Razer Blade updated with 4K screen and Kaby Lake CPUs

Razer has launched a new Blade for folks needing a blend of power and portability. The latest 14-inch model is the company’s first with an (optional) 4K screen, and is also packing Intel’s latest Core i7-7700HQ CPU, giving it a bit more speed with the same power consumption. Even with the upgraded components, the new model has the same thickness (0.70 inches) and weight (4.3 pounds with a 4K screen) as the last model, thanks to the unibody aluminum chassis.

The new blade also has the last model’s NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU with 6GB of DDR5 VRAM, along with 16GB of DDR4 RAM minimum, SSD storage up to 1TB, Thunderbolt 3 and the color-tastic Razer Chroma keyboard. NVIDIA’s latest laptop GPUs are now nearly as powerful as its desktop models, but some reviewers found the last 14-inch Blade to be somewhat weak at the top-end 3,200 x 1,800 resolution, so it’s not likely to be better on a 4K (3,840 x 2,160) display. The battery life was also middling on last year’s QHD Blade, so don’t expect a huge improvement there, either.

Though gamers will need to think carefully about the 4K option, it’s nice for video or graphics pros who do GPU rendering and need a UHD screen, but not necessarily tons of battery life. There aren’t many other models out there with the same combination of size and specs, but one that comes to mind is the Dell XPS 15, which is just a touch heavier and will also be available with a 4K screen (albeit a 15-inch one) and Core i7-7700 CPU for $2,199. However, that model has lesser NVIDIA GTX 1050 graphics.

As you’d expect, the 14-inch Blade ain’t cheap — the Full HD model is now available in the US, Canada, UK, Germany and France at Razerzone.com, starting at $1,899 (£1,799) and coming elsewhere in March. The 4K model is likely to be considerably more and it won’t arrive until at least April of 2016.

Apple Joins Wireless Power Consortium Behind ‘Qi’ Standard Ahead of iPhone 8

Apple recently became listed as a member of the Wireless Power Consortium, committed to the open development of the Qi wireless charging standard. The listing was brought to our attention by IHS Technology.

Apple, which has since confirmed it is a member, has become one of over 200 companies that belong to the consortium, including Samsung, LG, HTC, Qualcomm, Verizon, ConvenientPower, Aircharge, Dell, Canon, Sony, ST Microelectronics, Toshiba, Texas Instruments, Philips, Panasonic, Bosch, Nokia, and Huawei.

Qi is the leading wireless charging standard, used by more than 200 companies in products ranging from smartphones to cordless kitchen appliances. Samsung’s latest Galaxy smartphones, for example, feature Qi-based wireless charging which requires placing the device on one of its “Fast Charge” stands.

Qi, pronounced “chee,” is capable of scaling from less than 1 watt to more than 2,000 watts of power, making the standard more than adequate enough for charging any smartphone. With Qi’s latest Quick Charge technology, a five-minute charge can provide a smartphone with up to five hours of battery life.

The so-called “iPhone 8” is widely rumored to include wireless charging, so Apple’s participation in the consortium is perhaps unsurprising. Moreover, there is increasing evidence to suggest the “iPhone 8” may use inductive technology, which would require a charging puck or pad, rather than long-range charging.

Luxshare is also a member of the Wireless Power Consortium, which is notable given a recent rumor claiming the “iPhone 8” will have a separate wireless charger based on technology from the Chinese company. Luxshare was rumored to be a supplier of wireless charging coils for the Apple Watch charger.

In 2015, the inductive Apple Watch charger was found to be compliant with the Qi wireless charging standard, but Apple did not submit it for interoperability testing. However, this does not guarantee that Apple will use the Qi standard for future iPhones, but its membership does show its interest in the technology.

Over the course of the last year, there has been ongoing speculation that wireless charging company Energous has inked a deal with Apple to potentially provide wireless charging technology for the iPhone 8, but patents and other evidence suggest Apple may pursue its own in-house inductive charging solutions instead.

Update: Apple confirmed that it has joined the Wireless Power Consortium in a statement to Business Insider.

Apple is an active member of many standards development organizations, as both a leader and contributor. Apple is joining the Wireless Power Consortium to be able to participate and contribute ideas to the open, collaborative development of future wireless charging standards. We look forward to working together with the WPC and its members.

Apple said it “looks forward to working together” with the other members to help further the “development of future wireless charging standards.”

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tags: wireless charging, Qi, Wireless Power Consortium
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Samsung Will Supply Apple With a Total 160 Million OLED Panels for iPhone 8

Apple has placed an order to Samsung Display for 60 million OLED panels for this year’s iPhone 8, in addition to the 100 million units reportedly ordered by Apple last April. If the numbers are accurate, today’s news confirms the display maker as Apple’s main source of OLED screens for the next-generation iPhone (via The Korea Herald).

iPhone 8 concept images
According to those familiar with the display market, Samsung will officially supply around 80 percent of the display panels in the iPhone 8. The company still didn’t confirm the Apple-related OLED news, with a Samsung spokesperson saying “we can’t officially comment on anything related to the order.”

“Samsung takes pride in small OLED panels,” said an industrial source familiar with the matter. “While LG is enhancing its OLED business for TVs, Samsung is likely to focus on mobile OLED panels this year, helped by the Apple orders.”

The iPhone 8 is expected to include an OLED screen as a way for Apple to make the device thinner and include an edge-to-edge design with various features — like Touch ID — integrated directly into the screen. Apple is believed to launch three total new iPhones this year, two of which will be basic updates to the iPhone 7, referred to as the “iPhone 7s” and “iPhone 7s Plus,” while the third “iPhone 8” will include the OLED display and more drastic design changes.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tag: Samsung
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iPhone 8 Said to Pack Battery Capacity of Current 5.5-Inch Model Into 4.7-Inch Form Factor

The so-called “iPhone 8” will adopt a higher-cost stacked logic board design to support longer battery life, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo said the stacked logic board, also known as a “substrate-like PCB (SLP) mainboard,” will result in the “iPhone 8” with an OLED display having similar dimensions to a 4.7-inch iPhone, yet comparable battery life to a 5.5-inch iPhone.

As battery material tech isn’t likely to see major breakthroughs in the next 3-5 years, mainboard area can only be reduced via stacked SLP, which makes space for larger battery and extended usage time. Thanks to stacked SLP, we expect the OLED iPhone to have similar dimensions to a 4.7” TFT-LCD iPhone, and have comparable battery capacity (equipped with around 2,700 mAh L-shaped 2-cell battery pack) to a 5.5” TFT-LCD iPhone. The battery life of the OLED iPhone could be better than that of the 5.5” TFT-LCD model as OLED panels are more energy-efficient than their TFT-LCD counterparts.

Kuo added that the battery life of “iPhone 8″ with an OLED display could be better than that of a 5.5” model with a traditional LCD display, as OLED panels are more energy-efficient than their TFT-LCD counterparts.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tags: KGI Securities, Ming-Chi Kuo
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Amazon and Netflix win their first BAFTA film awards

Last October, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced that streaming-only titles would be considered for the first time at the 2017 film awards. A wise decision, it seems, because both Netflix and Amazon scooped up accolades last night. Netflix won the best documentary category with Ava DuVernay’s 13th, a piece investigating race in the US criminal justice system. Amazon, meanwhile, won big with Manchester by the Sea, picking up two awards for best original screenplay and best leading actor. The film has been shown in theaters, however, so it’s possible it could have been nominated regardless of the rule change.

Even so, it’s a big moment for the two companies. Amazon has been recognised at the BAFTA TV awards before, but obviously neither had won a BAFTA film category until last night. It reflects their growing influence in both the TV and movie industry, as well as the quality of their releases. Manchester by the Sea is up for six Oscars later this month, while Netflix could take home one with 13th. Any victories would cement their reputation as media juggernauts. Ones that are prepared to spend big, whether that’s building a show from scratch or buying distribution rights.

Via: Vodzilla

Source: BAFTA

How ‘NieR’ was brought back from the dead

Taro Yoko, director of NieR: Automata, leans forward in his chair. “The stories I write really aren’t very good at all,” he says, through a translator. “They’re a big pile of shit. So I wouldn’t have great expectations for the game if I were you.”

He’s joking, I think.

I’ve just spent a few hours playing a preview build in London, and it was anything but crap. The story follows a pair of combat androids who are fighting on humanity’s behalf. They talk about life and death, and what it means to be caught up in a never-ending cycle of war. It’s an intriguing, if not wholly original, setup.

The Japanese game designer is, perhaps, trying to temper expectations. Two years ago, no one would have guessed that a new NieR was in development. The first title was a commercial flop, and Square Enix, the game’s publisher, had shown no interest in a sequel. NieR was a strange experience, extending the story of the original, equally bizarre Drakengard game from the PlayStation 2 era. It starts in the distant future, in a bleak, snow-covered Tokyo. The adventure then cuts to more than 1,000 years later, where humanity has reverted to swords and rudimentary houses once more. Even stranger, the same characters depicted in the “modern” prologue seem to be living in this new, fantastical world.

“Square Enix came to me and said, ‘Well, it didn’t sell very well. Sorry, but we can’t make [another] one.’”

The story had its merits, but the overall adventure was weighed down by some bland environments and tedious fetch quests. “It was in the red,” Yosuke Saito, the game’s producer, admits. “It didn’t make money. But there was still a lot of hardcore fans that really liked the game, the world and everything that was in there.” While the original NieR’s development was wrapping up, Yoko was already thinking about a sequel. But those dreams were put on hold when the game arrived to a lukewarm reception. “Square Enix came to me and said, ‘Well, it didn’t sell very well. Sorry, but we can’t make [another] one,’” Yoko recalls.

A grand reveal

Early concept art showing 2B and a dormant enemy robot.

Square Enix

By June 2015, it was clear the publisher had changed its mind. At Square Enix’s E3 press conference, Saito took to the stage and proudly announced a new project “still early in its development.” A short trailer showed some gorgeous concept art spanning abandoned factories, treetop homes and quiet, abandoned cathedrals. There was little game footage, save for a shot of the sequel’s mechanical hero, 2B, swooping down to the ground in a black dress, eye mask and boots. A katana at her side, she was an instantly memorable and likable character.

Yoko then emerged, wearing a ghoulish, moon-like mask. The costume was a throwback to Emil, a character from the original NieR game. He uses this outfit for most of his public appearances now, including interviews and promotional videos. Today, in a poky Square Enix office, he’s in normal attire, but as soon as I ask for a picture, the developer is quick to grab the unusual prop. If it wasn’t obvious already, he’s a pretty quirky guy.

From left: Takahisa Taura, Taro Yoko and Yosuke Saito

It was Saito and Square Enix that approached Yoko about the new game, rather than the other way around. Saito recalls: “I said very strongly, I said, ‘If you don’t let me do this project, I’m going to quit the company.’” Yoko laughs and quickly jumps in: “I think he was probably a bit fatigued after doing so many Dragon Quest games!” (Saito was the producer of Dragon Quest X, the World of Warcraft–style MMORPG, and is currently working on Dragon Quest XI for the Nintendo 3DS, Switch and Playstation 4.)

A match made in heaven

Most people had forgotten about NieR. But the E3 trailer was alluring, and the mention of PlatinumGames was an instant headline grabber. The Japanese studio has a reputation for producing high-caliber action games such as Bayonetta, Vanquish and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The team makes fast, dynamic combat systems that reward players who can memorize complex combos and utilize them in specific, moment-to-moment situations. For anyone with a passing knowledge of the video game industry, it was a tantalizing collaboration.

2B prepares to do battle with a Goliath-class enemy.

Square Enix

The story behind the team-up is a simple one. For NieR to come back, Square Enix needed to do something big. A bold, original game that was prepared to take risks. “We didn’t want to repeat the same thing,” Saito says. “It had to be good.” Thankfully, Yoko and his team were already talking to PlatinumGames when the possibility of a new NieR title came up. A partnership seemed perfect. “It just so happened we were in discussions with PlatinumGames to do something alongside them,” Saito explains. “We felt that if they worked on the action side of the game, that really would be the best possible partnership we could have to make [NieR: Automata] the success we wanted it to be.”

NieR: Automata is constantly shifting between different game genres, which keeps the experience fresh and unpredictable.

Based on what I’ve seen and played, it was a good decision. You may have tried the public NieR demo, which takes place near the start of the game and tasks 2B with finding a villainous, “Goliath”-class mech. With 9S, a heroic scout class android, in tow, you blitz through hordes of smaller robots and weave your way through an intricate web of factories. Platinum’s mark is immediately obvious; every sword swing is immensely satisfying, with a range of light and heavy attacks to blend together.

Enemies will try to overwhelm you with harmful red energy balls.

Square Enix

Like the original NieR game, enemies often retaliate with a barrage of harmful red orbs. The camera angle changes to give you a better perspective of the action, flipping between a typical third-person view and a top-down “bullet hell” shooter, as in Ikaruga and DoDonPachi Resurrection. There’s a satisfying mix of exploration, platforming, smaller combat encounters and huge, multi-layered boss battles. NieR: Automata is constantly shifting between different game genres, which keeps the experience fresh and unpredictable. As you dart up the side of a water tower, you never quite know what will be waiting for you at the top.

“The placement of the buttons is also very close to the original game,” says Takahisa Taura, NieR: Automata’s designer and an employee of PlatinumGames. “Obviously, the actual results of some of the button presses may be different, but the overall control scheme and the structure and placement of the controls is very much referencing the original game.”

An open world

There’s more to NieR’s sequel than fast-paced battles, however. At Square Enix’s offices, I was able to play a section that immediately follows the public demo. It takes place in a circular spaceship — which serves as a base for 2B, 9S and their fellow androids — a dilapidated city and a sparse, open desert. After waking up off-planet, you’re free to move around and peek inside the various rooms that hide upgrades and non-player characters (NPCs). It’s a space that allows you to breathe and reflect on the larger situation at hand: how these androids were created, their evolving relationship with humanity’s survivors, and their views on the larger conflict.

Before long, you’re asked to check out a city where a human resistance force is based. Like The Last of Us, it’s an urban environment lost to Mother Nature. Few people are living in the buildings or using the roads. Moss and ivy stick to the walls, while knee-high grass sways like water down below. A few rust-covered cars sit abandoned near the sidewalk. It’s a large, open play space with countless skyscrapers and back alleys to explore. You’ll encounter the occasional robot or two, but they rarely attack unless you strike them first.

Busting robots will net you XP and various crafting items.

Square Enix

“We wanted to have some quieter sections where you could just walk through the game and experience the scenery, and see things at a slower pace,” Taura says.

Once you’ve made contact with the resistance, some side quests open up: investigate a certain area, collect parts from particular enemies, that sort of thing. It’s the usual RPG fodder, but with Platinum’s combat system they serve another purpose: practice and experimentation. These lower-risk settings are perfect for trying new combos and strategies.

The game also has a Dark Souls–inspired revival system. At one point, I took on a group of elks to see what, if any, resources I could obtain from them. A couple of hits later and 2B was defeated, only to have her thoughts and memories downloaded into a new body. The old 2B remained on the battlefield, however, with all of my old equipment intact. It was up to me to retrieve it — a second death would mean losing it forever. Later, a spokesperson for Square Enix told me that another option exists. For particularly tough encounters, you can choose to revive your previous form as an additional combat partner. They’ll fight only in that specific area, however, and vanish once you’ve defeated the immediate foe.

“It’s quite rare that a system has that much breadth and changes the core gameplay that much.”

“Rather than just upgrading and making you more powerful in a flat progression scale,” Yoko says, NieR: Automata “gives you all sorts of new actions you can perform, and new gameplay mechanics that change the feeling of playing the game. It’s quite rare that a system has that much breadth and changes the core gameplay that much.”

Dealing with death

As I ran various errands for members of the resistance, I picked up hints of the larger story too. Something is wrong with the enemy robots. According to 9S, more and more are just standing around, as if they’ve forgotten why they were deployed in the first place. It brings up some questions about life, death and the soul. What are these androids able to feel? How much have they observed, and are they struggling now for purpose and fulfillment? Are they doubting their mission? Feeling sorry for their enemies?

Taro Yoko has never been afraid to tackle tough subject matter in his games.

Square Enix

Yoko has explored these themes before. “It’s been an interest of mine, and an observation, for a very long time while I’ve been making games,” he explains. “Most games are about defeating an enemy, or killing an enemy and surviving through that. In some ways, it’s also come to be seen as an enjoyable thing. People have fun, and there’s some fun to be had in destroying someone or killing someone. And I’ve always wondered about that. Why do people enjoy the act of killing, and why do they do it? And surely maybe that motivation and that reasoning is flawed, and the reason people do these things — kill people, enjoy killing — is because they’re missing something, or there’s definitely some problem there.”

In the original Drakengard, for instance, humans give up a piece of their existence — their voice, their sight or even the ability to die — in order to make pacts with mythical beasts. Caim, the hero, is obsessed with revenge, slaying his enemies mercilessly. During combat, his comrades frequently comment on this worrying obsession and how much he enjoys the act of killing. The first NieR game also touches on the soul, as humans try to detach themselves from their bodies and avoid a devastating disease.

“If there is one theme that maybe comes back again and again, in all of the works that I make, it probably is that relationship of how people see and relate to killing.”

A franchise revived

NieR: Automata’s public demo, which came out last December, triggered a wave of public interest. Screenshots, video walkthroughs and tweets flooded the internet. People liked what they saw. It was fast, fresh and unashamedly Japanese. Overnight, expectations had skyrocketed for the final product. Suddenly, NieR was relevant again. An all-but-forgotten franchise had risen to become one of the most hotly anticipated Japanese releases.

That demo was just a slice, however. It shows off the combat and one of the boss encounters, but not the game’s open world and RPG mechanics. That’s a boon for Yoko and his team: They haven’t shown their full hand just yet. “What I think doesn’t show so well through the demo is Mr. Yoko’s great story and the more role-playing elements of the gameplay,” Saito says. “Those are really big draws for the game as well. It’s not just the action, although that’s amazing — you’ve got those extra elements too, and if people buy the main game they’ll be very excited and satisfied to see those elements as well.”

If you ask Yoko, however, he’ll disagree that the narrative adds much to the overall experience. “You’ve got to look at it as an overall package,” he says. “Because I think my story gives zero value to it all. That’s nothing, but PlatinumGames’ action is probably worth 120 percent. So if you look at it overall, it’s actually a pretty good game. You’ll definitely get your price back for the money you pay for the game.”

Again, I can’t tell if he’s joking or not.

Watch the second trailer for the ‘Ghost in the Shell’ movie

The live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell is fast-approaching theaters, so of course Hollywood’s marketing machine is churning out more trailers in anticipation. The latest teaser is a two-minute affair diving into “The Major” and her mysterious origins. Little is revealed but there are plenty of hints concerning her previous life. While the government has given her one story, the film’s shady villain, a damaged but dangerous cyborg called Kuze, is offering another, quite different version. Much of the movie, it seems, will focus on The Major hunting Kuze and the truth simultaneously.

Ghost in the Shell is an iconic franchise spanning multiple anime movies, TV shows, manga and video games. It offers a hacker-centric look into the future, where augmentation is rife and threats to human life are often conducted through digital, rather than physical means. Created by Masamune Shirow in the late 1980s, it’s inspired countless sci-fi movies including The Matrix trilogy. Despite its long-running success — a new instalment was released in 2015 — Ghost in the Shell has never been turned into a live-action movie. The upcoming adaptation was therefore inevitable, given the sheer volume of beloved source material available.

The project is divisive, however. Scarlett Johansson is playing The Major, otherwise known as Motoko Kusanagai in the anime and manga. Critics argue that Hollywood is whitewashing an iconic heroine that could and should be performed by an Asian actress. In a recent interview with Marie Claire magazine, Johansson tried to address the controversy:

“I certainly would never presume to play another race of a person. Diversity is important in Hollywood, and I would never want to feel like I was playing a character that was offensive. Also, having a franchise with a female protagonist driving it is such a rare opportunity. Certainly, I feel the enormous pressure of that — the weight of such a big property on my shoulders.”

Whatever you feel about the casting, it’s an odd choice given the movie’s setting. Ghost in the Shell takes place in a gloriously stylized version of Japan, with wedge-shaped cars and robotic geisha waitresses. Contrasting that with a mostly American task force is — while not impossible to justify narratively — a little strange on screen. But who knows, maybe it all comes together in the final cut. We’ll see for ourselves on March 31st, 2017.

Source: Ghost in the Shell (Twitter)

iOS 10.3 CarPlay Update Introduces Quicker and Safer Way to Launch Most Recent Apps

Apple has added a small but useful tweak to CarPlay in iOS 10.3, giving drivers a quicker and safer way to switch between apps without having to take their eyes off the road for long periods of time. Before the update, users had to tap twice to get to another app in CarPlay: one tap to go home, and another tap on the designated app icon.

Image via The Verge
Now, Apple has streamlined that process. In the left-aligned dock on the CarPlay screen users will now see three recently used apps, so it’s always easy to just tap one and jump directly back into Music, Messages, Maps, or any of CarPlay’s other apps. Prior to iOS 10.3, the CarPlay dock had just one app at a time in this area.

The slight UI tweak should make it easier for drivers to switch back-and-forth between navigation and entertainment apps while in CarPlay. iOS 10.3 includes a number of other updates on iPhone and iPad devices, including changes to the app launch animation, Find My AirPods, and the ability for developers to update their app icons at any time, without needing to include the artwork change in a full update on the App Store.

Related Roundup: CarPlay
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Apple Named as Contributing Sponsor for Information and Security Conference ‘BSides’

Apple has been listed as a contributing sponsor for the non-profit information/security conference BSides that’s currently taking place in San Francisco. Apple joins a long list of sponsors including Google, Dropbox, Netflix, Fitbit, and more.

According to the conference’s sponsor page, Apple is also listed as a food sponsor for BSides, and provided breakfast and lunch meals to everyone yesterday. The company’s involvement beyond that, if any, hasn’t been mentioned.

BSides officially began yesterday and ends today, February 13. The conference is described as an “open forum for discussion and debate for security engineers and their affiliates.”

BSides SF is a non-profit organization designed to advance the body of Information Security knowledge, by providing an annual, two day, open forum for discussion and debate for security engineers and their affiliates. We produce a conference that is a source of education, collaboration, and continued conversation for information technologists and those associated with this field.

The technical and academic presentations at BSides SF are given in the spirit of peer review and advanced knowledge dissemination. This allows the field of Information Security to grow in breadth and depth, and continue in its pursuit of highly advanced scientifically based knowledge.

More information about the BSides conference, and the rest of today’s schedule of events, can be found on the company’s website.
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Australian Banks Seek Open Access to NFC Functions of Apple Pay in New Application

A group of Australia’s biggest banks have again applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in a bid to negotiate with Apple over Apple Pay. The banks — including Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, and Westpac — today announced that they have “narrowed” their application with the ACCC to focus on gaining open access to the NFC function integral to Apple Pay.

The new application echoes the banks’ original, filed last July, which also included gaining access to the NFC-based mobile payments software in iPhones. Apple currently only allows its own mobile payment system to access the NFC-hardware in its iPhone devices, which banks argue is an anti-competitive restriction that hampers consumer choice. The banks say that while Apple has a “stranglehold” on this technology, no actual competition can take place in the mobile wallet marketplace.

Open access to the NFC function on iPhone is required to enable real choice and real competition for consumers, and to facilitate innovation and investment in the digital wallets available to Australians. Without open NFC access on iPhone, no genuine competition in the provision of mobile wallets is possible and Apple will have a stranglehold on this strategically important future market.

Previously, the coalition of banks also sought to challenge Apple on Apple Pay due to the service’s fees. In the new application, the banks decided to eliminate arguments over fees and any other items “the ACCC considered may lead to a public detriment.” Prior to the new application, the ACCC had denied the banks’ request to negotiate over Apple pay two times last year.

“The applicants are ready, willing, and able to participate in Apple Pay, alongside being able to offer their customers their own mobile wallet products,” payments specialist and spokesperson on behalf of the applicants, Lance Blockley, said.

“This application has always been about consumer choice, and allowing competition between the makers of mobile wallets to offer the best products and features they can to determine which mobile wallet consumers will use. The applicants want to put up their digital offerings head to head with Apple Pay, and let the market and individual consumers decide which best suits their needs.

According to the banks, full access to NFC on iPhone devices “would enable the delivery of substantial public benefits to Australian consumers,” across a variety of categories other than mobile payments, including loyalty programs, member security, and other NFC-related cases. Because of these benefits, the banks said they they “have again been supported by nearly all of Australia’s leading retailers.”

Last week, Apple responded to the Australian banks’ continued obstruction of Apple Pay by saying it was damaging to consumers and small business alike, ultimately referring to their request for access to NFC as a potentially hazardous “Trojan horse” scenario. In today’s applications, the banks referred to Apple’s comments as a “conspiracy theory” and dismissed it as “fantasy.”

The applicants flatly reject Apple’s unsupported assertions that the application is about an objection to the fees that Apple wishes to impose, rather than NFC access. Apple’s conspiracy theories about “Trojan horse fees” are similarly dismissed by the applicants as fantasy.

According to Blockley, who spoke on behalf of the banks, the NFC-targeted application is not an attempt to delay Apple Pay’s wider support in Australia as it would be offered alongside other mobile wallets — similar to how Android supports open access to the NFC function. “Any delay or frustration will be as a result of Apple refusing to negotiate,” Blockley said.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Australia
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