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How many people are going to crack open their iPhone to take a look around? Of that number, how many do not possess the skills to obtain a screwdriver?
I love the Gizmodo article which claims Apple will make it "impossible" to open an iPhone. Then they talk about switching to screws "for which no screwdriver exists". At the bottom of the article, they post a link to the iFixit page where you can buy a kit to open your iPhone with pentalobe screws.
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Saw my first pentalobe screw the other day.
On a flat screen TV.
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I agree, this probably has much more to do with reliability than with tamperproofing.
Given the number of units they're cranking out, it's hard to see the payoff associated with tamperproofing all given the small number of users who will actually mess with the products.
These new heads look like they have a lot of surface area for the driver to grip, unlike Phillips heads, which strip notoriously easily.
With a better head they may be able to use a cheaper alloy, faster assembly, fewer reworks on the line, more efficient repairs, etc. Maybe even lighter weight or less material--perhaps the heads don't need to be as deep for the driver to get a grip.
At these volumes every hundredth of a gram or hundredth of a percentage of time probably makes a measurable difference.
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This thread seems ripe for a Newt post...
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It seems that it may not be for ease of manufacturing, since the Apple Stores are replacing the screws with the new "pentalobes"when customers iPhones are taken apart in the back of the store....or so the blog sites are reporting.
