MacRumors

Following in the footsteps of office supply store Staples, Winn-Dixie and BI-LO have become the second and third retail chain this week to begin accepting Apple Pay in their retail locations.

According to a tipster who spoke to MacRumors, Apple Pay will officially be supported at Winn-Dixie beginning on Monday, November 17, but multiple reports on Twitter suggest that both Winn-Dixie and its sister store BI-LO have already begun processing Apple Pay payments.

Winn-Dixie is is a major grocery store chain that operates in the southeastern United States, with more than 500 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Similarly, BI-LO, a grocery store chain owned by the same parent company, consists of more than 800 stores across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The two grocery store chains will join Meijer, Wegmans, and Whole Foods, becoming the fourth and fifth grocery stores to accept Apple Pay. Unlike Staples, which also recently began accepting Apple Pay, BI-LO and Winn-Dixie were not listed under Apple's "Coming later this year" banner, making their adoption of Apple Pay somewhat of a surprise. Winn-Dixie did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the addition of Apple Pay in its stores.

With the addition of Winn-Dixie and BI-LO, Apple Pay now has 36 retail partners, including major retailers like Macy's, Disney, Foot Locker, Petco, Walgreens, and Toys R Us. Apple Pay is also unofficially accepted in many stores that support contactless payments.

Because Apple Pay is still in the early stages of rolling out, there's little data available on its popularity in retail stores, but Whole Foods processed 150,000 transactions in the 17 days following Apple Pay's October 20 debut, which equated to approximately one percent of all Whole Foods transactions.

Following the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus back in September, a new survey of U.S. customers by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) details the adoption rate of the first thirty days of the devices' lifespan.

The survey data, shared in a research note published today by UBS analyst Steven Milunovich, indicates that 91 percent of iPhone owners bought either an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus in the first four weeks of launch, rising from 86 percent in the first two weeks. Uptake of the new models also compares favorably to last year's iPhone launch, which saw 84 percent of customers in the first thirty days opting for the iPhone 5s and 5c.

Most of the increase in share for the new models since the initial launch period has come from the iPhone 6, which saw an increase of six percentage points to 68 percent, while the iPhone 6 Plus remains at around 23-24 percent of purchases, despite both facing high demand during their initial launch.

The 3:1 ratio favoring the iPhone 6 over 6 Plus has come down slightly from early adoption rate data, but as highlighted by Apple's Greg Joswiak last month, the true balance of customer interest won't be known until production constraints, which more heavily affect the iPhone 6 Plus, are resolved. The balance will also vary significantly by country, with customers in Asian countries tending to prefer larger screens than those in other countries.

The study by CIRP also measured future intentions on purchasing the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Of those asked, over 40 percent were planning to buy an iPhone 6 within the next year. Nineteen percent of Samsung users surveyed also plan to switch over to Apple for their next phone purchases, with over half of those intended purchases favoring the iPhone 6 Plus.

While that marks a significant potential share gain for Apple, recent data has so far shown lower than expected shares of Android customers switching over to the iPhone 6. A more realistic picture will, however, come later as the surge of iPhone early adopters wanes.

When the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launched in September, they sold over ten million units in their launch weekend, including 4 million first-day pre-orders. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus also outpaced last year's nine million units of the iPhone 5s and 5c shipped in their opening weekend, but that figure is widely viewed as somewhat inflated by ample stocks of iPhone 5c units shipping into inventory channels.

Apple and manufacturer partner GT Advanced parted ways after the sapphire supplier filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. While most Apple supplier relationships are kept secretive, the background story behind the GT-Apple partnership was revealed in a series of court documents filed by GT that were recently made public.

A follow-up report by The Guardian provides an interesting look at how a deal with Apple often can make and sometimes break a supplier. While the report does not introduce any significant new information, it is a good summary of the chain of events and may help some readers get caught up on the story.

In the case of GT, the outcome of its partnership with Apple was not favorable, with the supplier filing for bankruptcy in order to sever the ties between the two companies.

On 9 September Cook showed off the new phones - without sapphire screens. By 10 September GTAT stock was down 25% to $12.78; by Friday 3 October it stood at $11.05. On Monday 6 October, GTAT filed for Chapter 11, and its stock plummeted to $0.80. Trading ceased on 15 October.

Squiller says in the deposition that GTAT put itself into Chapter 11 bankruptcy (which protects a company from its creditors) simply to release itself from the Apple deal - and hence save the company.

The narrative of the relationship by GT paints a bleak picture of Apple and includes allegations of deceptive "bait and switch" business practices on Apple's part and onerous contract terms that led to productions delays. When GT questioned the contract it was about to sign, Apple reportedly confirmed "similar terms are required for other Apple suppliers" and told GT to "put on your big boy pants and accept the agreement."

In the end, GT failed to produce sapphire in suitable quality and sufficient quantity to meet Apple's demands. Instead of a success story, GT is an excellent example of what happens when a supplier goes all in with Apple and fails to scale its production technology fast enough.

Just a couple days after the discovery of an iOS vulnerability referred to as Masque Attack because of its ability to emulate and replace existing legitimate apps with malicious ones, Apple has responded in a statement to iMore. 

"We designed OS X and iOS with built-in security safeguards to help protect customers and warn them before installing potentially malicious software," an Apple spokesperson told iMore. "We're not aware of any customers that have actually been affected by this attack. We encourage customers to only download from trusted sources like the App Store and to pay attention to any warnings as they download apps. Enterprise users installing custom apps should install apps from their company's secure website."

Masque Attack works by luring a user to install an app outside of the iOS App Store by clicking a phishing link in a text message or email. For example, a user could be prompted to download a new app in a text message that says something like "Hey, try out Flappy Bird 2". A user is then directed to a website where they're prompted to download the app, which will install the fake app over the legitimate one using iOS enterprise provision profiles, making it virtually undetectable.

Both WireLurker and Masque Attack can be avoided by staying away from suspicious apps and avoiding links that prompt users to install apps outside of Apple's App Stores.

The United States Justice Department has been using fake communications towers installed in airplanes to acquire cellular phone data for tracking down criminals, reports The Wall Street Journal. The program has reportedly been in place since 2007 and uses Cessna airplanes that operate out of "at least five" metropolitan-area airports.

Aircraft in the program out outfitted with "dirtbox" devices produced by Boeing that are designed to mimic cellular towers, fooling cellphones into reporting "unique registration information" to track down "individuals under investigation." According to the WSJ, these devices let investigators gather "identifying information and general location" data from thousands of cellular phones in one flight, and Apple's encryption policies don't prevent the collection of data.

Cellphones are programmed to connect automatically to the strongest cell tower signal. The device being used by the U.S. Marshals Service identifies itself as having the closest, strongest signal, even though it doesn't, and forces all the phones that can detect its signal to send in their unique registration information. Even having encryption on one's phone, such as Apple Co. 's iPhone 6 now includes, doesn't prevent this process.

The technology is aimed at locating cellphones linked to individuals under investigation by the government, including fugitives and drug dealers, but it collects information on cellphones belonging to people who aren't criminal suspects, these people said. They said the device determines which phones belong to suspects and "lets go" of the non-suspect phones.

The fake tower devices are able to interrupt calls on "certain phones," with authorities attempting to minimize harm by ensuring they doesn't interrupt emergency calls, and the technology can pinpoint a suspect's cellphone location down to three meters.

The program is run by the U.S. Marshals Service, and some individuals involved have raised concerns about the legality of the operation and "if there are effective procedures" in place to safeguard the handling of data acquired, as it is said to capture data from thousands of non-criminal individuals as well.

It is not known how often the flights take place as the WSJ's sources did not divulge that information, but they reportedly "take place on a regular basis." Justice Department officials did not confirm or deny the existence of the program when questioned, stating that a discussion of the matter could "allow criminal suspects or foreign powers to determine U.S. surveillance capabilities," but a representative said that Justice Department agencies comply with federal law and seek court approval for their activities.

A Verizon spokesperson said that the company was not aware of such a program and did not participate, while spokespeople from AT&T and Sprint declined to comment.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

The United States Federal Trade Commission has met with Apple representatives several times over the past few months to discuss Apple's privacy practices covering health data collection, reports Reuters. The FTC is reportedly seeking assurance that Apple will prevent health data collected by the Apple Watch and other iOS devices via the Health app from being used without express user consent.

The two people, both familiar with the FTC's thinking, said Apple representatives have met on multiple occasions with agency officials in recent months, to stress that it will not sell its users' health data to third-party entities such as marketers or allow third-party developers to do so.

An Apple spokesperson told Reuters that the company "works closely with regulators around the world" to make its built-in data protections clear. "We've been very encouraged by their support," she said, adding that Apple's new health-focused initiative, HealthKit, had been designed "with privacy in mind."

While the FTC declined to comment, Reuters does not believe that the government agency will launch a formal inquiry into Apple's data protection policies, though it is clearly taking a great interest in the Apple Watch, which collects data like heart rate and movement, and HealthKit, which allows Apple's Health app to aggregate health-related data from various apps and accessories.

Though it hasn't even hit the market, other government officials have also taken an interest in the Apple Watch. In September, Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook asking for information on what data Apple plans to collect with the device, how the information will be stored, and what Apple's policies are for apps that access health information.

Earlier this year, ahead of the Apple Watch's debut, Apple released new guidelines for HealthKit APIs, which also applies to the Apple Watch. In the document, Apple explains that HealthKit information will not be stored in iCloud and that apps attempting to store health-related data in iCloud will be rejected. It also clearly states that apps will not be able to share data with third parties without express user consent.

In recent months, Apple has attempted to make its privacy policies more transparent, creating a comprehensive new privacy site that details all of its privacy practices. Tim Cook also spoke on privacy in a recent interview, stating that users "have a right to privacy" and that the company "tries not to collect data." "Our business is based on selling [products]," he said. "Our business is not based on having information about you. You are not our product."

The United States government today issued a bulletin warning iPhone and iPad users about the recent "Masque Attack" vulnerability, a security flaw that first surfaced on Monday of this week, reports Reuters. Masque Attack is a vulnerability that can allow malicious third-party iOS apps to masquerade as legitimate apps via iOS enterprise provision profiles.

Written by the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center and the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Teams, the bulletin outlines how Masque Attack spreads -- luring users to install an untrusted app through a phishing link -- and what a malicious app is capable of doing.

An app installed on an iOS device using this technique may:
-Mimic the original app's login interface to steal the victim's login credentials.
-Access sensitive data from local data caches.
-Perform background monitoring of the user's device.
-Gain root privileges to the iOS device.
-Be indistinguishable from a genuine app.

The post also advises iOS users to protect themselves by avoiding apps that have been installed from sources other than the App Store or an organization they're affiliated with, avoiding tapping "Install" on third-party pop-ups when viewing web pages, and tapping "Don't Trust" on any iOS app that shows an "Untrusted App Developer Alert."

FireEye, the team that discovered Masque Attack, has notified Apple about the vulnerability, but it has not been patched in the recent iOS 8.1.1 beta thus far. It also affects iOS 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, and 8.1, and as of today, Apple has not yet commented on Masque Attack.

Masque Attack, along with WireLurker, another vulnerability outlined earlier this month, is unlikely to affect the average iOS user so long as Apple's security features are not bypassed. Masque Attack works by circumventing the iOS App Store to install apps, while WireLurker is similar, infecting machines via third-party software downloaded outside of the Mac App Store.

Both WireLurker and Masque Attack can be avoided by staying away from suspicious apps and avoiding links that prompt users to install apps outside of Apple's App Stores.

Supplies of the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display have been slowly dwindling ahead of the holidays, and as of this week, shipping estimates for both standard and custom configurations have slipped to two to three weeks.

At launch on October 16, shipping estimates were briefly at a day before slipping to 3 to 5 days, later moving to 7 to 10 days before slipping again on Monday.

The base Retina iMac, with a 3.5GHz processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB fusion drive, is in stock at many retail Apple Stores around the country and can be picked up same day, but when ordered from the online store, it carries the same two to three week shipping estimate as all custom configurations.

While Retina iMacs ordered from the online Apple Store may not arrive until December, some Apple resellers have available stock that will ship much earlier. Amazon, for example, has the base model in stock available with Amazon Prime shipping and a $50 discount.

MacMall has the base model in stock for immediate shipping, plus the site has several machines with various custom configurations on hand, which it says will ship in five to seven days. MacMall is also offering a discount of $50 on much of its stock.

Other stores like Best Buy and B&H Photo also have the base Retina iMac in stock and available to ship immediately.

Equipped with a 5120 x 2880 "5K" Retina screen, Apple's newest iMac has received largely positive reviews for its impressive display, and configured with a 4.0GHz processor and 32GB of RAM, the higher-end Retina iMac models are able to outperform the low-end Mac Pro.

Apple's market capitalization reached a record high today, breaking the $660 billion mark to sit in the range of $662-664 billion for much of the day's trading so far. The new high breaks a previous closing record of $658.15 billion set on September 19, 2012 and intraday high of nearly $661 billion reached two days later. Market capitalization measures the market value of a business and is calculated by multiplying the stock price by the number of available shares.

Apple comfortably leads all U.S. companies in market capitalization, with its closest competitors being Microsoft and Exxon, which have market capitalizations of just over $400 billion each. Fourth-place Google falls sits at roughly $370 billion.

While Apple's share price has been routinely setting new records since surpassing its previous September 2012 high in August, it has taken a bit longer for Apple to return to its record market capitalization levels as the company's expanded stock buyback program has reduced the number of outstanding shares.

Apple's stock has surged 17 percent in just the four weeks since Apple's October media event and subsequent earnings announcement where the company announced strong fiscal Q4 2014 earnings fueled by the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and record Mac sales. The company's share price is up approximately 50 percent over the past twelve months.

Apple last quarter reported $8.5 billion in profit on $42.1 billion in revenue with sales of 39 million iPhones, 12.31 iPads and 5.5 million Mac units. While Mac and iPhone revenue climbed, iPad sales slumped with quarterly revenue dropping 14 percent year over year and 10 percent from the previous quarter. iPad sales are expected to temporarily rebound in the upcoming quarter following the introduction of the new iPad Air 2, with holiday season discounts expected to propel sales of Apple hardware.

Jonathan Ive, Apple's Senior VP of Design, made a rare public appearance at the Design Museum in London yesterday (via Cult of Mac). At the event, he discussed everything from his view on the future of design to his opinions on failure with museum director Deyan Sudjic.

We shouldn’t be afraid to fail - if we are not failing we are not pushing. 80% of the stuff in the studio is not going to work. If something is not good enough, stop doing it.

The talk with Sudjic also included a roomful of up-and-coming design students, with Ive offering additional perspective on the design process and rejection.

"The best ideas start as conversations. A small change at the beginning of the design process defines an entirely different product at the end. At the start of the process the idea is just a thought - very fragile and exclusive. When the first physical manifestation is created everything changes. It is no longer exclusive, now it involves a lot of people." Ive also mentioned, "There are 9 rejected ideas for every idea that works."

Ive also touched on how to gain experience in the field, design studies in schools today, and the difference between making something different and making it better.

Our goal is to desperately make the best products we can. We’re not naive. We trust that if we’re successful and we make good products, that people will like them. And we trust that if people like them, they’ll buy them. And we figured out the operation and we’re effective. We know what we’re doing, so we’ll make money, but it’s a tough sequence.

Ive has famously remained out of the spotlight for much of his tenure at Apple, but has opened up considerably since taking on new responsibilities for software design and more recently with the impending launch of the Apple Watch. Recent appearances have included an awards ceremony hosted by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and a Vanity Fair summit in San Francisco.

Update: Dezeen also has a very thorough overview of Ive's interview.

Customers looking for discounts on Apple products this Black Friday have two more retailers to add to their shopping lists -- Staples and Radio Shack. Black Friday discount website BFads recently published leaked sales flyers from both retailers in advance of the biggest shopping day of the year.

Staples is offering discounts on a variety of Apple gear, including $80 off the 16GB iPad Air WiFi ($319), $60 off the Retina iPad mini 2 ($239), $70 off the iPad with Retina Display ($279) and $20 off the Apple TV ($79). The office supplier also is taking 10 percent off all Beats by Dr Dre headphones and 15 percent off all iTunes gift cards of $50 or more. As an added bonus, customers with an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus can save time during checkout by using Apple Pay.

Radio Shack isn't offering any discounts on iPad or iPhone models, but the retailer still is lowering prices on the Apple TV ($85), iPod Touch 16GB 5th generation ($149), and iTunes gift cards (15 percent off). Other Apple-related items going on sale include the Beats Solo HD Drenched headphones ($69.99 After Mail-in Rebate) and a variety of Apple iPhone and iPad accessories.

For even more Black Friday sales, be sure to check out our Black Friday roundup. We are updating that page with additional deals on Apple-related items as they are announced.

Chip suppliers within the Apple Watch supply chain have begun "gearing up" to start production for Apple's new device, according to a new report from Digitimes. Chip orders are estimated to be around 30 - 40 million units for a debut in early 2015.

Digitimes had previously reported, prior to Apple's September 9 event, that the device was at the engineering verification test stage and needed to complete product verification testing before entering mass production. It appears that the Apple Watch has now passed that milestone and is beginning to enter mass production for its debut in early 2015.

Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts had previously revealed that the device would debut in Spring 2015, with several reports indicating that Apple was aiming for Valentine's Day 2015 as a potential launch date. Apple Watch pricing will start at $350 for the aluminum version, while the stainless steel and gold editions will reportedly retail for prices starting at $500 and $4,000 respectively.

Apple's 12.9-inch "iPad Pro" may not enter mass production until the second quarter of 2015, according to new predictions from often-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He believes that the iPad Pro will use an oxide panel to achieve a "high resolution, quick response, and high color saturation," and that the time needed for component yield and assembly to improve will push back production until 2Q 2015.

Earlier this year, a report from Bloomberg suggested the iPad Pro might be released in early 2015, but an October report from The Wall Street Journal indicated Apple had delayed its planned December mass production of the tablet in order to focus its attention on producing more iPhone 6 Plus units, leaving a potential iPad Pro release date up in the air.

Kuo's report also focuses on forecasting iPad shipments, which he believes will fall 54.5 percent quarter over quarter to just 9.8 million units during the first calendar quarter of 2015. He points towards the lack of new applications and a saturation of the tablet market as the basis for his prediction.

We believe that, in a major shift, while Apple (US) used to be able to use new form factor designs to boost demand, it has failed to do so this time around. The lighter and thinner iPad Air 2 will face strong headwinds in increasing sales in 1Q15, we believe; we also hold that this means that iPad, along with the entire tablet market, is faced with structural challenges characterized by a lack of new applications and market saturation. We don't think these challenges will be easily overcome by upgraded specs, new form factor designs or lower prices.

Kuo's estimate is rather low, considering Apple sold 16.35 million million iPads during the first calendar quarter of 2014, but iPad sales have been down for the past three quarters in a row. During the fourth fiscal quarter of 2014, Apple sold 12.3 million iPads, down from 14.1 million units in 2013.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the drop in iPad sales is just a "speed bump" that the company will overcome. He told investors earlier this year that "significant innovation can be brought to the iPad," and suggested Apple was working on such improvements. The upcoming 12.9-inch iPad Pro may be Apple's first step towards bolstering its iPad lineup, and the company is also said to be working on new iPad features, like split-screen multitasking.