Apple

Mark Gurman:

The debut of the new American Express Platinum Card had me thinking a lot about the Apple Card, the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. collaboration that came out nearly two years ago. So far, it doesn’t appear that the card has made much headway: It’s still U.S.-only, the rewards are mediocre, and the revenue impact for Apple Inc. doesn’t seem significant.

And:

I think what the product needs is an Apple Card+: a product to target the high-end market dominated by the Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve. Those cards charge $550 to $695 a year, prices that aren’t out of reach for the sorts of Apple consumers who regularly spring for the Pro models or Hermès watch bands.

Two thoughtful points here: Apple Card has not reached its potential. In the discussion of credit cards, it’s not on the shortlist, other than for Apple related purchases, where the 3% cash back is worth considering (to me, it’s a no-brainer), especially given the lack of an annual fee.

And second, take a look through Mark’s list of imagined perks for an Apple Card+. I do think Apple could compete against the American Express Platinum Card, the gold…er…platinum standard for business folk. Apple can use its ecosystem to sweeten the pot, draw users, in ways American Express cannot.

Tim Hardwick, MacRumors:

Apple Maps received several notable improvements in iOS 15, including new details in cities, an interactive globe, and enhanced driving directions. It also gained a feature that has long been available in rival map apps – the ability to set leaving and arrival times for driving directions.

The goal is to have a realistic driving time for future trips, based on predicted driving time for the time of day you specify.

In the past, to get this, had to use Google Maps. Glad to finally have this feature come to Apple Maps.

Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac:

The Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported last month how criminals had been stealing iPhones in Brazil to access people’s bank accounts instead of reselling the devices. Now, the police seem to have finally figured out how they gain access to bank accounts, and to our surprise, the process seems easier than you might think.

And:

Basically, thieves take the SIM card out of the stolen iPhone and then put it into another iPhone. Using social networks like Facebook and Instagram, they can easily find out the email address used by the person who had the phone stolen. In most cases, this email address is the same as the one used for the Apple ID. All they need to do is reset the Apple ID password using the victim’s phone number.

The portability of the SIM card comes back to bite us. Is there anything Apple can do to prevent this?

Apple has promised the Brazilian newspaper that it will make it easier for users to delete all data from a stolen iPhone. However, the company did not give details of what exactly it will implement. With iOS 15, users will finally be able to track a powered-off iPhone using the Find My app.

And, of course, the best thing you can do to protect your accounts is not to store your passwords in the Notes app or other non-secure apps. Another good option is to only use an eSIM instead of a regular SIM, as the eSIM cannot easily be transferred to another device.

Why we cannot have nice things.

Justin Sink, Bloomberg:

President Joe Biden will direct the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to draft new rules aimed at stopping manufacturers from limiting consumers’ ability to repair products at independent shops or on their own, a person familiar with the plan said.

The executive order leaves the specifics to the FTC, so it’s not clear how big an impact this will have. One particular aim here:

The order is also expected to benefit farmers, who face expensive repair costs from tractor manufacturers who use proprietary repair tools, software, and diagnostics to prevent third-parties from working on the equipment.

As to Apple and control over repair of Macs, iPhones, iPads, and the like, there are a wide range of possibilities here. Might Apple be forced to allow non-Apple approved parts into their warranty programs? In other words, might I be able to get a non-Apple replacement display for my iPhone without voiding my warranty?

Or, deeper still, might the new rules force a design change to Apple’s manufacturing, making it simpler for me to, say, swap out RAM or an SSD on my Apple device to give me more storage, without paying the Apple RAM/SSD premium price?

Tim Hardwick, MacRumors:

Popular open-source audio editing software Audacity is facing “spyware” allegations from users for recent privacy policy changes that suggest the desktop app is collecting user data and sharing it with third parties, including state regulators where applicable.

Audacity is a very popular audio processing app. It allows you to do things like compression, normalization and other effects, and features a rich plug-in library that serves a wide set of needs.

From the updated privacy policy page:

All your personal data is stored on our servers in the European Economic Area (EEA). However, we are occasionally required to share your personal data with our main office in Russia and our external counsel in the USA.

That’s just a sample. The open source community is not taking these changes kindly, to put it mildly.

If you wish to access, correct, update or request deletion of your Personal Data, you can do so at any time by contacting via [email protected].

Apple has set the privacy bar here by requiring apps to put up an opt-in request at first launch. Audacity goes the opposite way, hiding the opt-out in the privacy notice and requiring users to reach out, non-specifically, via email. Hmmph.

Patience Haggin, Wall Street Journal:

After the tracking change took effect in April, many users of Apple’s iOS operating system have received a high volume of prompts from apps asking permission to track them—requests that most have declined. Less than 33% of iOS users opt in to tracking, according to ad-measurement firm Branch Metrics Inc.

Many users have received a high volume of prompts? What does this mean? Do the Branch Metrics numbers measure all iOS users and, thus, that 33% number includes folks running older versions? “Less than 33%” of iOS users opt in to tracking seems a ridiculously high number if it’s purely measuring folks who’ve responded to the “track me” prompt.

As of June 22, more than 70% of iOS devices had been upgraded to a version that requires the tracking prompt, according to Branch Metrics, allowing advertisers to begin assessing the impact.

And:

Tinuiti advertisers were allocating about 50% of their Audience Network spending to iOS users at the start of April. By the end of June, they were spending about 20% on iOS users, Mr. Taylor said. Advertisers have typically spent more per iOS user, seeing them as bigger spenders than Android users.

The trend is clear. Advertisers are switching away from iOS, presumably because they can’t get that precious personal ad response data.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in March that “it’s possible that we may even be in a stronger position” after Apple’s change, particularly if it encourages “more businesses to conduct commerce on our platforms, by making it harder for them to basically use their data in order to find the customers that would want to use their products outside of our platforms.”

Early days still. The value of Apple users (and their deep pockets) hasn’t changed. Long term, I’d expect still another shift, as advertisers adjust to new models of reaching those users. What I don’t see is them abandoning iOS users in favor of Android. At least not in the long term.

Very straightforward process, and it all starts here.

Mark Gurman is one of the OG Apple reporters, surfacing info on coming products, detailing subtle changes to the Apple ecosystem, in hardware, software, and policy.

Mark cut his teeth at 9to5Mac, then made his way to Bloomberg, where he regularly reports today.

And now he’s put out a newsletter, called “Power On”. It is excellent and worth your consideration. The headline link will take you to the inaugural edition. Here’s a link if you decide to subscribe.

Zoe Schiffer, The Verge:

[A month ago] Tim Cook sent out an email telling employees the company was rolling out a new work model that would require them to return to in-office work on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays starting in the fall.

Then:

In the wake of that announcement, Apple employees wrote a letter saying some employees had been forced to quit because of the policy, and asking Cook to change his stance.

And, now:

Apple isn’t backing down from its hybrid work model that will require most employees to return to the office three days a week starting in early September. Fully remote positions will be extremely limited.

Apple’s response:

“We believe that in-person collaboration is essential to our culture and our future,” said Deirdre O’Brien, senior vice president of retail and people, in a video recording viewed by The Verge. “If we take a moment to reflect on our unbelievable product launches this past year, the products and the launch execution were built upon the base of years of work that we did when we were all together in-person.”

A solid test case for remote work and the tension between wanting to work at Apple and taking a job elsewhere to be able to work at home.

Did the pandemic make a foundational change to the way we think about where we do our jobs? Or was this a blip, with a slow slide back to the old ways?