The domination of Apple products in the tech industry is well known because of the phenomenal demand and response towards a new product launch such as the latest iPhone. No other gadget can claim such consumer demand and response like Apple which has grown from strength to strength over the years.
The company that was Steve Jobs baby has seen its fair share of ups and downs climbing the ladder steadily to feature as the top tech company in the world. However in reaching that spot, Apple is not without controversy where just recently it had made headline news for deliberately slowing down its products like phones before the launch of a new release.
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Apple’s latest fiasco compelled people to buy a new phone by slowing down existing phones through software updates. The company also issued an apology to that effect and received a severe dent in its consumer base but if you thought that was all Apple was accused of, then you’re wrong because the company has had several more issues not worthy of ethical practice. Here are 10 such dark secrets of Apple.
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The “bitten Apple” logo was initiated as the company’s symbol in 1976. It featured rainbow apple with the bite on the right side. The logo according to a company executive symbolized something dark. It symbolized the biblical concept of original sin of Adam and Eve and their desire to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of good and evil. Thus it also symbolized anarchy and lust for knowledge.
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Apple has had its fair share of controversy for not abiding by health and safety standards for workers in the area of enhanced gadgets. In 2010, 14 suicide deaths were reported at Foxconn (Apple’s manufacturer in China) where working conditions were reported to be akin to labor camps.
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12 hour shifts for $2 a day
There are no humane facilities where workers work 12 hour shifts for $2 a day. There is just one holiday every 13 days. The Employees refer to their conditions as labor camps with dorms that are crowded, public humiliation and 24 hours surveillance.
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According to various Apple uses a network of offshore companies to avoid having to pay taxes amounting to billions of dollars. In 2013, a senate committee found that Apple had avoided almost $44 billion in taxes over a period of 4 years. The company has also established 3 entities in Ireland having no home country for tax payment. They hold more than 60% of the Apple’s profits.
Apple’s clever tax arrangement schemes have enabled the company to amass almost $165 billion in cash and securities.
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Steve Jobs wasn’t the nice man he was made out to be. He was a ruthless businessman when it concerned Apple even ripping off friends and business partners all for a profit. In the early days of Apple he denied Steve Wozniak a payment of $5000 and even prevented a friend Dan Kottke from his stock options.
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Believe it or not but Apple has a secret police force called the “Worldwide Loyalty Team”. The force is entrusted with protecting the secrecy of Apple products and prevents leakages and corporate espionage. However in doing so, the force has crossed ethical boundaries accused of conducting what cannot be termed friendly and healthy inspections. Every employee working in product manufacturing have to submit their phones for inspection during various stages of production.
Evidence and witnesses stated that the Loyalty team even impersonated San Francisco police outside of campus to raid a home believed to have hidden an iPhone prototype.
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Apple’s companies in China, Foxconn and Umricron has come under severe criticism from Chinese environmentalists for dumping chemical waste into the Hanputang and Huangcangjing rivers at least twice a day.
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Apple has always been in conflict with Samsung and has also attempted patents on screen locking by swiping, one tap enlargement of documents and square icons to denote apps. Even the concept of the Smartphone itself was not spared when they tried to patent that too. That’s just like school yard bullying.
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Apple insisted it cared for its employees but till date no less than 10 workers have been diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer due to exposure to chemicals used in the production of the iPhone.
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After returning to the company as its head in 1997, Steve Jobs closed all charity programs and till his death in 2007, Apple has no record of any donations to charity and NGO organizations. It amassed a net worth of $ 7 Billion. In comparison, the Bill Gates foundation has donated $28 billion to charity for the improvement of global health.
Slowing iPhones is just the tip of the iceberg and who knows what other secrets may be lurking behind the company’s façade. When you purchase an iPhone or an Apple product, be careful of the espionage that you may be contributing to and one should always be mindful of Apple’s dark secrets and not allow it to influence you.
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