AppleMagazine

spending: apple revolutionizing finances

With Apple on the verge of launching an Apple-branded card and adding new features to the Wallet app to improve financial management and spending, we take a closer look at Apple Pay, its impact on the wider financial sector, and explore why Apple’s future is in fintech… (Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez) THE SUCCESS OF APPLE PAY Whilst Apple has been characteristically coy regarding the success of Apple Pay, Tim Cook told Quartz in 2018 that the company handled more than a billion transactions over the year, putting it ahead of Square and just behind PayPal. Of course, Apple Pay was always going to be a success because of its convenience, but Apple has had to work hard to build trust amongst consumers and persuade them to spend with…

google paid former exec $35 million after harassment claim

Google paid former search executive Amit Singhal $35 million in an exit package when he was reportedly forced to resign after a sexual assault investigation, according to court documents released this week.Details of the exit package were revealed as part of a shareholder lawsuit against the company, one that followed a published report of payouts Google made to executives accused of sexual misconduct.The lawsuit targets the board of Google parent Alphabet, charging that its members had a duty to protect the company and its shareholders from risk and reputation damage. Instead, it says, the board agreed to pay off and otherwise support male executives facing misconduct charges — opening the company to reputational and financial damage by doing so. Previously redacted portions of the lawsuit were made available, including…

emoji gods approve skin-tone options for couples of color

In 1664, Maryland passed the first British colonial law banning marriage between whites and slaves. An 1883 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that state prohibitions on interracial marriage don’t violate the Fourteenth Amendment held for more than 80 years.While such impediments to marriage were dismantled over time, there are still hurdles, however small, to overcome. Here, in 2019, interracial couples have a small victory to celebrate: The approval of 71 new variations of emoji for couples of color.Capping a yearlong project by, of all people, the folks at the swipe-right dating app Tinder and tech activist group Emojination, the emoji gods (known as the Unicode Consortium) recently approved the additions in characters technically referred to as people “holding hands.” A new “gender-inclusive” couple emoji was also approved among 230 new…

facebook’s messaging ambitions amount to much more than chat

Facebook, already the leader in enabling you to share photos, videos and links, now wants to be a force in messaging, commerce, payments and just about everything else you do online.The company’s ambitions harken to how WeChat has become the centerpiece of digital life in China, where people use it to order movie tickets, subway passes, food delivery and rides. If Facebook succeeds in turning its own messaging services into a platform for everything, it could ultimately threaten established services such as Snapchat, Yelp, Venmo, eBay and even Apple and Amazon.“It’s clear that Facebook does have very broad ambitions here,” said Bob O’Donnell, president and chief analyst at Technalysis Research. “Their goal is to be the WeChat of everywhere but China.” But Facebook faces numerous hurdles. A key one…

millennials global dream: inventions, ideas & ideologies

THE ASPIRATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF AN OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD GENERATION It’s been a decade since the world boasted its first YouTuber to gain one million subscribers. By contrast, by the end of 2018, there were more than 4,600 channels with more than two million subscribers each . These still rather select individuals are part of something now much, much bigger; a generation of entrepreneurs who have made a living not where others failed, but where nobody else has ever found success before.That’s not to suggest that some haven’t failed, however. For every Fred Figglehorn – the fictional character of Lucas Alan Cruikshank that became the first YouTuber to hit one million subscribers – there are thousands of others who haven’t been able to command the same level of attention…

verizon says 5g network will cost extra $10 a month

A handful of Verizon customers could soon have faster wireless service — but they’ll have to pay $10 a month more.Verizon says it’ll flip the switch next month on a much-hyped, next-generation “5G” phone network. Service will start in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. Verizon expects to have 5G in 30 cities this year.For now, few people will sign on. The offer is available only on unlimited plans, which currently start at $75 for one person or $160 for a family of four without 5G. On family plans, each 5G line would cost $10 extra. And network access will initially work with just one phone, Motorola’s Moto Z3, with a special 5G attachment. Verizon will offer some promotions at first, including discounts on the phone and attachment and the…