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Category: Apple Watch

  • Walmart explains why it hasn’t accepted Apple Pay, and other NFC technologies within the U.S.

    Walmart explains why it hasn’t accepted Apple Pay, and other NFC technologies within the U.S.

    If you have ever wondered why, after all these years, Walmart still refuses to accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at any of its 4,600+ stores in the U.S., a spokesperson has finally offered an explanation.

    A spokesperson for Walmart on Thursday informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient payment technologies available in the Walmart app, including Walmart Pay and Mobile Scan & Go.

    The Walmart Pay app allows users to scan a QR code displayed at checkout to pay for their purchases via a payment card store in their Walmart app. Scan & Go allows Walmart+ members to scan barcodes on items while they shop, rather than having to sc

    The spokesperson offered the following comment:

    “We do not accept NFC and instead have implemented convenient solutions, such as Walmart Pay, that provide our customers easy, touchless payments on any smartphone. We have also invested in innovative technologies that go beyond payments, such as Scan & Go, which allow Sam’s Club and Walmart+ members to bypass the checkout altogether, providing a truly touchless shopping experience.”

    Apple Pay launched over 10 years ago and has been accepted at over 90 percent of U.S. retailers as of 2022, per Apple. Other major Apple Pay holdouts in the U.S. have reversed course and started accepting it over the past few years, including The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kroger, and Texas grocery store chain H-E-B, leaving Walmart as one of the country’s only major retailers not to accept Apple Pay.

    Walmart has accepted Apple Pay in Canada since 2020.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors

  • Mac users who lost equipment in the LA fires may have a better chance of replacing their hardware through insurance policies than AppleCare plans

    Mac users who lost equipment in the LA fires may have a better chance of replacing their hardware through insurance policies than AppleCare plans

    If your Apple hardware was affected by the LA wildfires, you’ll have better luck replacing it via a standard insurance policy than AppleCare.

    Per AppleInsider, AppleCare Repair Agreement policies for Mac dictate what is and what isn’t covered for repair. In the plans, the list, section 4 under “What is not Covered?,” lists specific scenarios. While some are items that don’t really apply to a fire, such as “preventative maintenance”or consumable parts, some certainly do.

    The second part lists damaged caused by “accident, abuse, misuse, liquid contact, fire, earthquake or other external causes.” The terms “accident,” fire,” and “liquid contact” are the main elements at issue here, with the latter caused by fighting the fire. Therefore, submitting for a repair or replacement on a Mac salvaged from a housefire will end up in failure. If you were evacuated as a precautionary measure and your house remained untouched by the fire, your home may also become an undefended target of theft. Again, this moves into the “not covered” list, which explains how it cannot deal with “lost or stolen” hardware. “This Plan only covers Covered Equipment that is returned to Apple in its entirety,” it states.

    In most cases, the better route is to go through an up-to-date homeowner’s insurance, or renter’s insurance policy, in which people can claim their hardware as well as other personal belongings. This is also applicable for business purposes, and so long as there is insurance against property owned by the business, the insurance should process the claim for the business asset. If you happen to be traveling in the area and travel insurance was taken out for the journey, there will usually be terms dictating what happens in the case of property damage or loss. As handy as AppleCare can be at times, it’s not a full-blown insurance plan and is intended to ensure that if there’s a problem with your Mac, it’ll be covered in most typical situations.

    While Apple isn’t going out of its way to replace every Mac and MacBook lost to the fires, it’s still working to help out. Apple Card users in areas deemed a natural disaster zone by FEMA can apply for delayed payments. After contacting Apple Card Support, a payment can be skipped and no interest will accumulate for the affected user.

    Apple is also donating to “support the victims and recovery efforts on the ground” under its usual emergency measures, CEO Tim Cook said on January 9.

    If you’re in and around the Los Angeles area, please stay safe, take care of each other, and we’ll have additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider

  • Arizona TSMC plant nears completion, testing, and shipment of A-series chips

    Arizona TSMC plant nears completion, testing, and shipment of A-series chips

    The first of the mass-produced U.S. made A-series chips is about to begin at TSMC’s Arizona plant.

    According to Nikkei Asia, test production of the chips at the new plant has been completed, and Apple is in the final stages of verifying their quality and performance. As such, the first batch of commercially viable chips ready for mass production could be ready this quarter, pending the completion of quality assurance processes.

    The factory is expected to produce A-series chips used in Apple devices, primarily for older iPhone models. A recent report suggested the facility would make the A16 Bionic chip for the iPhone 15 and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus, and the S9 chip for the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The commencement of mass production at the Arizona plant will mark the first time Apple silicon chips are manufactured in the United States.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and Nikkei Asia

  • Apple looks to expand digital driver’s licenses/IDs to seven additional states

    Apple looks to expand digital driver’s licenses/IDs to seven additional states

    Apple is looking to add driver’s licenses and/or state IDs to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses and in select apps.

    The following are the states that are currently supported for this:

    • Arizona (since March 2022)
    • Maryland (since May 2022)
    • Colorado (since November 2022)
    • Georgia (since May 2023)
    • Ohio (since July 2024)
    • Hawaii (since August 2024)
    • California (since September 2024)
    • Iowa (since October 2024)
    • New Mexico (since December 2024)
    • The feature is also available in Puerto Rico.

    The company has said that the following states have “signed on” to adopt the feature in the future:

    • Montana
    • West Virginia
    • Connecticut
    • Kentucky
    • Mississippi
    • Oklahoma
    • Utah
    • The feature will also work with Japan’s My Number Card in the future, according to Apple.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and Apple

  • Foxconn confirms microLED development work, mass production of displays to begin in 2025/2026

    Foxconn confirms microLED development work, mass production of displays to begin in 2025/2026

    Although Apple has yet to complete its transition from LCD to OLED displays, it seems that the next logical step for the company is for microLED screens.

    Key supplier Foxconn recent announced that it expects to begin mass production of the technology in late 2025. The announcement also confirmed Foxconn’s relationship with Porotech for microLED to be used in future augmented reality headsets.

    The transition to microLED would afford Apple even brighter displays with greater color accuracy, longevity, and power efficiency, and without the burn-in weakness of OLED. The company was expected to begin this move with a microLED Apple Watch, but later cancelled (or, likely, postponed) this plan as the tech wasn’t sufficiently advanced.

    Per Foxconn’s announcement:

    “Leveraging Porotech’s cutting-edge gallium nitride (GaN) technology and Foxconn’s vertically integrated services, from MicroLED wafer processing to packaging and optical modules, the collaboration aims to meet the demands for micro-display chips and AR glasses production. Together, they will provide high-performance, high-brightness, compact, and lightweight AR display solutions to advance global AR and micro-display technology development […]”

    It’s been noted that Foxconn plans to establish a microLED wafer processing production line in Taichung, with mass production slated to begin in Q4 2025. This, in turn, would indicate that the first products incorporating the tech launching in Q1 2026.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac