Apple has been through a rough patch lately. With regulators and governments around the world
turning their ire against the tech giant and a litany of technical faults plaguing their latest phone –
will 2023 be Apple’s most onerous year yet?

iPhone 12
On Tuesday, 12 September, French regulators halted the sale of the iPhone 12 – on a charge that
the radiation levels emitted contravened safety guidelines. France’s ANFR found the phone’s specific
absorption rate (SAR) was 5.74 watts per kilogram, well above the 4 watts per kilogram EU standard
for such tests. While Apple has issued a software update to attempt to rectify the problem, issues
surrounding health and safety live long in consumer memories, as Samsung experienced with their
Galaxy Note 7 explosive battery debacle.

iPhone 15
Amidst these challenges, Apple needed the launch of this year’s iPhone 15 to go off without a hitch.
However, early reviews and impressions have resulted in a host of technical issues with the device.
Apple’s launch of the phone touted unrivalled performance from a phone, yet it appears this
computing power is resulting in serious overheating issues. Customers report iPhones that become
uncomfortable to hold due to overheating – with an iPhone 15 Pro Max reportedly reaching 112˚ F.

Further issues emerged from users attempting to transfer data between iPhones. The iPhone 15
reportedly becomes unresponsive, displaying what has been described as the ‘Apple logo of death,’
as it struggles to transfer data. While Apple issued a software update to try and resolve the issue,
many users claim not to have received it. When similar issues plagued LG’s G4 flagship, the company
never truly recovered, forcing the company to close its mobile phone division a few years later in
2021.

Apple was also forced to again return to Qualcomm for the modem in the iPhone 15, despite a five-
year drive to develop their own chips. iPhone’s have traditionally used Intel modems, but their
performance lacked behind those of Qualcomm, which manufactures the majority of high-end
processors for the Android market. This performance prompted Apple to purchase Intel’s modem
division in 2019, but Apple has proven unable to match Qualcomm’s current level of sophistication.

Regulatory Intervention
While the setbacks listed so far have been technological, and confined to the iPhone, Apple is facing
problems on all fronts. The EU has forced Apple to adopt USB Type-C on all future iPhones, in an effort to force more
standardisation and put to an end Apple’s proprietary, and lucrative, lightning cable.

Both Apple and Google have come under intense scrutiny from regulators for their so-called ‘walled
garden’ app stores. Regulators are working to force Apple and Google to allow competing app
stores, such as the Amazon App Store, to be used for downloading applications on iOS and Android.
Currently, Apple’s walled garden allows it to charge a 15-30% fee on all transactions conducted
through apps downloaded in the App Store. The tech giants have been hit with fines and action from
regulators in Europe and the US, and Fortnite developer Epic Games brought the iPhone maker to
court over its refusal to allow Epic Games to circumvent the fees.

Apple also faces hurdles in one of its most lucrative markets, China. Apple has bucked the trend among non-Chinese smartphone manufacturers, by managing to have a sizable presence in a country traditionally hostile to foreign companies. As in much of the world, Apple products are a growing status symbol among China’s growing middle and upper classes.

But international tension between the People’s Republic of China and the democratic western
powers has begun jeopardising this relationship. Apple, like many other companies, has begun
opening new assembly plants in South-East Asian countries like Vietnam, as rising labour costs and
the possibility of sanctions and conflict has compromised China’s status as the ‘Manufacturer of the
World’s Goods.’ Additionally, this vSeptember the Chinese government announced a crackdown on
‘unregistered apps’ within the Apple App Store. This push is likely to see the operation of several
social media apps including Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) curtailed, in an effort to
stop the spread of ‘misinformation.’

Pivoting
Many of the adversity Apple faces surrounds its iPhone. While the iPhone remains Apple’s main
revenue generator (accounting for nearly half of the company’s total revenue) the company has
been making efforts to reduce its reliance on traditional hardware products, and is increasingly
entering the services industry. Apple Music and Apple TV are some examples of the strides into new
sectors that Tim Cook has steered the trillion-dollar company. There is also a plan for an Apple Car in
the pipeline – which may be just the revitalization Apple needs to stay relevant and to prevent issues
in its traditional operations from affecting the company’s overall performance.