Meta says it will cease providing news services on Facebook and Instagram before Canada's new law requiring it to pay news publishers comes into effect.Canada's Online News Act (Bill C-18) has cleared its final Senate hearing and now needs only royal assent to become law. By the time it does, Meta will have shut down its news services for the country, so there.Meta is effectively saying that it's their ball and they're taking it home. But of course it's not their ball, this is about Facebook and Instagram profiting from news publishers as it pays them nothing, and drives the industry out of business. Read more...

Apple is in talks with banks to launch Apple Card in India, claims a report by local finance website Moneycontrol. According to the report, citing sources familiar with the matter, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan during his trip to India in April to discuss the possibility of bringing the credit card to the country alongside Apple Pay. In India, only banks are allowed to launch credit cards. According to the outlet's sources, Apple is therefore exploring the possibility of launching its ‌Apple Card‌ there as a co-branded credit card with HDFC Bank. The Cupertino-based tech giant is also said to have held discussions with central bank and regulatory body the Reserve Bank…

Apple Pay uses NFC technology, and it requires you to effectively touch the terminal to make a connection. | Image: The Verge Tap-to-pay services like Apple Pay may soon no longer need the actual tapping part to work. That’s because NFC, the technology that enables you to pay at shops by touching your phone to a payment terminal, is getting new capabilities over the next next two to five years, such as a communications range boost, more powerful wireless charging for tiny devices like earbuds, and more (via Android Authority). NFC, which stands for Near Field Communication, is inside thousands of devices today ranging from smartphones to video game-enhancing figurines. Now the body that decides how to standardize the technology,…

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Nothing is more frustrating than buying a new pair of headphones, an OLED TV, or a backpack just to find out that you could have gotten it for a lot cheaper somewhere else. In order to keep customers happy — and prevent them from going elsewhere — many retailers offer price-matching policies where they promise to match a lower price you’ve found elsewhere. That’s information that could come in handy now that we’re just a few weeks out from Amazon Prime Day, which will be taking place on July 11th and July 12th. What follows are the price-matching policies for a variety of major retailers. There are a few things to make note…

The second beta of iOS 17 that Apple released to developers yesterday includes a setting that makes the haptic feedback feature activate faster than before, which some users may prefer. An Accessibility option, faster haptic feedback can be activated in the Settings app by going to Accessibility > Touch > Haptic Touch. From there, the options are Fast, Default, and Slow. Toggling on Fast speeds up ‌Haptic Touch‌, and the duration can be tested using the image in the Settings app. In iOS 16 and the first beta of ‌iOS 17‌, options for ‌Haptic Touch‌ included Fast and Slow, with "Fast" previously being equivalent to the Default option in the new interface. The new Fast toggle is a step up…

Starting in August, Apple says that it will no longer allow U.S. customers to purchase SIM-free iPhone models using Apple Card Monthly Installments. Instead, a carrier connection with Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile will be required. Apple’s iPhone 14 Chance Miller for 9to5Mac: Previously, Apple allowed buyers to purchase an iPhone with the “Connect to a carrier later” option. This option means users are free to use the iPhone without a cellular connection or via any carrier of their choosing. For instance, you could connect an iPhone purchased with this option to a carrier such as Mint Mobile or Google Fi. Starting on August 15, however, Apple will require that any iPhone purchased via Apple Card Monthly Installments be connected to…