A Visit to Apple’s Durability Lab: Reliability, Repairability and More

Although the primary reason for my recent visit to California was to attend Apple’s WWDC event, I was fortunate to spend some time at one of Apple’s Durability Labs, which tests the durability, robustness and longevity of its devices.

It’s important to note that this isn’t unique to Apple. All consumer electronics manufacturers have similar facilities or outsource the testing of their products to third parties. But the breadth of Apple’s infrastructure impressed me: it has about 200 labs worldwide, reflecting its desire to locate them close to major companies in its extensive supply chain. This ensures that when Apple is ramping up production of a new product, it can start testing the various components as soon as they come off the factory line.

At a time when consumers are keeping their smartphones and other consumer electronics devices for longer than ever, it’s increasingly important to ensure they last a long time and are easily repairable. This has a direct impact on the residual value of devices in the secondary market, an area where Apple is particularly strong and rivals are trying to close the gap (see Samsung Offers UK Shoppers 50% Back on Galaxy S25 Upgrades).

Apple has multiple pillars to its approach. First and foremost, it’s trying to maximize the reliability of its products, and it claims to have reduced the number of out-of-warranty repairs by 40% in recent years. This is further enhanced by its commitment to software updates with support for up to seven years, which Apple pioneered and many Android device-makers are now adopting. Unsurprisingly, Apple claims hundreds of millions of iPhones are still in use after five years, and a similar number are enjoying a second or third life since the original purchase.

Repairability is another focus, and Apple claims to have improved the design of its products and the availability of relevant documentation, tools and parts. There has unquestionably been progress in this area, but elements continue to frustrate people in the repair industry, particularly regarding access to very detailed documentation, the cost and availability of spare parts and the difficulties in using third-party replacement components.

Additionally, Apple conducts an impressive array of tests to ensure the longevity of its products. Two key areas are the environmental conditions a device is subjected to and how devices cope with being dropped or subjected to sustained vibration.

Environmental Conditions

Water ingress has long been a major contributor to device failure, and Apple prioritizes preventing water ingress over other solutions, such as nano-coatings to repel water. It has numerous ways of testing the devices to check compliance against the various ingress protection benchmarks, from IPX4 (see image below), which protects against water splashes, to the more rigorous IPX6, IPX7 and IPX8, which protect against continuous immersion in water, typically deeper than one metre.

Other tests to protect devices against hostile environmental conditions include a salt-exposure test, which is highly relevant to people living near the sea. This enables Apple to test different coatings or material finishes to ensure they aren’t harmed by the coastal environment.

Dust is another major challenge. In the lab I visited, Apple was testing against prolonged exposure to the type of dust in the Arizona desert. The company’s accelerated test replicates the effect of exposure to dust over five years. Similar accelerated tests are conducted to assess the impact of UV light on material finishes and screens. Amusingly, many years ago, Apple used to evaluate the effects of UV light on its products by leaving them on the roof of an Apple building, baking in the Californian sun.

Humidity is another environmental factor relevant to many markets. Devices undergo five hours of intensive humidity testing to replicate the equivalent exposure to 1,000 hours in real-life conditions. Interestingly, when we visited the lab, the team was testing Studio Display monitors in its humidity chamber, underlining how important environmental conditions are for any product, even those you don’t carry around daily.

Drop Testing and Vibration

Any smartphone owner will dread dropping their device, and historically, dropping a phone could easily result in the display or back glass being cracked or smashed. Over the years, there have been significant improvements in glass technology, but dropping phones remains a primary cause of damage. So, unsurprisingly, Apple devotes a lot of attention to the drop resistance of its devices.

In addition to conducting standardized “tumble tests”, often required to achieve certifications, Apple also tries to assess more realistic drops for the iPhone and other products, such as the MacBook. As shown in the video below, Apple has developed a robot that can drop devices at different angles onto various surfaces, such as fibreboard, granite and asphalt.

It was particularly striking to see how the design of a MacBook allowed it to flex when it was dropped (see image below), a decision that resulted from the extensive drop testing Apple has conducted over the years.

New products also bring new challenges. For example, Apple’s Vision Pro headset must be more resistant to longer drops because it’s a head-worn device.

Vibration is another consideration, and Apple conducts numerous tests to assess the impact on its products. It uses a device to mimic transportation stresses and different vibration frequencies, citing phones used on motorbikes as particularly problematic. See the video below for a demonstration.

Battery Performance and Components

The final area we looked at was battery technology. Challenges here encompass battery longevity and cycle testing, particularly in different environmental conditions and temperatures, and the ease with which batteries can be replaced.

Apple’s benchmarks typically focus on 1,000 charging cycles. This is tough to test, as there’s no easy way to accelerate charging and discharging batteries, so Apple typically conducts seven or eight test cycles per day over a series of weeks to assess performance. A robot loads the batteries into ovens to ensure the consistent handling of the battery cells, and testing is conducted at various temperature ranges.

With the iPhone 16, the ability to replace the battery has also been improved with the pioneering use of new adhesive technology. Rather than using a stretch adhesive, the new approach uses an electrical charge to disrupt the ions in the adhesive, making it easy to detach the battery from inside the phone housing.

Testing and Longevity Are More Important Than Ever Before

This snapshot into Apple’s testing programme provided a timely reminder about how important device longevity and durability have become, particularly as the secondary market for smartphones has grown.

Apple’s commitment to the process is commendable, and the company clearly sees this as a significant differentiator. There are also commercial reasons for conducting these tests, including Apple’s comprehensive after-market coverage through its Apple Care service. A high failure rate could be costly, particularly given the scale with which Apple operates.

I’m now interested in learning more about how other manufacturers conduct their testing. As outlined above, this type of testing is far from unique to Apple, but the numbers speak volumes, with about 10,000 iPhones being tested before the launch of each generation of its flagship smartphone.

Furthermore, consumer expectations are higher than ever. People are spending more money on flagship devices as the “premiumization” of the market continues. They expect to keep their devices for longer, and the residual value of products is now a factor in purchasing decisions. Also, devices that last longer offer a much more sustainable solution from an environmental perspective.

The growth of the second-hand market for these longer-lasting devices is striking, and CCS Insight tracks it closely. To learn more, check out our website.