Apple avoids (Product)Red branding in China for new red iPhone 7 models [u]

AppleInsider

Apple's new red options for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus -- which, through (Red), will contribute proceeds to the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS -- lack that same charity branding on the company's Chinese website. [Updated with comment by CEO Tim Cook]

The Chinese website.

Logos present on the U.S. and even Taiwanese websites are conspicuously missing in China, TechCrunch observed. It's unclear if the company is avoiding donations of Chinese proceeds, or simply concealing the fact.

Apple's U.S. website, with (Red) branding intact.

It may be trying to avoid any controversy surrounding AIDS, given widespread criticism of the Chinese government's handling of the illness. Police have sometimes even engaged in crackdowns of organizations working in AIDS prevention, so openly supporting (Red) could theoretically be seen as confrontational, especially since state-owned businesses have been hesitant to participate in AIDS initiatives.

In November Apple did issue a Chinese press release supporting (Red), but even other products that would normally carry the branding -- such as iPhone cases or the iPod touch -- are currently missing it.

The company may be concerned about appeasing the government, given that it has not only dealt with online store closures and censorship, but is facing incoming data laws that will for instance require it to provide technical support in investigations. The company could theoretically be forced to create backdoors into its software if it wants to remain in the lucrative Chinese market.

The (Product)Red iPhones will go on sale this Friday, starting at $749 for a 128-gigabyte iPhone 7 and $869 for an equivalent 7 Plus. Until now, Apple has never supported (Red) through any of its flagship devices.

Update: On the issue of whether Chinese proceeds will go to the Global Fund, Apple CEO Tim Cook told MacRumors that this will happen "on every iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus we sell in every country in the world."

NY1822

poor Samsung, Apple beat them to the color red....remember they came out out with that ugly blue topaz color that Apple was rumored to have 2 years ago

wood1208

Apple is sensitive to local culture/politics while helping for good cause. Besides that many Chinese company owners getting very rich but lacking attitude to charity. Same problem in India and rest of world.

NY1822

the meaning behind the color red in china according to wiki:

Red, corresponding with fire, symbolizes good fortune and joy. Red is found everywhere during Chinese New Year and other holidays and family gatherings. A red envelope is a monetary gift which is given in Chinese society during holiday or special occasions. The red color of the packet symbolizes good luck. Red is strictly forbidden at funerals as it is a traditionally symbolic color of happiness;[1] however, as the names of the dead were previously written in red, it may be considered offensive to use red ink for Chinese names in contexts other than official seals.

jbdragon

wood1208 said:

Apple is sensitive to local culture/politics while helping for good cause. Besides that many Chinese company owners getting very rich but lacking attitude to charity. Same problem in India and rest of world.

They have no problem taking our money and they do!

ferdinandcc

I wish media outlets would wait a little longer to discover the real reason, rather than rely on speculation like this. It has nothing to do with China's conservative culture and views on AIDS. There are plenty of AIDS-related charities in China as well, and Apple had Product Red iPods in mainland China years ago as well. The real reason is, on January 1, 2017, it became illegal for non-profit NGOs to engage in or fund for-profit activities. So, for-profit corporations, like Apple, can no longer release products co-branded by a non-profit.

anantksundaram

ferdinandcc said:

I wish media outlets would wait a little longer to discover the real reason, rather than rely on speculation like this. It has nothing to do with China's conservative culture and views on AIDS. There are plenty of AIDS-related charities in China as well, and Apple had Product Red iPods in mainland China years ago as well. The real reason is, on January 1, 2017, it became illegal for non-profit NGOs to engage in or fund for-profit activities. So, for-profit corporations, like Apple, can no longer release products co-branded by a non-profit.

Thank you for that superb post. This forum is increasingly inhabited and ruled by moronic, ill-informed yahoos who are not only utterly ignorant of things outside their 20-mile radius of existence, but wear that moronicity on their sleeves. 

If it all sounds familiar... well...

I have, fwiw, pretty much stopped posting here. 

ferdinandcc

anantksundaram said:

Thank you for that superb post. This forum is increasingly inhabited and ruled by moronic, ill-informed yahoos who are not only utterly ignorant of things outside their 20-mile radius of existence, but wear that moronicity on their sleeves. 

Thanks for the compliment! Sadly, that seems to be the case on all the Apple-centric blogs and forums. All the tech sites in general. It's rare to find any forum that's not overrun by knee-jerk reactionaries! There are very few sites and groups I'm members of where everyone seems well informed and posts well-thought-out responses. Mostly graphic design and film studies forums. Part of the problem, too, is when the articles themselves that commenters are commenting on are equally rushed. 

flaneur

ferdinandcc said:

anantksundaram said:

Thank you for that superb post. This forum is increasingly inhabited and ruled by moronic, ill-informed yahoos who are not only utterly ignorant of things outside their 20-mile radius of existence, but wear that moronicity on their sleeves. 

Thanks for the compliment! Sadly, that seems to be the case on all the Apple-centric blogs and forums. All the tech sites in general. It's rare to find any forum that's not overrun by knee-jerk reactionaries! There are very few sites and groups I'm members of where everyone seems well informed and posts well-thought-out responses. Mostly graphic design and film studies forums. Part of the problem, too, is when the articles themselves that commenters are commenting on are equally rushed. 

And this is the second time I've seen the word "appease" used wrongly by AI in a story about Apple's China policies. This time you busted them with some facts. Thank you.

mubaili

anantksundaram said:

ferdinandcc said:

I wish media outlets would wait a little longer to discover the real reason, rather than rely on speculation like this. It has nothing to do with China's conservative culture and views on AIDS. There are plenty of AIDS-related charities in China as well, and Apple had Product Red iPods in mainland China years ago as well. The real reason is, on January 1, 2017, it became illegal for non-profit NGOs to engage in or fund for-profit activities. So, for-profit corporations, like Apple, can no longer release products co-branded by a non-profit.

Thank you for that superb post. This forum is increasingly inhabited and ruled by moronic, ill-informed yahoos who are not only utterly ignorant of things outside their 20-mile radius of existence, but wear that moronicity on their sleeves. 

If it all sounds familiar... well...

I have, fwiw, pretty much stopped posting here. 

yea, same here. thank you for the clarification. The media just being lazy. They didn't even ask Apple for a comment. Super lazy and did a great damage to the media's credibility

flaneur

anantksundaram said:

ferdinandcc said:

I wish media outlets would wait a little longer to discover the real reason, rather than rely on speculation like this. It has nothing to do with China's conservative culture and views on AIDS. There are plenty of AIDS-related charities in China as well, and Apple had Product Red iPods in mainland China years ago as well. The real reason is, on January 1, 2017, it became illegal for non-profit NGOs to engage in or fund for-profit activities. So, for-profit corporations, like Apple, can no longer release products co-branded by a non-profit.

Thank you for that superb post. This forum is increasingly inhabited and ruled by moronic, ill-informed yahoos who are not only utterly ignorant of things outside their 20-mile radius of existence, but wear that moronicity on their sleeves. 

If it all sounds familiar... well...

I have, fwiw, pretty much stopped posting here. 

Same here. A dark age of "moronicity" (I like the coinage) has indeed descended on us, seems like.

On the other hand, I also see people getting smarter in opposition. It's like a law of nature, or evolution.

teaearlegreyhot

"Apple has never supported (Red) through any of its flagship devices."

WTF is a "flagship device"?  AI needs to get away from this kind of jargony industry gobbledegook.

Roger_Fingas

teaearlegreyhot said:

"Apple has never supported (Red) through any of its flagship devices."

WTF is a "flagship device"?  AI needs to get away from this kind of jargony industry gobbledegook.

By flagship device, we mean something that a company puts the most emphasis on and usually drives most of its revenue. The iPhone, iPad, and Mac are Apple's flagships for example, while iPods are not.

sflocal

ferdinandcc said:

I wish media outlets would wait a little longer to discover the real reason, rather than rely on speculation like this. It has nothing to do with China's conservative culture and views on AIDS. There are plenty of AIDS-related charities in China as well, and Apple had Product Red iPods in mainland China years ago as well. The real reason is, on January 1, 2017, it became illegal for non-profit NGOs to engage in or fund for-profit activities. So, for-profit corporations, like Apple, can no longer release products co-branded by a non-profit.

An excellent and well-written response to exactly what the problem with today's so-called "media" outlets.  Media today just want to be the first to report anything, than have to deal with doing the actual work to determine the true facts.

And then there are sites like AI - even with employees with so-called degrees in journalism - that think it okay to perpetuate the status-quo, with trolls assisting to continue to spew out fake-news with an agenda.

Any "real" journalism as it used to be in the old days, is effectively dead, replaced by the longing to meet their web-click quota.  I rarely post anything here anymore since much content - especially the forums - are about the same quality as a supermarket tabloid rag.  

Ferdinandcc's comment was a refreshing sight in a sea of trash.  Honestly, excellent write-up.  *golf-clap* 

sflocal

flaneur said:

ferdinandcc said:

anantksundaram said:

Thank you for that superb post. This forum is increasingly inhabited and ruled by moronic, ill-informed yahoos who are not only utterly ignorant of things outside their 20-mile radius of existence, but wear that moronicity on their sleeves. 

Thanks for the compliment! Sadly, that seems to be the case on all the Apple-centric blogs and forums. All the tech sites in general. It's rare to find any forum that's not overrun by knee-jerk reactionaries! There are very few sites and groups I'm members of where everyone seems well informed and posts well-thought-out responses. Mostly graphic design and film studies forums. Part of the problem, too, is when the articles themselves that commenters are commenting on are equally rushed. 

And this is the second time I've seen the word "appease" used wrongly by AI in a story about Apple's China policies. This time you busted them with some facts. Thank you.

Yeah... like this is going to make AI change their reporting habits.  Not going to happen.  Their headline makes for a more dramatic response, hence web-hits.  Reporting actual facts is a rarity.

cali

anantksundaram said:

ferdinandcc said:

I wish media outlets would wait a little longer to discover the real reason, rather than rely on speculation like this. It has nothing to do with China's conservative culture and views on AIDS. There are plenty of AIDS-related charities in China as well, and Apple had Product Red iPods in mainland China years ago as well. The real reason is, on January 1, 2017, it became illegal for non-profit NGOs to engage in or fund for-profit activities. So, for-profit corporations, like Apple, can no longer release products co-branded by a non-profit.

Thank you for that superb post. This forum is increasingly inhabited and ruled by moronic, ill-informed yahoos who are not only utterly ignorant of things outside their 20-mile radius of existence, but wear that moronicity on their sleeves. 

If it all sounds familiar... well...

I have, fwiw, pretty much stopped posting here. 

I've found the most informed and mature people here.

You should try other website forums where facts and research are ignored by posters and if you place Apple in a positive light some troll will reply with an irrelevant meme and get more likes than you.

Or try YouTube comments which are filled with 12 year old android morons making up facts on the spot.

viclauyyc

ferdinandcc said:

I wish media outlets would wait a little longer to discover the real reason, rather than rely on speculation like this. It has nothing to do with China's conservative culture and views on AIDS. There are plenty of AIDS-related charities in China as well, and Apple had Product Red iPods in mainland China years ago as well. The real reason is, on January 1, 2017, it became illegal for non-profit NGOs to engage in or fund for-profit activities. So, for-profit corporations, like Apple, can no longer release products co-branded by a non-profit.

In China, people can send to jail without trail for being too active  to helping other. 

You can't speak too loud for poverty, which means the Commy did a bad job.

For AIDS, almost a taboo in china for homosexual activity and drug which govt. don't really recognize as a "problem", they see it as a foreign, capitalist problem.

For human rights, they just see it like a criminal activity. When a lawyer try to represent an activist, they will also send to jail for being too helpful and disagrees with government views. Human rights is not even a problem in china, the commy just don't give a shXt about. They think it is annoyances that foreign governments uses it as laughingstock and bargaining chips.

And the list goes on and on.

The Chinese government did all the evil thing as capitalist. But they still think/call them as a communist.

anantksundaram

cali said:

anantksundaram said:

ferdinandcc said:

I wish media outlets would wait a little longer to discover the real reason, rather than rely on speculation like this. It has nothing to do with China's conservative culture and views on AIDS. There are plenty of AIDS-related charities in China as well, and Apple had Product Red iPods in mainland China years ago as well. The real reason is, on January 1, 2017, it became illegal for non-profit NGOs to engage in or fund for-profit activities. So, for-profit corporations, like Apple, can no longer release products co-branded by a non-profit.

Thank you for that superb post. This forum is increasingly inhabited and ruled by moronic, ill-informed yahoos who are not only utterly ignorant of things outside their 20-mile radius of existence, but wear that moronicity on their sleeves. 

If it all sounds familiar... well...

I have, fwiw, pretty much stopped posting here. 

I've found the most informed and mature people here.

You should try other website forums where facts and research are ignored by posters and if you place Apple in a positive light some troll will reply with an irrelevant meme and get more likes than you.

Or try YouTube comments which are filled with 12 year old android morons making up facts on the spot.

That's not saying much then (I don't go to other Apple-related sites, so I honestly don't know). 

The quality of posters (and posts) here has, imho, gone down quite a bit compared to when I started here eleven years ago.