Well the US just got much stronger border protections from Mexico and Canada, for absolutely nothing. So I would say it's a good reason and easy win.
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Apple Faces Potential App Store Antitrust Probe in China
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Of course it is.
Tim Apple can thank America’s First Lady, Donald “Tariffs” Trump for this.
Maybe it’s time Cook gave the president a call to see if there’s maybe some kind of Twitter/Tesla/SpaceX + Apple thing they can tie together.
Musk and Cook do share a lot of common goals for their respective businesses in China.
Chances are that you are writing this on a device manufactured in China. They deserve a big credit for that. I have a lot of sympathy for the Chinese.
Absolutely. Apple is like Nike, in that the brand has loyalists and demands a premium even when the underlying hardware is the same cost as lesser brands.
A brand who’s business model is based on being expensive is Bang and Olafson for example. Stylish and expensive for what it is. But if you own it other people who are impressed by that kind of thing will be impressed.
You agreed with a post calling Apple a luxury brand ... Nike is not a luxury brand
Do you disagree about the "luxury" description for Apple?
Because Tim Cook is cozying up to Trump, they want to go after Apple directly to put a wedge there.
No. Apple is a premium brand. Not a luxury brand. Where did I agree it’s a luxury brand. B&O is a luxury brand. Which I gave as an example.
Premium brands often don’t offer anything dramatically different than mainstream brands. They simply have a following and a few extra bells and whistles not worth the extra cost.
TIL that the U.S. is an authoritarian country
Apple vs. the U.S. Department of Justice: What You Need to Know
On March 21, the United States Justice Department sued Apple for antitrust violations, concluding a multi-year investigation into Apple's...www.macrumors.com
In this climate it is getting dangerously close. And I'm not talking about the App Store...
I see. That’s because the first half of his paragraph contradicts the second 1/2. I was agreeing with the first half and didn’t see the luxury brand claim.
The OP doesn’t understand what a luxury brand is as he defines it using premium brand words.
A luxury brand purposely prices products high so that people covet them but most can’t afford them. They purposely use materials and methods that limit production volume so that they can say “we handcraft each” blah blah blah even if it doesn’t make the product better.
Apple prices it’s products in a premium way based on reputation and build quality and doesn’t offer budget models, but all their products are massed produced, in a limited run limited to how many they can sell.
Amazing. Communist China working to ensure a fair marketplace.
That like saying a Lexus is the same as a Toyota with because it has a following and some extra bells and whistles. Don’t think that’s the case.
I mean... A Lexus is a fancy Toyota. There are some exceptions (LS, RC, etc.) but their volume sellers are largely the same as the lesser Toyota under the skin / hood. I personally think that makes most Lexuses a poor buy and not worth it, but there are plenty of people who want a Highlander/RAV4/Avalon with a different face and interior, and who will pay a 15K difference for the privilege.
Apple's main differentiator is both their hardware and software. No other company sells their "stuff". This is a change from even 5 years ago when one could get a PC with the same Intel chip as in a Mac. Even the iPhone up until the 3GS used Samsung processors.
$1 million well spent Tim Apple! 
This is absolutely in retaliation to Mango's tariff madness. The App Store was cleared in May 2024, but thanks to cozying up to insanity, Apple will have to pay. Well, it's customers will have to pay (more).
www.scmp.com
This is absolutely in retaliation to Mango's tariff madness. The App Store was cleared in May 2024, but thanks to cozying up to insanity, Apple will have to pay. Well, it's customers will have to pay (more).
China court rules in favour of Apple over controversial app store fees
A court in Shanghai rejected a claim that Apple was abusing its market dominance with high iOS App Store fees, marking a local win for the US technology giant.
www.scmp.com
Yeah this is going to escalate the trade war to whole new level if China goes through with this. That orange colored guy will eventually cut all ties with China and destroy the relationship that Nixon built, and that means bye bye Apple products that are affordable.
Okaaaaay. So when the EU does it, it's noble because big bad Apple and looking out for the little guy, blah blah blah. When communist China does it, it's Trump's fault. Sure.
Prices are unreasonable. Do you know how much better and more powerful of a system I can get for a $6,999 Mac Pro at base specs? Heck I can get TWO 5090s and STILL have enough budget for the top of the line motherboard, processor and still have money left over.
Nike is definitely a luxury brand, maybe not as much as LV, but it is still a luxury brand. Any brand whose products carry >5% of ad cost and >5% of designer cost in its price, is a luxury brand.
It is! China cleared Apple in May 2024 after investigating the App Store. This is a direct result of the new boneheaded tariffs imposed by Mango.
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The real probe needed is how Meta and Google get everyone's browsing and usage data from every app and website. Customers really have no choice in the market. Even if you explicitly select "Ask App Not to Track", they still track it through other means like device fingerprinting, etc.
The only way is probably going completely offline, but even then if you have a phone number stored in a friend's contact list and are photographed with a friend, they know who you are and where you have been.
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This is not a conspiracy theory. As someone learning to use advertising and 3rd party customer reach out services for my own work, I know this is the case. And so does everyone in online advertising.
The only way is probably going completely offline, but even then if you have a phone number stored in a friend's contact list and are photographed with a friend, they know who you are and where you have been.
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This is not a conspiracy theory. As someone learning to use advertising and 3rd party customer reach out services for my own work, I know this is the case. And so does everyone in online advertising.