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Apple is taking its secret iPhone repair machines to 25 countries
Apple is further loosening its grip on tricky iPhone repairs and allowing owners to get their devices fixed at a place other than the Apple Store, Reuters reports. According to the news agency, the company intends to install its fabled "Horizon" machines in about 400 external repair centers across 25 countries by the end of the year in order to reduce waiting times for screen replacements and other iPhone-related issues.
Apple offers its iPhone repair tools to third-party shops
You can get your iPhone fixed at third party shops, but it's clear that they play second fiddle to Apple Stores when they don't have access to Cupertino's specialized tools. However, it looks like Apple is leveling the playing field: the company is running a pilot program that hands out its iPhone calibration machine to three authorized service providers. The tool verifies that the 3D Touch and multi-touch in newer iPhones (6s and up) meets Apple's standards after a repair, so you won't have to worry about an imperfect fix. It's relatively fast, too -- the entire verification process takes 15 minutes.
Tech companies are trying to crush mom-and-pop repair shops
If you've ever wondered why nobody other than Apple is officially licensed to fix your iPhone, it's because the device titan has locked out everyone else from accessing manuals or spare parts. This pushes small electronics shops to buy used or counterfeit parts of dubious quality. But back in January, five states introduced "right to repair" bills that would force Apple and other device manufacturers to give the public access to proper instructions and components. Surprising no one, tech titans have been lobbying to kill those bills in at least two of those states.
Right to Repair bills introduced in five states
Anyone with a cracked iPhone screen knows what a pain it is to go through Apple to get it repaired. You have to make a Genius Bar appointment, which may or may not still require you to wait around for a service technician. Then it could be hours before you get your precious back into your possession. Or, you could use one of the repair kiosks found in nearly every mall in the United States and be back in business in about 45 minutes.
Fairphone's easy-to-fix handset relaunched with a slim cover
Most smartphones are doomed to the scrap heap several years after they're new, because glued and soldered parts make them too pricey to repair. With the modular Fairphone 2 handset, on the other hand, you can replace the screen in a minute without tools, and other modules can be swapped with a screwdriver. In fact, iFixit gave the device a perfect 10 for repairability. The company behind it has refreshed the device, and released its first replaceable component: the cover
AT&T's insurance plan will soon repair busted phone screens
If you have insurance on your phone and smash the ever-loving tar out of the screen, you normally have to file a claim, pay a deductible and wait for a replacement device. Bleh. AT&T and its insurance provider Asurion, however, are trying something a little different. As of November 15, people paying to insure their phones can shell out $89 to -- schedule permitting -- have a technician repair that display that very day.
Ben Heck powers on the Nintendo PlayStation's CD drive
When we got our hands on the legendary "Nintendo PlayStation" prototype last November, the device worked fine as a Sony-branded SNES console sans audio, whereas its CD drive -- the part that eventually led to the birth of the PlayStation -- failed to be recognized by the system. The device has since been handed over to renowned modder Ben Heck, who has just revealed that he finally got the CD drive to power up. First of all, Ben cleaned the contact pins on the Super Disc driver cartridge to get its 256KB of extension RAM talking to the console, then he removed one of the mod wires on the logic board, which got the CD drive to make a ticking noise and even pulling its tray back in.
McLaren uses 20-year-old laptops to maintain its first supercar
You've no doubt heard of organizations clinging to ancient technology to keep their businesses running, but probably nothing like this. A Jalopnik tour has shown that McLaren relies on a roughly 20-year-old laptop, a variant of Compaq's LTE 5280, to maintain its classic F1 supercar. Simply put, the automaker made the mistake of chaining itself to very specific technology: it needs a custom card in the computer to interface with the F1 and find out what's wrong. That's crucial to buyers who may have spent millions and would rather not see their vehicular pride and joy become a giant paperweight.
Leaked Apple support app could save you a trip to the store
The Genius Bars in Apple's retail stores are supposed to be convenient ways to answer questions and get repairs, but the ever-growing deluge of customers sometimes makes it a pain. Ever waited 20 minutes just to get a Lightning cable replaced? Well, the Cupertino crew may have a clever way to speed up that wait time... and in some cases, save you a trip altogether. Both uSwitch and leaker Sonny Dickson understand that Apple is working on a support app for iOS that would help you get the fix you need. The app would narrow down the cause of your problem by asking questions, and offer chances to contact support, book a Genius Bar appointment or (if it's a relatively minor issue) fix it yourself through how-to guides. Think of it as Apple's support website distilled into a simpler, more powerful form.
Apple will fix your MacBook's worn-out display coating
The Retina display on your MacBook or MacBook Pro is supposed to look gorgeous. However, some owners have encountered just the opposite -- the screen's anti-reflective coating is wearing out quickly due to pressure or stains, leaving them with an unsightly laptop (and in some cases, a repair bill). Relief is in sight, though. MacRumors understands that Apple has quietly launched a program that will replace the screens on Retina-equipped MacBook and MacBook Pro models for free until either October 16th, 2016 or three years from when you bought your system, whichever is longer. You'll get compensation if you've already had to pay for a fix. Apple reportedly won't advertise this program like it does in other cases, but that's fine as long as it keeps your premium computer looking pristine. [Image credit: Cody Yuwapun, Change.org]
A peek inside the new iPad Mini 4 reveals how it got so thin
The super-sized iPad Pro may have been the star of last week's festivities, but what about the iPad Mini 4? It brings the first major update to the line in a couple of years, and of course, the folks at iFixit wasted no time cracking one open. The spec sheet showed it's both thinner and lighter than the version it's replacing, and now we know what had to change to make that happen. First, the battery is a little smaller, at 5124mAh compared to the iPad Mini 3's 6471mAh. It's still rated for the same 10 hour runtime by Apple, but worth considering if you're looking to upgrade. It also has a fused, fully laminated display that helps a lot with weight, but could it make it more expensive to replace if it breaks. Whether you're considering its DIY potential or just curious about exposed wiring, check out the full teardown to see what's hiding within.
Apple's iPod Touch shows its muscle in iFixit teardown
If you want everything Apple's iPhone can do except the "phone" part, the $400 cheaper 6th-gen iPod Touch is for you. It even has the iPhone 6's A8 chip, albeit running a tad slower. The iFixit team has taken the 4-inch device apart to view its guts and see whether Joe Shmoe could fix it with the right tools. Its findings? The Touch has a pretty nice camera for a music player, but lacks the iPhone's image stabilization and has a slightly slower f/2.4 iris. It's also missing the pricier sibling's touch sensor, but otherwise shares a surprising number of parts. And if it breaks? Unless you're prepared to heat, tweeze and pry, you'd best leave the fixing to Apple.
LG's Watch Urbane bucks the trend of hard-to-fix wearables
Think that smartwatches are tough to fix by their very nature? LG is seemingly determined to prove otherwise. The repair-it-yourself team at iFixit has finished tearing down the Watch Urbane, and it turns out that this Android Wear timepiece is surprisingly easy to maintain. You'll have to unstick the glued back, but it's usually a cakewalk after that -- there's little stopping you from pulling out the motherboard or the battery. The biggest challenge is replacing the display, which is fused to the glass. No, you probably won't need to pry apart your Urbane any time soon, but it's good to know that the wearable won't be reduced to a ritzy-looking paperweight if it breaks when you're out of warranty.
Apple's extra-slim MacBook is near impossible to fix yourself
It's already evident that most Apple computers aren't designed with do-it-yourself repairs in mind, but the new MacBook takes that inaccessibility to a new level. The crew at iFixit has torn down the ultra-slim machine, and it's clear that Apple took away a lot of repair options in its quest to squeeze everything into such a compact metal shell. The giant battery is glued firmly to the case, while the processor, memory and storage are all soldered to the tiny motherboard. Even the lone USB port is buried under other components, so it won't be easy to replace if it breaks. The findings aren't completely shocking -- Apple is treating the MacBook more as a high-powered iPad than a conventional computer, and designed the system accordingly. Still, you'll want to look elsewhere if you insist on fixing or upgrading PCs at home.
Apple will fix your older MacBook Pro's video problems for free
Did you snag a MacBook Pro before 2014 only to run into corrupted video, no video at all or spontaneous reboots? You won't have to shell out for a fix if you're out of warranty. After more than a year of reports, Apple is launching a repair program that will mend your laptop for free if its graphics are going haywire. You're covered so long as you bought a 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro between early 2011 and the end of 2013, including the first two generations of Retina models. The program will be available as of February 20th if you're in the US or Canada, and a week later in the rest of the world. Only a "small percentage" of systems are affected, Apple says, but it won't hurt to check coverage even if everything is hunky dory.
Dell's XPS 13 is easy to fix despite its size
Give Dell's XPS 13 a cursory glance and you might think that it would be a nightmare to fix. You'd surely have to get a specialist to look at something so densely packed, wouldn't you? Not so fast. The repair-it-yourself advocates at iFixit have torn down the new XPS, and it turns out that this compact Ultrabook is surprisingly easy to maintain if you're willing to put in a little elbow grease. About the only showstopper (as on many super-thin laptops) is the soldered-on RAM -- virtually every other part is easy to replace, and Dell helps you out by posting service manuals and labeling connectors. Even the signature near-borderless display isn't as hard to take apart as you'd imagine. Whether or not you like the XPS 13 when it's fully assembled, this teardown shows that ultraportables can still be DIY-friendly.
Apple patented a self-repairing material, because of course they did
Just days after LG's G Flex phone showed off its ability to heal from minor scratches and scuffs, a similar patent has surfaced that shows Apple's take on such a feature. The patent, which was filed in 2014 and published this week, describes a method of "reducing appearance of physical damage on cosmetic surfaces," which sounds like a pretty spot-on description of what LG's G Flex phone does. The surface treatment described in the patent would fill in scratches automatically whenever light physical damage occurs, reducing the visibility of scratches and gouges over a short period of time. Such a treatment would of course be perfectly at home on an iOS device, as scratches and scuffs are always a giant pain in the rear end when they show up on your pricey smartphone or tablet, but we'll have to wait and see if Apple intends on actually implementing such a feature in the future.
Learning circuits and programming with the Geek Squad
If you're ever made a gadget purchase at Best Buy, you've likely heard of the Geek Squad: the retailer's in-house fleet of tech support and repair specialists. Well, helping with your hard drive issues isn't all they do. Here at Expand NY, the crew is showing off some of the tools used at Geek Squad Academy events where kids can learn about technology -- from circuits to programming and more. Being the type to roll up our sleeves, we headed over to take a look. Jump down after the break to take a look at the banana-powered piano and video game controlled with a pair of watermelons.
See what makes the iPad Air 2 so skinny
It's safe to say that you don't buy most Apple devices these days with the expectation that you can open them up, and it looks like the iPad Air 2 is no exception. Do-it-yourself repair shop iFixit has torn down the new tablet and found that it's even tougher (or at least, more expensive) to fix than its predecessor in a few respects. That bonded display may be great for cutting back on reflections, but it increases the risk of breaking the panel when you're prying things open -- and it'll cost more to replace if you do break it, since you can't separate the glass from the LCD. Problems from last year persist, too, such as the use of glue to hold seemingly everything together instead of clips or screws. Another change from its predecessor is the battery -- the 27.62 Wh unit is smaller than the original Air's 32.9 Wh capacity, although a more efficient design should keep battery life close between the two. Is any of this a deal breaker if you're set on getting an extra-slim iPad? Probably not, but it's something to consider if you normally prefer to fix gadgets at home instead of taking them back to the store.
Water isn't always the kiss of death for an iPhone
Water and technology don't mix. If you drop your iPhone in a lake, pond, toilet, or martini, there's a fantastic chance it will end up being completely destroyed. Many of the little electrical bits inside the device don't take kindly to be drenched, especially if it leads to a short. However, as Rob Griffiths of Macworld discovered, sometimes all is not lost. His story on the premature death, rescue, autopsy, and unlikely resurrection of his iPhone 5 is definitely worth a read in its entirety, but if you're too pressed for time, at least take this small tidbit of information with you: Complete disassembly and a thorough blasting with compressed air can be the magic touch. Also, it helps if you drop your phone took a bath in fresh water, as opposed to the ocean. Saltwater is infinitely more deadly for an unprotected smartphone, so keep that in mind. [Photo credit: TeppoTK]
