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Apple is shelving its plans to offer the iPhone for a monthly subscription, Bloomberg reports. The company was first said to be exploring a hardware subscription in 2022, but like the companys buy now, pay later product, Apple Pay Later, it seems like it ultimately proved too problematic. The hardware subscription was rumored to work in a similar way to existing options like the iPhone Upgrade Program or Apple Card Monthly Installments, where you pay off a new phone or other Apple device with monthly payments, and in some cases get the option to upgrade to a new device without changing your subscription fee. Unlike those payment methods, which apply your payments to a one-time loan from either Citizen One or Goldman Sachs, Apples subscription was going to be managed through an Apple account and use whatever payment methods you already have connected. Apples expectation was that if it fronted the cost for an iPhone directly, people would upgrade more often and increase the companys recurring revenue. The problem is that much like Apple Pay Later, which let you split Apple Pay purchases into four smaller installments, the hardware subscription might have required Apple to follow the same regulations as credit card companies, Bloomberg says. Thats extra scrutiny the company didnt want to invite. Theres also the potential strain a hardware subscription could put on Apples relationships with carriers. You can buy an iPhone 16 from T-Mobile or Verizon with an installment plan that might be technically different from a subscription, but definitely feels like one when youre paying monthly. Apples hardware subscription was never officially announced, but it reflects what could be a larger retreat from the headaches of financial services. Apple Pay Later was shut down in June 2024 and replaced with access to Affirm loans in Apple Pay as part of iOS 18. The Apple Card is also reportedly in limbo as Apple searches for a partner to replace Goldman Sachs.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-is-reportedly-giving-up-on-plans-to-turn-the-iphone-into-a-subscription-223540728.html?src=rss
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Rivian vehicles now offer more entertainment options with the adoption of Google Cast in the company's cars. When the cars are parked, passengers can use Google Cast to stream from thousands of apps to the dashboard screen. The cars are also getting native apps for YouTube and SiriusXM for playing media directly from the vehicle's larger screen. Rivian is offering all its customers a temporary free trial of SiriusXM; after the trial ends, users will need to subscribe to keep using the satellite radio. Google announced in the spring that it would be updating Android for Cars with a casting feature. Rivian seems to be the first manufacturer to take advantage of the tech. The Google updates are just the latest collaboration for the company. Earlier this month, Rivian also opened up its charging stations to use by other brands of electric vehicles. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/rivian-car-dashboard-screens-now-support-youtube-and-google-cast-222004612.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
The pornographic website PornHub is adding Florida to its list of states to block starting next year. Gizmodo reported that Floridians who visited the porn website recently were greeted with a warning that says You will lose access to PornHub in 14 days thanks to a new state law that requires an ID to visit the website. PornHub has already blocked a number of states from accessing its wealth of sexually explicit content because of new state laws that require visitors to provide a valid government ID to verify their age for access. Floridas legislature passed its porn ID law and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law on March 25 as part of a series of regulations intended to protect minors from explicit materials. The adult entertainment trade association The Free Speech Coalition is fighting Floridas law in federal court, according to The Florida Times-Union. Florida will become the 13th state to institute an age verification law for adult websites. Florida follows Texas, Utah, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Carolina, Mississippi, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and Nebraska that all have ID verification laws on its books. Not only does this impinge on the rights of adults to access protected speech, it fails strict scrutiny by employing the least effective and yet also most restrictive means of accomplishing [the states] stated purpose of allegedly protecting minors, according to the official PornHub blog The PornHub blog also states that the company is concerned about the safety and welfare of children but the idea of using identification creates more risks with users safety and privacy. The Louisiana law in particular has no state regulator overseeing the new laws implementation which results in a flawed enforcement regime, the PornHub blog states.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/pornhub-is-breaking-up-with-florida-202650152.html?src=rss
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