The Chinese media have accused Apple of treating the nation's consumers as second-class citizens over its policy for replacing or repairing damaged iPhones under warranty.
While Apple insists that its policies are broadly equivalent around the globe, a report on the state TV channel CCTV insisted last week that while US consumers could expect to have damaged iPhones replaced while under warranty, their Chinese counterparts were being fobbed off with refurbished devices or repairs with shorter guarantees offered on the replacements.
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Apple's refusal to answer these accusations directly to local journalists, instead choosing to post an explanation on its website, drew further ire from the Chinese media, with newspaper The People's Daily yesterday accusing the US company of arrogance.
Apple's online clarification states that while faulty iPhone 5 models would generally be replaced, earlier iPhones would be repaired or refurbished, with the repairs guaranteed for 90 days - the same as in the US.
China is Apple's second largest marketplace, after the US, and iPhones and iPads are hugely sought after by Chinese consumers. The CCTV report took another swipe at Apple, effectively accusing it of corrupting the nation's youth who, it claimed, were falling into the hands of loan sharks as a result of their desire to own an Apple phone or tablet.
Since the initial spat, various celebrities have taken to social media to denounce Apple, one of whom, Peter Ho, has previously acted as a spokesman for rival vendor Samsung.
The storm has led to various theories being put forward on social and traditional media, from government mobilisation of anti-Western flashmobs, either for nationalistic reasons or in support of its home-grown vendors such as Huawei or ZTE, to a paid-for campaign by rival vendors such as Samsung.
Since Apple devices are largely manufactured in China, there is also the possibility that the manufacturers, such as Foxconn, might choose to dispense with the parent brand altogether and go it alone with their own devices.
Google also came under fire this month from the Chinese government, which issued a report accusing Google of using Android to exert excessive control over the smartphone market and its consumers. China is working on a Ubuntu-based "national" mobile operating system.
It could be, speculate some, that China is limbering up for a big push to dominate the smartphone market.
China is not the only region where Apple's warranty policies have been attacked. In 2011 the firm was fined €900,000 for non-compliance with Italy's two-year warranty law and again later when the situation was not resolved. And in France Apple was fined for forcing workers to work more than the allowed number of hours.
