The Apple Pay mobile payment system at a Whole Foods store in Cupertino, Calif. on Oct. 17, 2014.
Apple released a software update for the iPhone 6 today that activates Apple Pay. The feature is designed to let users pay for stuff in stores or online by tapping their phones and authenticating the transaction using a fingerprint. Since I own an iPhone 6, I decided to see if the future has arrived. Here's what I found.
7:20am I check for software updates in my iPhone's Settings app. "Your software is up to date." OK, I guess the future isn't ready yet. So I walk my dog Goron. It's raining outside, and he hates the rain. I wonder whether the pet store down the road carries dog ponchos and whether they accept Apple Pay.
9:04am On my way into the office, I stop into a bodega to buy an overpriced organic juice. Although I'm not yet equipped with Apple Pay, I check the register to see if this particular corner store is ready for the future. It's not. I pay with cash.
9:09am I head underground and tap my wallet against the turnstile to enter the subway. It would be cool if I could use my iPhone 6 to board, since it uses roughly the same wireless technology to do payments as the subway card in my wallet. Apple doesn't let outside developers access the near-field communications chip right now. Bummer. Also a bummer: The subway is all backed up and over-capacity due to the rain.
9:56am A train finally comes, and I arrive at Embarcadero station downtown. There's a trailer parked near my office where Wells Fargo and Visa are promoting Apple Pay. It's packed with people around cash registers getting demos on how the new software works. San Francisco is weird.
An Apple Pay trailer in San Francisco on Oct. 20, 2014. Photographer: Mark Milian/Bloomberg
10:01am I stop for a cup of coffee at Blue Bottle. It's one of the hipsterest joints in the city, but even this place doesn't accept Apple Pay. They use Square. While I wait for my coffee, I check to see if the software update is online. It is! But I need Wi-Fi to get it.
10:51am After the typical lengthy update process, iOS 8.1 is ready. I open the Passbook app and try to activate the American Express card I have on file with iTunes. “Could Not Add Card: Try again later or contact your card issuer for more information.” OK. I add my Visa instead. I simply take a picture of the front of the card and punch in my security code. After a few seconds, it's ready to use. I try adding my Amex again, this time by taking a picture of it. That works. I also try to add my corporate card, but it isn’t supported by Apple Pay. If you add multiple cards, make sure to go into the Settings app and review your preferences in the Passbook & Apple Pay section. I had to tell it which is my preferred card.
11:01am I read the terms of service so you don’t have to. One thing that sticks out is that if you have the “location services” feature enabled on your phone — if you use maps, you do — Apple may collect your GPS coordinates when you pay to help improve its services. This means Apple Maps could get better at showing where stores are.
1:16pm I'm running low on toothpaste at home, so I stop at a Walgreens near my office. I tell the cashier, "I'm going to try this new thing." She is unfazed. I tap the phone against the terminal, and it lights up with a message asking me to place my finger on the home button. I do, and the credit-card terminal prompts me to confirm the transaction. The cashier acts like this is all completely normal, hands me my receipt and tells me to have a good day. So this is what the future feels like.
1:23pm Apple Pay doesn't work at my usual lunch spots, and I can't bring myself to eat at McDonald's or Subway. I pull up the Apple Pay Web page on my phone and see that Panera Bread is a launch partner. There's one a little more than a mile from me. French onion soup, here I come.
1:25pm A new version of Uber just came out that supports Apple Pay. The company says in a statement, “The beauty of Apple Pay is that it simplifies Uber’s signup process to a single tap.” Since I’m already an Uber user, I have to switch my billing method to Apple Pay. There's actually another step involved when using Apple Pay in Uber. I need to authenticate with my thumb print like all other Apple Pay transactions. The rest is the same.
1:33pm I arrive at Panera and order a Bacon Turkey Bravo. After telling the cashier my name and that I don't have a Panera card, I tap my iPhone against the payment terminal and place my thumb on the phone's Touch ID sensor. The process is even quicker this time because I don't have to approve the transaction on the machine. I ask the very nice cashier named Sherin if anyone else has used an iPhone to pay today. "Oh yes," she says. "Only works on the iPhone 6." Am I in an Apple commercial?
1:49pm On my way out, I run into Harry McCracken, a technology journalist at Fast Company. I ask, "Are you here to try out Apple Pay?" He says he's been running around the city all day using it. I wish him luck, and call another Uber. I better file this story soon.
3:02pm Apple Pay comes up a few times on the company's earnings call. Apple CEO Tim Cook says the top priorities were to create a good experience and to protect people's information. He also mentions that he used Apple Pay over the weekend and that it worked great, which makes me a little bit jealous that he was living in the future a couple of days before me.
3:55pm I file my story, and pledge to treat myself to taking an Uber car home tonight. If I ride the subway again today, I might throw my iPhone into the bay. Then how will I buy a dog poncho?
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