spheric

charlesn said:

"We have fought for years to be able to compete on equal footing with Apple," said Rune Garborg, CEO of Vipps MobilePay

Only in the EU is it considered "equal footing" when the government hands you another company's hardware and IP to use free of charge. Maybe Vipps should have spent those years developing its own phone and VippsPay system? Little wonder that European economies are and have been in the toilet. I honestly wish Apple would just pull the plug on selling to Europe and "Let them eat Android." 

• Limiting Third Party Digital Wallets. Apple has prevented third-party apps from offering tap-to-pay functionality, inhibiting the creation of cross-platform third-party digital wallets.“

avon b7 said:

foregoneconclusion said:

avon b7 said:

foregoneconclusion said:

It sounds like the only advantage is that those local Norwegian banks don't allow Apple Pay. 

The major benefit is choice for the end user and with it, competition and innovation.

Apple can be bypassed completely (loosening its grip on Apple Pay, NFC revenues) but the option to remain 'all in' on Apple Pay remains should users choose to do that. 

On the Android side, Google Pay is still unable to handle the dynamic CVV on my 'rechargeable' card in spite of me having reported issues for a couple of years now. 

The solution? I use BBVA Pay and now never even consider Google Pay. 

Choice is good. 

I didn't see any innovations or pricing benefits mentioned in the article. 

That's not relevant. No alternatives (on pricing or innovation) were even possible before this. 

My bank says its app is the world's best mobile banking solution. There may be a chunk of marketing thought in that claim and I don't know all the alternatives but I'd rather competitors had the option to exist than not. If there is a surefire way to stifle innovation, it is by having the market closed off to just one player. 

That was the case prior to this. 

gatorguy said:

nicholfd said:

gatorguy said:

I don't know what rationale Apple is using to decide they should be discontinued. Perhaps they ordered some large quantity years ago and finally have run out? It's such a useful little accessory for those of us with really good wired headphones.

I use mine with HiFiMan Edition XS open-backs and a separate DAC. The combo sounds so much better than any of my wireless headphones. Bonus: I don't ever have to worry about the batteries giving up the ghost as they all eventually do, forcing me to toss out expensive bluetooth headphones. I also have a great pair of closed-back B&O's more than a decade old I sometimes use. There's no wireless ones that will last that long.

That little discontinued dongle saves me a lot of money, and allows notably better sound too. 

I'm confused or missing something with your comment regarding using a separate DAC with the now discontinued Lightning -> analog headphone adapter.  

DAC = Digital to Analog Converter.  The signal coming out of the now discontinued adapter is already analog.  How are you using a DAC with it?

A Sonata BHD Pro, which is both DAC and amplifier. Without it my iPhone can't drive enough audio power to the headphones. Planars like their power, and these are 8ohm and 92db cans. For my wants, a couple of smartphones and my office computer, I don't need an expensive DAC-amp for it, and some are seriously expensive. But dang, the Edition XS sounds soooo good

loopless said:

So… apple provides a service for free, albeit with some limitations on storage, but charges to get more storage, this is somehow ripping off UK customers? The argument boils down to 5GB is not enough?

tundraboy said:

I don't know.  I would think when you build your antitrust lawsuit on the assertion that "iOS is a monopoly", you deserve to be laughed out of court.