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Apple Pay now supports dual-network debit cards in Australia. This enables users to avoid credit card fees at merchants that support eftpos (electronic funds transfer) at point of sale. For now, this feature only applies to Australia where dual-network cards are quite common. The default Visa payment often sees customers incurring fees that they could otherwise avoid using physical cards. The Choose Payment Option feature enables an Apple Pay user to select at time of purchase whether they want to use Visa or eftpos on their dual network cards....

Reuters reports that Apple is reducing orders from Samsung for internal iPhone 5 components. While Samsung is said to still supply some components for the next-generation Apple smartphone, Apple is still trying to lessen its reliance on the South Korean technology firm. It seems that Apple’s latest supply chain move is an effort to widen its supply chain as the Reuters report denies that the move is not in response to Apple and Samsung’s global patent disputes....

Following up on this morning’s release of iOS 7 beta 2 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to developers, Apple has released the second Developer Preview of OS X 10.9 Mavericks. The new seed is available as a Software Update via the Mac App Store. The build number is 13A497d. This compares to Preview 1’s version number of 13A476u. As always, if you find something new, you can reach us at tips@9to5mac....

Apple has released a new version of its beta software distribution app TestFlight. The new version includes a new design that fits in with iOS 11 (also just released) including a new app icon, 3D Touch features, and more. A new version of Swift Playgrounds for iPad is also now available. Here’s what’s new in TestFlight: What’s New in Version 2.0.0 This update includes a redesigned user interface for iOS 11 The app list displays apps currently being tested, previously tested apps (including expired and removed apps), and apps that are incompatible for the device being used A new welcome screen appears when opening the TestFlight for the first time after updating You can now use 3D Touch on the TestFlight app icon to redeem a code or update all apps Split view is supported And here’s the latest for Swift Playgrounds:...

Apple is apparently increasing production orders for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which will be officially unveiled at the company’s fall media event on Wednesday September 7, according to a new report by Digitimes. Although Digitimes makes often unreliable claims, it is more accurate with supply chain reporting like this one. The report says Apple has boosted production for iPhone 7 components by about 10%. A reason for the spike in production is not given but it implies Apple is more confident about iPhone 7 sales this year than it was initially....

Apple is seemingly getting out of the router accessory business, ‘disbanding’ the division inside the company according to Bloomberg. This means Apple will no longer develop its $99 AirPort Express, $199 AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule products. The report says Apple is reallocating employees to focus on its core consumer products that generate the vast majority of its revenue. The newest AirPort devices are more than three years old, so the future of the products has been in doubt for a while....

As rumored, Apple Pay has indeed launched today in Austria. The supporting banks are Erste Sparkasse and N26, across Maestro, Mastercard, and Visa debit and credit cards. If you meet this criteria, open the Wallet app on your iPhone and press the Add button to start setting up Apple Pay. You may need to restart your phone to get the Wallet app to refresh. Apple has announced that additional Austrian Apple Pay partners are ‘coming soon’, including Bank Austria, Boon, Edenred, Revolut, and VIMPay....

Apple has quietly given the front end of its jobs site a facelift adding new employee testimonials and updated product shots. The refreshed layout matches the style of other new pages throughout Apple’s site with the landing page carrying this message: “Do your life’s best work here. With the whole world watching.” Notably, the updated jobs site now includes product shots of the upcoming Apple Watch, specifically an aluminum sport model with a green band and the sensors showing, as well as student in class wearing now Apple-owned Beats by Dr Dre headphones…...

Apple has today updated its News Publisher with a fresh design across the iCloud based media manager. The refresh brings a totally redesigned dashboard, bolder fonts, and an improved UI. At the top of the new design users will see Articles, Analytics, and Settings. Each with a clean sidebar style list on the left. The most prominent change many will notice will be the redesigned dashboard, which features a grid style layout of the various analytics....

Apple has removed around 25,000 illegal gambling apps from its Chinese app store following complaints by state-controlled media. Chinese media last month accused Apple of failing to do enough to block three three types of illegal content from its platforms … Apple was said to permit gambling, pornography and spam for counterfeit goods in is App Store and on its Messaging platform. Reuters reports that Apple has now taken action on the first of these....

Apple has renewed its Carpool Karaoke original series for a third season, according to a report from Variety. Apple’s Carpool Karaoke series is available to Apple Music subscribers and is a separate initiative from Apple TV+. Carpool Karaoke is a spin-off of James Corden’s popular segment from The Late Late Show on CBS. While reviews have been mixed, the star-studded lineup of the segment has proven to be popular, and it even won an Emmy last year....

As planned, Apple today announced its earnings results for the Q3 2013 quarter. Apple reported revenues for Q3 of $35.3 billion, which is within Apple’s estimates for the quarter of between $33.5 billion and $35.5 billion. This compares to $35 billion in revenues in the year-ago Q3. The Company sold 31.2 million iPhones, a record for the June quarter, compared to 26 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 14....

With Apple Pay continuing its ongoing rollout across U.S. banks and credit unions, Apple’s mobile payment service has added over 30 new partners. Here is the full list of new Apple Pay banks: Anderson Brothers Bank, Bank & Trust Company, Bank of Labor, Bank of Yazoo, BankWest, Brown County State Bank, Busey Bank, Campbell & Fetter Bank, Central Bank of Oklahoma, Collinsville Savings Society, Core Bank, Covantage Credit Union, Diversified Members Credit Union, Farmington Bank, Florida Parishes Bank, Fort Worth Community Credit Union, Great Midwest Bank, Horizon Bank (not Horizon Bank, N....

Apple currently plans to expand its retail store presence to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil early next year, according to information provided by a source. This person says that Apple is targeting a store opening between February and March 2014, but delays due to construction and staffing are always possible. Approximately one year ago, Apple confirmed to various media outlets in Brazil that it is planning to open a store in the country....

Michael Tchao joined Apple on Monday as Vice President of Product Marketing. He will report to Phil Schiller, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing. This is a much different role than that which he had 15 years ago during his first stint at Apple. You see, Mr. Tchao was one of the guys who convinced then-Apple CEO John Scully of releasing the groundbreaking but ultimately flawed Newton tablet back in the early 90’s....

The update follows version 10.3.2, released a couple months ago. Looking through the contents page for iOS 10.3.3, this is definitely a bug fix and security focused release; one you will definitely want to grab immediately. Numerous exploits have been closed, which include: arbitrary code execution, buffer overflows, remote attacks and several other low-level issues. Editor’s note: It took me about 20 minutes to download and install iOS 10.3.3. Not only that, I seemed to have gained back about half a gigabyte of storage space afterward....

[Update: The fifth public beta for macOS 10.13.4 is now available in addition to the developer beta.] Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 5 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below. Beta 1 New Privacy explainer included in macOS 32-bit app warning starting now New ‘Ink Cloud’ wallpaper on all Macs, previously iMac Pro only Messages in the Cloud is opt-in on High Sierra, requires checking a box Beta 2-3 iBooks Mac app renamed Books to match iOS (iBooks Author is a Mac App Store app so it likely won’t change until the beta cycle ends ) Refresh for updates....

Apple is rolling out the fifth watchOS 3.2 beta for developer testing on Apple Watch. watchOS 3.2 beta includes Theater Mode which disables raise-to-wake and mutes alerts. Apple is also introducing SiriKit to Apple Watch with watchOS 3.2 beta. SiriKit lets developers integrate their apps with Siri for select uses. Prior to watchOS 3.2 beta, SiriKit was limited to iOS apps. As for Theater Mode, this is how Apple describes the new feature:...

You’ll be offered the opportunity to checkout with Apple Pay in many smaller online stores as ecommerce service Weebly has announced integration for the payment service. Weebly powers more than 45 million online businesses worldwide, and notes that more than 40% of transactions take place on a mobile device … The company says that up to a quarter of people abandon their carts before checkout due to an overly complex process, and it hopes that enabling Apple Pay will reduce this figure....

In honor of its Earth Day celebrations, Apple has released a new video on its YouTube page reemphasizing its goal that each of its products will be carbon neutral by 2030. In the very Apple-like video, the company reminds customers that its offices are already 100% carbon neutral, but Apple wants to do more with every iPhone, iPad, Watch, and Mac with 100% recycled or renewable materials. The company says it’s finding new ways to extract aluminum, steel, tin, tungsten, plastic from recycled products, and it’s also growing enough trees and recycling enough paper to sustain all of its packaging....