Google Announces DIY Repairs for Pixel Smartphones in Partnership With iFixit

[sudo-sandwich]

And most people don't repair their own cars either. Doesn't mean it shouldn't be an option! Also just because the average person might not repair it themselves, it doesn't mean a person who is more knowledgeable about doing that work couldn't. Its all about options so you don't have to rely upon just Apple being able to fix your technology and charging you an arm and a leg when it does need to be done. It's about saving consumers money at the end of the day and not lining Apples pockets even more!

If you think that, you are free to buy a more user-repairable car or phone. Likewise, Apple should be free to make their phones the way they want. User-repairability does come at a cost, like decreasing reliability and hurting credibility on the used market. That may lead to less phone reuse, increasing waste, and I seriously doubt enough people are DIY experts to make up for it.

This parallel universe of more repairable phones does already exist on the Android side, and look at the results. People don't fix their phones, they toss em after 2 years. And the support is worse. Over time, even Android phones have shifted towards gluing things together, cause the market is speaking.

 

[cosmichobo]

Capitalism.

Capitalism is not working.

Hot Cross Buns used to be sold for a few weeks a year, and now are sold from Boxing Day (ie December 26th).

Why? Revenue. Sales.

I know this is not new, but Capitalism is degrading, and it is morphing the Western World in ways far worse than they've been since its inception.

There needs to be give and take in the world, but Capitalism is focused on take.

Give a man a fish and he feeds his family for a day. Teach him how to fish and he'll feed his family for life. But when you charge him to buy the rod, and bait, and for the right to fish at the local river - his family starve anyway.

This model cannot continue.

 

[ian87w]

This is not what right to repair was all about. This is only a collusion between Google and iFixit. The point of right to repair was to allow access to schematics and parts to 3rd parties. Making it iFixit exclusive is not doing anything other than outsourcing repairs to iFixit.

 

[Killbynumbers]

Then why does Apple continue to update 7 year old iPhones.

My old S10+ is updated to Android 12 which surprised the heck out of me. I'm also still using my XS Max. I have no plans to buy another phone for at least another year. Samsung and Apple are supporting phones longer which means people won't want to buy phones as often.

 

[OnawaAfrica]

Parts of varying quality and tools are easily available on Amazon and eBay. Calling it a monopoly is laughable.

well that the same term people like u use on the apple appstore. if u dont like apples appstore get and andorid phone. same if u dont like expensive parts get cheap and low quality parts

 

[OnawaAfrica]

iFixit sure is a success story, but do they have to worry about becoming a monopoly?

yes because thats exactly wat they doing. and also their quality of teardown and guides has become dramatically garbage

 

[SB1500]

Smartphones COULD be designed with easy to replace gaskets, easy to swap batteries and screens, but nooooo, we get glued shut iPhones designed by a company touting its environmental friendliness instead.

One such phone exists... The Purism Libre 5, how far along are you on the waiting list then? Do share?

 

[SB1500]

Yeah guys, I don't know about you, but I'd rather that Apple disrespected 'right to repair', e.g. Louiss's pipe dream... rather than Google's disrespect of right to privacy. Every. Day. Of. The. Week.

 

[GumaRodak]

There is something more behind the user repairs.its not that easy..for example battery replacement..if you replace the battery via apple, there is like 99% chance that the battery is properly destroyed/recycled…if users gonna do it alone at home, like 50% for sure will just end in classic waste and thats a problem, which the company must think about and provide a solution…there are regulatories which are chasing companies to eliminate this…

 

[RadioHedgeFund]

For profit companies have to make a profit you know. You can make a profit while doing good things for the environment. We pay Apple for new devices with recycled aluminum enclosures, recycled tin and gold plating on the logic boards, etc. we pay Apple for them to not give a charger or earbuds for “environmental reasons”

You do realise this was a ruse don't you? By making the boxes smaller Apple can cram more into shipping containers, lowering their shipping costs.

Given the vast majority of customers had old USBA chargers knocking around many new owners needed to pay $30 for an extra charger anyway allowing Apple an upsell.

And the amount of people who brought Airpods because they didn't get bundled headphones? Thats hundreds of millions more gadgets getting charged at any one time. And maybe another $30 on a second charger.

And did Apple lower the cost of the iPhone by $30 to compensate for this lack of accessories? No.

Saving the environment or increasing their bottom line ??

 

[RadioHedgeFund]

Yeah guys, I don't know about you, but I'd rather that Apple disrespected 'right to repair', e.g. Louiss's pipe dream... rather than Google's disrespect of right to privacy. Every. Day. Of. The. Week.

But you know what you are getting yourself in for by using Google's products and services. Lest we forget we do actually get something back in return for all that data harvesting, namely excellent cloud services which is a lot more than the likes of Facebook give you.

It is entirely possible to use the internet and stay well away from Google's goods and services. In the end though I am happy for them to take my advertising data in return for what I get back.

Apple might not harvest your data for advertising but they still charge a high entry fee to their shining city on the hill.

 

[Gasu E.]

Clearly they didn’t help you learn to take a joke.

When someone responds "clearly you can't take a joke", generally the first order of business is for them to learn how to tell one.

 

[SB1500]

Yo

But you know what you are getting yourself in for by using Google's products and services. Lest we forget we do actually get something back in return for all that data harvesting, namely excellent cloud services which is a lot more than the likes of Facebook give you.

It is entirely possible to use the internet and stay well away from Google's goods and services. In the end though I am happy for them to take my advertising data in return for what I get back.

Apple might not harvest your data for advertising but they still charge a high entry fee to their shining city on the hill.

You know what you’re getting into when you buy an Apple product just as well.

 

[RadioHedgeFund]

You know what you’re getting into when you buy an Apple product just as well.

Undoubtedly.