Vision Pro launched in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. on Friday. Interested buyers can now go to an Apple retail store in any of those countries for a demonstration. Or just put in an order online.
This comes two weeks after the product arrived in Asia. The U.S. launch was in February.
Vision Pro launched in Apple Stores in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore on Friday. It’s the first time the AR headset has been officially available outside the United States since it debuted in February.
In addition, the product went up for preorder in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. on Friday. Delivery will come in July.
As Paris gears up for French Open tennis next week and the Summer Olympics in July, Apple Wallet makes paying for Paris public transit easier. Users can now add a Navigo card and simply tap their iPhone or Apple Watch to ride. It works on the metro, trains, buses and more in the French capital region, Apple said Tuesday. Apple Maps added more real-time transit information, too.
“In the lead-up to what will surely be an amazing summer for the Paris region, we’re thrilled to bring Navigo cards to Apple Wallet and provide Parisians and visitors with an incredibly convenient and secure way to ride transit in Paris and explore the city,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. “Users will love the safety, security, and seamlessness of purchasing passes and riding with a Navigo card in Apple Wallet on iPhone and Apple Watch.”
French iPhone users now have access to Tap to Pay, which enables businesses to accept contactless payments from credit cards directly on their iOS handset – no additional hardware required.
The service has been gradually roiling out around the world since it launched in 2022.
We now know the last possible day Apple will release iOS 17.1: Wednesday, October 24.
That is the date by which the iPhone-maker committed to introducing an update that reduces the amount of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the iPhone 12, as required by a French regulatory agency. And that update is part of iOS 17.1.
French regulators approved Apple’s software update addressing radio-frequency radiation levels in iPhone 12 on Friday, so the handset can remain on the market in that country.
Previously, authorities ordered sales of the phone halted until it complied with European electromagnetic radiation standards.
Apple is expanding iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature to more countries. The feature is now available to iPhone 14 owners in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Ireland starting today.
Emergency SOS was only available in the United States and Canada so far. Apple previously confirmed the feature would expand to more countries in December.
A case brought by France’s finance ministry against Apple will have its day in court September 17. The case involves allegedly abusive contractual terms imposed by Apple for developers selling software in the App Store.
It’s a similar scenario to the complaint made by Fortnite makers Epic Games, regarding the control Apple has over developers on iOS. The lawsuit follows a three-year probe carried out by the DGCCRF consumer fraud watchdog. It’s also just the latest of many complaints made about the App Store around the world.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office is not happy about certain international digital tax laws, which it claims is unfair to American tech giants.
According to Reuters, taxes on digital services imposed by France, India, Italy and Turkey are “inconsistent” with international tax principles. They could, in turn, result in retaliatory tariffs being put in place by the United States.
Apple has reportedly declined to sign on to a new French initiative that asks big tech companies to commit to paying their “fair share” of tax.
French President Emmanuel Macron has set up a “Tech for Good Call” that will seek to implement these changes. However, while Google, Microsoft, Facebook and 72 other companies have joined, Apple and Amazon haven’t signed on yet.
A French antitrust complaint against Apple targets an iOS 14 feature that makes it tougher for companies to indiscriminately use tracking technology for mobile advertising.
The anti-tracking feature previously faced criticism, unsurprisingly, from companies that work in mobile advertising. However, this is the one of the first legal actions taken against Apple due to the feature.
The Apple Store stopped bundling free headphones with all new iPhones sold this autumn. But that’s not true in France. In that one country, buyers still get a pair of EarPods with their purchase… in a relatively enormous box.
But French consumers don’t get a wall charger in the box. That’s true for every iPhone buyer.
A French official accused Apple on Tuesday of hampering the effectiveness of the country’s COVID-19 contract-tracing platform by blocking access to data via Bluetooth.
France minister for digital technology Cedric O told BFM Business TV that Apple “could have helped us make the application work even better on the iPhone. They have not wished to do so.”
France is calling on Apple to loosen its Bluetooth restrictions on iPhone that are said to be holding back a government contact-tracing app designed to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
Apple currently prevents iOS apps from using Bluetooth connectivity in the background under certain circumstances. Its policy blocks France from moving forward with its app, a Tuesday report reveals.
Apple’s websites for the U.K. and France were on Thursday updated to display COVID-19 advice from the government.
Large featured sections on their homepages remind visitors of the official advice related to the coronavirus pandemic. In the U.K., this includes the same National Health Service (NHS) video that can be found in the App Store.
France’s competition watchdog announced on Monday it has fined Apple 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) for reportedly violating antitrust laws, the biggest antitrust fine it has ever levied.
The French watchdog accuses Apple of exhibiting anti-competitive behavior through its distribution network, including reported abuse of the economic dependence of its resellers. The company plans to appeal.
France’s antitrust competition watchdog will fine Apple over its “distribution and sales network” early next week, a report published Thursday claims.
Based on two sources close to the situation, Reuters says that a decision will be announced Monday.
Apple has been fined 25 million euros ($27.4 million) in France after being found guilty of intentionally throttling the speed of older iPhones with previous software updates for iOS.
In 2018, Apple admitted that these updates slowed older devices. However, it has always insisted that it did this to prolong the life of aging lithium-ion batteries.
Google will pay a total of $1.1 billion to end a four-year probe into its tax activities in France. This is a combination of fine and repayment of additional taxes Google didn’t pay first time around.
France and Germany have both pushed for tighter tax regulations of multination tech giants. Others — Apple included — have been charged in the past. They may have to stump up more cash in the future, too.
The reconstructed Notre Dame cathedral could take some design cues from Apple stores if a proposal from design frim Eight Inc. wins the design competition.
Eight Inc, which designed some of the first iconic Apple stores, submitted a design that uses structural glass to reconstruct the roof and spire that were destroyed in a fire earlier this year. Mockups for the transparent roof look pretty incredible.
Take a close look at the glass spire:
You can now order Apple’s new Powerbeats Pro wireless headphones in the U.K., France, and Germany.
They’re only available in black for now, with other color options coming this summer, and it seems that stock is limited. You can expect delivery around June 6 if you’re fast enough.
The world was horrified yesterday as Paris’ iconic Notre Dame cathedral was ravaged by fire. Today, offers to help rebuild are pouring in, with Apple joining the chorus of companies and individuals promising contributions.
The EU has gone after companies like Apple as part of a crackdown on what it views as unethical tax avoidance. As part of that mission, France is today debating a draft GAFA tax law.
An acronym derived from Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, the proposed GAFA law could put a 3 percent tax on revenues for tech companies with annual revenue of more than 750 million euros ($842 million). From the name of the proposed law, it’s no secret which companies that would involve.
Apple has agreed to pay French authorities around $571 million in back taxes, according to new reports.
Apple today confirmed the deal but did not disclose the sum itself. The agreement comes after a multi-year audit into Apple’s accounts by the French tax administration.
Beleaguered French president Emmanuel Macron is hoping to win back public favor by putting in place tax hikes on American tech giants doing business in Europe.
France has reportedly been working with other countries in the European Union to introduce a digital tax on companies including Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. The new taxes, set to be introduced in January, could pull in $792 million.