Call me cynical, but when I saw the latest ad in the “If it’s not an iPhone, it’s not an iPhone” series Thursday afternoon, I felt a little uneasy.
Sure, there’s over a million stores you can use Apple Pay in, but if this ad is to be believed, they’re all the same corporate-owned stores you’ll see in every mall across the US.
Ugh.
Check out the Apple Pay video below.
https://youtu.be/58gAy85dwf0
Apple Pay was announced last September, and it’s striking how fast it’s gaining traction. If you’re running iOS 8.1 or later, you can purchase stuff with your iPhone 6 by just waving the device at an enabled kiosk. The Apple Watch experience is even more fun and gets all sorts of comments from retail clerks and other customers.
I love Apple Pay, honest, but it sort of creeps me out that the world of retail they’re presenting here is a kaleidoscope of options that only includes Whole Foods, Foot Locker, Toys R Us, McDonald’s, Jamba Juice, Subway, Sephora, Petco, Staples, American Eagle Outfitters, Macy’s, and Walgreens (which is the only place in Anchorage I’ve seen Apple Pay).
Here’s hoping that more and more small and local businesses will be able to connect to the Apple Pay system in the near future; I’d really like to use my Apple Watch to pay for a cup of Kaladi Bros. coffee and a meal or two at Spenard Roadhouse here in my town.
