Apple Pay grabs 50% of McDonald’s tap-to-pay transactions, gives retailers hope for future of mobile payments

Apple Pay grabs 50% of McDonald’s tap-to-pay transactions, gives retailers hope for future of mobile payments

Apple Pay has been available in quite a few retail stores since its release more than three weeks ago on October 20, but thus far there's been little concrete indication of its popularity with customers. A new report from The New York Times, however, sheds some light on Apple Pay's early success.

McDonald's, an early Apple Pay partner that accepts the payment system in all of its 14,000 restaurants in the United States, saw Apple Pay accounting for 50 percent of all of its tap-to-pay transactions. At Walgreens, a drugstore chain of more than 8,000 stores, Apple Pay doubled the number of mobile wallet payments being made.

As shared earlier this month, Whole Foods processed 150,000 Apple Pay transactions between October 20 and November 6, which equated to an estimated one percent of all Whole Foods transactions.

Some stores, however, haven't seen as much success with Apple Pay. According to Toys R Us, which has 870 stores in the United States, while there was an increase in mobile payments, it was minor "because customers were still learning about the new technology."

As noted by The New York Times, the interest consumers are expressing in Apple Pay hints at a growing acceptance for mobile payment solutions. Denée Carrington, a Forrester Research analyst attributed Apple Pay's early success to the "strength of the Apple Brand" and the ease of the experience. "I'm not saying it's changing the landscape overnight," she said. "But this has never happened with other mobile wallets."

Along with bolstering mobile wallet usage in retail stores, Apple Pay has also been responsible for increasing consumer interest in the mobile payment arena in general. Google Wallet, for example, saw a surge in usage after the launch of Apple Pay, and Softcard, another mobile payment solution backed by AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile has also seen a growing number of users.

Apple currently has 36 retail partners that accept Apple Pay in their stores, and new partners are signing up on a regular basis as the payments service catches on. Just this week office supply store Staples and grocery chains Winn-Dixie and BI-LO began accepting Apple Pay payments.

AT&T extends $50 credit for iPhone upgrades purchased through Apple Store

AT&T extends $50 credit for iPhone upgrades purchased through Apple Store

According to the terms of the deal, the $50 credit is applicable to current subscribers who buy any new iPhone model from online or brick-and-mortar Apple Stores, sign up for AT&T's Next financing program and keep the line active for at least 45 days. The promotion was first spotted by MacRumors and confirmed by AppleInsider.


The option is not advertised on Apple's website, but the following fine print does appear when selecting AT&T's Next plan to upgrade an existing line with an iPhone 5s, 5c, 6 or 6 Plus through the Online Apple Store:


Introduced last year, AT&T Next is a specialized payment plan that allows customers to take receipt of a new handset or tablet with zero down, spreading the regular retail price across 20, 24 or 30 monthly installments. Depending on the program, customers can trade in their handset for a new one after 12, 18 or 24 months.

As noted above, the promotion officially ends on Dec. 31, but AT&T reserves the right to discontinue the deal at any time.

Staples Begins Accepting Apple Pay in Retail Stores

Staples Begins Accepting Apple Pay in Retail Stores

Staples has been an eager Apple Pay partner, initially promising support for the service back in September. The Staples iOS app has included Apple Pay support since it first launched on October 20, and when Staples announced Apple Pay integration, it said that in-store availability would be rolling out "within a few weeks."

Apple first teamed up with Staples last year, with the two striking a deal that saw Staples selling Apple products in its U.S. stores for the first time beginning in September. Since then, Staples has gone on to heavily promote Apple products both online and in stores, offering frequent deals.

With the addition of Staples, Apple Pay now has 34 retail partners, including competing office supply store Office Depot and other major retailers like Macy's, Disney, Foot Locker, Petco, Walgreens, and Toys R Us. Apple Pay is also accepted in any store that supports NFC contactless payments.

Retailers have largely been silent on the popularity of Apple Pay during its first month of availability, but Whole Foods' chief information officer told The Wall Street Journal that the company had processed 150,000 Apple Pay transactions in the 17 days following its October 20 debut. That equates to an estimated one percent of all Whole Foods transactions.

12.9-Inch 'iPad Pro' Production Rumored for Q2 2015 Amid Manufacturing Difficulties

12.9-Inch 'iPad Pro' Production Rumored for Q2 2015 Amid Manufacturing Difficulties

Apple's 12.9-inch "iPad Pro" may not enter mass production until the second quarter of 2015, according to new predictions from often-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He believes that the iPad Pro will use an oxide panel to achieve a "high resolution, quick response, and high color saturation," and that the time needed for component yield and assembly to improve will push back production until 2Q 2015.

Earlier this year, a report from Bloomberg suggested the iPad Pro might be released in early 2015, but an October report from The Wall Street Journal indicated Apple had delayed its planned December mass production of the tablet in order to focus its attention on producing more iPhone 6 Plus units, leaving a potential iPad Pro release date up in the air.

the iPad Pro aside from its 12.2 to 12.9-inch display size, which dwarfs the smaller 9.7-inch iPad Air 2 and the 7.9-inch iPad mini 3. Rumors have also suggested that it will offer the same A8X processor introduced with the iPad Air 2 along with an ultra high resolution display and a 7mm-thick form factor that's similar to existing iPads.

Kuo's report also focuses on forecasting iPad shipments, which he believes will fall 54.5 percent quarter over quarter to just 9.8 million units during the first calendar quarter of 2015. He points towards the lack of new applications and a saturation of the tablet market as the basis for his prediction

Kuo's estimate is rather low, considering Apple sold 16.35 million million iPads during the first calendar quarter of 2014, but iPad sales have been down for the past three quarters in a row. During the fourth fiscal quarter of 2014, Apple sold 12.3 million iPads, down from 14.1 million units in 2013.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the drop in iPad sales is just a "speed bump" that the company will overcome.

Fitbit's activity trackers vanish from Apple's online store

Fitbit's activity trackers vanish from Apple's online store

Apple pulling Fitbit activity trackers from its stores appear to have been well-founded. SlashGear and others have noticed that Fitbit's gear is no longer available from Apple's online store; search for "Fitbit" and you'll come up empty.. We've reached out to Apple for more details of what's going on, although many have suggested that the forced exit is due to Fitbit's refusal to share tracking data with iOS 8's Health app.

Apple typically sells accessories that are showcases for its products, and it might not want to offer a less-than-complete fitness experience in its shops -- even if you'd likely be happy in the long run. The disappearance is unfortunate if you were hoping to pick up a Fitbit Charge alongside that new iPhone, but there will still be plenty of other outlets willing to take your cash.

Raspberry Pi's new computer is somehow even smaller and cheaper

Raspberry Pi's new computer is somehow even smaller and cheaper 

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is today introducing the Model A+, a revamped version of its low-end Model A board priced at just $20 (£20 in the UK). While the processor and RAM -- a Broadcom BCM2835 SoC and 256MB, to be specific -- remain the same as its predecessor, the new model is far smaller at just 65mm (2.6 inches) in length versus the old model's 86mm (3.4 inches). It also draws less power and has improved audio circuitry.

The two other changes are directly taken from the higher-end Model B+. The Model A+ replaces the A's SD Card storage with MicroSD, and adds another 14 GPIO (General-purpose input-output) pins, bringing the total up to 40. This increase facilitates compatibility with the add-on boards introduced back in July. The Model A+ is available immediately in both the US and the UK, and while the Pi might not necessarily need to be any smaller, cutting down on size and price will definitely help get the foundation's work into more peoples' hands.

Apple Launches Web Tool to Deregister Phone Numbers from iMessage

Apple Launches Web Tool to Deregister Phone Numbers from iMessage

Apple today released a new web tool for users to deregister their phone number from iMessage in the event they switched to a non-Apple device. To deregister a phone number from iMessage, users simply enter their phone number in Apple's web tool, receive a free text message containing a code, and submit the code to complete the process. Users who still have their original iPhone can also transfer their SIM card back to the device and go to Settings -> Messages to turn iMessage off. 

Users switching from an iPhone to another device were often unable to receive SMS messages from another iPhone due to their phone number still being linked to iMessage. These specific errors with iMessage have been a well-known issue since 2011, which is when the messaging service debuted with iOS 5. They were also made even more apparent this past May, where a server glitch caused widespread message delivery problems. Apple was even sued over the matter in a California court, although the company claimed that it was aware of the issue and could not provide a fix. 

Apple's web tool for deregistering phone numbers from iMessage is available now

Pangu team releases iOS 8 jailbreak tool for OS X

Pangu team releases iOS 8 jailbreak tool for OS X

The Pangu team has released its iOS 8 jailbreak tool for Mac. This will provide a one-click jailbreak solution for anyone without a Windows computer. Previously the tool was only available for Windows, which could also be used within a virtual machine on OS X, but now it’s native.

Actually This is obviously an ideal situation for anyone that owns a Mac. This release wasn’t a huge surprise as the Pangu team confirmed that it was in the works, but only mentioned that it “may come out in couple of days.” Recently the Window’s version of the tool was updated to version 1.2.1 and bundled with Cydia 1.1.16 which addressed boot loop issues and that were present after a backup/restore.

We don’t expect to see any problems with the OS X release of Pangu, but make sure that you’ve backed up your iOS 8 device prior to jailbreaking. If you’re on the fence about jailbreaking this time around, Cydia’s creator Saurik has given Pangu his official seal of approval and mentioned that things seem to be “stable enough.”

Jailbreaking will open a door of opportunities and new features for iOS 8, but keep in mind that it technically voids your warranty and Apple will be unable to service a jailbroken device. The Pangu jailbreak tool for OS X

can be downloaded here. pangu.io

OS X Yosemite How-to: Enable Dark Mode

OS X Yosemite How-to: Enable Dark Mode

New in OS X Yosemite is Dark Mode. Dark Mode allows for further customization of the appearance of the Mac. When enabling Dark Mode, it turns the translucent dock and menu bar from light grey and switches it to black. In this how-to I will discuss how to enable Dark Mode, the limitations of Dark Mode and a way to overcome the limitations of Dark Mode.

To enable Dark Mode, open up System Preferences

Then you are going to select General, all the way in the upper left hand corner. Then you are going to check off Use dark menu bar and Dock.

That is how you enable Dark Mode. Notice how the menu bar and dock change from the translucent light grey to black. The menu bar is still fully accessible, by having the background be black with white text.

Dark Mode puts less strain on the eyes and is easier on them, especially when using a computer in a room with low lighting conditions. However, by default, there is no method to have Dark Mode be turned on automatically based on the time of day.  F.lux is a free third party app that does just that. It automatically switches between the translucent grey menu bar and dock, to Dark Mode based on sunrise and sunset. It comes with a lot of different settings to adjust how your screen is being used throughout the course of the day. It changes the color on your screen and warms it up according to the type of light you’re using and time of day. F.lux is worth checking out if your eyes are sensitive to light.

Paper by FiftyThree updated with Adobe Creative Cloud integration, push notifications and other improvements

The popular iPad drawing and sketching app Paper by FiftyThree has been updated with Adobe Creative Cloud integration, push notifications and sharing directly from Mix, a camera view during account creation, smoother shadows and general improvements for iOS 8. The updated version of Paper by FiftyThree is available now on the App Store.

Adobe Creative Cloud integration is singlehandedly the biggest part of this update to Paper, enabling users to use the share menu to export drawings to Adobe Creative Cloud storage and send Paper sketches directly to Photoshop and Illustrator. Meanwhile, push notifications and new sharing functionality will help improve the Mix community.

Paper by FiftyThree provides a simple way for iPad users to express their creative side without knowing how to draw. The app can be used for everything from sketching out a new drawing or product design to remodelling the kitchen or outlining a great business plan. Paper includes five beautiful tools to use: Sketch, Write, Draw, Outline and Color.

Paper by FiftyThree is free on the App Store for iPad.

 New in Version 2.1.0

This version is packed with improvements, including:

- Push notifications: Mix is now easier on your inbox.
– Creative Cloud Integration: use the share menu to export drawings to Adobe Creative Cloud storage and send Paper sketches directly to Photoshop and Illustrator.
– Camera view in account creation: smile! You can now get a live camera view while you’re creating your account.
– Share freely: now you can share directly from Mix.

Not to mention:

- Smoother shadows: hopefully this won’t get overshadowed (heh) by the other features. They’re really nice now.
– General iOS 8 improvements everywhere you look.

Apple-Developed Wireless Beats Solo2 Headphones - FCC Document Details

The first Beats product to be released under Apple's guidance has been unveiled in documents recently submitted to the FCC, suggesting Apple will soon be releasing a pair of Beats Solo2 headphones that include wireless Bluetooth functionality.

As seen in diagrams, the design of the new wireless Solo2 headphones is nearly identical to Beats' existing Solo2 line. The Solo2 headphones are the company's newest product, released in May, just a day after Apple's Beats acquisition became official.

The Beats Solo2 headphones will contain Bluetooth and BLE radios, allowing them to function wirelessly. Beats currently offers a wireless version of its more expensive Studio headphones, but its Solo2 line is somewhat more affordable. The company's current non-wireless Studio headphones retail for $300 while the wireless version retails for $379, suggesting Solo2 wireless headphones could sell for approximately $279 if it uses the same markup.

At $3 billion, Apple's Beats acquisition is its largest in history, and Beats' line of successful headphones was said to be one of the driving factors behind the purchase. Beats' aggressive marketing tactics and clever advertising campaigns have skyrocketed its headphones to popularity, and they are very popular with athletes and the younger demographic. A survey released shortly after the acquisition was finalized suggested that a large percentage of students believed Beats would make Apple more "cool."

The new Solo2 wireless headphones remain under FCC review for the time being and a potential release date is unknown.