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Apologists
- Thread starter Spidder
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Whatever Apple does is for the good. Any mistakes brushed aside with "What-abouts..." Apologisms can be found on virtually all subjects: politics, religion typically lead the pack.
The term is also considered a way to consistently defend Apple no matter what the cause, then others are considered 'Apple Apologists.'
For example I frequently observed on the iPhone forum, when Apple removed the 3.5 mm Jack from the iPhone 7, if you defended the cause why Apple removed it, then you're considered somebody that would be an 'Apple defender or apologist.'
My best advice, is never to use this self generated Phrase, as it usually just create controversy and causes unnecessary arguments between other members.
It's often used much more loosely (and incorrectly) than even that--in enough cases when people are on Apple's case for something or other, or even just because, if someone isn't similarly on Apple's case, even if they aren't actually defending Apple, the label can still come up (for derisive reasons essentially).
It's someone who has an excuse for anything a company says/does.
Example:
It's not right that Qualcomm modems are crippled removing 4x4 MIMO antennas. In low signal areas the Intel is practically unusable too!
Apologist: My Intel modem works fine for me. It's your carrier, the way you use it, etc.
Another:
How come the battery life is so different on the 6s between the TSMC and Samsung chips?
Apologist: There isn't, you are just using it wrong.
Edit: No real reasoning, just excuses usually blaming anyone but Apple.
Example:
It's not right that Qualcomm modems are crippled removing 4x4 MIMO antennas. In low signal areas the Intel is practically unusable too!
Apologist: My Intel modem works fine for me. It's your carrier, the way you use it, etc.
Another:
How come the battery life is so different on the 6s between the TSMC and Samsung chips?
Apologist: There isn't, you are just using it wrong.
Edit: No real reasoning, just excuses usually blaming anyone but Apple.
"Apologist" means a person who defends something controversial.
Since the personal computer industry has always had its preferences, choices, enthusiasts and factions (as it seems like it should be) and every major company can be widely criticized for something, naturally arguments have arisen "against" all of them. I don't think any company has been shown to be truly evil or anything, so I think the use of the term in this area of discussion is at least something of an exaggeration.
Since the personal computer industry has always had its preferences, choices, enthusiasts and factions (as it seems like it should be) and every major company can be widely criticized for something, naturally arguments have arisen "against" all of them. I don't think any company has been shown to be truly evil or anything, so I think the use of the term in this area of discussion is at least something of an exaggeration.
I hereby publicly apologise for Apple's becoming a bag of glued together wazz that hypnotises the public who have lost the purpose in life and are simply drifting about in the ocean of sense gratification accepting illusion for truth. Bring back the infra-red port on the iMac and Stop The Glue and we will consider forgiving you, Apple.
Also, being an Apple Apologist could mean coming to Apple's defense, even when the post they were replying to was not bashing Apple.
Here is an example of an actual Apologist response, I have seen this multiple times in some fashion, paraphrased...
Random poster: After using the ATV4, I am a little disappointed in the UI on the apps, especially Netflix and YouTube. The ATV3's version of apps were much better.
Apologist: You realize Apple doesn’t write the interface for Netflix or YouTube, right? Apple didn’t design or write those apps.
Yea, I see stuff like this all the time.
This is especially when stating any bugs/glitches you are experiencing. They assume that if they did not experience the problem, then the poster must be either making it up, or they are just using it wrong.
The following real example is from a few years ago shortly after the ATV4 launch. There were many threads about all the bugs on the ATV4, and this was a response from an Apple Apologist to the people that were experiencing the bugs:
Typical Apple Apologist said:
A few things about those type of instances. In enough cases when people talk about something being off with an app or something that should be better or different they in fact do aim it Apple in one way or another, so at times those responses pointing out that it's not Apple would be appropriate. Certainly not in all cases, but it's harder to make that distinction at times in places like online forums when different people mean these kinds of things in different ways.
As far as something working fine for someone while someone has some perhaps even drastic issues, it's also not exactly unheard of that some people do in fact have some issues with their devices and/or installations that are more unique to their situation than some somwtbing that is widespread. Again, this is certainly far from applying in all of those type of cases, and at times those type of responses certainly wouldn't be fitting, but often enough they can be.
It seems that what's perhaps more disconcerting is that a lot of things of this nature, which aren't really "apologist" type of things in many instances, are being generalized and lumped with it all just because they can be at times looked at differently and essentially (mis)interpreted to come off that way.
Context is important, so if I would post the whole conversation, it would give a better picture on what was going on.
It is important to say that yes, sometimes people get label these names prematurely just because they support a decision Apple has made. I myself have been called an apologist on a few occasions.
The point was that some people will be ready to make an excuse for a problem, or defend something done/not done by Apple, no matter what the situation is. Regular forum users can probably recognize a few of these people when reading threads.
On the other hand, there are many people that criticize Apple, no matter what the situation is. They have their own names, and I was also given this label a few times. I think I was labeled an Apple Apologist, and an Apple basher (or something similar) in the same thread before.
I guess using the terms of something equivalent to an Apple Apologist, or an Apple Hater has become tech forums version of calling someone a NOOB. But, that doesn't mean the name given is unwarranted.
Mine is more geared towards facts.
Like, how antennas were removed from Qualcomm to match Intel. iFixit verified that the modem is indeed the X16. Which does have the proper capabilities to have gigabit LTE (Not actual gigabit speeds but improved speeds most noticeable in low signal areas). Apple is staying mum because if they admit this, Qualcomm wins.
Apple also throttled the Samsung chip in the 6s because while it would run faster, it would also risk overheating and burning up battery life. So it was a really double edged sword using that s8000 96mm/14nm. Apple even admitted there is a 2-3% difference. That might not seem like a lot but the differences might have actually been higher under certain loads.
When people apologize for those, that's when I get frustrated. Sure software has issues, but unless it's verified (Like rushing the 11.2 update due to reboot bug) I can't really say "You're an apologist!". It's not a fact that everyone is having trouble with iOS 11 iterations. So when I rant about it, it's my opinion. When I rant about hardware, that's a whole different beast entirely.
... and against alternative facts.
I would not use the term "apologist" for someone making supportable arguments to defend Apple. (For example, Apple's constant moves to replace older ports with newer smaller ones are most likely based on making devices thinner - not on the profit from "upselling" buckets of dongles.)
I would perhaps use the term if someone is making nonsense arguments to defend Apple. (For example, Apple's use of a fork of an old EFI BIOS that was deprecated in 2005 is hardly defensible - except as a tool for vendor lockin.)
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If they've got the facts to back up what they are saying, it's not alternate facts. It's just facts in general. I meant the people who don't have ANY facts but instead say very generalized phrases.
This unfortunate leap, from observation to hard-fast general conclusion is made quite often. And unfortunately if you ask about the intermediate steps of an observation to a general fact applicable to "the masses", posters get very defensive. And we've all seen where that goes.
"Touchscreens laptops? Who wants one of those"?
"Super non-ergonomic to use touchscreen laptops"
(crowd of Apple fans laugh & ridicule other companies)
"We've invented an incredible keyboard case that props up your touchscreen tablet so you can use it upright"
"It's amazing to use your upright tablet touchscreen with a keyboard below that is totally not a touchscreen laptop - those are awful to use"
(crowd of Apple fans swoons at the innovation shown by Apple - again - of course - who else but Apple?)
Shoot - you said apologists, not hypocrites....I guess it's both actually.
"Super non-ergonomic to use touchscreen laptops"
(crowd of Apple fans laugh & ridicule other companies)
"We've invented an incredible keyboard case that props up your touchscreen tablet so you can use it upright"
"It's amazing to use your upright tablet touchscreen with a keyboard below that is totally not a touchscreen laptop - those are awful to use"
(crowd of Apple fans swoons at the innovation shown by Apple - again - of course - who else but Apple?)
Shoot - you said apologists, not hypocrites....I guess it's both actually.
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"Who needs a phablet?""Touchscreens laptops? Who want's one of those"?
"Super non-ergonomic to use touchscreen laptops"
(crowd of Apple fans laugh & ridicule other companies)
"We've invented an incredible keyboard case that props up your touchscreen tablet so you can use it upright"
"It's amazing to use your upright tablet touchscreen with a keyboard below that is totally not a touchscreen laptop - those are awful to use"
(crowd of Apple fans swoons at the innovation shown by Apple - again - of course - who else but Apple?)
Shoot - you said apologists, not hypocrites....I guess it's both actually.
IPhone 6 Plus.
"4 inch phones are perfect!"
IPhone 6.
"We don't need headphone jacks!"
Makes their own wireless headphones, what a "coincidence".
Innovation = adding on cost by removing and/or using different technology. It's great! /s