"Some fabrics, like leather and denim, might cause permanent discoloration that will not wash off," Apple warns card owners.
[...] The BBC rounded up a number of Tweets from early adopters confirming that the physical card might look nice when you get it, but probably not for long after. "I can say from two months of having the card in my leather wallet, it no longer looks pretty," one owner wrote.
The damage is cosmetic only; the card will still work at a point of sale if you dare to keep it in your wallet. If you would like to keep it looking new, however, Apple recommends wiping it gently with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol using a soft microfiber cloth.
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A few days ago, Jamie Heinemeier Hansson went public with the observation that Apple Card gives better interest rates to husbands than to wives. Several sites have since picked up the story and now it has caught the attention of the US Senate.
I care about transparency and fairness. It's why I was deeply annoyed to be told by AppleCard representatives, "It's just the algorithm," and "It's just your credit score." I have had credit in the US far longer than David. I have never had a single late payment. I do not have any debts. David and I share all financial accounts, and my very good credit score is higher than David's. I had a career and was successful prior to meeting David, and while I am now a mother of three children — a "homemaker" is what I am forced to call myself on tax returns — I am still a millionaire who contributes greatly to my household and pays off credit in full each month. But AppleCard representatives did not want to hear any of this. I was given no explanation. No way to make my case.
From Gizmodo: Now a Senator Is Investigating the Sexist Apple Card Debacle
Wyden has lately taken up the bailiwick in fighting algorithmic bias. In April, he and Senator Corey Booker introduced the Algorithmic Accountability Act, which would obligate companies to assess their decision-making systems and training data "for impacts on accuracy, fairness, bias, discrimination, privacy and security." The bill has yet to move forward.
Earlier on SN:
Maybe Don't Keep Your Apple Card in a Leather Wallet, Apple Warns (2019)
Apple Unveils... a Titanium Credit Card (2019)
(Score: 5, Interesting) by c0lo on Tuesday August 27 2019, @04:19AM (2 children)
Cosmetic damage?
Given that the value of Apple gizmos stays exclusively within their 'cosmetics', that's a mortal defect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Funny) by takyon on Tuesday August 27 2019, @06:26AM
You're storing it wrong.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday August 27 2019, @03:30PM
Once, long ago, Apple was so much better when it was a technology company instead of a fashion company. Really, they were.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 4, Informative) by EJ on Tuesday August 27 2019, @04:39AM (7 children)
Maybe don't get a stupid Apple card.
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Tuesday August 27 2019, @05:03AM (6 children)
More to the point: maybe don't care what a credit card looks like?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by rob_on_earth on Tuesday August 27 2019, @07:55AM (3 children)
I needed a credit card back in the early 2000's. The interest rate was pretty much the same for everyone, but Capital One let you choose from a selection of designs for the card.
This is the only reason I choose them above anyone else. Got a cool Chinese dragon on a red and gold background. and got great reactions to the card almost every time I paid.
When the card came up for renewal there was no neat design options, just the boring corporate logs. Customer service was particularly unsympathetic, obviously the up take on the unique card designs was not a big seller.
and, of course, I still have that account, because, it's just easier than changing.
I am sure I heard about another company allowing you to upload your own photos, but it never got out of the beta phase.
(Score: 3, Informative) by kazzie on Tuesday August 27 2019, @08:17AM
At least one UK bank (Barclays?) had a TV advert drive about how you could uplaod a photo (e.g. of your loved ones) and have that as the front design of your bank / credit card. This would have been around a decade ago.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by acid andy on Tuesday August 27 2019, @05:45PM (1 child)
IMHO all the different pretty picture branded credit cards were a key part of the credit bubble leading to the 2008 crash. They wanted everyone and their dog to have a credit card, even if they didn't really understand what it was. Ooh look, pretty!
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @03:31AM
Key part? BS.
Just AIG's 180 billion bailout alone was more than double the credit card losses: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/business/29credit.html [nytimes.com]
A lot of the losses were due to bankers etc playing "pass the parcel" with crap loans and mortgages wrapped with nice names like "High-Grade Structured-Credit Strategies Funds". Each time they passed the parcel they'd profit from it (fees, etc).
Then eventually the music stopped...
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @02:22PM (1 child)
This is an Apple card. If you don't care about the look, why choose Apple to begin with?
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday August 27 2019, @05:49PM
But, but, I don't even like the way Apple products look!
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @04:41AM (4 children)
The proper way to hold an Apple Card is in the $199 Apple Card Holder.
(Score: 5, Touché) by Snotnose on Tuesday August 27 2019, @05:06AM (3 children)
Sorry, that's just for the card holder stand. The actual card holder is $499.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Nuke on Tuesday August 27 2019, @09:11AM (2 children)
You are confusing the item with the delivery charge. The item itself is $799.
(Score: 3, Funny) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday August 27 2019, @01:24PM (1 child)
No, you're looking at Cardholder Air that was released last week - I found a refurb at the Apple Stored for $796.
The latest model is Cardholder XX that was released last night - I have one on preorder for $850 but signed a 2-year contract so I got it for $825.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Sulla on Tuesday August 27 2019, @04:55PM
The main selling point of the Cardholder XX was that it had expansion slots for more than one card, I thought that it might be useful for holding my ID or Insurance Card but the XX has these little security tabs that prevent the use of non-compliant cards. You can remove the tab, but it voids the warranty. I don't own multiple Apple Cards, so I will probably downgrade back to the Air.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @04:52AM
Even if I were tapped into the Apple ecosystem, which I'm not, why would I ditch my credit union card for something that's associated with Goldman--one of the banks that should have disappeared in 2008 and had their assets auctioned off to smaller banks that didn't do anything bad, like, you know... conduct irresponsible actions associated with one of the USA's deepest recessions?
(Score: 3, Funny) by sonamchauhan on Tuesday August 27 2019, @06:49AM (1 child)
"Apple recommends wiping it gently with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol using a soft microfiber cloth."
REVERENTLY! That's what they meant.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @03:00PM
Submerging the card overnight in hydrochloric acid will remove the stain.
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Tuesday August 27 2019, @09:46AM (2 children)
This whole story is somewhere between amazing and hilarious. Apple is all about appearances, with a massively effective marketing department. They come up with this super-minimalist sexy-looking card and...don't test it?
Probably half the wallets in the world are leather. Above a certain income level, almost all guys carry leather wallets, for the same reason that they wear leather dress shoes and leather belts. Telling them not to put a credit card in their wallet, WTF?
Surely Apple would have been better advised to just replace the cards?
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday August 27 2019, @01:30PM
Maybe they are / materials engineering working triple-overtime to come up with some coating or different alloy. (Hey, it's a credit card of a different material and preparation! Why bother testing it?) And when they get a replacement they'll try and substitute them as quietly as possible.
But you know class-action suit is coming in 5... 4... 3...
Although I'd lean towards fine, what really makes me wonder is that if they didn't test it for staining, did they do anything to test it biologically for harm in skin contact? Welcome to the last card you'll ever own! Although Titanium is biogenically compatible, so maybe that's not an issue.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by iWantToKeepAnon on Tuesday August 27 2019, @01:31PM
Yeah well, said leather loafer lads will gladly buy a new apple(tm) card non-coloring non-scrathing wallet. : /
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." -- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
(Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Tuesday August 27 2019, @10:19AM (1 child)
First they came for our cash. Then they came for our wallets...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday August 27 2019, @03:33PM
Then they came for our saving coupons, at which point we had to take up arms!
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @10:43AM
Cute, real cute.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @02:03PM (2 children)
Yup, that's what permanent means all right.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @03:34PM
Then why do I have to get a perm for my mullet every 3 weeks?
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Tuesday August 27 2019, @03:35PM
When corporations say permanent, they don't always mean what most people call permanent. So the clarification is important.
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