I’m torn in this case. On one hand, Apple is in the right because that company was hired to do a job but ended up doing something completely different. But on the flip side, if the phones were functional at the time of receiving the phones and required none to minimal repair, then shame on Apple.

This whole fiasco reminds me of the O&G industry and the manufacture of plastics. It’s much cheaper to create and sell “virgin plastics” rather than trying to recycle the existing plastic.

Legally Apple is right, of course.

But as discussed in that HN thread there are many reasons why it's the wrong thing to do, specially if you want to pretend to take the moral high ground regarding the environment.