I’m guessing your MacBook is a 2008 model since you have had it for 12 years. I have an MBP from the same year. The battery and RAM are easily upgradeable in about 5 minutes. The drive takes more effort but still pretty easy to do.
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UK Environmental Committee Says Apple Contributing to 'Throwaway Culture' of 'Short-Lived Products'
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How does that excuse Apple making it harder to repair?
If I had to guess I would assume they just sell the boards to a scrapyard. There is also a cottage industry of people de soldering parts off of old boards and reselling them as new components.
How are they able to do it at lower cost? Cheaper parts? Cheaper labor? I guess I’m not sure what fraction you had in mind, so I suppose in the strictest sense your statement doesn‘t necessarily mean lower cost...
The point here though is environmental impact, not cost. Does repairing your device through a third part lead to reduced negative impacts on the environment? Do these third parties do a better job of recycling their waste materials? Offsetting their carbon production? Do third party repairs lead to fewer damaged devices and longer post-repair lifespans?
Quoting YouTube is always a convincing argument... If it’s on YouTube then I’m sure it’s based on sober analysis of a broad dataset, because nothing brings in ad revenue like carefully vetted statistics.
Are there videos of third parties trying to parlay a repair into a sale? If not, does that mean it doesn’t happen? If there are 3 videos of Apple Store personnel pushing for a sale but only one video of Bob’s Mac Shack personnel doing it, which company is a bigger problem?
The question isn’t whether some Apple Store employee ever said such a thing, the question is the relative impact versus the alternatives. And remember, it’s a retail employee‘s job to make the customer happy. If there isn’t much difference in cost between repair and replacement, the employee should point that out. If the customer values the reduced environmental impact of repair, the employee should support that view.
This. Stop making excuses for Apple. Whether or not a device can be repaired has absolutely nothing, nada, zero to do with the average longevity of the product. They are different things.
A Miele washer or dryer easily lasts 10 to 15 years. Some last over 20 years of daily use. They are known to be so reliable, if one breaks within the first 10 years local laws here allow you to claim warranty. But that doesn't mean they cannot be repaired.
Not exactly comparing apples with apples there. A highly miniaturised device vs something modular like a smartphone isn't realistic - like comparing a tower PC to a laptop.
Try harder.
No it does not. Quit the koolaid. You'd have to wonder how we'd even get to 2020 without Apple showing us how to create reliable devices using glue to get rid of using unreliable screws. 😬
I mean, Apple removed the headphone jack to be able to sell you disposable EarPods that have internal batteries and by all accounts don't even last for two years. That's definitely sketchy.
And at Americans feeling discriminated against because Apple is singled out: nobody thinks it's only Apple doing that. But when Apple makes it impossible to replace the phone's battery, the market follows. When Apple removes the headphone jack, the market follows. When Apple solders on RAM and even SSDs to make after market upgrades impossible, the market follows.
And at Americans feeling discriminated against because Apple is singled out: nobody thinks it's only Apple doing that. But when Apple makes it impossible to replace the phone's battery, the market follows. When Apple removes the headphone jack, the market follows. When Apple solders on RAM and even SSDs to make after market upgrades impossible, the market follows.
No, I am talking about Hermann Hauser. Without him ARM would not have happened that way. My point: I think that "the UK engineering", "the German engineering" or the "Swiss precision" ... etc. only serves nationalism and thinking in boarders. A flag does not define who you are, it's still up to you. But I'm way off-topic now.
Making things durable and making things repairable are often opposites.
For example, the best way to make something waterproof is to seal it using glue. A case glued together is more water resistant than a case held together by screws. When a battery is glued in, you can make it any shape, so it can fill any empty spaces in the case, have more volume, and last longer.
I know its all the fashion looking for conspiracies everywhere and assuming that things are harder to repair because evil Apple wants you to pay for expensive repairs and wants to force you to buy new phones all the time. If you thought about that for a minute you would realise that this wouldn't improve sales, it would keep customers away.
So Apple can somehow force you to buy Apple headphones or in-ear phones? So I'm looking at my headphones and they don't have "Apple" written on them, they have "Anker" written on them.
Is anyone here employed in an industry which makes and services high-tech devices? I am, and I can share some information from our factory/service channels.
- The #1 issue in production yield is "wrongly connected". One could argue that this is the fault of "bad factory engineers" but there is a constant (price) pressure to be faster and cheaper. Designing things "poka yoke" partially solves this (meaning something will fit only one way) but it's additional pressure on the design.
- When something "breaks" in the field, in more than half of the cases, it's some kind of connector which became unseated. Yes, it's easy to "unplug-and-plug-back-in", but when this process requires a service engineer visit, this is a hugely expensive visit. Our electromechanical designers try to reduce the number of connectors and cables in the system.
- Service cost is an almost linear function of the number of PCBs in the system. Even when we spend massive effort on "self-test" software to pin-point which PCB is faulty, in general service engineers are under pressure, and the customer is looking over their shoulder and wants to get the tool up-and-running ASAP. So what do they do? They swap boards until it works again. The boards taken out are probably just fine, but they get scrapped (for "logistics reasons").
- It's never a whole PCB which is broken. 9 out of 10 times, it's some capacitor (which are notorious for breaking). I personally repaired my induction cooker by soldering out a capacitor and putting in a new one, which was doable (and fun!) because the device is big and relatively easy to open and measure. Had I calculated my normal hourly rate, it would have been far cheaper to toss it and buy a new one - I considered this a fun learning experience which cost me money. Repairing individual PCBs is probably environmentally sane, but definitely not financially. You cannot grumble at "throwaway culture" and at the same time complain about price. When your iPhone is a "financial total loss", it is you who decides not to have it repaired and get a new one instead.
- Consolidating functionality on fewer PCBs is a good thing from a robustness point of view (fewer cables, fewer connectors, fewer points-of-failure) and even from a repairability point of view (no guessing which PCB to replace)
- Miniaturization and consolidating is good for the environment. Look at the teardowns of the new MacBook Air with the M1 in it, and compare the size of the entire logic board (arguably, the entire "computer") to the size of that video card you replaced with the latest-and-greatest. I bet every one in this forum has a box in their basement or attic with cables and adapters "which are still perfectly fine" but which will never be connected to anything anymore because the devices they were for were thrown away ages ago. Admit it. I'll start: I have plenty of SCART cables, VGA cables, that weird USB type-something cable which connected my old printer, that Centronix cable which connected my even older printer, etc. This will all end up buried in a landfill some day.
- Do I wish that RAM and SSD were still upgradable? Yes I do. Because by the time I "need" more disk space or RAM, I can add it for half the price I would have to pay if I add it during my initial purchase. But qua landfill and environment: The entire logic board is about the size of an old-fashioned DIMM. The one I'd be throwing in that box with cables "for future reuse".
You are saying they will buy the latest products all the time. So you are saying it doesn't matter if things can be repaired or not, because they throw away the old one before it ever breaks? Do I understand that right? But then another complaint about Apple that I read on MacRumors all the time that they are not really innovating, and that they don't build anything new that is worth buying? So explain to me, what is it?
There should be set by law how long producers have to support their products in electronic industry as it is in car industry, at least in Europe. If it is still valid, they were required to supply repair parts 10 years after end of production. With electronics it is a bit more difficult I guess and other measures should be taken. When law set well it could lead to design changes that would prevent obsoleting product that soon. With iPhone or iPad adding more RAM could be enough and wiser iOS updates as well.
I would slow down industry a bit probably but we are not in any race. Technology can not make our lives better, just comfortable. And lazy.
Mac concerning, there would be enough longer OS support ass Macs tend to last longer. My 2008 MBP died few month ago. Replaced with 2009 model, with SSD, patched Mojave, works fine. I guess not many ppl throw expensive Apple gear into bin or deposits. Of course if modern devices are difficult or impossible to repair or expensive to repair the article has some merit.
Cheap sh....s that last two years and are not worth of repair are problem.
I would slow down industry a bit probably but we are not in any race. Technology can not make our lives better, just comfortable. And lazy.
Mac concerning, there would be enough longer OS support ass Macs tend to last longer. My 2008 MBP died few month ago. Replaced with 2009 model, with SSD, patched Mojave, works fine. I guess not many ppl throw expensive Apple gear into bin or deposits. Of course if modern devices are difficult or impossible to repair or expensive to repair the article has some merit.
Cheap sh....s that last two years and are not worth of repair are problem.
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The problem with most (tech) companies is they want you to spend more on their products. That does mean a whole new one rather than upgrading or improving.
The problem with Apple in particular is that ‘recycle‘ is their primary (environmental) focus.
This should be the last resort; certainly after reuse (effectively improve and upgrade) or repair.
There is a logical order: https://www.bridgetsgreenkitchen.com/2016/08/reduce-reuse-repair-recycle.html
The article does specifically state why Apple is mentioned; not only that it is a high profile example of replacement rather than repair (or upgrade), but repeating what I think we all know in that components that can be expected to determine the shortest lifespan are being permanently affixed instead of replaceable.
And there’s long been silicone (or other) gaskets and seals instead of glue.
Apple have already demonstrated that the SSD doesn’t need to be soldered to the T2.
Perhaps the abundance of processor sockets means that wasn‘t really their fault, but they now have the opportunity (with AS) to do better.
The problem with Apple in particular is that ‘recycle‘ is their primary (environmental) focus.
This should be the last resort; certainly after reuse (effectively improve and upgrade) or repair.
There is a logical order: https://www.bridgetsgreenkitchen.com/2016/08/reduce-reuse-repair-recycle.html
I would argue that would be easier to repair (and upgrade): Battery gone? Slot in a new one (we used to do this!). Screen broken? Disconnect cable and replace. Slow or outdated (or dead)? Plug in a new silicon monolith logic board.
The article does specifically state why Apple is mentioned; not only that it is a high profile example of replacement rather than repair (or upgrade), but repeating what I think we all know in that components that can be expected to determine the shortest lifespan are being permanently affixed instead of replaceable.
And there’s long been silicone (or other) gaskets and seals instead of glue.
Apple have already demonstrated that the SSD doesn’t need to be soldered to the T2.
Perhaps the abundance of processor sockets means that wasn‘t really their fault, but they now have the opportunity (with AS) to do better.
Given how confusing that is even in context:
1) ARM was created in British computer manufacturer Acorn Computers in the UK.
2) Depending on what you call a computer it was Charles Babbage, Sir William Thomson (1872), United States Navy (1927), Tommy Flowers, or Max Newman (Colossus). Of this only one is by the United States
3) The WWW is via Tim Berners-Lee.
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As was Charles Babbage, the father of the modern computer and Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the WWW. And if you checked the profile of @page3 you'd see he's English. Not American.
Last time i checked my Macbook Pro did not have a IP-rating. Neither did my smartspeaker.
Of course there is cost to be saved. If Apple says it costs €1500 to unbend a cable that Louis Rosmann would fix for free - you just LOST €1500 on nothing. Your logic is very very flawed, Sir.