Reply to post: Re: I think you're being over-cynical

Google to sell replacement Pixel phone parts via iFixit

DS999 Silver badge

Re: I think you're being over-cynical

Yeah I don't know where people get this idea that repairs of smartphones is some huge profit center. In reality it is something the vendors didn't want to support because it isn't worth the hassle. Apple provides repair service at their stores not because they rake in millions from it, but because that's kind of necessary if you want to sell AppleCare - and buyers of products that are sold as "premium" expect to have some sort of all encompassing premium warranty option. They said they wanted to model the experience on buying a higher end car, so you have the showroom, the service center, the "comprehensive insurance" available with repairs that include loaner "vehicle" if it can't be done while you wait, etc.

Stocking parts probably only makes sense for batteries and displays. Nothing else will be replaced often enough for the cost of supporting such a program to be recovered without significant markups in the price of the part. If you want to do something weird like replace a vibration motor, don't expect it to be cheap. That goes double for Google, since the sales volume of Pixels is so much less than the sales of iPhones, so the need for parts should similarly be much less. If they create instructions on how to replace the vibration motor and stock replacement parts, and only one person orders that part for the life of that particular Pixel model, how could that ever be worth it to them? Even selling that part for $1000 wouldn't come close to recovering their cost. Obviously they can't price it like that or people will have a fit, so instead they'll take a loss on everything they stock except for batteries and displays.

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