News round-up: iPhone XR follow-up will reportedly have a tweaked color palette (and more)

Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, at the end of each week day, we’ll offer this wrap-up of news items you should check out.

The Japanese language blog, Macotakara says Apple’s follow-up to the iPhone XR will still be available in six colors, but will replace the coral and blue options with green and lavender hues. Another rumor says Apple is incorporating a square camera bump into the designs of its 2019 smartphones.

Apple Pay is now an accepted payment method for iTunes, the Apple App Store, and Apple Books purchases, as well as Apple Music and iCloud storage subscriptions, according to a Apple support document. 

According to 9to5Mac, Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay Jennifer Bailey, has announced a new NFC feature for iPhone: special tags that trigger Apple Pay purchases when tapped, without the need to download a special app first. The company is partnering with Bird scooters, Bonobos clothing store, and PayByPhone parking meters for the initial rollout.A Chinese-Taiwanese group is delaying an up to 80 billion yen (approximately $729.33 million) investment planned as part of a rescue deal for Apple supplier Japan Display as it wants to reassess the target’s prospects, reports Reuters.

Apple has posted a new ad titled “Up Late” on its YouTube channel. It touts the iPhone XR as having the “longest battery life in an iPhone ever.” 

A fella named Ben Geskin has shared images on Twitter of the consumer packaging of the new Apple credit card coming from Apple. He says that some Apple employees are already starting to get the card which was announced in March. 

UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri has issued a new investor note covering iPhone demand in China. He says Apple’s smartphone performance improved significantly last month.

The new episode of MacVoices provides the next stop on The Road to Macstock with a conversation with Stephen Hackett of Mac Power Users. Stephen and David Sparks will be delivering Episode #500 of the show live in front of the Macstock audience, something new for the conference. How he shifted from being primarily a blogger to primarily a podcaster, why podcasting is increasing in popularity, and the differences in recording in front of a live audience are all party of why you want to listen to what Stephen has to say.