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>and that if or when something inside it goes wrong or needs servicing, it should be easy to do so. Be careful and precise please. What to you mean by "easy" h
by xoa 8y ago
>and that if or when something inside it goes wrong or needs servicing, it should be easy to do so.
Be careful and precise please. What to you mean by "easy" here in the context of the general public? I think what most people mean by "easy" is "I drop it off/send it away, and I get back something working within a day to a week depending on the product and faster is better, and it costs me nothing for [reasonable amount, minimum 2 years then 1 year per $300 up to 5 years] and then is reasonable for the remaining expected product lifespan" and how that happens matter not one whit. Case in point:
>Batteries are a wear item for example, and should be easy to swap out with spares available freely.
I strongly disagree with you on multiple levels here. I want my mobile device optimized for the general use case, which is when I have it on me by itself and it is working. That means the highest active matter ratio possible while also being as passively environmentally resistant as possible and it being functional for a few years at a time. Exceptional scenarios can be handled with cases. It's always possible to add extra matter for protection or battery, but obviously the base phone defines the minimums. Beyond that I'm perfectly happy to bring it to a service center for an hour dealing with the battery every 2-3 years. "Easy to swap out" is a negative here because it lowers the active matter ratio and effectiveness of the device in the most common scenario in favor of a niche concern [1]. And while I expect batteries to last for their rated lifespan and that to be what most would expect under normal usage (couple of years), I do not expect them to be "available freely" beyond that, they're a complex and critical core component that can expected to be a not-insignificant percentage of device BOM.
>Screens and glass backs are prone to cracking and shattering
No they aren't. They're very resistant to cracking and shattering, but a small percentage of people are prone to dropping them or need to use them in extreme environments. Those people should take advantage of the wide variety of 3rd party products optimized specifically for their individualized use case.
>I'd be happy to see some kind of legislation put easy access to spare parts as a priority.
I have strongly (to the extent I am able) fought such legislation, I think it's awful and wrong headed. What I would very much support is legislation along the lines I've discussed, requiring manufacturers to Deal With non-functional devices of customers for a good 2-5 years are no extra cost beyond perhaps extreme shipping, and requiring them to then 'ensure service is available' at cost of time&parts for some period afterwards. I expect different companies targeting different use cases and different segments of the population would adopt different methods to meet this. Some of them would definitely focus heavily on ease of repairability, particularly at the low end. Others would lean more heavily on engineering/production, QC, and "insurance" (replacement margin built-in to price). Either is fine, it's not a moral question just one of results.
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1: One which I question anyway, it exclusively applies to someone who needs more then internal battery life and requires specifically the extremely narrow band of a somewhat heavier phone or worse battery life phone but not quite as much as a minimal battery case would be and must use it constantly for hours with only seconds of downtime running around (or else it'd be better to just plug it in to a larger battery for a little bit while grabbing a snack or it's steady or whatever). Frankly I struggle to figure out who exactly this applies to for mobile devices.
- llampx 8y agoThank you for disclosing that you fight such legislation. I don't know if that means you're a lawyer for Apple or another firm that is fighting Right to Repair. As a consumer, I am for repairability. Maybe my perspective would be different if my annual bonus depended on increasing the number of units sold every year.
- xoa 8y ago>Thank you for disclosing that you fight such legislation. "disclosing" What's there to hide about doing my duty as a citizen to work to make my country a better place? >I don't know if that means you're a lawyer for Apple or another firm that is fighting Right to Repair. I don't know if ignoring all my specific arguments entirely and immediately jumping to conspiracy crap means you're a shill for iFixit or the like but the rules of HN ask that everyone assumes good faith as the default position, and those are good rules for an online discussion. Guessing that perhaps you instead just have a very strong emotional connection to the act of tinkering and "repairing" perhaps, FWIW I strongly empathize with you. I absolutely know the feeling of wanting to mess around with things at a lower level then is "normal" and am both upset and threatened feeling by the idea that might get closed down more and more. Nevertheless each specific case needs to be weighed on its merits and the physical violence of the State is a very big hammer to wield. For those of us living in a democracy it is our duty to question and pick at suggestions to do so every single time, even if ultimately we come to agree. >As a consumer, I am for repairability. As a consumer I am for reasonable universal expectations of guaranteed lifespan with that built right into the sticker price so that the market can properly function. I absolutely do not think "repairability" is a goal in and of itself to the exclusion of all else, and think that legislating such would hurt consumers. >Maybe my perspective would be different if my annual bonus depended on increasing the number of units sold every year. Or maybe your perspective would be different if you considered opposing arguments with rigor and intellectual honesty rather then slimy insinuations and personal attacks? That is the behavior you just engaged in and frankly it's ridiculous, particularly since we both are (apparently?) in favor of enhanced consumer protection. For root's sake, think about what you are actually saying: I specifically called for a legal requirement of something that'd amount to a full warranty with government mandated performance requirements for a period of a minimum of 2 years and going up to 5 years and then ALSO possibly a paid repair/replace requirement after that. This would essentially nuke the enormously profitable extended warranty market just for starters, force companies to internalize public expectations and costs, and you think that's something big corps would be in favor of?? Really?