Ally Bank today announced that its customers can now use Apple Pay with Ally-issued cards. Before today, Ally Bank was among the list of major national banks in the United States without support for Apple Pay. Ally Bank isn’t yet on Apple’s growing list of more than 1,000 bank and credit union partners, but will likely appear in the next refresh.

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Filed under: Apple Pay Tagged: Ally Bank, Apple pay

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:

iPad Pro Wi-Fi 128GB in all three colors: $790 shipped (Reg. $949)

Fresh iPad Pro discounts: 32GB Wi-Fi $650, 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular $890, all other models $100 off

Bluetooth Speakers: Sony SRSX7 w/ Wi-Fi + AirPlay $130 (Reg. $150+), Bohm SoundBlock $22 (Reg. $50), more

Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad Mini 3, 2, & 1: $22 shipped (Reg. $30)

Apple 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro (newest) 2.7GHz/8GB/256GB $1,200 shipped (Reg. $1,499)

Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro 2.7GHz/8GB/128GB: $1,049 shipped (Reg. $1,299)

Apple iPhone 6s/Plus Factory Unlocked up to $100 off, 16GB just $579 shipped (Reg. $649)

Apple TV Deals: 4th Gen 64GB $175 (Reg. $200), 3rd Gen $49 (Reg. $69), more

Buy or upgrade Parallels ($49-$79) & get 7 Mac apps free: 1Password, Parallels Access, & more (Reg. $269)

App Store Free App of the Week: oneSafe Premium Password Manager on iOS goes free for the first time (Reg. $5)

App Store Indie Game Sale 50% off: The Room Three, BADLAND 2, Mutant Mudds, more

Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop for iPhone/iPod goes free for the first time in months (Reg. $3)

TomTom for iPhone goes free for first 50 miles per month w/ new “GO Mobile” app

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

HomeKit-enabled ecobee3 Wi-Fi thermostat w/ remote sensor: $190 shipped (Orig. $249)

• Upgrade your Mac with a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5″ Internal SSD for $135 (Reg. $150+)
• Smartphone Accessories: TYLT MFI Lightning PowerBank & Wall Charger $6, more
• Games/Apps: Just Cause 3 $40, LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack $60, Forza 5 $15, more
• iOS gamers! Don’t miss your chance to download ‘Train Conductor 2: USA’ for free (Reg. $3)
• Daily Deals: Philips Bookshelf Bluetooth Speakers $33, Crucial 2.5-inch 240GB SSD $55, more
• Green Deals: WORX 19-inch Electric Cordless Mower (refurb) $330 shipped (Reg. $400+), more
• Amazon offers up to 40% off Fisher-Price & Hot Wheels from $11
• Load up on Altoids for less than $0.85 per tin (Reg. $1+/ea.)

Xbox One GOW bundle + The Division, Halo 5 controller & headset $359 ($500+ value), more wp.me/p1xTlR-OWA https://t.co/uAQ85wJB3b

—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) March 16, 2016

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Home Theater Audio: VIZIO 25-inch Sound Stand $150 shipped (Reg. $200), JBL Soundbar (Refurb) $70 (Orig. $200)

How-to: Use your car and an inexpensive inverter to replace the need for a home generator

• Seagate Expansion 3TB Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive $90 shipped (Reg. $110+)
• This War of Mine for iOS hits its lowest price ever: $4 (Reg. up to $15)
• Seiki 42-inch 4K 60Hz LED UHDTV w/ 3 HDMI Inputs: $250 shipped (Reg. $369)
• Media: Blu-rays from $10 – Paddington, Big Hero 6, more + iTunes movie bundles on sale
• Ringke Samsung Galaxy S7/Edge cases in a variety of styles/colors from $4 (Reg. up to $11)
• Green Deals: GreenWorks 20-inch Extendable Electric Hedge Trimmer w/ Battery $109
• Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5-inch Internal Solid-State Drive $270 (Reg. $305+)
• Add 1800mAh of juice to your iPhone USB power block w/ NomadPlus for $15 (Orig. $40)
• JBL OnBeat Rumble Boombox Bluetooth Speaker w/ Lightning Dock $125 (Orig. $400)
• Hit the streets with Razor’s A Kick Scooter for $20 shipped (Reg. $30)
• DJI Phantom 3 Standard Drone w/ 2.7K HD Camera: $439 shipped (Reg. $500+)
• Pioneer’s Andrew Jones Speakers: Center Channel $70, Floor $91, Subwoofer $110, more
• Certified refurb Mohu Leaf HDTV antenna deals from $10 Prime shipped
• Grab the Hitman GO & Hitman Sniper iOS bundle for just $1 (up to $10 value)
• The Room Three mystery-puzzler for iOS gets its very first price drop: $2 (Reg. $5)
• BADLAND 2 for iOS gets its very first price drop: $2 (Reg. $5)
• Green Deals: X-Dragon Solar USB-Chargers from $28, Tires $100 off $400, more
• Smartphone Accessories: Kmashi 15,000mAh Power Bank $13, more
• Lenovo 11-inch Chromebook 2.16GHz/2GB/16GB SSD: $129 shipped (Reg. $149)
• Holmes Smart WeMo appliances: Air Purifier $150, X-Large Heater $100
• StrimLIGHT bulb offers clear LED lighting and crisp Bluetooth audio: $30 (Orig. $80)
• Green Deals: Best-Selling Peel N’ Stick Solar Lights $9 Prime shipped
• Get Two Free Large Pizzas when you buy a $25 eGift Card at Papa John’s
• Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories for iOS drops to $4 (Reg. $7)
• Get a pair of Fandango movie tickets for just $16 (up to $26 value)
• Green Deals: GRDE 10000mAh Solar Dual-USB Power Bank $13, more
• Download 5 rare Paul McCartney songs in MP3 format for free

Apple Watch 42mm Space Gray Milanese Loop Band + Aluminum Dock: $26 Prime shipped (Reg. $34)

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

Turn your paper airplane into a first person virtual reality experience with PowerUP’s FPV kit

• Philips introduces new ambient Hue Lights that automatically simulates the sun
• WD’s new internal hard drive for Raspberry Pi brings 314GB of additional storage
• LG releases a new line of 4K Super UHDTVs with HDR capabilities and big price tags
• Rule this summer’s BBQ with Mark Dredge’s new Cooking with Beer guide
• Canon’s best-selling DSLR steps aside for the new Wi-Fi-enabled Rebel T6
• popSLATE’s second generation iPhone 6/s/Plus e-ink case drops the bulk for a slender design
• LittleBits’ latest creation focuses on robotic kits and STEAM education
• The new DODOcase Virtual Reality kit for iPhone and Android hits Indiegogo

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Best Buy, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, video games

Fight for the Future, the protest group that organized demonstrations in support of Apple outside its retail stores, plans to hold a demonstration outside the next Apple/FBI court hearing on March 22nd. Re/code reports that the group has created a website inviting people to voice their support for secure iPhones, comments from which will be displayed outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Riverside, California.

The FBI wants to force Apple to weaken the security measures that keep all of us safe. This is misguided, and dangerous. On March 22, when Apple goes to court, we’ll display thousands of statements from Internet users outside the courthouse.

Fight for the Future has so far had mixed success with its protests …

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Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices Tagged: Apple Inc, California, Encryption, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fight for the Future, iPhone, privacy, San Bernardino, Save Security

Waze, the popular Google-owned mapping app with a focus on community-based features, is today adding a new feature called “Planned Drives” for iOS users.

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Filed under: Apps Tagged: App Store, Appointments, iOS, Planned Drives, Reminders, traffic, update, Waze

Dom reviewed Ring’s iPhone-linked Video Doorbell last year, and was impressed. I was too, with two minor complaints: video is 720p rather than full HD, and it only connects to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks.

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Filed under: Tech Industry Tagged: 1080p, 720p, CCTV, Home automation, ring video doorbell, Ring Video Doorbell Pro, smart home

Called before the European Parliament’s tax committee yesterday to explain its tax arrangements, Apple’s VP of European operations denied that the company received illegal state aid, reports Bloomberg.

“We feel that we’ve paid every cent of tax that is due in Ireland,” Cathy Kearney said at the European Parliament in Brussels. “We don’t feel that there has been state aid involved and I suppose we look forward to that outcome happening at the end of the day and being vindicated in that way. I would say that the Irish government also agrees with that view.”

Kearney also denied suggestions that the special tax deal with the Irish company was the reason it had chosen the country as its European HQ …

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Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple Ireland, Europe, European Parliament, European Union, Ireland, Tax, tax investigation

The Wall Street Journal is corroborating several reports from February that Apple is working on new iCloud backup encryption methods that will prevent it from being able to decrypt data without a passcode. Right now, although iCloud backups are encrypted, they are not entangled with a user passcode. This means law enforcement can get access to user content with ease; Apple has complied with thousands of these requests in the past for a variety of court cases.

Apple wants to re-engineer the iCloud backup system so even if law enforcement asked Apple to hand over such information in future, it would be impossible to decrypt without the correct passcode also being supplied at time of retrieval.

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Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices, Tech Industry

Apple chipmaker TSMC and chip designer ARM have announced that they will work together to create a 7nm FinFET process expected to enter early production in late 2017 and mass production in 2018. This would put it on track for an A11 chip in the iPhone 8.

Apple originally used ARM chips in its iOS devices, switching to its own custom chip when it launched the iPhone 5, though still using an ARM instruction set. TSMC has so far been one of two A-processor chipmakers alongside Samsung, but is rumored to be the sole producer for the A10 chip in the iPhone 7.

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Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: A11, Apple Inc, ARM, iPhone, iPhone 8, TSMC

A few months after Deezer Music added CarPlay support, the streaming music service has now launched an Apple Watch app. The app squeezes in an impressive amount of functionality to the small screen, as illustrated in the GIF below.

With Deezer on Apple Watch, listeners have access to all the best of Deezer, including:

• Flow  – Your own personal DJ that knows exactly what you want to hear, utilising the best of man and machine to play all your favourite hits.
• Player – Take control and “love” your favourite track or skip to play what you want every time.
• Mixes – Let your mood dictate what you want to hear with mixes for every occasion.
• Charts – Always stay ahead of what’s trending with Top Tracks, Top Albums, Top Playlists, and Top Artists.
• My Music – Sync your watch with your iPhone and hear your entire saved music library including favourite tracks, albums, playlists, artists and podcasts.
• Force Touch – Press firmly on the display to see your queue list, hit repeat, and play in shuffle mode … 

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Filed under: Apps Tagged: Apple watch, Apple Watch apps, Deezer, Streaming Music

The man responsible for leaking explicit photos of dozens of celebrities back in 2014 has been formally charged today. According to a post on the Department of Justice website, a man from Pennsylvania has been charged with felony computer hacking after obtaining access to Gmail and iCloud accounts of more than 100 different people, the majority of whom were celebrities.

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Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Tagged: Apple, celebrity hack, FBI