In my opinion, Apple should have gave the EU the finger, and told them that they are suspending all Apple's operations in the EU and let that socialist mindset face the backlash from their voters, oodles of lost jobs, etc. because by Apple not doing so, you better bet the farm that other socialist institutions are coming for Apple next, ASAP!
Maybe you missed the not so recent stats about the EU in terms of economical power? Also, socialist? - Social, is a better term. Social in the sense that everyone should be treated fairly; that's what the EU is pushing for at large, in the economy, in values, in rules and in regulation... and within a free market economy. You could conclude it tries to marry the best elements of various ideologies, isn't it beautiful?
Do you know why they (we-) do that? Because its a unique thing in the current world - fair game. The US has lasting and expanding social problems because of inequality, for example. The long term outlook for that constant train of escalation is not rosy. For anyone - it breeds anarchy and instability. Again, look at US internal politics.
Some stats that might make you understand why even mighty Apple will crumble under pressure:
"The
GDP per capita (PPP) was
$43,188 in 2018,
[29] compared to $62,869 in the United States, $44,246
Japan and $18,116 in China."
- Note this includes all the states that by comparison to the 'net paying' states of the Union, are 'doing badly'. Even those are frequently found in a top 20 of world economies (Italy, for example). Germany is 4th on its own.
"With a low
Gini coefficient of 31, the European Union has a more
egalitarian distribution of income than the world average."
- And yet, markets still thrive and we're a birthing pod for new technologies and innovation. Examples? Quantum tech, litography, high quality steel, pharma, industrial capital, etc. We're missing chip industry, though, but ironically feed the cutting edge through ASML.
"EU's investments in foreign countries total $9.1 trillion, while the
foreign investments made in the European Union total $5.1 trillion in 2012, by far the highest foreign and domestic investments in the world."
"The European Union's GDP estimated to be around $16.6 trillion (nominal) in 2022
[2] representing around one sixth of the
global economy."
- 1/6th of the sales potential on the globe and for Apple, a massive part of their target market - a market that is tied closely to other Western economies and (US) corporate.
You go finger ahead buddy
source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_European_Union
Should I post a rebuttal from one of many apple devices we have in our home?
How about the battery slowdown? You would think saving something as simple as saving a gif on a IPhone would exist out of the box. It does not. How about every update resets the retarded autocorrect? How about every lightning cord we have replaced at least once and yet I still have C cords that work beautifully on my Samsung work phone? How about the annoying fact that I can't open my own God damn photos without a intrusive BS icloud notification, twice. How about their older models with limited memory and no micro SD card despite other manufacturers figuring out how to put it in the same slide as your SIM? How about ITunes wanting a update every time I use it? Why is it that I can sync my Samsung media to my PC over wifi and then stream it easily but not apple? How about dem Bluetooth and Apple Car play oddities, even with newer vehicles?
Nah brah, take the apple flavored plug out and realize they all have issues.
Well... I agree almost fully.
When it comes to the mobile phone, the longer I'm away from Android and using Apple (I just use el 'cheapo' Iphone SE's, no flagships), I'm a happy camper with a growing appreciation for how low on intrusions their iOS really is. My GF has Android phones, and there isn't a day where something doesn't somehow annoy her on it. She uses the phone a lot, but the experience is just wholly inconsistent. Its the inconsistency that is most disturbing. Randomly starting updates on one brand, but not on the other; different UIs on the same OS, and a much lower quality on various apps. My personal experience with Android is rather similar. Its free form, which is a pro, but also shows its cons regularly.
And what's the win? Android phones cán be cheaper but generally aren't compared to an Iphone SE, that lacks virtually nothing on the hardware side for normal usage.
I'm not eager to go back to the green fat robot at all. And I hate Apple's guts, go figure. I'm a total nonbeliever also when it comes to their 'ecosystem advantages'. F*k right off, thanks, I'll make up my own mind what's best for each use scenario.