The political situation in eastern Ukraine caused the introduction of new sanctions against Russia by the United States, which most directly affected relations between the countries. This time the conflict has affected Apple products, which are very popular among users around the world. What will change with the cessation of supply of Apple products and is there any reason to panic? You will find answers to all questions in this article.
History of the company and Apple technical support in Russia
The Russian representative office of Apple officially opened in 2007, when sales of products in the country exceeded 70 million US dollars. It was the popularity of the company's gadgets that prompted the opening of numerous service centers and Apple technical support offices.
Since 2010, the company has become the official importer of the Apple representative office in Russia."Marvel". Thus, in 2012, not a single Apple retail store existed on the territory of the Russian Federation, since gadgets began to be sold through various retail chains with a price increase of at least 5-10%. In the same year, Apple Rus was registered, which to this day is the official representative in the country. Apple Support in Russia is fully responsible for the gadgets sold and provides all services for their repair and technical support to its customers.
User data requested by the company
Each user who purchases Apple products, be it an iPhone or a MacBook, is required to go through the identification procedure and officially register in the system by receiving their ID-code. After that, paid applications and many other features of the system become available.
The most popular is Apple's cloud storage called iCloud, where everyone can upload any files and be calm for their safety. However, recent political developments have taken the company's Russian users by surprise, who now have to rush to delete their data from the cloud service, fearing that iCloud and Apple-Russia will be discontinued. The phone, if the service is disabled, can only be used as a mobile communication device.
The next sanctions from America
The past year was remembered by Russians as not the most peaceful time in the country. Conflict with Ukraine, unstable ruble exchange rate and impositionnumerous sanctions from America, because of which both sides suffered huge damage, greatly crippled the economy. In addition, the sanctions have caused already strained relations between the countries.
At the end of 2014, the world media was flooded with a wave of publications about the ban on the import of products into the country, as reported by the Apple support service in Russia. Experts confirmed that the fears of citizens are not groundless. And from January 1, 2015, it was announced the suspension of the use of Apple gadgets in the Russian Federation. It should be noted that the promised ban did not take place at the agreed time.
However, citizens of some regions of Russia have already become inaccessible to certain services from another American company - Google, which has blocked the use of PlayMarket and GoogleAdsense. The latter was extremely alarming for webmasters, whose main source was earnings from the ads they viewed.
On what basis will Apple be banned in Russia in 2015?
The restriction is regulated by the law "On Personal Data", which is actively used by the system. At the moment, court hearings are being held with a request to postpone the entry into force of the law to January 1, 2016. The sudden decision to pass a law to ban Apple has already caused great damage to Russian companies, because back in June 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that forces all foreign companies to use the personal data of their customers only on the territory of their native state. In case of non-compliance with this law, companies will have to stoptheir work on the territory of the Russian Federation. Such radical restrictions are completely conditioned by our state, because the use of personal data of any person without his knowledge is already a matter of jurisdiction. Even though the person provides all information about himself voluntarily.
What is really going on?
The ban on Apple in Russia is nothing more than another political provocation. Neither party benefits from banning Apple products. Moreover, the love for the "apple" gadget is manifested by many deputies and politicians, the most famous of which is Dmitry Medvedev. An immediate blocking of the import of products and the provision of services will lead to losses of more than $2 billion. Will Apple take that risk? Many experts argue that the ban on Apple in Russia can happen gradually, but by no means in one day, as was stated.
Apple ban in Russia – what will change?
Basically nothing will change. The attention of users will simply switch to more affordable options for gadgets, which the Chinese manufacturer fills the Russian market today. In addition, at the moment there are operating systems that allow you to download applications and use various services absolutely free. The question is, why overpay Apple for something that can be downloaded in the public domain?
Even app download limitfor users of the Android operating system is not a disaster. Numerous Internet resources allow you to install programs regardless of any sanctions or political turmoil. It is quite possible that the same will happen with the iOS operating system, which is installed on Apple gadgets.
There is no reason to panic
Rumors that Apple will be banned in Russia flooded the Internet and pages of printed publications. This news was the most discussed in the last months of 2014. But there is no reason to panic. Of course, fans of the brand will be disappointed in the impossibility of buying a new iPhone or downloading a trendy song in iTunes. But it can be experienced, as many years of practice shows. American manufacturers did not take into account that the mentality of Russians is significantly different from the West. We are not used to paying for something that you can get for free. That is why the people's attitude towards sanctions is extremely skeptical.
Analogues of Apple products
Today, the Chinese gadget market offers all sorts of options for personal equipment, which in terms of quality and functionality is practically no different from Western counterparts. A simple layman is not even able to distinguish a real iPhone from a fake Chinese jewelry on free Android.
Chinese brands Lenovo and HTC are gaining popularity in Russia, offering their customers smartphones, tablets and laptops. The products of these companies optimally combineaffordable prices and high build quality. So why pay more?
Any personal gadget should, first of all, be affordable and reliable for its owner. But everyone knows the Apple scandal in September 2014, when hackers hacked the iCloud cloud service, from which they stole thousands of personal photos of celebrities and tried to sell them for huge money on online auctions. Of course, there is no question of any security in this case. It cannot be guaranteed that Apple technical support in Russia will compensate moral damage to its customers in a similar situation.
Conclusion
Thus, the Russians should not worry if the law "On Personal Data" still comes into force. It must be remembered that any problem can be solved, even if Apple is banned in Russia. And manufacturers from friendly China will be happy to help.
