Dare Obasanjo

When Apple vocally switched sides to support California’s “right to repair” law, I knew there had to be a catch. Cory Doctorow explains the catch eloquently.

Apple uses VIN locking or parts pairing which is a process also used by car makers, printer manufacturers & Medtronic ventilators that requires a secret code from the manufacturer to enable replacement parts to be recognized. Bypassing it violates the DMCA which as a federal law beats state laws.

Checkmate!
https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

Pluralistic: Apple fucked us on right to repair (again) (22 Sept 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Sep 24, 2023 at 4:28amWeb
Show threadDare ObasanjoSep 24, 2023

Tim Cook laid it out for his investors as to why the company will always be against users repairing gheir devices. When people can repair their devices, they don't buy new ones. When people don't buy new devices, Apple doesn't sell them new devices. It's that's simple.

Making cringe inducing skits about how much they care about the environment while doing everything they can to make iPhones disposable is the kind of corporate duplicity that’d make oil companies blush

https://www.inverse.com/article/52189-tim-cook-says-apple-faces-2-key-problems-in-surprising-shareholder-letter

Tim Cook Says Apple Faces 2 Key Problems in Surprising Shareholder Letter

Is there trouble ahead?

Inverse
Show threaddimsumthinkingSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life we read two completely different articles
Show threadstephen ryner jr. 🦉Sep 24, 2023
@carnage4life bad take. Try again.
Show threadDare ObasanjoSep 24, 2023
@nuthatch LOL, you can always spot the Apple shareholders and fanboys. Never a credible counter argument just…
Show threadCBSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life Quoting 2019 articles for a fresh take? Ok sure.
Show threadDare ObasanjoSep 24, 2023
@cb_desu Have the dynamics of people not wanting to replace their iPhones if the battery life is great changed since 2019?
Show threadCBSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life People change their phones/devices when they want to or feel a need to and unfortunately sometimes when they have to due to circumstances.
Show threadstephen ryner jr. 🦉Sep 24, 2023
@carnage4life I’ll stick around for your thoughtful takes. This one stuck out.
Show threadbusiness cultistSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life This is kind of the nature of the beast. CEOs have a fiduciary duty to generate endless profit growth
Show threadiLikeAltitudeSep 24, 2023

@shilkytouch @carnage4life

Exactly.

More people need to understand this and what consequences it has for them.

People buy products from and invest money in companies which are led by one top priority "generate maximum profit". True for most companies.

Through the investor lens this is good for people, earns them a share of the profits.

Through the lens of the consumer it's bad for people, because " generate maximum profit" delivers all sorts of bad for the consumer: worst tolerable service for highest tolerable price, maximum externalisation of societal/ecological costs/damage.

The conclusion from this could be: choose doing business with companies that do NOT have "maximize profit" as their top priority.

There are such companies, but they're not "joint-stock" type companies.

The #cooperative would be one type of company where the incentives are different.

People need to realize that by buying from and investing in profit driven companies, they're basically giving the orders to do all theses things they hate as customers/consumers.

If you want different, you have to invest/consume differently.

Show threadAwesomeJess 🏳️‍⚧️Sep 25, 2023
@iLikeAltitude @shilkytouch @carnage4life Ultimately they will have to cave in to pressure to make profit their utmost priority, as is the way of the "free" market. The answer is to regulate companies into not being people, not being profit first, not being these fucking monsters.
Show threadHans (Unverified)Sep 24, 2023
@carnage4life nothing makes oil companies blush.
Show threadPrasenjeet DuttaSep 24, 2023

@carnage4life this seems to be an iffy take (not an Apple shareholder).

When phones hold their value for longer, as iPhones do, it enables a secondary market where an iPhone 8 still costs ~$180. This tempts customers who’d otherwise not upgrade.

Then there’s services, which enables them to earn even from people not upgrading.

Early reports from the iPhone 15 is that, if anything, more repairable. https://www.tomsguide.com/news/teardown-shows-iphone-15-pro-could-be-apples-most-repairable-phone-in-years

Teardown shows iPhone 15 Pro could be Apple's most repairable phone in years

We also got a look at the camera, battery and other internals of Apple's flagship handset

Tom's Guide
Show threadPrasenjeet DuttaSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life I’m sure Apple is capable of shenanigans. Building poorer products doesn’t seem to be in their playbook yet, though.
Show threadNiclas HedhmanSep 24, 2023

@carnage4life

And the sad truth is that Apple will probably only lose 10% in overall sales. Most people (myself included, but I don't buy Apple) can't be bothered with the repair path.

But I think "Right to Repair" is a good movement and should shame companies into doing this of their own accord.

Show threadAndre LouisSep 24, 2023
In an article from 2019... Not mentioned, since it happened after the fact (of course) is their own repair kit they send to you (for apple's prices) but still, it's a thing. Genuine question, but what the hell is the point of bringing this article to the forefront at this time, four and a half years later? A lot has changed, even Louis Rossmann thinks so and if anyone's gonna bitch about this stuff, it's him. Far from perfect, but better than this old thing. @carnage4life
Show threadSir David NielsenSep 24, 2023

@carnage4life which is why they support their devices for 7 years with software updates, which is a major investment. If they wanted to make them disposable, then that wouldn’t be the case, they would pocket that money and throw their hands in the air.

Also they have a very inventive product pipeline reusing old tech, for instance, the Studio Display is basically the iPad Air 3rd gen, so taking those back giving a discount on upgrades, let’s them reuse the components.

Show threadNeil E. HodgesSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life Sounds like capitalism to me!
Show threadHeath BordersSep 24, 2023

@carnage4life there's no repairability score, but this article calls the Quest "largely unfixable"

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/4/23440860/ifixit-meta-quest-pro-teardown-vr-headset-unfixable-repairable

Watch iFixit’s teardown of the ‘largely unfixable’ Meta Quest Pro

The experts at iFixit have posted their video teardown of Meta’s new Quest Pro, and while they conclude that it’s a “fascinating, if largely unfixable device,” it’s an extremely interesting look at the insides of the high-end VR headset.

The Verge
Show threadBrennan StehlingSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life This article is nearly 4 years old. Here is a more current article. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/24/apple-backs-california-right-to-repair-bill-in-major-policy-shift.html
Show threadJosephSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life So, why does Apple support devices for way longer than anybody else?
Show threadKevin Patrick Doyle 🍅🥫Sep 24, 2023
@carnage4life bro this is four years old
Show threadDare ObasanjoSep 24, 2023

@Kevin *sigh*

Have users not wanting to upgrade their phones if the battery life is still great changed since 2019?

Show threadKevin Patrick Doyle 🍅🥫Sep 24, 2023

@carnage4life
Maybe it can be both but I get the distinct impression that Apple is pivoting to service revenue as their future strategy and by extension trying to keep people on their platforms rather than risk attrition to Android based devices

Then there is the fact that the iPhone 15 is just much more repairable

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/teardown-shows-iphone-15-pro-could-be-apples-most-repairable-phone-in-years

Teardown shows iPhone 15 Pro could be Apple's most repairable phone in years

We also got a look at the camera, battery and other internals of Apple's flagship handset

Tom's Guide
Show threadchetmanSep 26, 2023
@carnage4life @mhoye That article is from January of 2019.
Show threadEric Redegeld💻🏎️☀️🙋💖Sep 24, 2023
@carnage4life lets all promote #fairphone
Show threadDemi Marie ObenourSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life States could (and should) require companies like Apple to provide a pairing code generator that anyone could use.
Show threadLinus KromwellSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life are car manufacturers intending to / already doing the same to combat Massachusetts' right to repair laws?
Show threadiLikeAltitudeSep 24, 2023

@carnage4life

Wow, this:

> Of course, the easiest way to prevent harvested components from entering the parts stream is to destroy as many old devices as possible. That's why #Apple's so-called "#recycling" program shreds any devices you turn over to them. When you trade in your old iPhone at an Apple Store, it is converted into immortal e-waste (no other major recycling program does this). The logic is straightforward: no parts, no repairs:

> https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks

Apple Forces Recyclers to Shred All iPhones and MacBooks

Documents obtained by Motherboard: "No reuse. No parts harvesting. No resale."

Show threadApfelLustSep 24, 2023
This is a 6 years old story now! It would be interesting to know what changes have happened in the last years rather than quoting something assuming it’s still current. @iLikeAltitude @carnage4life
Show threadiLikeAltitudeSep 24, 2023

@Apfellust

Oops, I missed that. You're right.

Show threadBob O'ShaughnessySep 24, 2023
@iLikeAltitude @carnage4life
Show threadiLikeAltitudeSep 24, 2023

@Oshaughnessy

Thanks for pointing this out, I should have mentioned it.

Show threadTom_HuthSep 24, 2023
@carnage4life There is a clear indication of why regulation is so necessary. What is needed is not only a right to repair, but also clear rules that obsolescence is not possible due to a lack of security software updates. As Google has now announced 10 years of SW updates for Chrome Books, certainly not out of charity, but because 10 years are possible with standard PCs. This should also be standard for mobile phones.
None of these greedy companies will provide this without pressure.
Show threadvalkraider Sep 24, 2023
@carnage4life I don’t own Apple stock, but I do own a lot of Apple products. I keep them longer than any other tech company products I know. It’s anecdotal, yes - but Apple stuff lasts a *long* time.
Show threadJoshua A.C. NewmanSep 24, 2023

@carnage4life DMCA is operating as intended!

It’s gotta go.

Show threadСаша Морс, here we go again...Sep 25, 2023
@carnage4life imagine if they took that lawyer spend and used it on making their products better
Show threadAndy NonimoseSep 26, 2023
@carnage4life One of many reasons why I refuse to use apple's bullshit.