Top 10 Dark Secrets that Apple does not want you to Know

It is commonly known that tech behemoth Apple controls the electronic device market. So much so that someone sporting the newest iPhone or MacBook is instantly regarded as belonging to a different league. The late Steve Jobs' company has experienced significant growth throughout the years in terms of its clientele and quality with few significant hiccups. But has it?

Apple recently acknowledged in an official statement that when iPhone owners update to the newest version of iOS 11, their phones will begin to run slowly. This proves the urban myth, according to which Apple slowed down older iPhone models on purpose to encourage people to purchase a new model, to be real.

Their base of devoted customers has been severely damaged by this scandal, but it's not the only secret the business has been keeping from the public. The following list contains some of Apple's dirty little secrets, ready to be exposed to the world.

10. Holy grail for tax evasion

Some reports claim that Apple employs a web of offshore businesses to evade paying billions of dollars in US taxes. A U.S. Senate committee concluded in 2013 that Apple avoided paying taxes for four years totaling around $44 billion.

According to reports, Apple established up three businesses in Ireland that don't have a home nation for tax purposes but keep more than 60% of Apple's profits.Apple has amassed about $165 billion in cash and cash equivalents thanks to this "god-like smart" degree of tax planning.

9. Apple Police

The "Worldwide Loyalty Team" is a clandestine police force that works for Apple. Its primary responsibility is to safeguard Apple's product confidentiality and prevent any leaks. However, Apple has frequently gone beyond what is considered a normal and cordial inspection.

Each person participating in a product's manufacturing at any given stage must turn in their phones for inspection. The Loyalty team pretended to be San Francisco police officers to search a house for an iPhone prototype in a video that shows action outside of the Apple facility.

As you can see, the slowing down of iPhones is just the beginning. Who knows what sinister information this company is holding back? The next time you consider purchasing an iPhone gadget, be mindful of the espionage you are supporting and keep in mind Apple's murky secrets that may have an impact on you either directly or indirectly.

8. Steve ‘not a jolly fellow’ Jobs

When it came to running the company at Apple, Steve Jobs was a cunning businessman. Jobs frequently stole money from his business partners and pals. He refused stock options to another friend, Dan Kottke, after dumping co-founder Steve Wozniak of a $5,000 payment during the early stages of the business.

All of Apple's humanitarian initiatives were terminated when he returned to lead the company's operations in 1997. Despite accumulating a $7 billion net worth, there is no evidence of him engaging in charitable activity prior to his passing in 2007.

7. iSlaves?

Apple has frequently drawn criticism for putting worker health and safety last in order to produce better goods. There were 14 recorded suicide fatalities among Foxconn employees in 2010 (Apple's Chinese manufacturer). The working environment has frequently been compared to labour camps in reports.

Despite Apple's claims that it truly cares for its staff, at least 10 employees have been diagnosed with a rare blood malignancy brought on by chemicals used in the manufacture of the iPhone.

6. Symbol of Mystery

Since it was released in 1976, Apple's "bitten apple" emblem has been under scrutiny. A rainbow apple with a bite cut out of the right half was the logo's original design. It became evident from the remarks of a former Apple executive that the logo was truly intended to signify something gloomy.

The logo was associated with Adam and Eve's Original Sin in the Garden of Good and Evil. Anarchy and a quest for knowledge are the interpretations of the logo.

There are so many hidden implications in just one logo.

5. The ‘Apple’ way of coming up with the next Big Product

Even though Apple employs thousands of people, the majority of its products are first created by a small team of just 15 or 16 designers gathered around a kitchen table.

According to the testimony of Apple industrial designer Christopher Stringer, who was the first witness called in the famous patent trial between Apple and Samsung, this is the case.

According to AllThingsD, Stringer testified, "We'll sit there with our sketch books and trade ideas." "Therefore, comes the genuinely harsh, brutally honest criticism."

4. Apple’s Marketing

SVP of Marketing Phil Schiller testified at the Apple-Samsung trial that Apple uses an internal metric to assess the sales of a new iPhone: "Each new generation sold almost equal to all previous generations combined." From The Verge's live blog, that statement was taken. Schiller claimed it was an internal joke in a tweet from CNBC reporter Jon Fortt. Therefore, it is unlikely that Apple utilises this figure to assess the success or failure of the iPhone.

It still makes for an intriguing yardstick to employ when evaluating the iPhone, though. Horace Dediu utilised the metric to examine how Apple's iPhone sales have fared through time and what has to be done for Apple to outperform this metric with the new iPhone. (Even though it is the sixth iPhone, we'll refer to it as the iPhone 5 like most people.)

Apple sold the earlier editions of the iPhone effortlessly for the first four iterations. It appears to be a much tougher difficulty for the iPhone 4S and the upcoming iPhone 5. Apple has only sold nearly half of the iPhone 4Ss it needs to sell to reach its cumulative sales goal, as shown in the chart in this post. Apple should be able to hit that milestone if the iPhone 4S continues to be sold for the foreseeable future.

According to Dediu, Apple will need to sell more than 263 million iPhone 5 units to meet the same goal. Dediu doubts Apple will reach that figure. Apple might be able to sell over 200 million iPhone 5 units, but it won't be simple if sales of the iPhone 5 are as strong as those of the iPhone 3GS.Dediu is basically stating the obvious, but it could nevertheless have a small negative impact on the stock: Apple's phenomenal growth will eventually run into the law of huge numbers.

3. Apple made no advertising investments for the first iPhone.

According to Schiller's testimony, after the launch of the first iPhone, Apple decided not to initially invest in advertising. We weren't required to, he declared. Instead, the business relied on all of the favourable attention that the iPhone received. But since then, the business has gradually increased its ad budget.

2. Apple uses 3rd party components in all of its products.

No manufacturer ever creates something using only its own components. It is absurd for a corporation to produce parts like this, from general-purpose chips to capacitors. The same is true for readily incorporated components like cameras. Instead of paying the enormous amount of research and development necessary to catch up to the competition only to have that firm leapfrog its design, why not purchase a high-quality product from a company that creates those? It's no secret that Apple delivers its own products using third-party parts and services. Apple adds value to products by considering how well they fit together and function as a unit. Are you looking for the "secret" here?

1. Apple’s Simple Formula

Apple is well-known for its cutting-edge goods, stylish gear, and, of course, its enormous profit margins. With its iPhone 6, for which Apple is charging more than three times the cost of components and manufacturing, the last statement is still valid.

Apple spent $200.10 on the parts and manufacture of a 16GB iPhone 6, according to a teardown analysis from the research firm IHS. Without a wireless service agreement, the tablet is available in the US for $649. This results in a profit margin for the product of roughly 69%. IHS estimates that the cost of components and manufacturing for the iPhone 6 Plus, which costs $100 more than its smaller sibling, is only $15.50. That is a margin of 71 percent.

The touchscreen, which costs $45 on the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and $52.50 on the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, is the greatest expense for both smartphones. The better camera on the iPhone 6 Plus, which features optical picture stabilisation, is its primary selling point in addition to size. That costs $12.50 as opposed to the camera on the iPhone 6 costing $11.

The numbers don't provide an accurate representation of the costs associated in making one iPhone. Apple also incurs fees for software, shipping, marketing, licensing, and other expenses. Apple's margins are enormous, even when all costs are taken into account. In the most recent fiscal quarter, the company's gross margins were 39.4%, up from 36.9% in the corresponding period the previous year.

The same is true with its iPad, iWatch, and essentially all of its other products.