Posted on Jan 18, 2022
From his perch at Jet City Device Repair in Chicago, store manager Neal Dexter wants you to know something about broken phones: It's not you.
There's a reason so many of us are cracking phone screens seemingly more than ever. They don't make them like they used to.
As smartphones got bigger, yet thinner, they've become "super fragile and easy to break," he says. "The new ones are so delicate."
The smartphone industry is grappling with stagnate growth, as consumers began to balk in 2017 and 2018 at the ever-increasing prices of phones, which now start in the $900 to $1,100 range for top of the line Apple and Samsung models.
At the same time, Jet City, the uBreakiFix national chain and other stores are seeing a rush of iPhone 7s from customers, a phone that was first released in 2016.
"It's super popular right now," for repairs, says Justin Wetherill, the CEO of uBreakiFix, as a phone people like, and are willing to spend $86 to get it fixed (compared to $149 from Apple) and extend its life.
The big question for many consumers is where to go to fix their phones, Apple, via its Apple Stores, or local retail repair shops, from the kiosk at a shopping mall to the neighborhood strip mall.
Owners of an iPhone XS Max, the latest model, don't have much of a choice. uBreakiFix and most independent stores won't repair it because of the wholesale cost of the glass. Apple charges $329 for repairs on the Max unless you have Apple Care, Apple's warranty program, which costs $200 for a two-year warranty, plus a $29 deductible to get the screen fixed.
Shop owners we spoke to like Dexter say that paying insurance is throwing money down the drain. "It's not cost-effective to get Apple Care," says Rob Link, a Virginia-based blogger and former repair pro. "It's always cheaper to get the repair."
Consumer Reports, in looking at the issue, was neutral. "if you’re a fumblefingers or just prone to bad luck, AppleCare+ coverage is probably a better deal for you than it may be for others."
Try some basic math, however. Apple Care for the iPhone 8, a model from 2017, costs $129, and a repair would cost $149 without the insurance or $29 with it, so the Apple Care bill would be $158. The uBreakiFix stores charge $86 to repair the iPhone 8.
Bigger, newer models are a different story. Apple charges $329 for the Max, $279 for the XS and X, and $199 for the XR. Consumers also can't just drop in to the store, leave their phones and come back when they're ready. They need to make an appointment in the Apple app and hope they're free when the "Genius" can see them.
"I've cracked so many screens," says Chris MacAskill, who runs the Cake online forum in Mountain View, California. "If you're active, it's so easy to do. I just can't bring myself to make an appointment at the Apple store, fight the crowds, and have them tell me why my repair isn't covered under AppleCare and it will cost a fortune. Twice bitten..."
And for the record, Apple senior vice-president Phil Schiller, in introducing the latest iPhone models, the XS and XS Max in September 2018, said the phones had "the most durable glass ever in a smartphone." Apple declined to comment for this article.
What is not up for debate is that if people take a little more precaution, their phones will last longer and perhaps not crack as easily.
"I tell every person before they walk out of here to get some form of screen protection," says Brian Caponi, who runs the CPR (Cell Phone Repair) shop in Highland Park, Illinois. "And a good, really strong case, not something flimsy with cute colors, but something that actually protects the phone."
He likes the $50 tempered glass protector by ZAGG and cases by Otterbox or Speck.
"You're spending $1,000 on these things," he says. "It pays to be careful."
This much is a given: Manufacturers like Apple and Samsung will continue to beef up their phones with new features, but the one consumers care most about – an indestructible screen – isn't likely to be a reality.
"They don't want to make that kind of phone," says Dexter. "Then people would stop upgrading. The more phones break, the more opportunities they have to sell new phones."
That's a popular sentiment, but on an earnings call with investors in January, Apple CEO Tim Cook denied that Apple made phones that weren't built to last.
"We do design our products to last as long as possible," he said. "Some people hold on to those for the life of the product, and some people trade them in, and then that phone is then redistributed to someone else. I'm convinced that making a great product that is high quality is the best thing for the customer and we work for the user, and so that's the way that we look at it."
Original article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2019/05/28/why-iphone-galaxy-smartphone-screens-break-so-easily/1227024001/
Posted on Jan 18, 2022
When your car has problems, your instinct is probably to take it to a mechanic. But when something goes wrong with your smartphone — say a shattered screen or a depleted battery — you may wonder: “Is it time to buy a new one?”
That’s because even as our consumer electronics have become as vital as our cars, the idea of tech repair still hasn’t been sown into our collective consciousness. Studies have shown that when tech products begin to fail, most people are inclined to buy new things rather than fix their old ones.
“Repair is inconvenient and difficult, so people don’t seek it,” said Nathan Proctor, a director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy organization, who is working on legislation to make tech repair more accessible. “Because people don’t expect to repair things, they replace things when by far the most logical thing to do is to repair it.”
It doesn’t have to be this way. More of us could maintain our tech products, as we do with cars, if it were more practical to do so. If we all had more access to the parts, instructions and tools to revive products, repairs would become simpler and less expensive.
This premise is at the heart of the “right to repair” act, a proposed piece of legislation that activists and tech companies have fought over for nearly a decade. Recently, right-to-repair supporters scored two major wins. In May, the Federal Trade Commission published a report explaining how tech companies were harming competition by restricting repairs. And last Friday, President Biden issued an executive order that included a directive for the F.T.C. to place limits on how tech manufacturers could restrict repairs.
The F.T.C. is set to meet next week to discuss new policies about electronics repair. Here’s what you need to know about the fight over your right to fix gadgets.
What is the right-to-repair act?
The legislation, which was previously proposed in about two dozen states and is now being discussed on a federal level, would require tech and appliance manufacturers to provide the tools, instructions and parts necessary for anyone to fix their smartphones, tablets, computers and refrigerators, as well as other products.
That would be a major shift. Tech companies currently provide service tools and parts only to a network of officially approved partners, including big brands with service centers like Best Buy and some independent repair shops. These official partners typically follow strict rules, which include using genuine parts bought directly from the manufacturer, so costs to the customer may be higher than repairs done by unauthorized repair centers.
By making resources broadly available, the unofficial repair centers could more easily compete to drive costs down. And that would make repair a more compelling option than buying a new gadget.
Why should I care?
Tech products are among our most expensive household purchases, and their prices keep climbing. Not long ago, the price of a high-end smartphone was $650. Today, new Apple and Samsung phones start at $700 and $800.
The average household would save $330 a year if it repaired products rather than replaced them, which adds up to $40 billion nationwide, according to a study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
By prolonging the life of your gadgets, you would also put more use into the energy, metals, plastics and human labor invested in creating the product.
Why don’t more people repair their tech?
There are several barriers to repairing consumer electronics that can make it intimidating.
Why won’t unauthorized fixers become authorized?
Independent fixers get access to tools, parts and instructions for repairs when they enroll in partnerships with tech companies to become authorized service centers. But Kyle Wiens, chief executive of iFixit, which publishes free instruction manuals for people to restore their gadgets, said many independent fixers were turned off by the contractual terms to become authorized.
One requirement to be an authorized Apple repair center involves collecting detailed service records, including customer names, product serial numbers and mailing addresses. This information must be provided to Apple in the event of an audit to verify that repairs are being done properly. Even if a repair provider terminates its agreement with Apple, it must agree to continue to share this information with the company for two years.
There is also the issue of price. Shakeel Taiyab, an independent fixer in South San Francisco, said he charged lower prices to customers because he obtained authentic parts from channels such as electronics refurbishers who extract working components from defective gadgets. (He charged me $180 to fix my wife’s iPhone screen, undercutting the Apple store by $100.)
Mr. Taiyab said that if he became an authorized provider, he would follow the rules, which might result in raising prices for his customers — something he said he didn’t want to do.
Apple declined to comment. A spokesman referred to a news release that said there were 1,500 authorized, independent repair centers across the United States, Canada and Europe.
Why are tech giants opposed to the right to repair?
Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google have contributed to lobbying efforts against the right-to-repair act. The most common argument is security — the idea that people with access to repair and diagnostics tools could perform illegitimate repairs and steal people’s data.
TechNet, a trade group that represents Apple, Google, Amazon and others, said opening up repair could put consumers in harm’s way.
“Allowing unvetted third parties with access to sensitive diagnostic information, software, tools and parts would jeopardize the safety of consumers’ devices and put consumers at risk for fraud,” Carl Holshouser, a TechNet executive, said in a statement.
But in its report, the F.T.C. concluded that there was “scant evidence to support manufacturers’ justifications for repair restrictions.”
Why is it easier to service a car?
When your car breaks down, you can take it to a dealership’s service center or potentially get more affordable service at an independent mechanic. Broadly speaking, cars are more customizable with aftermarket parts, and basic maintenance and repair jobs like changing the oil or replacing a cracked windshield don’t require special software.
In 2012, Massachusetts enacted a right-to-repair law for automobiles, and automakers agreed to adopt the requirements of the law nationwide. After cars evolved to rely more heavily on computers, the legislation helped make special tools and instructions broadly available to independent mechanics for repairs.
“When your car breaks down, you know exactly what to do,” Mr. Proctor said. “You find a mechanic, you pay, and it’s back. If you don’t like your mechanic, you find another one. Or you could go to the dealer if you want.”
In other words, buying a new car is the last resort. And buying a new phone could become one, too.
Original article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/technology/personaltech/right-to-repair-iphones-android.html