United Kingdom

In iOS 17.1 and later, iPhone users in the UK can now view banking information like account balance when using Apple Pay and viewing bank cards and credit cards in the Wallet app. Keep reading to learn how it works. Apple's Wallet app on iPhone has been able to display Apple Pay transactions made using your bank and credit cards for a while now, but if you are a Wallet app user in the United ...

If you live in the United Kingdom, there's a good chance you enjoyed yesterday's first official bank holiday of the year with your feet up. But if all you'd done was rely on the Calendar app on your iPhone, you may never have even known you were due a day off. That's because a persistent bug that has plagued the app for months still prevents Apple's UK bank holidays subscription option from...

Apple Intelligence is now available with iOS 18.1, exclusively in U.S. English – so what do users in the UK need to know? Apple Intelligence is Apple's upcoming artificial intelligence system that offers personalized, context-aware features, such as notification summaries, writing tools, image and emoji generation, Visual Lookup, and a revamped version of Siri that integrates ChatGPT and...

Apple has withdrawn its Advanced Data Protection iCloud feature from the United Kingdom following government demands for backdoor access to encrypted user data, according to Bloomberg. The move comes after UK officials secretly ordered Apple to provide unrestricted access to encrypted iCloud content worldwide. Customers who are already using Advanced Data Protection, or ADP, will need to...

Members of key congressional oversight committees have called on the United States' new top intelligence director to pressure the United Kingdom to withdraw its controversial demand for Apple to create a backdoor into encrypted user data stored in iCloud, according to The Washington Post. Last week The Post revealed that a secret UK order, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act last...

Apple Maps now has expanded coverage for cycling directions in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The expansion, first spotted by a Reddit user, means cyclists can plan a journey on the app from, say, Land's End to John o' Groats, if they're that way inclined. Cycling directions have been available in the UK and Ireland for a few years, but until now, support didn't cover the whole of the...

Given today's bombshell report revealing the UK government's unprecedented demand for backdoor access to encrypted iCloud data, it's clear that Apple now faces a massive challenge. How it responds could have major implications for not only the company's privacy stance, but also its global operations as well as its reputation. According to The Washington Post, the British government has...

The British government has secretly demanded that Apple give it blanket access to all encrypted user content uploaded to the cloud, reports The Washington Post. The undisclosed order is said to have been issued last month, and requires that Apple creates a back door that allows UK security officials unencumbered access to encrypted user data worldwide – an unprecedented demand not before...

Following a price increase in the United States and Canada earlier this year, Netflix is raising its prices in the UK as well. According to Cord Busters, all of Netflix's plans are going to be more expensive going forward. The Standard plan with Ads is £1 more expensive at £5.99 per month, while the Standard plan is now priced at £12.99 per month, a £2 increase. The high-end premium plan ...

The UK's department of health and social care has approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids, which has prompted Apple to announce that its hearing aid feature for AirPods Pro 2 will launch in the United Kingdom within weeks. Previously, people with hearing problems were only able to obtain a hearing aid if they had a prescription from a doctor, due to confusion over the rules. A UK g...

UK regulators on Thursday launched an investigation into Apple and Google's smartphone ecosystems to assess whether they have "strategic market status" (SMS), a designation that if imposed would subject the companies to specific conduct requirements set by the Competition and Markets authority (CMA) to improve competition. The investigation will look at the companies' operating systems, app...

The UK government today announced plans for a digital wallet that will house digital driver's licenses. It is not yet clear if the digital wallet that the UK government has planned will integrate with Apple Wallet, but UK users will be able to access their driver's licenses through a GOV.UK app on the iPhone when the initiative launches. The digital driver's license will allow users to prove ...

Apple is heading to court in London on Monday to defend against a class-action lawsuit seeking £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) in damages over alleged anti-competitive App Store practices in the UK. Filed by King's College London academic Dr. Rachael Kent, the lawsuit claims Apple has violated UK and European competition laws by requiring iOS users to download apps exclusively through the App...

Apple plans to bring the puzzles section of its News app to the United Kingdom, according to a new report from the Financial Times. Currently available in the US and Canada, and exclusive to Apple News+ subscribers, the puzzles section includes four games: Sudoku, Crossword, Crossword Mini, and Quartiles. Apple News+ provides subscribers with a new crossword and mini crossword puzzle...

As part of his ongoing visit to the United Kingdom, Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday hosted His Majesty King Charles III at its headquarters in Battersea Power Station. During the visit, Cook welcomed King Charles to Apple's campus in the iconic Battersea Power Station, a recently restored historic building that became home to Apple's UK operations in 2023. Battersea Power Station's conversion...

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved the merger between Vodafone and Three UK, clearing the way for the creation of Britain's largest mobile operator. The approval comes with legally binding commitments requiring both companies to invest billions in rolling out their combined 5G network across the country. The CMA's decision appears to be something of a turnaround...

A UK class action lawsuit against Apple over App Store commission fees will proceed after judges dismissed the company's attempt to block the case, Bloomberg reports. Led by competition policy professor Sean Ennis, the suit alleges Apple's 15-30% commission on App Store sales creates an anti-competitive tax on the UK technology industry. The lawsuit seeks £785 million ($995 million) in...

Apple's restrictions on mobile browsers are limiting innovation and holding back new features that could benefit iPhone users, according to provisional findings published today by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In its report, the CMA's independent inquiry group determined that Apple's Safari browser policies prevent competing browsers from implementing certain features,...

Apple is facing an almost £3 billion ($3.78 billion) lawsuit after British consumer group Which? on Thursday alleged that the company breached competition law by locking millions of its customers out of its iCloud service and charging them "rip-off prices." Apple users receive 5GB of free storage to back up photos, messages, and other content, and are then encouraged to pay for the service...

Apple's Roadside Assistance via Satellite feature for iPhones is now live in the United Kingdom, based on a recent update to Apple's support documentation. The quiet launch follows Apple's announcement during its iPhone 16 event in September that the feature would expand to the UK later in the year. Roadside Assistance via Satellite enables iPhone users to contact breakdown services in...

The UK government has launched a consultation to explore the possibility of mandating USB-C as the standard charging port for electronic devices, potentially aligning with similar regulations recently adopted by the European Union. The Office for Product Safety and Standards, part of the Department for Business and Trade, is seeking input from manufacturers, importers, distributors, and...

Apple today announced that new satellite-based communication features are heading to the UK and Canada with iOS 18. The company today said that Canada will also receive the new Messages via Satellite feature in ‌iOS 18‌. Initially announced for the United States alone, the feature allows users to send and receive end-to-end encrypted texts, emojis, and even Tapbacks through iMessage and SMS...

Update: Apple told MacRumors that Open Web Advocacy's allegation that Apple is misleading the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is inaccurate. Apple says it told the CMA that the design of the identified browser setting was changed in a recent software update. The design was apparently never intended to discourage users from setting third-party browsers as the default. Apple faces...