I went down to the local Apple store this evening with my son Lyle. The store is usually packed, and paying for something isn’t always easy.
That’s what Apple has developed EasyPay, a new system for scanning and paying for goods yourself using your own iPhone. You just scan the barcode and hit “Pay.” It’s so easy, Apple staffers joke it should be called “EasyTheft.” But it’s a pretty radical new way to go shopping.
Here’s a short video of us buying some goods, showing how quick and easy it is to use:
My son selected a case for the iPod touch. I got out my iPhone and we paid in six easy steps:
- Join the store’s Wi-Fi network. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi. Choose the “Apple Store” network
- Go back to your Home screen and launch the Apple Store app
- The EasyPay button pops up. Hit it
- Scan the barcode
- Hit Purchase
- Type in your iTunes password
That’s it! You’re done. The only hiccup we encountered was verifying the credit card Apple has on file. But this is a one-off process. The app didn’t ask for it again.
It’s pretty strange to go to a store and scan items yourself, as though you are an employee. No one paid us much attention. I tucked the case under my arm and we left the store. No one blinked an eye. Satisfied the system works, we went back in and did it again.
EasyPay works for most of the stuff on the store shelves — cases, cables, software, even higher-priced items like speakers. For major purchases like iPhones, iPods and computers, you still have to interact with a store employee.
It also won’t scan items that require Apple to record a serial number. We tried to buy a $99 Apple TV, but it wouldn’t process the purchase. Instead, the app paged a store employee to assist us. After a minute, the employee came over and scanned the box using his handheld scanner. He said he to scan the serial number for some reason.
I tried to get my son to pretend to scan some stuff and leave the store. I was curious to see how it deals with shoplifters. He refused.
So I asked a couple of employees what happens if you just pretend. They didn’t know. The system just went live on Tuesday, and no one has tried to leave without paying — yet.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
