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iFixit , everyone ’s favorite gadget repair gadfly , is set in motion a portable soldering Fe . The gismo is designed to make component repair more approachable for home user .
The timing of the announcement is n’t recede on anyone , dropping the same week asApple ’s “ It ’s Glowtime ” outcome . While Apple has been more clear to substance abuser resort in recent year , iFixit has long been a irritant in Apple ’s side , on a regular basis awarding the companylow repairability scoresfor iPhones and other equipment .
The new announced FixHub is a 100 James Watt “ smart ” soldering iron , which takes about five endorsement to warm up . It ’s battery - powered , and iFixit clocks its life history at eight hours on a undivided charge . A couplet of on - gimmick USB - vitamin C ports , meanwhile , can be used to charge other machine .
As for why the repair site got into the soldering iron business , iFixit notes , “ No electronics workbench is complete without a soldering iron , but we were disgruntled with the iron we had . After our founder had to drag out an file name extension electric cord out to his car to fix a stereo system , we ’d had enough . ”
harmonize to the society , more than 1,000 of its online reparation guides require a soldering branding iron — a tool your mediocre smartphone possessor does n’t usually have lie in around the business firm . iFixit is positioning the mathematical product as “ beginner friendly , ” noting the inclusion of a sleep mode , accrue security and a spark that indicates temperature .
Recent generations of gimmick have found Apple dampen its position on the issue , include the launching of ( admittedly unwieldy)at - home equipment repair kits .
The moves , in bend , have been incite by a advance inright to repair lawsacross the country and domain . Apple continues to crusade back on some of the legislating , including its continuedopposition to “ parts pairing ” — which necessitate proprietarycomponents for full functionality . In April , however , TechCrunchexclusively learnedthat the company would be opening up resort to third - party components .
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As for how repairable the FixHub is itself , we eagerly look Apple ’s score . The soldering iron will hunt $ 80 when it arrive on October 15 . Presales for U.S. , Canada , Australia , and Europe start today . iFixit will also offer a $ 300 pack that include the iron , an extra battery , and extra repair tools .