United Kingdom

In iOS 17.1 and later, iPhone users in the UK can now view banking information like account balance when using Apple Pay and viewing bank cards and credit cards in the Wallet app. Keep reading to learn how it works. Apple's Wallet app on iPhone has been able to display Apple Pay transactions made using your bank and credit cards for a while now, but if you are a Wallet app user in the United ...

If you live in the United Kingdom, there's a good chance you enjoyed yesterday's first official bank holiday of the year with your feet up. But if all you'd done was rely on the Calendar app on your iPhone, you may never have even known you were due a day off. That's because a persistent bug that has plagued the app for months still prevents Apple's UK bank holidays subscription option from...

Apple Intelligence is now available with iOS 18.1, exclusively in U.S. English – so what do users in the UK need to know? Apple Intelligence is Apple's upcoming artificial intelligence system that offers personalized, context-aware features, such as notification summaries, writing tools, image and emoji generation, Visual Lookup, and a revamped version of Siri that integrates ChatGPT and...

The UK government's secret demand for Apple to create backdoor access to encrypted user data was far broader than previously known, reports the Financial Times. British officials didn't just want to break Apple's Advanced Data Protection feature, but sought to tap a swathe of standard iCloud services used by millions worldwide. New court filings published on Wednesday by the Investigatory...

Apple has warned that UK users could face delayed product features if the country's regulators proceed with "EU-style rules" that seek to make it easier for smaller firms to compete with big tech companies. Apple told the BBC that proposed regulations from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) "are bad for users and bad for developers," and pointed to the European Union's Digital...

Support for Apple Pay's Express Mode has this week been added to the Bee Network in Greater Manchester, enabling passengers to pay for bus and tram travel without unlocking their iPhone or Apple Watch. The new functionality marks the first time a UK integrated public transport system outside London has implemented Express Mode. According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the launch ...

The British government has agreed to withdraw its controversial demand to access Apple users' encrypted iCloud data, according to the U.S. director of intelligence. Tulsi Gabbard said in a post on X (Twitter) the UK had dropped its plans to force Apple to provide a back door that would have "enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil...

Epic Games today criticized the focus of measures that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering implementing against Apple and Google, claiming that it might not be able to bring Fortnite back to the iOS App Store in the UK. The CMA said that it will designate Apple and Google with "strategic market status" under new digital competition laws, giving the CMA the ability...

Apple News+ Audio is expanding to the UK, Canada, and Australia as of today. Apple debuted ‌Apple News‌+ Audio way back in 2020, and it has been limited to U.S. ‌Apple News‌ subscribers until now. ‌Apple News‌+ Audio is primarily designed for ‌Apple News‌+ subscribers, and it provides professionally narrated versions of the best stories from ‌Apple News‌. Audio stories can be listened to in...

Britain's competition regulator has today outlined sweeping proposals that could force Apple to fundamentally alter how it operates its App Store, Safari browser, and iOS ecosystem in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a detailed roadmap of potential interventions after proposing to designate both Apple and Google with "strategic market status" under new digital...

The British government may be forced to drop its plans to force Apple to build a backdoor to access encrypted user data, the Financial Times reports. In February, it emerged that the British government had secretly demanded Apple gives it access to all encrypted user content uploaded to iCloud. It argued the ability, which is unprecedented for any other democratic country, is necessary for...

WhatsApp plans to support Apple in its ongoing legal battle with the UK Home Office over user data privacy, the messaging platform's boss Will Cathcart has told the BBC. The Meta-owned service warned that the case "could set a dangerous precedent" by encouraging other governments to demand access to encrypted communications. Apple launched legal action after receiving a secret government...

Apple has today been ordered to pay more than $700 million to the Texas-based cellular technology company Optis in a landmark UK patent ruling (via ipfray). In London, the England and Wales Court of Appeal today ruled that Apple must pay a lump sum of $502 million to Optis Cellular Technology LLC for the use of standard-essential 4G patents in iPhones and iPads over a 14-year period spanning ...

Apple has filed a legal appeal against a UK government order requiring the company to create a "back door" to its encrypted cloud storage systems, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) confirmed on Monday (via Reuters). The confirmation means that the Home Office cannot keep all the details of its demand out of the public domain. The high-profile challenge follows reports earlier this year ...

Two human rights groups have filed a legal complaint with the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in an attempt to quash the UK government's demand for Apple to allow backdoor access to its encrypted data (via Financial Times). Earlier this year, the UK government invoked the Investigatory Powers Act to demand that Apple create a backdoor granting secret access to encrypted user data...

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday issued its final verdict on the state of the country's mobile browser market, and the regulator has concluded that Apple's policies are largely responsible for hampering competition and innovation. The CMA's independent inquiry group's investigation found that Apple's requirement for all iOS browsers to use its WebKit engine is...

Apple today filed a legal complaint with the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal in an attempt to quash the UK government's demand for backdoor access to encrypted data, reports Financial Times. Earlier this year, the UK government ordered Apple to give it secret access to encrypted user data uploaded to iCloud worldwide, through the creation of a backdoor. The UK used its Investigatory...

Apple on February 21 withdrew its Advanced Data Protection feature from the United Kingdom following government demands for backdoor access to encrypted user data. The move came after UK officials reportedly ordered Apple in secret to provide unrestricted access to encrypted iCloud not just in the UK, but worldwide. The development has naturally left some Apple device users in the UK asking ...

Apple today announced that its clinical-grade, over-the-counter Hearing Aid feature for AirPods Pro 2 is now available in the United Kingdom. "At Apple, we believe that technology can help people live healthier lives, and we're delighted to bring the Hearing Aid feature to the UK, offering our users an end-to-end hearing health experience with AirPods Pro 2," said Sumbul Desai, M.D., Apple's...

Apple has withdrawn its Advanced Data Protection iCloud feature from the United Kingdom following government demands for backdoor access to encrypted user data, according to Bloomberg. The move comes after UK officials secretly ordered Apple to provide unrestricted access to encrypted iCloud content worldwide. Customers who are already using Advanced Data Protection, or ADP, will need to...

Members of key congressional oversight committees have called on the United States' new top intelligence director to pressure the United Kingdom to withdraw its controversial demand for Apple to create a backdoor into encrypted user data stored in iCloud, according to The Washington Post. Last week The Post revealed that a secret UK order, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act last...

Apple Maps now has expanded coverage for cycling directions in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The expansion, first spotted by a Reddit user, means cyclists can plan a journey on the app from, say, Land's End to John o' Groats, if they're that way inclined. Cycling directions have been available in the UK and Ireland for a few years, but until now, support didn't cover the whole of the...

Given today's bombshell report revealing the UK government's unprecedented demand for backdoor access to encrypted iCloud data, it's clear that Apple now faces a massive challenge. How it responds could have major implications for not only the company's privacy stance, but also its global operations as well as its reputation. According to The Washington Post, the British government has...