Read Apple’s 2020 Environmental Progress Report

Do you honestly believe that if Apple replaced their pentalobe and tri-wing screws on the inside of the phone with standard Phillips and Torx screws that it would ruin the beauty of an iPhone?

Are you aware that you can get the exact same size screws with different heads and it won’t change a thing about the phone’s design or durability?

Back when you only had to remove two screws to change a battery, iFixit used to include Phillips-head screws to replace the pentalobe screws. I can assure you (having done this procedure) that nobody can tell the difference without using a magnifying glass to inspect the screw heads.

2 Likes

Repairability is simply another design goal that Apple could have, but for the most part does not.

Some aspects of design are zero-sum—you can fit more batteries into a laptop and make it lighter if the batteries are not user-swappable—but many others, such as using obscure screws or relying on glue, are merely useful for preventing independent repair.

I can’t think of an excuse for obscure screws but using adhesives as a fastener instead of screws can help make devices lighter and smaller. In assembly, I bet it’s often faster and cheaper to apply adhesive than to install tiny screws.

1 Like

I’d pay for the extra assembly cost of a few more screws, and any minuscule weight/size gain, if I could replace the battery, screen, memory or any of a number of other things myself. I bought the item, I own it, I should be able to take the “risk” of repairing it myself.

https://www.ifixit.com/Right-to-Repair/Intro

1 Like

Fair point. I’d love to see close-up videos of how various things like iPhones and AirPods are manufactured. I’d think that adhesive would be tricky (well, sticky) to work with, but I’m sure people who design assembly lines have worked around such problems.