MacRumors

Dutch bank de Volksbank has said it is bringing Apple Pay support to all its customers soon, including those of its subsidiary banks, reports iCulture.

De Volksbank is the parent company of SNS, ASN Bank, and RegioBank, all of which operate in the Netherlands. "‌Apple Pay‌ will be made possible for the customers of SNS, ASN Bank and RegioBank," a De Volksbank spokesperson told iCulture, adding "We can't share anything about timing at the moment."

Over a year and a half ago, SNS Bank indicated that it was in talks with Apple about offering support for ‌Apple Pay‌, but then the bank went silent on the matter. Today's development suggests those talks are finally coming to fruition.

‌Apple Pay‌ officially went live in The Netherlands in 2019, with ING leading the charge to bring Apple's digital payment system to debit and credit card users in the country.

Since then, other banks including Bunq, Monese, N26, Revolut, ABN AMRO, and Rabobank have all brought Apple Pay support to customers in The Netherlands, which suggested de Volksbank and its parent banks were being left behind.

According to Apple's regional ‌‌Apple Pay‌‌ web page, ‌‌Apple Pay‌‌ can be used in The Netherlands with several online and high street retailers including Adidas, ALDI, Amac, ARKET, BCC, Burger King, Capi, cool blue, COS, Decathlon, Douglas, H&M, Jumbo, Lidl, McDonalds, Starbucks, and others.

Ahead of next week's Apple event, which is expected to include the launch of the iPhone 13 lineup, a Chinese AI firm is asking a court to stop the production and sale of the ‌iPhone‌ in China, alleging that Siri infringes upon its patent, South China Morning Post reports.

Apple last year was hit with a $1.4 billion lawsuit from the Chinese AI firm Xiao-i Robot, which claims Apple violated its patent for a virtual assistant similar to ‌Siri‌. At the time, the firm had asked Apple to cease "manufacturing, using, promising to sell, selling, and importing" all products that "infringe" upon its patent, which would include all devices with ‌Siri‌.

In the latest escalation of its lawsuit, Xiao-i-Robot has asked a court in Shanghai to force Apple to end the production and sale of the ‌iPhone‌. The AI firm announced it had applied for the preliminary injunction on its WeChat account just hours before Apple announced its "California Streaming" event for Tuesday, September 14.

Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology, also known as Xiao-i Robot, last Friday applied to the Shanghai Higher People's Court for a preliminary injunction to ban the manufacture, sale and export of iPhones containing Siri that infringe on its patent, according to the Chinese company's statement that was posted on its official WeChat account on Tuesday.

Xiao-i Robot chief executive Yuan Hui said in the statement that Apple did not respect its intellectual property. "Apple should immediately stop the infringement, take down and stop selling the related products," Yuan said.

If the court grants Xiao-i-Robot's injunction, it could significantly impact Apple's supply chain. While a ruling is unlikely to directly affect the ‌iPhone‌ 13 launch this month, it may impact future ‌iPhone‌ launches.

Apple, in a statement to South China Morning Post reiterated that ‌Siri‌ does not "contain features included in their patent, which relates to games and instant messaging" and further noted that local certified Chinese appraisers have "concluded that Apple does not infringe Xiao-i-Robot's technology."

Ahead of next week's Apple event, Apple has begun teasing iPhone users about upcoming iOS 15 features using a notification from the Tips app.

"See what's coming in iOS 15," reads the notification. "Learn about new features that will help you stay connected and find focus."

Tapping the notification takes users on a brief tour of upcoming features, including Voice Isolation, the new Shared With You section in apps, Safari Tab Groups, Live Text in Photos, systemwide translation, Focus mode, notification summaries, and augmented reality walking directions in Maps.

After viewing, the iOS 15 preview is showcased in the Collections section of the Tips app, above a similar preview Apple pushed out prior to the release of iOS 14.

Apple is expected to launch iOS 15 to the public this month, and new ‌iPhone‌ 13 units will likely ship with a pre-installed version of the operating system.

Historically, Apple has released new iOS versions about a week after its September event, but iOS 14 was released one day after Apple's September 15 "Time Flies" event in 2020.

This year's "California Streaming" fall event is on September 14, which means if iOS 14 is any indicator of the company's new release schedule, iOS 15 could come out as early as Wednesday, September 15. For all the details on what to expect in iOS 15, check out our dedicated roundup.

Twitter is testing "edge-to-edge" tweets that span the width of the timeline in its official iOS app, a move that would make viewing photos and videos a more full-screen experience.

As Twitter's demonstration shows, the change brings an Instagram-style look to tweeted media, making use of the dead space on either side of pictures, videos, and GIFs.

Twitter told The Verge that it's testing the change because it "wants to better support conversations that are both visual and text-based."

The test is being rolled out today with a limited number of users in order to test feedback, and Twitter has given no indication of when it would go live for all users if reaction to it turned out to be sufficiently positive.

Apple's entry-level iPad stocks are running low at retail stores and online, indicating an update to Apple's most affordable ‌iPad‌ could be in the offing and may even arrive as soon as this month.

Shipping times for the eighth-generation ‌iPad‌ have slipped into October with three to six week wait times, or are "currently unavailable" in the United States and other online markets, including China, Japan, and some countries in Europe.

With regard to the delays, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman says Apple has told retail employees "not to speculate why to consumers." Gurman adds: "Any guesses why?"

Gurman is alluding to rumors that Apple is near to launching a ninth-generation low-cost a 10.5-inch ‌iPad‌ with an updated A-series chip. The display size is expected to remain the same at 10.2 inches, but it is said to be thinner at 6.3mm, with a lighter overall design.

The tablet is rumored to include 4GB RAM with a Touch ID Home button and Lightning port. As with past versions of the ‌iPad‌, it will be aimed at students and those looking for an affordable tablet option.

Apple's seventh-generation and eighth-generation ‌iPad‌ models were both introduced at September events, and another one is right round the corner. Apple on Tuesday sent out invites to a "California Streaming" event on Tuesday, September 14, where it plans to debut the new iPhone 13 lineup, an Apple Watch Series 7, and possibly new AirPods.

Apple is also rumored to be working on a redesigned iPad mini, but that device is not expected to feature at next week's event. Apple is expected to hold multiple events in the remainder of this year, so we could see it in October or November instead.

A new unique #AppleEvent "hashflag" has surfaced on Twitter for next week's "California Streaming" all-digital Apple event to increase visibility and maximize hype on the social media network.

The custom Twitter hashtag includes a multi-colored Apple logo, and it's live as of 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Apple has used the little icons next to hashtags on Twitter for all its previous events since late last year. The company's first use of a hashflag was for its September 2020 event, when it announced the iPad Air and Apple Watch.

Twitter allows brands to add the custom emojis next to hashtags as a marketing strategy. According to Agency Creative, each one can cost upwards of one million dollars, and they are commonly used for large events like the Super Bowl or holidays.

Apple's event is set to take place on Tuesday, September 14, where it is expected to announce the new iPhone 13 lineup alongside the Apple Watch Series 7.

Doug Field, Apple's Vice President of Special Projects, is leaving Apple and abandoning his work on the Apple Car in favor of a position at Ford, Ford announced today.

Field has jumped from company to company in recent years, and since 2018, he has been leading Apple Car development alongside Bob Mansfield and John Giannandrea, who took over leadership for the project in late 2020. Prior to joining Apple in 2018, Field worked at Tesla and oversaw the production of the Model 3.

Before working at Tesla, Field was Apple's Vice President of Mac Hardware Engineering, so this is the second time he has departed the Cupertino company. In total, he spent eight and a half years at Apple.

Field is returning to Ford, which is actually where he kicked off his career as a development engineer. He's also had stints at Johnson & Johnson, DEKA, and Segway. At Ford, Field will serve as chief advanced technology and embedded systems officer where he will work on AI, software, and hardware.

Work on the Apple Car could see a major setback with Field's departure, as the project has suffered from multiple leadership issues over the years. Field's return to Apple was largely seen as a major factor in Apple's decision to manufacture a full Apple Car rather than scaling the project back to a software focus.

That said, AI chief John Giannandrea is still leading the project, and Apple also recently brought on Apple Watch lead Kevin Lynch to oversee the Apple Car development. We're not expecting to see an Apple Car until the mid to late 2020s at the earliest, so Apple still has some time to work out ongoing leadership woes.

One of the splashier car introductions for this year is the relaunch of the iconic Jeep Wagoneer brand as an all-new full-size SUV to compete against the likes of the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator. The new 2022 Jeep Wagoneer is also available as a Grand Wagoneer, but rather than being a larger version of an already large SUV, the "Grand" designation is used to represent higher trim lines and some minor changes to styling.

Jeep invited me up to New York City recently to take a look at the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, which have gone all-in on technology with up to nine LCD screens scattered throughout the vehicle and new Fire TV integration that takes rear entertainment to the next level. And of course, there's wireless CarPlay through the beefed-up Uconnect 5 infotainment system.

Main Infotainment Screens

Kicking things off with the main infotainment experience, the Wagoneer certainly isn't the only vehicle on the market to feature two screens in the center stack and console area, but Jeep is definitely doing some interesting things with the setup.

➜ Click here to read more...

Apple today released a second revised version of the AirTags firmware that was first provided to AirTags owners in late August. The new internal build number is 1A291e, up from 1A291c from the prior revision.

There's no word on what's included in the new firmware and no new features were found following the first release, so it likely focuses on bug fixes and other under-the-hood improvements.

Apple does not provide an option to force an AirTag update, as it's something that's done over-the-air through a connected iPhone. To make sure the update happens, you can put your ‌AirTag‌ in range of your ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌, but you have to wait for the firmware to roll out to your device.

For ‌AirTag‌ firmware releases, Apple appears to have a system that limits the number of people who see the update with each deployment to meter the rollout of the software. Today's firmware update jumps to a 25 percent rollout level, up from 10 percent with the prior version of the firmware.

You can check your current ‌AirTag‌ firmware version using the Find My app, with instructions available in our how to.

Hulu today informed customers that it is planning to raise the price of its ad-supported and ad-free on-demand plans by $1, an increase that will impact both new and existing subscribers.

The ad-supported plan, which costs $5.99, is going up to $6.99 per month, while the ad-free plan will be priced at $12.99, up from $11.99. The pricing changes are set to go into effect on October 8.

Pricing on the Disney Bundle that includes access to Hulu ad-supported content, Disney+, and ESPN+ is not changing, and it will continue to be available for $13.99. The Disney Bundle with ad-free Hulu is still $19.99.

Now that there's a $1 price difference between the ad-free Hulu subscription and the lower tier Disney Bundle, customers may be more willing to choose the Disney bundle to get access to all three Disney streaming services. As Variety points out, the bundle now provides a 36 percent discount compared to separate subscriptions.

The Hulu + Live TV plans are also not changing in price at this time and continue to start at $64.99 per month.

Hulu has never before raised the price of its ad-supported tier, and in 2019, dropped the cost from $7.99 per month to $5.99 per month. Hulu is still competitively priced with Netflix, which is priced starting at $8.99 for a basic plan and goes all the way up to $17.99 per month for the premium tier.

Apple this morning announced a digital-only event that will be held on Tuesday, September 14, and if you view the event webpage on an iPhone, you can tap on the logo to open up Apple's Safari AR viewer and you'll see the three-dimensional logo move in real-time in the real world.

Just open up the event site on an ‌iPhone‌ or iPad and tap right on the logo to open up the AR version. The graphic Apple is using for the event reflects the shining outline of the Apple logo seen in the event invite, and you can use AR to tunnel through it, where a starry night lake scene and the event date are revealed.

Apple often creates graphical experiences for its events, with AR being at the center of recent efforts. In the past, it also had an October iPad event where it created dozens of different Apple logos, and people often analyze event art designs to decipher possible signs of what to expect when it comes to product announcements.

Apple's September event will focus on the new iPhone 13 lineup and is also expected to unveil the Apple Watch Series 7 and possibly AirPods 3. New iPads, AirPods, and MacBook Pros are expected launch in the coming months.

Apple today announced that it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, September 14 at 10:00 a.m. The event will take place at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California.

As with WWDC and last year's fall events, this new event will be held digitally with no members of the media invited to attend in person. Apple will likely provide pre-taped segments for each new product that's announced.

Last year's September event focused on the Apple Watch after the iPhone was delayed until October, but this year, things are back to normal. We're expecting Apple to announce new ‌iPhone‌ 13 models, the Apple Watch Series 7, and possibly the AirPods 3.

New MacBook Pro models and new iPads are also on the horizon, but Apple is expected to hold multiple fall events this year so we're not likely to see everything come out in September.

Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 13 models will be similar to the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models with few design changes. Apple is planning to release a 5.4-inch ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini, a 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ 13, a 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro, and a 6.7-inch ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max.

The general design will be the same, but we are expecting a smaller notch. There will also be some improvements to the cameras, with Apple bringing sensor-shift optical image stabilization to the whole ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup, introducing a better Ultra Wide camera for the Pro models, and improving the cameras of the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro to bring it in line with the Pro Max.

A faster A15 chip is coming, along with faster 5G technology, and perhaps the biggest change might be the 120Hz ProMotion display expected for the Pro models. There have also been rumors of an always-on display, so that's a possibility, as are larger batteries and more maximum storage space. We have details on all of the rumors that we've heard about the iPhone 13 in our roundup, so check that out to see exactly what to expect.

As for the Apple Watch Series 7, we're expecting the first redesign that we've seen in years. The new Apple Watch could have a flat-edged design that better matches the ‌iPhone‌ models, and it could be thinner with more available display space.

A new lamination technique will bring the display closer to the front cover, and casing sizes are expected increase to 41mm and 45mm, up from 40mm and 44mm. A faster S7 chip is expected, and there could be a bigger battery, but there are no new health sensors coming this year.

Apple's manufacturing partners are reportedly having production difficulties with the new watch, so we could see a bit of a delay in availability or very tight supplies at launch.

The third-generation AirPods that are in the works are expected to have a design that's closer to the AirPods Pro, and silicone tips are a possibility.

The new AirPods will have shorter AirPods Pro-like stems, but will continue to be a more affordable option without Active Noise Cancellation.

Apple plans to stream the fall event live on its website, on YouTube, and on the Apple TV through the ‌Apple TV‌ app. Apple today made the YouTube livestream available ahead of the event date.

For those unable to watch, MacRumors will be providing full event coverage both on MacRumors.com and the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

Only six percent of iPhone users in the United States who have Apple Pay set up actually use the feature, according to a detailed study by PYMNTS.

Seven years after ‌Apple Pay‌ launched in September 2014, 93.9 percent of consumers with ‌Apple Pay‌ activated on their ‌iPhone‌ do not use it to pay for in-store purchases, meaning that only 6.1 percent do.

In 2015, the year following ‌Apple Pay‌'s launch, PYMNTS found that ‌Apple Pay‌ usage was just 5.1 percent among those that had the feature activated. This means that ‌Apple Pay‌ usage has only increased by one percentage point in six years.

The growth of ‌Apple Pay‌ in this time may be attributed to more contactless terminals in stores and more users having ‌iPhone‌ models with an NFC coil to facilitate ‌Apple Pay‌, rather than increased usage. Since 2015, the total amount of ‌Apple Pay‌ transactions at U.S. retail stores has increased from an estimated $5 billion to $90 billion this year.

In 2015, 19 percent of U.S. merchants were able to accept contactless payments, but in 2021, this rose to 70 percent. Likewise, in 2015, only 36 percent of consumers had an ‌iPhone‌ that offered ‌Apple Pay‌, but now 96 percent of users have access to the feature. ‌Apple Pay‌ support from banks has also ballooned. This has all led to the number of ‌Apple Pay‌ transactions growing overall, but it is still unused by the vast majority of those that have the feature enabled.

The main reason behind the lack of usage may be attributed to the continued dominance of plastic cards. In addition, in the time since ‌Apple Pay‌'s launch, banks have issued an increasing number of contactless debit and credit cards, which most users have preferred to ‌Apple Pay‌. According to PYMNTS, Apple has struggled to persuade users that ‌Apple Pay‌ is valuable enough to replace the more familiar plastic card, which does not require additional button presses and authentication steps such as Touch ID or Face ID.

"But to be successful, innovation must solve a problem, fix a source of friction or improve an experience that is so painful that consumers or businesses are motivated to switch," the report explained. The study suggested two options for Apple to bolster ‌Apple Pay‌ usage:

Path one is for Apple, the smartphone, to take share from Android to make the eligible Apple Pay pie bigger and to ride retail's continued growth. Currently, Apple has a 52% share of smartphones in the U.S., up from 47% in 2019. That seems hard, if not pretty unlikely.

Path two is for Apple to get more iPhone users to use Apple Pay in the store.

That's something that Apple has failed to do over the last seven years – including over the last two years, when contactless payment in-store was its (and every Pay's) oyster.

Seven years in, Apple Pay just hasn't lived up to its potential for transforming the point-of-sale experience in the store. Maybe there is a grand plan that goes beyond offering users discounts to use it at checkout. But unless it does, its past is likely to be prologue – and its usage will likely be stuck at around 6% of iPhone users who like to wave their phones in the store when they buy.

Nevertheless, of the various mobile wallets, such as Samsung Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal, ‌Apple Pay‌ has generally been the most popular with a 45.5 percent share of mobile wallet users in 2021.

PYMNTS's findings are based on a study of 3,671 respondents in the United States between August 3 and August 10, 2021 and identical studies from previous years.

The UK mobile carrier Sky is today teasing the launch of "the next generation," in what may be a hint at the seemingly impending launch of the iPhone 13 lineup.

The company's webpage says that "the next generation is about to land" in an "upcoming big announcement," and encourages customers to sign up before Tuesday, September 14, to get access to an exclusive Sky Mobile offer.

The promotion has attracted interest since all indications are pointing to Apple planning to hold a digital event on September 14 to announce the ‌iPhone‌ 13, Apple Watch Series 7, and third-generation AirPods, which is the same day that the early-bird Sky Mobile offer ends. There is no other sign from Sky that the offer relates to the ‌iPhone‌ 13.

Some carriers have been known to provide discounted offers to customers who sign up to a contract for a next-generation ‌iPhone‌ model before it is officially announced, and this marketing appears to be in line with those similar promotions in the past. It is also possible that the announcement relates to something else entirely, but the September 14 date is sufficient proof for some observers that it relates to the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup.

If the ‌iPhone‌ 13 is set to be unveiled next week on September 14 as rumors suggest, invites would likely be sent out later today.

WhatsApp is working on giving users the option to adjust the visibility of their "Last Seen" status on a contact-by-contact basis, according to a new report from forthcoming-feature specialist WABetaInfo.

As regular WhatsApp users will know, the "Last Seen" status of a contact sits atop the conversation thread, informing you when that contact last opened and was active on the app.

Currently, you can disable your "Last Seen" status so that other contacts can't see when you were last online, but the setting's options are limited to "Everyone," "My Contacts," and "Nobody," and there's no way to make exceptions for individual contacts.

However, that looks set to change, based on options unearthed by WABetaInfo in a beta version of WhatsApp. In the Privacy settings, the messaging platform is adding the option "My Contacts Except..." which will let you select specific contacts so that they don't see when the last time was that you were active on the messaging network.

Although it's worth noting that if you disable your last seen status for specific contacts, you won't be able to see theirs either.

The new "My Contacts Except..." option is also evident in the privacy settings for a user's profile picture and "About" information, indicating WhatsApp's intention to bring more granular settings to the app's privacy options as a whole.

As usual, it's unclear when the new options will go live, but given they were discovered on iOS, expect them to appear on iPhone first, with the Android version to follow.