An accelerometer in New Apple Laptops: Why you need it? Modern technology, be it smartphones, tablets or laptops, is full of various sensors. Not everyone knows that the current gadget cannot be imagined without an accelerometer and a gyroscope.
In simple terms, these two sensors allow you to determine the angle of inclination of the device relative to the surface of the earth and rotate the image on the screen devices. But in laptops, this feature is most often not required. This is true for tablets and smartphones.
Apple has decided to fight against unreasonable warranty repairs.
During analysis of Macbook Air M2 specialists, I fix it and discovered that the new apple laptop is also equipped with an accelerometer. Let’s try to understand why Cupertino has equipped its new product with this sensor.
Why do You need an Accelerometer?
The accelerometer will prove that repairs are needed due to an accidental drop.
At a time when computers were equipped with hard drives, not SSDs, the presence of an accelerometer was a sign that the manufacturer was not saving on the security of user data. Since the hard drive is a rather fragile thing, it can be damaged if dropped and user files will be lost.
In the operation of the hard disk, a very important point is the possibility, in the event of an unexpected power failure or violent physical shock, park heads. In modern hard disks, the location of the heads when the disk is not working is outside its surface, on a separate site.
If they are not parked there, they will land on magnetic support and will not be able to rise any further. Simply put, parking heads move them to a storage location.
When the drive is turned on, after the heads have stuck to the disk, the rotation of the spindle will simply tear off the tip of the actuator. Or, in simple Russian, the hard drive will fail completely.
Some data from it may still be saved, but you will need to contact the services Center. If you store confidential information there, then, of course, this will not be the best, but the only way out.
In such computers, the accelerometer was used to detect a fall and park the head while the hard drive was still powered. This allowed a lot to reduce the risk of hard drive damage in case of impact and record user data. But Apple hasn’t used conventional hard drives in its laptops for quite a while.
A reasonable question arises: why in such a situation equip a Macbook Air accelerometer? Many users immediately thought of games.
On tablets and smartphones, some racing games allow you to drive cars by tilting the device from side to side. Or mazes where you have to roll the ball through all the obstacles. But none of these games was presented for Macbooks. And imagine what a race with tilt control will look like on a laptop.
It’s very strange and just uncomfortable. Moreover, for the most accurate reading of the angle of inclination, not only an accelerometer is needed, but also a gyroscope.
There is only one logical explanation for the use of this sensor. It will always detect a computer failure. Only this will not be done in order to protect the hard drive. It’s just not in Macbook Air. And provide or denial of repair under warranty.
MacBook Warranty
AppleCare+ for the MacBook Air M2 is not available in Russia, nor is the MacBook itself.
Standard Apple One-Year Warranty does not apply to accidental drops. If such sensors have existed in smartphones for a very long time, and it is quite simple to determine whether it has fallen or not, then in laptops some damage could not be explained by a fall without additional data.
Without visible external damage, the manufacturer simply could not prove that it was not a factory defect, but the fault of the buyer and the device had to be repaired or replaced with a new one.
Also, there is an Additional AppleCare+ warranty. Its cost is 16,990 rubles for three years for Macbook Air M2. But for accidental damage, Apple will charge an additional service fee for repairs in the amount of 6990 rubles for screen or case damage and 20990 rubles for other mechanical damage. So this is the calculation:
- 16,990 rubles for an additional three-year warranty on the device.
- 6990 or 20990 rubles for maintenance during repairs in the event of a fall.
Total 23980 or 37980 rubles. And now Apple will definitely know whether the laptop has fallen or not, just by reading the accelerometer data. So the manufacturer just can’t be fooled.
Users who do not apply for AppleCare and abandon the computer will be very unlucky. In the presence of such a sensor, it will be simply impossible to prove that “itself” will simply be impossible.
If you are thinking of buying Macbook Air M2, remember this feature of these computers. It would be nice to buy him AppleCare+, but the price of it bites. Although a full-cost repair may bite even harder.
Therefore, in addition to problems with working speed in younger versions and peeling paint, as in the iPhone 5, this was also added. Now Apple can determine exactly what you are doing with your computer.
