Apple screws DIY fixit types with Pentalobe

Not a metaphorical screw, although it can kind of be perceived as both.

Although pretty much forever most screws have been either flat or Phillips-head, Apple has sourced an extremely obscure screw, ostensibly to prevent you from fixing the phone you paid hundreds of dollars for. Slate quotes the CEO of iFixit, who rails about Apple’s plan to keep consumers from repairing their own devices by introducing the Pentalobe screw to their hardware:

Apple chose the Pentalobe “specifically because it was new, guaranteeing repair tools would be both rare and expensive.” He says the screw “clearly has one purpose: to keep you out. Otherwise, Apple would use it throughout each device. Instead, they only use it at the bulwark – on the outside case of your iPhone and MacBook Air, and protecting the battery on the MacBook Pro – so they can keep you out of your own hardware.”

The piece goes on to say that devices without Pentalobe screws will be updated to the new, tamper-proof kind when brought in for repair to Apple Stores. CNET points out that the measure could be construed as protection for consumers…

But as one tech service rep who posted on ipodnn pointed out, a surprising number of people open up their gadgets before bringing them in for warranty service, leading to more damage than the problem that led them to open up the machine in the first place.

…which strikes me as a bit high-handed, right? Shouldn’t device owners have the option to break the hell out of their own devices if they damn well please?