This WSJ article mentions Apple’s withdrawal from the EPEAT standard for “green” consumer electronics products, which includes ease of disassembly for the purpose of recycling components. Apparently, the tradeoffs necessary for complying with the standard conflict with Apple’s priority on design.
I obtained first-hand experience with Apple’s hostility to disassembly when attempting to replace the battery in my iPod Touch 3G (the Touch is basically the iPhone without the phone). This is a $300+ USD device; since the Li batteries only last a couple of years, I expect to be able to change the battery on my own. AppleCare charges $80 to change the battery, although there are many third-party mail-order shops that will charge somewhat less.
This is not simple price gouging. Replacing the battery on the iPod Touch is not an easy job. The ease of replacing the battery, or performing any sort of maintenance on the Touch beside wiping the screen, was not considered, if not actively conspired against. For starters, the battery leads are soldered onto the circuit board. Imagine working on a car directly hooked up to its battery, with no ignition switch…or working on the wiring of a house without breakers. To make matters worse, the battery is hidden behind the digitizer, LCD screen, and metal plate, which are held together with microscopic screws and liberal amounts of glue. The digitizer and LCD are quite fragile and susceptible to electrostatic discharge. It is quite challenging to unscrew, unglue, and disconnect the assembly without breaking one or more of the components. Lastly, the iPod assembly is pressure-fitted with a plastic gasket into a metal shell and held in with tabs. Removing the assembly from the shell requires special tools and a good deal of finesse to avoid damage. A picture being worth a thousand words, and a video being thousands of pictures, this video can make a suitable impression of the level of difficulty involved (I did manage to replace the battery, along with the LCD and digitizer, for about $25 shipped in parts, not counting my time).
I have sort of a love-hate relationship with Apple. The artist in me admires its (and let’s face it, I mean Jobs’s) vision and leadership. Few companies are able to inspire and lead their customers the way Apple does. On the other hand, the engineer in me hates its walled-garden mentality and hostility to tinkering.