Don't buy the iPhone 7, or resign: China medico

Apple has a China problem! A Chinese medico named Nanyang Yongkang Medicine Company has issued a strange notice to its workers, which demands them not to use the Apple flagship iPhone 7.

“If you break this rule, then just come to the office straight way to hand in your resignation,” the notice read.

According to a report by BBC, some more Chinese firms are asking their employees to boycott the iPhone 7 for patriotic reasons, or in an attempt to avoid their staff from being materialistic.

In a statement to a local news website HNR, a spokesperson from Nanyang Yongkang Medicine said that the move is intended to encourage staff to pay more attention to their family instead of luxury goods.

Chinese website Weibo also reported Fuling Xinjiuzhou Gynecology Hospital which has issued a similar notice to its workers. In the notice issued, the hospital has warned its staff to go by the rule, otherwise the worker will be disqualified from receiving an appraisal.

“iPhone 7 has recently come onto the market and the price is a record high among the similar mobiles. In order to promote thrift and avoid waste, the hospital administration office has made a decision: we ban our staff from buying iPhone 7s,” read the notice.

“I'm not against foreign brands, but I don't like to see people buying expensive iPhones that they can't obviously afford. Some people borrow money from banks or family and friends, others even sell their organs to buy iPhones. I don't want my staff to do such things,” the hospital manager told BBC.

In the second quarter of 2016, Apple’s China smartphone market share slips to 9 per cent from 12 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, marking it on fifth place after home-grown smartphone manufacturers — Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi.

However, Apple is constantly making efforts to overcome the losses. The Cupertino company had invested $4.5 million dollars in China to develop a research centre, and $1 billion in China’s ride hailing app Didi Chuxing.