Apple usually warns us about potential scams that can happen with us on our iPhones, but this time it seems like one of the biggest tech companies in the world was scammed, right under its nose. According to a Bloomberg report, over 10,00,000 iPhones that were supposed to be scrapped were instead stolen and sent to China. What is the whole matter? Let’s find out.
The iPhone maker had a contract with an outside contractor called GEEP. Apple paid GEEP to shred used devices that it receives as a part of its trade-in policy. The contract asked GEEP to shred over a quarter of a million of devices annually. The tech giant sent over 530,000 iPhones, 25,000 iPads, and 19,000 Apple Watches for shredding in the first year of the contract.
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Apple used to send its products to get scrapped, but that wasn’t happening. In 2020, when the tech giant conducted an audit, it found that a minimum of 99,975 working iPhones which it thought were scrapped, were sent to China. These were then sold in the used market.
The Cupertino-based company filed a lawsuit against GEEP for breach of contract. However, they did not follow the lawsuit and it seems like Apple is letting them go without a fight. If the brand does not progress the lawsuit, it will automatically be dropped in January 2025.
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You must be aware of Apple’s trade-in and recycling policy. The company asks users to exchange their old iPhones for new ones. Most of these devices are in fully working condition and can be easily reset and sold in the used market. And Apple claims that it recycles its products. If the lawsuit gets a lot of attention, it can become a PR nightmare for the company. Hence, they stepped back from the lawsuit.
Apple says that it has now changed its way but it wasn’t really doing that because more used iPhones in the market would mean fewer of the new ones would get sold.
