An antitrust lawsuit accusing Apple of blocking tap-to-pay competition is moving forward and will see banks and credit unions able to band together to sue Apple. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White this week certified a class in the lawsuit. It will include any U.S. entities that issued any payment card enabled for Apple Pay and paid Apple a fee for ‌Apple Pay‌ transactions on that payment card. He also denied a motion from Apple to exclude expert testimony that plaintiff attorneys allege offers proof Apple has monopoly power over the mobile wallet market. First filed in 2022, the suit claims Apple illegally collects up to $1 billion annually in fees by preventing rivals from accessing the iPhone's NFC chip to build mobile wallets that would compete with ‌Apple Pay‌. When an iPhone user buys something with a card linked to ‌Apple Pay‌, the card issuer has to pay Apple a 0.15 percent fee for credit cards and half a cent for debit cards, according to the lawsuit. If you make a $1,000 purchase via ‌Apple Pay‌, Apple collects $1.50 from the card issuer. The complaint alleges that Apple forces card issuers to pay fees by making ‌Apple Pay‌ the only tap-to-pay option. It points to Google's Android, which supports multiple wallets and does not collect a fee from card issuers for contactless payments. It suggests Apple would not be able to continue to charge "substantial fees" if it were forced to support other mobile wallets on Apple devices. Apple has changed its policies since the lawsuit was filed. As of iOS 18.1 , developers are able to offer NFC contactless payments in their apps. Developers have access to the NFC chip in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, the European Economic Area, and many other countries. Attorneys are seeking repayment of the fees card issuers have paid and injunctive relief to "put an end to Apple's policies." Related Roundup: Apple Pay Tag: Apple Lawsuits Related Forum: Apple Music, Apple Pay/Card, iCloud, Fitness+ This article, " Banks and Credit Unions to Team Up Against Apple Pay Fees " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Thousands of U.S. banks and credit unions can pursue their Apple Pay fee claims together after a federal judge certified their antitrust lawsuit as a class action. Using Apple Pay at a payment terminal The financial institutions accuse Apple of blocking competing tap-to-pay wallets on iPhone while charging card issuers fees for transactions. They argue Apple could impose those fees because rival wallets couldn't compete for contactless payments on the iPhone. Judge Jeffrey White certified the class on September 23 and rejected Apple's attempt to exclude the plaintiffs' damages expert. The ruling doesn't decide whether Apple violated antitrust law or owes the issuers money. Card issuers pay Apple 0.15% of the value of credit card purchases made through Apple Pay and half a cent for each debit transaction, according to the credit unions' lawsuit. For example, a $100 credit card purchase through Apple Pay costs the card issuer 15 cents in Apple Pay fees. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
The next low-cost iPad will be equipped with an A19 chip, C1X modem, N1 networking chip, and 8GB RAM, according to details found in Apple's code by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. We've heard some of these same specifications in prior rumors, so this is more of a confirmation than a new leak. The ‌iPad‌ 11 has an A16 chip, so the upgrade to the A19 in the 12th-generation ‌iPad‌ will bring a noticeable improvement in performance. More importantly, the A19 supports Apple Intelligence , so the ‌iPad‌ 12 will have all the ‌Apple Intelligence‌ and Siri AI features missing from the ‌iPad‌ 11. The ‌iPad‌ 11 has 6GB RAM, but 8GB RAM is the minimum for ‌Apple Intelligence‌, and the RAM boost will also speed things up. Apple's C1X modem supports sub–6GHz 5G networks, and it is more efficient than the Qualcomm modem used in the existing ‌iPad‌. The addition of the N1 networking chip will bring support for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. Though not included in the code, it's possible the ‌iPad‌ 12 will be available in new colors. There is no word on when Apple will release the new ‌iPad‌, and at this point, we're not expecting it until spring 2027. The current ‌iPad‌ is priced starting at $449 after a June 2026 price hike, and the new model will likely have the same starting price. There's no low-cost ‌iPad‌ coming this year, but Apple is expected to refresh the iPad mini before the end of October. We discovered new details about the ‌iPad mini‌ just this morning. It will have an A20 Pro chip, a new speaker system, and a landscape front-facing camera. Prior rumors say it will feature an OLED display as the main upgrade. We also found official images of the Apple TV 4K and the HomePod mini , including its colors . The ‌HomePod mini‌ will come in green, pink, blue, white, and black. Related Roundup: iPad Tag: Apple 5G Modem Buyer's Guide: iPad (Don't Buy) Related Forum: iPad This article, " Apple Code Confirms iPad 12 Specs: A19, 8GB RAM, N1, C1X Modem " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
