This thread shows the absurd level of Stockholm Syndrome between Apple users. Year after year of user hostility and people still write "at least Apple has great service" (which is clearly not the case for a noticeable part of users here).
The same goes for Apple support: you won't read online complaints from people who got their laptop immediately replaced or who were sent a new keyboard without question.
You will read the bad experiences where potential factors such as own fault or shitty behavior are not mentioned, further skewing the picture.
Apple can have very shitty service - no doubt - but what really is the overall experience of support when Apple ships many millions of hardware devices every year?
You insinuate that people are too stupid or too Stockholmy to apply consequences after continuous bad experiences and also that Apple just doesn't give a shit about customers which is absurd.
Absolutely not.
I don't insinuate anything, I'm as straightforward as it can be: There's a very specific type of relationship between Apple, their users and their non-users that's very interesting from the point of view of behavioral economics, psychology and cultural studies. I'm not sure every side is at win there, to put it mildly.
I'd also like to read any studies on this topic, if they exist.
Any kind of headphones that are $150 and over are expected to work PERFECTLY. It's a fucking high end product, there is no company in the world that would survive having it returned 4 or 5 times without being blasted all over the internet. Except for apple and its mind controlled apologists...
...and Apple is replacing them for free.
See top comment on this thread:
> Wow. I've had this same problem for months. I spent over an hour on the phone with Support just trying to describe the problem, until they came to the conclusion that there was absolutely no way to send me new ones or to have me send them my broken ones...because I live in Puerto Rico. The week prior, Apple had sent me a new cable for my phone in 2 days flat, yet when I had a problem, there was nothing they could do about it.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23826526
Or this one:
> A couple days later I started to notice the right airpod is rattling. I've used up my warranty now so would have to buy a new pair if I want this fixed.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23830886
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edit: instantly double downvonted without any replies for demonstrating anecdotes that shine a bad light on Apple. Stockholm Syndrome exhibit A. This is why people take any Apple user input with a grain of salt. They tend to try to shrug problems under the carpet as if these facts would cause them physical pain.
Not your analogy, but it's a terrible one. If 10 customers buy a product, and 1 has an issue, and that 1 chooses to repeatedly buy and also have repeated issues, that 1 person may have Stockholm syndrome (I mean it's still a childish argument, but sure, why not?). I fail to see why the other 9 would. I'm personally in the 9. I've had phones replaced easy peasy. I've had them replace a keyboard without a receipt. I could have found the thing in an alley for all they know.
Are there problems with the AirPod Pros? Yeah, probably. I don't have them, but I've had my share of issues with their other products. "Keyboard gate", etc.
As for the price tags, their products clearly have enough of an design or feature edge somewhere that people are willing to pay. Some people either don't have that money, or aren't willing to pay. That's it. Otherwise, we'd all be driving cheap econoboxes, because they all get the driving task down pretty well.
The reality is sometimes products break or have other flaws, regardless of how much they cost (I don’t think $150 is that high-end for headphones either). Nobody wants that to happen, but when it does, it’s good to know the manufacturer will do something about it.
Also, it’s not clear right now how widespread this issue is. This might be a fringe issue or it might not. I don’t know that and neither do you. (I do know my APP don’t have this issue. I use them heavily and not gently, so I know not everyone gets this issue easily.)
They're not, they're disposable earbuds. Even if they work perfectly they need replacing every 2 years for battery capacity.
Not saying I agree with it, but this is what they are and people are more than happy to pay for it.
The high end ones are always breaking down and are extremely expensive to repair.
Same with anything cutting edge. It's new tech, it's not durable tech.
Sure, always blame the victim.
I have had nothing but bad experience with Apple with MBPs battery swelling twice in few years, bad pixel on screen, dead SSD (again twice in few years). And I had to pay ridiculous money for it the second time. Surely it wasn't Apple's fault, right!
https://9to5mac.com/2019/04/24/apple-customer-support-rankin...
[1] https://www.model3club.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/3.jpg
[2] https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/attachments/rainingsmall-gif...
[3] https://preview.redd.it/6q60x2jzmv551.jpg?width=960&crop=sma...
[4] https://twitter.com/AlperOSavas/status/1180457123685253120
[5] https://twitter.com/Arronwu23/status/1116691772300599296
[6] https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/bc80gv/model_3...
Do you remember iPad naming memes and jokes? Now it's one of the most iconic names in the world. Remember iPhone's antenna issues? People still claim it has always been phone with best cellular connection. Bendy phones? iPhone build quality is unmatched!
Cyberpunk corporate culture is here just without all of the neon aesthetics so no one has noticed.
What do you use? I bet I could dig up a bunch of problems and complaints about your championed company with a quick search even if I have never heard of them, and twist that into an “Stockholm Syndrome” for you too.
Microsoft? Google? Samsung? Digging up negative stories about them would be too easy, without even leaving HN.
Your comment shows the absurd level of Tall Poppy Syndrome that Apple has to face because of the position they’re in, which they got to in the first place by winning literally billions of users.
My point is while Apple won millions of users (I very much doubt it's billions) it's a result of a much more elaborate strategy than just making and selling superior product, which is a claim I hear often. I question the implications of that.
But you're perfectly fine with the kind of reasoning that pooh poohs the preferences of billions of people as "Stockholm syndrome", oh please.
> I very much doubt it's billions
iOS alone has a billion users, and Apple has been around since 1976.
I never said all the users have it, I said the level is high. This comes from observations and experience, of course, not research, so I can't generalise to all users and I didn't.
> iOS alone has a billion users, and Apple has been around since 1976.
Billion of devices ≠ billion of users. C'mon, do you really think each 8th person in the world has some Apple device? Also, you said billionS, that's laughable.
Source?
While you look that up, remember that devices like Macs and iPads are often actually shared by multiple users.
Claiming your observations and experience override statistics and many other people's preferences is what's laughable.
More numbers: Apple's market share for smartphones in China is estimated at 9%, so again, even if the market was all the population, it's still just 125m.
Judging from your submissions and posts you're heavily invested in Apple's ecosystem. It's easy to be biased in this situation and I don't blame you for that. Hope you're happy with their products and they truly make your life easier.
Billions, billion, millions, million, thousands, thousand, hundreds or even just a hundred:
You came in snarling with the accusation that many people whom you don't even know, have Stockholm Syndrome, which really just hints at more of a problem on your side.
>You came in snarling with the accusation
I just shared an observation. I may be wrong, and you have all the rights to disagree. You can't accuse a person with things done unknowingly and/or unwillingly, so no accusations here.
I watched a school of fish the other day, how they just all swim together and suddenly thought "Apple Users". I probably do the same thing and someone could say "Apple Detractors".
Is this new or am I only just now paying attention?