Apple Ditches Repairability Of Its Devices In Favor Of Durability, Says It’s ‘Better For Customers To Have That Reliability’

If you do not have AppleCare, it would cost you a fortune to fix the broken glass or any other component on your iPhone or other Apple products. Repairability on the iPhone has been a major concern of users as well as third-party repairers as Apple not only makes it difficult to open up the device but locks parts so users can go straight to the Apple Store. It appears that there is a reason why the company charges insanely high prices and why it does not play nice with repairability. Apple stands by enhancing the durability of its devices, even if it makes them harder to repair.

Apple is biased towards enhancing the durability of its devices instead of easier repairability

Recently, Apple invited MKBHD to check out its durability tests that all unreleased iPhones and other devices go through before they hit the market. The YouTuber showcased a handful of tests conducted by Apple that ensured that the devices were indeed reliable, given the intensity. Marques Brownlee also met with the company's head of hardware engineering, John Ternus, and talked about the durability and repairability of the devices and what measures are taken to balance the two approaches.

Ternus stated that Apple tests more than 10,000 units of a single product before it is sold and if there are any other concerns originating in the market, the company would add it as part of its testing suite for the future. To be precise, that is a hefty amount of money spent just testing the durability of the devices, and it is all for a good reason. However, repairability is another concern that users and third-party technicians have, along with the amount Apple charges for a fix.

"We've found when we'll pull units back from the field and we'll find things and figure out how do we build a test that represents maybe this new use case that somebody's doing in the field and then that becomes a part of our test suite."

In contrast to easier repairs, Apple's John Ternus states that the company pays a lot of attention to the durability of the devices, which is the better option for the customer as well as the planet. The company is reluctant and biased in its approach toward durability, and its stated reasons for it are that in order to achieve durability, Apple has no problem making repairs harder.

"It's objectively better for the customer to have that reliability," states Ternus, "and it's ultimately better for the planet because the failure rate since we got to that point have just dropped, it's plummeted."

Apple's products are extremely durable, as we have seen in the past. iPhones have survived falling out of planes, sitting at the bottom of the river for weeks, and continued to work as they should. All of this can be credited to Apple's attempts to make the iPhone and other products more durable through its extensive testing. The executive went on to say that if we weigh the two approaches, durability and repairability, the prior would net out ahead.

"So you can actually do the math and figure out there's a threshold at which if I can make it this durable," says Ternus, "then it's better to have it a little bit harder to repair because it's going to net out ahead."

While the company advocates in favor of durability, third-party repairers are biased toward their Right to Repair. It all boils down to personal preference, but if the device is durable enough that it does not have to be repaired, it is a win for the company. However, since most devices feature a slab of glass on the front, inside, or back, repairers should have the right to demand easier repairability. We will share more details on Apple's stance, so be sure to stick around.

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