> In my opinion they have harmed the cause more than anything else: instead of actual repair material (like schematics or low/high level servicing manuals)
Not sure I understand this take.
$BRAND's role is to sell devices. IFixit's role is to make repairs more accessible to the average Joe. Obviously for more tech-literate device owners this might not be needed, but everyone else it is.
The incentives for this dynamic are pretty confusing (understandably). $BRAND and IFixit need to work together for repairability to work, but companies don't really have a strong business incentive to do this outside of regulation.
Obviously nothing about this dynamic is perfect, but the claim that IFixit harms the push for more repairable devices just isn't correct.
> IFixit's role is to make repairs more accessible to the average Joe.
Which is fine, if they would not pose as right-to-repair champions. They claim that selling a phone in 3 parts somehow helps R-T-R, that it's a great step forward. It is not. It doesn't change anything. The device is not any more repairable than any other device.
What they claim basically is that if you buy your TV as separate parts (remote controller, TV and TV stand instead of all of these in one box), that somehow makes the TV repairable. It does not, however.
Not sure I understand this take.
$BRAND's role is to sell devices. IFixit's role is to make repairs more accessible to the average Joe. Obviously for more tech-literate device owners this might not be needed, but everyone else it is.
The incentives for this dynamic are pretty confusing (understandably). $BRAND and IFixit need to work together for repairability to work, but companies don't really have a strong business incentive to do this outside of regulation.
Obviously nothing about this dynamic is perfect, but the claim that IFixit harms the push for more repairable devices just isn't correct.