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Feels to me that something like this cheapens Apple's brand. I don't mean to imply that they had an expensive brand and this changes the demographic (I hate bu
by gumby 4y ago
Feels to me that something like this cheapens Apple's brand.
I don't mean to imply that they had an expensive brand and this changes the demographic (I hate businesses like that), I mean their brand, as far as I can tell, is "high quality, thought through, and works well".* This feels like they are exploiting their existing customer base.
* Pls don't argue if you disagree on the actual quality or whatever. This is about how it looks to me that they position themselves. Feel free to argue about how they might be positioning themselves :-)
- keiferski 4y agoI agree completely. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I really cannot imagine Apple doing this under Steve Jobs' management. He would have rejected it simply for seeming tacky and reminiscent of products in low quality industries.
- DavidPeiffer 4y agoI was thinking the same thing. My understanding was prior to iPhone, phones were purchased outright, typically costing a couple hundred dollars, and there wasn't such a thing as paying off the phone as part of your monthly cell phone bill. I have always purchased my phones outright, but am curious if there are fees, interest, or a higher total cost of payments via financing (fees and interest on missed payments). That's the only justification I could use to say "maybe Steve would be good with it".
- babypuncher 4y ago> I was thinking the same thing. My understanding was prior to iPhone, phones were purchased outright, typically costing a couple hundred dollars, and there wasn't such a thing as paying off the phone as part of your monthly cell phone bill. This was absolutely a thing before the iPhone. Many carriers offered Blackberries, Palm Treos, and even higher end dumbphones and featurephones at discounts when you signed a service contract.
- gumby 4y agoThe original Mac, in 1984, was offered with a financing package because it was so expensive. And yes, that was when Steve Jobs worked for apple.
- keiferski 4y agoThat was a completely different era when personal computers were just becoming a thing. I don’t consider it comparable to cell phones today.
- hot_gril 4y agoThey already cheapened their brand beyond this when they created a credit card. CC is another form of BNPL, but more importantly, it's the most gimmicky business out there.
- lotsofpulp 4y agoThey did not create a credit card. Goldman Sachs (GS) does all the financial work, and gives Apple a cut for the branding. Same thing here. GS is doing the underwriting, Apple is just providing the tech to be able to access the customer at the point of sale and make a split second automated offer for GS to lend money. Edit: I was wrong about GS doing the underwriting. The website states: >Apple Pay Later is offered by Apple Financing LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., which is responsible for credit assessment and lending. Apple Financing plans to report Apple Pay Later loans to U.S. credit bureaus starting this fall,5 so they are reflected in users’ overall financial profiles and can help promote responsible lending for both the lender and the borrower.
- hot_gril 4y agoWe're talking about branding. Apple is the one selling the card to customers, so it's their brand at stake, not GS's.
- lotsofpulp 4y agoBasically every single retail business brands a credit card. What difference would it make? Every airline, hotel, and retail store offers their own branded cc. Even Costco does, and that is about as high of brand reputation as you can get.
- hot_gril 4y agoYes, exactly. Those aren't seen as tech companies. Apple has cheapened their brand to that of an airline or hotel, or Costco at best. It's not terrible, but it's not the visionary company it used to be.
- 4y ago