Apple doesn’t process the transaction, a different payment processor does, Apple just provides the API for developers from said payment processors to implement in their app.

The current closest thing for tap to pay for consumer to consumer payments is NameDrop then using Apple Pay Cash through iMessage however this is a less seamless method and is only available in the US. I can however see Apple expanding the tap to airdrop features to Apple Pay Cash in the future, perhaps with iOS 18.

As an Authorized Retailer technician having the back glass be replaceable is so nice. For the older models we just replace the whole frame the glass is attached to rather than only replace the back glass so it makes repairs not only easier but something that can actively be done at our store(as we dont keep frames in stock).

Technically most of the weather data is derived(within the United States) from the National Weather Service, all of this data is a matter of public domain under federal law(so it’s being subsidized by taxpayers). What companies like the weather channel or accuweather can do is increase the accuracy by adding more stations and providing more compute power to run more powerful simulations(something the NWS can’t do because of budgetary constraints) or what an app like Carrot can do is allow you to add your own weather station and interpret the data to give predictions.

A major problem with voting in this country is that it’s not a national holiday, If your working minimum wage you likely can’t afford to take the time away from work which means politicians that campaign on a higher wage lose preventing a wage rise creating a loop. The people that are best suited to vote are those that are well off and retired and statistically they lean republican because of people not wanting to help others disadvantaged while seemingly forgetting that they used those programs to get there. People working at minimum wage or even generally low wages and paycheck to paycheck just can’t afford the time to vote and their best chances are mail in voting which republicans know, that’s why they’re pushing so hard against them to make it as inconvenient as possible, because if its easier to vote in person and the people you don’t want voting cant vote in person then you just eliminated them from the voting pool by circumstance.

There is also a lack of push for midterms and local elections, the presidential race is very big and public and made a whole spectacle, like you can still remember the 2016 and 2020 elections but be honest with me, what can you remember about the campaigns of the 2018 midterms. The 2022 midterms were basically an exception to the rule because the abortion ruling happened so close and it created such visible lines in the sand but I truly think if the abortion ruling happened in February 2021 not long after Biden got into office the turnout for 2022 midterms wouldn’t have had as big of a turnout because it wouldn’t have been in the public mind quite as much, the debate on abortions is still big but its mostly shifted to individual states rather than country wide at this point.

Serialization is only on certain parts so things such as housings or charging ports still have good value and serialization is on a specific chip so while those parts do sell for less, a skilled repair technician could move the chip over assuming the whole part isn’t fried and it’s just damaged. There is less value in locked phones but there is still material value and they often steal the phone then get the phone number for the device and try to trick the user into removing the device or phishing their Apple ID as find my doesn’t require two factor to remove, only the password.

The exploit would be on Apple’s backend servers rather than on device, with some jailbreaks you can bypass activation lock but your unable to use Apple services or even some functionality such as cellular. For an activation bypass there either needs to be a backend server exploit or an apple employee working with the service.

I can only vouch for Apple certified repair technicians but we need to have the customer provide proof of purchase such as a verified receipt and we can fast track the unlock process by sending it directly to the iCloud support department but we can’t unlock the device in our store and we can’t even take the device in for repair if the customer is unable to prove the device is their own(generally this is just unlocking the device or logging into their iCloud account and checking that the serials match but a original receipt also works)

The Apple Arcade version is a seperate app meanwhile the paid version will remain available, it seems like the only difference is that diagnostics data isn’t collected in the Apple Arcade version

Ok so basic question you should be able to answer then how do you stop a foreign government from spying on other countries citizens? WhatsApp is not just a western world app. For example it’s used in Russia and the US and the UK so if Putin went to Meta and said “I want everything you have on Ex prime minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson and you can’t tell them” what reason would meta have to deny his request if the precedent by the UK is that this data needs to have a back door and if you say then the user should be notified then anyone under investigation is just not going to say anything incriminating and if it includes old messages then you risk the political espionage if anything is shared under the assumption everything is end to end encrypted. What about trade secrets, a corrupt government official could get a companies trade secrets for a business friend from anywhere in the world.

There is a great video by Tom Scott that talks about this exact situation when the UK tried to break encryption 5 years ago but that failed because it wasn’t feasible from a security standpoint. There is also a great episode from Last Week Tonight talking about encryption and government attempts to get around it. We’ve seen from things like the Pegasus malware that repressive governments will use this little break in encryption to jail protestors and journalists and spy on their political rivals, having an official way will just make it easier.

Generally tech companies now have agreements with law enforcement so they don’t have to deal with all the legal mumbo jumbo. Some data does still require a warrant such as if there is any protection laws(such as HIPAA protected data) or if the company considers it highly sensitive data but for a lot of data it’s easier to just hand it over then get legal involved.

It’s generally a question about what’s best for the user, your general user would likely be more mad losing all their messages because they forgot their password then they are calmed by the fact that no one else can read the data. Same for photos and files, however for sensitive categories such as health and passwords they are always end to end encrypted as it’s determined it’s worse for anyone else to get that data then it is for the user to lose it.

For anyone that truly cares to have complete encryption there is advanced data protection but for the general users the defaults are a good balance between security and ease of use.

Also know that if you still want iCloud backups but want everything stored encrypted you can enable “Advanced data protection” which means that Apple doesn’t store the encryption key, you do need to setup a recovery method such as a recovery key or recovery contact however if you lose your device and recovery method your data is forever lost and Apple can’t help you like it can in standard data protection mode.

Also note certain sensitive categories such a health and passwords are always encrypted as it’s determined it’s worse for someone else to get access to that data then it is for the user to lose it meanwhile generally a user losing their photos and messages if they forget their password is worse then if a hacker resets the password and gets access.

If a user wants more protections there is “Advanced Data Protection” which fully encrypts all iCloud data however Apple knows you might lose your password or something so they require a recovery method before turning it on and make sure you know Apple won’t be able to help you if you lose your password and recovery method.

Also for certain sensitive data such as health data or passwords full end to end encryption is enabled even in standard mode as it’s determined it’s worse for someone else to get access to that data then it is for you to lose it where as generally losing your photos are worse then someone else getting access to them.

Discover can be near impossible to use internationally where as I’ve not run into anywhere that doesn’t accept Amex even internationally except for Costco but they don’t take Mastercard either

There is a ton of requirements they would have to meet due to regulations but they technically could however the question for management is if it’s worth the investment rather than getting a favorable deal with another bank. Goldman Sachs seems to be saying they just grew too fast, so another bank might be able to manage better such as AMEX.

It would mainly depend on local laws such as rebranding laws, its reported Apple has been having issues launching the Apple Card India because of the laws behind rebranding and that in India the banking details have to be on the bank side and from the banks site so it couldn’t be integrated into the wallet app. Also don’t expect the same cash back scheme outside the US as many countries limit the amount in fees a credit card can charge where the US doesn’t have a limit. So the EU limits the fees to 0.3% for credit cards.

Apple Pay Cash is actually run by Greendot bank and not Goldmans Sachs. Apple is bound by the local laws, the reason Apple Card gets the rewards as it does is because the US doesn’t have fee limits for credit cards like other countries do.