Apple: An In-Depth Look
In the world of technology, there are many polarizing topics. Out of all of those topics, however, Apple is perhaps the most notable. For decades, technology enthusiasts and others have argued whether Apple products are good and/or worth purchasing. Critics of Apple products often cite their lackluster software libraries, locked-down hardware, and prohibitively expensive prices. Apple’s proponents, on the other hand, often point out the products’ allegedly relatively more user-friendly design and durability. Additionally, Apple’s proponents frequently claim that Apple does not affect its critics’ lives as long as they do not purchase their products. Of those two sides, Apple’s criticism is more valid: while most arguments in Apple’s favor are either incorrect and/or outdated, arguments against Apple have strengthened over time.
One common perception is that Apple products are easier to use than competing ones; this idea, however, largely stems from now-obsolete products. When the original Apple Macintosh was released in 1984, it was, as Encyclopedia Britannica notes, essentially the only home computer that had an operating system with a GUI (graphical user interface); virtually all of its contemporaries used operating systems that required users to navigate via tedious command lines (“Mac OS”). Nevertheless, several of Apple’s competitors quickly followed suit by releasing their own GUI-based operating systems: Amiga’s AmigaOS, Microsoft’s Windows, and several others. Mere years after Apple released the Macintosh, its famously easy-to-use interface was no longer a unique feature among the Macintosh line.
Despite the Macintosh’s interface being reasonably evenly-matched with its competitors in terms of user-friendliness by the 1990s, Apple still had several arguments in its favor. One such argument was that iMacs were much less prone to viruses than Windows and Linux-based systems were; indeed, iMacs were immune to several notorious viruses such as “ILOVEYOU” in 2000. As MakeUseOf has noted, however, advances in computer security, virus protection software, and public savviness have made computer viruses both exponentially less destructive and a much rarer occurrence (Pot). Therefore, similar to its user interface, the fact that Apple products are less virus-prone has been a negligible point for over a decade by now.
Additionally, Apple products are often claimed to have superior build quality compared to those of its competitors. While many Apple products are indeed durable, there are several instances where Apple released a shoddy product. In May 1980, Apple released the Apple III, a home computer that lacked crucial hardware features. Unlike virtually every other personal computer on the market, the Apple III did not have an internal fan or even air vents; these are the components used to regulate a computer’s internal temperature to prevent it from overheating. Consequently, as TekRevue describes, the Apple III was prone to overheat, often to the point of dislocating internal components from their sockets on the motherboard and/or even melting floppy disks inside of the computer’s floppy disk drive (Tanous). Not an isolated incident, the iPhone 6 upon its release in September 2014 had similarly severe problems to that of the Apple III. As The Guardian wrote, the iPhone 6 was prone to bend when moderate force was applied to it; numerous reviewers and consumers alike reported it bending after putting it in a pocket (Gibbs). The Apple III and iPhone 6 were only two of many poorly-designed Apple products.
A common counterpoint to Apple criticism is that Apple supposedly has no bearing on one’s life if they’re not buying their products; while this may seem logical at a glance, there have been numerous instances where Apple’s actions have affected the rest of the world. For one example, Apple has killed off several technologies such as Adobe Flash. Throughout the 2000s, Adobe Flash was widespread on the internet; in 2008, Wired reported that 98 percent of desktop computers at the time supported Flash (Chen). When Apple released the iPhone in June 2007, however, they refused to support Flash on its iOS operating system, claiming it to run poorly and that it “was created during the PC era--for PCs and mice” (Jobs). To increase the iPhone’s compatibility with websites, web developers started moving towards alternatives to Flash such as HTML5, gradually decreasing Flash’s usage until it reached the point of obscurity; according to Bleeping Computer, merely 4.9 percent of websites in 2018 still used it (Cimpanu). Putting the final nail in Flash’s coffin, Adobe has announced they will stop supporting it entirely by the end of 2020. If Apple had not refused to support Flash on the iPhone, it may very well have remained popular to this day.
In addition to Adobe Flash, Apple has more recently endangered another common technological asset: the 3.5-millimeter audio port. When the iPhone 7 was announced in 2016, it was revealed that it would lack a headphone port; this prompted widespread backlash from critics and consumers alike. Nevertheless, when the phone was finally released, it enjoyed the same success as its predecessors. After the iPhone’s 7 success, several other major phone manufacturers began following suit, removing their own headphone ports from their subsequent phone models; as TechCrunch noted, “what was once standard to every phone became a selling point for [ones that included the port]” less than three years after the iPhone 7’s announcement (Burns). Considering Flash’s demise, it may very well be the case that the 3.5-millimeter port will be virtually eradicated from the smartphone market in mere years. Just like with Flash, Apple could have very well caused the death of the headphone port.
In addition to killing various technologies, Apple affects the entire United States government. Apple is among the largest companies in the world: Investopedia has stated that Apple’s market cap stands at 785.19 billion United States dollars as of February 2, 2019 (Picardo). Despite their wealth, Apple chooses to evade taxes: as documented by The Irish Times, Apple moves large portions of their money to tax havens such as Jersey and formerly Irish subsidiaries, costing the United States government tens of billions of dollars in taxes (Bowers). In other words, any money Apple gets is money that could have been used somewhere else, where it most likely would have been taxed normally and subsequently given the United States government the funds it desperately needs. Considering that the government is responsible for numerous assets of everyday life such as hospitals, schools, and even roads, Apple’s diversion of funds negatively affects not only consumers of Apple products, but every citizen of the United States of America.
In conclusion, Apple’s criticism is more than justified. Arguments in favor of Apple are either incorrect or outdated, and the company harms everything from the technology marketplace to the United States government. In other words, Apple negatively affects everyone in society.
Works Cited
Bowers, Simon. “Apple’s cash mountain, how it avoids tax, and the Irish link.” The Irish Times, 6 Nov. 2017,
www.irishtimes.com/business/apple-s-cash-mountain-how-it-avoids-tax-and-the-irish-link-1.3281734
Burns, Matt. “The headphone jack lives!” TechCrunch, 20 Feb. 2019, techcrunch.com/2019/02/20/the-headphone-jack-lives/
Chen, Brian X. “Why Apple Won't Allow Adobe Flash on iPhone.” Wired, Condé Nast, 17 Nov. 2008,
www.wired.com/2008/11/adobe-flash-on/
Cimpanu, Catalin. “Flash Used on 5% of All Websites, Down From 28.5% Seven Years Ago.” Bleeping Computer, 19 Apr. 2018,
www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/flash-used-on-5-percent-of-all-websites-down-from-285-percent-seven-years-ago/
Gibbs, Samuel. “Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus can bend in pockets, users complain.” The Guardian, Guardian News & Media Limited, 25 Sep. 2014,
www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/24/iphone-6-plus-bend-pockets-complain
Works Cited cont.
Jobs, Steve. “Thoughts on Flash.” Apple, Apple Inc, Apr. 2010,
www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/
Picardo, Elvis. “Eight of the World’s Top Companies Are American.” Investopedia, Dotdash, 3 Feb. 2019,
www.investopedia.com/articles/active-trading/111115/why-all-worlds-top-10-companies-are-american.asp
Pot, Justin. “A History Of Computer Viruses & The Worst Ones of Today.” MakeUseOf, 19 June 2010,
www.makeuseof.com/tag/history-computer-viruses-worst-today-case-wondering/
Tanous, Jim. “That Time Apple Told Apple III Customers to Drop Their Computers.” TekRevue, 13 Sep. 2014,
www.tekrevue.com/apple-iii-drop/
“Mac OS | Facts & History.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 21 Feb. 2019,
www.britannica.com/technology/Mac-OS
