Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Reportedly Advised Technicians to Push iPhone Upgrades to Customers With Out-of-Warranty Devices
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
it's cute that you think Apple is willing to give you any trade in value for a broken screen iphone....
Sorry but, this isn’t new. The Genius Bar has always taught technicians to suggest upgrading if the device is out of warranty, usually if a repair doesn’t financially make sense. However, the part that was left out is whether or not said out of warranty device was eligible for repair or not, which, we will always recommend replacement over repair.
To be honest as a technician, I’ve never felt pressured to push for upgrade unless it’s something I’d recommend to myself. I admit in recent years Apple has made it a requirement to know more about sales as a technician, something that wasn’t explicitly required as much; but there is no incentive for us to push for an upgrade. In fact, favorable numbers at the Genius Bar involve modular replacements, not full device replacements.
To be honest as a technician, I’ve never felt pressured to push for upgrade unless it’s something I’d recommend to myself. I admit in recent years Apple has made it a requirement to know more about sales as a technician, something that wasn’t explicitly required as much; but there is no incentive for us to push for an upgrade. In fact, favorable numbers at the Genius Bar involve modular replacements, not full device replacements.
The point is the cost of Apple screen replacement is more than the cost of a lot of competitors' better spec'd phones.
Nothing new here. This was the policy/practice when I worked at Apple Retail from 2008-2011.
They usually give less than $100 for a broken screen but otherwise usable older iPhone.
Yeah the OLEDs on X and XS cost a pretty penny, and therefore is almost too expensive outside of AppleCare.
RE: "It's unclear if the tactics had any influence on Ahrendts stepping down from her position. "
NOT unclear to me !
Same reason the co-founders of Instagram & WhatsApp ALL left their roles the past year or so.
The "User Experience" gets diminished when the push for Profits is the top priority !
The problem with AAPL is Tim Cook & Phil Schiller, the company's WW VP of Marketing.
Neither is a good fit for their role @ AAPL.
Cook makes a good #2 or #3 guy @ AAPL, but has ZERO Insight into Product Planning !
Schiller is just way past his prime, & should have been put out to pasture along time ago ... OK to continue to let him do the iPhone presentation every Sept, but nothing else.
AAPL needs a VP of Product Planning.
BTW, I do believe Ahrendts decision to leave AAPL was ALSO influenced by the Board's actions ... AAPL's Board was clearly evaluating internal candidates to replace Cook in early/mid-Jan, & probably for most of mid/late-Dec 2018 as well.
I'll bet the Board informed Ahrendts she is NOT a candidate to take over, simply because she is NOT technical enough.
IMO, Cook is NOT technical enough !
Won't even comment about Schiller ... he has missed the Boat on so many opportunities, the list is now too long to even mention anymore !
Also, everyone should check out what Tony Sacconaghi had to say earlier today ... he is the #1 analyst who covers AAPL.
Peak iPhone is NOT a thing of the past ... but it will very-likely require new Leadership @ AAPL, or at a MIN, for Cook to start taking some Risks ... he is EXTREMELY Risk Adverse ... the company should Partner with 1K small companies around the world, who are each technology leaders in their Domain ! ... NOT Rocket Science ...
NOT unclear to me !
Same reason the co-founders of Instagram & WhatsApp ALL left their roles the past year or so.
The "User Experience" gets diminished when the push for Profits is the top priority !
The problem with AAPL is Tim Cook & Phil Schiller, the company's WW VP of Marketing.
Neither is a good fit for their role @ AAPL.
Cook makes a good #2 or #3 guy @ AAPL, but has ZERO Insight into Product Planning !
Schiller is just way past his prime, & should have been put out to pasture along time ago ... OK to continue to let him do the iPhone presentation every Sept, but nothing else.
AAPL needs a VP of Product Planning.
BTW, I do believe Ahrendts decision to leave AAPL was ALSO influenced by the Board's actions ... AAPL's Board was clearly evaluating internal candidates to replace Cook in early/mid-Jan, & probably for most of mid/late-Dec 2018 as well.
I'll bet the Board informed Ahrendts she is NOT a candidate to take over, simply because she is NOT technical enough.
IMO, Cook is NOT technical enough !
Won't even comment about Schiller ... he has missed the Boat on so many opportunities, the list is now too long to even mention anymore !
Also, everyone should check out what Tony Sacconaghi had to say earlier today ... he is the #1 analyst who covers AAPL.
Peak iPhone is NOT a thing of the past ... but it will very-likely require new Leadership @ AAPL, or at a MIN, for Cook to start taking some Risks ... he is EXTREMELY Risk Adverse ... the company should Partner with 1K small companies around the world, who are each technology leaders in their Domain ! ... NOT Rocket Science ...
Apple didn’t have to try to sell phones in the past, they sold themselves.
The price of success, Tim! Apple made great and tough iPhones and people are hanging on to them.
The new ones (X on) are good iPhones too, just that not everyone wants a $1200-1500 device.
Since they are all 64-bit from the iPhone 5S, the iOS of the future would have to specifically written out to kick any of them out; will not sit well with those 500 million "old" customers.
Yes, Genius Bar "service" employees are suddenly salesmen, and it is unsettling - used to such pressure from other types of salesmen! Like the service department of the dealership asking me if I want to trade-in my 2.5 year-old "new" car for the newest model because they are so much better and more reliable and they will keep my payment the same as before, etc. Only, the new term will be 1.5-2.5 times longer, but hey, your budget will be the same!
The new ones (X on) are good iPhones too, just that not everyone wants a $1200-1500 device.
Since they are all 64-bit from the iPhone 5S, the iOS of the future would have to specifically written out to kick any of them out; will not sit well with those 500 million "old" customers.
Yes, Genius Bar "service" employees are suddenly salesmen, and it is unsettling - used to such pressure from other types of salesmen! Like the service department of the dealership asking me if I want to trade-in my 2.5 year-old "new" car for the newest model because they are so much better and more reliable and they will keep my payment the same as before, etc. Only, the new term will be 1.5-2.5 times longer, but hey, your budget will be the same!
Last edited:
They are just like every other lame corporation now.
"Think different". Yeah, right. Respect was earned because they were making
great products, now they push them on you for way too much money.
Like every used car salesman out there. Different my a.... Cook seriously must go now.
"Think different". Yeah, right. Respect was earned because they were making
great products, now they push them on you for way too much money.
Like every used car salesman out there. Different my a.... Cook seriously must go now.
My perspective and interactions with my iPhone have definitely changed in the last year. I'm on my second device (first one was a 5C and now currently using a 7plus) and my usage has gone way down. I use to spend a ton of time on my phone so getting the top of the line iPhone meant I was getting the best experience possible. But nowadays, I spend little time on my phone. I mostly use it for calls, text and calendar functionality with the occasional navigation, all functions my old 5C can still handle. With that said, I'm much less motivated to go out and splurge $1000 on a device that I will barely use. I suspect a lot of people are going through a similar transitions. Smartphones are no longer novel items and so interest in them has gone down a bit. Couple that with the barrage of articles that keep popping up about how consumption of information on technology devices is bad for your mental health, and you've got a recipe for a market that is less interested in spending money on smartphones.
Ha, yeah you keep believing that. Apple doesn't spend millions a year on marketing for nothing.
Except the article clearly states it’s when an iPhone is in for an out-of-warranty repair - not to purchase an accessory. But go off, I guess
This might be the most ridiculous article ever written on this site.
Warranty last for 1 year. If Tim is pushing users to upgrade when out of warranty, that means Tim expects loyal iPhone users to upgrade every year.
Apple is what they have always been. The illusion of being anything but a company producing a product and trying to convince people to buy them for the most amount of profit possible might be wearing off, but they're no different.
Am I missing something? This is what *any* retailer should be doing.
Very little reasons to upgrade most of the time with the prices so high on the new phones
