As reported on The Verge.
By Aaron Souppouris
China’s media has reacted positively to Apple CEO Tim Cook’s public apology over the recent warranty issues in the country. As reported by Reuters, the state-run newspaper People’s Daily said Apple’s reaction is “worth respect compared with other American companies.” A foreign ministry spokesperson was quoted saying “we approve of what Apple said,” praising the company for “conscientiously” responding to the issues.
Apple drew fire in the press over claims that it was treating Chinese customers differently to Americans. The media reported Apple was purposefully avoiding replacing iPhones as a way to avoid local laws that require a full-year warranty on a replacement product — replacement parts require only a 30-day warranty. In yesterday’s apology, Tim Cook did everything but admit to the mistreatment, revealing that Apple engineers had in some cases replaced everything but the back cover of a phone. Apple has now changed its policy in the country, will retrain its staff, and says it will now be replacing phones completely where necessary. Any customer that had an “everything but the back cover” replacement will benefit from an extended warranty.