Apple Retail Store to Embrace Passbook for In-Store Payments
Apple Retail Store customers will soon be able to pay for product in-store using the new Passbook feature of iOS 6, according to a report from 9to5Mac. It appears to be an expansion of the self-checkout option that was added to the Apple Store app last year.
While Apple’s EasyPay software should be ready for Passbook this month, some sources noted that the current EasyPay hardware, at least at some retail stores, may not be capable of scanning iOS device displays. Presumably, Apple has a solution for this in the works.
Also, Apple’s plans for rolling out the consumer-facing Apple Store app update to support Passbook-based Apple Store cards is currently unclear. But with Apple preparing to seed software to its stores that interacts with Passbook on customer iPhones and iPod touches, we believe that the feature is close to being a rolled out.
It is likely, though not confirmed, that customers will now be able to pay for Macs and iPads in-store with their iTunes account payment information. This would be a change from the current system where users can only purchase select accessories using the EasyPay self-checkout system within the Apple Store app.
This past June, Apple reported having 400 million active accounts in iTunes with credit cards attached. It's easy to see how Passbook could be expanded from its current feature set to include payments to third party providers in competition with Square and other such services.
Popular Stories
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of May 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X ...
The popular messaging app WhatsApp has teased a long-awaited iPad app, which would be offered alongside its existing iPhone and Mac apps.
The official WhatsApp account on X today reacted with an eyes emoji to a post saying that WhatsApp should release an iPad app. This could be a hint that Meta is gearing up to release WhatsApp for iPad, which has already been available for beta testing via...
WWDC 2025 is just two weeks away as of today, with Apple's opening keynote scheduled for Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time.
During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, watchOS 12, tvOS 19, visionOS 3, and other software updates, along with new Apple Intelligence features. In some years, there are also hardware announcements at WWDC, but there are no...
Apple has scrapped some of the features that it had planned for its long-rumored smart home hub device, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"I'm told that Apple has pulled some bolder features from the device that could reappear in subsequent models," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter this week. However, he did not reveal any of the specific features that were pulled.
Apple made...
WWDC is coming up quickly with a number of software announcements in store, but we're also looking further ahead to hardware launches like the iPhone 17 lineup and even Apple's smart glasses project.
This week also saw big news with former Apple design guru Jony Ive joining forces with OpenAI to build future AI-driven devices, while Fortnite returned to the U.S. App Store for the first time...
Apple recently raised prices for its iCloud+ plans in Brazil, Chile, and Peru, according to a support document updated last Thursday.
The table below outlines the price changes in each country.
Country
Old Prices
New Prices
Brazil
50GB: R$ 4.90
200GB: R$ 14.90
2TB: R$ 49.90
6TB: R$ 149.90
12TB: R$ 299.90
50GB: R$ ...
Apple is reportedly preparing to implement significant iPhone hardware redesigns each year for the next three generations.
According leaks from the Chinese supply chain disclosed by Weibo user "Digital Chat Station," Apple plans to carry out a series of phased industrial design changes affecting different parts of the iPhone across three consecutive years: 2025, 2026, and 2027. The changes...
Apple had plans to offer a Starlink-like satellite home internet service in collaboration with Boeing, The Information reports.
Starting in 2015, Apple held discussions with Boeing about "Project Eagle," a plan to launch a service to provide wireless internet services to iPhones and homes. The companies would have launched thousands of satellites into orbit around the Earth to beam internet...
