2026-04-29 06:50:45
Several major U.S. cities support the Apple Pay for transit feature that Apple has rolled out, providing a simple way for those who use public transportation to pay for rides.
Apple Pay for transit works in Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington, DC.
Some of these cities have supported Apple Pay for transit purposes for several years, and in others like Atlanta, support is new as of 2026. Atlanta launched its tap-to-pay MARTA contactless system in March 2026, allowing iPhone and Apple Watch users to tap to pay their fares at rail station fare gates using the Apple Wallet app.
Cities that support Apple Pay for transit allow iPhone owners to turn on Express Mode to pay for transit fares without needing to unlock their device and authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID. A card for Express Transit can be selected by opening up the Wallet and Apple Pay section of the Settings app and tapping on the Express Transit Card option to make a selection.
When a credit or debit card is associated with Express Mode, it can be used to pay for transit automatically with no authentication. On iPhone models that support power reserve, transit payments can also be made when the iPhone is out of battery. Power reserve works for up to five hours after an iPhone dies, and it is available on the iPhone XS and later.
Some cities support adding a credit or debit card to the Wallet app for transit, while others require a specific transit card to be added to the Wallet app. The Bay Area works with the Clipper app or a credit card. Chicago's system only works with the Ventra card, LA's transit works with the TAP card, and Portland's transit system works with the Hop card.
In some locations, there's also support for fare capping. With New York's OMNY system, for example, subway and local bus fares are capped at $35 per week. As long as you use the same device each time you tap pay for a ride, rides after the $35 cap will be free for the rest of the seven-day period. LA's TAP system and OC's Wave system also support fare capping for Apple Pay.
The iPhone 6s and 2016 iPhone SE and later all support Express Mode with Apple Pay for transit purposes. Express Mode also works on the Apple Watch Series 1 or later as long as watchOS 5.2.1 or later is installed.
Apple Pay for transit also works in several cities around the world, including London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Toronto, Beijing, and Shanghai.
When traveling, you will need to look into how transit works in the city you're in, but it is a simple way to use public transportation because there's no need to pre-purchase travel tickets at a kiosk. Apple has a website where the different transit systems are explained.
2026-04-29 05:41:32
Anthropic today updated Claude with new connectors aimed at creative professionals, adding integrations for Ableton, Adobe, Affinity, Autodesk Fusion, Blender, Resolume Arena and Wire, SketchUp, and Splice.
Connectors are tools that Claude can use to access other platforms and help with completing tasks. Anthropic says that Claude can open up new ways for creatives to work and take on larger-scale projects.
2026-04-29 04:12:16
YouTube is testing a new search feature that it says is meant to feel more like a conversation than a search interface. Users are able to ask complex questions in natural language, receive results that include video and text, and then ask follow-up questions.
The new search option is part of YouTube Labs, an opt-in program that lets YouTube Premium subscribers gain early access to experimental features and prototypes. YouTube Labs is available to U.S. users, and subscribers sign up on the YouTube Labs website.
According to YouTube, subscribers who opt in to try the new search can enter a prompt in the search bar, like "plan a 3-day road trip between San Francisco and Santa Barbara," and then select the Ask YouTube option to get the results. Search results include AI summary text, short videos, and long videos, with relevant segments in videos highlighted.
The Ask YouTube search interface suggests some search prompts, such as "unique ideas for a backyard water feature," "plan a living room redesign using thrifted items," and "how to make a traditional French omelet."
Other YouTube Labs features in testing right now include Beyond the Beat AI details when listening to radio and mixes in the YouTube Music app, and VibeCheck, an AI coaching feature that provides tips on Shorts videos before they're published.
The updated search feature will be in testing until June 8.
This article, "YouTube Tests AI-Powered 'Ask YouTube' Conversational Search Feature" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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2026-04-29 02:37:59
Apple will add new Apple Intelligence photo editing tools to the Photos app in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27, reports Bloomberg.
On-device Apple Intelligence will be able to make subtle changes to image quality, positioning, and focus, with the new capabilities joining Clean Up, the sole AI editing feature that Apple has released to date.
The Photos app in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 will have an Apple Intelligence Tools section when editing an image. Options will include Extend, Enhance, and Reframe.
2026-04-29 02:00:35
If you've noticed the Apple Weather app isn't loading weather data right now, you're not alone. The app appears to be experiencing an outage.
According to Apple's System Status page, the Weather app may be slow or unavailable for some users. The problem started at 11:36 a.m. Eastern Time and is ongoing.
Reports on social media suggest that the Weather app is slow to load for some, and is not loading data for others. We'll update this article when the issue has been resolved.
Update: Apple says the issue is fixed as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time,
This article, "Apple Weather App Experiencing Outage [Update: Fixed]" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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2026-04-29 01:42:48
Apple CEO Tim Cook met with United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Monday. The U.S. Department of Commerce shared details on the meeting on social media, and said that Lutnick wished Cook well, commending his "remarkable leadership and lasting contributions to American technology."
Last week, Apple announced that Cook would be stepping down from his role as CEO on September 1, 2026, with current hardware engineering chief John Ternus set to take over. Cook's visit with Lutnick was his first high-level Trump administration meeting since last week's transition news.
Cook does not plan to leave Apple, and will instead transition to executive chairman, where he will "assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world."
In a letter to employees, Cook said that he is healthy and that he plans to be at Apple "for a long time" in his new role. "Apple will be my top priority," he said. "It's who I am at my core, and I can't imagine it any other way."
Cook told employees that he believes he can help strengthen Apple's global relationships. Cook has navigated two Trump presidencies so far, maintaining a positive relationship with the Trump administration and earning tariff exemptions for Apple.
Cook personally donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund in 2025, and he presented Trump with a custom gift featuring a glass plaque with a 24-karat gold base after promising Apple would invest a total of $600 billion in the U.S. over a four-year period.
Trump last week said that he has "always been a big fan" of Cook, and that the two had a "long and very nice relationship." Trump said he was pleased with Cook's outreach efforts. "I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to 'kiss my ass,'" said Trump. According to Trump, he solved a "fairly large problem" for Cook during his first term, and he said he would help Cook where possible when Cook is not "too aggressive" in what he asks for.
Ahead of announcing his transition to a new role, Cook said in an early April interview that the Trump administration was "very accessible," and willing to "engage." Cook explained that he felt engagement and communication were important values, giving some insight into how he is approaching his new position.
But engagement for me, not just in the U.S. but around the world, is so important because it is very complex, working through local laws, local customs, local culture, local regulations. Every country is its own story. Everybody looks at things differently.
The only way you get a feel for that is to sit before someone and communicate and engage. If you went in my conference room, you would see the Teddy Roosevelt quote 'It is not the critic who counts.' I've never believed that just yelling from the sideline about plus or minus was a good strategy. Your voice just goes into the wind.
So you'll see me everywhere, and you'll wonder 'oh, he's meeting with somebody that has a different view than him.' I think that's good. I think it's good. I think a problem in the world right now is that it's so polarized and different views aren't shared or discussed. They just become hardened. And I don't think that's good.
