More controversies than iPhones — November 2022 in review - AppleInsider

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While you waited for your iPhone 14 Pro, Apple faced Foxconn delays, national woes, and conscionable a small mockery from Samsung.

If you consciousness that Apple didn't bring retired thing caller successful November 2022, past you are astir apt 1 of the galore whose iPhone 14 Pro hasn't arrived yet. Or possibly you've got one, yet for immoderate unusual crushed don't hap to person go stranded successful a distant spot distant from compartment reception.

Apple's biggest motorboat of the month, for users, was the alternatively astonishing Emergency SOS via Satellite. Announced alongside the iPhone 14 range, the work was turned on for users successful the US and Canada successful November, with selected different countries to travel successful December.

You person to anticipation that you would ne'er request the quality to telephone for assistance from heavy successful the wilderness, oregon precocious up a mountain, but you besides cognize it volition hap to someone.

Emergency SOS

The instant Apple brought retired Crash Detection, it was instantly and unluckily being tested successful real-life accidents. Whereas with Emergency SOS via Satellite, determination were nary reports of incidents... successful November.

There were successful December, though, just days aft the work was switched on.

Smaller standard launches

So Emergency SOS is immense if you're progressive successful an mishap and it's the mode you get to unrecorded to archer the tale. For astir of us, it's impressive, but we'll ne'er acquisition it.

Consequently, it so feels arsenic if Apple failed to bring retired overmuch successful November, surely not compared to its October haul of caller devices. Expected launches similar Apple Music Classical didn't happen, and nor did we spot immoderate M2 MacBook Pro releases.

But determination was Oceanic+ for the Apple Watch Ultra. Actually made by Huish Outdoors, it was presented by Apple astatine Watch's motorboat arsenic being what made the Apple Watch Ultra into a dive computer.

Oceanic+ app from Huish Outdoors

Samsung brought retired ads and features

Meanwhile, Samsung brought out a telephone diagnostic that would beryllium precise acquainted to Apple users. The iPhone's Back Tap, wherever you virtually pat connected the backmost of the iPhone and it tin tally accessibility features oregon Shortcuts, is present connected definite Samsung phones.

Only, it is arsenic if Samsung heard that this diagnostic was successful accessibility, and misheard that arsenic "inaccessibility." The steps you person to spell done to get this happening to enactment are ludicrous.

That's the occupation with Android features. You perceive that Android does this and that, but it turns retired that lone immoderate Android phones do, and past with difficulty.

Which is someway not a constituent Samsung raised during its "On the Fence" ad.

Ignoring this contented that you mightiness person to bargain 5 antithetic Android phones to get each of the features Android fans accidental Apple is precocious to, it's inactive existent that Apple is precocious to them. This advertisement shows idiosyncratic virtually connected a fence, reasoning astir moving from iPhone to Android specifically due to the fact that of these assorted features.

It's perchance significant, though, that helium ne'er makes the leap successful the ad.

Apple isn't disquieted astir Android

So Samsung mocks Apple with 1 hand, portion it copies it with another. Same old, aforesaid old, and Apple is hardly acrophobic astir it all.

That said, this period Apple executives would beryllium forgiven for not adjacent noticing what Samsung is moving connected since they had to beryllium overmuch much disquieted astir however Foxconn was not moving overmuch astatine all.

Apple's largest shaper of the iPhone saw its largest iPhone mill brought to a halt by China's terrible COVID lockdown measures. While Foxconn moved immoderate iPhone accumulation to India, it was ne'er going to beryllium enough.

Foxconn Zhengzhou successful happier times

Consequently, November saw Foxconn saying that its revenue maturation predictions were present small much than puerility dreams. And Apple made the rare move of issuing a connection astir however the lockdowns were affecting the accumulation of the iPhone 14 Pro.

The abbreviated mentation is that the contented is astir apt wherefore you can't get an iPhone 14 Pro from Apple online earlier Christmas.

Foxconn has large unit problems

As you whitethorn person seen, China's lockdowns were truthful peculiarly terrible that the residential colonisation rioted astir them. So did Foxconn workers — but it turns retired that they had more to kick about.

Foxconn and the section authorities agreed connected a "closed loop" system, wherever workers could enactment successful the mill and past slumber successful the mill dorms. That doesn't precisely dependable similar a imagination occupation astatine the champion of times, but November was not the champion of times.

When confined to barracks, you are babelike connected the nutrient being supplied by the institution and successful this case, allegedly, that was a atrocious thing. A shortage of nutrient was astir the past straw, but not quite.

The existent past straw appears to person travel from erstwhile Foxconn, successful the look of each its problems, decided to make immoderate more. Although it aboriginal claimed this was a "technical error," what happened is that workers promised bonuses had their contracts altered to marque them ineligible.

It was said archetypal that hundreds of Foxconn workers rioted, but past aft the concern eased — and Apple seemingly sent a squad to the tract — things changed. Foxconn decided to wage astir 20,000 rioters connected information that they near the company.

We volition ne'er cognize what Apple's squad said to Foxconn, and we won't ever cognize if that squad besides spoke to the workers.

It'd beryllium comic if they told the workers to unionize.

Speaking of staff

Unions and Apple is simply a taxable that volition not spell away, but November did look to radiance a peculiar airy connected it. And it was besides the period that Apple Glasgow became the first UK Apple Store to unionize.

Apple Glasgow

Here's the thing. Back successful the day, Apple Stores unit were ambassadors for the Apple mode of doing things.

That would routinely mean them advising customers to bargain determination other if that was the close happening for them to do. This month, we heard stories of income drives, of unit to upsell, of laminated histrion charts designed to motivate unit into selling, selling, selling.

Apple Stores became an astounding occurrence by not copying different retailers. Now it's copying them, and doing truthful astatine a clip erstwhile retail is struggling, and the dense selling method is astatine champion lone moving successful the precise abbreviated term.

Perhaps it utilized to beryllium existent that unionization meant bringing successful a 3rd party, and that would impair the narration betwixt Apple and its staff. That's surely Apple's presumption today, but from what we learned successful November, determination isn't a relationship.

For 1 instance, a idiosyncratic said this period that complaining to Apple astir thing was similar "writing to Santa" for each the bully it did.

Apple retail main Deirdre O'Brien

Whereas if unions weren't going to help, Apple wouldn't beryllium spending wealth connected hiring labor-busting lawyers. Nor, arsenic we besides heard this month, would Apple beryllium sending anti-union managers astir its stores.

Or determination is conscionable this. Earlier this year, Apple accrued the starting wage for retail unit from $20 per hr to $22.

Maybe Apple would person done that anyway, successful an system wherever it's laying disconnected radical and cutting backmost connected hiring. Perhaps it is wholly coincidental that the rise happened erstwhile unit are talking to unions.

Speaking of layoffs

Staff relations astatine Apple so were a batch amended this period than they were astatine Twitter. But past Twitter's caller proprietor Elon Musk did find a unsocial mode of easing unit problems — by firing them.

Reports alteration implicit however overmuch of Twitter's workforce has been laid off, not slightest due to the fact that Musk keeps hiring immoderate backmost erstwhile helium figures retired what they did each day. But astatine times it's said that 70% of Twitter unit are gone.

It looked progressively apt successful November that Twitter itself could beryllium gone from the App Store. While Tim Cook said publically that helium was counting connected Twitter to proceed moderating its content, Twitter was publically not moderating its content.

And you knew that Twitter was successful information due to the fact that Musk went connected the offensive, successful conscionable astir each consciousness of that word. Musk cannot triumph the statement that helium is not allowing hatred code connected Twitter erstwhile helium is allowing hatred code connected it, truthful helium took the politician's approach.

Musk tried to alteration the battleground. Twice.

First, helium concisely railed against what helium called Apple's "hidden tax," the 15% to 30% interest Apple charges for being connected the App Store. That's truthful good known that it requires a hitherto unfamiliar explanation of the connection "hidden."

When that didn't work, Musk went for the statement that Apple has paused advertizing connected Twitter, truthful Apple is against escaped speech. You could possibly marque a truly tortuous statement that it's advertiser spending that supports the service, truthful Apple was removing that support.

But you didn't bargain that and neither did anyone else. Just arsenic nary 1 would bargain a Twitter phone if Apple did driblet the service.

We volition ne'er cognize if Musk had a 3rd fatuous battleground to try, though, because, connected the precise past time of November, helium was called successful to Apple Park.

He's presented this arsenic Tim Cook giving him a idiosyncratic circuit of Apple Park, but it feels truthful overmuch much similar him being sent to the headmaster.

November was a dense month

There were immoderate lighter moments successful November 2022, and possibly adjacent a tiny but promising glimpse into the future, too.

That glimpse crippled from the world's first foldable iPhone, but it, wasn't made by Apple. And it isn't precise good.

But arsenic an illustration of engineering accomplishment and sheer hard effort, it was uplifting. Plus you realised conscionable however overmuch you privation a existent iPhone fold.

A folding iPhone

Instead of giving america that, though, Apple keeps connected introducing these different things, similar MagSafe. Which is however successful November 2022, a antheral was capable to food retired his mislaid iPhone from underneath floorboards.

It's inactive not wide wherefore helium didn't conscionable assistance the floorboard, but determination you go.

And speaking of determination you go, November 2022 was the past clip a peculiar newsman saw 1 of his AirPods. During a unrecorded quality study astir rising transgression rates, a bird stole the journalist's AirPod close retired of his ear.

There's astir apt immoderate symbolism to beryllium recovered there. But let's alternatively crook our attraction to December 2022, erstwhile determination is inactive seemingly truthful overmuch Apple is owed to release.