Availability of Apple's HomePod speaker has increased with new launches in Austria and Ireland, with the Siri-powered smart speaker scheduled to arrive in New Zealand later in June.
Apple customers in New Zealand can now buy an LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 5 and take advantage its cellular features as local carrier Spark finally announced support for eSIM alongside Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services.
Apple Music is now available on Amazon Echo and Fire TV devices and Sonos speakers sold in Australia and New Zealand, allowing customers to request a song through Alexa.
Lane guidance, a new Apple Maps feature in iOS 11 for iPhone, iPad and CarPlay, has expanded to four additional countries following its debut in iOS 11 last fall and subsequent expansion in November 2017 to countries like Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the UK.
Mac notebook and desktop computers purchased in Australia or New Zealand now come with warranty coverage for up to three years from the original date of purchase, effectively bypassing the need for an extended AppleCare coverage.
After five years, Pandora today shut down its service in Australia and New Zealand in a cost-cutting move that will let the company sharpen focus on the US market.
The New Zealand Herald's analysis of the local subsidiary's financial statements has revealed that for the last ten years, Apple paid taxes to the Australian Tax Office instead of New Zealand's Inland Revenue. The Cupertino company appears to have paid out $37 million in income taxes from sales generated in New Zealand, but to Australia's tax authority.
Apple today kicked off its annual Back to School promotion across Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Advertised under the “Back to Uni” tagline, these deals offer students, teachers and university staff members an Apple Store credit in exchange for a qualified iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook/Air/Pro or iPad Pro purchase made from February 7 to March 16.
The promotion is combinable with educational pricing discounts on Macs, iPads and AppleCare products. Built-to-order Mac models qualify for these deals as well, but refurbished devices and lower-cost computers like Mac mini do not.
Apple has launched its Black Friday deals today in Australia and New Zealand through its online store and retail locations in both countries ahead of similar one-day deals scheduled to launch in other markets tomorrow. The one-day shopping event in Australia and New Zealand offers customers free Apple Store gift cards worth up to A$200 or NZ$215 with the purchase of certain products like select models of the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and Apple TV.
New Zealand has just joined the ranks of Apple Pay enabled countries on Wednesday, following suit after neighbouring Australia finally introduced the service in May through ANZ Banking Group.
The foray was met with great customer praise in May, when ANZ became the first major bank in the region that decided to buck the trend of openly colluding with rival banks in an effort to prevent Apple Pay from hitting the shores. While Kiwis will undoubtedly be eager to embrace the technology, implementation is not likely to gather significant momentum until the same large players barring Apple Pay from the Australian market (most notably Commonwealth Bank, National Australian Bank, Westpac) come to an agreement over the cut Apple makes with every micro transaction and join ANZ in rolling out the service in both countries.
Apple’s annual Back to School promotion is back with a new deal launching today in Australia and New Zealand. University students, students accepted to a university and parents buying for a university student are being tempted with a free Beats Solo2 on-ear headphones, a $199.95 value, with an eligible Mac purchase.
When purchasing a new MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac or iMac with Retina 5K display, customers shall receive an instant credit for the purchase of a pair of Beats Solo2 wired headphones in Gloss Black, Gloss White, Gloss Red or Gloss Blue or wired Beats Solo2 headphones in Space Gray, Silver, Gold or Rose Gold.
Earlier this morning at 7:01am local time, Apple's wrist-worn device went on sale in three new markets: New Zealand, Russia and Turkey. The Apple Watch is available through the Apple Online Store in New Zealand, Russia and Turkey, in addition to select non-Apple locations.
In Turkey, for example, the device is also available via company-woned brick-and-mortar stores at the Zorlu Center and Akasya Shopping Center in Istanbul. In Russia, the Apple Watch is available for walk-in customers at iPort, Re:Store and C-store outlets. And in New Zealand, the Apple Watch can be purchased in select Apple Stores.
