iOS 8.1 and Apple Pay Release Date Rumored to be on October 20

By Shawn Schuster
Apple Pay on the iPhone 6
Apple Pay demonstrated on the iPhone 6

At the September 9th Apple iPhone event, the big news of the day was the Apple Watch and the iPhone 6's launch, but it's the Apple Pay news that has us wondering exactly when we'll get our hands on the company's newest payment technology.

Apple Pay allows consumers to store credit or debit card information in their iPhone 6 to use at major retail stores. You simply wave your phone in front of the store's contactless reader, wait for the beep, and you're set. It's an innovation that has many Apple fans excited and anxious for its arrival.

Already confirmed by Apple to release in October, the service is thought to launch with Apple's new iOS 8.1 update on October 20th. A settings page for Apple Pay, along with iPad Touch ID references have been found in the iOS 8.1 beta, leading many to believe that this confirms its inclusion in the next update.

Apple Pay will roll out with support from six major US banks and will be accepted at over 220,000 stores across the country, including Bloomingdale's, McDonald's, Staples, Subway, Walgreens, and more.

In addition to the speculated addition of Apple Pay, iOS 8.1 is expected to bring back the Camera Roll in Photos app, improvements to the Apple Maps app, and a new iBooks icon. It's also said to fix Bluetooth connectivity bugs and certain issues that many users have had with disappearing files on iCould Drive.

Traditionally, Apple has released major system updates in the fall, and subsequent bug fixes for that patch in the first part of the following year. With this speculated October 20th release of iOS 8.1, it will be the first time Apple has patched a major update in several years. The reason for this is thought to be an elevated patch schedule that includes iOS 8.2 and iOS 8.3 being released in 2015.

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