Comment differently - Apple removes user reviews/ratings

[williamcll]

Apple has silently removed the link to their Ratings & Reviews page on their online store, other sites that sells Apple products has not been affected by this decision however.

Quote

AppleInsider received a tip from a reader who had noted the buyer review section was missing on Apple's online retail store page. The user also pointed out that the pages have been removed from U.S., U.K., and Australian Apple online stores, which suggests this is not simply a mistake, but rather an intentional move on Apple's behalf.

The reviews were pulled over the weekend, though it's not clear as to why this has happened. Apple had been known for leaving up even especially negative reviews, which demonstrated both transparency and integrity to their customers.By removing the reviews, it's possible that Apple will be seen as less credible to potential buyers.Utilizing the Wayback Machine, AppleInsider found that the reviews were pulled at some point between the evening of November 16 and the morning of November 17. The image below shows a capture of the sections on November 16 and 17, highlighting the missing "Rating & Reviews" section.

AppleInsider has contacted Apple for clarification over the feature's removal, and if it would be making a return.It is possible to view the changes by looking at the Wayback Machine archive page for the original Apple Pencil.

A YouTube video offered as part of the tip was published by the popular photography account, Fstoppers, titled "Apple Fanboys, Where is your God now?" In the video, the host reads a selection of negative reviews of the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, with the video published on November 16, coinciding with the removal of the website feature.However, it remains to be seen if the video had anything to do with Apple's decision to remove the reviews, given the 56 thousand page views at the time of publication doesn't seem like a high-enough number for Apple to pay attention to the video's content. Other videos have been more critical about the company's products, and some with far higher view counts, but evidently Apple seemingly does not spend that much time involving itself with such public complaints.

Source:https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/11/21/apple-pulls-all-customer-reviews-from-online-apple-store

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/11/21/apple-pulls-reviews-online-store-listings/

Thoughts: Why read Apple store reviews when you watch LinusTechTips Apple reviews? I didn't even knew Apple allowed user ratings on their site before this news so I guess this won't impact the flow of criticism in any forms.

[DKL]

When a business hides their identity, what they choose to hide is ultimately the most revealing.

[Arika]

Seems no one is allowed to have opinions these days, in any form.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Tegos said:

Some people are going to defend this.

It’s not super defensible if it’s actually intentional.  It might not be though. Could be localized idiocy.  Let’s see if it stays down.

[GamerDude]

10 hours ago, huilun02 said:

Just like China's state media.

Must be why Apple is venerated in that country

That's the reason why my brother unceremoniously dumped his iPhone XS for a Samsung S10+....

[SenKa]

I made a post on the Apple forums highlighting the manufacturing flaw with 11 Pro phone's glass being soft to scratches. The post contained several sources and was aimed only to make Apple aware of the issue. It was removed within ~20 minutes.

 

Shruggi.

 

I will continue to use and support Apple's hardware and software. What I have not, do not, and will not support is buying it directly through Apple whenever possible.

[DrMacintosh]

While obviously not something I endorse, it’s extremely easy to see why Apple would want to do this. 
 

People have left negative reviews for adapters that they were incorrectly using before. User ignorance isn’t grounds for a 1/5 star review. Reviews inherently attract negative traffic, as angry people are a lot more likely to complain than content people are to give praise.

 

Many companies disable their YouTube channels like/dislikes and comments for this very reason. It’s not like removing the reviews in their website would actually impact sales. Real reviews for big tech purchases come from the tech media, not Karens. 

 

[TempestCatto]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

People have left negative reviews for adapters that they were incorrectly using before. User ignorance isn’t grounds for a 1/5 star review. Reviews inherently attract negative traffic, as angry people are a lot more likely to complain than content people are to give praise.

Apple should instead deal with those reviews individually and educate the reviewer on how to properly use the adapters.

 

I say that, but it would be a huge feat due to how many people review that way. Plus, I doubt people read reviews directly from their site anyways. I usually look to trusted independent review sites.

[DrMacintosh]

4 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

Apple should instead deal with those reviews individually and educate the reviewer on how to properly use the adapters.

I guess you've never tried talking to a Karen before? There is nothing that offends an entitled person more than being told they are wrong. 

[TempestCatto]

41 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

I guess you've never tried talking to a Karen before? There is nothing that offends an entitled person more than being told they are wrong. 

So you admit Apple users are entitled people.

 

I kid

 

But other companies have done this before. A generic response from even a bot is better.

[Arika]

56 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

User ignorance isn’t grounds for a 1/5 star review

The thing i hate the most with user reviews is the amount of 1 star reviews that are 

"i received it and it didn't work/was broken"

So return it and get a new one. shit happens.

[suicidalfranco]

8 hours ago, TempestCatto said:

I kid

Really?

[Bombastinator]

I think he’s right.  Chrome books teach chrome OS, and chrome OS is used by practically no one in business because no business can allow the kind or sheer amount of spyware Google stuffs into its products to be used internally.  They’re dangerous.  Apple isn’t used by many people in business either of course, though there are a few inroads in arts mostly.  Apple doesn’t do the kind of spying on users that google does though.

[Blademaster91]

8 hours ago, Arika S said:

The thing i hate the most with user reviews is the amount of 1 star reviews that are 

"i received it and it didn't work/was broken"

So return it and get a new one. shit happens.

I'm fine with that, people leaving 1 star reviews can mean there could be a whole batch of a defective product, and if i'm paying a premium for something it should work the first time.

[DeScruff]

3 hours ago, Blademaster91 said:

I'm fine with that, people leaving 1 star reviews can mean there could be a whole batch of a defective product, and if i'm paying a premium for something it should work the first time.

Ive definitely had issues with products that were broken out of the box, returned them, and kept getting more things broken out of the box.
Its frustrating because its wasting my time not just sending it back, but waiting for another one, when I should just have refunded it and bought something else.

[suicidalfranco]

3 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

Chrome books teach chrome

fify

3 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

chrome OS is used by practically no one in business because no business can allow the kind or sheer amount of spyware Google stuffs into its products to be used internally.

cough* g suite numbers disagrees cough*

3 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

Apple isn’t used by many people in business either of course, though there are a few inroads in arts mostly.

so less reasons to pick them over chromebooks unless the kid specifically decides to go toward an art focused school. Something that, as far as Italy and France are concerned, doesn't happen before being 15 if he never had to repeat a class

3 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

Apple doesn’t do the kind of spying on users that google does though.

irrelevant to what determines success

 

[Commodus]

5 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

I think he’s right.  Chrome books teach chrome OS, and chrome OS is used by practically no one in business because no business can allow the kind or sheer amount of spyware Google stuffs into its products to be used internally.  They’re dangerous.  Apple isn’t used by many people in business either of course, though there are a few inroads in arts mostly.  Apple doesn’t do the kind of spying on users that google does though.

I'm sorry, but even as someone invested in the Apple ecosystem this doesn't hold water.

 

First, straight up: Google is not peddling "spyware."  It certainly asks for more info than Apple does, but the notion that Google is watching everything you do?  Yeah, that's just not true.  And this hyperbole hurts your cause more than it helps, since it discourages people from looking at those areas where Google might actually be overstepping its boundaries.  I'd be comfortable using Android and Chrome OS, even if they wouldn't be my first picks.

 

Businesses are less interested in the OS than what it can run -- and if a company relies heavily on G Suite and other web apps, Chrome OS is just fine.  For schools it's different.  Schiller is right in that there's only so much you can do to teach kids on the web, but in many cases that's good enough.  And importantly, it's frequently the only real option.  It's much, much easier for a cash-strapped school to buy fleets of $150-a-pop Chromebooks than $300 iPads (plus another $50 each if you want a stylus like the Logitech Crayon).

[Murasaki]

Further proof that Apple isnt interested in listening to its customers.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, suicidalfranco said:

fify

which usually means “I altered your statement to suit my preferences” so I got to go back and find my post to see what you changed... I see you removed my statement that I think he was right, and the descriptive “OS” entirely.  It’s effectively an OS though.  Google has OS level controls.  Sure it’s basically a rewritten Linux.  It doesn’t teach much about Linux.  It only teaches about Googles version because it’s so different.  By that argument OSX would be BSD.

cough* g suite numbers disagrees cough*

so less reasons to pick them over chromebooks unless the kid specifically

Possible massaged statistics.  Greater tracking capacity doesn’t prove greater use.  It just proves greater tracking.  

 

Perhaps I should state it differently:

“While Apple doesn’t have the accuracy of google to track what every single user is doing and therefore can’t show penetration with the accuracy google can, it dominates a few related industries while google dominates none despite its ability to maximize its usage numbers due to its spyware capacities”

decides to go toward an art focused school. Something that, as far as Italy and France are concerned, doesn't happen before being 15 if he never had to repeat a class

the implication that “artists are stupid” is cute. 

irrelevant to what determines success

at best “equally irrelevant” except it’s not.  Google will have been able to build up a really detailed image of these students using said spyware.  Something a perspective employer could buy, because that’s how google makes its money.  It sells the data it collects on its users to people who want to manipulate or or get undisclosed data on the individual.  Use known weaknesses discovered with that spyware to lower contract quality would be one obvious use.  Preselect for things a company isn’t legally allowed to preselect for would be another.  In either instance it could unfairly damage a perspective worker

 

[suicidalfranco]

4 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

which usually means “I altered your statement to suit my preferences” so I got to go back and find my post to see what you changed... I see you removed my statement that I think he was right, and the descriptive “OS” entirely.  It’s effectively an OS though.  Google has OS level controls.  Sure it’s basically a rewritten Linux.  It doesn’t teach much about Linux.  It only teaches about Googles version because it’s so different.  By that argument OSX would be BSD.

no, just means that kids using chromebooks at schools will mostly learn how to use Chrome and the web than ChromeOS because Chrome, the browser, is the main interface to everything in ChromeOS

 

6 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Possible massaged statistics.  Greater tracking capacity doesn’t prove greater use.  It just proves greater tracking.  

no. G-Suite is the only set of apps that stands toe toe with MS Office. Which means demand for it exists in the business world. Sure ChromeOS might not be the main platform towards it's growth, but then again, kids are not learning to use ChromeOS, they're learning Chrome and the Web mainly.
 

10 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

the implication that “artists are stupid” is cute. 

Where is the implication?

As far as italy and France are concerned, only when entering the equivalent to the US high school do kids get to choose what kind of school they want to proceed toward, industrial, classical, artistic, scientific, catering etc.. . And if they never repeated a class, that normally happens when they are 15 years old and entering the third year of HS. Which means that before reaching that age, what would be classified in the US as middle school and primary school, getting Apple's premium offering is pointless and draws no benefits compared to Chromebooks

 

19 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

at best “equally irrelevant” except it’s not.  Google will have been able to build up a really detailed image of these students using said spyware.  Something a perspective employer could buy, because that’s how google makes its money.  It sells the data it collects on its users to people who want to manipulate or or get undisclosed data on the individual.  Use known weaknesses discovered with that spyware to lower contract quality would be one obvious use.  Preselect for things a company isn’t legally allowed to preselect for would be another.  In either instance it could unfairly damage a perspective worker

Tin foil hat intensifies

[Bombastinator]

16 minutes ago, Commodus said:

[/QUOTE]

I'm sorry, but even as someone invested in the Apple ecosystem this doesn't hold water.

 

First, straight up: Google is not peddling "spyware."

straight up yes it is

  It certainly asks for more info than Apple does, but the notion that Google is watching everything you do?  Yeah, that's just not true.  

“everything?” Spyware generally doesn’t,  And definitely not in person.  They don’t care enough for that.  It’s what data collection bots are for.  They do have the capacity to if they want to. The problem with spyware isn’t the stalking, though there is that.  I don’t think they do or at least don’t do it that often. They could flag a student as believing in a particular thing though, or understanding a particular thing, or not understanding a particular thing. Useful for teachers but also for predatory business.  It can Identify vulnerabilities.

Only things And this hyperbole hurts your cause more than it helps, since it discourages people from looking at those areas where Google might actually be overstepping its boundaries.

perhaps.  Doesn’t make what he said untrue.  What is my cause btw?  I honestly don’t know.  “Defend Apple?” Not really. I haven’t touched an apple device in years.  I’ve got a laptop I think. I don’t know where it is.  It’s almost certainly dead dead.  Old 17”.  Hasn’t been updated in a long time.

  For schools it's different. 

yep.  They’re supposed to protect their users from abuse. Google doesn’t have that charge.  They protect their users from knowing they are being abused

Schiller is right in that there's only so much you can do to teach kids on the web, but in many cases that's good enough.

wasn’t the bit that concerned me , but OK.

  And importantly, it's frequently the only real option.

I think you mean only possible option.  Possible because schools are so underfunded they have to allow google to do this thing to have computers at all

  

 

It's much, much easier for a cash-strapped school to buy fleets of $150-a-pop Chromebooks than $300 iPads (plus another $50 each if you want a stylus like the Logitech Crayon).

yep. And I think it’s sad we are forced to sell our children like this.  Hmm.. maybe that’s my cause.

 

  I'd be comfortable using Android and Chrome OS, even if they wouldn't be my first picks.

I’m not.  Microsoft collects vastly less data than google and I’m not even comfortable with that

Businesses are less interested in the OS than what it can run -- and if a company relies heavily on G Suite and other web apps, Chrome OS is just fine.

sure but that’s not the problem, though I personally think using G-suite and attempting to compete with google or its interests in any way is asking for a problem.  Not the problem referred to, but a problem.

 

[Trik'Stari]

6 hours ago, suicidalfranco said:

Really?

As much as I despise Apple, I have to agree. Chromebooks are far too limited and represent far too small of a section of the computing device market to create useful skills for the future.

 

Your kid learns on a chromebook, gets to work, which will likely use Windows machines, and doesn't know how to use one. Not only have you handicapped the child, you have created yet more headaches for the IT staff.

 

That being said, the schools using Apple products would be potentially worse because Apple's idea of repairs and warranty are ridiculously expensive (no repairs, basically, and replace anything that breaks at extreme cost) compared to the likes of Dell, Lenovo, and even HP device programs.

 

I'd recommend Lenovo, if I were to be asked what brand Windows machines schools should be going with.

[Commodus]

1 minute ago, Bombastinator said:

*snip*

This is a bit of a mess, so I'll reply to everything at once.

 

Spyware is malware designed to continuously track everything you're doing without your knowledge or consent, like web traffic snooping or keystroke logging.  Google definitely isn't doing that.

 

And I notice that there's a lot of speculative fluff in your reply: Google "could" do this, has the "capacity" to do that.  That's not proof of spyware, that's fearmongering.  Show me what privacy violations Google is committing right now. You know, actual evidence.  Apple could record the locations of every iPhone user if it wanted, but that doesn't mean that it will or that its system is configured to do so.

 

G Suite is fine.  We not only use it in my workplace, we know the essence of how it works.  There's no evidence that Google is abusing our data.  We email each other, share documents and coordinate online without trouble.  And it's frustrating to see someone who genuinely knows nothing about Google's practices act as if he knows everything, as if telling a falsehood very emphatically will make it true somehow.