Reminder: repair.org fights for right to repair legislation, provides actionable advice, and takes tax-deductible donations.
Repair.org and ifixit are two sides of my favorite coin right now.
AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
41–50 of 207 posts
Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
#42> But why bother putting a real driver in here at all? Magnets not only add weight, they take up a lot of space. Looks like one corner Apple refused to cut on this tiny disk is sound quality. I find it fascinating what tradeoffs are decided upon. Apple is arguably the best luxury brand in the world - and this is why.
Apple’s unique ethos is technology as a means for creative expression. That’s why they’ve excelled in font rendering, colour accuracy, sound fidelity, and input-lag. I think this value came from Steve Jobs, and I hope they never lose it because it imbues Apple with real human spirit. They’re more than just another profit-seeking company.
> That’s why they’ve excelled in font rendering, colour accuracy, sound fidelity, and input-lag.
That'll be why mac laptops connect to bluetooth speakers using the worst default settings for sound fidelity so it sounds like a dying frog.
And the input lag is quite terrible when the machine is under any load.
Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not like the choice is "thick and doesn't need a case or thin and needs a case". Even if the phone was thicker, people would be using cases if they bought it, right?
Probably not everyone. But for me, after spending $1400 I’m putting it in a case. My Xs Max is nearly two and a half years old now and I took it out of the case for it’s scheduled cleaning and after wiping it down and getting the built up pocket crud out of the crevices where the case and phone meet, its like brand new. I’m hoping I can get at least another year out of this thing. Battery is excellent. iOS doesn’t se…
The reason for putting it in a case is not the price tag. People buy 100k cars and don't cover the outer surfaces with protective plastic.
The problem is Apple builds the phone in a fragile manner, prone to breaking and scratching. It's true of other phones too.
Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's hilarious to a certain extent that they built the thing smaller than all the competition and bulk it up with a wad of leather anyhow. That's essentially how I feel when I see the "Our thinnest iPhone ever" slide knowing that 95% of iPhone owners put it in a bulky case. That said, that's not unique to Apple and the phone is at least usable without a case.
It's not like the choice is "thick and doesn't need a case or thin and needs a case". Even if the phone was thicker, people would be using cases if they bought it, right?
I put my phone in a case so that when I drop it, the corner of the case takes the brunt of the force instead of the phone itself. Unless the phone had a floating edge around it (essentially, a case), I would still need one.
(Yes, it’s still possible to drop my phone face down on a rock or something, but most of the times I’ve broken a phone screen, it’s been a crack in the glass emanating from a corner. Which makes sense, given the physics of the things.)
Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
#45I wonder what the internal discussion at Apple was about whether or not to include a loophole in the product. The fact that fixit has gone out and shown how you can add a loophole rather than wasting $13 on an accessory is a bit of a facepalm moment.
Beside the size it's probably a tradeoff on mechanical integrity: a keyring can introduce immense mechanical stress. On my last tag the small loophole just broke away after a year on a key that was not used daily or in harsh environments. With the AirTag you can just replace a $2 third party accessory. Apple didn't have to engineer a very durable (maybe milled?) loophole, which would have increased cost.
Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Tile is much more compact than the kitted out AirTag. Shame that Apple had to pander to the twin gods of accessories margin and fashion.
> Shame that Apple had to pander to the twin gods of accessories margin and fashion I feel like that's...what Apple is? If you don't like it, that's fine, and they have lots of more-utilitarian competitors in every space they operate. I personally don't currently use any Apple products; I'm not really the target market either.
Well the Apple product is technologically superior since they browbeat their iPhone installed base into surveilling AirTags. This is what is so infuriating about Apple — they have excellent engineering and are often the best product in the market, but you then have to buy into their whole ethos as well.
Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
#47I wonder if an Airtag can still track if it's been swallowed? Or does a human body block too much RF?
I can practically guarantee these things will be swallowed if the ridiculous people who eat Tide Pods are anything to go on...
Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
#48I wonder what the internal discussion at Apple was about whether or not to include a loophole in the product. The fact that fixit has gone out and shown how you can add a loophole rather than wasting $13 on an accessory is a bit of a facepalm moment.
>add a loophole Now, throw it in a glass of water for an hour. I'd be amazed if it didn't trash the IPx7 rating, which is an AirTags differentiator over Tile.
That's a silly argument. There's absolutely no reason that a built-in loophole would have to let water in (unlike iFixit's drilled hole, which might).
Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Shame that Apple had to pander to the twin gods of accessories margin and fashion I feel like that's...what Apple is? If you don't like it, that's fine, and they have lots of more-utilitarian competitors in every space they operate. I personally don't currently use any Apple products; I'm not really the target market either.
Well the Apple product is technologically superior since they browbeat their iPhone installed base into surveilling AirTags. This is what is so infuriating about Apple — they have excellent engineering and are often the best product in the market, but you then have to buy into their whole ethos as well.
[deleted]
Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks
#50More like “a discussion about how to drill a hole in it”