Despite a rocky start to Apple’s livestream yesterday, everyone is still buzzing about the new iPhone 6 models, Apple Pay, and the forthcoming Apple Watch. Wednesday’s Morning Report has a few items you might have missed in the excitement, including rumors of a Path acquisition, the possibility of Discover joining Apple Pay, and the fate of the iPod classic. Read on to find out all of the details!
Apple Rumored to Acquire Path Social Network
Could Apple be making another run at social networking? Pando reported yesterday“a single well-placed source inside Apple’s engineering team” claims Cupertino may come to the rescue of troubled app-based social network Path, who recently split off its private messaging service into a standalone app.
“It’s almost done, if not signed already, but it’s essentially a done deal,” the unnamed source confirmed. Path founder Dave Morin was not only in attendance at Tuesday’s Apple media event, but also planted in the front row — a position generally reserved for the company’s executive staff and VIPs. The source claims Apple may be planning to incorporate some or all of Path into the existing Messages app.
Banks Pay Fees for Apple Pay, Discover Support On the Way
Bloomberg today reported that Apple has a vested interest in the success of Apple Pay that goes beyond just pleasing consumers: The iPhone maker will apparently have financial interest as well, in the form of fees paid from supported banks as part of the deal. According to three unnamed sources, Apple will get a sliver of the merchant fees paid to Chase, Citi, and others, which are said to generate more than $40 billion annually.
One bank curiously left out of Tuesday’s Apple Pay introduction was Discover, but according to 9to5Mac, support for those cards appears to be in the works. “Hi! No need to worry! We are in discussions with Apple to add Discover cards to Apple Pay in the future,” a Discover social media representative named Kimber replied via Twitter to a customer disgruntled at the bank’s exclusion. No word on how soon Discover may join the Apple Pay service, which will arrive in October with a software update.
Day the Music Died: iPod classic Takes Dirt Nap
Amidst all of the excitement on Tuesday, you may have missed the unfortunate news iPod fans knew would be coming eventually: The last remaining click-wheel iPod has been removed from the Apple Online Store, and with it, the last vestiges of the 30-pin dock connector, now that the iPhone 4S has also been removed from the lineup.
iPod classic fans have been dreading this day for years — after all, the last “update” to their favorite hard drive-based music player was way back in 2008, and even then, it was only to upgrade the storage capacity. The gadget no longer has a place in the iPod section of Apple’s website, although its iconic image continues to represent the line in the actual online store itself above “Shop iPod.” How’s that for irony?
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