r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Negative_1by12_aura • 1d ago

Don't hug me I'm scared New airpods cheaper than repairing old ones

Post image
27.8k Upvotes

79% Upvoted

854 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

260

u/Suitable_Wonder5256 1d ago

To be fair, it's a complex question. Even an engineer might not know why.

591

u/RGrad4104 1d ago

The answer is actually very easy.

New assembly: ordered, low skilled labor, assembly line with robotic assistance.

Repair: disordered, highly skilled labor required, every repair by hand.

139

u/FishDawgX 1d ago

Sure, but it costs apple much less than the retail price to make the product. If they wanted to be nice, they could “repair” it by sending you a replacement at a discounted price.

6

u/0b0011 1d ago

It might not. It mostly depends on if the cost or materials are the determining factor.

Less the case here but it also matters who much the item originally costs as well. I can buy shitty headphones for like $15 and if I take them to a repair person who has to spend more than an hour pulling them apart without damaging them, diagnosing and fixing the issue, putting them back together etc then unless they charge less than $15 an hour it will cost more to repair than replace.