5 ms·

A persistent question in my mind is why do customers buy unrepairable products, from smart phones and high-tech tractors. Why is the market failing? Or is it wo

• endisneigh 5y ago
  How many customers do you think will even attempt to repair their own device? That's the answer to your question.
• viro 5y ago
  Because as "tech people" we live in an echo chamber. where we conflate our specialized knowledge as "easy with just a quick google". But in reality my Aunt that can barely troubleshoot her computer(avg person) probably shouldn't be risking an $800 device to save $80 on a repair. So when she buys a phone why would she care about the repairability of a product, she's just going to take it to a professional anyways.
  • Tyr42 5y ago
    But it can drive down the cost of going to a specialist if your device has parts available, etc.
  • bcrosby95 5y ago
    The whole point behind right to repair is allowing 3rd party professionals to repair products. Apple doesn't do board repair. They make you buy new, whole components. So when your laptop breaks, instead of spending $120 to fix it they say you need to buy a new $1,000 component and with labor that's more than the price of a new laptop.
• zepto 5y ago
  I buy ‘unrepairable’ iPhones. I actually have repaired iPhones myself in the past, including screens and batteries. That turned out to be a waste of time because the replacement parts failed in a much shorter time than the originals The reason I continue to buy iPhones is that more recent models don’t typically need to be repaired. I would much rather have a phone that doesn’t fail easily than one that can be easily repaired.
• riskable 5y ago
  It's simple, really: Newer devices are faster and have nicer features (e.g. better camera) and it's not really that inconvenient to pay an extra $20-30/month to get a new phone every two years. You can pay $150 to get a new battery put into your old phone but that doesn't seem worth it when you can get an entirely new phone that's "better" than your old one for $500. If it were cheaper and easier to replace old batteries I'm guessing that people would keep their old phones much longer. That's my #1 reason for buying new phones: The battery in the old one just doesn't last as long as it used to and replacement batteries can be hard to come by and/or they're a serious pain to install (high risk too!). Within the next two to three years though (assuming the global chip shortage lets up) we should start seeing phones with carbon cathode technology. Then again, car manufacturers might hog all the dual carbon and carbon cathode batteries so it might take a bit longer.
• jahewson 5y ago
  I think it would help to ask: repairable by whom? And at what cost? Apple will replace an iPhone screen for ~$100. I’m fine with that. But my washing machine which is repairable and has parts and schematics available from the manufacturer will cost me > $400 in labor to replace a $20 part. Plus it’s > 10 years old so I know more parts will fail. I’m just going to buy a new one.
  • procombo 5y ago
    I agree. However, the logistics of repairing a 200 lb machine that sits in a cramped closet is very different. Phones are measured in ounces/grams and are easy to transport. Yes it is more efficient for you to buy a new washer. Delivery and haul-away are great upcharges (and worth it IMO). They will then repair and resell your old one at a much higher rate than phones are being reserviced.
• JoshTko 5y ago
  The market is working as expected. Consumers are choosing devices that are less reparable because they come with other benefits such as being smaller, lighter, and are waterproof. Reparable devices come with tradeoffs that most consumers do not want.
• antattack 5y ago
  Is there an alternative? This is a perfect place for government to step in and nurture an environment that discourages waste.
• mopsi 5y ago
  People don't think about repairs before their stuff is broken, and by then it's too late. That's why things like seat belts and fire alarms have to be forced upon people.
• rasz 5y ago
  Why did consumers kept buying cars with no ABS or airbags?
• abawany 5y ago
  Also, imo the platform walled gardens considerably hamper your ability to move away from a given vendor just because they made the current model less repairable. Plus, as other vendors see Apple's snowballing profit, they also adopt similar construction and thus you are left with pretty much no choice when you go out to buy a product. The only counterpoint I have in this regard is Microsoft Surface: their earlier models were terribly unrepairable but the newer ones seem to have considerably improved in this regard.