Comment by Miraste
16 days ago
Apple needs China. It's a big market that still manufactures most iPhones, despite their efforts to change that. The surveillance bill the UK has passed is in some ways worse than China's (a UK shard would not satisfy it), and the UK is far less important.
I'm well aware. It's a star-crossed romance that is bound to end during this administration. It should have ended a long time ago, Apple simply wanted to exploit the ambiguity of America's politics until it no longer benefit them.
I suspect, no different from the iPhone adopting USB-C or the App Store adhering to EU legislation, Apple needs the UK as well. It really isn't as simple as walking away from certain markets, and even if Apple did abandon it they would still be subject to warrantless surveillance from the UK via Five Eyes.