Apple apologises to Chinese customers in row over warranty
Computer maker Apple has bowed to media pressure on the mainland - a major market for its products - and agreed to extend its warranty for its Chinese consumers. The move came after People's Daily, the Communist Party's official mouthpiece, denounced the US company as "dishonest, greedy and arrogant" and urged people to "strike away" its "unparalleled arrogance".
Computer maker Apple has bowed to media pressure on the mainland - a major market for its products - and agreed to extend its warranty for its Chinese consumers.
The move came after People's Daily, the Communist Party's official mouthpiece, denounced the US company as "dishonest, greedy and arrogant" and urged people to "strike away" its "unparalleled arrogance".
The controversy began on March 15 when a CCTV consumer rights show criticised Apple for offering shorter warranties to Chinese iPhone users than those available in other countries.
While Apple maintained that its warranty practices in China were "completely legal" and denied that it had maintained a double standard for Chinese customers, chief executive Tim Cook apologised to mainland customers in an open letter on the firm's Chinese website yesterday.
"We still have many things to learn in terms of our operation and communication in China," the letter stated.
We still have many things to learn in terms of our operation and communication in China
Cook also apologised for any misconception that Apple was an arrogant company that ignored its customers' opinions.