iPod About the iPod Shuffle battery

[Thermonuclear]

The iPod Shuffle is a nice little music player; I have one. You can buy a brand new one for US$49 including the charge/sync adapter and a pair of ear buds.

But how much does it cost to have the battery replaced? Those batteries are good only for a few hundred charges, maybe only a year or so if charged a couple of times a week.

To replace the battery on the US$49 iPod Shuffle costs US$55.95 and requires a week or so for round trip shipping. And you don't get a new adapter or ear buds.

Think Different, indeed.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/replacements.html

 

[Intell]

An iPod Shuffle battery when used to that amount will sometimes be good for at least 1,000 charge/discharge cycles. Only when treated poorly or left in a hostile environment for a long period of time will the battery become too incapacitated to be usable.

 

[Ray Brady]

Per Apple's Support site: "A properly maintained iPod battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 400 full charge and discharge cycles."

If you're doing a full discharge "a couple of times a week", your battery should still last you for more than four years.

 

[Thermonuclear]

So it's just fine that the cost of replacing the battery is greater than the cost of a replacement? The cost difference is the point of the original post.

There are indirect costs as well. To ship halfway across the country twice uses a significant amount of non-renewable resources and means more carbon emissions and pollutants. Doesn't this appear a little inconsistent with Apple's publicly stated commitment to the environment?

The alternative of just buying a replacement at a local store and tossing the old unit might mean even more total cost to the environment.

But if Apple had designed the Shuffle to have an easily replaceable battery, then costs to the consumer and the environment would have been greatly reduced.

 

[racoop]

I've been using the same refurbished 2nd gen Shuffle since 2008. Ya, Apple used to sell refurbished Shuffles - $29.00 on sale!! I use it constantly for running and it still holds a great charge. Using it 3-4 hours/week, I charge it about once a month. Six years and going strong. When it croaks, I'll just toss it and buy a new one. I agree, kind of a bummer.

I can't imagine you could even need to charge one a couple times a week unless it is connected to your head ALL day!

 

[cambookpro]

I can't imagine you could even need to charge one a couple times a week unless it is connected to your head ALL day!

Yeah, I listen to mine an hour and a bit a day, and only charge it once a week. I love the battery life on it, especially the way it holds its charge when turned off!

 

[Thermonuclear]

Sooner or later the battery will fail. It happened on my iPod Touch only four months after the warranty expired. Long ago, it also happened on my 1st Gen 10 GB iPod, but on that model it was easy for me to get a third party battery (one third Apple's price) and do the job myself.

Again, the point is NOT about the number of cycles. The cost difference between repair and replacement is the point of the original post.

 

[racoop]

Again, the point is NOT about the number of cycles. The cost difference between repair and replacement is the point of the original post.

Well to address your point in that case; I could NOT imagine that an iPod shuffle could be shipped, disassembled, battery replaced and reassembled (by a real human of course), for much less than the original price of the device.

 

[Intell]

It's possible that Apple doesn't replace the internal battery, but simply replace the whole device with a new one. iPods aren't designed to be opened again, especially iPod Shuffles.

 

[racoop]

It's possible that Apple doesn't replace the internal battery, but simply replace the whole device with a new one. iPods aren't designed to be opened again, especially iPod Shuffles.

That's probably the case indeed. But as the o.p. stated, why would they offer this at a higher price than a brand new unit that also includes earphones, cord etc? Weird if ya ask me!

 

[sideshow23bob]

Hehe, that's interesting. Yeah maybe there are some peope (e.g. my parents) who won't look at the original price and don't want to throw something away so they'd opt for it, but yeah seems like they're more of a disposable good at that price point.