There’s additional tools for e-commerce transactions like 3DSecure (step up authentication like an OTP) and passive identity verification tools.

The US uses chip and signature, no joke, because the banks didn’t think people could remember another PIN.

This is an EMVCo chip card, and not an American one so it’s chip and pin most likely. Without getting too detailed, the chip generates a one time use code for each transaction, so just having the number wouldn’t help with cloning the card plus you also would need to know the PIN. Although skimmers still exist and physical card theft is a thing, it’s less common especially in markets that use chip and pin.

This is cool but what I really want are rollable screen phones like from Earth Final Conflict.

Not even going to read the article but I’m going to go with “no, no they didn’t earn the price hike.” To me, to “earn” a price hike means new features or better functionality with the current platform, not just spamming me with mediocre content. Give me higher bitrate streaming, lossless audio, better ways to organize my watchlist, better desktop/laptop experience, etc, then MAYBE it’ll be worth paying a bit more to me.