Subj : iFixit terminates Samsung partnership due to costs, difficulty of To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Thu May 23 2024 22:15:06 iFixit terminates Samsung partnership due to costs, difficulty of repairs, and lack of trust Date: Thu, 23 May 2024 21:00:38 +0000 Description: Difficulties with Samsung has led iFixit to end their collab, but they will continue to sell components for Galaxy devices. FULL STORY ====================================================================== iFixit is ending its self-repair collaboration with Samsung, just a few months shy of their partnerships second anniversary . In a recent post, the repair company states the two entities couldnt see eye-to-eye, claiming Samsungs approach towards repairability does not align with [their] mission. iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens told TheVerge the collab ends on June 17th. On that date, iFixit will no longer be an official third-party parts and tools distributor for Galaxy devices. However, components and fix kits for Samsung hardware will still be sold sourcing OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts when available." iFixit says itll indicate whether something is an original or aftermarket component on product listings. The end of the partnership comes with additional changes as well. Customers will no longer be limited to purchasing seven parts per three-month period, and can now buy however much they want at any given time. The repair manuals for Galaxy devices are staying on the website, but iFixit will no longer work with Samsung to write them or make in-house guides. However, community members are invited to share what they know about repairing Galaxy hardware. As TheVerge points out though, this could mean manuals become less detailed as a result. High costs So what happened between them? Well, Kyle Wiens blames Samsung for a variety of reasons. The blog post even refers to their behavior as miserly. Wiens told TheVerge that people just werent buying Galaxy parts because A) theyre expensive and B) Galaxy phones are difficult to fix. Lets say, for example, you want to replace your smartphones battery. On the iPhone 11, this is really easy you just buy the battery and the accompanying fix kit for $40, then follow the provided steps. Samsung doesnt do this, though. Instead, the tech giant glues a Galaxys battery to a display and you cant split them apart since its one solid unit. As a result, its expensive. replacing the battery on a Galaxy S22 requires you to pay almost $170. Then, to finish up repairs, users need to download the Self Repair Assistant, an app that isnt available on the Google Play Store or Samsungs own Galaxy Store despite what the manuals claim. We checked. TheVerge says you have to head over to Encompass' website, another self-repair company, and download the APK (Android Package Kit) for the Self Repair Assistant there. Installing an APK is not straightforward, speaking from experience. It is a multi-step process that takes a while to complete. Moving forward Wiens goes on to explain that Samsung prevented iFixit from helping local repair shops because of the seven-part limit. Additionally, they couldnt get official components for new models like the Galaxy S23 . All that support went towards Encompass. iFixit attempted to engage with Samsung in good faith, but apparently, the feeling wasnt mutual, so the partnership ended. Moving forward, the company says it plans to expand its Repair Hubs to introduce support for additional devices and enter new collaborations with third-party providers. We've reached out to Samsung for comment and well update this story if we hear back. In the meantime, check out TechRadar's list of the Pixel phones for 2024 if you're looking for a repair-friendly mobile device. You might also like Samsung Galaxy A35 review: a Samsung Galaxy S24 for the rest of us Honors cutting-edge generative AI features could rival Samsungs Galaxy AI suite New leak points to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch FE launching soon ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/ifixit-terminates-samsung-partnership-due-to- costs-difficulty-of-repairs-and-lack-of-trust --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .