Apple Seems to Be Getting into My Business

·24 min·2 clips

Emily Davis discovers her bank app won't work because her four-year-old iPhone is suddenly too old for updates.

Emily Rainbow Davis opens episode 417 by expressing relief at recording on her laptop instead of her iPad, which had technical limitations. She introduces the episode's theme: ongoing frustrations with Apple as a corporation. Davis recounts her 22-year history with USAA Bank, noting how mobile apps initially made banking convenient but now her devices are too old for the app updates. When she needs to deposit a check, the bank tells her to use paper deposit slips, reverting to 20th-century methods. She suspects Apple's fees to developers like Patreon are causing banks to drop support for older devices. Davis criticizes planned obsolescence, arguing it creates environmental waste from discarded electronics. She shares another example with the Spotify for Podcasters app stuck in an update loop due to version requirements. The host considers switching banks or returning to Android to escape Apple's ecosystem. She mentions postal theft concerns making mailed checks risky. Davis then transitions to discussing the episode's song choice, 'One Bad Apple' by The Osmonds. She explains the song sounds like The Jackson Five but was actually recorded by The Osmonds, who had a bizarre career including the hard rock song 'Crazy Horses.' Davis analyzes the phrase 'one bad apple' in context of Apple's monopoly spoiling other companies. She ends with calls to support her on Patreon, Ko-fi, PayPal, or Substack, acknowledging platform issues but maintaining they're the best options available.

As heard by us

A prickly, funny gripe that turns everyday tech friction into a personal cultural rant.

Emily Rainbow Davis turns a recording day scramble into a sharp, funny complaint about Apple, old tech, banking friction, and the nuisance of being nudged off working devices.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If Apple's been pushing you off perfectly usable tech and calling it progress, this is your kind of rant.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Songs for the Struggling Artist