Almost a decade since Apple started rolling out Apple Pay support, it’s still being expanded to more countries. Today, Bahrain, a country in the Persian Gulf, is adding support for Apple’s own payment system. The banks NBB, ila, and BBK have each announced that they are supporting Apple Pay. NBB, for example, says its customers can enjoy “faster, easier, and safer payments” with its Mastercard and Visa cards supported. ila Bank invites its users to “enjoy all benefits” of their card while using Apple Pay....

According to a report from BGR, a reliable source informed it that Apple has begun testing iOS 6.0.1 with U.S. carriers in anticipation of a release in the coming weeks. Also mentioned in the report is a list of fixes apparently included in the update that address many of the issues users have complained about since the launch of iOS 6. Among them is a fix for the horizontal glitches that some have experienced in the iOS keyboard and folders and a number of other bug fixes for recently reported problems....

Apple today is releasing iOS 13.1.2 to the public. This comes after the release of iOS 13.1.1 and includes several notable bug fixes for iCloud backups, the Camera app, and more. Here’s the full changelog for iOS 13.1.2: Apple has been swiftly releasing new iOS 13 updates recently. Friday’s release of iOS 13.1.1 included bug fixes for battery drain, Siri, third-party keyboards, and more. iOS 13.1.2 includes bug fixes and improvements for your iPhone....

It turns out iOS 9.3.3 won’t be the last update to iPhones and iPads before iOS 10 is released this fall. Apple today has released iOS 9.3.4 for iPhone and iPad. The update follows two weeks after the release of iOS 9.3.3. Apple describes the update as an important security update for all users. For more on the upcoming iOS 10, check out our continuing coverage below: Apple unveils iOS 10 at WWDC 2016, new lock screen, Siri SDK, much more iOS 10 coming this fall, developer beta today and public beta in July Here are the iOS 10 features and developer tools Apple didn’t detail on stage Hands-on: iOS 10 iPhone and iPad tidbits Hands-on: The all-new Music app in iOS 10 [Gallery] Download iOS 10 and macOS 10....

Following the release of the macOS Catalina GM earlier this afternoon, Apple has published a pair of new developer updates focused on the Mac. Apple is reminding developers to prepare for macOS Catalina as the public launch nears. First, Apple reminds developers that all software distributed outside of the Mac App Store must still be signed or notarized. by Apple. In September, Apple relaxed certain notarization requirements for the Mac, but it is still reminding developers of the upcoming changes:...

We have already seen Apple aggressively promote trade in bonuses, moves that the company does not typically make in the wake of the release of new iPhones. However, it seems like Apple is working harder than ever to push unit sales this time around. Bloomberg reports that Apple told some marketing staff to put their work on hold and switch to focusing on iPhone marketing, another sign that iPhone XS and iPhone XR sales are not as strong....

Furthermore, even if we’re still talking about a huge amount, the judge denied Apple’s request for a permanent injunction against Samsung. At the time, Samsung said in its appeal that the damages award was ‘excessive and unprecedented’, as Reuters points out. The Asian company said it shouldn’t be forced to pay such a high price for making a “rectangular, round-cornered, flat-screened, touch-screened phone,” saying these are pretty basic features. And now fresh information suggests that things are once again improving for the South Korean company....

We’ve been rounding up the best Apple Black Friday deals for the past few weeks but we got a surprise today. Apple let us know earlier that it would have a ‘one-day shopping event’ – Applespeak for Black Friday sale – and the deals have now gone live in Australia and New Zealand. I wrote earlier that we weren’t expecting too much, and that has sadly been confirmed. Make sure to check our roundup of the Best Apple Black Friday Deals here and up-to-the-second Black Friday deals at 9to5toys....

When it comes to mistakes, over-estimating your quarterly revenue by between $5B and $9B is a pretty big one – and the market was understandably shocked when Apple admitted it had done so. One analyst says Apple’s failure to predict its holiday quarter can be explained by three errors, and he’s written a blog post explaining each. But he also believes there are three reasons for optimism about the coming year …...

Apple today has announced a voluntary recall and exchange program for a select number of AC wall plug adapters used in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Continental Europe, New Zealand and South Korea. America is not included in the recall. Apple says that in “very rare cases” the two-pronged Apple wall adapters could break and create a risk of electrical shock if touched. Apple said that the affected wall adapters shipped between 2003 and 2015 with Mac and certain iOS devices....

The Chinese Apple Online Store went down for maintenance yesterday as the company rolled out the price changes across its product lines. For example, the Apple Store price for the iPhone XR has fallen from 6499 RMB to 6199 RMB, or about 4.5%. This is slightly more than the 3% drop in the sales tax, but it is not unusual for Apple to round to a more aesthetically pleasing price, like ending in ’99’....

Apple is putting a big focus on exclusive content with its new Apple Music streaming service. In addition to the debut of exclusive music, interviews, and content uploaded directly by artists on the fly, it appears the service’s 24/7 live radio station, Beats 1, will also be the source of exclusive industry news and events. The proof of that comes in the form of an announcement today that the station will exclusively reveal nominees for the upcoming Video Music Awards....

Update 2: Shipping times in at least Hong Kong started at 1-2 weeks then quickly to changed to “currently unavailable”. Update: The Australian Apple Online store and others are back up and listing all iPad Air models as shipping in 24 hours. Lines have started to form at Apple stores around the world. Send pics of your Apple Store line to tips@9to5mac.com. Images below. With Apple’s iPad Air launch about to kick off on the morning of Nov....

We heard last month that today would see the launch of Apple Pay in Israel, and that has now been confirmed. A local report says that Apple Pay is supported by all bank and credit card companies in the country, though not for all cards … The Verifier carries the report. Contactless payments are widely supported in Israel, making Apple Pay a convenient payment option. The country is set to get near-universal support shortly, thanks to a government initiative making contactless support a legal requirement for most companies....

Apple Podcasts has launched a new editorial franchise that will highlight and celebrate rising podcast creators every month. The new Apple Podcasts Spotlight editorial feature is available starting today in the Apple Podcasts app on all platforms. The first Apple Podcasts Spotlight creator is Chelsea Devantez, host of Celebrity Book Club. Here’s a synopsis of the show, which comes from Stitcher. Ben Cave, the global head of business for Apple Podcasts, said in a press release that the new Apple Podcasts Spotlight feature will help listeners find “some of the world’s best shows” by highlighting creators:...

Apple has just posted an open letter in response to the FBI unlock request for iPhone data in a San Bernardino court case, signed by Tim Cook. Apple says that the FBI court order is an unprecedented step which threatens the security of its customers. With ‘implications far beyond the legal case at hand’ at stake, Apple has posted its public response to start communication with regard to this issue....

Two weeks after the release of the second developer beta and a month after WWDC 2020, Apple will release iOS 14 beta 3 to developers today. iOS 14 brings new features such as widgets, the App Library, and more. The third beta will bring further refinements to the new features and continued stability improvements. iOS 14 beta 3 details iOS 14 beta 3 is available to developers via an over-the-air update....

Alongside a slew of other releases today, Apple has also quietly released a supplemental update to macOS Catalina 10.15.7. Apple says the update includes important security fixes. Apple says the supplemental update to macOS Catalina 10.15.7 includes the following fixes: FontParser Available for: macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Impact: Processing a maliciously crafted font may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of reports that an exploit for this issue exists in the wild....

Apple today has released new versions of Safari for OS X Lion/Mountain Lion and OS X Mavericks that address security and WebKit issues. The Safari 6.1.6 update for the older versions of OS X and Safari 7.0.6 update for the latest OS X are available in Software Update on the Mac App Store. Here are the release notes from Apple’s support page: Earlier today, Apple seeded a new build of OS X 10....

Apple has released the second watchOS 3.1.1 beta for developers testing the pre-release software update for Apple Watch. watchOS 3.1.1 includes support for new Unicode 9.0 emoji as well as the ability to change skin tones when picking certain emoji characters. watchOS 3.1.1 is a minor release that follows the major release of watchOS 3.0 in September. watchOS 3 is a major speed boost to Apple Watch with a simplified navigation structure and new, faster apps....