On Friday at Macworld 2011,iFixitCEO Kyle Wiens give an hour - long presentation centering on his companionship ’s penchant for taking gadgets apart . iFixit , of course , break up pretty much every new Apple product , down to its innermost parts ( like the iPad , theiPhone 4 , and theApple TV)—and , more impressively , is usually able to put those machine back together again , too .
As Wiens explained , iFixit began as a parts company . The company sells more Apple parts than anyone besides Apple — and Apple only sells parts to authorized resellers . But iFixit quickly realise that simply selling parts was n’t enough ; you need to get laid what to do with the new part once you have it .
Wiens highlight iFixit ’s obsessions with get new Apple gizmos first ( admit flying an employee to New Zealand , where the iPhone 3 G first went on sales agreement ) , and ripping them apart as apace as possible . They calculate for screws first , which have gotten tougher and problematical to find on Apple products these days , often leave them with no recourse but to pry hardware apart at the crease . “ There ’s always a small bit of tension , a petty bit of fear , ” Wiens say , as the society essay to get into new devices — but they “ almost never ” break things .
As Wiens spoke , iFixit co - beginner Luke Soules disassembled an 11 - inch MacBookAir exist on stage . The full mental process adopt him just shy of nine minute . The tools Soules used are standard weapons in the iFixit arsenal : various screwdrivers , torques , and a spudger . ( The spudger , this newsman learned , is a equipment Apple also refers to as a “ black stick . ” It ’s a plastic pry bar puppet , which means you could safely utilise it without messing with electronics , and it should n’t leave marks . )
Weins pointed out several cunning model of Apple ’s engineering design . One was the iPad ’s Wi - Fi feeler placement : it ’s embedded in the Apple logotype on the arse of the machine , where the rear metal plate and front glass screen should n’t step in with reception . Another was the canny , form - fit battery that Apple uses in all its newer portable devices like the MacBook Air and the iPad .
But iFixit does n’t just rive apart Apple products for the nip factor . “ We do teardowns primarily to expose repairability , ” Weins sound out . “ We want to get laid , ‘ What ’s deep down ? Am I fit to be able-bodied to set it if it breaks ? ’ ” He hopes that by canvas teardowns before purchasing , prudent customer might prefer to forego , say , the New iPod make . When your shuffle ’s bombardment die , Apple will supplant it for — hold off for it—$49 . That ’s because the shuffle really is n’t user - serviceable , and even Apple ca n’t really supersede the battery , Weins say . or else , he suggested buyer might prefer the much easier - to - mend iPod touch .
Of course , “ easier - to - hangout ” is in the eye of the repairer . distinctly , breaking apart your pricey electronics is right for some citizenry , and not so right for others . You need unwavering hand — and steady nervousness — to undertake such operating room .
Weins did in brief mention “ Pentalobegate , ” reiterate iFixit ’s stance that Apple ’s finish in moving to the rarer screw head is to keep customers from getting into their own equipment . He also reiterated that iFixit just so encounter to sell a kit that includes incisively the tool you ’ll want to murder those Pentalobular screws .
As he ended the presentation , Weins said iFixit ’s eventual goal is to create “ a free , open - source repair manual for everything in the globe … [ Our ] focus at the end of the twenty-four hours is to make thing wreak longer . ”
