Apple Stock News: More Chinese Suppliers for iPhones, New Payment Service Launching, Expansion of Digital IDs, Apple Website Redesign

Top Apple Stock News: Apple Adds More Chinese Suppliers for Latest iPhones

Apple Stock News: On Aug 4th, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that Apple Inc is currently working with more Chinese suppliers to produce the latest iPhones, as a tech feud stemming from a trade war with the United States prompts Beijing to strengthen domestic firms. According to Nikkei, China’s Luxshare Precision Industry Co Ltd will start building the iPhone 13 Pro this month and is going to build up to 3% of the iPhone 13 series. Lens Tech Co Ltd will produce metal casings, Sunny Optical Tech Group Co Ltd will supply rear camera lenses, and BOE Tech Group Co Ltd will supply components. 

Apple Stock News: More Chinese Suppliers
(Source: Nikkei Asia)

Apple aims to manufacture between 90 million and 95 million new iPhones by January 2022. With aggravated stress on global supply chains arising from US-China trade tensions and the COVID pandemic, this continuation to leverage China as a major supplier can also enlarge Apple’s production scale and minimize the disruption to its sales. 

“Buy Now, Pay Later” Program Will Launch in Canada

Bloomberg announced that Apple is collaborating with Affirm Holdings Inc.’s Pay Bright to launch a “buy now, pay later” program for Apple products in Canada. This service will provide a new way for people to pay for their iPhone, Mac, and iPad purchases over 12 to 24 months instead of paying full at the time of the transaction, which is promoted as an alternative to credit cards. 

This payment program will be debuted at Apple stores in Canada starting on August 11, which will also be Apple’s first installment program in Canada in recent years. Apple stated that some customers visiting Apple want to buy now and pay later. And now they have a new option that lets them pay overtime for their favorite Apple products. According to Bloomberg, this service can also soar in popularity during the pandemic as consumers are looking for other options to make payments that are easier on their wallets.

Apple Stock News: Buy Now Pay Later
(Source: Reuters)

Apple Expands Support of Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch to More Schools in the US and Canada

With the start of a new school year approaching soon, Apple announced that starting from this fall, Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch will expand to Canada for the first time and will be available for more schools in the US. The University of New Brunswick and Sheridan College will be the first two universities in Canada to adopt mobile student IDs and allow students to use this way to access buildings and make purchases on campus. In the US, new schools to adopt mobile student IDs include Auburn University, Northern Arizona University, University of Maine, New Mexico State University, and etc. Apple also reported that the University of Alabama will be the first university to exclusively issue mobile student IDs to their 38,000 students with eligible devices.

This update will enable students to get around campus in a more convenient way. Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay, stated that students and faculty have always embraced this way to use their iPhone and Apple Watch to access buildings, purchase meals, and more. Plus, switching from plastic IDs to digital cards can add an extra level of security and privacy, and students will no longer need to worry about losing their plastic ID cards.

After this feature’s first rollout in 2018, it has been subsequently expanding to more schools in the US, and is now coming to Canada. Therefore, we can anticipate this trend of adopting digital Student IDs on Apple devices becoming prevalent across universities all over the world soon. Moreover, Techstory predicts that Apple’s digital contactless ID cards service could also cater to, not only students, but also organizations and companies in the future.

The Redesign of Apple Online Store

According to MacRumors, Apple has updated its website after a short downtime to add a “Store” tab in its navigation bar and bring a new look to its web navigation. With this new webpage, customers can use the links on the top to quickly get access to products (Mac, iPhone, iPad, etc.) they want to browse. In addition, the design looks very similar to the design of the Apple Store app on iPhone and other devices, which also features current promotions, deals, and products that Apple is highlighting. More importantly, ahead of new products launching soon in this fall, this redesign of Apple’s online store will create a striking place for Apple to showcase and advertise its products.

Apple Stock News: Apple Store
(Source: theverge.com)

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