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Comment by newfocogi | Hacker News Reader

It was interesting to hear apple state that one of their goals for building products was to make them last longer in order to minimize waste. People often accuse hardware manufacturers, including apple, of intentional obsolescence. I am interested to see if they actually change anything about their process, software and hardware, to put any weight behind this claim, or if it is just marketing doublespeak.

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Besides customer satisfaction it is about maximizing customer lifetime per device sold. Sell a device that lasts 2-3 years and maybe you have a repeat customer. Sell a device that lasts 4-5 years you have a happy initial customer who will repeat buy. More importantly you have someone who got a phone passed down/bought used who is recruited into the Apple ecosystem and may spend on services.

For anyone who wants to dig deeper, Asymco has regularly discussed the life-spans and growth of the Apple eco-system. Latest related post: http://www.asymco.com/2018/03/01/determining-the-average-app...

> I am interested to see if they actually change anything about their process, software and hardware, to put any weight behind this claim, or if it is just marketing doublespeak.

In the same section she said they were already using recycled tin in the control boards, and their recycling programme had been improved too.

To be honest the sustainability part was the most impressive of the whole keynote, and is a reason I'll continue to be a loyal Apple customer.

Here's one example, Apple will still repair the iPhone 4 which started selling in 2010 and was discontinued in 2013.

https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/service

No, this page is a lie. apple will not repair 4, they will sell you replacement 4 (all data you might had on yours is gone).

Has it ever really been marketing doublespeak? AFAIK, Apple keeps their devices updated longer than any other hardware manufacturer.

Yes and no.

I have a MacBook pro with full ports. It should last me a while (like a tank). But Windows has generally been far better about supporting older hardware (though MS isn't generally thought of as a hardware... )

My coworker needed a new battery for her Air as it wasn't keeping power long enough for her teaching (it wouldn't make it through her lecture). Apple labeled her machine "vintage" so no official battery replacement available. She was not happy.

Making components non-upgradeable also lowers serviceable life.

They're better at supporting iOS devices, though I have a iPad1 and a iphone4S.

Hopefully this new initiative will help.

same was true about desks in the iMac days, I was shocked that even crippled iMacs could run the latest OS X years after the fact without being unusable (slow but usable).

I think the biggest thing they could do to make their products last longer is replaceable batteries. My iPhone 6S Plus was given a new life when I replaced its battery. I did this officially, but only because there was a massive discount (£100 -> £30). Newer iPhones battery replacements cost even more especially outside warranty.

When was the last time you replaced an iPhone because a metal bracket snapped or something like that? Hard to really keep them accountable on this because of the large lead times involved in assessing the long term durability of their products, so they can just claim whatever they want about it with impunity.

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