Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Repairability

psankar.blogspot.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 68 posts

Re: Repairability

#31

Post by fareesh »

jhickok wrote: post #21
fareesh wrote: post #14

In countries like India we don't really have too many consumer protections. Apple tends to operate similar to a criminal enterprise - they sell defective products / products which become defective after barely any use. I bought the 2015 Macbook Pro which developed the "staingate" issue. In first world countries, I hear that Apple replaced the screens for customers for free (I'm not sure if this is true or whether it'…

Thank you for this perspective-- oftentimes I don't think of how these verticalized monolith companies operate outside of NA/EU.

It's made worse by the fact that we pay more for the same devices because of import duties, and much more in terms of relative pay scales which are typically lower.

An average junior software developer here is making $10,000 a year. Hypothetically if they bought a new M1 Macbook Pro they'd spend $1,700 for the cheapest model (compared to around $1,500).

If there is a manufacturing issue that shows up after a year, they're down ~17% of their annual salary for a defective product.

Re: Repairability

#32

Post by StavrosK »

dkjaudyeqooe wrote: post #20
dartharva wrote: post #3

The more I read about Apple products the more they seem to be apt as luxury goods rather than functional computing devices.

This is entirely true. Apple has more and more in common with other luxury goods, such as expensive cars, which have a glamourous reputation but are notoriously unreliable after only a few years. Then they are eye wateringly expensive to repair. For someone buying simply for utility, Apple is best avoided. Their market position and financial incentives are aligned against selling you a machine that is solid in the lo…

> Then they are eye wateringly expensive to repair.

Isn't that precisely why people buy luxury goods?

Re: Repairability

#33

Post by simonh »

dartharva wrote: post #3

The more I read about Apple products the more they seem to be apt as luxury goods rather than functional computing devices.

Eh, all these broad brush sweeping statements and specific individual issues are just noise and random data points. It all just depends on what you want or need. I’ve been on Macs and iOS devices since 2008 and it’s bee great. Excellent well supported high quality systems that have lasted many years and given me outstanding value for money overall. Yes I’ve had hardware failures, including 2 hard disk failures. One was on a 6 year old machine so par for the course, the other was a few months out of Apple Care but they replaced it for free anyway.

I completely believe the horror stories though. They’re a huge company operating all over the world. Frankly these things can happen with any company. I only use iMacs and a Mac Mini so can’t comment in detail on the laptop keyboards but I can understand why people were upset.

It entirely depends on your own specific needs and circumstances. For me a Mac is a powerful, well built consumer desktop and Unix workstation, with some great convenience features. For someone else they might be over priced inflexible systems lacking needed capabilities.

Re: Repairability

#34

Post by hackshack »

nerdponx wrote: post #23
peterburkimsher wrote: post #19

I had an A1398 2014 MacBook Pro 15" until a few weeks ago. I also experienced the battery expanding (it was last changed in 2018 just as the AppleCare warranty expired). The replacement battery killed the GPU. The screen turned blank when waking from sleep. It survived another week, but after that, would crash whenever switching to NVIDIA graphics. I can't just replace the battery now - I need to change the logic boa…

Doesn't Apple warranty their repairs even when the machine itself is out of warranty?

They warranty the repair for 90 days.

Re: Repairability

#35

Post by m463 »

fareesh wrote: post #14

In countries like India we don't really have too many consumer protections. Apple tends to operate similar to a criminal enterprise - they sell defective products / products which become defective after barely any use. I bought the 2015 Macbook Pro which developed the "staingate" issue. In first world countries, I hear that Apple replaced the screens for customers for free (I'm not sure if this is true or whether it'…

That's a good reminder of the consumer protections in the US.

The first couple times I ventured out of the US, I was struck by the differences in environment for some companies.

For example in Mexico, I was struck by plentiful advertising for cigarettes and hard alcohol. Strangely, Coca Cola advertisements on the TV always had a legal disclaimer, something like "always with food" (I recall poorly).

Re: Repairability

#36

Post by jjice »

Repairability is a big concern for me for the majority of things I purchase and use on a daily basis. All my computers, car, clothing, furniture in the apartment. Some things are more repairable than others, like a computer is obviously based on specific parts I can purchase online where as my clothing just needs a needle and thread. Still, keeping repair in mind when possible is important to me for a few reasons:

1. I like my items old and lasting because it makes them more personal and gives it history.

2. There is a sense of pride when you fix something, whether that be a coffee table or a bug in software.

3. Reduce waste.

4. Save money.

Repair (especially in technology and cars) has become more and more locked down and difficult, and the right to repair is one I think we need to continue to strive for.

Re: Repairability

#37

Post by thepostoffice »

Design for repair isn't trivial.

It would force compromise on every other aspect of the product.

In the real world = more time (at every stage of the R&D and manufacturing process) + extra material costs (more tooling, more PCBA's, more screws, etc.).

I personally think that this issue will become a very big deal over the next decade or so, but at this point the market isn't applying enough pressure for the big companies to change their GtM processes.

Re: Repairability

#38

Post by black_puppydog »

jjice wrote: post #36

Repairability is a big concern for me for the majority of things I purchase and use on a daily basis. All my computers, car, clothing, furniture in the apartment. Some things are more repairable than others, like a computer is obviously based on specific parts I can purchase online where as my clothing just needs a needle and thread. Still, keeping repair in mind when possible is important to me for a few reasons: 1.…

5. Avoid having to set up a new device everytime something breaks.

6. Repairability often comes hand in hand with better control over what a device does/does not enforce about how I can use it. (Read: better Linux/FOSS support without garbage bloatware.

Re: Repairability

#39

Post by papaf »

thepostoffice wrote: post #37

Design for repair isn't trivial. It would force compromise on every other aspect of the product. In the real world = more time (at every stage of the R&D and manufacturing process) + extra material costs (more tooling, more PCBA's, more screws, etc.). I personally think that this issue will become a very big deal over the next decade or so, but at this point the market isn't applying enough pressure for the big compa…

Design for repair isn't trivial.

I am sure it isn't, but once upon a time all products were designed for repair.

Re: Repairability

#40

Post by nbzso »

sokoloff wrote: post #30
nbzso wrote: post #17

I have an iPad pro wifi from 2018 with totally dysfunctional wifi and speaker and IPS bleeding. This is my second one, the first one I exchanged for screen bleeding also. I have the last usable Mac Book Pro (2013) custom order with i7/750ssd/16gb ram and will change the battery myself soon (Apple refuses to fix laptops from 2013). The last Apple product that I have bought is Mac Mini 2018 - unlike other Apple product…

I held my 2013 MBP for a long time because of the keyboard issue and finally replaced it with the late 2019 MBP. I find the new keyboard fine (though this year it’s spent its time in clamshell mode mostly).

My MBP 2013 was "The Desktop Replacement" machine. Not anymore, all the rage about "death of the desktop computer" and now in 2020 I rock monster Ryzentosh with joy.
Post reply on HN