4 ms·

Ummm if repairability is a concern, I’ve got some news to share about your new Macbook.

by danw1979 1mo ago

nicce 1mo ago
> I’ve got some news to share about your new Macbook. As long as you pay for Apple Care, not a problem. But maybe not the point…
mschuster91 1mo ago
Apple saves itself a lot of the trouble with superior build quality. With Samsung devices (so no cheap crap), USB ports last me about three years of heavy use. With my old iPhone 12, 2019 16-inch MBP or my 2022 MBA? Not a single issue. The housing is simply constructed so tight and, being made of solid metal, rigid that the housing bears the torsion load and not the tiny PCB solder pads. The only problem I have with my new USB-C iPhone 15 is that it is hard to clean pocket lint out of the socket, compared to the old Lightning connector.
- spankibalt 1mo ago
  > With Samsung devices (so no cheap crap), USB ports last me about three years of heavy use. What are you doing to these machines?! I work in the safety and security biz, including in the field, and my trusty HP EliteBook 2730p is still rocking along on its first USB ports. That machine is over 15 bloody years old!
  - centizen 1mo ago
    That is a convertible laptop that meets MIL-STD-810F standards on vibration resistance, it’s not really a fair comparison. Also, the change from dedicated charge ports to USB-C charging increased USB port usage considerably.
    - spankibalt 1mo ago
      > Also, the change from dedicated charge ports to USB-C charging increased USB port usage considerably. I never needed one, but a good USB-C adapter (or maybe even small dock) with power passthrough should solve this. Burning through whole machines because a single USB-C port cakes out after just three years is an awful lot of waste.
  - mschuster91 1mo ago
    > What are you doing to these machines? Mostly, keeping them in my pocket with a USB cable attached to a power bank. Places an awful lot of torsion force on the connector. I tend to go through 2-3 charges a day. Another issue is that I have cats that like to play with everything being too close to a table corner.
simonh 1mo ago
If the ports don't effing break in the first place, who cares?
Gud 1mo ago
No, repair ability is only important if it’s crappy quality to begin with.
- psd1 1mo ago
  I try to buy good hardware for practical reasons. I insist on repairability for emotional reasons around ownership and independence. You do not have to value the same things as me, of course.
  - Gud 1mo ago
    No actually, I do value that as well.
tacticalturtle 1mo ago
I replaced some parts on my M1 MacBook Air. For 90% of the parts it’s honestly pretty easy to work with. You just need a few screwdrivers. And I sourced all my parts from eBay. The documentation is excellent: https://support.apple.com/en-us/100586 https://support.apple.com/en-us/100586 The only thing that’s egregious is the batteries. They tape the batteries to the case, and to remove them you have to do this complex twirling motion with tweezers to pull the tape out from under the battery. If the tape snaps during this then the documentation basically says get a new case.

Ummm if repairability is a concern, I’ve got some news to share about your new Macbook.

nicce 1mo ago

> I’ve got some news to share about your new Macbook. As long as you pay for Apple Care, not a problem. But maybe not the point…

mschuster91 1mo ago

Apple saves itself a lot of the trouble with superior build quality. With Samsung devices (so no cheap crap), USB ports last me about three years of heavy use. With my old iPhone 12, 2019 16-inch MBP or my 2022 MBA? Not a single issue. The housing is simply constructed so tight and, being made of solid metal, rigid that the housing bears the torsion load and not the tiny PCB solder pads. The only problem I have with my new USB-C iPhone 15 is that it is hard to clean pocket lint out of the socket, compared to the old Lightning connector.

spankibalt 1mo ago
> With Samsung devices (so no cheap crap), USB ports last me about three years of heavy use. What are you doing to these machines?! I work in the safety and security biz, including in the field, and my trusty HP EliteBook 2730p is still rocking along on its first USB ports. That machine is over 15 bloody years old!
- centizen 1mo ago
  That is a convertible laptop that meets MIL-STD-810F standards on vibration resistance, it’s not really a fair comparison. Also, the change from dedicated charge ports to USB-C charging increased USB port usage considerably.
  - spankibalt 1mo ago
    > Also, the change from dedicated charge ports to USB-C charging increased USB port usage considerably. I never needed one, but a good USB-C adapter (or maybe even small dock) with power passthrough should solve this. Burning through whole machines because a single USB-C port cakes out after just three years is an awful lot of waste.
- mschuster91 1mo ago
  > What are you doing to these machines? Mostly, keeping them in my pocket with a USB cable attached to a power bank. Places an awful lot of torsion force on the connector. I tend to go through 2-3 charges a day. Another issue is that I have cats that like to play with everything being too close to a table corner.

simonh 1mo ago

If the ports don't effing break in the first place, who cares?

Gud 1mo ago

No, repair ability is only important if it’s crappy quality to begin with.

psd1 1mo ago
I try to buy good hardware for practical reasons. I insist on repairability for emotional reasons around ownership and independence. You do not have to value the same things as me, of course.
- Gud 1mo ago
  No actually, I do value that as well.

tacticalturtle 1mo ago

I replaced some parts on my M1 MacBook Air. For 90% of the parts it’s honestly pretty easy to work with. You just need a few screwdrivers. And I sourced all my parts from eBay. The documentation is excellent: https://support.apple.com/en-us/100586 https://support.apple.com/en-us/100586 The only thing that’s egregious is the batteries. They tape the batteries to the case, and to remove them you have to do this complex twirling motion with tweezers to pull the tape out from under the battery. If the tape snaps during this then the documentation basically says get a new case.