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Comment by miragecraft | Hacker News Reader

I think when we generally talk about whether something is "repairable" we're referring to the ease of repair, which translate to the repair being affordable and makes economical sense so people actually do it vs buying a replacement.

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Without any extraordinary effort and having only typical DIY skills, I have repaired a half-dozen of my family members' iPhones that people complain are "not repairable".

To me, "repairable" means "capable of being repaired in a practical way". I'll also grant you the unstated "at a reasonable price", which for me, having a cheapskate nature, I've always found the repair parts (batteries, screens, and buttons) to be extremely reasonable in price.

For people who don't want to DIY it, most every mall has a kiosk that will do it for 2-3x what I paid, but still <15% of the price of a new iPhone.

Ok how about this: "The company hasn't made any design choices with the express purpose of making repair more difficult."

I still look at the outcome. If a manufacturer puts a Torx screw instead of a Philips, was that choice made to make it harder to repair? What about a Security Torx instead of a Torx? What about a Pentalobe or Tri-wing instead of a Phillips? A Triple-Square instead of a hex socket? If they glue in the battery which serves to protect the battery and also makes it more difficult to repair?

"If it can be repaired in a practical way, it's repairable" seems more resilient and probably no more a judgment call than the design questions above.

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