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Apple Is Selling iPad Repair Parts for Astronomical Prices

35 points by firefax 1y ago

thewebguyd 1y ago
Apple's self-service repair is basically malicious compliance. To an extent, I appreciate that they even offer the possibility at all, but despite how good their hardware is, especially my M-series macbooks, I'm getting tired of their user hostility. My ThinkPad T14, while not macbook quality, is decent enough, and everything is user serviceable, and parts are cheap. Just 7 captive phillips screws and it's open. I'm also tired of my only choices being either a) enjoy the conveniences of the apple ecosystem and integration but have no ability to self-service my own hardware, or in the case of iOS, run my own software outside of the app store or b) try and hack together some equivalent "ecosystem" using Linux, Android, KDE connect, and various other homegrown scripts and apps but deal with an inferior laptop, inferior smartwatch, and inferior apps. Consumers are getting screwed over, even those outside of the "ecosystem," by Apple's insistence on not allowing third parties to develop against their protocols (imagine a world where any smartwatch could match the functionality of the Apple watch on iOS, or anyone could create an AirDrop client on any operating system, etc.)
- firefax 1y ago
  The last time I tried thinkpads, I thought I'd done my research but somehow got one that couldn't use it's wireless card in Debian out of the box (and lacked an ethernet port :/) Do you have any specific models/lines you'd reccomend? I'm probably just going to throw something XFCE flavored on it and remote into VMs when I need actual processing -- I just need something to do word processing, browsing, maybe watch some videos in VLC. My Macbook air has great battery life and a nice screen but if anything fails it's a 1k fix -- everything is fused to the motherboard now so when one part fails you have to replace everything
  - thewebguyd 1y ago
    > Do you have any specific models/lines you'd reccomend? My current thinkpad is a T14 5th gen w/ AMD, and everything worked OOTB with both Ubuntu and Fedora. You can always double check particular models/configurations on ThinkWiki(https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki), or Ubuntu certifications (https://ubuntu.com/certified/laptops?q=&limit=120&vendor=Lenovo& https://ubuntu.com/certified/laptops?q=&limit=120&vendor=Len...) or RedHat's equivalent(https://catalog.redhat.com/en/search?searchType=Hardware&partnerName=Lenovo https://catalog.redhat.com/en/search?searchType=Hardware&par...) Generally, the newer the hardware, the more you need a more recent kernel which may have been what you ran into with Debian. I've had laptops that worked in Fedora & Arch, but Debian & Ubuntu didn't have a recent enough kernel for the WiFi adapter. If you still have that laptop might be worth it to give it another shot depending on how long ago you tried, Trixie may work on it.
    - firefax 1y ago
      Thanks, I think the thinkwiki is a link I didn't have last time I looked into this. I'm more a fan of debian than ubuntu due to the advertising things they've done: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#System_terminal_advertising_controversies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#System_terminal_adverti... But honestly I'm not someone who's got strong views beyond my controverial view that XFCE style graphics are both artful and functional and that going beyond that is a waste of resource ;) I'll look around on Craigslist for a used laptop and then run it through thinkwiki. This was a long time ago BTW. As in, the end of the Bush administration -- but I was in uni and didn't have time to troubleshoot, and then I went into the workforce and as VMs became ubiquitous, I glommed onto MacOS since Apple Stores are great about fixing hardware quickly and software wise, I could beef up my ram and run Debian or Kali or whatever as needed. (As an aside I've found Parrot more well run than Kali's "try harder" anti-user philosophy in later years)
  - Beijinger 1y ago
    DELL XPS
    - firefax 1y ago
      >DELL XPS I'LL LOOK INTO IT
- kwanbix 1y ago
  What exactly do you mean by "not MacBook quality"? Aside from Apple’s M-series chips, I’d take a ThinkPad over a MacBook any day. The T, X, and P series ThinkPads are at least on par with MacBooks in terms of build quality. I will even argue that they are better. And with a ThinkPad, you don’t have to deal with that cold, rigid metal body that MacBooks are known for, and the horribly screens which are like a mirror.
  - thewebguyd 1y ago
    Screen (it's good, I have the 2.8k one), but it's not quite to the level of Apple's (although I definitely prefer the matte over the glossy). It's also not as bright, which does matter to me. Otherwise, it's mostly nitpicks on my part that don't matter to everyone. The speakers don't remotely hold a candle to the macbook's, nor does the microphone. On mine specifically (5th Gen T14 w/ AMD), the keyboard isn't quite the same as the older thinkpads and I'd rank the Macbook's keyboard better. My last nitpick is battery life. Not saying the ThinkPad is bad, I like it for what it is, but I still reach for the macbook more when I want to use it as a laptop and not docked into my monitors. It's runs cooler, quieter, better screen, better speakers.
    - kwanbix 1y ago
      One thing I appreciate about Apple's strategy is how streamlined their product lineup is, unlike Lenovo, which offers an overwhelming number of ThinkPad models. Many of them are nearly identical but marketed under different names, which can be frustrating. That said, if you pick the right ThinkPad models, I don't think MacBooks speakers or displays are better. And you have much more customization with ThinkPads. Personally, I don't care much about speakers or mics anyway, especially since most people use headphones or headsets these days. What matters more to me is the part I interact with the most: the keyboard and the pointing device. ThinkPad keyboards are arguably much better than MacBooks, and MacBooks don't have a TrackPoint, which I find essential. I don't like the metallic body of Macbooks at all, and I prefer the warmth of plastic/carbon. Lastly, I strongly prefer Linux or Windows over macOS. In my experience, macOS has become increasingly limited and frustrating with each new release. Yes, MacBooks do run quieter and cooler, and are even more powerful than amd64 counterparts, and that's definitely their main selling point for me, but in the end, the pros are outweighed by the cons.
- chrisdeso 1y ago
  I felt the same and moved from being a long time mac user to a framework - thinkpads were enticing too.
pcdoodle 1y ago
$250 for a charge port? That is nuts. So much for sustainable practices...
rgovostes 1y ago
Third-party vendors are selling parts harvested from damaged, used devices. Apple’s prices do seem astronomical, but the comparison isn’t Apple’s to apples. Also, how do these prices compare to what Apple charges for an out of warranty repair? If it’s the same, there’s no story. https://www.simplymac.com/ipad/how-much-does-it-cost-to-fix-the-glass-on-my-ipad https://www.simplymac.com/ipad/how-much-does-it-cost-to-fix-...
dialup_sounds 1y ago
> ...more than a third of the iPad parts Apple is now selling are not being sold at a price that is economically viable for independent repair shops. It's hard to sympathize. It's right-to-repair, not right-to-a-sustainable-business-model.

35 points by firefax 1y ago

Apple's self-service repair is basically malicious compliance. To an extent, I appreciate that they even offer the possibility at all, but despite how good their hardware is, especially my M-series macbooks, I'm getting tired of their user hostility. My ThinkPad T14, while not macbook quality, is decent enough, and everything is user serviceable, and parts are cheap. Just 7 captive phillips screws and it's open. I'm also tired of my only choices being either a) enjoy the conveniences of the apple ecosystem and integration but have no ability to self-service my own hardware, or in the case of iOS, run my own software outside of the app store or b) try and hack together some equivalent "ecosystem" using Linux, Android, KDE connect, and various other homegrown scripts and apps but deal with an inferior laptop, inferior smartwatch, and inferior apps. Consumers are getting screwed over, even those outside of the "ecosystem," by Apple's insistence on not allowing third parties to develop against their protocols (imagine a world where any smartwatch could match the functionality of the Apple watch on iOS, or anyone could create an AirDrop client on any operating system, etc.)

firefax 1y ago
The last time I tried thinkpads, I thought I'd done my research but somehow got one that couldn't use it's wireless card in Debian out of the box (and lacked an ethernet port :/) Do you have any specific models/lines you'd reccomend? I'm probably just going to throw something XFCE flavored on it and remote into VMs when I need actual processing -- I just need something to do word processing, browsing, maybe watch some videos in VLC. My Macbook air has great battery life and a nice screen but if anything fails it's a 1k fix -- everything is fused to the motherboard now so when one part fails you have to replace everything
- thewebguyd 1y ago
  > Do you have any specific models/lines you'd reccomend? My current thinkpad is a T14 5th gen w/ AMD, and everything worked OOTB with both Ubuntu and Fedora. You can always double check particular models/configurations on ThinkWiki(https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki), or Ubuntu certifications (https://ubuntu.com/certified/laptops?q=&limit=120&vendor=Lenovo& https://ubuntu.com/certified/laptops?q=&limit=120&vendor=Len...) or RedHat's equivalent(https://catalog.redhat.com/en/search?searchType=Hardware&partnerName=Lenovo https://catalog.redhat.com/en/search?searchType=Hardware&par...) Generally, the newer the hardware, the more you need a more recent kernel which may have been what you ran into with Debian. I've had laptops that worked in Fedora & Arch, but Debian & Ubuntu didn't have a recent enough kernel for the WiFi adapter. If you still have that laptop might be worth it to give it another shot depending on how long ago you tried, Trixie may work on it.
  - firefax 1y ago
    Thanks, I think the thinkwiki is a link I didn't have last time I looked into this. I'm more a fan of debian than ubuntu due to the advertising things they've done: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#System_terminal_advertising_controversies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#System_terminal_adverti... But honestly I'm not someone who's got strong views beyond my controverial view that XFCE style graphics are both artful and functional and that going beyond that is a waste of resource ;) I'll look around on Craigslist for a used laptop and then run it through thinkwiki. This was a long time ago BTW. As in, the end of the Bush administration -- but I was in uni and didn't have time to troubleshoot, and then I went into the workforce and as VMs became ubiquitous, I glommed onto MacOS since Apple Stores are great about fixing hardware quickly and software wise, I could beef up my ram and run Debian or Kali or whatever as needed. (As an aside I've found Parrot more well run than Kali's "try harder" anti-user philosophy in later years)
- Beijinger 1y ago
  DELL XPS
  - firefax 1y ago
    >DELL XPS I'LL LOOK INTO IT
kwanbix 1y ago
What exactly do you mean by "not MacBook quality"? Aside from Apple’s M-series chips, I’d take a ThinkPad over a MacBook any day. The T, X, and P series ThinkPads are at least on par with MacBooks in terms of build quality. I will even argue that they are better. And with a ThinkPad, you don’t have to deal with that cold, rigid metal body that MacBooks are known for, and the horribly screens which are like a mirror.
- thewebguyd 1y ago
  Screen (it's good, I have the 2.8k one), but it's not quite to the level of Apple's (although I definitely prefer the matte over the glossy). It's also not as bright, which does matter to me. Otherwise, it's mostly nitpicks on my part that don't matter to everyone. The speakers don't remotely hold a candle to the macbook's, nor does the microphone. On mine specifically (5th Gen T14 w/ AMD), the keyboard isn't quite the same as the older thinkpads and I'd rank the Macbook's keyboard better. My last nitpick is battery life. Not saying the ThinkPad is bad, I like it for what it is, but I still reach for the macbook more when I want to use it as a laptop and not docked into my monitors. It's runs cooler, quieter, better screen, better speakers.
  - kwanbix 1y ago
    One thing I appreciate about Apple's strategy is how streamlined their product lineup is, unlike Lenovo, which offers an overwhelming number of ThinkPad models. Many of them are nearly identical but marketed under different names, which can be frustrating. That said, if you pick the right ThinkPad models, I don't think MacBooks speakers or displays are better. And you have much more customization with ThinkPads. Personally, I don't care much about speakers or mics anyway, especially since most people use headphones or headsets these days. What matters more to me is the part I interact with the most: the keyboard and the pointing device. ThinkPad keyboards are arguably much better than MacBooks, and MacBooks don't have a TrackPoint, which I find essential. I don't like the metallic body of Macbooks at all, and I prefer the warmth of plastic/carbon. Lastly, I strongly prefer Linux or Windows over macOS. In my experience, macOS has become increasingly limited and frustrating with each new release. Yes, MacBooks do run quieter and cooler, and are even more powerful than amd64 counterparts, and that's definitely their main selling point for me, but in the end, the pros are outweighed by the cons.
chrisdeso 1y ago
I felt the same and moved from being a long time mac user to a framework - thinkpads were enticing too.

pcdoodle 1y ago

$250 for a charge port? That is nuts. So much for sustainable practices...

rgovostes 1y ago

Third-party vendors are selling parts harvested from damaged, used devices. Apple’s prices do seem astronomical, but the comparison isn’t Apple’s to apples. Also, how do these prices compare to what Apple charges for an out of warranty repair? If it’s the same, there’s no story. https://www.simplymac.com/ipad/how-much-does-it-cost-to-fix-the-glass-on-my-ipad https://www.simplymac.com/ipad/how-much-does-it-cost-to-fix-...

dialup_sounds 1y ago

> ...more than a third of the iPad parts Apple is now selling are not being sold at a price that is economically viable for independent repair shops. It's hard to sympathize. It's right-to-repair, not right-to-a-sustainable-business-model.