Apple in February unveiled a new "Tap to Pay on iPhone" feature that will allow compatible iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, with no additional hardware required.
Apple began testing the feature at its Apple Park Visitor Center earlier this month, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has tweeted that the feature will begin rolling out to Apple Stores across the United States starting today, allowing customers to try it out. The feature might not be available at every Apple Store immediately.
Apple said the feature would launch in the U.S. later this year, but the company has yet to share a specific launch timeframe. The feature will allow small businesses and merchants to accept contactless payments through supported iOS apps using an iPhone XS or newer. At checkout, the merchant will simply prompt the customer to hold their own iPhone or Apple Watch, contactless credit or debit card, or other digital wallet near the merchant's iPhone, and the payment will be securely completed using NFC technology.
Currently, merchants that accept contactless payments on an iPhone must rely on additional hardware like the Square Reader, which comes in various models that work wirelessly or connect to an iPhone's Lightning connector or headphone jack.
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
CarPlay Ultra...
As we wait for WWDC to kick off next Monday, Apple today announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, recognizing apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.
The 2025 Apple Design Award winners are listed below, with one app and one game selected per category:
Delight and Fun - CapWords (App) and Balatro (Game)
Innovation - Play (App) and PBJ -...
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:07 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the AirPods Max 2 received more attention, Apple also released a second pair of headphones last month: Nike Powerbeats Pro 2.
Nike Powerbeats Pro 2 are the same as the regular Powerbeats Pro 2, except they have a two-tone design consisting of black and Nike's signature Volt neon green-yellow color. The headphones were released on March 20 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., and a ...
Apple on Thursday announced that it will be permanently closing three of its retail stores in the U.S. in June, and one of them was unionized.
Apple Towson Town Center in Maryland
Apple Towson Town Center in Towson, Maryland is one of the three stores being shuttered, with no replacement store planned. The staff at this location became Apple's first retail employees in the U.S. to unionize in ...
Apple today announced it will be permanently closing three retail stores in the U.S. in June, including Apple Trumbull in Trumbull, Connecticut, Apple North County in Escondido, California, and Apple Towson Town Center in Towson, Maryland.
Apple Towson Town Center in Maryland
Apple issued the following statement to MacRumors:At Apple, we are constantly striving to deliver exceptional service...
Wednesday April 8, 2026 2:56 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, California will be temporarily closed for renovations starting the evening of Saturday, April 11.
Apple Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, California
The store will reopen in the fall, according to a notice on Apple's website spotted by MacRumors reader Kate. No specific date was provided, but Apple will likely aim to resume business ahead of...
So square devices and similar are now dead? Reminds me of when Google Maps/directions was released free. That basically killed the dedicated GPS device market. Prior to google, map companies were charging $20-$30 a month for their directions app
I thought I read a while back it would require a third party like Square to enable the payment acceptance to work. I dont think its exactly direct payment but instead uses the NFC service via an app to accept on the phone. It would eliminate external hardware but not necessarily a company like Square who would still be there to process. Maybe I am mistaken?
Five minutes later EU bureaucrats now demanding Apple open this to everyone.
This is a great technology. I see people at garage sales and farmers market using square. This is another good option.
Nah, they’ll demand that Apple get rid of it because it’s “anti-competitive.” Even though Apple makes no money from it and it’s beneficial for consumers.
I'm just excited for this to roll out to the third party payment services, and then later (a year later maybe to avoid all the hungry Eurocrats) open it up to using Apple Pay peer-to-peer without needing a third party app. Just baked into iOS 17 or something.
So square devices and similar are now dead? Reminds me of when Google Maps/directions was released free. That basically killed the dedicated GPS device market. Prior to google, map companies were charging $20-$30 a month for their directions app
