Year: 2023

 Apple introduces Apple Pay Later

March 28, 2023

PRESS RELEASE

Apple introduces Apple Pay Later to allow consumers to pay for purchases over time

Apple Pay users can split purchases into four payments with zero interest and no fees

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today introduced Apple Pay Later in the U.S. Designed with users’ financial health in mind, Apple Pay Later1 allows users to split purchases into four payments, spread over six weeks with no interest and no fees.2 Users can easily track, manage, and repay their Apple Pay Later loans in one convenient location in Apple Wallet. Users can apply for Apple Pay Later loans of $50 to $1,000, which can be used for online and in-app purchases made on iPhone and iPad with merchants that accept Apple Pay.3 Starting today, Apple will begin inviting select users to access a prerelease version of Apple Pay Later, with plans to offer it to all eligible users in the coming months.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to how people manage their finances. Many people are looking for flexible payment options, which is why we’re excited to provide our users with Apple Pay Later,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. “Apple Pay Later was designed with our users’ financial health in mind, so it has no fees and no interest, and can be used and managed within Wallet, making it easier for consumers to make informed and responsible borrowing decisions.”

Apply for, Track, and Manage Loans Seamlessly in Wallet

To get started with Apple Pay Later, users can apply for a loan within Wallet with no impact to their credit.4 They will then be prompted to enter the amount they would like to borrow and agree to the Apple Pay Later terms. A soft credit pull will be done during the application process to help ensure the user is in a good financial position before taking on the loan.

After a user is approved, they will see the Pay Later option when they select Apple Pay at checkout online and in apps on iPhone and iPad, and can use Apple Pay Later to make a purchase. Once Apple Pay Later is set up, users can also apply for a loan directly in the checkout flow when making a purchase.

Apple Pay Later is built right into Wallet, so users can seamlessly view, track, and manage all of their loans in one place. With Apple Pay Later in Wallet, users can easily see the total amount due for all of their existing loans, as well as the total amount due in the next 30 days. They can also choose to see all upcoming payments on a calendar view in Wallet to help them track and plan their payments. Before a payment is due, users will also receive notifications via Wallet and email so they can plan accordingly. Users will be asked to link a debit card from Wallet as their loan repayment method; to help prevent users from taking on more debt to pay back loans, credit cards will not be accepted.

Apple Pay Later was designed with privacy and security at its core. Purchases using Apple Pay Later are authenticated using Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode, and users’ transaction and loan history are never shared or sold to third parties for marketing or advertising.

Apple Pay Later is offered by Apple Financing LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., which is responsible for credit assessment and lending. Apple Financing plans to report Apple Pay Later loans to U.S. credit bureaus starting this fall,5so they are reflected in users’ overall financial profiles and can help promote responsible lending for both the lender and the borrower.

Mastercard and Goldman Sachs

Apple Pay Later is enabled through the Mastercard Installments program, so merchants that accept Apple Pay do not need to do anything to implement Apple Pay Later for their customers. When a merchant accepts Apple Pay, Apple Pay Later will be an option for their customers during checkout online and in apps on iPhone and iPad. Goldman Sachs is the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential used to complete Apple Pay Later purchases.

Availability

Starting today, randomly selected users will be invited to get early access to a prerelease version of Apple Pay Later via Wallet and through their Apple ID email. Apple Pay Later is available in the U.S. for online and in-app purchases on iPhone and iPad. Apple Pay Later is available with iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4.

About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

  1. Apple Pay Later is subject to eligibility and approval. Apple Pay Later is available only in the U.S. It may not be available in all states. It is not available in U.S. territories. Loans are made by Apple Financing LLC, NMLS #2154940. For California residents, loans are made or arranged pursuant to a California Financing Law license. To use Apple Pay Later, a user must have an iPhone or iPad updated to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS. For more eligibility details, see support.apple.com/en-us/HT212967.
  2. A user’s bank may charge them fees if their debit card account contains insufficient funds to make loan repayments.
  3. Some merchants may not be eligible to offer Apple Pay Later.
  4. Upon purchase, a user’s Apple Pay Later loan and payment history may be reported to credit bureaus and impact their credit.
  5. Apple Financing LLC may report past, current, or future Apple Pay Later loans.

Press Contacts

Heather Norton

Apple

heather_norton@apple.com

Kimberly Mai

Apple

k_mai@apple.com

Alyssa Hayes

Apple

ag_hayes@apple.com

Apple Media Helpline

media.help@apple.com

 Apple Music Classical is here

March 28, 2023

PRESS RELEASE

Apple Music Classical is here

The ultimate classical music streaming experience is available to Apple Music subscribers at no additional cost; download it now on the App Store

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today launched Apple Music Classical, a brand-new standalone music streaming app designed to deliver the listening experience classical music lovers deserve. With Apple Music Classical, Apple Music subscribers can easily find any recording in the world’s largest classical music catalog with fully optimized search; enjoy the highest audio quality available and experience many classical favorites in a whole new way with immersive Spatial Audio; browse expertly curated playlists, insightful composer biographies, and descriptions of thousands of works; and so much more. Apple Music Classical is available on the App Store beginning today and is included at no extra cost with nearly all Apple Music subscriptions. The combination of Apple Music Classical and Apple Music provides a complete music experience for everyone, from longtime classical fans to first-time listeners, and everyone in between.

“We love music — that’s really what we’re all about — and classical music is foundational to music of all genres,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “Apple Music Classical is a dedicated app that is great for classical experts as well as anyone who is new to classical, with the largest classical music selection in the world, the very best search and browse capabilities, the most premium sound experience with Spatial Audio, and thousands of exclusive recordings. We believe this is the very best classical music streaming experience available anywhere, and for us, this is just the beginning.”

The World’s Largest Classical Music Catalog

With over 5 million tracks, Apple Music Classical is home to the world’s largest classical music catalog, covering the whole spectrum from celebrated recordings to forgotten gems. For beginners, the hand-picked Editor’s Choice curation is a great place to start. And for those more familiar with a particular work, the app’s list of popular recordings provides the perfect next step — and an enjoyable chance to compare and contrast. Apple Music Classical also features thousands of exclusive albums, including recordings by world-famous orchestras.

Search Built for Classical Music

Classical works have multiple movements and tracks; famous pieces have hundreds of recordings with different orchestras, conductors, and soloists; and many composers have their own special catalog classifications, from Bach’s BWV to Mozart’s K. With these complexities in mind, Apple Music Classical has redesigned search to instantly deliver exactly what users are looking for using all combinations of keywords, from composer and work, to opus number, conductor, artist, or instrument, and even a work’s nickname. Looking up a work reveals all its recordings, plus an Editor’s Choice performance. And searching for a composer displays all available works.

An Interface Designed for Classical

The Apple Music Classical interface ensures listeners always know who and what they’re hearing, with everything laid out at a glance: work name, orchestra, conductor, contributing artists, and even year of recording. And when it comes to curating a personal library, Apple Music Classical lets listeners add more than just albums, tracks, playlists, and artists — it also supports uniquely classical categories such as works, composers, and recordings.

The Highest Audio Quality

Apple Music Classical features lossless audio of up to 24 bit/192 kHz throughout the service so listeners can experience the nuances of every performance. In Hi-Res Lossless mode, sound is so astoundingly crisp and clear that each note feels close enough to touch. And thanks to revolutionary Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, listeners can enjoy thousands of recordings from the best seat in the concert hall, immersed in a 360-degree soundscape where music comes from every direction, including above. Apple Music Classical’s Spatial Audio catalog adds new albums every week as legendary recordings are remastered and contemporary performances are captured in Spatial Audio.

Expert Recommendations and Classical Insights

Apple Music Classical’s editors have created over 700 playlists to guide listeners through 800 years of music, and more will be added. Beginners can start with The Story of Classical audio guides, which blend expert commentary and selected works to introduce key composers, periods, instruments, and classical terminology. For devotees, there’s the chance to go behind the scenes of selected recordings as leading classical artists offer track-by-track audio commentary. Plus, every week, Apple Music Classical’s hand-picked Hidden Gems highlight a selection of lesser-known works, while Composer Undiscovered playlists bring a new perspective to famous names.

Exploration Made Easy

Apple Music Classical’s Browse tab helps listeners explore the largest classical catalog in the world, guided by their interests, from composers, instruments, and periods, to conductors, orchestras, and choirs, as well as classical genres such as chamber music and stage works. With so many ways to explore, there are limitless possibilities for finding new favorites.

Exclusive New Artwork

Apple Music Classical listeners will also enjoy exclusive brand-new artwork, including hundreds of playlist covers, as well as unique, high-resolution digital portraits for many of the world’s greatest composers. Commissioned from a diverse group of artists, each image blends historical research with color palettes and artistic references from the relevant classical period. With the majority of these new works designed on Mac and iPad, the results display an attention to detail, bringing listeners face to face with leading classical figures like Bach, Beethoven, Hildegard von Bingen, Chopin, John Dowland, Fanny Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, and so many others unlike ever before.

Additionally, Apple Music has partnered with many of the greatest classical institutions in the world — including the Berlin Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, Opéra national de Paris, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Vienna Philharmonic — to bring Apple Music Classical listeners new, unique, and exclusive content and recordings at launch and beyond. Apple Music Classical will also host several live performances featuring a few of these incredible partners at Apple Store locations around the world as part of the Today at Apple programming beginning in March 2023. To sign up for Today at Apple events, visit apple.com/today.

Apple Music is also working closely with some of today’s most renowned classical composers, artists, and musicians to ensure that the app is empowering artists and engaging classical music lovers all over the world.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma was involved in early conversations about the need for such an app, and is delighted that listeners will have new ways to access and explore the world of classical music. “Classical music — and all of culture — is fundamentally about connection, about forging bonds of understanding across time and space,” said Yo-Yo Ma. “It’s innovations like this that make that connection possible, that give us space for our curiosity to run, to rediscover the familiar, and to rejoice in the unexpected.”

“I’m thrilled that Apple Music is taking the initiative to set a new standard for classical music in the streaming age,” said Hilary Hahn. “I know that I can trust Apple Music’s natively high-quality uncompressed audio to convey the subtleties of my performance, my instrument, and the space in which it’s played. And even a solo classical recording is a deeply collaborative process; Apple Music Classical’s extensive metadata ensures that everyone — composers, arrangers, conductors, musicians, producers, publishers, and more — gets the credit they deserve.”

“I’ve been working with Apple to help solve the problems of classical music streaming,” said Jonny Greenwood. “They’ve come up with a really elegant set of solutions to the unique problems that hinder the search for — and collection of — digital classical music. Put simply, there’s only one recording of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue,’ but thousands of ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’ This first kind of search, in someone newly interested in classical music, can be so off-putting and bewildering, so I’m very excited for everyone to finally have a way into this remarkable universe of music, which is welcoming to new (and old) classical fans, and which rewards enthusiasm for music with music, directly and intuitively.”

“Music is the focus of my life, and as a composer and supporter, I have long believed it is essential to our humanity,” said Gordon P. Getty. “The advent of Apple Music Classical is an extraordinary moment in our profession. It is an exceptional streaming service that celebrates diverse artists, embraces legendary recordings, and inspires curiosity in all of us. Apple has created a unique experience worthy of our passion, and I am confident it will advance the cause of music for generations to come.”

Availability

  • Beginning today, Apple Music Classical is available for download on the App Store everywhere Apple Music is offered, excluding China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Türkiye.
  • Existing Apple Music subscribers can immediately enjoy Apple Music Classical at no additional cost.
  • Apple Music Classical is available for all iPhone models running iOS 15.4 or later.
  • Apple Music Classical for Android is coming soon.
  • To listen to music on Apple Music Classical, users must have an internet connection.
  • For more information, visit apple.com/music and follow @appleclassical on Twitter.

About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Press Contacts

Jessica Bass

Apple

jessica_bass@apple.com

Apple Media Helpline

media.help@apple.com

Huge collection of vintage Apple computers hits the auction block this week

This week, a huge collection of vintage Apple computers will be auctioned off by Julien’s Auctions. The Hanspeter Luzi collection consists of more than 500 Apple computers, parts, software, and more.

Julien’s Auctions has posted the full catalog ahead of the March 30 event, and for Apple nerds of a certain age, there will surely be much to catch your eye.

My own personal WTF moment occurred as I got to lot #15. It’s an Apple II, but black, not beige, and therefore a thousand times cooler, or something. Even known at the time as the Darth Vader Apple, it’s a regular Apple II in a black case made for Bell & Howell, aimed at schools.

Lot #392 has a higher starting price than many of the lots, and an estimate of between $300-$500. It’s the lot containing a Newton MessagePad 120, Apple’s first proper go at a handheld device.

Lot #418 is already at $600 at the time of writing. No surprise then that people are bidding on a Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, which back in 1997 sold for a heady $7,499. But the TAM, as it’s known, is ultra cool, previewing a form factor that combined the computer’s hardware with a flatscreen display in a single unit—a design that wouldn’t go mainstream until the G4 iMac. (There are a few of those going up for auction, too.)

But before we get to the G4 iMac, we have to pass through the G3 iMac. Some readers may be too young to remember the craze of product design kicked off by Apple’s turn-of-the-century all-in-one. Translucent plastics became all the rage—in 2001, I remember having a translucent blue plastic kettle and a translucent blue steam iron. My pick of the G3 iMacs—of which there are more than 30—is the ludicrous Dalmatian Edition (lot #431), which had blue and white spots on its case. Just because.

You can see the full catalog here.

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