Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2016/07/thursday-morning-news280716/
One billion. That’s how many iPhones Apple has sold, and the official announcement shows Apple CEO Tim Cook holding the billionth iPhone high at an employee meeting. Cook says: “iPhone has become one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history. It’s become more than a constant companion. iPhone is truly an essential part of our daily life and enables much of what we do throughout the day”.
Those holding their breath for other banks to jump on board the Apple Pay train will have to keep holding their breath, because it doesn’t look as though that’s going to happen anytime soon. In a joint submission to the ACCC, the Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and Westpac (along with Bendigo Bank and Adelaide Bank) have requested permission to collectively boycott in order to negotiate with third-party mobile payment systems, including Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay. MacStories reports the banks arguing that third-party mobile payment solutions have the capability to impose highly restrictive terms and conditions.
The AFR writes that the collective boycott is just about the banks getting their own mobile payment solutions onto iPhones. The banks are rightly saying that Apple Pay is the only option for iPhones, while Android devices seem a little more relaxed in allowing third-party access to the NFC chip which allows mobile payments on Android. The whole story seems wrong, somehow — since when have banks ever cared about competition? And in the meantime, their loyal customers are denied Apple Pay.
A post on the Commbank Support Community says the boycott is not about negotiating fees and charges — which was reported to be a major roadblock for Apple Pay in Australia for a long time — but about ensuring Australians have access to a competitive market of mobile payment solutions. ANZ must be laughing all the way to the bank for this, as evidently they weren’t as concerned about allowing competition when they launched Apple Pay, and with this, the publicity they must be getting for being the only Australian bank to allow Apple Pay will absolutely be worth any Apple Pay fees or thinly-veiled “competitive mobile payments landscape” arguments.
Further analysis of Apple’s financial results by Six Colors says that it’s mostly the bad news we were expecting. Services were up, but the light at the end of the tunnel says that there will only be a few more bad quarters before things start to look up again. Note that Apple still made $7.8 billion in profit in 91 days.
The full transcript of Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri is over at iMore, followed by a transcript of questions on the earnings conference call.
DigiTimes is saying Apple will continue to adopt USB-C, whether that’s in a new MacBook Pro or a new MacBook Air. The good news is, Thunderbolt 3 is supported by USB-C, but it’s still questionable for Apple to adopt yet another connection standard. Will we see USB-C to Lightning cables soon?
DigiTimes also expects a new model of Apple Watch to be released around the same time as the new iPhone, perhaps in September or October. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m wondering if the Apple Watch can have a two-year product cycle where other Apple hardware can’t.
Apple has partnered with a parking service company Parkopedia to bring in-depth parking data to Apple Maps. I had no idea this was a thing.
Microsoft’s latest app is Pix, a camera app that has no settings but uses AI to ensure you always get the perfect photo. The introductory video points out the features.
