Apple Denies Hardware Downgrade in China-Market iPhone Duo After Teardown Comparison

The dispute is less about the teardown itself than about how Apple manages regional hardware differences in its most important growth market. A technician's informal denial, rather than a formal company statement, leaves room for the perception of a two-tier product to persist among Chinese buyers already sensitive to treatment of their market. Whether Apple addresses the comparison more formally, and whether the teardown claims gain traction beyond the initial video, is the open question.