Comment by judge2020

4 years ago

Apple is renting the phone to you for $1000 down and $0 a month (unless you actually are financing). Therefore, they are the landlord and, given notice, can change the property as they feel fit.

13 comments

judge2020

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least  4 years ago

This is demonstrably not true. If you rent a home and then burn it down, you are going to be held liable to the owner of the home. In the case of your phone, no one, including Apple, cares if you buy it and then immediately smash it on the ground and destroy it.

Apple controls the software that runs on it but there is nothing that stops you from modifying or hacking it to your heart's content if you are able to, just as they are not obligated to make that an easy task for you.

  • willis936  4 years ago

    >Apple controls the software that runs on it but there is nothing that stops you from modifying or hacking it to your heart's content

    Nothing except all of Apple's attempts to make that difficult and a bad op sec decision. Oh and let's not forget the series of lawsuits attempting to make jailbreaking considered illegal. Luckily they failed there, but if they could make modifying their software illegal make no doubt that they would.

    They don't own the hardware they sell you in the same way a landlord owns a home because they have transferred all physical equity to the purchaser. However, Apple's model really stretches the definition of "ownership". Would you say you own a adobe acrobat because you paid for it, or would you say you own a license to use it? Buying Apple means you own the hardware and license the software that makes that hardware be anything other than a paperweight. It's not a very attractive idea. Kudos to their marketing department.

    • least  4 years ago

      > Nothing except all of Apple's attempts to make that difficult and a bad op sec decision.

      No one said it had to be easy or advisable.

      > Would you say you own a adobe acrobat because you paid for it, or would you say you own a license to use it?

      Any software that I run that I didn't write myself is subject to the license of the people who wrote it defined it to be. Even the MIT License places requirements on you for you to be allowed to use the software. Exceptions to these copyright protections have been made which extends to jailbreaking iOS devices, which requires modifying copyrighted code.

      > Buying Apple means you own the hardware and license the software that makes that hardware be anything other than a paperweight.

      All hardware is paperweight without software.

      6 replies →

  • yarky  4 years ago

    I think the op meant that as an analogy : in order for you to use their software, you pay 1000$ upfront for the hardware. So you can look at it as a one time payment/rent to use their environment. Since you need to upgrade iPhones quite often, I guess renting isn't a bad analogy.

    > but there is nothing that stops you from modifying or hacking it to your heart's content if you are able to.

    Are you sure? I haven't read the terms, but that might be quite against their rules. Rules that you probably adhere to by using their product, but I'm not a legal expert.

    • akerl_  4 years ago

      Their rules cover their continued services. When you buy an iPhone, you are free to use whatever tools you’d like to modify / hack / break / enhance / etc the device.

      The terms govern your interaction w/ Apple. So, for example, if you crack open the case and try to re-wire the board, the terms say your warranty no longer applies. If you modify the software, they can ban you from interacting with their servers. And if you start offering to sell modified iPhones to other people, they can come after you for damaging their business.

      That’s what owning the phone means. You can do what you want with the phone you bought, but they aren’t required to support your efforts or allow you to use the services they’re actively running.