customers earning 3 points for every $1 spent at the Apple Store, 2 points for every $1 spent at restaurants, and 1 point on all other purchases. 2,500 points can be redeemed for Apple Store or iTunes gift cards.

Apple first began promoting PayPay Credit payment methods in December of 2014, which is when the company also began allowing customers to buy items using PayPal as a payment method. While Apple is no longer allowing customers to use PayPal Credit options to make purchases, it does still accept PayPal payments for purchases made from its online store and from its iOS app.

PayPal Credit is still available in the U.K., and it is not clear if Apple plans to drop support in other countries as well.

Tag: PayPal