iFixit Examines iPhone 15 Components Under a Microscope

[4nNtt]

As long as it isn’t too obnoxious about it, it is nice to know if a device was repaired with unofficial parts.

 

[marzbarz]

You contradict yourself in the space of two sentences here. If they knew pentalobe drivers would soon be available (actually they were already available) then how would switching to them deter people from opening the devices to repair them?

It seems like a straight forward engineering decision. As torque specs increase and screw head area decreases Philips head rapidly drops out of consideration. There are many alternate, open standard head designs of which pentelobe is one. They didn’t invent their own and lock the head design IP up. They chose an existing design and used that.

Deciding there was malice behind this is just low information conspiratorial thinking.

100 percent this

amazing how so many people are completely misinformed by ifixit and articles of the like.

 

[seek3r]

You contradict yourself in the space of two sentences here. If they knew pentalobe drivers would soon be available (actually they were already available) then how would switching to them deter people from opening the devices to repair them?

It seems like a straight forward engineering decision. As torque specs increase and screw head area decreases Philips head rapidly drops out of consideration. There are many alternate, open standard head designs of which pentelobe is one. They didn’t invent their own and lock the head design IP up. They chose an existing design and used that.

Deciding there was malice behind this is just low information conspiratorial thinking.

100 percent this

amazing how so many people are completely misinformed by ifixit and articles of the like.

Amazing how quickly y’all forget actually

There’s no standardized naming pattern or sizing for pentalobe screws, what standards have crept in are organic and not set in stone, they’re in limited use, mostly by Apple, the ones used outside apple are slightly different, they are not a typical standard. They are, in a word, literally proprietary. That doesnt mean they’re secret.

They were also, as I recall, easier to strip originally than the ones Apple uses today. That may be why those of us who were working on our machines back then maybe have a worse taste in our mouth about these than folks who encountered them later. I actually went through and replaced all my older gear’s semi-stripped pentalobes with newer screws a few years back

iFixit was one of the first places to make pentalobe screwdrivers available to the masses. I *remember* needing one and needing to buy it from it from them because no one else had them. The wealth of choices today was not a thing in 2009, when Apple began using them. I realize that’s almost 15 years ago, maybe you guys werent repairing your gear then?

iFixit actually had a nice writeup on this btw https://www.ifixit.com/News/9905/bit-history-the-pentalobe

 

[farmboy]

They were trying to keep the average Joe/Jane from opening the phone. These screws are inserted and torqued by powered screwdrivers, not by hand. Most companies use Torx screws in this situation, because the screw will stay on the screwdriver tip while inserting. But Apple decided to invent a new screw head instead of going with some other existing security screw. At the scale they use screws it made sense. But the main reason was tamper-proofing.

Apple did NOT invent the pentalobe screw. SONY used them years before, as did others, especially in industrial uses. Pentalobe screwdrivers were available commercially, so the "trying to keep the average Joe/Jane from opening the phones" is not true, or at least was not effective.

Also, lots--if not all--of screw types are applied with powered drivers. This is the 21st century in case you hadn't noticed.

Magnetized screwdriver heads. It's a thing.

 

[seek3r]

Apple did NOT invent the pentalobe screw. SONY used them years before, as did others, especially in industrial uses. Pentalobe screwdrivers were available commercially, so the "trying to keep the average Joe/Jane from opening the phones" is not true, or at least was not effective.

Also, lots--if not all--of screw types are applied with powered drivers. This is the 21st century in case you hadn't noticed.

Magnetized screwdriver heads. It's a thing.

The old sony pentalobe screws dont match the same exact layout as the ones apple used. I’ve actually opened a Clie, pre-2009, I ended up using a phillips and stripping the screws, then replacing them with phillips on re-assembly because no one was selling a screwdriver or bit that fit the sony screws at the time. The current pentalobe screwdrivers typically sold today wont either. Try it, not hard to find old sony gear on ebay if you want to see for yourself.

So no, Apple didnt invent the general type of screw head, but they arent a standard and the various versions are proprietary to their users, and the ones Apple introduced in ‘09 were not easily deal-able with before ifixit starting selling drivers for them.

 

[Crowbot]

Apple did NOT invent the pentalobe screw. SONY used them years before, as did others, especially in industrial uses. Pentalobe screwdrivers were available commercially, so the "trying to keep the average Joe/Jane from opening the phones" is not true, or at least was not effective.

Also, lots--if not all--of screw types are applied with powered drivers. This is the 21st century in case you hadn't noticed.

Magnetized screwdriver heads. It's a thing.

I think Apple specified and designed the pentalobe screw they are using.

So I believe you're just incorrect.

The benefit of screws like torx or pentalobe is that they hold the screw tightly so magnetic bits are not necessary.

 

[spcopsmac21]

100 percent this

amazing how so many people are completely misinformed by ifixit and articles of the like.

Thanks Obama ( he made the frogs gay ) and made my pentalobe screwdrivers hate me for owning a Phillips.