iFixit publishes teardown of M1 iMac, shows that making a determination of repairability is still hard

We’ve crossed the point where teardowns of Apple’s computers cease to be a genuine assessment of fixability, and become an intellectual exercise into seeing how they’re built. iFixit’s preliminary teardown of the 24-inch M1 iMac is a good example of this. As expected, it’s just as unservicable as all the other M1 Macs, with …

[Version 1.0]

Where are the old teardowns?

Maybe I should publish a teardown of some of my old IMSAI and Altair systems, easy to do - just pull the cover off and swap one, or occasionally two, of the S-100 boards if necessary to get them up and running again although occasionally adding an extra wire to the front panel helped.

[tip pc]

Re: Where are the old teardowns?

How much solder did they apply to the discrete components on the oats and where you encouraged to repair boards yourself from spare components from other boards?

[Gene Cash]

Re: Where are the old teardowns?

Well, for the S100 systems I used in my first job, "yellow wire" repairs (bugfixes) were something the owners were encouraged to implement. These were usually a wire or two soldered in, or a resistor clipped or replaced. Once it was replacing a hex buffer chip with a faster one.

[The Man Who Fell To Earth]

e-waste

The real thing people should be going after electronics like Macs is how recyclable they are. I don't necessarily mean component removal. If grinding the thing up and treating it as ore is an environmentally great way to recycle it, so be it. But most of this stuff just eventually ends up in a open dump fill in places like Ghana.

[Oh Matron!]

Re: e-waste

What most peeps don't know is that any electrical seller is obliged to take your e-waste and recycle accordingly. ANY e-waste. You could waltz up to PCCurriesWorld with a chest freezer and expect them to take it off your hands

[Eclectic Man]

Re: e-waste

I believe that in the UK the seller is legally allowed to refer you to a recycling plant rather than necessarily take the equipment back. So for anything involving refrigeration fluids, your local household waste management site should be the first port of call, although I'm not sure where I should take my now defunct Dyson vacuum cleaner, but there is an 'electronics' section at my local establishment.

[Ace2]

Re: e-waste

You could try that but…

Here in the US, supermarkets have plastic-bag collection bins by the front door. (Not sure if they’re legally mandated or not).

Having watched them being emptied a few times, I’m pretty sure the bags go straight into the dumpster.

[fidodogbreath]

Re: e-waste

Sadly, for a variety of reasons that's the case with a lot of US 'recycling' -- including curbside pickup in many areas.

[Stuart Halliday]

Re: e-waste

Not true.

Maplin for example paid a fee to be exempt from this.

[Dan 55]

Re: e-waste

But then they'd send it to somewhere in the developing world that claims it recycles everything for thruppence ha'penny and as far as they're concerned job done.

Shipping e-waste around the world and burying it there defeats the point. If the UK is not going to bother recycling its own waste, there has to be some kind of legally mandated verification at the other end as to what actually happens to it.

[Jon4tina]

Alienating Rural Customers

Having a repair shop I’m obviously for right to repair. The thing that never gets mentioned is the sheer inconvenience for people in rural locations. Here in the uk apple will accept phone repairs via post which will mean your without a phone for a while. As for iMacs and MacBooks you need to go to an apple store. Our nearest is a 3 hour drive, obviously they won’t fix a big problem there and then so you’ll have to go back another day. They also have the same opening hours as most people work so that’s 12 hours driving, two days off work and most likely a hefty bill for the privilege. I’ve been advising all my customers to stay well clear of the latest apple hardware, as much as I like it and really want it.

[gerryg]

Re: Alienating Rural Customers

About a million years ago I remember a Tesco manager bemoaning the free pass that M&S got if e.g., they didn't have any tomatoes left "I should have got there earlier" whereas a Tesco manager would be lynched.

Apple seem to get the same free pass for reasons that escape me. They're not cheap and you only get what they want you to have. So no repairability except at Apple rates and at their convenience.

So if you live in a remote spot and you want buy Apple you need to remember where you live.

[Bitsminer]

Teardown yes, but un-teardown?

The key question: does it work properly when they put it back together?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Anonymous Coward]

Value versus cost versus cachet

Be careful what you wish for kids.

[Gonzo wizard]

Sigh...

They should cut to the chase and make every product case look like a brick. Dusty red with no servicable parts inside.

[Dan 55]

Re: Sigh...

The new iMac is ahead of you, that's one of the colours. But rest assured whatever colour you choose, none of them have user-serviceable parts inside.