Top 5: Why people keep hating on Apple

Why all the hate?

Ever since I started taking an interest in the mobile industry about a year ago, I started realising that a lot of people hate Apple. I mean like, A LOT. I myself have had my fair share of rants and ridicules about Apple. I honestly try my best not to hate, but I keep being reminded of why I do. Does this imply that other companies are perfect and free from any flaws? Of course not. I've criticised Samsung for having too many devices in their portfolio. I've criticised HTC for not being aggressive enough in marketing their products. Even Google has made some really ridiculous mistakes in the past as well. But none of these companies receive as much criticism and hate as Apple.  We wanted Apple to redesign iOS. They did, but it was labelled confusing and inconsistent. We wanted Apple to include more functionality into iOS. They did, but it still wasn't enough. We wanted Apple to make iOS more like other platforms. They did, and were labelled copycats. Why is that? I have some thoughts on the issue. These are 5 reasons why I think people hate Apple so much. You know what? Hate is such a strong word. Let's go with dislike. That sounds so much more, polite. OK. My 5 top guesses as to why people dislike Apple.

5. Premium pricing

The Apple brand has always been known as a premium brand. The fact that Apple products always looks so elegant and beautiful probably has a big impact on that. Oh, and the price. Apple products are usually the most pricey in the market, despite not having the best hardware components. Before I bought my current laptop, a Dell Inspiron 15R, I of course looked at other options in the market, including MacBooks. There was no way I was going to spend more money on a laptop that had lesser specs than a cheaper alternative. The same applies to other Apple products as well. iPhones and iPads are priced quite high compared to products from other manufacturers, some with even better hardware. Because Apple products were expensive, most people who owned Apple products were seen as "wealthier" than people who owned say a Samsung or a HTC product, who other than selling flagships products, also have very healthy entry-level to mid-range portfolios of cheap products as well. Over the years, the Apple brand was seen as a brand of products that didn't necessarily have the best hardware, yet only rich people could afford, and everyone hated Apple for thinking so highly of their own products and not pricing them more appropriately.

4. All the legal stuff

Seems legit. Image: Bonkers World

If you've been following tech news this past year, you'll know about all the legal battles that Apple have been apart of. The most famous of which involves Samsung, where Apple were awarded $1 billion in damages to be paid by Samsung. Now, other companies sue as well. Apple are not the only company that sue others for copyright infringement. But the reason why Apple receive so much criticism is that they seem to want to patent every little thing about a smartphone or a tablet. They tried to patent the pinch-to-zoom gesture, but failed. They were successful in getting a patent for the shape of the iPad. Yes. The shape. They invented a rectangle with rounded corners (which doesn't actually matter). Lastly, you know how when you scroll to the bottom of an app and go beyond the "edge", you will see some "off-screen" animation, and releasing the display will cause the app to bounce back to the actual bottom? Apple tried to patent that too. This is why it's so easy to hate on Apple. They try so hard to take down the competition in court instead of in the market, more so than many other company. 

3. The bigger they are, the harder they fall

I don't know about you, but I consider Apple to be one of the pioneers of modern computing as we know it. Unfortunately, this is why many people are also highly critical of everything Apple does. They truly are a victim of their own success. Taking just modern mobile computing as an example, they basically reinvented the smartphone market, and revived the tablet market with the original iPhone and iPad respectively. Even before that, the iPod "irrevocably altered the landscape for portable audio players". Apple really were known as great innovators. Emphasis on the word "were". Whenever Apple introduce anything people expect to be amazed. People expect to go "wow". People want to see something they never ever thought of. Unfortunately, it's getting increasingly difficult to come up with something no one has ever seen before. We are in the 21st century after all. So when Apple fail to deliver that killer punch, when they fail to make our jaws drop, it's much more of a disappointment than it should be, which is unfortunate for Apple.

Have Apple run out of "one more thing..."s? Image: MacLife

2. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
Like I said earlier, I consider Apple pioneers of modern computing. For the longest time, Apple were the trend setters and other companies would follow what ever Apple were doing. Oh how things have changed. After Apple introduced the world to the iPhone, the App Store and the iPad, other companies have taken the lead when it comes to innovative (I use the term loosely here) new features. Apple are no longer the innovators, they are now the followers. Just look at iOS 7 and you have your proof. Control Centre? Live wallpapers? Multi-tasking? Notification Centre access from the lock screen? Automatic app updates? Notification sync? iWork for iCloud? It's all been done before. A new design with new icons? What Apple did in 6 years, Android users can do in 6 minutes. I said before that it's normal for companies to borrow ideas from other companies, just compare LG's Optimus G Pro to Samsung's Galaxy Note II to see what I mean. So why are Apple getting hit extra hard for doing what everyone else does? That leads me to my final point.

1. Arrogance
Apple are most probably the most arrogant tech company in the world. That's why they received a lot of heat from consumers and journalists when iOS 7 was released. Almost every new feature was inspired from other platforms. So what right? Other people do it all the time. But this is different. This is Apple. A company who once publicly shamed several other companies for attempting to copy the iPad. A company who boldly dismissed the stylus, and said no one would ever buy a big phone, only to be proven wrong by Samsung's Galaxy Note. How's that for killing two birds with one stone? A company who said reception was poor on the iPhone 4 because users were holding the phone the wrong way. A company which claimed that the 7" tablet form factor wouldn't make an impact, and users would have to file down their fingers using sandpaper in order to use them. (As a sidenote, a 7" tablet is bad, but a 7.9" tablet is ok apparently).  So here we have a company who think they know better than everyone else, predicting competitors' products will fail, only to be proven wrong in the end. What's worse, is that Apple are now following their competitors which they so openly criticised in the past. We now have a larger iPhone, a smaller iPad, and iOS is clearly taking cues from other platforms. How's that slice of humble pie tasting Apple? Can you imagine the amount of ridicule Apple will be subjected to if they come up with an iPen/iStylus? 

Different people have different reasons for not liking Apple. Some people look in from the outside, hating iOS without even using it. Some are like me, previous iOS users who fell out of love with the platform and the company. Even so, I feel like most people would agree with my reasons above. In the end I just want to say, I was telling the truth when I said earlier that I don't want to hate on Apple, but what they did in the past and what they do today just makes it hard. I have nothing against iOS users (except the iSheep). Everyone has their own preferences and if you like iOS more than Android, more than BB10 or WP8 then more power to you. iOS 7 may not be a great platform in my eyes, but with Apple's fierce restrictions over the platform, it is a huge leap forward from iOS 6, and something loyal iOS users deserve. But Apple, you ain't getting any love from me.