
Apple warns its new credit card shouldn't go in your wallet, pocket, or purse - peterkelly
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/apple-credit-card-1.5255763
======
strikelaserclaw
"The company advises users to clean their cards with a microfibre cloth and
isopropyl alcohol to keep it looking sharp, and also warns to keep it away
from things like keys and other sharp objects inside a purse or bag, and to
keep it away from other cards."

This is comical to me, someone cleaning their credit cards.

~~~
nathanaldensr
This is just the corporation itself lending credence to the old argument:
Apple products are fashion accessories.

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aetherspawn
You should see my debit card.

After like maybe 6 months of just carrying it in my pocket everywhere, the
layers start to delaminate and it becomes frilley around the edges which then
gets dirty and looks gross.

Anything that isn’t plastic and laminated would be a plus. Can’t imagine the
Apple Card could look worse.

~~~
altcognito
Yeah this entire story strikes me as viral marketing so people carrying the
card have a story and they can put their card in a “special” spot.

~~~
ryanmercer
I saw scratched ones in /r/applecard days ago already. Titanium isn't some
wundermetal

Here's a recent one from 8 hours ago, scratched
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleCard/comments/cu88gh/sctaches_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleCard/comments/cu88gh/sctaches_at_a_level_5_deeper_grooves_at_a_level_6/)

They're basically saying don't use leather because the dyes can bleed onto the
metal and to avoid stuff like denim (which is generally rather abrasive and
can pick up and hold random debris which can further scratch). People are
acting like it's some conspiracy or that they need to buy some otter box style
case Apple is just saying "stop doing this and this or you're going to call us
freaking out wanting a new card" (people are already requesting new cards
because theirs is scratched...).

~~~
jerf
Unfortunately, the real-world environment is naturally endowed with some grit
that clocks in pretty high on the Mohs' scale. Just bog-standard "sand" can
get up to 7 and it's not hard to find little bits of grit that go even higher,
made either of pulverized naturally-hard materials or industrial stuff. A
quick Google suggests titanium is a 6, which in addition to being scratchable
by pretty much all the grit, makes it significant lower than most cell phone
screens now. It's going to be hard to keep the sheen on those for any length
of time.

------
mxuribe
Titanium, among the strongest consumer metals for a credit card expected to be
used on a daily basis...whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Hold up a sec! You're
not thinking of putting that delicate-of-a-flower card in your pocket are you?
Are you mad!?! No, no, no sir/madam, this credit card isn't meant for your
pocket...It is meant for you to constantly walk around with it _being held in
your hand_ in order to clearly signal to the world that your are not some
meager peasant - just like every other over-priced Apple product. /s

~~~
C1sc0cat
I think your man (Butler / Servant) is meant to walk behind you carrying it on
a silken pillow - whilst the Punka Walla holds an umbrella to protect it from
the rigours of sunlight

~~~
mxuribe
Actually, that's the next model upgrade: dark titanium (like a black American
Express card, that I've only heard of but never rich enough to see).

This dark titanium card offers an upgrade from the pedestrian titanium card,
which brings numerous additional benefits to our cardholders, and yes, of
course, including silken pillows (and associated pillow-holders), umbrella
holders, and all other manner of servants. Beyond that, you get benefits such
as...uh-oh, I'm sorry sir/madam, I just noticed - while looking at your credit
score - that you don't qualify to even hear about the rest of the benefits
that the rest of the 1%-ers (that's what we affectionately call our favorite
customers) qualify for. Good day sir/madam. I said, good day!

;-)

------
wil421
How dare you put any exquisite apple product in some animal skin or
hydrocarbon carrying case. Shame on you for treating our luxury product like
some Visa. Pft.

/s

This is what bugs me about apple. I can remember Jobs saying iPhones didn’t
need cases and if you put a case on it you’re doing it wrong.

~~~
Retric
Honestly, it seems like cases cost more money than they save people.

I have used iPhones for a decade without cases. I has one 50$ screen repair
for dropping a phone on concrete. That’s less than some cases cost. On top of
that you need to buy a new case for each phone generation, so even average
cases would have been a net loss.

PS: I get into the habit of keeping keys and phone in different pockets pre
iPhone which probably helps.

~~~
neogodless
I'll give it to you. One phone every 2 years (personally I try to hit 3 but
batteries don't always cooperate) and I typically spend $7-9 on a TPU case and
$3-5 on screen protectors. So on average, $12 times five phones in a decade is
$60.

I (don't) really feel like I wasted my money. Grip alone makes the case worth
it to me!

~~~
JustSomeNobody
I don't buy a case for protection, I buy it for grip. I have a cheap Silk grip
case and I haven't dropped my phone yet.

------
2OEH8eoCRo0
Am I the only one worried about this card for other reasons? Didn't Apple take
a sales hit because their stuff is too expensive and the average American
doesn't have a lot of money? This seems like an unethical way around that
little hurdle.

Making it easier to go into debt to buy the next Apple product is a worrying
pattern to me.

~~~
mcphage
> Didn't Apple take a sales hit because their stuff is too expensive

I don't think so—or at least, other phone manufacturers don't seem to think
so, because they're offering up even more expensive phones. For instance, the
Samsung Note 10+ is launching any day now starting at $1,100, and the 5G
version starts at $1,300.

------
jsgo
Related discussion:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20767618](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20767618)

------
snowwrestler
This is fantastic marketing by Apple--tons of articles about their new credit
card. This is at least the second thread on it here.

The first and most important step in the marketing journey is awareness in the
mind of the consumer... everyone here is now well aware that Apple just
launched a credit card!

And for what? Just writing down in a "support" page what everyone already
knows about credit cards: if you put them in your pocket or wallet they will
get marked up.

Another step in marketing is product differentiation--why my product is better
than yours. By creating a product support page for their card, Apple is
implying that you should care what happens to an Apple card--which helps imply
that it is somehow better, more valuable, than a boring old regular credit
card.

Apple gets accused of being a luxury fashion company. But this card is no more
expensive than any other rewards card. It's not actually a luxury product.

I think it's more accurate to say that Apple is extremely good at employing
luxury fashion tropes to market their regularly-priced functional products.

------
HissingMachine
"I'll just use my Apple card to pay for that" \- me "Use?" \- Jony Ive
sweating profusely

------
wayneftw
This story showed up 3 times in 2 days here on HN. Here are the other 2:

\-
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20767618](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20767618)

\-
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20764796](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20764796)

I've observed many, many times that other stories which get repeated are
quickly marked as a dupe...but not this one?

------
vidanay
What's the alternative? Prison wallet?

~~~
fullstop
I'm gonna dig up my velcro wallet from 5th grade.

~~~
Ballas
Why would you store your velcro wallet in your prison wallet?

(When I started reading your sentence I presumed you were going to dig
something out of your prison wallet)

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foobar_
On the other hand, this card is excellent for slicing cocaine! Apple knows its
card cleaning users well /s

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buboard
apple's products are status symbols. This card obviously belongs in your neck

~~~
mxuribe
I was about to suggest that maybe what you meant was "around your neck", and
not in it...But then, I thought about it for a second more, and realized that
your original statement is far funnier. Cheers! :-)

------
mxuribe
Is "cleaning your credit card" a euphemism for money laundering? /s

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pgt
Next up: Apple Wallet?

 _Scrambles to manufacture artisanal bamboo Apple Card covers._

~~~
pndy
With hole for logo

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macinjosh
If Apple didn't publish this information in 3 months people would be
complaining that Apple hid this information from its customers and there would
probably be a couple class action suits. Damned if they do, damned if they
don't!

