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Everyone already knows this is what they do, they're just pointing out that it's abusive.
by sunshowers 2y ago
Everyone already knows this is what they do, they're just pointing out that it's abusive.
- usefulcat 2y agoAbusive is a stretch. If you don't like it.. you're free to not buy from them?
- ivanmontillam 2y agoYes, but it's perceived as abusive when two of the most feared devils come into play against you in a two-flanked attack: Network Effects and Vendor Lock-in. I feel cornered when my social circle all use iPhones and then they want to Airdrop me something and I just can't receive it. I'm an Android man, I cannot stand the blue pill Apple feels to me. Peer pressure is a serious threat, presented in the form of... abusive behaviour indeed.
- webdever 2y ago[flagged]
- wepple 2y agoThe first 3 break expectations or norms. Clearly labeled price and specs doesn’t.
- righthand 2y agoSo then the notch is abusive. I knew it.
- ed_mercer 2y agoThe same solution applies: don’t buy from them. Vote with your money.
- sunshowers 2y agoYou can vote with your money and exercise your right to speech at the same time!
- usefulcat 2y agoOh I totally agree that Apple's RAM and storage pricing is egregious, but really, "abusive"? My point was that we shouldn't be so quick to water down the meaning of the word "abusive". If you've ever known anyone who has actually been abused you might understand better. "Don't buy it if you don't like it" is a perfectly reasonable thing to point out whenever alternatives exist, and in this case most certainly do. It's just a laptop.
- sunshowers 2y agoI don't buy from them and consider it abusive at the same time. What a concept.
- usefulcat 2y agoI think "egregious" would be a fairer, more accurate adjective. I know people who have been victims of actual abuse; it's not remotely the same thing as paying too much for a laptop.
- sunshowers 2y agoI've been repeatedly abused for big parts of my life, and I have a CPTSD diagnosis from it. It's not just paying too much, it's one of the world's most valuable mega-corporations asking you to pay too much. If it were a boutique shop I wouldn't call it abusive. It's a combination of the bad behavior and the exercise of raw power that makes it so.
- dijit 2y agoThe network effects of Apple devices are really tiny, compared to say: Microsoft, which holds nearly every company in Europe ransom in effect because Excel is a default tool you need to interact with your government in nearly every country as a business. Sure, your iPhone doesn't connect as seamlessly to your Windows computer as it would a Mac, but those aren't network effects, thats vertical integration. Nobody is forcing you to buy a Mac, and Apple themselves are intentionally overcharging for upgrades on the basis that: "If you really need it, you'll pay for it". Most people don't need it but will buy the upgrades anyway then complain that they're too expensive. I'm aware that it limits the longevity of the devices, but that might also be intentional here, not abusive though. Just a bit bare-faced profit seeking. Which seems to be working because, as you point out, it's one of the worlds most valuable mega-corporations. If someone else comes out with good premium laptops I'll move over happily, but for now the best laptop you can buy is unfortunately a macbook, and they've decided that upgrades are worth this money, if you don't agree then the answer is to simply not upgrade, or avoid the devices entirely.
- TheDong 2y agoI'd be free to not buy from them if they released iMessage and facetime for android so people wouldn't get kicked from groupchats and prevented from being able to video call their grandmother when they switched phones. Google hangouts / gmail works fine on iOS and android. Same for whatsapp, zoom, signal, etc. Heck, even microsoft teams. Apple has more money than any of those companies, and yet also has the wildly most anti-competitive restrictive software, ensuring almost all of its services (apple music/books/iMessage/facetime/etc etc) more or less require all your devices to be apple devices. I don't know if it's abusive, but it's certainly putting more chains on the user than any of the other similar ecosystems.
- TheSpiceIsLife 2y agoThis seems wildly overblown. I'm running Windows laptops / desktops these days, and drive an iPhone and the sun hasn't exploded.