Verizon turns down Note 7 'kill' update as Apple rejects 'Samsung Pay Mini' at App Store
Verizon won't be joining other U.S. carriers in pushing out a "kill" update for the fire-prone and now defunct Samsung Galaxy Note 7, according to an announcement. In the meantime, Apple has allegedly rejected a "Samsung Pay Mini" app at the iOS App Store, possibly deflecting competition for Apple Pay.
Verizon customers won't be getting Samsung's software update "because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note 7 users that do not have another device to switch to," the carrier said. It also expressed concern about killing the device "in the heart of the holiday travel season," especially since some people might need it in an emergency.
The update, which eliminates the ability to charge the Note 7, will begin rolling out to American owners on Dec. 19. Samsung has claimed that 93 percent of units sold in the U.S. have already been returned, and is trying push the few remaining people with a working device to take advantage of refund and exchange programs, which in some cases come with extra financial incentives.
As a safety measure and to encourage participating in the recall, U.S. owners are already limited to a 60 percent charge. On Dec. 15, Samsung will release an update in the U.K. restricting phones to a 30 percent charge, TechCrunch reported on Monday. Canadian owners will soon have all wireless functions disabled, joining a measure already taken in New Zealand.
The app should launch on Android in January. To date, Samsung Pay has been limited to more recent Samsung devices. Unlike Apple Pay, or even Google's Android Pay, Samsung's platform can be used even with merchants that don't normally support wireless payments.
ETNews claimed that Apple is considering launching Apple Pay in South Korea in the first half of 2017. The company hasn't made any announcements in that regard, but the platform's international reach has expanded substantially through 2016, making South Korea a natural place to continue given the size and wealth of the market.
Verizon customers won't be getting Samsung's software update "because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note 7 users that do not have another device to switch to," the carrier said. It also expressed concern about killing the device "in the heart of the holiday travel season," especially since some people might need it in an emergency.
The update, which eliminates the ability to charge the Note 7, will begin rolling out to American owners on Dec. 19. Samsung has claimed that 93 percent of units sold in the U.S. have already been returned, and is trying push the few remaining people with a working device to take advantage of refund and exchange programs, which in some cases come with extra financial incentives.
As a safety measure and to encourage participating in the recall, U.S. owners are already limited to a 60 percent charge. On Dec. 15, Samsung will release an update in the U.K. restricting phones to a 30 percent charge, TechCrunch reported on Monday. Canadian owners will soon have all wireless functions disabled, joining a measure already taken in New Zealand.
Samsung Pay Mini
With its rejection at the App Store, Samsung will concentrate on bringing Pay Mini to non-Samsung Android phones, South Korea's ETNews said. Apple's reasons for blocking the app are unknown, but the company regularly turns down apps it feels compete too closely with its own -- something that could potentially create legal trouble in Korea if it's felt that Apple is being anti-competitive.The app should launch on Android in January. To date, Samsung Pay has been limited to more recent Samsung devices. Unlike Apple Pay, or even Google's Android Pay, Samsung's platform can be used even with merchants that don't normally support wireless payments.
ETNews claimed that Apple is considering launching Apple Pay in South Korea in the first half of 2017. The company hasn't made any announcements in that regard, but the platform's international reach has expanded substantially through 2016, making South Korea a natural place to continue given the size and wealth of the market.
Comments
Ugh.
Okay so I am expected to drive with lowered safety because you are too lazy to fix your car and thus being a potential risk for all other drivers includig me? You can't be serious. Where I live you would be the only one getting punishment on this one and I think your country is handling it the same way.
The reality is that in today's internet-connected world, the tech is there to disable dangerous devices which I actually support as the right thing that Samsung is doing. Using your tired car analogy, if FORD had the ability to remote-disable a vehicle that could spontaneously catch fire, they would do it to those remaining 7% of cars sitting in garages probably not being used anyways. Ford could easily disable a car that is not being operated with the engine turned off. Stop being so melodramatic.
What are you talking about? I'm not against recalls. If you get a recall notice, go ahead and take your car in. In fact, everyone should. But we as consumers are in the best position to decide when we should do that.
Are you suggesting that your life in in danger because some people haven't turned in their Galaxy devices yet? Consider that they are already banned from being on planes. And what is the actual failure rate? It's probably less than 1%. So a complete recall is perfectly justified, but I think the remote kill command is over the top.
if a plane burns down i hope they sue Verizon for everything they got.
samsung Pay most likely had tracking software.
imo Apple should accept Samsung pay if the app meets requirements and why can't Apple make an android Apple Pay app?
Same goes for FaceTime, Apple music, ...
I personally do not have an issue with you taking personal risks and killing yourself, it is called the natural selection process at work, however, when your risk taking also includes me and other people, I am not interest in your attempts to win the Darwin award. Otherwise, do what you like and make sure you video it so the rest of us can enjoy your demise.
Please point out the hyperbole in what I wrote.
To use your tired Ford scenario (apparently such things get tired after one use), Ford would be extremely reluctant to do such a thing because of the very real chance that the harm caused by the remote-kill would be more damaging than the risk they are trying to prevent. It's easy to imagine someone not being able to get to a hospital in an emergency, for example. Obviously, the stakes are probably lower in this Note 7 example (oh no, I missed a Cyber Monday sale!), but there are risks (e.g., what if the Samsung update accidentally remote kills all Samsung phones? Is that impossible?).
There would be no purpose in Samsung disabling devices if everyone obeyed the rules. It's safe to say that people are using the phone in potentially unsafe circumstances despite what's been said, such as sneaking the phone onto to airplanes. A 1% failure rate is not an argument for personal liberty because a person won't know if they're in that 1% or not. A person's liberty can't take meaningful responsibility for the harm or death of another person unless it can also heal or bring back the life of that person.
Though I'm not saying that I think disabling the phones is definitely the best solution here—forcing people into good behaviour does not overall have a good long term effect.
If those Fords were banned from being on the road but someone decided to ignore the recall and kept it in a public parking garage where it burst into flames and destroyed a bunch of cars including yours, somehow, I think your "world view" would be a little different.
(1) phone explored - Samsung's liability
(2) killed phone without another device to switch to - just in case of emergency case- VZ's liability.
If if they really cared, they should have issued new hardware is a forced exchange program. They could have given users a push notification every day or every time they open their phones, giving them 30 days or so to go to the nearest store and exchange.
But no. Easier to just steal the money and ruin their device.
And of course samsung pay had tracking. Remember the seemingly innocuous Jay Z/Samsung app back a few years? Seemed innocent... until it was revealed as basically a Trojan horse app.
Apple Pay is used so much because people TRUST Apple. They've earned it.
Nobody trusts Samsung. And they've earned that reputation as well.