Apple today sent out emails highlighting a new U.S. Apple Pay promotion, which will see Panera Bread offering four months of unlimited free coffee to those who sign up for a MyPanera+ Coffee subscription and use Apple Pay to check out.
New subscribers who sign up for a MyPanera+ subscription by January 27, 2021 can get the first four months free. After that, the subscription is priced at $8.99 per month. Using Apple Pay for the subscription is a requirement.
MyPanera+ subscribers who swap their payment method to Apple Pay are eligible to get a free cookie. The MyPanera+ program offers unlimited premium coffee (up to every two hours) in any size. Hot tea and iced coffee are included, as are unlimited refills, but espresso, iced cold brew coffee, iced tea, and cappuccino are excluded.
Panera Bread is also an Apple Card partner that offers three percent Daily Cash back on Apple Card purchases made at Panera Bread locations.
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps.
To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features.
The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4.
There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...
Panera is owned by the same company that owns Peet's Coffee, and while Panera isn't at Peet's level, I find it to be better than Starbuck's.
You brought back a sad memory for me.
Back before COVID-19, my daily train commute to work would take me past Specialty's Bakery in Seattle, which served Peet's coffee (I love Major Dickason's) and made amazing pastries and quiches - a great place to pick up breakfast. Unfortunately Specialty's went under - permanently - around May 1 due to the effects of the pandemic (both the enforced shut-down and the overall drop in commuter business).
First of all, you can get 3 months of free Panera+ without Apple Pay, so this promo is not that great.
I have espresso machine at home, so I would normally poo-poo their coffee. But I found their coffee to be pretty decent and $8.99/month is a great deal (normally costs more than $2) if you live near Panera.
Panera is owned by the same company that owns Peet's Coffee, and while Panera isn't at Peet's level, I find it to be better than Starbuck's. Yes, I realize most coffee snobs would rightly poo-poo Peet's and Starbucks. But just putting things into context.
I would prefer pastry subscription as my kids are addicted to their cinnamon crunch bagels.
