Apple Discusses iPhone 14's All-New Internal Design With Increased Repairability

[GraXXoR]

This could be done - at the expense of weakened structural itegrity and ingress protection.
A "smart" way of doing this would be modern phones designed with modern manufacturing technologies - however designed to repaired easily, without having to heat the glue to just short of sun's surface temperature, without obvious anti-repair sabotage like batteries locked to devices (thanks, Apple!) etc.

it's not even the fact that the devices are hard to open, it's the fact that Apple lies about the reason why they serial code everything so that even if you purchase two devices you can't swap KNOWN WORKING APPLE PARTS.

That is just disgustingly greedy and us stupid consumers just shrug it off...

 

[Joe Dohn]

Hells no!

Replaceable batteries in earpieces or headset??!

Not even Jabra does that for the Engage 75 series for desk phones, let alone earpieces. The 7yr old Jabra 6400 series did.

Nobody wants HUGE honkers sticking out their ears simply cause over a year time they’d want to replace the batteries.

Do these look huge to you?
The batteries of these Chinese earbuds are swappable and replaceable.
Oh, I just randomly found this brand, but theremight be a few others with other solutions.

Y28 PQ Earbuds - World's First Exchangeable Battery Wireless Earbuds

Latest Y28 PQ Earbuds sell, for just $59 It is annoying being interrupted in the enjoyment of music in life or at work, PQ Y28 Earbuds offer a perfect solusion

pqearbuds.com

 

[fuchsdh]

it's not even the fact that the devices are hard to open, it's the fact that Apple lies about the reason why they serial code everything so that even if you purchase two devices you can't swap KNOWN WORKING APPLE PARTS.

That is just disgustingly greedy and us stupid consumers just shrug it off...

Probably because consumers either don't care or have benefits from that system as well.

The reality is, even with more repairable and upgradable machines, most people don't either repair or upgrade them. And the parts lockout is not just a money grab from Apple—it helps with security and especially helps making them less attractive targets to thieves.

Don't get me wrong—given how much money Apple makes, their excellent design team, and their focus on environmental sustainability in other ways, they absolutely could make their machines more serviceable (the ship has sailed on upgradable, and again, most consumers benefit from the performance of an SOC versus discrete components anyway, so they're not going to change that.) But it's asinine to act like Apple's chief concerns when designing a phone are making it hard for someone to put in an aftermarket battery. It's far more likely that it's not a design consideration and thus not a priority.

 

[Joe Dohn]

The reality is, even with more repairable and upgradable machines, most people don't either repair or upgrade them. And the parts lockout is not just a money grab from Apple—it helps with security and especially helps making them less attractive targets to thieves.

The SSD of the Mac Studio – a $5,000 computer – CANNOT be removed.

It's not just a security concern: Microsoft's Bitlocker proves you absolutely can make your data secure by encrypting it without making the disk useless when it is swapped.

If this was a security measure just to benefit the user, Apple could have just let them then turn it off to replace the SSD with the unit of their choice. But as you might have guessed, it is impossible.

 

[GraXXoR]

Probably because consumers either don't care or have benefits from that system as well.

The reality is, even with more repairable and upgradable machines, most people don't either repair or upgrade them. And the parts lockout is not just a money grab from Apple—it helps with security and especially helps making them less attractive targets to thieves.

Don't get me wrong—given how much money Apple makes, their excellent design team, and their focus on environmental sustainability in other ways, they absolutely could make their machines more serviceable (the ship has sailed on upgradable, and again, most consumers benefit from the performance of an SOC versus discrete components anyway, so they're not going to change that.) But it's asinine to act like Apple's chief concerns when designing a phone are making it hard for someone to put in an aftermarket battery. It's far more likely that it's not a design consideration and thus not a priority.

Sorry but the negatives far outweigh any perceived positives.

The reason why people don’t repair their stuff as you mentioned above, is because in most cases it’s designed to be impractical and not financially sensible. (Glue and unavailable parts)

And why is that, do you suppose?

That’s because large companies have spent millions and millions in making it far more difficult to repair anything than it really should be. Most of that money spent on marketing and brainwashing people (and incentivizing “influencers” ) into believing what they say.
How many thieves do you honestly think will break a car window and when discovering the phone is an iPhone just leave it on the seat?

Most people just want to replace the battery with a reasonably priced part. The reason being is that it’s absolutely 100% completely guaranteed to fail at some point. It’s a consumable.

Paying $100 for a phone battery is ludicrous.

And if you’re on a Samsung, you can pay anywhere up to $206 for a new battery because it has the phone’s LCD screen attached to it as part of the battery “unit”.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Do these look huge to you?
The batteries of these Chinese earbuds are swappable and replaceable.
Oh, I just randomly found this brand, but theremight be a few others with other solutions.

Y28 PQ Earbuds - World's First Exchangeable Battery Wireless Earbuds

Latest Y28 PQ Earbuds sell, for just $59 It is annoying being interrupted in the enjoyment of music in life or at work, PQ Y28 Earbuds offer a perfect solusion

pqearbuds.com

View attachment 2157798

Yes the DO look HUGE!

That’s the size compared to a 6.1” diagonal screen iPhone Pro! That pic does not show the thickness, but does the length. The site states nothing of the specs from a quick look over nor the feature set and it’s a kickstarter lol.

THESE show the size - relative (but thick digits). I’d not want these just based on the size, all the fluff on the site and no specifics mentioned on the main page.

Surely something better.

Replaceable batteries returns us into a world we’re waste and landfill increases is acceptable with no recycling. Just think of AA/AAA batteries for remotes and small handheld electronic devices. In the 80’s/90’s nobody thought of recycling. Today even still with disposable batteries these are rapidly tossed more in a large number of homes than put into a large plastic container until filled for recycling.

When people are paid for recycling you can bet everyone will recycle everything possible!

Also this site mentions nothing of a recycling program.

 

[Joe Dohn]

Yes the DO look HUGE!

That’s the size compared to a 6.1” diagonal screen iPhone Pro! That pic does not show the thickness, but does the length. The site states nothing of the specs from a quick look over nor the feature set and it’s a kickstarter lol.

It's funny you say that.

Second-gen Air Pods have 1.8 cm diameter and the Airpods Pro have 2.17 cm diameter, whereas the Pq Earbuds have 1 cm diameter. By comparison, the iPhone 13 Pro is 7.65 mm thick (or 0.76 cm thick).

So yes, these earbuds are thicker than the iPhone Pro, but the AirPods are much thicker!

Replaceable batteries returns us into a world we’re waste and landfill increases is acceptable with no recycling. Just think of AA/AAA batteries for remotes and small handheld electronic devices. In the 80’s/90’s nobody thought of recycling. Today even still with disposable batteries these are rapidly tossed more in a large number of homes than put into a large plastic container until filled for recycling.

If Apple really cared about recycling and the heavy metals of batteries, they wouldn't produce battery-powered earbuds in the first place. They would stick to wired. You can't mix and match arguments like that.

Also, when someone buys a new product with a disposable battery, they will not only get a new battery with heavy metals AND produce more waste in the form of plastic (and Apple products do NOT use biodegradable plastic), as well as rare metals.

 

[DeepIn2U]

It's funny you say that.

View attachment 2158812

Second-gen Air Pods have 1.8 cm diameter and the Airpods Pro have 2.17 cm diameter, whereas the Pq Earbuds have 1 cm diameter. By comparison, the iPhone 13 Pro is 7.65 mm thick (or 0.76 cm thick).

View attachment 2158816

So yes, these earbuds are thicker than the iPhone Pro, but the AirPods are much thicker!



If Apple really cared about recycling and the heavy metals of batteries, they wouldn't produce battery-powered earbuds in the first place. They would stick to wired. You can't mix and match arguments like that.

Also, when someone buys a new product with a disposable battery, they will not only get a new battery with heavy metals AND produce more waste in the form of plastic (and Apple products do NOT use biodegradable plastic), as well as rare metals.

The key part is Where is the measurements taken on each headphone/earphone?
Is it taking at the widest part that sits in the ear?
Is the stem considered as a measurement?

Things to considere vs just posting them. Measurements are great but the total overall package is the key front. Noticed I mentioned a few things such as overall feature set and regarding recycling batteries that was completely ignored?! Salesmen usually resort to such a tactic which I immediately walk away from.

 

[Joe Dohn]

The key part is Where is the measurements taken on each headphone/earphone?
Is it taking at the widest part that sits in the ear?
Is the stem considered as a measurement?

There isn't any secret in the measurement of the diameter, dude. The diameter of ANYTHING is twice the radius, which is the measurement from the center of any shape – in any of these cases, a cylinder – to the edge of the shape.

The of a perfect circle is constant, and that also applies to a perfect cylinder. This means that measuring the radius at any point of the cylinder will give a constant measurement.

 

[DeepIn2U]

There isn't any secret in the measurement of the diameter, dude. The diameter of ANYTHING is twice the radius, which is the measurement from the center of any shape – in any of these cases, a cylinder – to the edge of the shape.

The of a perfect circle is constant, and that also applies to a perfect cylinder. This means that measuring the radius at any point of the cylinder will give a constant measurement.

No need to be insultive treating me as being obtuse in simple arithmetic. I was simply stating the measurements provided in your screenshot above was not clear in what exactly was measured:

https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/1676433288576-png.2158816/

https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/1676433187050-png.2158812/

Earbud size - sure length x width x height measurements where provided yet does THAT actually include:
The earbud portion - NOT the stem, or both.
Is the earbud with the fitted ear-gel that comes fixed and shipped included in the size measurement?
Is there an industry standard that all manufacturers must adhere to? Unless a standard is known one will not presume - I've not seen it printed yet not have specifically searched on this. Hence what I asked and why I asked.

stop assuming others are obtuse with your answers, take a step back and pontificate why their asking the question which may seem obvious to you.

Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.
By William James

 

[Joe Dohn]

Earbud size - sure length x width x height measurements where provided yet does THAT actually include:
The earbud portion - NOT the stem, or both.

So when you were complaining about the ear buds, it was about the earpiece, not the stem, correct?
And that all manufacturers refer to the earbuds, not the stem.

In this case, since all measurements refer to the stem, then the argument is unchanged – the airpods have thicker earbuds than their Chinese competitors.

Is the earbud with the fitted ear-gel that comes fixed and shipped included in the size measurement?

Is there an industry standard that all manufacturers must adhere to? Unless a standard is known one will not presume - I've not seen it printed yet not have specifically searched on this. Hence what I asked and why I asked.

All that is irrelevant, because the manufacturers are talking about the DIAMETER.
And the way you measure the DIAMETER is pretty clear: you go from the center of the circle to the edges.
The only difference is that instead of considering the stem, you'll "slice" the earpieces to create a circle and count from the center.

The rubber especially doesn't count because it has the same horizontal length as earpieces. It would only make a difference if you were measuring vertically, but that wouldn't be the diameter.

And even if they somehow did, since the rubbers are horizontally smaller than the earpieces that especially makes Apple look slightly worse, because the Airpod earpieces would give an ever-so-slightly larger diameter than the rubbers, so that would mean their diameter is ever-so-slightly larger than what was reported by Apple.

stop assuming others are obtuse with your answers, take a step back and pontificate why their asking the question which may seem obvious to you.

I mean, you definitely seem to want to grasp at straws to try to make the Airpods look good.

 

[DeepIn2U]

So when you were complaining about the ear buds, it was about the earpiece, not the stem, correct?
And that all manufacturers refer to the earbuds, not the stem.

In this case, since all measurements refer to the stem, then the argument is unchanged – the airpods have thicker earbuds than their Chinese competitors.



All that is irrelevant, because the manufacturers are talking about the DIAMETER.
And the way you measure the DIAMETER is pretty clear: you go from the center of the circle to the edges.
The only difference is that instead of considering the stem, you'll "slice" the earpieces to create a circle and count from the center.

The rubber especially doesn't count because it has the same horizontal length as earpieces. It would only make a difference if you were measuring vertically, but that wouldn't be the diameter.

And even if they somehow did, since the rubbers are horizontally smaller than the earpieces that especially makes Apple look slightly worse, because the Airpod earpieces would give an ever-so-slightly larger diameter than the rubbers, so that would mean their diameter is ever-so-slightly larger than what was reported by Apple.




I mean, you definitely seem to want to grasp at straws to try to make the Airpods look good.

Actually my argument from the beginning was ALWAYS about the overall size.

I’m he overall size, just like the overall weight IS relevant.

Why is weight about the overall earbuds and not the size or volume? Seems the industry may be grasping at straws or lack the rod (stems) since not all TWA doesn’t have stems; yet it’s growing from Samsung, Oppo and many others. That ain’t grasping at straws but recognizing a major shift in products within this category.

Still you’ve ignored my other mentions in my original reply and secondary reply - recycling and feature set. Now who’s grasping at straws here?!

 

[Joe Dohn]

Actually my argument from the beginning was ALWAYS about the overall size.

But that doesn't work either, because the Chinese earpods not only are smaller overall, but also weight 1/5 of the weight of the original AirPods.

The AirPods weight 4 grams, whereas the AirPods Pro weight 5 grams.
The Chinese earpods weight just 1 gram.

So this means that not only they are a bit smaller and more compact than the AirPods (smaller diameter), but also weight much less.

Have you even stopped to check the product dimensions?

Still you’ve ignored my other mentions in my original reply and secondary reply - recycling and feature set. Now who’s grasping at straws here?!

I have addressed your reply on recycling. But you haven't read it, as you haven't checked the dimensions of the competing product more closely.

Regarding the feature set, that is completely irrelevant to the embarrassing point that you made that the Y28 PQ "LOOK HUGE", when they are smaller in every way except height (with the Y28 PQ being just 1 cm taller).

 

[DeepIn2U]

Sorry but the negatives far outweigh any perceived positives.

The reason why people don’t repair their stuff as you mentioned above, is because in most cases it’s designed to be impractical and not financially sensible. (Glue and unavailable parts)

And why is that, do you suppose?

That’s because large companies have spent millions and millions in making it far more difficult to repair anything than it really should be. Most of that money spent on marketing and brainwashing people (and incentivizing “influencers” ) into believing what they say.
How many thieves do you honestly think will break a car window and when discovering the phone is an iPhone just leave it on the seat?

Most people just want to replace the battery with a reasonably priced part. The reason being is that it’s absolutely 100% completely guaranteed to fail at some point. It’s a consumable.

Paying $100 for a phone battery is ludicrous.

And if you’re on a Samsung, you can pay anywhere up to $206 for a new battery because it has the phone’s LCD screen attached to it as part of the battery “unit”.

Hmm. I need to counter this.

Over a decade ago THE largest cellphone manufacturer in the globe sold incredible amounts of replaceable batteries, over many years, across VAST amounts of phone models that even today NO OTHER manufacturer of smartphones even comes close - not even Samsung: who’s been around even as long as the original Nokia (of which I speak of).

Batteries took up a lot of cost, even if economies of scale favoured Nokia using the top spec capacity didn’t reduce cost as much.

Examples of their most popular phones:
Nokia 8890
Removable Li-Ion 830 mAh battery (BLB-2)

Nokia 8800
Removable Li-Ion 600 mAh battery (BL-5X)

Nokia 6310 (a brick phone/personal security phone lol)
Removable Li-Ion 1050 mAh battery (BLS-2N) launched in 2001!

Nokia 7650 (their 1st smartphone with user installable apps)
Removable Li-Ion 750 mAh battery (BLB-2)

Nokia 6600
Removable Li-Ion 850 mAh battery (BL-5C) 2003/Q4.

Nokia NGage QD
(Worlds 1st dedicated gaming smartphone)
Removable Li-Ion 1070 mAh battery (BL-6C)

Nokia N80
Removable Li-Ion 820 mAh battery (BL-5B)

The going rate for a Nokia BL-5B (820mAh) today is about $14US, while the going rate for a Nokia BLS-2N (1050mAh) is $20US - on eBay for both. Keep in mind the latter is not just the battery but a bespoke latching system and putter case to the phone it’s made for - something traditional user replaceable barriers for phones rarely ever had.

BLS-2N x 4 for a 4200mAh would be $80US today - again that’s without a built in chip to regular battery charge and health/life like modern batteries do and a MUCH MUCH lower charge rate and time. The BL-5B x 5 to give 4100mAh is $70US again without the above considerations which are needed today. Let’s consider having the housing added to the battery.

Let’s us also consider the various capacities for various phone models of say the iPhone, shipping and receiving - and MOST critical con to our weight what MANY users have deems critical a LONG time ago - dust and water resistance with official IPXX ratings! I cannot tell you how long I’ve waited for iPhones to have dust and water ingress resistance - considering I had that on one of the last gen SomyEricsson phones from 6yrs prior!!

This isn’t manufacturers making it difficult for consumers, for brainwashing. This is reducing cost nOt just for them, but ALSO for consumers as well as reducing toxic waste in landfill as well as removing the consumer from annoying and tedious recycling of batteries!!

Furthermore, batteries cost a LOT more today then ever before as the entire industry needs to compete with electric cars’ need for Li-Ion, Nickel and other battery technology. Consider the US gov just branded a $2bil lease to help redwood battery recycling company expand. They e proven recycling of batteries up to 98% is viable … to get this grant. Trust you’ll see a LOT more of the industry go this route as current mining and coast isn’t sustainable beyond 5-10 million BEV globally.

 

[subjonas]

This helps, probably more so for third party repair businesses, but consumers might see some trickle down benefit. Like maybe businesses are more able to compete with Apple for repair services. Regardless, the more repairable it is the better it is for the environment (less end up being tossed or recycled which also takes up resources).
But ideally consumers also have easy access to factory parts. Not sure if that’s the case now.