Snapchat, the popular ephemeral photo messaging application, on Monday said it's partnered with Square, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's mobile payments startup, on a new service allowing Snapchat users to send and receive money.
Dubbed Snapcash and billed as the first Snapchat product created in partnership with another company, it's simple and easy to use just like Square's SquareCash service.
Using Facebook in the workplace could soon become the new normal thanks to a new business product Facebook is said to be currently developing.
Dubbed Facebook@Work, the forthcoming service should permit users to collaborate on projects and connect with professional contacts through group chats and document collaboration with co-workers, three people familiar with the matter told The New York Times newspaper Monday.
As first mentioned by The Financial Times on Monday, Facebook began working on the project years ago, lead by a team based in the firm's London offices. They're currently testing Facebook@Work externally with a handful of outside companies and expect to roll it out “within the coming months.”
In addition to launching the iOS 8.1.1 software update with bug fixes and performance improvements for the A5-powered devices running iOS 8, such as the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4s, Apple on Monday pushed the official OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 software update for Mac desktops and notebooks.
The software contains plenty of bug fixes while improving Wi-Fi performance on some Macs following numerous user complaints about intermittent Wi-Fi issues. It also contains enhancements for enterprise users and many other improvements to make your Mac more stable.
Apple on Monday started rolling out the latest iOS 8.1.1 software update for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. If you're jailbroken, stay away from this update as it plugs the Pangu8 jailbreak.
iOS 8.1.1 build 12B435 contains a whole bunch of bug fixes and general performance enhancements aimed at improving the mobile operating system's stability. You can apply the update over the air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
Dropbox, the hot cloud-storage startup which a few years back turned down an acquisition offer from Steve Jobs, on Monday gave its mobile client for the iPhone and iPad significant new accessibility improvements to make sure it’s simple to get stuff done if your vision or hearing is impaired.
Based on both Dropbox's own customer research and feedback from the AppleVis community, the improved software makes it easier for people with disabilities to use the app with Apple's VoiceOver feature when logging in to Dropbox, navigating actions within the app and more.
The new accessibility features will be rolling out to users later today, the company said.
Dropbox is a free download from the App Store.
Following its report last week alleging that Apple and Alibaba are currently ironing out specifics of an upcoming Apple Pay partnership in China, The Wall Street Journal on Monday published an interview with Alibaba CEO Jack Ma who explained why such a deal would be hugely beneficial to the iPhone maker.
Long story short, the Apple-Alibaba deal would help avoid any regulatory scrutiny that Apple would be subjected to as a new financial player in China.
Apple and Samsung have struck a major deal, in which Samsung Electronics will supply Apple with the majority of the application processors used in the iPhone and iPad, according to the Korea Times. Apple has reportedly chosen Samsung over TSMC, in a deal worth billions.
Software giant Microsoft is no stranger to Apple bashing. Every once in a while, the Redmond giant take aim at Apple's iPad tablets and MacBook Air ultra-thin notebooks by putting out aggressively conceived television commercials for its Surface tablets.
Just in time for the looming holiday shopping season, Microsoft started airing a brand new Surface Pro ad that argues that its tablet convertible with a kickstand, keyboard cover and desktop apps is a better deal than the MacBook Air.
Team 17, a British video game developer behind the Worms series of games, has slashed all Worms games on the App Store to just 99 cents in celebration of the series' 19th anniversary.
Older readers will remember Worms as one of the best games for the Amiga personal computer in 1995. Team17 continued development of the various Worms games with Worms: The Director's Cut which arrived in 1997 with improved gameplay and graphics. The series has since made a jump to consoles and PCs.
Featuring cartoonish pixel art graphics, smooth multi-layered scrolling and an interesting mix of turn-based gameplay, humor and hilarious weaponry, the franchise has gone on to be very successful, selling over twelve million units worldwide to this date.
Apple announced Sunday night in a press release that the company has added UnionPay as a payment option for the App Store in China. Having issued over 4.5 billion UnionPay cards to date both in China and abroad, China UnionPay is the major bankcard network in the People's Republic. According to the press release, UnionPay customers will be able to easily link their Apple ID with a UnionPay debit or credit card for one-tap purchases.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Apple Pay now accounts for 50% of the tap-to-pay transactions at all of McDonald's 14,000 US stores. Additionally, the outlet claims that Walgreens' mobile payments at its 8,000+ stores have doubled since the service launched.
The figures were nestled in a broader piece regarding Apple's role in mainstreaming mobile payments. Google Wallet and Softcard—backed by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon—both say that Apple Pay has been a huge tailwind, as they've seen an increase in usage since it debuted.
Winn-Dixie and BI-LO, two major grocery store chains in the southeastern region of the US, are now accepting Apple Pay. MacRumors reports that it was told the companies would begin processing AP payments next week, but the system seems to have already gone live in many stores.
This is a significant coup for Apple, who has been seeing pushback from high profile retailers in recent weeks regarding Apple Pay. Winn-Dixie and BI-LO have over 1,300 locations between them, which are spread throughout North and South Carolina, Georgia and surrounding states.