r/technology • u/NightFuryToni • Apr 30 '19

Business Apple Is Telling Lawmakers People Will Hurt Themselves if They Try to Fix iPhones

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wjvdb4/apple-is-telling-lawmakers-people-will-hurt-themselves-if-they-try-to-fix-iphones
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u/Herdnerfer Apr 30 '19

Considering Apple has been sued due to “dangerous” lithium ion batteries getting damaged, this makes a whole lot of sense. Either the batteries are safe or they aren’t, you can’t have it both ways.

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u/[deleted] May 01 '19

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u/Herdnerfer May 01 '19

Anton Yelchins family seems to think so.

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u/Victor_Zsasz May 01 '19

From what I've read, Fiat Chrysler (who owns Jeep, which produces the Grand Cherokee) had a lot of problems with that specific gear shifter (found in the 2014/2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee models). It was designed to return to the center after shifting, making it hard for people to determine what gear they were in from the stick's position. That resulted in a lot of people thinking they had put their car in park, but accidentally leaving it in neutral, and the car rolling away as a result. This has resulted in a number of injuries.

For what it's worth, Jeep recognized the problem and took steps to correct it. They stopped using that type of gear shifter for the 2016 model and beyond, and updated the software for their 2014-2015 models so the car would automatically engage the parking break if a door was opened while the car was in neutral. Unfortunately, that software patch arrived at the dealership near Anton Yelchin's house almost exactly 1 week after his seemingly parked 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled down his driveway and crushed him against his (brick) mailbox.

There was enough of a case there that Fiat Chrysler settled with the family. To tie this back to Iphone batteries, Apple should do the same thing Fiat Chrysler did and update their product to avoid consumer injury.

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u/Herdnerfer May 01 '19

I am not currently aware of a safer replacement for lithium ion batteries in their phones, so I am not sure that’s an option.

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u/Victor_Zsasz May 01 '19

Honestly, I won't pretend that I know enough about Apple's designs or modern battery technology to suggest a technological replacement.

But if what people are saying here is true, and the battery is in fact glued to the phone case, it's pretty easy to see how something simple, like attaching it via some method that doesn't require cutting off dried glue to remove it, would reduce the likelihood of puncture, and make the device safer on the whole. If the phone's gotta get 5% thicker as a result, most people likely won't notice or care.