For decades, Apple has positioned itself as a symbol of innovation, elegance, and user experience. Its products are polished, its branding pristine, and its loyal customer base unmatched. To many, Apple is more than a company — it’s a culture, a lifestyle, almost a religion. But peel back the glossy surface, and a very different picture begins to emerge. Behind the sleek aluminum shells and billion-dollar ad campaigns lies a company that has arguably caused more harm than good in the tech ecosystem.
Yes, you read that right: Apple might just be the worst company in the world — and not because of poor products, but because of how it uses its power. From anti-consumer practices to environmental hypocrisy, monopolistic behavior to exploitation, Apple has built an empire on control, manipulation, and exclusion. In this article, we’ll explore the many reasons why the world's most valuable company deserves far more criticism than praise.
1. The Cult of Control: You Don't Own Your iPhone
One of the most damning critiques of Apple is that it doesn’t sell you products—it rents you experiences. When you buy an iPhone or Mac, you're not truly free to use or modify it as you please. Apple tightly controls its hardware and software ecosystem, from what apps you can install to how your device can be repaired.
Apple's strict control over iOS, combined with its proprietary Lightning ports and accessories, ensures that you remain locked into their walled garden. Want to download an app not approved by Apple? Too bad. Want to repair your own device? Good luck getting genuine parts, let alone manuals.
This level of control isn’t just frustrating—it’s anti-consumer. It stifles innovation, limits choice, and punishes users who dare to think differently.
2. The War on Right to Repair
Apple has long fought against the global right-to-repair movement. The company has lobbied against legislation that would force it to make repair manuals, diagnostic tools, and genuine parts available to independent repair shops and consumers. Why? Because repairs are big business.
By controlling repairs through its Genius Bars and “authorized” repair centers, Apple ensures it can charge exorbitant prices for even minor fixes. A cracked iPhone screen can cost over $300 to fix at Apple, even though the component costs far less. Worse, Apple has designed devices in ways that make DIY repair nearly impossible without specialized tools.
Apple’s hostility toward repair isn’t just about profits—it’s about control. And it comes at a high cost to both consumers and the environment.
3. Environmental Hypocrisy
Apple loves to tout its environmental credentials. Its ads are filled with green slogans, and its website boasts about carbon neutrality and recycled materials. But beneath the surface, Apple’s commitment to sustainability is skin-deep.
Consider this: Apple stopped including chargers and headphones with new iPhones, claiming it was to reduce e-waste. But they didn’t reduce the price of the iPhone. So now consumers pay the same (or more) for less, while Apple cuts costs and increases profit margins.
Moreover, Apple’s yearly product cycles and planned obsolescence encourage constant upgrading. This contributes to a massive e-waste problem. The company has also historically slowed down older iPhones—an issue that led to lawsuits and forced Apple to pay hundreds of millions in settlements. And let’s not forget that replacing a battery—an act that could extend a phone’s life by years—is still unreasonably expensive and complicated due to Apple's design choices.
4. Anti-Competitive Practices and the App Store Monopoly
Apple’s App Store is another ecosystem where it holds absolute power. Developers must play by Apple’s rules or get kicked out. And Apple takes a 15–30% commission on nearly all transactions—a so-called “Apple tax” that’s been criticized by companies like Epic Games, Spotify, and even Microsoft.
This monopoly on distribution has serious consequences. Small developers struggle to survive under Apple’s terms. App prices are artificially inflated to accommodate Apple’s cut. And Apple often favors its own apps in App Store search results, giving it an unfair advantage over competitors.
Apple defends this behavior under the guise of “quality control” and “security,” but in reality, it’s about profits and gatekeeping.
5. Exploitative Labor Practices
Apple’s supply chain is notorious for labor abuses. While the company claims to uphold ethical sourcing standards, repeated investigations into its suppliers—especially in China—have revealed sweatshop conditions, underpaid workers, and even child labor.
Foxconn, Apple’s main manufacturing partner, has made headlines for worker suicides, illegal overtime, and harsh factory conditions. Despite promises to improve, reports of mistreatment continue to surface. Apple has also been linked to suppliers involved in human rights abuses, including the use of forced labor in regions like Xinjiang.
Apple’s shiny exterior is built on the backs of exploited workers who labor under grueling conditions to meet the demands of Western consumers.
6. Overpriced and Underdelivered
Apple’s products are undeniably well-designed, but their pricing is often disconnected from the actual value they offer. A MacBook with average specs can cost twice as much as a Windows laptop with better hardware. Accessories are absurdly overpriced—$19 for a cleaning cloth, $129 for a Magic Mouse with a charging port on the bottom, and $999 for monitor stands.
Apple has become a luxury brand that prioritizes aesthetics and brand prestige over functionality or innovation. While competitors push boundaries with foldable displays, high-refresh-rate screens, and expandable storage, Apple often lags behind—yet charges more.
You're not paying for superior performance. You're paying for a logo.
7. Privacy? Only When It’s Convenient
Apple markets itself as the privacy-focused tech company. And compared to Facebook or Google, it does offer better user data protections. But this image isn’t without its cracks.
Apple has been caught scanning iCloud photos, collecting metadata, and complying with authoritarian governments when it's financially beneficial. In China, Apple moved Chinese users’ iCloud data to government-run servers, raising serious concerns about surveillance and censorship.
Apple talks the talk on privacy—but it walks the line between ethics and profits.
8. Innovation by Imitation
Contrary to popular belief, Apple is rarely the first to innovate. The company often takes existing technologies, refines them, and presents them as revolutionary. The iPhone didn’t invent the smartphone. The Apple Watch wasn’t the first smartwatch. AirPods weren’t the first wireless earbuds.
Instead of pushing boundaries, Apple’s strategy is to wait, polish, and market. This approach is undeniably effective, but it has led to a perception that Apple is more about image than innovation.
Worse, Apple sometimes patents existing ideas to block competitors, further entrenching its monopoly.
9. The Cult-Like Fanbase
It’s not Apple’s fault that its customers are loyal—but the cult-like devotion the company inspires raises questions. Apple fans routinely justify questionable practices (like removing headphone jacks or ports) as “courage.” Critics are dismissed as “haters.” Dissent is seen as blasphemy.
This blind loyalty enables Apple to get away with anti-consumer decisions that would destroy other companies. It creates an echo chamber where criticism is drowned out by brand worship.
Apple doesn’t have fans—it has followers. And that’s a problem.
10. Marketing Over Substance
Apple’s greatest innovation may not be technological—it’s psychological. The company has mastered the art of marketing, using emotional storytelling, minimalist aesthetics, and aspirational branding to sell dreams, not devices.
A simple product launch is treated like a religious ceremony. Keynotes are slick, rehearsed, and emotionally manipulative. The message: owning an Apple product makes you better, smarter, more creative.
But what’s behind the curtain? Often, less than what’s promised. Apple’s marketing is so powerful, it makes you believe you need things you never asked for. It redefines limitations as “features.”
A Legacy Built on Control, Not Creativity
Apple’s influence on technology and culture is undeniable. The company has changed how we communicate, work, and think about design. But its impact is a double-edged sword. Behind the premium hardware and polished PR is a company that exploits its workers, overcharges its customers, stifles competition, and undermines consumer rights.
It’s time to stop blindly worshiping Apple and start asking harder questions. Innovation without ethics is exploitation. A product that looks good on the outside but hides darkness within is not progress—it’s propaganda.
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