For the past couple of years, I’ve been working rather firmly within the Apple ecosystem – and to be fair, the technology (mostly) works seamlessly. My watch unlocks the MacBook which plays nicely with the iMessages from the iPhone; the iPad does its job well on the couch and on those lightweight trips. On the surface, you have stylish devices that work well, enjoy good tech support and even seem to operate along some ethical principles. Or so Tim Cook, chief accountant, would have us believe.
That is, until you factor in the cost for all the istuff. We’re talking thousands of dollars here, and not for something that will grow over time like a plant or a dividend paying stock. The technology Apple (and to be fair, most other tech companies) provides is guaranteed to be obsolete within the shortest possible time they can get away with. And in Apple’s case, it’s even more insidious than that: on the path to planned obsolescence, they make sure nothing gets fixed or upgraded without their cut.
Or worse, without them getting the whole damned device replaced so Cook and his shareholders (like Warren Buffet aka the godfather of Wells Fargo) can get richer while toxic e-waste ends up buried near you. No fancy phone recycling robot changes the fact that Apple is the king of sealed peripherals and non-user serviceable parts.
Case in point: the Apple Pencil. Bought ours over a year ago and rarely used it. Then the day came when we did want to use it just to discover that it’s broken. Well, not actually broken, it’s just that the battery cannot be allowed to sit discharged for any longer period of time or it self destructs. Apple gave us a choice: get it fixed or buy a new one with a minimal difference in price.
Of all the peripherals and devices that Apple makes, their engineers really couldn’t figure out a way to, say, unscrew the top of the pencil and pop in a new battery for a fraction of the price? I call bullshit on this and beyond – it’s downright criminal since it seems to have been specifically engineered to maximise profits at the expense of consumers and the environment.
Once again, the only way to get heard will be when it hurts the bottom line. When the money dries up, they’ll change and not before. I’ll certainly be doing my part…