I just woke up to this news and I'm wondering if it's possible for Apple and Google to brick all Russian phones? This would probably be more effective on their population at large than any form of sanctions.
But the wives and children of those who move them do. People in the West don't seem to notice a crucial aspect of modern Russia: extended families of those in charge live in the West. They study in Stanford and Harvard, mingle in Aspen, have holiday homes in the Hamptons. Russia is merely a piggy bank to finance that lifestyle. They are at the mercy of Western governments, because they've turned Russia into a stagnating shithole that even at its best is far below the upper-middle class standard in the West. Without access to Western resources, from mansions in Knightsbridge to accounts on Instagram, all that looted money becomes worthless.
All you need to do is let them sleep in the bed they've made. Freeze bank accounts, confiscate property, deny visas. Make them live that global jet-set lifestyle in Rostov oblast.
Also this will mostly affect relatively poor people who will just carry on with their factory jobs or whatever. They will just use landline.
I don't know why you think China needs to worry about Apple, Apple has been a faithful and lucrative partner to them. They don't just faithfully collaborate on censorship and cede control of encrypted Chinese iCloud data directly to a state-owned cloud provider, we now know that Apple has signed a $275B omnibus deal with China that includes Chinese startup investments, Chinese worker training, and R&D collaboration with Chinese tech firms. There is no government that Apple invests more into or collaborates more closely with than China's.
Why not just have Xiaomi phones where you have total control? Well, because you can have that and total control over a global tech giant that pours foreign money and technology into your regime. Why not have both?
How does that possibly sound in any way like a good idea?
Any reclamation or reversals should be only made possible after last Russian soldier leave Ukraine.
To be clear I don't wish anything bad for the general Russian population, among which I have many friends, let alone Putin's opposition. And this may not be the best strategic idea, but it's a possible one that fits the theme of this community - so I think the snarkiness is uncalled for.