[samsa]

Apple would like you to have them / their contractors repair your device, or better yet buy a new one.

Everything about this program signals that Apple is grudgingly doing this. It's designed to scare people away from doing the repairs themselves.

[nudgeee]

The idea of OEM repairs is to get the product back as close to factory quality as possible with as little margin for error as possible by the operator. This often requires custom tools and jigs to maximize repeatability at a high quality standard, especially on something as complex and highly integrated as a smartphone.

The gripe of the right to repair movement isn’t that tech should be made less complex, it is that the access to parts, information and schematics/designs should be made more accessible for repairs — useful if you have the necessary skills required to carry out repairs without OEM tools.

This is coming from someone who does board level repairs on the side.

[fartcannon]

Mostly I don't want to have to worry what booby traps might trip in a device I payed a substantial amount for because of some petulant CEO.

[Bud]

This may be the gripe of your particular highly-skilled niche of the right-to-repair movement, but wide swaths of said movement are agitating for products to be wholly redesigned in the ways they prefer, to aid in much easier repairs. Never mind what the other 98% of the market might like.

[ClumsyPilot]

I disagree with both claims you are making - that right to repair folks are agitating for redesign, and that 98% of the market is happy with the status quo.

If I go out and ask everyone I know, if they are happy with the current unrepairable appliances, the amount of people who answer yes is < 10%.

The only people I know who are happy, live in extreme privilidge where they can afford replacing devices annually.

But let us say that both claims you are making are true -> so what? What are the economic and environmental implication of unrepairable equipment?

[quesera]

> If I go out and ask everyone I know, if they are happy with the current unrepairable appliances, the amount of people who answer yes is < 10%.

I find this incredible.

Most people have been throwing away / replacing perfectly repairable appliances since long before mobile phones.

What makes mobile phones different?

(Obligatory Framing: I'm all for RtR. I don't think it's practical to require Apple to dumb down their design or construction to fit what a consumer could accomplish at their basement bench. But if I, or my neighborhood repair shop, is sophisticated enough to perform the work, I do think parts should be available.)

[gruez]

>If I go out and ask everyone I know, if they are happy with the current unrepairable appliances, the amount of people who answer yes is < 10%.

The question seems pointless because it's a combination of asking something that people always want more of (who doesn't want more repairability, at least in the abstract?), and fails to mention the trade-offs (eg. price, thinness, water resistance).

[ClumsyPilot]

They don't have IQ of a mushroom, we don't understand the tradeoffs

Anyway, is your result from doing simiar diffetent?

[Bud]

Who said anything about replacing devices annually? Could we at least argue honestly and in good faith?

iPhones and iPads are very easily good for, at a minimum, three to four years of very heavy use before any battery replacement would be necessary at all.

Your numbers are sourced from a very atypical population, and you are obviously smart enough to know that. My numbers are accurate, as evidenced by, um, people still buying hundreds of millions of iPhones a year and Apple still having the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry. Astronomically high ratings.

As for the environmental implications, that is of course a fair question, but have you taken some time to familiarize yourself with Apple's extraordinary efforts to build robots for the specific purpose of fully disassembling its devices so that materials can then be recycled? You should. You might be impressed.

[Sebb767]

Honestly, how? They provide the parts at a reasonable price and even provide the actual tooling they use to get something as close to OEM repair as possible. There are a lot of things faulty at Apple, but this is not one of them.

[ClumsyPilot]

Can you buy the $5 lighting port if your's has broken? Can you buy the $2 charging chip? Can you buy a microphone, a gyroscope, or any of the 50 individual electronic components for either phones, laptops or tablets? Can you at least by the micropone jack?

I rest my case.

[Sebb767]

The original comment said:

> It's designed to scare people away from doing the repairs themselves.

I don't think the program is perfect, but I don't see how missing components scare people away.

[kcplate]

I’m gonna assume from your name that you might understand what I am about to say— I think you may be demanding SRU and SRCs where LRUs are appropriate.

[samsa]

I suppose "scare" was perhaps too strong a word. "Steer" would have been more appropriate. Search Apple's website for "repair" to get a sense of how important they think letting consumers know about this program is.

You'll find 404 responses when you click on repair manual links; the link to the self service repair is at the bottom of the support page; the self service storefront is very deliberately non-descript and as others have mentioned immediately raises red flags for people trained to look for basic clues about a site's legitimacy. Etc.

[fargle]

The issue is that the owners of a device should have the choice whether they want an OEM quality repair or just "good enough", not Apple. It's just not their position to make this decision for you.

The argument will be made that the "App Store" is there to protect you because security/privacy. And the DRM'd components are there to protect you from cheap chinese knockoffs. I think that's fine as long as it's opt-in.

But no, it's not for your protection - it's to control the market and drive the cost of repair higher so you will forced to buy a new phone more often. This is a blatant case of "OK you demanded right-to-repair, so let's show you how to make it as difficult as possible". It's not grudging - it's willful and spiteful.

[Brian_K_White]

But they don't. Comments like this proves the effectiveness of the pr stunt. This kit of tools is not what anyone asked for or needed, and does not address any of the actual problems with repairing Apple products.

[Sebb767]

If definitely does address some. As Louis correctly points out, if you don't have much skill and/or want an OEM-like repair, having those tools available is great. And if you don't need them, Apple doesn't force them onto you. I honestly think it's great that they offer their tooling for rent. Now, the program is not perfect by any means. But it definitely does address some of the problems with repairing Apple products.

Lastly, as I already pointed out in a sister comment, the grandparent said the program is designed to scare people away from repairing their phone. I actually don't see how. In fact, providing the tooling makes it more accessible than just providing the parts. I'd love to see everything replaceable, but this is a step in the right direction.