Snippet: You Can’t Do That On [Apple] TV! ☇

iFixit co-founder and CEO Kyle Wiens:

Not too long ago, we tore down the Apple TV and Siri Remote. The developer unit we disassembled was sent to us by Apple. Evidently, they didn’t intend for us to take it apart. But we’re a teardown and repair company; teardowns are in our DNA—and nothing makes us happier than figuring out what makes these gadgets tick. We weighed the risks, blithely tossed those risks over our shoulder, and tore down the Apple TV anyway.

A few days later, we got an email from Apple informing us that we violated their terms and conditions—and the offending developer account had been banned. Unfortunately, iFixit’s app was tied to that same account, so Apple pulled the app as well. Their justification was that we had taken “actions that may hinder the performance or intended use of the App Store, B2B Program, or the Program.”

Live and learn.

I’m sure there will be people blaming Apple for this, but the developer Apple TV units had a fairly specific non-disclosure agreement. While I am a fan of iFixit’s work as a whole, the Apple TV teardown probably should’ve waited a month or so.