4 ms·

Kinda strange that Apple has not used the time-and-customers-tested (and with a nice website) ifixit.com for the task. I only hope that iFixit will not die as a

Kinda strange that Apple has not used the time-and-customers-tested (and with a nice website) ifixit.com for the task. I only hope that iFixit will not die as a result - it’s always nice to have an alternative.

NegativeLatency 4y ago
I agree that would be cool, and probably a better user experience but I’d suspect apple has large amounts of loathing for a company that criticizes their products.
- eyelidlessness 4y ago
  I find iFixit’s repairability reviews incredibly objective, often more generously short on outright criticism than I’d expect given both their opinion and business incentive.
  - sandworm101 4y ago
    >> iFixit’s repairability reviews incredibly objective Which is while Apple doesn't like them. If you care about sales, glowing reviews are always better than honest reviews. There are plenty of people willing to praise Apple and so there is no need to cater to objective reviewers.
    - threeseed 4y ago
      Apple is one of, if not the, most reviewed company in the world. For every new product there are thousands of reviews for which iFixit is just one. And almost all of those reviews are overwhelmingly objective and honest as you can see for the lacklustre reviews of the Studio Display. If I were Apple I wouldn't waste any time on iFixit either since they have limited traffic and limited social reach.
edrxty 4y ago
ifixit is a somewhat political organization, they're pushing right to repair and grade products on repairability. I'd rather they stay independent from Apple.
- drewzero1 4y ago
  I agree. At first I thought they would be uniquely positioned for this role, but it really does seem like they need to stay independent to stay objective. As a customer As a customer I appreciate that ifixit serves the customer's needs rather than Apple's agenda or overall bottom line, which might not have remained the case if they had some kind of partnership.
  - webmobdev 4y ago
    Why can't they stay independent and objective if they partner with Apple (or any other manufacturer) to sell their parts?
    - Retric 4y ago
      Independent is often used as a weasel word ie: independent franchises. So sure the could be an independent distributor or whatever but that’s not actually independent as they would have a financial connection. Remaining objective is of course possible even with financial ties, but the suspicion is going to taint people’s perception.
    - drewzero1 4y ago
      If ifixit were to partner with a manufacturer (and especially one as large and influential as Apple), there might be a perception among consumers (whether true or not) that they were beholden to the manufacturer not to do anything that might hurt that manufacturer's revenue streams, like (for example) providing parts and information to extend the use of obsolete products or criticizing any of the manufacturer's design practices that might be hostile to repair. On the flip side, it might be possible for a partnership to provide better first-party parts support and more complete sharing of information, but I'm just too jaded to believe it could happen that way.
status200 4y ago
Unless Apple expands the options tremendously, iFixit will be around for a while, since the only parts available currently are for a limited range of the newer iPhones.
ben1040 4y ago
On that front, Google and iFixit are partnering, with iFixit selling OEM Pixel repair parts. https://www.ifixit.com/News/58542/working-with-google https://www.ifixit.com/News/58542/working-with-google
OxO4 4y ago
It seems that iFixit will officially be selling replacement parts for Google's Pixel phones [0] and Valve's Steam Deck [1], so hopefully, they are not going anywhere. [0] https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/pixel-phone-repairs/ https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/... [1] https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675180/view/4347665658888576968 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675180/view/4347665...
overtonwhy 4y ago
They make excellent tool kits for working on electronics!
skhr0680 4y ago
iFixit with real QC approved Apple parts would be awesome. I had a bad experience with a laptop screen from iFixit, their support's options were to accept a partial refund or ship it internationally to them at my own expense. I cut my losses and took the cash. In the end I felt like I would have been no worse off rolling the dice on an eBay part.

NegativeLatency 4y ago

I agree that would be cool, and probably a better user experience but I’d suspect apple has large amounts of loathing for a company that criticizes their products.

eyelidlessness 4y ago
I find iFixit’s repairability reviews incredibly objective, often more generously short on outright criticism than I’d expect given both their opinion and business incentive.
- sandworm101 4y ago
  >> iFixit’s repairability reviews incredibly objective Which is while Apple doesn't like them. If you care about sales, glowing reviews are always better than honest reviews. There are plenty of people willing to praise Apple and so there is no need to cater to objective reviewers.
  - threeseed 4y ago
    Apple is one of, if not the, most reviewed company in the world. For every new product there are thousands of reviews for which iFixit is just one. And almost all of those reviews are overwhelmingly objective and honest as you can see for the lacklustre reviews of the Studio Display. If I were Apple I wouldn't waste any time on iFixit either since they have limited traffic and limited social reach.

edrxty 4y ago

ifixit is a somewhat political organization, they're pushing right to repair and grade products on repairability. I'd rather they stay independent from Apple.

drewzero1 4y ago
I agree. At first I thought they would be uniquely positioned for this role, but it really does seem like they need to stay independent to stay objective. As a customer As a customer I appreciate that ifixit serves the customer's needs rather than Apple's agenda or overall bottom line, which might not have remained the case if they had some kind of partnership.
- webmobdev 4y ago
  Why can't they stay independent and objective if they partner with Apple (or any other manufacturer) to sell their parts?
  - Retric 4y ago
    Independent is often used as a weasel word ie: independent franchises. So sure the could be an independent distributor or whatever but that’s not actually independent as they would have a financial connection. Remaining objective is of course possible even with financial ties, but the suspicion is going to taint people’s perception.
  - drewzero1 4y ago
    If ifixit were to partner with a manufacturer (and especially one as large and influential as Apple), there might be a perception among consumers (whether true or not) that they were beholden to the manufacturer not to do anything that might hurt that manufacturer's revenue streams, like (for example) providing parts and information to extend the use of obsolete products or criticizing any of the manufacturer's design practices that might be hostile to repair. On the flip side, it might be possible for a partnership to provide better first-party parts support and more complete sharing of information, but I'm just too jaded to believe it could happen that way.

status200 4y ago

Unless Apple expands the options tremendously, iFixit will be around for a while, since the only parts available currently are for a limited range of the newer iPhones.

ben1040 4y ago

On that front, Google and iFixit are partnering, with iFixit selling OEM Pixel repair parts. https://www.ifixit.com/News/58542/working-with-google https://www.ifixit.com/News/58542/working-with-google

OxO4 4y ago

It seems that iFixit will officially be selling replacement parts for Google's Pixel phones [0] and Valve's Steam Deck [1], so hopefully, they are not going anywhere. [0] https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/pixel-phone-repairs/ https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/... [1] https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675180/view/4347665658888576968 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675180/view/4347665...

overtonwhy 4y ago

They make excellent tool kits for working on electronics!

skhr0680 4y ago

iFixit with real QC approved Apple parts would be awesome. I had a bad experience with a laptop screen from iFixit, their support's options were to accept a partial refund or ship it internationally to them at my own expense. I cut my losses and took the cash. In the end I felt like I would have been no worse off rolling the dice on an eBay part.