Apple Screwing with iPhone 5 Fasteners?
FEATURE
Courtesy BGR
Media Spotlight — “One of the more significant changes that could be coming to the next generation iPhone is a completely redesigned screw,” reports Bob Bhatnagar of iphonefaq.org.
A photo featured on BGR “shows a rendering of what is claimed to be an iPhone 5 assembly screw” with no known tools capable of turning the part and loosening the iPhone 5 chassis.
“The screw is completely asymmetric, unlike any bolt or screw seen before on mobile electronic hardware.”
While admitting the screw rendering could not be verified, Bhatnagar noted that if it is true, it wouldn’t be the first time the iconic computer company “sought to come up with a proprietary screw.”
The Pentalobular screw — a five-pointed tamper-resistant system — was implemented by Apple in mid-2009 to secure the battery in the MacBook Pro, with smaller versions now used on the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S, the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro with Retina display.
“Should the asymmetrical screw make a debut on the iPhone 5, Apple will be truly upping the ante to the next level,” writes Bhatnagar.
“One might even ask, why bother with screws at all?”
Apple experienced a consumer backlash in recent weeks over its fastening decisions.
In July mechanical fasteners — or rather the disappearance of them — became a huge headache for Apple.
Reports surfaced that Apple Apple had de-listed its 39 laptops and other products from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), a voluntary registry that certifies electronics products that are recyclable and have higher energy efficiency, according to BYTE.
Apple made the move after increasing the use of adhesives rather than fasteners in assembly, BYTE reports, making their iconic products more difficult to repair or recycle.
“Backlash was swift and fierce, with some large organizational customers reconsidering or dropping their purchase plans for Apple devices,” according to TPM.
Organizations requiring EPEAT compliance include Ford Motor Co., KPMG and Kaiser Permanente, as well as several universities and federal, state and municipal agencies. The U.S. government requires that 95% of the electronics purchased by its agencies be certified by EPEAT, according to BYTE.
By the end of the week Apple had changed course, publicly admitting the move was a “mistake” and re-listed their products on EPEAT.
Apple senior vice president of hardware engineering Bob Mansfield explained it this way on Apple’s website:
“We’ve recently heard from many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed to learn that we had removed our products from the EPEAT rating system. I recognize that this was a mistake. Starting today, all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT.” ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com
Editor’s Note: Articles in Media Spotlight are excerpts from publications or broadcasts which show the industry what the public is reading or hearing about fasteners and fastener companies.
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