this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2024
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As someone who repairs consumer electronics for a living I’m inclined to disagree.
People are routinely installing batteries of dubious quality because the original device manufacturer will not sell them one, but the part is available within their authorized repair network.
I have clients come to me after a manufacturer quotes more than a device’s original purchase cost for a replacement screen. I’ve also had circumstances where that part is unavailable because the device is too new and the aftermarket through third-party vendors hasn’t had a chance to mature.
Schematics are only made available through leaks.
The current state of the OEM PC landscape is the main driving force behind Right To Repair legislation. Valve entered the market already compliant.
I’ll add that one of my clients got a $150 quote from Valve for an out-of-warranty repair/replacement of the mainboard, which is pretty incredible considering that’s the most expensive part in the device.
From a hardware/repair standpoint, the OEM PC and Steam Deck ecosystems are far apart from one another.
I'm sorry, but I think we have a mismatch on our understanding of the word proprietary. A desktop PC has some proprietary things, firmware, and the likes are almost always proprietary, as in they're the propriety of the company that made it, which means that if someone else tried to make them they'll get sued. But most of the schematics and connectors are an open source standard. Which means that if something breaks, you can buy a replacement from a different company and everything should work.
Laptops are mostly the same as well, in fact they use much of the same standards, the thing is that the form factor makes it difficult for third-parties to make the pieces, but they exist, and are legal.
A company can charge as much or as little as they want to fix their device, that has no impact in whether the device is proprietary or not. If you are legally allowed to open, repair it and change parts with third-party ones it's not proprietary. If anything in that chain breaks, e.g. you're not allowed to open or repair, or third-parties are not allowed to make replacements then it's proprietary.
Besides having made a device that's essentially as proprietary as a desktop (which is to say almost no proprietary at all), Valve is also offering their own replacement parts and cheap repairs, which are all things to commend, but if Nintendo did it for the switch the switch would still be proprietary.
Most of what you mentioned is right to repair, which is important and all the more reason the Deck should be praised, but it's not what proprietary means.