French Consumer Fraud Group Investigating Apple for 'Alleged Deception' and 'Planned Obsolescence'

[aevan]

Tim Cook is out as CEO before 2019. Quote me for posterity!

Years from now, when he’s still the CEO of one of the most succesful companies in the world, you probably won’t remember what you wrote here and continue to make these wrong statements based on personal feelings.

 

[lazard]

I feel like everyone forgets that you don't HAVE to buy an iPhone. It's completely optional. Apple is free to do whatever they want, especially when you AGREE to their terms and download the updates. I truly believe they were trying to do the right thing by slowing the phones down to prevent shutdowns. The whole fraud group thing is quiet silly IMO.

Apple can do whatever they want, but they still have to let their customers know when they make any changes that impact them.

 

[Bawstun]

I feel like everyone forgets that you don't HAVE to buy an iPhone. It's completely optional. Apple is free to do whatever they want, especially when you AGREE to their terms and download the updates. I truly believe they were trying to do the right thing by slowing the phones down to prevent shutdowns. The whole fraud group thing is quiet silly IMO.

Preventing defective shutdowns...by enabling a hidden throttling software fix...yeah, nothing fraudulent about that!! LOL!!

 

[marty11]

I'm just glad most of the iPhone customer base now knows they can likely dramatically improve the performance of their devices and get another 1-2 years from their phone by replacing the battery. This was hardly common knowledge one month ago.

This is good for customers and bad for Apple. And no doubt something exploited by Apple to increase sales.

I fully expect Apple to respond with a hardware design that makes a battery replacement a serious repair costing $200-300. Something like soldering the battery to the CPU board and charging 80% the cost of a new phone to repair.

 

[nvmls]

I agree that something wrong happened. Im just telling you that batteries die and its a natural process. They should of had some sort of battery health indicator that said battery is dying, time to replace but they would've got a class action launched for that as well saying it's too early and they are trying to increase battery sales. Batteries should last longer than Apple is quoting etc.

When you're on the top, people want to take you down no matter what.

You don't get on top being transparent.

 

[macTW]

Man. People really trying to milk such a nonissue.

 

[Bawstun]

Years from now, when he’s still the CEO of one of the most succesful companies in the world, you probably won’t remember what you wrote here and continue to make these wrong statements based on personal feelings.

It isn’t personal, it’s business. The media will blow up with report upon report of Apple settling for billions, all iPhone purchasers from the throttling point onward will be entitled to a free phone or reimbursement all across Europe, and sales will dramatically decline.

Apple will be fine, but Tim Cook won’t be. The millionaires will want someone to take the fall for this mishandling, and it WILL be him. Before 2019 or during. You’ll see.

 

[lazard]

Man. People really trying to milk such a nonissue.

It's only a nonissue if you're upgrading to the newest iPhone every year. For everyone else, yeah it's a big deal.

 

[Keymaster]

Planned obsolescence? My iPhone 5 is five years old now; it has had two batter failures, one that I replaced myself a couple months ago, but it still works just fine even running a version of iOS that was developed four years after I got it. Apple hasn't done anything to force me to upgrade the phone, and replaced one battery for free under warranty.

The only error that I see Apple made was the PR decision not to explain that the batteries were degrading over time (which is a fact of physics) and that they were using software to extend the life of the phones. That actually is a good feature...having a phone suddenly die is worse than having it slow down for a few seconds. Now, everyone is talking about Apple trying to force consumers to upgrade their phones, when the reality is that Apple's software actually allowed people to use their phones longer in spite of the slow death of the battery. It's also completely unfair to single Apple out for this, every phone out there has the exact same issue, and I see a lot more planned obsolescence in the Android world (newer versions of the OS don't support older phones nearly as well as Apple does).

I suppose it will be good for Apple to be more open about what their software does in the background to enhance the user experience...odds are there are a lot of things we don't know about (and that competitors don't do) that makes the iPhone work better. But this is turning into a huge joke, with lots of people looking to take Apple down a peg instead of actually paying attention to what really happened.

 

[macTW]

And no doubt something exploited by Apple to increase sales.

No doubt huh. You sit in on board meetings for Apple? You know this with “no doubt?”

 

[likegadgets]

I am an Apple loyalist, a business customer, a decades long repeat consumer and a shareholder. I despise prosecutorial abuses and opportunistic lawyers who look for an opening to take advantage.

That said, I also last week experienced what is like to try to get the battery replaced at an Apple store. There was inefficiency, there was arrogance from management, there was massive inconveniencing a customer. They expected 3 visits to the store and long waits (plus the $29) to replace a simple battery on a phone. While sometimes things get blown out of proportion, even a relatively decent and successful company like Apple needs balance and checks. Be these regulation or legal challenges. This issue is going to be very costly to them. Batteries, PR, possibly some lost sales. I am hopeful the lesson will result in improved transparency and a simplification of a simple battery replacement process.

 

[EvilEvil]

Man. People really trying to milk such a nonissue.

It's a huge issue for people who don't want to buy a new phone every year and have to carry around a portable battery charger around to keep using their phones.

 

[RecentlyConverted]

I feel like everyone forgets that you don't HAVE to buy an iPhone. It's completely optional. Apple is free to do whatever they want, especially when you AGREE to their terms and download the updates. I truly believe they were trying to do the right thing by slowing the phones down to prevent shutdowns. The whole fraud group thing is quiet silly IMO.

Sorry you are wrong there. Apple can put what they like in their T&Cs, it doesn't mean it can't get challenged in court.

 

[tongxinshe]

Apple is most definitely guilty of planned obsolescence. That actually is a far greater problem than their lies and deceit about the battery life. Soldered RAM, non-removable batteries, etc? That's disgusting.

HOWEVER, to be fair, plenty of other companies are guilty of planned obsolescence as well. Each one of these scumbag companies needs to be taken to the cleaners over it.

That's right, it's disgusting that you can no longer manually replace individual transistors or capacitors in the electronic devices nowadays! All of these electronic device providers should be charged with "Planned Obsolescence"!

 

[nt5672]

For the good of the company in the long term and us consumers, I hope they get hit hard, otherwise they'll never change.

What they will do is change in France, but screw the U.S. market. They do that with warranties and I suspect anything else they can get away with. You know when a company makes a crap product when they only include a 90 day warranty.

So not much effect here unless the someone in the U.S. takes them to court and wins.

 

[waloshin]

It isn’t personal, it’s business. The media will blow up with report upon report of Apple settling for billions, all iPhone purchasers from the throttling point onward will be entitled to a free phone or reimbursement all across Europe, and sales will dramatically decline.

Apple will be fine, but Tim Cook won’t be. The millionaires will want someone to take the fall for this mishandling, and it WILL be him. Before 2019 or during. You’ll see.

Only in your dreams will Tim Cook not be CEO after 2019. Apple is not settling with nobody... enough with the crap.

 

[WannaGoMac]

Uh oh, now Apple is in trouble. Europe doesnt mess around with consumer protection...

 

[aevan]

It isn’t personal, it’s business. The media will blow up with report upon report of Apple settling for billions, all iPhone purchasers from the throttling point onward will be entitled to a free phone or reimbursement all across Europe, and sales will dramatically decline.

Apple will be fine, but Tim Cook won’t be. The millionaires will want someone to take the fall for this mishandling, and it WILL be him. Before 2019 or during. You’ll see.

Nope. There won’t be a fall. Look, maybe you’re new with this whole Apple news thing, but every year there are similar “gates” and “scandals” and doom predictions. These lawsuits are not going to even dent Apple. No, people won’t be returning phones left and right, these lawsuits won’t stick because Apple’s only fault here is bad communication, not their decisions that are, in fact, intended to prolong iPhone usability over time, and Tim Cook has earned his shareholders more money than they could’ve hoped and is running an insanely profitable company. It would take years and years of decline for Tim to get into problems, and he’s had record earnings for how many years in a row now? I’m certain both the board and the shareholders are extremely happy with him, and in the world where their main competitor survived exploding phones and a full recall of their flagship line, it’s a little ridiculous to think this will give him much trouble. And why should it? He’s a great CEO and really good at his job. Cook not only won’t get fired, he’ll most likely get even bigger bonuses.

These lawsuits are nothing new. Apple gets sued every day.

Of course, you won’t agree with me. But I do hope you remember this at the end of 2019 when you hear about Cook’s big bonus and how Apple had another record quarter.

 

[nia820]

Did Apple really think they were going to get away this?

Zero sympathy for Apple. Hope they get taken to the cleaners.

 

[Ploki]

Apple is most definitely guilty of planned obsolescence. That actually is a far greater problem than their lies and deceit about the battery life. Soldered RAM, non-removable batteries, etc? That's disgusting.

HOWEVER, to be fair, plenty of other companies are guilty of planned obsolescence as well. Each one of these scumbag companies needs to be taken to the cleaners over it.

how is soldered ram planned obsolence ?!
that is utter bs, thats like saying "if i cant replace everything except the frame the device is planned to be obsolete"

Why people never complained phones have soldered RAM? that's right, because it has always been soldered.

Get over the damn RAM in laptops.

and which of the batteries are non-removable? The only nonremovable I know of is Retina 2012 macbook which was glued all over the topcase. (and 5 years later, they were offering a free replacement - getting mine tomorrow..)

That said, the issue here is that they covertly throttled phones and with that made an inclination to buy a new one - despite the fact that it was easily fixable with a battery replacement.

 

[KmanOz]

Apple will be fine, but Tim Cook won’t be. The millionaires will want someone to take the fall for this mishandling, and it WILL be him. Before 2019 or during. You’ll see.

Dude are you serious? Fall for this mishandling. May I remind you that Samsung phones were BLOWING UP and everything is back to normal at Samsung. This isn't some backyard company, it's Apple. There is no fall, there is no mishandling. Only in your dreams perhaps.

 

[nia820]

I feel like everyone forgets that you don't HAVE to buy an iPhone. It's completely optional. Apple is free to do whatever they want, especially when you AGREE to their terms and download the updates. I truly believe they were trying to do the right thing by slowing the phones down to prevent shutdowns. The whole fraud group thing is quiet silly IMO.

Are you for real? Apple doesn't have a right to **** over their customers. Companies aren't allowed to lie to their consumers . Especially when we pay premium prices.

If they were trying to do the right thing, they wouldn't have kept it a secret. It would be mentioned as a feature

 

[Naraxus]

Good. Every country should be investigating Apple and taking them to court over their shady practices and planned obsolescence.

 

[genovelle]

I am totally annoyed by all this foolishness. These batteries naturally die after around 500 full charge cycles. Apple OS works well with its processors and provide a much better experience than androids at the same processor speed or more. Apple could have done nothing to extend the life of the batteries and ensured replacements or sold lots of batteries by doing nothing like other companies do. They rarely even update the phone so you have to buy a new one to get new features.

This idiots are going to force Apple to follow that rule and make phones obsolete by not updating and allowing improvements.

 

[aevan]

It's a huge issue for people who don't want to buy a new phone every year

Apple is trying to make the phones of these people work as long as possible. You have to be really angry at them to interpret this otherwise.