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For most of my life, I've been more than a fan of Apple, I've been a follower of Apple.
My first computer was a Macintosh 512Ke, released the year of my birth (1986), and I have been using Apple computers ever since.
One time, I was thrown out of a grade five clbad because my teacher had the nerve to suggest that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were working together to create the Mac. I was at this level of frankly embarrbading devotion to Apple (and a late apology to all who had to endure me).
So when I say that I leave the Apple computers, it looks a bit like leaving the church. But I am, and here is why.
How we got here
First of all, a little bit of history.
Previously, Apple, Inc. was the largest technology company in the world, as it was in the first half of 2018, according to Forbes, it was simply Apple Computer – a beloved technology company but often abused with a niche of hardcore fans – mostly artists, musicians and geeks of some persuasion.
In 1997, the company was "90 days out of business," according to the New York Times.
Then came the redemptive success of the iMac in 1998 with its famous Bondi blue color, followed by a cavalcade of candy-colored brothers.
Finally, in 2007, the iPhone arrived, ushering in the era of smartphones with a user-friendly appeal and ruthless marketing force. (This was not the first smartphone on the market, but it has transformed the industry, according to Recode.)
It's not me, it's you
In retrospect, 2007 was the beginning of the end for Apple and me, even as I continued to own iPhones, iPads and MacBook Pro for another decade.
The MacBook Air arrived in 2008, an ultra-thin, ultra-lightweight notebook that ushered in a whole era of design that is reflected in many laptops today, according to Gizmodo.
But this design resulted in a less desirable change: Air RAM, or computer memory, was soldered to the logic board (also called motherboard, or proverbial motor of a computer where live most of its key components), said Wired. . In addition, its battery was extremely difficult to replace, requiring special tools and the removal of 19 screws, according to the iFixit self-repairing website, which disbadembled the machine.
It was unusual. Upgrading your memory and replacing your battery have been some of the most common changes, even non-reducers, especially at the time.
The Air 2008 was a break with the convention that announced Apple's design choices for the next decade – far from consumers and for the benefit of its own Genius repair technicians.
Read more: I've had a hellish experience on the Apple Store – and it's clear that Apple's presence in retail poses big problems
The right to repair
At the time of the release of the air, Mac enthusiasts like me had given way to the non – evolving nature of the computer. After all, it was the thinnest notebook in the world! Concessions had to be made.
But the trend continued. Wired called Retina MacBook Pro 2012, "impossible to fix, impossible to handle, impossible to bear" for its welded and glued components. iFixit awarded Retina Pro 2012 its lowest score in terms of repairability, one in 10.
Apple's Pro line was previously aimed at users like me who wanted both power and scalability, but a quick look at iFixit's reparability scores list shows that once 2012 is over, Retina Pros and finally all Pro models plunged plunge among seven user-friendly. of 10 for the MacBook Pro early 2011, to never do better than two.
The trend continued. The 2016 MacBook Pro Touch Bar has RAM, hard drive, VRAM, and batteries that it was difficult, if not impossible, to change or repair, what Gizmodo called the "war of upgrades".
To get a glimpse of these developments – and to check that I was not doing molehills mountains – I spoke to Taylor Dixon, a dismantling engineer at iFixit. He confirmed my suspicions.
"If you look at the first Powerbooks and Power Macs that became the first Mac Pro, they were all incredibly modular," he said. "It's there that Apple derives its reputation of being so powerful and scalable."
The current MacBooks are different, Dixon said.
"What remains to be repaired is anything that is not connected to the logic board in one way or another," he said. "And a lot of things are incredibly difficult to do."
Broken Keyboards, Unkept Promises
Last summer, Apple announced that it would replace free damaged keyboards of its MacBook products since 2015, reported Wired. The newer, butterfly-style keyboards, which have been the subject of a public outcry among consumers, are known to be broken because particles can get stuck under the keys without a simple way of bringing them out.
You guessed it, the keyboard is also difficult, if not impossible, to repair by yourself.
T2: "The Terminator Chip & # 39;
The last nail in the proverbial coffin for me and Apple was the discovery in 2018 that the new Macs would include the Apple T2 chip, a processor that handles security features, including the type of spare parts allowed in the machine.
"It is very possible that the goal is to exercise greater control over who can perform the repairs by limiting access to parts," said iFixit's general manager, Kyle Wiens, at The Verge earlier this month. "It could be an attempt to conquer more market share from independent repair providers, or it could be a threat to keep their network authorized online." We simply do not know.
Even if the dismantling of the iFixit MacBook Air 2018 has successfully installed them on the machine without the T2 chip shutting it down, it would not necessarily prevent the company from shutting it down. # 39; future.
Dixon of iFixit raised the case of the iPhone 6, where users who repaired the home buttons on their iPhone suddenly found their phone off. Apple has finally restored the phone's features, but for many, the TouchID fingerprint feature has remained disabled, according to TechCrunch.
Read more: If you have an iPhone 6S or older, it's officially time to switch to a new phone.
Luxury products leave little room for geeks
The disillusionment with something you grew up with and loved is often a death of a thousand cuts.
"It's really easy to paint Apple in nasty," said Dixon. "I do not think it's necessarily up to us to say it." [the lack of repairability] is done by hostility or business ".
But what happens if being hostile is a good deal? Having to go to the Genius bar instead of repairing his computer at home and buying Apple-certified products instead of third-party products are definitely smart financial solutions for the company.
But I do not like to have things I can not tinker with or fix a little, both frugality and desire to create a little less waste in the world.
As Business Insider points out, Apple is becoming more and more a luxury brand. And luxury shoppers could be more comfortable with some planned obsolescence than this humble journalist.
Whatever it is, I am sure the $ 1 trillion tech company will not miss me.
Someone has recommendations for a good PC?
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