Apple CEO Tim Cook and US President Donald Trump are probably as far removed from each other on the political scale as its possible for two people to be.
However, the big boss man in Cupertino appears to be learning a thing or two from the current incumbent of the Oval Office; namely blaming the media when things don’t go so well.
In the conference call following Apple’s latest earnings report, Cook pinned a slight year-on-year slowing of iPhone sales on rumours and reports surrounding the iPhone 8.
"We're seeing what we believe to be a pause in purchases of the iPhone, which we believe is due to the earlier and much more frequent reports about future iPhones," Cook said (via CNBC).
"And so that part is clearly going on, and it could be what's behind the data. We are seeing that in full transparency.
"However, if you look at iPhone outside of greater China, iPhone units grew very nicely. We had more upgraders in the first half than ever before. And we had more switchers than ever before. There is a lot of good news in there."
While Cook's comments may bear out, and people are waiting for the iPhone 8, his words appear to do a great disservice millions of loyal iPhone customers around the world.
The iPhone series has delivered exactly same design since the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were launched in September 2014. Updates on the inside have been far less substantial than the annual boosts during the handset's early days.
It’s little wonder even loyal customers are waiting to see what’s next before dropping hundreds on a brand new smartphone.
Surely they can judge for themselves what merits an upgrade? Why wouldn't they hang on a few more months for the next major advancement, with or without the tech media's input.
The suggestion the tech press should be accountable for slowing sales will also be greeted with raised eyebrows on many editorial desks around the world.
Outlets like TrustedReviews and our contemporaries at other publications have traditionally built anticipation for major smartphone releases with months of build up and wall-to-wall coverage on launch days. Apple has benefited from this as much as anyone in the tech sector.
We just hope there's no Apple spokespeople screaming "FAKE NEWS" the next time an Apple product gets an unfavourable review.
