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Top comment under article: > This is such bs. iPhone is one if not the only smartphone the oem support for about 5 years. My son is rocking a 5s currently with

Top comment under article: > This is such bs. iPhone is one if not the only smartphone the oem support for about 5 years. My son is rocking a 5s currently with the latest os update. About a year ago, I swapped out the battery myself.

zzalpha 9y ago
Which, while poorly phrased, at least does raise a valid point that the story is complex. There are some things Apple does very well (e.g. supporting newer versions of iOS on older gear, ensuring it continues to have a life), and some things they do very badly (no replaceable batteries). Other vendors have the exact opposite problem (my LG G5 has a replaceable battery, but I have no idea how long it'll continue to receive OS updates from my carrier).
- rubatuga 9y ago
  The Samsung Galaxy A5 I bought in 2015 stopped getting security updates after the summer of 2016. If that isn’t pure planned obsolescence, I don’t know what is. On the contrary, my dad’s iPhone 5 from 2012 got five years of updates. I foresee that since the iPhone 5S is a 64 bit processor, it will see at least six iOS revisions before being EOL’d
- alkonaut 9y ago
  Every iPhone I had has had a "replaceable battery". Sure - it's a fiddly job usually done by a technician, but I think that is a small drawback these days. In 5-ish smartphones I have replaced at least one screen each, and only 1 battery. So if something should be user replaceable why focus on battery? Ability to expand storage (even only internally) would have been a useful iPhone feature.
  - zzalpha 9y ago
    If we define "user replaceable" as "requires specialized tools and skills, while voiding the warranty in the process", can we agree we've stretched the term beyond usefulness?
    - alkonaut 9y ago
      Yes definitely agree, however 1) if the battery needs replacing within warranty doesn't that mean the user shouldn't have to? There is of course a case where the user thinks the battery life is bad but apple doesn't agree so the warranty doesn't help. 2) there is a difference between replaceable and user replaceable and my point was that "replacable" is usually enough since batteries are so rarely replaced compared to e.g screens. I have no stats but my personal guess would be that an average iPhone has at least one screen replacement.
    - sbuk 9y ago
      Semantics, but you said "replaceable battery" not "user replaceable battery.
pat_space 9y ago
They have a point. My 2013 rMBP is still solid and I don't foresee replacing it for years.
- gambiting 9y ago
  I still use a late 2009 MacBook Pro on a daily basis and I have absolutely no need to replace it. It's fast enough to browse the web, watch videos and do light programming work. I've only replaced the hdd with a 128GB SSD few years ago and everything else is stock and still works.
- thearn4 9y ago
  Still using a 2011 MBA. I just had to change out the magsafe charging port/IO board, but other than that its held up great.
  - smnscu 9y ago
    Rocking a (very abused, still working great) 2012 MBA and a 2012 27" iMac. Only changes were a new battery (€70) and more RAM.
- 6d6b73 9y ago
  And my 2011 Dell I use for networking has only gotten better with time. Larger battery, more ram, SSD hd, Blueray DVD RW. I will take something that can be updated over something that is just a few mm smaller any day.
- scriptkiddy 9y ago
  And I still have a toshiba satellite from 2008 that works as well as the day I bought it. I think reliability isn't something only high end manufacturers offer.
IBM 9y ago
The second top level comment is much better: >This is basically an advertorial for the Right to Repair legislation. I continue to be amazed by how uncritically this topic has been covered. Jason Koebler at Vice has basically been an activist on this issue, rather than a journalist. And unlike what the name implies, Right to Repair isn’t about giving you the right to repair your devices or products. You already have that. It’s not illegal. Right to Repair legislation is purely about the third party repair industry lobbying to have manufacturers officially support them: with parts, blueprints, manuals, etc. This may be fine for vehicles (and even that is questionable now that cars are becoming more advanced and require more expertise to repair), it would be silly for consumer electronics which is a much more dynamic and fast changing industry. And as for the story about environmental standards. EPEAT is a shit standard if it would have prevented Apple from creating a unibody Macbook Pro. It was right to change. The real reason that Apple lobbied them to change it isn’t some silly conspiracy about making them harder to repair, it’s about making better products. I have to congratulate Kyle Wiens and the iFixit team on having stellar PR. Whenever a silly environmental story about Apple pops up, he’s the go-to guy for a negative quote.
- jogjayr 9y ago
  > This may be fine for vehicles (and even that is questionable now that cars are becoming more advanced and require more expertise to repair), it would be silly for consumer electronics which is a much more dynamic and fast changing industry. Sorry can you explain why it's silly because the electronics industry is more dynamic? > And unlike what the name implies, Right to Repair isn’t about giving you the right to repair your devices or products. You already have that. It’s not illegal. Right to Repair legislation is purely about the third party repair industry lobbying to have manufacturers officially support them: with parts, blueprints, manuals, etc. From an environmental standpoint that doesn't sound like a terrible private interest group. If 3rd party repair gets support from manufacturers it lowers barriers to entry to the repair industry. Which would make repairs cheaper. That in turn would encourage more consumers to consider repairs over replacements. In theory, at least. > I have to congratulate Kyle Wiens and the iFixit team on having stellar PR. The saying "doing well by doing good" comes to mind.
- bo1024 9y ago
falcolas 9y ago
Counter anecdote: I have never been able to swap out a battery in a sealed Apple device. Even attempting to remove the screen is a much bigger financial risk than I am willing to undertake. And my six year old 5 has long since hit the proverbial trash. It was too slow about four years ago.
- copperx 9y ago
  Even the 6 is excruciatingly slow today.
Too 9y ago
Does ios still become 2x slower on old phones every time they update it for a new phone release? I remember previously fast iPhone 4s becoming close to useless when iPhone 5 came out after an os update.

zzalpha 9y ago

Which, while poorly phrased, at least does raise a valid point that the story is complex. There are some things Apple does very well (e.g. supporting newer versions of iOS on older gear, ensuring it continues to have a life), and some things they do very badly (no replaceable batteries). Other vendors have the exact opposite problem (my LG G5 has a replaceable battery, but I have no idea how long it'll continue to receive OS updates from my carrier).

rubatuga 9y ago
The Samsung Galaxy A5 I bought in 2015 stopped getting security updates after the summer of 2016. If that isn’t pure planned obsolescence, I don’t know what is. On the contrary, my dad’s iPhone 5 from 2012 got five years of updates. I foresee that since the iPhone 5S is a 64 bit processor, it will see at least six iOS revisions before being EOL’d
alkonaut 9y ago
Every iPhone I had has had a "replaceable battery". Sure - it's a fiddly job usually done by a technician, but I think that is a small drawback these days. In 5-ish smartphones I have replaced at least one screen each, and only 1 battery. So if something should be user replaceable why focus on battery? Ability to expand storage (even only internally) would have been a useful iPhone feature.
- zzalpha 9y ago
  If we define "user replaceable" as "requires specialized tools and skills, while voiding the warranty in the process", can we agree we've stretched the term beyond usefulness?
  - alkonaut 9y ago
    Yes definitely agree, however 1) if the battery needs replacing within warranty doesn't that mean the user shouldn't have to? There is of course a case where the user thinks the battery life is bad but apple doesn't agree so the warranty doesn't help. 2) there is a difference between replaceable and user replaceable and my point was that "replacable" is usually enough since batteries are so rarely replaced compared to e.g screens. I have no stats but my personal guess would be that an average iPhone has at least one screen replacement.
  - sbuk 9y ago
    Semantics, but you said "replaceable battery" not "user replaceable battery.

pat_space 9y ago

They have a point. My 2013 rMBP is still solid and I don't foresee replacing it for years.

gambiting 9y ago
I still use a late 2009 MacBook Pro on a daily basis and I have absolutely no need to replace it. It's fast enough to browse the web, watch videos and do light programming work. I've only replaced the hdd with a 128GB SSD few years ago and everything else is stock and still works.
thearn4 9y ago
Still using a 2011 MBA. I just had to change out the magsafe charging port/IO board, but other than that its held up great.
- smnscu 9y ago
  Rocking a (very abused, still working great) 2012 MBA and a 2012 27" iMac. Only changes were a new battery (€70) and more RAM.
6d6b73 9y ago
And my 2011 Dell I use for networking has only gotten better with time. Larger battery, more ram, SSD hd, Blueray DVD RW. I will take something that can be updated over something that is just a few mm smaller any day.
scriptkiddy 9y ago
And I still have a toshiba satellite from 2008 that works as well as the day I bought it. I think reliability isn't something only high end manufacturers offer.

IBM 9y ago

The second top level comment is much better: >This is basically an advertorial for the Right to Repair legislation. I continue to be amazed by how uncritically this topic has been covered. Jason Koebler at Vice has basically been an activist on this issue, rather than a journalist. And unlike what the name implies, Right to Repair isn’t about giving you the right to repair your devices or products. You already have that. It’s not illegal. Right to Repair legislation is purely about the third party repair industry lobbying to have manufacturers officially support them: with parts, blueprints, manuals, etc. This may be fine for vehicles (and even that is questionable now that cars are becoming more advanced and require more expertise to repair), it would be silly for consumer electronics which is a much more dynamic and fast changing industry. And as for the story about environmental standards. EPEAT is a shit standard if it would have prevented Apple from creating a unibody Macbook Pro. It was right to change. The real reason that Apple lobbied them to change it isn’t some silly conspiracy about making them harder to repair, it’s about making better products. I have to congratulate Kyle Wiens and the iFixit team on having stellar PR. Whenever a silly environmental story about Apple pops up, he’s the go-to guy for a negative quote.

jogjayr 9y ago
> This may be fine for vehicles (and even that is questionable now that cars are becoming more advanced and require more expertise to repair), it would be silly for consumer electronics which is a much more dynamic and fast changing industry. Sorry can you explain why it's silly because the electronics industry is more dynamic? > And unlike what the name implies, Right to Repair isn’t about giving you the right to repair your devices or products. You already have that. It’s not illegal. Right to Repair legislation is purely about the third party repair industry lobbying to have manufacturers officially support them: with parts, blueprints, manuals, etc. From an environmental standpoint that doesn't sound like a terrible private interest group. If 3rd party repair gets support from manufacturers it lowers barriers to entry to the repair industry. Which would make repairs cheaper. That in turn would encourage more consumers to consider repairs over replacements. In theory, at least. > I have to congratulate Kyle Wiens and the iFixit team on having stellar PR. The saying "doing well by doing good" comes to mind.
bo1024 9y ago

falcolas 9y ago

Counter anecdote: I have never been able to swap out a battery in a sealed Apple device. Even attempting to remove the screen is a much bigger financial risk than I am willing to undertake. And my six year old 5 has long since hit the proverbial trash. It was too slow about four years ago.

copperx 9y ago
Even the 6 is excruciatingly slow today.

Too 9y ago

Does ios still become 2x slower on old phones every time they update it for a new phone release? I remember previously fast iPhone 4s becoming close to useless when iPhone 5 came out after an os update.