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All iPads How long should Apple offer battery replacements?

O

OSMac

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 14, 2010
1,456
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If your battery goes on a iPhone or iPad , Apple currently offers battery replacement devices for $100-$200.

They don't actually change the battery, instead they exchange the device for a refurbished one with a new battery. Great policy.

But how long should replacements be offered 3 , 5 , 7 years?
 
OSMac said:
If your battery goes on a iPhone or iPad , Apple currently offers battery replacement devices for $100-$200.

They don't actually change the battery, instead they exchange the device for a refurbished one with a new battery. Great policy.

But how long should replacements be offered 3 , 5 , 7 years?
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I'd be happy with 3. More than 5 is an unrealistic expectation for a company to maintain stock.
 
OSMac said:
If your battery goes on a iPhone or iPad , Apple currently offers battery replacement devices for $100-$200.

They don't actually change the battery, instead they exchange the device for a refurbished one with a new battery. Great policy.

But how long should replacements be offered 3 , 5 , 7 years?
Click to expand...

From a business perspective it hardly matters. A 7-year-old idevice will not have a lot of value, so if someone thinks it's worth spending $100 to get a fresh battery then why not let them?*

This is sort of like when hard drives had 5-year warranties, the cost/GB 5 years down the road was so low that the company had no qualms about offering replacements but consumers didn't necessarily want to go through the bother.
 
poloponies said:
From a business perspective it hardly matters. A 7-year-old idevice will not have a lot of value, so if someone thinks it's worth spending $100 to get a fresh battery then why not let them?*

This is sort of like when hard drives had 5-year warranties, the cost/GB 5 years down the road was so low that the company had no qualms about offering replacements but consumers didn't necessarily want to go through the bother.
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It matters because such a program will cost Apple more than they can ever hope to get back. Making new batteries for an iPad 3 seven years from now isn't free. Unlike hard drives, you cannot stockpile batteries nor do they use a standard form factor or interface so you can't just exchange it for a random new one.
 
bobbysmith said:
It matters because such a program will cost Apple more than they can ever hope to get back. Making new batteries for an iPad 3 seven years from now isn't free. Unlike hard drives, you cannot stockpile batteries nor do they use a standard form factor or interface so you can't just exchange it for a random new one.
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Apple has their logistics pretty well in control (for the things they can control). I' m pretty sure there's an exponential decline over time for these things. Ebay prices for the original iPad are comfortably below $200 for the lower-end iPad. That's 3 years out. In another 2 years it will easily be sub $100. Do you really think that in 4 more years (let alone 2) there will be tens of thousands of people demanding battery upgrades?
 
CoMoMacUser said:
Consumers, no. Enterprise customers, possibly.
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Absolutely ridiculous. For enterprise customers there's a planned lifespan for these devices at purchase - and it's nowhere near 5-7 years. You're arguing about something that has next to no likelihood of ever occurring.
 
poloponies said:
Apple has their logistics pretty well in control (for the things they can control). I' m pretty sure there's an exponential decline over time for these things. Ebay prices for the original iPad are comfortably below $200 for the lower-end iPad. That's 3 years out. In another 2 years it will easily be sub $100. Do you really think that in 4 more years (let alone 2) there will be tens of thousands of people demanding battery upgrades?
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No, and that's my exact point. It makes no business sense for Apple to manufacture and install new batteries for a small number of customers. They would be doing it at a huge loss. Again, you cannot stockpile batteries for seven years. They degrade. Even if you could, it still probably wouldn't make much business sense.
 
bobbysmith said:
No, and that's my exact point. It makes no business sense for Apple to manufacture and install new batteries for a small number of customers. They would be doing it at a huge loss. Again, you cannot stockpile batteries for seven years. They degrade. Even if you could, it still probably wouldn't make much business sense.
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(sigh). That's why it's a non-issue. It's just not likely to happen. And Apple is in the best position to know how it will play out. As for making batteries, they only need workable batteries by spec; not the identical series of batteries. Worry about stuff that might actually happen.
 
poloponies said:
(sigh). That's why it's a non-issue. It's just not likely to happen. And Apple is in the best position to know how it will play out. As for making batteries, they only need workable batteries by spec; not the identical series of batteries. Worry about stuff that might actually happen.
Click to expand...
Uhm, you were the one arguing that Apple should do it.
 
I am still using my venerable old iPad1 daily and the battery is still the same as when it was new.

When the battery eventually fails, and providing that the iPad still does what I want it to do, what you are saying is that I will be forced to throw it away and buy a newer iPad because Apple will not replace the battery.

I don't think so.

I'll buy an Android tablet to match my phone, which allows me to remove/change the battery whenever I want.
 
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