Why did Apple apologize to China?

A failure to replace iPhone backs led to a media lashing for Tim Cook and Co.

Apple China
(Image credit: Feng Li/Getty Images)

For the second time in his brief tenure as the head of Apple, Tim Cook has apologized to customers. His latest mea culpa was offered to Chinese consumers after the company was "lambasted by state-run media for arrogance and poor customer service," reports Bloomberg.

The apology stems from an odd controversy: Apple's failure to replace the back covers of iPhones with new ones after making interior repairs. The company was subsequently blasted for two weeks straight by China Central Television, which reaches more than 1 billion people every day, and in dozens of articles published by The People's Daily newspaper.

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Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.