Well, amex is pretty good in features and experience end to end. In comparison, the Uber card was garbage as it's just a badged Barclay Bank card with shitty apps and an awful purchase notification implementation.

But usually the rewards are all anyone cares about, and the Apple Card is decidedly mediocre and pell mell here.

There are many differentiators, but I think the most important one is that there are no fees on the Apple Card, of any kind. Including annual fees, and even including late fees. The app also actively tries to help you not pay interest, as opposed to the usual approach, which is to confuse the consumer so much that they end up paying as much interest as possible.

The customer service is also over the top.

I still use my Amex most of the time, but Apple's app for paying your card has amazing UX. The bill is presented clearly, the amount of interest you may pay is clear, due dates are always consistent, etc. It's a bunch of small things that add up to a great experience. And there is absolutely no moat, any other bank could copy it, but they haven't yet.