I had all the time in world for customization when I was in middle school. Now I just want something that works.

Luckily, you can pay other people to do that. Apple prevents a customer from getting their own device repaired at a reputable repair shop of their choice.

Isn’t that the entire point of the article is that Apple is allowing repairs at “reputable shops”. And how do you “choose” a reputable shop without knowing where the parts come from?

The 'article', if we are to be charitable here, is simply a press release. There is no substance to it, and we'll have to wait to see what parts they actually provide.

>And how do you “choose” a reputable shop without knowing where the parts come from?

You do it either based on brand, word-of-mouth, recommendations, online reviews, or a number of other ways people have been using to find reputable service centers for decades. People who came before us fought hard and we have established a precedent for repair in many many industries so that companies like Apple are not able to rip us off by denying right to repair, and denying legitimate repair shops the ability to purchase legitimate parts.

Online reviews are never fraudulent and people actually re disassemble the phone to know whether the parts are quality.

People who came before us fought hard and we have established a precedent for repair in many many industries

It’s a phone where you might save $20. It’s not like it’s the right to vote....

so that companies like Apple are not able to rip us off by denying right to repair, and denying legitimate repair shops the ability to purchase legitimate parts.

And when Apple doesn’t approve a repair shop there will be another uproar about Apple “gatekeeping” repair shops....

>It’s a phone where you might save $20. It’s not like it’s the right to vote....

You can thank them the next time you get your car fixed without buying a new car.

>And when Apple doesn’t approve a repair shop there will be another uproar about Apple “gatekeeping” repair shops....

We don't want them to approve anything. The iPhone isn't some magical unicorn. Its a box that contains components purchased from suppliers around the world. Apple forces the suppliers to not provide parts to repair shops. They use DRM in random components that have nothing to do with security so that repair shops doing basic repair have to beg Apple to "activate" the new components.

So do you really want a random supplier installing the Secure Enclave that verifies your biometric Data and ensures a secure wipe and encrypts your user data?

Have you ever had a repaired phone with a faulty touch screen?

Err.. even on my PC with a TPM chip that has biometric data, I can replace the RAM, GPU, CPU or any other component without a problem. People need to think critically with a technical mind, instead of simply accepting Apples fairytales.

But all that aside, people are free to repurchase a new phone or get the entire motherboard replaced when a $0.50 component fails on their phone. I and many others prefer to repair it and save money. And not to mention .. reduce the e-waste burden on our planet as a bonus.

So now you want Apple to design their system on a chip where the gpu and cpu can be replaced separately?

Where can I buy an off the shelf Apple designed Ax chip?

That is ridiculous. Nobody said that. Sorry, this conversation is no longer productive for either of us. I prefer to have more rights, and not less, for the consumer. You can make up your own mind. Good bye and have a nice day.

That’s the entire point. As Apple integrates more stuff, by its nature it’s harder to replace. Ifixit was even bemoaning when it was harder to replace the screen when the pixels were fused to the glass around 2010. Soon, the cellular radio will probably be a part of the SOC along with the processor and GPU when Apple’s acquisition of Intel’s modem division starts to see results.

We are already seeing third party suppliers with shoddy screens that don’t work as well and battery replacements that lie about their lifecycle.

If you really want to use the car analogy as others have, how easy is it to get third party repairs for high end cars or Tesla’s?