Apple Reportedly Advised Technicians to Push iPhone Upgrades to Customers With Out-of-Warranty Devices

You honestly believe this would have made any kind of difference? Ha. 99% of phone buyers have no idea what a ‘bit’ even is. They don’t care about the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit and they’d fall asleep if you tried to explain it to them. Tech types really need to realize they are in a very very tiny minority.

 

I don't view this as dishonesty because the alleged motive, that is to sell phones, would impale apple if really made public and proven. Therefore I believe it was more miscommunication and/or some amount of ineptness. Apple is not THAT stupid. YMMV regarding your opinion of this.

 

Yes you’re probably correct. I stood inline myself for the X. I was right behind an Apple employee that works right at the store we were waiting on.

What I really meant to say is that people are no longer enthused with new iPhone releases.

 

You don’t think that people aren’t enthused about new iPhone releases? I watch the mobile sector and like to see what is being released even though I don’t go on a spending spree, especially for Apple.

What the masses think about iPhones, I dont know, but I know after all of this time I like to know what apple is doing.

 

except that car dealerships aren't virtue signaling how good they are for the environment. "Think different!" became "consume more!"

 

Many will always want to know myself included. Wanting the know is not the same as being enthusiastic about it. I could’ve preordered the X but I chose to get inline the morning of, because I was enthused. I doubt I’ll ever do it again.

I wanted to add that I’ve never been spammed like this by Apple before.

 

Enthused is not the same as a buying consumer either. We can try to compartmentalize a buying consumer with some adjective, but for me I don’t preorder or stand online. My last three phones (5s, 6s, and max) were all bought in November.

 

i hear you on the environmental concerns, but this is irrelevant in this case. Apple’s recycles all their phones and event built their new macbook air from recycled metals. Also, when your phone breaks, unless it’s the screen or battery, apple replaces your entire device anyway so getting a new phone or getting a refurbished one has the same impact on the environment.

Also, echoing most people’ ssentiments, this isn’t news.

 

I have the iPhone 5S 64 GB, the last at home, and I checked my original battery at the Apple Store in December - still in the high 80's. I call the rest of my household power users - they are always staring into them; the all have SE or 6S. The NFC edge. Only one battery bulged - replaced to function. Lost one 5S to lightning port (error 20011,2002, etc.).

I can't see how Apple can disable the 5S or 6 without writing very highly specific code and face lawsuits - they are all 64-bit chips.

 

thats for their benefit. its cheaper for them to recycle the materials then pay for new materials especially when tariffs get involved.

this example shows how Anti-Environment Apple is, not the opposite.

rather than doing or allowing 3rd parties to do board level repairs they replace entire parts or entire devices.

what's better for the environment, letting a tech replace a 5¢ capacitor on a logicboard or replacing the whole logicboard.

same with the stories where 3rd party repair places getting there parts seized by customs because Apple lies and claims people are counterfeiting them even when they are not.
why because Apple would rather you buy a new device or pay them to "fix" it.

yet once again when Apple "fixes" them they are once again replacing the whole screen, whereas these seized "counterfeits" are legit apple screens that some 3rd party refurbished and resold because that's the only way to get some of these proprietary parts.

TLDR: Apple pays lip service to environmental causes but only worry about the bottom line and if they really cared about the environment they would be pushing right to repair rather than trying to block it.

 

I suspect that most people who buy iPhones are in your category these days. I would never pre-order or stand in line for a new product that is only on the cusp of being released. First, it's a hassle to stand in line, and second, I prefer to let the new product prove itself over at least a few months to see professional reviews as well as get an idea of customer reactions to the product a few months down the line. That has often proven to be a wise decision the last 5 or 6 years with Apple, though more with their laptops then their phones. I particularly follow forums like this one to get a feel for overall customer satisfaction. If professional reviewers find problems with a product, and that appears to be corroborated with customer experience, it has a more than significant affect on my decision to purchase. That has mostly been what as caused me to avoid the new Apple laptops, that, and overall design issues with lack of ports. My leaving the Apple phone lines (since the 6S/6S+) is solely due to their design decisions: dropping of the phone jack and huge price increases, largely to justify infrared security features to transplant touch id and force one into purchase of wireless headphones for sound.

 

I replaced a 6 because performance was throttling and it would shut down with 30% battery. At the time Apple was NOT telling customers the truth about battery issues.

I love my 7+ I replaced it with but I am still pizzed Apple knew the phone needed a new battery but didn’t inform customers that the OS was purposely slowing the phone down and shutdowns were due to faulty battery calibration due to battery voltage problems. A new battery would have been a cheaper option.

 

See, you do exist, and Apple did act willfully!

How many hundreds of millions of you are there?

This is where one sues Apple! Not this: macrumors apple-sued-over-not-letting-customers-disable-two-factor-authentication-after-two-weeks

 

I know a few people who work at an Apple store who haven't upgraded from their 7's or 8's due to the prices and little difference in performance. They also mention there are other staff members who use Samsung phones. These people get staff discount and still don't want the very latest Apple have to offer in the iphone space.

I think Apple need to start innovating with technology and rethink pricing if they want to keep capture the upcoming youth and tech heads. Otherwise their market is going to be middle aged and retired - middle class users, the kind of people I see buying up all them ipad pros whenever I'm instore.

Also the "refurbished" market seems to be really strong right now, at least in the UK. Them high (too damn high) prices for new is pushing people into this market.

 

Actually in store, Apple does give you trade-in credit for a damaged screen iPhone. or you can repair it then trade it in for more money if the math works in your favor.

They also give you FULL trade-in value on iPhone 7 models that have the no service error, or failed audio systems

 

For simplicity’s sake, let’s compare the pros vs cons of someone who opted to hold on to his iPhone 6 for 4 years vs someone who upgraded to the iPhone 7 or 8.

For one, he is not going to pay the full price for the upgrade, given he can trade in his older iphone to offset part of the price of the newer phone. And the longer you decide to hold on to your existing phone, the lower its resale value will be when you do finally device to trade it in.

Second, there is an opportunity cost in terms of missing functionality should you decide to stick with an older device. Now, the value of this will vary depending on how heavily you use your phone. Some might be fine holding on to an older iphone if they just use the basic features like texting and web browsing. For others, it could mean an extra year or two of having to put up with a worse experience due to lesser ram, a slower processor, or simply missing out on features such as Group FaceTime or wireless charging.

So the value of this ultimately depends on how much you value your time and the user experience.

Third, you know that there will come a time when your existing iphone will stop being supported anyways. You might be feeling pretty optimistic about your iPhone 6 after replacing the battery and upgrading to iOS 12. Upfront, spending $300 to replace the screen might seem like a better deal than $1000 on a new iPhone. But say iOS 13 drops support for the iPhone 5s and 6. You may end up deciding to finally upgrade anyways. Was that year of paying just so you could continue using your current older iphone for an added year vs simply switching to a newer, faster phone. Not to mention that whatever trade-in value you got for your device likely wouldn’t have covered the cost of repairs anyways.

So opting not to upgrade your device entails real costs, although the impact will vary from user to user.

 

Apple pushing out of warranty to upgrade is not quite the same as car salesman trying to sell someone a car at the dealership when the customers are there for service.
The equivalent case shall be the automaker pushed updates to the vehicle and reduces its performance in order to keep it running, then advises the salesman to push selling a new car.

 

Not the same thing dude.

This would be like going to get the service center of the dealership for a fix to your car (I don't know what's typical... I'm on short term leases) and the mechanic comes out and suggests you just buy a new car.

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What does FULL trade-om value of an iPhone 7 equal? Like $250?

 

Newsflash: You profit by selling things. I know that’s a hard concept to grasp, but... that’s how it works.

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Actually, the individuals who work the Genius Bar aren’t typically the same individuals who perform repairs on hardware. Yeah, some are, but not most. So with that in mind, throwing in a task of “trying to upsell a user whose phone is out of warranty” is on par with having a salesperson do the same thing. The “service center employees” of your metaphor don’t typically interact with customers.

 

The company tries to be environmentally friendly unless it cost actually money. In that case they obviously don’t care about our planet anymore. More e-waste is coming

 

Are they pushing upgrades when there’s a cheaper option available?

 

Reduce, reuse, recycle. The first step towards recycling is reducing, not trade your iPhone in .

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I don’t work for Apple nor do I own Apple stock so I don’t care how much or how little they sell.

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Again, the first step towards recycling is reduce. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

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Do you work for Apple or own Apple stock? Why do you feel the need to try and insult the intelligence and personally attack those those who disagree with you?

Also, convenient if you to leave out the first step of recycling, which is reduce. Sure the average iPhone cycle might have increased but we all know Apple wishes it was 12 months. Their iPhone upgrade program is prime proof of that.

 

there is an extra parameter that is often forgotten in the total environmental impact equation: the impact that the job performed to earn the money to buy the phone. This will vary from job to job - but a well paying job in, say the oil and gas industry or a delivery driver with a normal car, or a clerk at an apple store. By reducing the frequency of upgrades/trade-ups: less need for earning more money in the modern rat-race: more sustainable (because almost all jobs eventually have an environmental burden associated with them). Welcome constructive criticism to my thought process there.

 

It’s shady when your device died through no fault of your own and due a manufacturing issue that they did recognise for a three month window before bringing out the big broom.

Apple may have sacked John Browett long ago, but Apple’s retail stores feel more like Dixon’s these days thanks to his short tenure.

Still, they got me to upgrade so they won.

 

what position is the company in, after the second best quarter on record? They actually have to advertise and ask people if they are ready to upgrade?

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Like the fingerprints?