Seth Weintraub

We reported in May that Apple was expected to launch an iPhone payments system with the iPhone 6 and iOS 8.

Apple wants to replace yet another daily tool with your iPhone: your wallet. Executives from the Cupertino-based technology company have begun discussions with directors from retail store chains about a mobile payments service, according to a source with direct knowledge of the talks. Previous reports indicated that Apple is exploring new payments services through discussions with executives from existing payments companies. These latest mobile payments-related discussions, which have occurred with retail store brands such as those that sell luxury clothing and premium goods, have taken place over the past couple of months, according to the source. The source declined to be named and requested that the identities of the companies talking to Apple not be published.

Subsequent reports echoed that same Information including naming Visa as a partner.  Re/code today reports that Apple has signed up a major American financial institution to work on its iPhone wallet program.

Apple has reached an agreement with American Express to work together on its new iPhone payments system, according to sources familiar with the talks. American Express is one of several partners Apple will need to sign up before it can launch its new payments plan, which sources say it plans to announce at its September 9 product event.

Apple’s new payments system is expected to let iPhone 6 owners use their phone in place of a credit card or cash to pay for goods in brick-and-mortar stores. Customers will present their phones at the checkout counter of partnering retailers to transmit payment information to complete a purchase. It’s not clear which retailers have signed on to accept such payments.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Re/code via sources unknown says today that Apple has been considering the $400 price point for its wearable, expected to be announced on September 9th and available for sale in 2015.

Apple executives have discussed charging around $400 for the company’s new wearable device. Pricing has yet to be finalized for the forthcoming product, which is expected to begin shipping next year.  Sources say consumers should expect a range of prices for different models including lower priced versions.

The price positioning is reminiscent of Apple’s latest product launch, the iPad, in which price points of $1,000 were batted around before Steve Jobs took the stage and conjured up the jaw-dropping $499 starting price point.

But without knowing about the wearable product, how can we judge the price point…
Expand
Expanding
Close

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s3-4kkMpKk&feature=youtu.be]

https://twitter.com/thereaibanksy/status/505423125203652610

We’re 2 short weeks away from Apple’s iPhone 6 announcement and that of course means it is almost time to trade in your current but now outdated tiny iPhone 3/4/5/s/c. Giving your non-sapphire 4-incher to a friend or relative? That’s nice of you but for those in the US who prefer cold hard cash, there are lots of great options out there.

In years past, we’ve put together roundups (2013, 2012) that include 12 different options but things change pretty quickly so we wait right until launch week to update ours.  This year, Statista compared the major US trade in options out there two weeks ahead of time to find the best pricing.

The TL;DR is that Amazon gives you the most credit for an iPhone across all carriers and models and we’ve had good success here using Amazon. Additionally, Amazon credit for most of us is almost as good as cash (compared to say Best Buy where we might not be making another electronics purchase in the near future). That said, Amazon doesn’t offer the iPhone directly as a purchase and many folks will prefer to use the credit to directly buy their next iPhone.

As for cash money options, Glyde and NextWorth seem to be the winners with Gazelle bringing up the rear in most cases (Gazelle is offering a price lock which might be driving down their current offer).

Stay tuned for our launch day guide and see results for all carriers as of yesterday below:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Update: Apple says services have been restored shortly after 3 pm.

Readers have been reporting and now Apple has confirmed that many iCloud services are down. The problems began just after 1 PM ET today and appear to run the gamut of Apple’s Cloud services.

Thanks: Jake, Dom, Mike and everyone else who sent this in! 

GeekBar’s Weibo account just posted (via G4Games) schematics which appear to show an iPhone 6 model with 128GB of NAND Flash storage. The images, above and another below, show that Apple may finally blow out the storage on the iPhone and bring it in line with the iPad Air. It also presents the question of whether or not Apple will create another price tier or if they will remove one of the middle or bottom tiers.

The image below shows that the NAND storage in this particular schematic are provided by Toshiba and that Hynix and SanDisk are providing storage for other models which are listed at 16GB and 64GB.

Also, earlier reports have claimed that Apple might offer some premium features on the bigger 5.5-inch iPhone 6, which could get exclusives like more storage. We’ll find out all of the answers on 9/9.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Tesla Motors, known for changing the automobile industry with its innovative electric cars, will update its Model S firmware in the coming months to allow owners to start and drive the Model S with only an iPhone. While it isn’t yet exactly certain how this will work, there is speculation that it will involve Touch ID and may coincide with the launch of iOS 8 next month. The above screenshot of Version 6 is said to be in late beta stages and being finalized for full rollout now.

Tesla’s iPhone app won our 2013 app of the year and the ability to start the car and drive it would continue down that same innovative road.  Other systems for starting a car and driving it from a mobile phone already exist for 3rd parties like Viper and others.

Tesla has been busy snapping up Apple employees over the past year. Only weeks after poaching Apple Mac Hardware Vice President Doug Field to run Vehicle Design, Tesla snapped up Director of Manufacturing technology Rich Heley. Then security researcher Kristin Paget joined in February. Also, much of Tesla’s UI design team comes from Apple.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was also spotted at Apple last year and while speculation was that Apple was considering a buyout (shot down) or becoming an investor in Tesla’s battery Gigafactory, perhaps Musk was simply looking to better integrate the iPhone with his cars.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Parallels Desktop has been with the Mac almost as long as it has run on Intel hardware.

Today, the company announced the 10th major release of its industry-leading virtualization software for Macintosh and mobile. It has more of what makes Parallels so special: Performance, integration and features.

Parallels has an important place in Apple history because it allowed many people who needed a few Windows applications over the last decade to buy and enjoy the Mac OS. In effect, it helped deal with Microsoft’s monopoly on software in the desktop era.

For many people that continues today. Microsoft still makes its Office suite a little bit handicapped on the Mac. Gamers know that to get a wider variety of games you need to run Windows. Developers need different environments, browsers and OSes to test their software on. And, probably most painful, many companies still require Windows to run proprietary apps or connect to antiquated network servers.

Speaking of Windows, Microsoft has made it harder for Parallels to integrate the Windows installation so you’ll have to do it yourself from with a Optical media or a USB port.  In v9 of Parallels, you could buy the image from Microsoft and then install from an image in a matter of minutes.

The new Parallels 10 offers the following performance improvements:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Although we’ve covered the gamut of portable Bluetooth speakers here at 9to5Mac, we typically recommend higher-end products like the Bose Soundlink Mini ($199), JBL Charge ($138) or Ultimate Ears Mini/Boom ($80/$179). It’s usually not worth cheaping out on Bluetooth speakers (unless you are looking for niche products like wearables) because the sound quality degrades heavily once you drop below the top tier. Sadly, today’s entrant into the Bluetooth speaker cage-match lot isn’t going to compete with any of the $100+speakers above. But I have to say, the Lumsing Prophet isn’t bad at all, especially if you aren’t listening to bass-heavy tracks. And, the freaky part is it only costs $20 bucks after coupon code PROPHET0 (expires 8/13) at Amazon which makes it an absolute steal…
Expand
Expanding
Close

See that little $190 daughter card up there^? It houses 240GB of Transcend SSD and it could replace the 64GB or 128GB SSD that came in your MacBook Air in as little as 5 minutes. Even better, Transcend just released larger versions in 480GB and 960GB sizes to blow your SATA III MacBook Air or Pro into new worlds of space. Keep in mind these are SATA-based SSDs and Apple’s latest round of MacBook Pro/Airs came with speedier PCIe SSDs so you can’t use these on Apple’s late 2013/2014 models (see bottom of the article for compatibility list).

I got my hands on a demo unit and took it for a test drive…

Expand
Expanding
Close

[tweet https://twitter.com/darth/status/483328206980673539]

Apple is out in full force including CEO Tim Cook for the Pride Parade in San Francisco today. Apple’s CEO hasn’t ever been ambiguous about his support for LGBT issues and he was joined by Apple Environment Director Lisa Jackson and what looks like thousands of other Apple employees on Market St. in San Francisco today.  Update: Reuters reported that:

In an unusual step for the sometimes secretive Apple, the company has spoken out about its support for the Pride festival. To help attendees navigate the packed event, the company set up a dedicated LGBT station on iTunes Radio and featured several apps on its App Store, including the Find My Friends app. Company employees also handed out iTunes gift cards to bystanders.

“Apple believes equality and diversity make us stronger, and we’re proud to support our employees and their friends and families in this weekend’s celebration,” Apple spokeswoman Michaela Wilkinson said.

Employees are also handing out $1 iTunes gift cards in celebration.  A ton of Tweets and Instagrams are below and you can follow with hashtags #pride, #ApplePride and #SFPride:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Let’s keep it real here folks. Apple’s iPhones and iPads have amazing battery life but it is also fairly easy to kill the battery with a few hours of heavy use. That includes gaming, tethering, watching videos and just plain old-fashioned “usage”. Since Apple (thankfully) doesn’t have a removeable battery, the best way to extend your devices’ useful power life is with a portable USB battery. Normally I’d recommend a $10 Lipstick form factor flashlight pack but you only get a single extra charge with something like this. For multiple charges and/or multiple devices, you are going to need something a little burlier.

Two of the better big chargers I’ve been using are the Lumsing 10400mAh Harmonica Style Portable Power Bank External Battery Pack Backup Charger (above, $25) and the monster RAVPower Xtreme 23000mAh Multi-Voltage 3-Port Portable External Battery Charger (below, $100).

Let’s take a closer look:

Expand
Expanding
Close

From 9to5Toys.com Specials…

Update: The price has risen to almost $10, still time to get in early…

Stacksocial is offering an impressive array of apps at a “name your own price” starting at just over $1 and growing quickly (so get in quick!).

One of our favorite calendar apps, Fantastical from Flexibits ($20) headlines the group this time around with 10 solid apps total:

Some proceeds from the bundle go to charity of your choice and high bidders are entered to win a free MacBook Air.

Again, for $10 a buck or two, this is a no brainer. Get there soon, the prices rise the longer you wait. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

This seems a little unfair, no?  

It is always fun when we get celebrity Apple tips, but those usually revolve around Samsung endorsers using an iPhone. Today we received something a little more interesting.

An Apple tipster sent in an image of Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant with his wife Vanessa today on Apple’s Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, California. The pair met with Jony Ive’s team according to the tipster and the scuttlebutt is that the meeting centered around upcoming products. Apple’s campus is clearly recognizable in the background of the photo and the couple can be seen waiting for food. We can’t verify the topic of conversation with Ive but the picture is embedded with a geotag that confirms the photo was taken with an iPhone on Apple’s campus. Kobe’s watch matches a previous publicly available image you can see in the inset…

Expand
Expanding
Close