@mcfate This is fair. If I can get to the batteries on mine I'll typically replace it myself. Most commonly the charging port gets all wonked out of shape and can only charge when you bend the cord in a certain way, those are a lot easier to replace.

@Tail

I used to earn some money repairing iPhones and iPads, I've got tools to do everything short of microsoldering.

At this point, on current models, it's never not more trouble and effort than it's worth to me.

@mcfate Yeah they're deliberately making it harder to repair them yourself, and service providers push new models so hard. I used a Galaxy S4 for a good 5 or 6 years, was a breeze to fix and keep alive.

@Tail

If I wanted a phone I could repair myself forever, I'd buy a Nokia or something else the size of a cinder block.

They don't do that to make it harder to repair. YOU do that by demanding thinner and thinner phones, requiring weird engineering that makes them harder to repair.

You cannot — CAN NOT — make a phone as thin as any current iPhone and ALSO have it be "easy to repair", that's some kind of fantasy.

@Tail

iCracked represents a relevant data point when it comes to Apple's contention that letting anyone with a screwdriver attempt to repair these things after watching a video and buying some overpriced, aftermarket parts from nobody but them isn't a terrific concept.

https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/icracked.com

@mcfate I had an iPod once and the battery didn't last very long and I had to send it in for a replacement and the process was quick, painless and free. I disagree with the practice, I believe in the right to repair something you've bought when able, of course there's always inherent risks involved. I wouldn't risk it with a phone that's a piece of glass that you can fold in half.

I've never heard of iCracked but I've never been an Apple guy, not since the iPhone 3 I think.

@Tail

Okay, you can crack open anything you like, and you can shoulder all the risk you want in doing so, but there's a limit to how much anyone can turn a phone you'd be willing to spend money on into a Lego kit.

These are two completely incommensurable desires. I mean, you bought it, you have a "right" to bust it if you want to.

@Tail

You can repair one of these babies until civilization falls. Is this what you want Apple selling you?

https://circuitmess.com/ringo/

@mcfate lol, no. Certainly not. The middle ground is where I prefer to aim. People always want fresh, cool, flashy and new things. I prefer form over function but I like a bit of balance between them.

I'd totally buy that at a better price for a kid if I had one though.

@Tail

You're making my point for me: it's a toy, and a pricy one. But you have a "right" to repair it.

For better or worse, if there were an actual, measurable demand for phones that can be cracked open and tinkered with, someone would actually be making them. It's not some sort of a conspiracy.

It's simply that not enough of them could be sold to make it worth anyone's while to make them.

@Tail

"Make less attractive phones that won't sell as well for a mere fraction of the people who buy iPhones" isn't really a "middle ground" if you're Apple, is it?

@mcfate Yeah I'm agreeing with you. The bulk of the market wants new, flashy, advanced. More powerful than they know what to do with. When the iPhone first came out it was cool, but having white earbuds was a status symbol back then.

Making lego phones isn't fiscally viable.

@Tail

In all honestly, anyone who want to build their own phone can work up a cape for an RPi0, or just buy one, probably.

I wanted to mention that, on the flip side, Apple phones get longer OS support and retain their value better than any other "smart" phone.

@mcfate This is true. I'll never deny the quality of Apple products. My only issue is how proprietary they are.

@Tail

How "proprietary" can they be? Go buy a GooglePhone instead.

The Gnome Foundation spent several years attempting to put together an open-source mobile stack. Guess where it went?

Yeah, nowhere.

People LIKE "proprietary" when they get a better experience from it. It's NEVER been "The Year of the Linux Desktop".

@Tail

On the one hand, I do sympathize with the impulse to take things apart, and having done so a good bit, I recognize that putting them back together again is inevitably a more challenging task.

There's only ONE way to take something apart, really.

Honestly, this is why I came to view the "open source software" movement as largely an elitist thing. It ignores anyone who simply wants to USE stuff completely, and that's senseless.

Carpentry is about chairs, not saws.

@mcfate Excellent point. It's the same with cars I feel. People aren't building their own cars. Some do, but they're the niche. I definitely got sucked into the elitist group of rooting and over/undervolting my phone to mini/max its performance etc and it was largely not worth the effort.

@Tail

I used to build my own home routers, and it was an ongoing, endless, immense exercise in yak-shaving.

@mcfate Wow, you built your own routers? I didn't even know that was possible. Never really thought about it, which I guess also proves your point.

@mcfate @Tail

yeah, I used to build my own routers and nas...I ain't got that kinda time no mo...was a good learning experience at the time, and they performed well and were reliable, but now I just buy off the shelf stuff...much less effort

@mcfate Yeah, I think the status symbol aspect of it is a big factor. There's no reason Apple couldn't use USB-C for their charge ports, etc. But people really invest themselves into being Apple people, because you pretty much have to. Most people don't care, they just want a phone.

@Tail

There's no reason Apple shouldn't keep right on using the Lightning ports if they feel they're technically superior, as they do.

Most people want a phone that works, and that will get regular OS upgrades, and will last more than two years.

Apple phones qualify.

@Tail

I very much doubt there's a measurable contingent of aggrieved iPhone owners wishing they had USB-C connectors.

@mcfate I'm sure there's close to none. I wasn't aware they used lightning ports these days.