So recently I've had a few things to say about the new iPhone on Twitter and I thought I would create a post to explain my feelings.
To most business savvy individuals, Apple is a company that is admired and looked to for inspiration. I personally think that the way it operates is quite shameful. As you all may know, I am very pro-CSR and this is something that Apple tries their best not to address. They do not publish a sustainability report - which in 2014 I think is appalling - instead they have a website describing, quite vaguely, their contributions to 'helping the environment'. I feel that taking care of the environment should no longer be classed as corporate social responsibility, it should be necessary for every business, therefore in my opinion, Apple has no claim to operate responsibly at all.
But the main reason I don't like Apple is because I feel that they mistreat and exploit not only their workers overseas, but also their customers worldwide. People will argue that Apple are a good business because they 'know their market'. They do know their market, and they know that they can charge £600 for a phone that is far from the best on the market. Apple were once, the most innovative and 'best' producers of smartphones, and held their position for a number of years. They made a name for themselves as a premium brand and resulted in being 'trendy' and popular with teenagers and young professionals, creating almost a cult following. For some reason, these people haven't moved on. I found a picture on the internet that I thought was quite amusing..
This picture sums up my feeling about iPhones. Apple perform what is probably the oldest business trick in the book. Something which is rarely seen in the technology industry now. They imagine what they want the new iPhone to be like, all the features it should have and then slowly add these features onto their next three or four releases. This quickly outdates the 'new' iPhone and deprives their loyal customers of features that should be on the phone and have been on other phones for years.
Apple are not the most innovative anymore. They produce phones missing all the latest features, knowing that they will still make a shed load of profit because of the massive price tag these phones come with.
Admittedly, the quality that iPhones have is generally good. The phones look nice and feel very sturdy. However, this is something that they have seemingly overlooked with the iPhone 6 plus, as people are reporting that their phones are bending in their pockets. I cannot accept any excuse Apple have for this. The defense that their phones are 'lightweight' and so are made of aluminum which is easily bent is hardly a good defense. For one, other phone companies have made similar size phones that are not easily bent. Also claims that the phone is made of that specific matierial to be more lightweight is rubbish. The Xperia Z3 is a similar size and is actually lighter than the iPhone 6 plus, it is also a lot more sturdy and does not bend in your pocket.
In all honesty though, I don't blame Apple for exploiting their customers in this way, it has always been a business that will try and make the biggest profit that they can - which is probably why they can't be bothered investing in a CSR strategy. Arguably, all businesses have a purpose to make a profit and they do this remarkably well, even in economic downturns.
I do however, blame their customers for not being tech or business savvy enough to know that they are being taken advantage of by a company that they are religiously loyal to. Either that or they just don't care about wasting money. Hopefully these people will wise up and take their business elsewhere in the future. Or maybe Apple will begin operating honestly and give their customers the best that they can give (probably not).
Thanks for reading!
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