Australia

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission watchdog is eyeing a potential probe into pre-installed software and pre-defined "default" choices on mobile devices, including Google being set as the default search engine on Apple devices. In a press release (via ZDNet), the agency is asking for consumer and industry feedback on the state of default settings, pre-installed web browsers,...

The Australian government has approved ECG functionality on the Apple Watch, giving Apple the all-clear to launch the feature for Apple Watch users in the country, according to a regulatory document first spotted by The 8-Bit. Earlier last month, the Apple Watch's irregular heart rhythm notification received approval in Australia, although ECG did not. Irregular heart rhythm is a feature...

Facebook has announced that it will restore the ability for users in Australia to share news content on the social platform, following changes to the country's media code. The company banned all news sharing last week in response to a proposed Media Bargaining Law, which aims to level the playing field between Australian news media businesses and digital platforms in terms of bargaining...

Facebook has followed through on its threat to ban users from sharing news on its platform in Australia, in response to proposed media laws in the country that the company claims "fundamentally misunderstand" its relationship with publishers who share news content. The move is a retaliation to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) proposed Media Bargaining law, which seeks...

The Apple Watch's irregular heart rhythm notifications have been approved in Australia, indicating that approval for the ECG feature may be soon to follow after years of waiting, according to EFTM. Documents seen by EFTM from Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration show that the Apple Watch's irregular rhythm notifications feature has now been approved and added to the Australian...

Over a year after its U.S. launch, MacRumors has uncovered a range of evidence to suggest that Apple Card may soon be launching internationally. A source claiming to be close to an unnamed Australian banking corporation involved in supporting ‌‌Apple Card‌‌ in Australia tells MacRumors that ‌Apple Card‌ will be launching in multiple new regions as soon as the end of this year. The tip...

Australia is now investigating app store policies as part of yet another antitrust inquiry into Apple and Google (via Gizmodo). The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced that it will investigate the competition between the Google Play store and Apple's App Store, access to platforms and consumers, fee structures, data collection, and price transparency. The...

Facebook has said it will stop users in Australia from sharing news on the social network if a proposed law from the country's competition regulator comes into force that would require it to pay local media companies for their content (via CNET). The threat comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) submitted a draft regulatory code that would "address the...

Four Apple stores in Victoria, Australia are set to reclose for up to six weeks from July 9, following a spike in coronavirus infections in the state. As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple Highpoint in Melbourne was the first store to reclose on July 2 as the deteriorating health situation prompted a reintroduction of stage three lockdown measures across the state capital. Apple's other retail...

An Australian man has been fined AU$5,000 and given an 18-month "recognizance," after he was found guilty of extracting employee details from Apple's servers and posting them on Twitter. According to Bega District News, 24-year-old Abe Crannaford appeared in Eden Local Court on Wednesday for sentencing, after pleading guilty in February to two counts of unauthorized access or modification of ...

Westpac has become the last of Australia's big four banks to announce Apple Pay support for its customers. The country's oldest bank revealed on Tuesday that it had enabled the new service, following similar moves by ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank, and National Australia Bank. "We are pleased to announce that Westpac customers can now use Apple Pay to make fast and secure payments. This comes at...

Apple's Find My app was used by police to track two wanted men during a car chase in Melbourne, Australia last month, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. According to the report, the two men were being tracked from the air by helicopter after an iPad was stolen in an earlier home invasion. Driver Vaatoa Chang, 29, and passenger Jonas Montealegre, 36, carried the ‌iPad‌ with them as they...

Apple's four-day Black Friday shopping event is now live in Australia and New Zealand, offering customers free Apple Store gift cards worth up to A$320 or NZ$320 with the purchase of select new Apple products. The gift card amounts are as follows in Australia and New Zealand:$320 for 13-inch MacBook Pro, iMac, or iMac Pro $160 for MacBook Air $160 for iPad Pro $160 for Beats Studio3...

Samsung is in hot water with Australia's consumer watchdog for allegedly misleading consumers about the level of water resistance its Galaxy smartphones offer. Samsung Galaxy advertisement Reuters reports that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is suing the South Korean firm for falsely representing its Galaxy phones as suitable for use underwater, following ads that...

Apple today at WWDC 2019 announced that Apple News+ will be expanding to the United Kingdom and Australia in iOS 13. ‌Apple News‌+ is currently available in the United States for $9.99 per month and in Canada for $12.99 per month. The service, based on Apple's acquisition of Texture, provides unlimited access to hundreds of digital magazines and...

National Australia Bank (NAB) today announced support for Apple Pay, allowing NAB customers with a Visa Card to make purchases using the ‌Apple Pay‌ payments service. NAB, a former notable ‌Apple Pay‌ holdout, is the third of Australia's "Big Four" banks to begin accepting ‌Apple Pay‌. It’s here. NAB customers can now use Apple Pay. Just add your NAB Visa Card and start using Apple Pay ...

Australians looking to take advantage of Apple's limited time iPhone XS and ‌iPhone‌ XR trade-up promotion should act fast, as the offer ends Monday, March 4 in Australia, according to an update to Apple's website. As in the United States, Apple is offering higher trade-in values for select older ‌iPhone‌ models towards the purchase of a new ‌iPhone‌ XR or ‌iPhone‌ XS. The ‌iPhone‌ XR...

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) today implemented support for Apple Pay, making it the second of Australia's "Big Four" banks to offer the payments service. CBA is the biggest retail bank in Australia and was a notable ‌Apple Pay‌ holdout. Multiple MacRumors readers in Australia have reported being able to add their Commonwealth Bank cards to ‌Apple Pay‌, and Commonwealth Bank is listed as a partner...

Apple today extended its limited-time promotion offering extra trade-in credit towards an iPhone XR or iPhone XS to additional countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. The promotion first launched in the United States in late November. Update: Apple continues to expand the promotion, with more European countries just added,...

The Australian parliament on Thursday passed controversial encryption legislation that could result in tech companies being forced to give law enforcement access to encrypted customer messages. As we reported in October, Apple opposed the legislation in a seven-page letter to the Australian parliament, calling the encryption bill "dangerously ambiguous" and wide open to potential abuse by...