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Apple's latest iPhone X ads focus on Apple Pay, Face ID

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Apple continued its iPhone X advertising push on Tuesday with a series of short commercials emphasizing ease of use when it comes to authenticating Apple Pay purchases with Face ID.

Part of the company's ongoing iPhone X media campaign, today's ads focus on payments, specifically those performed with Apple Pay and Face ID.

In the four spots, each of which runs less than 15 seconds, Apple touts, "With iPhone X you can pay in apps with a glance. Apple Pay and done." Thanks to Face ID biometric authentication on iPhone X, Apple Pay, the company says, is a faster way to purchase everyday items, from coffee to pet supplies.

The first ad, "Grooming," starts off with a woman looking at a set of paw prints her dog tracked in from outside. With haste, and exaggerated sound effects, she whips out her iPhone X and orders a batch of grooming supplies from the Jet: Shop Purple app. The Apple Pay payment is authenticated with Face ID, the box arrives and the dog is groomed.

A second spot puts a spotlight on in-store purchases as we find a woman browsing through the aisles at her local grocery store. She picks up a few items, pays at the register with Apple Pay, again authenticated with Face ID, and returns home to create a seascape diorama made from fruit. The banana dolphins are a nice touch.

The third short takes iPhone X to the cafe, where "Evan" buys a latte and pays on what looks to be a Square Reader. Playing on the coffee shop stereotype, the barista inks "Yvonne" on the cup.

Finally, we get treated to a quick hit at the local shoe purveyor, where a woman keen on some kicks selects a minty pair of Air Jordan 1 High Zips in black. She pays for her sneakers at a register equipped again equipped with a Square Reader.

Apple punches the point home with a common tagline for each ad, "Apple Pay and done," with the "Apple" stylized as the company's logo.

Today's ads are the latest in a string of iPhone X spots touting the handset's unique capabilities, most of which are tied to the TrueDepth camera array and Face ID. Shortly after the device debuted last year, the company aired a commercial hyping up Animoji, while more recent attempts home in on Apple Pay and Face ID.

Packing in an OLED display and cutting-edge depth-sensing technology, Apple's latest flagship is its most expensive to date. The high price point, along with industry scuttlebutt, has prompted speculation that iPhone X sales are not living up to Apple's initial expectations.

Last quarter, however, CEO Tim Cook said iPhone X was the top-selling iPhone every week since launch, an impressive metric for a smartphone starting at $999. That pricing is thought to be driving a higher iPhone average selling price, which reached a record $796 over the holiday season.



4 Comments

JFC_PA 7 Years · 947 comments

With every additional company announcement of another customer data store breach (Panera??) I get closer and closer to two remaining options: ApplePay or cash. 

Panera Bread Data Breach Could Affect 37 Million Consumers”

GeorgeBMac 8 Years · 11421 comments

JFC_PA said:
With every additional company announcement of another customer data store breach (Panera??) I get closer and closer to two remaining options: ApplePay or cash. 

Panera Bread Data Breach Could Affect 37 Million Consumers”

Essentially I shop at those who support Apple Pay and avoid those who don't.   The one's I shop at:
- Food:   Trader Joes
- Gas:  Sheetz (ApplePay right at the pump)
- Pharmacy stuff:  Walgreens

One of the ones I won't enter is Target:  My credit card info was stolen from there several years ago -- right before ApplePay was released.   But, Target was one of the jerk companies that, even though their customer's data had been stolen, refused to adopt ApplePay in their stores.   I figure that, if they don't value my security and privacy they don't value my business.

Most of the rest is purchased online with PayPal.   Both my cash and my credit cards tend to stay in my wallet.

(As an aside:   I seldom write a check anymore either.   My regular bills (Utilities, Insurance, Credit Cards, etc...) are set up on a "Pay-My-Bills" system at my bank.  Most of them are paid automatically each month and all I do is check the invoice and file it.   For the unpredictable ones like credit cards, I sign on and tell the bank when and how much t send them.)

Payment processing has changed perhaps more than any other area of technology....

coolfactor 20 Years · 2341 comments

I think these videos are targeting the ADD audience? I had to watch them 3x each just to catch every detail. What a ride!

Sound and video production quality are excellent. Apple is doing some great work after bringing their ad production in-house.

arlomedia 16 Years · 271 comments

Cute ads. But it's slightly annoying to suggest that the overall process of grooming your dog is meaningfully easier because the credit card transaction (already the fastest part of the process) is faster. It reminds me of that "take out the debugging" moment with Steve Jobs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqDVtB-6jDE