4 ms·

Apple fucked us on right to repair (again)

103 points by ssklash 3y ago

ssklash 3y ago
TLDR: "Parts-pairing is bullshit", and Apple is fully invested in it. Repair means less sales, and they are willing to lobby at the highest levels to ensure their sales.
layer8 3y ago
Dupe of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37614279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37614279.
ChrisArchitect 3y ago
[dupe] (for whatever reason his 'permalink' has an extra bit on it and was submitted earlier) Discussion over here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37614279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37614279
pcdoodle 3y ago
Currently installing Ventura 13.6 on my 2011 Macbook using Open Core Patcher (then will upgrade to 4TB HDD). Selling my 2019 16" on ebay. Keep the used hardware going folks!
qwertyman2 3y ago
The days of Apple halting repairs are over. But they still have a few years to come up with something equally sinister. Their ecosystem is built on lies too. All they do is put every function in an Apple only jail. When both of those are gone, maybe they have to put their money on innovation.
gumballindie 3y ago
I dont understand why people are so obsessed with apple and the likes. Like literarily you can get a high spec upgradable laptop from any other company, slap linux on it and enjoy your privacy and freedom. I do use certain apple products but for me it’s just a vendor. When the vendor fails me i stop spending money on their products. No need to beg for a “right to repair” _my own product_.
- brokenmachine 3y ago
  I'm "obsessed" with them, despite not owning any of their products, because the anti-consumer lucrative garbage they pioneer shoveling to their victims trickles down into every part of the computing industry.
- qwertyman2 3y ago
  Most people’s knowledge of tech barely rivals that of an inorganic object. To have them switch OS is not even on the map. They are just happy they can find the camera app that takes pictures.
  - gumballindie 3y ago
    Thats an excellent use case for linux. A friend asked me what laptop to get for their parents to make video calls. Told them to find an affordable laptop, slap linux on it and call it a day - no crazy amounts of updates, viruses, etc. They are still happy with it few years later. Can also read the news and watch youtube, checkout facebook, web whatsapp, etc.
    - qwertyman2 3y ago
      One day a friend came over to the parents and asked what operating system they were using on their weird computer. Firefox said the dad. ——————— To be real, it’s a very viable yet uncommon (choice). Because those people don’t choose OS. They just buy a computer, and Linux is never on them.
- kanbara 3y ago
  i’m a linux hacker/coder. have been for ages. macOS and macs are my thing bc they have great hardware, unix os, and amazing app ecosystem. i grew up on slack, did lfs a few times, and played with most distros under the sun. in the end of the day, i love linux but macOS just works amazingly well AND has all the tools i need
- m463 3y ago
  They set an example of what can be done to people. For example - they created an app store that worked well, and had a plausible idea behind it - "apple will ensure you get good software" well, except you cannot install your own software on the phone. And software vendors can only sell their products to you through apple. apple doesn't allow software people really like, you can't install little snitch on your phone, or anti-virus, or adblockers, or sexy software, or software that is like their software, just better. and you can't know what software apple has prevented from coming to market because the software developers can't talk about it or criticize apple. sigh. this kind of stuff is copied elsewhere.
nwellinghoff 3y ago
Yeah it completely blows my mind the amount of technical people that choose apple as their platform. It really is total lock in trash.
- kanbara 3y ago
  some people dont care about lock-in. i like that my iPhone and mac work together, i can text from my computer, share all my apps/data across oses, and that macOS gets out of the way to let me do my work. 95% of what i do is in the terminal, and the typeface rendering and emulators are great. apple silicon performance is mindblowingly good
  - nwellinghoff 3y ago
    Right. But high quality interop does not require lock-in. You can have the same integrated experience without the intentional hampering of interfaces if you mix.
- mark_l_watson 3y ago
  I agree that the lock-in is not good, but their trap is a nice one: I use Apple’s Pro Display XDR with 10 bit color depth and 6K resolution. It is just so good that it shuts down any other display tech I have used. The pain point is that this expensive monitor really only works well with my MacBook Pro or my iPad Pro. I have several Linux laptops I enjoy, but no using the Pro Display XDR with them. The other Apple trap that I am unable to ever give up is my Apple Watch. It is so great to be able to leave my phone at home and still get calls, and messages from my family. BTW, if you like this article, also read Cory Doctorow’s new book The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation. As someone who feels caught in Apple’s silk traps, I feel this book at least gives me strategies to deal with all the tech giants. It is not just Apple that is the problem!
up2isomorphism 3y ago
Because of monopoly, btw android is not a direct competitor to iPhone.

103 points by ssklash 3y ago

TLDR: "Parts-pairing is bullshit", and Apple is fully invested in it. Repair means less sales, and they are willing to lobby at the highest levels to ensure their sales.

layer8 3y ago

Dupe of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37614279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37614279.

ChrisArchitect 3y ago

[dupe] (for whatever reason his 'permalink' has an extra bit on it and was submitted earlier) Discussion over here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37614279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37614279

pcdoodle 3y ago

Currently installing Ventura 13.6 on my 2011 Macbook using Open Core Patcher (then will upgrade to 4TB HDD). Selling my 2019 16" on ebay. Keep the used hardware going folks!

qwertyman2 3y ago

The days of Apple halting repairs are over. But they still have a few years to come up with something equally sinister. Their ecosystem is built on lies too. All they do is put every function in an Apple only jail. When both of those are gone, maybe they have to put their money on innovation.

gumballindie 3y ago

I dont understand why people are so obsessed with apple and the likes. Like literarily you can get a high spec upgradable laptop from any other company, slap linux on it and enjoy your privacy and freedom. I do use certain apple products but for me it’s just a vendor. When the vendor fails me i stop spending money on their products. No need to beg for a “right to repair” _my own product_.

brokenmachine 3y ago
I'm "obsessed" with them, despite not owning any of their products, because the anti-consumer lucrative garbage they pioneer shoveling to their victims trickles down into every part of the computing industry.
qwertyman2 3y ago
Most people’s knowledge of tech barely rivals that of an inorganic object. To have them switch OS is not even on the map. They are just happy they can find the camera app that takes pictures.
- gumballindie 3y ago
  Thats an excellent use case for linux. A friend asked me what laptop to get for their parents to make video calls. Told them to find an affordable laptop, slap linux on it and call it a day - no crazy amounts of updates, viruses, etc. They are still happy with it few years later. Can also read the news and watch youtube, checkout facebook, web whatsapp, etc.
  - qwertyman2 3y ago
    One day a friend came over to the parents and asked what operating system they were using on their weird computer. Firefox said the dad. ——————— To be real, it’s a very viable yet uncommon (choice). Because those people don’t choose OS. They just buy a computer, and Linux is never on them.
kanbara 3y ago
i’m a linux hacker/coder. have been for ages. macOS and macs are my thing bc they have great hardware, unix os, and amazing app ecosystem. i grew up on slack, did lfs a few times, and played with most distros under the sun. in the end of the day, i love linux but macOS just works amazingly well AND has all the tools i need
m463 3y ago
They set an example of what can be done to people. For example - they created an app store that worked well, and had a plausible idea behind it - "apple will ensure you get good software" well, except you cannot install your own software on the phone. And software vendors can only sell their products to you through apple. apple doesn't allow software people really like, you can't install little snitch on your phone, or anti-virus, or adblockers, or sexy software, or software that is like their software, just better. and you can't know what software apple has prevented from coming to market because the software developers can't talk about it or criticize apple. sigh. this kind of stuff is copied elsewhere.

nwellinghoff 3y ago

Yeah it completely blows my mind the amount of technical people that choose apple as their platform. It really is total lock in trash.

kanbara 3y ago
some people dont care about lock-in. i like that my iPhone and mac work together, i can text from my computer, share all my apps/data across oses, and that macOS gets out of the way to let me do my work. 95% of what i do is in the terminal, and the typeface rendering and emulators are great. apple silicon performance is mindblowingly good
- nwellinghoff 3y ago
  Right. But high quality interop does not require lock-in. You can have the same integrated experience without the intentional hampering of interfaces if you mix.
mark_l_watson 3y ago
I agree that the lock-in is not good, but their trap is a nice one: I use Apple’s Pro Display XDR with 10 bit color depth and 6K resolution. It is just so good that it shuts down any other display tech I have used. The pain point is that this expensive monitor really only works well with my MacBook Pro or my iPad Pro. I have several Linux laptops I enjoy, but no using the Pro Display XDR with them. The other Apple trap that I am unable to ever give up is my Apple Watch. It is so great to be able to leave my phone at home and still get calls, and messages from my family. BTW, if you like this article, also read Cory Doctorow’s new book The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation. As someone who feels caught in Apple’s silk traps, I feel this book at least gives me strategies to deal with all the tech giants. It is not just Apple that is the problem!

up2isomorphism 3y ago

Because of monopoly, btw android is not a direct competitor to iPhone.