There is a good story by the BBC today on China's twist on Apple. Even though Foxconn employees thousands of people in China, some companies have banned the new iPhone 7. It would be one thing if those bans were symbolic and not really enforced, but it appears "you're fired" actually means what it says.
Of course the Chinese have every excuse you can think of, from the South China Sea to it being a status symbol to justify what is really about Apple encryption and the ability to defeat the iPhone in other parts of the world. China will not admit that it is bent on having access to every phone and computer in the world, but that is the way it works out. When Apple said it was not going to cooperate, things started to happen, and this is part of the result. The Chinese will keep the heat on until Apple does more than build a new technology center there. It is a sign that they are still enough concerned about Apple that they won't compromise with one of their best long-term partners.
Think about what this means to other cell phone makers. The Chinese have not complained about hardly any other companies except Apple. That should tell you something about (1) their control of the technology in cell phones of the world and (2) their respect for Apple's ability to keep secrets in their phones. Yes, the phones are made there and the Chinese intelligence services can do most anything to them without us knowing, but Apple will know. Eventually, we will all find out. Then, Apple can make their phones somewhere else or sell them only in China. I guess it would be my preference for a phone made in the US where Chinese national interests were not the first thing that was considered, but Apple has a billion reasons to think about it awhile.
No comments:
Post a Comment