HomePod Repairs Cost Almost as Much as a New HomePod (theverge.com)

This may not come as a huge surprise, but it's going to be pricey if you break Apple's fully sealed and densely packed new speaker. From a report: Repair pricing for the HomePod was posted to Apple's website this week, and the number is high enough that it's clear you should invest in a warranty if you're worried about breaking one: an out-of-warranty repair from Apple will cost $279 in the US, which is 80 percent of the price of a brand-new HomePod. So you're not so much repairing it as getting a small discount on a new one.

Comments

Please explain to me ...

[Alain Williams]

why there is a fixed price to the repair. Surely the cost of repair depends on what is wrong, so I can only suppose that the charge for repair has a lot of profit baked in.Yes: I understand that repair will include a charge for labour, but it was put together in the first place. All the more reason for 'right to repair' legislation that forces a vendor to provide spare parts.

Re:Please explain to me ...

[OrangeTide]

Repair is a fixed price because the factors in "repair" are always the same.
1. support call and approval of "repair"
2. shipment of a refurbish unit from inventory
3. recovery - added to refurbished inventory

It's unlikely that you get your same unit back from any sort of business like this. In some cases the unit may be opened up and the main board(s) are swapped out. In other cases the unit is put into a recovery pile and customer receives an equivalent refurbished unit. This is usually the case for warrant service, but it can happen in cases where customer is paying for repair.

Re:Please explain to me ...

[Zocalo]

Most likely reason, given the fixed price? Because they know it's not viable to repair the thing and they're planning to simply replace any faulty units at cost - including any admin/diagnostic/handling fees, etc. - so the price of doing so is pretty much a constant. I'm fully expecting this to set a new low on repairability when iFixit does their inevitable teardown. Ease of repair, or even a reasonable capability to recycle, electronics has taken a back style to looks for a long while now and this is just the next step along that path. Besides, there's still plenty of places to use for landfills for all the faulty electronics that it's not economical to repair, right? Just as long as it's not in *my* backyard, of course.

"Right to Repair" can't come soon enough in my view, but I just don't see much support from Trump's government or the Democrats in the states where Apple, etc. are based, and the lobbying opposing it from the consumer electronics companies is likely to be fierce too. The EU might get something passed, however, at which point it's going to be interesting to see whether Apple et al apply that globally to retain economies of scale, or take the path of EU-specific models that can be repaired.

Re: Please explain to me ...

[DontBeAMoran]

They don't ship them individually, they just fill a couple shipping containers and send them to some shithole 3rd world factory where the workers get paid a nickle a day. In the end, they make a huge profit.

Do they really? Let's look at the raw numbers. According to the United States Mint, a nickle weights exactly five grams.

According to a search on Google, Foxconn assembly-line workers will make as much as $400 a month, based on location and passing a probationary period. That's for 160 working hours a month, so the hourly pay is about $2.50.

According to the same search, Foxconn has 1,000,000 workers.

To make $400 you need 8000 nickels. Multiplied by 12 months, that's 96000 nickels per worker per year, multiply by 1,000,000 workers and you get 96000000000 nickels. Multiplied by 5 grams equals 480000000000 grams, or 480000000 kilograms, or 480000 metric tonnes.

I don't know which shipping company you're using, but I know that sending 480 thousand metric tonnes to China every year can't be cheap.

Re:You probably get a new one anyway

[Anonymous Coward]

Bullshit. They fix it at a cost of $30-$50 and send you a bill for $279. This is the business plan that has made them the richest company on planet Earth.

Every story about Apple I read...

[Hallux-F-Sinister]

... is an advertisement for why not to buy anything from Apple. I am so sick and goddamned tired of their bullshit. I hope as many people as possible will help Apple be a better company by PUNISHING rather than rewarding misbehavior of this kind, by refusing to buy their products. When people ask why you would not consider buying whatever the latest, ludicrously overpriced gadget Apple is trying to force-feed you, just say, “because Apple has become a monster and I refuse to aid or abet them in their crimes against the people.” That is why I won’t buy anything from Apple anymore.

I am not surprised, motherfuckers.

[blind biker]

Apple's overarching policy is to discourage recycling at all costs. They even mandate recycling companies to destroy perfectly fine iPhones Macbooks.

I have to laugh at Apple fanbois (and sockpuppets) that claim Apple's ostensible green credentials. Truth is, there is no worse company in IT at the moment, than Apple. At least Microsoft doesn't explicitly order recycling companies to destroy their hardware - thought repairability of Surface and Surface laptops is abysmal and effectively nil. But at least they don't lay down the pretense as thickly as Apple does.

Re:You probably get a new one anyway

[DontBeAMoran]

It's as eco-friendly as their laptops with non-upgradable RAM.

How exactly would you damage one?

[tlambert]

How exactly would you damage one?

It's a lump.

It sits there looking lump-like.

Occasionally, you talk to it.

If it talks back, it's no longer just a lump: instead, it's a talking lump.

Mostly it just sits there.