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Comment by mmanfrin | Hacker News Reader

Pointless if it doesnt have cross platform. Apple devices already basically have a password manager, the main reason more people don't use it it is because it doesnt also work on android or windows, not because it's not a standalone app called Passwords.

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> Pointless if it doesnt have cross platform.

As mentioned in another news article on the topic:

> It also syncs with PCs via the iCloud for Windows app.

* https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/10/24175505/apple-password-a...

and in the keynote itself:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXeOiIDNNek&t=59m32s

Last I tried it, iCloud for Windows didn't integrate with Firefox, though.

Or Linux.

I don't think Apple minds.

> Or Linux.

I guess Apple does not think that 2024 will be the Year of the Linux Desktop.

I would think it would be Firefox which would have to support iCloud for Windows.

If password managers could interfere with password fields in Firefox without its help, malware could do that, too.

Or is there a generic password manager API on Windows that Apple doesn’t implement?

1Password, for example, has a plugin for Firefox. Something that you would expect in MVP for any password manager.

With Firefox at 2.93% [1] percent market share, doesn't seem like many people would put it in the MVP.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers

What is the market share among people who buy and use password managers?

I also don't get why pay for a password manager when there is a free one from a trustworthy entity, Mozilla Firefox, that works on android, windows, linux, iOS and MacOS.

The answer is: features. People who pay for a consumer product usually get some added value with it that you cannot find in freeware.

But what features are unique to the payed ones? The Firefox one already checks if your accounts was found on a leak, it has the complete set of feature you would expect to "CRUD" your passwords, integrates with the virtual keyboards in iOS and Android so it's easy to fill login forms on any app and by virtue of being part of the browser has perfect integration with the browser, autogenerates random passwords for you and finally it syncs all your passwords across all your devices (plus all the other things that firefox sync syncs). And again, works on all relevant platforms no exceptions.

And for those of us without an iPhone?

Then we're not their target demographic.

Being locked into the eco system is my main reason for avoiding Apple products. Switching from an iPhone to an Android phone was painless for me because I didn't use any of the Apple services (iMessage, iCloud, Passwords). If I had to simultaneously switch from Passwords to Bitwarden would've been time consuming and annoying.

Just need to install windows on my phone, duh.

The timestamp you gave talks about Baldurs Gate :P

56 not 59:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXeOiIDNNek&t=56m32s

Hardly. While not everyone is entirely within the Apple eco-system a huge number of people are that go beyond the necessary critical mass. Apple already built this into the OS they just kept it under the clunky Settings UI - so seems like a logical and low-effort move.

If the Family Sharing aspects are well done I'd happily say goodbye to my 1Password subscription.

Being in system settings makes sense to me. Having the place to see the same stuff on macOS be Safari’s settings window is the bizarre part.

Regardless, I’ve been using it for years now. Works fine. Better UI will be nice assuming this doesn’t come with a bunch of updates that somehow manage to make it work less-well.

My approach has been to move it out of the vendor OS entirely and embedd it in the keyboard. I'll be releasing this as open source (hardware & software) soon:

https://www.anomie.tech/products/anigma/ce/

Any connection to what bunnie is doing with precursor?

No connection other than being a fan. I started working on my (simpler) approach before precursor was launched and think there is a place for both, but I'm a big fan of all the work he and his team are doing.

It does work on windows; the mentioned that. No word yet on Android.

No dedicated app on Windows though, it'll be part of their existing iCloud Windows application.

The password manager that we have today is terrible, that's why people are not using it.

Agreed, for me it needs a solid webapp too. I reference personal credentials on my corp laptop and can't/won't login to anything that's in the system and am unable to install any unauthorized apps.

They did say there was a windows client in the keynote.

It works on Windows.

The lock-in is the point.

I mean, why else would Apple invest in something like this. They became the richest company in the world by increasing lock-in in every step.

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