Samsung’s secret war on repair

[The Morning After]( It's Friday, May 24, 2024. Manufacturers may hate independent repair stores, but Samsung and Apple appeared to accept the direction the political wind was blowing in. Sadly, [Samsung’s warm-hearted embrace of third party repair may not have been as loving as had originally been suggested](. Details of the contract the Korean giant asks repair stores to sign include some pretty user-unfriendly rules. That includes sending your details and device identification to HQ, including all of the details of your repair issue. And, if your phone is found to be using an aftermarket, or non-Samsung part, the store has to instantly disassemble it and raise the alarm. That’s quite problematic, and also probably in violation of US laws around the right to use third-party parts for repair. The repair gurus at iFixit[announced that it was ending its partnership with Samsung]( around the same time. iFixit said there were irreconcilable differences between the pair’s philosophies, like the high price of replacement parts and the mostly-unrepairable nature of Samsung’s phones. — Dan Cooper The biggest stories you might have missed [OpenAI scraps controversial nondisparagement agreement with employees]( [Meta and Google want to make AI deals with Hollywood studios]( [Netflix’s cozy take on Animal Crossing hits Android and iOS in June]( [Robocaller behind AI Biden deepfake faces charges and hefty FCC fine]( [Google plans to run a fiber optic cable from Kenya to Australia]( [Atari just bought Intellivision, putting an end to the very first console war]( [The next Call of Duty is Black Ops 6]( [Leica takes on Fujifilm with the compact D-Lux 8]( [Microsoft's Azure AI Speech lets Truecaller users create an AI assistant with their own voice]( ​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. [Subscribe right here!]( [Ticketmaster owner sued by DOJ and 30 attorneys general over alleged monopoly]( Its alleged control of the live ticket marketplace harms consumers. The Justice Department and 30 state and district attorneys general have slapped a big pile of legal documents down on Ticketmaster owner Live Nation’s desk. [They allege the company has the live entertainment industry in a chokehold, harming fans, promoters and artists](. And, if this lawsuit really was prompted by the issues people faced while trying to get tickets to Taylor Swift’s Era’s tour, then we all know who to thank if Live Nation gets broken up. [Continue Reading.]( [Spotify’s Car Thing will soon transform into Spotify’s Car Brick]( Gee, thanks guys. [[Image of Spotify's Car Thing] Billy Steele for Engadget]( Spotify’s Car Thing, a hardware product bringing streaming audio to less well-equipped cars, will soon be no more. [The company announced that the product will stop working on December 9, as an attempt to “streamline” its offerings](. If you bought a Car Thing, for the admittedly cheap price of $90, before they were discontinued in 2022, there’s not much you can do about it. [Continue Reading.]( [Kobo Clara Colour review: Judging books by their covers is now more fun]( It’s sure to provoke envious glances from Kindle users. [[Image of the Kobo Clara] Amy Skorheim for Engadget]( Color e-readers aren’t new, but Kobo has managed to beat Amazon to the punch with its Clara Color. [We’ve put this model through its paces and found that it beats the socks off any of its rivals with fast processing and a great display](. Unfortunately, the downside is the same as always: It’s not a Kindle, and so you’re losing out on the vastness of Amazon’s library. [Continue Reading.]( The Morning After is a daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't [subscribe](. Craving even more? [Like us on Facebook]( or [follow us on Twitter](. Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? [Send us a note.]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you opted in at [engadget.com](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe from this newsletter.]( Copyright © 2024 Yahoo. All rights reserved.