iPad Repair

Note: this is an opinion, not a question. But anyone can comment below.

I have a 2020 iPad Pro with a loose power button. I took it to the nearest Apple Store, which is an hour drive away, to repair it. When I got there, the Apple serviceman told me that he’ll immediately replace it. But then he realized, there were no iPads of the same model with the same specs left. He told me to wait for a week and come back to get the new replacement that he ordered. I asked him for any alternatives, there were none. Which means that I drove two hours for literally nothing. I asked him why there’s nothing Apple can do, and the reply was “Apple replaces all iPads, no matter which model, for the sake of a better customer experience”. I totally do not understand how this is good device service.

I get why Apple replaces AirPods and Apple Pencil the are small, and are sealed shut with loads of glue, making their internal components hard to access. But there are only 15 different combinations for AirPods (Max’s colors, and AirPods cases and the left/right buds) and 2 for Apple Pencil, so Apple can pull one right out of the shelf for a quick replacement. I do not understand how Apple does not replace iPads, which is probably the second-most abused device after iPhones, because it is so thin, but stays inside your backpack with a lot of other things which may potentially damage it. And there are so many combinations you can order an iPad with (different color, different storage space, cellular or WiFi options...), so finding the correct replacement is much harder than the smaller Apple products. For the iPad Pro itself, there are already 32 different combinations. 20 for the Air, and 12 each for the original iPad and the mini. Do the math, that’s 76. So Apple cannot guarantee that you can immediately replace your iPad at any Apple Store, it’s only a probability that you step into one which coincidentally has the same replacement model as your iPad.

I know that iPads aren’t the easiest devices to repair, but Apple can totally open them without damaging it, without being unable to assemble it back, it’s just complicated. My problem is not a $500 replacement for an iPad that has been shattered to a level where it no longer can be used. This is a $5 problem which can potentially be fixed within half an hour.

Even if you say Apple designed it this way, that is still not acceptable, it is a device that is priced as expensive as low-end flagship iPhones, but is three or four times the size. Apple cannot add a few extra screws in this space, but has to use glue? Apple needs to make iPads so thin that they can be bent like how you break a stick with your knee and hands? They make things more complicated instead of making things easier for us customers and even themselves, which is totally against their own principles.

Doesn’t Apple lose money if they treat all broken iPads as non-repairable trash? And also, how is this contributing to Apple’s environmental goals? They waste devices which have a larger carbon footprint than iPhones, even with the most minuscule problems. There are many workarounds which are more efficient, but Apple chooses not to use them. Come on Apple, you can do better than this.