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>Apple has completely redesigned the internals of the iPhone 14 to make it easier to repair HN: <crickets> Easier for who? Quote from the video: "We're hearin

>Apple has completely redesigned the internals of the iPhone 14 to make it easier to repair HN: <crickets> Easier for who? Quote from the video: "We're hearing reports of Apple continuing on the hostile path of pairing parts to the phone, requiring activation of the back glass after installation. Why in the world would you need permission to install a sheet of glass?! Using software to prevent the replacement of components with aftermarket parts gets a big thumbs-dwon from us." Let's call it like it is. Apple is not doing you a favor for easier repairability, they're doing their bottom line a favor. If they actually cared, they wouldn't be so hostile to software lock you out of replacing a bloody glass panel. The internal design is still greatly thought out though. I've been asking myself for years: why can't phone makers make phones with a mid frame that allow both sides to be easily swapped out, instead of one or another. Seems like Apple has cracked it. I hope other phone makers copy this minus the SW locks.

selykg 4y ago
Sort of. You can still buy replacement parts from Apple as part of the repair program. This would, in theory, make repairing the iPhone 14 a lot easier than it has been in the past. No, this still doesn't mean you can go get the cheapest replacement option you can on Alibaba but the repair is STILL easier, even if you still have to buy from Apple. For certain replacement parts I can see this being important, like anything involved in Face ID or Touch ID. Credit where credit is due, let's hope it continues in the right direction.
- ChuckNorris89 4y ago
  >For certain replacement parts I can see this being important, like anything involved in Face ID or Touch ID. Those are secure elements. The back glass is not a secure element. That's just vendor lock-in malice for the sake of profiteering. Edit: Since I can reply to your comments below, your argument fails flat because: 1) SW lock-outs also apply to genuine apple parts, not just aftermarket ones 2) If the user's ability to verify the originality of the parts installed in their phone was the real reason, they Apple could just have a prompt for the user that the new part is not genuine instead of completely locking it out.
  - laserlight 4y ago
    There's a charitable interpretation. Customers can now verify that the replacements are genuine Apple parts.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - selykg 4y ago
    I wasn't arguing that the back glass was a secure element. I said it makes sense for certain replacement parts and then gave examples of those surrounding Face ID and Touch ID. I would agree with you that the back glass is not one of those things. But as another person said, it is nice to know that they're official Apple products as that does matter to some people.
spideymans 4y ago
Apple’s Activation Lock lead to a substantial drop in smartphone theft worldwide. That’s something worthy of consideration. Apple must not re-incentivize phone theft to harvest parts. https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-leads-to-big-drops-in-smartphone-theft-worldwide/ https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-lea...
- freedomben 4y ago
  This is a really good point. Thanks for sharing. I'm highly critical of Apple for their practices, but this is great food for thought. I'm gonna have to marinade that for a bit and re-evaluate my position. Could they still do it for Apple official parts without locking out 3rd parties? i.e. if an official screen that was previously registered to a different phone, then lock it out. If it's never been registered, then allow it?
- ChuckNorris89 4y ago
  But what if I want to transplant a part from my old phone to a phone same model that I both legitimately own? Why should Apple be the one to stop me? Why not let the user enable/disable the SW lock, like a lo-jack? Do you live in an area where phone theft is rampant? Ok, then leave SW lock enabled on your phone's parts. Do you want to legitimately transplant parts off your old phone to your new phone? Then let the user disable the SW lock after entering their PIN or Face-ID or whatever. It's not like this is some super-complex problem Apple couldn't solve with a few line of code to have the best of bot worlds if they really wanted to.
  - noptd 4y ago
    Exactly, it's such an easy problem to solve if you're actually interested in solving it which makes it quite obvious that Apple isn't.
- cruano 4y ago
  I got mugged a couple years ago, or attempted to: The thief asked for my phone, saw it was an iPhone and just gave it back. That to me is worth the whole phone bricking thing. And it's also not like I've gone through a bunch of them, I got a 6S on release and a 12 pro when I felt it couldn't play video games anymore.
baybal2 4y ago
> why can't phone makers make phones with a mid frame that allow both sides to be easily swapped out, Midframe based based construction was standard for most premium smartphones 2010-2015, after that two piece construction, and "bathtub" took over for economic reasons, and because of MBA people wanting to parrot Apple's engineering in everything.

selykg 4y ago

Sort of. You can still buy replacement parts from Apple as part of the repair program. This would, in theory, make repairing the iPhone 14 a lot easier than it has been in the past. No, this still doesn't mean you can go get the cheapest replacement option you can on Alibaba but the repair is STILL easier, even if you still have to buy from Apple. For certain replacement parts I can see this being important, like anything involved in Face ID or Touch ID. Credit where credit is due, let's hope it continues in the right direction.

ChuckNorris89 4y ago
>For certain replacement parts I can see this being important, like anything involved in Face ID or Touch ID. Those are secure elements. The back glass is not a secure element. That's just vendor lock-in malice for the sake of profiteering. Edit: Since I can reply to your comments below, your argument fails flat because: 1) SW lock-outs also apply to genuine apple parts, not just aftermarket ones 2) If the user's ability to verify the originality of the parts installed in their phone was the real reason, they Apple could just have a prompt for the user that the new part is not genuine instead of completely locking it out.
- laserlight 4y ago
  There's a charitable interpretation. Customers can now verify that the replacements are genuine Apple parts.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- selykg 4y ago
  I wasn't arguing that the back glass was a secure element. I said it makes sense for certain replacement parts and then gave examples of those surrounding Face ID and Touch ID. I would agree with you that the back glass is not one of those things. But as another person said, it is nice to know that they're official Apple products as that does matter to some people.

spideymans 4y ago

Apple’s Activation Lock lead to a substantial drop in smartphone theft worldwide. That’s something worthy of consideration. Apple must not re-incentivize phone theft to harvest parts. https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-leads-to-big-drops-in-smartphone-theft-worldwide/ https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-lea...

freedomben 4y ago
This is a really good point. Thanks for sharing. I'm highly critical of Apple for their practices, but this is great food for thought. I'm gonna have to marinade that for a bit and re-evaluate my position. Could they still do it for Apple official parts without locking out 3rd parties? i.e. if an official screen that was previously registered to a different phone, then lock it out. If it's never been registered, then allow it?
ChuckNorris89 4y ago
But what if I want to transplant a part from my old phone to a phone same model that I both legitimately own? Why should Apple be the one to stop me? Why not let the user enable/disable the SW lock, like a lo-jack? Do you live in an area where phone theft is rampant? Ok, then leave SW lock enabled on your phone's parts. Do you want to legitimately transplant parts off your old phone to your new phone? Then let the user disable the SW lock after entering their PIN or Face-ID or whatever. It's not like this is some super-complex problem Apple couldn't solve with a few line of code to have the best of bot worlds if they really wanted to.
- noptd 4y ago
  Exactly, it's such an easy problem to solve if you're actually interested in solving it which makes it quite obvious that Apple isn't.
cruano 4y ago
I got mugged a couple years ago, or attempted to: The thief asked for my phone, saw it was an iPhone and just gave it back. That to me is worth the whole phone bricking thing. And it's also not like I've gone through a bunch of them, I got a 6S on release and a 12 pro when I felt it couldn't play video games anymore.

baybal2 4y ago

> why can't phone makers make phones with a mid frame that allow both sides to be easily swapped out, Midframe based based construction was standard for most premium smartphones 2010-2015, after that two piece construction, and "bathtub" took over for economic reasons, and because of MBA people wanting to parrot Apple's engineering in everything.