userbinator
6 hours ago
The cost of the tools required for device repair and the cost of genuine components make self repair almost as expensive as getting a repair from an Apple retail location or an Apple Authorized Service Provider
Malicious compliance accomplished.
Apple's instructions for all of the battery repairs include expensive equipment like an iPhone battery press to put a replacement battery back in place.
It's like they just copy-pasted their production line processes, but clearly that's not necessary.
Apple is known for their... interesting attitude towards repair, even in the previous manuals that have leaked. It somewhat reminds me of German automotive engineering --- lots of special tools and fixtures when a simpler and more conventional process would work just as well.
atonse
6 hours ago
In just about any other situation in life, you will have to make some investment in tools with the understanding that you can use them multiple times.
For example, I bought the iFixit repair kit nearly a decade ago and I have used it for any minor work for all that time. $80 spent once and I’ve never once needed to fish for some strange bit or tool no matter what device I’ve opened. In fact, the iFixit kit will still be sufficient for this entire repair plus the 9 volt battery of course.
Unless you’re saying all these are one time use tools but I didn’t see that from the parts lists.
mosselman
2 hours ago
I get what you mean and I agree. I own lots of tools just because I understand that they are a good investment.
What I think the parent is referring to is this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/120983
Obviously it is bullshit to suggest that a consumer would buy these tools. But it is also bullshit to suggest that you actually "need" a 'battery press' just because it is on the parts list.
The average phone repair shop will know how to loosen some battery adhesive very well with various techniques. So I don't think they will be discouraged by the Apple documentation.
Malicious compliance? Seems like it, a little bit. Still useful though.
devjab
2 hours ago
I think it could also be a sort of protection from customers breaking things leading to bad press. As you point out repair shops will be capable of doing repairs just fine, but your average users will probably think twice about getting the tools. I guess I can use myself as an anecdotal example, I’m the sort of person who might try to do a repair despite never having done any sort of work on electronics since I build a radio and a weather station in the Danish equivalent of high school decades ago. I’d probably end up breaking some parts.
I’m rich enough to buy the Apple tools but I’m too much of a grinch to buy them. I actually think iFixit protects me from myself as well because it’s too complicated (for me) to buy the tools I’d need.
shalmanese
2 hours ago
The Apple provided tools are the ones used at first party Apple stores to perform authorized repairs. At some point, some bean counter tabulated the cost of building X000 machines and shipping them across the globe for a marginal increase in repair quality and deemed it a worthy tradeoff.
If you want to repair phones to the equivalent quality of Apple stores, Apple makes it possible via their "overengineered" machines. There's nothing in Apple's ToS that forces you to make repairs this way, you're welcome to buy the Apple genuine part and use your own heat mats and press and whatever and knowingly make that tradeoff.
rjzzleep
4 hours ago
I was holding out for the EU DMA third party app store, but it's clear that Apple is not on a good trajectory. The fact that they slept on Siri for so long only to then finally add "Open"AI to it with limited availability is, but another dot in the pattern.
When MacOS was still called OSX and developers were the Macbooks greatest contributors and cheerleaders, things looked a lot different. A lot of the current framework components were copied from community components back then.
I'll miss the closed loop payment card support from iOS, but for everything else, I'll just say good riddance ...
unsigner
an hour ago
If you think something like German automotive engineering or iPhone production can be substitute by a “simpler and more convenientional process”, you probably don’t understand how it works. These things have evolved and have been optimized to within parts of a percentage; almost everything is there for a good, time tested reason. (Except for ultra-novel stuff that has been around for a year or two - there they may pay with process inefficiencies for novelty)
fshbbdssbbgdd
an hour ago
I was gonna say, iPhones are way more reliable than German cars, it’s not a fair comparison! Then I thought about their respective depreciation curves…
sandwichmonger
4 hours ago
> It's like they just copy-pasted their production line processes, but clearly that's not necessary.
If they copy-pasted their production line processes the parts would cost less than $40 total.
madeofpalk
19 minutes ago
Their production line process is optimised for producing millions of devices.
Sakos
2 hours ago
It's really frustrating seeing all the comments here defending Apple. Is this astroturfing or are these people not aware how much of a gigantic pain in the ass it is to repair an iPhone because of shit like this? Something that is Apple's direct responsibility. Even repair shops hate these fucking things.
hu3
an hour ago
Apple tends to get tribalistic, victim blaming, passive aggressive hand-waving from a very vocal part of their customers.
You see, it's hard to fault the product you paid thousand(s) of dollars because, to some, this implies in also faulting their own decision making process, which is painful.
Plus the wallet garden, predatory behaviour from Apple takes this to a new height. Because once you're invested enough in Apple gadgets that mostly only integrate and depend on other Apple products, you might have to fault your decision of spending $10k+, which is just too painful to most.
appendix-rock
4 hours ago
Sorry, but have you ever repaired anything? The number of things the price and complexity of a phone, that can be repaired for less than the replacement cost, when you include tools, is…very small.
threeseed
5 hours ago
The cost of the tools required to cut my lawn is far more than hiring someone to cut it.
Likewise for almost every home or car repair.
The whole point is that the tools are largely a once off purchase and repairing your phone is something you might do throughout your life. Therefore the initial costs should be spread over a longer period.
makeitdouble
4 hours ago
Do you expect your iPhone 16 battery press tool to still be useful in 2 phone generations ? How many times do you see yourself replacing the iPhone 16's battery ?
If Apple was also promising to keep the same process for the next 7 years I'd see a point to this, but this of course not the case.
dperrin
4 hours ago
> Do you expect your iPhone 16 battery press tool to still be useful in 2 phone generations ? How many times do you see yourself replacing the iPhone 16's battery ?
Lots of my bike tools I have will take over a decade to get my money back on my stuff alone. But I get to do something I mostly enjoy. I can also help out friends/acquaintances when they need it. The same goes for this.
brailsafe
an hour ago
> Lots of my bike tools I have will take over a decade to get my money back
That's... a bit surprising. Maybe one or two I could see, like a truing stand or some one-off equally proprietary thing for one brand of part, but what else?
Edit: nvm, there seems to be plenty of Park Tools brand niche reamers and so on that are many hundreds of dollars. I would think they'd remain viable for much longer than a battery replacement press though, since you'd adapt it to a particular bike's repair needs with different bits.
asimpletune
3 hours ago
Hey do you have any recommendations on a small kit to bring for long bike trips?
petre
an hour ago
Blackburn switch tool with chain press, tire levers, patch kit, spare tube. For anything not fixable with those, you visit a shop.
wtallis
4 hours ago
https://www.selfservicerepair.com/en-US/tool-kit-rental
Considering that it's been the same battery press going back at least as far as the iPhone 12, it's probably going to continue to be the same battery press for a long time. Especially now that they've definitely been using the same battery press across at least two methods of gluing in the battery (the adhesive with pull tabs, and the new adhesive that's released electrically).
renewiltord
4 hours ago
My dude, I bought a Park Tools Crank Puller CCP-44. This works on a M12 or M15 crank bolt. This is great since it worked on my Peloton and my bike. Then the other day, my friend's bike needed a CCP-22 which works on an M8 crank bolt. Oh no, why did the bike industry not all use M12. I am replacing my iPhone 13 tomorrow with an iPhone 16. Three years of use. If I were using it another three years, I might use the battery press once. This is how tools are. To have amortized utility, you need to use them multiple times. The CCP-22 was a one-time use tool.
bluescrn
2 hours ago
Replacing a consumable part, particularly a battery, should not be a complex repair requiring specialised tools.
shreddit
2 hours ago
iPhone batteries have been replaced long before Apple provided specialized tools, so you don’t need any of them. They will make your life a lot easier though.
journal
5 hours ago
I wonder if aliens exist, what technology they have for basics like transportation. Do they just load themselves into a cannon and shoot them to the destination? Just completely different ways of doing everything.