“Never take broken for an answer.” This motto, wrapped around a wrench, is emblazoned on Kyle Wiens’ red t-shirt. Wiens is the CEO of iFixit, one of the most popular destinations for everything you need when it comes to repairing smartphones, tablets, laptops, and more. The shirt — available from iFixit’s online store — is not just touting a clever slogan. For Wiens and everyone else at iFixit, it is a mantra, an attitude that defines everything it does. However, even Wiens himself probably didn’t anticipate how he would be forced to go against this mantra with a recently dissolved partnership with South Korea’s largest company, Samsung, which Wiens is here to discuss with Android Authority.
Wiens sips a Diet Coke and settles in as I start explaining the framework of our conversation. He interrupts me politely to get a big caveat out of the way related to confidentiality terms iFixit still has with Samsung. “We’re generally very open with the press, and I will tell you everything that I can,” he says. “As much as I would love to tell you everything, I’ll let you know when we’re going out of bounds with what I can say.”