Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Target Begins Testing Beacon-Based Deals and Recommendations in 50 Stores
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
1) Using a credit card as a payment method is not the same as "buying with credit". I pay my card bills in full every month.
2) Credit cards have much better fraud protection than debit cards, and the money is not taken directly out of your checking account in case of fraud.
3) You can get several percent cashback or rewards on credit card transactions. It adds up nicely.
I read the title, then looked at the iPhone pictures and thought what's bacon offers then? Something to do with McDonalds?
Hahahahahahahaha
I wonder how much cut Apple is getting for this, wonder if the women love it or loathe it?
Hahahahahahahaha
I wonder how much cut Apple is getting for this, wonder if the women love it or loathe it?
Apple is not directly involved in beacon-based notifications (except of course for the beacons they set up in their own stores), and doesn't directly get any money out of it. They do sell iBeacon hardware (but there are also 3rd parties), and they probably hope it will help them sell devices and store solutions.
If you're interested in some more technical detail about how it works, here's a short introduction:
https://developer.apple.com/ibeacon/Getting-Started-with-iBeacon.pdf
Hear hear! (or is it Here here?) Anyway, stuff like this makes me glad I don't install store-specific apps nor do I leave Bluetooth enabled when I'm not near my Mac at home.
Probably not a bad idea. Note, though, that you can prevent apps from being able to "see" nearby beacons simply by denying them access to location information in the privacy settings.
Bacon sounds better.
Actually i have better idea, don't enable this until YOU want to...
Just another instance so target can spam u more easily...
As if no one gets enough rubbish by snail mail, we now get it on out phones too..
I have my control, where's yours...
Actually i have better idea, don't enable this until YOU want to...
Just another instance so target can spam u more easily...As if no one gets enough rubbish by snail mail, we now get it on out phones too..
I have my control, where's yours...
Have you tried browsing their site with a tool like Ghostery turned on? Man, you would not believe how many trackers there are. Sell outs!!!
I'm not 100% sure about the Apple Pay part, but about the chip and pin part, let's just say you can call me a source
And Brian Cornell said they want Apple Pay, but they'll worry about chip and pin first. So naturally, hopefully, Apple Pay will come soon after chip and pin rolls out.
Sure would be nice if people would be less snarky when the answer came not even three months ago on this site and took 10 seconds to find via Google. Amirite?
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/05/27/target-apple-pay-coming-eventually/
Exactly what you said, and I even recall fangirling a little bit when I heard about it. All these stories about "Well gee, Apple Pay isn't being used as much as some analyst thought" kind of boil down to this:
1) Some banks are dragging heels on it.
2) Major retailers are worse. There's pretty much McDonald's and Walgreens in terms of major number of stores retailers.
I think you misinterpreted, I knew that was public knowledge. But what wasn't public knowledge was when chip and pin would rollout nationwide, which is August 17. Try to find that with a quick 10 second Google search.
to expand on this, there's nothing apple-specific about the ibeacon's operation, many beacons use the same data format, uuid+major+minor+etc.
from memory the ibeacon announcement coincided with apple announcing wifi mac randomization to give users 'privacy' against being tracked by mac address when not associated to an ap, but...
afaik apple does not randomize device bluetooth mac, guess what, that makes devices trackable (no app needed) - one of my jobs is designing systems with this stuff for global telco/enterprise, i've got a demo network in one of our offices, i can see everyone's bluetooth devices, apple, samsung, printers, fitness straps, etc.
there's no security*, it's trivial to log beacon id data and then create spoof beacons, just as it's trivial to create an app that, say, looks for a competitor's beacon and acts upon it
aside from the obvious things such as serving ads/promos/etc. based on proximity, unless the app is blocked from internet access it's trivial to track the device based upon detecting beacons and calling home as/when there's internet access, with planned deployment you can even follow people around a store/town/whatever
upshot is, there're plenty of beacon use cases that benefit the consumer, but there're also plenty of sneaky ones, and if you were worried about wifi tracking by stores etc., you better turn off bluetooth (or never install any app that needs permission to access both bluetooth and the internet)
* if you move away from the generic ibeacon model there're ways to create more secure systems, there're a few out there, but none yet dominant and at the cost of more complex deployment and management
There's such amazing (and as-of-yet unrealized) opportunity with beacons and shopping. Imagine being able to tell Siri when you've run out of paper towels, add it to your shopping list, and then when you go shopping it tells you where items are on the shelves/aisles. Or when you go to the hardward store and you're looking for a drill bit, it directs you where to go. Or it can tell you what's on sale, which you can customize based on what you typically buy. I don't know how often it's happened that I would've bought something but I didn't see the sale flyer until after I left the store. Of course, it has to be done right - no one wants constant advertising, particularly for things they would never buy (e.g. pet supplies, baby gear, etc. for those who don't need.)
When I lived in a co-op, we had a copy of the grocery store layout, and you would circle what you wanted and the person shopping that week could get everything very efficiently. Now imagine the same thing but on an electronic layout, where people could indicate on an app what they wanted and your phone would buzz when you were near something required.
When I lived in a co-op, we had a copy of the grocery store layout, and you would circle what you wanted and the person shopping that week could get everything very efficiently. Now imagine the same thing but on an electronic layout, where people could indicate on an app what they wanted and your phone would buzz when you were near something required.
I agree, there is too little awareness of the privacy implications. Tracking via Bluetooth is indeed trivial (and don't think you are safe when your devices is not in discoverable mode, especially if you wear a fitness band, Apple Watch or similar which will result in constant Bluetooth activity).
These are all possible without Beacons using simple geo-fencing. E.g. the Home Depot app can automatically recognize the store you're in, and tell you on what aisle and shelf a product is located.
I don't want constant advertising, period. I know what I want before I go to a store.
And don't forget about the coupons they text you too! Ugh! It's such a hassle that anyone who can download these apps are willing to spend more to save the time and frustration and those who don't have smart phones... well, can't. I hope Target didn't invest too much on this project.