By: Jared Stranberg
Apple products. They are the everywhere. Phones, televisions, watches and computers. They have rightfully earned their place as a tech giant. In fact, they became a trillion-dollar publicly traded company as of last year.
It’s too bad that their money comes from overpriced and proprietary hardware on top of their repair services which are borderline extortion.
Now, that is a bold accusation for me to make, so let’s gather some proof.
First, the charging situation. In 2007, the Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP) made an agreement amongst its members (cell phone manufacturers) that micro USB cables would be the universal charging and sync cables for all their phones. This was to both grant the user agency in purchasing their own brand of cord and prevent electronic waste.
Not Apple, however. Apple elected to deliberately make their own type of charging cable for the iPhone. And after the 4th generation, they decided to change their charging cord, just not to the universally agreed upon standard. Rather, they elected to use another proprietary piece of hardware, thus forcing their consumers to buy new cords if they wanted to upgrade to their new iPhone 5.
In more recent history, Apple has elected to get rid of other features common on other phones. The 3.5 mm jack used for headphones was removed from the most recent iPhone iteration. Instead, users are expected to use a dongle that costs an additional $10-$39 (depending on if you want to charge your phone simultaneously. Your other choice is to just use the Bluetooth function, which takes more battery life.
Speaking of battery life, Apple admitted to purposely slowing down the older generation of iPhones back in 2017 in order to protect their older batteries. It is curious to see Apple aim to protect battery life by slowing down a phone and simultaneously force users to spend more battery by using Bluetooth for their new AirPods. Even if planned obsolescence was the goal, there is no real way to prove it.
What there is proof of, is the fact that they offered to repair these phones by replacing their batteries for a discounted rate of $29. The problem isn’t really that they charged $29, it’s the fact that price is $50 off the original price to replace a battery. If this were any other phone, the process for replacing a battery would be popping off the back cover and putting in a new battery. A task that almost anybody could do.
Not Apple. The iPhone battery cannot be accessed by the average consumer. This leads me to what I hold to be their greatest sin. Repair services.
Apple has this special requirement that demands certified Apple technicians to work on their products. Third party technicians, such as the internet-famous Louis Rossmann, have harshly and publicly criticized Apple for quoting high prices to make simple repairs, or rather telling the customers it isn’t even worth fixing for the cost.
“Overall, Apple tries to get you to purchase a new device, instead of repairing your old one,” Rossmann said.
When CBC News Canada brought Rossmann a malfunctioning Apple laptop that had been quoted by the Apple store at $1200 in repairs, Rossmann found a disconnected display pin. Rossmann stated that for simply bending back and reconnecting the pin, he wouldn’t have charged anything.
Apple isn’t happy with third party repair being conducted on their products. According to Rossmann, he has received numerous legal threats for showing schematics in his repair guide videos. Other videos on his channel cover multiple incidents in which Apple has followed through with their threats.
Perhaps there is legitimate reason for requiring certified Apple technicians to fix the hardware. After all, when Rossmann teamed up with famous YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips to fix an iMac Pro, they found a design flaw that could kill somebody. According to Rossman and Linus, a power supply for a computer could store lethal current within itself years after being unplugged, and the iMac Pro’s power supply capacitors are completely exposed .
Even so, design flaws should not prevent third party repair technicians from accessing schematics to repair Apple products. People should be allowed repair their own hardware if they have the ability, and to quote Rossmann:
“I would be happy with a rollback on the intellectual property law and the immigration and customs enforcement law that allow people to be either thrown in jail or prosecuted for importing parts and showing a schematic.”
I’m not saying that Apple is the only guilty party in the tech market. I am certain that shady business practices, faulty product designs and overpriced hardware can be found at other companies. What I am saying is that Apple is far too guilty to deserve the money it earns. If you want more evidence, Rossmann’s channel is one of the most prolific tech watchdogs that has repeatedly exposed Apple for their shady practices.
If Apple designs consumer friendly products, ceases their attempts at scamming individuals out of thousands of dollars for repair and respects the individual’s right to repair their own products, then they will start to earn back my trust. Until then, I won’t give them my money, and neither should you.
