The apple has softened. Recently, it was reported that Apple unreasonably and forcefully refused to provide insurance to iPhone users who purchased Apple Care+. After being sued by consumers, Apple has sought a settlement.
On Xiaohongshu, the most popular social platform in mobile terminal applications, after a simple search for "Apple+Rights Protection", multiple users can see posting sharing their unpleasant experiences when dealing with Apple after-sales, such as "Apple's phone was denied protection after purchasing AC+, and difficult rights protection is being carried out"; On the Weibo platform, a video of a public figure angrily throwing an iPhone in front of an Apple store in September this year once made it to the hot search, and Apple's after-sales warranty sparked widespread discussion.
As the most eye-catching consumer electronics technology company in the world, Apple has always been known for its high-quality products and services in the past. In China, although some market behaviors have caused it certain losses in the past, Apple has played a more "victim" role in public opinion and corporate image, which has attracted more attention and supporters who agree with its business and product philosophy.
However, since the beginning of this year, the increasing frequency of occasional incidents in the public eye and social sphere has made the public more cautious in examining Apple, a giant with a market value of over $3 trillion: has Apple "crossed the line" when facing the legitimate rights and interests of consumers?
Apple's search for settlement and defense reasons have no substantial evidence
A reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily noticed that a user named Berry recently posted on the Xiaohongshu platform sharing his experience and latest progress in filing a lawsuit against Apple after being denied insurance after purchasing Apple Care+.
Before the trial and after the court process, Apple has repeatedly "softened" and proposed a settlement to Berry, even promising to provide free product repairs. However, they were all rejected by Berry.
According to Berry's sharing, the iPhone 12 Pro product he purchased accidentally entered the liquid. After being sent to Apple for official repair, he was informed by Apple that due to unauthorized modifications such as disassembly and repair marks found during product testing, even if he purchased Apple Care+, he cannot receive warranty.
Berry does not agree with Apple's statement. He stated that the product had been repaired by Apple officials before being sent for inspection, and believed that it may be related to the previous Apple factory assembly, disassembly, and repair leaving marks.
The situation where Berry purchased Apple products and additional Apple Care+for repair and inspection, but was rejected by Apple for warranty is not uncommon. Except for a large number of similar cases that can be investigated on various platforms, according to Berry's sharing, there are more than ten users who have sued Apple just like him in the same situation.
Berry is an internet practitioner and seems to have no legal background. Since initiating the lawsuit in November last year, Berry DIY has been preparing a complaint and submitting it multiple times, and finally entered the filing process in the Shanghai court in March this year. Since the lawsuit began, Berry has stated that thanks to sharing experiences on social media platforms, he has "met nearly a hundred Apple users who have encountered similar situations as me.".
The Apple legal team raised in the litigation trial with Berry that one of the reasons for refusal of protection was unauthorized modification. However, according to Berry, Apple did not provide any evidence regarding the involvement of trade secrets.
Seeing that the above strategy did not work, Apple accused Berry of intentional damage in court, but also failed to fulfill the burden of proof.
Regarding this matter, a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily sent an interview request to Apple, but as of the time of publication, the reporter has not received a response.
Is there any profit space behind Apple Care?
Apple Care+is a service guarantee launched by Apple for iPhone users based on the "three guarantees" provisions of the Chinese Consumer Rights Protection Law. After purchasing for about 1500 yuan, Apple promises to provide unlimited accidental damage warranty services, and the required repair costs are greatly reduced.
In recent years, Apple has been continuously adjusting its Apple Care+policy for the Chinese market. For example, in 2021, Apple Care+can be purchased both online and offline within 60 days from the device activation date, and the online purchase date has been shortened to within 7 days; After purchasing Apple Care+in 2020, it was stipulated that accidental damage warranty services could be provided up to two times a year, with unlimited recovery times thereafter; In the past two years, many users have found that unlike the service experience in overseas markets, the later warranty of domestic iPhones has changed from directly replacing the entire machine to prioritizing the replacement of parts, and has added a factory inspection process.
Some argue that Apple's individual policy adjustments targeting domestic markets are suspected of consumer discrimination. But some people also believe that this is Apple's helpless move in the face of some users exploiting loopholes and "intentionally deceiving insurance". What are the facts?
An Apple channel businessman told a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that "deceiving Apple for insurance" actually refers to "deceiving warranty", not "deceiving insurance".
It is understood that some unscrupulous individuals have dismantled and replaced fake parts of Apple products in exchange for genuine parts, and under the pretext of warranty, they can replace the machine at a low price or for free; There are also unincorporated individuals who, through human destruction of antennas and other components, obtain new phones at Apple stores without the need to purchase insurance and without paying maintenance costs.
But the benefit chain of "warranty fraud" has been blocked by Apple. A reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily interviewed Apple channel merchants and second-hand market professionals to understand that there is not much economic space behind Apple Care itself.
"In the early days, if an iPhone couldn't be turned on, the store would directly replace it with a new one for consumers. But now, if it doesn't turn on, it will be returned to the factory for testing and repair." The channel merchant said, in short, the permission to replace the phone was in the retail store before, but now it is in the factory. After factory testing, the above-mentioned illegal means have almost nowhere to hide.
The person said that after such a long period of actual observation, the devices purchased with Apple Care have basically been tested without any problems, while those with problems are likely not to have Apple Care.
However, there are still users who have been strongly denied insurance by Apple after purchasing Apple Care. Some consumers have pointed out that Apple's testing standards and processes are not transparent, and communication with market users is not smooth.
The above-mentioned channel merchants said, "Now it's almost what they (Apple factory testing) say, it's just what they say.". Objectively speaking, it is almost difficult to accurately determine whether the subjective intentional damage, as well as whether the repair marks in the Berry case mentioned earlier were caused by Apple officials, through testing. This may also be the reason why Apple is unable to present evidence in court.
Several industry insiders have stated that in their view, there is no large-scale illegal industry for Apple Care repair and replacement due to factors such as insurance purchase costs, repair costs, and consumer psychology.
A second-hand market insider who recycles consumer electronics hardware told a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that the recycling price only depends on the quality of the hardware equipment, including the battery and appearance. Whether the product comes with Apple Care or not, there is almost no difference in the recycling price for them. The staff of the Love Recycling branch also told reporters that Apple Care does not affect the recycling price.
Secondhand market insiders say that even if there is intentional damage and Apple replaces consumers with brand new machines, official replacement machines are usually not favored by the general public because the brand new machines replaced by Apple are official replacement machines. In the case of the same quality, the original machines from the domestic market are obviously better to sell, and there is no need to spend a large cost explaining the source of goods and other issues to buyers who are not familiar with the industry. Moreover, the actual price of official replacement machines will be lower, so they often do not choose to take risks.
Huawei and Xiaomi provide additional after-sales support that fully aligns with Apple and offers more favorable prices
However, it cannot be denied that there are still some individual consumers who choose to damage their devices before Apple Care expires, replace them with new ones, and then resell them.
An iPhone user who has just successfully replaced the device through this path told a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that this situation is usually due to poor device condition, such as dust accumulation, severe wear and tear, and long usage time. At present, there are a lot of teaching contents about how to update on Tiktok, Post Bar and other platforms.
However, whether consumers can be "guilty inferences" due to individual behaviors, thereby reducing the overall service quality, denying insurance to users who purchase Apple Care, and even treating customers in the Chinese Mainland market differently worldwide, depends on the domestic consumer protection policies and laws as well as the two-way running in of Apple. The protests launched by Berry and many other consumers against Apple provide a powerful example.
Due to factors such as the ongoing recovery of consumer electronics such as mobile phones and the strong impact of domestic high-end models such as Huawei in the second half of the year, Apple's net sales in Greater China in the fourth quarter were $15.084 billion, a decrease of 2.5% from $15.47 billion in the same period last year.
In terms of product categories, iPhone products increased promotion efforts, and sales in Chinese Mainland reached a new high in the fourth fiscal quarter of the past years. Mac and iPad sales were poor. In addition, Apple's service business also achieved positive growth in the fourth fiscal quarter.
Can Apple still attract users with its so-called after-sales service advantages in the future?
Before answering this question, it can be seen that Huawei and Xiaomi have also launched official services to increase prices and extend phone warranty. In terms of coverage and process experience, they are fully aligned with the after-sales service level of Apple Care.
For example, Huawei Care+launched by Huawei can provide 2 accidental guarantees and 1 battery replacement within a two-year period. Due to accidents such as collisions, falls, squeezing, and liquid ingress causing malfunctions, only a partial service fee will be charged. In terms of price, taking Huawei Mate60 series as an example, both the regular and Pro versions of Huawei Care+are priced lower than similar services provided by Apple.
Xiaomi's accident protection service, the MiCare worry free version, provides users with more than two years of screen breakage benefits, including a rear camera and back cover, as well as a one-year extended warranty, equivalent to a two-year warranty. Moreover, Xiaomi offers a wider range of protection options and a clear price advantage. Taking this year's Redmi Note 12 5G product as an example, its broken screen saver is 59 yuan, and extended warranty only costs 29 yuan.
Although there are also cases on social media where consumers have faced setbacks after requesting after-sales service from Huawei and Xiaomi, at least the additional after-sales support provided by Apple is no longer a "scarce product" in the domestic market.
It is worth noting that the market size of domestically produced mobile phone foldable screen products is increasing. The fragility of foldable screens compared to straight panel mobile phone structures is becoming a new trend for consumers to purchase additional protection for their beloved phones.