Retailer and Credit Card Internal Training Info Suggests October 20 Apple Pay Launch Date

Apple's new mobile payments service, Apple Pay, may be enabled shortly after its Thursday iPad-centric media event, according to internal information leaked from various retailers and credit card companies.



Employees that work for one of Apple's major Apple Pay credit card partners have already finished their Apple Pay training and have been told that the payments service will be released on Monday, October 20, according to an employee who shared the information with MacRumors.





Similarly, a lengthy internal memo from Panera Bread obtained by 9to5Mac also suggests that Apple will launch Apple Pay on Monday, October 20.

As you are aware, Panera is a featured partner with Apple in their announcement of the iPhone 6 and the new Apple Pay platform. Now, we are excited to share that Apple is very close to releasing Apple Pay and actually planning to launch on October 20th.

Panera, like many other Apple retail partners, is currently training its employees on how to accept Apple Pay payments through the company's Verifone point-of-sale-systems. Panera has provided a short training video for managers and cashiers, along with an FAQ and talking points.



Last week, an internal memo addressed to Walgreens employees suggested that Apple was planning to launch Apple Pay on October 18, so it is a bit unclear when Apple Pay will actually go live for consumers. A weekend debut is an odd choice for Apple, lending credence to the Monday, October 20 date.



USAA, one of Apple's bank partners, has said that it plans to begin supporting Apple Pay on November 7, suggesting that retailers and banks will begin rolling out support for the service at different times.



Whether planned for October 18 or October 20, the launch of Apple Pay appears to be imminent, and as Apple Pay will be enabled via an update to iOS 8, the launch of iOS 8.1 is also coming in the next few days. First seeded to developers in late September, iOS 8.1 contains hidden references to Apple Pay.



Apple Pay's exact debut date will likely be revealed during Apple's October 16 media event, which will see the company introducing a new iPad Air, a new Retina iPad mini and a Retina iMac. Both of Apple's new iPads include support for Touch ID and will allow users to make purchases within apps using Apple Pay.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:39PM, October 15

Samsung Bashes iPad's Screen, Lack of Multitasking in New Galaxy Tab S Ads

Last week, Samsung released an anti-iPhone ad calling iPhone users "wall huggers" in a promotion for its Galaxy S5 smartphone. Today the South Korean company is promoting its new Galaxy Tab S with two new anti-Apple advertisements, bashing the iPad's lack of multitasking and its screen.



In the first ad, Samsung features a crying baby and a dad fighting over an iPad that's unable to display two apps at once. The baby wants to watch a movie while the dad is trying to catch a sports game. A Galaxy Tab S, which can display multiple apps at once, is swapped for the iPad, and suddenly both dad and baby are happy.

"What's going on? Ahhh, it looks like dad's tablet can only do one thing at a time. What if it were a Samsung Galaxy Tab S? With the Galaxy Tab S, the whole family has something to smile about."

The second advertisement pits the display of the iPad against the display of the Galaxy Tab S. In the spot, two friends are watching the same scary movie on an iPad and on a Samsung Galaxy Tab S. A scene depicting a dark figure against a black background is shown on both tablets, with the figure not appearing on the iPad's screen.

What went wrong here? Ahhh, It's not a Super AMOLED. What if it were a Samsung Galaxy Tab S? Compared to many LCDs, Super AMOLEDs give you 100 times higher contrast. Instead of 1000:1, you get 100,000:1 contrast. Conventional LCDs get their color using backlight but Super AMOLEDs turn off pixel by pixel, each emitting their own light. So you get all the fine details and varied shades of black that many LCDs can't show.

First announced in June, Samsung's newest tablet, the Galaxy Tab S features a high-resolution (2560 x 1600) Super AMOLED display. During its presentation, Samsung touted the tablet's display quality, suggesting it had a more accurate color range, better contrast, and higher outdoor visibility than a typical LCD display. The Galaxy Tab S is also Samsung's thinnest tablet to date, offering a fingerprint sensor, an 11 hour battery life, and Android's multitasking features.



The iPad Air, in contrast, features a 2048 by 1536 Retina display with 3.1 million pixels. While it is unable to run two apps at once presently, split-screen multitasking is said to be in the works. Apple is also working on a new version of the iPad Air and the Retina iPad mini, both of which are expected to come equipped with Touch ID fingerprint sensors and an A8 processor.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:39PM, July 11