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Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

theverge.com

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Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is not to run off a watch battery. The point is that you can open and close a watch without affecting its waterproofing rating.

A watch mechanism is (typically) circular, ideal for devices that need to be opened and closed frequently. And the mechanism is a much smaller percentage of a watch's overall volume; much more of its volume is enclosure material.

I can't find the rating for the 1926 Rolex Oyster (if there was one), but the Submariner in 1953 was 100m.

... I daresay we're not talking about that level of waterproofing, so circularity of sealing gaskets and case structural integrity shouldn't be as critical.

Although if Apple made an iPhone Deepsea, I have no doubt they'd have buyers at any price point, a vanishingly small percentage of whom would actually submerge it.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#302
post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... and when there's enough of you for this to represent an actual, realistic target market you will then find someone who will sell you one. Personally, my perspective on this is that it's a lot like the kind of complaining that gets a lot of play in the motoring press about the disappearance of the manual transmission (like Car and Driver's "Save the Manuals" thing). Lots of people will claim they would like the ch…

This is a largely a U.S. specific thing. In Europe, manual transmission is still commonly available. If you want a high-end-ish car with a manual in the US, there’s the Golf R.

Europe is just lagging the U.S. ... if you look at the take rates for transmissions, more automatics than manuals are now sold in the U.K, and mainland Europe is not far behind.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it was this simple, the other manufacturers would be doing this. But it is not this simple. If the device can open easily using basic tools, it can’t be thin, light and waterproof. But anyway, I didn’t hear Apple ‘complaining about having no longer having reasonable options remaining’. I heard you complaining about Apple providing the tools and parts required to repair their phones.

For all the stupid things that apple does to their devices, they can surely find a way to remove a cover. The truth is that almost every phone manufacturer would rather your phone reach end of life so that you can take a mini loan for another one.

You sound like one of those people complaining about the Steve Jobs reality distortion field, while you are also demanding Apple distorts the fabric of reality so they can create devices that meet your demands. Because without that, you can’t build a device with an easy way to remove its cover, while also making it thin, light and waterproof (and cheap, preferably).

If ‘almost every manufacturer’ is in some kind of conspiracy of manufactured obsolescence, that implies there are ones that are not. So go buy one of their phones. But chances are they are heavy, bulky and not waterproof.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#304
post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So actually we live in the best world possible[1] with the best technology possible. If it were possible to make a better iPHone, someone would have made it, but the fact that it doesn't exist means its either not possible or not good to have a removable battery on an iphone. [1] according to this book i read in highschool, it was called Candide

No; we live in the world of engineering and business compromises where wishes are not, in fact, horses.

>No

You aren't disagreeing with me. The claim is that we live in the best world possible, not the best world imaginable. The compromises you mention are necessary due to the underlying reality of resource scarcity. We may act to change our environment in many ways but can not violate the laws of the universe.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#305
post #300
post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The adhesive makes the phone waterproof. I recently replaced my gf's iPhone screen and all I really needed was a hairdryer to heat up the adhesive, a suction cup to pull it off, and a screwdriver. I guess with these tools it'd be safer, but it worked well regardless.

> The adhesive makes the phone waterproof. So would a rubber o-ring.

O-rings are known to fail.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The repair kit described here is not mandatory for anyone to rent to be able to buy the parts. Is this the case? Is Apple allowing people to just buy the parts separately, or do they make you get the whole kit?

https://selfservicerepair.com/order I can't go through the whole order process because I don't have an iPhone IMEI, but to me it looks like you can just buy the parts you need.

Ah, yes I agree, based on how they've designed the site it definitely seems you can order individual parts!

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#307

Apple can’t win here. If they had sent the sleek, easy to carry tools this author asked for, the author would complain about the pathetic tools they are providing. Really disappointed in The Verge on this article. Could have been a cool piece about the specific tech that Apple provides, but instead it’s framed so disingenuously that I come away not feeling particularly good about right to repair in general. It no lon…

I view this differently. This article is documenting a process people are surely curious about. But the costly deposit and multiple heavy pelican cases of supplies show just how deep the hole Apple has dug for themselves really is. Apple is so anti-repair they have no provisions for a reasonable at home process. You must realize that a $1200 deposit alone means this process is out of reach of many people.

Meanwhile I recently pulled all my old smartphones from a storage bin and the rear cover pops right off, revealing a battery which comes out with no effort. There’s even an affordance for your finger nail to catch the edge of the rectangular cell. Obviously newer phones are waterproof and arguably more durable, but Apple has gone so far towards a factory sealed design as to require absurd equipment to do a proper job.

What this all makes me wonder is: what would this all be like if Apple had never dismissed user replaceable batteries? If they had just as many years of engineering behind a removable back cover as they do with high resolution screens and custom processors? How many billions have they spent on this and that improvement, and what would the phone look like today if some of that had gone to making a phone not destined for the landfill?

To me, the size and cost of their DIY repair kit is a monument to how far from repair Apple has strayed. Fortunately I suspect that if they stick with user serviceable batteries, the process will be a whole lot simpler once they’ve really put some engineering effort in to it.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#308
post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a largely a U.S. specific thing. In Europe, manual transmission is still commonly available. If you want a high-end-ish car with a manual in the US, there’s the Golf R.

That's somewhat a quirk of your displacement taxes resulting in tiny engines. When the choice is between a CVT or automatic that has to be dragged kicking and screaming into the upper RPM ranges (because how else are you gonna get acceptable performance out of a tiny engine) and a clutch pedal many people choose the clutch pedal.

Yep, I used to be a manual fanatic, but I realized it's only 'fun' when the engine is slightly underpowered. On a typical modern car sold in USA you'd practically have to take it to a racetrack.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#309

It's so silly that modern phones (from all manufacturers, really) need these giant kits (or hacks like microwaving a jelly sock) just to replace the single part that wears down. I still have my first Android phone. It contains a battery you can pop out after removing the back cover. Replaceable batteries used to be the norm! Now we need suction cups, hot air stations and professional guides to replace the part, becau…

On the other hand phones are now thing and waterproof. Not saying that replaceable batteries are bad but it’s not like this was an entirely arbitrary decision.

The issue with right to repair isn’t that phones are too hard to repair due to being thin/waterproof/etc. It’s that Apple’s business decisions and contracts with suppliers are designed to monopolize the repair process, so that third party repair shops can’t fix peoples’ phones without resorting to extreme measures (like buying blackmarket parts that were likely stolen from Apple factories by rogue employees).

This repair program is trying really hard to frame it as: “look how risky and complicated it is to fix your own phone! Nobody actually wants to do this!”. Drawing attention away from the obvious alternative where people send their phone to an independent repair shop rather than do the repair themselves (and benefit from competitive pricing rather than Apple exorbitant ones)

As an example, you can’t buy a replacement screen from this program unless you provide a valid IMEI. This means that a repair shop can’t possibly offer same day repairs since they can’t keep any screen in stock.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or they and other phone manufacturers could just stop building phones that are purposefully difficult to disassemble or repair.

Or consumers could stop buying phones that can’t be easily disassembled or repaired.

Modern smartphones have a lot of constraints to deal with and still meet consumer demand. People want large displays, all day battery life, no slow downs, fast wireless, and the phone needs to fit in a normal pocket. Oh and the phone should be durable against drops and immersion in water.

A large display, fast processor/GPU, and wireless are all battery hungry components. These require a large battery to not only supply enough amperage but have enough capacity to last more than a few minutes. Batteries heat up when charging and when discharging. Things that heat up need to expand. The electronic components also heat up with usage further complicating the thermals. Vents and fans are untenable in something held in one hand or put in a pocket. The total envelope of the phone is constrained by human hands and pockets.

The modern "sealed" smartphone design exists because it satisfies those constraints. Non-removable batteries can have much thinner outer packaging than removable ones. They don't need to resist drops and punctures and still get underwriting certification. Glued components don't tend to wiggle themselves loose after years of thermal exercise. Glue with more seamless casings increase water resistance and overall durability. Glue also allows for smaller contact surfaces than are possible with screws giving more volume to internal components.

A phone that is easy to disassemble will be much less durable than one that's sealed. In the common case where internal access is never required, the durable phone will be superior to the easy to disassemble one. User serviceable batteries need thicker more durable envelopes which means lower power density than fixed batteries.

Most consumers do not want the easily repaired phone. It's going to require a lot of performance and ergonomic trade offs over the sealed flagship phones. Even if people went for repairable phones en masse it's not like they would stay out of landfills.

Even if screws over glue halved the effort to replace a broken screen the component cost wouldn't change. So a repair might be a few tens percent cheaper to perform. Even passing the savings on to a customer, it's still likely someone with a broken screen or whatever phone-ending damage would just buy a new phone.

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