[potmat]

I've heard a lot of people in the USA are "unbanked". I'm willing to bet a fair share of those people have an iPhone (if not necessarily a top-of-the-line one). Does this make it any easier to get an account? Or do you still have to jump through hoops. (not US citizen so I have limited knowledge of getting banking there).

[crazygringo]

Not really. The unbanked are mainly poorer and use much cheaper Android devices.

Also if you're unbanked, a savings account isn't going to be your first step. It will be a checking account with an ATM/debit card.

[evan_]

not really, you need to have an Apple-branded credit card to even apply for this. I don't think it's particularly difficult to get an Apple Card but if you have lousy credit this doesn't make anything easier for you.

[shagie]

On r/AppleCard there's a fairly consistent stream of people (often college students?) with their first credit card. The Path to Apple Card opens it up for a lot of people with poor or no credit history - people with credit limits of $1000 to $2000 (there are even some at $500 - https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleCard/comments/mwg9bn/this_is_m... ).

It gives people who are poorly banked an option to save in a higher yield account than what they may have with a big bank. One of the things that Apple Card does better than others is show that information about how much you're spending. With the savings account, showing that you are saving money can be useful in knowing that you've got it and its change over time (compared to logging into a bank that you otherwise rarely interact with).

[potmat]

Too bad. But I suppose Apple couldn't really solve this without actually setting up their own bank.