I remember unboxing my first phone, A clunky iPhone 3 came out of the box like a messiah with the potential of changing everything. My 13-year-old self was amazed. I had grown up watching Apple commercials; they were the cool, hip company in my eyes, and I couldn’t wait to have an iPhone.

Four years and two iPhones later, I unfortunately do not get the same ecstatic feeling when talking about Apple. Despite starting as the renegades, Apple has found itself as the giant in the phone industry and has squandered the opportunity to appear as the rebellious small company which made many fall in love.

Apple is exhibiting unacceptable behavior. Through hiding billions of dollars in tax loopholes, jacking up phone prices, and making bad design decisions like getting rid of the earjack, the quality associated with

Apple’s name has deteriorated to the extent of non existence   

I want Apple to be better. Here is why:

In 2013 Apple hid billions of dollars in Ireland, made possible by tax loopholes. After the government stepped in and fined the company, it seemed to many that Apple would then pay their taxes. After all, many thought that Apple had gone back to being the responsible company we had gotten to know.

They were wrong. Apple found Jersey in the English Channel off the United Kingdom. A perfect tax haven, Apple hid more than $128 billion on the island, safe from American corporate tax laws.

This matters because large companies, especially tech companies, should contribute their fair share of taxes. In the Information Age, companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon have amassed hundreds of billions of dollars by providing new tech to the average consumer. As an example, the richest person in the world is Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon with a net worth of $99.6 billion.

When put together with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, these three have more wealth than the poorest 161.50 million Americans. In a world with such great wealth inequality, these companies need to pay their taxes in order to ensure equity. The executives of Apple make billions and they should pay their taxes to help the poorest Americans, rebuild our crumbling roads, and support our fragile education system.

By trying as hard as possible to not pay these essential taxes, Apple reveals its motivations: to make as much money as possible. Apple has become the company that Steve Jobs would’ve wanted to fight against. Just imagine what the government would’ve been able to do with the $128 billion that Apple hid away.

On Nov. 3, Apple released the iPhone X to both applause and criticism. Apple, eager to release a 10th version of the phone, released the iPhone 8 along with it, skipping iPhone 9 all together. Starting at $999, the iPhone X is extremely expensive, a step up from the $669 iPhone 7 and $699 iPhone 8. For this extra $300, there is a better camera, larger screen, as well as better charge and facial recognition.

But, is it worth it?

For the price of one iPhone X, you can buy two Xbox One Xs. Back in 2009, when Apple announced the iPhone 3GS, it cost only $99 while the Xbox of the time, the Xbox 360 cost $249. My point is that the price of products are always going to change, but it is important to compare them to each other to find the true inflation of these prices. Going from $99 to $999, Apple has increased its prices by 1,000 percent without a 1,000 percent increase in quality.

Starting with the iPhone 7, Apple has refused to produce an iPhone with a headset jack. This may sound tedious at first but it means that Apple is consolidating the earbud market around their phones. Instead of being able to buy any earbud or headset to use for your iPhone, you now need to buy an Apple earbud in order to listen to your phone. Is this innovation or is it another money grab?

I, like all high school students today, grew up in an era of new horizons. It feels like a new technological gadget is being created every year, something to make all of our lives better.

As we entered adolescence, Apple was waiting for us, as the rebellious and trendy company that understood us. They knew that we didn’t like the big companies that seemed to be out of touch and controlled by people who wouldn’t ever care about our well being. Instead, Apple was cool; it was Silicon Valley. It was there for all of us.

Now, it feels like Apple has become the exact thing that first scared Jobs and Steve Wozniak. By making the money grabs that the company has, Apple has damaged their public image toward the very people that are their core consumers.

“We at Apple succeeded because we weren’t the managers and businessmen. We were the artists and nerds.” Steve Wozniak said.

Please Apple, be the artists and nerds that you once were.