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Tag: Paraguay

  • Apple Pay expands to Paraguay, launches under Mastercard and local banks

    Apple Pay expands to Paraguay, launches under Mastercard and local banks

    The Apple Pay International Expansion Tour continues with the contactless payment method becoming viable for your upcoming trip to Paraguay.

    Per a recent blog post via Mastercard, Mastercard announced that cards issued by Banco Continental, Itau, and Ueno Bank can all be added to Apple Wallet and used with Apple Pay.

    While Apple Pay is likely to expand to other countries in the near future, an October 2024 interview with Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s Vice President of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, expanded on the company’s goal of seeing the technology use a digital Car Key to help assist with vehicle rentals and other transactions.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider, Mastercard, and 9to5Mac

  • Ultra Wideband feature availability expands to additional countries

    Ultra Wideband feature availability expands to additional countries

    If you’re traveling this year, there’s a decent chance you can now use the Ultra Wideband functionality in additional countries.

    The Ultra Wideband functionality found in the Apple Watch Series 6, iPhone 11, and iPhone 12, has now been expanded to additional countries, including Argentina, Pakistan, Paraguay, and the Solomon Islands.

    Apple is not allowed to activate Ultra Wideband technology in some countries due to international regulatory requirements, and it must be disabled in those places. All of the above listed countries previously did not allow UWB technology.

    The feature continues to be disabled in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

    As for the technology itself, the U1 chip found in the aforementioned Apple devices is designed to offer much more precise positioning information than either Bluetooth or WiFi. This, in turn, makes it ideal for spatial awareness and more precise indoor mapping.

    Ultra Wideband technology is required for the Precision Finding feature available for AirTags in the Find My app, and it is also used for Car Key functionality and more precise AirDropping between devices with a U1 chip.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and support.apple.com

  • Apple launches iPhone in China, 32 additional countries

    The iPhone 5 world introduction tour continues.

    Per The Next Web, Apple kicked off sales of the massively popular iPhone 5 handset in China and 31 other countries on Friday, fending off supply constraints as the company continues its fastest rollout ever.

    Concerning the China launch, the usual long lines seen at past Apple product launches in China were staunched, largely in thanks to the combination of a snow storm and the preorder system instituted by the country’s two official partner carriers.

    The Sanlitun Apple Store, the company’s first retail outlet in China, saw workers milling about waiting to greet customers that never came. The lack of walk-in purchases is in stark contrast to reports of strong pre-sale number that had cellular carrier China Unicom sitting at over 300,000 preorders days before Friday’s launch.

    China is now Apple’s second-largest market, and holds the world’s biggest base of mobile subscribers. While the Cupertino, Calif., company has been able to broker deals with China Unicon and China Telecom, Apple has yet to tap into the vast pool of the world’s largest carrier China Mobile. An arrangement has been rumored to be in the works for years and China Mobile’s president recently acknowledged that the two companies are in talks, but chances are slim that a partnership will be reached in the near future.

    Along with China, the iPhone 5 also launched in the following countries on Friday:
    Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

    The smartphone will debut in over 50 countries in December with the next wave of releases scheduled for a week from today.

  • Apple to launch iPhone 5 in dozens of additional countries throughout December

    Come Friday, the iPhone 5 will be available pretty much everywhere.

    Per AppleInsider, Apple on Monday announced that the iPhone 5 will debut in more than 50 countries this month, including South Korea on Friday, Dec. 7, with Russia, Brazil and Taiwan to follow a week later.

    Those additional countries that will gain access to Apple’s latest smartphone include China, which Apple announced last week will have the iPhone 5 launch on Dec. 14. The dozens of new countries will join 47 countries where the iPhone 5 is already available for sale.

    The full list of countries set to gain the iPhone 5 on Friday, Dec. 14 are: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

    The iPhone 5 will also be available on Friday, December 21 in Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Tunisia, Uganda, and Vietnam.

    Monday’s announcement also confirms an earlier report that claimed Apple would launch the iPhone 5 in Taiwan on Dec. 14. It was said that all major Taiwanese carriers would begin accepting preorders a week prior.

    International expansion of the iPhone 5 comes as Apple has begun to catch up with supply in countries such as the U.S., where the handset launched in September. Last week, Apple also began selling an unlocked version of the iPhone 5 through its online store in America.