iFixit's Teardown of New iPad Pro With M5 Chip Reveals 'Repair Paradox'

[Beau10]

If Apple were to address that one single issue so it could more easily and less expensively be dealt with by the consumer, it would be interesting to see how that went over time.

Apple offers a simple flat fee battery replacement for iPhones, roughly 10% the cost of the device - for most devices, really. Same day turnaround in most cases if you bring it into an Apple store.

I feel like the "battery died, must upgrade" thing is more of a convenient excuse that people use to give in to consumerist impulses. The friction to replace the battery is barely more than it is to buy a new device.

This latest 26 series of "updates" (subjectively enjoyable cosmetic tweaks) have really shown a frustrating downside to how Apple does things.

My point is I don't think the average person thinks much about that... they're not on discussion forums talking about this stuff. It's just the latest OS. They likely don't even know what 90% of the new features are.

My primary point on the e-waste thing is software support longevity is the real killer. The lack of that is what's filling up landfills. Repairability is a niche impact in comparison.

 

[HVDynamo]

I don't personally feel like I can make such a broad and sweeping statement about what so many people want.
I don't actually even know what an average consumer "is" in this context, honestly.

What I do know, anecdotally, is that many folks I think are average consumers in my life and extended network tend to upgrade their phones because the battery life has degraded.

If Apple were to address that one single issue so it could more easily and less expensively be dealt with by the consumer, it would be interesting to see how that went over time.

From a nerdier perspective, I'd really like them to do more of a "these 2 or 3 iOS versions are current" approach.

This latest 26 series of "updates" (subjectively enjoyable cosmetic tweaks) have really shown a frustrating downside to how Apple does things.

Or maybe scratch the above and simply go to "new iOS every 18-24 months?".
The software bun needs more time in the oven, every single year, with how they are doing things right now.

Yeah, OS releases need to slow down again, or move to something like what Ubuntu does (https://ubuntu.com/about/release-cycle) where they have the LTS release that is supported for years, alternating with other releases where they try things (iOS 26 would fit here). Then the last OS any device supports should be the latest LTS version so it can remain viable for longer. Then those that want new/shiny all the time can do each yearly release and others can just stick to LTS releases if they want long term stability.

 

[Siliconguy]

I will restate what I mentioned above - if software support ain't there, why does this matter?

Very few devices that run a full-blown operating system and can connect to the internet are viable to be used more than a decade or so, and since we're talking about iPads, competing Android devices tend to fare worse here.

My 2010 Mac Pro still works and is running a current Linux version. Even the 2009 mini is running a current Linux and is fine for looking things up. Firefox on El Capitan is no longer supported, but Firefox on Linux does still work.

That brings up my current pet peeve. Apple still hasn't released the full documentation for the M1 SOC so the Linux people can fully support it. If Apple wants to abandon their hardware at the Vantage point that's their call, but releasing the documentation so Linux can be supported without having to reverse-engineer how the SOC really works should be standard policy. Apple used to be very open about their hardware, then it was just another Intel box and therefore fully documented. Now they are being all super secret.

 

[CharlesShaw]

But extending the life of the device does reduce waste.

True, but the biggest impact would be consumers consuming less. Even if our tech products lasted us a lifetime I wonder if we've crossed the tipping point. There are people who replaced perfectly fine Apple devices because they had Lightning instead of USB-C.

 

[SFjohn]

My 2018 iPad Pro still gets major OS updates and likely has years of security support left. How many Android devices from 2018 can say the same?

Software support affects 100%. Repairability maybe 5%. Which contributes more to e-waste?

Regarding e-waste, Apple recycles everything you bring into them. It’s lazy consumers who just trash their old tech into landfills that are responsible for all of that.

 

[HVDynamo]

True, but the biggest impact would be consumers consuming less. Even if our tech products lasted us a lifetime I wonder if we've crossed the tipping point. There are people who replaced perfectly fine Apple devices because they had Lightning instead of USB-C.

Yeah, that's one of the big issues with our society overall. We really need to curb consumerism, or at least tame it a bit. my 12 Pro still has lightning, and yeah it would be nice to get USB-C. But it isn't worth an upgrade all on it's own. I'll get it when it's worth replacing the whole device.

 

[turbineseaplane]

There are people who replaced perfectly fine Apple devices because they had Lightning instead of USB-C.

👆 This I really don't understand and find super super wasteful.

 

[Beau10]

True, but the biggest impact would be consumers consuming less. Even if our tech products lasted us a lifetime I wonder if we've crossed the tipping point. There are people who replaced perfectly fine Apple devices because they had Lightning instead of USB-C.

Consumerism is a drug in a way. It's a mindset thing that has to shift for a person based on values.

Really interesting documentary from 20 years back called "The Century of the Self", which starts off with the story of Edward Bernays, the double nephew of Sigmund Freud, who pioneered the field of public relations back in the 1920s and helped shift advertising/marketing from a needs to wants basis.

He did such things as getting women to smoke at the dawn of the great depression, making bacon and eggs the "American" breakfast, and helping to create the Uncle Sam character in WW1 to get American support to enter the war.

He also was quite instrumental in aligning corporate and political interests. He had a seemingly rational viewpoint that large 'free' societies needed to be controlled by consumerist impulses lest they descend into anarchy.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Consumerism is a drug in a way. It's a mindset thing that has to shift for a person based on values.

It sure is!

I've really shifted on this in the last decade.
All the way from one pole to the other.

 

[Beau10]

It sure is!

I've really shifted on this in the last decade.
All the way from one pole to the other.

Yeah, me too, after doing the nomad thing the past 3 years. There's beauty in squeezing all the value you can get out of the things that bring you value.

 

[DribbleCastle]

Or a shrewd move to sell more AppleCare subscriptions once folks botch a difficult DIY repair and have to:

1. Eat the cost of the nonreturnable spare parts.
2. Write off the residual cost of the broken (and now disassembled) product which is now well beyond any repair.
3. Buy a brand new device.

AppleCare will seem like a bargain.

ha, good point.

If you are getting a magic keyboard ($299+) with your iPad Pro AppleCare+ covers it as well, but possibly only if they are purchased at the same time? Not sure about the details. For me, that made AppleCare+ worth it on the iPad. Plus i get a discount with our business which makes its a little cheaper.

 

[skottichan]

Our grandparents had tube televisions that were completely repairable, so why are so few of them still in use?

Apple recycles its products, if they get turned in after their lifespan.

The problem there, the CRT itself has harmful materials in them. On average CRT monitors and TVs have 2-5lbs of lead alone. And historically there was zero recycling or proper disposal of these. That said, I think Apple needs to make the recycling of devices easier, like drop boxes at stores, and the like.

 

[BigMcGuire]

The problem there, the CRT itself has harmful materials in them. On average CRT monitors and TVs have 2-5lbs of lead alone. And historically there was zero recycling or proper disposal of these. That said, I think Apple needs to make the recycling of devices easier, like drop boxes at stores, and the like.

I've always been able to give Apple stuff to recycle - you make their day if you say you don't need a receipt (my experience). Maybe that isn't the case at all the locations <shrug> ?

 

[CharlesShaw]

That said, I think Apple needs to make the recycling of devices easier, like drop boxes at stores, and the like.

When I recycled an old Mac mini and later a MacBook, Apple provided a free shipping label each time and said I could include the accessories. I don't think that many people are aware of this helpful service.

And over the years, I've taken various outdated Apple cables, dead AirPods, iPad with bad LCD, and other accessories for recycling to the Apple Store when I was there to buy something. Remember those Nike 30-pin connectors and the sensor in the Nike Shoes? Recycled.

 

[killhippie]

My 2018 iPad Pro still gets major OS updates and likely has years of security support left. How many Android devices from 2018 can say the same?

Software support affects 100%. Repairability maybe 5%. Which contributes more to e-waste?

Currently all of Samsung‘s latest bottom range devices guarantee 6 years of security. updates and 4 major android updates, I picked up an A15 5G for £149 and it already has got Android 16 and it was released in December with android 14. Not bad really for £149, and the flagship devices get seven years of security updates and seven operating system updates. And even though the A15 is a cheap phone it’s perfectly usable as a spare and is great for tethering with that 5000 mah battery.

I Imagine the flagships are really nice to use too. I’ve got exactly the same iPad you’ve got, the 2018 pro and I’ve got the M5 as well and boy does the 2018 struggle with iOS 26 I can’t pretend it’s a fun experience because it’s definitely not and mines the 1TB version that had six gig of RAM! That’s the thing all these devices may get years worth of updates but it doesn’t make them usable at the end. It just makes them slow and buggy. Android have caught up with Apple in updates and I must admit android is really nice to use. I was surprised. No, I wouldn’t swap yet, but if Apple keep turning out phones that look like the iPhone 17 one of Samsung’s flagships may get very tempting.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Just got my free shipping label from Apple for recycling my old Mac.

Address seems odd though.
I wasn't aware Apple had a facility in Maple Valley.
🧐

Cedar Hills Regional Landfill​

228th Ave SE, Maple Valley, WA 98038

 

[Mousse]

We had a tube TV when I was a kid. It spent half its time in the shop being repaired. First thing the technician would do on arrival to our home was take the back cover off and wiggle all the tubes in their sockets to see if any were loose. Next was to check all the wiring connectors to see if any of those were loose. If no joy, then he'd shove the whole TV set in his van and take it off to the shop for a couple of days.

Sure sign of an amateur.😉

The first thing he should have done was the old percussive maintenance technique used by all of the old timers--a good whack to the side of the set. That often times resettles any loose tubes.

 

[sirdir]

My point is that even if iPads were totally repairable and were useful for a couple decades, they would still have a short existence in the grand scheme of things when someone cites environmental impact.

It’s not about ‘decades’, it’s about needing apple care (+) because without it, chances are high you have a total loss within the first few years.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

True, but the biggest impact would be consumers consuming less. Even if our tech products lasted us a lifetime I wonder if we've crossed the tipping point. There are people who replaced perfectly fine Apple devices because they had Lightning instead of USB-C.

Yeah, I doubt it will matter in the year 3000 if someone that bought an iPad in 2010, support dropped in 2012, and got use out of it until 2015, then send it to a landfill. If it’s headed to a landfill, it doesn’t matter to the world if it goes today or two years later.