AAPL - Apple Inc.

[DooDiligence]

I think it is also worth noting the conspicuous absence of Netflix from the new TV app demo. It's obviously impossible to know exactly what's going on there, but it isn't a good sign. The obvious concern is that Apple's constant flirtation with producing meaningful amounts of content internally (or buying a content company) has dissuaded Netflix from helping them try to make a play to lock up the TV market.

 

So that means the two highest quality streaming services, Netflix -and- Amazon, are not fully participating in their ecosystem. I'd call that another disaster, since the strategic value of the TV box is way larger than its rounding-error revenue numbers suggest. But maybe I'm too loose with that word.

 

It may already have been mentioned here but, about a year ago; Amazon stopped allowing Apple TV sales on their site.

 

I emailed & got a personalized response saying they're aware that people are unhappy about it & are working to remedy the situation (not a direct quote but that's the gist of it & as an aside; I've received responses to other inquiries that were out of tune with larger Amazon policies so this one probably meant nothing.)

[rkbabang]

I've been using ApplePay for the past few months and am pretty surprised that it hasn't caught on.  My everyday credit card used to be the Fidelity AmEx card which did not support ApplePay, but Fidelity changed the card from AmEx to VISA this summer and it does support Applepay so I set it up and started using it whenever I could.  It is so quick and easy compared with inserting the chip card and waiting 10 hours or so (a slight exaggeration) before it buzzes at you to remove it.  You would think with something so convenient and supposedly safer too that everyone would be using it, but I've noticed the funny looks I get from the cashiers when I use it and I've even had some of them mention it.  A few weeks ago I was in Kohls with my wife and after I paid the cashier said "you are only the second person I've ever seen do that".    But yesterday took the cake.  I was at a very busy Dunkin' Donuts (I went inside because the drivethrough looked like a much longer wait) when I paid the cashier (a teenage girl) yelled (yes yelled) "Oh My God! What did you do?"  I told her I paid with my phone and she said "How did you do that?"  I told her Apple pay, it is easier than inserting the card, and the older cashier next to her said "yeah they can do that now, I had someone do that last week".    This is obviously not something they see everyday.

 

Anyone have any idea why almost no one is using ApplePay?

 

[johnny]

I think it is also worth noting the conspicuous absence of Netflix from the new TV app demo. It's obviously impossible to know exactly what's going on there, but it isn't a good sign. The obvious concern is that Apple's constant flirtation with producing meaningful amounts of content internally (or buying a content company) has dissuaded Netflix from helping them try to make a play to lock up the TV market.

 

So that means the two highest quality streaming services, Netflix -and- Amazon, are not fully participating in their ecosystem. I'd call that another disaster, since the strategic value of the TV box is way larger than its rounding-error revenue numbers suggest. But maybe I'm too loose with that word.

 

It may already have been mentioned here but, about a year ago; Amazon stopped allowing Apple TV sales on their site.

 

I emailed & got a personalized response saying they're aware that people are unhappy about it & are working to remedy the situation (not a direct quote but that's the gist of it & as an aside; I've received responses to other inquiries that were out of tune with larger Amazon policies so this one probably meant nothing.)

 

Jeff actually specifically addressed this in an interview this year and confirmed what I think most reasonable observers suspect: Amazon considers Apple's 30% extraction completely unreasonable and is not only refusing to participate, but explicitly refusing to do anything that might help support the products.

 

Not to hammer this home too much, but their aimlessness on TV is exactly the sort of thing you'd expect now that Jobs is gone. Ive doesn't have any strong opinions about negotiating with other corporations, and Eddie Cue now seems to be running the show mostly because he happened to be in the building when the iPod exploded, so people seem to think that means he knows how to deal with content-providers.

 

Apple needed to decide if they were going to go into underwriting content or not, and they needed to have decided that like five years ago, and gone all-in. Instead it is almost 2017, Apple is still kind of flirting with producing content, still kind of flirting with doing a massive production/distribution acquisition, and probably wondering why every other single player in the industry either hates them or wants to keep them an arms-length away.

 

In the meantime, the space is being defined and captured by rivals that started off with a pretty substantial disadvantage (not having the iPhone in the pocket of almost every six-figure earner in the country).

[gfp]

"Anyone have any idea why almost no one is using ApplePay?"

---------------------------------------

 

I doubt this applies to many others but I will share the reason I don't use ApplePay - as a carpenter my thumb prints change virtually every day - scratches, holes, dirt, glue, etc - and I can never get the fingerprint reader on my iPhone 7+ to work reliably.  I agree that the chip cards seem to take forever and have really slowed down checkout lines.

[DooDiligence]

Anyone have any idea why almost no one is using ApplePay?

 

I use it wherever possible!

 

I don't watch a whole lot of TV but would bet there's been no promo/ads (I know there's none at any point of sale where I've been using it.)

 

Weird little factoid; there's a Publix just down the street from me & they don't do ApplePay (I asked the manager why, since publix is kind of a premium grocer, do they not accept it & the dude didn't even know it existed.)

[DooDiligence]

In the meantime, the space is being defined and captured by rivals that started off with a pretty substantial disadvantage (not having the iPhone in the pocket of almost every six-figure earner in the country).

 

That is an epic fail huh?!?

 

Seems like they would have tapped Iovine or someone who'd been dealing with this kind of thing with Beats...

[DCG]

Anyone have any idea why almost no one is using ApplePay?

 

 

Because it's not really any easier than just using a credit card. Taking your phone our of your pocket, unlocking your phone, finding and opening the Apple Pay app, selecting a credit card, and then scanning it isn't really any easier than taking your wallet out of your pocket, grabbing your credit card and swiping it.

 

 

It would be useful if people no longer carried their wallets (or purses) and just carried their phone, but people still carry their wallets everywhere (as you still need it for things like your drivers license. And what happens when you only have your phone with your and your battery dies? When phone batteries get to the point where they are reliable (my iPhone battery somehow went from 65%-charged to completely dead walking around trick or treating with my kids for just an hour last night in 40-degree weather), maybe people will trust their phones enough to use it as their primary tool for all their payments, reward cards, etc..

 

 

 

 

 

[Liberty]

Anyone have any idea why almost no one is using ApplePay?

 

 

Because it's not really any easier than just using a credit card. Taking your phone our of your pocket, unlocking your phone, finding and opening the Apple Pay app, selecting a credit card, and then scanning it isn't really any easier than taking your wallet out of your pocket, grabbing your credit card and swiping it.

 

Except that's not how Apple Pay works.

 

You just put the phone near the terminal and put your finger on the fingerprint sensor. Don't even need to unlock it or even manually turn it on.

 

Alternately, you can double press the home button and it pops up. That's it.

 

[abyli]

I use Apple Watch to do ApplePay, just one tap and takes a second to "Ding", secure and fast!

 

The latest credit card with chip is so slowwwwww! Cash is faster than credit card with chip. :-)

 

Anyone have any idea why almost no one is using ApplePay?

 

 

Because it's not really any easier than just using a credit card. Taking your phone our of your pocket, unlocking your phone, finding and opening the Apple Pay app, selecting a credit card, and then scanning it isn't really any easier than taking your wallet out of your pocket, grabbing your credit card and swiping it.

 

Except that's not how Apple Pay works.

 

You just put the phone near the terminal and put your finger on the fingerprint sensor. Don't even need to unlock it or even manually turn it on.

 

Alternately, you can double press the home button and it pops up. That's it.

 

[rkbabang]

Anyone have any idea why almost no one is using ApplePay?

 

 

Because it's not really any easier than just using a credit card. Taking your phone our of your pocket, unlocking your phone, finding and opening the Apple Pay app, selecting a credit card, and then scanning it isn't really any easier than taking your wallet out of your pocket, grabbing your credit card and swiping it.

 

Except that's not how Apple Pay works.

 

You just put the phone near the terminal and put your finger on the fingerprint sensor. Don't even need to unlock it or even manually turn it on.

 

Alternately, you can double press the home button and it pops up. That's it.

 

 

Exactly it takes about 1 second.  It is quicker in practice than even that video implies.  I have mine set to double click the home button from the locks screen.  So I take my phone out of my pocket, double click the home button as I'm doing so and it reads my finger print while I'm double clicking.  By the time my phone gets from my pocket to the reader it is ready. And then the register beeps immediately and the receipt comes out.  It is the quickest way to pay by a mile.

 

[rkbabang]

Anyone have any idea why almost no one is using ApplePay?

 

I use it wherever possible!

 

I don't watch a whole lot of TV but would bet there's been no promo/ads (I know there's none at any point of sale where I've been using it.)

 

Weird little factoid; there's a Publix just down the street from me & they don't do ApplePay (I asked the manager why, since publix is kind of a premium grocer, do they not accept it & the dude didn't even know it existed.)

 

I don't watch a much ad-supported TV either, when I watch TV it is usually Netflix/Amazon/HBO/Showtime.    But yeah, I can't remember seeing any advertisements on tv, print, or online.  It seems like they are simply not marketing it.

 

[DCG]

Anyone have any idea why almost no one is using ApplePay?

 

 

Because it's not really any easier than just using a credit card. Taking your phone our of your pocket, unlocking your phone, finding and opening the Apple Pay app, selecting a credit card, and then scanning it isn't really any easier than taking your wallet out of your pocket, grabbing your credit card and swiping it.

 

Except that's not how Apple Pay works.

 

You just put the phone near the terminal and put your finger on the fingerprint sensor. Don't even need to unlock it or even manually turn it on.

 

Alternately, you can double press the home button and it pops up. That's it.

 

 

 

oh..I guess I need to try using it more.

[KCLarkin]

oh..I guess I need to try using it more.

 

It is really remarkably easy. And the security benefits are enormous. I'm hopeful it will take-off once more users and merchants are used to it. It is hard to break old habits.

[Dynamic]

I have plenty of AAPL stock but no AAPL devices. Nor do I have Google Wallet on my Android phone.

 

I'm surprised Chip and PIN is slower than magnetic strip & signature now it's finally taking off in the USA. It certainly seemed to speed things up marginally here in Europe and caught on in a big way when it came in over a decade ago.

 

Even better is Contactless payment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_payment, though the US system seems to differ from the rest of the world where it has been adopted, and it doesn't seem widespread.

 

Here in the UK I have only one credit card without contactless (expiring next year), two with it, and two debit cards with it. Like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, Contactless cards can also be linked to your account for some mass transit systems such as London's Oyster Card system, so you benefit from the same discount and never need to top up or carry an Oyster Card again - great when you don't live in London but visit a few times a year and tend to mislay or forget to bring your Oyster Card. Also, Contactless doesn't require the terminal to connect to the card services provider, it transmits those purchases the next time it connects, e.g. when it processes a Chip and PIN or magnetic strip transaction.

 

The banks in Europe are on the hook for losses if the card is lost/stolen, so they have to agree to accept that modest degree of risk and keep terminals updated with blacklists of lost/stolen cards or limit the number or cumulative value of consecutive contactless transactions before you must use Chip and PIN. But this increases consumer uptake thereby boosting processing fee revenue as more non-cash small-value transactions are made.

 

The rise of Contactless payments from regular cards could limit Apple Pay's adoption in some countries. And equally, so could the limited market share of Apple devices, whereas since about 2013 if not earlier nearly every adult in the UK has at least one contactless card, and I'd imagine it's similar in much of Europe.

 

Apple Pay does have biometrics so may be usable with a higher payment limit, but it isn't all that compelling to me to have a marginally higher limit compared to Contactless up to £30 (GBP) and Chip and PIN for everything else. If it or Google Wallet automatically recorded a transaction in my expense tracking app, that might be more compelling.

[petec]

I have plenty of AAPL stock but no AAPL devices. Nor do I have Google Wallet on my Android phone.

 

I'm surprised Chip and PIN is slower than magnetic strip & signature now it's finally taking off in the USA. It certainly seemed to speed things up marginally here in Europe and caught on in a big way when it came in over a decade ago.

 

Even better is Contactless payment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_payment, though the US system seems to differ from the rest of the world where it has been adopted, and it doesn't seem widespread.

 

Here in the UK I have only one credit card without contactless (expiring next year), two with it, and two debit cards with it. Like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, Contactless cards can also be linked to your account for some mass transit systems such as London's Oyster Card system, so you benefit from the same discount and never need to top up or carry an Oyster Card again - great when you don't live in London but visit a few times a year and tend to mislay or forget to bring your Oyster Card. Also, Contactless doesn't require the terminal to connect to the card services provider, it transmits those purchases the next time it connects, e.g. when it processes a Chip and PIN or magnetic strip transaction.

 

The banks in Europe are on the hook for losses if the card is lost/stolen, so they have to agree to accept that modest degree of risk and keep terminals updated with blacklists of lost/stolen cards or limit the number or cumulative value of consecutive contactless transactions before you must use Chip and PIN. But this increases consumer uptake thereby boosting processing fee revenue as more non-cash small-value transactions are made.

 

The rise of Contactless payments from regular cards could limit Apple Pay's adoption in some countries. And equally, so could the limited market share of Apple devices, whereas since about 2013 if not earlier nearly every adult in the UK has at least one contactless card, and I'd imagine it's similar in much of Europe.

 

Apple Pay does have biometrics so may be usable with a higher payment limit, but it isn't all that compelling to me to have a marginally higher limit compared to Contactless up to £30 (GBP) and Chip and PIN for everything else. If it or Google Wallet automatically recorded a transaction in my expense tracking app, that might be more compelling.

 

+1

 

I've never understood why the US is so far behind the UK on card technology!

[rkbabang]

I have plenty of AAPL stock but no AAPL devices. Nor do I have Google Wallet on my Android phone.

 

I'm surprised Chip and PIN is slower than magnetic strip & signature now it's finally taking off in the USA. It certainly seemed to speed things up marginally here in Europe and caught on in a big way when it came in over a decade ago.

 

Even better is Contactless payment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_payment, though the US system seems to differ from the rest of the world where it has been adopted, and it doesn't seem widespread.

 

Here in the UK I have only one credit card without contactless (expiring next year), two with it, and two debit cards with it. Like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, Contactless cards can also be linked to your account for some mass transit systems such as London's Oyster Card system, so you benefit from the same discount and never need to top up or carry an Oyster Card again - great when you don't live in London but visit a few times a year and tend to mislay or forget to bring your Oyster Card. Also, Contactless doesn't require the terminal to connect to the card services provider, it transmits those purchases the next time it connects, e.g. when it processes a Chip and PIN or magnetic strip transaction.

 

The banks in Europe are on the hook for losses if the card is lost/stolen, so they have to agree to accept that modest degree of risk and keep terminals updated with blacklists of lost/stolen cards or limit the number or cumulative value of consecutive contactless transactions before you must use Chip and PIN. But this increases consumer uptake thereby boosting processing fee revenue as more non-cash small-value transactions are made.

 

The rise of Contactless payments from regular cards could limit Apple Pay's adoption in some countries. And equally, so could the limited market share of Apple devices, whereas since about 2013 if not earlier nearly every adult in the UK has at least one contactless card, and I'd imagine it's similar in much of Europe.

 

Apple Pay does have biometrics so may be usable with a higher payment limit, but it isn't all that compelling to me to have a marginally higher limit compared to Contactless up to £30 (GBP) and Chip and PIN for everything else. If it or Google Wallet automatically recorded a transaction in my expense tracking app, that might be more compelling.

 

+1

 

I've never understood why the US is so far behind the UK on card technology!

 

I've never used or even seen a contactless credit card.

 

[Liberty]

I've never used or even seen a contactless credit card.

 

We've had them for a few years in Canada. We've had PIN cards forever. Never understood why the US still used mangnetic strips from the 1970s and signatures from Mesopotamia. 

[fareastwarriors]

I've never used or even seen a contactless credit card.

 

We've had them for a few years in Canada. We've had PIN cards forever. Never understood why the US still used mangnetic strips from the 1970s and signatures from Mesopotamia.

 

 

Why America has been slow to adopt modern credit-card technology

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/10/economist-explains-18

[Jurgis]

Never understood why the US still used mangnetic strips from the 1970s and signatures from Mesopotamia.

 

LOL.

 

With the chip cards, USA still uses signatures from Mesopotamia. Even more so when I scribble broken fat lines with touchscreen pen...  8)

 

Edit: on topic: no Apple devices, so no Apple pay for me. Haven't tried Android whatever either.

[rkbabang]

Never understood why the US still used mangnetic strips from the 1970s and signatures from Mesopotamia.

 

LOL.

 

With the chip cards, USA still uses signatures from Mesopotamia. Even more so when I scribble broken fat lines with touchscreen pen...  8)

 

Edit: on topic: no Apple devices, so no Apple pay for me. Haven't tried Android whatever either.

 

What I love is when you pay a merchant who uses an ipad to process it and has you sign with your finger on the touch screen.  Every signature looks like a doctor signed it.

 

[fareastwarriors]

Apple quietly expands into an industry poised to take off

 

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/04/apple-quietly-expands-into-an-industry-poised-to-take-off.html

[DCG]

Has anyone else's iPhone battery life been terrible since upgrading to the new OS. I have a 6S that is one year old and my battery is draining very fast every day without a lot of use.

[Spekulatius]

Has anyone else's iPhone battery life been terrible since upgrading to the new OS. I have a 6S that is one year old and my battery is draining very fast every day without a lot of use.

 

I don't have an iPhone, but have experienced the same issue with my Samsung S4 Android phone. I tried various things, including buying new batteries, but in the end only a factory reset helped. I suspect the root cause is with faulty apps or maybe an operating system issue from various install that is causing battery drainage. I also suspect the seekingalpha app, which I used on my phone, to be an issue and decided not to reinstall that one.

[Liberty]

Has anyone else's iPhone battery life been terrible since upgrading to the new OS. I have a 6S that is one year old and my battery is draining very fast every day without a lot of use.

 

Something's wrong with your phone (hardware or software). It's normal right after a new OS upgrade for the phone to be a bit slower and for battery to drain a bit more because a lot of stuff is going on in the background for a bit (re-indexing stuff, moving files around, building a database for new features like machine vision, etc). But that doesn't last long.

 

You might have changed something else without noticing (ie. put your screen brightness to maximum while you had it set to 50% before, moved to somewhere much farther away from a cell tower so the emitting power has to be much higher), or you might have a new app doing a lot of background work (which you can toggle on/off on a per app basis in the 'settings -> general' to reduce power draw), or you may have defective hardware. If you can't figure out any other change that you made, and if when you go in 'settings -> battery' to see what's using your power you don't see anything out of the ordinary, you might want to bring the phone to an Apple store.

[rkbabang]

Has anyone else's iPhone battery life been terrible since upgrading to the new OS. I have a 6S that is one year old and my battery is draining very fast every day without a lot of use.

 

My wife and I both have 6S's and my son has an SE and we all noticed that immediately after upgrading to IOS 10.  There are a few settings you can change to make the problem go away. I did all of these on our phones and battery life is back to what it was before. 

 

First, disable "Raise to Wake" settings->Display&Brightness.

 

Second, reduce the number of widgets you are using on the lock screen.  Swipe right scroll to the bottom and hit "edit"  Remove any widgets you don't feel are necessary.

 

Third, if you don't care about counting your steps goto Settings->Privacy->Motion & Fitness and turn off "Health".

 

Fourth, goto Settings->Privacy->Location Services->System Services and uncheck what you don't need/want.  I unchecked "HomeKit", "Location-Based Alerts", Location-Based Apple Ads", "Setting Time Zone", "Frequent Locations", Diagnostics & Usage. You can google each option to find out what they do to see if you need it on or not.

 

My phone lasts as long, if not longer, than it did before now.