Tech giant Samsung has made a big announcement. Galaxy users will now be able to repair their devices thanks to the constant pressure imposed by regulators and consumers. What’s more, even US President Joe Biden had to interfere and demand the easing of restrictions on repairing Samsung devices. Biden’s request forced the Federal Trade Commission to promise that it would take necessary steps to remove illegal repair restrictions on various devices.
According to the announcement made by the company on Thursday, users of a few flagship Galaxy devices will now be under a new program. The program will provide the users and third-party mobile repair service providers with access to authorized repair tools, genuine parts, and detailed guides for repair. Prior to this announcement, Samsung devices could only be repaired at the in-house service centers of the company.
Users of Galaxy Tab S7+, Galaxy S20, and Galaxy S21 series will be enjoying the benefits of the newly announced program. However, individuals using devices belonging to the S22 lineup will not enjoy similar privileges. Samsung will be collaborating with an online repair group called iFixit for streamlining its new endeavor.
For your information, Motorola has also worked with this online group for making a similar self-fixing program successful.
November 2021 saw another tech biggie and Samsung’s biggest competitor Apple launch a similar program named Self Repair Service. The program will make Apple spare parts like batteries, camera modules, displays, and more available for purchase by third-party repair companies.
Additionally, thanks to the program now anyone can have access to the company’s repair manuals.
Apple’s program is yet to be launched. Initially, the company will make it accessible only to iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 users. However, in a previous statement, Apple said that it has plans to make the service available even to users having Mac computers featuring the company’s new M1 chip.
Both Apple and Samsung have faced serious criticism from different quarters for making it almost impossible for independent repairpersons to access their devices. The companies have constantly marketed devices with non-removable batteries and memory and sealed the devices using special glue.
When asked about their collaboration with Samsung, iFixit’s CEO Kyle Wiens said that this decision by the tech giant marks the beginning of a new era, in which manufacturers will be supporting the users’ right to fix their own products.
He added that manufacturing companies should look to extend the lifespan of electronic goods for protecting the future of our planet. And to make that possible they must allow users to self-repair their own devices. The new program will become active within a few weeks. The results are all set to be in favor of both the users and the independent repair companies.
Sources –
edition.cnn.com