“Flexgate refers to a design flaw in the ribbon cable connecting the body of the laptop to the display: that cable is supposed to flex with the opening and closing of the computer, but it’s wearing down too quickly with conventional use,” Vlad Savov writes for The Verge. “Uncovered by an iFixit report and named by one of the site’s users, this problem is dramatically compounded by the fact that the cable in question is affixed to the display — so the only means of repairing a fault with the cable is the total replacement of the display. Which isn’t cheap.”
“Apple seems to be aware that this is a problem. In a follow-up report on the 2018 MacBook Pro refresh, iFixit found that Apple had elongated the display cable design, ostensibly to get rid of the defect that plagued the 2016-and-later laptops that preceded that update,” Savov writes. “That change happened without any public acknowledgment, and, to this day, Apple continues to act as if Flexgate is not a real or widespread problem.”
“A petition, now numbering more than 15,000, would beg to differ. It calls for Apple to publicly recognize Flexgate as a design flaw, and to commit to repair all MacBook Pro laptops affected by it,” Savov writes. “I think that’s exactly what Apple should do, and it’s no less than we should expect from a company that touts its reliability and user satisfaction numbers any chance it gets.”
“I reached out to Apple repeatedly to try and get a comment from the company on the Flexgate situation, but have received no response,” Savov writes. “Worse, threads started by aggrieved MacBook Pro owners who’ve suffered the Flexgate calamity have reportedly been deleted from Apple’s support forums. Apple, I’d like to believe, is better than this.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, time will tell, but hopefully Apple has fixed the issue. We expect a company of Apple’s caliber will eventaully begin a program to fix flexgate-affected units for free!
This video explains the issue:
SEE ALSO:
Apple may have stealthily addressed 2018 MacBook Pro ‘Flexgate’ issue – March 5, 2019
Flexgate: The design flaw behind MacBook Pro’s ‘stage light’ – January 22, 2019
Apple laptops do NOT sell because they are 1 mm thinner than competitors laptops.
Apple’s products have sold because they are better in many ways and that includes their working lifetimes.
Apple needs a new mantra: Better, Faster, Longer
“Apple needs a new mantra: Better, Faster, Longer”
And a bit thicker to avoid bend-gate and lack of battery juice?
Not to mention thicker iPhones for longer battery life, too!
Apple, as a whole, is a great company. On many occasions over the decades, Apple has been proactive in responding to product design flaws. However, there have also been times when Apple appeared to ignore a flaw for quite some time until forced to address it. Apple got a lot of bad press and built up a lot of consumer ill will during those instances. I hope that this does not become yet another example of the latter.
Also, why not use a ribbon cable design that is detachable at both ends? Easy display replacement. Easy cable replacement. Very little added cost or complexity.
“Easy display replacement. Easy cable replacement. Very little added cost or complexity.”
You are talking about Apple, right?
No, MDN
We expect a company of apples caliber will IMMEDIATELY begin, and should have ALREADY begun, a program to repair flex-gate affected units for free.
Oh, but maybe that program is one of those incredible products stuck somewhere in the proverbial pipeline that Tim keeps talking about…..
Since they no longer have the reality distorter, they ship pre-distorted reality.
Like every other company, they will weigh the cost of a recall and fix program versus the damage to reputation and long term sales. Why would you expect them to be any less frugal with their money than anyone else? They’re not a charity.
Big difference between charity and unreliable fashion ripoff. With as much money as Cook sits on now, Apple could course correct back to being a more accessible value driven company.
The repair issues are only facet of Apple’s obvious increase in greed. Raping trapped customers on RAM and cheap white adapters is getting old too. This household refuses to buy Apple dongles and accessories. If Apple is going to overcharge at least 50-75% for ugly warts that used to be built into Macs and iPhones, the we are taking our business elsewhere. Anker and Belkin and others make better quality stuff with better ergonomics anyway.
Yeah, like many longtime Mac users we’re losing respect for Apple too. The iOS money machine got to their fat heads. Too bad.