The government of New South Wales in Australia today announced that the Opal ticketing system now supports Express Mode for Apple Pay payments, allowing the fare card to be added to the Wallet app on a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch for tap-and-go payments across the public transport network. Express Transit mode allows users to pay for rides without having to wake or unlock their ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch, or open the Opal app. The mode also bypasses the need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. Users simply need to hold their ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch near the contactless payment reader until a checkmark appears on the display. Transport for NSW undertook a staggered rollout of…

Early next year, Apple is planning a retail launch of its Vision Pro headset in America with appointment-only sales and in-store promotions in its retail store chain. Apple Vision Pro: Apple’s first spatial computer Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News: The company will designate special areas in the stores with seating, headset demo units and tools to size accessories for buyers. While the device will be sold at all of Apple’s roughly 270 US locations, the company is planning the sections for the Vision Pro initially at stores in major areas — such as New York and Los Angeles — before rolling them out nationwide, according to people with knowledge of the plans. Apple said it will offer the headset in…

Apple's Vision Pro is set to launch in the United States early next year, and Apple is discussing the United Kingdom and Canada as two of its first international markets to get the mixed reality headset by the end of 2024, although "a final decision hasn't been made," according to sources cited by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his latest report, Gurman says Apple is looking at bringing the Vision Pro to Europe and Asia soon after, with Apple engineers working to localize the device for France, Germany, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. More to follow...Related Roundup: Apple Vision ProRelated Forum: Apple Vision ProThis article, "Apple Vision Pro Likely to Launch in UK and Canada by End of 2024"…

Meta today officially launched Threads, the new social media app that it has been working on as an alternative to Twitter. Threads was meant to launch on Thursday, but the company pushed it live early due to the excitement surrounding its debut. Threads is described as "Instagram's text-based conversation app," and it is unmistakable as a Twitter clone. With the app, users can post "Threads" that other users can reply to, with Threads from followers showing up in a main timeline. Meta is linking Threads to Instagram, which means Instagram usernames port over to Threads and Instagram users have the option to follow the same people they follow on Instagram.Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the…

Macworld If you’re looking for an iPhone but don’t want to spend a fortune, the third-gen iPhone SE, Apple’s cheapest current handset, is the phone for you. It features a powerful processor (the A15, which also appeared in the flagship iPhone 13 Pro from 2021) at an affordable price, starting at $429 in the U.S. or £449 in the U.K. For a phone that’s even cheaper, however, you may want to consider the second-gen iPhone SE from 2020. Apple no longer sells this device itself, but other vendors may still sell you one for a bargain price. In this article we round up the best deals and discounts currently available on each iPhone SE model, as well as cheap bundle…

iPhone users in Australia can now receive next-hour precipitation forecasts and notifications from the Weather app, according to an updated Apple support document. "Next-hour precipitation forecasts and precipitation notifications are available for Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States," the document says. "The information is provided by Apple using data from national weather services." Apple says next-hour precipitation forecasts are "hyperlocal" and "down to the minute." The Weather app can send iPhone users a push notification if it is going to rain in the next hour, and shows how much rainfall is expected by the minute. The feature has been available in the U.S. since the release of iOS 14 in 2020. Apple revamped its Weather app with…