Leaked Videos Reveal Apple’s Methods for iPhone, Mac Repair

Apple strives to maintain secrecy in all of its projects and endeavors — from development of the latest software or hardware products, to its internal codes and methods of discourse — the company has a knack for [at least trying] to keep its biggest announcements and internal practices under wraps.

Nevertheless, the company has been a frequent victim of pre-calculated “leaks from within” — episodes in which employees were deemed responsible for spilling some of the iPhone-maker’s beans. Back in 2017, in a bid to crack down on such leaks, Apple issued a scathing memo to its employees warning them of the consequences and humiliation they’re bound to experience should they be caught leaking secrets to the public.

Well, it looks like someone at Apple has a bit of explaining to do this morning, as it appears some of the company’s internal repair videos have been published to the web for all to see, according to a Motherboard report.

“When I saw these videos I downloaded them out of curiosity, and when his account got suspended, I wanted people to still see them, so I uploaded them to YouTube,” said Arman Haji, who claims to have seen the videos posted to Twitter by another user prior to saving and uploading them to his own YouTube channel.

Apple obviously does not want the public to know how it repairs iPhones, iPads, Mac computers and other products — but unfortunately the cat might be out of the bag today since Arman has posted a total of 11 videos showcasing the processes for select iPhone and MacBook computers, which have since been taken down and re-uploaded by YouTube user Yojik Yojikoff

Are These Videos The Real Deal?

While Apple did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday following the leaks, at least two sources in the repair community with knowledge of Apple’s internal policies confirmed these are indeed genuine Apple how-to videos, Motherboard reports, citing multiple factors like Apple’s official copyright and the use of exclusive tools throughout. 

If that’s the case, however, then Apple has a lot to be upset about — especially seeing as how the company has rallied so hard against its customer’s personal rights to repair their own broken devices.

Of course, Apple makes quite a bit of money from its in-store and mail-in device repairs, so the company would ideally want to keep videos like these as far from the public eye as possible..

As Motherboard notes, what’s most significant about these leaks is not the leaks, themselves, but that they reveal how third-party repair shops have done such an “incredible job replicating [Apple’s] procedures without having seen these videos or having access to Apple’s tools.” 

“Sites such as iFixit have effectively reverse-engineered many of Apple’s techniques without ever laying eyes on this kind of documentation,” the publication notes, referencing the trove of top-to-bottom device disassembly videos shared by Apple’s least-favorite people on Earth, the iFixIt team.