Samsung’s New Phone Repair Kits Are Better Than Nothing – Wired

Samsung officially introduced US repair kit program this week. Now, anyone who owns one of the Galaxy phones covered by the program can Order parts, tools, and instructions need to fix their devices themselves.

company first announce Program fixed in April. Thanks to some laws in Europe that require pointing devices The extent of its repairabilityIn the United States, similar legislation guaranteeing consumers’ rights to have their phones, laptops, and gadgets repaired seems inevitable. Companies like Samsung and Apple are eager to go further in this area and set the tone for what it means to repair a device. The problem is, now that these companies have revealed their repair tool programs, they seem to offer more of a repair bite than a full buffet.

Samsung has only made repair kits available for some of its productsThese are the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy Tab 7+ phones. That’s a total of seven devices, out of hundreds of Samsung devices still in service. Moreover, only certain parts of each device can be repaired: the screen, the charging port and the back panel glass. (Galaxy Tab owners can also replace the battery.) While the roll out of Samsung’s repair kit is limited, it’s been a much smoother process so far than when Apple introduced its repair program in April. Apple groups were expensiveimpractical, and often more annoying than it was worth.

Samsung, along with Google (which provides files Spare parts and tools for Pixel phones) with the iFixit advocacy group. It is a good partnership and a step towards a more salable future. But for now, this future only unfolds intermittently. If Samsung, Apple and other companies want to build a robust self-reform program before the regulatory hammer collapses, they will have to step up their efforts.

Here’s more news from Gear Desk.

Hi Alexa, sweep my floor

Say what you will about Amazon, but there’s no denying that it’s just a big, hungry bear that wants to devour everything around it. The latest entity to shriekly slide into Amazon’s chasm is iRobot, the company that makes Roomba brooms; Amazon will be Company absorption For $1.7 billion in cash, which seems like a small change versus 3.9 billion dollars feast From OneMedical last month. (That’s right, Amazon is a healthcare provider now, too.)

Sure, there are all kinds of privacy implications from this acquisition, especially when you consider that Amazon may soon own floor plan map of your home Collected by sensors in iRobot vacuums. But hey, just think of the other possibilities: Episode cameras In your robot lawn mower! flying dust Drones who – which Listen to your conversations! Really anything would be possible.

The club divides itself

to remember Club House? Voice based social network Taken off in 2020 During the early days of the epidemic, when he provided relief from isolation and Zoom stress Many of us have been feeling. (Ha ha, glad that’s over, right?) Since entry to the app was invite-only, it gave the Clubhouse experience a sense of exclusivity that made it feel exciting. Clubhouse quickly became a virtual meeting place VIPs in Silicon Valley To delight each other with their collective presence. Then the app opened For the general public, its attractiveness failed Faster than the warm La Croix.

Now, the Clubhouse is trying to restore some of its old splendor by making parts of it exclusive again. a New feature It allows users to divide rooms into several clubs (clubs?) which will enable them to keep their conversations private. club is take orders To create Homes now but will be rolled out on a case by case basis.

The Clubhouse obviously hopes that these smaller, more structured experiences will lure users back from a lot of othersMost common Voice chat services. When Feature Announcement Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison wrote on Twitter, “The best social experiences aren’t for everyone. They’re small and coordinated. It’s what creates intimacy, trust, and friendship.”

Instagram NFTs

after, after Controversial Moving to prioritize TikTok clone reels in user feeds, Instagram is looking into another buzzing trend online: NFTs. In May, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announce That the social platform will dip its toes at that time NFT waters. Of course, the NFT market has calmed down significantly since May. However, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, announced this week that his company is expanding its plan to Enable NFTs Via Instagram in over 100 countries. The feature will allow users to create posts like NFTs and buy or sell them using digital wallets.

Speaking of non-fungible assets…

Take NFT, it will last longer

The hallmark of NFTs has always been that they are digital. Artists mint their business As NFTs generate a mark on the blockchain indicating that the work is original. Other than that, the same piece can be recreated infinitely as any online GIF. (Okay, it’s actually more complicated than that, so here’s a guide that explains exactly How do NFTs work.)

Now, thanks to companies like Infinite Objects and Tokenframe, you can take this digital art and Paste it on your wall. This week in Gadget Lab Podcasts, Lauren Judd of WIRED and Michael Kalor talked about the strange world of NFTs and how physical frames for digital art might make the whole thing a lot easier for beginners.