tundraboy

Right to repair laws can get really dumb. I can understand its benefit when it comes to cars*, but for compact electronic devices, it just benefits a handful of people at a cost that is charged to all buyers of the device.  The worst effect of such a law is when it starts to interfere with product design, forcing the company to make design compromises that sacrifice cost, quality, and performance.

*And even with cars, nobody insists that the electronic modules be repairable down to the level that is demanded of iPhones.  When a volume control knob on your car stereo breaks, are auto manufacturers required to make that replaceable, or is just offering a replacement stereo good enough?  I've had that happen to me and a replacement knob is not available, the only solution offered is to replace the whole unit.  An electronic device should be repairable to the same standard as that car stereo, not to the standard applied to the whole car.

VictorMortimer said:

 Changing the battery on my old Motorola flip phones took seconds, I kept spare batteries charging so I never had to worry about charging the phone itself, I just changed to a fully charged battery.  THAT is what Apple should be doing.

So how do you make a Razr-style switchable battery that is still just as moisture and water-proof and does not take up a lot of volume that would have been used for circuitry and other internal components?  People forget that space is at such a premium in smartphones, then they demand solutions that would have rendered the iPhone undesirable and uncompetitive if Apple adopts it but their competitors don't.

Throughout its evolution, electronic devices have kept moving towards solid state components.  Eventually phones will just be 3 solid blocks of screen, circuitry, and battery, housed inside a waterproof case. Or at the extreme, maybe even just one block containing all three.  People who demand user repairability will be frothing at the mouth when that day comes.

Here are your choices with respect to smartphone design:  Compact, Powerful, User Serviceable - Choose 2.  

eightzero said:

Idea: instead of making robots to make iPhones, maybe make a robot that can make robots. 

Oh wow!  Nobody. Nobody has ever thought of that before.  Your insight is dazzling.

(Sorry, but you threw that softball right in the middle of the strike zone.)

"Separately, Gjovik has previously said that despite how she was treated by the company, she would still return to Apple if asked."

File this under "How not to demolish your own credibility".