patsu

maestro64 said:

To your point, I think China is ahead on the whole electronic pay situation, reason I said this a business associate just got back from a trip in China and was traveling outside the cities and the person who was his in country host, stop at a road side vegetable stand and bought some snack for the drive and the person at the stand took electronic payment. They had one of those NFC readers attached to his phone. I still run into store and retailers in the US with POS terminal which show the NFC symbol but have not active the ability to take Apple Pay.

Yep. In China, a merchant doesn’t need a POS terminal to accept money. Most of them use QR code. Alibaba and Tencent dominate the payment processor market.

However even in China, Apple’s early decision to support the credit card companies’ EMVCo tokenization payment standard has long lasting implications. The central bank in China are forcing payment processors, including QRCode ones, to integrate with UnionPay’s EMVCo platform. This decouples the monolithic, end-to-end QRCode payment providers, and allows the central bank to manage the payment industry better. They also extended the EMVCo tokenization infrastructure to support standard QRCode payment in the process:
https://www.nfcworld.com/2017/07/19/354016/emvco-standardizes-qr-code-mobile-payments/

Other countries like Thailand and Singapore are also building their national payment platforms around similar infrastructure.

Back in US, when ApplePay first announced their adoption of the tokenization specs to support the credit card companies, existing payment processors were forced to pivot too. These monolithic businesses were trying to position themselves as the ‘choke point’ of the value chain to suck all the passing user payment data. ApplePay was first to push for enhanced user privacy _and security_ in payment. 

Looking back, ApplePay helped establish a global payment standard when everyone else was just trying to “be the bank or credit card company themselves”. It was a strategic opening move.

gatorguy said:

EsquireCats said:

Just a reminder that exploit costs are to be amortised over the user base. An exploit for a smaller potential base attracts less than the same for a larger potential exploit base

Wasn't that just as true in years past when Zerodium was (potentially) paying out far more for iOS exploits? Posters here used that fact used to ridicule the security of Android and use it as "proof" that exploits for that platform were a dime a dozen and of course not worth much. Now that Android OS exploits might be more rare and valuable than those for iOS why wouldn't those same arguments those AI posters used be valid now? Personally I don't believe they ever were just as I argued at the time. Where's @NHT and @ericthehalfbee?

The payout for so-called Android full exploits is just marketing fluff. Hackers don’t have to deliver 1 chain for _all_ Android devices. For mass hacking, they only need to target a handful of brands and can reach most users, which is easy. Zerodium will still pay for them, but significantly cheaper; still dead effective against users though. For high value vertical industries like banking, they target Android and Windows app weaknesses, especially those white box applications. There are too many integration points in these Android and Windows roll outs because they are fragmented. Even though Google try to pull a fast one by just focusing on a small part (just Android vanilla OS), in reality because many 3rd parties modules, extensions need to work together, it is trivial to find the exploits in these mishmash of software. It’s all part of the user stack even though Google doesn’t (want to) count them.

iOS security is still stronger because of tighter policies. Safari and iMessage can be improved as quickly and targeted as exploits show up. There is nothing inherently weak about Apple’s update strategies. They can release more frequent update if they want to.

For the recent Uighur hacks, the hackers had to chain together 14 iOS exploits. That’s a long chain and will use up the number of exploits quickly. Android and Windows are also hacked but the developer community did not get a chance to fix them since the attacks had been dismantled when the iOS hack was discovered (more people scrutinizing iOS). So the vulnerabilities still exist, and we don’t know how easy it is. It may very well be shorter exploit chains but more variety of them. I did a quick check, the iOS exploits in this Uighur hack were fixed more than half a year ago in 12.1.4.

Apple recently beefed up their bug bounty program. This has also generated huge interests amongst the hackers community. After all, everyone knows Apple has deep pocket. So it is not surprising to have so many submissions these days. Some of them are not good enough to receive payouts from Apple or other buyers, and it will result in people shopping around for payment, submitting duplicated findings. Once the bug bounty program (and of course fixes) kick into high gear, we will have a better idea of the run rate for such things.

Not to mention hardware security. Most software centric companies ignore these hardware and firmware exploits because they don’t play in this area well. So they barely get any mention in the software heavy blogosphere, but Apple’s hardware security is unmatched so far. Take a look at the T2 chip, and other UEFI work done by their teams. It is a cat and mouse game, but Apple’s approach in integrating software and hardware security is pretty interesting so far. We’ll get to see how things evolve in the long run.

Coincidentally, a new ”Android” exploit today, from the manufacturers:
https://apple.news/AgUqxXGueSJG68z0oX2oEJA

Nah, Apple should correct bad numbers as they see fit. New folks continue to join the industry. They should learn the track records of market research firms and analysts.

IDC has always have poor forecasts. Maybe their pro-Windows stance colored their numbers. Most infamous is their grotesquely high multi-year windows phone prediction.

macplusplus said:

Since they sell plans per device, it is understandable that they distinguish between devices. Besides, AirPlay to an Apple TV doesn't make sense: you download to your mobile device via wi-fi, then AirPlay to the Apple TV over the same wi-fi, unnecessary two way traffic that would reduce playback quality. Why not use the Netflix app on the Apple TV instead? It syncs perfectly between devices, you can also hard-wire your Apple TV directly to your router via Ethernet. That policy may only affect TV sets with AirPlay but without the Netflix app. The solution appears to be the usual one: buy the dumbest TV you can tolerate and attach an Apple TV. So AirPlay implemented on a TV without tvOS is useless, it may help you to AirPlay YouTube from your mobile device but such TVs may already have YouTube.

Wrong. In AirPlay Video, the target TV/Apple TV downloads the video. The mobile device only controls the playback. What you mentioned is AirPlay Screen, which mirrors the phone screen to the TV say, for presentation. Different tech.

I don’t believe Netflix when they say they can’t tell the requesting device.

Mobile phone UI is a lot more advanced than TV device UI. So AirPlay makes sense.

gatorguy said:

Why do you care "what's wrong with Android"? Just sit back and enjoy watching the fire as it burns to the ground as you've been expecting and predicting for a few years now. 

  Except to try and make iOS look better and possibly distracting from discussion of shortcomings, what else? Didn't Tim Cook somewhat recently voice his disappointment with the slow uptake of Apple Pay? I doubt he's happier about it because Google Pay has been slower.  Just enjoy iOS because it fits so well. You don't need Android in order to make believe everything is A OK. At it's root there's something lacking in the design and/or benefits and usefulness  of current mobile payment services. Consumers just aren't driven to use it, and much less demand it. 

In any event a number of the most engaged Apple fans here have said over and over they're tired of hearing about Google and their assorted services, Android included. Apple and iOS is strong enough to stand on its own and does, no Android needed in order to make it so. 

A number of years ago, Android folks and other pundits mocked iPhone for the lack of NFC. It is interesting to see where Apple is now compared to the doom-and-gloom picture they painted.

zoetmb said:

cali said:

A lot of Apple's new innovations are for the environment and not even available to the consumer.

a selfless company. 

It's great what Apple is doing in terms of environmental responsibility in its buildings, but to say that Apple is a "selfless" company is absurd.    If Apple was really "selfless" and really cared about its environmental impact, they would make computers in which end users could change the battery, memory and storage, as they used to.   Instead, many of those computers wind up in landfill as people are forced to buy another computer.    Would you buy a car in which only the car company could change the battery, tires and belts?

That's over-simplification, and a bit of strawman argument.

They may have misread the pro market. For all we know, the next Mac Pro will have what you need (replaceable parts). It's about what the customers want, and how to deliver them reliably.

People like me don't upgrade computers. I also don't like third parties touching my machines and replacing parts, especially after all the hardware malware and battery explosion news in recent years. Then again, I know people who like to save money bargain hunting for parts. 

I do care about too many products going to landfill, so I typically sell my devices and laptops away in usable conditions. Interesting that Apple wants to recycle their products completely now to tackle this issue, but it's probably many years away.

The car analogy is not so appropriate because they have been lacking privacy and security considerations since the beginning. So they are perceived more like a dumb heater or washing machine. But as car becomes smarter, begin to handle our information, tracking our lives, and hold us ransom, then yes I will consider the most secure car vs a car with all the parts replaceable. Heck, for all we know, cars may become fully rental or service based. So you don't need to own a car anymore.

Yes !

Nick4wheelin said:

So can you not use an Apple product without passwords? I use a passcode and finger print scanner on my OnePlus phone, but it's not a requirement. Seems as though it should be optional. But 22 seconds is 22 seconds and isn't that much time if you are authenticating other devices.

You're confusing password authentication with 2FA. They are not mutually exclusive.

dewme said:

Pretty much every sector of the economy that benefits either directly or peripherally from high oil prices is seeing similar 20%-ish drops. Companies in these sectors who are looking to upgrade their workforces with the latest technical gadgets are likely to hold off on upgrades and refresh plans until their markets recover. Many iPhone 6 buyers are still under contract and are toting an already damn good device. I'm not even thinking about upgrading until the iPhone 7 at the earliest. Wall Street is so massively schizophrenic at this point. They've worked themselves into a frothing and drooling mess worrying endlessly about turmoil around security, regional unrest, the China financial market stumbling, and the endless rumination from the purveyors of doom and gloom. Whether Apple's next readout is up or down it is nice that they're not flailing around trying to prop up an imaginary falling sky that arrives on a daily basis. They're staying focused on designing and building great products and letting the chips fall where they may.

I forgot to mention that in China, you have to be careful of their channel data, even if they are your own employees.

It is good that Apple is opening many stores in China. It will give them a more accurate demand assessment compared to gathering through purely third party data.

Have a friend whose IPO dream was dashed within a very short time because that dream was based on fake data reported by his Chinese subsidiary for years.

HP had a sophisticated channel data analysis team. They hired PhDs to run the modeling for demand forecast using channel data. When they implemented the same reporting system in China, they found incredibly up-to-date and 100% accurate data submitted by their distributors. Most of the time, real world channel data is spotty and behind time.

On further investigation, they also found the distributors hired a separate team of channel executives just to cook up perfect data. The real team continue to run amok.

It is reassuring to see a large company like Apple adjusting their inventory boldly. I remember in the early days, Jobs often cited their Mac inventory performance during his keynotes. As someone with channel marketing background, I sure miss news on channel management sciences.

The motivation for these channel movements may not be due to just 1 cause. The management usually commit them for multiple valid and beneficial reasons, not necessarily falling demand.

seankill said:

The next couple of years are going to be interesting for Apple. Their drive for thin products is getting ridiculous.

The Touchbar strikes me as something like the S7 Edge. Not convinced it is a groundbreaking new UI that I would use, unless I decide to like Emojis.....
Your mileage may vary.

Not to mention a user couldn't connect their 1 month old iPhone 7 (+) to this laptop without a dongle. Not to mention SD cards, USBs, HDMIs....... I totally understood DVI, VGA, Cd drive, and MAYBE Ethernet but no HDMI? Every projector I have seen in the last 4 years uses HDMI; you know, what "professionals" do with laptops. The included port is why I bought the mid-2012 retina. 

Apple needs to get their interface connections in order. It is sloppier than I have ever seen it with poor consistency. If they are going to cold turkey USB-C on their products, the iPhone 7S/8 better go that way as well.

 Of course, Apple apologist will find some reason that Apple is prefect. 

Dude, all my friends use wifi to connect to their iPhones.

You don't need any wire let alone a dongle unless it's bricked. Get on with times.