Thread by @mattsheffield

Apple products and services are often drastically overpriced (especially the iPad) and designed to force-feed Apple services.

The pricing problem is rarely discussed in tech press.

It's nice to see some people beginning to discuss the latter part though pcmag.com/opinions/apple…

When you look at reviews of the Surface Pro, tech writers will usually grouse at Microsoft for not including a keyboard in the price but they never make the same complaint about the iPad Pro. Its not-included kbd is far more limited & much more expensive but you never hear that.

Any iPhone review should also deduct points from its numeric rating as well because of its non-standard Lightning connector, especially when Apple doesn't put them on laptops. Total lock-in trap.

MacBook laptops should also be dinged in reviews for lacking a touch screen. It's a fantastic feature that Apple deliberately refuses to let its users have. It should be penalized by tech reviewers for this. I've yet to see that done.

Sometimes Apple is criticized for not allowing iPhones to accept storage cards but this should be in every review. And likewise, the 80s calculator watch design and poor interface of the Apple Watch is never criticized. The watches of Samsung and Garmin are far superior.

Likewise, the tech press was horribly late to the party in discussing what absolute trash the old MacBook "butterfly" keyboards were. Users were revolting over them for weeks before the tech media started criticizing Apple for the horribly uncomfortable design.

Aside from product concerns, it should also be pointed out that when it comes to complying with authoritarian governments, Apple is one of the worst large tech companies but faces very little of the scrutiny that Google or Facebook do for it.

I think Apple is doing a lot of great things in terms of CPUs, old device support, and privacy for Westerners but it's far from a perfect company. The U.S. tech press lives in fear of pissing Apple off so you don't hear about its many problems.