Why Apple Removed All Reviews From Their Website

Why Apple Removed All Reviews From Their Website

Apple has removed all reviews from their website and it might be my fault. 

On November 13th Apple unveiled the new 16inch Macbook Pro. Most Apple fans were excited to see that this laptop fixed many of the issues with the previous version like the keyboard, cooling, and the reintroduction of a physical escape key. Patrick and I were happy about the updates, but were still upset that Apple is using exclusively Thunderbolt 3 ports on the laptop. 

Having to carry around a bunch of dongles is annoying, but it would be acceptable if the dongles were reliable. In our experience, the dongles have never been reliable. We decided to make a video talking about our experience using Apple-branded, and third party USB C dongles. 

As you can imagine, the response to this video was split. Windows users who have never even used the Macbook before took our side, and Apple fanboys downvoted the video and said that we were either Apple haters or we didn't own the right dongles. 

To prove that I was neither "out to get Apple," or just an idiot, I made a second video. In this video went to Apple.com and went through the reviews of every single dongle on their website. 

One day after releasing this video Apple removed every single review from its website.

Here is my response. 

It seems unlikely that a company the size of Apple would be nimble enough to revamp a website in one day. At the same time, it seems unlikely that this is all a coincidence. I honestly don't know what to believe. 

Whether this is my fault or not, I feel like the situation is even worse now. Instead of addressing the problem, Apple has simply hidden the complaints. I love Apple products, I own a bunch of them. I just want them to work reliably. 

Lee Morris's picture

Lee Morris is a professional photographer based in Charleston SC, and is the co-owner of Fstoppers.com

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63 Comments

Lee, I like you.

I think you’re wonderful

I hate all thunderbolt ports of all generations, they always fail and disconnect when hardly touched it’s pathetic

Really? I have a cheap Asus laptop where it works perfectly. I returned a super expensive Razer laptop that was acting as you describe. So it must be possible to do it right, but not all manufacturers found the way I guess...

This reminds me of the first generations of camcorders when the recording part was actually separate in a shoulder bag. If at least Apple provided free fanny bags...

Lee, i'm a lot harsher on Apple than you are. And i'm almost certain you're not the reason why they removed those comments.

I hope it’s one big coincidence

If your videos are what made Apple aware of their crappy reviews... then there's even a bigger problem...

The weirdest thing, apart from the first comment on this thread (get yourself some security), is that we all buy post-Jobs Apple stuff in spite of the reviews. Let's be honest, they're not exactly what they used to be, are they?

"they're not exactly what they used to be, are they?"

If you're so nostalgic about the steve jobs era there are a number of iphone 4, ipod, wired apple earbuds and white macbooks on ebay you can purchase.

I got the iPhone X over 2 years ago and it is still fast enough and reliable for my needs that I have not upgraded. Back in the Jobs-era the iphones would struggle to get to the two-year contract finish line because they were sooooo slooow.

The airpods have been incredible and I am eager to check out the new version.

I just upgraded to 2019 2.8ghz Macbook Pro 13" with 16gb ram and if apple products are not what "they used to be" then I am all for it.

Geez Ze - Do you really think someone nostalgic for the Jobs-Era Apple is nostalgic for old hardware? Or do you think it's more about the attitudes fostered by Jobs?

what attitudes? "your holding it wrong" blame-the-customer attitude? or "If you see a stylus, they blew it.” attitude? My grandfather has painted for 5 decades and mobility issues prevent him from standing in front of a canvas. Thanks to the iPad Pro and apple pencil he has completely transformed the way he creates art as well as the ability to try different things and share them instantly.

Yes, other people I admire for their attitude towards innovation are Henry Ford and Alexander Graham Bell...... Sadly, my 150 year old car has broken down, and I can't call the garage because the operator died about 75 years ago...

I know a guy.... . He works weekends, too. Way easier to fix a 150-250 year old car than to replace the batteries on a dying airpod.

Sure, but when was the last time he undertook a 10 mile journey in under a week?

Also, Airpods are Tim Cook era Apple, not Jobs era, which is exactly what I'm talking about. All I'm asking for is a macbook I can beef up with extra ram if I find I need it down the line.

To think that the 1000’s of bad reviews didn’t matter until you made a video about them and THAT is what made Apple take note is so unbelievably dismissive of every other content creator on the internet. How important do you think you are?

Because I don’t know of anyone else complaining about this and pointing out the reviews.

If there was any content creator who made a video pointing out all of the negative reviews, And Apple made a change a day later, I would think that there is a possibility that it was them.

There are loads of articles and tech reviews (no offense, but far more popular than you) that give bad reviews of Apple tech. You seriously think that your video holds so much power that Apple decided to remove all of their reviews? That type of decision is made after a lot of meetings and thought, not as a response to a photographers video that happens to owns a photo site. If you think Apple thinks so highly of your opinion that they snap decisioned this response, then perhaps you can use your power to get the masses a MacOS powered tablet?

apple fan spotted !

Im actually not, and to boil my points down to just fandom is insulting.

Because pointing out something that is blatantly overblown makes me the jerk? Got it.

No, the way you worded your original comment was purposefully harsh. Many people don't believe Apple made this change because of my video but you said "How important do you think you are?" When instead you could have simply said, "I think this is a big coincidence."

Because you are a insinuating that it’s not, in fact, a coincidence. So my question still holds merit. You think that thousands of reviews went unnoticed by Apple until you brought attention to them in a video. If you take that as being “harsh”, your over inflated ego is far too fragile.

Lol you were the one who said the comment above was “insulting”. I’m trying to keep things reasonable.

I said the person trying to boil my response down to nothing but fandom was “insulting”. I’m not the one telling my entire audience that I’m so important I got Apple to perform a major e-commerce change. If you think I’m not being civil because I’m pointing that out, then you’re proving my points.

Lol. Did you watch a different video or are you just trolling?

Data is pretty much worthless until it has been collated. Yes Apple had plenty of bad reviews on their site, but nothing which tied them all together. By doing this, and outlining that there is a fundamental flaw with Apple's products, on a hardware level, I think it might just have been enough to raise an eyebrow or two in Cupertino. Let's face it, I doubt Apple will miss having reviews on their site, anyone who's on there to shop is already zealous enough and doesn't need positive reviews to spend.

Have never seen a review for cables and adapters.

No where did Lee imply his importance over anyone else's. Your snide remark says more about you than anything else.

However to not acknowledge that fstoppers carries a little more weight than any single individual is amusing to say least...

An Apple whistleblower mentioned the initials, L....M.

haha jk

Let’s hope this will make them improve their products in the future...

Hi Lee do not be sorry Apple has removed the reviews, if they cannot face the problems face on then shame on them. There can be no doubt that the value of there company is far more important than the customer. Amazon, Apple, Google are company's that started life with the customer in there harts but the bigger they have got they ditched the customer in favour of the shareholder. You only need to talk to customer services of any of the big company's to feel the displeasure against the customer. I am 100% Apple but when you have to start spending large amounts on "Apple" adapters to make things work how they used to it makes me unhappy to say the least. the cost of putting ports into a Macbook pro is I am sure not as expensive as buying them all. Rant over now don't stop putting posts together that you feel so strong about because we feel you are talking for most if not all of us..

It seems like you're taking random anecdotes and blowing them up as universal truths.

Ever set up A/V with a laptop at a conference? It can be a sh*tshow regardless of brand. And in any case, that's the type of thing you investigate BEFORE the event.

I've been using a 2017 Macbook Pro for the last 2-and-a-half-years and it's basically been fine.

And as far as the dongle fest goes, I've been using a $60 SD card reader/USB interface with multiple hard drives and peripherals the whole time and never had a problem with it.

I’m glad that you havnt had any issues with yours. That just hasn’t been our experience

I can't remember last time I used dongle on Macbook Pro 13" as I have short USB C-micro USB cables in the protective cases of my WD external drives. I have the original dongle for Macbook 2015 but never use it. I also use USB C-USB C for Samsung external drives. The 3 available USB-C ports on Macbook Pro 13" are frickin amazing for backing up to multiple drives via Chronosync or for transferring files between external SSD.

Simple- Apple screwed up and instead of making things right, they're sweeping it all under the rug as the old adage goes. You're right, 100%. As my Macs die I'll be replacing them with PCs.

If Apple was as customer oriented as they used to be, the keyboard issue would have been fixed a long time ago or maybe not have happened at all. I've heard about the cooling/throttling issues and fortunately my newest Mac is the last generation MBP before Apple decided to flip the bird to the entire creative industry.

I was in IT for many years in my deep, dark past- Back when security issues with Windows was like running around all day with your pants down around your ankles so Apple was the best choice for security and stability. Windows is much more secure these days (Not completely without issues, of course) which makes it a little easier to go back.

Yes, I’m an Mac only guy and I learned my lesson back with the Wallstreet G3 PowerBook, it required some card slot adapter to add a FireWire 400 or something similar. No one seemed to mention those potmetal hinges on the Wallstreet that broke and Apple refused to fix it but they did change the design for the next version. Or the time when Apple stopped making matte displays and pros were forced to edit on highly reflective displays for a few years.

My current MBP is a Refurbished mid’15 MBP that has been perfect and I haven’t had to do the dongle dance yet. More recently, Apple has taken away the option of user upgrading RAM because they weld everything to the motherboard, does Tim Apple make that much money as a result? As far as the reviews go, I can see Tim screaming “It’s my ball, I don’t like these mean comments and I’m taking it home with me”.

Marketing by Apple is focused on less sophisticated customers. They want to sell a package that will work if the user doesn't dare experiment with changing elements of that package. Customer is expected to purchase a complete new package for their changing needs. Mother Apple knows what is best for you.

Wut?

Any company that uses exclusive ports, etc just to make extra money should be avoided. Any company that charges thousands more for the same setup as any other system just because they have people tricked into thinking they are more prestigious should be avoided. Of course they have multiple options, what they feel like doing and what they think you need. I had to use a mac way back in design school and the only thing I realized is that it was just as buggy as a pc (because it is) and that the OS was just as buggy as Windows. (Just less virus nonsense because hackers like to write a virus that will get to the most computers and Apple isn't it.)

Maybe I've just outgrown the whole, drive a BMW, wear gold and trendy clothes, buy Apple phase of my life and just prefer being able to buy parts and dongles that work with all my electronics at a fair price. In short, go to a fancy club, pay more for drinks.

My Macbook Pro 13 2011 and Macbook 2015 are still running. I just upgraded to 2019 Macbook 13". These products have allowed me to deliver images quickly and reliably to the clients. I had a horrific time with Dell from 2000-2010 due to company contract. So glad I do not have to wait around at home for Unisys repair guy to come back multiple times to fix my Dell laptop.

I also have older burner laptop that I will have to install windows 10 and I guess it will cost $139 for license!

I would remove them too...it's a business.

Let people who want to rate/comment find their own forums to do that in.

I thought Grid was starting 😆

Douglas Adams (Hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy) wrote an article for Macworld in the early 90's bemoaning their use of "dongly things".

Well,... I think all this issue is reasonable.

In the first place, I am confident that this was actually a reaction to the video - or at least the video was one of the reasons they decided to do what they did. Consider that the Fstoppers channel on Youtube has almost 1M subscribers.

These people are mostly photographers, which are one of the main targets for Apple. Just note all the effort they put into the new iphone, to make it a good instrument for taking pictures and videos.

Furthermore, consider that photographers are pretty accostumed to spend lots of money on their equipment, and most importantly they are not within the best computer guys (forgive me for this, but as an IT guy I had to mention it).

Apple products are well known for being a status symbol more than extremely exceptional products. Their quality is overall ok, which is a big up for them, I'm not aware of any product they released that sucks 100%, but their prices are ridicolous. They're now releasing maybe the second biggest income source (the first one is surely the phone) and the reaction of one of the biggest photographers communities is negative. Not just that - the pure fact that **there is** a reaction for a product launch is already an advertisement for them, but the negative feedback is supported by Apple itself, on their own website!

Each time Apple does something there are always negative reactions, but any kind of reaction makes people talk about the product. In most cases this is a benefit for Apple, because many customers are "religiously" following them, so they don't care about negative feedbacks, they just get more involved in the discussion and are more likely to "spread the word". But hey, if Apple itself says their products suck... that is simply not acceptable.

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