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Apple are a company founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. There was always a bit of a head in the clouds approach from Apple to designing things, but it seemed to work well until about the 2000's. Suddenly, there was an obsession with cutting excess weight, probably sparked about the time of the iPod, at the cost of repairability and upgradeability. Of course, the iPhone's launch would wind up staging the path of crafting the most popular consumer electronic device in the world, and smartphones now have become one of the most controversial to the right to repair community | {{Under_Development}} | ||
Apple are a company founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. There was always a bit of a head in the clouds approach from Apple to designing things, but it seemed to work well until about the 2000's. Suddenly, there was an obsession with cutting excess weight, probably sparked about the time of the iPod, at the cost of repairability and upgradeability. Of course, the iPhone's launch would wind up staging the path of crafting the most popular consumer electronic device in the world, and smartphones now have become one of the most controversial to the right to repair community. That is normally expected to be designed with little regard to ease of independent repair. <sup>Sources?</sup> | |||
=== 2010's === | === 2010's === | ||
Apple had numerous design failings in the 2010's, and these were often brushed under the rug | Apple had numerous design failings in the 2010's, and these were often brushed under the rug, and people experiencing such an issue would be normally charged exorbitant amounts for repair. High-cost GPU failures on early 2010's MacBooks, the 2016-'17 MacBook Pro's screen cable skimping scandal, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro's SSD failures and more are design flaws Apple have, as they have often, dodged accountability for and continue to do.<sup>Sources?</sup> | ||
==== Too little, too late - Attempts, or "Attempts" to do better ==== | ==== Too little, too late - Attempts, or "Attempts" to do better ==== | ||
Apple have attempted recent changes to their products that have made them better, but still not on par with some other manufacturers for pro-consumer behaviour. Many believe this to be driven by changing legislation. Certain parts of this, certainly are. This includes: | Apple have attempted recent changes to their products that have made them better, but still not on par with some other manufacturers for pro-consumer behaviour.<sup>Source?</sup> Many believe this to be driven by changing legislation.<sup>Who?</sup> Certain parts of this, certainly are.<sup>Source?</sup> This includes: | ||
* Opening an online "self service repair" parts store. | * Opening an online "self service repair" parts store.<sup>Source?</sup> | ||
* Making the back glass of iPhones removable. | * Making the back glass of iPhones removable.<sup>Source?</sup> | ||
* Allowing alternative app stores in an update to iOS 17, in compliance with new EU legislation. | * Allowing alternative app stores in an update to iOS 17, in compliance with new EU legislation.<sup>Source?</sup> | ||
* Calibration tools for newly installed used parts in iOS 18, which sometimes work. | * Calibration tools for newly installed used parts in iOS 18, which sometimes work.<sup>Source?</sup> | ||
* An upgradeable, swappable SSD in the 2024 Mac Mini - albeit you cannot swap these units between M4 and M4 Pro units due to the internal casing's design being different without much good reason. | * An upgradeable, swappable SSD in the 2024 Mac Mini - albeit you cannot swap these units between M4 and M4 Pro units due to the internal casing's design being different without much good reason.<sup>Sources?</sup> | ||
* A battery removable with just a 9V battery in the 2024 iPhone 16 and 16 Plus. | * A battery removable with just a 9V battery in the 2024 iPhone 16 and 16 Plus.<sup>Source?</sup> | ||
==== OS downgrades ==== | |||
It is not possible to upgrade or downgrade an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, etc. to an OS version other than the absolute latest. On Macs with T2 chip or Apple Silicon, the user can select from three modes of secure boot:<ref>https://support.apple.com/102522</ref> | |||
* No security: Allow any OS to run (same as turning off secure boot on a PC) | |||
* Medium security: Allow any OS that is signed with a secure boot certificate (default, same as turning on secure boot on a PC) | |||
* Full security: Only allow the latest version of macOS, do not allow any other OS | |||
iOS devices only support full security mode. The device checks for a cryptographic "[https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/APTicket ticket]", which are tied to the OS version and CPU serial number. These are provided by a server, which only provides them for the latest version (with very specific exceptions). The device refuses to boot if the ticket does not match. [https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/Firmware_downgrading Workarounds] exist, but with major caveats that are not viable for most users.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SHSH_blob</ref> | |||
Users often complain of new OS versions slowing down their device. Once a new version is installed, there is no opportunity to go back. This also restricts the user's choice to jailbreak the device, as the latest version naturally has patches for the latest jailbreak exploits. App developers also require access to earlier iOS versions to test that their app works correctly. The alternative, Xcode's iOS Simulator, is not a complete replacement for real hardware, as it does not have all features of a physical device.<ref>https://contextqa.com/test-on-ios-emulators-simulators/</ref> Instead, app developers are forced to purchase several test devices, and remember to ''never'' allow them to update. | |||
== References == | |||
<references /> | |||
[[Category:Companies]] | |||
Latest revision as of 14:42, 15 January 2025
Apple are a company founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. There was always a bit of a head in the clouds approach from Apple to designing things, but it seemed to work well until about the 2000's. Suddenly, there was an obsession with cutting excess weight, probably sparked about the time of the iPod, at the cost of repairability and upgradeability. Of course, the iPhone's launch would wind up staging the path of crafting the most popular consumer electronic device in the world, and smartphones now have become one of the most controversial to the right to repair community. That is normally expected to be designed with little regard to ease of independent repair. Sources?
2010's[edit | edit source]
Apple had numerous design failings in the 2010's, and these were often brushed under the rug, and people experiencing such an issue would be normally charged exorbitant amounts for repair. High-cost GPU failures on early 2010's MacBooks, the 2016-'17 MacBook Pro's screen cable skimping scandal, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro's SSD failures and more are design flaws Apple have, as they have often, dodged accountability for and continue to do.Sources?
Too little, too late - Attempts, or "Attempts" to do better[edit | edit source]
Apple have attempted recent changes to their products that have made them better, but still not on par with some other manufacturers for pro-consumer behaviour.Source? Many believe this to be driven by changing legislation.Who? Certain parts of this, certainly are.Source? This includes:
- Opening an online "self service repair" parts store.Source?
- Making the back glass of iPhones removable.Source?
- Allowing alternative app stores in an update to iOS 17, in compliance with new EU legislation.Source?
- Calibration tools for newly installed used parts in iOS 18, which sometimes work.Source?
- An upgradeable, swappable SSD in the 2024 Mac Mini - albeit you cannot swap these units between M4 and M4 Pro units due to the internal casing's design being different without much good reason.Sources?
- A battery removable with just a 9V battery in the 2024 iPhone 16 and 16 Plus.Source?
OS downgrades[edit | edit source]
It is not possible to upgrade or downgrade an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, etc. to an OS version other than the absolute latest. On Macs with T2 chip or Apple Silicon, the user can select from three modes of secure boot:[1]
- No security: Allow any OS to run (same as turning off secure boot on a PC)
- Medium security: Allow any OS that is signed with a secure boot certificate (default, same as turning on secure boot on a PC)
- Full security: Only allow the latest version of macOS, do not allow any other OS
iOS devices only support full security mode. The device checks for a cryptographic "ticket", which are tied to the OS version and CPU serial number. These are provided by a server, which only provides them for the latest version (with very specific exceptions). The device refuses to boot if the ticket does not match. Workarounds exist, but with major caveats that are not viable for most users.[2]
Users often complain of new OS versions slowing down their device. Once a new version is installed, there is no opportunity to go back. This also restricts the user's choice to jailbreak the device, as the latest version naturally has patches for the latest jailbreak exploits. App developers also require access to earlier iOS versions to test that their app works correctly. The alternative, Xcode's iOS Simulator, is not a complete replacement for real hardware, as it does not have all features of a physical device.[3] Instead, app developers are forced to purchase several test devices, and remember to never allow them to update.
