Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

iOS 8.1 beta reveals new details about upcoming Apple devices

Published Sep 30th, 2014 10:24AM EDT
iPad Air 2: Touch ID and Apple Pay
Image: Apple Inc.

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Apple is reportedly working on three major iOS 8.x updates, including iOS 8.1, iOS 8.2 and iOS 8.3, with the first beta of iOS 8.1 having already been released to developers. In it, developer Hamza Sood found proof that Apple’s upcoming new iPad will include a Touch ID fingerprint sensor embedded in the Home button, and that owners will be able to use it to authenticate Apple Pay payments.

FROM EARLIER: Apple releases iOS 8.1 beta to developers, change log here

“Pay with iPad using Touch ID. With Apple Pay, you no longer need to type card numbers and shipping information,” a string of text says in iOS 8.1 beta 1, as discovered by Sood.

However, that doesn’t mean the upcoming iPad, or iPads, will include NFC chips like the iPhone, Sood says, meaning that Apple Pay on iPad is meant to work only for online purchases.

“For the confused: Apple Pay on iPad with Touch ID is just for purchasing things through apps. Not NFC or anything like that.” Sood wrote. It’s not clear whether Apple Pay will work on older iPad model that lack a Touch ID sensor.

Additionally, he provided screenshots from iOS 8.1 beta (available below) that show a new settings screen for Apple Pay settings, as well as Apple Pay privacy.

Apple is expected to unveil at least one new iPad (referred to as iPad Air 2 in rumors) in October, during a special iPad and Mac event. iOS 8.1 is also expected to arrive next month, bringing support for Apple Pay on iPhone 6 models in the U.S. and SMS continuity for Yosemite Macs – a full iOS 8.1 beta 1 changelog is available at this link.

 

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.