I do think Nintendo need to follow the lead of a lot of other companies and offer official replacement parts, especially with the weeks long turnaround times their official service can have sometimes. Replaceable storage is also a good improvement that could happen, considering it’s not unheard of for storage chips to die (for example early 32GB Wii Us). Still, I think iFixit are somewhat unfair when it comes to the Switch’s battery. It is definitely harder to remove than the ROG Ally (screwed in batteries are the way, ASUS did a good job on this) but even their own guide scores the Switch battery removal as being easier than the Deck. The Switch’s battery can be removed mostly with isopropyl alcohol and prying (still a royal pain compared to the Ally, but doable), while they recommend using multiple applications of heat for the Deck (which is terrifying considering this is a battery we are talking about, and will put a lot of people off). The only thing better on the Deck is availability of official parts, but everything else is far worse than the Switch battery replacement experience, and I do not think the Deck deserves the 7/10 repair score considering the replacement procedure for this commonly replaced part. It should be given a 5/10 instead.
I do think Nintendo need to follow the lead of a lot of other companies and offer official replacement parts, especially with the weeks long turnaround times their official service can have sometimes. Replaceable storage is also a good improvement that could happen, considering it’s not unheard of for storage chips to die (for example early 32GB Wii Us). Still, I think iFixit are somewhat unfair when it comes to the Switch’s battery. It is definitely harder to remove than the ROG Ally (screwed in batteries are the way, ASUS did a good job on this) but even their own guide scores the Switch battery removal as being easier than the Deck. The Switch’s battery can be removed mostly with isopropyl alcohol and prying (still a royal pain compared to the Ally, but doable), while they recommend using multiple applications of heat for the Deck (which is terrifying considering this is a battery we are talking about, and will put a lot of people off). The only thing better on the Deck is availability of official parts, but everything else is far worse than the Switch battery replacement experience, and I do not think the Deck deserves the 7/10 repair score considering the replacement procedure for this commonly replaced part. It should be given a 5/10 instead.
Nintendo won’t change a thing because they know their fanbase will buy their products no matter what they do