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Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

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Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#481

Post by Sugimot0 »

Gigachad wrote: post #390
crisdux wrote: post #97

Totally speculating here. I wonder if this is preparing for a future where Apple encounters supply issues or pricing pressure caused by environmental and political turmoil. I could see the average lifespan of devices continuing to increase and more people using repair services. It also makes it easier to refurb devices for second hand use.

Now is probably a good time because it seems like there is less pressure for new features. Apple is so far ahead of the rest right now that they can afford to release almost exactly the same phone a second time and it wont hurt.

Far ahead in what exactly?

Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#482

Post by kaba0 »

joshspankit wrote: post #325
jitl wrote: post #9

Apple started offering home repair kits for iPhone this year, but they’re super difficult to use: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/technology/personaltech/a... There’s speculation that offering the kits is an attempt to head off right-to-repair legislation. But seeing this redesign, I wonder to what degree the repair program is incentivizing repairability within apple’s corporate structure. Now that “profit/loss pe…

I suspect that the driving force behind Apple’s new desire to be repairable is legislative. IMO: Not profit of the “self-service” repairs, nor the improvement to the bottom line when they refurbish their own devices. Not some future goal of selling people the parts and/or tools. Not the goal of being ecologically sustainable (though IMO they do very well at this). I think they are working very hard to steer the Right…

That assumes they didn’t care about reparability in the first place.

Have a look at JerryRigEverything videos of any iphone, they are beautifully constructed on the inside. They don’t do no-gos like cheaper phones building basically on top of the screen a battery and a cover, which would cause an insane price for screen replacement, they don’t use special screws to fuck with you, but because they literally use the same physical space as one screw by screwing a screw with an opposing direction into another.

Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#483

Post by kergonath »

drekipus wrote: post #460
eek2121 wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you honestly think Apple does not want you to repair your own device? They would absolutely sh*t kittens to have you buy replacement parts from them! The problem is that smartphones are super complex devices, able to withstand dust, rain, drops, and more. In order to do that, they have complex internals, which AMONG OTHER THINGS (like heat dissipation and RF I/O) are designed to support mentioned goals. Current ge…

> I feel like some folks downplay the amount of engineering that goes into the iPhone, There's a huge amount of engineering that goes into making cars as well, but independent mechanic can and do thankfully exist. The automobile market is going a similar direction to Apple and it's considered a bad thing by many. Apple do not want to sell you spare parts if they can sell you a new yearly model phone instead. Imagine…

> There's a huge amount of engineering that goes into making cars as well, but independent mechanic can and do thankfully exist.

But then, so do independent phone repair shops.

Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#484

Post by kaba0 »

newtritious wrote: post #366
cromka wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather say they simply know that being evil is not a good look. It's still driven by profit, they just have a more holistic view on that.

This is kind of a weird take. If everyone is driven by profit, but some get it by evil means and others get it by doing things that benefit their customers, can’t we simply say that the people who do evil stuff are evil, and the ones who don’t aren’t?

I don’t know, is a paper clip AI evil of not? I think your problem is anthropomorphizing a non-human entity — companies after a certain size are simply trying to maximize profits at all costs. It is just so happens that people like to look at companies in a human way and thus playing “good” has a monetary advantage.

For a more direct example look at all the companies putting up pro-LGBT flags.

Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#485

Post by ahaucnx »

simondotau wrote: post #469
ahaucnx wrote: post #424

On our product (air quality monitor[1]) we made the concious decision to design it for long life and repairability by e.g.: - using no glue or snaps - all components on one PCB, no thin cables that can break - standard philips/torx screws - four screws to open the enclosure, four screws to take out the pcb - expensive sensor modules on pin sockets for easy reaplacement - only using components that are certified for l…

Imagine if, after criticising the panel gaps on a Tesla, a representative from Lego points out that Lego cars don't have this problem and that Lego has a steadfast commitment to precise tolerances. As someone who uses (and is continually appreciative of) multiple AirGradient-derived devices throughout my house, my immediate reaction was one of confusion given how monstrously incomparable your product is to an iPhone.…

That is a good point.

I believe you are having our DIY air quality kits that are as you describe very simple. Our commercial product AirGradient ONE has a much more complex PCB with tons of additional components e.g. DC DC converter to run it from 12-36v, modbus chip, external hardware watchdogs etc.

We have made a lot of comparisons to other air quality monitors and there is a significance difference in the repaiarbility, e.g. I broke an enclosure of a competitor because it was glued together and just couldn't be opened easily.

Yes, iPhones are by a magnitude more complex products but I think a lot also boils down to attitude. I believe for a long time (and probably still), Apple made it conciously very difficult to repair/upgrade their product e.g. with proprietory screws, glued batteries, etc.

Look at the Fairphone that is a phone and also allows easy replacement of components. If they can do it, why not Apple? Maybe because so far they did not want to?

Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#486

Post by kaba0 »

hetspookjee wrote: post #353
thathndude wrote: post #157

Really happy to see this write up. I’m probably in the tank, but I genuinely believe that Apple strives to do right by its customers, and to be a good company. it’s not a nonprofit, and I don’t expect them to act like one. Sometimes I feel like people enjoy piling on because they are the big dog. Again, please don’t mistake this comment for a blindness to some of its operations. But it’s nice to see them get credit f…

Oh come on. The backside is made of glass and costs an astonishing 570euros to replace. That’s not striving to do right.

What other material is basically impossible to scratch?

Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#487

Post by kaba0 »

hot_gril wrote: post #404
frio wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I somewhat agree, the big repair that most people are going to want to do pre- or post- sale is replacing the battery. If that's something that anyone can do now, it'll improve resale value.

I used to think this, but then all the Android phone-makers that used to tout user-removable batteries started gluing them in like Apple does, which sounded like the market speaking. Maybe it's not all that hard to replace the glued-in batteries anyway. Seems every mall has two tiny mid-hallway shops that can do it.

If I have to choose between easy-to-replace batteries and water resistance, I will go with the latter. Of course if both are possible, I would be very happy, but I just don’t see an engineering way for that in such a compact body as phones. Also, batteries are no longer 1-2 inches heigh, they are often odd-shaped to fill all the rest of the phone body.

Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#488

Post by kaba0 »

_V_ wrote: post #312
wmeredith wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is a big deal because far and away, the most common repairs made to iPhones are replacing the front or back.

Exactly and this is why Apple pairs the front part (and various other parts) to the motherboard. To make it easier or something. Got it

I’m fairly sure that you have to plug in your monitor to your desktop PC, otherwise it is kind of hard to.. you know, use it.

Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#489

Post by kergonath »

cromka wrote: post #248
thathndude wrote: post #157

Really happy to see this write up. I’m probably in the tank, but I genuinely believe that Apple strives to do right by its customers, and to be a good company. it’s not a nonprofit, and I don’t expect them to act like one. Sometimes I feel like people enjoy piling on because they are the big dog. Again, please don’t mistake this comment for a blindness to some of its operations. But it’s nice to see them get credit f…

I'd rather say they simply know that being evil is not a good look. It's still driven by profit, they just have a more holistic view on that.

Do they have to pass an ideology test? When I buy a phone off them, it’s a financial transaction: I give them money and they give me a device. As long as they don’t go out of their way to make the world a worse place and as long as their incentive to make good devices (because that’s how they make money, yes) aligns with my interests as a customer, that’s fine.

That’s why I am much more annoyed by their push to services, because there I am less convinced that our interests are convergent in the long run.

Re: Apple’s iPhone 14 Redesign for Repair

#490

Post by hoseja »

ahaucnx wrote: post #424

On our product (air quality monitor[1]) we made the concious decision to design it for long life and repairability by e.g.: - using no glue or snaps - all components on one PCB, no thin cables that can break - standard philips/torx screws - four screws to open the enclosure, four screws to take out the pcb - expensive sensor modules on pin sockets for easy reaplacement - only using components that are certified for l…

>not using plastic for packaging and we ask our supplier to not use plastic when sending us the parts

This honestly cheapens the rest of your efforts. Paper straws vibe.

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