4 ms·

Tearing down Apple's display opener [video]

runlevel1 4y ago
They certainly didn't skimp on the components. That thing looks expensive inside and out.
- rubatuga 4y ago
  The connectors are beautiful
jerlam 4y ago
A pity the reviewer doesn't get it to work. The reviewer falls into the same trap as others regarding repair equipment like this; they think it's too complicated and durable and want to compare it to their hobbyist equipment. They're forgetting that the official equipment is meant to be used thousands of times, by minimally trained and overworked staff, with the least amount of damages. Hence the whole setup for each phone model have a special phone cradle, that has an RFID chip that sets up the recommended heating temperature and time, because the tech is going to put the phone into the heater and then walk away to do something else, and doesn't want to come back to a damaged mess like if they used the "cheap" hobby heating plate for too hot or too long. One of YouTube comments is like "whoa, it costs $100 for each new heating plate, what a ripoff" which is absurd when you amortize that cost over the hundreds of phones it will service and how much each screen costs.
- amelius 4y ago
  > like if they used the "cheap" hobby heating plate for too hot or too long. So a simple timer should cost hundreds of dollars?
  - reaperducer 4y ago
    So a simple timer should cost hundreds of dollars? If it was a simple timer, your sarcasm would make sense. But as noted by the person you replied to, it's not a simple timer. It's part of a more complex solution intended for a different environment than social media outrage bait hobbyists. In no world can I imagine Apple putting out a tool with instructions like "Wave your mom's hair dyer at this a few times back-and-forth and guess when it might be just about hot enough, but not too hot. You'll know it by smell, after you destroy enough devices."
- sandworm101 4y ago
  The official repair equipment is also an evolution of assembly equipment. If you need a jig to hold a phone, it is easier to start with the solid metal jig design used by the machine that built the phone in the first place.
  - sohtym 4y ago
    > The official repair equipment is also an evolution of assembly equipment. Are you saying that as a fact or is it speculation?
    - joezydeco 4y ago
      I've worked for companies where this was a fact. Why would you design the same fixture twice?
      - sohtym 4y ago
        Because they are potentially completely different processes. It is certainly possible, but what I see is a test fixture that could be made completely separate. Therefore it would be interesting to know if it wasn't, how they know that it wasn't and why Apple wouldn't on production lines costing many millions to billions.
- sohtym 4y ago
  It is fair to judge it as a self repair tool when it is presented as such by Apple.
  - chiph 4y ago
    Apple got strong-armed into making this available. As to why they didn't create a hobbyist-grade tool for the self-repair program - all it would take is a couple of $900 phones damaged (followed by the outrage social media posts) by non-technical end-users to negate any savings. Better to make it bullet-proof.
- userbinator 4y ago
  They're forgetting that the official equipment is meant to be used thousands of times, by minimally trained and overworked staff, with the least amount of damages. The various repair shops you can find in parts of China and East Asia in general can do the same if not even more in-depth (i.e. component-level) repairs, and they certainly don't need expensive specialist equipment like this either.
  - blacksmith_tb 4y ago
    But I expect those shops have a small number of very experienced staff? If you trained at the knee of a master, I'm sure you can soften those adhesives with a heat gun without overdoing it, but it's hard to just box that knowledge up and send it to someone green.
elzbardico 4y ago
What an over-engineered piece of junk. I am convinced one of the requirements was that the design should be intentionally over-complicated. It is a f** heating plate with a suction device. Why the hell do you need all those different cartridges, an RFID chip, and a giant touchscreen for that?
- crazygringo 4y ago
  So that employees can use it with minimal training and be guaranteed it won't damage the phone because they misaligned it or used the wrong temperature or for the wrong length of time. This isn't meant for occasional boutique repairs, it's meant to work perfectly a thousand times a month for many, many months.
  - elzbardico 4y ago
    Can't you imagine a few ways to reach the same requirements with a significantly simpler and less wasteful design? What is the point of this giant touchscreen, for example? It doesn't even show descriptive error messages. And once you have this useless display, it will drive more complexity into the design. The fact is, you don't even need a CPU to meet the requirements. A simple microcontroller would be cheaper and less fragile while saving you the trouble of designing a complex digital circuit out of simpler timers, op-amps, and flip-flops. Really, I refuse to believe that the best way to realize this design is by packing it with probably more computational power than what you had in Apollo's Guidance Computer.
    - detourdog 4y ago
      The iPhone itself outshines the Apollo guidance computer. The tool to repair a tool may require sophisticated tooling. Apple doesn't need to design tools for part time installers. Apple already has one that works well and was forged on the front lines. For a reasonable fee Apple will let you borrow it and Apple expects you to be happy with your results. If there is such a big market for the supply of these sophisticated but in-expensive tools it will be exploited by someone.
quijoteuniv 4y ago
I find surprising that comments are aimed to discourage people fixing phone themselves and still somehow justifying apple bad appleness.

They certainly didn't skimp on the components. That thing looks expensive inside and out.

rubatuga 4y ago
The connectors are beautiful

A pity the reviewer doesn't get it to work. The reviewer falls into the same trap as others regarding repair equipment like this; they think it's too complicated and durable and want to compare it to their hobbyist equipment. They're forgetting that the official equipment is meant to be used thousands of times, by minimally trained and overworked staff, with the least amount of damages. Hence the whole setup for each phone model have a special phone cradle, that has an RFID chip that sets up the recommended heating temperature and time, because the tech is going to put the phone into the heater and then walk away to do something else, and doesn't want to come back to a damaged mess like if they used the "cheap" hobby heating plate for too hot or too long. One of YouTube comments is like "whoa, it costs $100 for each new heating plate, what a ripoff" which is absurd when you amortize that cost over the hundreds of phones it will service and how much each screen costs.

amelius 4y ago
> like if they used the "cheap" hobby heating plate for too hot or too long. So a simple timer should cost hundreds of dollars?
- reaperducer 4y ago
  So a simple timer should cost hundreds of dollars? If it was a simple timer, your sarcasm would make sense. But as noted by the person you replied to, it's not a simple timer. It's part of a more complex solution intended for a different environment than social media outrage bait hobbyists. In no world can I imagine Apple putting out a tool with instructions like "Wave your mom's hair dyer at this a few times back-and-forth and guess when it might be just about hot enough, but not too hot. You'll know it by smell, after you destroy enough devices."
sandworm101 4y ago
The official repair equipment is also an evolution of assembly equipment. If you need a jig to hold a phone, it is easier to start with the solid metal jig design used by the machine that built the phone in the first place.
- sohtym 4y ago
  > The official repair equipment is also an evolution of assembly equipment. Are you saying that as a fact or is it speculation?
  - joezydeco 4y ago
    I've worked for companies where this was a fact. Why would you design the same fixture twice?
    - sohtym 4y ago
      Because they are potentially completely different processes. It is certainly possible, but what I see is a test fixture that could be made completely separate. Therefore it would be interesting to know if it wasn't, how they know that it wasn't and why Apple wouldn't on production lines costing many millions to billions.
sohtym 4y ago
It is fair to judge it as a self repair tool when it is presented as such by Apple.
- chiph 4y ago
  Apple got strong-armed into making this available. As to why they didn't create a hobbyist-grade tool for the self-repair program - all it would take is a couple of $900 phones damaged (followed by the outrage social media posts) by non-technical end-users to negate any savings. Better to make it bullet-proof.
userbinator 4y ago
They're forgetting that the official equipment is meant to be used thousands of times, by minimally trained and overworked staff, with the least amount of damages. The various repair shops you can find in parts of China and East Asia in general can do the same if not even more in-depth (i.e. component-level) repairs, and they certainly don't need expensive specialist equipment like this either.
- blacksmith_tb 4y ago
  But I expect those shops have a small number of very experienced staff? If you trained at the knee of a master, I'm sure you can soften those adhesives with a heat gun without overdoing it, but it's hard to just box that knowledge up and send it to someone green.

elzbardico 4y ago

What an over-engineered piece of junk. I am convinced one of the requirements was that the design should be intentionally over-complicated. It is a f** heating plate with a suction device. Why the hell do you need all those different cartridges, an RFID chip, and a giant touchscreen for that?

crazygringo 4y ago
So that employees can use it with minimal training and be guaranteed it won't damage the phone because they misaligned it or used the wrong temperature or for the wrong length of time. This isn't meant for occasional boutique repairs, it's meant to work perfectly a thousand times a month for many, many months.
- elzbardico 4y ago
  Can't you imagine a few ways to reach the same requirements with a significantly simpler and less wasteful design? What is the point of this giant touchscreen, for example? It doesn't even show descriptive error messages. And once you have this useless display, it will drive more complexity into the design. The fact is, you don't even need a CPU to meet the requirements. A simple microcontroller would be cheaper and less fragile while saving you the trouble of designing a complex digital circuit out of simpler timers, op-amps, and flip-flops. Really, I refuse to believe that the best way to realize this design is by packing it with probably more computational power than what you had in Apollo's Guidance Computer.
  - detourdog 4y ago
    The iPhone itself outshines the Apollo guidance computer. The tool to repair a tool may require sophisticated tooling. Apple doesn't need to design tools for part time installers. Apple already has one that works well and was forged on the front lines. For a reasonable fee Apple will let you borrow it and Apple expects you to be happy with your results. If there is such a big market for the supply of these sophisticated but in-expensive tools it will be exploited by someone.

quijoteuniv 4y ago

I find surprising that comments are aimed to discourage people fixing phone themselves and still somehow justifying apple bad appleness.