Apple Complies with iPad '4G' Marketing Ruling in Australia, Faces New Complaint in Norway
Apple has updated its marketing for the new iPad in Australia after regulators in that country criticized the company over "misleading" marketing claims related to the iPad's 4G capabilities. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced on Tuesday that it would pursue injunctions, fines and other remedies.
Apple responded by offering full refunds to Australian customers who felt misled about Apple's 4G advertising.
Apple has seen similar complaints over the iPad's 4G marketing in other countries including Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Currently, the iPad only works on 4G LTE networks in the United States and Canada. The Norwegian complaint is more significant than those in the other countries. Like Australia, Norway has actually instructed Apple to change the wording of its marketing materials.
The Norwegian Forbrukerombudet, or Consumer Ombudsman, has expressed particular concern over the heavy focus on the new iPad's 4G LTE support and the description of the product as "designed with next-generation wireless technology".
Because the iPad's LTE support is incompatible with Norwegian wireless networks, the fact that the iPad supports LTE makes no difference to potential buyers in Norway and is thus "misleading". The Ombudsman has given Apple until April 10, 2012 to make the necessary changes.
Popular Stories
Apple earlier this week announced the discontinuation of the iPod touch, and because it was the last iPod still available for purchase, its sunsetting effectively marks the end of the entire iPod lineup.
To send the iPod on its way, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the most notable iPod releases over the last 21 years.
Original iPod (2001)
Introduced in October...
iOS 16 will include new ways of interacting with the system and some "fresh Apple apps," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said, offering some more detail on what Apple has in store for the upcoming release of iOS and iPadOS set to be announced in a few weeks at WWDC. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman wrote that while iOS 16 is not likely to introduce a major face-lift to...
It's been over 200 days since Apple debuted its redesigned MacBook Pro lineup. Offered in 14-inch and 16-inch display sizes, the new-look MacBooks wowed Apple fans and creative pros alike with their powerful custom Apple silicon, mini-LED screen, and multiple connectivity options. But there are still some things you can't do with a MacBook Pro. Here are five features some Mac users are still...
While there are as yet no concrete rumors related to which devices iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 will support, the discontinuation of the iPod touch earlier this week may be an indication that as many as nine devices could be about to lose support for Apple's upcoming operating systems.
iOS and iPadOS 13, 14, and 15 support all of the same devices, with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus,...
Apple has launched a special limited-time offer for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad trade-in that offers customers additional credit when trading in their only device for a new one.
The offer is being run in several countries including the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, India, and France. In the UK, Apple is offering up to £50 of extra trade-in credit...
Sony's flagship WH-1000XM4 noise-canceling headphones have been among the best on the market for some time, and today Sony announced its fifth-generation WH-1000XM5 headphones, boasting a new design and several improvements over the previous model.
The redesigned headphones replace the shrouded arms that swivel on the XM4's with an exposed arm that has a single contact point at the earcups,...
Apple plans to launch a new version of the Apple TV in the second half of 2022, according to well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a tweet today, Kuo said the new Apple TV will have an improved cost structure, suggesting that the device could have a lower price that is more competitive with other streaming media players like Google's Chromecast line, Amazon's Fire TV line, and the Roku line. ...
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models will be available in a refreshed range of color options, including an all-new purple color, according to a recent rumor.
The claim comes from a post on Chinese social media site Weibo by an unverified source and purports to reveal the full range of color options for Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models. Compared to the selection of color...
Top Rated Comments
Apple have definitely gone about the 4G thing the wrong way. Completely misadvertising it outside NA.
If its 4G, then its supposed to be 4G capable. It does not accept what will be the frequency for 4G in the UK, therefore it is not capable of 4G here.
But nevertheless, I'm sure the Advertising Standards Agency will be all over it by now. Expect a rename in the coming months.
Just take a step back, and think about what the reaction would have be in the United States if Apple released the brand new LTE-compatible "iPad Wifi + 4G" on March 7, then when everyone started receiving their pre-ordered iPads on March 16, they realized that it was utterly incompatible with either Verizon or AT&T's 4G networks.
Then, imagine if the response was "well.... it works perfectly well on Australia's and Norway's 4G networks, so I don't know what you are complaining about - it was in the fine print".
Or maybe the response would be "well.... technically you can call pretty much anything 4G, so you should be satisfied with pre-LTE 3G technology, because the fine print says that I can call that 4G if I want to".
I'm guessing that there would be a very large number of unhappy American consumers in that scenario.
As I said in a previous post - I love my Apple products and admire them as a company, but this is a monumental marketing mistake and local regulators around the world have every right to stand up for consumers in their local jurisdiction if a company has engaged in misleading advertising.
Except you won't ever get 4G on your 4G Apple capable device outside of North America. Which is what the problem is and the reason Apple are getting bitch slapped left, right and centre.