Pixel 3 FeliCa and iPhone X NFC problem switchers

iPhone X Suica problem switcher
a iPhone X Suica problem switcher

That didn’t take long. A few hours after the Pixel 3 announcement with confirmation of FeliCa models for Japan, iPhone X users like this one are ready to dump their iPhone X Suica problem devices for a shiny new Pixel 3.

Apple doing nothing about the iPhone X Suica problem in Japan is a dangerous proposition that’s gives Google a wonderful business opportunity. The danger is that Apple does not realize that Japanese users are the savviest NFC users in the world: Suica and Osaifu-Keitai smartphones have been around a long time, far longer than Apple Pay Suica. Even if Japanese users know nothing about the iPhone X Suica problem, they immediately and instinctively know a NFC lemon device from a good one.

Forcing NFC savvy Japanese iPhone X users to stumble in the dark and deal with the Apple Support “we have never heard of the iPhone X Suica problem” runaround is terrible short term get-rid-of-the-problem vs. long term vision thinking. I guess it means that Apple is OK giving Japanese business away to Google and that giving away some business is less expensive than fixing a problem. Anyway you look at it I think the current approach is a mistake but especially so in the Japanese market.