Apple: Difference between revisions
Added information about changes Apple made to iOS and iPadOS in the EU because of DMA, and controversies related to those changes |
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Apple's current product lineup includes hardware such as the [[:Category:Apple IPhones|iPhone]], iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, AirPods, and Apple TV; operating systems such as iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, and macOS; and various software and services including Apple Pay, iCloud, Apple Arcade, and multimedia streaming services like Apple Music and [[Apple TV+]]. | Apple's current product lineup includes hardware such as the [[:Category:Apple IPhones|iPhone]], iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, AirPods, and Apple TV; operating systems such as iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, and macOS; and various software and services including Apple Pay, iCloud, Apple Arcade, and multimedia streaming services like Apple Music and [[Apple TV+]]. | ||
<!-- Insert consumer protection summary here. --> | <!-- Insert consumer protection summary here. --> | ||
==Incidents== | ==Incidents== | ||
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This includes: | This includes: | ||
*Opening an online [ | *Opening an online [[Apple Self Service Repair|Self Service Repair]] parts store. | ||
*Making the [https://www.ifixit.com/News/64865/iphone-14-teardown back glass of iPhones removable] starting from iPhone 14. | *Making the [https://www.ifixit.com/News/64865/iphone-14-teardown back glass of iPhones removable] starting from iPhone 14. | ||
*Allowing alternative app stores in an update to iOS 17, in compliance with new [https://support.apple.com/en-us/117767#:~:text=Contact%20Apple%20Support-,Installing%20apps%20through%20alternative%20app%20distribution%20in%20the%20European%20Union,with%20iPadOS%2018%20or%20later. EU legislation]. | *Allowing alternative app stores in an update to iOS 17, in compliance with new [https://support.apple.com/en-us/117767#:~:text=Contact%20Apple%20Support-,Installing%20apps%20through%20alternative%20app%20distribution%20in%20the%20European%20Union,with%20iPadOS%2018%20or%20later. EU legislation]. | ||
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*[https://www.ifixit.com/News/104302/all-hail-the-return-of-upgradeable-storage-mac-mini-2024-teardown An upgradeable, swappable SSD in the 2024 Mac Mini] - albeit you cannot swap these units between M4 and M4 Pro units due to the internal casing's design being different without much good reason. | *[https://www.ifixit.com/News/104302/all-hail-the-return-of-upgradeable-storage-mac-mini-2024-teardown An upgradeable, swappable SSD in the 2024 Mac Mini] - albeit you cannot swap these units between M4 and M4 Pro units due to the internal casing's design being different without much good reason. | ||
*A battery removable with just a 9V battery in the 2024 [https://support.apple.com/en-us/120671 iPhone 16] and [https://support.apple.com/en-us/120671 iPhone 16 Plus]. | *A battery removable with just a 9V battery in the 2024 [https://support.apple.com/en-us/120671 iPhone 16] and [https://support.apple.com/en-us/120671 iPhone 16 Plus]. | ||
Many of these items have sparked allegations of [[Malicious Compliance]] and being introduced purely to make stricter right for repair legislation appear unnecessary to legislators while not doing much to improve the situation for consumers. | |||
For instance, pricing for parts on the [[Apple Self Service Repair|Self Service Repair]] store is virtually identical to having the part replaced by Apple themselves (including both the price of the part and labor), alternate app installation options are limited to users in the EU, still require developers to be registered with Apple, have them approve the apps and in many cases paying them fees, and the upgradeable SSDs do not use common standards such as M.2 NVME. Unlike standard SSDs, they are also not always swappable between different models and require access to a second Apple computer to provision after installation. | |||
===Operating system downgrades=== | ===Operating system downgrades=== | ||
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While Apple initially opposed the standardization, arguing that it would "stifle innovation rather than encourage it," the company ultimately conceded defeat, with Apple's head of marketing stating "we have no choice" regarding compliance. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10.26 |title=Apple to put USB-C connectors in iPhones to comply with EU rules |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/oct/26/iphone-usb-c-lightning-connectors-apple-eu-rules |access-date=2025-00-02 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> | While Apple initially opposed the standardization, arguing that it would "stifle innovation rather than encourage it," the company ultimately conceded defeat, with Apple's head of marketing stating "we have no choice" regarding compliance. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10.26 |title=Apple to put USB-C connectors in iPhones to comply with EU rules |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/oct/26/iphone-usb-c-lightning-connectors-apple-eu-rules |access-date=2025-00-02 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> | ||
=== European Digital Markets Act. === | ===European Digital Markets Act.=== | ||
This law forced many companies including Apple to change the way they operate to create a fairer competition. Read more about this law [[Digital Markets Act|here]]. | This law forced many companies including Apple to change the way they operate to create a fairer competition. Read more about this law [[Digital Markets Act|here]]. | ||
==== Changes Apple introduced iOS and iPadOS to comply with this law: ==== | ====Changes Apple introduced iOS and iPadOS to comply with this law:==== | ||
* Introduced the ability to install applications from alternative marketplaces | *Introduced the ability to install applications from alternative marketplaces | ||
* asks which browser and search engine should be the default one | *asks which browser and search engine should be the default one | ||
* Developers now are allowed to publish in the EU browsers that do not use webkit | *Developers now are allowed to publish in the EU browsers that do not use webkit | ||
==== Controversies: ==== | ====Controversies:==== | ||
* Apple removed iPhone torrenting app iTorrent from alternative marketplace AltStore PAL, developer said that the access was revoked "without any warning". In a statement to The Verge, Apple spokesperson Peter Ajemian said, “Notarization for this app was removed in order to comply with government sanctions-related rules in various jurisdictions. We have communicated this to the developer.”<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weatherbed |first=Jess |date=August 28, 2025 |title=Apple pulls iPhone torrent app from AltStore PAL in Europe |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/767344/apple-removes-itorrent-altstore-pal-ios-marketplace |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250903102041/https://www.theverge.com/news/767344/apple-removes-itorrent-altstore-pal-ios-marketplace |archive-date=September 3, 2025 |work=The Verge}}</ref> | *Apple removed iPhone torrenting app iTorrent from alternative marketplace AltStore PAL, developer said that the access was revoked "without any warning". In a statement to The Verge, Apple spokesperson Peter Ajemian said, “Notarization for this app was removed in order to comply with government sanctions-related rules in various jurisdictions. We have communicated this to the developer.”<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weatherbed |first=Jess |date=August 28, 2025 |title=Apple pulls iPhone torrent app from AltStore PAL in Europe |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/767344/apple-removes-itorrent-altstore-pal-ios-marketplace |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250903102041/https://www.theverge.com/news/767344/apple-removes-itorrent-altstore-pal-ios-marketplace |archive-date=September 3, 2025 |work=The Verge}}</ref> | ||
===Elon Musk Lawsuit=== | ===Elon Musk Lawsuit=== | ||
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File:Apple Wallet F1 sponsored ad (4).PNG|Screen when selecting "learn more" | File:Apple Wallet F1 sponsored ad (4).PNG|Screen when selecting "learn more" | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
=== Greenwashing <!-- This section needs more work and more sources. It might also make sense to move it to a page of its own --> === | |||
Apple claims to be environmentally friendly and invests significant amounts of funds in corresponding PR campaigns,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Environment {{!}} Mother Nature |url=https://www.apple.com/environment/mother-nature/ |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=Apple}}</ref> but the reality is not quite as green. | |||
Customers are lead to think that their purchases and frequent replacement of their devices do not have a negative impact on the environment, which is not the case. | |||
==== Green energy sharing ==== | |||
Apple shares manufacturing capacity at Chinese/Taiwanese companies FoxConn and Pegatron with other companies. If Apple uses a hypothetical 20% of their manufacturing capacity, and company B, C, D, and E also each take up 20%, and the company doing the manufacturing runs on 20% renewably generated energy, now Apple as well as companies B, C, D, and E will each publicly claim that their manufacturing runs 100% on renewable energy. In other words, each company will claim the 20% renewable energy was used for ''their'' production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gieselmann |first=Hartmut |date=2023 |title=Von wegen CO2-neutral – Umweltexperten werfen Apple Greenwashing vor |url=https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2023/23/2326512021124424489 |journal=c't Magazin für Computertechnik [Germany] |volume=2023 |issue=23 |pages=49}}</ref> | |||
==== CO<small>2</small> Certificates and forest projects ==== | |||
… | |||
==== The packaging trick ==== | |||
Apple, like many companies, regularly emphasises how environmentally friendly their packaging is and highlight advancements in this area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple 2030 – We’ve reduced our emissions by over 60% |url=https://www.apple.com/environment/ |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=Apple}}</ref> | |||
This deliberately distracts from the fact that only a negligible fraction of the environmental footprint of an electronic device comes from the packaging, as it is made of siginificant amounts or rare earth minerals, metals and mined components and consuming vast amounts of energy, water and fuel in manufacturing and transport. | |||
Some of the environmental advancements touted by Apple could also be argued to be environmentally beneficial side effects of purely economic decisions aimed at maximizing profit, such as shipping iPhones without chargers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dragan |first=Lauren |date=2023-09-12 |title=iPhones No Longer Come With a Charger or Headphones. Here’s What to Get If You Need Them. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/iphone-12-charger-headphones-options/ |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> | |||
==== Shredding vast amounts of fully functional devices ==== | |||
In 2020, it came to light that Apple had filed a lawsuit against a recycling company, revealing that 100 000 iPhones had been illegitimately shipped to China to be sold there instead of being shredded as had been agreed with Apple.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lovejoy |first=Ben |date=2024-04-24 |title=100,000 iPhones stolen instead of scrapped; Apple accused of shredding usable devices |url=https://9to5mac.com/2024/04/18/100000-iphones-stolen-instead-of-scrapped/ |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=9to5mac}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carrique |first=Felicitas |date=2020-10-04 |title=Apple sues recycling partner for reselling more than 100,000 iPhones, iPads, and Watches it was hired to dismantle |url=https://www.theverge.com/apple/2020/10/4/21499422/apple-sues-recycling-company-reselling-ipods-ipads-watches |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=The Verge}}</ref> | |||
These devices were likely trade-in devices from people who received a discount on a new model in exchange. Bloomberg News writes, referring to the contract with the recycler:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Carr |first=Austin |date=2024-04-18 |title=What Really Happens When You Trade In an iPhone at the Apple Store |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-04-18/apple-iphone-recycling-program-has-secrets |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=Bloomberg}}</ref><blockquote>Even if the iPhones looked good enough for resale, Apple Inc.’s contract with GEEP (said with a hard “g”) explicitly required that every product it sent be destroyed.</blockquote>Used iPhone that are sold on the used market are a direct competition to new sales by Apple. | |||
Apple likely does not want the public to know about these processes, since security seems to be tight around the shredding process:<blockquote>In some cases, Apple hired outside security consultants to escort trucks to its recyclers and monitor the destruction process, which the tech giant could further analyze through data reports charting scrap weights and commodity yields to ensure the input matched the output.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Carr |first=Austin |date=2025-03-17 |title=Apple Drops Lawsuit Against Recycler in Mystery of Missing iPhones |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-03-17/apple-drops-lawsuit-against-recycler-in-mystery-of-missing-iphones |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=Bloomberg News}}</ref></blockquote>Apple later retreated the lawsuit, most likely to avoid having to disclose how many devices they are really shredding.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
==== iPhone recycling robot mostly a publicity stunt ==== | |||
The first iteration of Apple's iPhone recycling robot, designed for the iPhone 6, was never more than a publicity stunt, according to an article by Bloomberg:<ref name=":0" /><blockquote>Liam’s precision automation, however, proved a dead end. It could handle just one iPhone model, and not that well. If a device had corroded screws or sticky insides, the robot would glitch. A person familiar with the project estimates Liam could run for about 10 minutes without human intervention. Another person says Apple at times fed the robot still-functioning iPhones and, for media demos, cherry-picked cleaner units so it didn’t crash, suggesting Liam was geared more for promotion than scalability.</blockquote>The same article cites industry insider claiming that the new iteration of the robot is only able to recycle as many devices in a year as Apple sells in just 48 hours.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
Thus it is safe to assume that the vast majority of trade-in devices are simply shredded. | |||
==Products== | ==Products== | ||