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For those who don't get the joke, Apple's engineers are apparently using an iFixit toolkit in their lab, while continuing to make Apple devices harder for compa

by Exmoor 6y ago

For those who don't get the joke, Apple's engineers are apparently using an iFixit toolkit in their lab, while continuing to make Apple devices harder for companies like iFixit to repair. https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Manta-Driver-Kit--112-Bit-Driver-Kit/IF145-392 https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Manta-Driver-Kit--112-Bit...

jb1991 6y ago
Obviously, they have the tool to make sure it doesn’t work! How else could they test its ineffectiveness to work on their products? :)
- p1necone 6y ago
  You jest but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they did this.
segfaultbuserr 6y ago
> companies like iFixit to repair iFixit itself doesn't perform the repairs. They simply make and sell tools to facilitate unofficial repairs, and they had a good reputation on doing that - which, as you said, is becoming increasingly difficult.
- zxcmx 6y ago
  It's an interesting business model I think. They produce IP (researching and producing very clear instructions for fixes) and manage supply chain (trusted replacement parts & tools, worth more vs aliexpress equivalents because they endorse them). The things they make money off are largely substitutable. Their value add (well deserved IMHO) is trust.
  - segfaultbuserr 6y ago
    The network effect is also at play here. It's a community-oriented operation, in a sense it's similar to GitHub or Wikipedia - their repair guides are actually on an open wiki that everyone can edit, and users have contributed a lot of guide as well, and nearly everything is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
  - Bayart 6y ago
    Don't underestimate the value of consistency. If I buy an iFixit toolkit I can be fairly confident that there won't be wobbly bits, oddly creaking plastic, the grip will be the same across the board and that the steel will be of reasonable quality.
  - throw0101a 6y ago
    > It's an interesting business model I think. Don't look for gold yourself: sell the camping supplies and pickaxes to the prospectors looking for gold. * https://www.flexport.com/blog/trade-merchants-rich-california-gold-rush/ https://www.flexport.com/blog/trade-merchants-rich-californi...
- Intermernet 6y ago
  Sounds analogous to youtube-dl... <runs from room protecting head from shrapnel>
vl 6y ago
Apple engineers don’t have specific mandate to make devices harder to repair, the are tasked to make devices cheaper to produce. It so happens that it also affects ease of repair. For extreme example of this look at the Kindle - obviously it’s glued so it’s cheaper to make, but it makes it completely unrepairable.
- rickisen 6y ago
  Is that why they invent new and totally unnecessary driver bits? And make it so that you can't even replace a component from one iphone with a 100% apple made component from another identical iphone? It's obvious that apple has spent a lot of money on intentionally making their devices harder to repair.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - vl 6y ago
    Most likely it was other way around - they wanted a machine which can reliably drive tiny screws. They invented the machine, but it required pentalobe screws, so they went with that.
- andreareina 6y ago
  Apple made it so that you need their blessing to swap out the battery, display, or camera on their phones[1]. And they can't replace the battery on my MBP but have to replace the whole top case, nor replace the little rubber feet without replacing the whole bottom case. At this point ascribing any sort of "it's just the economics" reasoning to Apple is wishful thinking. They're doing this on purpose. [1] https://www.ifixit.com/News/45921/is-this-the-end-of-the-repairable-iphone https://www.ifixit.com/News/45921/is-this-the-end-of-the-rep...
  - theshrike79 6y ago
    People always assume that every 3rd party repair shop has Louis Rossmann-levels of skill and integrity. Some do. Some don't. Apple is trying to protect people (and their public image) from the scammy people who swap the cheapest shit on your phone and still charge a premium. Then when the phone explodes and takes someones buttock with it, it's WAY too late for Apple to say "but it was a 3rd party battery, which was dodgy and installed carelessly" - the Court of Twitter has already decided that Apple is evil and their phones are crap and here come the class action suits. So the only sane way is to make sure people can't get dodgy components installed on their devices. Also, if every Apple Genius was Rossmann-good with similar tools, they could solder out single components and fix pretty much anything on site. But they're not, so they are instructed on how to swap the smallest viable part when one section fails. That might mean swapping a whole case when one rubber foot falls of, but that's still easier and more cost-effective than training everyone to be a soldering and electrical engineering genius.

by Exmoor 6y ago

jb1991 6y ago

Obviously, they have the tool to make sure it doesn’t work! How else could they test its ineffectiveness to work on their products? :)

p1necone 6y ago
You jest but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they did this.

segfaultbuserr 6y ago

> companies like iFixit to repair iFixit itself doesn't perform the repairs. They simply make and sell tools to facilitate unofficial repairs, and they had a good reputation on doing that - which, as you said, is becoming increasingly difficult.

zxcmx 6y ago
It's an interesting business model I think. They produce IP (researching and producing very clear instructions for fixes) and manage supply chain (trusted replacement parts & tools, worth more vs aliexpress equivalents because they endorse them). The things they make money off are largely substitutable. Their value add (well deserved IMHO) is trust.
- segfaultbuserr 6y ago
  The network effect is also at play here. It's a community-oriented operation, in a sense it's similar to GitHub or Wikipedia - their repair guides are actually on an open wiki that everyone can edit, and users have contributed a lot of guide as well, and nearly everything is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
- Bayart 6y ago
  Don't underestimate the value of consistency. If I buy an iFixit toolkit I can be fairly confident that there won't be wobbly bits, oddly creaking plastic, the grip will be the same across the board and that the steel will be of reasonable quality.
- throw0101a 6y ago
  > It's an interesting business model I think. Don't look for gold yourself: sell the camping supplies and pickaxes to the prospectors looking for gold. * https://www.flexport.com/blog/trade-merchants-rich-california-gold-rush/ https://www.flexport.com/blog/trade-merchants-rich-californi...
Intermernet 6y ago
Sounds analogous to youtube-dl... <runs from room protecting head from shrapnel>

vl 6y ago

Apple engineers don’t have specific mandate to make devices harder to repair, the are tasked to make devices cheaper to produce. It so happens that it also affects ease of repair. For extreme example of this look at the Kindle - obviously it’s glued so it’s cheaper to make, but it makes it completely unrepairable.

rickisen 6y ago
Is that why they invent new and totally unnecessary driver bits? And make it so that you can't even replace a component from one iphone with a 100% apple made component from another identical iphone? It's obvious that apple has spent a lot of money on intentionally making their devices harder to repair.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- vl 6y ago
  Most likely it was other way around - they wanted a machine which can reliably drive tiny screws. They invented the machine, but it required pentalobe screws, so they went with that.
andreareina 6y ago
Apple made it so that you need their blessing to swap out the battery, display, or camera on their phones[1]. And they can't replace the battery on my MBP but have to replace the whole top case, nor replace the little rubber feet without replacing the whole bottom case. At this point ascribing any sort of "it's just the economics" reasoning to Apple is wishful thinking. They're doing this on purpose. [1] https://www.ifixit.com/News/45921/is-this-the-end-of-the-repairable-iphone https://www.ifixit.com/News/45921/is-this-the-end-of-the-rep...
- theshrike79 6y ago
  People always assume that every 3rd party repair shop has Louis Rossmann-levels of skill and integrity. Some do. Some don't. Apple is trying to protect people (and their public image) from the scammy people who swap the cheapest shit on your phone and still charge a premium. Then when the phone explodes and takes someones buttock with it, it's WAY too late for Apple to say "but it was a 3rd party battery, which was dodgy and installed carelessly" - the Court of Twitter has already decided that Apple is evil and their phones are crap and here come the class action suits. So the only sane way is to make sure people can't get dodgy components installed on their devices. Also, if every Apple Genius was Rossmann-good with similar tools, they could solder out single components and fix pretty much anything on site. But they're not, so they are instructed on how to swap the smallest viable part when one section fails. That might mean swapping a whole case when one rubber foot falls of, but that's still easier and more cost-effective than training everyone to be a soldering and electrical engineering genius.