Apple shutting down popular feature barely a year after launching that will affect thousands of iPhone users

Apple has announced a lot of upgrades and changes to the way iPhone fans will use their phones after the latest iOS update.

Some new features have been very popular, with many people looking forward to Siri becoming the ultimate pocket-sized AI who can do things like move a file between photos, edit a photo or open a news site on Apple News.

Other new additions include call recording and home screen customization, where users can move widgets around freely.

There have been a lot of new announcements for Apple recently (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

After there were some fears around the legality of recording calls, these were put to bed by senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, who confirmed that participants will be notified if you begin recording.

However, there is also a feature that Apple will be removing from the iPhone barely a year after first launching it.

The tech giant introduced a ‘buy now, pay later’ program called Apple Pay Later in March 2023, where customers can make purchases of up to $1,000 and pay off the amount in four installments across six weeks.

But bad news for anyone who used the service as it is now no longer available.

Customers can no longer use Apple Pay Later (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Apple said they made the decision to cancel it because they plan to bring in a similar service later this year.

Talking to 9to5Mac, Apple stated: “Starting later this year, users across the globe will be able to access installment loans offered through credit and debit cards, as well as lenders, when checking out with Apple Pay.

“With the introduction of this new global installment loan offering, we will no longer offer Apple Pay Later in the U.S.

“Our focus continues to be on providing our users with access to easy, secure and private payment options with Apple Pay, and this solution will enable us to bring flexible payments to more users, in more places across the globe, in collaboration with Apple Pay enabled banks and lenders.”

iPhone fans can expect many changes this year (Filip Radwanski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

This means that Apple will no longer work as a lender itself but instead will help users to secure other loan options.

There are also plans to bring the service over to countries who didn’t have access to Apple Pay Later, including Spain, Australia, and the UK.

The new program will be rolled out this fall but if you already have an existing loan with the old service, don’t panic - anyone who has a current loan out won’t be affected by the change.