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Amazon's New App Lets You Scan Your Palm to Pay at Whole Foods, Panera Bread and More

Amazon today launched the Amazon One app , which is designed to allow customers to scan their palms to make device-free purchases at Whole Foods, Panera Bread, and 150 third-party locations in stadiums, airports, fitness centers, and convenience stores. Prior to the launch of the app, signing up for Amazon One had to be done in a physical location with an Amazon One device. The app lets customers create a profile, take a photo of their palm, and add a payment method. Finishing sign-up will still require an initial interaction with an Amazon One machine. Amazon One can be used for payment, entry to venues, age verification, and loyalty rewards. The service uses generative AI to match a camera phone photo of a person's palm to near-infrared imagery from an Amazon One scanner. The AI system is able to pair palm and vein imagery to create a unique, numerical vector representation that is used for identity matching. Amazon says that it is 99.99 percent accurate. Palm images ta

Judge Tosses Out Cryptocurrency Apple Antitrust Lawsuit Filed by Venmo Customers

A lawsuit targeting Apple's refusal to allow apps to support cryptocurrency transactions was today tossed out by a San Francisco judge, reports Reuters . The lawsuit, which was filed by Venmo and Cash App customers, claimed that Apple drove up the fees charged by Venmo and Cash App by not letting payment apps facilitate cryptocurrency transactions. The plaintiffs alleged that Apple curbed competition in the mobile peer-to-peer payment market with its App Store guidelines. No option for cryptocurrency has supposedly caused Venmo and Cash App to raise prices for transactions and services due to "no competitive check." A payment app that is based on decentralized cryptocurrency technology would let iPhone users "send payments to each other without any intermediary at all." According to the lawsuit, Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, and other payment providers agreed to an ‌App Store‌ guideline that does not allow for cryptocurrency transactions, which constitutes an

Amazon Discounts AirTag 4-Pack to $74.99 ($24 Off)

Apple's AirTag 4-Pack has dropped to $74.99 today on Amazon, down from $99.00. This deal brings the AirTag 4-Pack back down to its all-time low price, which is a price that we haven't tracked since the holiday season. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. If you only need one AirTag, Amazon has the 1-Pack for $24.00 , which is a solid second-best price on the Bluetooth tracker. Delivery dates for the AirTag 4-Pack are estimated between this Saturday, March 30 and Tuesday, April 2, while the 1-Pack dates have stretched into mid-April. $24 OFF AirTag 4-Pack for $74.99 AirTag provides a way to keep track of your items in the iOS Find My app, allowing you to play a sound on the built-in speaker to find something locally or with precision finding when it's farther away. Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-r

iOS 17.4 Seemingly Brings Qi2 Wireless Charging Support to iPhone 12

iOS 17.4 brings support for 15W wireless charging with Qi2 to the iPhone 12, according to Macworld . Qi2 is a next-generation wireless charging technology designed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) and based on MagSafe . ‌MagSafe‌ was first introduced on the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and offers speeds of up to 15W. Third-party wireless chargers without ‌MagSafe‌ certification have been limited to maximum speeds of 7.5W, but Qi2 can reach the full 15W. Last year, Apple enabled 15W speeds with Qi2 wireless chargers on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 via iOS 17.2. The iPhone 15 lineup already supported Qi2 upon launch, leaving the ‌iPhone‌ 12 as the only ‌iPhone‌ model with ‌MagSafe‌ without the faster charging capability when using Qi2 accessories. Citing reader reports and its own tests, Macworld claims that the ‌iPhone‌ 12 is able to charge at 15W when using a Qi2 wireless charger after an update to iOS 17.4. When using a Qi2 charger, the device now displays the animation that only app

Foldable iPhone Could Arrive in 2027 or Be Postponed Indefinitely

Apple's proposed launch schedule for its first foldable iPhone has been delayed until 2027 due to technical challenges, claims a report out of Korea. According to Alpha Biz (via DigiTimes ), Apple executives have adjusted the launch schedule for the foldable ‌iPhone‌ from the fourth quarter of 2026 to the first quarter of 2027 following issues with the acquisition of parts, including foldable displays that meet its high standards. Apple is still in the early stages of developing two foldable smartphones, according to The Information . The report said that the two ‌iPhone‌ prototypes fold widthwise like a clamshell. More recently, Samsung Securities claimed that Apple's first foldable ‌iPhone‌ will feature a 6-inch external display and an 8-inch main display. Meanwhile, Korean outlet The Elec last month reported that Apple is also considering launching a 7- to 8-inch device that could ultimately replace the 8.3-inch iPad mini . Despite the rumors, however, there is

Google Maps Gains New AI Tools, Updated Recommendation Lists and More

Google today announced several changes that it is making to the Google Maps platform, including an AI update. Google Maps now provides better at-a-glance information on locations, with the details powered by Google AI. Maps shows photo highlights and reviews that summarize what people like about a location. A restaurant's food items can be identified using AI, and Google Maps will also provide cost, potential availability, and whether or not it caters to dietary restrictions. Google says that it will now be easier to discover helpful recommendation lists from top sites and the Google Maps community in select cities in the U.S. and Canada. To use the feature, search for a city and swipe to see curated lists of recommendations from people familiar with the city. There are also Trending, Top, and Gems lists that highlight popular locations to visit when traveling. The feature is available in 40 cities this week, with more coming in the future. To go along with the change to re

Apple's iPhone Shipments in China Fell 33% Last Month

Apple's iPhone shipments in China dropped by 33% in February compared to the same month last year, according to governement figures (via Bloomberg ). A report from China's Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed that foreign brands shipped around 2.4 million smartphones last month. Given that Apple is the only overseas vendor with a meaningful market share, the company accounts for the vast majority of those shipments. The decline in February marks the third consecutive month of lower iPhone shipments. Apple in January shipped some 5.5 million units in China, which is around 39% fewer handsets than the same time last year. In December, the company suffered a 30% year-on-year decline in the country. Apple appears to be facing an uphill battle to reverse falling iPhone sales in China, with a 24% year-on-year decline in 2023 projected to deepen through 2024. Apple resellers in China have been increasingly dependent on discounts to shift ‌iPhone 15‌ stoc