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You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

nytimes.com

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Re: You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

#41

Post by quadrifoliate »

jqpabc123 wrote: post #32
ubermonkey wrote: post #14

Yes. And that's part of what I paid for.

Show us where Apple advertises this and I might believe you.

There is a form of explicit and implicit advertising.

Apple advertised implicitly by consistently fulfilling the promise that if anything bad happens to your iPhone, in most cases an Apple Store can fix it.

Control is a part of this implicit model. This is not a model I myself like (I prefer the more freewheeling Android ecosystem); but I can appreciate why people respond well to it. To your average person who doesn't give a shit about unlocked bootloaders and just wants a way to regularly be in touch with their family and friends, the Apple model probably works better.

Re: You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

#42

Post by lcnPylGDnU4H9OF »

ponorin wrote: post #26
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #4

This control severely limits the utility of stolen iPhones, which is a good thing for me as an iPhone owner. There are other phones that consumers can choose that don’t have this pairing. But this pairing of parts is one of the reasons people choose and iPhone.

if this was their only intention they would let third party repair shops access to genuine parts or software tools. the reality is that third party "apple certified" repair shops are contractually less capable than uncertified ones, so much so that calling their service repair feels too generous. apple do this to sell you phones instead of phone parts. if any of what you're saying was true it's simply a happy acciden…

> happy accident

That’s a perfect term for this. I would absolutely believe that Apple approached this from that exact anti-theft perspective but it sure is easy to see how such a feature might benefit their bottom line. It’s a matter of looking around and wondering where the inexpensive parts are.

Re: You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

#43

Post by wombat-man »

cameronh90 wrote: post #12
emmet wrote: post #7

Anecdotal, but back in those "good old days" when you could get a screen replaced in 5 mins like this article said, on the three occasions I did this I ended up with the worst cheap Chinese knock off screens I have ever seen, the last time I ended up spending even more to get a genuine one. Hard to avoid this with small businesses when they need to make the enough of a margin at those cheaper retail prices. I'm sure…

One of the reasons I switched to iPhone was that Google only does their repairs here through third parties. Even though it was with official parts, the repair quality was never great and it often needed to be manually calibrated or go in for another repair to fix the things they broke in the first repair. My experience (YMMV!) with AppleCare has always been stellar.

In my experience, getting the insurance or whatever for google phones is worth it since they often just replace your phone. I busted a screen and the authorized repair shop broke the mobo trying to replace it. Google replaced my phone but it was an irritating process.

Re: You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

#44

Post by luuurker »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #4

This control severely limits the utility of stolen iPhones, which is a good thing for me as an iPhone owner. There are other phones that consumers can choose that don’t have this pairing. But this pairing of parts is one of the reasons people choose and iPhone.

No one ever stole my phone, but I had everything from broken displays to dead batteries, so at least in my case this is not good for me as a owner.

Re: You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

#45

Post by jqpabc123 »

mplewis wrote: post #38
jqpabc123 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Show us where Apple advertises this and I might believe you.

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-built-in-privacy-...

Absolutely nothing there about how hardware repairs are restricted or about how this benefits the consumer.

Re: You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

#46

Post by m463 »

chii wrote: post #8
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #4

This control severely limits the utility of stolen iPhones, which is a good thing for me as an iPhone owner. There are other phones that consumers can choose that don’t have this pairing. But this pairing of parts is one of the reasons people choose and iPhone.

Why doesn't apple allow the owner to choose to decouple the pairing? It's telling why they dont.

I think you mean user.

You don't really own it in any meaningful way. (wish I could find out what my apps are doing - what network connections they make, how often they start up and under what conditions)

Re: You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

#48

Post by gkanai »

makeitdouble wrote: post #30
emmet wrote: post #7

Anecdotal, but back in those "good old days" when you could get a screen replaced in 5 mins like this article said, on the three occasions I did this I ended up with the worst cheap Chinese knock off screens I have ever seen, the last time I ended up spending even more to get a genuine one. Hard to avoid this with small businesses when they need to make the enough of a margin at those cheaper retail prices. I'm sure…

It's interesting you underline the knock off is Chinese, when half of the high quality genuine Apple parts are also Chinese. At this point I'd be more wary of a non Chinese parts for many of the replacements.

There's a significant difference between a Chinese-made Apple OEM part and an aftermarket low-cost Chinese part.

Re: You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

#49

Post by cameronh90 »

tekchip wrote: post #31
cameronh90 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the reasons I switched to iPhone was that Google only does their repairs here through third parties. Even though it was with official parts, the repair quality was never great and it often needed to be manually calibrated or go in for another repair to fix the things they broke in the first repair. My experience (YMMV!) with AppleCare has always been stellar.

YMMV indeed. How does it go for folks who buy a device second hand, beyond apple care, perhaps because they can't afford Apple's first hand prices. No one is saying Apple shouldn't provide Apple care or first rate service within coverage. This is about a broader picture. As noted in the article Apple knows how long Apple care extends for any given device, and if components have been replaced. It would be fairly easy…

Not really defending it as such, just offering my experience.

That being said if I was trying to see it from Apple’s perspective, it does address a lot of problems pretty easily: thieves breaking devices down for parts or coercing users, customers having issues with their devices due to low quality repairs, users buying second hand phones with unofficial parts, various security concerns, etc. Apple do also sell old and refurbished devices also.

That being said, I do think Apple should be solving this in a way that allows unofficial repairs, even if that involves taking your ID and proof of purchase into an Apple Store to get your device “unlocked” for free so you can do whatever you want with it, knowing it may hurt the resale value and impact the device’s security. More than that, I think it should be legally required under right to repair legislation.

Re: You Paid $1k for an iPhone, but Apple Still Controls It

#50

Post by sigmar »

emmet wrote: post #37
ponorin wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in your case you got screwed up bc you got a bad part, but you're saying your solution to that is to screw everyone by disallowing even genuine parts for repair not blessed by apple?

Didn't say that! Just that my past experience with 3rd party repair has been poor

Wasn't this partly by Apple's own making? Apple shreds devices to prevent people from salvaging parts for repairs[1], even phones that were usable[2]. and hasn't sold genuine components until very recently.

[1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphon... [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/07/apple-g...

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