Apple charges $99 for the two year warranty in the states. You get that "free" in Europe. Add in all of the other regulatory burdens, labor laws, and such, and it's very easy to see why things cost more in the rest of the Western world.

As a perfect example, they're likely on the hook for many millions of dollars of repairs with this issue in the article in the EU. In the US, only the people that had the problem early on or bought the extended warranty are covered. There ain't no free lunch.

So you're claiming that Apple's manufacturing is SO BAD that the they have to charge a full additional 99$ (more than 1/10th of the price) just guarantee that your Apple device will work for 2 years? Or do you perhaps think that there's another reason (PROFIT!) there?

Actually, looking at Apples stock performance I'd easily say that this is just about demanding normal decency from Apple.

They come to Europe to sell phones and we demand that they compete on the same terms as anyone else here.

Edit:

> they're likely on the hook for many millions of dollars of repairs with this issue in the article in the EU.

They can expect no mercy ;-)

They are big enough that they should know about key concepts like QA, continuous improvement and insurance.

That's all fine and dandy, but it isn't free. That's the point I'm making.

Apple made $7.6 billion USD in net income in the last quarter; I'm pretty sure they have plenty to cover the cost of repairs because of poor manufacturing quality.

That's not how it works. They're going to sell it for as much margin as any given market can optimally support. This is basic supply and demand.

Agree.

Additionally letting Apple (and other big companies)[0] clean up their own mess creates a perfectly aligned incentive to avoid messing with consumers again.

Edit: clarify

[0]: I actually like big companies. It's mostly just when they, -in spite of massive profits, do stupid things e.g: like whining against basic worker or consumer protection etc that they annoy me.