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iFixit says the Switch 2 is even harder to repair than the original

Technology
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  • I wasn't talking about the repairability score. I was talking about the title of this article stating that it's "harder" to repair than the Switch 1.

    Yeah, it is harder to do. Specifically

    • you need to remove stickers in a way that you can replace them, if you want to keep them looking good
    • You need to undo glue, iFixit used isopropyl alcohol and force
    • Once you're in its fairly easy to replace parts, but Nintendo don't supply parts
    • Batteries are glued down, you need to destroy the foam beneath them to get the batteries out, Nintendo don't sell replacement foam, or even a specification for the foam

    By being harder it will be more costly to repair

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    I wonder if Nintendo will ever embrace repairability like some phone companies have

    I guess there's more competition in phones than in devices that can run Mario Cart

  • They could have easily fixed it with hall effect sticks. That is a proven and inexpensive solution, but Nintendo prefers to sell more joycons and create waste, it's that simple.

    It's not.

    Hall effect sticks probably would have increased the price, and then people would complain about how greedy Nintendo is even more than they do now.

    It's always the same story. Whatever they do, it's not good enough or too expensive or whatever. In the end, the thing will be sold out nonetheless.

  • I honestly don't care how difficult it is, only if it's possible, if it's cost-effective, and if there are any fucking corporate shenanigans that intentionally make it harder.

    You're either a troll or a moron, this is the second time I saw you write stupid shit on a post.

  • I implore people to watch the teardown guide itself, which is way more nuanced than the clickbaity The Verge article.

    I'm not a fan of the use of glue in the joycon sides and the fact that the color strips under the controllers are hiding screws. The bigger complaint is the battery glue, especially because you can imagine aftermarket parts with bigger capacity could be a thing here. I definitely wouldn't open this thing unless it has a problem.

    Some components are still modular, which is nice. I can't imagine the sticks not having changed design is great, but it's entirely possible they're way more durable, which the teardown acknowledges. Keep in mind that, while all controllers can drift, most controllers don't fail that way. It's possible to build this type of stick without widespread issues. Time will tell, though.

    The switch 2 gives out complete apple vibes. It's repairability is pretty horrid after watching the teardown guide.

    Controllers will fail sooner or later and will have to be replaced. Here it will end up replacing the whole stick just due to glueing small parts of the controller.

    Battery will also fail sooner than later. The whole thing yells planned absolesence...

  • The switch 2 gives out complete apple vibes. It's repairability is pretty horrid after watching the teardown guide.

    Controllers will fail sooner or later and will have to be replaced. Here it will end up replacing the whole stick just due to glueing small parts of the controller.

    Battery will also fail sooner than later. The whole thing yells planned absolesence...

    It absolutely does not. Nintendo hardware is built like a freight truck. The teardown guide references the JerryRigEverything "durability test" and I am pretty sure unless you use it to bash someone's head in this thing will last (and even then).

    What it reeks of is Nintendo wanting to make things cheap and sell you multiple of them. Which they do. My launch Switch 1 lasted until I got a Lite and then an Oled and I expect this one will do pretty much the same. That doesn't mean their joycon won't need fixing or replacing (and I did have to open and mod my Lite, which wasn't easy).

    I think Nintendo hasn't adjusted its industrial design to modern repairability concerns yet, which is a very Nintendo thing (and definitely not the same as Apple artificially holding down the repair ecosystem to itself artificially). I like neither option, but I'd take Nintendo's approach over Apple's any day. They absolutely need to comply with modern right to repair regulations, though, and that will mean doing more than they're currently doing.

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    Just don't break it smh.

  • It absolutely does not. Nintendo hardware is built like a freight truck. The teardown guide references the JerryRigEverything "durability test" and I am pretty sure unless you use it to bash someone's head in this thing will last (and even then).

    What it reeks of is Nintendo wanting to make things cheap and sell you multiple of them. Which they do. My launch Switch 1 lasted until I got a Lite and then an Oled and I expect this one will do pretty much the same. That doesn't mean their joycon won't need fixing or replacing (and I did have to open and mod my Lite, which wasn't easy).

    I think Nintendo hasn't adjusted its industrial design to modern repairability concerns yet, which is a very Nintendo thing (and definitely not the same as Apple artificially holding down the repair ecosystem to itself artificially). I like neither option, but I'd take Nintendo's approach over Apple's any day. They absolutely need to comply with modern right to repair regulations, though, and that will mean doing more than they're currently doing.

    What it reeks of is Nintendo wanting to make things cheap and sell you multiple of them

    That's the "apple like" planned obsolesence part I was refering to. Think about airpods for example.

    The teardown doesn't touch on part serialization, although the ability to brick your device if they "feel like it" is on PAR with Apple.

    Although I'm not sure we should be arguing about which of the two is shittier when both are already deep in non compliance of "modern right to repair regulations (lmao)"

  • What it reeks of is Nintendo wanting to make things cheap and sell you multiple of them

    That's the "apple like" planned obsolesence part I was refering to. Think about airpods for example.

    The teardown doesn't touch on part serialization, although the ability to brick your device if they "feel like it" is on PAR with Apple.

    Although I'm not sure we should be arguing about which of the two is shittier when both are already deep in non compliance of "modern right to repair regulations (lmao)"

    No, big differences at play here. Nintendo won't plan obsolescence, they will give you a base version at launch (multiple, if they can, since they're handheld devices and a single family may conceivably want a couple) and then they will iterate on the form factor with a cheaper, slimmer alternative and a bigger, premium alternative. None of those will stop working or break at any point, though. They don't care about them being replaced. In fact, they prefer if they aren't, given they make a cut of the software, too.

    They are planned to stack on each other. Sell you multiples for multiple users. Apple can't do that trick, because everybody already owns a phone and the software is backwards compatible and interoperable, so they need to push you to replacement hardware. Nintendo's on a different business.

    The remote bricking is not planned obsolescence, it's Nintendo's draconian opinion that they own every part of the hardware and the software fundamentally, so emulation, user modding and jailbreaking are crimes against humanity. They are wrong, but they will continue to enforce it aggressively even beyond what is legally established. This is because it goes fundamentally counter to their hardware design, which relies on cheap-but-robust devices you can give to kids that are built with imaginatively repurposed older tech. They see enthusiasts improving on their price-optimal design as a threat and will send ninjas to stab you if you disagree.

    I disagree, but there are degrees of separation here. Nintendo still needs to be forced to provide replacement parts, specs and so forth, though.

  • No, big differences at play here. Nintendo won't plan obsolescence, they will give you a base version at launch (multiple, if they can, since they're handheld devices and a single family may conceivably want a couple) and then they will iterate on the form factor with a cheaper, slimmer alternative and a bigger, premium alternative. None of those will stop working or break at any point, though. They don't care about them being replaced. In fact, they prefer if they aren't, given they make a cut of the software, too.

    They are planned to stack on each other. Sell you multiples for multiple users. Apple can't do that trick, because everybody already owns a phone and the software is backwards compatible and interoperable, so they need to push you to replacement hardware. Nintendo's on a different business.

    The remote bricking is not planned obsolescence, it's Nintendo's draconian opinion that they own every part of the hardware and the software fundamentally, so emulation, user modding and jailbreaking are crimes against humanity. They are wrong, but they will continue to enforce it aggressively even beyond what is legally established. This is because it goes fundamentally counter to their hardware design, which relies on cheap-but-robust devices you can give to kids that are built with imaginatively repurposed older tech. They see enthusiasts improving on their price-optimal design as a threat and will send ninjas to stab you if you disagree.

    I disagree, but there are degrees of separation here. Nintendo still needs to be forced to provide replacement parts, specs and so forth, though.

    If you design a product to be intentionally difficult to repair, using subpar parts, is it not planned obsolescence? I really don't get what you are about there. Unless you require some sort of an internal clock to force brick the device to be considered planned?

    Everything else is correct and I agree.

  • Just don't break it smh.

    Oh good idea I hadn't thought of that

  • If you design a product to be intentionally difficult to repair, using subpar parts, is it not planned obsolescence? I really don't get what you are about there. Unless you require some sort of an internal clock to force brick the device to be considered planned?

    Everything else is correct and I agree.

    It's not planned obsolescence if your device is meant to last for decades. You could argue about the joycon if they had done that on purpose, but given that they ended up having to replace a bunch of them it seems pretty likely that their business model is to sell you four pairs to play with friends, not to keep reselling you more as they break.

    Nintendo's business is not based on the product becoming worse artificially to upsell you on a replacement. Their model is to keep making incremental replacements and then drop a generational upgrade every decade or so. That's not how planned obsolescence works. You don't get artificial performance degradation, deliberately fragile parts or artifical restrictions to repair via signed components. People can (and many do) repair Nintendo hardware on third party repair services with third party replacement parts, and from what iFixIt is saying that doesn't seem to have changed.

    Which is not to say Nintendo put ANY thought into repairability here. They clearly expect you to buy a Switch 2 and keep it until you buy a Switch 2 Lite. This thing is very new and that may yet change in both directions. But so far all I see here is the same old "we built this to be cheap and durable", which is fundamentally not Apple's "you'll buy one of these every two years and if it breaks you will come to us for a replacement and like it" approach.

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    What’s the appeal of the switch for when PC handhelds exist ? I just don’t get it why you would buy this unless you had children. Nintendo Games are good but they’re really not that good either.

  • What’s the appeal of the switch for when PC handhelds exist ? I just don’t get it why you would buy this unless you had children. Nintendo Games are good but they’re really not that good either.

    People like playing Nintendo original games. Mario games, Zelda games, etc.

    The only way to legally play those is on the switch.

    Yes, even non children play those games.

  • People like playing Nintendo original games. Mario games, Zelda games, etc.

    The only way to legally play those is on the switch.

    Yes, even non children play those games.

    You can legally play them on an ROG Ally or other Pc handheld . It is not illegal to emulate a game that you own.

    But I get that it’s just that I don’t think Nintendo games warrant buying an entire system anymore. If their consoles had more third party support maybe, but I just don’t see the value at the current price of the console.

  • Yeah, it is harder to do. Specifically

    • you need to remove stickers in a way that you can replace them, if you want to keep them looking good
    • You need to undo glue, iFixit used isopropyl alcohol and force
    • Once you're in its fairly easy to replace parts, but Nintendo don't supply parts
    • Batteries are glued down, you need to destroy the foam beneath them to get the batteries out, Nintendo don't sell replacement foam, or even a specification for the foam

    By being harder it will be more costly to repair

    You need to undo glue, iFixit used isopropyl alcohol and force

    This part I'm not so concerned about. It sucks but still doable.

    Nintendo don't supply parts

    Nintendo don't sell replacement foam

    Yeah, see, that part I take issue with. That's not doable.

    That's what I meant in my original comment.

  • You're either a troll or a moron, this is the second time I saw you write stupid shit on a post.

    I'm neither but you are a jackass, goodbye.

  • Nintendo hardware is built like a freight truck.

    Did you own a Switch 1? I would've agreed with you if I hadn't. The Switch was the Nintendo console I opened the most for the least fun. Joy con rails, both sides, and sticks. It's a fragile little thing.

  • What’s the appeal of the switch for when PC handhelds exist ? I just don’t get it why you would buy this unless you had children. Nintendo Games are good but they’re really not that good either.

    My Switch Lite is far more comfortable for me to play with than my Steam Deck. I know there are people who say that the Steam Deck is more comfortable and I believe them, but I get tired holding something big and heavy.

  • Nintendo hardware is built like a freight truck.

    Did you own a Switch 1? I would've agreed with you if I hadn't. The Switch was the Nintendo console I opened the most for the least fun. Joy con rails, both sides, and sticks. It's a fragile little thing.

    I owned a Switch 1, and it certainly was the Nintendo console I touched up the most. I replaced the back panel once before I got a Lite and then an OLED.

    I will say given how much I took that thing on the road and the beatings it took I never found the issues unreasonable and I only ever had to fix cosmetic damage (joycons aside). I've seen Switches get a TON of usage, too.

    It's not Nintendo's most rugged console, but it's certainly not a "fragile little thing" as I would define it.

    Let me put it this way, I'd much rather fix a broken Steam Deck, but I was way less worried about breaking a Switch.