Are UK Apple Customers Being Overcharged For iCloud? £3 Billion Lawsuit Says 'Yes'
(www.ibtimes.co.uk)
from rosschie@lemdro.id to world@lemmy.world on 15 Nov 2024 10:18
https://lemdro.id/post/15203768
from rosschie@lemdro.id to world@lemmy.world on 15 Nov 2024 10:18
https://lemdro.id/post/15203768
Consumer group Which? has filed a £3 billion lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of forcing iCloud usage and overcharging customers.
#world
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Apple laughs in trillions.
Apple overcharging? Never!
Get a Synology and fuck the system.
Synology is just as bad now.
Just do the right thing from the start - build your own NAS and don’t rely on commerical software.
/c/selfhosted
Let’s be real. Do you think someone who uses an iphone will have the ability to buy a compact hot swappable computer, buy and install hard drives, download and burn a bootable partition on a USB stick, navigate terminal to install an Linux Nas distro, then setup DDNS and setup SSL and then setup their iphone?
I know how and have done this before and I still bought a Synology box. You don’t know how many times I had to migrate my data when a FOSS becomes abandonware. There is a certain comfort knowing that your shit isn’t going to be abandon.
Commercial software doesn’t mean it’s bad. Pfsense is a commercial software and it’s amazing. I buy their routing solutions.
Yes. I have an iPhone.
So do I.
Though I don’t actually fit the description very well as I build my servers from individual pieces.
I’m also a pretty hardcore Debian user (have been since the mid-90s, very early in the project’s life) so no “Linux NAS distro” for me.
Even if you are part of the Apple ecosystem, there is zero reason to pay for iCloud. There are free alternatives.
This holds up for simple file hosting, but the entire suite of Apple apps supports collaboration, many with live editing features. Slow sync times would put a damper on that.
Do you mean office suite stuff like Keynote and Pages or are you talking more complex things like Logic Pro?
I don’t use logic, but yeah the whole iWork suite, Freeform, Reminders, Notes. I think HomeKit data is also synced, and given how much data corruption happens in HomeKit as it is, I would dread any other complication.
There’s also the transparent encryption that happens where even Apple can’t get your stuff.
I mean I’d be a fan if Apple published a requirement spec for the iCloud api and opened it up to third parties, but it will be a lot to unpack and implement.
I use all of those and I don’t need to pay for iCloud.
You must not use a lot of data on those apps then. My Logic files alone go easily over the free tier. Add to that iPhone and iPad backups for the family and there’s no way I could have anywhere near the same level of service without paying for iCloud.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to include Logic in that. I don’t use that. But like Homekit and Reminders and stuff? It’s never been an issue.
Why did you simply gloss over backups? But it’s not just that, there’s all kinds of files and documents.
Sure, if you use very little synced data and the free tier suits you, then you don’t need to pay.
That’s not the same as not needing to pay for iCloud. What you’re saying is that people don’t need to keep their data synced across devices but that should really be a user choice and not mandated by the platform.
What I’d like is for Apple to publish the iCloud API specs and allow 3rd-parties to offer alternative services that you configure somewhere in Settings.
Ideally, there would be a self-hosted option where you can simply point it to an arbitrary URL but I suspect the latter will never happen “because security”.
Of course, that last point is only really valid if their promise of E2E encryption is not more than a promise.
I glossed over backups specifically because, as I said, there are free alternatives.
For example, I back up my photos remotely to Google Photos. I also back them up locally.
That’s not what’s in iPhone and iPad backups. If you keep moving the goalpost, there’s no point in this discussion.
I’m not moving any goalposts. I’m not sure why you’re being so hostile. I’m telling you what I do for the data I back up. I don’t know what backups you’re talking about, backing up the entire device and everything that’s on it including all the apps? It’s just not something that I think is necessary. On the other hand, I have ways to store all the photos, videos, music, texts, and any other things like that which might need backing up and can’t just be re-downloaded from the app store.
I agree, if you’re using something like Logic, paying for iCloud makes sense right now even if it is overpriced and unnecessary.
Very well, I will give you the benefit of the doubt one last time.
On an iPhone, Settings -> Apple Account -> iCloud -> iCloud Backup -> Back Up This iPhone.
That’s not how it works. App binaries are not backed up as part of this. Neither are photos if they’re already backed up as part of iCloud Photos (though still part of iCloud).
One of the major advantages of using this kind of backup is that I never worry that I’m going to be without my access to my bank. Even if my phone is lost or stolen, worse comes to worse I can restore the backup on a new phone and all encryption keys, biometrics authorisations, OTP, etc. are restored with it.
“I have ways” is not the same as there being an iCloud alternative. You may have ways. Does the average user, without having to go through hoops and likely getting lost in the process? That’s what an iCloud alternative has to look like to be an actual alternative.
This last point alone shows how much you don’t seem to understand what the problem statement is. Using iCloud may be unnecessary, but that was never under discussion. Of course, no one needs automatic and transparent syncing between devices. The point is that if you want that feature and you’re using an Apple device, your only alternative is locked down to what Apple offers.
That is what it means to not exist an alternative to iCloud.
I hope this helps clarify. If you are going to respond, please keep this last point in mind as that’s the part that’s important.
Okay, you’re just being repeatedly and needlessly hostile over a really unimportant discussion about backing up data. I’m just going to bow out before I have to do some moderating regarding civility.
Please point out at which point I was hostile.
The free tier is pretty good for many people. It’s mostly Photos that ever push people into actually paying for an iCloud account.
Yeah, and you can just use Google photos for free unless you have just a shit ton of photos.