Re: apple reaches $490M settlement for fraud

On 3/17/2024 3:34 AM, badgolferman wrote:

Apple has reached a $490 million settlement to resolve a class-action
lawsuit that alleged Chief Executive Tim Cook defrauded shareholders by
concealing falling demand for iPhones in China.
 It stemmed from Apple’s unexpected announcement on Jan. 2, 2019, that the
iPhone maker would slash its quarterly revenue forecast by up to $9
billion, blaming U.S.-China trade tensions.
 Cook had told investors on an Nov. 1, 2018, analyst call that although
Apple faced sales pressure in markets such as Brazil, India, Russia and
Turkey, where currencies had weakened, “I would not put China in that
category.”
 Apple told suppliers a few days later to curb production.
 The lowered revenue forecast was Apple’s first since the iPhone’s launch in
2007. Shares of Apple fell 10% the next day, wiping out $74 billion of
market value.
 Apple and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment
on the ruling.
 https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/15/apple-reaches-490-million-settlement-over-tim-cooks-china-sales-comments-.html

What exactly did he say? Did he mean that the Chinese currency had not weakened (which was true) and did he mean the the iPhone faced sales pressure, but not because of the currency (also true)?
Apple has always faced sales pressure in China, for multiple reasons.
For a long time, there were no dual SIM iPhones, which greatly affected sales, then Apple began selling dual SIM iPhones only in China (which is still the case) but it happened very late.
There was the nationalistic issue regarding the U.S. in Huawei that negatively affected iPhone sales since Apple is a U.S. company.
There is still the issue of the iPhone App store versus the plethora of Android app stores, and the larger number of Chinese language apps for Android.
In China, the iPhone is considered a luxury item, along the line of Louis Vuitton bags and Hermès scarves. Regular Chinese citizens are more likely to buy a Xiamoi, OnePlus, or Oppo phone since their flagship models are better, in some ways, than the flagship iPhones.
Finally, iMessage has no appeal in China where everyone uses WeChat, and since most Chinese use Android devices where iMessage is not available.
--
“If you are not an expert on a subject, then your opinions about it really do matter less than the opinions of experts. It's not indoctrination nor elitism. It's just that you don't know as much as they do about the subject.”—Tin Foil Awards