When a new smartphone is released, we purchase them.
When our phone gets damaged after a few months, it becomes useless.
So we need to throw that phone away and purchase a new phone.
Isn’t it better if we don’t have to throw our phone after a small damage?
Absolutely, yes it will be so nice that we will need not to throw our phone.
So that we could reuse it even after its damage.
Samsung’s Announcement
Samsung has announced “they will let Galaxy users repair their own devices.”
Samsung is the recent tech company providing their customers the ability to repair their own mobile devices.
Samsung announced on Thursday that a new program will guide users to repair tools through a step-by-step visual manual for the first time.
Before this announcement, users of Samsung had to depend on Samsung’s in-house repair service to fix their devices.
Users of Galaxy S20, S21 and Galaxy Tab S7+ will first get a chance for this program at the start of this summer.
However, this program will not be available to the owners of the S22 lineup.
Samsung said that it is cooperating with an online repair community called iFixit.
Why did Samsung collaborate with iFixit?
Samsung collaborated with iFixit because it has worked with Motorola on a similar self-repair project or program.
Apple’s Announcement
In November, Apple also announced the Self Repair Service Program.
It will make Spare Parts for Apple Products such as displays, camera modules and batteries.
This program’s main objective is to make available to purchase and give anyone access to the repair manuals.
However, this program has not yet launched officially from Apple.
Apple said that it will be limited to iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 users to start.
Later on, this service will expand to Mac PCs that use Apple’s New in-House M1 chip.
Criticism of Apple and Samsung
Companies such as Apple and Samsung have been criticized for using strategy to overwhelm independent repair businesses.
They made it harder for those businesses to approach devices like:
- Using Non-removable memory or batteries
- Sealing devices with special glue
Reason for Doing This
These companies claimed to be doing this because they want to ensure the products are properly repaired through approved or authorized repair services.
According to Kyle, CEO of iFixit “the latest announcement is a part of a sea change where producers are working to support your right to repair.”
He added “For the future of the planet, extending the life span of electronics is crucial. Providing consumers those self-repair options could be a crucial step to making that happen.”
Last summer, President Biden urged the FTP (Federal Trade Commission) on a principle called “right to repair”.
He also told FTP to set rules to prevent manufacturers from imposing restrictions on independent device repair shops and DIY repairs.
A week later, FTP swore to root out unlawful repair restrictions on several products, including smart phones.
This swore has got popularity among regulators in Europe.
All the new regulators will need to forbid this practice because smartphone manufacturers will do this.
They will make:
- Parts
- Tools
- Repair Manuals
Diagnostics for out-of-warranty repairs will be more willingly available to third party businesses.
Conclusion
Pedro Pacheco, a senior director at MRFG (Market Research Firm Gartner) said “In most of the cases, marked price of a smartphone or a computer is close to, if not more than, replacing it all together—-this is a strategy for motivating people to buy new devices rather than repairing them by customers.”
Consumers will get benefits of Self Repairing from the shift in other ways.
This will prolong the lifespan of electronic products because customers will have more power over how their products get fixed quickly.
Pacheco added ”companies will need to upgrade or enhance their phones with better specification and other approaches, so that they could refocus their efforts.”
