During a teardown at this year’s DesignCon in Santa Clara, Calif., Kyle Weins, the CEO of iFixit, blasted Apple for switching out its Phillips screws for new tamper-resistant screws.
Weins, who has written a hardware manifesto stating that users should be allowed to tinker with their own devices, called the move “diabolical” on Apple’s part.
“This is not a standard Torx, and there are no readily available screwdrivers that can remove it,” he said, though iFixit has recently built a tool that can do the job. “Apple chose this fastener specifically because it was new, guaranteeing repair tools would be both rare and expensive.”
Click the image below to view a slideshow of the iPhone 4S in various stages of disassembly:
UBM TechInsights, which specializes in intellectual property analysis, got its hands
on one of the first iPhone 4S models and conducted this teardown.
The screw that Apple is using is similar to a Torx -- except that the points have a rounder shape, and the screw has five points instead of six.
Apple's service manuals refer to them as "Pentalobular" screws, which Weins admits is a fairly fitting description.
“This screw head clearly has one purpose: to keep you out,” he said.
HARPO-54: This is exactly what I have done. I replaced my "aging" mobile phone some months ago and of course had a multitude of brand names from which to choose. I did go Android. My oldest granddaughter had an Apple laptop some years ago, purchased prior to her freshman year at the university. There is only ONE authorized repair depot for Apple products in our city-- they know that consequently charging outrageous prices for their work and parts. That was my lesson learned. The cost for repairs to her"machine" was approximately one-half the purchase price. Last year the laptop died. This time, we go PC version and she made that decision.
That makes perfect sense, Stuart21. My daughter's iPod went through the wash. After it came out, she put it in the freezer. After a day in the freezer, it worked. Same principle?
No Rob, the air in the fridge is a very dry. This is because much of the moisture condenses on the evaporator, then the air warms up as it circulates, hence RH drops. Ambent humidity here at the moment is 99%, RH in fridge 32%.
It is ideal for drying stuff.
Presuming distilled water has displaced whatever H2O was in the phone, (esp if salt water) then no residue will remain - odds fairly good phone will function. I tried this with a Moto abt 15 years ago, (dunked in fresh water) & phone came back. Only damage was from a rinse in metho which damaged the screen.
Most important thing though is to get battery out ASAP. Which is where Apple is the problem, for iPhone users, with those Torx.
Not too long ago, I was replacing my car's headlight gear motors and found that a Phillips bit with 3/8 drive would be perfect to have. I simply drove to my neiborhood auto parts store and bought a set. I would never buy a car that used mounting/fastening hardware that was not readily available. Likewise, I will not buy any Apple products that incorporate tactics such as the one mentioned.
Rinse in distilled water first - shake dry - full length arm swing centrifuge. Then put in fridge. Freezer may be dangerous if significant water remains.
Get the right drivers! It's that simple! The fact is that a company will do what it wants to do for its reasons. One of those reasons may be to use nonstandard hardware to keep unqualified people from working on their product even when the it's been purchased and owned by the consumer. So, you know what? A qualified person will get the proper driver!
As a person who works on stuff all the time, I get the correct tools for the job as determined by whatever the manufacturer used.
What santimonious drivel. Simple answers are often best, don't buy CRapple stuff, don't hire people like you.
The attitude is what gets me.
Apple knows what is best for you. They may sell you stuff, but you are not REALLY capable of knowing what software you want, music you might want, or certainly repairing anything. The blatent attempts to patent the obvious, and even things first described by others. Apple knows all and owns all! (except for the parts known and owned by Disney of course)
Then there are those like you who encourage and justify such behavior. Really, what does programming proprietary chips have to do with any of this? People repair things with proprietary parts all the time. Sometimes with new third party parts and sometimes with salvage parts for dead devices. (ever seen a perfectly good phone with a broken display?)
"get the right drivers" ! Did you READ the article? Isn't the use of non-standard screws that drivers were not available for one of the points of the article? Didn't another poster mention their belief that now that the tool IS available CRapple would change to something else?
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Healthcare might seem to be an unlikely target application for the Internet of Things technology, but recent developments show small ways that big-data is going to make an impact on patient care moving into the future.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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