Although iOS 8 was first showcased at this year’s WWDC developer gathering back in June, it wasn’t until September’s iPhone 6 event that we first caught a glimpse of the new integrated, contactless payment system dubbed Apple Pay. The Cupertino company’s new infrastructure would not, we were told, be a part of iOS 8.0 on day one, but would follow in a subsequent October software update. According to a new report, the Mac maker is right on schedule to roll Apple Pay out with iOS 8.1, with the same source also offering a firm date on the release.
Informants of Bank Innovation believe that iOS 8.1 will be made public on October 20th, and among a number of other enhancements, will be focused on getting Apple Pay up and running. Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been kitted out with NFC radios especially for this feature, and with Apple Watch also set to integrate with the system when it débuts early next year, it’s critical that Apple get introduces Apple Pay with as few issues as possible.
As we discovered earlier on this week, it seems that Apple is switching up its iOS release schedule this time around. Whereas iOS 7 was followed by a series of incremental iOS 7.0.x updates before iOS 7.1 launched during the opening stages of this year, iOS 8.1 is going to be dropping just five weeks after that initial roll-out, and from what we’ve heard, iOS 8.2 and 8.3 are already in the works.
October 20th is a Monday, and the day after, it is reckoned that Apple will hold its second major event in as many months to showcase the new iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display. Both are expected to benefit from Apple’s A8 processor as well as Touch ID, and there could also be a gold color configuration in the offing, but while iPads and October tend to go hand in hand, there may be quite a bit more on the agenda.
OS X Yosemite just hit Golden Master, and should also be rolling out on one of these two days, and with the notion of a 5K Retina iMac and new Mac mini also floating around, October is shaping up to be quite a busy one as far as Apple is concerned.
(Source: BankInnovation)
You may also like to check out:
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.