What They Say
Google has joined the trend to helping device owners to repair things themselves by tying up with iFixit. iFixit will supply repair guides and will make parts available including “batteries, displays, cameras, and more”. Parts will be made available back to the Pixel 2 from 2017 in countries including the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and other European countries where the phones are sold.
The company is also developing a Chromebook repair programme with suppliers including Acer and Lenovo which will support schools to get information and develop in-house repair programmes.
The firm has committed to five years of support minimum for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro as well as Nest-connected home devices.
What We Think
This is a positive move. However, the announcement of a five year period of support for smart Home devices made me think. I have had the same door looks for nearly 30 years (and they weren’t new then!) and I have only changed the thermostat once, when my boiler system had to be changed and updated. I tend to think of these items having a life of 20 years or more. A life of five years is not good as far as I am concerned, and replacing these items has a real environmental impact. (BR)
