Comment: Apple Pay is available at more places than ever, but key opportunities remain
I absolutely love using Apple Pay to checkout in stores. Swiping a debit or credit card isn’t too inconvenient but it’s not the most secure way to pay, and new chip terminals in the US are frustratingly slow and unreliable. I use Apple Pay from my Apple Watch whenever possible, and I’m a serious advocate for the payment service among my family and friends with iPhones.
Two years since first launching in the US, Apple Pay is an option at lots of payment terminals all across the country, but you still can’t assume contactless payments like Apple Pay will be supported. It’s still necessary to carry your debit or credit card (or cash) just in case.
So we’ve looked at the biggest categories of businesses that still aren’t ready for contactless payments in the US and reached out to a few of the biggest holdouts to ask why they’re still resisting. We’ve also looked at some of the categories that people still want supported to see how things are progressing.
Filed under: Apple
Apple to have presence at Mobile World Congress ‘App Planet Exhibition’ next year?
While Apple typically chooses not to have a public presence at the big tech trade shows, the company is listed as an exhibitor for next year’s Mobile World Congress show scheduled for February (via Macrumors).
Filed under: Apple
How-To: Dock Picture-in-Picture videos anywhere on macOS Sierra [Video]
By default, Picture-in-Picture videos on macOS Sierra are docked in one of the four corners of your Mac’s display. If you try to move the window elsewhere, it will quickly snap back to one of the four default corners. This is very similar to how Picture-in-Picture mode works on the iPad.
But it’s also possible to dock videos anywhere on your display by using a handy keyboard combination. Watch our brief hands-on video for the quick how-to. more…
Filed under: Apple
Apple & IBM launch first ‘MobileFirst for iOS’ education app, IBM Watson Element
Since partnering in 2014 to develop enterprise iOS apps under the “MobileFirst for iOS” banner, Apple and IBM have rolled out over 30 apps for various industries. Today the two companies introduced their first MobileFirst education app.
Filed under: Apple
Apple releases iOS 10.1 beta 5 with Portrait camera for iPhone 7 Plus
Apple has released the fifth iOS 10.1 beta which includes the Portrait camera for iPhone 7 Plus that applies a DSLR-like blur effect over photos using the dual lens system. iOS 10.1 beta 5 is available to registered developers. The fifth beta is also available to public beta testers on iOS 10.1 today.
Filed under: Apple
9to5Toys Lunch Break: Nomad Apple Watch Band $32, HooToo Travel Router $30, Withings Health/Fitness Sale, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
Nomad’s just-released Vulcanized LSR Silicone Strap for Apple Watch has a classic look & high-quality materials: $32 shipped (Reg. $40), more
The HooToo TripMate Elite is an 802.11n wireless router, 6000mAh battery and charger for $30 Prime shipped (Reg. $38)
A variety of Withings smart health & fitness devices just received sizable price drops: Smart Body Analyzer $120, more
Pick up Apple’s entry-level 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro for $1,030 shipped (Reg. $1,299)
This refurbished first gen Apple Watch Sport 38mm is down to only $160 shipped (Orig. $349)
Grab a 1st Gen. 42mm Apple Watch Sport in Space Gray for $219 shipped (Orig. $399)
Apple offers 50% off top tier games on the App Store: BADLANDS 2, Monument Valley, Sword & Sworcery & many more
Get up to 70% off a load of Rockstar Mac games today: Grand Theft Auto Trilogy for $9
Minecraft Story Mode goes free for the first time on iOS & Android (Reg. $5)
App Store Free App of the Week: Shadow Bug and its ninja action go free for the first time (Reg. $4)
The Best Console Game Releases for October: Mafia 3, Gears of War 4, Battlefield 1, Dark Souls 3 DLC and more
Today is your last chance to win Mophie’s new Hold Force accessory lineup for iPhone 7 wp.me/p1xTlR-WBf https://t.co/ncWjRknCjl
—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 19, 2016
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
Add Samsung’s best-selling 1TB Internal Solid-State Drive to your Mac for $270 shipped (Reg. $310)
- Smartphone Accessories: AUKEY Quick Charge 3.0 Car Charger for $15, more
- Games/Apps: Pokémon Y from $25, iOS freebies, more
- Save up to 20% on gift cards w/ email delivery from Toys R Us, Kohl’s, JCPenney, more
- Motorola Cable Modem (Refurb) $55, Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 5/5s/5SE $10, more
- Save up to 75% in PUMA’s annual Private Sale w/ free shipping across the board
- The XYZprinting da Vinci Jr. 3D Printer is down at its Amazon all time low: $234 (Reg. $300+)
- Amazon Fiesta Kitchenware sale: Utensil Set w/ Crock $30, much more
MORE DEALS STILL LIVE:
CaseCrown iPad Pro (9.7- or 12.9-inch) folio cases in a variety of colors from $6 Prime shipped
Ringke iPhone 7 & Galaxy cases (multiple styles/colors) for $4 Prime shipped (Reg. $10+)
Put a Speck CandyShell Grip Case on your iPhone 6/s for $8 or 6/s Plus for $10 Prime shipped (Reg. $20+)
Luvvitt iPhone 7/Plus cases/screen protectors (multiple colors/styles) from $4.50 Prime shipped (Reg. $13)
Filed under: Apple
Final Cut Pro X trial page download link alludes to impending 10.3 update ahead of Mac event
Google’s Gboard iOS keyboard now works with 3D Touch, gains iOS 10 emoji and new themes
Google’s Gboard iOS keyboard has been one of the better received third-party keyboards yet. Today Google is releasing Gboard version 1.2 for iOS with a few highly requested features. New themes, additional emoji, and support for 3D Touch and the handy cursor placement trick are all included plus more.
Filed under: Apple
Latest Facebook app update will automatically collate your friends’ recommendations for restaurants & more
If you’ve ever asked your Facebook friends to recommend a restaurant, a new feature rolling out should make it much easier to check out the responses.
Facebook is using a combination of AI and simple keyword recognition to identify posts asking for recommendations, and will then prompt you to turn on the Recommendations feature. When you do, it will automatically add the restaurants’ Facebook pages to the thread, as well as populating a map with their locations.
Engadget reports that the new feature is intended for use not just with restaurants, but with a range of businesses …
Filed under: Apple
Jamf conference: IBM cutting costs w/ largest enterprise Mac deployment, 100,000 by end of year
At the JAMF Nation User Conference (JNUC) this week, IBM’s Fletcher Previn delivered an update on the company’s rollout of Macs internally since it introduced Apple computers as an option for employees for the first time last year. In just over a year, IBM passed its original goal of deploying 50,000 Macs and is now at 90,000 internally. That makes it the largest enterprise Mac deployment anywhere, and Previn described how it’s helping the company cut costs.
Filed under: Apple