Tim Cook's worldwide tour and waiting for Apple's October iPad Pro event on the AppleInsider podcast

AppleInsider editor Victor Marks and writer William Gallagher discuss:

• Just what Apple is playing at with its October event. If the company is to hold one at all this year, it's already cutting things close.
• Nonetheless, that never stops some predictions and this time Victor is holding out for a new Mac mini, William yearns for an updated iMac and they both manage to find a little cold water to pour over each other.
• We certainly won't see an Apple event while Tim Cook is touring China but while Victor is following the CEO's adventures, William goes too far wondering about succession plans and when Angela Ahrendts will take over.
• As Cook visits Beijing, two of China's biggest mobile payments companies are alleging that stolen Apple IDs linked to accounts are being used to defraud them. Victor worries for Apple's reputation in security while William wonders just how many times you can illegally download Angry Birds.
• There's better news with payment companies in the US as Apple Pay has finally come to CVS. William champions the Apple Pay that he uses every day in the UK and Victor musters an argument in favor of how stores like Walmart are using alternatives.

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Show note links:

• The iPhone XR versus the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Which is right for you?
  • Tim Cook's china tour
  • App store fraud impacting Chinese financial institutions
  • CVS Apple Pay rollout in US complete after long struggle with CurrentC
  • Apple Pay can now use Discover Cash Back cards for payments.
  • When to expect Apple's October event and what we're expecting to see

Follow our hosts on Twitter: @WGallagher and @vmarks.

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Following the Tim Cook tour and making do with Google's October Event while we wait for Apple's on the AppleInsider podcast