iPhone Customers Upset By Apple Wallet Ad Pushing F1 Movie (techcrunch.com) 68
An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple customers aren't thrilled they're getting an ad from the Apple Wallet app promoting the tech giant's Original Film, "F1 the Movie." Across social media, iPhone owners are complaining that their Wallet app sent out a push notification offering a $10 discount at Fandango for anyone buying two or more tickets to the film.
The feature film, starring Brad Pitt, explores the world of Formula 1 and was shot at actual Grand Prix races. It also showcases the use of Apple technology, from the custom-made cameras made of iPhone parts used to film inside the cars, to the AirPods Max that Pitt's character, F1 driver Sonny Hayes, sleeps in. However well-received the film may be, iPhone users don't necessarily want their built-in utilities, like their digital wallet, marketing to them.
The feature film, starring Brad Pitt, explores the world of Formula 1 and was shot at actual Grand Prix races. It also showcases the use of Apple technology, from the custom-made cameras made of iPhone parts used to film inside the cars, to the AirPods Max that Pitt's character, F1 driver Sonny Hayes, sleeps in. However well-received the film may be, iPhone users don't necessarily want their built-in utilities, like their digital wallet, marketing to them.
Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
Is no stranger to pushy marketing. Remember when they auto-downloaded fucking U2 garbage boomer rock onto everyone's iPhone?
And all the apologists said "well just delete it!"
Thanks, I did, with all haste.
Re: Apple (Score:2)
Re: Apple (Score:3)
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Unless you're arguing that they "gave" you the ad... no, it's not.
It is, however, stupidly arrogant and likely counterproductive.
Wrong. Just more Apple enshittification (Score:3)
Unless you're arguing that they "gave" you the ad... no, it's not.
Wrong. Whether Apple "gave" you anything or not is irrelevant - that fact they shoved something in your face without asking you if you wanted it is. And this is exactly the same type of arrogant crap, and you can expect more of this enshittification from Apple in the future, since Apple obviously has not learned anything from its past actions and blowback.
Apple being Apple: "Think Arrogant"
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LOL! Hello Apple's #1 Fanboi!
Re: Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
The U2 thing wasn't an advertisement - they gave away the entire album for free. It was Apple's iTunes equivalent to that little mildly hot pepper that Papa John's includes with their pizzas. Maybe you love it, or maybe it gets tossed right in the trash, but nobody ever stopped to ask if you even wanted it in the first place.
Apple using their platform to plug their film that you have to go out and spend money on, though? That's a new low.
Re: Apple (Score:5, Funny)
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Free is still a lot more than I would ever pay for a U2 record.
I liked some of their older hits. Mysterious Ways [youtube.com] is still fire, and you can fight me on that. There were absolutely no "bangers" on that freebie.
If it had been a greatest hits compilation album instead, I'd have kept it. I'm sure people who can't stand pop music would've still bitched and moaned, though.
Re: Apple (Score:2)
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U2 just became boring after Zooropa. Not obnoxiously bad, just boring and repetitive. They didn't try anything interesting any more. I blame the song One. That's not to say One is a bad song, in fact One is a pretty awesome song. The trouble is that One was their first major worldwide hit that somehow managed to get airplay on both mainstream and alternative radio stations. Ever since then, it feels like they've just been trying to write the same song again.
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These days I stand with Henry Rollins on his views of U2.
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Not an advertisement. Riiiiiight.
The U2 thing was annoying, but not entirely off-brand for Apple and they weren't trying to get you to buy anything. You've gotta remember, they used to not even let you remove unwanted stock apps, so you'd end up with a "junk" folder for all the useless first party shovelware. Don't even get me started on the new Liquid Glass UI.
Crap you didn't ask for or want - yeah, Apple does that. But an ad on the lockscreen for a movie is something you'd expect from the other major OS vendors, not Apple.
Re: Apple (Score:2)
"The U2 thing wasn't an advertisement"
Yes, of course it was. It was an advertisement for music sales through Apple, and an advertisement for U2. Seriously, this is why consumers get taken advantage of, many are stupid AF.
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Yes, of course it was. It was an advertisement for music sales through Apple, and an advertisement for U2.
Ever actually tried putting music on an iDevice outside of Apple's ecosystem? It's a huge pain in the ass. It's not as if Apple really needs to remind their users of the only convenient way of getting music on their devices.
If anything, the U2 debacle was like T-Mobile Tuesdays gone wrong. It was supposed to promote the Apple ecosystem to those who aren't already inside the walled garden. I'm sure Apple was expecting free PR about how much everyone loved their free U2 album, so to that end it was certai
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Ever actually tried putting music on an iDevice outside of Apple's ecosystem?
No.
It's a huge pain in the ass.
I used iTunes to do it once, that was a huge enough pain in the ass. It's also ironic, because I actually used iTunes on Windows as my music player for just a second, because there was one version that worked well and looked nice. I only had an iPod for one moment. I hated both the interface and the bulk of it, and got rid of it. Now of course I have a big bulky phone, if you count the case.
I'm sure Apple was expecting free PR about how much everyone loved their free U2 album, so to that end it was certainly still a promotion
I'm sure of that, too. But it was certainly still supposed to sell devices by reminding people that they could get
Correct. (Score:2)
It's just a tech company violating all common concepts of consent and common decency in favor of them getting off on profit. It would be illegal to do that as a private citizen, but because they're a coroporation, it's perfectly legal.
Re: Apple (Score:1)
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Re: Apple (Score:1)
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Re: Apple (Score:2)
Did someone hurt your iFeeFees?
force backfires for me (Score:5, Informative)
Pushy marketing always backfires for me. The more they push the less I want.
Re: force backfires for me (Score:2)
I contacted support over it, I suggest all other iPhone owners do the same.
Also, I hadn't contacted Apple support in a while and it has really gone to shit. It was really good before.
It's a bug (Score:2)
I just submitted bug report FB18359754 for this.
>On 6/24/25, wallet pushed a notification for movie tickets. This is in error because both:
>1) wallet does not have permission for such notifications, and
>2) this should have been blocked by the privacy system.
U2 album fiasco all over again (Score:2, Insightful)
Doesn't look like they learned from that debacle a few years ago....
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Last I heard, Apple sales haven't plummeted and thrown them into bankruptcy, so it sounds like they learned the lesson just fine: it's fine to show people ads. People might complain a little bit, but they won't stop buying. Cost is $0 and ad revenue is presumably more than $0.
If someone is stuck with your proprietary software and you aren't showing them ads, then you're leaving money on the table. What're they gonna do, fork it out?
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Apple has ~$30 Billion USD in Cash. Operating Expenses of ~$15 Billion.
You should start hearing things more often. Apple is nearer to being net-cash neutral (i.e cash=debt) than debts>ability to pay debts. Where "nearer" is not even in the same novel, let alone the same sentence.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom... [apple.com]
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"thrown them into bankruptcy"? Not even close. That's the point AC.
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>Apple has ~$30 Billion USD in Cash. Operating Expenses of ~$15 Billion.
You act as if there aren't any SALES. Apple annual revenue for 2024 was $391B.
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I guess technically they're still respecting privacy, because if Apple did know anything about me, they'd know that they'd have to pay me to sit through this film.
Lest I slay any sacred cows, I'm not saying it's a bad film, just not my cup of tea.
Really dumb (Score:1)
Just can't see how any person at Apple thought a push notification from Wallet with an ad was a good idea, ever.
They already have strict guidelines around push notifications that you are not supposed to use them as ads, so Apple breaking this rule is especially egregious for all of those that try and follow Apple's development rules.
I wonder who actually got these notifications though, as I never saw one and I use Wallet pretty heavily - I may just have missed it though, since it seems like a lot of people
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I do try to turn off most notifications, but Wallet is one I have on as it is useful for tracking expenses & purchases, but if they start using it for ads, I will be done with it altogether.
Re: Really dumb (Score:2)
I don't have a Fandango account and I received it. If I hadn't read about it before I opened the wallet I would have thought my phone had been infected by malware somehow.
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I received it. [imgur.com]
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>you are not supposed to use them as ads
They actually got rid of that rule a while back after developers pointed out that Apple is constantly using push notifications for ads, so it was quite hypocritical for them to not allow others to do the same.
Personally, I wish the rule remained and Apple would adhere to it too.
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If, for no other reason, then because a payment system is simply an inappropriate mechanism for conducting advertising......even if the recipients didn't mind in the slightest.
Wallet is an important app. Its financial. When it notifies me about something, that notification should also be important. Pushing trivial bullshit through it, like ADVERTISING A FUCKING MOVIE, works toward teaching people to ignore messages from Wallet, or even turn them off entirely.
What's next? Vanguard sending me important messa
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Just can't see how any person at Apple thought a push notification from Wallet with an ad was a good idea, ever.
I also can't see how any person at Apple thought it was a good idea to eliminate the analog audio jack, double down on proprietary connectors, tell users "you're not holding it right", or code-lock parts to make repairs by non-Apple facilities impossible. But here we are.
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Because they know fanbois like you and John Gruber will keep buying their products and shilling for them no matter what they do.
Apple has always had a different set of rules for
Just couldn't resist, could they... (Score:2)
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We rely way too much on phones now. If networking goes down most people are simply screwed.
Re: Just couldn't resist, could they... (Score:2)
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That's why everyone needs to smoke marijuana: so that they'll get into the habit of carrying around some cash for dispensaries. Then, in a pinch, it can be temporarily diverted to groceries for emergencies.
As long as people are careful to replenish the drug fund once the power and networks come back, everything will be fine. We just don't want them blowing all their money on groceries. Feed your family responsibly!
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And double your risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke [independent.co.uk]. And this includes edibles [cnn.com].
Re: Just couldn't resist, could they... (Score:2)
You got your causation in my correlation!
You got your correlation in my causation!
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That's why everyone needs to smoke marijuana: so that they'll get into the habit of carrying around some cash for dispensaries.
But then you'll have hobos hitting you up for cash and pot. I quite enjoy telling 'em that unless they have a NFC reader in their shopping cart, they're SOL because I don't carry cash.
I once heard someone say that the homeless in Cali sometimes do actually have credit card readers. ChatGPT confirmed this, for what that's worth. This trend thankfully has not made it to Florida, yet.
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I have read about homeless now showing a QR code printed on paper.
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That's why everyone needs to smoke marijuana: so that they'll get into the habit of carrying around some cash for dispensaries.
If by "everyone" you mean folks who don't live somewhere where dispensaries accept all major credit cards... then sure I guess.
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That's why everyone needs to smoke marijuana: so that they'll get into the habit of carrying around some cash for dispensaries. Then, in a pinch, it can be temporarily diverted to groceries for emergencies.
As long as people are careful to replenish the drug fund once the power and networks come back, everything will be fine. We just don't want them blowing all their money on groceries. Feed your family responsibly!
Dispensaries don't accept credit or debit cards? I don't know for certain because I last smoked weed before it became legal here; but I'm fairly sure that the cannabis store a block away from me isn't a cash-only operation.
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The power went out almost everywhere in this area last week and while the grocery store still had power and working checkouts, the payment processing system was down - if you didn't have cash you went hungry.
No, they'd just lose my business. Starlink is a thing now, and there's really no excuse for a major business to not be able to get their payment systems back up and running as long as they have power. Anytime a store has ever told me "Sorry, cash only" (which admittedly, is a situation I haven't even encountered in recent years, even after a hurricane), my answer is "Fine, I'll go somewhere else."
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and when the network itself is down, there is no where to go, everyone will be down. It's a terrible single point of failure, it's not a matter of 'if' but 'when' such an event occurs since most tech is now built on a house of cards. Just look at the cloud hosts, I think it was amazon or google had temporary misconfiguration and the
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Well, there's far more motivation to fix things quickly when it's the entire network that's down and not just some Walmart that's offline because their telco equipment filled with storm water. It will almost certainly be working again long before anybody actually starves.
Worst case (and perhaps I should've said this in my original reply to avoid drawing the ire of the luddites with mod points), I still have a good old fashioned checkbook. Usually, assuming you're buying actual groceries and not a 70" TV a
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As if the checkout clerk gives a fuck what you buy, where you buy it, or that you're going to go somewhere else.
Testing new income streams (Score:2)
Since Europe seems intent on cutting off the lucrative "Apple tax" on appstore, they are probably trying to see where else they can make some $$. Pushing these ads periodically and observing the amount of pushback. Once pushback subsides - they know they can start running ads and taking in some sweet ad revenue. (And then, a "premium" subscription without ads next)
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How odd (Score:2)
There once was a time when I understood why someone wanted Apple. They're looking to become more ike a Microsoft in designer outfit now.
Major plot twist.
Don't like Ads being shoved into your face? (Score:2)
We're Apple.
If we say you're going to drink warm piss, you'll drink it.
If we say warm Apple piss is more expensive than Android piss, you'll pay for it.
Open wide and enjoy your fucking 100% dependency on us.
I guess we're the product now. (Score:2)
If you're not paying, you're the product. Apparently, with Apple, even though we're paying, we're still the product.