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I disagree. iFixit offering original OEM spare parts for the Steam Deck is amazing. It's mutually beneficial: iFixit handles a service business that Valve woul

by dangus 2y ago

I disagree. iFixit offering original OEM spare parts for the Steam Deck is amazing. It's mutually beneficial: iFixit handles a service business that Valve would rather not be in, and customers get a more repairable product. It's also a source of revenue for iFixit that is probably more reliable than depending on advertising or selling tools. A similar deal with Samsung or another phone maker would be amazing.

robnado 2y ago
This works for Steam because the Steam Deck is a low margin device they sell to ensure they can’t be shut out of their profitable business of selling games by microsoft and apple. To Steam, having a customer use the same steam deck for 10 years is not a big loss of revenue and supports their business goals. Meanwhile, Samsung making repairs cheaper means they are cannibalising the sale of new devices which is their main source of profit and growth.
- dangus 2y ago
  I disagree that Samsung’s main source of profit and growth for their smartphone business is the smartphones themselves, at least if we zoom out to the long term. Those are commoditized hardware devices. Each new generation of phone is less compelling than the current one because the product is essentially “done,” much like a microwave or toaster. Samsung will make more money from you if they can sell you cloud services and other ecosystem stuff, just like Apple does with their platform. Just look at how much revenue Apple’s services business brings in as a proportion of their business, at a much better margin than hardware sales. https://www.statista.com/statistics/382260/segments-share-revenue-of-apple/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/382260/segments-share-re... Services are rapidly growing as a proportion of Apple’s electronics business and I suspect that Samsung is similar if they’re playing their cards right. There’s going to be a point where Samsung really doesn’t care if you have an old phone or not, as long as you are using Samsung services for your digital life.
  - kroolik 2y ago
    Link requires premium account to read the actual data
Suppafly 2y ago
>A similar deal with Samsung or another phone maker would be amazing. Exactly. I usually use ifixit's guides but often by the parts on amazon or ebay because generic parts are generic parts, but if ifixit could certify that their parts are OEM certified, I'd definitely consider paying the extra that they charge to buy from them.
zdware 2y ago
Agree with this. I'm fine with companies that make profit while still providing "free" knowledge/diagrams/software. Valve's contributions to proton/drivers has improved Linux gaming potential, even if you don't have/buy a Steam Deck. I view this in a similar lens.

by dangus 2y ago

robnado 2y ago

This works for Steam because the Steam Deck is a low margin device they sell to ensure they can’t be shut out of their profitable business of selling games by microsoft and apple. To Steam, having a customer use the same steam deck for 10 years is not a big loss of revenue and supports their business goals. Meanwhile, Samsung making repairs cheaper means they are cannibalising the sale of new devices which is their main source of profit and growth.

dangus 2y ago
I disagree that Samsung’s main source of profit and growth for their smartphone business is the smartphones themselves, at least if we zoom out to the long term. Those are commoditized hardware devices. Each new generation of phone is less compelling than the current one because the product is essentially “done,” much like a microwave or toaster. Samsung will make more money from you if they can sell you cloud services and other ecosystem stuff, just like Apple does with their platform. Just look at how much revenue Apple’s services business brings in as a proportion of their business, at a much better margin than hardware sales. https://www.statista.com/statistics/382260/segments-share-revenue-of-apple/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/382260/segments-share-re... Services are rapidly growing as a proportion of Apple’s electronics business and I suspect that Samsung is similar if they’re playing their cards right. There’s going to be a point where Samsung really doesn’t care if you have an old phone or not, as long as you are using Samsung services for your digital life.
- kroolik 2y ago
  Link requires premium account to read the actual data

Suppafly 2y ago

>A similar deal with Samsung or another phone maker would be amazing. Exactly. I usually use ifixit's guides but often by the parts on amazon or ebay because generic parts are generic parts, but if ifixit could certify that their parts are OEM certified, I'd definitely consider paying the extra that they charge to buy from them.

zdware 2y ago

Agree with this. I'm fine with companies that make profit while still providing "free" knowledge/diagrams/software. Valve's contributions to proton/drivers has improved Linux gaming potential, even if you don't have/buy a Steam Deck. I view this in a similar lens.