Apple is planning a buy now pay later (BNPL) service as part of its new operating system, iOS 16.
Apple Pay Later will allow users in the US to spread the cost of a purchase into four payments over six weeks, without paying interest or fees.
It forms part of a range of new iPhone features, including the ability to edit iMessages and a feature intended to help people in abusive relationships.
The features were unveiled at WWDC, the firm’s annual developers’ conference.
The new version of iOS 16, due to be released in the Autumn, will bring a range of additional features to the iPhone.
The iPhone lock screen will have a significant shake-up, with users now able to do more than simply change the background image.
It will become possible to change how the clock locks, and introduce widgets for showing information on weather, the user’s activity rings and more, as is currently possible on Apple Watch.
This will also introduce the ability to choose between different lock screens with different functionalities – for example, a lock screen for exercising which has activity monitors.
Other significant announcements include the ability to edit and “unsend” iMessages that were sent using Apple’s Messages app, and the introduction of a feature Apple calls Safety Check.
It says Safety Check is intended to “protect individuals in abusive relationships”, by giving users the ability to view and quickly remove all the permissions given to someone else on their phone.
That includes removing other peoples’ access to passwords, as well as Find My Phone.
Apple said this also included a “emergency reset”, that allowed people to sign out of iCloud on all devices, and only allowed one device to send and receive messages.
