Reading the comments below, Apple is damned it they do and damned if they don’t.
The stock price abides. They'll survive the damnation.
Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
61–70 of 226 posts
Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
#62I have a 2013 MBP that started random crashing several years back. I took it into a Mac store and they could not help me. I have always suspected a hardware issue. Repair for a new board was just not worth the cost. If this works and it would bring the cost down, I would still consider trying to get this machine fixed.
The TCO of an appliance includes warranty price, and the expected lifespan equals the warranty duration. If you use your apple appliance beyond 3 years, you are scavenging trash (good for you, but no expectation that the device will function). If $2500+ for 3 years of a laptop sounds bad to you, don't buy Apple.
Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
#63This may be controversial (or maybe not, this is HN and not reddit), but there's a question I've never seen answered.
I don't really care about how easy it is to repair my phone, or at least not as much as I care about using iOS. I knew if my iPhone were to break I'd have to take it to Apple, so I pay for Apple Care (like I pay for iCloud for my backups).
I don't feel like I've been swindled. I feel like I made the purchasing decisions that reflect my budget and concerns.
Similarly for laptops. I had a Macbook Pro that died from a burnt out reverse voltage protection diode (probably cost less than a penny). Apple quoted me the cost of the entire main board. My next laptop was not a Mac, it was a device that was easier to repair and upgrade because that reflected what I valued in a personal laptop.
Why should companies not be allowed to compete along this axis of features? Why do we need to kneecap one business model in favor of another, and limit engineers ability to make design decisions because that business model is not viable?
Surely the markets have spoken. Apple's customers don't care about having a right to repair. If they did, Apple would be selling machines that could be repaired by anyone.
Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
The goal should be self repair. I want the manuals and parts so I can make my own repair.
And then someone will mess up the repair and blame Apple for a malfunctioning device or demand they fix it for free.
That's what the car companies said would happen if independent mechanics were fully allowed.
Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
#65Based on my repair experience back in China, I understand and support Apple doing this. My opinion is based on the personal experience I had before, and I support people with different opinions.
Back the days (and I still believe it's the case right now) in China there are a lot of phone repair shops ran by individuals or small businesses, and those shops are not certified by any programs, they "operate" by someone has skills to repair electronics. I was tricked by them multiple times.
The first time I was repairing my Nokia N95 with a broken screen (N95 has an exposed "soft" screen), I sent it in to one of those shops; a few hours later, I got a call with an estimated price, and I accepted. Until months later I realized the price they charged me almost doubled the price it supposed to be if I went to a Nokia office service center. I agree I had some fault on this one, but I'm not a pro-consumer that knows everything.
The second time I was repairing a SE M608. Based on the lesson from last time, I refused the price they gave to me and want to get another quote from SE certified repair center. Then the latter told me my phone's internal components was swapped and no longer the original one. I suppose that was done overnight in the repair shop after I refuse their price.
Not to mention my friend got working components in her phone "repaired".
Then I never go to independent or 3rd party repair shops anymore, no matter they're certified or not, because I don't trust them.
I know HN have lots of people know how to repair stuff or able to learn from iFixit, but that's not for everyone. I strongly support Apple put more control and audit to the IRP or ASP to make sure they don't trick their customers. On the other hand, I also think Apple should sell repair components directly on their website, so anyone can repair by themselves if they want to.
Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
#66This may be controversial (or maybe not, this is HN and not reddit), but there's a question I've never seen answered. I don't really care about how easy it is to repair my phone, or at least not as much as I care about using iOS. I knew if my iPhone were to break I'd have to take it to Apple, so I pay for Apple Care (like I pay for iCloud for my backups). I don't feel like I've been swindled. I feel like I made the p…
So, I’m feeling the swindled part just a little bit. I had an iPhone 8+. Had a charging issue, apple care replaced it free of charge.
The refurbish iPhone I got, lasted ~100 days before the screen broke. Had to get a new phone. Now maybe I could have gotten apple care on that refurbished phone, but it was new and I didn’t expect to have issues like that
Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
#67Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
#68This may be controversial (or maybe not, this is HN and not reddit), but there's a question I've never seen answered. I don't really care about how easy it is to repair my phone, or at least not as much as I care about using iOS. I knew if my iPhone were to break I'd have to take it to Apple, so I pay for Apple Care (like I pay for iCloud for my backups). I don't feel like I've been swindled. I feel like I made the p…
I agree you with this one, it's not one way is better than the other. Personally I care about the design or portability much more than the repairability; I'm totally fine with them swap the whole logic board to repair one tiny chip, or even give me a new one instead; this "reflect my budget and concerns".
The "right to repair" act seems will hurt consumers like me, which prefer a slimmer design than if it's repairable or not. How much repair does it want to push? Repair individual CPU cores?
The free market lets companies make stuff for their targeted consumer groups, which is great. Everyone has a choice, based on individual "budget and concerns".
Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
#69This may be controversial (or maybe not, this is HN and not reddit), but there's a question I've never seen answered. I don't really care about how easy it is to repair my phone, or at least not as much as I care about using iOS. I knew if my iPhone were to break I'd have to take it to Apple, so I pay for Apple Care (like I pay for iCloud for my backups). I don't feel like I've been swindled. I feel like I made the p…
Thinkpad customers want a laptop with a 16:10 screen. Has Lenovo given it to them? No. Will they go and buy a Macbook with a 16:10 screen? No. So Lenovo can screw them ad infinitum.
Re: Apple expands independent repair program to Mac after US antitrust investigation
#70Just for some perspective, I can call up my Dell small business sales rep (who reached out to me after I bought just three or four machines over a period of some years) and give him an obscure part number. He says he needs a minute to look up the part, etc and asks if I’m taking this to a Dell-authorized technician; I say no. He takes advantage of how long it takes for the likely instantaneous result to pop up on the screen to ask if I’m interested in the specials he has going on for business laptops, I politely decline but express interest on behalf of future me. He gives me a quote for the part around 1.5x to 2x what the Chinese knockoff that won’t last a week (I know because I tried) costs, I agree and give him my credit card number which they refuse to keep on file, then he throws in free next business day shipping. I get the part, reference the service and repair manuals Dell makes freely available, and do the repair myself. Oh, and depending on the part in question, there’s a good chance that it is under a two year warranty even though I did the repair myself.
For Apple, I buy used parts in the hope that they come from a genuine device being parted out on eBay each for 50% of the cost of the original device because I know all the new parts are not just fake but bad fakes. I get a part that is past its expiration date, rather abused, but will work. I soak the MacBook in corrosive chemical baths to get the industrial super-strength glue (thank God it’s not epoxy?) to loosen up a little before I get out my exacto, needle nose pliers, a scraper, and a plastic pry tool. I pray nothing breaks while I try to get the part out. Something inevitably breaks (also, try to avoid piercing a battery while you pry it out; li-ion batteries do not like to be manhandled). The cost of a replacement part does not make economic sense. I either let the product sit disused on a shelf hoping to find the part cheaper at a later date, hock the device on eBay for pennies on the dollar for a parts shark to snap up then part out, or throw it in the trash because I’d rather not sell my eight hundred dollar phone for a hundred dollars and this at least gives me the satisfaction of cursing at Apple while I do it.
(Yes, the Apple story is an amalgam of many different adventures with different endings over a decade with many different devices, the majority of which were either ultimately written off or else repaired at prices that didn’t make much sense.)
Oh, in addition to sometimes doing my own repairs, I’m also the final arbiter when it comes to all IT purchases for a school. When I’m asked if we can/should get a fleet of Macs for the faculty and students, I insist we get Thinkpads or Latitudes instead.