Search
  • Videos
  • Windows 10
  • 5G
  • Best VPNs
  • Cloud
  • Security
  • AI
  • more
    • TR Premium
    • Working from Home
    • Innovation
    • Best Web Hosting
    • ZDNet Recommends
    • Tonya Hall Show
    • Executive Guides
    • ZDNet Academy
    • See All Topics
    • White Papers
    • Downloads
    • Reviews
    • Galleries
    • Videos
    • TechRepublic Forums
  • Newsletters
  • All Writers
    • Preferences
    • Community
    • Newsletters
    • Log Out
  • Menu
    • Videos
    • Windows 10
    • 5G
    • Best VPNs
    • Cloud
    • Security
    • AI
    • TR Premium
    • Working from Home
    • Innovation
    • Best Web Hosting
    • ZDNet Recommends
    • Tonya Hall Show
    • Executive Guides
    • ZDNet Academy
    • See All Topics
    • White Papers
    • Downloads
    • Reviews
    • Galleries
    • Videos
    • TechRepublic Forums
      • Preferences
      • Community
      • Newsletters
      • Log Out
  • us
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Europe
    • India
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    • ZDNet around the globe:
    • ZDNet France
    • ZDNet Germany
    • ZDNet Korea
    • ZDNet Japan

How Apple makes products difficult -- and expensive -- to repair

1 of 13 NEXT PREV
  • 000.jpg

    How Apple makes products difficult -- and expensive -- to repair

    Apple has essentially come from nowhere to become one of the world's biggest -- and undoubtedly best known -- consumer electronics companies. But the company has attracted a lot of criticism for making devices that are difficult to repair, and complicated to recycle.

    One of Apple's most vocal critics is repair specialists iFixit, who have been taking apart and examining products since 2006. The company has disassembled hundreds of products and knows what It is talking about.

    So, what does Apple do that makes Apple products hard to repair? Let's take a look.

    Thanks to the kind folks over at iFixit for the use of their images.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair001.jpg

    Adhesive

    I'm old-school enough to remember when devices were held together with screws -- or even nuts and bolts! But Apple doesn't like fasteners because they ruin the lines of products, and make it far too easy to get inside a device.

    With that in mind, a great many of Apple's current product lineup -- including the iPhone 5, iPad 4, and iPad mini -- make extensive use of adhesive to hold components in place. Adhesive is used enthusiastically to hold in place screens, batteries, cabling, and even components.  

    Using adhesive to hold in place consumables such as batteries makes repairs tricky, Prying the battery free from the adhesive can damage components, and even puncture the battery.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair002.jpg

    Adhesive

    In order to get past the adhesive holding down the screen and into devices such as the iPad 4 and iPad mini without breaking the screen, iFixit have had to become creative.

    One new device they use to get past the glue is called the iOpener. This is a device that is heated in a microwave, and used to melt the adhesive -- a process that can take up to 30 minutes.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair003.jpg

    Tiny screws

    Apple doesn't just miniaturize devices, it likes to miniaturize fasteners. The iPad mini is held together using some of the smallest screws seen by iFixit. The image above shows a screw from the bottom on an iPhone 5 on the right, and one from inside the iPad mini on the left.

    For the purposes of scale, the screws are on top of a guitar pick.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair004.jpg

    Proprietary screws

    When Apple isn't using tiny screws, it resorts to using proprietary screws that require a special tool to undo them. One such screw is the pentalobe screw, as found on the MacBook and iPhone.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair005.jpg

    Proprietary screws

    The pentalobe screw found on the iPhone tiny, making them easy to damage and lose.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair006.jpg

    Proprietary components

    Most notebooks -- even ones that make use of new solid-state drives (SSDs) -- are capable of being easily upgraded by the user when they require more storage. This is not the case with Apple's new MacBook Pro, which uses a proprietary drive.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair007.jpg

    RAM soldered onto the motherboard

    Newer MacBook Pro notebooks also feature RAM that has been soldered directly to the motherboard. This means that it's impossible to upgrade your notebook once it has left the factory.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair008.jpg

    Fused displays

    Another trick in Apple's arsenal is to fuse the display into a single unit that's virtually impossible to repair. If anything inside the display breaks, the whole unit has to be replaced. This makes repairs that would otherwise be cheap and straightforward very expensive.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair009.jpg

    One-piece displays

    In order to make the iPad and iPhone as thin as possible, Apple fuses the front glass, digitizer, and LCD into a single component, making repairs expensive.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair010.jpg

    Soldered battery

    Not only does Apple like to glue battery packs in place, it also likes to solder them to the logic board, making replacing the pack even trickier.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair011.jpg

    Soldering connectors onto the logic board

    Inside the 7th-generation iPad Nano, the battery, Lightning connector, button cable, and headphone jack are all soldered to the logic board.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • repair012.jpg

    Soldering connectors onto the logic board

    Using cable connectors inside devices takes up space, so Apple has increasingly turned to soldering ribbon cables to the logic board. Here, the Lightning port ribbon from an iPad mini is soldered onto the logic board. This means that if the connector is ever damaged, the whole board has to be replaced -- making the repair unnecessarily costly.

    Image source: iFixit.

    Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

1 of 13 NEXT PREV
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes for Hardware 2.0 | November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT) | Topic: Apple

  • 000.jpg
  • repair001.jpg
  • repair002.jpg
  • repair003.jpg
  • repair004.jpg
  • repair005.jpg
  • repair006.jpg
  • repair007.jpg
  • repair008.jpg
  • repair009.jpg
  • repair010.jpg
  • repair011.jpg
  • repair012.jpg

Gallery: In recent years, Apple has attracted a lot of criticism for making devices that are difficult to repair, and complicated to recycle. Let's take a look at why.

Read More Read Less

How Apple makes products difficult -- and expensive -- to repair

Apple has essentially come from nowhere to become one of the world's biggest -- and undoubtedly best known -- consumer electronics companies. But the company has attracted a lot of criticism for making devices that are difficult to repair, and complicated to recycle.

One of Apple's most vocal critics is repair specialists iFixit, who have been taking apart and examining products since 2006. The company has disassembled hundreds of products and knows what It is talking about.

So, what does Apple do that makes Apple products hard to repair? Let's take a look.

Thanks to the kind folks over at iFixit for the use of their images.

Image source: iFixit.

Published: November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT)

Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

1 of 13 NEXT PREV

Related Topics:

Apple Hardware iPhone Mobility Smartphones Tablets
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes for Hardware 2.0 | November 2, 2012 -- 11:16 GMT (04:16 PDT) | Topic: Apple

Show Comments
LOG IN TO COMMENT
  • My Profile
  • Log Out
| Community Guidelines

Join Discussion

Add Your Comment
Add Your Comment

Related Galleries

  • 1 of 3
  • Has your iPhone or iPad stopped charging? Check this first!

    Has your iPhone or iPad suddenly and unexpectedly stopped charging? Or has charging become slow, or is charging intermittent even though the cable is plugged in and the charger is ...

  • Apple M1 questions

    I've just again re-watched Apple's M1 chip unveiling event, and I'm left with more questions than answers.

  • Apple Silicon M1 chip -- in pictures

    Here's what we know about Apple's new M1 SoC.

  • Silicon Mac first look: Everything unveiled at Apple's 'One More Thing' event [pictures]

    CEO Tim Cook and Company show off next generation Mac computers and a whole lot more...

  • BodyGuardz cases for Apple iPhone 12: Unequal drop protection and antimicrobial treatment

    BodyGuardz incorporates its Unequal technology to help protect your phone from drops. The cases do not add much weight or thickness, but provide a nice option for protection for less ...

  • ESR cases for the Apple iPhone 12: Kickstands, protection, and MagSafe support

    Video content is enjoyable on a smartphone, but it helps to have a kickstand case to prop it up. ESG makes some of the best kickstand cases, but also has other case options for the new Apple ...

  • Incipio and Survivor cases: Sleek, stylish protection for the Apple iPhone 12

    The four new Apple iPhone 12 devices are available to purchase and case collections from Incipio and Survivor are now available to protect your new investment. ...

ZDNet
Connect with us

© 2021 ZDNET, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Privacy Policy | Cookie Settings | Advertise | Terms of Use

  • Topics
  • Galleries
  • Videos
  • Sponsored Narratives
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About ZDNet
  • Meet The Team
  • All Authors
  • RSS Feeds
  • Site Map
  • Reprint Policy
  • Manage | Log Out
  • Join | Log In
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Site Assistance
  • ZDNet Academy
  • TechRepublic Forums