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

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

#491

Post by Dylan16807 »

mlyle wrote: post #436
Dylan16807 wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are bezels on the top and bottom because the S4 came out in 2013, not because of the waterproofing method. IP67 is enough for me, and I will happily trade .3mm of thickness for a removable battery. Not that we should assume that IP68 has to be sacrificed. There aren't a lot of comparison points on that specific attribute. A Galaxy Xcover Pro is bulky but that's because it's much more ruggedized in general.

> There are bezels on the top and bottom because the S4 came out in 2013, not because of the waterproofing method. There are bezels on the top and bottom because older phones were less volume efficient than they are today-- something that is enabled by the use of adhesive. > IP67 is enough for me, and I will happily trade .3mm of thickness for a removable battery. OK, but, I believe the penalty would be significantly…

> There are bezels on the top and bottom because older phones were less volume efficient than they are today-- something that is enabled by the use of adhesive.

Adhesive on the front of the phone, where the screen is, is just fine as far as battery removability is concerned. Are you sure that's a real factor in this comparison?

> I believe the penalty would be significantly more than .3mm

Well I'm trying to use the example you gave...

> and most people won't.

Citation needed. I've never seen anyone mention sub-millimeter differences in choosing one phone over another.

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

#492

Post by marvin »

oneoff786 wrote: post #176
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You have to admit that requiring 79 lbs of equipment, a 1200$ deposit, and so much effort just to swap a friggin’ battery is a tad overkill You know people were swapping batteries long before this was available, right? And that you don’t have to rent the official factory tools? Apple did a great thing by providing this option at a loss to themselves. The fact that people are rushing to criticize the move suggests m…

What people want is a low cost third party shop to replace batteries

Maybe you could create one, by failing to return the repair kit and forfeiting your $1200 deposit?

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

#493

Post by mlyle »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #491
mlyle wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are bezels on the top and bottom because the S4 came out in 2013, not because of the waterproofing method. There are bezels on the top and bottom because older phones were less volume efficient than they are today-- something that is enabled by the use of adhesive. > IP67 is enough for me, and I will happily trade .3mm of thickness for a removable battery. OK, but, I believe the penalty would be significantly…

> There are bezels on the top and bottom because older phones were less volume efficient than they are today-- something that is enabled by the use of adhesive. Adhesive on the front of the phone, where the screen is, is just fine as far as battery removability is concerned. Are you sure that's a real factor in this comparison? > I believe the penalty would be significantly more than .3mm Well I'm trying to use the e…

> Adhesive on the front of the phone, where the screen is, is just fine as far as battery removability is concerned. Are you sure that's a real factor in this comparison?

Adhesive all over the place helps remove volume. So does using annoying connector types, and putting together the parts of the phone in crazy jenga-like assemblies.

The reason why phones are less serviceable today is because they are packed tight. This packed-tight characteristic is harder to manufacture, but much harder to service. The reason why it is there is because the designers of the phone think it is necessary to make a phone that is desirable to the market.

> Well I'm trying to use the example you gave...

OK, so look at total volume vs. screen area, because I think this is really actually the important metric. In less volume, we got basically the same volume of battery and a bigger screen. The metric swung by 20%.

> Citation needed. I've never seen anyone mention sub-millimeter differences in choosing one phone over another.

Phones with replaceable batteries didn't do very well versus their competition, which is a pretty good hint that the ease of replacing batteries was not the primary buying factor. Phone size-- both thinness and total volume-- and screen size-- are unquestionably important buying factors.

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

#494

Post by nunez »

honestly it's really cool that apple lets you rent technician-grade equipment with the same repair manuals for $49. i don't see anything wrong with a hold; people would just steal the gear if they didn't have the hold. much better than depending on how well someone can follow an ifixit tutorial with el-cheapo amazon parts

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

#495

Post by panda888888 »

thedougd wrote: post #428
js2 wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a trade-off. I am someone who repairs my own stuff. I've repaired my fridge, my dishwasher, my oven, my microwave, my garage door openers, my 1998 Jeep Cherokee, and on and on. 99% of people do NOT do this. I've replaced the batteries in multiple first generation iPhone SEs. I'll never replace a battery again in an iPhone, nor do I ever desire too. The phones have become too hard to open, but in return, Apple of…

I'm out of touch with 99 percent of people do. Can they really afford to call the repairman for every minor appliance issue? Or do they just live with it until replacement?

Labor is very expensive, more than parts.

For something like a washing machine that costs $750 and has an expected lifetime of 10 years, it's hard decision of when to repair vs when to replace.

Say my washer is already 6 years old, it breaks, and labor + parts to fix it would be $250. I might decide to give up and buy a brand new one instead.

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

#496

Post by wfhordie »

zouhair wrote: post #452
wfhordie wrote: post #93

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…

> Apple can’t win here. This assumes iPhones just happen to be the way they are. The need of this extravagant display is because of how iPhones were engineered in the first place. They were engineered to be hard to repair, that's the whole point. Apple and any other company need to stop making products that are hard to repair, they need to be forced to do so otherwise they will most likely never do it willingly.

>They were engineered to be hard to repair, that's the whole point.

This doesn’t make sense for two reasons.

(1)Apple is on the hook to repair iPhones under AppleCare+ warranties. This means “engineering for hard to repair” goes against their own interests.

(2) The fellows in Shenzhen, Guangzho, Shanghai, and Hong Kong have no problem repairing all kinds of damage to iPhones for <$20 USD. So if Apple is designing these to be difficult to repair it they are doing a terrible job.

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

#497

Post by nunez »

fartcannon wrote: post #59
srvmshr wrote: post #13

If made to fulfill the word of the law without actually having to follow it in spirit, this would be my modus operandi too. By designing $1200 deposit, $49 rental & two Pelican suitcases of tools and manuals, while keeping the battery replacement price same at $69 (what you'd normally pay in total at Store), they have entirely disincentivized self-repair without actually breaking any law. Masterstroke /s

I have never understood this kind of compliance. The hordes that buy their disposable garbage aren't going to care, they've shown repeatedly that they're insensitive to, sometimes even aggressive towards their own autonomy. So why do this? Just to _waste_ more? It's so petulant.

it is less that i am against my own autonomy and more that i value my time aggressively and don't want to spend it repairing shit i don't want to repair

i know i _can_ repair my own stuff. i've worked soldering irons and have a heat gun and could go into it again if i need to. i just don't want to make the time.

i don't want to spend hours repairing my iDevices. been there, done that. i'm not fucking with impenetrable adhesives and cracking screens and ultra thin wires, especially when i'm doing so at the cost of losing waterproofing, faceID, and warranty (extremely important to me).

(i completely get why apple disables faceID for screen replacements; gotta protect the software supply chain)

i'd much rather drive to my apple store 15 mins away, go to the genius bar and say "iphone broke" and get a new one right there or have it repaired in a few hours.

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

#498

Post by philistine »

Nullabillity wrote: post #466
ctbeiser wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iFixit is charging $39 for an iPhone mini battery, or $25 for an iPhone SE battery. Paying $25-30 for half an hour of labor—on a $400-1200 device—every two years sounds… totally fine to me?

Not when that labour is only required because of Apple's (and other manufacturers', but Apple was the first and worst to do this) malicious design in the first place.

Apple used to have removable batteries. Even when Steve Jobs came back to Apple, batteries were removable. Once Lithium-Ion batteries that can hold 70% of a charge after 1000 cycles appeared, Apple got rid of the user-swappable batteries. It’s not malicious, it’s a disagreement on what is acceptable.

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

#499

Post by Nullabillity »

philistine wrote: post #498
Nullabillity wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not when that labour is only required because of Apple's (and other manufacturers', but Apple was the first and worst to do this) malicious design in the first place.

Apple used to have removable batteries. Even when Steve Jobs came back to Apple, batteries were removable. Once Lithium-Ion batteries that can hold 70% of a charge after 1000 cycles appeared, Apple got rid of the user-swappable batteries. It’s not malicious, it’s a disagreement on what is acceptable.

> It’s not malicious, it’s a disagreement on what is acceptable.

They figured they could get away with removing it, so they did. In exchange the user got… what exactly? Absolutely nothing.

> Once Lithium-Ion batteries that can hold 70% of a charge after 1000 cycles appeared, Apple got rid of the user-swappable batteries.

That's still an absolutely pathetic lifetime compared to the rest of the device.

And that also bears out in practice, anecdotally battery life is by far the #1 reason that people buy new phones, especially in the last few years.

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

#500

Post by ksec »

ctbeiser wrote: post #426
ksec wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You pay $50 and wait a few minutes. I would have no problem if this was true. But it is not. $49 only for non-Face ID Model. $69 for FaceID, or pretty much all current iPhone lineup except iPhone SE. You also have to wait 30 min to hours depending on store. Not few minutes unless you are the only one doing Battery Swap which is highly unlikely given how they are always fully booked. Depending on which part of the wo…

iFixit is charging $39 for an iPhone mini battery, or $25 for an iPhone SE battery. Paying $25-30 for half an hour of labor—on a $400-1200 device—every two years sounds… totally fine to me?

>iFixit is charging $39 for an iPhone mini battery

It is absolutely fine in US. When iPhone Battery Replacement parts isn't even a listed item on Amazon but only Replacement Kits. ( Likely due to whatever agreement they had with Apple ) And Labour cost are high. One may even borderline call Apple's pricing cheap in the US. And why Apple could claim in court they made no profits in their after sales repairing services .

If you live within the Valeriepieris circle, have retail access to slightly higher than BOM of battery. Things might look a little different.

Hopefully we will have Battery improvements in the next 10 years so most of these discussions will become non-issues.

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