Charlie Sorrel

2 weeks ago | ifixit.com | Charlie Sorrel

The US trade war is likely to have an unintended casualty: Repairability. Even if you haven’t been closely watching the US tariff rollercoaster, you’ve probably heard about expected price hikes. Maybe you’ve heard us argue that rising prices on new goods make repair an even better bet for your wallet. Before the announced tariffs were reduced, we helped the Wall Street Journal estimate that the cost of making an iPhone was about to go up 54%, bringing the cost of a new phone north of $2000.

1 month ago | ifixit.com | Charlie Sorrel

When the “sustainable” electric toothbrush company Suri first started getting buzz, we were hopeful. The electric toothbrush space has been full of disposable, unrepairable junk for a long time, and Suri promised to be different. Greener. More responsible. We read articles about its repairability, even. But we’ve been disappointed. Pro tip: If you’re going to base the entirety of your product marketing on that product being sustainable, then you’d better make sure that it’s repairable.

1 month ago | ifixit.com | Charlie Sorrel

No matter how fast powerful laptops get, and no matter how ridiculously big and beefy a portable gaming rig might be, their batteries are basically stuck at their current size. Why? You can thank the Federal Aviation Administration. Lithium-ion batteries are a wonder of convenience. They can power computers for days, they charge quickly, and they don’t suffer from any weird “memory” effects, and lithium is the lightest of metals, which is good for portable devices.

2 months ago | ifixit.com | Charlie Sorrel

If you were designing an underground bunker to house and protect around 10,000 people for an unknown number of centuries, what would be your number one priority? OK, you have to make sure they have food and water. But after that, the most important thing is to design for repairability. Beware—spoilers ahead. The world of Silo is a completely closed environment.

Feb 28, 2025 | ifixit.com | Charlie Sorrel

When the iPhone 16e arrived at iFixit HQ today, we immediately sent it in for some intense surgery. For the first time ever, our teardown day started with a little light microsoldering, taking off the new C1 modem to send to our partners for analysis. The iPhone 16e, the new entry-level iPhone, already has its place marked in Apple’s history books. It is the first iPhone to use Apple’s own cellular modem chip, instead of packing one from Qualcomm. This is a big deal for several reasons.