I don't think Apple is the pinnacle of repairability by any means, but they have been making slow improvements in this area (like replaceable back glass in the new model phones, the entire mainboard doesn't need to be replaced for common repairs as often now, etc).
I think Apple essentially sells disposable, glued shut, one time use electronics while grandstanding like crazy about the environment.
Lisa Jackson has probably the hardest job at the whole company, to drum up the stats and relativism to make it look like they are trying at all in any meaningful way, and not just lying about their portfolio of dystopian horrors and banal inconveniences.
* always had the longest software support lifecycle in the industry. Only recently has Google tried to match them. My six year old iPhone only just stopped getting support for the current iOS release; it will still get security updates for a few more years.
* can be repaired quickly from parts likely stocked in repair shops almost anywhere in the world thanks to the relatively small number of models, whereas a local repair shop is unlikely to have parts for an Android phone, unless you happen to have a phone that was sold in large numbers in that locale
* can have its battery replaced with legitimate OEM parts, retaining waterproofing and whatnot, by Apple or third party shops who have been certified to do the repair correctly. No Android manufacturer does anything close to any of this.
* was one of the first phones to throttle CPU speed when it detects rising internal resistance from battery aging, thus prolonging the device's lifespan (which everyone shit on them for, claiming it was designed to 'force' people to upgrade, when it was exactly the opposite - it kept people's phones working longer than they otherwise would)
* has a charge/data connector much more durable than standard USB connectors, and it's still not placed on the motherboard like nearly every Android phone does; it's on an easily replaced board. The whole EU USB-C debacle about consumer rights. It was about other companies eliminating Apple's competitive advantage with the Lightning port, denying consumers the right to choose a different connector other than the planned obsolescence USB connectors. And you know what else? Nobody's iPhone has ever been fried by a Lightning cable, but there was a huge debacle over USB-C cables that would fry anything they were plugged into.
There's a reason iPhones retaining their value in the used market for years - and Android phones depreciate like a lead balloon.
> lying about their portfolio of dystopian horrors and banal inconveniences.
I understand that you want to feel good about your purchasing decisions, but you just are not seeing how low you are setting the bar.
I use these products and am deeply invested in them. They are good, but much farther from perfect than you think. All of these stats are hollow relativism.
If two companies were detonating atom bombs in your neighborhood, but one provided you and your family with super solid umbrellas to catch the ash, you'd probably be swollen with praise for them as well.
There I go demonizing again... I really shouldn't be comparing a corporation with greater market value than the GDP of some countries to a nation state with the power to instigate generational environmental disasters. Totally different, not worthy of comparison at all.
What does one time use mean for a phone? You make one call and dispose of it? I used my last iPhone for 6 years, including a 3rd party screen replacement and battery replacement.
One person uses it, for a pre-determined amount of time dictated by security updates and software based gatekeeping, and then its time of usefulness has passed, and it can't be meaningfully put to any other use. In parallel, parts and service become scarce.
If you're advocating that the average user, or differently abled users get comfortable with the tweezers and pentalobe screws in order to extend the lives of their devices, I'm afraid you've lost the plot.
My house is full Apple products, the average device is well over 5 years old. The gaming PC I built after the MBP I use is virtually worthless now, as the motherboard is fried and buying a new socket LGA 1150 motherboard just isn't worth it.
All electronics are the result of dystopian horors, and they generally don't have a very good shelf life. Are you aware of how many SuperFund sites are in Silicon Valley?
Pretty dull newsflash, this is the exact kind of weak, destructive relativism I was talking about in my post.
Apple's the worst, except for all the rest? I should lay off Apple because they're doing better than their competitors?
You're not opening any eyes by saying everyone is doing terribly, you're just responding to dissent with tired whataboutism and false claims of futility.
The market and regulators and device builders and customers could do better and should.
Apple wants to claim be leader in this space, they should do so with substance.
My substance was that my Apple products consistently out live every other electronic manufacturer's. I have an iMac and a MBP that are both over a decade old now and run great. The hardware is excellent after putting a new battery in the MBP and an SSD in the iMac. Especially the 2013 MBP with Retina display, its still an awesome machine even at 10 years old. The biggest problems with old iPhones are banking Apps and cellular connectivity.
Until we find a way of mineral extraction and purification that isn't terrible, electronics are going to be bad. Could Apple work to improve that? Yes, and they should too. My point, which I'd argue is pragmatic, is that Apple makes the longest lived devices you can currently buy, and not by a little but by a lot.
Demonizing the current front runner in a competition you care about? ...well lets just say you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar
I have a strong grip on the meaning of these words and the organization I have observed as a customer and user for decades.
How about you get a dictionary and encyclopedia and learn what dystopian horrors and banal inconveniences are?
Then look at Apple's factories, mining operations, glued together, locked down, borderline unrepairable products, and a big old pile of lightning cables and see that is an apt, fair and even charitable description of their activities.
Or you can just take yours and grip them to your chest and cry, whatever works for you.
> they glue it shut when they don't need to (bad).
Disagree. Glue isn't really that hard to deal with and likely makes the phone substantially more waterproof. It's really not hard, at all, to deal with glue, it's typically dissolves in acetone and only requires mild heat to overcome.
I'm using "glue" as a stand-in for all of the measures they use to lockdown their products when there is no physical need for it.
Nonetheless, you're selling "typically dissolves in acetone" as a user friendly, easy to repair, best in the industry experience? Should we give them a special award with text that is flanked by sprigs of wheat?
You don't realize how low you are setting the bar here.
Apple has a billion dollar PR engine trying to convince you that privacy was Apple's idea or repairability was their idea. It wasn't. Its them trying to get in front of regulation in the EU and outmaneuver their competitors.
Do you think the iphone 15 being USB-C was Apple's idea too?
Woz himself has spoken out against Apple's anti-repair stance.
For a few gens now "simple" to swap out iPhone parts like screens need to be purchased directly from Apple and authorized to go into the device that's being repaired via IMEI. This kills off tons of third party market options. Imagine if vehicle manufacturers required that you buy all replacement parts from them. In the case of vehicles, there are tons of used, reconditioned, and third party parts available that work just fine as replacements.
This kind of behavior is why I'll never "buy" an Apple device; you never truly own it and can do what you want to do with it, from both hardware and software perspectives.
I don't know on which planet you live but every new generation is worse than the previous one.
My last macbook needed to have a battery replaced during Apple Care (after only 2 years) and they just gave me a new body (no dents, same specs, same keyboard layout, transplanted the ssd - or transferred the data, not sure) and plugged it to the old screen.
Citing something that's been the same way for all Apple laptops for at least a decade doesn't really support your assertion that it gets worse with every generation.
Your repair was probably done by moving your laptop's motherboard into a new lower case (with a corresponding new battery glued in).
Is there any real justification for glueing batteries in beyond obstructing replacement?
It's not as if there's any space for them to slide around, they're a fairly tight fit in a compact device, and there's got to be plenty of other options to keep them in place if there is a little bit of looseness to deal with.
(I guess they'll use safety as an excuse, to reduce the risk of the damage to cells. But it's not the real reason, is it?)
The case isn't so tight the batteries can't move. LiPoly batteries expand and contract when they heat and cool. The case needs enough space for that to happen without putting pressure on the battery.
When the battery is at its most contracted state it can move if it's not fixed to the case by some means. Movement of the battery puts stress on the connectors and can lead to a short (or worse).
Gluing the battery in the case is a safe way of fixing it in place inside the case. Screw tabs would give the opportunity during assembly of puncturing the battery casing with a tool or screw. They could also work themselves loose with the thermal expansion cycles.
But people like the thought-terminating "Apple bad" narratives.
Its crazy stuff. You are telling me they cant think of a secure way to use a mechanical, screwed system that is able to cope with the thermal expansion. I find that hard to believe. I believe it is mostly cost and profit incentive, MAYBE safety, but I also doubt that last one.
I think adhesive and screws are the only two practical options for securing a battery well enough to prevent repeated cable flexing, which is probably much more of a concern than screws coming loose.
Those batteries are glued in to their own rigid case, which makes swapping them out of the laptop trivial but also didn't leave much room for expansion inside the battery pack, and the battery pack was pretty thick compared to any recent Apple laptop.
Replacing the cells inside one of those packs would have been similarly difficult to ungluing and replacing the batteries in more recent Apple laptops, but there was a lot less reason to rebuild those battery packs.
