Petr Škuta The Apple Card announcement caused quite a stir at the Spring Keynote. However, few people know that the idea to create a credit card with a bitten apple logo is not from Tim Cook's head.
The former creative director of the Cupertino company Ken Segall elaborated on his blog about the idea that preceded today's Apple Card. As early as 2004, Steve Jobs flirted with the idea of having his own credit card, which would be linked to the emerging ecosystem of products and services.
It could be interest you
Amaya Toman Fifteen years ago, however, the undergrowth that Apple benefits from today did not yet exist. There was no Apple News, TV+, Apple Music or Arcade. iTunes was the central source of services. Jobs came up with a simply brilliant idea - for spending money, the user gets free music.
While the iPod was reaping one success after another and iTunes was its inseparable partner, Apple's headquarters were already thinking about where to move this connection further. The idea of owning a credit card came out of nowhere and seemed like the right way to go. The customer would collect iPoints (iBody) for card purchases, which they could then exchange for music tracks in iTunes.
The idea was not only in the heads of individual people, but real graphic concepts and slogans for the campaign were also created. These show a simple, sleek black credit card with the Apple logo and the necessary identification information. Each time there is a different motto on the side that has a targeted message. You get free music for purchases.
Gallery
Buy balloons, get a Zeppelin. Buy a ticket, get a Train. Buy a lipstick, get a Kiss. All of these and more had band names hidden behind them. Of course, advertising slogans stand out mainly in English, and the translation seems rather shaky.
Apple Card had its functional predecessor
We can only speculate why the whole idea was not implemented. Perhaps the negotiations between Apple and MasterCard failed, probably they could not find an intermediary in the form of a banking house. Or not?
There are still "witnesses" in the US who know about the Apple ProCare Card. The match with that modern credit card is purely coincidental. This great-grandmother was originally created as an incentive for customers to buy more Apple products.
For an annual fee of $99, you could, for example, order free data transfer from the Genius Bar, buy software with a 10% discount (at that time Apple Works, then iWork, and the operating system itself were paid) or make a priority appointment with a Genius technician.
Does it seem like a little for such a high fee? The effect was probably missed, because the professionals at whom the Apple Pro Card was aimed managed to do most of the operations themselves, and the purchase of software with a 10% discount was not very worthwhile as a result. That's probably why this predecessor also had a great life.
In contrast, the latest version of Apple Card has clearly defined purposes and strong partners behind it. In addition, Apple adds up to 3% of payments back, so the motivation to purchase will certainly be strong in the US. But it probably won't get out of the United States anytime soon. Although we can be surprised.
Gallery
Source: KenSegall.com
