Turks are destroying their Apple iPhones to protest U.S. tariffs

by Alan Friedman / Aug 19, 2018, 10:41 AM

In Turkey, the latest fad is to destroy your Apple iPhone on video in order to support Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As we told you the other day, Turkey's leader has called for a boycott of devices made by Apple as a way of protesting tariffs and sanctions placed on the country by U.S. President Donald Trump. Various tweets and YouTube posts contain video showing Turks smashing, shooting and burning their iPhone handsets.

The move by Trump to double tariffs imposed on Turkish steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. came after Erdogan refused to release jailed American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been locked up in Turkey for two years. Brunson is accused of helping a group that staged a failed coup in 2016 that nearly ousted Erdogan. The U.S. denies this and says that Brunson is being held for political reasons.

In a speech, Turkey's president said that citizens of the country can always turn to Samsung to replace their iPhones, or buy a domestic handset such as the Vestel Venus.

"If they have iPhone, there is Samsung on the other side. And we have our Venus and Vestel. We are going to produce enough for ourselves. We have to serve better quality goods than we are importing from them."-Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president, Turkey

In the video found at the top of this article, you can see a group of five Turkish men who have their iPhones destroyed with the use of a sledgehammer.

This is a Vestel Venus model, the locally produced phone that Turkey's president wants citizens to buy to replace their iPhones

source: Time, YouTube

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51 Comments

1. BLUEBLASTER

Posts: 930; Member since: Feb 23, 2014

Yeah good one Turkey.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 10:43 AM 10

38. worldpeace

Posts: 3133; Member since: Apr 15, 2016

Next move, they'll buy 1,000 iPhones and then destroy it.. And Apple will say "thank you for your money"..

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 7:08 PM 6

2. Elvis358

Posts: 227; Member since: Mar 25, 2018

Well this is hilarious!

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 10:47 AM 4

39. Finalflash

Posts: 4063; Member since: Jul 23, 2013

The real question is, did they take the batteries out before smashing them? There was no smoke or fire or explosions which would be expected of lithium.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 8:01 PM 1

3. Godlymansean

Posts: 337; Member since: Apr 14, 2017

lol okay...

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 10:48 AM 0

4. bucky

Posts: 3783; Member since: Sep 30, 2009

Oh no...not turkey...

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 10:52 AM 0

5. AngelicusMaximus

Posts: 691; Member since: Dec 20, 2017

Let me get this straight. People are destroying their own property as a means of protest? Okay. Good luck with that.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 10:59 AM 10

7. Phullofphil

Posts: 1785; Member since: Feb 10, 2009

No just a couple that already paid for it.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 11:09 AM 1

32. rouyal

Posts: 1582; Member since: Jan 05, 2018

"their own property"

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 4:29 PM 0

37. NarutoKage14

Posts: 1324; Member since: Aug 31, 2016

Do you expect them to steal iPhones from a store for their videos? I'm pretty sure even the Turkish police would arrest them for theft.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 6:21 PM 0

40. lyndon420

Posts: 6786; Member since: Jul 11, 2012

Yeah it's kinda like spitting on your livingroom carpet in protest of what you witnessed on TV.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 8:46 PM 4

6. EC112987

Posts: 1215; Member since: Nov 10, 2014

Lmao yea that’s the way to protest

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 11:00 AM 1

8. Doakie

Posts: 2478; Member since: May 06, 2009

Haha. Not exactly the smartest thing I've heard of this week...

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 11:23 AM 5

17. audibot

Posts: 634; Member since: Jan 26, 2017

well we all win from this android fans get a laugh and watch morons break iphones and apple gets to sell and activate new phones its a win win o and whos phone was ringing in the background at the end of the video hahahha maybe he said no to the phone smash, or maybe his worked and these are broken phones

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 12:58 PM 1

9. matistight

Posts: 986; Member since: May 13, 2009

Maybe they could have used one of those phones to film the video? They're just smashing white and black rectangles in this video

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 11:33 AM 2

10. purpleespritee1

Posts: 9; Member since: Mar 13, 2017

Who cares about them

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 11:36 AM 2

11. ahmadkun

Posts: 586; Member since: May 02, 2016

Don't be a d*ck .. your money is already with them you destroyed your own property that doesn't harm them as much as it harms you.. all what you need is to stop buying from them anymore wich doesn't harm them anyway.. one more thing, at the end of the video there is another iphone ringing in someone's pocket.. uuuuha man this is stupid

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 11:43 AM 3

34. Finalflash

Posts: 4063; Member since: Jul 23, 2013

It might in the long term. If the users giving up the iPhone switch to Android, they might end up sticking with it in the long term. If people had kept their phones and things cooled down, they might have stayed with Apple. The fervor may become a symbol for those people to never buy another Apple product, because people remember emotional responses. So yea, this is big for Apple because Turkey was one of their bigger markets in Europe.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 4:42 PM 0

48. kiko007

Posts: 7493; Member since: Feb 17, 2016

You’re absolutely delusional, you know that right?

posted on Aug 20, 2018, 12:29 AM 0

41. lyndon420

Posts: 6786; Member since: Jul 11, 2012

But...if you steal a bunch of iPhones and then destroy them on a video, that sends a message...or does it??

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 8:48 PM 0

12. Omarc07

Posts: 574; Member since: Nov 12, 2012

Best video is seen so far !

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 11:55 AM 0

13. BullDozer

Posts: 154; Member since: Dec 18, 2015

Don't see any protest there. Just waste disposal.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 12:02 PM 2

14. Sammy_DEVIL737

Posts: 1529; Member since: Nov 28, 2016

I would better sell it on Amazon and make money for my next phone instead of destroying it.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 12:40 PM 1

15. Back_from_beyond

Posts: 1420; Member since: Sep 04, 2015

Here's better idea: round up all the unsold Apple devices in the country and destroy them. Then spread the word and let all the other countries affected by tariffs do the same.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 12:43 PM 1

16. baldilocks

Posts: 1505; Member since: Dec 14, 2008

Just another country upset that America is no longer giving in.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 12:57 PM 3

31. Back_from_beyond

Posts: 1420; Member since: Sep 04, 2015

I guess that makes you another idiot that believes it won't come back to bite him in the ass, because guess what, you pay for all Trump's idiotic plans.

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 4:02 PM 2

33. rouyal

Posts: 1582; Member since: Jan 05, 2018

Trump's doing great. The numbers speak for themselves

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 4:30 PM 0

35. sissy246

Posts: 7111; Member since: Mar 04, 2015

You mean his low approval rate numbers, yeah he's doing great, lol

posted on Aug 19, 2018, 5:34 PM 4

49. strategic_developer

Posts: 1627; Member since: Jul 17, 2018

Well we know Trump is great at doing a lot of things. Just look at the numbers. He's great on cheating on his wives. Now we know of several women he's cheated with, including the trash he married. The number $130,000 he claimed he knew nothing about. But the worse of it, she was stupid enough to take it. She could have sold the story for 10x's that amount to just one buyer. 4000+ times is the number of times he's been busted telling outright lies. His approval numbers are the lowest acheved by a US president. As much as they hated Obama, they hate trump even more. iPhone's already cost an arm and a leg. You think Apple is gonna absorb those tariff? All of Apple's iPhone's are gonna be $1000 soon and they may offer a cheat LCD versions for $800 next year. Those numbers, certainly according to you "speak for themselves". Not in a good way though. 80% of what is sold at Wal-Mart, comes from China. That means Wal-Mart is going to be just as expensive as other stores. Because believe me, the Walton's aren't gonna pay those taxes for you.