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Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

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Re: Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

#51
post #3

I mean this seems very reasonable from Apple's perspective. They're trying to avoid their brand being tarnished by bad repair shops with questionable repair skills cutting corners with cheap and unsupported parts. Given how large the resale market is for Apple products I would even say that this is an extremely positive policy because as long as the machine boots you can be pretty darn sure your MacBook is just like…

Unless they own the computer, it's not reasonable to disable it because their service is not used. Taking steps to actively, for no technical, or ( for me ) functional reason is such an customer hostile idea, that I can't really understand how it can ever be seen as reasonable? Their brand being tarnished is of no concern to me as a consumer and user of their product, and neither should it. They do with their brand a…

> and you obviously can't have a luxury brand that the less well off can actually buy

I think you're missing something. Apple could very easily make mid range devices at lower prices but there's not much point. Apple's mid/lower tiers are the previous year's high-end models. Apple's engineers are very open about this if you ever get the chance to talk to them. I think it's a pretty slick system -- Apple has to design and manufacture fewer models, everyone gets a high-end device, nobody can really tell you got yours cheaper, and their devices remain luxury goods while being available at low price points.

So for consumers in the market for a secondhand Apple devices I see this change as extremely positive.

Again, I think the right middle ground would be allowing you to whatever you want to your device but at the cost of having it be unbranded.

Re: Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

#52
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if every manufacturer is doing it, there are probably good reasons for it. I doubt they've all gone mad at the same time.

No removable batteries, no expandable memory, no headphone jack and now the notch. All undeniable evidence on manufacturers copying(?) Apple's choices at least in phones. As a user, I strongly feel these are not in my best interests. And I realize I am not alone in this. Apple being the magnitude that it is now, cannot afford to make choices to attract folks like me with their 'reimagined' and 'breakthrough' innovati…

I just had Apple replace my battery on iPhone 6S Plus for $30. Took them roughly an hour to do so. Phone feels like new with this battery.

So I think the new tech can be a pain in the ass for regular users to repair. Their authorized shops have all the tools to do so. I bet the unauthorized shops have all the same tools required too.

Re: Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

#53
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if every manufacturer is doing it, there are probably good reasons for it. I doubt they've all gone mad at the same time.

No removable batteries, no expandable memory, no headphone jack and now the notch. All undeniable evidence on manufacturers copying(?) Apple's choices at least in phones. As a user, I strongly feel these are not in my best interests. And I realize I am not alone in this. Apple being the magnitude that it is now, cannot afford to make choices to attract folks like me with their 'reimagined' and 'breakthrough' innovati…

> no expandable memory

I always buy the max storage iPhone, and every time I fill up maybe a third of it - after years of use.

The vast majority of people really don't care about this.

Re: Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

#54
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if every manufacturer is doing it, there are probably good reasons for it. I doubt they've all gone mad at the same time.

No removable batteries, no expandable memory, no headphone jack and now the notch. All undeniable evidence on manufacturers copying(?) Apple's choices at least in phones. As a user, I strongly feel these are not in my best interests. And I realize I am not alone in this. Apple being the magnitude that it is now, cannot afford to make choices to attract folks like me with their 'reimagined' and 'breakthrough' innovati…

There isn’t a very large market for this phone.

Re: Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

#55
post #2

Apple is really undoubtedly the king of making their products impossible to repair. This doesn't bother me much since I have long abandoned apple. What bothers me is that everyone follows their bad example. Not only is a modern phone impossible to open, everything is glued in. Even laptops are like this. I have even seen other manufacturers stop using underfill in their phones, just like apple. Probably to make broke…

I've found my Lenovo and Alienware laptops to be easily modified. I have the latest Alienware 15 and I can access everything that's important which regular screws. Same for the Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga.

Re: Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

#56

I dropped my iPhone X with a front and back cover yet glass still broke on both sides. It happens, but thanks to the rear glass being welded to frame and new front glass technology it costs $828 to replace. Repair shops are charging more than Apple store. $279 for Front glass $549 for Rear glass

The good news is that the back glass price should change here in the next few weeks. I run independent repair shops (not affiliated with Apple) and literally today we did our first test on a new back glass removal tool we bought. We successfully removed the back glass on an iPhone 8 housing we purchased broken.

These devices just hit the US a few days ago, so give it a few weeks and I would expect independent shops to offer back glass replacement in the $99-$149 range.

This is also why Right to Repair is so important. These tools are not built or sanctioned by Apple, but the demand is there, so third parties build, test, and verify them to help reduce prices for iPhone owners like you.

Re: Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

#58
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and no: - Yes in the sense that the glass needs to be glued (or rather taped as a double-sided tape is used) to create a waterproof seal as the small size of these devices does not allow for a more traditional clamp fit using a rubber gasket. - No because it does not have to be the main body of the device to which the glass is glued/taped. I use the Motorola Defy+ [1], an 8 year old water/dust/shockproof Android…

> the glass is glued to a frame which in turn is attached to the phone using screws I think it would be tragic if the iPhone looked like those Motorola devices. That thing looks hideous. This is strictly against Apple's design philosophy, and for good reason.

I think it’s tragic that so much emphasis is placed on the looks of a phone. Most people put them in cases anyway, and the only thing that really matters is the screen and physical button placement.

I always thought modern smart phones should have started as a black slab like the 2001 monoliths and just stopped there.

Re: Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

#59
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the glass is glued to a frame which in turn is attached to the phone using screws I think it would be tragic if the iPhone looked like those Motorola devices. That thing looks hideous. This is strictly against Apple's design philosophy, and for good reason.

I think it’s tragic that so much emphasis is placed on the looks of a phone. Most people put them in cases anyway, and the only thing that really matters is the screen and physical button placement. I always thought modern smart phones should have started as a black slab like the 2001 monoliths and just stopped there.

But I like my pink aluminum rectangle.

Re: Apple’s repair kill switch hasn’t been activated yet

#60
post #2

Apple is really undoubtedly the king of making their products impossible to repair. This doesn't bother me much since I have long abandoned apple. What bothers me is that everyone follows their bad example. Not only is a modern phone impossible to open, everything is glued in. Even laptops are like this. I have even seen other manufacturers stop using underfill in their phones, just like apple. Probably to make broke…

I managed to open and repair my phone with a $15 heat gun from Lowe's, an exacto knife and a sheet of plastic cut out of an egg carton. It's definitely doable.
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