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The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

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Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#81

Post by FireBeyond »

noboostforyou wrote: post #76

Anecdotal only but I've had to buy very obscure Samsung replacement parts twice in recent years and definitely noticed how expensive it was. One was a proprietary cable for a tv and another was a specific-length ignition wire for a stove top pilot light. Both times I was able to find a no-name brand replacement part on amazon but reviews were mixed and there was no guarantee of fitment. And it wasn't that much of a d…

I have a Samsung fridge that has an integrated water pitcher setup (keeps it full inside the door). It's actually pretty cool. Nice pitcher too.

However, I made the mistake of putting it in the dishwasher on a Sanitize cycle (normal cycle is meant to/should be okay).

The heat deformed the pitcher (just plastic).

I did some various heating myself to make the top sit right again, but it just never did, and it being very slightly off-kilter was enough to not trip the fill mechanism.

So I went to buy a new one.

Holy hell.

One hundred and twenty dollars.

For this:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-DA97-17395A-Refrigerator-Rese...

And this is not someone on Amazon gouging. Indeed Samsung themselves want $140.

https://samsungpartsusa.com/products/da97-17395a

for a plastic water pitcher.

> I paid over $60 for that pilot light wire.

Not Samsung, but I had a double oven whose circuit board died. The manufacturer wanted more than the cost of the oven for a new circuit board (was an older oven). That one thankfully ended up being a fairly common and simple fix (some capacitors and some other things - there was someone on eBay selling repair service - "$59, send me your board, and I'll send it back in three days repaired").

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#82

Post by joncrocks »

mynameisvlad wrote: post #70
wccrawford wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's invading everything, too. Ninja warrior used to be a show about amazing athletes conquering the courses, with a quirky backstory thrown in sometimes. Now, almost everyone has a lengthy backstory that is told at least once per season, and it's a significant amount of the runtime of the show. It's gotten to the point that even athletes that have basically no backstory still end up with a lengthy segment on themsel…

Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because viewers tested more positively to the backstories and the connection helps them choose someone to root for and therefore be more invested in the show. The showrunners didn’t do it for shits and giggles, they did it because it makes them more money. If you want just the sport bits, you can always watch Sasuke, the original, which I believe has less backstory interstitials.

Or it could be cheaper to make.

i.e. It's cheaper per unit-airtime to have a small crew interviewing people for backstory (+ editing) than recording people doing the course. They can pad-out the expensive bit (holding the events) with filler/b-roll.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#83

Post by dangus »

robnado wrote: post #77
dangus wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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 m…

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-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.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#84

Post by capitainenemo »

bdcravens wrote: post #64
capitainenemo wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, they clearly report on niche phones that they feel have a decent repairability. For example they call out the Fair Phone (which is awesome, but according to wikipedia they've only sold 400k phones across all models). It seems if they have limited resources they should focus on the most repairable models of all major phone manufacturers and tip the needle that way.

The niche phones I see, as you've mentioned, tend to stand out in some way (open source based, new foldable models, etc), rather than being a variant of a brand they've covered dozens of times. I'm willing to bet that Samsung has hundreds of different SKUs, across their different categories: rugged enterprise phones, S class, A class, etc. At my local Microcenter, they literally have 27 different phones across about…

Yeah, the XCover6 is unique on repairability due to its design, thus the good score in the report I linked. Replaceable battery (one of the more common things that needs replacing as a phone ages). But also: "Everything else is relatively easy too, Samsung used standard Phillips screws and didn’t go wild with the glue. Also, not only does this phone have a 3.5mm headphone jack, it is a separate module held by a screw. It does take some disassembly to get to it, but it is not soldered to the board. The USB-C charging port is on a separate PCB, the pogo pins (which can also be used for charging) are below that and the speaker assembly."

So, I feel if they'd call out FairPhone (which rightly deserves the 10 out of 10) they could also highlight this effort from Samsung to encourage things like this, one that maybe warrants an... 8? Just guessing :)

'course, thanks to the EU replaceable batteries will probably be a lot more common, although maybe not as easily swappable as this one. The other things are fairly unique too - perhaps they were aiming for easier repair since it was a business/military phone.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#85

Post by gknoy »

FireBeyond wrote: post #81
noboostforyou wrote: post #76

Anecdotal only but I've had to buy very obscure Samsung replacement parts twice in recent years and definitely noticed how expensive it was. One was a proprietary cable for a tv and another was a specific-length ignition wire for a stove top pilot light. Both times I was able to find a no-name brand replacement part on amazon but reviews were mixed and there was no guarantee of fitment. And it wasn't that much of a d…

I have a Samsung fridge that has an integrated water pitcher setup (keeps it full inside the door). It's actually pretty cool. Nice pitcher too. However, I made the mistake of putting it in the dishwasher on a Sanitize cycle (normal cycle is meant to/should be okay). The heat deformed the pitcher (just plastic). I did some various heating myself to make the top sit right again, but it just never did, and it being ver…

My LG refrigerator had similarly priced replacement parts for the removable shelves in the doors, several of which cracked. It was bonkers. Is this partly because the demand for these specific parts is relatively low?

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#86

Post by kroolik »

dangus wrote: post #83
robnado wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 m…

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 servic…

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Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#87

Post by gosub100 »

FireBeyond wrote: post #81
noboostforyou wrote: post #76

Anecdotal only but I've had to buy very obscure Samsung replacement parts twice in recent years and definitely noticed how expensive it was. One was a proprietary cable for a tv and another was a specific-length ignition wire for a stove top pilot light. Both times I was able to find a no-name brand replacement part on amazon but reviews were mixed and there was no guarantee of fitment. And it wasn't that much of a d…

I have a Samsung fridge that has an integrated water pitcher setup (keeps it full inside the door). It's actually pretty cool. Nice pitcher too. However, I made the mistake of putting it in the dishwasher on a Sanitize cycle (normal cycle is meant to/should be okay). The heat deformed the pitcher (just plastic). I did some various heating myself to make the top sit right again, but it just never did, and it being ver…

You're not paying for the plastic pellets and energy it takes to melt them for injection molding. You're paying for the shipping and storage and interest on the money it took to make and store for you. It's a very specific shape and it doesn't seem that expensive to me.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#88

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

chuckadams wrote: post #28
GeekyBear wrote: post #10

In my opinion, if you are going position yourself as a neutral arbiter of device repairability, it does not pass the smell test to enter into for-profit business relationships with the companies manufacturing the devices you rate. Providing consumers with information on where to find reputable companies selling repair parts would be a much more palatable alternative to selling them yourself. > “I don’t know why Samsu…

Seems much simpler than that to me: iFixit isn’t an advocacy group, they’re in the business of selling parts directly to consumers, and they’re calling out what looks to be an outrageous markup from the sole supplier. Any advocacy they do is in support of their business. They’re a free market solution demanding a freer market.

The sole supplier is using the free market to set its pricing, limit its warehousing overhead, and drive sales of new products. Don't like it, buy something else.

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#89

Post by pixl97 »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #88
chuckadams wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems much simpler than that to me: iFixit isn’t an advocacy group, they’re in the business of selling parts directly to consumers, and they’re calling out what looks to be an outrageous markup from the sole supplier. Any advocacy they do is in support of their business. They’re a free market solution demanding a freer market.

The sole supplier is using the free market to set its pricing, limit its warehousing overhead, and drive sales of new products. Don't like it, buy something else.

There are multiple options that can be explored at the same time. Sticking with an absolutists idea is far more apt to end in failure.

Support right to repair!

Re: The Story of Samsung's failed deal with iFixit, as told by iFixit's CEO

#90

Post by edmundsauto »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #88
chuckadams wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems much simpler than that to me: iFixit isn’t an advocacy group, they’re in the business of selling parts directly to consumers, and they’re calling out what looks to be an outrageous markup from the sole supplier. Any advocacy they do is in support of their business. They’re a free market solution demanding a freer market.

The sole supplier is using the free market to set its pricing, limit its warehousing overhead, and drive sales of new products. Don't like it, buy something else.

This results in less repair ability and more waste. It also probably boosts economic activity.

Withholding any moral judgement, I do think these current incentives contribute to a direction we don’t want society to go. Feels like we should fix the incentives here to encourage reuse.

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