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I suppose the question is how long will parts be available? They’re starting with recent iPhones and MacBooks. Will the parts still be orderable 10 years from now, when it’s most likely these devices will need to be repaired?

Auto manufactures legally have to make parts available for 10-20 years due to recall potential. I used to work at a manufacturing plant that made auto parts and sold them to Ford and Chrysler. The big motor companies HATED this because it cost them so much money to pay manufacturers to make 10 year old parts. It was almost always a net loss for them.

So will there be legal requirements for apple to continue making parts available, even if it’s a net loss?



Even Apple themselves don't support a 10-year-old laptop. I think it'll be available until the product is marked obsolete by Apple's definition:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624


The big motor companies HATED this because it cost them so much money to pay manufacturers to make 10 year old parts.

Maybe that's why some parts haven't changed in several decades. IMHO that's a good thing.


First of all, it is vastly more likely that a car will still be in active use after 10 years than a computer, let alone a phone.

Second of all, if a 10-year-old computer crashes and burns, its user loses some data. If a 10-year-old car crashes and burns, it *crashes and burns*. Its owners' and other people's lives are at risk.

Suggesting that computers (and related devices) should be subject to the same kinds of regulations doesn't have much of a solid foundation without the same dangers.




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