Apple gives up repairability of its devices in favor of durability and claims that “customers better have that reliability”

If you don’t have AppleCare, repairing broken glass or any other component on your iPhone or any other fault with other Apple products will cost a fortune. iPhone repairability has been a major concern for both users and third-party repairers, as Apple not only makes the device difficult to open, but also locks parts so that users can go directly to the Apple Store. It seems like the company charges crazy high prices for a reason and doesn’t mess around with repairs. Apple advocates making its devices more durable, even if it makes them more difficult to repair.

Apple focuses on making its devices more durable rather than making them easier to repair

Recently Apple invited MKBHD to check the durability tests that all unreleased iPhones and other devices undergo before they hit the market. The YouTuber showed off a handful of tests conducted by Apple that confirmed that the devices are indeed reliable considering the intensity. Marques Brownlee also met with the company’s head of hardware engineering, John Ternus, and discussed the durability and repairability of the devices and the measures taken to strike a balance between the two approaches.

Ternus said Apple tests more than 10,000 units of a single product before selling it, and if other concerns arise in the market, the company will add it to its testing suite in the future. To be more precise, this is a huge amount of money spent just on checking the durability of the devices, and for good reason. However, another concern for users and third-party technicians, apart from the amount Apple charges for the repair, is repairability.

“We’ve found that when we pull units out of the field, we’ll find different things and figure out how to build a test that will represent maybe a new use case that someone is doing in the field, and then that will become part of our test suite.”

In contrast to easier repairs, Apple’s John Ternus says the company places a high value on device durability, which is a better option for both the customer and the planet. The company is so reluctant and biased in its approach to durability and the reasons given that Apple has no problem making repairs more difficult to achieve this.

“Objectively, it’s better for the customer to have that reliability,” Ternus says, “and ultimately it’s better for the planet because the failure rate since we got to this point has just dropped, dropped dramatically.”

Apple products are extremely durable, as we have seen in the past. iPhones survived falling out of a plane, lay at the bottom of a river for weeks, and still worked as they should. This can all be attributed to Apple’s efforts to increase the durability of the iPhone and other products through extensive testing. The director added that if we consider both approaches, durability and repairability, the prior will come out on top.

“So you can do the math and determine that there’s a threshold where, if I can make it that durable,” Ternus says, “it’s better if it’s a little bit more difficult to repair because there’s a benefit to it.”

While the company stands for durability, third-party repair companies are biased regarding their right to repair. It all comes down to personal preference, but if the device is durable enough to not need to be repaired, it’s a win for the company. However, since most devices have a glass plate on the front, inside or back, repairers should be entitled to request an easier repair. We’ll share more details about Apple’s stance, so be sure to stay tuned.