Apple never shortens product life intentionally?

Gilderon wrote:

You mean like making it very difficult for people of average technical skill nearly impossible to replace the battery and not using a generic battery form factor?

I worked in the cellular phone industry for 20 years. No phone manufacture, in that time, used a "generic battery form factor". The number of different Samsung batteries we used to carry was mind boggling. Most manufacturers have been moving to a permanently installed battery. Removable back covers and batteries that just pop out come at a trade off. The batteries take up more room. And, without adding significant bulk, the phone can't be water resistant. People want a thinner, water resistant phone more than they want to are able to change their own batteries. Even when we sold batteries, most customers wanted us to put them in for them.

Gilderon wrote:

These are very good points. Or maybe Apple could just sell a toolkit and instructions and let people do it them selves. It doesn’t seem like a difficult process given how quickly they do it in the store.

A long time ago, I tried that with a kit on my iPod Nano. It didn’t work out so well. I couldn’t get reliable instructions though.

The problem with do it yourself repairs are two fold in my mind

1. It would be impossible to guarantee maintaining the IP dust and water resistance rating in current devices. Also with the newer devises with glass on both sides, many people will find it very difficult to access the battery without breaking something.

2. Lithium is highly toxic. Free form plastic envelope lithium polymer batteries as used in sealed devices are actually fairly fragile when out of the device, and especially so for older batteries that may be experiencing some degree of swelling. Actively enabling or supporting self repairs opens a company to liability if anyone exposes or injures themselves in the process. As it is now, Apple formally does not consider any iOS device self serviceable, so if anything happens to you should you choose to do your own repairs, Apple cannot be held liable.

Gilderon wrote:

These are very good points. Or maybe Apple could just sell a toolkit and instructions and let people do it them selves. It doesn’t seem like a difficult process given how quickly they do it in the store.

A long time ago, I tried that with a kit on my iPod Nano. It didn’t work out so well. I couldn’t get reliable instructions though.

Anything done by a practiced expert looks easy. It takes about 15 minutes for an ophthalmologist to do laser surgery on eyes. Does that mean do-it-yourself Lasik kits should be made available? After all, if it doesn't take long, it can't be difficult, right?

Sure, you could learn how to replace iPhone batteries. There are toolkits and instructions manuals that can be purchased. But, until you've done it a hundred times, you're probably not going to be very fast. And, if you make a mistake and damage something, you have no recourse. If the tech at the Apple Store messes up, they know how to fix it and/or can replace your phone.

$79.00 to replace a battery after 2 or 3 or 4 years is hardly excessive. That fee includes the labor to replace it, assures you get a truly factory new OEM battery (not some used battery, or cheap knock off) and includes a minimum 90 day warranty on the battery and service.

I don’t feel fleeced at all by that service fee. If you feel that strongly about it, then why wouldn’t you buy something else in the first place?

That's never going to happen. Certainly not when water resistance is an important consideration with iPhone. Apple is certainly a lot of things, but one thing we can count on is when it comes to servicing their products, they insist, rightly so, that service should be performed by them, using only OEM parts. I appreciate this.

You are not talking to Apple here. We are all end users like you. Send feedback here -Feedback - iPhone - Apple

The page quoted says its 29$ from late January until the end of Dec 2018. (even better deal!)

How does not having the ability to self service your iPhone shorten it's useful life? That makes no sense. Apple doesn't let any of its products be self serviceable, but that goes to their penchant for quality service and use of authorized parts only, not lifespan of device.

Oh and your rant falls on user only ears. Apple isn't here, isn't reading these posts and to be honest, your post really doesn't make much sense anyway.

There are other choices out there and since you feel Apple is fleecing you (a view I do not support as $79 for an authentic Apple battery, replaced correctly by Apple is not excessive in the first place) you might want to choose something other than iPhone for your cellular needs.

Gilderon wrote:

They did that only after being called out on their behavior. It seems like a reasonable value. If they made that permanent, then i’d be convinced that they have the consumers’ interests foremost in mind. However, it is a publicly traded for-profit company. So they have shareholders’ interest mostly in mind. They should at least own that or try not to be so obvious about it.

Apple had their customers' best interests in mind when they slowed down the phones under certain circumstances. Now, because people have their knickers in a twist about it, they're taking what's probably a loss on replacing batteries.

Could or should Apple have communicated the function better? Yes, of course. But, the fact that they didn't doesn't make what the did bad.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

Now, because people have their knickers in a twist about it, they're taking what's probably a loss on replacing batteries.

I have no problem with any of the points being made except this one. I find it hard to believe that a company that has $65 Billion in ”excess cash” (last I remember anyway) is taking a loss on this. It might cut a wee tiny bit into the bottom line, but in the overall scheme of things, this is nothing, cost wise I mean.