Seems environmentally friendly to me…..NOT.
More Greenwashing marketing by your favourite fruit consumer electronic company.
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UPDATE - Apple plays fair now / Discriminatory Service Policies
- Thread starter kshitijshah
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More Greenwashing marketing by your favourite fruit consumer electronic company.
Read what the issue is? The OP acknowledges Apple has a repair program for said devices but rather than charge a “fair price” to replace said item such as a battery that Apple acknowledges will loose charge over its lifespan, it resorts to charging near or full price to get it done which defeats the purpose as one could easily purchase a new device. OP acknowledges that in other countries for battery replacements cost far less.
There is merit to the OP’s concern. This reminds me of when people were noticing their previous generation iPhones were shutting down or performance slowing down and Apple did not actively inform them what was going on. Instead those customers were informed to replace their iPhone battery or purchase a new device all together. Apple was sued in a class action and during that time it lowered the battery replacement fee for iPhone by I believe less than half the initial price.
It’s like selling cars but if you want your tyres changed after 3 years you would have to pay 90 percent of the cost of vehicle. I a surprised people think Apple is doing the right thing by getting away with such ridiculous policies.
I agree with you OP
Not sure why there are those here defending apple
Not sure why there are those here defending apple
People by nature do not relate to other plight if their have never experienced it firsthand. Example: I like in XYZ country that has ABC products and services for DEF cost, so dealing with a global company it’s the same everywhere because my acceptance of said reality is what I am comfortable with. Someone from another country posts an issue counter to my reality, this cannot be it must be flawed, I don’t want to change my previously accepted reality hence that other person in another country is wrong.
It’s not you, this is just how humans are, most are clueless to the real world and just believe rubbish their see on TV or Magazines as the truth when in actuality it’s just a subjectively curated point-of-view.
It’s like believing what National Geographic puts out as the a reality or what BBC Earth feeds you with subjective imagery. As beautiful as the pictures and videos are there is a narrative set to feed the viewer and I can personally say I have compared some on my own account.
This is where the laws of the country you live in makes a difference. US laws allow customers to file class action suits against companies, which can pressure companies to treat their customers better. Not every country allows that kind of suit. Or lawmakers could simply pass a law saying companies have to replace batteries for a reasonable fee. I agree with the OP that it's frustrating when a company has different policies in different countries. But getting companies to change their practices take multiple pressure points. Raising awareness of the problem by posting in forums like this is a start. But you also need to contact Apple and let them know you are dissatisfied with their service. And look into what the laws of India allow companies to get away with, and press for changes in the laws.
It's perfectly okay to be legitimately concerned about higher prices in your area and talk about your concerns regarding the matter. It's another thing entirely to label it as discrimination or racism. OP thinks Apple has something against their Indian customers. Apple sucks on about 800 levels, but I don't think discrimination is the issue here.
Worth noting that Apple doesn't actually replace the battery in your Apple Watch, or iPad. They swap it out for a refurbished/rebuilt unit and send your unit back to China for refurbishment.
Taking a step back and removing the emotion from the argument it is very clear that countries with no access to Apple Store servicing do not receive anywhere near the support and pricing options that countries with Apple Stores do. I have lived /worked in countries with and without Apple Stores and after several terrible experiences with AASP would always wait until I was back in a country where I could visit an Apple Store and get taken care of.
Benefits of visiting an Apple Store include extending warranties that expired recently, substituting(upgrading) items due to no stock, battery replacement pricing instead of full replacement pricing, basically going above and beyond that AASP would never/could not do.
I would hope once the Apple Stores open in Mumbai and Delhi things will change for the better...including battery rate replacement for the Watch.
Benefits of visiting an Apple Store include extending warranties that expired recently, substituting(upgrading) items due to no stock, battery replacement pricing instead of full replacement pricing, basically going above and beyond that AASP would never/could not do.
I would hope once the Apple Stores open in Mumbai and Delhi things will change for the better...including battery rate replacement for the Watch.
I guess there isn’t any Apple Store in India right? If this is the case, I’ve first hand experience with the Apple repair situation before we had any Apple Store about ten years ago. Basically support was almost non existent.
But let me make you feel better: in Hong Kong, Apple Stores do not accept any return. Even in the same day of your purchase, even if the product is not opened. None. Zero 🤷🏻♂️. How can this be acceptable? I’m not sure. But our law allows it.
But let me make you feel better: in Hong Kong, Apple Stores do not accept any return. Even in the same day of your purchase, even if the product is not opened. None. Zero 🤷🏻♂️. How can this be acceptable? I’m not sure. But our law allows it.
These are good additions, however it does not align with what Apple markets itself as an environmentally friendly company. Take for example the move to remove the power adapter from iPhone, it did that globally and only some countries fought back due to consumer protection laws such as Brazil and France. Same with the removal of headsets and shrinking the packaging all to reduce environment impact globally for all. If as a company that is the message you are marketing then say battery replacement at 15% the cost of the such and such device. This is not hard to implement for a global company. It just because removing power adapters and headsets adds to Apple’s bottom line and throwing the environment marketing angle is just spin.
I think you have chosen to focus on key words instead of addressing the actual issue. How the OP “feels” is completely up to them. It’s not for any of us to say it is right or wrong but focus on the core of the issue.
Too many people nowadays look to call or label others to shutdown a concern but focus on the wrong thing. Maybe OP feels emotional about it and expressed such sentiment as such, it does not mean we must judge them for such feelings.
Yeah. I’m sorry, but not only am I not shutting him down, I fully agree with him that he’s being charged too much. But I’m going to call him out for saying something ridiculous and inherently false. I’m not judging him at all. Calling something discrimination when it’s not is negative. And it’s not your job to police people in here. It’s an open discussion forum. So please just stop.
It’s about Apple doing the right thing and not being pressured to do the right thing. What’s happening here is despite selling the watch in India for over 5 years years they aren’t bothered to setup relevant service options. Hence the utter disregard for Indian customers is nothing but discrimination. When Apple can replace batteries only for iPhones in India why can’t they do the same for iPads and watches? Guess it has to do with fleecing customers where ever you can get away with it.
Even if you are right and this is discrimination, what do you want to do about it? Just rant on an online forum and have us agree with you? That's not going to change anything is it?
Exactly. OP could just buy something else. That’s why free market works. Apple couldn’t have been more woke these day and yet people are still actively looking for things to be offended.
Oh, I’m doing quite a lot in the background to change this. Already weighing options with the consumer courts. The forum post is to educate more people on what they are getting into. Well within the scope of this forum.
Have fun with that.
You will of course get exactly nowhere.
You sound way too emotionally involved in the issue to be able to make your point.
The situation you describe is not "discrimination" - despite your constant need to double down on it.
Here in America, the home of Apple, us consumers have a lot less rights on repairs than our more enlightened cousins over in Europe.
You don't see anyone here saying that Apple "discriminates" the American people.
Each market has its own conditions that dictate services. India is an extremely though one for Apple: right now they've managed to grow the iPhone share to just 4.4%. I'd imagine then that the Watch share is possibly not even 1%.
Given that, the size of the country and the cost of electronics, Apple probably made a conscious decision to not handle out of warrenty battery replacements.
That's not discrimination - it's good fiscal sense for Apple.
They're not a charity - they're a global business.
The geographical challenges and the total microscopic size quite likely mean that it would cost Apple a significant chuck of change to do what you desire. So they don't.
You cannot force a company to set prices based upon another region. No court will touch that with a 10 foot pole.
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the question remains the same. why op bought the device assuming fair charges?. what stopped him from inquiring the service centre for battery service cost?.
there is no point is acting like a cry baby after purchasing it. you shouldnt even buy devices with this kind of service cost. if no one buys it, automatically apple has to take steps to increase sales by offering more support. that's how we should punish these companies for taking customers for granted. don't buy and cry.
good joke. you'll go nowhere with consumer courts in india especially with the existing laws on consumer protection. youre going to lose your mind and money. cut your losses and move out of the ecosystem.
I seem to recall Apple having a real difficult time setting up sales in India due to protectionist policies. A simple Google search shows that this is indeed the case:
"Apple in India – a victim of protectionism
As per Indian FDI laws, Apple was not allowed to set-up any retail store unless it sourced over 30% parts domestically [6]. The iPhone was almost wholly manufactured in China, due to lower costs. This forced Apple to go-to-market in India mostly through “authorized resellers”
Apple not being allowed to sell refurbished phones:
arstechnica.com
Probably same goes for watches. This was 2016, no idea what they are doing now. But I understand they started producing an SE type phone domestically in India after that date.
This isn't an Apple problem, it's an India problem.
"Apple in India – a victim of protectionism
As per Indian FDI laws, Apple was not allowed to set-up any retail store unless it sourced over 30% parts domestically [6]. The iPhone was almost wholly manufactured in China, due to lower costs. This forced Apple to go-to-market in India mostly through “authorized resellers”
Apple not being allowed to sell refurbished phones:
Report: India won’t let Apple sell refurbished iPhones in the country
Apple is competing with multiple established competitors with dirt-cheap phones.
arstechnica.com
Probably same goes for watches. This was 2016, no idea what they are doing now. But I understand they started producing an SE type phone domestically in India after that date.
This isn't an Apple problem, it's an India problem.