Why do people have to constantly put down Apple's contributions? Their customers tend to be more desirable (because they're higher income) and Apple uses that as leverage to cut through bureaucracy to make things happen.
USB type C would not exist without lightning. Why? Because the customers for the USB-IF aren't end-users... they're bottom-feeding OEMs who want to shave $0.001 off the cost of each port and don't give a shit. Apple doesn't have to care about that and can forge ahead with their own standard. That creates demand in the market (specifically the actual customers of the USB-IF like Samsung who immediately want to copy anything and everything Apple does.)
Android Pay would be the same mostly-dead-end that Google Wallet was without Apple Pay. Why? Because Google has no power to get banks, card networks, or merchants on board. Because even if they release it that doesn't mean any of the OEMs will necessarily adopt it. Because a huge number of Android devices are cheap junk only purchased because it's almost impossible to buy plain feature phones anymore, not because the buyer actually gives a shit. Apple doesn't have any of those problems. If Apple offers Apple Pay they know higher-end merchants will adopt it. Apple customers are more likely to use it. The whole brand/cachè thing creates pressure to get on board the train.
Go ahead and ask Verizon and Sprint how holding out against the iPhone worked for them.
Many barriers to adoption of technology are social, cultural, or just plain old inertia. Apple is in a unique position to force change, yet there appears to be a pathological desire to lie and claim Apple isn't relevant.
USB type C would not exist without lightning. Why? Because the customers for the USB-IF aren't end-users... they're bottom-feeding OEMs who want to shave $0.001 off the cost of each port and don't give a shit. Apple doesn't have to care about that and can forge ahead with their own standard. That creates demand in the market (specifically the actual customers of the USB-IF like Samsung who immediately want to copy anything and everything Apple does.)
Android Pay would be the same mostly-dead-end that Google Wallet was without Apple Pay. Why? Because Google has no power to get banks, card networks, or merchants on board. Because even if they release it that doesn't mean any of the OEMs will necessarily adopt it. Because a huge number of Android devices are cheap junk only purchased because it's almost impossible to buy plain feature phones anymore, not because the buyer actually gives a shit. Apple doesn't have any of those problems. If Apple offers Apple Pay they know higher-end merchants will adopt it. Apple customers are more likely to use it. The whole brand/cachè thing creates pressure to get on board the train.
Go ahead and ask Verizon and Sprint how holding out against the iPhone worked for them.
Many barriers to adoption of technology are social, cultural, or just plain old inertia. Apple is in a unique position to force change, yet there appears to be a pathological desire to lie and claim Apple isn't relevant.