Apple is launching yet another iPhone model, with pre-orders starting Sept. 12. Yet, this news has been met with more consumer electronics publications encouraging you to “definitely wait” on the pre-order and tech journalists “skipping” this launch. Additionally, groups of people are even boycotting the tech giant. New Apple releases are historically met with crowds, cheers and lines that take up whole city blocks. So, the current resistance to Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 denotes a notable shift.
Why are users “boycotting” the iPhone 17?
While the 17 is slated to be the thinnest phone yet, tech experts still predict the operating system, camera and battery power may be worse than other models. Additionally, iPhone users cite exhaustion with the pressure to buy every new model, deeming the 17 a ”$1,500 rectangle that does the same thing as the last one.”
Several consumers are boycotting to support the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium accusing Apple subsidiaries of using “conflict minerals,” according to the BBC. Lawyers for the Democratic Republic of the Congo deemed the tin, tantalum, and tungsten “blood minerals” in a 2024 press statement, alleging that Apple “pillaged from the DRC,” “laundered [the minerals] through international supply chains,” and used “deceptive commercial practices” to misinform consumers. Apple has “strongly disputed” these allegations, per the BBC and Reuters.
