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Barclay’s to implement Apple Pay by 2016

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Even though Apple Pay launched at over 250,000 locations across the United Kingdom in July, not all major banks support Apple’s payment service. Banking giant Barclay’s have however announced their plans to roll out Apple Pay early in 2016.

Even though Barclay’s UK implements Apple Pay early in the new year, no specific launch particulars or time has been officially announced, with Barclay’s CEO of Personal and Corporate Banking, Ashok Vaswani stating in a customer email to Techradar’s Mike Jobson:

“We have signed up for ApplePay and will launch it very early in the New Year. We truly value your custom and hope that you continue to bank with us particularly since we are launching this shortly.”

Here is a list of the UK banking institutions that support Apple Pay, excluding Barclay’s imminent integration:

  • American Express
  • Bank of Scotland
  • First Direct
  • Halifax
  • HSBC
  • Lloyds
  • M&S Bank
  • MBNA
  • Nationwide Building Society
  • NatWest
  • Royal Bank of Scotland
  • Santander
  • Ulster Bank

Barclay’s Late Adoption of Apple Pay

Barclay’s is the last major UK based banking institution to adopt Apple Pay as a supported platform. It is unclear as to why Barclay’s took so long to integrate Apple Pay, but it is fantastic news for many nonetheless. The delay experienced is most likely due to Barclay’s development of their own contact-less payment system, although this is just speculation.

The arrival of Apple Pay for Barclay’s customers may come in as soon as four or five months. The only banking institution in the UK still to adopt Apple Pay is TSB. With eleven banks in the United Kingdom already supporting Apple Pay it is likely that FSB will follow suit, Barclay’s eventually have!

While no official statement regarding the late option of Apple’s mobile payment gateway has been declared, it is evident that Barclay’s have sent a clear message to competitors. They pay attention to their own endeavours first, as any leading business should do. Barclay’s adoption of Apple Pay eventually is arriving, but it is clear they were in no hurry.

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Apple iBooks exclusive: Harry Potter Enhanced Digital Edition

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J.K. Rowling fans will be thrilled to hear that Apple’s iBooks Store will be receiving exclusive versions of the Harry Potter series. These enhanced digital versions of the classic can only be found on the iStore and feature many unique additions and changes to the seven-book series.

Owners of a Mac, iPhone, iPad & iPod touch can immerse themselves into any of Rowling’s majestic adventures, exploring Hogwarts and Harry’s adventures through a fully digital experience.

Annotations from J.K. Rowling, Interactive Animation & More

These enhanced Harry Potter digital books come with annotations from the author herself.

Each book contains the original text and before-mentioned annotations, as well as unique and entertaining, interactive animations. These tales are brought to life through extensive artwork in beautiful detail. Custom title covers are also added to these great digital books, as is new typography and custom typefaces.  In a statement to Apple, J.K. Rowling shared:

“I’m thrilled to see the Harry Potter books so beautifully realised on iBooks for the digital world; the artwork and animations in these enhanced editions bring the stories alive in a delightful new way,”

Available now on iTunes
Available now on iTunes

Similarly Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, was just as pleased sharing the following on the Apple site:
“J.K. Rowling’s legendary series is perfect for enjoying on your iPad or iPhone and we’re thrilled to offer them exclusively on the iBooks Store.”

James was also welcomed by Apple’s chairman Art Levinson stating:

“We look for outstanding individuals to strengthen our board’s breadth of talent and depth of knowledge, and we are very happy to have identified a fantastic person in James Bell. I’m confident that he will make many important contributions to Apple.”

Harry Potter Enhanced Digital Edition Exclusive iBooks Page

Enhanced editions of all the Harry Potter titles are available, however this is not the last of the magic Harry Potter content. Fans are to expect movies, soundtracks, apps and more on the Harry Potter iBooks page.

Books are priced at $9.99 (USD) and available in thirty two different countries. English is the only available language, although pre-orders are open for French German and Spanish enhanced versions. These pre-orders will be available on the 9th of November in eighteen additional countries.

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Boeing top-dog, James A. Bell, joins Apple

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Former interim CEO of The Boeing Company in 2005, James Bell, joins Apple’s Board of Directors as of October 1, 2015. James Bell was a top-class leader at Boeing, overseeing the Boeing Capital Corporation and Boeing Shared Services during his illustrious, 38-year career with Boeing. His decades of experience are set to benefit Apple in the areas of finance, strategic planning and complex organization leadership.

source: flickr/nostri-imago
source: flickr/nostri-imago

Top-Notch Ex-Boeing CFO

James revealed that he is an avid user of Apple products, and that he holds a tremendous amount of respect for the innovation of Apple across the industry. He is also a board member at J. P. Morgan Chase, Dow Chemical Company, the Chicago Urban League, World Business Chicago, the Chicago Economic Club and New Leaders for New Schools.

Bell also happens to be a trustee of Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, and has been known for his active involvement in projects beneficial to the community at large. Bell retired from service at Boeing in 2012 as the most successful African-American employee ever, in The Boeing Capital Corporation’s history.

Diversity in Apple’s Boardroom

This retired Boeing CFO creates diversity in Apple’s boardroom, as is reported by CNET, and is the eighth member to join Apple’s board of directors. Apple is happy to have him on board, being yet another of Tim Cook’s staffing changes.

Cook welcomes James Bell in a statement saying: “James brings a wealth of global, financial and industrial experience from his successful career at Boeing as corporate president and CFO.”

James Bell is likely to bring many benefits to Apple’s manufacturing industry, as well as strategic insight into planning and leadership. His financial experience should also prove an asset to Apple, with James. A. Bell having a decorated background in accountancy.  James A. Bell is the sole African-American member of Apple’s Board of Directors, as well as the first.

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Two separate A9 chip manufacturers create power usage differences in new iPhones

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Apple decided to opt for two manufacturers for their A9 chip, used by both the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 6s Plus. This is far from convenient and it is not often that you see the tech giant using two separate manufacturers.

Battery and power usage performance differences have cropped up, leaving many iPhone users unhappy. A9 processors were sourced from both Samsung and TSMC, the manufacturer of Apple’s earlier A8 chip. Samsung has in the past carried out manufacturing of processors for Apple, producing their A7 range, however this time around Samsung has disappointed.

Two Manufacturers – 2 Hour Battery Difference

Even though they are essentially the same processor, the Samsung manufactured chip has higher power usage resulting in a shorter battery life than the variant from TSMC. The TSMC chipset gives iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s battery life up to two hours more battery life, according to tests conducted across numerous forums and message boards.

Tests conducted using an unofficial application created by user Hiraku Jira reveal that 70% of the devices tested utilize the TSMC A9, here’s hoping your device is one of them. Testing is most likely to reveal other small performance differences, although the difference in power consumption is the first, most noticeable between the two.

Reddit Battery Tests
Reddit Battery Tests

TMSC Chipset Offers Best Battery Life

This difference between seemingly identical devices has caused quite an uproar over the last two weeks. Some users cannot find evidence at all of the two hour battery-life difference, but tests are conclusive and the Samsung A9 is the inferior chip.

It is unlikely that Apple will make this same mistake again, but current iPhone owners are stuck and there is nothing you can do about it, short of upgrading. This A9 incident has made it clear that experience wins at the end of the day, with trusted manufacturer TMSC clearly outshining their competitor Samsung.

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Apple’s new patent showcases inductive charging for future iPhones

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An Apple patent application details their development of inductive charging. Basically put inductive charging is wireless charging, although at current rates device charge slowly. The patent application filed was termed “Inductive power transfer using acoustic or haptic devices”.

This technology plans to utilize coils already present in your devices to facilitate wireless charging. A dedicated charging source is needed, but no additional hardware is required to be attached to existing technology. This patent has excited users over the possibility of seeing fully operational Apple inductive charging by next year!

apple-patent-inductive-charging

No need to change existing hardware

Apple’s patent elaborates on acoustic coils, already present in your speaker and microphone, which will receive a wireless charge. Another technology already in place in certain devices is Apple’s Taptic Engine. This allows your device to sense movement, bumps, tap pressure and even your heartbeat. The only drawback to using existing coils to facilitate charging is the fact that they are very small, and this would result in an extremely low charging rate for devices using larger batteries.

Apple also proposes a docking station that is set to integrate with all existing products. The two only devices in the pipeline known to benefit from Apple inductive charging is the Apple Watch and the distant, possible Apple iRing.

apple-patents-charging

Charge Multiple Device

The patent for Apple inductive charging is the most advanced example of inductive charging and shows a device capable of, for the first time, charging multiple devices without the need of any physical, cabled connection to a power source. The charging of multiple devices is made possible by tessellated triangular coils present in the charging unit. Complex arrangements of electromagnetic current is now possible using these coils, as each coil can operate independently and as part of a large system, simultaneously.

This unique system of electromagnetic charging is likely to still undergo a lot of research and development, but signs are good that we will soon see wireless charging in everyday use.