Apple Quality

[aristobrat]

Originally Posted by numberforty1

It may be better than the rest, but I am not comparing different companies. I am comparing APPLE in 2001 to APPLE now in 2012.

FWIW, not to be dismissive of any iPhone 5 QC issues, but Apple's had a fairly consistent track record of major QC issues during the entire date range above.

Here's a snipit from the PowerBooks Wikipedia page:
(This is from 2001-2003)

"The hinges on the Titanium PowerBook display are notorious for breaking under typical use. Usually the hinge (which is shaped like an L) will break just to the left of where it attaches to the lower case on the right hinge, and just to the right on the left hinge (where the right hinge is on the right side of the computer when the optical drive is facing you). When the 667 MHz and 800 MHz "DVI" Powerbooks were introduced, Apple changed the hinge design slightly to strengthen it. At least one manufacturer began producing sturdier replacement hinges to address this problem, though actually performing the repair is difficult as the display bezel is glued together.

In addition some discolouration, bubbling or peeling of paint on the outer bezel occurred, notably around the area where the palm would rest whiles using the trackpad. This appeared on early models but not on later Titanium PowerBooks."

There are so many other examples like this from the last 10+ years that it's really hard to point to their current QC issues and try to make the point that they used to be better, IMO.

[matttye]

Originally Posted by Chris092881

My thoughts are Apple has more money than God at this point, so quality customer service is no longer imperative for them. At least in my experience. Maybe you're having better luck. It's quite disturbing to me that anyone that works for Apple should be seemingly shocked that an iPhone 5 was sent out with nicks and scratches. They can't fathom it. Meanwhile every tech institute has run countless stories on it by now. It's a joke.

I doubt Apple wants their own employees admitting that nicks and scratches are a regular thing.

[abhinav7333]

Originally Posted by darster

So because the little power adaptor was bad the whole company has gone downhill? Wow. I have never had a problem with an Apple product. I have owned macbooks, imacs, ipads, ipods, iPhones, ATV's and so on, and never, ever had a problem.

Look at the stocks. It is going downhill. Apple better come with something revolutionary next year.

[Defender2010]

Originally Posted by vastoholic

Be careful with that. Guys may flock to you now. Keep that info to yourself.

Keep it secret. Keep it safe.

A chick, not a Hobbit!

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Originally Posted by matttye

I doubt Apple wants their own employees admitting that nicks and scratches are a regular thing.

yeah, a good "act surprised" expression is an essential qualification to be a Genius! lol

[sulpfiction]

Originally Posted by Chris092881

Well there you go. Many of us did. I envy you.

For every person that got a cosmetically damaged 5 out of the box, there are thousands and thousands that were perfect. Every person I know that got a 5 didn't have a single issue.
I'm not saying that bad phones are acceptable, and im not saying the issue didnt exist, but the problem is much smaller then it's made out to be here on MR.

[harcosparky]

Originally Posted by SomeDudeAsking

How about we use a statistic that is more concrete? Like http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:AAPL. Apple stock is down over 25% since the iPhone 5 launch. Great trainwreck.

Perhaps Apple stock was overvalued by 25% to begin with and people used the iPhone5 disappointment as an excuse to dump stock?

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Originally Posted by sulpfiction

For every person that got a cosmetically damaged 5 out of the box, there are thousands and thousands that were perfect. Every person I know that got a 5 didn't have a single issue.

Not everyone puts their iPhone's under a microscope to look for cosmetic issues. Perhaps those you know, just want the phones to work.

Apple does seem to be having some QC issues in China - I hope they get a handle on the issues sooner rather than later.

I'm not blaming China - I remember when Westinghouse moved some manufacturing ops from Baltimore down to College Station Texas back in the 1980's and they suffered severely from quality issues as a result. It was all traces to the personnel on the lines, and their insufficient training. Engineers from Baltimore were sent down to pull that plant out of the fire it was burning in.

[aristobrat]

Originally Posted by abhinav7333

Look at the stocks. It is going downhill. Apple better come with something revolutionary next year.

Apple's stock is adjusting to a more rational level, IMO. Even at its new "downhill" value, it's still up 25% since the beginning of the year.

Are you trying to make the point that it was normal/rational for the stock to have increased 70% in the first nine months on this year, and any variance in that value indicates an issue with Apple's operations?

[SomeDudeAsking]

Originally Posted by darster

I agree. Apple can improve. Every company can do better. But I don't think their QC has gone down. Apple now has over 50% of the smartphone market in the US. Which means there are more iPhones being used than ever before. Which means number wise, not percentage wise, there will be more people saying they have a defective product.

I told you that you and all the other Apple loyalists in this thread are not readying the report right and now here is a third party showing that your assertion that "Apple now has over 50% of the smartphone market in the US" is patently false:

For the three-month average period ending in November, device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 26.9 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 1.2 percentage points). Apple ranked second with 18.5 percent market share (up 1.4 percentage points), followed by LG with 17.5 percent share, Motorola with 10.4 percent and HTC with 5.9 percent..
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123.3 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (53 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in November, up 6 percent since August. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 53.7 percent market share (up 1.1 percentage points), while Apple’s share increased 0.7 percentage points to 35 percent. RIM ranked third with 7.3 percent share, followed by Microsoft (3 percent) and Symbian (0.5 percent).

http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Pre...r_Market_Share

What do I win?

[aristobrat]

His point was that Apple has never had more iPhones being used than ever before.

Even if the percentage he gave for Apple's market share is incorrect, his point still stands.

Apple has never had more iPhones being used than ever before.

[takeshi74]

Originally Posted by numberforty1

Or maybe it's because I've joined this forum that I notice the faults more easily. It just seems every 5th thread is a complaint lately.

That's the nature of EVERY discussion forum site. No one posts "All is well" threads. They go to a discussion forum site when they have problems and questions.

Originally Posted by numberforty1

What are you thoughts?

Every company has lemons. One faulty charger doesn't mean anything. One data point never defines a trend.

[numberforty1]

Originally Posted by takeshi74

That's the nature of EVERY discussion forum site. No one posts "All is well" threads. They go to a discussion forum site when they have problems and questions.


Every company has lemons. One faulty charger doesn't mean anything. One data point never defines a trend.

Had to exchange the already exchanged charging cube AGAIN today. It only worked with proper charging for about a week.

Yeah, apple has lemons.

Fruit juice anyone?

[Chris092881]

Originally Posted by numberforty1

Had to exchange the already exchanged charging cube AGAIN today. It only worked with proper charging for about a week.

Yeah, apple has lemons.

Fruit juice anyone?

No pulp, please.

[numberforty1]

Originally Posted by Chris092881

No pulp, please.

lol, coming right up.

[bushman4]

Apple still has great quality. While their are always problems with any companies release of a new model, I can say that Apple usually resolves the issue quickly.
Hopefully Apple has learned from the Iphone5 that more extensive testing is necessary.

[numberforty1]

Originally Posted by bushman4

Apple still has great quality. While their are always problems with any companies release of a new model, I can say that Apple usually resolves the issue quickly.
Hopefully Apple has learned from the Iphone5 that more extensive testing is necessary.

I agree 100%. I love Apple. As far as customer service goes it's top notch.

& it's just a charging connector. Something so mass produced is bound to have duds.

[isephmusic]

nobody happily running about their day with a non issue is going to join the forum to complain. all the people happy with their iphones are you know ... out there living lol ! i joined because i needed to know more about launches and releases but i know what you mean by the placebo effect of thinking their QC has gone down due to more "people being unhappy" but who are these people ?

people who obviousl need to join a forum to complain and seek attention of others who also have problems. because if they band together apple magically will send one of their public relations manager to troll i mean read around the forums and report back what they need to fix on for the next model LMAO


but if you ask my teenage sister apple is the best right now at the cream of the crop so i guess its all relative huh . wish someone would post some factual numbers tho so we can see the number of complaints / returns ratio to previous years. in my opinion has gone down. they increased their supply chain so more people are touching these products / sneezing / dropping hair on them / before we get to them than before.

[Chris092881]

There are issues at Foxconn. This is indisputable. Many of the workers have sounded off in the media saying how much pressure they're under from Apple to churn these devices out at a rapid clip. They've also expressed frustration in how difficult the iPhone 5 is to assemble. Pair that with the fact that for awhile demand clearly outweighed supply and you've got a recipe for disaster. To all those that got devices they've had no issues with on the first try, congratulations. I wish I could say the same.

[lulla01]

I have noticed a lower quality on their products.