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Apple Quality

M

MacAndMic

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 4, 2009
441
1,857
One of the things I notice about this forum is the complaints about quality across all of the products. With the amount of users this forum has, is it simply that complainers post more or are there really concerns to be had?

What I'd like to do is make a thread (this thread) with a running history of your Apple purchases and the amount of times you have had the item replaced.

This could provide an interesting resource for people on the fence when wanting to buy a certain product as I have seen way too many posts of "Should I buy now or wait".

Please try to keep the format consistent for easy reading. Say "Replaced x times", "Perfect" for the original purchase or "Good Enough" for an item you felt had issues but not worth the hassle to take it back. Suggestions in format are always welcomed.

I'll start;

iPhone - Replaced 2x
iPhone 3G - Perfect
iPhone 3GS - Perfect
iPhone 4 - Replaced 1x
Early 2010 Macbook - Perfect
Mid 2010 27" iMac - Perfect

troutspinner
 
troutspinner said:
With the amount of users this forum has, is it simply that complainers post more or are there really concerns to be had?
Click to expand...

This thread will not answer that question. There's no guarantee you'll have equal participation from satisfied and unsatisfied customers.

You want a measure of Apple quality? Look at repeat business. Look at their stock price. They're making a killing, by a combination of excellent design, excellent service, and satisfactory (on balance) resolution of quality issues on an individual basis.
 
iPod touch 2g- perfect
2010 27" iMac- perfect
Soon to be ipod 4g hope my pattern continues
 
I agree with you to a certain degree but if someone lists all of their past purchases, a pattern may develop.
 
OK, OK :)

Apple IIe - perfect
Mac 512 - perfect
Mac IIsi - perfect
Power Mac 7100 (30 of 'em, installed in a lab) - perfect
PowerBook 3400 - perfect
iMac (1999) - perfect
iMac (2007) - perfect, power supply replaced under warranty after a year or two
iPod shuffle (2005) - perfect
iPod photo - perfect
iPod 5th Gen - perfect
iPod Touch 2nd gen (x2) - perfect
Newton MessagePad - perfect
Newton MessagePad 120 - perfect
MacBook (2007) - perfect
iPhone 3G - perfect (replaced battery under AppleCare after 18 mo)
iPhone 3GS - perfect
iPhone 4 - SIM failure, tray misaligned, proximity issue

Looked at this way one might conclude there's a new quality problem. I prefer to say that Apple is pushing the engineering envelope more than it has in the past, and with thinner tolerances it's harder to get it exactly right. As long as they stand by their products I'll keep buying them.
 
spblat said:
OK, OK :)

Apple IIe - perfect
Mac 512 - perfect
Mac IIsi - perfect
Power Mac 7100 (30 of 'em, installed in a lab) - perfect
PowerBook 3400 - perfect
iMac (1999) - perfect
iMac (2007) - perfect, power supply replaced under warranty after a year or two
iPod shuffle (2005) - perfect
iPod photo - perfect
iPod 5th Gen - perfect
iPod Touch 2nd gen (x2) - perfect
Newton MessagePad - perfect
Newton MessagePad 120 - perfect
MacBook (2007) - perfect
iPhone 3G - perfect (replaced battery under AppleCare after 18 mo)
iPhone 3GS - perfect
iPhone 4 - SIM failure, tray misaligned, proximity issue

Looked at this way one might conclude there's a new quality problem. I prefer to say that Apple is pushing the engineering envelope more than it has in the past, and with thinner tolerances it's harder to get it exactly right. As long as they stand by their products I'll keep buying them.
Click to expand...

Now I am curious to see if anyone can out-number spblat! That is quite a list!
 
I would say quality also measure their customer service and ability to fix problems... I don't see anyone (so far) that next to an Apple product wrote "Wouldn't fix it" or "cost to much to fix" or "Apple refused to help"

I think that's part of the bigger picture with Apple.
 
iPod 3rd gen - perfect
12" PowerBook G4 - perfect (well, it had 1 dead pixel - no big deal)
AirPort Express, first gen - perfect
20" aluminum iMac (2007) - perfect (1 dead pixel)
iPod touch, first gen - perfect
iPod shuffle, second gen, refurb - perfect
15" MacBook Pro (2007), refurb - perfect
iPad - perfect
 
MacBook Pro, perfect
iMac, spine replaced two years after purchase (but was replaced under warranty)
Mighty Mouse, upgraded to Magic Mouse w/o a problem
iPod Classic (30), perfect
iPod Classic (80), perfect
iPod Nano (8), perfect
iPod Touch (16), perfect

hmmm I'm noticing a pattern here... :)

Oh boy would that list be different if I were to list all the Windows computers and music players I've had trouble with.
 
1983 Apple //e - Perfect, built like a tank. (sold)

2004 iBook G4 14" 1.33 GHz - Perfect (sold)
2006 iMac 17" 1.83 GHz Core Duo - Just a bit of excess glue on the display that was easy to fix.
2008 Macbook 13" - Perfect (refurb)
2009 Macbook 15" Pro - Has had trackpad switch replaced under warranty (refurb)

2004 iPod 4G 20 GB - Perfect (in use)
2005 iPod 5G 30 GB (Video) - Perfect (sold)
2005 iPod Mini 4 GB Silver - Perfect (stolen)
2005 iPod Mini 4 GB Pink - Perfect (in use)
2006 iPod shuffle 2GB (RED) - Perfect (in use)
2007 iPod Nano 8 GB (fatty) - Perfect (lost)
2008 iPod Nano 8 8GB (RAD) - Perfect (in use)

2009 iPhone 3G 16GB - Perfect (in use)
2009 iPhone 3GS 32GB - Perfect (in use)
2010 iPhone 4 32GB - Perfect (in use)

2006 Airport Extreme Gigabit - Perfect (in use)

The duds

2007 :apple:TV 40 GB - Lemon always flaky, too hot, freezes. (shelved)
2008 Time Capsule 500GB - Died ~18 months in, replaced under warranty. (shelved)

B
 
G4 Sawtooth- perfect
Dual core G5- perfect
iBook G4- perfect, and dropped at least 10 times. Never one problem.
Black MacBook- perfect
First gen iPod Shuffle- perfect
iPod Nano (two generations back)- production dust on inside of screen. Otherwise perfect
 
Man I've been monumentally unlucky with my Apple purchases but I still keep coming back for more so they're obviously doing something right:

1. 2nd Gen iPod 10Gb - Really excited as it was the first Apple product I ever bought and a truly revolutionary device - Came with a Faulty headphone socket which meant that the remote wouldn't work. Didn't bother getting it fixed as I was so excited about having an iPod I could live without the remote. Still have it.

2. G4 iMac - Beautiful! Work of art! The first Apple computer I bought and the one that turned me away from Windows forever - Came with a faulty screen connector which made the display turn a lovely blue or pink colour when the screen is down as far as it will travel on the arm. *I didn't get it repaired as I didn't think i'd ever use the screen at that angle and it was my first Mac so couldn't bear to see it go back. It then developed a faulty Superdrive after about thirteen months but I sweet talked the engineer at work to install a better DVD-RW in it for me. *I still have this iMac even though the screen is faulty as described and the internal battery has died, as my wife uses it for her charity work and I can't bear to see it go because it was my first Mac and is such a design classic.

3. 1st Gen iPod Mini (Green) - Present for my wife to tell her I love her - After a couple of months the battery would only stay charged for half an hour at a time. She wasn't a heavy user either, only a couple of hours per week probably.

4. G4 iBook - My 1st Apple laptop. Great design. Loved it - Came with a faulty logic board, faulty LCD and faulty screen connectors. Spent three weeks away from me and I had to personally drive it the ninety mile round trip to get it repaired because my Applecare didn't cover it being picked up! Ironically I borrowed a 12" MacBook Pro from a colleague and this had a faulty hinge.

5. 4G iPod Photo - Bought for myself for my birthday -Has never stopped working. Happiness. Still have it.

6. 1st Gen iPod Nano 8Gb (Blue) - Another birthday present to myself -No problems at all. Lovely product. Sold to finance an iPod Touch.

7. G4 PowerBook Aluminium 1.5GHz - The best computer I have ever used and owned, bar none! Amazing design. Fantastic build quality. Great power. Still jealous when I see it on the colleague's desk that I sold it to - Came with a faulty line in socket that crackled and broke up the sound. The speaker balance randomly moved from centre to the left speaker. Came with a faulty backspace key that deleted two characters at a time when pressed. This time my Applecare did cover it being picked up, so some petrol saved there! Since my colleague has had it the hard drive has failed and the screen backlight too (both repaired under Applecare).

8. iPod Touch (8Gb) - Bought in the US the day it came out and brought back to the UK by my very understanding colleague who appreciated my Apple addiction -Worked perfectly. Fantastic product. Sold to finance an iPhone.

9. 1st Gen iPhone - Most amazing product i'd ever owned - No problems at all.

10. iPhone 3G - Again, No problems at all.

11. MacBook (2Ghz C2D, White) - Bought to replace my ageing but wonderful PowerBook - Came with a faulty something that caused it to reboot randomly and the screen to flicker manically. I'm guessing the logic board again after having it happen to my old iBook. Returned to PC World and swapped out for:

12. 2.4GHz C2D White MacBook - Superdrive was faulty and had to be replaced.

13. 16Gb iPad - Awesome product. No problems at all with it.

14. iPhone 4 - No problems with this either.

So that's a 50% faulty rate for my purchases so far, which is pretty crap to be honest.
 
eMac died just after the 1 year warranty expired (too expensive to fix so I sold it cheap)
2 ibooks, both had video problems repaired under warranty
17" gooseneck iMac (Perfect)
2006 Black MacBook (Perfect) Still Own
2007 Mac Mini (Perfect) Still Own
2009 24" iMac (Perfect) Sill Own
Second Gen iPod Touch (Perfect)
Fifth Gen Nano (Perfect) Still Own

I forget to mention I also owned a 3rd and 5th gen iPod, both perfect. Also a 3rd gen Nano, perfect as well
 
2 2nd GEN ipod shuffles: perfect
early 2009 white macbook: perfect
3rd GEN ipod touch: perfect
october 2009 29inch imac: perfect (apart from a little LCD bleed in the corners)

and not sure what GEN ipod nano but it is perfect
 
Quadra 800 - no problems.
PowerMac G3 - no problems.
PowerMac G4 - no problems.
iMac DV x2 - no problems
Mac Mini cd - no problems.
iPod 3rd gen 15gb - no problems.
iPod Classic 120gb x2 - no problems.
iMac 27" c2d - screen defect (software patched).
iPhone 3GS - dead charger, headphone jack failure.
MacBook Pro Unibody 2.4ghz - screen failure (x2), trackpad failure, keyboard failure, graphics failure, overheating, flickering mess. This thing cost $2200? :rolleyes:
 
iPod Touch 2G - Perfect
iPod Nano 3G - crooked display, otherwise perfect
iPod Classic - seems to play only on one side of the headphone speaker, otherwise perfect
Macbook AL Collectors Edition - Perfect
iMac White C2D - Perfect
Macbook Pro 2G - battery dead, uneven display backlighting with light leakage at bottom, display buzzes when cold, otherwise perfect = Good enough
 
MBP 2007 - Failed graphics card, and also battery exploded. Both covered under Apple Care
iPod Touch 1G - Perfect and still in use
iPod Video - Perfect
 
1. 27-inch iMac (late 2009) - Good enough (noticeable hard drive noise)
2. Apple Airport Extreme - Perfect (perfect except sometimes the connection is lost to my older PC, but I think that's because the PC is running Windows XP and is a little older)
3. iPod Touch 4th Generation - we'll wait and see
 
1. 1st Gen iPod Touch - Perfect - Still Working!
2. 1st Gen iPod shuffle - Perfect - Still Working!
3. 1st Gen iPod Nano - Perfect - still working!
4. iPhone 3GS - Perfect! still working!
5. Macbook - Perfect! still working!
6. Time Capsule - Perfect! still working!
7. iPhone 4 - Perfect and still working!

Never had a problem with any Apple product and if I did why would I worry? They stand behind what they sell!
 
1. iMac G4 late 2003 - still working Perfectly :)
2. 5th Gen iPod - battery exploded after 12 months - replaced (replacement works 3 years later!)
3. 20 inch iMac late 2006 - hard drive died after 3 years hard usage - otherwise perfect after repair
4. iPhone 3G - Perfect
5. Airport Extreme - buzzes when passing data - needs fixing
6. iMac late 2009 21.5 - occasionally scratches discs, wont sleep, otherwise fine
7. iPad - Perfect
8. iPhone 4 - Perfect

Overall a happy customer :)
 
I don't really think Apple quality has gone downhill..Ive been buying Apple products reguarly for the past 5-6 years, (well, 15 years if you count my performa purchase in the 90's) and it seems to me things have been fairly consistent.

I think what is going on is just an affect of outsourcing parts and mass production. If you mass produce 'X' number of units, than a certain number of those units are destined to fail or have problems.

A second thing is that people who have problems with something are more prone to complain than people who do not have problems.

In any case, here are my Apple purchases, starting way back.

Fall 1993: Apple laptop, no issue.

Spring 1994: Performa 636 CD, no issues, worked solid for a good 4-5 years before I replaced it with a windows machine.

Summer 2007: first gen iphone...returned due to a faulty display

Fall: 2007 core2 duo imac, no issues.

Winter 2007: 15" MBP, no issues for 2.5 years, when the optical drive failed.

Summer 2010: 27" imac., new 15" MBP. no issues.

Various ipods throughout the year. no issues on any of them
 
I've never had any issues, but I'm a relatively new Apple owner

Jan 2008: iPod Nano 3G 8GB, still works the same as the day I bought it.
Jun 2008: Rev 1 iPhone 3G, passed it on to my sister but besides being slow on iOS 4, it still runs like a charm.
Jul 2009: 2.66GHz 15" MBP for my sister. Has been droppen and has a small dent but it still works perfectly well.
Dec 2009: iPhone 3GS 16GB: this one I still use. Hasn't got one scratch in it and is just the same as the day I got it.
Jul 2010: 2.66GHz 13" MBP for me this time. It's still new, so I can't really say anything, but it's still in perfect condition and I'll do my best to keep it this way :)
 
1st gen iPod nano - perfect, still working
5.5 gen iPod video - replaced x1 (hard drive failure)
1st gen iPod touch - replaced x1 (constantly froze)
2nd gen iPod touch, 16GB - serviced x1, replaced x1 (dust in display, light leak)
2nd gen iPod touch, 32GB - perfect, my main iPod today
160GB iPod classic (2009 model) - perfect, use for lossless audio
iPhone 3GS - replaced x2 (first had hairline cracks, second would randomly lose signal until restarted, current third one has freezing issue)
20" iMac (2008 model) - perfect, main home computer
15" MacBook Pro (late 2008 model) - serviced x3 in a single two-week span, kept coming back with new issues (graphics issues and dust in display; first time they replaced logic board and forgot to replace display; misaligned ports on new logic board, screen replaced second time; new display wouldn't open properly). Replaced with 2010 core i5 model.
15" MacBook Pro Core i5 - in-warranty replacement for above. Perfect. Though they forgot to transfer my AppleCare over, which I still had 2 years left on.

So yeah, at the moment my Apple quality experience is more on the negative side.
 
Here's my list and other then seeing a good track record, all I can say is holy crap I spent a lot of money on this stuff :eek:

Macintosh SE/30 - perfect
iMac bondi blue - perfect
G4 Cube - perfect
G4 PowerMac (Quick Silver)- perfect
G5 PowerMac - perfect
iBook (dual usb) - perfect
G4 PowerBook (15" alu) - white spots on screen, replaced screen
MacBook (original) - perfect
MacBook Pro (late 06 model) - perfect
MacBook Pro (late 08 model) - perfect
Mac Mini (early 2006 model) - perfect
Mac Mini (early 09 model) - perfect
iPod (2005 model) - perfect
iPod Classic 160gb - perfect
iPod nano - perfect
iPhone 3G - perfect
iPhone 3Gs - perfect
iPhone 4 - proximity sensor (not fixed yet)
 
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