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A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

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Re: A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

#161

Post by reitanqild »

kesselvon wrote: post #156
wildmusings wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's all fine and dandy, but it isn't free. That's the point I'm making.

Apple made $7.6 billion USD in net income in the last quarter; I'm pretty sure they have plenty to cover the cost of repairs because of poor manufacturing quality.

Agree.

Additionally letting Apple (and other big companies)[0] clean up their own mess creates a perfectly aligned incentive to avoid messing with consumers again.

Edit: clarify

[0]: I actually like big companies. It's mostly just when they, -in spite of massive profits, do stupid things e.g: like whining against basic worker or consumer protection etc that they annoy me.

Re: A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

#162

Post by jrowley »

zaroth wrote: post #148
collyw wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean the one that they choose the most obscure pentalobe screws on the market for?

I think the screw heads are a red herring. The screwdriver costs next to nothing, it's really not a problem spending a few dollars on tools for a phone that comes apart well. I think there are much more relevant things to complain about as far as actual "serviceability" goes. The reality is, if you aren't the kind of person who can spend a few minutes researching and procuring the correct set of screwdrivers, you rea…

The iphone 4 originally shipped with regular phillips head screws on the outside, but Apple quietly switched those out to the pentalobe head screws sometime after the initial batches of phones came out.

Re: A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

#163

Post by dntrkv »

EA wrote: post #142

Happened to my launch-week iPhone 6 Plus. Apple employees at the store were aware that phones had this issue but acted like it wasn't a problem they could treat. They treated it as a "bad screen" problem by replacing screens. After a couple of screen replacements the issue didn't go away. Ultimately, I had to pay $329.00 for a refurbished phone after they swapped out a few screens which didn't make the problem go awa…

I don't understand how they would make you buy a refurbished phone. Anytime I have had any issues on my iPhone, if Apple couldn't fix it, they just give me a new/refurbished phone free of charge.

Re: A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

#165

Post by coddingtonbear »

xedarius wrote: post #36
gerbilly wrote: post #8

>“But the fact remains—compared to earlier iPhone models, the iPhone 6/6+ is kind of a ‘bendy’ phone. Its slim form factor and larger surface area subject the logic board within the phone to mechanical flexion pressure that no other iPhone has had to deal with[...]” Thank god they are rumoured to be making phones even slimmer then, _and_ getting rid of the headphone jack as well! Apple seems to be putting form ahead…

These days??? How quick we forget the iPhone 4 that didn't work as a phone when held due to shielding issues.

I had an iPhone 4 for nearly two years and had no idea that this issue even existed.

Re: A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

#166

Post by rsynnott »

collyw wrote: post #132
intoverflow2 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apart from that it was a great design, very user serviceable. Whole thing comes apart with just two screws, glass isn't part of the touch screen so smashed phones can be fixed for Apple likes to bleat on about how environmentally sound they are but glueing everything together and making it disposable piece of electro-garbage just makes that whole spiel ridiculous to me.

You mean the one that they choose the most obscure pentalobe screws on the market for?

Most iPhone 4s had tiny phillips screws; the pentalobe ones were introduced towards the end of its run.

Re: A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

#167

Post by rsynnott »

coddingtonbear wrote: post #165
xedarius wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These days??? How quick we forget the iPhone 4 that didn't work as a phone when held due to shielding issues.

I had an iPhone 4 for nearly two years and had no idea that this issue even existed.

It was generally only noticeable in areas of marginal signal, IME. I found it possible to make it happen deliberately if signal wasn't great, but never did it accidentally.

Re: A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

#168

Post by Retric »

pjc50 wrote: post #30
kalleboo wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Fundamentally a long flat thin object is going to be bendy or brittle I think GPs idea was to make the PCB no longer long, but have two smaller PCBs with flat flex between them. Then when the phone bends, the PCBs wont bend but let the flat flex take the stress instead. > (To see the problem, place a coin on a credit card and bend the card - note that the coin no longer touches across its whole surface) Now cut the…

Doable, and might even be a good idea for long thin PCBs, but it messes with both your routing and placement and therefore consumes PCB area. Also upsets your controlled-impedance traces. And adds an extra assembly step. To estimate doing this, take the PCB image and Paint and try to clear a 3mm gap in it. How many components do you have to move? Do you have to make the whole thing 3mm longer? Aren't most of them dec…

Alternatively, let the case flex slightly and have the board float in a gap attaching to the center as apposed to the edges. You still need to connect the buttons to the main board, but that's not a major issue. basically: [---|--|---] with [ ] as edge, -- as board and | as attachment points.

This is not going to be as flat as possible, but it let's you play with some flex vs thin and completely stiff.

Re: A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

#169

Post by iN7h33nD »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #157
TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's engineering is good too, it enables them to actually deliver on those designs.

...except for the OP's whole point - they break easy. For instance, cords. There's never been a load coil on their cords, because they look clunky. So they are noisy as heck. Their cords have no strain relief - again because it looks clunky. So their cords are the #1 replacement item due to breaking all the time right at the connector.

or they do it like this because they can sell new charge cords at a premium so they engineer them to fail

Re: A Design Defect Is Breaking iPhone 6 Pluses

#170

Post by nharada »

tuna-piano wrote: post #152
gerbilly wrote: post #8

>“But the fact remains—compared to earlier iPhone models, the iPhone 6/6+ is kind of a ‘bendy’ phone. Its slim form factor and larger surface area subject the logic board within the phone to mechanical flexion pressure that no other iPhone has had to deal with[...]” Thank god they are rumoured to be making phones even slimmer then, _and_ getting rid of the headphone jack as well! Apple seems to be putting form ahead…

It frustrates me to no end. I (and I assume many others) would instantly upgrade my iPhone if the next iPhone was thicker but had 2x the battery life. That would be a real improvement in my life. But they'll probably come out with one about the same size, with ~10% more battery life due to software and hardware changes - and call it a great increase. They even realize the battery thing is a problem, so Apple, the man…

I don't understand this. You say you want more battery in exchange for a larger device. Isn't that exactly what this case is providing? You call it "monstrous" but it's precisely what you're asking for -- more width in exchange for more battery.
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