{"id":492635,"date":"2022-09-13T14:00:56","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T11:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/companies-are-not-your-friend\/"},"modified":"2022-09-13T14:00:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T11:00:56","slug":"companies-are-not-your-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/companies-are-not-your-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"#Companies Are Not Your Friend"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a41eec37101d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a41eec37101d\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/companies-are-not-your-friend\/#%E2%80%9CCompanies_Are_Not_Your_Friend%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Companies Are Not Your Friend&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/companies-are-not-your-friend\/#Unrequited_Love\" >Unrequited Love<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/companies-are-not-your-friend\/#Limiting_Your_Choices\" >Limiting Your Choices<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/companies-are-not-your-friend\/#Disposable_Products\" >Disposable Products<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/companies-are-not-your-friend\/#Paying_More_for_Less\" >Paying More for Less<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CCompanies_Are_Not_Your_Friend%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Companies Are Not Your Friend&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-831315\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/brand-logos.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Brand Logos.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Joe Fedewa \/ How-To Geek<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Major tech companies such as <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung have legions of diehard fans. Brands are more than happy to leverage that passion to keep your wallet open. The relationship only benefits one side, though, and it\u2019s not you.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Unrequited_Love\"><\/span>Unrequited Love<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The \u201crelationship\u201d between a loyal supporter and a company is essentially unrequited love. And just like romantic unrequited love, this dynamic often results in one side staunchly defending or completely ignoring the other\u2019s faults.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an entirely one-sided relationship. The company gets exactly what it wants\u2014our money, blind support, and free advertising\u2014while we only get what it decides we should have. You are as much the product as the actual phone, tablet, laptop, etc.<\/p>\n<p>This is especially true when the product is \u201cfree.\u201d Google does not offer Chrome, Gmail, or even the Android OS for free out of the goodness of its heart. You pay for those products with your personal information, and there\u2019s a lot of money to be made from it.<\/p>\n<p>Apple didn\u2019t start focusing on privacy because it truly cares about protecting you. They know you\u2019re going to give your personal information to <em>some<\/em> company, and Apple wants to position itself to look like the safest option. That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s <em>not<\/em> the safest option, but don\u2019t think their intentions were pure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to See What Data Google Has on You (and Delete It)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Limiting_Your_Choices\"><\/span>Limiting Your Choices<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 648px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-783726\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/phone-with-headphones.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Phone with headphones.\" width=\"648\" height=\"365\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/office-desk-table-laptopsmart-phonepenheadphonenotebook-cup-1022317246\">Mongta Studio\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One way that this one-sided dynamic plays out is the removal of choice. What does that look like? Let\u2019s talk about Apple, which is probably the most infamous company for this behavior.<\/p>\n<p>There are a few examples we could point to, but the most recent is the removal of the SIM card tray on the iPhone 14 <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a>. You now need to be on a carrier that supports eSIM if you want to use an iPhone. This is a decision that exclusively benefits only Apple and the major carriers.<\/p>\n<p>As\u00a0<em>XDA-Developer\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0Adam Conway\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.xda-developers.com\/apple-sim-tray-removal-editorial\/\">points out<\/a>, this move is especially egregious even for Apple. When the company removed the headphone jack, it spun it as a good thing for future iPhones and the industry at large. Apple fans were quick to defend the decision with the arguments Apple provided.<\/p>\n<p>However, Apple didn\u2019t bother with that theater when talking about removing the SIM card tray. No defense or explanation was given. Now, you\u2019re simply forced to use a carrier that supports eSIM if you want an iPhone 14, and it\u2019s more complicated to get service when <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>ing abroad.<\/p>\n<p>It may sound harsh, but Apple doesn\u2019t care what you want. Apple knows the stranglehold it has on many iPhone users, and it actively works to deepen it. That\u2019s the danger of locking yourself into one company\u2019s ecosystem. Once they\u2019ve got you invested, there\u2019s less incentive to cater to your needs.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, having an iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and MacBook that all work seamlessly together is a great experience, but you\u2019re being lured into a trap. What are you going to do when a company does something you don\u2019t like: ditch all of their products or live with it? Apple is betting you\u2019ll do the latter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What&#8217;s New in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro: 7 Big Changes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Disposable_Products\"><\/span>Disposable Products<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Another way in which companies get what they want at your expense is repairability\u2014or rather, the lack thereof. This is a problem that goes well beyond smartphones and computers, but that\u2019s what we\u2019ll be focusing on here.<\/p>\n<p>Remember when nearly every smartphone\u2014except the iPhone\u2014had a removable battery? You could have a spare to pop in when you needed extra juice, and buy a new one when battery life degraded. It was a simple feature that extended the life of the device.<\/p>\n<p>Nowadays, smartphones with removable batteries are rare, especially in the high-end class. Smartphones have never been particularly easily repairable by the average person, but that\u2019s bled over to desktop computers and laptops as well.<\/p>\n<p>It would be undeniably good for consumers\u2014and the environment\u2014if smartphones and computers were more easily repairable and upgradable. However, there\u2019s more profit in selling brand new devices and making you pay to have them fixed than helping people maintain them themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Companies will say sealing the battery inside allows it to be water resistant, but that\u2019s not true. It\u2019s certainly possible for a device with a removable battery to be waterproof\u2014check out Samsung\u2019s Galaxy XCover 6 Pro\u2014but it\u2019s a lot easier to just seal the battery inside and have one less thing to worry about.<\/p>\n<p>Companies will go so far as to create their very own type of screw to make it more difficult to open up devices. Finding genuine replacement parts and repair documentation can also be a nightmare. Thanks to third-parties like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ifixit.com\/\">iFixit<\/a>, you\u2019re not completely out of luck.<\/p>\n<p>This problem has gotten enough attention that \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Right_to_repair\">Right to Repair<\/a>\u201d legislation has been proposed in several regions. It would require companies to offer genuine replacement parts, tools, and repair documentation. If companies cared about us, they wouldn\u2019t need the government to step in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Apple&#8217;s Self Service Repair Program Seems Like a Mess<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Paying_More_for_Less\"><\/span>Paying More for Less<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-825435\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/type-c-hub-usb-card-reader.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A Type-C USB hub for a laptop with several cable and card reader ports.\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/close-photo-typec-hub-cables-card-1849962769\">Andrew Sotnikow\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>You\u2019ve probably heard about how companies use packaging tricks to make you pay more for less. For example, a can of soup appears to be bigger since it\u2019s slightly taller, but it actually contains less soup than before. This is commonly known as \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/127746\/these-shrinkflation-before-and-after-photos-are-crazy\/\">shrinkflation<\/a>,\u201d and it happens in tech too.<\/p>\n<p>Streaming is a product category especially ripe for shrinkflation. The price of Netflix is regularly increased, but the catalog of movies and TV shows seems to be shrinking. Paramount+, Peacock, and the bevy of other streaming services have taken back a lot of their own programming.<\/p>\n<p>We can see examples of shrinkflation in smartphones too. It used to be common to get a charging cable, charging brick, a pair of headphones, and a cleaning cloth with a new phone. Now, there are some companies that only give you the phone and cable. Has the price gone down as a result of including fewer accessories? No.<\/p>\n<p>You could even argue that removing ports\u2014like the headphone jack\u2014is another form of shrinkflation in tech. Fewer ports mean you have to spend extra money on dongles and accessories to get the same functionality that used to be built-in. You\u2019re paying more for less.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Which Smartphone Accessories Are Worth Buying?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and all the other companies that make the gadgets we love are businesses. The goal of a business is to make money. Sometimes that goal aligns with giving people what they want, but it often doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Tim Cook was once <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/9\/7\/23342243\/tim-cook-apple-rcs-imessage-android-iphone-compatibility\">asked about RCS support on the iPhone<\/a>. When the person complained that his mother couldn\u2019t see the videos he sends her due to their low quality, Cook responded: \u201cBuy your mom an iPhone.\u201d RCS support would improve the texting experience for Android <em>and iPhone users<\/em>, but Apple would rather passive-aggressively push more people to the iPhone.<\/p>\n<p>The truth is you and I do not have a relationship with these companies\u2014we have transactions. We are not being paid to advertise for them or defend their anti-consumer decisions. Don\u2019t give them a free pass. They\u2019re not your friends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/831314\/companies-are-not-your-friend\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Companies Are Not Your Friend&#8221; Joe Fedewa \/ How-To Geek Major tech companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung have legions of diehard fans. Brands are more than happy to leverage that passion to keep your wallet open. The relationship only benefits one side, though, and it\u2019s not you. Unrequited Love The \u201crelationship\u201d between&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":492636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/brand-logos.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-492635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}