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Apple today added support for a long list of new banks and credit unions to its Apple Pay service in the US, as well as the addition of support for Visa and debit cards for Desjardins customers in Canada. Yesterday we reported that Apple Pay launched in its 10th country this week with the addition of Russia through support from local Sberbank. That followed previous launches in Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK and U....

Apple Pay Cash is now starting to roll out on iOS 11.2 for iPhone and iPad. Apple Pay Cash lets you send payments to friends and pay in stores and in apps with a virtual debit card from compatible iOS devices. Apple Pay Cash was originally unveiled back in June at Apple’s developer conference, but the feature missed the initial iOS 11 launch in September. Developer and public beta testers gained access to new feature in iOS 11....

Throughout the course of 2018, Apple’s filings with the California DMV showed a steady increase in the number of self-driving cars it had on the road. This month, however, Apple has reported its first ever drop in autonomous cars. As first noted by macReports, Apple now has 69 autonomous cars permitted to test on public roads in California. The company also has 110 drivers eligible to operate those cars. Both of those numbers are down from last month, when Apple reported 72 cars on the road and 144 drivers....

Apple today has released the second public beta of macOS Catalina. This release comes one week after Apple originally launched public beta testing for the forthcoming release of macOS. Apple had originally said that it would begin public beta testing of macOS Catalina in July, but it launched things a week early instead. We detailed the early rollout last week. Despite today’s release of the second public beta of macOS Catalina, Apple has not released the second public beta of iOS 13....

Apple has poached five key engineers from A123 Systems to work in a new battery division at the Cupertino technology company, with some hires possibly going as far back as June, a new report claims. The battery maker claims that these hires violated agreements it had in place to prevent them from joining competing companies. The employees the report refers to are Don Dafoe, Michael Erickson, Indrajeet Thorat, Mujeeb Ijaz, and Depeng Wang....

While Apple appears to view the Lightning port as the future headphone connector of choice, with some manufacturers already on board, there are plenty of us who’ll be reluctant to replace our existing, expensive headphones. Which poses something of a problem as iPhones and iPads continue to get slimmer, and existing ones barely accommodate the 3.5mm socket. Apple, however, has a potential solution to this in a patent granted today (via Patently Apple)....

Update: Here’s Apple’s comment on the matter: Apple has today pulled iOS 9.3.2 for the 9.7 inch iPad Pro, following reports that users were seeing their iPads bricked after updating to the latest iOS release on Monday. The bug does not affect the larger, 12.9 inch iPad Pro. After updating, users seeing the bug would be prompted to Connect to iTunes on the iPad display. However, aside from an Error 56 debug message, the device could not be restored through iTunes or DFU....

Apple has released iOS 6.1 to iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV users. This public release follows five beta seeds to developers. The update is currently coming through over-the-air. To download the update directly from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, head to Settings, then General, then Software Update. Your device will include installation instructions and release information here. The update includes the following improvements for iOS device users:...

Apple has just released a new download for users on OS X Mavericks to address the recently-discovered “Shellshock” bug. Apple previously noted that that only a few Macs were actually impacted by the bug and that most users were protected by default. The company promised to release an update shortly to address those who had manually configured their computers in a way that left them exposed. For users on older versions of OS X, the Mavericks fix will not work....

Following news of a few new office openings outside of Cupertino lately, Apple has reportedly moved into office space in Lund, Sweden recently as well. The report comes from news agency Rapidus, which confirmed with the building’s owner that Apple is indeed moving in. “Anna Stenkil, from the property owner Vasakronan, confirms that Apple has moved in. − It’s true that they are working here. I cannot tell you anything else, she says to Rapidus....

Apple Pay continues to pick up new banks and credit unions every few weeks — and soon three new countries. These are the latest new entries with banks added in the US, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, France, and Spain. United States Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Chesapeake Bank Citizens National Bank (TX) Classic Bank Dowell Federal Credit Union Embarrass Vermillion Federal Credit Union Farmers Bank and Trust (both KY and TX now) First Bank (MI) First Farmers State Bank First Point Federal Credit Union First State Bank and Trust Houston Police Federal Credit Union incrediblebank Kelly Community Federal Credit Union Magnolia State Bank North Central Bank Ocean Financial Federal Credit Union Oregonians Credit Union Scott and White Employees Credit Union Southern Heritage Bank State Highway Patrol Federal Credit Union (OH) Summit Ridge Credit Union Surrey Bank & Trust The First National Bank of Dennison Trademark Federal Credit Union TruChoice Federal Credit Union Australia...

Despite Kodak filing for bankruptcy and planning to sell its digital camera business, Bloomberg reported that Apple asked permission from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to sue Kodak over patent infringement related to digital cameras, printers, and digital picture frames. Apple will also file a lawsuit in Manhattan with the U.S. District Court and a complaint with the International Trade Commission. If Apple is allowed to continue with the suit, it could request a block on the majority of products Kodak plans to focus on after closing its camera business:...

Apple is releasing the first public beta of iOS 13.4.5 and iPadOS 13.4.5 today. Apple started beta testing this update earlier this month for developers, and released the second developer beta yesterday. [U: Now available] iOS 13.4.5 is focused primarily on bug fixes and performance improvements. The release notes for this update are generic. “This beta version of iOS 13.4.5 contains bug fixes and improvements,” Apple says. One change is that with iOS 13....

After debuting iOS 14.3, watchOS 7.2, and more yesterday, Apple has released iOS 14.3 for HomePod and HomePod mini. iOS 14.3 for Apple’s smart speakers comes with the generic and sparse release notes: “This update includes general performance and stability improvements.” It doesn’t look like this release includes the new handoff experience between HomePod mini and iPhone’s with the U1 chip. But unless Apple pushes back the timeline, we should see it before the end of the year....

What’s New in the iOS 11.3.1 Update and Should You Upgrade? If you replaced your iPhone 8 display recently through a third party using non-genuine or non-OEM parts, you might have gotten a surprise when you updated to iOS 11.3; the touch screen stopped working or did not respond accurately. This was partly due to a chip included in the new iPhones that disables core functionality such as touch when modifications have been made....

One big change for Apple with the unveiling of OS X Yosemite today is Bing web searches in the completely revamped Spotlight feature. Spotlight, which allows users to look up anything locally on their Mac as well as perform web searches, received a redesigned user experience in Yosemite, but it might have also received a switch to Bing from Google search. To be fair, the “web search” feature of spotlight prior to Yosemite actually just defaults to the default search engine in your browser of choice....

Up until now, the closest Apple has come to offering its own iTunes-powered payment system is the ability to store existing credit cards and login information in an iCloud-synced keychain, but the Wall Street Journal reports that the company has much more in store. According to the Journal‘s report, Apple is planning to create a system that would allow users to purchase goods in physical stores through their iTunes accounts using an iPhone....

New banks and credit unions across the US, UK, Australia, Russia, and China have joined Apple’s list of participating partners as part of the second expansion of Apple Pay this month. Check out the latest Apple Pay banks below: In the United States: Anstaff Bank Bank of Milton Bryn Mawr Trust Credit Union ONE EagleBank Farmers & Merchants Union Bank Farmers National Bank First Class American Credit Union First National Bank (PA) First National Bank of Crossett First National Bank of Groton Nascoga Federal Credit Union Notre Dame Federal Credit Union Peach State Federal Credit Union Security Federal Bank State Bank Sutton Bank VacationLand Federal Credit Union Wauna Credit Union Western Federal Credit Union Westmoreland Community Federal Credit Union Russia:...

Update: Apple Pay is also now rolling out in the Czech Republic. Apple Pay is now rolling out to users in Saudi Arabia. The launch was first rumored over the weekend and now users in Saudi Arabia can add compatible cards to Apple Pay on their devices. Thus far, we know that Apple Pay in Saudi Arabia is supported by Al-Rajhi Bank and Riyad Bank. MADA, or The Saudi Payments Networks, has also confirmed that it will support Apple Pay in the country....

Transit support for Apple Pay continues to expand around the country. Starting today, Miami-Dade Transit’s Metrorail service has officially launched contactless payments, including support for Apple Pay. Various Metrorail stations in Miami have been testing Apple Pay support over the last month, but the Department of Transportation and Public Works confirmed today that the feature is now live at all 23 Metrorail stations. The news was first reported by the Miami Herald....