Different Approaches
Amidst a series of controversies over sporadic battery fires in the iPhone, Apple hasn’t still made an official statements to resolve its consumers’ fear and suspicions, sparking complaints from consumers.
According to industry sources on December 8, Apple posted a routine notice on its website for global consumers who reported an unexpected shutdown of their iPhones, saying, “We confirmed that some iPhone 6S devices are turning off on their own without reason. Those who suffer the problem can replace the batteries at no charge through Apple’s authorized service providers or mobile carriers.”
In particular, the iPhone 6S was officially launched in Korea but Apple posted the notice in English on its Korean website, coming under fire from domestic consumers. This was why domestic consumers belatedly found out that they can replace their iPhone 6S batteries in Korea, causing rumors that Korean consumers turn away from Apple.
Until now, there have been five reports regarding the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus supposedly their batteries bursting into flames after the release around the world, starting in the U.S. in September. However, Apple hasn’t made any official statements or explanations again.
Such passive customer services of Apple have been criticized for years across the world as well as in Korea.
In China, there were news reports that eight consumers reported that their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices caught fire from September to November. In this regard, a foreign press reported on December 7 (local time), “Apple said the fires were caused by external shocks.”
There have been a series of reports that the iPhone 6 devices were unexpectedly shut down. Apple also collected the iPhone 7 which reported the first fire in September but the compay hasn’t disclose the cause of the fire yet.
Industry experts say that Apple’s passive response to consumer complaints is its strategy to make product defects less evident.
An expert from the information communications technology industry said, “The problems of the Galaxy Note 7 have surfaced more evidently as soon as Samsung announced to recall the device. Acknowledging product defects will benefit consumers but it is not something that easily can be decided because it will lead to damage on corporate images and decrease in profits.”
In other words, Apple is trying to turn away from the consumer safety in order to prevent damage on product images.
In fact, Apple didn’t admit its responsibility for the “antenna gate” when it was widely reported that holding the iPhone 4 on lower left side causes call quality to fall in 2010, saying, “There is a problem with the way that consumers hold the iPhone.” After that, Apple provided free bumper cases for iPhone 4 customers that can solve the issue of the antenna being blocked but didn’t announce a large-scale recall, showing its passiveness in customer services.
On the other hand, Samsung Electronics received the first report of the Galaxy Note 7 catching fire on August 24 in five days after the release on August 19, stopped the shipment to investigate the cause at the end of August and decided to recall the device on September 2. The company made a swift decision.