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

Yup. I can confirm this happened to me. My iPad Pro (first gen) died suddenly. It’s 3 years old, so out of warranty. I took it to Apple to have it looked at and when it was determined it had to be replaced, the Genius actually made a case for buying the latest and greatest model, actually pitching a sale. She then walked me over to the iPad Pro table and not only convinced me (I didn’t need a lot of convincing, I was already planning on buying the new one), she actually processed the sale. I found it odd and a departure from previous experiences with Apple Geniuses. When did Geniuses ever sell product?
 
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kingofwale said:
desperate time for desperate measure...

Customer: "Hi, I want to buy an iphone cable..."

Apple Genius: "okay... you want a brand new iphone with that??"
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I can guarantee that, if Apple retail employees were being paid on a commission, the smart ones would be asking that question with every sale they made. Asked in a way that can be accepted as a joke for the hundreds that say no, every so often you will get a customer that will answer, ‘well, now that you mention it...’.

Speaking from several years experience as a salesman working on commission.
 
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falainber said:
Not exactly the same. It's one thing to try to sell your product who came to store looking for a phone. It's another thing when a person comes to a repairman to fix the device and the company tries to sell him a new phone. Even an advice to upgrade may make sense but when this is a directive from the management to try to sell rather than to try repair first it's borders on fraud (or at least neglect of the customer interests).
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FRAUD!? o_O
 
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RE: "as Apple no longer discloses unit sales in its quarterly earnings report."

That doesn't accurately represent what AAPL stated on Nov 1st.

Reading between the lines, on Nov 1st, they (clearly) stated: "If we good numbers to Report, we'll report it, if NOT, we won't".

That was in the Q&A period after their initial disclosure on the topic.

Few on CNBC even picked it up.
 
mattster16 said:
Financial sense is different for everyone. Personally, if a repair costs more than the value of the phone (if it were undamaged) then it doesn't make sense to me to repair it. I would get a new phone even if it is more expensive. For some people, doing the repair might be worth it because it is still likely a lower cost of ownership. There are a lot of variables to whether something "makes financial sense".
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Precisely the way it’s meant to be. Customers have different needs and preferences, others are stubborn. Most will not want to upgrade their phones, and let me tell you; we don’t position that option first unless the technician’s lazy or new, or without good reason. Naturally we go with whatever the customer wants if it’s within the scope of options. I think Apple is pretty fair at the Genius Bar so long as the technician’s doing their job right.

I can’t defend Apple 100%. The biggest gripe I have as a technician is the speed Apple asks you to work at. I hate feeling like I work on an assembly line.
 
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Apple is so scuzzy. Steve would be completely ashamed at what Tim has done with what he left him.
 
macduke said:
Lots of people in here essentially saying “What’s the big deal? Everyone else does it.”

What’s the big deal? This is Apple. They think different—or at least they used to. They’ve always let their products speak for themselves and have, for the most part, avoided pushy sales tactics.

This is why Steve Jobs was never really beholden to investors. Sure he wanted the company to do well, but his belief was that the company would do well as a natural consequence of making devices that consumers love to use. Devices that are innovative and easy to operate. Today’s Apple is moving away from that philosophy, and that very philosophy is what makes Apple different and desirable to consumers. They’re selling their future to make a quick buck today—and I have to wonder if it’s because many of their executives are nearing retirement and want a nice out.
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Or the executives simply never understood and never cared. Cook thinks he's the smartest because he is the CEO, not because earned the right by making great products. He never did and does not understand how.
 
mattster16 said:
I think it has been fair to assume Apple's repair costs have ALWAYS been inflated to encourage product replacement and/or make as much money on repairs as they can. They are a money making business after all. If you want a cheap repair, don't go to an Apple store.
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I’m sorry, but I’ve seen it first hand. I will almost always recommend Apple repairing a device, depending on the issue. If you want a cheap second-rate job at a third-party repair shop, try it; so many have come back because they f***** up the repair. I have seen some really ugly repairs that aren’t cheaper at all in the long run. It’s crazy how a $20 cheaper cracked screen replacement turns into your phone not working anymore, or a swollen battery.
 
"Apple's reported efforts to push iPhone upgrades creates an interesting juxtaposition. On one hand, the company's environmental chief Lisa Jackson recently said customers using its devices longer "is the best thing for the planet," and on the other hand it is more aggressively encouraging customers to buy a new iPhone."

That needn't be a juxtaposition. Trade-ins are refurbished and put back into service in other markets. The important metric is the average age of an iPhone before it's torn apart and recycled. From what I'm reading, Apple leads the industry.
 
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bb426 said:
Precisely the way it’s meant to be. Customers have different needs and preferences, others are stubborn. Most will not want to upgrade their phones...
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Having worked in retail (a LONG LONG time ago) I can agree with that. Some people expect everything they buy to last FOREVER. I'd have people bringing in phones (I'm talking cordless house phones - that's how long ago I worked retail..) that were 6 years old DEMANDING a repair and adamantly REFUSED to just buy a new one. "This should not be broken!"
 
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technole said:
More writing on the wall that we'll see iOS upgrades end for everything up to 6S. They already gave you a cheap battery and a major performance boost iOS.

Tim has to get you to buy a new iPhone soon.
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Actually, that is just a rumor from a source that has been wrong more times than right.
 
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bb426 said:
I’m sorry, but I’ve seen it first hand. I will almost always recommend Apple repairing a device, depending on the issue. If you want a cheap second-rate job at a third-party repair shop, try it; so many have come back because they f***** up the repair. I have seen some really ugly repairs that aren’t cheaper at all in the long run. It’s crazy how a $20 cheaper cracked screen replacement turns into your phone not working anymore, or a swollen battery.
Click to expand...

You're right, it is more of a gamble in the third-party repair world. But there ARE good places out there that will do a repair cheaper than Apple will.
 
So, Tim Cook say Apple is aware that customers are holding onto their iphones a lot longer (longer than Apple would like) so i wonder what ingenuous system Apple will come up for making sure (Apple is able to)...i mean, customers are able get rid of these iphones for newer models. A change in repair pricing perhaps, or saying phone is no longer supported or stop producing iOS updates for the phones.

I am sure they have something in the works to stop owners from hanging onto their phones longer than Apple would like.
 
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Funny, because in my country, at the launch of XR I went to Apple Premium Reseller store and asked how much can they lower the price of XR if I give them my iPhone 7 128 GB. They said 200 EUR, so I said thank you and went away.
 
Arlo Timetraveler said:
Actually, that is just a rumor from a source that has been wrong more times than right.
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It's a good time to do so. But it's possible they still continue for another year to add dark mode and some basic stuff whereas more innovation is on the iPhone 11+
 
thejadedmonkey said:
Maybe if they made phones people wanted...

I know I wouldn't mind upgrading, if Apple made something I wanted.
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I would upgrade my SE for an SE2 in the same form factor with a brighter screen, and better cameras.

Edit: As long as Tim doesn't price it at $799, or something absurd.
 
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This is not new or newsworthy. Genius Bar has always suggested a new device over out or warranty replacement. It’s a much better value. Someone is desperate to feed this “iPhone’s in trouble” narrative .
 
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