>>Asking manufacturers to stock and sell the individual ICs they use to build products is completely untenable. The number of people who can actually execute su

>>Asking manufacturers to stock and sell the individual ICs they use to build products is completely untenable. The number of people who can actually execute such repairs is vanishingly small. The problem that Rossman was trying to highlight was that it appears as if Apple goes out of their way to make sure people like him can't get components. As an example - macbooks use a specific chip to control the USB-C charging, and that chip frequently burns out. Until some time ago, he could just buy it from the manufacturer in China, no problem, at like 10c a piece. But then from a certain revision onwards Apple requested a custom version of the same chip from the manufacturer, which as far as Rossman can tell is identical, except the pin layout has been swapped. And of course the manufacturer won't sell you that Apple-specific chip, so now he has no way of fixing a fried chip, other than buying the entire motherboard. Like yes, I agree, it's untenable to expect Apple to sell you their own ICs individually, but it appears like they specifically swap publicly available ICs for their own versions for no other reason other than to try and prevent repairs. Of course there might be another explanation, but if there is we don't know it.