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...

Apple has stopped offering financing options to customers in the United Kingdom, as indicated by the elimination of its UK financing page, which was removed from the UK Apple site this afternoon. Apple previously allowed customers in the UK to sign up for financing on Apple products through PayPal Credit or Barclays when checking out from the online Apple Store. PayPal Credit could be used on...

Apple customers in the United Kingdom who pre-ordered HomePod have started receiving shipping despatch notifications this morning. Those who ordered before initial supplies began dwindling earlier this week can expect deliveries to arrive sometime on Friday, which is Apple's official launch day for HomePod. Images via @ryancarter_94 As expected, it looks as if Apple is relying on DPD to...

Amazon began taking pre-orders from U.K. customers for its Alexa-powered Echo Spot speaker on Tuesday. Announced along with all-new Echo models in September 2017, the compact display-and-speaker unit has only been available in the U.S. before now. The Spot is capable of standard Amazon Echo functions like controlling smart home devices and streaming music, but can also show users additional...

Amazon could be preparing to bid next month for the rights to stream English Premier League football (soccer) matches, if a report by Bloomberg this morning is anything to go by. According to a source familiar with the matter, the digital giant sees the English Premier League as a huge opportunity to draw more people to its Prime membership service in the U.K. and convert occasional customers ...

Hive, the U.K. smart connected home company backed by British Gas, today announced the Hive View, a smart indoor camera with an emphasis on style and high definition livestream security. The 130-degree wide angle lens camera is capable of 1080p live-streaming, automatic 16ft night vision, and includes Bluetooth 4.1 to simplify setup. Meanwhile, the design, by industrial designer Yves Béhar,...

Apple quietly updated several of its European online stores for refurbished products over the last couple of days, and has added its latest 27-inch 5K iMac models to the discounted listings for the first time. The iMacs were first released in June of 2017 and feature Kaby Lake processors, faster SSDs, and AMD discrete graphics. Online stores in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain have...

Google is facing a collective lawsuit in the United Kingdom over its alleged snooping of iPhone users, according to a new report in the Financial Times. According to the lawsuit, led by a former director of the consumer group Which?, Google illegally gathered the personal data of millions of iPhone users in the U.K. between 2011 and 2012. Veteran consumer rights campaigner Richard Lloyd...

The U.K. government announced in Wednesday's annual budget that it plans to clamp down on tax avoidance by increasing the tax it collects from online giants such as Apple and Amazon. In his Treasury speech to the Commons, Chancellor Philip Hammond said income tax would be charged on royalties relating to U.K. sales, even when they are paid to a low-tax jurisdiction and would not normally be...

Two U.K. banks today updated their mobile apps to support Face ID, the facial authentication feature exclusive to iPhone X, which officially launches on Friday, November 3. Nationwide and Bank of Scotland became the first mobile banking apps in the U.K. to provide compatibility with Apple's new facial recognition technology, which is set to replace Touch ID fingerprint authentication on all...

The BBC today updated its Radio iPlayer app to support Apple CarPlay, allowing vehicle drivers with the feature to listen to BBC radio more safely when behind the wheel. A simplified touch interface has been adopted for the new in-car version, designed to be easy to fast-forward in a show or skip through entire episodes. Apart from CarPlay and Android Auto support, the update also brings...

Following yesterday's announcement of price hikes in the U.S., Netflix has now confirmed that some U.K. subscribers can also expect to pay more for the video streaming service going forward. Those on the Basic tier, costing £6 a month, won't see a price increase. However, that's where the good news ends, because anyone on the Standard tier, which includes shows in HD and the ability to...

EE will be the exclusive mobile network in the U.K. to offer a tariff for the new LTE-capable Apple Watch Series 3 when it begins shipping later this month. Announced at Apple's media event on Tuesday, the latest version of the smartwatch contains an eSIM that can connect to a 4G LTE network so users can make and receive calls on their wrist, while watchOS apps can make use of the mobile data...

U.K. smart home solutions provider LightwaveRF announced on Monday that its forthcoming product range, which includes a light dimmer and smart socket, will be fully compatible with Apple's HomeKit platform. On October 3, LightwaveRF will launch its new Generation 2 Link Plus smart hub, Smart Dimmers, Smart Sockets, and a Smart Radiator Valve. The Link Plus connects to a Wi-Fi router and...

One of Apple's tiniest retail stores, at the WestQuay shopping center in Southampton, UK, is getting a much-needed expansion this weekend. Apple's tiny WestQuay retail store opened in February 2007 The current store, which recently turned 10 years old, will close on Friday evening for the final time, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. On Saturday, a larger store will open...

The U.K. home secretary Amber Rudd has argued that "real people" do not want secure end-to-end encryption on messaging platforms and are more concerned with usability and features than unbreakable security (via Yahoo News). Rudd made her case in a newspaper article, published ahead of a meeting today with technology companies in San Francisco, where she will warn tech giants that their...

Apple Pay continues its global expansion today with several new participating banks, and more coming soon, in France, Italy, Ireland, Spain, and the UK. In France, Apple says Apple Pay will be available later this year to Banque BCP and Arkéa Banque Privée customers, and through mobile-only banking and/or payment solutions Orange Bank, Lydia, and N26. In Italy, as promised, Apple Pay is av...

British carrier EE today announced it is extending its free six-month Apple Music subscription offer to all new and existing iPhone and Android smartphone customers with a pay monthly plan. SIM-only customers are also eligible. The offer begins Wednesday, July 19, and customers will be able to register for the deal with a short-code to be revealed next week. EE said any data consumed by...

Apple is asking visitors to its U.K. site to consider making a donation to help those affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London by purchasing the iTunes single "Bridge Over Troubled Water", which went straight to the top of the U.K. charts just two hours after it was released on Wednesday. Artists for Grenfell represents more than 50 musicians including Craig David, Liam Payne, and...

Hive, the U.K. smart connected home company backed by British Gas, today announced the Hive Camera, bringing video to its family of smart devices for the first time. Similar to the Nest Cam, the Hive Camera enables users to monitor their home 24/7 wherever they are, using an accompanying mobile app. The device features motion and audio sensors that can be set to trigger motion and audio...

The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs has published draft proposals that would enforce end-to-end encryption on all digital communications and forbid backdoors that enable law enforcement to access private message data. The proposed amendment relates to Article 7 of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, which says that EU citizens have a right to...