Apple plants a seed in the credit card market
Back in March, Apple announced it would be introducing a new user-friendly, mobile-first credit card – The Apple Card (I mean, what else did you expect?).
The beginning of this month saw the first group of the public getting to test it out. Apple customers that signed up for alerts about the release of the Apple Card were able to apply for one right away.
The finance and banking market is becoming more and more crowded. This is especially true with digital-first companies such as Monzo proving very popular. This has led some to question Apple’s move. Apple believes the more user-friendly experience and high privacy levels will set the card apart. The physical version of the card doesn't even have a card number, expiration date, CVV security code or signature.
Some of the features the card will boast will be:
- Cash-back incentives (2% for Apple Pay and 1% for the physical card)
- The ability to manually generate a new credit card number if wanted
- A live heat map of spending categories to easier track spending
- Amongst others you can see here
IKEA’s getting smarter
All the way back in 2012, IKEA Home smart was launched. It was set up as a project with the aim of enriching all aspects of IKEA by incorporating digital elements and technologies into their products.
7 years on, they’ve decided to further invest in their smart range. They’re including it as an additional business unit to the 10 they already have. Their products include wireless charging units, smart lighting and smart sound (in partnership with SONOS).
IDC has predicted that global sales of smart home devices will be around 830 million in 2019. This doubles to 1.6 billion in 2023. So far, IKEA have taken a platform-compatible approach. Their products support already popular devices and service providers such as Alexa and Siri.
Facebook introduces data control for users – yes, really.
Facebook announced this month that they will be introducing a new way for users to have “more transparency and control”. This is while using the platform through their new tool, Off-Facebook Activity.
Outside of Facebook’s core social network, they’ve built up a mass of tracking technologies to enhance its targeted advertising. This has allowed them to gather data about users’ browsing habits when they’re not even using the social network. You know that search you made for ‘the first flight out of the UK’ (we’ve all been there)? And you got all those Facebook ads for cheap holidays to Benidorm? This will be why.
The tool will include an option to allow users to ‘clear’ their browsing history. But Facebook being Facebook, none of the announcements have mentioned the word ‘delete’. This is because the information isn’t deleted, but just dissociated from the account. Facebook will still hold onto the data but will anonymize it rather than pair it with the profile. But hey, it’s one step in the right direction…
TV broadcasters go to war with their online ad rivals
Advertising in the UK could be changing from this month. Public service broadcasters are consulting with the government to lift the 7 minutes of advertising per hour cap. This is meant to help them in their battle with online rivals.
Total UK TV advertising revenues slumped by 3.3% in the first half of this year to £2.4 billion. Likely due to the continuous pressure being brought from online rivals like Google and Facebook.
As you’d likely assume, this move would be welcomed by broadcasters… and less so by viewers. Ofcom’s most recent report showed that over half of TV viewers thought there was already too much advertising. So, if the results of this consultation with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) prove successful for the broadcasters, will they further alienate viewers and therefore advertisers? Time will only tell (and common-sense would assume so).
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