5 ms·

What the hell do you even hope to fix in something that small and who else would you trust to repair something that expensive?

spiffytech 6y ago
Airpods are on the cheap end of the spectrum of things people routinely have repaired by 3rd party shops. This is common for phones/computers, appliances, expensive watches, cars, and gas landscaping tools. TVs, hifis, and more were often independently serviced back when they had discrete parts that could be replaced.
mqus 6y ago
There are people that repair tiny parts in expensive watches for decades now. And they can do that easily because those watches are designed to last and to be repairable. I don't see how either of your arguments are valid. Especially if your thing is expensive you want to repair it instead of replace it. And concerning trust: We repair expensive cars regularly without any trust issues.
- vosper 6y ago
  Are these expensive watches $200, or $2000(0)? It’s hard for me to imagine it being economically worthwhile to do intricate repairs on $200 watches, or that it would end up costing less than buying a new watch.
  - Apocryphon 6y ago
    Depends on the nature of the repair. Most smartphone fixes don't cost $200.
    - AnthonyMouse 6y ago
      Moreover, products designed to be repairable have low repair costs, and don't require uncommon expertise to repair. You don't need a specialized shop staffed with electrical engineers to replace the batteries in your TV remote.
  - ewr23w 6y ago
    No one is servicing the movement of a $200 watch. Just cleaning / oiling by a skilled watchmaker costs at least $200, and repairing any damage would probably cost closer to $1000.
  - mqus 6y ago
    This does not really cover "repair" at all, but replacing the battery costs ~10€ at my local jeweller, including the battery itself. I can go there, hand over the watch, go to another shop for groceries or something and return after 10 minutes and they're done. If Apples products are designed that way, there is no reason why it could not be the same (at least for batteries). Watches have usually the same constraints: Water tight, less/no screws, small, intricate. Of course, lithium batteries are more expensive, but that's it.
- NovemberWhiskey 6y ago
  The parts in expensive watches are huge by comparison with the parts in these kinds of electronic products. A tiny balance jewel might be 0.6mm in diameter. The smallest surface mount components are now (I think?) 0201 metric - i.e. 0.2mm x 0.1mm. Plus a balance jewel is not a two-terminal component that needs to be soldered in place.
- dzhiurgis 6y ago
  There are bus ticket collectors too, not that their hobby matters anymore.
finnthehuman 6y ago
Small? So what? Never seen someone use a microscope to solder before?
- sigstoat 6y ago
  nobody who charges less than $100/hr
dastx 6y ago
Getting someone other than apple to fix them is an inherent tradeoff that trades trust with money. Fact of the matter is, the way these are you either have to get apple to repair them for an extortionate amount, or throw them away, which is objectively bad for the environment. So you decide to trust someone else, you've likely done your due diligence, and ended up with a professional that claims to do it for half the price. I had to replace my Mum's Macbook Pro's track pad, and while I have the general knowhow (as in, replace laptop parts), I wasn't willing to do it myself because I'd never done it before, and looking at the steps required I probably wouldn't have had the patience to do it due to the billions of things they'd done to prevent me from doing it. So I went to Apple, who quoted me £350+. Not willing to shell out that much considering it was a 2012 model, I went to my local computer shop, who quoted me ~£90, told me about all the issues that might arise, but he'd happily do it otherwise. By comparison, I had to replace my Dell XPS's track pad less than a month ago. It was extremely easy. A bunch of screws, and remove random parts. Then pop out the trackpad, replace it with the working one, and lastly replace all the parts I'd taken out and screw them back in. It took all of 30 minutes. For sure there will always be bad technicians, but the majority know what they're doing and maybe they break the first one or two, but after that they'll be fine. Providing the technician isn't purposefully malicious, the likelihood of someone going wrong (or your trust being broken) is relatively low. So sure it's small, but given the right setup, most technicians who repair for a living will learn to repair it safely and accurately for a fraction of the price.

spiffytech 6y ago

Airpods are on the cheap end of the spectrum of things people routinely have repaired by 3rd party shops. This is common for phones/computers, appliances, expensive watches, cars, and gas landscaping tools. TVs, hifis, and more were often independently serviced back when they had discrete parts that could be replaced.

mqus 6y ago

There are people that repair tiny parts in expensive watches for decades now. And they can do that easily because those watches are designed to last and to be repairable. I don't see how either of your arguments are valid. Especially if your thing is expensive you want to repair it instead of replace it. And concerning trust: We repair expensive cars regularly without any trust issues.

vosper 6y ago
Are these expensive watches $200, or $2000(0)? It’s hard for me to imagine it being economically worthwhile to do intricate repairs on $200 watches, or that it would end up costing less than buying a new watch.
- Apocryphon 6y ago
  Depends on the nature of the repair. Most smartphone fixes don't cost $200.
  - AnthonyMouse 6y ago
    Moreover, products designed to be repairable have low repair costs, and don't require uncommon expertise to repair. You don't need a specialized shop staffed with electrical engineers to replace the batteries in your TV remote.
- ewr23w 6y ago
  No one is servicing the movement of a $200 watch. Just cleaning / oiling by a skilled watchmaker costs at least $200, and repairing any damage would probably cost closer to $1000.
- mqus 6y ago
  This does not really cover "repair" at all, but replacing the battery costs ~10€ at my local jeweller, including the battery itself. I can go there, hand over the watch, go to another shop for groceries or something and return after 10 minutes and they're done. If Apples products are designed that way, there is no reason why it could not be the same (at least for batteries). Watches have usually the same constraints: Water tight, less/no screws, small, intricate. Of course, lithium batteries are more expensive, but that's it.
NovemberWhiskey 6y ago
The parts in expensive watches are huge by comparison with the parts in these kinds of electronic products. A tiny balance jewel might be 0.6mm in diameter. The smallest surface mount components are now (I think?) 0201 metric - i.e. 0.2mm x 0.1mm. Plus a balance jewel is not a two-terminal component that needs to be soldered in place.
dzhiurgis 6y ago
There are bus ticket collectors too, not that their hobby matters anymore.

finnthehuman 6y ago

Small? So what? Never seen someone use a microscope to solder before?

sigstoat 6y ago
nobody who charges less than $100/hr

dastx 6y ago

Getting someone other than apple to fix them is an inherent tradeoff that trades trust with money. Fact of the matter is, the way these are you either have to get apple to repair them for an extortionate amount, or throw them away, which is objectively bad for the environment. So you decide to trust someone else, you've likely done your due diligence, and ended up with a professional that claims to do it for half the price. I had to replace my Mum's Macbook Pro's track pad, and while I have the general knowhow (as in, replace laptop parts), I wasn't willing to do it myself because I'd never done it before, and looking at the steps required I probably wouldn't have had the patience to do it due to the billions of things they'd done to prevent me from doing it. So I went to Apple, who quoted me £350+. Not willing to shell out that much considering it was a 2012 model, I went to my local computer shop, who quoted me ~£90, told me about all the issues that might arise, but he'd happily do it otherwise. By comparison, I had to replace my Dell XPS's track pad less than a month ago. It was extremely easy. A bunch of screws, and remove random parts. Then pop out the trackpad, replace it with the working one, and lastly replace all the parts I'd taken out and screw them back in. It took all of 30 minutes. For sure there will always be bad technicians, but the majority know what they're doing and maybe they break the first one or two, but after that they'll be fine. Providing the technician isn't purposefully malicious, the likelihood of someone going wrong (or your trust being broken) is relatively low. So sure it's small, but given the right setup, most technicians who repair for a living will learn to repair it safely and accurately for a fraction of the price.