Apple Pay is set to launch in India later today (Wednesday local time), starting with Axis Bank credit cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks, according to TechCrunch.

India already has a popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system for digital payments, so the initial rollout of Apple Pay in the country is expected to be limited. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI Bank/SBI Card are not expected to support Apple Pay at launch, the report said.
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In a July 2026 letter addressed to U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Apple said its decision to remove ICEBlock and similar apps that crowdsourced the real-time locations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from the App Store was "prompted by concerns" about "agent safety," according to CNN's Clare Duffy.


The report said the app removals were "prompted by concerns — including those raised by the Trump administration — about agent safety following a fatal shooting that left two detainees dead at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement office."

Apple removed ICEBlock from the App Store in October 2025, leading Raskin to launch an investigation into the U.S. Justice Department's apparent role in the removal of the apps from the App Store and Google's Play Store, the report said. Apple's letter responding to Raskin had not previously been reported, according to CNN.

When it removed ICEBlock from the ‌App Store‌, Apple said that the app violated guideline 1.1.1 of its App Review Guidelines:

Information provided to Apple by law enforcement shows that your app violates Guideline 1.1.1 because its purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group. For this reason, your app will be removed from the App Store.

ICEBlock has not returned to the App Store.
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Emergency SOS via satellite is now available in Norway, according to an Apple support document updated today.

Available on the iPhone 14 and newer and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and newer, Emergency SOS via satellite lets you text emergency services when you are in a supported area without Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity. In Norway, the feature requires iOS 26.4 and watchOS 26.4 or later. Apple warns that satellite connectivity might not work in places above 62° latitude.
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Apple recently considered laying off about 5,000 support employees, but it has put those plans on hold indefinitely, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


The report said that Apple believed that AI-powered phone and web agents could take over some of the responsibilities performed by the employees who would have been let go, but Apple is no longer "currently looking to take such a step."

Last month, we reported that customers who call the AppleCare phone number (1-800-APL-CARE) from the U.S. or Canada are now routed to an AI-powered support assistant. While many of Apple's phone systems already had a basic automated operator, the Apple Support phone line is now using a bot powered by generative AI.

The virtual assistant can answer questions and provide step-by-step instructions for troubleshooting issues with your Apple products. It can still transfer you to a human advisor if it cannot answer a specific question, or if you ask to speak to a real person.

It remains to be seen if Apple eventually revisits layoffs and/or reduces hiring for AppleCare roles.

The report said Apple has laid off some other employees in middle management roles in recent weeks, including roughly half a dozen directors.
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Last week, MacRumors uncovered evidence of an Apple TV 4K (4th generation), and now an Apple support document has further hinted at a new model.


Apple on Monday updated a support document related to lossless audio in Apple Music with the following fine print below the Apple TV 4K section:

Hi-Res Lossless is available only on Apple TV 4K (3rd generation or later).

Given the Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) is the current model, the "or later" wording is noteworthy, as it could mean that a new model is imminent. However, Apple could simply be future-proofing the document or have made a mistake.

In any case, the support document adds to growing anticipation for a new Apple TV 4K, which is expected to be announced this October.

The next Apple TV is rumored to have an A19 or A19 Pro chip, an increased 8GB to 12GB of RAM, Apple Intelligence and Siri AI support, an Apple-designed N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support, and a revised Siri Remote. The image of the Apple TV 4K (4th generation) that we obtained last week did not reveal any design changes compared to the current model.

The current Apple TV is nearly four years old, having been announced in October 2022. It is equipped with an A15 Bionic chip and 4GB of RAM.

In June, the Apple TV received a price increase amid surging memory chip costs. In the U.S., for example, the device now starts at $199, up from $129.
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iPhone apps with Google Analytics for Firebase integration were briefly crashing on Monday due to an issue with the analytics platform that has since been resolved. Affected apps should no longer be crashing, with no action required from developers.

While the issue began shortly after Apple released iOS 27.0.1, the timing was coincidental, as apps were crashing on other iOS versions too.
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